Sohodolls, The Academy Is.., The Matches, Butch Walker and Hanson are ON THE VERGE. Coming in early '09 from Planet Verge & Ambush TV!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Save Millions of Pets: National Spay Day



Just a quick note to let you know that today is National Spay Day.

Shocking fact:

Each year, approximately 6-8 million homeless pets enter shelters that are stretched to the breaking point. Sadly, about half of those animals have their shelter stay end in euthanasia rather than adoption.


FROM THE HUMANE SOCIETY:

For families that can provide a loving home for a pet, not enough of them can afford the surgery to prevent a litter from being born. That’s where you can make the biggest difference: Today you can team up with The Humane Society of the United States and our Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association to provide free or low-cost spay and neuter services for pets living with families in underserved
communities.

Last year, we achieved so much together -- thanks to our combined efforts, our staff and volunteer veterinarians spayed or neutered more than 32,000 pets.

GO HERE AND DONATE TO SPAY AN ANIMAL.

*By Joelle, who saw a horrible puppy mill pet shop yesterday and wrote a letter to the store owners, who should be ashamed of themselves.

She's a Survior:
Aimee Allen Releases New Music



Aimee Allen has slowly been preparing her fans for a new listening experience. Songs like "I'm Here' and "Little Happiness" played on her MySpace page alongside more aggressive tracks like "Revolution" and "Miss America." Now, it's out with the old (though we'll still play them constantly) and in with three new revitalizing tracks.



"Change in Weather," "On Vacation" and "God Talks" show Allen took the positive road after her public breakup with Unwritten Law frontman and one-time musical collaborator, Scott Russo. Through the new tunes, she breathes light into her life and embarks on an exciting journey. Listeners will surely be able to relate. There's a feeling of freedom that just takes you away with her.

On Scott & Aimee tunes, Allen's lyrics suggested she was a "beautiful trainwreck." It's great to see she's survived the pain and binges and her train has taken the high road. We can't wait to see what comes next.



Listen now at www.myspace.com/aimeeallen

Catch her at SXSW:

Mar 18 2009 2:30P Darwin’s Pub @ the Red Gorilla

Mar 19 2009 4:30P The Thirsty Nickel @ the Red Gorilla



* By Joelle, who couldn't choose just one photo to post, so she used them all.

Sneak Peak of Tinted Windows



Stereogum has released video footage of Tinted Windows performing. It's so awesome to see Taylor fronting this band. However, I never thought I'd see him in a skinny tie! Hopefully now Hanson will see more mainstream respect, because love it or not, they are a talented straight-up rock band who just happen to all be brothers and have legions of young women falling at their feet.

Some have already said that Tinted Windows is just like Fountains of Wayne fronted by Hanson. You can waste your time being a critic or have fun, sing along (one listen and it's already stuck in my head) and just enjoy the music for what it's supposed to do: entertain you!

You can also hear the full track of "Kind of a Girl". Click it.

* By Joelle, who can't wait to hear more!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Perhaps the oddest new musical venture...

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Hanson's Taylor Hanson and Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger have formed a new band, Tinted Windows.

The group has recorded its debut album at Stratosphere Sound Studios in New York, which Schlesinger and Iha co-own with Ivy's Andy Chase. A spring release is planned, on a label to be announced.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Just a thought:

When Isaac Slade asks God "Where were you?", I want so badly to tell him: God is avoiding you, because your music is clearly a tool of Satan and Grey's Anatomy (vom!) marketing.

In short: The Fray is the new Nickelback. Every song sounds the same, every song is mediocre and boring and every song pretends to be deep--and somehow, an enormous amount of people buy this shit.


*By Jess, who ate far too much Valentine's Day candy in far too short a time span.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Spread the Anti-Valentine's Day Love



In honor of the sappiest Hallmark money sucking holiday of them all, The Sleeping has a shared a special gift with its fans. Everyone who sends an anti-V Day e-card to a friend gets to hear a song off the band's new album a whole three days before its official release.

Go to http://www.victoryrecords.com/witfl/ to get started.

Also, check out the latest Valentine’s Day episodes on What It Takes For Love.com as THE SLEEPING’s very own Doug Robinson answers your relationship questions. Should be interesting!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Love Songs That Aren't

In honor of St. Valentine's Day (you do know he was beheaded, right? Really romantic!), I've devised a list of songs that would horrify couples if they actually paid attention to (or understood) the lyrics while slowdancing.

"I Will Always Love You" - Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton
Despite the title, this is actually a breakup song. "It's Not You, It's Me" didn't flow as well with the melody.

