SORROWS' TOUR KICKS-OFF SEPTEMBER 2ND IN SAN FRANCISCO!

The legendary post-punk power pop band Sorrows will be heading out on the road in September for a string of West Coast dates in support of their recent full-length album Bad Times Good Times, with additional East Coast dates to follow later that month.

SORROWS 2011 WEST COAST TOUR DATES:

09.02 Thee Parkside, San Francisco, CA
09.03 The Distillery, Sacramento, CA
09.04 The Blank Club, San Jose, CA
09.08 Alex's, Long Beach, CA
09.09 The Bombay Bar, Ventura, CA
09.10 The Redwood, Los Angeles, CA
(additional East Coast Dates to be announced soon!)

The recent release last winter of SORROWS' Bad Times Good Times (Bomp! Records) marked the first time ever that this music has appeared on CD as well as LIMITED EDITION VINYL. Filled with previously unreleased recordings of their power pop gems, demos and live performances, the album is a feast for post-punk new wave fans and collectors who have been asking for years to be able to get their hands on SORROWS' music. Formed in 1977 in NYC by Arthur Alexander (ex-Poppees), Joey Cola, Ricky Street and Jett Harris (ex-Poppees), SORROWS were all about the songs. Their tunes are filled with strong melodies, irresistible hooks and creative harmonies supported by their powerful backbeat and hard-driving guitars. SORROWS two critically acclaimed albums and several singles on CBS Pavillion have become highly praised and are sought after collector items.




FOR MORE INFO ON SORROWS:
www.bompstore.com
www.facebook.com/pages/SORROWS

FOR MORE INFO ON BOMP RECORDS:
www.bomp.com

Idle Jets - Atomic Fireball - 1999

For a debut album, Idle Jets' Atomic Fireball is a remarkably accomplished piece of crisp and clean power pop. The first track, "Genius of the Obvious," is a perfect example of perfect, melt away pop -- complete with cascading riffs and smooth harmonizing. That's just the tip of the iceberg, though; the acoustic swagger of "Mallory," complete with hand claps, and the smooth '80s-sounding power ballad "Umbrellas in the Rain" are also amongst the disc's highlights. For the more revved-up numbers, the band occasionally shows their Nashville roots; both the title track and "Lady Satellite" feature a kind of bluesy, George Thorogood-like vibe. For a debut, "Atomic Fireball" is absolutely excellent, and a very worthy contribution to the Not Lame family of artists. -AMG

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The Riffbrokers -The Unsmashable Riffbrokers - 2002

the Seattle combo specializes in catchy, guitar-fueled tunes that perfectly straddle the worlds of American roots rock and Beatlesque power pop. ... hunky hooks and heartfelt melodies; frontman Nick Millward's gritty vox pack the perfect punch. ...the Riffbrokers are the kind of band of which people who equally love melody and guitars dream. -Michael Toland - www.highbias.com

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The Loves - Technicolour - 2006

The Loves are a Welsh indie pop group whose slinky, gritty, right-at-home-in-the-garage-style indie pop tunes give a nod to 1960s-era bands like the Velvet Underground and the Rolling Stones, not to mention more recent acts like Helen Love, the Aislers Set, and Saturday Looks Good to Me. Since its formation in 2000, the band has been made up of an ever-shifting cast of dozens of members, including the School's Liz Hunt; the band's core members as of 2009 included frontman Simon Love, Dan (bass), Jenna (vocals), Ed (keyboards), and Johnny (drums). The Loves' debut album, Love, came out on Track & Field Records in 2004; their sophomore effort, Technicolour, was released in 2007. An EP, One-Two-Three, came out in 2009; the Loves' third full-length, the appropriately titled Three, was also released that year. As the band neared the decade mark, the Loves decided the time was right to cease operations. The band began playing farewell shows throughout the U.K. in late 2010/early 2011 and ended on a high note with the release of its album, Love You, in January. -AMG

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Brad Brooks - Sanctified into Astroglide - 2000

If you could take sunshine, collect it in a jar, and then pour the incandescent liquid over piano keys and unplugged guitars and chiming tambourines, you might end up with a Brad Brooks song. All those dream-inducing Beach Boy harmonies and syrupy slow music combine to sound like a summer day when the gentle breezes keep the heat away and gently brush the hairs on your face.

