Ozzy Osbourne - Scream Tour Edition CD Review (Epic Records)

Many days, I shake my head at the inanity of the music industry. On positive side, you have King Crimson revitalizing the back catalogue by releasing 40th year anniversary edition CDs (which seems like a good approach). On the negative side, Epic has just released the ‘4 Month’ anniversary edition of Ozzy’s latest disc Scream. C’mon guys, do you really think fans are going to go out and buy a second copy of Scream just to get the seven bonus tracks (…or are they just going to download it)?

Here is what you have on the bonus disc:

Studio Tracks:
"Hand of the Enemy" – exclusive to this disc
"One More Time" – originally an iTunes pre-order exclusive
"Jump the Moon” – originally on the Japanese edition of Scream

Live Tracks (from the UK Scream tour):
- “Bark at the Moon”
- “Let Me Hear You Scream”
- “No More Tears”
- “Fairies Wear Boots”

The second disc also contains the video for “Let Me Hear You Scream” along with some behind the scenes footage.

Fans of Scream will likely enjoy “Hand of the Enemy” and “One More Time” as these tracks fit perfectly with the original studio disc. I’m not sure though what Ozzy is trying to do with “Jump the Moon” as it sounds like bad barroom alt-metal. The live material is competently executed and seems to have been chosen to show that new guitarist Gus G. can play Tony Iommi, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde’s licks. Gus G. hits the mark but adds no personal flair of his own.

I continue in my belief that poor product is going to put the final nail in the music industry’s coffin quicker than any illegal downloading will. Why would anyone rush to buy Ozzy’s next album when you inevitably know there will be a ‘Nice Price’ 2CD edition that follows which contains the foreign b-sides, iTunes “exclusive” tracks and more.

If you haven’t picked up Scream, the Tour Edition provides a good bang for the buck as it is priced at $10.81 (about one dollar more than the standard edition) on Amazon. If you already have Scream, there are more interesting things to spend your money on.

Links:
Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne - Scream CD Review (Epic Records)

Earlier this summer, Ozzy Osbourne released his 10th studio album, Scream. This isn’t the ‘return to form’ that some claim but this is the best that Ozzy has sounded in years.

When reading earlier reviews of this disc, a lot of internet chatter has focused around Ozzy swapping out guitarist Zakk Wylde for little-known guitar player Gus G. I don’t think this swap was the key reason for Ozzy’s revitalized sound as I don’t hear a significant difference between Gus and Zakk’s playing; Ozzy may have just wanted the fresh blood. The sound of this disc was shaped by co-writers Kevin Churko (who produced this disc and 2007’s Black Rain) and Adam Wakeman (who co-wrote five of the disc’s eleven tracks).

Producer Kevin Churko retains some of the industrial leanings of Black Rain but Scream is a darker album than its predecessor. Churko rounds this out by giving a high-gloss finish to the disc’s arena-rock power metal anthems, sludgy nu-metal rawk and (the expected) ballads. This is a heavily commercial album but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Let’s face it – Ozzy’s menacing, p*ssing on The Alamo days are long past.

The first single from this disc is a fist-pumping, pounding rocker, “Let Me Hear You Scream”, which should make for both an FM-radio and concert staple for years to come. The current single, “Life Won’t Wait”, is a by-the-numbers power ballad which is carried by strong layered vocals from Ozzy. There are a couple of sludgy, almost Rob Zombie-ish numbers (“Soul Sucker”, “Latimer’s Mercy”) scattered across the disc but these are balanced by the ballads “Time” and the mostly instrumental “I Love You All”.

I remember sitting in the Brooklyn Brewery early one Saturday afternoon in 2007 and they announced that they had a pair of OzzFest tickets, free to any takers. While there were no takers then, I don’t think that would be the case now. Ozzy sounds revitalized on Scream and this disc will go a long way toward revitalizing his fan base.

Links:
Ozzy Osbourne

The Editors - An End has A Start CD Giveaway

Win a copy of the new CD by The Editors before it hits the stores!

I have 3 copies of the brand-new CD from The Editors to give away.




Just click on the Contest Entry link and send us your full name and mailing address. One entry per person please.

All entries must be received no later than July 13, 2007. Winners will be notified via E-Mail.

