The After Party - "Waste the Day" Music Video Trailer

I know that as of recent, Kenny departed from The After Party, BUT before he did, the guys filmed a music video for their single, "Waste the Day," and released a trailer for it (see video below).  It looks like a cute music video about relationships and wasting the day with someone special.  No release date has been officially announced yet, so stay tuned!

Travis Garland covers No Doubt's "Settle Down"

It's been awhile since I've personally listened to Travis Garland, and I picked the right time to pay his music a visit.  It's not necessarily his song, but he did cover No Doubt's new single "Settle Down" (see video below).  In all honesty, I saw No Doubt perform this live at the Teen Choice Awards, and I wasn't impressed.  Though I'm glad to see that they're coming back to the music scene and I hear hints of their old sound in the song, it just didn't work for me.  I can't quite elaborate why - it simply didn't click with me.

However, I had been seeing a lot of my Twitter feed being consumed of retweets of Travis's rendition of it, and people said that they loved his version better.  Out of curiosity I checked it out.  Now, it seemed like to me that No Doubt was going for a Jamaican sound which I was debating whether it worked for them or not.  The Jamaican sound isn't quite as obvious in Travis's cover - it just sounds like a happy go-lucky song that easily gets stuck into your head plus his voice is magnifique.  I swear, anything that Travis sings is heaven to my ears.

Justin Lanning - "Air I Breathe" Music Video

Justin Lanning released his music video for "Air I Breathe" recently.  Here's someone I haven't listened to in awhile.  I always enjoy listening to his music and hearing his nice voice.  I'm a little sad because I found out about this music video in an email along with info about a show he played in Los Angeles last Friday - I couldn't go because I was flying back to Texas from Vegas!
Anyway, the one thing that I love is the concept of the music video because he includes flashbacks of the girl he's singing about.  I know it's not an original idea, but I think it's well done here especially with him discovering the camera and the flashback footage shown with an "old school camera" filter.  Take a gander!

Kyle Brylin

This person isn't necessarily a band, he's an artist and his name is Kyle Brylin.  He started following me on Twitter and he's quite a cutie!  If you want to hear his music, you'll have to go to his YouTube page where he posts original songs and covers as well!  He has lots of videos, so I watched/listened to his three most popular originals.

Personally, from the three songs that I listened to ("Just Go," "Find You," and "That Bad") I prefer him to stick with slow ballads ("Just Go" and "Find You") .  I only say this because I'm a sucker for piano ballads.  The piano lines are beautiful and almost make me cry.  His lyrics are simple and honest and straight to the point, and anyone can relate to them.  His voice is really emotional, and it adds to the songs' deep feeling.

Now, if you're into more upbeat music, "That Bad" is for you because it has more of a techno pop feel to it.  He even made his own music video to accompany it.  He dances in it, suggestively I might add, and he's super adorable.  The song talks about attraction to another person and wanting to play - something we all have felt at least one point in our lives.  The music itself sounds rather innocent, but it's rather dirty as well.

I don't think that Kyle has any performances planned right now, so I'll have to wait and see where this fella goes!  He has music available on iTunes, so go check them out and get some!

Anchors

Band number nineteen on Siri's "Bands to Listen to" list: Anchors.  I found these fellas after they started following me in Instagram.  They're a five (but looks like four) piece metal/hardcore band from California, and from the pictures I've seen on Insta, they seem pretty intense.

Upon hearing their music, I instantly identified them to fit in with the Houston We Have a Problem lineup.  In my honest opinion, they're alright - they're good but I'm not jumping for joy mainly because of the unclean vocals being the only vocals.  Don't get me wrong, I like heavy music, but this particular level of heaviness is not my usual cup of tea because I personally enjoy some clean vocals to balance it out.  I wouldn't particularly rock out to their music, but I can definitely see a crowd getting rowdy to it.  The guitar line is good and their breakdowns are pretty good, so I can rock to that.

They seem like a young group, so I think they've got something going for them and can definitely grow some more as a band.  They released their Unsinkable EP this past way, which is on iTunes.  Currently, they have no upcoming shows or tours planned because they're working on a new record titled Reflections.  I'm curious to see how these guys will turn out, so I'll definitely be keeping up with them!

Warped Tour 2012 Photos

A few weekends ago I went to Warped Tour for the first time, and I took over 1300 photos of ten bands!  I saw (in order) Memphis May Fire, Of Mice & Men, You Me At Six, Pierce the Veil, Sleeping with Sirens, Taking Back Sunday, We the Kings, Yellowcard, Breathe Carolina, and All Time Low, and ALL were amazing to see live.  If you haven't gotten a ticket to Warped, and they're coming to your city, please go!

Because I took so many photos (and filtered through them) I'd like to share them with everyone!
You can go to my recently-made photo Tumblr to see a few selected photos, or you can go to Rock Edition to see more selection!

Shameless self-promotion at its best!

Breathe Carolina - Hell is What You Make It: Reloaded

Breathe Carolina released a "reloaded" version of their last album, Hell Is What You Make It, featuring their latest single, "Hit and Run" along with a remix version, "Reaching for the Floor," and a remixed cut of "Last Night (Vegas)."  The two new tracks exhibit more techno pop sounds, which bodes well with me but I much prefer their tracks with unclean vocals (i.e. the first half of the album).  Either way, I think they're worth giving a listen to and potentially a purchase!

The After Party - Kansas

The After Party's much anticipated summer EP, Kansas, released today for the Party girls and it includes their recent single, "Waste the Day."  I recently saw these guys at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, and they played a couple of new songs from the EP which were quite emotional and heartfelt.  But don't let that discourage you from buying it!

