Author: The Revolution

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Mutemath

Taking cues from several decades of alternative rock, Mute Math (also known as MUTEMATH and MuteMath) fuse together New Order’s synth-dance epics, the Stone Roses’ shambling shuffle, Radiohead’s chilliness, Air’s ambient pop, and the booming vocals of mainstream pop/rock. Singer Paul Meany, formerly of the Christian rock group Earthsuit, was working in New Orleans when he began a long-distance musical correspondence with drummer/programmer Darren King, who was based in Springfield, Missouri. The two began sending CD-Rs back and forth up the Mississippi River, eventually putting enough songs together to convince King to relocate to New Orleans and start a proper band. After adding guitarist Greg Hill and bassist Roy Mitchell-Cardenas, the new band completed the Meany-King compositions in 2003; Meany then took the resulting demo to noted CCM producer Tedd T., who was enthusiastic enough to launch a new indie label, Teleprompt Records, in order to release 2004’s Reset EP. The EP’s success allowed Mute Math and Teleprompt to negotiate a distribution deal with Warner Bros., which reissued the EP in 2005.
Although Mute Math completed their self-titled debut album that same year, marketing disputes between Teleprompt and Warner Bros. delayed its release for nearly a year. Because Warner Bros. wanted to promote Mute Math as a CCM band instead of an alternative rock act, thereby limiting the group’s mainstream exposure, Mute Math and Teleprompt Records filed suit against the major label, claiming breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation. The band’s website announced that the suit was settled out of court, concurrent with the signing of an improved deal with Warner Bros. An expanded version of Mute Math, featuring remastered tracks from Reset and a bonus limited-edition live EP, was released on September 26, 2006.
“Typical” proved to be a modestly successful single, cracking the mainstream rock charts in 2007 and finding a home on MTV, where the song’s Grammy-nominated video became a hit. Tours with Eisley, Alanis Morissette, and Matchbox Twenty honed the band’s live chops, and Mute Math returned in 2009 with a new album, Armistice. The album debuted at number 18, and Mute Math toured heavily in support, capturing one of their live shows on the 2010 concert album Armistice Live. Todd Gummerman replaced guitarist Greg Hill that October, and the follow-up studio album, Odd Soul, was released in 2011.

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Ray J

Arriving on the heels of big sister Brandy, R&B vocalist and songwriter Ray J parlayed his success on television into a music career at the age of 14. Born William Ray Norwood, Jr. in McComb, Mississippi, he moved with his family to Carson, California when he was a toddler, landing him in the center of the entertainment industry. He started auditioning for commercials at age eight and had scored several gigs when he caught the eye of comedian Sinbad, who was casting children for The Sinbad Show. Ray J got the role of Sinbad’s foster son, but the show was canceled in 1993. From there, Ray J began acting in movies and appeared in the films Steel and Mars Attacks! with minor roles.

At the same time, he was also itching to try his hand at the music industry, inspired by Brandy’s early success. He signed with Elektra in 1995, recording Everything You Want the following year with a set of superstar songwriters and producers behind him. In 1997, he performed in a television special with his sister, but despite the mainstream attention, he was dropped by Elektra soon after. His easygoing image and boyish looks appealed to the producers of Brandy’s television show, Moesha, scoring him a role on the popular UPN series starting in 1999. He also started producing, and put together the music for several commercials and demos for his second album.

