Music News October 2008

posted in: Music News, October 2008 | 0

Michael Knott [+related]
Michael Knott has been a busy man, as usual. He has started two bands (Struck Last May and The Rovers Three), released several songs on his MySpace page, as well reviving L.S.U. The Rovers Three (see more info at TheRoversThree.com) is a “kind o’ Irish Band” that features Michael, his Dad, and their friend Chuck Daniher that has put out 2 CD-Rs. Struck Last May (StruckLastMay.com) is an experimental electronic-ish band with Rick McDonough that has one release, 16 Flowers, and another on the way. Announcements on the Michael Knott MySpace page indicate that another solo album or project of some kind may be in the works.

L.S.U. has also reformed with Joshua Lory on bass guitar and recorded an album. Jim Chaffin of the Crucified played drums to make what will surely be the heaviest L.S.U. album to date. Matt Biggers, Casey Prestwood, and Masaki Liu also worked on the new album. Fans call also pre-order the CD for $12, which will also get them a copy of a few songs from his lyric book, signed and numbered. Pre-order ends October 15th, so hurry! See MySpace.com/lsunderground.

Western Grace
Joshua Lory of L.S.U. had a punk/rock band called Bury Me Deep that had to reform into a new band called Western Grace. See their MySpace page at MySpace.com/westerngracemusic for song songs from their debut album “Off the Edge of the World”, which is currently be re-worked for release. A second album is also in the works.

Rick McDonough
Rick McDonough of Struck Last May also has two side projects: Hidden From Blackout and Paravell. Hidden From Blackout has an album coming out soon (a “collection of emotional reflections and cinematic soundscapes”), and Paravell already has an album out called “An Evening of Stars and Dreams” on PopVox Music. See:

MySpace.com/hiddenfromblackout
MySpace.com/paravell

Daniel Amos
Daniel Amos is actively re-issuing classic out of print albums. Recent releases included Vox Humana, as well as Terry Taylor’s “Random Acts & Hodgepodge,” the Michael Roe/ Taylor collaboration record “All Day Sing and Dinner on the Ground,” and Swirling Mellow by the Swirling Eddies. Some of these releases feature new packaging or song order. Get’ em while their hot (and in print) online at DanielAmos.com/store/.

In “related (but so cool it deserves its own bullet point)” news, the classic Darn Floor, Big Bite by Daniel Amos is being re-mastered and re-issued by Stunt Records and the Arena Rock Recording Co. The new deluxe 2 disc edition will include new artwork & packaging (including 20 pages of liner notes and photos), a new interview with Terry Taylor, and “never-before-heard” bonus material. Keep an eye on DanielAmos.com for this one.

The 77s + Mike Roe
The 77s have a new album out called Holy Ghost Building, a collection of old gospel, blues and bluegrass tunes that the band felt said something about themselves. See 77s.com for ordering details. The classic 77s Christmas album Happy Chrimbo has also been re-released, and word on the street is that other albums such as the out of print Direct ep could also see the light of say soon.

Mike Roe of the 77s had a late summer solo tour planned, but changed his mind. A recent announcement indicated that there are plans for an upcoming 77s Unplugged / 7&7iS tour this fall.

The Lost Dogs
By the time you read this, The Lost Dogs will probably have completed their uber-cool Route 66 Tour. The goal is record interesting encounters while traveling the historic Mother Road, performing impromptu concerts along the way. Plans are to send out post cards and video blogs along the way, as well as giving fans the chance to follow their moves vie GPS. They even posted the license plate of their RV along with a picture of said RV so that you can find them on the road. The tour will end with a beach party at the Santa Monica pier in California, where the band will share new songs and clips from the road. See TheLostDogs.com for details.

Sincerely Paul + Slide
Thanks in large part to a blog post at ChristianNewWave.WordPress.com, former members of Blonde Vinyl recording artists Sincerely Paul have connected formed a new project called Slide (Slide had the song “The Black and the Blue” on the R.E.X. Demo-lition 2 compilation in the 90s). Jim Preston and Mike Baker have purchased the rights to re-issue the classic Grieve album by Sincerely Paul as a deluxe edition that will contain demos and live songs. Slide will also be recording an album, reportedly to includes a re-worked version of “The Black and the Blue.” See SlideMusicGroup.com.

Adam Again
AdamAgain.com is still in the works and should be up and running soon. If you haven’t heard, Chenka-Chenka Music has a CD for sale of Gene’s last work before he passed away – including some unreleased songs. See Chenka-chenkamusic.com for more details.

