news on bands/labels that we think is worth reading...

bayside to record "sirens and condolences" -- 09.12.03
long island-based bayside have finalized recording plans and are excited to announce that they will enter phase studio in college park, maryland on october 7th to record their new album, "sirens and condolences". producer j. robbins, known for his work with jawbox, burning airlines, fairweather and jets to brazil, will be on board as well. "we are such fans of the records j has worked on, so we are really excited to have the opportunity to work with him," said anthony, guitarist/vocalist of bayside. they will spend about a month in the studio, then head out on tour during november and december. bayside have received great reviews from alternative press, skratch, punk planet, and many other music magazines. look for "sirens and condolences" to release in early 2004.

snapcase, catch 22 and victory video collection volume 3 to release november 4th -- 09.12.03
catch 22 have long been a favorite of punk fans everywhere, and they are back with their first full length release in three years, "dinosaur sounds". the new record, titled as a tongue-in-cheek comment on the state of ska-punk, has 11 songs about growing up, loving, losing, and of course, drinking. catch 22 are known for combining influences in their sound, and "dinosaur sounds" brings punk, ska, soul, metal and motown to the table. catch 22 will be on tour through the fall, click here for dates in your area!
snapcase have made a career combining philosophy and social critiques with aggressive music - their latest, "bright flashes," expands on their previous catalog with remixes from folks like the rise, "missing" songs from "end transmission" and some choice covers of jane's addiction, devo and helmet.
the latest victory video collection volume 3, contains uncensored versions of videos by atreyu, taking back sunday, spitalfield, silverstein, freya, minus, darkest hour, waterdown, the reunion show, count the stars and ten foot pole by notable directors like darren doane and christian winters.

glasseater tour in support of "everything is beautiful when you dont look down" -- 09.12.03
glasseater's new album, "everything is beautiful when you don't look down" released august 26th and the band will be on tour from september 24th to december 4th in support. there are several tours, the most notable is with sick of it all on the west coast! the new album has received rave reviews in publications like revolver, boston globe, cmj and college times and its a hit at college radio. click here for the entire tour itinerary.

count the stars recovering from accident, cancel the juliana theory tour -- 09.12.03
count the stars were forced to cancel their tour with the juliana theory while singer/guitarist chris kasarjian recovers from a collapsed lung resulting from their van accident last weekend. they are eager to get back on the road soon, so watch this spot for announcements of new tour dates soon. they are accepting donations to offset their large post-accident bills, if you are interested in posting the information visit www.countthestars.com.

between the buried and me tour with a life once lost -- 09.12.03
between the buried and me have delivered an intense new album, "the silent circus", which will hit the streets october 21st, with labelmates all out war's condemned to suffer. they will celebrate by touring in october and november with a life once lost.

premonitions of war -- 09.12.03
one of victory's newest signings, toledo's premonitions of war bring their thunderous roar to mana recording studios in tampa, florida for recording from october 12-29th. erik rutan will be producing the album - he is well known for his work in hate eternal as for playing in morbid angel. other bands who have perfected their heavy sounds at mana are hate eternal and malevolent creation. the album will release early in 2003.

havochate to play select dates on overkill tour -- 09.12.03
new york thrashers havochate have been confirmed to join overkill on select dates on overkill’s current tour. havochate is supporting its debut album, "this violent earth", which was released last month via root of all evil records. overkill’s "killbox 13", the 13th studio album from the legendary new jersey thrash band, was released earlier this year through spitfire records. overkill can truly be called one of the pioneers of thrash and has been noted for its commitment to staying true to its distinct, uncompromising sound. through the course of two decades, overkill has earned critical acclaim around the world. havochate is carrying on the same old school thrash tradition on "this violent earth". though still a relatively young band, the group has had the opportunity to play -and impress crowds- on tours with likes of motorhead, anthrax, manowar, immortal, and usurper. (see shows section for dates)

the a.k.a.s (are everywhere!) -- 09.11.03
"an anthemic musical middle finger for angry young lovers everywhere. fearless and ferocious dance-hall fight music" - witness. the day is finally here! "white doves & smoking guns" is now in stores. head out to any tower records location to pick up the cd for only $9.99 (for a limited time only). the artwork on this thing is crazy. check out a copy of it to see what i'm talking about. catch the a.k.a.s (are everywhere!) on their "one night only" tour now. (see shows section for dates)

the fest -- 09.11.03
the fest is back, baby! the fest will be making its return to the gritty streets of gainesville on october 17th and 18th. hot water music, mastodon, against me, the lawrence arms, small brown bike and about 60 other bands will take over six venues all over town. two-day passes are available now in the fbr webstore for $21.50 (passes are $30 the weekend of the fest). check out the fest website for more info.

