Ra Ra Riot: The Rhumb Line
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
Ra Ra Riot have come a long way in just two years. After making a name for themselves as one of the most energetic live bands in Syracuse, New York, releasing a self-titled EP, and raising some eyebrows at CMJ festival, the quintet seemed destined for stardom. Sadly, though, along the way, they lost drummer, co-songwriter, co-vocalist and founder John Ryan Pike when he tragically drowned in 2007. But where many bands might folded under the new-found malaise, Ra Ra Riot instead persevered, making do with what they had, and created The Rhumb Line (Barsuk) one of this year’s best indie-pop debut albums. (more…)
Singer/songwriter Jolie Holland has just announced an upcoming North American tour. Starting in California and ending in New York, Holland will be on the road from mid-October to mid-November, playing a thorough set of shows in the US and Canada. Supporting her on the tour will be the French troubadour duo Herman Dune. The tour is in support of Holland’s latest effort The Living And The Dead. 
Chicago-based Pelican have been very busy. First and foremost, the hard rock outfit announced they will be issuing a limited edition 10″ split with peers These Arms Are Snakes, who they had previously collaborated with on last year’s Pink Mammoth. These Arms Are Snakes have rerecorded their song “Diggers Of Ditches” with Pelican providing their own musical input to the track as well. Hydra Head will be issuing only 3000 of the records, as well as an even rarer CD version. 
Seattle rock band These Arms Are Snakes have leaked a new song from their stellar upcoming album Tail, Swallower & Dove (Suicide Squeeze). The song, entitled “Red Line Season,” is the first taste off of the band’s debut full-length, which is due out October 7th. 
The now-defunct New England jazz-rock outfit headed by Geoff Farina and known as Karate had led an expansive career that has left many fans in their wake. Though known for its live shows, 595 is their first official live record. As Farina states, “We’ve heard countless live recordings of the 694 shows we played between 1993-2005, but this recording of #595 is surely our favorite.” 
There’s a video on YouTube of four guys backstage in a small dressing room. The acoustic guitarist plays a riff and the drummer, with only a sleigh bells and a tambourine, joins in, followed by two more guitars and a sequencer. The main vocalist stumbles on his words during a verse and the band snickers. Any band could’ve made this video. But with over 200,000 views in its first two weeks online, this one not only made Alamo Race Track an internet phenomenon but it also created international hype for their latest release, Black Cat John Brown. 
Our 
Coliseum front man Ryan Patterson laughs when I ask him about the “thousands” of bands he has been in over the years. “More like a million,” he says. “I got to the point that every band I had been in was around for a year, and then it fell apart. Someone would quit and it would be over.” Although he had been playing guitar with Louisville hardcore act Black Cross, in forming Coliseum he saw both a chance to play heavier and faster material than what Black Cross had been doing as well as the opportunity to decide for himself whether or not to continue if the going got tough. 
DJ A-Trak will be performing this Saturday at Subterranean in Chicago. Collaborating with the likes of Lupe Fiasco and releasing the 45-minute Running Man: Nike + Original this past June, A-Trak has made quite the name for himself. 
