Tag Archives: Tour

Into It. Over It. Announces Tour & Limited Edition 52 Weeks Vinyl Box Set

After 5 years being in existence, Into It. Over It., aka Evan Weiss, is hitting the road to headline his very own tour.  First stop…Cleveland.

Weiss has also taken his 2007 release 52 Weeks and turned it into a very desirable collectors item.

On Octtober 16th,  Into It. Over It. will release a limited edition vinyl box set for 52 Weeks, which includes 4 LPs and a 52 page art book via No Sleep Records. Fans can pre-order their copy of 52 Weeks from the No Sleep Records website today.  Doghouse Records will also be releasing 200 copies of the box set on double cassette.

I do not know about you, but I am pretty excited about this.

Chris from No Sleep Records posted this picture on his Facebook today (of course it still needs print and whatnot:

Into It. Over It. Tour Dates:
Oct 17 – Cleveland, OH – Now That’s Class
Oct 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Unitarian Church
Oct 19 – New York, NY – Santos Party House (CMJ)
Oct 20 – Boston, MA – Middle East/Upstairs
Oct 21 – Hartford, CT – Webster Underground
Oct 22 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
Oct 23 – Richmond, VA – The Camel
Oct 24 – Columbia, SC – New Brookland Tavern
Oct 25 – Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub
Oct 26 – Gainesville, FL – The Fest
Oct 27 – Gainesville, FL – The Fest
Oct 28 – Gainesville, FL – The Fest
Oct 29 – Atlanta, GA – Vinyl
Oct 30 – Louisville, KY – The Vernon Club
Oct 31 – Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen

Interview: Vic Victor of the Koffin Kats

Punk / psychobilly rockers Koffin Kats currently are kicking ass overseas.  The band, who recently released an all new full length album called Our Way & The Highway on Sailor’s Grave Records, has been touring non-stop in support of the release.  With plans on touring the states in the Spring, Koffin Kats show no intentions of slowing down at all.

I reviewed Our Way & The Highway last month and was beyond impressed with what I had heard.  I am really looking forward to seeing these guys live again sometime very soon.  Their mix of punk rock and psychobilly keeps things entertaining and fun.  They are a hard working group and skip all the bells and whistles and go straight for the kill when it comes to performing live.  They are a punk rock band.  This is what they do.

I had the chance to chat with Vic Victor, the band’s vocalist / stand up bassist this week.  While in Spain, Victor was more than happy to answer a few questions about the band and their recent release:

BHP: Our Way & The Highway rules. This might by my favorite release by you guys. How happy are you and the band with how it came out?

VV: Thanks! We are rather proud of this one… I’m very happy with the way the mix came out. Damn close to how I had originally heard the songs in my head while we were writing them. If not better.

What did you do differently this time around?

We sent the raw tracks out to be mixed by Rene De La Muerte from the Canadian Psychobilly band The Brains. In the past we have always just mixed in the studio with the engineer we were recording with.

Any reason for the delay in dropping a new album?  I thought hit was supposed to drop last year.

Originally we were going to put it out in November 2011, but we realised that it wasn’t enough time to properly promote it. Besides we were in no real hurry. This being the 7th release in 8 years of the band, I think we are putting albums out at a good pace.

So how’s Tommy Koffin doing these days? Do you still talk to him at all? It really does not seem like the band had any difficulties with getting Ian to speed. Am I correct in saying that?

He’s doing fine. We all still hang out whenever we are home. We were practicing the day Ian arrived from New Mexico. Really havent taken any breaks since his joining, so he’s going through the intensive training program. haha.

After initially listening to the new album, I realized you shared your vocal duties with Ian. Whose idea was that?

We have never done that prior and i thought it would be a good change up. Plus it makes the song “Choke” flow more natural between the verse and chorus by going back and forth with the vocals.

“For The Good Times” has what sounds like an empty bottle solo, did you guys dispose of those drinks properly?

Ah studio drinks. Yes those are necessary. Its good to keep the vibe a bit loose when recording.

I can not help but compare “The Devil Asked” to a Butthole Surfers song, maybe it was from the deep mono tone intro, but still, this song strayed away from the others. Was that the idea of this track?

Actually I had no idea how i was going to sing the verse part until the day I had to record the vocals. The night before, I was sitting at the bar and it came to me to do it almost Tom Waits style.

Do you have a favorite track off of Our Way & The Highway? I dig “Locket Of Sin” and “For The Good Times” the most on the album.

