Paramore & Shiny Toy Guns Get Grammy Nods

Dude, are the Grammy Awards getting hip? What is up with our scene bands getting nominations?

"Misery Business" is Paramore's best song, but are the other Grammy-worthy? Shiny Toy Guns are great, but same thing. Is this another sign that the music industry really is in trouble? Or just that more people should read Planet Verge cause we wrote about these bands way before they hit the mainstream?

STG are a really great live band and talented in their style- but it does irritate me at times....

Both bands are nominated for their first major-label releases and quickly rose from the indie scene. I guess it's just weird.....



Here's the official release:


Paramore Get Grammy Nod For "Best New Artist" As "Riot!" Scores RIAA Gold Certification


Fueled By Ramen recording group Paramore has been nominated as "Best New Artist" at the upcoming 50th Annual Grammy Awards, it was announced this week. The news comes just as "RIOT!," the band's acclaimed second album, has received RIAA gold certification for sales exceeding 500,000 units. Released earlier this year, the album features the breakthrough hit singles, "Misery Business" and "Crushcrushcrush."

The Tennessee-based quartet has been on the road nearly nonstop since the album's June release, most recently headlining a major North American tour with 22 sold out performances. Paramore will ring in 2008 with a live performance on MTV's annual New Year's Eve extravaganza, and then head off to the United Kingdom for a hugely anticipated headline tour that includes two-night stands in such cities as Manchester, London, and Birmingham.

Paramore is set to star on the upcoming cover of Alternative Press's February issue. Last summer, lead singer Hayley Williams was among the stars featured on Alternative Press's July cover, joining a number of her fellow Vans Warped Tour '07 roadmates. Elsewhere, Revolver called "RIOT!" "a masterful mix of springy drum beats, crisp guitar hooks, and (Williams') girlish snarl," while Spin praised the album for its "arena- rocking potential."

"RIOT!" debuted at #20 on the Billboard 200 this past June, marking one of the highest sales and chart debuts in Fueled By Ramen's history (second only to Fall Out Boy). The album's first single, "Misery Business," has proven Paramore's biggest hit to date, reaching the Top 5 at Modern Rock radio, while also scoring at Top 40, Hot AC, and Active Rock. The song's accompanying video also exploded across the MTV spectrum. Having already been a #1 video at MTV2 and a #2 sensation at MTV, the clip is also a top airplay favorite at mtvU, MTV Hits, and MTV.com. In addition, "Misery Business" reached #1 most-played video status at Fuse, with further national play coming on Music Choice and The N.

"Crushcrushcrush," the follow-up single from "RIOT!," has just begun breaking out at Alternative radio nationwide. The track's video – directed by Shane Drake (who previously helmed the "Misery Business" clip) – recently debuted on MTV's TRL, and has already reached #6 on the countdown. "Crushcrushcrush" remains in Big 10 rotation at MTV, while also notching top 10 play at MTV2.

What's more, the clip is receiving further play at Fuse and The N. Both "Misery Business" and "Crushcrushcrush" can be viewed online at www.youtube.com/user/FueledByRamen, where Paramore's videos have scored over 20 million total plays thus far.

Since the release of their debut album, "ALL WE KNOW IS FALLING (Fueled By Ramen; 2005)," Paramore continues to grow its fervent fan following online with each passing day. Paramore.net, the official band website, averages 70,000 page views per day while the band's MySpace page - www.myspace.com/paramore - has logged over 17 million total plays thus far with their friends tally now exceeding 500,000. Paramore's PureVolume site - www.purevolume.com/paramore - has notched more than 4 million streams to date.