For more info on The Editors, check out these links:
The Editors' Main Website (link)
The Editors' MySpace page (link)

Music Nation Launches Season Two

I hate American Idol but Music Nation's contest is pretty cool. They are running a concurrent rock and hiphop competition and the prize is recording contract with Original Signal Recordings (for the hiphop winner) or Epic Records (for the rock winner). This isn't Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell judging (neither of which I had heard of prior to American Idol) but Gang of 4 bass ace Dave Allen and former V2 president Andy Gershon (who also discovered the Smashing Pumpkins). Anyway, check out the full press release below...

MUSIC NATION SEASON TWO LAUNCHES AS UNSIGNED ARTISTS VIE FOR RECORDING CONTRACT

Rock & HipHop Acts Wrangle For Label Contract, FUEL TV Appearance and DJ Green Lantern Mixtape

NEW YORK, June 18, 2007 –Music Nation, the artist development company, today officially kicked off its second season of online music competitions. Over the next 12 weeks, Music Nation’s judges panel will vote together with intrepid music fans to choose finalists in the concurrent rock and hiphop competitions. Original Signal Recordings, Music Nation’s 360-degree music company, and Epic Records will jointly sign recording contracts with one rock and one hiphop winner. More than 2,500 artists entered the first Music Nation competition and resulted in an overflowing reservoir of the best of the best in unsigned talent. The company expects the most skilled artists from across the web to again flock to the site and compete for not only invaluable exposure, but also the shot-of-a-lifetime recording contract and a wealth of additional prizes.

“The Music Nation site is designed to give artists an outlet for exposure and a real chance to expand their fanbase. Our goal is to provide artists with the best opportunities possible to launch their careers,” said Daniel Klaus, co-founder and CEO of Music Nation. “We’ve spent the last few weeks since the first competition’s close setting up our winning artists with producers and writers best-suited to meet their needs and goals. We’re looking forward to seeing what new talent rises to the top and to begin working with them as well.”

Music Nation’s competitions afford artists a palpable chance to see how their riffs or their rhymes are received in cyberspace both by the fans and Music Nation’s crew of industry judges. The fans’ ratings of videos and viewing of profiles are compiled into real-time statistics that determine the weekly Nation’s Choice winner in each competition, while the judges will also make their weekly Choice and offer invaluable feedback. The current line-up of Music Nation’s judges is:

Hip Hop
· DJ Green Lantern: Having worked with artists like Eminem, Ghostface Killah, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes, Green Lantern’s legendary mixtapes have become a staple in the hiphop community, with artists vying for the chance to be featured.

· Saigon: Saigon, the Fort Knocks/Hip Hop Since 1978/Atlantic Records artist, is best known for his successful string of mixtapes and his recurring role on Season Two of HBO’s series “Entourage.” He is the first artist signed to super-producer Just Blaze’s Fort Knocks label.

· 9th Wonder: Formerly one-third of Little Brother, Grammy Award winning producer 9th Wonder has worked alongside the likes of Jay-Z, Destiny’s Child, Mary J. Blige and Lloyd Banks, among others.

Rock
· Dave Allen: Bassist for the seminal post-punk band Gang of Four and operator of the popular music blog Pampelmoose.com.

· Andy Gershon: Executive VP of Epic Records, Gershon also helped discover and break such artists as The Smashing Pumpkins, founded Outpost Recordings (home of The Crystal Method, Veruca Salt, and Whiskeytown), and served as President of V2 Records (home of acclaimed artists The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Blood Brothers).

· Carrie Schupper: Music program manager for Gen Art, the leading arts and entertainment organization dedicated to showcasing and supporting emerging fashion designers, filmmakers, musicians, and visual artists.

In addition to offering artists community response, judges’ feedback, and a recording contract, Music Nation then sets up the winners with additional career-making opportunities. The first competition’s winners, Kid Deposit Triumph in rock, Yolanda Ruiz in pop, and T-Max in urban, are currently being matched up with a diverse lineup of acclaimed producers and/or writers, and will soon head in to the studio.

Music Nation also offers enticing prizing to its artists. In hiphop, the winner will have an opportunity usually reserved for only hiphop’s biggest names: the chance to have Green Lantern create a custom mixtape for the artist, which will include an exclusive song produced by the renowned DJ/producer. Additional prizes for the winner in the hiphop genre include: the chance to perform at the 2008 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, presented by The Room Service Group and Brooklyn Bodega; styling by L-R-G for the artist’s first music video for Original Signal/Epic (weekly winners will also receive t-shirts from L-R-G); a Pacific Drums & Percussion X7 Gold to Black Sparkle Fade Kit w/8.155 Hardware pack and throne; a run of 1,000 commercial quality CDs furnished by DiskFaktory.

