REM will begin working on their new album next week with producer Jacknife Lee (Bloc Party and Kasabian) in Canada. “We are psyched to work with Jacknife Lee,” bassist Mills said in a press release. “We’ve got a great batch of songs, and can’t wait to put them down.” “R.E.M. are consistently one of the Great Bands, if not the greatest,” Lee said in the statement. “The new songs they’ve written are some of their most exciting and visceral yet. They’re a beacon for any band wishing to remain honest and challenging.”

Their album will begin recording in Vancouver and will be completed in Ireland, where they will be playing a few live shows. This album will contain new music and is a follow up to their 2004’s Around The Sun. They are currently scheduled to play everyday June 30th through July 4th in Dublin, Ireland, all at Olympia Theatre. Lead signer Mike Stipe noted, ?Returning to Dublin for our live rehearsal this summer provides the great start we need for our next album?s work,?. ?I intend to hit the ground running.? Mills says the band chose the Olympia, an historic music hall built in 1879, because of all the great shows they?ve seen there over the years: ?From the Waterboys to Lou Reed. I am thrilled to play at this wonderful venue, and in front of some of the best fans in the world.? Further details will come in time.

So get your listening on and listen to these new tracks by a few artists:

Bad Religion – Heroes & Martyrs, off their new album New Maps Of Hell

Bedlight For Blueeyes – City And The Ghost, off their new album Life On Life’s Terms

Sullivan – Fire Away, off their new album Cover Your Eyes

Interpol – Heinrich Maneuver, off their new album Our Love To Admire

Amber Pacific – Fall Back Into My Life, off their new album Truth In Sincerity

Hidden In Plain View – Bendy, off their new album Resolution

Trent Reznor was recently interviewed by an Australian newspaper about his blog post. You can read the complete interview here.

Hawthorne Heights, From First To Last, Secondhand Serenade, Brighten, and Powerspace will be touring this summer together. Here are the current tour dates:
June 12, 2007 Urbana, IL The Canopy Club
June 13, 2007 Nashville, TN Rocketown
June 14, 2007 Louisville, KY Headliner’s Music Hall
June 17, 2007 Ft. Walton Beach, FL The Swamp
June 18, 2007 Tallahassee, FL Floyd’s Music Store
June 19, 2007 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
June 20, 2007 Houston, TX Meridian
June 21, 2007 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit
June 22, 2007 Corpus Christi, TX The Pavilion @ Concrete Street
June 23, 2007 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom
June 24, 2007 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom
June 26, 2007 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
June 27, 2007 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
June 28, 2007 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
June 29, 2007 Sparks, NV New Oasis
June 30, 2007 Magna, UT The Great Salt Air
July 1, 2007 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
July 7, 2007 Clifton Park, NY Northern Lights
July 8, 2007 Portland, ME The Station
July 9, 2007 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
July 11, 2007 Poughkeepsie, NY The Chance
July 13, 2007 Winston Salem, NC Ziggy’s
July 14, 2007 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues

Here is a list of upcoming tour dates scheduled this summer by Social Distortion:

6/29/07 URBANA, IL
7/01/07 GREEN BAY, WI
7/03/07 SIOUX FALLS, SD
7/05/07 ASPEN, CO – SOLD OUT
7/07/07 IRVINE, CA
7/09/07 BAKERSFIELD, CA
7/10/07 STOCKTON, CA
7/12/07 MEDFORD, OR
7/13/07 VENETA, OR
7/14/07 EUREKA, CA
7/18/07 CINCINNATI, OH
7/19/07 YOUNGSTOWN, OH
7/20/07 BUFFALO, NY
7/23/07 SAYREVILLE, NJ
7/25/07 WANTAGH, NY
7/27/07 ALLENTOWN, PA
7/28/07 POUGHKEEPSIE, NY
7/29/07 HAMPTON BEACH, NH

After 18 months since their last release 311 plans to release a new studio album this fall. ?Morale is really high right now,? frontman Nick Hexum tells Billboard.com. ?We needed a break, we?ve been working so hard and long. So, everyone has been doing their own thing. I?ve been traveling andfishing, doing things I do to relax. Now everyone is really jonesing to get back to our primary purpose, which is 311.?

He also said ?We don?t know when it?s going to be done. We?re not going to make any deadlines and promises, but it?s time we slightly reinvent ourselves.? Hexum also mentioned a conversation he had with his brother Chad, drummer, about their follow up to Don’t Tread On Me, ?Chad and I were having a conversation of combining dance hall and funk, a tiny bit like ?All Mixed up? but much more syncopated. I?d say that the funky, tight, high-energy stuff will come along but I?ve also been doing a lot of really complex finger picking on acoustic guitar in the style of Michael Hedges. But it?s taking influences from all over. It goes from hard rock like System Of A Down to Taproot to Wilco. I?m loving their new album. It?s all over the place with our influences. And, we always love reggae.?

Their summer tour kicks off on June 21st in Tucson, AZ. The band mentioned that a few songs are in the mix, but they can’t guarantee that any will hit the stage just yet.

The first press release for Yellowcard‘s upcoming album, Paper Walls, has been released. Read more below for further details:

Breakthrough rockers Yellowcard return with new album Paper Walls on July 17th, the third in a trilogy of albums that includes 2006?s gold-certified Lights and Sounds and their 2003 smash, Ocean Avenue. The band will join the 2007 Vans Warped Tour from June 29 ? July 19, with more summer live dates to be announced soon. A full list of confirmed tour dates is below.
Yellowcard emerged from Jacksonville, Florida with a completely infectious and original blend of rock, punk and classical (owing to violinist Sean Mackin) that made them a sure thing to break out of the pack, but even the band could not have imagined how far.

