Our photographer, Sam caught up with Davey Muise to talk about the Find Your Shovel initiative and his new clothing brand Shovel Brand and how that is helping clothe homeless teens. Check it out here!
Vanna's new video for Toxic Pretender can be seen below. Catch them on tour with The Color Morale, Slaves and Alive Like Me. You can also find those dates below.
Norma Jean have announced a headline tour dates with Razor & Tie label mates Vanna and other openers KEN Mode, and Exotic Animal Petting Zoo. The tour kicks off on November 15th in Oklahoma City, OK and wraps up on December 12st in Harrisonburg, VA. Full list of dates below.
Norma Jean Tour Dates
With Vanna, KEN Mode, And Exotic Animal Petting Zoo
November 15 - Oklahoma City, OK - The Conservatory
November 17 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
November 18 - Mesa, AZ – The Underground
November 19 - Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction
November 20 - West Hollywood, CA - The Whisky
November 21 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
November 23 - Sacramento, CA – Assembly Concerts
November 26 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theatre
November29 - Burnsville, MN - The Garage
November 30 - Steger, IL - Another Hole In The Wall
December 3 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody’s
December 4 - Louisville, KY - Vernon Club
December 5 - Detroit, MI - Modern Skatepark
December 6 - Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar
December 7 - Allentown, PA - Crocodile Rock
December 8 – Cambridge, MA – T,T. The Bear’s
December 9 - Amityville, NY - Revolution
December 10 – West Springfield, VA - Empire
December 11 - Richmond, VA - Kingdom
December 12 - Harrisonburg, VA - Blue Nile
No Bragging Rights, a melodic hardcore band from Riverside, California wasted no time getting the crowd warmed up for the upcoming bands. Vocalist Mike Perez sang the band’s songs with conviction, with some of the lyrical content coming from life experiences, according to the bio on the band’s site; “Repeater” carries on the theme of perseverance and carrying on against life’s challenges and obstacles. “When you get knocked down, get back on the horse,” Perez says simply.
“Hope Theory,” the second track on Cycles, was inspired by the deep connection No Bragging Rights have made with the people who come to their shows. “I am constantly talking with kids coming from broken homes, or the social outcast who is ready to give up. I tell them it will get better. It is always darkest before the dawn. Things can change.”
I chatted up Hundredth vocalist, Chadwick Johnson before the doors opened for the show and asked him if they’ll ever perform my favorite song, “Remain & Sustain” (the music video was inspired by The Sandlot). He said they probably never play that song even though there’s a video for it. They did, however, play a handful for their 25 minute set, including the songs, “Carry On”, “Weathered Town”, and “Ruin”, a new song from their Revolt EP coming out March 19th. I was hoping the vocalist from Vanna would come out and do Jonathan Vigil’s (The Ghost Inside) part on “Desolate” but Chad let the crowd sing that part instead.
I’m gonna be honest; I didn’t watch most of Vanna's set because an awesome ska band called Hermits of Suburbia were playing downstairs around the same they played. I managed to catch Vanna’s last song though; the crowd was rowdy but I could tell they were saving their energy for the last two bands.
Before the started playing, Vincent, vocalist for The Acacia Strain, brought out a dog they rescued from a Walmart parking lot earlier in the tour and asked for some donations so they could take it to the vet. He said they’d put the above picture (or a slight variation) on a shirt and raise money that way. The lights finally dimmed and TAS got the crowd moving with “Beast”, a song from their 2010 release, Wormwood. TAS showed no signs of wear and tear after flipping their van TWICE in one week earlier this year, as Vincent noted.
Some might say they’re out of place on this tour but ETID/TAS have toured together previously, so those complaints fell upon deaf ears. During the end of their set, Vincent asked the crowd who had seen the band when they played downstairs on the smaller stage and dedicated “Whoa, Shut It Down!” to the fans who had been there since the beginning.
After a 15 minute changeover, Every Time I Die took the stage and opened with,”Floater”, a track from their second album Hot Damn!. As mentioned on the bands Twitter account; “…tonight we’re playing the extra good, top secret setlist that we only play for our favorite cities.” There were plenty of sing-alongs as ETID played the best songs from their discography. “Wanderlust”, “Bored Stiff”, “The New Black”, “No Son of Mine” (The band played a breakdown medley of Pantera songs in the middle of this song; Domination/5 Minutes Alone/This Love) and one of my favorites, “Kill The Music” (This site is named after that song!) all made appearances during the band’s set.
Keith mentioned when they played The Masquerade a few years ago, they played downstairs cause Marcy’s Playground had taken over the main stage. He said after they played, he went upstairs and caught a bit of their set and only saw a handful of people and never imagined starting a band that would end bigger than Marcy’s Playground. For their last song of the night, “Indian Giver”, vocalist Keith Buckley and his brother/guitarist Jordan invited members of the crowd on stage to help sing and maybe even get 5 minutes of fame. This tour has quite a few dates left on it, so don’t miss out on the action!
The Few and The Far Between has been announced as the title for Vanna’s new record coming out on March 13th, 2013 via Razor & Tie. You can stream a new song entitled “Year Of The Rat” on Alt Press.
Track Listing
01) The Few and the Far Between
02) The Lost Art of Staying
03) Year of the Rat
04) I Said I’m Fine
05) Casket Rhythm
06) The Weekly Slap in the Face
07) Please Stay
08) A Thin Place
09) The Dreamer/The Thief/The Relic
10) When in Roam
11) His Heels
Vanna’s Home for the Holidays shows with Lionheart, Lions Lions, State Champs and Foreign Tongues can be found below
12/27 - Providence, Rhode Island - The Met (no Lionheart)
12/28 - Hartford, Connecticut - Webster Underground
12/29 - Portland, Maine - Studio 250
12/30 - Nashua, New Hampshire - Arena
Blind Witness, Stray From The Path, Vanna, Liferuiner and Affiance will be heading out on the Too Cool For School II Tour throughout Ontario and Quebec this September. Dates are below:
Sept 17 - Kitchener, ON - KOI Music Festival
Sept 18 - St Catharines, ON - Level 3
Sept 19 - London, ON - Rum Runners
Sept 20 - Hamilton, ON - Absinthe
Sept 21 - Toronto, ON - Annex Wreckroom
Sept 22 - Barrie, ON - The Mansion
Sept 23 - Montreal, QC - Underworld
Sept 24 - Ottawa, ON - Mavericks
Sept 25 - Drummondville, QC - Salle Gaston-Mandeville
Sept 26 - Quebec City, QC - La Ninkasi
