Categories
CD Reviews Features

You Sing, I Write’s Fall Album Preview

It’s that time of the year again — the leaves are changing colors, you can find candy corn in all your local grocery stores and now it’s the appropriate time to carve some pumpkins. Fall just may be my favorite time of the year, except for the fact that I have to put all my summer flip-flops away. Wearing sneakers and boots instead of sandals is a huge adjustment, but I digress. This fall there are many albums hitting the shelves or more aptly, iTunes — many from bands I’ve covered for the blog, as well as some others you should definitely check out. Below is brief list of some albums I’m especially looking forward to.

Antony and the Johnsons – out this week 10/7
Another World
I recently received a copy of Antony and the Johnsons‘ EP — a five-song piano-filled disc of deep, emotional ballads. At first listen, the EP gives off an incredibly relaxing and soothing feel. But, when listening more closely to the lyrics the perception is quite different. Called an EP of “political- and eco-minded songs” by Rolling Stone, I couldn’t agree more.

Ray LaMontagne – 10/14
Gossip in the Grain
You heard him and song, “You Are the Best Thing” from my previous “Song of the Week” post two weeks ago and from what I’ve heard on his MySpace and other reviews, Gossip in the Grain is an album to definitely give a listen. LaMontagne has that classic singer-songwriter feel, but offers the listener something unique as well. I haven’t been able to stop playing “You Are the Best Thing” over the past few weeks and if this is any indication as to how his album sounds, LaMontagne will be the talk of the town pretty soon.

Brett Dennen – 10/21
Hope for the Hopeless
I was lucky enough to catch Brett Dennen‘s performance this summer on John Mayer’s tour and he blew me away. Brett has such a skill for songwriting and aptly gets the message in his lyrics across to the listener, not always an easy task for a musician. Check out a live performance of his first single, “Make You Go Crazy” — which features Fela Kuti on the album — below. Stay tuned for his music video for the song with Mandy Moore within the upcoming weeks.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycqhqDKq5a0]

Fall Out Boy – 11/4
Folie a Deux
The kings of long song titles are back with their fifth studio album on Election Day. Avid advocates for Obama, while the disc apparently has no politically charged songs, if it’s anything like their last album, Infinity on High, Fall Out Boy are sure to surprise and make every die-hard FOB fan content.

Switchfoot – 11/4
The Best Yet
It’s surprising that Switchfoot doesn’t have a “best of” album yet, being that they’ve released six albums and have been touring for the better part of the last 10 years. However, this November ‘Foot cans can look forward to The Best Yet, which features 18 hit singles including “This Is Home” from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian movie soundtrack as well as radio hits “Meant To Live” and “Dare You to Move.” In addition to the songs, the deluxe edition will feature 14 videos which includes MTV hits as well as rare, never before released videos.

To listen to a stream of “This Is Home” for Windows, click here.
For QuickTime, click here.

Taylor Swift – 11/11
Fearless
Taylor Swift has become a personal favorite of mine as of late. Maybe it’s my desire to move to Nashville and cover more country artists and emerging musicians. Whether you like country or not, you can’t deny her crossover power between genres. Not only is she a respected country artist, but pop fans love her as well. Her first single off the album, “Love Story” is that perfect story-book tale of a Romeo and Juliet romance. Down to the appropriately catchy banjo accompaniment, the song is full of that hopeless romantic vibe that draws many music fans to her. Check it out on YouTube.

All-American Rejects – 11/18
When the World Comes Down
I featured their first single, “Gives You Hell” last week on the blog and it’s undeniably catchy. A bit more of a mature sound than their previous two albums, AAR have grown up and their musicianship and solid guitar riffs can be heard throughout. This album is one I’m personally looking forward to and planning on picking up for myself. Check out “Gives You Hell” below.

http://media.imeem.com/m/61tvnwcGSh/aus=false/

David Cook – 11/18
TBD
I recently read an article which reported that Cook will be working with frontman Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace for his release expected in late November. I caught Maida’s performance a few months ago at the Mercury Lounge and I can only imagine the creativity he will bring to Cook’s debut since winning American Idol.

Categories
Song of the Week

Song of the Week: “Gives You Hell”

I’ve been a HUGE All-American Rejects fan since back in high school when I heard their first single, “Swing, Swing.” Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to attend a bunch of their shows and meet and interview frontman Tyson Ritter a few times. I’m so psyched for their new album, due out in November, and this week’s song, “Gives You Hell” is their first single off of that album — When the World Comes Down.

The song is strong and definitely has that catchy pop-rock radio friendly feel of their previous hits. Not a huge stray from the AAR that fans know and love, but you can hear the growth of their music since their debut. Whether it be the solid guitar riffs, edgy musical interludes or Ritter’s vocals, the All-American Rejects are back and better than ever. You can listen to the song below.

http://media.imeem.com/m/61tvnwcGSh/aus=false/

Categories
Contest

Last Call For the All-American Rejects Contest

Two weeks ago I presented you with a pretty cool contest, a chance to win an autographed mug from rockers the All-American Rejects. All you need to do is answer the questions below and the most creative submission wins! Hurry up because you only have until the end of the day Wednesday before I pick a winner and send the contestant’s information to their publicist. The questions are below. Good luck!

What I need is for you to E-mail me or leave a comment on my blog with your name, the best way to contact you if you win (by email or phone) and an answer to ONE of the following three questions, your pick:

1.) If you could ask the All-American Rejects one question, what would it be?
2.) What’s your favorite AAR song and why?
3.) If you could spend the day with AAR, what would you do?