Still, when he stepped back into the studio he called on the Neptunes, Rodney Jerkins, Brycyn “Juvie” Evans, and several other hitmaking producers to help him compile This Ain’t a Game (2001), a pop-oriented album. The album dropped in 2001, but despite a strong promotional push from new label Atlantic, it wasn’t the breakthrough success it was designed to be. It would be four years before he returned to music, but despite the lengthy absence, his high profile still commanded an all-star guest list. With help from Timbaland, R. Kelly, Mya, and Fat Joe, Ray J resurfaced with Raydiation (2005), released on Sanctuary. He changed labels again for All I Feel (2008), issued through Koch. The album was a success thanks in no small part to the double-platinum single “Sexy Can I.” For several years, however, Ray J was still known more as a reality television star. The singer landed his own dating series on VH1 titledFor the Love of Ray J, which spawned a soundtrack album that same year (2009). A second VH1 series, Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business, lasted two seasons, and he went on to host Oxygen’s Bad Girls All-Star Battle. He made moves toward a fifth proper solo album, including the pointed “I Hit It First” — which peaked at number 11 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart in 2013 — and 2015’s “Brown Sugar,” which featured Lil Wayne.

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97.3 HITS SESSIONS featuring Natalie La Rose

A contemporary R&B vocalist from Amsterdam, Natalie La Rose was signed to Flo Rida‘s International Music Group — after she approached the rapper at an ESPY Awards after party — but eventually landed on Republic, a label distributed by Universal Music Group. Her debut single for Republic, “Somebody,” was a low-key club track in the vein of Tinashe‘s 2014 hit “2 On.” “Somebody” featured Jeremih, who provided the Whitney Houston-referencing hook. It was released in January 2015 and became an international hit, landing in the Top Ten on the U.S. singles chart.

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At The Gates

“The greatest Swedish Death Metal band ever reclaims their rightful throne.” – Decibel Magazine AT THE GATES are one of the most important bands in the history of death metal. But, with that sort of reputation comes expectation and pressure. Especially when you are dealing with the band’s first new studio album since 1995. “What we wanted to do was to be old school, but to ensure everything was also up to date,” says vocalist Tomas Lindberg. “Because we didn’t want to be rooted in the past.” The Gothenburg band have been careful not to raise fans’ hopes for a new album since they reformed in 2007, 11 years after splitting up. When they did return, it was with the full classic line-up, namely, Lindberg, guitarists Anders Björler and Martin Larsson, bassist Jonas Björler and drummer Adrian Erlandsson. But, for a long time, the five-piece were careful to distance themselves from any thoughts of new recordings. “We decided about a year ago that we would do a new album,” reveals Lindberg. “But we never went public with this for a while, because we didn’t want to put any demands on ourselves.” But slowly, the band assembled the material for new album ‘At War With Reality’. The actual writing process was fairly straightforward, but what took time was getting the song structures and arrangements exactly as they wanted them to sound. At no stage did the band rush the process, but through the exchange of ideas by email and person, it all took shape. All of the riffs and melodies here came from the Björler brothers, with Anders being responsible for 70 percent. And lyrically, there’s a concept at work, which again differentiates the material here from the four previous records. “It’s not that I’ve come up with a storyline that runs throughout. But there’s definitely a theme. And this is Magic Realism.” Magic Realism is a sub-genre of surrealism, where magic being cast as part of everyday life. It’s been best defined as ‘what happens when reality is invaded by something too strange to believe’. “I’ve been reading a lot of 1950s/60s South American authors in this genre, and felt this idea could be adapted to fit into the world of death metal. So that’s where my lyrical inspirations come from. And, throughout the songs there are hints acknowledging some of the writers I have read. Yes, the lyrics are ambitious, but they are also a return to the early days of the band when the words had a philosophical edge and depth.” The challenge of making this all work in the studio was given to producer Fredrik Nordström, who worked with AT THE GATES on their 1994 album ‘Terminal Spirit Disease’ and the celebrated ‘Slaughter Of The Soul’ the next year. “Fredrik works at his own studio in our home town (Studio Fredman in Gothenburg), so it was easy for us. We went there from 8am to 8pm every day for four weeks. Fredrik and his engineer Henrik Udd are also so easy to be around. We can be relaxed around these two, and just be ourselves, which was very important.” The man who mixed the album was Jens Bogren, one of the top names in the metal field at the moment. Bogren got the job after doing a test mix of a demo from the band. They were so impressed that he was given the entire album to do. “We wanted the style to come across as if it were the five of us playing together in a room, but also very precise. Jens has done an amazing job.” Just how much time and thought has gone into this album is also heightened by the involvement of artist Costin Chioreanu, who worked on the cover for Anders Björler’s 2013 solo album ‘Antikythera’. What Chioreanu has done is to create a different illustration for every song. “He requested all of the lyrics, and then used these as inspiration for every piece of art he’s done for this. He’s put a lot of thought and effort into what has been created.” The colours used in these impressive illustrations reflect the overall atmosphere in the music, being bleak, yet never depressing. It also accentuates the band’s old school attitude, in that it has a vinyl aptitude, harking back to the days when fans would spend literally hours poring over an album sleeve analysing every detail, because this was seen as being a crucial part of the overall effect. Lindberg believes that the album should be judged on its own merits and not compared to what the band have done before. In fact, AT THE GATES have always made a point of moving forward with each succeeding release. They are not a band who are content to repeat whatever’s been successful before. “That’s why each of our records sounds different to the rest. I’d say that ‘At War With Reality’ is aggressive, which is what you might expect. Yet it’s also darker than we’ve been.” Above all else, this is an album capturing the honesty and integrity that has always defined AT THE GATES, making them one of the most significant extreme metal names of the past 25 years. Since their original formation in 1990, this is a band who’ve never been less than true to themselves. They haven’t tried to second guess trends or fan behaviour, but always recorded what they know to be music that comes from within. “Our first priority was to ensure we were happy with this album. And we are very satisfied with the way it sounds. Now, it’s time for everyone else to make up their minds. I feel confident, though, we have done something our fans will enjoy.”