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Let's Active - Cypress - 1984

Cypress was the band's first recording made for release, as opposed to Afoot which was intended to be a demo. Some of its finest moments, such as "Easy Does" and "Waters Part," are in keeping with Afoot in terms of form, but the added care taken in its recording makes this album shine, and further illustrates Mitch Easter's talents as a producer; the more expansive arrangements (with a surprising amount of synthesizers) and subtle sonic explorations more fully illuminate the songs. Within a distinguished and consistent catalog, Cypress stands as the high-water mark for the band. -AMG

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The Lovetones - Meditations - 2005

If you're looking for an ultimate half and half fusion of John Lennon with early-'70s David Bowie, the Lovetones' second album is one of the closer approximations that's apt to appear. They credibly recall both of those figures in the arching vocals and earnestly penetrating vocals, and (at least as far as Bowie goes) in a vague sort of launching-into-the-cosmos ethos. As with many efforts that bring to mind icons of decades past, half and half don't necessarily make a whole on par with the whole of any single one of their inspirations. There's a slightly lazy, drifting feel to lyrical preoccupations, and a similarity of approach throughout most of the tracks, that the masters of these kinds of forms transcend with greater eclecticism and vision. Keeping your expectations realistic, however, it's a pleasant listening experience, with an effectively psychedelic-tinged, full but not densely cluttered blend of electric and acoustic guitar and keyboard textures. The keyboards in particular recall early Pink Floyd on "Genius" and the dramatic closing instrumental, "The Color and the Cut," which builds to an opus-like piece after a comparatively modest beginning. Among the highlights are "Inside a Dream," with its gently sliding guitar glides; "Come Home," which sounds a little like the Beatles' "Free as a Bird" as done by an indie band; and "Across the Sea," whose chorus can't fail to recall the melody of Buffalo Springfield's "Broken Arrow." -AMG

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The Waxwings - Shadows of the Waxwings - 2002

The Detroit quartet the Waxwings have been sharpening their streamlined '60s pop since the mid-'90s, plucking other sounds from the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, and the Zombies. Frontman/guitarist Dean Fertita, who used to play in the Motor City rock outfit Reigndance with fellow MTV's The Real World I cast member Andre Comeau, placates the band's retro-spiced sound with space rock elements and light melodies for a spiraling rock crash. He and Dominic Romano (guitar), Kevin Peyok (bass), and James Edmunds (percussion), signed with Bobsled Records, home to Adventures in Stereo and Velvet Crush, to release the Waxwings' debut Low to the Ground in May 2000. Shadows of the Waxwings appeared two years later. In June 2003, the band parted ways with Bobsled after a tumultuous relationship with owner Bob Salerno. They also headed into the studio in July with fellow Detroit native Brendan Benson to record a new album; two cuts from that session were slated to appear on an one-off Cass Records single before the summer's end. -AMG

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The Marshalls- Wicked Good Music - 2007

A big time find for fans of late 70`s power pop! The Marshalls grew up in Boston during the seventies and released one single only during their career. Here are some ditties from the Rat era when they were playing with the Cars, Real Kids, Stompers, Fox Pass and the Nervous Eaters. Their tracks are in the vein of the first album from Pezband, early Rubinoos, Scruffs, Innocents and Titan Records (Arlis, The Boys, Gary Charlson). It really is a major find for fans of this era and will surprise many, many folks. -Not Lame
 

The Lolas - Ballerina Breakout - 1999

Alabama -based power pop /bubblegum combo the Lolas formed in 1998 around vocalist /guitarist Tim Boykin (ex-Shame Idols), drummer Mark Reynolds, and bassist Walon Smith. They debuted with the Ballerina Breakout LP a year later, and followed it with Silver Dollar Sunday in 2001. Both albums were issued through the indie Jam! Between albums the Lolas did some touring, and recorded a blisteringly faithful version of "Color Me Impressed" for the 2001 Replacements tribute on Facedown entitled Left of the Dial. 2004 saw the release of Something You Oughta Know, again on Jam!. -AMG

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Tommy Flake - Second Skin

Tommy Flake (aka Randy Seals) started back in the late 90’s as an outlet for Randy’s songs. Seals toured with bands of significant notariety and quality including Elvis Brothers, Beatifics, and Peach Fuzz, just to name a few.
Tommy Flake emerged as his songwriting nomenclature and his first album, Bliss, featured him playing guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and vocals as well as engineering and production. Mixed by the pop genius of Adam Schmitt and with the help of several guests musicians, the effort received much praise and got Tommy into SXSW in 1999.

