Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Music News and New Music For July 2nd, 2014

So of course, when running your own blog it can be tough to keep up with the s**tload of stuff that comes across our ears over a weekend!  Some good, some bad, some not even worth mentioning.  I guess that's how I use AFGM in general.  These articles that I go through everyday from various sites (Blabbermouth, CBC, National Post, AV Club, Exclaim, Music News, Rolling Stone, etc.) and sort of "filter" some of the nonsense news such as the latest fashion design, who's got beef with who and who ISN'T doing music...still.

These articles brought forth are for a few different reasons:

1. It is relevant music information that pertains to you as a reader, no matter the level of intent or the genre.

2. They are relevant to the music I would be currently listening to or a genre I have put some attention and focus on.

3. I am rather patriotic about my Canadian music, so that always comes as a first for me.  I enjoy music from all parts of the world respectively, but I still have to promote local if I can.  Canadian music rocks!

4. Because it's humorous and we can always use a good laugh.  Rarely will it be at someone's expense...but then again I am just the guy talking about it.  They're the ones causing the comments.

So in closing, I trust you all will not read EVERY single article posted here.  But I hope you find something of use here and keep the conversation going by forwarding it onto someone else.  Click on each article heading for redirection to the full article.  Cheers!



NXNE Eradicates "Radius Clause" After Public Outcry:

"We are so fortunate to have such an engaged and vocal music community.  Unintended consequences of our policy were pointed out. We are making changes that address these issues — changes that don't hurt up-and-coming bands, and yet still protect the integrity of NXNE's lineup." -Michael Hollett


The music of U2 meets the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra:

“Bono is one of the most difficult singers to capture. He’s one of the greatest singers and frontmen of his time, and he and U2 are one of the last great rock bands.  He doesn’t have that scream-y nature that a lot of famous frontmen have. He has a high range and a thick tone. He’s deceptively difficult to master.” -Brody Dolyniuk


T-Mobile’s Unlimited Music Streaming Is the Worst for Net Neutrality:

"Instead of treating all music services equally, T-Mobile has decided that the most popular streaming music services should get better treatment. If you have a limited data plan on T-Mobile, you won’t come any closer to your monthly cap when using Spotify, Pandora, Rhapsody, iTunes Radio, iHeartRadio, Slacker Radio and Samsung Milk Music."


These ‘music-less music videos’ are seriously funny:






YouTube faces indie dispute amid music service launch:

"YouTube will block the music videos so users of the test version won't be confused about which content they can access for free and which features require payment, the people said. Allowing free streams of music by certain artists while not offering them on the paid service would erode the value of the paid plan, one person said.

The move also adds pressure on those labels to sign, because not being on YouTube altogether will result in less advertising revenue and exposure."


What are the best song intros of all time?:

"It's one of the most important elements of a piece of music; it can raise a good track to a great one, and a great one to a sublime one. If you hear the intro to a much-loved track in a club it'll raise heartbeats and hands; if you're drinking coffee in some corner of France and the opening chords of a song you heard years ago start drifting from a jukebox, they'll act as a Proust's madeleine; and the tinkle of a piano can send chills up your spine if it was the first dance at your wedding."


Musical training boosts children's brainpower, new study finds:

"Since executive functioning is a strong predictor of academic achievement, even more than IQ, we think our findings have strong educational implications.  While many schools are cutting music programs and spending more and more time on test preparation, our findings suggest that musical training may actually help to set up children for a better academic future." -Nadine Gaab


"Weird Al" Yankovic Enforces 'Mandatory Fun' with New Album:



"Although little is currently known about the collection, it's expected out on July 15."


Music Holds Key to Educational Impact of Top Kids’ Programming:

“We try to use the different types of music as a way to provide a certain type of musical education.  In the first season, we ranged from doing ’50s rock and roll to swing to hip-hop and, as we move through the second season, we’re trying to push the boundaries even further to find other types of music, whether they be specific genres or from specific regions or just a type of music that kids aren’t used to hearing at that age. They keep the numbers original and surprising.” -Craig Gerber


Genesis Get Back Together for New BBC Documentary:

"A press release for Genesis: Together and Part confirms that the upcoming doc is being put together in full cooperation with the band and will feature contributions from singer Gabriel, drummer Phil Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist Mike Rutherford and guitarist Steve Hackett. The lineup was responsible for four albums between 1971 and 1974, from Nursery Cryme to the epic concept LP The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, before Gabriel left the group in 1975."


