@brandonspeck
There are two things to do tonight in North Mississippi. If you’re not at a high school football game, then you need to be in Corinth at Crossroads Arena.
These guys will be here. Billy Bob Thonton and The Boxmasters make their Corinth debut at 7 p.m. Tickets are general admission and are an inexpensive 22 bucks.
The rockabilly quarter is incredible. Thornton is so much more than Karl from Slingblade. He and the Boxers are extremely talented musicians. Do yourself the favor.
TUPELO – So the new P.O.D record released on Friday and I rushed into Best Buy to get it. I’m as much a downloader as the next guy, but I’m still old-school, too. I like the disc and the sleeve. Heck, I like the smell of it.
So I took my $10 in and went to the new release end cap of the national chain. Not there. So I asked an employee. She goes to her little computer station and after asking what I was looking for, she types in POD.
Of course it brought up every iPod ever sold in the store and I told her to try P.O.D. She did and it brought up the vinyl release. I want that, too, but not until September. She says, “Oh, it’s not out until September.”
“No, that’s vinyl,” I tell her. “I want the disc.”
I ask her to type in “The Awakening” to see if the album title pops up. So she types in theawakeningdisc. Yep, just like that. No spaces, no caps, no nothing. One long word. So now I’ve gone from knowing she clearly doesn’t know music to wondering if she has ever typed. No spaces?
Shocking, that pulled up nothing.
So I asked her just to type “The Awakening.” How about that, there it was.
To which she replies, “Oh, it doesn’t come out until Aug. 21.”
“Today is Aug. 21,” I said.
So she searches the shelves, not there. She searches the back, not there. There are five of the discs in that store and no one bothered to put any of them on the shelf.
I went back Saturday. Same thing.
To the blessing in disguise. Saturday, an actual helpful BBY employee asked if I had tried the new record store in Tupelo. I had no idea there was a new record store here, I told her.
But my interest was peaked. I looked it up and on Monday went to Rock Star Records. Tupelo’s lone record store for years, Album Alley, closed a couple of years ago. Rock Star has finally filled the void.
It’s a new store and the shelves are filling as we speak. The only P.O.D he had was an older live release from the band’s Rescue Records days.
So the owner and I talked, while I like a kid a Christmas, looked over the new and used vinyl, CDs, shirts and stuff. He ordered the disc for me.
Rock Star had new Disturbed, even the vinyl. Best Buy didn’t get any on the truck for the release of the long-awaited Disturbed record.
The P.O.D disc is going to cost me $13.99 at Rock Star and maybe $10.99 at Best Buy. BBY can order 50,000. Rock Star can’t.
Do music a favor and support your local record store, folks. I’ll be going back to Rock Star to pick up my disc, and my son some AC/DC and the Super Mario poster he saw there he wants.
The people putting their money on the line in your town to bring you a record store love music and they are doing you a service. Best Buy and the retail chains couldn’t care less about music and they certainly don’t care about you.
Want a TV or a new MacBook? BBY is the place. Want new music? Spend the extra couple of bucks and support the local store that are supporting the music we all love.
Redvolution Tour is one of several awesome rock shows hitting North Mississippi in the coming weeks.
@brandonspeck
Tupelo is the birthplace of Elvis, but North Mississippi hasn’t exactly been known as a hotbed of rock ‘n’ roll shows, or good concerts for that matter.
There are people changing that, like Tube Driven Entertainment behind all these shows,
This Friday Aug. 28, Billy Bob Thornton and his rockabilly Boxmasters are at Crossroads Arena. Call 662-287-7779 for tickets.
Then on Oct. 10, Decyfer Down and Children 18:3 are at Ballard Park for a free rock show, the Reaching Out Christian Music Fest, part of the Rock and Reload Tour. There will also be games for the whole family. Call 662-507-0442 for more info.
