popwreckoning

When a Facebook page for the former Kansas City band the Golden Republic surfaced in mid-April, a lot of people were buzzing with what exactly that meant. After a few weeks of promises and hints, we finally have some information on what’s going on and it’s very good news.

The original 1999 lineup of the indie pop band is reuniting! You’ll have a chance to see them perform once again during the Sonic Spectrum Anniversary Party. Sonic Spectrum’s Robert Moore made the announcement on his Facebook page Monday.

The original lineup consists of cousins Ben Grimes (Soft Reeds) and Ryan Shank (The Roman Numerals). The Republic Tigers’ Kenn Jankowski joined on guitar and Harry Anderson played bass.

Originally formed in 1999 under the name the People by cousins Ben Grimes and Ryan Shank, they were joined by Jankowski and bassist Harry Anderson

The party is June 25 at Kansas City’s RecordBar. Also on the bill are Secret Cities, Thee Water Moccasins and a special guest.

This is a show you won’t want to miss.

Yellowcard has made a blazing return to music with the release of “For You, And Your Denial” off the upcoming When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes. If this is a taste of what to come, fans will not disappointed.

With an opening violin riff that trumps some of Sean Mackin‘s fast finger work on Ocean Avenue, the intro alone could rival the best of Mozart. But those wary of classical music can relax. Shortly after Mackin kicks off the song, guitars and drums come blazing in and Ryan Key‘s signature vocals take the song to a whole new level for Yellowcard.

In this one tune, the catchiness and the instrumentals that made Ocean Avenue so great are mixed with the maturity and emotional depth that made Paper Walls and Lights and Sounds what they were.

You can check out “For You, And Your Denial” below.

When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes will be released March 22. “For You, And Your Denial” is available now on iTunes and Amazon. You can also catch the band on tour this Spring with Hey Monday, All Time Low and The Summer Set. Tour dates are here.

*Oh, and if any of you want to hook me up with a tab to that killer violin riff, my roommate will be eternally grateful because otherwise he’s going to have to deal with me spending all my free time roaming the apartment with my violin trying to figure those notes out myself.

Get excited! After two-and-a-half years, everyone’s favorite Florida alternative pop punk band featuring a rocking violinist is back. Perhaps you remember “Ocean Avenue” as part of your summer soundtrack a few years back?

Yellowcard has announced a new label, a new tour and a new album.

The band will release their seventh studio album with Hopeless Records.

Yellowcard is Ryan Key (vocals/guitar), Sean Mackin (violin), Longineu Parsons (drums), Ryan Mendez (guitar) and their newest addition of Sean O’Donnell (bass).

They’re entering the studio with Neal Avron and expecting to have a new album ready by Spring 2011, followed by a tour.

For many, braving the frigid temperatures that were only abetted by a breeze off of lake Michigan was worth reliving a band essential to so many musical palettes. Something Corporate was headlining the third Bamboozle festival, which not only marked the band’s third reunion show since their 2005 hiatus, but also the debut of the Bamboozle festival in Chicago. It was only fitting that Something Corporate ring in the festival for Chicago.

As Andrew McMahon pointed out early in the Something Corporate set, Chicago has a special place in the band’s heart and history. McMahon moved out from under his parent’s wings and spent some time living in the basement of New Found Glory’s Jordan Pundik. There, McMahon wrote several early SoCo songs, several of which they played that night.

It was a night for nostalgia for both the band and fans. It was a night for rediscovery and reliving the love of SoCo music, but it was also a day of discovery. Many of the scene’s rising acts from the last few years as well as a few veterans joined the festival. To the side of the main stage, the festival had a line up from the heart of Chicago. Allister and the harder Treaty of Paris rocked the later evening slots. Hip hop acts like Spose and the Jump Smokers (complete with their own ass-shaking, scantily clad dancers) got the crowd dancing. Earlier acts like I Fight Dragons and The Lifelines really impressed. I Fight Dragons fits in well with the Bamboozle scene, and the Lifelines, while edgier had a nice  mix of harder vocals with violin.

