December 2004 News

Wanted By the Plain White T's
Plain White T's guitars, bass, and computers were stolen out of their van in L.A. November 19. They are asking anyone who can help to e-mail plainwhitets@aol.com. They promise no questions will be asked, and all they want is their equipment back. This is a near-$20,000 loss to them because they don't have insurance, so anything you can do to help is much appreciated.

Street Team Divine
Anadivine is looking for people to join their street team. They need anyone and everyone who has a spare minute to help spread their rock throughout the streets, and who would appreciate the perks of free show tickets, advance copies of music, and other goodies. To join, e-mail anadivinestreetteam@yahoo.com.

Punk Rock Formal
The Vandals played their annual Christmas Formal with Audio Karate and Nerf Herder on December 14. If you missed it, you can read about it at www.vandals.com.

Bands, Venues, Take Action!
The Sub City Take Action! Tour is collecting its line-up, which will include Head Automatica, Hawthorne Heights, The Early November, Maxeen, Anberlin, and Sugarcult. Sponsored by Hurley and Sub City Records, it benefits the National Hopeline Network crisis hotline and the National Youthline Network for suicide prevention. Check out TakeActionTour.com for the dates, which start early February.

Snapcase is No More?
Guitarist Frank Vicario's postings on the Snapcase message board imply the band will be breaking up after rocking our hardcore worlds for a decade plus. It has been suggested that their final show will be in their hometown of Buffalo, NY early next year. But don't cry about it yet because 3/5 of the band has a side project, Ourselves, that is going strong and is currently in search of a vocalist. Read about it at the Snapcase website.

Getting Royal Treatment Down South
Skaters Mark Appleyard, Caswell Berry, Darrell Stanton, and Aaron Suski took a trip to Peru and Panama in November to do some demos. The trip proved much bigger than they ever imagined, with 4,000 people turning up to their demo in Peru, and police escorts around the countries. See the pictures at the Volcom website.

Step Up for Rice
The week of President Bush's reelection also marked the resignation of six members of his administration. Among those to resign was Secretary of State Colin Powell. Bush has nominated his former national security advisor, Condoleeza Rice to take Powell's place. If Rice is confirmed by Congress in their January hearings, she will become the first black woman and the second woman ever to hold this position.

Goodbye Counterfit
Counterfit survived just over five years, which ended this November with no hard feelings, according to the band. They played their final show in San Diego on December 11. Visit the Counterfit as they will be keeping fans posted on future music projects and old Counterfit recordings.

Two Final Shows for the Price of One
Counterfit's final show was also Noise Ratchet's final show. Noise Ratchet had just finished recording their debut album, which will now not be released. However, the majority of the band will continue playing together and recording new songs under another name. Check for more info on the Noise Ratchet website.

Cruiserweight Goes to the Doghouse
Cruiserweight has officially signed to Doghouse Records. The Texas-based pop-punk band's newest album will be released through Doghouse in February. Check them out at the Cruiserweight website.

Another Video for your Holiday Wish List
Converge has just finished their video for "Eagles Become Vultures" off of their newest album YOU FAIL ME. You can check it out or buy it at the Converge website.

Hopeless Signing
Ever We Fall has signed to Hopeless Records. The band, who is out of Portland, Oregon, is preparing to release their debut album early next year. You can sample some of that at the Hopeless website.

Not Too Pure, But Still Won't Die
Too Pure To Die has parted ways with their drummer and second vocalist. Both left on good terms, and the band is looking to continue and planning a tour. The Minneapolis hardcore band's Web site is Too Pure to Die website.

Changing Names and Making Records
Pluto Records has signed Florida band, Imperial, to their roster with their first EP set to hit stores January 25. You might know the band by their original name, The Red Letter. Check out a track by them at PureVolume.com.

Those Damn Canadian Tour Buses
It seems Canadians build their tour buses too tall for New York City. The bus was four feet too tall for a highway overpass and ran into it, injuring the tourists it had aboard. The driver was cited for driving an overweight vehicle and disobeying a sign, among other infractions.

Born From Pain Goes Worldwide
Dutch band Born From Pain was recently signed to Metal Blade Records, after releasing CDs through GSR for their past three albums. The band was born in 1997 and says they are excited about getting a worldwide deal with Metal Blade. Website

Careful Before You've Seen Too Much
Himsa's DVD, YOU'VE SEEN TOO MUCH, will be out in January, but until then, you can check out a preview at the Prosthetic website. The video will include a complete live show, two uncensored music videos, and behind-the-scenes footage.

Who Cares About Another Tour ­ You Do!
The Sub-Par Punk Who Cares Tour 2004 hit the streets of New England and the Midwest November and December. Tsunami Bomb, Motion City Soundtrack, Limbeck, and Maxeen were among the bands rocking those stages. Check for final dates, which go through December 19 at Epitaph.

Cuing Up Some New Music
Cue The Doves headed into the studio early this month to record three new songs. You can find songs from their current demo, and eventually the new songs, at PureVolume.com.

Adding Members to Freemartin
Freemartin has added a new guitarist, as their current guitarist will be focusing solely on vocals. The new member is Nick Petakas, who formerly played in Stretching FM and Dklimb. Freemartin is working on their full-length, from which you can find demos at PureVolume.com.

Drive-Thru Holiday Comp
Drive-Thru Records is bringing holiday cheer to listeners' ears with their new holiday compilation. The CD includes eight Drive-Thru bands, and only 1,500 have been pressed. Get yours at DriveThruRecords.com.