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Fort Laudi Gras

FREE ADMISSION 3-11PM

Authentic New Orleans Music featuring: The Lee Boys, Parker Urban Band, and Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio

Hundreds or pounds of Crawfish and Oysters!

Family Friendly, All Ages Welcome

BEADS, BEADS AND BEADS COSTUME CONTEST

Crawfish Boil by Shuck and Dive

Street Performers

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Super Sunday Funday

The Premier Branded Merchandise company, Wizard Creations, Inc. &America’s Backyard have joined forces to create the ultimate, “Super Sunday Funday,” “Big Game” Party. The event will consist of a General Admission area open to the public as well as special VIP section for invited guests, sponsors & paid VIP attendees. The concept is for the party to cater to all demographics via a “Day Time” event with dueling bands, outdoor games, food & drinks, while at night the sports enthusiasts can enjoy watching the “Big Game,” on dozens of screens at one of the funnest outdoor venues in South Florida!

The proceeds of this event will benefit the Miami Cancer Institute(Baptist Health).

PARTY WITH US FROM DAY TILL NIGHT:

Live Music (2 bands- Uproot Hootenanny & Pour Life Decisions Band), Cornhole, BBQ Food Included, Beer, Titos Vodka Drink Specials, DJ, BIG game shown on ALL TV’s, Raffle Prizes & MORE!!

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Fort Laudi Gras

FREE ADMISSION 3-11PM

Authentic New Orleans Music featuring: The Lee Boys, Parker Urban Band, and Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio

Hundreds or pounds of Crawfish and Oysters!

Family Friendly, All Ages Welcome

BEADS, BEADS AND BEADS COSTUME CONTEST

Crawfish Boil by Shuck and Dive

Street Performers

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99 Jamz Uncensored featuring: Trick Daddy

One of the most thuggish rappers ever embraced by the mainstream, Trick Daddy broke out of the South in 2001 with “I’m a Thug” and established himself as an unlikely national superstar. Before his breakthrough, he scored a few regional hits here and there but remained largely an underground rapper. In particular, he became known for his club anthems, which were characterized by their rousing beats and his rowdy lyrics. “Nann Nigga” and “Shut Up” became his best-known early successes, each featuring a feisty young rapper named Trina, who would go on to her own success in subsequent years. When Trick Daddy finally did break into the mainstream in 2001 with the appropriately titled “I’m a Thug,” it came as somewhat of a surprise. No one questioned his talent, but his image hardly matched that of other mainstream rappers. He certainly lived up to his thug billing, known as much for his rapping as his trademark omnipresent grimace, bald head, prickly whiskers, forearm tattoos, and gold grill. Nevertheless, thug or not, Trick Daddy became a national superstar, earning substantial mainstream airplay and climbing atop the Billboard charts.