Turn Down for What? Why EDM Is Entering Its Punk Phase:

"This young generation that are listening to this for the first time, it's something that's in-your-face and something that's going to give you a rush of energy off the first listen.  I really look at it like how punk music came into the scene and shook shit up. I really feel that this is kind of a revolution starting." -DJ Vice


Björk's 'Biophilia' Headed to European Classrooms via New Educational Program:




'Thor' Actor Tom Hiddleston to Play Hank Williams in Biopic:

"The Avengers star Tom Hiddleston will play Tom Hiddleston Hank Williams MovieCountry & Western legend Hank Williams in I Saw The Light, a film that Marc Abraham will direct and which has come together as a co-production between RatPac Entertainment, Bron Studios, and Creative Wealth Media Finance, all of which will fund the film. Abraham wrote the script based on the Colin Escott biography of Williams and Aaron L. Gilbert will produce with Brett Ratner, G. Marq Rosell and Abraham. Ratner’s partner, James Packer, will be exec producer."


R.I.P. Jazz Legend and 'Twin Peaks' Star Jimmy Scott:

"Throughout his six-decade-plus career, Scott also performed with the likes of Michael Stipe, Antony & the Johnsons, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, Charles Mingus and Quincy Jones, among many others."


Corb Lund Discusses 'Counterfeit Blues,' Plans "Organic, Raw" LP for 2015:

"CMT wanted to do a video special of us recording some of our old material in Memphis.  An album was sort of an afterthought. It just turned out so well that we just had to release it.  We're moving very much towards a really organic, raw recording style, so it will definitely be that way.  I'm kind of sick of pristine-sounding records. I like records that have the odd mistake and have some mic bleed and the odd false start. I think that stuff's cool." -Lund


Cassette Store Day to Make Its Return in September:

"Burger Records loves tapes! We've built our foundation on the forgotten format and have been preaching the merits of warm analogue cassette culture for years. We're honored to be ambassadors of Cassette Store Day 2014 in the good ol USA! We plan to bring some of our favorite labels to the table and invite everyone to the party and partake in the fun phenomena of releasing top shelf music on cassette tapes in pop culture today!" -Burger Records


DAVE LOMBARDO Says New PHILM EP Will Be Released Next Year:

"PHILM's first album, 'Harmonic', was a musical expression unlike any other album I've worked on. Blending structured songs and improvisations was the direction I intended to take the band. PHILM's ability to improvise and create music unlike the typical sounds that have emerged within the past 20 years is refreshing to me as an artist and drummer. As the producer of the band, I suggested for this album that we leave out the improvisations and focus on structured, concise movements. I always want to change it up and keep it fresh. As we write the third album, I'm reintroducing the double-bass drums which will take the songs to a different level." -Lombardo


Atreyu Post Mystery Teaser Videos:






JOE SATRIANI Says Third CHICKENFOOT Album Is 'In The Pipeline:

"It is in the pipeline.  Everyone's got demos, everyone's excited. I don't know about the schedule though. That is still — as usual — in the chaotic CHICKENFOOT state." -Satriani


Moby Has Sold a Memoir About His East Village Days:

"Musician Moby’s memoir, covering the ten year period beginning in the late 1980s through the recording of his seminal album PLAY, including relocating to the East Village in the midst of the crack and AIDS epidemic, and the rise of EDM (electronic dance music) and his unique vantage point as a white vegan in a predominantly black and Hispanic art form, to Scott Moyers at Penguin Press, and Lee Brackstone at Faber & Faber’s Faber Social, by Daniel Greenberg at Levine Greenberg Rostan." -Publishers Marketplace


Incubus Working On New Music:

“Me and Brandon have been scheming the last couple of weeks. There’s definitely going to be new music. It probably won’t happen until next year but it’s happening.

…You know everybody’s got a lot of things going on but we’re slowly bringing out focus back to the band and everybody’s excited about it because we’ve had enough time away from it to where it’s exciting for everyone. There’s definitely some really great stuff coming.

Our plan as of now is put new music out probably early enough in the year that we would be set up to go out and do full touring in the summertime of next year.” -Mike Einziger


Gallows Streaming New Song “Chains”:



A 7" disc and digital copy of this track will be available on June 30th, 2014.


Black Veil Brides’ Andy Biersack Says The Tone Of New Album Will Be “Heavier And Darker”:

“More than anything, even before we found out that Bob was interested in doing it, we wanted to make a return to the darker, heavier material – in tone at least. We touched on that with the first record, but weren’t as mature songwriters back then; I don’t think we’ve ever truly executed the sound we’ve wanted to have as a band.

We’ve always evolved, and I’ve always been excited about everything we’ve done, but this was something all of us have wanted to do. If we’d have been as good songwriters five years ago, the record we would have made then would have sounded a lot like this new one. That was an exciting notion, going back to the things we talked about when starting the band together. It’s a return to the things we really love. Bob was a great fit for that.

So many of the records that influenced us or that we loved growing up were produced by him. It was something we’d been talking about for the last year, and when we found out Bob was interested, it was a nice coincidence.”

