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.

Article #9 – Virb.com [the new Myspace?]

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When mp3.com went down and under the knife years back, there were a lot of musicians looking for a place to promote their bands, and fans looking for a place to listen to new bands. Probably the most popular site to emerge and fill the void would be purevolume.com. In the beginning people were celebrating the first bands to get to a million plays along with other milestones.

Over the years MySpace became this massive train traveling wherever it wants. They integrated music into peopleâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s profiles and because about 16% of the TOTAL internet traffic surfs through MySpace it automatically became the most popular place to find and promote music. I assume unborn media, who runs purevolume wanted back into the action and so they, along with everyone else, are jumping into the â┚¬Ã…”be the new MySpaceâ┚¬? race. Their offering, â┚¬Ã…”Virbâ┚¬? is quite a contender.

Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢m not sure whether Virb was the only 4 letter web address left, or itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s trying to be a clever play on something somewhere.

Virb is the clean cut new kid at school who hasnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t made it into the in crowd yet, but will. I say yet because Virb is still in beta form, and not even viewable to anyone without a Virb account. The thing unborn media has learned is that people want to make their pages look how they want it to look. Almost every part of your Virb page is customizable, which is something a lot of sites tend to stray away from.

The part where purevolume bleeds over to Virb is in the music player. When you go to bands Virb page you can click â┚¬Ã…”add songâ┚¬? and it then gets added to you 15 song play list. Along with the music side of things Virb gives you a place for pictures, blogs, and videos.

The thing that saves Virb is the clean, classy look along with all the customizable features. With everything said and done is Virb worth it? If youâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re not sick of these social networking sites, then yes, if you are sick of them itâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s probably not going to change your mind though.

Hereâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s a prize for people reading this article, the first 7 people to leave comments with a valid e-mail address (just put it on the e-mail line on the comment form, it won’t be shown to the public) will recieve invites to www.virb.com

Victory Signs With Blood Comes Cleansing

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Victory Records has announced the signing of Albany, Georgia’s With Blood Comes Cleansing. You can read the press release below.

Victory owner Tony Brummel said, â┚¬Ã…”Six of us from the label saw the band play on February 12. We were all sold after the first song. The intensity of their music coupled with their captivating stage presence was riveting to say the least. I did not know that they were a Christian band until after they had played. I have tremendous respect and admiration for all artists that stand behind their message and faith. Music should always be about putting the music and message first. Sales should be an after thought. When all is said and done did you make an impact on this planet or did you just exist? I believe in these guys because I know that they will make an impact.â┚¬?

Jamie Nester, owner of Blood and Ink Records, When Blood Comes Cleansingâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s previous home had the following to say, â┚¬Ã…”We are elated to see a band we believe in whole-heartedly take a step that will ultimately help them reach more fans and achieve greater success. I feel this step, so soon after their debut album was released just over six months ago, speaks to their ambition and potential.â┚¬?

â┚¬Ã…”We are excited about joining the Victory team. We feel that they believe in our music and will push us to a market that we were previously unable to reach. It is an honor to be a part of a label with such great accomplishments and an outstanding roster,â┚¬? says guitarist Jeremy Sims.

â┚¬Ã…”Most people will be obsessed with this albumâ┚¬Ã‚¦Ãƒ¢Ã¢”š¬? â┚¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ skylinepress.net

â┚¬Ã…”Lamb of God, Trivium, Killswitch Engageâ┚¬Ã‚¦leaning towards the Victory Records side of the crowd.â┚¬? â┚¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ insidepulse.com

â┚¬Ã…”..lacerating dual guitar action, breakneck speed romps, bone-breaking percussion, violent vocals and chugging breakdownsâ┚¬Ã‚¦Ãƒ¢Ã¢”š¬?- blabbermouth.net

With Blood Comes Cleansing are: Dean Atkinson – Vocals, Jeremy Sims- Guitar, Scott Erickson- Guitar and Matt Fidler- Drums

See the band on tour now:

Feb 22 2007 Hubbs Aurora, Colorado
Feb 23 2007 The Black Sheep Colorado Springs, Colorado
Feb 24 2007 The CCT South Ogden, Utah
Feb 25 2007 TBA Provo, Utah
Mar 2 2007 TBA Rialto, California
Mar 3 2007 Metal Devastation 2 Phoenix, Arizona
Mar 5 2007 The Compound Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mar 6 2007 Chic’s El Paso, Texas
Mar 7 2007 The Underground San Antonio, Texas
Mar 8 2007 Java Jazz Houston, Texas
Mar 9 2007 The Theatre Montgomery, Alabama
Mar 10 2007 467 House Auburn, Alabama
Mar 24 2007 Fuel Coffeehouse Jacksonville, Florida
Mar 25 2007 The Haven Winter Park, Florida
Mar 27 2007 TBA Ocala, Florida
Mar 28 2007 Ray’s Downtown West Palm Beach, Florida
Mar 29 2007 The Indie Pit Miami, Florida
Mar 31 2007 Legacy Montgomery
Apr 1 2007 The Fish McCalla, Alabama
Apr 2 2007 Living Waters Fairhope, Alabama
Apr 4 2007 Vino’s Little Rock, Arkansas
Apr 5 2007 TBA Memphis, Tennessee
Apr 6 2007 Rocketown Nashville, Tennessee
Apr 7 2007 The Brothers Pizza Owensboro, Kentucky
Apr 8 2007 Bulldog Cafe Louisville, Kentucky
Apr 14 2007 Skelletones Grand Rapids, Michigan
Apr 15 2007 Orchard Inn Menomonee, Wisconsin
Apr 16 2007 The Warehouse Lacrosse, Wisconsin
Apr 17 2007 Station 4 St Paul, Minnesota
Apr 19 2007 Hubba’s Aurora, Colorado
Apr 20 2007 Club Vortex Salt Lake City, Utah
Apr 21 2007 The Venue Boise, Idaho
Apr 23 2007 Studio Seven Seattle, Washington
Apr 27 2007 Trilogy Theatre Victorville, California
Apr 28 2007 Soma San Diego, California
Apr 30 2007 House of Rock and Roll El Paso, Texas
May 1 2007 Red 7 Austin, Texas
May 2 2007 Rock Bottom San Antonio, Texas
May 3 2007 Java Jazz Houston, Texas

Make A Video For The Hold Steady

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The Hold Steady is inviting you to make a video for one of their songs on their current release, The Boys and Girls in America. More info is posted below.

The Hold Steadyâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s latest album, Boys & Girls in America, is an album inspired by and written about the namesake of its title. The album is a sonic expression of the travels and travails of American love, heartbreak and all points in between. When Boys & Girls in America was released in October, The Hold Steady challanged the Boys & Girls in America to share their own tales of the ups and downs of love, life & the stories of being yourself.

Now, the Boys and Girls in America & the rest of the worlds are invited to take their best shot and shoot their own video for one of the songs from Boys & Girls in America. The rules are simple and you could find yourself with a wad of cash and some great prizes too!

Just go to the Boys and Girls in America website and upload your original music video! Grand Prize for the winning video include $1000 cash prize, $1000 in JBL products, a free 6 month membership to eMusic.com, a Hold Steady Merch Pack and the chance to have their video aired by FUSE. First Prize includes: $500 cash prize, iPod Shuffle, 3 Month Membership on eMusic and a merchandise package of all of the greatest Hold Steady stuff. A runner â┚¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“up prize consisting of a $250 cash prize, 1 Month eMusic membership and band merch pack insures that there are plenty of chances to win. All entrees have to do is create a music video from any song on Boys and Girls in America. Check out the following link to get a general direction:

For the simple rules, prize listing & to enter visit: BoysAndGirlsInAmerica.com

Speaking of the Boys and Girls of the World, The Hold Steady are finishing up a crazy trip across Europe and now they will be performing in front of their beloved US Hoodrat Friends everywhere this March, including festival stops at Sasquatch! and Langerado! Check out their myspace for those dates! myspace.com/theholdsteady

The Academy Is… Pre-order Deals

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Newbury Comics is running a special preorder for The Academy Is‘s new album, Santi. For a limited time, if you preorder your copy of Santi from newburycomics.com, it will come with a FREE autographed CD booklet!

You can also preorder it from The TAI Webstore in a standard version or as a limited edition package which also includes a four button set, a fold-out poster and sticker. It is limited to 3000 copies available exclusively in the band’s webstore.

Look for the album in stores April 3rd on Fueled By Ramen.