"You Really Got a Hold On Me" - Percy Sledge
"I don't like you, but I love you" is something a kid says to their brother in an awkward, rare moment of bonding. It is not something you say to a lover when things are going well.

"How Do I Live" - LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood
Not only is there not a single rhyme anywhere in this song--seriously, check--but it's disturbing. You live the way anyone else would. You consume, you respirate. This is not a love song. It is a dependency song. It is a needy song. Ew, neediness. Gross.

"Your Song" - Elton John

Ladies, if a man really loved you? He'd know for sure what color your damn eyes are. Then again, that song wasn't written for us...

"Thinking of You" - Katy Perry

That's really cute. "When I'm boning him, I'm actually picturing you." That'll win him over!

"Love Story" - Taylor Swift

Listen, I like Taylor Swift. I think she's got an amazing ear for hooks and that she's almost ridiculously pretty. But this song just doesn't make sense. Romeo and Juliet killed themselves. Hester Prynne ("I was a scarlet letter") was an adulterer. This love story probably ends with herpes. Or worse.

"Every Breath You Take" - The Police

I am absolutely playing this at my wedding. I want whoever I'm marrying to know that if and when we break up, I will always know where he sleeps, but will maintain just enough distance to avoid violating my restraining order.


*By Jess, who actually loves Valentine's Day. Must be all the red.

Tragic Fire Robs Scott Russo of Home & Pets



Unwritten Law frontman, Scott Russo, lost his home and pets to in a fire last week.

On the band's MySpace, this statement was made:

House of Blues San Diego will hold a benefit concert tomorrow evening featuring Grammy-nominated artists Jason Mraz and Switchfoot as well as Unwritten Law and Timmy Curran to help restore damages from the recent house fire affecting Scott Russo of San Diego band Unwritten Law.

Lead Singer Scott Russo’s Rancho Penasquitos family home caught fire on Thursday February 5, leaving an estimated $500,000 worth of uninsured damage.

“I am at a complete loss for words,” Russo says. “My entire family is now homeless, all our pets are gone and our earthly possessions have been lost. In these tough times, my family had been out of work and the financial burden was too heavy for me to afford fire insurance. The support from my friends has been overwhelming.”

An outpouring of music community support has helped create this benefit concert to raise funds for the family. Jason Mraz and Switchfoot will be performing a special acoustic set as well as full on rock performances by Unwritten Law and pro-surfer and musician Timmy Curran. House of Blues, Ticketmaster and all artists have donated their time and resources to support the cause.

Tickets for the Russo Benefit concert are $45 for general admission and $100 for balcony seats and will go on sale today, Monday, February 9 at 12pm. Ticketmaster will also hold an auction for the last remaining 100 tickets. Tickets are available via the House of Blues box office and Ticketmaster. The show is ages 21 and up. All proceeds of the concert will go to the Russo Family.

Donations for the Russo family can be made through Pay Pal or my mailing a check to the address below.

For Pay Pal donations go to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cm d=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=3064788 or http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=3231403&blogID=469103892

For check or money order make donations payable to:
Platinum Financial Management, Inc. for the benefit of Scott Russo
9200 West Sunset Boulevard, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90069


*By Joelle, who lists Unwritten Law in her top 5 favorite bands of all time and is really sad about the loss of his pets.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

He's Just Not That Into You... Because You're in a Crappy Movie

Like so many avid readers, I cringe a little when a favorite book is made into movie. When I heard that He’s Just Not That Into You was going Hollywood, I cringed more than usual – I was actually a little terrified. But I dutifully bought my tickets and waited on line to watch the movie on opening night with some girlfriends after which I realized I had been out of line cringing prior to the movie’s release. Vomiting would have been more appropriate.

The movie centers around Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), an innocent and adorable 20-something who is clearly deficient when it comes to the male gender and dating in general. The other women and men in her life get wrapped up into the mess and soon we’re learning about all of their messy relationships. In Baltimore, the "almost to DC" stop on the Acela, we are taken on a little trip through the 2-exciting-dimensions of our main characters.

Gigi, Beth, and Janine (Goodwin, Jennifer Aniston, and Jennifer Connelly) work in the same office. What they do is of no importance, as we hear nothing about it except that it has something to do with nutmeg. The only excitement in the office is about men, the only conversations about men, and the only reason these women have to interact is about men. To call them "friends" grossly overstates their relationships with one another, but they are as close as this move comes to demonstrating that women sometimes want to hang out... but again, only to talk about men.