…I don’t want to discount ‘Wretched And Divine’ in any respect. I feel very proud of that, but it was a very theatrical record. It was glittery, in a lot of ways (laughs). I love that we’ve made that kind of album in our career, but this time we wanted to make something straightforward.”

Their new album "IV" will be released on October 28th, 2014.


Canadian ‘Summer Slaughter Tour’ To Take Place Later This Year:

"For everyone asking about Canada, we are planning a Summer Slaughter Canada tour for later in the year! Stay tuned! We didn't forget about you, going to put something special together!"


AVENGED SEVENFOLD Mobile Game Is 'Turning Out Outrageously, Unbelievably Perfect':

"I mean, we've been spending the last two, two-and-a-half years developing this thing, and it's turning out outrageously, unbelievably perfect in every single way.  But it's taken a long time. So we're really coming close with finishing, you know, everything on our end, and then it goes into testing and stuff like that. But yeah, it's definitely really impressive." -Gates


Heartist To Release 'Feeding Fiction' In August:


1. What Kind Of World
2. Black Cloud
3. Skeletons
4. Pressure Point
5. Ignite
6. Unbreakable
7. Legacy
8. Manipulate
9. Set Me Free
10. Ready To Change
11. Demons

"We started this band because we looked around and everything seemed stagnant, everyone just seemed to be doing the same thing, and I haven't heard a song on the radio that's really touched my soul in what seems like forever.  We want people to hear us and go wow, holy shit, that's what's been missing." -Bryce Beckley




SYSTEM OF A DOWN Drummer JOHN DOLMAYAN Launches All-Star Project THESE GREY MEN:

"I'm a huge music fan and have an iPod with over 10,000 or so songs on it that I listen to religiously.  I often rearrange melodies in my head or think about how much fun it would've been to play on some of my favorite songs. That ultimately led to the idea of a covers album. As for what it’s going to sound like, it'll definitely have a rock feel, but not limited by any genre restrictions. Listeners are going to hear a plethora of sounds and styles." -Dolmayan


KING DIAMOND Announces North American Tour:

Oct. 11 - Atlanta, GA - Center Stage
Oct. 13 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
Oct. 14 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theatre
Oct. 16 - Worcester, MA - Palladium
Oct. 17 - Montreal, QC - Olympia
Oct. 18 - Toronto, ON - The Sound Academy
Oct. 19 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
Oct. 21 - Chicago, IL - The Vic Theatre
Oct. 22 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
Oct. 24 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
Oct. 26 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
Oct. 28 - Seattle, WA - The Moore Theatre
Oct. 30 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
Oct. 31 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
Nov. 01 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
Nov. 03 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
Nov. 05 - Houston, TX - House of Blues
Nov. 06 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
Nov. 08 - Austin, TX - Auditorium Shores (Fun Fun Fun Fest)

A special guest support act for the tour will be announced at a later date.


First Photo Of Exodus 2014 Lineup Featuring STEVE 'ZETRO' SOUZA:



Battlecross Reveal Summer Headlining Tour With Crimson Shadows & IKILLYA:

07/24 Columbus, OH – The Basement
07/25 Greensboro, NC – Greene Street Club
07/26 Elizabethton, TN – The Bonnie Kate
07/27 Charlotte, NC – The Casbah at Tremont Music Hall
07/28 Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall
07/30 Reading, PA – Reverb
07/31 Buffalo, NY – Waiting Room
08/01 Hartford, CT – Webster Underground
08/02 Albany, NY – Bogies
08/03 Ottawa, ON – Mavericks
08/04 Quebec City, QC – L’Agitee
08/05 London, ON – Rum Runners
08/06 Syracuse, NY – Lost Horizon
08/07 Pittsburgh, PA – Smiling Moose


Queen Revisit 1974 Concerts for New Live Release:

"These recordings capture Queen at that time in all their glory: the dramatic stage presence, the highly original self-penned repertoire of songs, high-energy performances coupled with stunning melodic and harmonic content, and the uncompromising perfectionist approach to every aspect of their performance which is still maintained to this day." (via press release)


Korn Release New Track "Hater":



"Listen to Korn's new single, 'Hater', available digitally on July 1st and to be included on the forthcoming 'The Paradigm Shift: World Tour Edition' out July 15th." -Korn


Joe Satriani Reflects on 30 Years of Mind-Bending Guitar Daredevilry:

RS: What first inspired you to make sounds no one has ever made on guitar before?

JS: "Hearing Jimi Hendrix as a little kid and falling in love with everything that he did on guitar rewired my basic nature. To me, that was a normal thing that you should do: you should strive to be as innovative as Hendrix. I would always think, 'Well, how would Hendrix approach something like this?'"

RS: Thinking back to 1984, when you put out your first EP, what was the biggest lesson you had to learn?

