Black Ops 2 OUT TODAY

Black Ops 2 is out today.  If you have a Playstation 3 and want to try to hook up for some games
drop me an email at laokas2002 at yahoo dot com and we can swap user names.

I tend to play weeknights after 9pm ET. and I am pretty terrible..but play it for fun.

Game on!

Thank you Veterans!

Today in the United States it is Veterans Day.  A day we thank the brave Men and Women who have served this country in the Armed Forces.

All Gave Some, Some Gave All.

Thank you Veterans!

Jungle Jam - January 2013

Hey...why not make some travel plans for early 2013?  Include some warmness as well as music??  Can't go wrong right?

 

Jungle Jam that takes place at the Hotel Doce Lunas in Jaco, Costa Rica from January 17-20, 2013. The festival is put together by Max Creek and their manager Eric Freitas and features the following bands:

· Max Creek

· BK3 –the band includes Bill Kreutzmann, drummer for the Grateful Dead, Scott Murawski of Max Creek and Oteil Burbridge who recently has been part of the Tedeschi Trucks Band and the Allman Brothers and is a Grammy Award Winner.

· Ryan Montbleau Band

· Zach Deputy

More than music, Jungle Jam is an adventure you share WITH the bands and the fans.

For more info on the line up visit here

 

In addition, there are optional activities that you can book on your trip to Costa Rica

· Tranopy/Zip Line Tours

· Surfing lessons

· Trip to Manuel Antonio National Park

· Crocodile Boat Cruise

Complete travel packages are available at a number of resorts in Jaco for 4 to 7 nights so you can customize a music vacation.

 

Travel packages are very affordable and can be booked through the Jungle Jam travel coordinator Camille Miller at 415-456-9262 or by email at junglejamtickets@gmail.com

The website for the festival is at www.junglejam.com

There is also a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/JungleJam

 

Did someone say "Pre-Party???"  Some gigs to get you excited for the festival

 

Pre-Party with Max Creek at the Hard Rock Cafe on December 8th

Ryan Montbleau is at the Paradise on 12/14 (w/Mike Doughty) and 12/15 (w/Lake Street Dive)

Zach Deputy is at the Middle East on 12/29

Cool band Alert: Rah Rah

Sorta excited about what I have heard so far.

The terms "breakout" and "next big thing" get bandied about a lot in the press, but for Canadian sextet Rah Rah, 2012 has definitely been the breakout year, and The Poet's Dead is their official greeting to the world. Riding a wave of critical and underground goodwill from their sophomore LP Breaking Hearts, The Poet's Dead is the sound of a band working at their full powers, after years of honing their skills on the road.


Lyrically, The Poet’s Dead showcases some of their finest, most direct songwriting and is their strongest release to date. From the self-reflections of "20s" and "Prairie Girl" to the wistful hope of "First Kiss", the songs discuss maturity, growing up and life in a rock and roll band from a group that have spent much of the past few years doing exactly that. These are songs handcrafted to make you think, to create dreams and to break your heart. They're also catchy as hell.

The Poet's Dead is available now via Hidden Pony Records

The band is on tour (no east coast dates) but jump over to their Official Site and check out the tunes posted and the vids.  Also, sign up for their mailing list and get even more tunes!

New music from Iceland - Dikta

A pretty heavy, and not really safe for work video


This is the first single from the album "Trust Me"

The video may be rough for some, but it is a pretty great tune.  Check it out.

Aimee Mann and Ted Leo : Boston this weekend!

Aimee Mann returns to Boston at the Berklee Performance Center with her full band on Saturday, November 3 with special guest Ted Leo (solo). Tickets are $42.50 and $39.50 (includes $1.00 theater restoration fee) and are on sale now at the Berklee box office (located at 136 Massachusetts Avenue), or online at berkleebpc.com. Tickets may also be ordered by telephone by calling 617-747-2261. Regular box office hours of 10a – 6p Mon-Sat. Berklee box office accepts Visa, MC and Discover. AMEX is not accepted.

Influenced by what Aimee Mann calls the “super pop” of the 70s and 80s, her long awaited new album, Charmer, is her first release since 2008’s celebrated @#%&*!” Of Charmer, her eighth studio album, Mann comments, “I’m fascinated by charming people and the whole idea of charm. It’s hard to remember sometimes that there is usually an agenda behind the act of being charming, and that is what I’m most interested in. Is someone’s charm being utilized just to try and entertain people, make them feel special and interesting, or is there a more sinister purpose behind it? Sometimes I think ‘charm’ can just be another word for ‘manipulation.’” The album also includes a duet with James Mercer of The Shins on “Living a Lie.”

Mann began her solo career in 1993 with the album Whatever and made a name for herself through her independent success and the founding of her record label, SuperEgo. In addition to her solo work, she has appeared on many film soundtracks and composed the soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson’s much-lauded Magnolia. Since @#%&*! Smilers, Mann has performed for the President Obama and the First Lady at the White House, appeared as herself on the hit indie TV series Portlandia and fast become an internet darling. Named one of The Huffington Post’s “13 Funny Musicians You Should Be Following On Twitter,” Mann has gained a diehard social media following for her quick wit and stinging observation, much of which is reflected on the new album.

Ted Leo

His band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists formed in 1999 in Washington D.C. and is signed to Matador Records. The Bloomfield, NJ raised punk/indie rocker is a singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist in his own right. Ted credits his parents amazing record collection as his strongest musical influences. "I became obsessed with the Who, and I would hear them trying different things out [like] a James Brown cover and I could tell that those songs were something different. Leo credits Curtis Mayfield and Al Green for affecting him in "a very serious and deep way."

New Music : Grifter

File under how the heck did I miss this?

How do you follow up an album that topped some of the most respected webzine's Top 10 lists in 2011?


By making a better one of course! Grifter's first album was seven years in the making and was very much a process of "clearing house" for the band. With album number two the pressure is on to deliver...and the band are rising to the challenge! Writing for the album is ongoing and the songs are tighter, more focused, more varied and better than ever!

Grifter aim to hit the studio with producer Rich Robinson in early 2013 and on the album's release embark on a rigorous gigging schedule. Lets hope for a US tour.
See what the press has to say:

"One of the best hard rock albums from top to bottom that I have listened to this year." -- welovemetal.com

"This power trio channels the heaviness of early masters like Black Sabbath, and also contemporaries such as Clutch and Kyuss. Their heavy rock may blow out a woofer or two if played too loud, but you'll likely be too busy tapping your toes or grinning from ear to ear to notice" -- Dangerdog Music (4/5)

"In a time when too many rock bands are trying to be over cleaver and too flash for their own good Grifter are a breath of fresh air." -- The BCFM Sunday Rockshow

Here for yourself, and even buy it right here

Let's do this




The album and Heavy Ripples Compilation double 7" are both available now at the Ripple Music Store, as well as Nail Distribution in North America, Code 7 Distribution in the UK, and Clearspot International.