On Oct. 29, Corinth is hosting another great rock tour as Red brings Redvolution Tour 2015 to Crossroads Arena. The tour also features Capital Kings, Tedashii and Wolves At The Gate.
In the middle, how about Tupelo’s Publik House (316 North Spring) presenting 12 Stones and Allyria on Sept. 17. Show is 18 and up. 662-260-2573 for more info.
@brandonspeck
Congrats East Coast, you will see midnight before the rest of us. And when Aug. 21 arrives, so does new P.O.D.
The SoCal rockers release “The Awakening” Friday and from the sneak peaks we’ve gotten, it will live up to the hype.
Doesn’t seem like it, but “Murdered Love” was all the way back in 2012 and last year, we got an acoustic taste with “SoCal Sessions.” It’s finally time to turn the amp back on.
I’ll be at Best Buy first thing to support the guys. Hope you will, too, even you new-school downloaders. Check back in and let me know what you think about the record.
@brandonspeck
Remember this?
Well, Ugly Kid Joe is back, nearly 20 years after uglying up the grungy-metal scene. UKJ is set to release Uglier Than They Used To Be on Oct. 16.
And may I say: “Stoked!”
P.O.D’s “The Awakening is set for release on Friday, the SoCal rockers’ ninth studio album.
In the meantime, here is another teaser, featuring In This Moment’s Maria Brink. From Loudwire, click here for the song and Sonny and the boys talking about its making.
@brandonspeck
Maid Myriad call their rock brand, “kaleidoscope rock.” Here is “Dance By The Moonlight” and I really dig it.
“With Haste On Its Breath” is scheduled for release on Oct. 7. Keeping an eye on these guys. Striking me as what could be a really good live band.
@brandonspeck
Pre-order FF5’s new remix album, Time Still Stands and you’ll get “This Is My Year (Matoma Remix)”, “Time Stands Still (Tim Yago Remix)” and “Let It Be Love (Smile Future Remix)” instantly.
Here is a link to the band’s tour, one I highly recommend. One of the most high-energy shows you’ll ever see.
(DarknessDivided_CoziCoPhotography_03)
@brandonspeck
If you guys are itching to check out some new metalcore, give Darkness Divided a look.
“Written In Blood” has been available for about a year. It’s extremely heavy, but very intricate with drums your feet can’t keep up with, not while you drive anyway.
Here is “A Well Run Dry.”
@brandonspeck
Interviewed via email Ty Brooks of Minnesotan melodic hardcore band, and new Victory Records’ signee, Conveyer. It will release “When Given Time To Grow” on Sept. 4.
TSR: You told HM the band is definitely Christian. Is everyone in the band a Christian?
TB: Yes, we are all Christians.
TSR: Different Christian faith bands do it differently. Do you guys share your faith from the stage or just let the lyrics and music do it?
TB: It really depends on the show, we never have a thought out message that we have ready to say every night, if something is said from stage it’s because God laid it on our hearts to say at that very moment.
TSR: How has signing with Victory changed your work load? Still main jobs back home for everyone?
TB: It has been awesome, we’ve definitely been busier than ever getting everything together for this new record. We all work full time when we’re not on tour, so we are always busy!
TSR: What’s next, tour-wise and what are your hopes for “When Given Time To Grow?”
TB: We’re doing a headliner in September for our record release tour with Ghost Key, Dwell & Until We Are Ghosts. And then we will be touring in October and November as well, we can’t announce the tours just yet, but we’re looking forward to being back on the road. We’ve been home for less than a week and we’re already counting down the days until September.
TSR: Lastly, do you know anything about this Conveyor – https://www.facebook.com/therealconveyor/app_182222305144028 – and can we expect a cover anytime soon?
TB: Can’t say that I’ve ever heard of them. I saw something on their page about using 2 drummers though, so that’s cool. But probably not likely that we’d cover each other’s songs.
Here is Conveyer’s Facebook page. Give them a listen.
And here is the new release of “Haven.”
Thou Shalt Rock 