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 2007

Number On Fan Call It Quits; The Wildbirds Live On

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Number One Fan has called it quits (officially). You can read an update from the band below.

We apologize for the lack of updates, we’ve received many emails from a lot of you concerning our status. Heres a short story of what has happened. We had a wonderful run in Number One Fan, we met so many folks that treated us like kings. And we thoroughly enjoyed it for a couple years. We couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve accomplished , or of the turnout of our only record “Compromises”. But as many of you know, when you start a band when youre 15 years old, you’re not going to love it forever.

By the end of 2005 we were extremely tired, we didnt enjoy a note we played anymore. We didnt believe it. We set out to write a follow up to compromises, but after about 20 tracks…..(some of which we demoed and are cool tunes), we were extremely unsatisfied.

Our last shows were with Green Day, playing in front of 18,000 people……you’d think that would be the pinnacle of excitement for us.It turns out, if you dont love what youre doing, it doesnt matter how many people are in front of you.

Unfortunately for some of you, the results were staggeringly different. The music moved us to the ends of the earth, but was came out didnt resemble NOF in the slightest.We knew then that it was the end of Number One Fan, and the beginning of something else. We knew as well, that many of you have a deep place in your hearts for the music we made (which means the world to us), but would have a hard time ingesting what coming next.

In your pursuit to keep yourself in love with life, you have to do dramatic things to keep moving forward. Music has always been spiritual to us, so the moment it became a prison…..was the moment we were ready for day jobs. It is our escape from all of that.

There is still a possibility that we may release some un-released NOF material, we do have plenty…..

Jon, Matthew & myself have started something that is the love of our life,The Wildbirds. (Michael was with us until recently), and our newest darling Hugh has just joined us. Our debut record is coming our in august, and we are extremely proud and excited for what is it to come.

Give it a listen, see how it fits. If it doesnt, enjoy Compromises……..and know that we’ve appreciated everything, and hope to see ya’ll while on the road w/ The Wildbirds.(No amount of bitching will bring NOF back, so we dont want to hear it, fair?)

We love you,
Nicholas

Novice Post New Songs; Set To Release EP

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Novice has posted two new songs on their MySpace page. The songs come from their new EP due out June 19th. Get the full update from the band below.

Hello everyone. We hope you are all doing well. It’s been a while since our last update. We apologize, but we have been extremely busy lately. First off, as most of you know, we recently recorded a new EP. The scheduled release date is June 19th and our CD release show will be at the Sanctuary in Gilroy, CA on June 22nd. If you live in the area you won’t want to miss the show. You can hear two of the new songs on our profile. The EP is also available for pre-order on www.smartpunk.com. In other news, Novice is now a part of the Bettie Rocket Entertainment family. We are extremely happy with our new management and there are lots of exciting things happening for us right now. We are currently talking with several major labels and we hope to sign with one of them in the very near future. How does that relate to you? Well, it means that you will hear and see much more of Novice in the coming months. Speaking of seeing us more, we are in the process of booking a nation wide tour for the fall. We should also have all of our upcoming summer dates confirmed soon, as well, so keep checking our page for updates on when we will be in your town. Well, that’s the short version. If we told you everything that we’ve been up to lately it would take forever. Thanks again for supporting Novice. We love you all and hope to see you soon out on the road. Cheers!

-Novice

Mae Post Video Update

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Mae has posted a video update, or more like a mind trip video which you can check out below. You can hear a new song at the end which could be classified as a big change for them. Do you think we’ll hear this sound throughout their new album?

Article #21 – Mid Year Review

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Has 2007 proven to be better then last year? That is the question and we are looking for an answer, but a full year in review will have to wait another 6 months. The second half of the year looks promising with releasing from Paramore, The Rocket Summer, Motion City Soundtrack, Jimmy Eat World and more coming in the next few months. But what has the first half of the year done for our endless music craving? Releases from Anberlin, Relient K, Sherwood, Fall Out Boy and more hit shelves with lots of fanfare, but did they live up to the hype? This year is also filled with lots of sophomore albums from bands like Sullivan, The Fold, Paramore, My American Heart, Circa Survive and many more. Did these releases fall into the sophomore slump or are they destine for greatness.

Each year there is always one stand out band that comes out of nowhere to please our ears. So far this year The Graduate has done that for me. Their Cartel style rock rings out on their debut album, Anhedonia. With 6 months left in the year they could be beat, although the challenger would have to put up a pretty good fight.

This was just a brief review that covers just a few of the releases that have come out this year. This year is shaping up to be a pretty good year for new music. Now it’s your turn to let us know which releases you have dug so far this year and which releases didn’t meet your expectations. Also let us know which releases you think will dominate the second half of 2007.

Staff Recommendations June 3rd 2007

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Bryce Jacobson
For the pop in you: Dropout Year
For the punk in you: The Swellers
For the faith in you: Before Their Eyes, Sullivan, The Fold, The Wedding

Julie Watanabe (copying Bryce’s lead)
For the pop in you: Paramore (because RIOT! is pure ear candy, despite your opinion)
For the progressive rock in you: Fair to Midland (because the scene still has integrity)

Tyler Hayes
For the music lover in you: Northern Room

Adam Weidman
For the pop rock in you: The Actual

Permanent Me Post Bonus Tracks

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Permanent Me has made three bonus tracks from After The Room Clears available on iTunes and recently completed a video for “Allison.” Which will be completed by June 15!

Message from the band:

There are now 3 new songs available on itunes that you can buy individually. if you buy the whole album, you get them free, and if you buy the album on bestbuy.com you’ll be shipped a hard copy of the songs as a seperate EP (for free), and you can also get that EP for free at our shows when you buy the album. if you go to Best Buy, check us out on the BLENDER RECOMMENDS rack. pretty cool, huh?

Those songs are: “Swept Away”, “I Wait Alone on the Shore”, and “Make my Bed.”
here’s the video for “Swept Away”shot at our A&R’s apartment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hUd7L_Gwdw

And … in case you didnt know already, we shot a video for our song “Allison” with Doctor Mindbender a couple of weeks ago. It’s gonna be done by June 15, and stars a couple of famous models called Boyd Holbrook and Tiah Eckhardt.