The side stage set times fit in between with the bigger name acts over on the main stage. All the Day Holiday played a catchy set to the early arrivers. Though some of their songs started to blend, the guys were energetic and fun. A good way to start off the mainstage. Chicago’s Kill Hannah played a rock set that was easy to dance to if you could take your eyes off the band in their neon make-up and feathers long enough to watch your footing. The band plays an edgy rock, but unlike some of the screamier bands you might have found amongst the other Chicago acts, this band’s music is very accesible as proven by radio singles “Lips Like Morphine” and “Boys N Girls.”

Kill Hannah Set List:
Boys N Girls
New York City Speed
Love You to Death
The Chase
Strobelights
Kennedy
Lips Like Morphine

The next three acts on the main stage are out on tour together, so if you missed Bamboozle, there is still a chance to catch Travie McCoy and the Lazarus Project with 3oh!3 and Cobra Starship. As enjoyable as McCoy’s other project, Gym Class Heroes, is, I kind of enjoyed this current act more. It fit in better with the other music at the fest and they guy is such a strong performer personality wise that I he could have been performing with only a cricket to back him and made that show enjoyable. He would coyly wrap his arms around his lit up mic stand, trot out on to amps and make these really animated facial expressions that almost said more than half his lyrics. Suffice it to say, he is a must-see-live act. Denver’s 3oh!3 followed up Travie and based on the amount of gold-donned girls in the crowd, there was a quite a large turn out to see these guys. Hands spelling out the 3oh!3 sign flew into the air as the guys started out with the whistling-filled single “Starstrukk.” The tunes are easy to sing along to – even a couple of new songs off their upcoming summer release got a good singalong in the crowd. For as much as you want to hate these guys for their womanizing lyrics, they’re pretty darn enjoyable live. We’ll chalk this one up to a guilty pleasure.

Speaking of guilty pleasures, the crowd was ready to get their fangs up with Chicago-darling Gabe Saporta and his current band: Cobra Starship. Flashing lights, confetti and balloons accessorized their set…if you didn’t know any better, it would have been easy to mistake them as the headliners. When it came time for them to play the infamous movie theme song “Snakes on a Plane,” they were all set to invite Travie McCoy back out to perform his part. However, Travie took a backseat to a girl who brought a sign saying she knew all the words to the rap. She was invited up on stage and McCoy filmed her doing the part. There are some who aren’t a fan of Saporta’s current act, aka those who won’t let go of Midtown, but if you let loose and accept the act for a silly, fun-loving dance, pop rock group than it really is a blast to hop around to “Guilty Pleasure” and “Good Girls Go Bad.”

After them, it was time for Something Corporate. Finally seeing Something Corporate was like a dream come true. The band broke up (or went on hiatus or whatever you’d prefer to call it) just when my parents finally gave me permission to go to shows. I’ve been fortunate to see Jack’s Mannequin several times and while the two piano-based rock groups share several similarities, there is a different energy in SoCo shows. A lot of that has to do with how different the lyrics are: the songs of Jack’s are more relationship-based lovelorn songs, while SoCo covers everything from relationships to growing up to simply not liking people. While I’m sure many would say the encore performance of “Konstantine,” beginning with just Andrew at the piano at first would be the evenings highlight, I have to say I thought the show hit its high with “If U C Jordan.” Andrew was stomping (yes, literally stomping on the keys) and sure, we were all throwing up the bird screaming, “FU Jordan,” which probably made anyone in Chicago by that name that could hear us super uncomfortable, but the song was surreal. To be that connected with that many people knowing the song and knowing how great this band was…it was magical. We were like some strange family and it didn’t matter how old we all were or where we were from. What mattered was that we loved this band and we were all having a great time.