SHINY TOY GUNS RELEASE
Shiny Toy Guns, the Indie Dance Rock band from Los Angles has been given the Grammy nod for it's debut CD WE ARE PILOTS. Placed in great company, Shiny Toy Guns is nominated in the Electronic Dance Category for the Best Album award. The act has been co-Published by McJames Music Inc. for over 5 years. Recent licenses include Motorola, Honda, Dirty Sexy Money, and Private Practice. The band is closing their three year tour on December 22nd at the Wiltern in Los Angeles and humbly welcomes this Grammy nomination. www.myspace.com/shinytoyguns www.mcjamesmusic.com

*joelle, who just ate the most tasty mozzarella sticks ever

What I learned after seeing Shiny Toy Guns

I've been following Shiny Toy Guns ever since they started buzzing around LA, but I never saw them live until a few weeks ago at Starland Ballroom. Going into it, I knew I was either going to love it or hate it. I despise dancey music and honestly, on the CD, I find Cara Fey's vocals extremely annoying on most songs. But a lot of that I now see is done on purpose in the production of the CD. Her words are much easier to swallow live.


And while Cara may be portrayed in press photos, etc as the sexy leader of the band, it's obvious on stage that co-vocalist, Chad Petree, really has that role. Cara spends a lot of time dancing around, playing keyboards and looking pretty. Maybe the band would be nothing without her, but I don't miss it when her mouth is shut(hey I can still look at her tattoos).


As negative as this review sounds, I really enjoyed the show. Sure, I could've left right afert "Le Disco," which they for some reason played third into the set. But it was deff. worth sticking around 'till the end. They're a great band to watch and I'll deff. catch them again. I'm actually listening to the CD more now than I did before I saw them.






This is prob the second or third time Jen saw them and she loved them as always. Here are our clips from the show. Enjoy!



*Joelle, who suggests you listen to London's Sohodolls- www.myspace.com/sohodollsusa - if you like Shiny Toy Guns.

Youths Yearn for Yellowcard (how's THAT for alliteration?)

At G-Rocktoberfest, there were multitudes of multi-genre rock being performed, each with their own distinct demographic.

Ozma's audience was the smallest, only because they were the first band to perform and most of the audience hadn't arrived yet.

Shiny Toy Guns appeased the appetites of those craving electrodance beats and Depeche Mode covers. It seemed they suffered from "Everyone Knows and Loves 'Le Disko' But No One Knows It's Us" syndrome.

Blue October performed last to a mostly adult crowd, which was strange when one considers how much eyeliner frontman Justin Furstenfeld applies, probably to appeal to the youngin's, ala Pete Wentz or Billie Joe Armstrong. The applause they got (and rightfully deserved) came from hands wrapped by wristbands, signifying they were all 21 and up.

The biggest, most boisterous crowd reaction was, by far, for third act, Yellowcard. Between the poppy hooks, flashing lights both onstage and in the crowd full of teens and tweens with cellphone cameras, I felt like I was watching one of those crazy anime cartoons that gives little kids seizures--but in a good way.

It was clear Yellowcard knew what kind of crowd they were dealing with--kids have short attention spans. They kept their energy up and gave a killer live performance of a conglomerate of old and new material, from Ocean Avenue to Lights and Sounds to their newest, most mature effort, Paper Walls.

Their maturity is what made them ideal for such a diverse lineup of bands. While Ryan Key sings about adult issues, the band plays melodies and beats you can pogo to easily. The combination earned ovations and cheers from both X-ed and wristbanded hands, and will likely continue to do so until they retire.


*By Jessica, who is addicted to caramel apple cider and needs a nap

No Regrets...

...if you go listen to this band now: SOHO DOLLS

Hailing from Soho, LONDON--not New York City--Sohodolls are an electro glam rock band ala Shiny Toy Guns but better. On the mic is Maya von Doll, a sexy frontwoman with the balls of Scott Weiland (she's known to get shirtless at shows with nothing more than masking tape across her nipples). Their music video for "Stripper" is so hot you'll have to pour water over yourself when you're done watching it. And that's all I'm gonna say because you should be listening to them instead of reading this!

Interview with Soho Dolls: http://www.planetverge.com/PlanetVerge06/Innerview/SohoDolls.asp

Their SPACE: www.myspace.com/sohodolls

Watch the videos: www.sohodolls.co.uk

*By Joelle, who despises dance music but LOOOOVEs Sohodolls and digs Shiny Toy Guns, too.