ATTENTION: The Emphatic show for January 30th Cancelled

The show Emphatic was scheduled to play Saturday, January 30th in Omaha at The Waiting Room has been canceled.

If you purchased your ticket on eTix.com, refunds of the face value of the ticket[s] and the per ticket convenience charge[s] will automatically be processed to your credit card used at the time of purchase.

Chevelle Announce Tour Date Stop in Grand Island, Nebraska!

I'm very excited to announce that Chevelle will be making a stop in Grand Island, Nebraska on their next tour at the Heartland Event Center on Saturday, February 27th! I will post more information on who else is performing and where to purchase tickets when it becomes available.

Not Exactly Good News Folks: Live Nation and Ticketmaster Set to Merge

Via crawdaddy.com:

If you thought that the price of tickets was already out of control, be prepared that things could get much worse if the world’s largest concert promoter Live Nation merges with ticketing evil empire Ticketmaster.

As described by Senator Herb Kohl (WI) in the Senate Antitrust hearing:

“This merger will not only expand Ticketmaster’s control of the ticketing market by eliminating a competitor, but it is also creating an entity that will control the entire chain of the concert business, from artist management to concert promotion and production to ticketing and ticket resale.”

Luckily, some of the country’s leading independent concert promoters are taking a stand, including Jam Productions, Metropolitan, and Another Planet, who have signed a joint letter to the Department of Justice opposing the proposed merger.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Thrice News

Thrice recently sat down to do a Q&A with Magnet Magazine and are also guest editors for the magazine all week. You can read the first part of the interview here: LINK

Thrice also recently stopped by Daytrotter HQ during their headlining tour to sit down and do a quick session. Listen to it now LINK

Music News & Articles: Lots of Links to Check Out

What the Music Industry Did On It's Winter Vacation (via musformation.com) - LINK

Suddenly, Google Focusing Music Results On MySpace (via digitalmusicnews.com) - LINK

FREE music lessons on Music Business & Careers (via berkleeshares.com) - LINK

Money Expert: Industry Should Compete With Music Piracy (via torrentfreak.com) - LINK

10 Strategies for Success from Music Power Network (via futureofmusicbook.com) - LINK

Roadrunner artists Corey Taylor, Max Cavalera and members of Trivium, Dragonforce and Killswitch Engage pick their favourite albums of the past 10 years. (via Metal Hammer) - LINK

William DuVall of Alice In Chains, God Forbid, Architects, Paradise Lost and more tell you what albums they are looking forward to in 2010! (via Metal Hammer) - LINK

In other news, Remy Zero Drummer Gregory Slay has died. - He passed away New Year's Day following a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis. He was 40. The Lostprophets release a new single 'Where We Belong'. A possible new Michael Jackson/Lenny Kravitz duet has leaked (LINK)

This Day in Rock History: 1956 – Joy Division guitarist Bernard Sumner, who moved to vocals for the band’s second coming as New Order, is born in Manchester, England. 1960 – Michael Stipe of R.E.M. is born. 1965 – Leo Fender sells the Fender Guitars business for $13 million.

SLAM Omaha Piece on Emphatic

Audrey from SLAM Omaha has written a piece about Emphatic's Atlantic Records signing. http://www.slamomaha.com/music/review_articles.asp

Alternative Press In Memoriam Tribute For Those Lost in 2009

Altpress.com takes a look back at those musicians and artists we lost during the past year.



Unfortunately we now have to also add Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, Rowland S. Howard and Vic Chesnutt to the list.

Q&A with Jared Leto from guardian.co.uk

The guardian.co.uk has posted a 29 Q&A with Jared Leto (That's Leto like the ghetto):

Jared Leto was born in Louisiana in 1971. He went to New York's School of Visual Arts, and in 1994 was cast opposite Claire Danes in the television series My So-Called Life. His movies include Fight Club, Requiem For A Dream and Alexander, and he put on 67lbs (more than 30kg) to play John Lennon's assassin, Mark Chapman, in Chapter 27. Next February, he will tour the UK with his band, 30 Seconds To Mars.

What is your earliest memory?
Fireworks and a wolf.