Born Maurice Young in Miami, Florida, the rapper originally known as Trick Daddy Dollars earned his stripes in 1996 as one of the lead rappers on Luke’s “Scarred,” the leadoff track from the former 2 Live Crew leader’s Uncle Luke album. The song became a sizable hit among the booty crowd, and listeners were drawn to the remarkably fluid and quick flow of Trick Daddy Dollars. Among those drawn to him was Ted Lucas, a former concert promoter who signed the rapper to his newly formed Slip-n-Slide Records. The debut Trick Daddy Dollars album, Based on a True Story, came soon after, released in late 1997. The album sold well for an independent release, driven by some regional hits, but didn’t impress too many people outside of the Miami area.

A year later everything changed with the release of www.thug.com (1998). Trick Daddy dropped the “Dollars” from his name and scored himself a break-out hit with “Nann Nigga,” a club-banger that pitted him against a female nemesis, the then-unknown Trina. The hit spread throughout the South and even trickled out into the Midwest and Southwest, so much so that Atlantic Records took interest and signed Trick Daddy to a record deal. The first Atlantic release, Book of Thugs: Chapter AK Verse 47 (2000), fulfilled its promise, setting the stage for the rappers eventual commercial breakthrough. Driven by “Shut Up,” a rowdy club hit similar to “Nann Nigga” and again featuring Trina, Book of Thugs extended Trick Daddy’s reputation from coast to coast and established him as one of the Dirty South’s more promising talents.

The big payoff came a year later with the release of Thugs Are Us (2001), the album that catapulted Trick Daddy alongside Ludacris and Mystikal as one of the few nationally championed Dirty South rappers, and it similarly catapulted him onto the playlist of every urban radio station in America, not to mention MTV. In particular, the album boasted “I’m a Thug,” Trick Daddy’s biggest hit yet, and more importantly, his most accessible. Despite his tattoos, gold grill, and overall thuggish aura, Trick Daddy earned mainstream airplay and climbed the Billboard charts. A year later he did so again with his fifth album in six years, Thug Holiday (2002), and its lead single, “In da Wind,” perhaps Trick Daddy’s most inventive work yet. Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets appeared two years later, boasting the hit “Let’s Go,” a Lil Jon production notable for its heavy sampling of Ozzy Osbourne’s heavy metal classic “Crazy Train.” Returning to the street sound that made him famous, the 2006 release Back by Thug Demand was a more traditional Trick Daddy album. In 2009 he launched his own Dunk Ryders label with the album Finally Famous: Born a Thug Still a Thug. His 2012 mixtape, Dick & Dynamite, announced the launch of another label, this time simply called Trick Daddy Music. The U Already Know EP followed on the label in 2014

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Europe

EUROPE — A legendary name for a legendary band. Over three decades after they came together and dozens of millions albums sold, Joey Tempest (vocals), John Norum (guitars), Mic Michaeli (keyboards), John Leven (bass) and Ian Haugland (drums) are set to release their TENTH Studio album in March 2015.

WAR OF KINGS is released World wide on German based label UDR, with JVC Victor handling release in Japan. Produced by Dave Cobb, War of Kings has the sound and deep expression that only great musicians with experience can produce.

As Joey puts it “War Of Kings is the album we always wanted to make, ever since we were kids listening to bands like Zeppelin, Purple and Sabbath.”

