Driven Far Off

The latest on the indie, alternative, and rock music scene including news, music, contest, interviews, and more. Best described as your favorite place to find new bands.

Archives for 2006

Triple Crown Sign…

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Triple Crown Records has signed The Secret Handshake who consists of Luis Dubuc. Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s pop. Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s electronic. Itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s indie. And itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s all written and played by Luis with his Wurlitzer piano and Apple computer. Triple Crown would like to welcome you to Luisâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ world.

Triple Crown Records (Brand New, As Tall As Lions, TREOS, Hit The Lights) welcomes The Secret Handshake to their family. They will be recording their debut full length with Cory Kildruff, formally of The Rise. The band will hit the road with new label mates As Tall As Lions in August. Previously, The Secret Handshake released an EP on Doll House Recordings entitled â┚¬Ã…”This is Bigger Than You and I.â┚¬? You can check out The Secret Handshake on their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/thesecrethandshake

New Fuse Series The P.A.

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Fuse is launching a new series called The P.A.. You can read the press release below.

Check out this hilarious new clip of Jared Leto and his boys from 30 Seconds to Mars treating Josh the Fuse P.A., well, the way a P.A. should expect to be treatedâ┚¬Ã‚¦ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6BAOkfvN6o

Thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s just a taste of what youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re in store for with the new Fuse series The P.A., airing Tuesdays beginning August 15th. The show includes guest bands, like 30 Seconds to Mars, Bloodhound Gang, and many others. Watch (and cringe) as Josh interacts with the bands, producers, and other staff at Fuse. Hey, weâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ve all been there.

Check out the press release below, or visit fuse.tv/pa for more clips:

FUSE ANNOUNCES NEW HOME-GROWN SERIES â┚¬Ã‹Å“THE P.A.â┚¬Ã¢”ž¢
BEHIND-THE-SCENES WEEKLY SHOW OFFERS GOFFERâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢S EYE VIEW OF LIFE
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MUSIC NETWORK FOOD CHAIN

SHOW CREATED BY REAL-LIFE FUSE PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
JOSH TAUB AND DAVE MURDEN

Series Premieres Tuesday, August 15 At 10:30PM (ET)

New York, NY, (July XX, 2006) â┚¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ Pity the lowly production assistant. To get a foot in the door of the exciting world of music television, they are required to perform an endless multitude of menial tasksâ┚¬Ã¢â‚¬tasks which include the requisite runs for coffee and pizza, the bossâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ dry cleaning and of course, emptying waste baskets and color collating scripts. Once in a while, thereâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s a brush with fameâ┚¬Ã‚¦when they get to walk (and clean up after) the pit bull owned by the mega-selling rapper who drops by the fuse studio. And with every task, thereâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s a steady chorus of well-meaning ribbing, as the new guy or girl pays their dues in hopes of moving up the corporate ladder. Introducing Josh Taubâ┚¬Ã¢â‚¬fuseâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s real-life production assistant. Josh, along with his buddy Dave Murden, are the unlikely creators of fuseâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s new weekly series The P.A.

Beginning August 15 at 10:30pm (ET), fuse, the nationâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s only music-centric, viewer-driven television network, will premiere its new weekly home grown show The P.A., featuring the triumphs and trials of unsung hero Josh Taub and his cameraman/sidekick Dave Murden. The show, which is a humorous combination of The Office and Swimming With Sharks, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the men and women on the bottom rung of the music television totem pole. Each episode, shot on location at fuse, features real-life fuse staffers and big name celebrities including Jared Leto and his band 30 Seconds To Mars, former Full-House alumni Jodie Sweetin and comedian Jamie Kennedy, among others.

The P.A. features protagonist Josh on the quest for a promotion and a little damn respect. Joshâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s plight for advancement causes him to enter a number of uncomfortable situations such as being ridiculed by Jared Leto from 30 Seconds to Mars and on-air insults from VJ Steven. And, if that isnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t enough, Josh and Dave find themselves in sticky situations with the long arm of the law and a number of celebrity guests who they approach undercover with their cameras.

The showâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s key principles are Joshâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s cranky boss Ed, flamboyant office manager and gossip king Jeff, Heather the receptionist, and arch rival Ellie. The show also features Joshâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s object of desire, the intern affectionately known as Wednesday Girl. Other reoccurring guests on the show include Andrew and Brianâ┚¬Ã¢â‚¬two summer fuse interns who are less than worthy of Josh and Daveâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s cubicle which they share; and a host of additional fuse employees.

Show Synopsis:
So, you thought you wanted to work in television? Think againâ┚¬Ã‚¦ and againâ┚¬Ã‚¦keep thinkingâ┚¬Ã‚¦Welcome to The P.A., a half-hour â┚¬Ã…”docualityâ┚¬? series chronicling the trials, tribulations and troubles of Josh Taub, a real-life production assistant at fuse. Filmed by Joshâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s buddy Dave, viewers can enjoy a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the wonderful world of television. Tune in and watch Josh get coffee, humiliate himself, piss off celebrities, and fetch more coffee! Youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll start at the bottom of the barrel, and youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ll like it, dammit!

Show Details:
Show: â┚¬Ã…”The P.A.â┚¬?
Premiere: August 15, 2006 @ 10:30pm ET / 7:30pm PT
Air Dates: Tuesdays
Series Length: 6 episodes
Show Length: 30 min
Channel: DirecTV 339 / EchoStar 158; cable subscribers check local listings

Plain White T’s Stream New Song

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The Plain White T’s are streaming a new song titled â┚¬Ã…”Hate (I Really Donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t Like You)â┚¬? off their new album Every Second Counts out 9/12!