In rock, the winner will perform on FUEL TV’s “The Daily Habit,” a half-hour show on Fox Cable Networks that mixes top pop culture stories with leading action-sports personalities, music, and comedy. Additional prizes for the winner in the rock genre include: a custom-branded Epiphone guitar by Izze Fruit Sodas and a completely stocked Izze fridge; a Pacific Drums & Percussion Black 805 kit; a run of 1,000 commercial quality CDs supplied by DiskFaktory; an LR Baggs M1 Active guitar pick-up. Prizing for rock finalists and quarterfinalists qualifiers also includes custom-branded Gelaskins, guitar and bass Coffin Cases, and guitar knob prize packs from Custom Shop Guitar.

Garage bands from coast-to-coast, underground MC’s and any aspiring musicians with a dream, mp3s, and/or a webcam have the chance to be discovered online by simply uploading their content to the site – thereby putting themselves in front of the panel of artist-credible judges, Music Nation and Epic’s experienced staffs, and the competitions’ numerous partners…let alone a multitude of hungry fans. Moreover, as Music Nation re-launched last month as a true online music community, the site now boasts a cornucopia of tools for artists to use in circulating their music around the Web. These tools include an embeddable multimedia player and an embeddable electronic press kit (EPK) that automatically generates when an artist profile is created (the EPK also separates into gig and mp3 widgets), among many other features.


About Music Nation
Music Nation is an artist development company at the helm of an online music community, empowering independent artists with tools to market, promote and find an audience. Through this dynamic community, the company supports music competitions both domestically and abroad. Utilizing the best of Web 2.0 technology, Music Nation looks to serve as the ultimate portal where artists, records labels and fans alike can connect in today's digitally driven climate. Founded in 2006, the company is the brainchild of Daniel Klaus (CEO), Lucas Mann (CMO), Kevin P. Ryan (Chairman), and Peter Read (Managing Director, UK and Europe); visionary figures whose expertise crosses the Internet media, e-commerce, artist management/development and the recording industry divides.

About Original Signal Recordings
Original Signal Recordings is Music Nation’s 360-degree music company, offering a unique value to new and established artists through equitable, joint venture deals on multiple platforms. With a focus on long-term development, Original Signal employs new media and other channels to generate sustainability for its roster. Original Signal also has the ability to operate in partnership with Epic Records.

About Epic Records
EPIC RECORDS is the creative music habitat of some of today's most vital musical artists. The company is home to chart-topping artists and trailblazing icons such as Modest Mouse, Incubus, Natasha Bedingfield, The Fray, Franz Ferdinand, Ozzy Osbourne, Los Lonely Boys, Ben Folds, Tori Amos, Shakira, Wyclef Jean, Fiona Apple and Jennifer Lopez. Epic’s hot newcomers include fiery dancehall diva Kat De Luna, Jamaican wunderkind Sean Kingston, Atlanta punk pop band Cartel, hip-hop artist Yung Berg, bi-lingual Latin trio The D.E.Y., pop singer-songwriter/pianist Nikki Flores, and the enchanting singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. Epic recently partnered with MTV and Reveille to re-launch Latin supergroup Menudo.

The Editors' Announce July Release Date for New CD

The new Editors album, An End Has A Start, is set for release through Epic/Fader Records on July 17th. Recorded in Ireland at Grouse Lodge with the acclaimed Garrett ‘Jacknife’ Lee (Snow Patrol, Bloc Party), An End Has A Start reinforces the visceral power of Editors’ music and emphasizes the band’s desire to stretch themselves musically, lyrically, and conceptually.

While their debut album, The Back Room, seethed with claustrophobic menace and icy grandeur, An End Has A Start sees lead singer and lyricist Tom Smith more focused on the power of redemption and the human necessity for friendship and family in the face of death. The album’s lyrics are closely linked to events over the last year or so.

Tom explains: “There is a lot of death on the record, that sounds pretty morbid but it’s the truth. Death has touched me and my friends in the last year in several ways. Realizing everything comes to an end is important and I think we’ve done our best to make it something glorious and uplifting as well as scary.”