When were you happiest?
I'm hoping that hasn't happened yet.

Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Stephen Hawking – a great example of triumph in the face of adversity.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
The need to sleep.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Sycophancy.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
It had to do with karaoke and Eye Of The Tiger.

Read the full piece here.

New Mudvayne Video for "Scream With Me"

Mudvayne released their new album on December 22nd and have a new video for the first single "Scream With Me". It's pretty rad. Take a look and listen.

Alternative Press Web Cover Story: The Impact of Social Networking on Bands

From Alternative Press:

Earlier this month, all of Facebook's 350 million (and growing) subscribers who logged into their account began seeing changes to the site's privacy settings. With more of our personal information more easily available to anyone, it would seem that the social networking site is keen to putting our personal details and photos and the disposal of more people, rather than opening them up only to a select handful of friends and family. Suddenly, everyone is posed the same question that has faced musicians since the advent of social networking sites: How much personal should be public?

Read the full article here.

Avenged Sevenfold Drummer Found Dead

Avenged Sevenfold drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan has passed away in his home. He was only 28 when he passed away and apparently died of natural causes according to press.

The band left the following on their Myspace page:

"It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world's best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy's family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time."

Jimmy you are forever in our hearts.
We love you.

M Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance and Johnny Christ

Omaha Band Empahtic Signs with Atlantic Records!

Congratulations to each of my friends in Emphatic for signing a deal with Atlantic Records on Sunday, December 27th. Well deserved! I can't wait to see what the future holds for you. It's about time after all you have sacrificed and I am beyond proud of you.




EMPHATIC - MySpace Page

Happy Holidays Everyone!

The hunt for the Ultimate Live Lounge cover - 30 Seconds to Mars Wins!

From the Live Lounge site:

Over the last 10 years on BBC Radio 1 there have been more than 500 Live Lounge sessions with hundreds of artists performing their single and an exclusive cover on air. After a series of heats, three semi-finals, and a weekend-long Grand Final, BBC Radio 1 listeners have chosen their Ultimate Live Lounge Cover.

Your Ultimate Live Lounge Cover is 30 Seconds To Mars covering
"Stronger"

LINK

Want to be on Emphatic's Street Team?

If anyone out there wants to be on Emphatic's street team shoot me (Tonya Howell - tlhowell46@hotmail.com) a message with EMPHATIC STREET TEAM as the subject with your name, email, phone number. Then we will be in touch with you soon with some news!

If you haven't purchased your tickets for the January 30th show in Omaha at The Waiting Room they are only $12 and you can get them here:

TICKET PURCHASE LINK

The Waiting Room - WEBSITE
Emphatic - MYSPACE PAGE

Update: Emphatic to Play The Waiting Room in Omaha Saturday, January 30th

Update: Tickets will be $12 and available December 12th for purchase.
(INFO LINK)




The Waiting Room - WEBSITE
Emphatic - MYSPACE PAGE

12/10 30 Seconds to Mars Performance with Street Drum Corps on Conan O'Brien

Show Announcement: Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace & Flyleaf in Grand Island, NE

Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace & Flyleaf - January 26th @ The Heartland Event Center in Grand Island, NE!

Tickets on Sale Friday, December 11th
GET TICKETS HERE

Nonpoint Record ‘5 Minutes Alone’ For Dimebag Tribute

Via Metal Hammer:

Nonpoint have recorded a version of Pantera’s classic ‘5 Minutes Alone’ as an online bonus track for our Dimebag Tribute Album, available with every issue of Metal Hammer (on sale December 16 – next Wednesday).

Read Zach and Elias' reasoning for picking '5 Minutes Alone' here.

This Day in Rock History

A sad day for rock history today.

In 1980 John Lennon is shot to Deaths outside of his New York City home by Mark David Chapman.

In 2004 Damageplan/Pantera guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott is murdered on stage in Columbus, Ohio, in a shooting spree that also claims the life of the band’s head of security, Jeffrey “Mayhem” Thompson, a club employee and an audience member.

I was at a GWAR show in Denver, CO when we got news that Dime had been shot and killed. We had to tell the members of GWAR. They were in complete disbelief. They decided to come out completely unmasked and do a tribute to Dime. Here is that video. I will never forget this night.