help get count the stars back on their feet -- 09.08.03
taken from www.countthestars.com
during the week following our accident everyone has been VERY concerned and supportive. many bands have offered their trailer and van to borrow, friends have offered to get us deals on equipment, etc... we can't express how much we appreciate this and deep gratitude we feel toward them. the accident totaled our van and trailer and to replace these things will be a cumbersome financial burden. count the stars as a band has always been very self sufficient and very self reliable but at this time we are not ready for such cost and therefore are respectfully asking that if anyone who would like to donate in any way to do so and we will forever be in your debt. all donations will be mentioned on the website and the sooner we can get the funds the sooner we can be back on the road and coming to your town to rock. thanks again for your continued love and support, we owe you the world.
with deepest gratitude, the boys of count the stars
you can submit all donations through www.paypal.com to dave@countthestars.com or mail to:
count the stars
35 journey ln
glenmont, ny 12077

taking back sunday and flavor flav team up for "your so last summer" video shoot -- 09.08.03
on sunday, august 24th, taking back sunday teamed up with flavor flav to shoot a video for their new single, "your so last summer". filmed under the brooklyn bridge at fulton state park in front of a live audience, the video centers around the performance onstage, with flavor and adam trading lines and doing some very high-energy dancing as well. directed by christian winters, who also shot the band's homage to fight club video, "cute without the 'e' (cut from the team)," "your so last summer" is designed to showcase the taking back sunday's new lineup as well as their charismatic live performance and irreverent sense of humor.
the idea to invite flavor flav to perform in the video came about during a lunch between drummer mark o'connell, singer adam lazzara and video director christian winters. mark suggested flavor flav for several reasons, the most compelling being that they are long island natives who share in hometown pride. "he's my homey, yo!" mark laughed, "basically he's from roosevelt and i'm from rockville centre, we're neighbors on the island, and i have always seen him all over town - at parades and stuff, even shopping at wal-mart. he never moved into manhattan, i thought it was cool that he loved long island and stayed here, and i thought he had the right personality and sense of humor to fit in with us."
with the video complete and poised for service to mtv and fuse tv, taking back sunday have an action-packed fall season. saturday, september 6th, they joined blink-182 at 4th and b in san diego to play a benefit for professional surfer jason bogle, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. jimmy kimmel live welcomes taking back sunday for their network television debut tomorrow, tuesday, september 9th on abc. don't miss their incendiary live performance on the big outdoor stage, there are suprises planned!
taking back sunday hit the road shortly thereafter, on a full u.s. tour beginning friday, september 12th with saves the day, hitting every major market through the end of november. for tour dates, click here. taking back sunday have sold 250,000 of their debut album, "tell all your friends," were on the cover of alternative press and have been featured in rolling stone, spin, ym, new york times and billboard, among many other publications.

count the stars in highway accident (victory press release) -- 09.08.03
one of the hardest touring bands on victory, count the stars ground to a halt saturday morning after a bad accident left their van and trailer totaled and singer/guitarist chris kasarjian in the hospital with broken ribs, a collapsed lung and stitches. after their driver lost control of the van, the trailer ripped off its hitch and flew twenty feet into the air, hitting a tree and coming apart, scattering the band's merch and equipment. the van flipped several times, causing kasarjian's injuries but only bruises and minor cuts on the rest of the band and crew. the band will be cancelling their appearances on the juliana theory tour through at least september 20th, the dates following are contingent on chris's recovery, so check at http://www.victoryrecords.com/tours.html
since the release of their debut, "never be taken alive," count the stars have enjoyed a deluge of critical praise from the likes of rollingstone.com, boston phoenix, la weekly, ride bmx, outburn and amp magazine to name a few. their first radio single, "taking it all back" is receiving spins at commercial alternative stations across the u.s., while the video has been spinning at mtv2 and fuse tv. visit www.victoryrecords.com or www.counthestars.com to learn more about count the stars.

count the stars accident -- 09.07.03
we here at skeezmo[dot]net adore the count the stars boys very much, and were saddend to hear the news about the crash. cts are in our thoughts and prayers, and we're very thankful no one was killed. here's a message from adam to give details on what happened:
as you may have heard or are finding out about as we speak, on saturday, sept.6 at approximately 10:45 in the am. count the stars were in an accident that totalled their van & trailer. the van flipped 3 times and did a complete 180 degree turn before coming to a rest atop a pile of rocks at the side of the highway. inside of the van were the four members of the band (myself included), their longtime friends, eric tobin tour manager extreme, and dan the singer/guitarist of the ct. based band red chester. considering the severity of the crash and the harm done to both vehicles (van & trailer) little harm was done to the 6 passegers. the most severely injured was chris our singer guitarist who suffered a collapsed lung and some contusions on his head. he is still currently in the hospital where he is recovering as i speak. we are very appreciative and thankful for your concerns. we hope to be back on the final few weeks of the juliana thoery tour as long as all the recoveries go accordingly. thanks... -adam/cts

