Between the 3 full time members of the Assault elite task force, and the 2-4 part timers, we have attended somewhere around 40,000 Alkaline Trio shows. We figured it’s time to make some new friends, and to do that, we’re going to give away two tickets, and some free drinks on us before the show at the Ginger Man next door. The show is February 28th at  Metro (your favorite Chicago rock venue!). Now, I know what you’re thinking: “You’re just gonna throw away your tickets to this awesome show? That’s retarded.” Well, you know what else is retarded? Your outfit. Now listen:

Alkaline Trio - This Addiction releases February 23rd!

Keeping with our loosely-enforced “Don’t hate, participate!” policy, we’re not just going to hand over the tickets–you gotta work for them. We’re not going to make you buy anything or do anything that we wouldn’t do (although that isn’t saying very much….rimshot!). All we’re asking is that you sign up for our newsletter. On February 18th you will receive our monthly newsletter, and in it you will get a link to a secret page on our site that has directions on how to get the tickets.

Not from Chicago?

No problem, if you find the secret password there’s still a chance to win a limited edition Alkaline Trio/Smoking Popes vinyl split, and a copy of the new album, This Addiction!

The first person to find the secret password will win the tickets, and all you have to do is to sign up for the newsletter, and to follow the directions on the email that is sent to you on February 18th. If you don’t sign up for the newsletter, you’ll never know how to win, so do it now!

The contest may (or may not include) an Alkaline Trio trivia question and/or a secret passcode that will be hidden somewhere on our online store where we sell fucking awesome t-shirts, aviators, and other cool stuff.

Third World Timmy, modeling the actual tickets you could possibly win!

The Goods

Two tickets to the SOLD OUT Alkaline Trio show at Metro Chicago on February 28th. Tickets pictured right. (Yes, those are the actual FUCKING TICKETS!)

Not from Chicago? No problem, there is also a limited edition vinyl Alkaline Trio/Smoking Popes split, and a copy of the new album from AK3, This Addiction!

When will I get my the first clue to the scavenger hunt?

The first clue will go out in our newsletter on the 18th of February that you must sign up for. Don’t forget to add us to your address book so that our emails won’t get caught in your spam filters.

Our newsletter is totally tits mcgee.

It goes out once a month, it has funny pictures of us, hot chicks in our clothing, and gives you a heads up to our best blog posts, recommended music/movies, and deals on all of our new clothing we release.

Derek sporting the Radioactive II T-Shirt from Assault!

Who the hell are you guys?

We’re just 3 guys who love music and make t-shirts. Some people think our shirts are pretty cool (including the guys from the Alkaline Trio) and, better yet, they’re made in the USA.

That’s right, you could win tickets to the SOLD OUT Alkaline Trio show! Better yet, we’ve dropped our prices for our 2 year anniversary sale so our shirts have never been cheaper!

The Fine Print

This contest is a scavenger hunt of sorts. You will need to be a subscriber of our newsletter to get the secret link to where the first clue is for the scavenger hunt. The tickets will be given to the first person to complete the contest who is also 21 years of age. You may need to answer a trivia question about the Alkaline Trio. The tickets, and this contest were not provided for by The Alkaline Trio, or their label. This contest has absolutely no affiliation with Epitaph, or the Alkaline Trio (they didn’t respond to over 40 emails from us asking for an interview and/or permission of some sort so we figured why the hell not!) Winners of the tickets must be at least 21 years of age. Contestants must be in the US.

We bought these tickets with our own money, and if we want to give them to two loyal Alkaline Trio fans from Chicago then god dammit we’re going to do so!

Our newest friends over at DyingScene have posted about a new video from A Wilhelm Scream for their hit song Australias that was just posted on Hurley.com. According to the band, “There will be more live songs added to the Hurley site thru the weekend, so be sure to keep checking back!”

Australias is the debut track off A Wilhelm Scream’s latest release, a self-titled EP that hit stores late November on Paper + Plastick Records.