This was also the day Jim Morrison of The Doors was born in Melbourne, Fla in 1943. He would have been 66 today.

Emphatic Pics from North Platte Show - 12-5-09

12/8 NEW RELEASES - 30 Seconds to Mars "This is War"

[Art by 30 Seconds to Mars fan Salome]

30 SECONDS TO MARS:
www.thirtysecondstomars.com/
www.myspace.com/thirtysecondstomars
Official Merch Store
Amazon.com

Bamboo Shoots to Play in Grand Island Hot Topic Store

Sunday, December 6th national Epic records band Bamboo Shoots will make a stop in Grand Island, Nebraska to play a Local Static in-store session at Hot Topic in the Conestoga Mall. Stop by to check it out.

Here is a excerpt from their bio on MySpace:

There's something odd about Bamboo Shoots. Certainly a band of four brown-skinned boys whose collective faces look equally at home on a terrorist watchlist as any promotional poster is, well, unique. That all of the members are of Indian descent at a time when Indian culture is exploding globally is surely... noteworthy. "We gave up on fitting in a long time ago," states singer/guitarist Avir Mitra with a shrug.

Mix innovative hooks and lean guitars with urban inspired beats and subtle world flavor, add a dash of Brooklyn cred but temper it with a lyrical openness - now you begin to get at the sound of Armour, their Epic Records debut. It's future-feeling and it's retro and it almost didn't happen.

Read the rest and listen to some of their tunes at http://www.myspace.com/bambooshoots

12-10-09 - 30 Seconds to Mars on Conan O'Brien

The guys will be the musical guests on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on Thursday, December 10th. TUNE IN!

12-01-09: 30 Seconds to Mars - Denver - Pictures

I will be posting a review of the show, but in the meantime check out the pics. Cheers.

Emphatic to Play The Waiting Room in Omaha Saturday, January 30th

More details will be posted as they become available.

The Waiting Room - WEBSITE
Emphatic - MYSPACE PAGE

Chiba-Ken - "Hard to be Human"

We all have faults. It's part of being human. Is it acceptable? An excuse? No. Probably just a product of the conditions we were exposed to and experienced during our individual lifetime that got us to the place we are today. It is definitely hard to be human today.



Am I too bad?
Am I too good?
Am I too mad?
Or misunderstood?
Am I too late?
Am I on time?
If I'm too early then tell me I'll go away and come back tonight.
Am I too old?
Am I too young?
Am I too vain?
Is she the one?
All that I need?
Can I be good enough for her when I am not good enough for me?
I have forgotten myself
Forgotten my way
It's hard to be human today
Am I too rich?
Am I too poor?
Does this tattoo reflect what's in my soul?
Am I too black?
Maybe too white?
Am I too proud to think I may not be right?
I have forgotten myself
Forgotten my way
It's hard to be human today
Am I too mean?
Am I too nice?
Am I too high?
Should I just get drunk and start up a fight?
How 'bout tonight?
Am I too strange?
I talk to myself.
Am I deranged because I have thought about killing myself?
Should I get help?
Am I too straight?
Am I too gay?
Am I too pretty or ugly or freaky?
Do I sound cliche?
Am I okay?
Tell me I'm good.
Good enough for you.
Tell me I'm good.
Good enough for you.
Tell me the truth.
It's hard to be human today.

A Note from The Universe

So, I signed up to get "A Note from The Universe" every day.

Here is the one for today: "It works like compound interest, Tonya. For whatever you put in, more comes back to you." -The Universe

To this I state -----> Oh really Universe? Then I should be independently feckin' wealthy by now. Just sayin'....

Listen to Emphatic's New Single "Stronger" Today!

Listen to Tri-Cities station Thunder 103.1 today around 3pm-ish to hear Emphatic's new single "Stronger"!!!

And don't forget the band is playing 89.7 The River's Local Feast THIS WEDNESDAY at Sokol Auditorium in Omaha and in North Platte Saturday, December 5th at the D&N Event Center. Get out there and show your support for local music!