Ethereal Soul
Does the name Ethereal Soul ring a bell? They were an underground heavy alternative funk band connected with Dig Hay Zoose that was signed to Blonde Vinyl before that label folded. They released an independent CD and tape, as well as loaning their guitarist/vocalist/main songwriter Jeremy Walla to Dig Hay Zoose for a tour. Jeremy has put up an Ethereal Soul memorial site online at EtherealSoul.com where you can listen to their entire second album, Not Bad For a White Boy in all its streaming glory.

4-4-1
4-4-1 has an active web site. They have also re-issued their first two albums on CD. Check out their web site at 441online.com for information, videos, and a link to their MySpace page. According to a blog post on said MySpace page, 4-4-1 is in the Jason Martin studio recording new songs with the Martin brothers. These tracks will be added to the Broken Reunion live tracks.

The Brothers Martin
Speaking of the Martin brothers, Jason and Ronnie Martin, formerly of Blonde Vinyl recording artists Dance House Children, have reunited to form The Brothers Martin. They released one album on Tooth & Nail records last year with a heavy 80s retro vibe.

Key Records
Key Records has returned with a new website and much more at Geocities.com/jeanibond/. Currently available are re-issues of independent underground Christian bands from the 80s and 90s, like The Lifesavors, Louvre, The Coolers, Labor of Love, and just about everything else Mark Krischak has been involved with. This site is a treasure trove of underground releases. There is even an archives page under construction that will “offer downloads of old radio shows, pics, pages from old zines, etc, to try to give you a glimpse of what the cut and paste/cassette/zine revolution was like in the 80s.” Three early radio shows are already up for download.

Dakota Motor Co.
About a year ago Dakota Motor Co. announced that they were reforming with all original members and recording an album. Still not sure if that is still happening, but if anything happens it will probably be posted at DakodaMotorCo.com

Deitiphobia
Wikipedia says that Deitiphobia released a compilation album called Sweet:Hereafter in 2007, but I have no idea where to find it. There are also some dub remixes of classic Deitiphobia songs on their MySpace page (MySpace.com/dphb3k). Word on the street is that Massivivid might be making a comeback album (well, okay – that street is actually called Wikipedia).

Absence of Ceramics
If you were a fan of the underground alternative band Absence of Ceramics, we have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that there is a MySpace page up with two unreleased songs. The bad news is that it hasn’t been updated in a while. Check it out at MySpace.com/absenceofceramics

Bill Mallonee / Vigilantes of Love
The Vigilantes of Love are back together and currently touring around the South. Bill Mallonee also has a site specifically for downloading and listening to his demos called Works Progress Administration. Missing any old Vigilantes albums? Download all of them from the official Vigilantes of Love download site. If that isn’t enough for you, keep up with all of the news and tour dates at Bill’s official site:

http://www.billmallonee.net

Seventh Circle
Adam Pederson, moderator of Saviour Machine’s arena and merchandise has his new album up for free download. Here’s the press release – The band Seventh Circle has just released their debut album titled The Struggle. The album is co-produced and mixed by Eric Clayton. He contributed vocals to a couple tracks on the album as well.

Seventh Circle is a project from Adam Pederson who runs merchandise for SM and has worked with Eric on the Rarities/Revelations CD set as well as the Limited Edition Legend albums. It is worth noting that Seventh Circle is not a Christian project as many people believe it to be. Adam simply calls it music from his heart, nothing more or less. He spent over six years writing and recording the album, and was very grateful to be able to have Eric involved in the final production and mixing of the album. All those involved are very proud of the album and we hope you enjoy it!

It is available via free download right now by visiting this web page: www.seventhcircle.net/struggle.htm. You can also purchase a CD or a higher quality download.

Retroactive Records
We don’t cover much metal here, because there are plenty of sites that do that (like FireStream.net). But Matt loves the metal, so if you also are in to classic metal – Retroactive Records is the label for you to follow. They have already re-issued a whole slew of hard to find albums by Armageddon, Deliverance, Rosanna’s raiders, and more. Upcoming releases should include the first two Deliverance albums. Now if we could just get someone to do the same with classic alternative albums that are out of print. They don’t’ keep their site up-to-date that much, but it is the best place to keep an eye for this kind of stuff:

MySpace.com/retroactivewreckage

Knottheads Revamps
Knottheads.com is unveiling a new look this week. Look for even more content and information on Michael Knott that you ever knew was available.

Send Us Your News
Got a band that you think fits in here? Send your news announcements to downthelinezine@gmail.com

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