Drumming up some excitement…
Spirited Brooklyn rock band The Drums recently released “I Can’t Pretend”, the dreamy second single off their brand new LP Encyclopedia, slated to be released September 23rd on Minor Records. The single is the perfect farewell to summer with its shivery synth texture, chiming guitar and sighing chorus; it’s the sonic equivalent of watching the sun setting in the distance as you walk along the beach with your May-September romance.
thedrums.com
Spirited Brooklyn rock band The Drums recently released “I Can’t Pretend”, the dreamy second single off their brand new LP Encyclopedia, slated to be released September 23rd on Minor Records. The single is the perfect farewell to summer with its shivery synth texture, chiming guitar and sighing chorus; it’s the sonic equivalent of watching the sun setting in the distance as you walk along the beach with your May-September romance.
Hear “I Can’t Pretend” below:
After a 3 year absence and several near break-ups, the Drums are back in action. The band experienced a shake-up at the end of their 2012 tour when founding member Connor Hanwick departed leaving singer Jonny Pierce and guitarist Jacob Graham wondering if they should throw in the towel. With the Drums; future up in the air, the two remaining members tried their hand at solo records (Pierce’s Queen Nail remains on the shelf, while Graham promises to release his later on this year under the moniker Cascading Slopes.) Last November, Pierce and Graham locked themselves in a cabin in upstate New York to work on a new Drums record. This past February they celebrated its completion, dropped the first single “Magic Mountain”in July and announced a US tour. Woo hoo!
Of the new record, Pierce told Noisey: “It’s about shedding off what binds you and protecting what’s good, finding a safe place away from everyone and everything that wants to destroy you.”
If anyone can provide sanctuary from the misery of everyday life, it’s the Drums. Their music is catchy and fun with just the right amount of sepia-tinged melancholy and their live shows are impossible not to enjoy! Make summer last a little bit longer with a rousing set from the Drums, playing the Triple Rock on September 29th.
Tour Dates
09/16/14 Brooklyn Music Hall Of Williamsburg
09/17/14 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
09/20/14 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
09/22/14 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall
09/24/14 Montreal, QC Le Cabaret Du Mile End
09/25/14 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall
09/27/14 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
09/29/14 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock
10/01/14 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
10/02/14 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
10/03/14 TBD Fest
10/05/14 Los Angeles, CA Mayan Theatre
10/06/14 San Francisco Great American Music
10/08/14 Portland, OR Star Theater
10/09/14 Seattle, WA Neumos
10/10/14 Vancouver, BC Fortune Sound Club
10/12/14 Las Vegas, NV Bunkhouse
10/13/14 San Diego, CA Soda Bar
10/15/14 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
10/16/14 Scottsdale, AZ Pub Rock
10/25/14 Beach Goth Party
11/12/14 Amsterdam Paradiso
11/13/14 Berlin, Germany Frannz
11/14/14 Hamburg, Germany Molotow
11/15/14 Brussels, Belgium Vk*
11/17/14 Paris, France Le Trabendo
11/18/14 London, Scala
11/19/14 Manchester, Gorilla
11/20/14 Glasgow Glasgow School Of Art
11/22/14 Madrid, Spain Arena Club
11/23/14 Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz
BASS DRUM OF DEATHbassdrumofdeath.com
We saw Bass Drum of Death three times now, the first at SXSW 2012, which Dan described as “The crowd is much younger than I am. Lots of power chords and thrashing.”
Amy saw them at 7th Street Entry in 2013 and wrote, “They pretty much just ended one song and kicked into another to keep the intensity and momentum going…” and I finally caught the band at the Cedar Cultural Center in 2013 and noted, “For this tour, they added a guitarist, adding some muscle to their sound.”
Guess what? Bass Drum of Death are back, with a new album called Rip This and will be heading out on tour in support of the new record. The record comes out October 7, 2014, on Innovative Leisure.
09/06/14 Hattiesburg, MS Thirsty Hippo
09/07/14 Chattanooga, TN JJ’s Bohemia
09/09/14 New Orleans, LA Siberia
09/10/14 Mobile, AL Alchemy Tavern
09/11/14 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
09/12/14 Birmingham, AL BottleTree
09/13/14 Jackson, MS Martin’s
10/01/14 St. Louis, MO The Demo
10/02/14 Chicago, IL Subterranean
10/03/14 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
10/04/14 Ithaca, NY The Haunt
10/05/14 Burlington, VT Signal Kitchen
10/06/14 Cambridge, MA Middle East Upstairs
10/08/14 New York, NY Santos Party House
10/09/14 Philadelphia, PA The Barbary
10/10/14 Baltimore, MD Metro Gallery
10/11/14 Washington, DC Comet Ping Pong
10/12/14 Asheville, NC The Grey Eagle
10/13/14 Atlanta, GA 529
10/19/14 Los Angeles, CA Echo
10/20/14 San Francisco Great American Music Hall
JOHNNY ARIESfacebook.com/johnnyariesmusic
Did you know that The Drums‘ current guitarist/bassist, Johnny Aries (who replaced The Drums’ Myles Matheny in 2012) is also a solo musician? His debut album Unbloomed was released last week (August 26) on Frenchkiss Records.
The 10-track LP featured the Union Jack flag on its cover, because the 26-year old British lad wanted to make a statement about how he felt moving from England to living in New York.
“It’s something a parting shot towards England and my old life”, Aries says of the 10- song collection. “Some of the songs are me lamenting things I’ve done, but some are also about letting go and looking toward greener pastures.”
With Unbloomed, Aries cites influences from The Big O Roy Orbison to the Mozfather Morrissey…
Look for Johnny Aries on tour with The Drums this Fall.
BLACK BELT KARATE
www.bbkofficial.com
Ryan Brown, drummer of Black Belt Karate, was recently interviewed in the October Edition of Modern Drummer magazine with Deep Purple‘s Ian Paice on its cover. See the table of contents here. The magazine covered Ryan Brown on his recent world tour with Zappa Plays Zappa.
When not on tour, Brown is a the resident music teacher at Musicians Institute in Hollywood as well as the drummer for Black Belt Karate, an indie rock band featuring singer Ryan Hanifl, composer Hans Zimmer, guitarist Jason Achilles Mezilis, and bassist Harry Anthony Ostrem, and Ryan Brown.
Black Belt Karate’s latest single is called “Transformer”, and it is available on all digital platform.