After three versions of We Are Pilots, Shiny Toy Guns have finally released their latest in electronic/dance, Season Of Poison. First things first, a new singer. Sisely Treasure has stepped into the shoes of Shiny Toy Guns' familiar frontface, Carah Faye Charnow. Though replacing a vocalist can transform a band significantly, both behind the scenes and in the spotlight, Treasure is a fine fit who has openly brought her own techniques to the table; an admirable balance between poise and...

If the measure of a classic album or document is its seemingly complete integration into a cultural vernacular, it can only be said that Cheap Trick’s At Budakan! is one of the biggest, most enduring documents in the recent history of popular song. The name of the album alone has become synonymous with excellence; when Mike Myers (in the role of Wayne Campbell) was attempting to articulate how great he thought love interest Tia Carrere’s band was in Wayne’s World,...

Don't ask me why I had ever seen AC/DC live before this show, because honestly, I couldn't tell 'ya. Maybe it's because they seemed pretty reliable over the last twenty five years or so, and it seemed like you could always count on them releasing a new album every few years, and then doing a massive world tour to support it. I guess I always thought, "I'll go see them next time." Well after waiting eight years for the release...

When thinking of San Diego usually the first thing that would pop into my mind was the zoo, or maybe the bacon cheeseburger from Hodad's. Industrial powered Doom Metal, on the other hand, was probably the last, but that has all changed now. Allow us to introduce you to Author and Punisher, Tristan Shone. He is the engineering wizard behind the Drone Machines and is the musical steamroller that has been demolishing clubs and galleries with his singular brand of...

Ah, Christmas. For most people, it is a season of giving, laughter, togetherness and joy; peace on Earth, good will toward men and so on, et cetera. For those that work in the music business, it’s a ragingly hectic and busy time – in the spirit of giving, there are few people that won’t buy one of their “someone specials” a couple of CDs  (or, for the audiophiles, maybe a couple of records too) in order to show that they...

After releasing a glittery and sleazy breakthrough rock record with the Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites in 2006 and going on to produce a series of similar sounding albums for Avril Lavigne, The Academy Is… and Hot Hot Heat in the time since, it was perfectly reasonable to assume that listeners  knew what to expect of anything that bore Butch Walker’s name. That’s not meant to sound like a disparaging statement in the slightest (although it probably sounds like one) and, in fact, sometimes...

The subtitle reads "How Everything They Touched Turned to Gold." But this book makes it obvious the subtitle should continue, "and how they got almost none of it." The back cover, continuing the cheerful hype, states that The Beatles ended up "pioneering much of what we now recognize as the modern music business." The implication is that they got it all right, figured it all out. Instead, it would be more accurate to say that they invented the modern music...

I'm usually a little leery of press releases and their claims. But when the PR for Andy Yorke's Simple states, "In spite of this promise Andy found… personal demons driving him to write," I believe it. These songs definitely feel necessary—you can tell Yorke was working through deep emotions when he wrote these songs. But, while they are unquestionably cathartic, Yorke has crafted art out of his torment. This isn't just bare pain...

There are some things that simply do not get talked about in the music industry and primary on that list is the behind-the-scenes work and designs that go into presenting a monumental concert. Usually the only times that audiences notice “the little things” that go into a show are when the human component slips up and inadvertently gives a glimpse behind the curtain. Sometimes it’s done on purpose (think Nirvana’s famous music awards show performance when Krist Novoselic knocked himself...

Oasis are not really a skeleton in my musical closet, but have just been one of those bands I have just quietly liked for years. Not only have I always loved their fuck-all attitudes, I've also always admired their abilities to write an amazing pop song, fill it full of hooks, and deliver it full of attitude. I had always regretted not seeing the band live, so when I found out they would be kicking off their U.S. tour in...