“The Bottle Called” has stuck with me as one I’m more proud of. It was the first track written for the album. It was actually released on split we did with 12 Step Rebels earlier in 2011. But that song right was the model for writing a lot of the tracks on Our Way & The Highway.

You guys tour a ton. When you have downtime, what do you do to make ends meet?

There are two reasons we tour so much. One being because we feel it’s necessary to get out there and push as hard as we can promoting the band with live shows. The other being that because we are gone so much, no job would have us back for only a few weeks at a time, so we have to stay on the road to pay the bills too.

Touring overseas has got to be amazing, but how does your upright bass take those trips? Have you had any casualties with your standup or any other equipment for that matter?

We have fried a few pedals and tuners with the power difference haha. I shipped my first upright over for the first Euro tour and it lived there until a few tours ago when I sold it to a band after it was just too beat up to play anymore. Then my current upright was one left over there by The Quakes. Two days after I got it the neck broke due to it falling over. Not an easy quick fix, but I seem to have developed a talent for rough road fixes on uprights. Its still holding strong on this current tour.

So if you had your choose, what bands would you want to tour with alive or dead?

Alice Cooper for sure. He’s not dead yet so maybe that can happen haha. I’d also like to do a tour with Bad Religion.

That would be insane.  Who are some of your favorite bands you have toured with in the past?

We have been very lucky to hit the road with bands we have looked up to like Nekromantix, Long Tall Texans, The Meteors, & Mad Sin.

What is the response from folk who have never heard or seen you guys live before?

They are usually not sure what the hell just happened but they are usually happy hahah. The upright bass really grabs ones attention when they are not familiar with it and what can be done with it. Gained a good amount of following outside of the psychobilly world because we play all over the place for crowds who sometimes don’t know of anything related to psychobilly but dig that we are loud and fast.

How do you describe your sound to someone who has never heard of you?

Its easy. I always say punk rock with an upright bass. The hard part comes if you get asked what kind of punk rock? Then I say… you really should just listen to one of our records.

That’s the best way to check anyone out.  So, what made you all jump onto the Sailor Grave Records roster?

They have put out some great bands albums in the past and we were looking for a label that we thought could help promote us better. For the first time, we are very happy with the way a label has worked with us.

That’s great to hear.  Seeing that 2012 has just started, what plans do the Koffin Kats have before the world ends…?

If the world does end at any point this year… we will be on tour when it happens. We are pushing to hit the 250+ show mark this year. Last year was around 230.

That is impressive!  Anything you would like to say?

Just want to thank everyone who has been spreading the word of this new record and we will continue to tour and hope to see ya out at a show.

One last thing, when are you guys coming to Cleveland?

Well see ya in the spring and in the fall.

The Koffin Kats are currently on tour and will be hitting up the states in the Spring. Visit the Koffin Kats’ website for more tour information.

The Revival Tour – Spring 2012

The Revival Tour is back on the road and will be swinging through Cleveland on April 6th! 

The Cleveland stop will feature Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Dan Andriano (Alkaline Trio / In The Emergency Room), Cory Branan, and Nathanial Rateliff all playing at the Grog Shop.  This is going to be a night to not miss! 

Get your tickets now! There are also bundles available for purchase as well where you can score a ticket and a special vinyl.

An Important Message From Those Darlins…

An important message form the fine fine ladies in Those Darlins (and Linwood):

Buddies,

Those Darlins here. We have a new website and along with it a new 7″, new T-shirts, and new tour dates. Let us know what you think.
XOXOX, TD

Short, simple, and sweet just like Jessi, Nikki, and Kelley Darlin.  The 7″ titled Nightjogger is only $5 and is a preview of their forthcoming sophomore release (can’t wait!!!).

I love the cover and know what it is all about.  Do you?  The vinyl is actually a split with Funstix, a Jessi and Linwood side-project. For more info and to purchase the 7″ along with some other rocking merch head over to ThoseDarlins.com.

The girls and Linwood are current on tour once again and will be making a stop in Cleveland.  If you have not seen them yet now is your chance…  I am highly considering making the trek down to Louisville to see them play with Trampled By Turtles.

