popwreckoning

Taking Back Sunday is set to kick off their headlining tour on June 14, in Denver, CO. The summer-long run, which also features Thursday and Colour Revolt, will support the release of their new album Taking Back Sunday, due out June 28.

The self-titled release is a return to the band’s original line-up from their 2002 debut Tell All Your Friends:  vocalist Adam Lazzara, guitarist Eddie Reyes and drummer Mark O’Connell have reunited with vocalist/guitarist John Nolan and bass player Shaun Cooper, who departed in 2003.  Tell All Your Friends has sold over one million records worldwide, and launched the band as one of the most influential of its generation. Taking Back Sunday is featured on the cover of the July issue of Alternative Press magazine, with a 13-page spread inside. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age, All American Rejects), Taking Back Sunday is the New York band’s fifth studio album, three of which have been certified gold.

For more information and a list of 30+ tour dates, please visit www.takingbacksunday.com

Gearing up for a summer tour in support of their new album Hell Is What You Make It on July 12, Breathe Carolina is ready to showcase some fun dance-floor anthems.

The Rockstar Presents The Scream It Like You Mean It Tour will kick off on July 15 in Seattle, WA at El Corazon, heading across North America and finishing with a homecoming show for the band in Denver, CO. Direct support comes from Chiodos, as well as I See Stars, The Color Morale, Tek-One, and The Air I Breathe.

The band’s new album was recorded with producers Ian Kirkpatrick (Plain White T’s, Neon Trees) and Matt Squire (Panic At The Disco, 3OH!3, All Time Low) and is featured as one of Alternative Press’ 100 Most Anticipated Albums of 2011.

Visit their site here to listen to a clip of “Wooly” from the new album.

And check out their official website www.HellIsWhatYouMakeIt.com for a complete list of tour dates that trek all across the U.S.

Churchill, Petals of Spain, Air Dubai, Carbon Choir, and My Body Sings Electric and many more Denver-based bands are slated to play Mountain of Arms: Japan Relief Project on Saturday. Mountain of Arms seeks to “bring Denver together through music and creative expression” while raising money and awareness within the Denver community for Japan. 100% of the proceeds from this event will go to disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, AmeriCares Organization. The event is in Association with City Hall Amphitheater, Roy G. Biv Aesthetics, Colorado Audio Group, Boxcar Gallery and Good Thieves Press. PopWreckoning spoke with Nic Hammerberg about the mission of Mountain of Arms, the event and what attendees can expect on Saturday night.

Brianna Hernandez, PopWreckoning: What is Mountain of Arms?
Nic Hammerberg, Mountain of Arms: Mountain of Arms a non-profit organization created to encourage our world through artistic collaboration. We aim to benefit the well-being of the less fortunate. (That’s the official definitions of us) It began when I was at school about a month ago and all of the news that was going around about Japan hit me hard in an English class. It really affected me, and I realized that it was more than likely affecting a lot of other people. My friend Howard called me after that class and we got to talking. We decided to put on a benefit concert. Nothing like Denver’s scene before. (punny?)

PW: Where does the name Mountain of Arms stem from?
NH: The night that Howard and I were talking we were trying to come up with a name. We liked the idea of arms embracing and were tossing around a lot of names between text and phone calls all night long. Wave of Arms came up, but for obvious reasons, that was not going to work. We needed something that represented unity, support, relief and strength. Japan is a very strong nation and they’ve assisted the U.S. before. We need to do the same. After tossing around many things we came up with Mountain of Arms – since a big representation of Denver is the mountains, and they are also correlated directly to strength – that’s how the name came about!

PW: When did you start planning this event, and why did you feel compelled to do so?
NH: Like I said, it hit me real heavy one day how unfortunate the Japanese were…and there was really nothing that could’ve been done! It literally breaks my heart, and when that happened a month ago, I was in a funk that day. I was walking back to my car from class and ran into Daniel Bailey. He could tell I was in a bad mood and asked me what was up? I continued to tell him about information on the tsunami, but it wasn’t really until the last sentence that I saw a change in Daniel’s body and face, and he was very affected too. I said goodbye and Howard Maer called me right when I got in the car. The universe definitely pulled us together and we hit the ground runnning after that day…that was March 28, 2011. Wow.

I guess I felt so compelled because I would hope that the world would want to help us if an out-of-control disaster hit us. I’m also in a band (one of the bands playing actually, Petals of Spain) and we’re always looking for new ways to reach out to the world. Denver is a strong place and I really believe and love my home. As fun as partying, going to school, and gigging is, there is NOTHING like coming together as humans and helping out our brothers when they are in need of it.

PW: How did you go about choosing which bands, musicians and DJs to perform at this event?
NH: Well most of the Denver music scene is very well connected and it didn’t take to much to get the ball-rolling and really get bands interested. We reached out to musicians that we knew personally first and then were able to contact others from there. We had even more great bands that wanted to be a part of it but do to contractual obligations and radius clauses that was not possible. A big part, is that everyone involved really wants to be. That is important.

PW: What do you think of Denver’s eclectic music scene?
NH: Well I may be biased since I’m from here, but Denver has great potential and a lot to offer in all genres. Our eclectic mix of music makes for a well-rounded music society and everyone has each other’s backs.

PW: What are your goals for this event?
NH: We want to raise $100,000 for Japan as well as bring unity to Denver’s music and art lovers.

PW: Tell me a bit about the event sponsors and partners.
NH: Our sponsors are: Toyota/Scion, Republic National distributing, Coors distributing, BoxCar Gallery, Good Thieves, Roy g. Biv Aesthetics, Colorado Audio Group,and Music Gear Guys. Our title sponsor is Toyota/Scion and they were very instrumental in creating the financial backing to make Mountain of Arms an incredible event.