The Editors’ debut album, The Back Room was released in 2006 and reached the Top 3 in the UK, pushing well beyond platinum, Editors also enjoyed a UK Mercury Prize nomination; stops at Coachella and Lollapalooza, TV performances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and a warm embrace from American critics, blogs, and fans.

Stay tuned for more info on their upcoming US Tour this September.

An End Has A Start Track List:

1. Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors
2. An End Has A Start
3. The Weight Of The World
4. Bones
5. When Anger Shows
6. The Racing Rats
7. Push Your Head Towards the Air
8. Escape The Nest
9. Spiders
10. Well Worn Hand

Watch for CD giveaway coming soon!

Links:
The Editors' Main Website (link)
The Editors' MySpace page (link)

Music Nation Awards Record Contracts to Winners of its Video Music Competition

Music Nation, the artist development company, today announced the three grand prize winners of its online video music competition. Kid Deposit Triumph, in the rock category, Yolanda Ruiz, in the pop category, and T-Max, in the urban category, beat out nearly 2,500 artists to win a global recording contract with Epic Records. Additionally, on the heels of this first competition’s success, Music Nation has today beta launched a redesigned site and opened up their online music community to a wider audience in advance of the second competition, set to officially begin June 18th.

Beyond the Epic recording contract, the three winners will also be showcased on an episode of STRIPPED, Clear Channel Radio’s exclusive in-studio performance series, and a year-long endorsement from Gibson Guitars, among other prizes. The competition served as an opportunity for independent artists to have their music heard by a judging panel of industry heavyweights Charlie Walk, President of Epic Records, producer Jonathan “J.R.” Rotem (pop), Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte, Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (rock), and multi-platinum rappers Nelly and The Game, as well as Mark Pitts, President of Urban Music at Jive Records (urban). The Music Nation competition, in offering artists the chance of a lifetime, attracted some of the top unsigned talent from across the Internet.

“We created Music Nation as a platform for artist discovery and empowerment. The quality of these winning artists clearly demonstrates the potential that exists online to find and develop talent,” said Daniel Klaus, Music Nation co-founder and CEO. “We’re excited to be working with these artists in partnership with Epic and leverage the success they’ve had online into a sustainable recording career.”

The three winners represent a varied selection from the Music Nation community. Las Vegas, NV’s Kid Deposit Triumph excels at combining intense melodies with ruthless rhythms; Santa Monica, CA’s Yolanda Ruiz captivates with her fun, Latin-pop sensuality; and Atlanta, GA’s T-Max holds court with his smooth, relaxed flow. These artists will now join the ranks of such celebrated Epic recording artists as Good Charlotte, Modest Mouse, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Matisyahu, as well as up and coming artists like Eighteen Visions, Yung Berg, and Sean Kingston.

“KDT wanted to put our best foot forward and we wanted to maintain that our driving force isn’t popularity, wealth, or fame but to express ourselves through what we love! Music and the integrity it expresses,” said Chuck Bailey, Kid Deposit Triumph bassist. “This contest was that chance, that outlet for us and everyone else that entered to show what they love and to have a chance of acknowledgement from fans, the other contestants and from people that are in the business.”

“Words cannot express how honored I feel to be part of the Music Nation and Epic/Sony BMG family!” said Yolanda Ruiz. “I still can't believe something I've dreamt about since I was a little girl is a reality today...Music Nation has changed my life and has made my life-long dream come true!”

“I want to thank Music Nation, the judges, and everyone who voted for me,” said T-Max. “I’m living proof that if you follow your dreams and stay true to your heart, you can do anything you put your mind to.”

As the first competition closes, the redesigned Music Nation site has now launched and opened its doors as a true artist community through which competitions will run. The community, which grew organically from fan participation in the first competition, will now be accessible to any musician regardless of competition entry; to artists in any genre (rock, pop, hip hop, country, R&B/soul, latin, spiritual/gospel, dance/electronic, world, jazz, and their subsets) looking to take advantage of active community feedback and the powerful features the site offers. Designed around Music Nation’s focus on empowering independent musicians, the new site has added a number of tools for artists’ use in garnering exposure, including: an EPK (includes bio, tour dates, mp3s, photos, press) that automatically generates when an artist profile is built and can be linked to or work as embeddable code, providing a digital demo for artists’ marketing use; an embeddable, multimedia player for artists to program with clips of videos, mp3s, and photos; and statistics compiled from data on profile views and video plays to offer valuable real-time, detailed feedback for artists.

