news

Sum 41 drummer Stevo Jocz reporting for Altpress live from SXSW

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 3/18/10 @ 11:00 PM - altpress.com

We're extremely stoked to say that Sum 41 drummer Steve "Stevo" Jocz is tweeting for us from the South By Southwest Music Festival right now!

In addition to being a founding member of Sum 41 (who, incidentally, are playing our 100 Bands You Need To Know showcase on Saturday in Austin), Jocz is also a music video director. He's worked on videos for Bowling For Soup, the Sounds and the Friday Night Boys, and also helmed the clip for the remix of 3OH!3's "Starstrukk" featuring Katy Perry.

Stevo made his presence known at @altpresslive by saying, "Sum 41 has arrived in Austin. Are twits are the shit, ya'll"

We're genuinely excited to see what kind of weekend Stevo has in Austin. Follow him (and a few of our editors on the scene) here. And check out the band's latest studio update below as they work on their first full-length since 2007's Underclass Hero.

Rival Schools sign to Photo Finish/Atlantic

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 3/18/10 @ 1:35 PM - altpress.com

Rival Schools--the supergroup featuring members of Quicksand, CIV and Youth Of Today--have signed to Photo Finish/Atlantic Records. The band are set to release the long-awaited follow-up to their debut, 2001's United By Fate--later this year. The album was recorded during the past year at guitarist Ian Love's studio in Brooklyn, New York, with additional recording with Joel Hamilton.

In Memoriam: Big Star frontman Alex Chilton

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 3/18/10 @ 11:18 AM - altpress.com

Singer/songwriter Alex Chilton, best known for his work as frontman of influential '70s power-pop band Big Star, died Wednesday in a New Orleans hospital. He was 59. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Chilton had said that he was feeling unwell earlier in the day and was rushed to the emergency room by paramedics. Doctors were unable to revive him after what they suspect was a heart attack.

Chilton was a musical prodigy, joining '60s pop-soul group the Box Tops when he was only 16. The band achieved a No. 1 hit later that year with "The Letter." After the Box Tops broke up, Chilton formed Big Star in 1971. The band's two albums--including their 1972 debut #1 Record-- didn't receive wide distribution, but Big Star's early work has since become legendary within the genre. A song from #1 Record, "In The Street," was later re-recorded by Cheap Trick as the theme song to That '70s Show.

After Big Star broke up in 1975, Chilton performed as a solo artist in New York City and his native Memphis. Big Star saw a resurgence in popularity during the '80s when bands like R.E.M. cited the group as an influence and the Replacements wrote an homage called "Alex Chilton" that appeared on their 1987 album, Pleased To Meet Me.

Chilton brought Big Star back with a slightly different lineup in 1993 and released their long-awaited fourth full-length, In Space, in 2005. The band were scheduled to perform this weekend at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

Our deepest condolences go out to the friends, family and fans of Alex Chilton.

Deftones stream new song "Diamond Eyes"

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 3/17/10 @ 9:07 PM - altpress.com

Deftones have unveiled another new song, "Diamond Eyes," and posted the first of a series of videos that will eventually unveil the cover art for their upcoming album of the same name. The cover will be revealed in its entirety on March 23--the same day the album's title track will go on sale on iTunes. The album in its entirety will be released May 18, but you can check out the teaser video and listen to the song below.

Enter Shikari looking for U.S. street teamers, offer free tix to tour with A Day To Remember

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 3/17/10 @ 8:54 PM - altpress.com

U.K. outfit Enter Shikari are in need of U.S. fans to be a part of their street team and help promote their upcoming tour with A Day To Remember, August Burns Red and Silverstein. In exchange for volunteering, chosen street teamers will receive a ticket to their local stop of the tour. Check out how you can get involved here.

Ace Enders to allow fans to pay what they want for new album for one day

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 3/17/10 @ 7:25 PM - altpress.com

Earlier this week, the new album from Ace Enders' project, I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business, was accidentally posted for sale a week early on iTunes for 99 cents. Although the mistake was fixed and the album is no longer available on iTunes, apparently plenty of fans were able to snag The World We Know for the too-good-to-be-true bargain.

In response, Enders has decided to let fans name their price for a download of the album on March 22--one day before its scheduled release date. Since Enders financed the album completely on his own, he's released a statement that he simply couldn't keep the standard 99 cent price in order to break even. Ironically, Enders wrote an Op-Ed piece for the July 2008 issue of AP in which he mentioned considering letting fans pay what they want for his albums.

Enders complete statement about the mix-up and his new deal reads:

"I would like to thank everyone for the overwhelmingly positive response when the record accidentally went up for .99 cents last night. It was not intended for the record to come out yesterday, or for it to be that price. I have no idea how the mistake happened, but crazy things happen sometimes. I know there were A LOT of people who ended up buying it and I really appreciate it.

Unfortunately the record has to go back up to the regular price for us to be able to get out of the debt that self releasing a record has put us in. But here is what we're going to do to make up for the mistake that happened last night. Next Monday March 22nd, the day before the scheduled release, we will be putting the record up so that anyone can download it and pay whatever they want for it. This way you can pay whatever you want, whether it be one dollar or fifty dollars. I always wanted to do something like this and I guess this is the universe's way of giving me the opportunity to do so. I wish we could keep it up for .99 cents forever, but we just can't afford to do it like that. Thanks so much for caring and supporting. I'm sorry for the confusion. Also, the record that went up last night was one long track, but the version available next week will be individual tracks."

Check out the album's cover art and tracklisting (which was revealed exclusively to Altpress.com) here. The album--the first of a trilogy of self-released albums slated to be released by the band this year--is their first since 2004's self-titled album.