JS: "If you don't do it, it won't happen. In the mid-Eighties, I was stuck in a band called the Squares. I loved the band, but it was not going anywhere. If I didn't start something else, it can't continue. Recording a record on a credit card is just a bad idea [laughs]. But on the other side of it, if you don't try it, then how do you know if it might turn out really good? So the lesson was just to do it. Just to go out there and do it, and that's where the good stuff happens."

Read the rest of the article here.


Trapt Launch $50,000 Crowdfunding Campaign For New Album “DNA”:



"We are so unbelievably fortunate to be able to say that we are still making music over a decade into our career. For the next phase of TRAPT, we want you all to be intimately involved in helping us make the new album. With your contributions to this campaign, you will be personally involved in the production and promotion of DNA. After all of your unconditional love and support, we wanted to figure out the best way to honor YOU. To do that, we’ve decided to stay independent and be confident that we are giving our fans our very best work."


Jello Biafra Lashes Out at Amnesia Rockfest over Booking "Scam," Tells Dead Kennedys to "Get Right with Me":

"We were supposed to play that too and the promoter, for some reason, thought it would be a real cool idea to book us and the fake Dead Kennedys on the same day and not tell either party that the other was on the bill.  It especially leaves a bad taste in my mouth because this promoter pushed our booking agent for us to confirm clear back in November and we did.

And then, right at the last minute, the fake DKs walk on and he didn't tell them we were already on, he didn't tell us he was adding them and then we said, 'Yo, we were here a lot earlier and you even said they weren't on the bill at the time — what the fuck is up with this?' And then he kinda deferred to them. So, needless to say, we figured 'We're outta there.' For people wondering why we're not at Rockfest after the initial press release said that we and Dead Kennedys were both playing, well, that's the reason.

I don't know what to think. It was either purposeful or it was incredibly clueless and incompetent — one of the two. And no other promoter, no matter how sleazy, anywhere in the world ever tried to pull this scam before. I'm amazed that this guy pulled the scam he did and thought he could get away with it." -Biafra


DREAM THEATER 360° Interactive App For Android Now Available From MATIVISION:



"the Android DreamTheater360° App will include two interactive 360° songs filmed and produced using the Mativision technology, which virtually transports fans directly onto the Luna Park stage right next to the band members and completely immerses them in a unique experience that they can control in real time. Each fan can direct the show by manipulating Mativision's multi-camera player, and enjoy the concert in any way they want. Fans can seamlessly choose among six different cameras while also having the capability to rotate each camera angle and zoom in and out, by tapping and dragging. More 360° interactive Luna Park songs will be added to the Android App every week, at no extra charge to Android DreamTheater360° App users."


Kevin Shields Says My Bloody Valentine Will Record New EP This Fall:

"...working on some new songs at the moment.  We plan on going into the studio October/November time." -Kevin Shields


Ten Foot Pole to Return with First New Album in a Decade, Reveal North American Summer Tour:

07/15 Chicago, IL - Reggie's
07/16 Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre
07/17 Toronto, ON - Hard Luck Bar
07/18 Belleville, ON - Belle Pub
07/19 Drummondville, QC - Rockaganza! Festival
07/20 Dover, NH - The Dover Brickhouse
07/22 Albany, NY - Bogies
07/23 Philadelphia, PA - The Legendary Dobbs
07/24 Cambridge, MA - The Middle East
07/25 Brooklyn, NY - The Grand Victory
07/26 Long Branch, NJ - The Brighton Bar

"I never doubted that I'd get back into it at some point — I just needed a break.  Once you've experienced a crowd singing along to the songs you wrote, it's hard to imagine just walking away from the chance to do it again." -Dennis Jagard


Ministry Prep 'Last Tangle in Paris' Live Package:

"Last Tangle in Paris arrives as a double CD/DVD digipak, on Blu-ray and double-CD Amaray, as a double-vinyl gatefold package on 160-gram wax, as digital audio and video, and a barebones CD package. The digipak edition adds more live songs, dating back to 2006."


Texas In July Premiere New Song “Broken Soul”:



The new album will be released sometime late in 2014 via Equal Vision Records.


Misery Signals Tap Counterparts, All Hail The Yeti, Etc. For ‘Malice X Tour’:

08/13 Vancouver, BC – The Biltmore Cabaret (feat. All Hail The Yeti, Nihilate & Youth Decay)
08/14 Calgary, AB – Broken City (feat. All Hail The Yeti & This Is War)
08/15 Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room (feat. All Hail The Yeti & This Is War)
08/18 Winnipeg, MB – West End Cultural Centre (feat. All Hail The Yeti, This Is War & Waster)
08/19 St. Paul, MN – Amsterdam Bar & Hall (feat. Counterparts)
08/20 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave Bar (feat. Counterparts & Focused Minds)
08/22 New York, NY – The Gramercy Theater (feat. Counterparts)
08/23 Toronto, ON – The Opera House (feat. Comeback Kid)


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