punk goes acoustic finally in stores october 21st -- 09.05.03
we at fearless records are proud to announce that punk goes acoustic will finally be coming out! the release will be in stores on october 21st 2003. the upcoming release is the third volume in our series of "punk goes" compilations. appropriately entitled "punk goes acoustic" this collection will once again feature an all-star lineup of everyone's favorite up and coming independent artists playing some of their most popular songs acoustically. past volumes (v/a "punk goes metal" and v/a "punk goes pop") have featured acts like afi, new found glory, the ataris, yellowcard, strung out and others doing brilliant versions of themed cover songs. punk goes acoustic will involve the biggest lineup yet with contributions from past "heavy hitters" as well as the newest and brightest doing exclusive versions of their own popular songs. punk goes acoustic is destined to be the most popular yet in this ongoing series of themed collections.
the track listing this time around is as follows:
open hand - time to talk, thrice - trust, yellowcard - firewater, sugarcult - memory, finch - letters to you, thursday - a hole in the world, the starting line - playing favorites, strung out - velvet alley, the ataris - eight of nine, taking back sunday - cute without the e, from autumn to ashes - chloroform perfume, rise against - swing life away, piebald - the king, rufio - over it, strike anywhere - chalk line, noise ratchet - away to the heart, coalesce - blue collar lullaby, grade - gathering darkness, glasseater - alone in the world, midtown - knew it all along

zakk wylde's black label society -- 09.05.03
the first dvd from zakk wylde’s black label society, "boozed, broozed & broken-boned", was released august 12 via eagle vision. "boozed, broozed & broken-boned", recorded live in front of a sold-out crowd at harpo’s in detroit, features an interview, a zakk wylde guitar lesson, music videos for "stillborn" (directed by rob zombie) and "counterfeit god", a photo gallery, and a discography, in addition to the band’s live set. the dvd entered the soundscan music video chart at #3. www.zakkwylde.com/www.eaglerockent.com

celldweller -- 09.05.03
electronic rock band celldweller has begun playing its first live shows in support of its self-titled debut, released earlier this year on esion media/position music. the live band consists of klayton (vocals/guitars/keys), dale van norman (guitar/keys), kemikal (bass/guitar/keys), and chase (acoustic/electronic drums). www.celldweller.com

the exploited -- 09.05.03
it’s time to lace up those doc martens. the exploited are gearing up for their first u.s. tour in 12 years. on september 10, wattie and the boys begin reeking havoc nation-wide in support of their latest release, "f**k the system". the band is looking forward to playing in front of old and new fans alike. their high-energy live show is not to be missed, and rest assured the exploited have not mellowed with age. wattie is still a stubborn punk. www.spitfire.com

havochate -- 09.05.03
havochate’s "this violent earth" was released july 29th through root of all evil records. the new york thrashers will be announcing fall tour plans shortly. www.havochate.com/www.rootofallevil.com

kittie -- 09.05.03
kittie and producer garth richardson have added important new claims to their complaint against artemis records detailing additional ways that the label undermined and failed to fulfill its most basic obligations to the band. the lawsuit cites sheridan square entertainment, the parent company of artemis records, for numerous breaches of contract and breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing. the suit now seeks the band’s release from its contract as well as restitution and compensation for interference with band management and inadequate support and promotion. artemis’ actions and failures to fulfill its obligations under its contract with kittie resulted in a loss of at least $2 million for the band. www.kittie.net

nj metal and hardcore fest -- 09.05.03
based on the success of the past five new england metal and hardcore festivals in massachusetts, massconcerts has decided to expand the festival, bringing it to convention hall in asbury park, n.j., on november 14 and 15 as the new jersey metal and hardcore festival. the show’s lineup will be announced soon. the new jersey metal and hardcore fest will follow the same format as the annual new england festival but on a larger scale, as allowed by the larger size of the new jersey venue. www.njmetalandhardcorefest.com

ohgr -- 09.05.03
the video for :majik" from ohgr’s sophomore offering, "sunnypsyop", is now in rotation on muchmusic’s "loud" program. it’s also in regular rotation on the digital channel loud and may be viewed online by logging on to ohgr’s website. the video was shot in the artmoic studios in los angeles with thomas kuntz, who also designed the characters in the video. additional design of objects and gear was provided by erik whittaker. ohgr is the post-industrial electronic band featuring skinny puppy frontman ogre and mark walk. www.ohgr.com/www.spitfirerecords.com

celebrity on tour with the juliana theory, hopesfall and count the stars -- 08.18.03
"lovesick" out now on doghouse records
"8 out of 10. celebrity could be america's answer to doves, just watch them fly." -rock sound uk
"with references to the emo passion of sunny day real estate balanced against the cool swagger of depeche mode with dashes of radiohead's engaging intensity and my bloody valentine's chaotic density...celebrity are one of those rare bands that can effectively access influences from 15 years ago and still sound contemporary." -amplifier (see shows section for dates)