Real | Windows

Hereâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s the official track listing:

1. Our Time Now
2. Come Back To Me
3. Hate (I Really Donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t Like You)
4. You And Me
5. Friends Donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t Let Friends Dial Drunk
6. Making A Memory
7. So Damn Clever
8. Tearing Us Apart
9. Write You A Song
10. Gimme A Chance
11. Figure It Out
12. Take You There

Jimmy Eat World Set To Enter Studio

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Jimmy Eat World are set to enter the studio on August 7th to begin work on their 6th full length. The band said this in an article on MTV.com.

We are scheduled to begin recording our new record on August 7th at our own studio in Tempe,” Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins wrote in a post on the band’s official site. “We will be working alongside Chris Testa as our engineer, and the legendary Butch Vig will also be alongside the band making sure we don’t forget to thrash unreal!! (We are pretty sure that’s Wisconsin slang for ‘kicking serious ass’).

Show Review: Brand New F. Colour Revolt

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Brand New

Show Review: Brand New, feat. Colour Revolt
Venue: Kool Haus (Capacity: 2000), Toronto, Ontario
July 22nd, 2006

Let it be hereby known that the best four minutes of my entire nineteen-year existence were spent in the middle of the Kool Haus in Toronto, Ontario belting out the words â┚¬Ã‹Å“gave up my body & bed, all for an empty hotel; wasting words on lower cases & capitalsâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ at the top of my lungs surrounded by 2000 other Brand New fans. That, in and of itself, made this one of my top 5 concerts of all time. Now, here is the REAL review of the show:
We got to the concert about a half hour before doors opened. The line-up was already wrapped four blocks around the building. These were dedicated kids. Being the jerk that I am, and having paid my dues in free labour for the music industry, we went inside the venue and put up a bunch of promo posters, thus having primo choice of standing spot. We didnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t punk the good spots â┚¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ we left those for the kids waiting outside all day, and instead stood just in front of the mixing board, in the centre of the room. The band Colour Revolt was doing their soundcheck at this point, and there were about 10 people in the room, including Jesse Lacey, and two other members of Brand New (it must be noted at this time that I do consider Brand New to be one of my top 3 favourite bands of all time, yet I still canâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t recognize all of its members). Anyhow, after watching the band soundcheck and admiring Jesse Lacey from afar (Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m much too shy to approach him, or any member of most bands, for the record), the doors were open.

We waited for an hour â┚¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ which was not fun. Then, Colour Revolt took to the stage. After the show, I spoke to a random guy who seemed to know them and found that they are presently unsigned, working off a distribution deal with Interscope records (undoubtedly struck up around the same time that Brand New made the move to Interscope). Their style was very much Coldplay for me, with a bit more of a screaming touch. I enjoyed their set, but found it to be too long for an opening band. They had some amp problems, but to cover for it, the guitarist took it upon himself to lead the crowd in a rousing rendition of â┚¬Ã‹Å“Oh Canadaâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢. He knew all the words, and being from Mississippi, this was no easy feat. When their set was finally over, I cannot say it wasnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t a welcome finish. Good music, good guys, but an overly long set due to illness from the 2nd opening band.

Brand New opened with Tatou. I was sort of expecting this â┚¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s definitely just that type of â┚¬Ã‹Å“introductionâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢ song. I had been waiting to see Brand New do this shit live since I was in the tenth grade, and I was nervous that they would disappoint. They did not.

After Tatou, Jesse seemed to have a few monitoring problems, resulting in a couple off-key notes. He was adjusting his earpiece and playing guitar and trying to sing in-key, all at the same time. By the third song, however, all seemed to be fixed because he was back in key, and singing strongly. I cannot remember the whole set list. I wish I could. I wish I had every second of this show engraved into my brain forever, but I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t. They played some great songs â┚¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows (my personal favourite long before it was released as a single); Play Crack the Sky; Tatou; Guernica; Seventy Times 7; Sic Transit Gloria; The Boy who Blocked his Own Shot; and many more.

It took a fair amount of time for them to delve into material from the first album, but the first song they sang from it (Shower Scene) was phenomenal. This concert is difficult for me to write about because I am continuously tempted to write shit like this:

This concert was fucking AMAZING. WOW! Like when Jesse did that acoustic song, didnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t you love it!? How fucking great was it when he played Guernica!? His voice sounds great live, I was hoping it wouldnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t be bad, and it wasnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t! Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m so glad they didnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t fuck up the harmonies on â┚¬Ã‹Å“The Quiet Thingsâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢! WOW! It was just so phenomenalâ┚¬Ã‚¦

No one reading a concert review needs to read crap like that, but it seems that the amazing concert that took place tonight scrambled all of my brain functionality. All I can say is this: You need to see Brand New in concert if you havenâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t yet. It should be one of those cardinal things that you absolutely must do before dying. A right of passage into the world of amazing music. Though the rest of the band often took a backseat in the spotlight to Lacey, they are what truly made the show.

Honestly, I promise to revise this review when my brain returns to normal and I can function as a normal human being. I guess you could say Brand New truly blew my mind. We tried to invite Jesseâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s little brother out for wonton soup, at the request of Jesse while on stage (â┚¬Ã…”Someone take my little brother out â┚¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ he has until 3am, so show him a good time. I keep saying this, but no one actually does. They just take pictures with him instead.â┚¬?), but we feared our social credibility would be ruined by the fact that instead of going to get high and drunk with the rest of the Brand New fans from the show, we were, in fact, going out for wonton soup.

Thatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s allâ┚¬Ã‚¦ for now.