Categories
Contest

Wake Up With the All-American Rejects Every Morning

Does that title have you intrigued? I have a special contest going on for you to win an autographed mug from the All-American Rejects as well as a Dr. Pepper coupon thanks to Denny’s Rockstar Menu launch happening tonight at 10 p.m. Currently, at Denny’s restaurants across the U.S. fans can order dishes created by their favorite bands, including Taking Back Sunday, Plain White T’s, the All-American Rejects and Eagles of Death Metal.

The current menu includes:

Taking Back Bacon Burger Fries, created by New York-based band Taking Back Sunday, combines two of the artists’ favorite foods — bacon cheeseburgers and loaded cheese fries — in a new, sharable way with familiar flavors of fries, cheese, hamburger, crispy bacon, onion, tomato, and pickles. They even top it off with ketchup and mustard.

Plain White Shake, by the Chicago band Plain White T’s, blends whole milk, vanilla ice cream, creamy cheesecake, whipped cream, and white chocolate chips creating a heavenly, drinkable dessert.

Heart on a Plate, by rockers Eagles of Death Metal, starts with heart-shaped pancakes topped with raspberry sauce, hot fudge, strawberries, white chocolate chips, and whipped cream. The Heart-themed entrée — a tribute to their soon-to-be-released album Heart On — is served with crispy bacon and eggs any style.

The All-American S.O.S. brings the timeless classic and hometown favorite dish of Oklahoma band, the All-American Rejects, to life with hamburger, cheese, grilled onions, and gravy on top of grilled Texas toast and hash browns.

Of their dish, All-American Rejects’ frontman Tyson Ritter said, “The S.O.S. is a dish that we eat on the road all the time. There’s something for everyone in this dish and it fills you up good. From the trailer house to the lunch tray, ours is a dish that is often imitated, but never duplicated.”

Does that have you hungry yet? If so, you can check out the latest Denny’s menu here and to watch videos of each band making their dish click here. To watch the All-American Rejects busy in the kitchen, check out the video below.

AND now for the contest! This one will be a bit longer than the contest yesterday. I’ll be accepting entries for the next two weeks, picking a winner on Wednesday, September 10. What I need is for you to E-mail me or leave a comment on my blog with your name, the best way to contact you if you win (by email or phone) and an answer to ONE of the following three questions, your pick:

1.) If you could ask the All-American Rejects one question, what would it be? (Be creative folks, I do interviews all the time so I’m expecting something a little more out of the ordinary!)
2.) What’s your favorite AAR song and why?
3.) If you could spend the day with AAR, what would you do?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIDV_G5hk2w]

That’s it! I’ll be taking submissions up until Wednesday, Sept. 10th so keep ’em coming and good luck!

Categories
Q&A

3 Questions with Tyson Ritter from the All-American Rejects

I’ve been a fan of the All-American Rejects since their first single, “Swing, Swing” came out when I was in high school. Since then, I have been to various concerts of theirs at completely different venues. Everywhere from an intimate concert at Starland Ballroom to a crowd of hundreds, maybe even thousands, at Giants Stadium for the Bamboozle Festival a few years ago. So when my friend invited me along to help cover a concert at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton last summer, naturally I went. She was working on a piece for the Trenton Times about the venue and how it’s trying to attract a younger crowd. Hence, the concert, entitled Popfest, was put on by local radio station WPST 94.5 attracting many of its younger listeners. In addition to the All-American Rejects, performers included Nick Lachey, The Fray, Bo Bice, and The Click Five.

My friend was promised a press pass to interview some of the bands, but for some reason it fell through. This is where my ingenious Plan B came in. “Let’s just go find their tour buses,” I remember telling her matter-of-factly. And to preface the interview below let me just tell you once again, I am not a groupie, despite the fact that I did take a picture with some of the guys from AAR. They were really short on time, so we only got to do probably less than a 5-minute impromptu interview. But hey, I’ll take what I can get!

How is it for you playing a show like Popfest at a smaller venue vs. your bigger arena shows?
Our first time to step out in an arena was with Fall Out Boy two months ago and we just got off that tour. So I guess coming off that tour this might seem smaller, but this is still a large show to us. Definitely a different energy though. At a pop show, people don’t move as much.

Do you enjoy playing shows like Bamboozle more?
Oh yeah. That’s like [Bamboozle] the voice of a generation all in one spot at the same time. They’re the future leaders of America. Even though they may listen to music that’s not contemporary or run of the mill, those people are a lot different when they go to Bamboozle. The people who go to Bamboozle are definitely…I don’t know, more cerebral than normal people, I find. Whereas at these shows people scream and go crazy like five seconds after they see us. At Bamboozle a kid will be like ‘What’s up Tyson?’ and try to talk to you, as opposed to try to bombard you or scream until you give into some weird wish that they want. But it’s all fun.

Would you consider coming back to Trenton?
Oh yeah. It was great, the kids were loud, girls were giggly. The next time we come here we’d like to come and play a proper show. We had the option to headline but we wanted to make The Click Five look bad. We don’t like bands that don’t rock their instruments. There’s a difference between playing your instrument and rocking it. I don’t play my instrument. It’s really kind of, I like to call it ho-hum music because after one song you kind of go ‘ahhhh’ [referring to bands who don’t rock their instruments].

Gotta love the honesty…here’s some pics with lead singer/bass Tyson and drummer Chris.