It seems to be that the energy shots are the new big thing when it comes to individuals trying to gain and maintain energy. Where much of the use of these energy shots are for those that are not trying to increase their fitness, I contend that there are serious benefits gained by taking energy shots for those that have an active fitness regimen. However, there is substantial variation in…
The June 24 season premiere of Young, Broke & Beautiful (IFC) features a live performance from Retox and an interview with Justin Pearson. Retox’s debut album, Ugly Animals, is available late August via Ipecac Recordings. The band members are Justin Pearson (The Locust, All Leather, Some Girls, Swing Kids), Gabe Serbian (The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, Holy Molar, Rats Eyes), Michael Crain (Festival of Dead Deer) and Thor Dickey. Retox tour…
It has been a few years since the last time that we covered a Dustin O’Halloran title, but ey does a great job in reminding listeners where ey has been at the beginning of “Lumiere”. The disc’s first track, “A Great Divide”, corresponds to the distance that ey has placed between efforts like “Piano Solos Vol. 2”, as well as providing listeners with hints to what will follow over the…
Bluegrass ambassadors, The Steep Canyon Rangers (SCR), have just signed with Rounder Records. SCR’s lead singer Woody Platt says the Rangers “are honored to join Rounder Records and be a part of such a rich musical history. We plan to record our new project in October of this year and hope to have an early 2012 release.” They recently joined iconic comedian, Steve Martin, on his sophomore album entitled Rare…
Detroit Michigan’s BATTLECROSS has just released the artwork and tracklisting for the band’s full-length debut Pursuit of Honor, out August 2nd in North America. A band that incorporates many elements of extreme thrash, death and tech metal, creating a precise blend of fist pumping brutality, intensity, and drive, BATTLECROSS satisfies both the technical metal aficionado and the casual heavy metal listener alike. The band comments on album artwork that was…
The initial tour dates have been announced for the 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival featuring multi-platinum headliner Avenged Sevenfold, also featuring main stage artists Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine and Escape The Fate. The touring music and lifestyle festival also includes Best Buy Music Gear Stage headliners Sevendust, as well as Black Tide, Art Of Dying and The Black Cloud Collective. The Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR…
We have not had much opportunity at this point to cover anything for our Fitness section besides workout supplements. However, the amount of equipment that can be purchased by an individual concerned about their fitness is nearly infinite. We were able to receive a Schiek Ab Strap to kick off our section, and are still using it in our workouts. This Ab Strap has multiple functions, allowing individuals to do…
“Dave Matthews Band Caravan” is a traveling festival featuring a diverse array of artists performing on three different stages. WHO: A total of 41 acts will perform over the course of three days, with headliners Dave Matthews Band – known for such hits as “What Would You Say,” “Crash Into Me,” “Too Much,” “Everyday,” “American Baby” and “Funny the Way it Is” – playing a full set each of the…
It has been a few years since the last time we have covered a Goldenboy record. We were big fans of the band for their “Underneath the Radio”, but the sheer amount of time that has passed between the releases of this title and today means that what issues forth on “Different Moon” is considerably different from anything that we have covered in the past. In fact, the only thing…
Polyvinyl is pleased to announce the release of Closer to Closed, Braid’s highly anticipated, long-awaited follow up 1998’s seminal Frame and Canvas. Closer to Closed is the first collection of new Braid material in over a decade and will be available August 16th on limited edition 180-gram white vinyl, CD, and digital formats. All pre-orders will include an instant MP3 download, making the new music available for fans to listen…
There are few bands currently creating music that are able to imbue their own unique sound with the atmospheric feel of where they live. Other Lives do that with “Tamer Animals”, their latest release on TBD records. “As I Lay My Head Down” creates tremendous soundscapes full of open spaces and lonely feelings. The title speaks not only to sleep but to tremendous emotion, a thread that is continued throughout…
Scarlet Season is the stage name of Aileen Paron, a self-taught pianist whose desire for autonomy and passion for learning all things musical inspired her to take the DIY approach to recording, programming, and composing. Paron produced the Scarlet Season debut album The Taxidermist herself with co-production by Matt Frickelton of The Fading Collection. Critics are already praising the album’s swirling synths, pretty pianos, nasty bass, and moody electronic elements…
Individuals are very apt to believe that there is little that can typically go wrong or differ between the different types of medicine balls. However, there are quite a few ways in which quality can vary. For example, the rubber outer shell can begin to split or leave residue on an individual’s hands. We received a 10 pound medicine ball for review from fitness company Valeo, and after a few…
There will always be limitation with the source material that an older film is pulled from. However, in transferring 1961’s The Hustler from its original reel, Fox has imbued a sharpness to it that is hard to deny. With the crisp video print and corresponding sharp audio track, I cannot help but imagine that this is what moviegoers saw back in 1961. The film stars Paul Newman as a pool…
The new, as yet untitled album from The Devil Wears Prada, one of the brightest rising stars in the metalcore world, has been completed and is set for a September 13 release (Ferret). This will be the band’s first full-length album since 2009’s critically-acclaimed With Roots Above and Branches Below; TDWP’s most recent release, last summer’s 5-track conceptual Zombie EP (called the band’s “best release to date” by one media…
I am pretty surprised that I missed out on Party Animals when it first aired, on BBC Two in 2007. The show, which featured Matt Smith, Andrew Buchan and Shelley Conn, was only greenlit for the course of one season. However, BFS Entertainment has found it and has given it a new lease on life with this DVD set release. Party Animals showcases the sometimes hard to believe lives of…
After Monk ended its run, I really did not think that USA was going to have any sort of show to fill the void. After watching the first season of White Collar, I believe that I was wrong – White Collar shows that there are cable shows that (at the very least) can approach the quality of writing and acting of network shows. Lead actor Matt Bomer (Neal Caffrey) still…
In a period where the visual is key and a band gains followers based on the sound that they generate, creating a behind the scenes book for your project does not necessarily seem to be the most prudent course of action. However, Lamb of God has done just that with “The Making of New American Gospel”, a full tome of information, tabs, and even further education about the nuanced playing…
7/13 Belly Up – San Diego, CA 7/15 Grand Performances – Los Angeles, CA 7/16 Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA 7/17 Reggae On The River – Garberville, CA 7/20 Artown – Reno, NV 7/22 Celebrate Brooklyn – Brooklyn, NY 7/23 Grassroots Festival – Trumansburg, NY 7/24 Hillside Festival – Guelph, ON 7/29 Manuel Artime Theater – Miami, FL 7/30 Floydfest – Floyd, VA
This DVD captures the final season of the Stagate phenomenon, and was the final season broadcasted of Stargate Universe. The show was stuck between a rock and a hard place, though – it broke free of the limitations that previous seasons of Stargate had placed on itself while keeping things fresh. Where there was a shift to a more character-driven (rather than storyline-driven) episodes, the show seemed to contain some…