Wildcards and the World Cup
Globe held its annual Wildcard Series Final in Torrance, California last month, keep checking Globeshoes.com for the finalists (they weren't posted by the time this went to print). Two amateur skateboarders, who won the competition, now have the chance to compete in the invite-only Globe World Cup of Skateboarding, which will be held in February in Australia.

Adding to the Going Off Collection
Episodes 16 and 17 of Kung Fu Records' THE SHOW MUST GO OFF! DVD series are live performances by Circle Jerks and Tsunami Bomb, respectively. Get yours at KungFuRecords.com.

Rock Kills Kid and Trombino Kills Producing
Fearless Records band, Rock Kills Kid, just finished recording their debut album with Mark Trombino (Blink 182, Midtown, Sugarcult, Jimmy Eat World), and have posted three of the songs on PureVolume.com. They will be starting a tour to support the album upon its release later this winter.

Nothing New for The Flight
British punkers, The Fight, have recently released their new album, NOTHING NEW SINCE ROCK 'N' ROLL. You can stream the entire album at PureVolume.com.

This Providence Brings a New Release
Seattle-based emo/pop/indie band, This Providence, released their album, OUR WORLD'S DIVORCE, in November. To snag a listen, visit PureVolume.com, also watch out for them touring through your hometown soon by keeping an eye on ThisProvidence.

What Time is It?
BandWatches.com is allowing you to sport your favorite band and tell the time at the same time with their line of band logo watches. Some of the bands include A Static Lullaby, Plain White T's, and A Thorn For Every Heart.

New Years in Vegas
If you're in Las Vegas and its New Year's Eve, head to Jillian's for an awesome line-up that will help you sound in the New Year. SMASH Magazine and Xtreme Radio 107.5 FM are sponsoring the show with Reel Big Fish, Zebrahead, Voodoo Glowskulls, The Matches, Suburban Legends, and Happy Campers among the line-up. Call Jillian's for the details at (702) 759-0450.

Comic Heroes and Metal Rock
Eclectic DVD and Monster have made the 1980s comic strip from METAL HAMMER MAGAZINE, "Dominator", into an animated movie. Featuring voiceovers by Dani Filth of Cradle of Filth, and music by Cradle of Filth, Matter, SikTH, and Killing Mode, the movie is bound to please any comic book and metal fan. Check MusicVideoDistributors.com for more info.

Reflux CDs and Videos
Reflux's debut album, THE ILLUSION OF DEMOCRACY, is now available for everybody to buy at ProstheticRecords.com. Also, they recently posted their live video, SINGLE FILE TO BLISS, at the Prosthetic Website.

Post-Sludge-Prog What? Just Listen to It
THE SLOW DECAY, the latest full-length from Jumbo's Killcrane is now available for all you post-sludge-prog fans, or just plain metal lovers. Get a sample track at JumboSkillCrane.com.

First Album, Second Band
Glurp Records' band, The Only Children, have released their first album, CHANGE OF LIVING. You might know some of The Only Children members from their former band, The Anniversary. Check TheOnlyChildren for more.

The Gamits Have Run Their Gamut
The Gamits have called it quits, and Chris Fogal (the only originally member), has posted a statement for all those concerned at TheGamits. But, don't worry because most of the members will be staying in the music-making department with various other projects to be announced soon.

Waiting for Redemption
Kung Fu band Useless ID has finished their album, REDEMPTION, and you can hear some sample tracks on their Myspace page (just look up their name at MySpace.com). The CD has been released in Japan and Israel, but the rest of us have to wait, so keep an eye out at KungFuRecords.com for the U.S. release date.

Hitler's Paintings
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the U.S. Army was allowed to keep four watercolors painted by Hitler that it confiscated after World War II. The family the paintings were taken from had argued that the confiscation of the paintings violated their constitutional rights, but the court did not agree.

Skateboarding in Hawaii with the Girls
The seventh annual All Girl Skate Jam took place in Oahu, Hawaii on December 4. This year's pro and amateur competition featured a Pro Invitational Cement Bowl and two mini ramp contests. If you didn't get to watch or attend, you can check winners at AllGirlSkateJam.com.

Dropkick Murphys in Europe
Dropkick Murphys will head to Europe with The God Awfuls in February and March. Until then, the band will be spending time at home for the holidays, but just in case they change their minds, keep checking DropKickMurphys.com.

Kinda Like a Video
Underminded have released their music video, IT'S KINDA LIKE A BODYBAG. It was recorded at Post Mortem Studios in L.A. and is available at Underminded.com.

Tsunami Bomb on Air
Tsunami Bomb's "Dawn on a Funeral Day" was the second most added song on college radio last month. If you don't listen to college radio, you can hear the track at TsunamiBomb.com.

Got Ripped Down
Downrip.com's website has closed shop due to financial problems. It seems they were hit with credit card fraud multiple times, which caused them to loose lots of money. Downrip sends its thanks for everyone's support while they were running.

Skating a Stronger Community
Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA Skate Park, located in Encinitas, California, just received a $5,000 donation. Encinitas local and champion vert skateboarder, Bucky Lasek, donated the money to the park to help its continuing effort to have the best skate park in the nation.

Leftover Crack was Just on Tour
Despite rumors, Leftover Crack is not broken up, but has been touring Europe for the past month, and is in the Southeast U.S. right now. Check for dates at AlternativeTentacles.com.

Tour of Thorns…and Chemicals and Funerals
A Thorn For Every Heart has announced its December tour with My Chemical Romance, Funeral For A Friend, among others. Check out their dates and their debut full-length, which recently hit stores, at aThornForEveryHeart.com.

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