This is symptomatic of a larger issue I take with the movie – these women have nothing – nothing – going on in their lives. They don’t have hobbies, pals, exercise routines. Most don’t even have families, except in one case where the parents are used as a convenient path to get the man back into her life. Thank god for those men. These women simply don’t exist without them.

Granted, it’s a romantic comedy (or at least bills itself as such) so that there is a heavy focus on men isn’t a surprise, but the movie makers rested too heavily on the popularity of the book and the gullibility of women to shill HJNTIY. They give audiences no reason to be engaged in the characters, no reason to care if Craz... sorry, Gigi ever gets her man, except to prove the love rules of a comedian from the late 90s.

I was personally insulted that the producers, directors, and writers assumed that there is simply nothing else these women could do with their lives (read a book, maybe, go for a run, head to a museum) and that audiences would buy that. I was depressed to find out that the audience in my theater was exactly that demographic – they gasped when love came through, when exceptions to rules were made and marriage vows promised. They laughed at the jokes of "women" behavior – hair clogs in the drain, sweeping up their own angsty messes, blow-drying their hair. Oh the hilarity!

At the end of the day, the movie exists to make money, and I get that. But to make movie based on a self-help book, one would assume that the movie shares the goal of the book – to help women wise up to the silliness of some stereotypical behavior. I was actually a big fan of He’s Just Not That Into You because it pressed women to stop obsessing about men. He’ll let you know if he’s interested, if he’s not, don’t sweat it. I can get on board with that message.

The movie fails impress that logic into audiences. These women constantly obsess about men and dating, regardless of the irrationality of it. They openly make fools of themselves and justify it with "at least I still have hope" or some such nonsense. They break every rule laid out in this fairly reasonable book, but it’s ok because love prevails. Who cares if that love had to be ripped out of the man’s clenched, unyielding fists? He’s totally into you... or will be if you just try a little harder.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Chick in Charge

* This is really cool, so I had to post the press release- *Joelle




Singer-songwriter to run Epic Records

Amanda Ghost, co-writer of James Blunt's You're Beautiful, has been named president of the label home to Michael Jackson, George Michael and Jennifer Lopez


In a move that is either devilishly clever or ridiculously misconceived, Epic Records has named Amanda Ghost – co-writer of James Blunt's You're Beautiful – as its new president.

Ghost comes to the role with little or no management experience. The main qualification of the celebrated songwriter is that, well, she's a celebrated songwriter. Besides You're Beautiful, Ghost also co-wrote Beyoncé and Shakira's hit Beautiful Liar and has worked with Kanye West, the Prodigy and Britney Spears. Ghost is also herself a singer-songwriter.

"I'm not a conventional choice as a music business executive," Ghost admitted in a statement. "[But] I'm here to draw on my experiences as an artist, songwriter and producer to make the new and existing artists signed to Epic as brilliant and successful as possible."

The decision is a bold one, recalling Rick Rubin's troubled ascension at Sony. Then again, Ghost's talents are not merely academic – You're Beautiful helped Blunt to achieve more than 14m album sales.

Viewed more sceptically, Ghost has not demonstrated much marketing acumen with her own recording career. Her albums have not had chart success and James Blunt's insipid balladry remains the singer-songwriter's main claim to fame.

As president of Epic, Ghost will be responsible for overseeing the label's management and creative direction – as well as the careers of artists such as Franz Ferdinand, Jennifer Lopez, Editors, Sade and Ozzy Osbourne.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Robbers on High Street Take Low (Effort) Road

Note to bands, managers, and concert planners: if, in planning your next show, you suffer lack luster ticket sales, 20 degree wind scaring away door sales, and an inexplicably incompetent ticket box, give away free ice cream and chocolate. That helps.

Such was the fate of Robbers on High Street show at their Saturday show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. With the East River deflecting freezing gusts onto the line at will call, the extended absence of the will call employee was especially upsetting. As my fellow line jockeys whined “why did I leave my coat in the car?” this girl momentarily wondered where exactly her cab had dropped her off – North Brooklyn or the North Shore. Luckily a table was set up inside to give away free ice cream sundaes (seriously) and each CD came with a bar of boutique dark chocolate. And if there’s free food, it doesn’t really matter where the cab took you, right?

Once inside, the shiny cleanness of the Music Hall was, as always, surprising. The aesthetic is painstakingly industrial and bare, putting a special onus on performers to fill the space. This is not a great venue to phone in a show, as we saw in some of the opening acts; thankfully, a particularly strong set by Jukebox the Ghost set off a much needed energy in the crowd, but it was a long way until Robbers on High Street took the reins on the audience. In the meantime, a lot of them went to grab a beer – somewhere else.