The competition side of the Music Nation community, launching first in the rock and hip hop genres, will formally begin when voting begins on June 18th. Over a 12-week period, a quarterfinalist will be chosen each week by a judging panel of leading industry figures (to be announced) while the user-generated statistics will determine a Nation’s Choice winner. At the close of the competition, a winner from each genre will be awarded a recording contract with Original Signal, Music Nation’s label through Epic Records, among other prizes.

About Music Nation

Music Nation is an artist development company at the helm of an online music community, empowering independent artists with tools to market, promote and find an audience. Through this dynamic community, the company supports multi-genre, video-based music competitions both domestically and abroad. Utilizing the best of Web 2.0 technology, Music Nation looks to serve as the ultimate portal where artists, records labels and fans alike can connect in today's digitally driven climate. Founded in 2006, the company is the brainchild of Daniel Klaus (CEO), Lucas Mann (CMO), Kevin P. Ryan (Chairman), and Peter Read (Managing Director, UK and Europe); visionary figures whose expertise crosses the Internet media, e-commerce, artist management/development and the recording industry divides.

About Epic Records

EPIC RECORDS is the creative music habitat of some of today's most vital musical artists. The company is home to chart-topping artists and trailblazing icons such as Modest Mouse, Incubus, Natasha Bedingfield, The Fray, Franz Ferdinand, Ozzy Osbourne, Los Lonely Boys, Ben Folds, Tori Amos, Shakira, Wyclef Jean, Fiona Apple and Jennifer Lopez. Epic’s hot newcomers include fiery dancehall diva Kat De Luna, Jamaican wunderkind Sean Kingston, Atlanta punk pop band Cartel, hip-hop artist Yung Berg, bi-lingual Latin trio The D.E.Y., pop singer-songwriter/pianist Nikki Flores, and the enchanting singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. Epic recently partnered with MTV and Reveille to re-launch Latin supergroup Menudo.

Vega4 Plays Mercury Lounge on May 29th

After touring with Augustana earlier in the year, Vega4 returns to town for a show at the Mercury Lounge. I was amazed how tightly the band held the crowds' attention as the opener at the Augustana show at Webster Hall so I would expect them to be phenominal in a small club.

Also on the bill this night is Sounds Under Radio, who have a track on the Spiderman 3 soundtrack and Tab and The Stevensons are also playing.

Tickets for the show are only $10.

Links:
Vega4 MySpace Page (link)
Sounds Under Radio MySpace Page (link)
The Stevensons MySpace page(link)

New Tori Amos Single Big Doll Premiers on AOL Music

Tori Amos' new CD American Doll Posse is scheduled to be released on May 1st. The first track, Big Wheel, premiers on AOL Music today along with previews of two other songs from the CD.

Tori describes Big Wheel as

"'Big.' One of my favorite words, along with 'Little.' Now if I'm a guy, I'm probably going to prefer the word 'Big' when associated with my abilities, rather than my other favorite word. As a woman, I don't mind at all if the whole world thinks that I have a Big Aspiration to straddle that piano stool every night for over 100 shows by Christmas. I don't mind that at all."

Modest Mouse CD Giveaway

Contest is closed and winners notified
I have 5 copies of the latest CD from Modest Mouse to give away. Just click on the Contest Entry link and send us your full name and mailing address. One entry per person please.

All entries must be received no later than March 31, 2007. Winners will be notified via E-Mail.

For more info on Modest Mouse, check out these links:

Modest Mouse's Main Website

Modest Mouse on MySpace

Travis: New CD Scheduled for May Release (Epic Records)

Travis returns to the US to play Coachella on April 28th and Epic just announced that Travis' new CD, The Boy With No Name, will be released in May. This is the band's first new release in almost four years.

Travis, one of the UK’s most prominent rock bands are gearing up to release The Boy With No Name, their fifth studio album on May 8th. The highly anticipated new album – which was produced by the band and long time collaborator Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Paul McCartney) – shimmers with infectious melodies and timeless choruses wrapped around bittersweet songs of deep love and regret. The Boy With No Name bookmarks the band’s first new material since 12 Memories.

“This album has all the facets of us, and some new ones,” lead singer Fran Healy explains. “It’s rocky and then it’s pop but also sweet too. After a time of feeling stuck, we now feel we can do anything. We’ve come through the dark places and it feels like we’ve found our muse once more.”

