Song of the Day

**6/4/10

Mayday Parade - Kids in Love

-------------If anyone wants to explain to me why the All-American Rejects are headlining the 2010 Warped Tour, please let me know because I am utterly clueless. Tour founder Kevin Lyman must have struck some kind of throwback to 2003 deal with the reject's label. But I'm not gonna yawn myself back to bed overthinking the details.

There are plenty of fresh faces and old friends on Warped Tour, as tradition to bring the next generation of tour tots and welcome back the veterans. Mayday Parade have made the Warped circuit starting in 2007 and will make another appearance this year to promote their new album, Anywhere But Here.

On Anywhere, "Kids in Love" athems its way through a video montage of two members and their girlfriends going on crazy roadtrip adventures that most kids dream about taking. The classic Florida-punk-rock instrumentals are all the guitars without the synthesized complexities of hardcore bands. Mayday will attract the old school pop-punk diehards and the new faces in the Warped crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiVTOBHaQ0w

Song of the Day

**12/21/09

Reinventing Your Exit - Underoath

-------------This song definitely gets a thumbs up on my Pandora playlist. I never used to pay any lick of attention to Underoath because I, like many others, discounted their credibility as real rockers due an old mantra of mine: "If they scream, in your dreams."

But then I saw the Florida rockin' out for Jesus at Vans Warped Tour, and I couldn't turn away from thier absolutely dees-gusting energy. "Reinventing Your Exit" examines the anxious desire we have to go somewhere, to be someone bigger than ourselves and admitting we aren't invincible. Get it from the band's 2004 album, They're Only Chasing Safety.

Underoath are currently on tour with August Burns Red and Emery. Their latest album is Lost in the Sound of Separation, released in September 2008.

http://myspace.com/underoath/

Song of the Day

**11/28/09

Visceral - So Far Apart

--------------Trolling the interweb on a Saturday night - pretty much as dorky-schmorky as you can get, right? I'm not complaining here, I've stumbled upon the likes of Dallas quintet Visceral. They've got a big-venue, Warped Tour stage quality about their thoughtful punky melodies that I must give a nod to. Though they're unsigned, Epitaph might wanna scoop these guys up to make them labelmates with the likes of New Found Glory and Sing Out Loud.

Visceral has a couple of shows coming up in the lone star state, but I'm keeping my guitar-shredded fingers crossed these guys will jump into a big van and make their way east. Get "So Far Apart" from their August release Rapture.

http://www/myspace.com/wearevisceral/

Pictures from the 2009 Vans Warped Tour

Ah, yes - another wonderful year of Warped! Who can resist the cacophonic sounds of multiple bands playing at once, the smell of sweat, cigarette smoke, and $9 pizza wafting about the tents? Surely not a punk-lover hungry for a chance to see all of their Top 25 Most Played bands all in one spot. And so, here are some highlights from the day, from the top, moving down:

1. A perfect car for the Dude Ranch

2. Bassist Roger Manganelli from Florida ska-punk band, Less Than Jake. In the middle of the set, lead vocalist Chris Demakes called out a yawner standing in the crowd. "There are two things I can't stand at a show," Demakes yelled "Texting and fucking yawning." Once this sleepy girl got onstage, everyone booed. The moral of the story: watch your mouth, or LTJ will shut it for you.

3. Raising the bar at the half-pipe. The pipeline pipsqueak in the front was nailing the ramp better than most skaters twice his height. Clearly, size doesn't matter.

4. Your beloved blogger and The Buddy Neilson from Senses Fail. Even though the band wouldn't perform until nightfall, the group could be found dashing Sharpies over tees and CDs or flashing smiles for cameras early in the day.

5. Craig Owens of Chiodos. It looked like a thunderstorm was rolling in as their set began, but no one would have ever heard it.

6. Merch Mania

Song of the Day

**7/13/09

NOFX - Creeping Out Sara

-------------Unless you're a world-reknown band that gets to go backstage like they go to Porta Johns, you've probably never met Sara Quin of the Canadian indie-rock band, Tegan and Sara. But NOFX frontman Fat Mike IS in one of those bands, and in "Creeping Out Sara" he spins a tale of how he took awkward to whole new heights with questionable questions regarding the lifestyles of Sara and her identical twin sister, Tegan. The lyrics are comical, outrageous, and uncomfortably weird, all told over clean punk riffs. Get "Creeping Out Sara" from their 2009 album, Coaster.

Think buying music is weak? Go to Warpedtour.com to download "Creeping Out Sara" and nine other tour sample tracks compiled by tour founder Kevin Lyman for free!

http://www.warpedtour.com/warpedtour/itunes.asp

Song of the Day

**7/6/09
Big D and the Kids Table - Steady Riot
--------------Would you ever want to forget a friend's birthday? Certainly not the Vans Warped Tour's birthday, which turns 15 this summer with old school and new school bands following each other in boiling RVs and cramped little U-Hauls to bring scenesters of all ages the music they love. Among these trailers you'll find Big D and the Kids Table, who first entered the tour in 2004 and is totally worth being your new bff.

A bunch of Berklee College of Music geeks formed the band in 1995, and since then have brought their ska-punk stylings all over, touring with Streetlight Manifesto and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. If punk doesn't quench your thirst, never fear - Big D has a sound appealing to fans of Less Than Jake and Dave Matthews Band alike. Get today's song, "Steady Riot" from either the 2007 Warped Tour Compilation or Strictly Rude.

http://www.myspace.com/bigdandthekidstable

Song of the Day

**2/16/09

Cute Is What We Aim For - Curse of Curves
---------High School angst and lots of drama thrive in this song. The album, The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch, gave CIWWAF recognition by top magazines and a hella big fan base in the mall rats across America. From Warped Tours to Take Action Tours, a new studio album, Rotation, and a deceptive and intriguing music video for "Curse of Curves", there's almost nothing that can stop this band from making their name in the pop rock world. CIWWAF has appeared at Tremont Music Hall in my hometown, and their coming again February 24th with Every Avenue, Meg and Dia, and lots more.