Robbers took the stage to find that a notable chunk of the audience had deserted them and their energy was low at the start of their set, which featured tunes from their last disc, Grand Animals. As the set rolled on, the band and the crowd warmed to each other, but it was telling that the biggest cheers and the most enthusiastic dancing came from the cover for Guilt by Association vol 2, “Cool It Now.” It wasn’t clear if the refresher came from a communal love of New Edition or the violinist who joined them on stage to bring honor to this 80s classic.

Following in a theme started by earlier bands, Robbers continued a light mocking of their audience – an audience that clearly deserved it after asking lead singer Ben Trokan to “tell a joke.” His refusal to oblige, justifying that his joke was “racist, sexist and homophobic” seemed the only appropriate response. Personally I would have like to see him hurl one of their ubiquitous Tecate bottles at the girl, but that’s just me.

In another example of how concerts are becoming overly contrived and predictable, Robbers said goodnight and headed off stage for approximately 3 minutes before coming out for their encore. Remember when encores had to be earned by the audience? Remember when you screamed and cheered and hoped and prayed that the band wasn’t done? Sometimes you won, but sometimes you got roadies wrapping up cords, but there was a suspense to it. Now audiences stand and wait for the obligatory extra two songs. Robbers did not disappoint the dozens of fans patiently waiting their re-entry.

Overall, the performance was unremarkable. Cameo appearances by the violinist, a trumpet and some maracas kept things somewhat lively, and the musicality of the band was obvious. But this girl couldn’t get over the feeling that the band would rather be doing anything else. For a solid band like Robbers, I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt and assume this was due to an underwhelming crowd, expansive venue, and the unpleasant combo of ice cream and Tecate. For any curious fans, definitely check them out live, but try a more intimate venue where their personalities are more pronounced. And bring a sixer of Tecate.

By Jesy, who's suddenly in the mood for a Tecate.



This violinist loves him some coffee...


Three instruments between two band members. Gotta respect that.


I don't think Robbers on High Street are sponsored by Tecate, but they gets points for product placement anyway.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

ON THE VERGE: Fashion a Cure

The Fashion a Cure crew returned to Dexter's in Riverdale, NJ for its second indie music + fashion benefit for the American Cancer Society. On the Verge was there to capture all the action. You'll be able to tune into our coverage (interviews with the models, designers and bands) soon. For now, enjoy these photos!



OTV'S Joelle & Ambush TV's Mark hard at work!



Lolita Girls lining up.




We stole Drive By's Chris Perino for a bit.




America's Next Top Model Season 10 Winner, Whitney Thompson, in the spotlight.



Joelle made the event programs.
Get more info. at Magazines By Joelle



Sibyl Vain on the runway!



Sibyl Vain on the runway!





Designer Becky Vanderway pulls double-duty and models Z. Cavarrici's adorable new denim line.



I spy an America's Next Top Model!

More info: www.zcavaricci.com



Rebirth Enterprise.







Becky Vanderway.





More Top Model girls.



Lolita Girl





Melissa Cichelli performs.



ATM's Whitney Thompson showed that this is a cause close to her heart.



These amazing folks put the whole event together!




Tuesday, February 03, 2009

World, Meet Butch Walker



Butch Walker and Pink performed "Here Comes The..." off his new album, Sycamore Meadows, on Ellen today.



I'm really happy that he is finally where he should be- in the public eye for his own music. It may have taken tremendous loss (Google it if you don't know), but this should bring a bit of faith to everyone who really feels like they're at the lowest point in their lives, scratching and clawing for a way back to "normal." Fate has a plan. And for Butch, it was to take away all his material possessions and leave him with simply his soul, pets and family in order to get him in the mindset to write arguably his most personal, touching album to date.

Planet Verge has been leading the Butch parade for years now. He goes along with any crazy thing we happen to drag him into- from going on The Style Network's The Look for Less with Jordana as she got a makeover for her interview with him to contributing to our sex advice column back in the print days. What can we say? We love him and we're glad the world is finally going to pay attention to everything which we've been screaming!

Perhaps the longtime fans will "suffer" a bit because of the mainstream madness for Butch that will now surely ensue. Shows will sell out even faster and there may be the type of drunk girls you want to punch in the face singing along next to you at the next show. But, find solace in the fact that Butch's lyrics have touched another person's life and he is creeping one step closer to being regarded as famously as Jeff Buckley.


LET'S MAKE TODAY CELEBRATE BUTCH DAY!


Watch the video for "The Weight of Her"