Fat Wreck Cords has announced the re-release of Banner Pilot‘s 2008 LP Resignation Day. The re-release features new art work and a complete re-mastering of the album. Here’s guitarist Nate Gangelhoff’s explaination.
When we originally recorded Resignation Day back in 2007, issues came up during the recording that left us with little time for mixing. As a result, the record didn’t sound too hot. This was kind of a drag ‘cuz we didn’t feel like we did the songs justice. But! Sometimes you get a second chance; sometimes you can take something that was subpar and make it right, like when that Jason Mraz guy covered Blitzkrieg Bop. In our case, we were able to get Jacques Wait (who we worked with on our last album Collapser) to take a look at the original tracks and take a stab at remixing them. What he came up with was awesome, sounding like a new album. Usually something billed as a ‘remix’ will cause you to say “Uh, I guess the guitars are…. warmer now?” or “Oh, that’s cool that the ride cymbal has more zing in that one part now. Glad I bought this again”, but in this case we’re talking about a dramatic difference. Plus we added two more songs that are out of print, re-did the layout, and even changed around the sequencing. It’s like a whole new experience, maaan.
So if you checked out the album the first time around and didn’t dig it, give it another chance. We think you’ll like it. It’s like that one fairy tale where the first bowl of porridge kind of sucks but the second one is perfect.
– Nate
The sound was the only thing about Resignation Day that was lacking, so it’ll be nice to see this pop punk gem finally get a little polish. Fat currently has the re-release planned for September 14.
Even though a few of the dates show “TBA” for venue location, Bad Religion have announced the complete dates for their upcoming North American tour. They will be joined by The Bouncing Souls and Off With Their Heads on a number of dates. Bad Religion‘s new album, The Dissent of Man, is set to be released on September 28th.
Tour dates after the jump.
Bayside and Senses Fail have announced the dates for their fall co-headlining tour featuring support from Title Fight and Balance & Composure. Hopefully Bayside will play some new songs from their upcoming Wind-Up Records debut, and Senses Fail will have improved as much live as they have on their records. Probably won’t hurt to have Jason Black of Hot Water Music fame playing with them.
Also, congratulations to Title Fight and Balance & Composure for landing this tour. I remember when Title Fight‘s first 7″ landed in my mail box two years ago. I wrote a rather gushing review, but I stand by it. Hopefully they’ll get around to releasing a full length finally after this tour. I don’t have a nostalgic comment about Balance & Composure but they’ve never released anything that wasn’t top notch. Come to think of it they need to put out a LP too. Rant over, continue reading for the dates.
Continue reading…
Titus Andronicus released The Monitor this past Spring, and it’s probably one of the best albums you’re going to hear this year. Free Energy also released an album this spring, Stuck On Nothing. It too is probably one of the best albums you’ll hear this year. Now the Fates of indie rock have brought these two groups together for an epic journey full of sweaty shows and collectible vinyl goodness.
Starting August 19th the bands will join forces and embark on a month long North American tour. To make this already exciting news all the more thrilling they will be bringing with them an exclusive tour only split 7″ featuring a cover from each band. Titus Andronicus have tackled “Anxiety Block” by Television Personalities for their side while Free Energy will be providing an interpretation of “I’m Going Down” by Bruce Springsteen. For a complete list of the tour’s routing continue reading.
Continue reading…
Shane Blay plays guitar in a metalcore band called Oh, Sleeper. While the genre tag might cause you to write his band off as yet another in an endless sea of mediocre breakdowns and grunted screams Oh, Sleeper are actually one of the better bands in the genre. I’d be posting a video to illustrate this point but their label doesn’t allow embedding of YouTube videos. Ironically the label’s issues with blog’s sharing their content leads into why we’re writing about Shane today.
Blay has posted on his Facebook page an extremely eloquent, thoughtful, and possibly disturbing run down of what it’s like to be a touring musician in a mid-level band in 2010. Now we at The 1st Five understand that situation of one band isn’t the same thing as the situation for another band. Some acts much smaller than Oh, Sleeper make a comfortable living through side projects and living cheaply. However Blay still makes some good points and his run down is well worth the five minutes you’ll be spending anyway illegally downloading some record.
Helen Earth Band‘s take on dance worthy indie rock doesn’t feature any obvious dance beats, techno breaks, or other cliched signals that you’re supposed to be dancing along. But their angular weaving of guitars and subtly complex drumming does something to the body. A twitch becomes a head nod. Suddenly you notice your hips moving, almost rhythmically, but since you listen to indie rock it’s not really something you might naturally identify as dancing. It’s an experience to be sure. Oh yeah, and these guys sound a lot like the now defunct No Knife, which is awesome.
After a lengthy hiatus power poppers Ultimate Fake Book are back with Daydream Radio Is Smiling Static, a collection of unreleased material written and recorded between 2000 and 2003. Featuring a mix of b-sides and un-released tracks Daydream Radio… shows a rawer side to the normally shinny production. Listeners who are new to UFB can enjoy a free stream of the album in the player below, or can obtain a free copy by entering their email in the widget under the stream. Fans of Elvis Costello and Weezer are highly recommended to take note of this free release.
Cartoon-concept band Gorillaz, led by Blur‘s Damon Albarn, will be heading out on the road in the fall in support of their newest album Plastic Beach.
See the dates after the jump.
Say Anything have announced their Fall co-headlining tour with Motion City Soundtrack and openers Saves the Day, Valencia and A Great Big Pile of Leaves. Beyond reminding me of the terrifying fact that Saves the Day’s Stay What You Are album came out ten years ago next June this is a pretty great line up. Fans of Vagrant records during cira 2000 will want to make sure they get to the show early to catch Valencia. Their Something To Write Home About influenced pop punk is some of the most mature in the genre. Continue reading for the full routing.
Continue reading…
Dammit, why couldn’t Fake Problems have released their new album this summer? Or at least their new single “Soulless”, the first track to be made available the band’s upcoming Real Ghosts Caught On Tape. Channeling the infectious joy of Katrina and the Waves 80s R&B throw back “Walking On Sunshine” through Fake Problems‘ unique take on rock and roll “Soulless” should have been the lead off track of every mix CD I forced upon friends this summer. For shame Side One Dummy!
But don’t fret dear reader, the label has righted the wrong of keeping “Soulless” to themselves during these summer months by giving it away for free right now. Simply go to Fake Problems and give them your email or post about it on Facebook and the song is yours to download. Seriously this one time the whole “give us your email we’ll give you a song” thing is completely worth it. Continue reading for the complete track listing to Real Ghosts Caught On Tape.
Continue reading…