| BRANDON LINTON'S MUSIC BLOG |
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Brandon Linton blogs about music and pop culture. E-mail Brandon.
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2008-04-28 -- 11:55 pm Not so Mindless afterall  About 5 minutes into my conversation with Mindless Self Indulgence mastermind Little Jimmy Urine, I realized that, despite the absurd name, wacky antics and lyrics that some consider incoherent or offensive, there is a lot more at work within within this band than meets the eye. On the surface, MSI, who will perform at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore Wednesday, may seem like another talentless Hot Topic marketing ploy, tricking youngsters into rebellion by conformity. Though Hot Topic has admittingly been very fruitful for MSI, there is ... ... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.2008-04-27 -- 12:58 am Still saving the day  Saves the day will perform Wednesday night at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore as part of The Bamboozle Roadshow. Doors open at 5:30, and other bands on the impressive bill include Armor For Sleep, Set Your Goals, Lydia and Metro Station. I had the opportunity to speak with singer Chris Conley... More to come2008-04-26 -- 2:25 pm Meat Beat Manifesto provides an audio-visual experience  Meat Beat Manifesto, a staple in the electronic music scene for more than 20 years, will perform Sunday night at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington D.C. But you can expect much more visually than a couple of guys playing instruments. The band has just released it's tenth album, "Autoimmune", and I talked with Manifesto mastermind Jack Dangers about the album and the importance of bringing something other than music to the table at the band's performances. How's it going? It ...
... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.2008-04-18 -- 11:56 am Bayside ready for what's next  The guys in Bayside have played around 300 shows over the past year, so you would think the band would take it's next couple of months off to relax at home. Not so, says bassist Nick Ghanbarian. The band will spend the next couple of months recording its next record and then it will be back to the road, probably for another 300 shows. Bayside's latest album, "The Walking Wounded" has been out for a little over a year, and your last chance to see the band in the area, at least for a few months, is Sunday at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The Starting Line, Steel Tra ... ... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.2008-04-17 -- 11:18 pm Jimmies Chicken Shack fry up a new album  Jimi Haha is the last remaining original member of Annapolis-based rock band Jimmies Chicken Shack, but that's not to say the band isn't still alive and kicking. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Haha, drummer Jerome Maffeo, bass player Christian Valiente and guitarist Matt Jones have just put out "Fail On Cue," the band's fourth national record, and the first that features the current line-up. The band will showcase new material from the album, as well as old favorites tomorrow night (Friday April 18) at Whiskey 1803 on West Street here in Annapolis. I had a chance to talk to Jimi a little bit about "Fail On Cue" and ... ... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.2008-04-01 -- 11:28 pm 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival Headliners announced Virgin Group Founder and Chairman announced today the headliners for this year's Virgin Mobile Festival at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore. They are as follows: Foo Fighters - www.foofighters.comIf you haven't had a chance to see this band, make a point to catch them this time around, because it's hard to say if they will have another show in the area this summer. There are many different opinions as to their albums, as far as their live show goes, Foo Fighters are playing better than ever right now. In my opinion, the best live band out there and by far one of the best mainstream modern rock band of the past 10 years. Nine Inch Nails - www.nin.comI haven't had a chance to see Trent Reznor's band in person yet, but judging by the live DVD I watched with a ... ... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.2008-03-24 -- 1:00 pm Ludo  According to the band's bio, the members of Ludo are "vigilante bushwhackers with a heart of gold who are out to bang your psyche and love you dead." An interesting description for five guys from St. Louis who, inspired by bands such as Weezer, Ween, bring the geek rock like no other in 2008. Ludo has just released its third CD, "You're Awful, I Love You," and will play the 9:30 Club in D.C. tomorrow night opening for the Presidents of the United States of America. Lead singer and guitarist Andrew Volpe took a few minutes out of his busy schedule while he was in L ... ... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.2008-03-18 -- 3:46 pm To rock or not to rock?  Jon Paul Johnson and his brother Adam moved from Denver to New York City to start a rock and roll band. The brothers went from playing in blues bars to cranking up their amps to 11 with in their band God or Julie, who will appear at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore tomorrow night as the opening act for Chevelle and Finger Eleven. I caught up with Jon Paul Johnson yesterday on his day off back in New York City before heading to Providence for a show tonight. So you guys are on the road with Chevelle and Finger Eleven. How have the shows been going for you guys?< ... ... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.
2008-02-16 -- 11:53 am Coheed ready to rock arenas  Coheed and Cambria has just released its fourth album, "No World For Tomorrow," and has been touring world-wide for over 6 years. The band is now ready to reach higher when it hits the road with Linkin Park on a nation-wide arena tour through the beginning of Spring. Linkin Park, Coheed and Cambria and Chiodos will appear Tuesday at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore. I had a chance to talk to Coheed's bassist Micahel Todd last week as the band was in the middle of a tour of the United Kingdom. -->
... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.2008-02-09 -- 9:30 pm Alanis and Matchbox Twenty still impressive So apparently on my 40-some-mile drive to Fairfax I drove through a time portal taking me back about 10 years. As I arrived at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University, the marquee lit up with "Matchbox Twenty Live tonight with special guest Alanis Morissette" seemed surreal to see in 2008. After all, both artists released classic debut albums in the mid-90s, the caliber of which they could never compete with on future efforts. With "Yourself or Someone Like You" and "Jagged Little Pill" respectively, the two artists conquered the airwaves with more radio singles than album tracks on those efforts and sprung into super stardom on their very first major efforts. And though neither artist has struggled since, they have both kind of maintained, quietly continuing successful, but not stand-out, careers. I wasn't too sure what to expect at Friday night&# ... ... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.2008-02-08 -- 11:16 pm Coloring the 9:30 club Fred  Fred Mascherino has spent the last few years playing guitar and singing the secondary lead vocals for the emo/rock band Taking Back Sunday. Mascherino traveled the globe, playing numerous headlining shows, festivals and festival tours with the band, but has decided to scrap that success to start over and bang around the club circuit opening slots with his new band, The Color Fred. Mascherino has just released his first record, "Bend to Break" on Equal Vision Records. From the outside looking in, this would seem like a rather unfortunate (Ok, really stupid) choice, however, I had a chance to talk to Fred about ... ... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.2008-02-07 -- 1:29 pm It's safe to blink...Angels & Airwaves will still be around  Angels & Airwaves want to be taken seriously. Though lead singer and principal songwriter Tom DeLonge made most of his fans, and dollars, with the pop-punk trio Blink 182, A&A is not a side project. In fact, "I-Empire," DeLonge's 2nd post-Blink 182 album with his new, more mature outfit proves this simply by it's existence...and the almost non-stop road schedule the band has taken on since the release of "We Don't Need To Whisper." DeLonge had a chance to take a break from Blink before, with his side-project Box Car Racer, which made one album and kind of died in ... ... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article.2008-02-02 -- 3:00 am Nonpoint hits 9:30 club with a vengeance  Nonpoint will explode on the stage at the 9:30 club Tuesday night as part of a high-octane metal package being billed as "More Balls, More Volume, More Strength," also featuring headliners Hell Yeah, and special guests Machine Head and Bury Your Dead. I had the chance to talk to Nonpoint's lead singer, Elias Soriano about touring, band survivalism and video games, among other things. How is the Hell Yeah/Machine Head tour going so far?We are currently in Allentown, Pa. The tour is really, really good. These guys are a bunch of old friends of ours, so the tour has a ... ... this is an abbreviated post. Read the entire article. | | | |