TOUR DATES
Aug
24 – Nashville, TN @ Billups Art Gallery (Heavy Cream release show)
27 – Morning View, KY @ Whispering Beard Folk Festival

Sept
8 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree #
9 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl #
10 – Atlanta GA @ The Earl #
11 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle #
12 – Myrtle Beach, SC @ Drink
14 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 #
15 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat #
16 – New York, NY@ The Bowery Ballroom #
17 – Boston, MA @ TT The Bears #
19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie # (early show)
20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie # (late show)
21 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern %
22 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall %
23 – Urbana, IL @ Independent Media Center – Pygmalion Fest
24 – Iowa City, IA @ The Mill %
25 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon %
26 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry %
28 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Front Room %
29 – Lincoln, NE @ Lincoln Calling
30 – Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar %

Oct
1 – Columbia, MO @ Roots n’ Blues n’ BBQ Fest
2 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall &
7 – Dallas, TX @ Sons of Hermann Hall *
8 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
9 – Laredo, TX @Old No. 2

# w/ The Strange Boys & Gentleman Jesse
% w/Turbo Fruits
& w/Trampled By Turtles
* w/ The Soft Pack

Story Of The Year – The Constant – CD Review

St. Louis’ pop/post-hardcore ballad rockers Story Of The Year (SOTY) are back with an all new album entitled The Constant.  Matching the likes of their previous material the CD is heavy on the ballads that so many fans have been accustomed to over the years as well as carries a couple of tracks that are destined for mainstream play.  This is the band’s fourth studio album and has been released on Epitaph Records.

I’ll admit I was not a STOY fan after hearing their first album Page Ave.  The song “Until The Day I Die” was the first and only song I heard by the band  That was just too much for me and of course it was plastered all over the radio and TV so I never checked out the CD.  It was not until the band’s follow-up release that I finally gave them a chance.  In The Wake Of Determination really changed the way I felt about them with their likable post-hardcore tracks.  When I saw them play at the Vans Warped Tour a couple years later I deemed myself a fan.  They were not what I originally pictured them as, they were actually musicians that happened to dish out an instant hit and rocked out especially well live.

The Constant keeps inline with their previous albums with likable tracks as heard in the opening track “The Children Sing”.  The children in the background singing “don’t take this world away from me” instantly reminded me of The Lost Boys but the song itself is catchy as hell and just sounds well written.  “The Ghost Of You And I” follows with heavy intensity and, dare I say, reminded me of something Linkin Park might have done until the chorus fills in.

“I’m Alive” was once of the cuts on the CD that I liked over the others.  It’s a to the point rock ballad, nothing less, nothing more and hints back to the days when those heavy metal hair-bands showed a softer side to life.  “To The Burial” was without a doubt my favorite track on the entire CD with enough energy to incite a circle pit in portions of the song. The guitar solos, the singing, and the drumming on this track all amount to reasons why I am a SOTY fan.

Changing things up was more-so post-hardcore song “The Dream Is Over” but then came “Holding On To You” a track once again showing a softer approach of the quintet. It’s not all rock ballads though as “Won Threw Ate” proved.  This screaming vocal track was perhaps the heaviest on the album and kindly welcomed to my ears.  “Time Goes One” brought a little punk element to the CD as well as some group vocals that I am sure the fans will be singing along to at their live shows.  Ending the CD was another choice track of mine titled “Eye For An Eye”.  I loved the energy of the track throughout with heavier guitar playing and just brutal drumming.

I was honestly hoping for more of a heavier approach though the entire album but still SOTY put out a solid album.  Where as the ballads are welcomed I much prefer SOTY at their angriest and heaviest even though I know they are labeled “post-hardcore”.  As I previously mentioned former fans of this band will enjoy the CD and I am sure once a couple of tracks from The Constant hit the mainstream there will be a slew of new fans.

The band is getting ready to tour in support of The Constant.  If you are looking for a great live show you best check these boys out.  If you need reason why just pier below at some of the videos.

Tour Dates:
Feb 26 – Chicago, IL – Cubby Bear
Mar 25 – Denver, CO – The Marquis Theatre
Mar 26 – Salt Lake City, UT – Murray Theater
Mar 27 – Las Vegas, NV – Desert Breeze Skate Park
Mar 28 – Anaheim, CA – Bamboozle West
Mar 30 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
Mar 31 – Orangevale, CA – Boardwalk
Apr 2 – Phoenix, AZ – Clubhouse
Apr 3 – Tucson, AZ – The Rock
Apr 5 – Dallas, TX – The Door/Prophet Bar
Apr 6 – San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
Apr 7 – Houston, TX – Channel
Apr 9 – St. Petersburg, FL – State Theatre
Apr 10 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade