Rock, Skynyrd set summer dates

Posted in Rock, Tours on May 12, 2008 by bspeck

Release:

Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd will be making headlines and turning heads this August as they team up for their first ever tour together. Hitting sheds across the country and Canada, the team of hell raisers will be bringing the best party in years to fans of all generations for what is sure to be the best tailgate and show experience of recent years.

Kid Rock’s “Rock ˜N Roll Jesus” debuted at #1 and continues to dominate the charts as his new single “All Summer Long” is the leading contender for standout smash of the season. The companion video for the track is expected to premier in the coming weeks. Kid Rock, featuring his expanded 11-piece Twisted Brown Trucker Band, will perform the song on “The Late Show” with David Letterman on May 14th, the eve of the pair’s show at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden.

May 15th will mark an historic first in the legendary career of Rock ˜N Roll Hall of Fame members Lynyrd Skynyrd - their first appearance at Madison Square Garden. Lynyrd Skynyrd has been together since the seventies and has played shows around the world. With their induction into the Hall of Fame in 2006 the band has proved that after all those years they are stilling going strong. Now after all this time people will get a chance to sing along to their classics at the “World’s Most Famous Arena.”

Tickets and VIP packages are available at Ticketmaster.com, additional tour information at Livenation.com and more information on these artists can be found at KidRock.com and LynyrdSkynyrd.com.

KID ROCK AND LYNYRD SKYNRD’s “ROCK AND REBELS” TOUR DATES:

8/8- Oklahoma City, OK @ Zoo Amphitheater
8/9- Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8/14- Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
8/16- Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
8/22- Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
8/23- Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
8/25- Toronto, Ontario @ Molson Amphitheatre
8/30- Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
8/31- Hartford, CT @ New England Dodge Music Center

Alive and Well: Theory of a Deadman

Posted in Rock with tags , , on May 3, 2008 by bspeck

We may not like hockey as much as our friends north of the border, but a universal love for rock n’ roll renders borders and lines meaningless.

Canada has been sharing Vancouver’s Theory of a Deadman with us since 2002. The band’s latest offering, Scars and Souvenirs has produced major airplay for first single “So Happy.” Guitarist Dave Brenner took time following a sound check in Hattiesburg, Miss. to talk about the new record, blurring country and city lines and even a bit about the NHL playoffs.

He said expectations for the third album were more about fun and stepping outside traditional Theory boundaries, rather than just trying to meet deadlines and succumbing to common recording stresses.

“As far as our expectations, we wanted to enjoy ourselves a little bit while we were doing this record and try to get away from the pressure,” said Brenner. “We had a good time recording. We tried to think outside the box and not really just close ourselves up to do what Theory of a Deadman would do, just play whatever felt good.

“We ended up recording quite a number a songs, 18 or so, narrowed it down to 13 tracks for the record. We’re really proud of the record.”

Besides “So Happy,” the album features tracks such as the heavy “By the Way” featuring Chris Daughtry, “Hate My Life,” a slow starting, then up tempo ballad of life’s pressures, and “Little Smirk,” a tale of sticking it to a cheating significant other.

“Obviously, the first single, So Happy, has done tremendously well for us, better than any other single has on our past, so we’re feeling pretty good right now,” Brenner said.

TOAD slows it down a couple of times as well, most notably on “Wait for Me,” which speaks of missing family back home.

“So Happy” is in heavy rotation on Sirius Satellite’s Octane 20, but Brenner says traditional radio still has its place. In fact, maybe a better place.

“I think satellite radio is kind of cool in what it is,” he said. “I kind of feel like I like the individual stations in every town and what they bring to each town in a way. It gives you a better idea of where people are digging your stuff. We’ve always had real good followings in certain markets and we could always follow that. I’m for everything man. I just want people to be able to hear the music.”

Recording this record wasn’t only less pressurized. Brenner said it seemed easier.

“I think it’s gotten a bit easier for us in the fact that I think we’ve become better musicians, one,” he said. “I think we’ve become better songwriters too, which I think are two crucial things to recording records.

“We knew what to expect. We knew how to prepare ourselves. When we got into the studio, everything was really happening fluidly and everything went nice.”

One difference in how audiences are introduced to new bands in Canada and the US are Canada’s can-con laws (Canadian Content).

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requires radio and television broadcasters, including cable and satellite, to air a certain percentage of content at least partly written, produced, presented or otherwise contributed to by persons from Canada.

“I think that really helps Canadian bands,” Brenner said. “I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve done really well in Canada.”

Both of TOAD’s previous two records (2002’s ST and 2005’s gasoline) went platinum there.

“People always wonder if it’d different from one city or one country to the next, but as long as everybody is just there for rock n’ roll, they’re the same,” Brenner said. “People that love the rock n’ roll down here in Mississippi, they’re different culturally, but they’re the same as people that love rock n’ roll up in Vancouver.”

With plenty of free time on the bus from city to city, Brenner and the boys do make time for video games and blowing time, but don’t expect Brenner to let TV and DVD distract him from his unique opportunites.

“I just recently got into photography,” he said. “One of the reasons I wanted to do that is because I feel like I’ve got a great opportunity to go around to all of these different beautiful cities and states in America and Canada and hopefully outside of America as well.

“I think it’s a good excuse to get me off the bus and away from the video games and away from the TV and try to enjoy some of the sights of these places. We do so much traveling and I just don’t feel like I’ve really experienced enough of the history of a lot of different places. There’s so much cool history in this country and I just want to go experience it.”

There’s still time for the TV though.