In just seven songs, Kansas showcases different songs evoking different emotions and feelings a person could have, and I think that is great.  Overall it's got more of a pop rock sound as opposed to the more poppy sound they had before, and I think it works well for the Summer of Love tour coming up in a week - sorta reminds me of Allstar Weekend's sound, which I can't complain about.  For the fans of 90s boy bands, the ballad, "Here Comes the Rain," sounds similar to a song from that boy band era.  They'll keep you jumping and dancing on your feet, so don't hesitate to buy the album!

Now, many, if not all, of The After Party fans are aware of the disheartening news of the departure of Kenny, the lead singer, from the band.  He is now pursuing a solo project called Ken Rice, and he's currently writing music for it.  I'm glad to hear that fans are still supporting him - I know I will - and I hope all goes well with this new project!

Summer of Love tour 2012

Hold your breathe girls cause you will be graced with the presence of the cuties from Allstar Weekend, Honor Society, NameSake, and Rocky Loves Emily (below) on the Summer of Love tour 2012!  With the exception of NameSake, I've seen all the bands perform live at least once, and fans are in for a real treat!  They won't be able to stop dancing and cheering and well, screaming.  I honestly couldn't have pictured a better group of cute and musically talented guys for this tour - it's almost too much of a coincidence.

The tour kicks off in mid-July and in Texas!  Unfortunately, I'll be in Las Vegas, so I won't be able to see these guys at all!  But if you're in the Austin, Houston, or Dallas area July 17th, 18th, and 19th (respectively), you should definitely go out for a night of fun.  They won't disappoint.

FUN FACT for all you fans of The After Party, they'll be playing the Texas tour dates, so even more cute boys to see!  My head is about to explode with the amount of cute boys and bromances adding to this equation!  DEFINITELY go to these shows if you're in the area cause you don't wanna miss out!

Send my boys my love!  Rawk on guys!

[[EDIT]] So I just saw that the boys from Hollywood Ending will also be playing at the Texas tour dates!  More boys, more cute, more music, more fun!  This just means that you Texas folk better get your asses to these shows!

Polyphia

Band number eighteen on Siri's "Bands to Listen to" list: Polyphia.  I found these fellow Texans from another friend of mine, and the one thing he said to me that really stuck to me was that these guys are talented musicians.  Yes, I am aware that almost everyone in the music industry is called a musician but these guys really are talented with their instruments.  Listen to the music - not saying the singers aren't important - but really listen.

They have a couple of instrumentals on their music page, and I think these give you the chance to really hear their sound and how awesome they are.  "An Evaporation" would be a good start since it's first, and it shows live footage of them playing the song.  (If you like Christmas songs, they did an instrumental cover of "Carol of the Bells")  There is one word that comes to mind...okay maybe two - 1.  insane and 2.  sick.  They are insanely sick.  The guitar finger work is insane especially the lead guitar lines, and I think that at one point the two guitarists switch and it further shows off how talented each member is.  Don't let me forget the dual drum pedals either.  Pure sickness.

Now with the addition of vocals...it's a perfect duo that I think is a recipe for awesomeness.  My ears hear clean vocals similar to Devin Oliver from I See Stars and unclean vocals similar to Dave Stephens from We Came As Romans.  Their vocals mixed with the awesome music is like an orgasm for my ears.  When my friend told me about this band, I didn't stop listening to them for a few hours.

Another exciting thing about this band is that they're from Texas, so that gives me plenty of chances to see them if they toured!  They'd definitely be a good show to go see live, but in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy listening to the free music that they have up for download.

Lostprophets

Band number seventeen on Siri's "Band to Listen to" list: Lostprophets.  You all know my lovely friend, Vicci, right?  Well, this was a suggestion made by her!  I listened to "Bring 'Em Down," "Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)," and "We Bring an Arsenal" because they had the most plays on their Facebook page.

"Bring 'Em Down" was a music video with one million views, which I think is impressive.  I feel like I'm just getting to the party that has already started - but better late than never I guess!  Their sound is quite enjoyable.  No matter what tempo or theme there is in each different song, they all have one purpose: to rock out.  Even with a softer and deeper song such as "Rooftops" still has that rock out element to it.

The music is intense and it makes me wanna head bang to it.  Personally, for me, my favorite is the drums.  They just seem to catch my attention with its pounding beat that I can feel pulsing in my heart.  Listen to "We Bring an Arsenal"s verses and refrains to hear the epitome of that.  However, all components contributing to the band really rocks out, and it sounds like they'd give a damn good show.

I'm sad to report that these guys have not toured since 2006, but that should mean that a tour would be a good thing soon!  Why?  Right now they're playing Warped Tour (which I'm sad about cause I wish I had made time to see them), so with them on the road again, they should miss the feeling of tour and decide to tour again!  If they ever came to Texas, I'd go see them for sure.

For right now, you can go get their album, Weapons Deluxe Edition, at iTunes!  Go do it!

All Time Low - "The Reckless and the Brave" and Hopeless Records

Big news today regarding the four hunks in All Time Low!  They're back with Hopeless Records.  A few days ago I had the amazing opportunity to photograph them at Warped Tour, and while that was happening, they announced that a new album will be released this fall, which is also evident in the picture above.  Excitement, excitement, excitement!  No definite date yet, but now the anticipation starts and the countdown begins.  (If you want to see some photos I took of them go here!)

Also a few days ago, they released a lyric video for their latest single, "The Reckless and the Brave" (see video below).  If you haven't listened or downloaded the song yet, now's your chance to see what you're missing!  I think it gives out a great message about going after your dreams no matter what other people say or think - you control your own destiny and you can make it happen!