Since then, Randy has released two additional CDs, seen the birth of a son, and earned a Masters degree in social work, all while writing and performing his own brand of power pop.

Now Tommy Flake is back with his first release since 2007 entitled Second Skin, and with it he gives us 13 reasons why it was worth the wait. Give a listen to three of those reasons by visiting his site at www.tommyflake.com and purchase it as an mp3 download at CD Baby or iTunes.

Oh yeah, enjoy this exclusive, never seen before video of the Beatifics classic, Almost Something There, featuring Randy Seals, Chris Dern, Andy Schultz, and Paul Novak.

Lund Bros - Loser - 1998

This is the Lund Bros' first release. Originally released in 1998, it is still a fan favorite due to the strong songwriting and powerful rock and roll hooks. This album was partially funded by Geffen records, who after hearing it decided to pass on the band as it was "too much like the Beatles". The band take that as a complement. If you like Cheap Trick, Badfinger, Raspberries, Queen, and other British Rock sounds be sure to check this out! -CD Baby
 
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Did Ya Miss Me?

Here is a pretty cool one from The Carousels.

Call Along The Coast by thecarousels

I like it, let them know what you think.

The Carousels

Taking a little time off

Longtime readers of PPO will likely recall that I take a vacation every summer. That time is now. No Secret Saturdays, no posts, no music, no nothing for a while. 

Feel free to email me but I will be slow to respond to all of your e-mail questions so please have patience.

As always, thanks to everyone for out there. Without all of you, I wouldn't still be here.

See ya!

THE LAUREATES, SPELLS, OUT TOMORROW, JUNE 28TH 2011:

“Lo-fi, brash and loud as hell, the Chicago band's latest record proves that they can still write slick and sinister rock.”- AOL/ Spinner

“The Laureates stick to their strengths – rough-and-tumble garage rock with a power pop sheen. The songs on Spells are energetic and wild, but the band never lets things get too out of hand.”- Loud Loop Press

“Undeniable!”- Casy Meehan, Chicago Mix Tape

AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD HERE STARTING TOMORROW

http://www.candydinner.com/album/the-laureates-spells/

THE LAUREATES ARE PLAYING TONIGHT AT SCHUBAS

http://www.schubas.com/Shows/06-27-2011+Sleeper+Agent

SPELLS IS STREAMING AT AOL SPINNER THIS WEEK

http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/spinner#/25

The Laureates’ second LP, Spells is drumming up plenty of attention for what Spinner is calling “slick and sinister rock.” The resounding response has been an enthusiastic endorsement of the always punchy and ambitious rock from the Chicago four-piece. Today, the band announced that in addition to 12" vinyl, Spells will also be available for free digital download from Chicago’s hot-spot website for free music, Candy Dinner.
 
Front-man, Chad Preston had this to say about making the album available for free: "We pressed some LPs for this release because we love vinyl and fans like owning the physical artifact, but we also wanted to make sure people could easily find digital copies of the record. Since everyone is stealing music these days, we thought we would just offer a free download at Candydinner.com, for those who buy the LP or just want to check out the songs."
 
The Laureates just returned from a mini-tour from Iowa City to Cincinnati, stopping through the Daytrotter studios to record a session (posting date to be announced soon). The band has also added a show at Schubas to their album release celebrations, playing tonight with Sergio Leone and Sleeper Agent. The band has a music video and more shows to be announced soon.
 

About The Laureates-

The Laureates’ sound came together over a two-year span beginning in late 2005 after Chad Preston (vocals, guitar) had written and recorded a self-produced, lo-fi album throughout that year. Knowing that being in a band is always more fun, he went out to find people to play live and record some songs. He first found Crawfie Ward (bass) and Pete Gray (drums) who had played together previously in other projects. Adam Penly (also in Paul Cary’s band, guitar/organ) joined in early 2007 just in time to help support the release of the band’s first record, a self-titled 7” EP, released on its own label, Funambulist Recording Company.

After a number of local Chicago shows, the band recorded their first full-length album, There Are No More Gentlemen with Tight Phantoms’ Mike Lust at his Phantom Manor studio, and released it at the end of 2008, again on Funambulist. The songs on the record recall traces of childhoods spent listening to the underground rock of the ‘80s and ‘90s, and classic rock and roll heard on the radio in dad’s car, as if the band was pretending that Pixies and Pavement were contemporaries of The Beatles or The Who. The record’s modern approach to vintage rock and roll/pop songs (“equal parts paisley and punk” - Chicagoist) garnered positive reviews from around the blogosphere, with writers comparing the band’s music to Guided by Voices, Spoon, Interpol, The Jam, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks. The album saw some college radio play, charting on the CMJ 200.