Album highlights include the lead single, “Closer” which Fran says “bred the rest of the album”, “Big Chair,” with it’s restless bass line – debuted by Chris Martin while hosting the Zane Lowe Radio One show – whilst “Selfish Jean,” delivers Motown bass and expansive ‘Phil Spector’ production. An Ode to lead singer Fran Healy’s then unborn son Clay, “My Eyes,” is classic Travis; a joyful chorus journeyed to via an equally catchy prelude of ‘Welcome in, welcome in…” “Battleships,” meanwhile boasts a painfully honest lyric about relationship strife –a situation when two people in love just aren’t seeing eye to eye.

Signed in 1996 Travis have amassed four albums (including two number one albums), two Brit Awards, an Ivor Novello, several sold out tours across the US, and have been lauded by critics worldwide and embraced by their fans as the everyman’s band.

To kick things off, Travis will perform three UK club shows in March where the band will unveil tracks from the upcoming album, The Boy With No Name.

Modest Mouse Dashboard Video Premiers Today on MTV2 and mtvU

Matisyahu - No Place To Be CD Review

This release is a seven song CD EP plus a live DVD (approx. 90 minutes) of Matisyahu performing live in Israel. This CD has an interesting mix of songs. There is a cover of The Police's Message in a Bottle, three songs from previous CDs re-recorded with Sly and Robbie and Bill Laswell and three remixes. I really enjoyed the four new songs. The production is strong and it showcases both Matisyahu's voice and the talents of the band. Matisyahu's voice reminds me of both Sting and Bradley Nowell and the band seems to be a spot-on cross between a jam band and the more jazzier side of The Police. I am not quite sure what to make of the remixes though. The are very dance club oriented and take away from the band's strengths (i.e. I think Matisyahu's voice is one of the strong points of the song Youth and it is buried under dance beats in this particular remix.)

The DVD is simply great! Matisyahu and band put on a strong live show in front of a very enthusiastic crowd. The concert is intermixed with interviews with band and these interviews show the human side of the band and make them a bit more interesting as people. There is also an acoustic performance of the band playing Late Night in Zion on the streets of the old city (as passerbys don't quite seem to know what to think).

For new fans, this disc is a great introduction Matisyahu's music. For long-time fans, the DVD alone makes this a worthwhile purchase.

Augustana @ Webster Hall, NYC Feb. 2, 2007

I moved about a week ago and I didn't get a chance to post these pictures prior to packing up my desktop. I now have the computer unpacked and online so...

Augustana played a strong set at Webster Hall earlier this month and worked approx. six new songs into the set. The main floor of Webster Hall was full before the band took the stage and the band held the crowd's attention throughout their set. The band started the set off strong and I believe the opening song was Bullets (two weeks seems so long ago). Boston was played right before the band finished their set and the crowd went nuts. For the encore, Vega4 came out to join Augustana on an all-out version of All The Stars and Boulevards.

Lamb of God to Perform on Conan O'Brien Show

2007 is turning into an interesting year. A few weeks ago Slayer made their national television debut and now Lamb of God will be making their television debut on the Conan O'Brien show next Friday night (Feb. 9th).

On Lamb of God's website, drummer Chris Adler is quoted as saying:
"It's exciting to think that national television has come far enough in our direction to actually let a metal band like us on the air! We are very excited for the opportunity not only for ourselves, but for the doors it will help to break down for heavy metal in general. We are flattered to be in this position, thankful to Conan and his staff for their invitation, and looking forward to proudly kicking some serious ass on National TV!!!"

2/16 Update: I have been waiting for the law suits to start ever since Google purchased YouTube. Lamb of God's performance on Conan was posted to YouTube and has now been pulled down. This is what is posted in its place:

This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by NBC Universal

Augustana CD Giveaway

Contest is now closed and winners notified. Thanks for everyone who entered. Look for a new contest coming soon.

I have 5 copies of the latest CD from Augustana to give away. Just click on the Contest Entry link below and send us your full name and mailing address. One entry per person please.

All entries must be received no later than January 31, 2007. Winners will be notified via E-Mail.

Contest Entry

For more info on Augustana, check out these links:

Augustana's Main Website

Augustana on MySpace

Augustana Performing Live on VH1

Modest Mouse Release Behind the Scenes Footage from Video Shoot

Modest Mouse has released behind the scenes footage from the band's new video shoot on YouTube. The video/song Dashboard is from the band's forthcoming release We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank which is due out early this year.