news

Pete Wentz Named UNICEF Spokesperson

Alternative Press - Max Weinberg on 2/22/10 @ 6:08 PM - altpress.com

Despite Fall Out Boy being on hiatus, bassist Pete Wentz continues to stay busy. The humanitarian organization UNICEF has selected Wentz to be the national spokesperson for the 2010 UNICEF Tap Project. Currently entering its fourth year, the UNICEF Tap Project takes place during World Water Week 2010 (March 21-27) and raises money for clean water for children around the world.

"It's truly an honor to be the national spokesperson for the Tap Project and support efforts to provide clean water to children in the developing world," said Wentz. "Water is something that we as Americans often take for granted but the reality is, the lack of clean and accessible drinking water kills 4,100 children under the age of five every day and as a new father I have become highly attuned to the needs of children everywhere. Unfortunately, it's usually when emergencies like Haiti occur, that the importance of clean water really becomes apparent to the rest of us."

Bird By Bird (ex-the Matches) announce spring tour dates

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 2/22/10 @ 4:49 PM - altpress.com

Bird By Bird, the new band of the Matches guitarist Jon Devoto, have announced spring tour dates--their first ever--including a stop through the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. The band will be bringing along a limited edition EP that will only be available at these shows.

Dates are as follows:
3/6 Santa Clara, CA - The Venuez (21+)
3/8 Los Angeles, CA - On the Rox (21+)
3/10 Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction (all ages)
3/11 Scottsdale, AZ (Phoenix) - Chyro Arts (all ages)
3/12 Tucson, AZ - The Rock (all ages)
3/13 El Paso, TX - Bombardiers (21+)
3/15 Houston, TX - Super Happy Fun Land (all ages)
3/19 Austin, TX - SXSW at Friends (21+)
3/22 Tulsa, OK - SoundPony (21+)
3/25 Las Vegas, NV - Cheyenne Saloon (21+)
3/28 San Luis Obispo, CA - SLO Art Center (all ages)

More dates are expected to be announced shortly.

Travis Barker takes on the paparazzi

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 2/22/10 @ 12:56 PM - altpress.com

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker had a run-in this weekend with paparazzi that led Barker to tweet in defense. According to TMZ, Barker and friends spat at two photographers and videographers who were following them outside of a restaurant in Calabasas, California, on Sunday. The incident allegedly escalated to the point that a camera was struck from one of the photographer's hands and the other had their tires slashed. No arrests were made. Check out video of the aftermath of the incident below.

Barker posted his version of the story on Twitter (these quotes were originally broken up into individual tweets): "When I'm out at breakfast at 8 a.m. in the morning the last thing I appreciate is some photographer threatening me 2 fight while he's 3 deep. When I defend myself/my kids that don't make me a tough guy. I was outnumbered and threatened so I did what any man would ... paparazzi cried like young girls when it was no longer 3 of them against me and my kids. Didn't they remember threatening me an hr. ago??"

What do you think of this? Who's in the right?

Minus The Bear announce title, release date for upcoming album

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 2/22/10 @ 11:05 AM - altpress.com

Recent Dangerbird Records signees, Minus The Bear have revealed that their next album will be called OMNI and that it will be released May 4. According to a press release for the band, the album--produced by Joe Chiccarelli (the White Stripes, My Morning Jacket)--is an "exploration of erotic themes and fascinating tales of human sexual relationships."

MTB have also announced that they'll support the album with a six-week North American tour kicking off April 21. Dates will be announced shortly.

OK Go frontman speaks out on the future of viral video

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 2/21/10 @ 6:26 PM - altpress.com

OK Go frontman Damian Kulash has contributed an op-ed to The New York Times on his band's successful use of viral videos and how the music industry might be mishandling the way they let music videos exist online. OK Go rose to fame in 2006 when their homemade video for "Here It Goes Again" became a YouTube sensation, and the band have made similar quirky videos since then leading up to the upcoming State Farm-sponsored clip for "This Too Shall Pass."

In the op-ed, Kulash says that the band's label, EMI, made a mistake when they decided not to let videos by their artists be embeddable and that both YouTube and EMI have "actually made it harder to share our videos."

In the piece, Kulash writes: "In these tight times, it's no surprise that EMI is trying to wring revenue out of everything we make, including our videos. But it needs to recognize the basic mechanics of the Internet. Curbing the viral spread of videos isn't benefiting the company's bottom line, or the music it's there to support. The sooner record companies realize this, the better--though I fear it may already be too late."

You can read the entire piece here.

What do you think about this? Are labels in the dark about how to properly use the internet?

Forever The Sickest Kids post new song "Get Over Yourself" for free download

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 2/21/10 @ 3:33 PM - altpress.com

Forever The Sickest Kids have uploaded a new song, a behind-the-scenes video and band photos in a file hosted on their MySpace page. Click on the "House Party" image and it'll lead you to a download file featuring, among other extras, the new song, "Get Over Yourself." Check it out here.