I’m still kind of overwhelmed by how great it was…I can’t wait until the fall!

Something Corporate Set List:
Punk Rock Princess
The Astronaut
21 & Invincible
Down
I Want to Save You
She Paints Me Blue
Space
Cavanaugh Park
Watch the Sky
Me and the Moon
Fall
Ruthless
I Woke Up in a Car
If You C Jordan
//
Konstantine
Hurricane

The Line Up:

Main Stage:
4 – 4:35 – All the Day Holiday (pop rock)
5:05 – 5:35 – Kill Hannah (alt rock)
6:06 – 6:35 – Travie McCoy and the Lazarus Project (hip hop/jazz/rock fusion)
7:05 – 7: 45 – 3oh!3 (hip hop/rock)
8:15 – 8:45 – Cobra Starship (pop rock)
9:25 – 10:45 – Something Corporate (alt rock)
Side Stage:
3:35 – 4:05 – I Fight Dragons (pop rock)
4:35 – 5:05 – The Lifelines (hard rock)
5:35 – 6:05 – Jump Smokers (hip hop)
6:35 – 7:05 – Spose (hip hop)
7:45 – 8:15 – Treaty of Paris (rock)
8:55 – 9:25 – Allister (pop punk)

If you missed the reunited Something Corporate at the Bamboozle fests, don’t worry. You’ll get another chance to catch the reunion this August.

Tour dates are listed in the flier below and tickets go on-sale Monday, May 17 at 10 a.m. local time here.

This is an event you don’t want to miss.

The 2010 line-up for Coachella has been revealed.

Jay-Z, Muse and the Gorillaz will headline the festival that stretches from Friday, April 16 to Saturday, April 18 in Indio, California. Other notable performances include Pavement as part of their reunion tour and Thom Yorke????, and though his name is still followed by several question marks, he is there. That is seriously the name of his new solo-band project.

See the full line-up in the flyer below or at Coachella.com. Tickets officially go on-sale for the event January 22, 2010 at 10 a.m.

Jimmy Eat World will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its classic Clarity by playing the album in its entirety for 10 one-time-only shows beginning February 23 in New York City and concluding March 7 in the band’s native Arizona.

Released in 1999 to virtually no fanfare, Clarity gradually became the single most influential record of a generation: A recent SPIN article polled members of 17 bands ranging from Fall Out Boy to Yellowcard, all of whom cited Jim Adkins‘ writing and performance on the record as a primary influence. Ironically, it was Clarity‘s initial failure that put Jimmy Eat World on the path to their eventual success: Left to its own devices after being dropped by Capitol, the band built up a base via relentless touring which funded the recording of their 2001 breakthrough Bleed American, which went on to sell 1.5 million copies.

Clarity was reissued last year to considerably greater acclaim, including a 4.5 star Blender review that proclaimed “Dozens of weepy bottom-feeders have tried to write mid-20s angst anthems better than the soaring “Lucky Denver Mint” or the delicately heartbroken “Just Watch The Fireworks”–but few have succeeded.”

Pre-sale for the Clarity x 10 Tour will begin this Thursday, November 13th. For details, see JimmyEatWorld.com. General on sales begin Saturday, November 15th, with the exception of San Francisco, which goes on sale Sunday, November 16th, and Boston, which will go on sale at a later date to be announced.

Tour Dates:
Feb 23 – Terminal 5 / New York City *
Feb 24 - 9:30 Club / Washington *
Feb 25 – Trocadero Theater / Philadelphia *
Feb 26 – House of Blues / Boston *
Feb 28 – Metro / Chicago *
Mar 02 – Ogden Theatre / Denver *
Mar 04 – The Fillmore / San Francisco *
Mar 05 – Club Nokia / Los Angeles #
Mar 06 – House of Blues / San Diego #
Mar 07 - Marquee Theatre / Tempe #

* w/ Reuben’s Accomplice
# w/ No Knife

Jimmy Eat World: website | myspace

Photo: Jason Odell

90s pop rock outfit Letters To Cleo has reunited and will release a compilation of rarities, demos and unreleased tracks in conjunction with their reunion tour this fall.