A brief history that brings us to now:

It all started in a small suburb outside of Stockholm, Sweden. Joey and John met and formed the band Force. They both were into British rock bands like Thin Lizzy and UFO.

Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple also made an immense impact on these teenagers. They recorded their first demos when they were only 16 and 17 years old. Record companies turned them down, saying it was ′too much guitars and their hair was too long′. But with the new name Europe they proved everybody wrong. They won a rock band competition and the first prize was a recording contract. When “Europe” was released in 1983, kids in Sweden and Japan really identified with their music. The second album ′Wings of Tomorrow′ already gained attention from all over the world. Soon Epic Records, New York (now Sony Music) got interested and signed a million dollar contract. When it was time to release their third album ′The Final Countdown′, they had Journey—producer Kevin Elson onboard and a major American label behind them. Touring the UK, US and the rest of the world had always been the boys dream. They had put in the dog years and it was time for the big success. ′The Final Countdown′ sold 7 million records worldwide and the single was number one in over 25 countries and still is a big anthem all over the world until today. The album spent 70 weeks on the Billboard Charts and had four Top 40 singles. Europe made it. They were constantly on the road all over the world but eventually found time to hook up with producer Ron Nevison (UFO, Led Zeppelin) to record their 4th album ′Out Of This World′. With the new hit ′Superstitious′ on the airwaves, they embarked on another 2—year—long world tour. In 1990 they relocated to Los Angeles to record their 5th album, ′Prisoners In Paradise′, followed by yet another extensive world tour. By then the band had constantly been recording and touring for 10 years and it was time for a break.

2004 the band returned with the powerful ′Start From The Dark′. The plan was to slowly build up a relationship with fans and the music world again. The album caused controversy with its raw, heavy detuned sound, but was a great platform to build on. 2006 they recorded ′Secret Society′ — another heavy rocking album. With this album, the British rock press started to take the band serious. The band continued to tour worldwide but now started to get invited to play the UK on a regular basis, with steadily increasing concert attendees. One of their most successful record since returning to the scene was released in 2009: ′Last Look At Eden′. With the bombastic title track and the ballad ′New Love In Town′, Europe broadened their fan base even more to become one of the most successful bands in their genre and returned to the pole position of the official album charts in their home country. At the end of April 2012, the 9th Europe—album, ′Bag Of Bones′, recorded at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm, was released worldwide. Spawning the singles/videos ′Not Supposed To Sing The Blues′ and ′Firebox′, The Kevin Shirley produced record did such a great job capturing the spirit of this band. With continued touring and an ever growing fan base, Europe entered the brand new PanGaia Studios in Stockholm (the first band to ever to record there) to record ′War of Kings′. In keeping with the vibe of the previous two releases and in hopes to take their newfound creativity to even higher levels, the band chose producer american producer Dave Cobb who had done such an amazing job on recent releases by Rival Sons. Joey adds “And after hearing Dave Cobb amazing production for Rival Sons we simply had to work with him!”

And the result is an immense album that corners everything this band is about in 2015 — a huge ′classic′ sound that encompasses the bands talent and draws from all the classic bands and influences from the 70′s, with a vital current sound!

′War of Kings′ the album, featuring the title track as first single (released February 2nd) is unleashed on the public the day the WOK World tour starts — March 2nd 2015, with the band playing Dublin Ireland for the first time in 25 years. What a great way to kick it all off.

Joey Tempest: “Hey! We took the long road! But we wanted to re—establish Europe the proper way. It′s taken 10 years and countless tours since the reunion, but we′re finally getting there and we′ve done it our way!

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Dzeko & Torres

From the front row of a Tiësto show to a coveted spot on the Dutch megastar’s management roster, the story of Dzeko & Torres is equal parts dream and determination.

The Canadian duo initially found each other through an online forum for Toronto club events. At the time, Luis (Torres) was working as a photographer and graphic designer, and Julian (Dzeko) as an event promoter. The two became fast friends and began DJing around the city’s club circuit and producing together on borrowed studio time while juggling part-time jobs. Their first electronic dance music moment of reckoning came at that Tiësto show, which provided a clarion call to pursue their musical passions full-time.