Music News

Who Is Robbing Bands In Philadelphia?: Article about the recent band robberies in Philadelphia via Alternative Press Magazine. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

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FLYLEAF Frontwoman Interviewed On ABC NEWS RADIO - Nov. 20, 2009:


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Facebook Networking for Musicians - Via Musician Wages.com: READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

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Coincidence? I think not. There are some blatantly obvious similarities between 30 Seconds to Mars' video for "A Beautiful Lie" (August 2007)& Westlife's video for "What About Now" (October 2009). Kinda lame in my opinion.





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Press Release for Emphatic's North Platte Show (December 5th, 2009)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

North Platte, NE - Rock band Emphatic is playing the D&N Event Center in North Platte, NE on Saturday, December 5th with special guests Screaming for Silence. Also performing at the event are Hip Hop artist R.B.O. and Mankind.

Emphatic is an active band from Omaha, NE. After recording with producer Matt Noveskey, bassist for Blue October, they released their latest EP which has sold over 10,000 CD's independently and had a 17 week run on Billboards West North Central Heatseekers Chart with the single "Goodbye Girl." Their singles "No More Love" and "Dirty" have also garnished heavy radio airplay. They have shared the stage with bands such as Breaking Benjamin, Papa Roach, Avenged Sevenfold, Flyleaf, Five Finger Death Punch, Hurt, Buckcherry, Hollywood Undead and many others.

Screaming for Silence is also out of Omaha, NE and formed in the Fall of 2005. They have played with bands such as Saliva, Drowning Pool, Trapt, Egypt Central, Theory of a Deadman, Saving Abel and many more. Their sound is influenced by a genre combination of hard rock and metal in conjunction with Nu-Metal and punk, resulting in a very unique and distinctive sound.

This all ages event will take place at the D&N Event Center in North Platte, NE. Tickets are available for purchase at Big Red Liquor or Kittle's Music. Ticket cost is $15 in advance and $20 day of show. Doors will open at 7 PM. This event is sponsored by Electric Sky Entertainment, Dillon's Diabolical Designs, GG's Smoke Shop, Touring with Tonya, Big Red Liquor, Kittle's Music & Emphatic Street Team.

For more information, please visit Emphatic's MySpace Page at: http://www.myspace.com/emphaticonline All media contacts should be directed to Allen Kohtz from Electric Sky Entertainment at electricskyallen@live.com

Screaming for Silence: http://www.myspace.com/screaming4silence
Electric Sky Entertainment: http://www.myspace.com/esenebraska
Dillon's Diabolical Designs: http://www.myspace.com/dillonsdiabolicaldesigns
Touring with Tonya: http://www.tourintonya.blogspot.com

Is It Possible For A Band To Sell Out Anymore? -- Interesting Question -- Read the Comments

QUESTION LINK via Hypebot.com

Via HYPEBOT.COM:

"While we might be irked that our favorite band has sold a song to VW or McDonald's, we can instantly decontextualize and remove that song from its annoying commercial counterpart. When we don't buy full albums anyway, when we don't care about album sequence (which is all about intention) or look at the band's artwork or the label they're on (again, all intentional decisions), and when all of the songs we want are free-floating in the ether untethered, then advertisements aren't a source or means of "selling out." Instead, they're the new radio.

So, is it possible for a musician or band to sell out anymore? Probably. I think the bigger question is, why do we no longer care?"

- author and musician Carrie Brownstien of Sleater-Kinney on NPR's Monitor Mix

Read the comments following this statement. What do you think? Personally I agree that bands don't "sell out" anymore rather do what they can to be able to make a living making and playing the music they love, live and breathe.

QUESTION LINK via Hypebot.com

11/17 NEW RELEASE - Them Crooked Vultures

If ya don't know you *should* know. Them Crooked Vultures is a rock music supergroup that formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009. Comprising drummer Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Probot, Queens of the Stone Age), vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Eagles of Death Metal) and bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). Go ahead and digest that for a minute.

My friend T.J. was lucky enough to be at their surprise show in L.A. at The Roxy last night and meet these blokes. Excuse me while I turn green with total frickin' envy.



[Pic: Dustin Rabin via NME.com]

Them Crooked Vultures - MySpace Page