The twelve-song set, titled When Did We Do That?, will feature the band’s covers of The Cars‘ “Dangerous Type” from The Craft movie soundtrack and Nick Lowe‘s “Cruel To Be Kind” and Cheap Trick‘s “I Want You To Want Me” from the 10 Things I Hate About You movie soundtrack, as well as original demos of their songs “I’m A Fool” and “Disappear,” and several songs recorded shortly before their 2000 breakup that were never released.

When Did We Do That? will be released on the band’s own Dot Rat Records and will be available exclusively at www.letterstocleo.net and the band’s reunion shows:

Nov 08 – The Roxy / Los Angeles
Dec 08 & 09 – Paradise Rock Club / Boston
Dec 11 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City

“Awake” (from 1995′s Wholesale Meats and Fish)

Tracklisting:
01. Come On (featured in the film “10 Things I Hate About You” but never released)
02. Let’s Get High (from the “Hempilation 2″ compilation album)
03. I Want You To Want Me (from the “10 Things I Hate About You” soundtrack)
04. Happy Ever After (previously released only in Japan)
05. (WTFAMP) The Christmas Song (previously unreleased)
06. Breathe (previously unreleased)
07. Dangerous Type (from “The Craft” soundtrack)
08. I’m A Fool (previously unreleased demo version)
09. I See ’99 (from the “Jawbreaker” soundtrack)
10. Cruel To Be Kind (from the “10 Things I Hate About You” soundtrack)
11. Disappear (previously unreleased demo version)
12. Pretty Things (previously unreleased)

Letters To Cleo: website | myspace

MySpace recently announced the launch of its newest music program, “Front to Back,” celebrating iconic albums that have helped shape the MySpace Generation. MySpace kicks off this program by reuniting beloved alt-pop band Ben Folds Five with an exclusive one-time live performance of their final studio album together, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, in its entirety.

The concert will be the band’s first performance together in nearly ten years and will take place in the band’s former hometown of Chapel Hill, North Carolina on September 18, 2008 at the UNC Memorial Hall. The show will be rebroadcast on the “Front to Back” official MySpace profile in October .

We are honored and excited that Ben Folds Five is helping launch this new music program,” said Josh Brooks, VP of Music Marketing for MySpace. “‘Front to Back’ is about connecting and re-connecting the MySpace community, fans and bands alike with some of the most acclaimed and inspirational albums ever produced.”

“When MySpace approached me about doing this gig,” Ben Folds said, “I misunderstood and thought they wanted us to play Purple Rain front to back, so of course I said yes. But we’re happy to do The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner instead. Of our three albums, this one brings back the most vivid memories. It was actually written to be one song of many movements, which is why there are motifs that appear throughout the album. That should make Reinhold a natural to be played front to back.”

“Front to Back” asks leading artists to perform one of their own seminal albums, from front to back, in a live concert that is then later aired on the site. The airing of the event includes interviews with the band as well as artists who were influenced by the album. Presented by Nowwhat.com, tickets to the Ben Folds Five “Front to Back” taping will go on sale to the public through etix.com on September 8th at 10 AM EST. Additional “Front to Back” performances will be announced by MySpace in the coming months.

The proceeds from concert will benefit Operation Smile: Changing Lives One Smile at a Time. For more information, please go to operationsmile.org.

You don’t want to wait until October to catch the performance (and neither do we!) so Editor Nick Davis is heading over to Chapel Hill to be at the historic event. Be sure to check in for coverage here at PopWreckoning on the Ben Folds Five reunion and the launch of MySpace’s “Front to Back” endeavor.

Ben Folds Five: website
Front to Back: myspace
Operation Smile: Changing Lives One Smile at a Time: website