“Tiësto was our main influence and inspiration,” says Dzeko. “After we saw him at that show and playing on that scale, we knew we were interested in doing that too.”

The co-producers got serious about their studio work, releasing a highly regarded remix of Jus Jack’s “Can’t Wait” featuring Black Dog. The track caught the attention of Tiësto, who featured it on his Club Life podcast in 2011. For the two Canadian kids who had come up idolizing the artist, Tiësto’s support provided a musical springboard that encouraged them to continue chasing their dance music ambitions.

“We weren’t the best producers at the time, but we knew we were doing something right to have him support our stuff,” says Dzeko. “We decided then and there to give this thing a shot as a profession.”

Over the course of a series of standout releases on such top tier imprints as Mixmash Records, Dim Mak and CR2 Records, Dzeko & Torres built a name for themselves on the back of their distinctive melodic sound, which they also explored on innovative remix reworks of indie favorites like Capital Cities and Imagine Dragons. The loyal fan base they accrued through their beloved podcast and ten-minute annual recap mixes helped elevate them to new headlining horizons and festival appearances at Ultra Music Festival, Tomorrowland and Tomorrowworld.

Throughout their stylistic evolution and swiftly growing success, the duo continually kept Tiësto in the loop by sending tracks and demos. Their perseverance paid off at the end of 2013 when their musical mentor signed them to his management group at Red Light Management, a landmark event that the duo don’t hesitate to call “a dream come true.” Their Musical Freedom debut “Highline” dropped soon after, showcasing the intuition for upbeat melodies that put them on Tiësto’s radar in the first place. The subsequent months were a welcome whirlwind for Dzeko & Torres, who have supported Tiësto at his Hakkasan Las Vegas residency and even appeared alongside the superstar during his headline performance at Ultra Music Festival’s main stage.

2014 found the duo capitalizing on their considerable potential. After teaming up with Tiësto for his album cut “Can’t Forget” and a marquee remix of John Martin’s “Anywhere For You,” Dzeko & Torres consistently scaled the Beatport charts with originals like “For You” (No. 1 Progressive House), collaborations with Borgeous and MOTi, and widely supported remixes of ZHU’s “Faded” and ”ODESZA’s “All We Need” (No. 1 Beatport Pulse). Their momentum led to new bookings at major festivals like EDC Las Vegas, as well as a formative world tour that took them to India, Indonesia, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Switzerland, Czech, and Scotland. With a slew of forthcoming originals including a collaboration with KSHMR and remixes for top talent like Kygo on deck, 2015 is shaping out to be the team’s tipping point towards stardom.