“We’re definitely big sports fans. Right now we’re keeping an eye on the NHL playoffs,” he said.

With the home favorite Canucks out of the playoff picture this season, cheering options are a little more open.

“Right now we’re kind of rooting for a couple different teams,” Brenner said. “I’m rooting for Pittsburgh and kind of rooting for Montreal cause I’d like to see one Canadian team get to the final, but it’s sort of tough to decide.”

Upcoming Dates:

5/3/2008
Cattle Annie’s - Lynchburg, VA
5/4/2008
Ladson Fairgrounds - Charleston, SC
5/7/2008
House Of Blues - N. Myrtle Beach, SC
5/8/2008
Germain Arena - Estro, FL
5/9/2008
Jacksonville Equestrian Center - J’ville, FL

Theory interview coming next week

Posted in Rock on April 24, 2008 by bspeck

I’ll be talking to the Theory of a Deadman guys next week about their current tour, new album and where they see themselves down the road. Be sure to check it out.

Plus, I’ll be reviewing their new CD, Scars & Souvenirs.

The CD hit stores on April 1, so go grab that copy while you wait.

MonsterEnergy.com to premiere Atreyu video

Posted in Uncategorized on March 25, 2008 by bspeck

Video debuts on MONSTERENERGY.COM Wednesday, March 26th and is exclusive to the site for 7 days.

HOLLYWOOD (March 25, 2008) – MONSTER ENERGY has exclusive rights to bring to you the coolest video premier of the year. Atreyu’s video “Falling Down,” the new top 10 single from their album Lead Sails Paper Anchor
The band, who are currently co-headlining the Taste of Chaos tour with Avenged Sevenfold, recently shot a video for “Falling Down” with Sean Stiegemeier that’s loosely inspired by Francis Ford Coppola’s

1983 film, The Outsiders.  Along with this cool video premier you can sign up to win Atreyu prizes all week long at www.Monsterenergy.com. Viewers can register to win the following prizes:Autographed Atreyu Lead Sails, Paper Anchor posters.
Autographed Atreyu Lead Sails, Paper Ancho Cd’s
1 Viper 400 Monster Energy/Atreyu ESP/LTD Guitar
1 EX400 Monster Energy/Atreyu ESP/LTD Guitar

New Album, Strong Thoughts from Street Dogs

Posted in Punk on February 15, 2008 by bspeck

street-dogs18.jpg

New England puck outfit Street Dogs just signed a record deal with Hellcat and with a new record in hand, will soon be hitting the road for a two-month tour beginning on March 1 in Hollywood, running all the way to May 3’s date at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia.

While Fading American Dream, their third record, may have a few comedic relief breaks, McColgan and crew don’t shy away from expressing their views.

“I feel that the purpose of Street Dogs is to write, record and perform live the songs that are swimming in our souls and minds,” said McColgan, an original member of seminal Irish punk rockers Dropkick Murphys. “I know that sounds over the top and heavy but our songs have to come from what personally moves us, be it political observations, personal life experience or relationships we have been in. These always seem to be our driving forces.”

Dogs’ lead singer Mike McColgan, who left Dropkick Murphys to serve his community as a Boston firefighter, isn’t your typical lead singer. He definitely knows a sense of purpose.

The vocalist is no more shy expressing his thoughts off the stage either. The former artillery crew member during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield will gladly speak his peace about much more than music, including his support one presidential hopeful and hire seeming ire for the current one.

“I am ready to elect Barack Obama as our next president,” he said. “I look forward to voting for him. The audacity of hope he wrote about and speaks about is inspiring. After eight years of the worst leadership in American history it is clearly time for a change.

The band doesn’t take itself seriously all of the time. While the undertones of what’s going on around them fill much of Fading American Dream, tracks like “Tobe’s Got a Drinking Problem,” (named after guitarist Tobe Bean III)?

“You need to poke fun at yourself in music. We do not take ourselves too seriously,” McColgan said, “contrary to what most people think about us.”

McColgan’s up close view of war obviously offers a different than the view of civilians. He did say though, that his disappointment is derived from the same thoughts other people share.

“I have had a bit of distance from my service so my disappointment with a war that was driven by oil baron greed and the oil depletion neo-con protocol is very common with most everyday people,” he said. “My only special point of identification is that I know the hardship of serving in the middle east and I can empathize with the common foot soldier from that angle.

“I also am keen to why it is most men and woman join the armed forces. Usually it is they are born into a military family, they need college money, lack of jobs after high school and sometimes kids get the old jail or service option sent down from a judge’s gavel.”

McColgan is definitely ready for a new day in America. As vocal as his support is for those serving, his thoughts on those in suits instead of fatigues rings just as loud.

“I wish and pray for all the men and woman of our armed forces to come home safely and swiftly when they are deployed. They are not the crooked and greedy leaders who put us into these wars that were sold with fear and lies.”

Seeing the world is one thing. Seeing it through the eyes of a soldier is another. McColgan said that is the biggest misconception about soldier life.

“It is not an adventure as lives hang in the balance,” he said.

Back here in the states, McColgan and the Dogs are ready to hit the road and with a supportive label on its side as the 30-city show is ready to take off.

 

“(Hellcat) is home to artists that we respect and admire,” McColgan said. “Hellcat also gets the Street Dogs. They know what we are.”

Hello world!

Posted in Uncategorized on February 14, 2008 by bspeck

This blog will be up and running soon. Keep checking back. Feel free to check out Speck’s Sports Blog in the meantime at bspeck.wordpress.com.