PW: What can attendees expect on Saturday night?
NH: Attendees can expect amazing music (i-shit-you-not), incredible musicians. A warm, welcoming atmosphere. Sweet deals and surprises on raffle tickets. Fire-dancing, t-shirt pressing, aerialists, an art gallery, live art, and a whole lotta love for Japan.

PW: What does Mountain of Arms have coming up in the future?
NH: More of the same and above and beyond this. Human connection can water any seed and having so much response and unity from Denver already, makes us very excited for future projects. It depends on how well this show pans out, but the future looks bright, so expect much more to come.

Mountain of Arms Japan Relief is at City Hall Ampitheater, in Denver, CO on Saturday, April 23 from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. You can purchase tickets at: http://www.mountainofarms.eventbrite.com.

Hailed by NPR and Pitchfork as the new “buzz band” to watch, dreamy surf-pop outfit Tennis take a break before their three night run in Las Vegas to discuss living and playing in their hometown of Denver.

Brianna Hernandez, PopWreckoning: How is it returning to Denver from being on tour? After receiving so much attention nationally, is it strange to return to Denver where you are still relatively unknown?
Tennis: Really great. Denver is the most comfortable city to live in and after being in big cities every night. It’s the only place we want to be.

BH: Prior to Tennis, you played in various bands in Denver. Which bands?
T: James has played in much more memorable acts: Tjutjuna, Mothership and a bunch more. All the bands I played in were so bad that we couldn’t get shows in Denver and the DIY scene hadn’t started yet. Thank god for house shows because we couldn’t even play a show in Denver as Tennis in the beginning.

BH: Who are some of your favorite musicians in Denver?
T: Gauntlet Hair keeps putting out some really amazing stuff. The new Woodsman record is, in my mind, their best yet. Can’t go wrong with Tjutjuna either.

BH: What is it like playing for a crowd at home in Denver versus elsewhere?
T: We have a lot of really great people at our shows, but we also have the most amount of critics. Denver press has always been our most negative, and in that sense, it’s a bit weird. Aside of that, we love playing at the Hi Dive and always have a great time.

BH: When you aren’t on tour, where are some of your favorite places to be in Denver?
T: Our favorite bar is the Great Divide Tap Room. Really great people there and the best beer in town. We also find ourselves at Forest Room 5 quite a bit. But our favorite place to be is at Bistro Vendome for their Sunday brunch.

BH: Your last album chronicled a sailing trip. Will your next album follow in suit? How do you feel about concept albums?
T: We haven’t put any restraints on our writing yet, so at the moment, it isn’t going to be treated as a concept album. I think most albums can be tagged “concept” albums; it’s really hard to write 10 or so songs that are so disjointed that they can’t be associated with each other.

BH: What are you listening to now? What would people be surprised to know you listen to?
T: We’ve been listening to a lot of R. Stevie Moore lately. Some Jackie De Shannon, too. I don’t know if those are surprising or not.

BH: How would you describe your sound?
T: We’ve been using the word “vintage” a lot in reference to the production techniques we used on the album. I don’t know. We try to make things sound like a human being made them.

BH: How did you meet one another?
T: Alaina [Moore] and I [Patrick Riley] met in an Analytic Philosophy class. I’ve known James on and off since high school.

BH: Any plans to move from Denver…or to take another sailing trip?
T: We are definitely planning another sailing trip. Don’t really know where or for how long, but it’s going to happen. We talk about moving away from Denver, but we never make the necessary steps to do so. I think Denver is a place you always talk about moving away from but never do.

BH: What is your favorite part about touring and playing live?
T: I really like hearing Alaina’s voice live with a room’s natural reverb. As for touring, we love visiting our favorite bars, diners, restaurants, beaches, people, etc.. in every city. It gives us some sense of routine when we go to the same places every time we tour.

BH: If you weren’t Tennis, what would you be doing instead?
T: If I wasn’t in Tennis I’d probably be fixing up boats or something.

BH: Where did the name Tennis come from?
T: White people, I assume. The name doesn’t mean anything to us which is the purpose of a band name, right?

Find more from Tennis here.

Due to personal reasons, Electric Six has been forced to cancel its shows from October 25-October 30. This affects Seattle, Portland, Boise, Salt Lake City, Denver and Kansas City.

The band plans to reschedule these dates.

The tour resumes in St. Louis on Halloween.

Below is the full message from the band on the cancellation:

Denver-based band, Meese is over. They will play their last Denver show, Saturday, May 22 at the Bluebird, and their last show ever at a Fort Collins festival on August 21. They posted the following Monday:

a message from meese after more than 5 years of meese, we have decided that it is time to move forward with a different project. the three of us will all be in a new band together, along with some new members that we are very excited (and lucky) to be playing with. that being said, the last meese show in denver will be this saturday, may 22nd at the bluebird theater. we will be playing two more events- the colorado rapids game on July 4th and also at a festival in fort collins on August 21st. it’s time to move forward and we’re hoping that all of you will do that with us. we’re working on new music harder than ever before and we’ll still be updating our normal sites with the latest information, so keep in touch. a million thanks to our friends and fans who made this band possible. -patrick, nathan and mike This entry was posted on Monday, May 17th, 2010 at 9:35 pm

Twenty-two-year-old Tamar Kaprelian is working hard in Denver with One Republic‘s Ryan Tedder and Brent Kutzle after a MySpace cover of the band brought her to their attention. Tamar’s debut will be out on Interscope later this year, but her first single, “New Day,” is available now.