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Papadosio with The Mantras

Mesmerizing, spellbinding and genre-defying: With their fourth full-length studio release Extras In A Movie, Papadosio reveals a striking cinematic cornucopia of sounds: orchestral, electronic, organic, acoustic, psychedelic and celestial. The 16 selections that comprise the song cycle are concise and structured – launch pads for the improvisational excursions that are a hallmark of the band’s celebrated concert performances.    “The writing process was a challenge for us, to see if we could integrate some songs that were shorter than five minutes,” notes the band. They envisioned the title Extras In A Movie as a concept connected to themes of interpersonal interactions and relationships.   Hitting virtually all major and secondary U.S. music locales and select festivals across North America, Papadosio tours on a massive scale but maintains a close intimacy with their fans. With the new project they are expanding their collective stylistic palette.  “We like to have a lot of colors,” they explain. “We’re starting to push that envelope in the way we want to go – to give the people who are at the shows more of a variety of emotions. We don’t have filters. We record what’s happening.”   Originally from the creative collegiate hotbed of Athens, Ohio, the band is now centered in Asheville, North Carolina. Not that they are homebodies as they clarify. “For the past five or six years we’ve done maybe 150 dates a year and have been gone for 200 days. We were cutting back a little, but now with the new project the number of shows is about to go way back up.”    Extras In A Movie balances Papadosio’s celestial sonic ambience with an organic edge and multiple guitars, both electric and acoustic. “A lot more guitar in general,” they say. “ That’s something new with this record.” What also distinguishes the new music is the prominence of their vocals. Extras In A Movie opens with a dense, harmonic introduction titled “The Last Leaf” and across the span of songs emerges subliminal echoes of prog-rock forefathers like Jethro Tull, Yes and Genesis.    Trippy titles abound: “Gazing the Great Oscillator,” “Moon Entendre,” Anima Mundi.” Noting that these designations often come late in the creative process, if the band can’t find a suitable name, they might invent a word. “Obove” is such a creation. In the lexicon of Papadosio it is a term that references “an over arcing emotion.”       While the band gleefully dismisses observations on their collective intellect, an exegesis of their themes indicates complex underpinnings. A new song, “Therian” was inspired by archeological cave paintings depicting creatures that are half-beast and half human. “Bypass Default” is a treatise on being nagged by all of the earth’s problems, and is appropriately discordant. “The Wrong Nostalgia” includes a take on modern radio with the line “Who sold these assholes on the airwaves?” — lyrics with an edge and a bite.   It is the band’s wish that Extras In A Movie will enchant loyal fans and introduce new audiences to the Papadosio universe. “Our intention is to give people music that can be themes in their lives so they can connect to the music. To provide them with a place to hang out so they don’t feel weird in what they are thinking — to give their brains and their hearts a home.”

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Marianas Trench – The Hey You Guys!! Tour

Not only is Marianas Trench the deepest known spot in any ocean (located in the floor of the North Pacific Ocean), it’s also a Vancouver-based rock band that is the brainchild of vocalist/guitarist Josh Ramsay. Ramsay — whose dad once owned the Little Mountain Sound studio that recorded bands like Aerosmith and AC/DC in the ’80s, and whose vocal teacher mom recorded and toured with Leonard Cohen for two years — had been writing and recording since his teen years. He unsurprisingly learned to track his own songs early on, crafting music under the influence of rock and pop-punk bands as well as vocal groups with an ear for bright harmonies. Still a teenager, he began shopping his solo stuff around and took plenty of advice for improvement over the next several years. The rotating cast of musicians in the band that eventually appeared around Ramsay settled down by the early 2000s with people from the local scene: guitarist Steve Marshall, keyboardist Matt Webb, bassist Morgan Hempsted, and drummer Ian Casselman. Initially, they were called Ramsay Fiction, and the frontman’s persistence paid off when the band finally scored a deal with 604 Records (co-founded by Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger) in early 2003. By the 2006 release of their debut, however, the group — by then called Marianas Trench — comprised Ramsay alongside Casselman, guitarist/vocalist Matt Webb, and bassist/vocalist Michael Ayley. Their label debut, Fix Me, surfaced in the fall of 2006, and the single “Say Anything” soon broke into the Top Three on the Canadian singles chart; “Decided to Break It” also did well on radio and MuchMusic. Marianas Trench then contributed a song (“Alibis”) to the spring 2007 soundtrack for ABC Family’s popular teen sci-fi show Kyle XY. Their sophomore effort, Masterpiece Theatre, was released in 2009 and quickly became both a critical and commercial success after going platinum in their native Canada. Feeling ambitious, Marianas Trench decided to try their hand at a concept record, in 2011 releasing the more narrative Ever After, which was reissued with bonus material in the U.S. in 2014. A pair of singles, “Pop 101” and “Here’s to the Zeroes,” were released that same year, both were later included on the four-song EP Something Old/Something New, which showed up in early 2015. In keeping with their conceptual themes, the Marianas Trench’s fourth LP, the Goonies-referencing Astoria, arrived later that year and was inspired by fantasy and adventure movies of the ’80s.