With a string of successful indie releases, a tireless touring schedule and a steamrolling fan base the band made their Capitol Records debut with 2003?s Ocean Avenue. The album was a smash, spawning huge hit singles, sold-out tours in the U.S. and abroad, an MTV Video Music Award and has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. 2006?s gold-certified Lights and Sounds ? an even bigger-sounding, more expansive and harder-edged album ? was released to rave reviews, showcasing the band?s diversity as songwriters and once again sending them circling the globe.

But with the success some darkness fell ? the loss of founding guitarist Ben Harper, major vocal surgery for frontman Ryan Key, and general fatigue from years and years spent at breakneck speed had the group frazzled.

After some badly-needed time off the band regrouped in a Los Angeles studio with a new plan: to have NO plan besides simply coming together for the sheer joy of writing and playing music. To get back to their roots, write songs for their own sake, and everything else was gravy.

Those sessions yielded the songs which would become Paper Walls. Drawing from both the universal, buoyant, hook-filled style of Ocean Avenue and the tougher edges of Lights and Sounds, Paper Walls takes it all a step further with an energized, anthemic and forward-looking set of songs. The album reunites the band with producer Neal Avron, who produced the band?s previous two albums, and also marks the recording debut of guitarist Ryan Mendez, who joined the group during the Lights and Sounds tour.

?This album is the sound of five musicians in a room having a great time and writing the music that we love,? said Key. ?We feel like the luckiest guys in the world to be able to do this.?

Album-opener ?The Takedown? starts with a shot ? an indelible guitar hook and ferocious drums charge forth as Yellowcard?s trademark mix of airtight vocal harmonies, entwined guitar lines and flourishes of violin crackle with energy. ?Fighting? brings together the band?s many strengths ? tight, melodic, propulsive riffs gather steam before launching into an epic, undeniable chorus.

Lead single ?Light Up the Sky? has an even more massive payoff, its refrain won?t leave your head in this lifetime, but allows for some ringing dissonance beneath it all. ?Dear Bobbie? is a sweet, wistful ode featuring Key?s real-life grandfather reading a love letter to his wife of 58 years. ?Shadows and Regrets? fades in as a gorgeous ballad before chimes and sweeping strings elevate the song?s stunning melody to great heights. And album-closing title track ?Paper Walls? starts with an angelic female choir and simple, strummed guitar before it too takes flight with buzzing guitars and a surging chorus that grips until the final chord.

A deluxe CD/DVD version of Paper Walls will also be available featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the band, extensive photo gallery and two additional live bonus tracks.

In a recent post by Vinnie, of Less Than Jake, they have split with their record label, Warner Bros. Read more below:

A few days ago it became ?official? we left Sire and Warner bros to go
it alone for the moment. A few months back we talked as a band and
decided to ask Warner to release us from our contract and the one last
record we owed them. It became obvious to me and everyone else that its
time to move on and in a new direction as band.
So cue the comments from the .net and .org crowds ?they made a shitty
last record?, ?maybe they?ll have more horns on the next record?, ?they
haven?t done anything good since pezcore anyways?, ?they should have
played more ska?, ?maybe they?ll find a label that promotes the record?
I?ve heard it and read it all before when we left Capitol records way
back when. Hell, I could go point by point and defend or agree with
everyone of the above statements but its not the right time to do that.
The time right now is to look at things with a fresh prespective, look
to the future- remember your history – move on. It seems obvious but
sometimes when you?re reaching for the other shore you drown in the
middle somewhere.
Thanks to everyone involved in the last few years, that gave their time,
understanding and energy to less than jake.

Posted by v.

This summer features an exclusive trip back to 90’s alternative rock. On small tour you will find Collective Soul, Live, and Counting Crows. And on some dates, Third Eye Blind. Many of you may remember these bands back in the mid to late 90’s, when they were in their prime. Here are the dates for the tour, look in your area to see if it’s coming to you area.

July
22 – Wilmington, DE – Daniel S. Frawley Stadium
24 – Eastlake, OH – Classic Park
25 – Washington, PA – Consol Energy Park
27 – Dayton, OH – Fifth Third Field
28 – Comstock Park, MI – Fifth Third Ballpark
31 – Erie, PA – Jerry Uht Park

August
1 – Buffalo, NY – Dunne Tire Park
3 – Louisville, KY – Louisville Slugger Field
4 – Indianapolis, IN – Victory Field
7 – Sauget, IL – GCS Ballpark
8 – Tulsa, OK – Drillers Stadium
11 – Des Moines, IA – Principal Park
14 – Aberdeen, MD – Ripken Stadium
15 – Frederick, MD – Harry Grove Stadium
17 – Manchester, NH – MerchantsAuto.com Stadium
18 – New Britain, CT – New Britain Stadium
21 – Altoona, PA – Blair County Ballpark
22 – Lakewood, NJ – First Energy Park
24 – Pawtucket, RI – McCoy Stadium
25 – Wappinger Falls, NY – Dutchess Stadium
30 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Memorial Stadium

September
1 – St. Paul, MN – Midway Stadium
2 – Fargo, ND – Newman Outdoor Field