Their third record, No Kontrol, was released digitally in February, 2010, via Funambulist Recording Company/Candy Dinner. The EP was recorded by Johnathan Crawford (Paul Cary, The Runnies, Tiger Bones, France Has the Bomb) in Chicago in the summer of 2009 at Leroy Bach’s home studio and at Clown Town. No Kontrol slightly tweaked the sound of There Are No More Gentlemen by adding a touch of lo-fi noise and reverb-ed abandon.

About Candy Dinner- (From http://www.candydinner.com/about/ )

In the ever increasingly digital world (or rather, almost completely and totally digital world?) many record labels are finding it difficult to adapt. Yes of course some savvy labels have a strong following, but a lot of labels that relied on CD sales are gone or struggling to reinvent themselves. After all, it's expensive and time consuming to produce and market music. In response a lot of artists are going totally DIY and selling their music on itunes, MySpace or via other online means, but so can a bazillion other bands. Often times these bands become a needle in a haystack. Candy Dinner is a small community of artists that want to distribute their music without having to rely on record labels and all the Jazz that might go with that. We don't really offer financial or PR support though we do make an effort to promote our roster through various means. Candy Dinner is simply a curated free distributor of music. Our main motive is to encourage people to not worry about getting their music out to listeners.

The Caulfields - Fraud - 2000

The Caulfields unreleased songs could have been A-side material for countless other bands! Nine tracks including the band's cover of Captain & Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together" and a 1993 recording of the Alvin & The Chipmunks Christmas song "Hang Up Your Stocking"

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The Boulevard Beat - "8-Track Breakdown

The Boulevard Beat is a 4 piece Power pop band from L.A and O.C California. Kevin Lead Guitar/Vocals, Drew Guitar/Vocals, Johnny Bass/Vocals and Travis Drums. Formed in mid 2009 as The Boulevard Beat despite having played in several previous bands together such as The Clairvoyants and Moving Targets. Recently signed to No Front Teeth Records, The Boulevard Beat plan on releasing their debut 7" "8-Track Breakdown". So keep an eye out for that as well...

The Boulevard Beat - 8 Track Breakdown by theboulevardbeat

"We would love it if you guys all joined us on Facebook and gave our page a "Like"! Visit us on our Facebook fan page and show some love!!! Thanks guys!"

Triggers - 18 FPS

Buy the single on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/18-fps-single/id442034493

Virginia Sisters - Last Pathetic Fool - 2005

Virginia Sisters have a ragged but appealing Southern pop/rock charm about them, with the punchy "Dazzling Blue" setting things off on the right course à la Dan Baird or Georgia Satellites. The trio makes this a guitar rock track that seems perfect for summer driving with the top down. It's short and sweet, but not quite as sweet as the swagger lead singer Roy Anderson uses during the roots rocker "Deranged," which has a few twists and turns. The band slows things down with a tender but pristine ballad titled "Oh the Night Is Fading Fast" that adds drums and more instrumentation after the first chorus. There's an old-school rock & roll feeling to several of these numbers, including the infectious, hook-riddled "Beautiful One," something Bryan Adams could pull off in his sleep. But "Thanks, But No" almost describes the quality of the Elvis Costello-ish song, adequate but not one of the album's better moments. Nor is the pedestrian pace trying to serve as a catalyst to "This One This Time." Virginia Sisters redeem themselves with a simple but engaging five minutes of jangle-tinged ear candy during the mid-tempo "Don't You Cry on Me." Virginia Sisters rarely sound like they're going through the motions on a raucous, toe-tapping "Everyone's Wrong" and the murky Southern soul oozing from "Josephine's." While not quite as strong as it starts, this record should endear Virginia Sisters to fans of melodic roots rock. -AMG

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True Love - I Was Accident - 2003

True Love's sophomore release and debut for No Lame Records, I Was Accident, features more of the band's sparkling power pop that plays like a split 7" between Elvis Costello and Cheap Trick. For fans of those bands this should be a good thing, even if at times the band seems somewhat overly indebted to their idols. It's as if they never got enough of Armed Forces and so set about to write a list of tunes that sound like unreleased Costello tracks circa 1979. That said, I Was Accident still contains some great songs including the beautiful power ballad "Throwing Back the Ring" and the raggedly melodic "The Genius." -AMG

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