More News On A Wilhelm Scream:

• Watch a new music video for “Fun Time” by A Wilhelm Scream
• Stream A Wilhelm Scream’s upcoming EP
• Band Spotlight: A Wilhelm Scream

Iconic Finnish rockers HIM have just released a new video for “Heartkiller,” the first single off their upcoming album Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice. While I can’t say I like the art direction, and overall aesthetic, the song isn’t all that bad. For some reason I can’t help but be reminded of that movie Queen of the Damned with that weird rocker vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. Check out the video and an interview with Ville about the video below.

HIM frontman Ville Valo recently sat down with Metal Hammer magazine to discuss the forthcoming album saying, “Lyrically, it’s the most sexual

Direct Hit - Ronnys | May 7, 2010

Nick Woods and his crew play an all ages show at Ronny's in Chicago. Photography by "Third World" Timmy on his Nikon D90.

38 Photos

The Action Blast - House of Blues | February 2010

The Action Blast's first show at House of Blues in Chicago. Photography by "Third World" Timmy on his Nikon D90.

80 Photos

Welcome To Ashley - Darkroom | Chicago, May 29, 2010

Oswald Hobbes and "Third World" Timmy's second show at the Darkroom, and Welcome To Ashley did not disappoint. Photography by "Third World" Timmy on his Nikon D90.

36 Photos

Empires - Lincoln Hall | Chicago, February 12, 2010

Empires plays a show at one of "Third World" Timmy's favorite new venues in Chicago, Lincoln Hall. Photography by "Third World" Timmy on his Nikon D90.

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The Fireship - Lincoln Hall | February 12, 2010

The Fireship opened up for Empires at Lincoln Hall, and I can see why they won the Pacific Sun battle of the bands competition. Photography by "Third World" Timmy on his Nikon D90.

13 Photos

This Is Me Smiling - Lincoln Hall | February 12, 2010

This Is Me Smiling also opened up for Empires at Lincoln Hall, and were the pleasant surprise of the night. Rufus Wainwright eat your heart out. Photography by "Third World" Timmy on his Nikon D90.

20 Photos

A Hero Named Hope - The Metro | August 15, 2009

Adam Hendle and friends from A Hero Named Hope in their first headling show at Metro. Photography by "Third World" Timmy on his Nikon D90.

29 Photos

Jemina Pearl - Beat Kitchen | February 6, 2010

By far one of the most energetic punk rock shows I have been to in a long time. "It's JEMEEEEAAAAANA not like aunt Jemima!" Photography by "Third World" Timmy on his Nikon D90.

20 Photos

Kid, You'll Move Mountains - Lincoln Hall | February 5, 2010

"Third World" Timmy's first show at Lincoln Hall and it was a doozy with indie-rockers Kid, You'll Move Mountains. All photography shot on a Nikon D90.

22 Photos

The Swellers - The Metro | November 24, 2009

One of "Third World" Timmy's favorite new bands of 2009, and he's lucky enough to snap a few shots of them with his D90 during their quick set at The Metro.

13 Photos

Torch Singer - Ronny's | January 8, 2010

The Sarmiento's and their new band play at the dark and mysterious dive bar Ronny's. All photography shot by "Third World" Timmy on his Nikon D90 after drinking 7 PBRs.

18 Photos

Welcome To Ashley - Empty Bottle | February 13, 2010

Photos from Welcome To Ashley's headlining set at one of my new favorite rock joints, The Empty Bottle. All photography on done with the Nikon D90.

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Kina Grannis - Beat Kitchen | Chicago June 10, 2010

Kina Grannis plays to a packed house at Beat Kitchen and gets numerous requests for her hand in marriage. Photography by Tim Toomey on his Nikon D90.

6 Photos

Geronimo! - Fireside | June 22, 2010

Geronimo! headlines at the Fireside Bowl. All photography by Tim Toomey on his Nikon D90.

9 Photos

The Please And Thank Yous - Fireside | June 22, 2010

The Please And Thank Yous opened up for Geronimo! at the legendary Fireside Bowl in Chicago. For some reason they left the lights on though? All photos by Tim Toomey on his D90.

7 Photos

Jonny Rumble - Beat Kichen | June 25, 2010

Jonny Rumble rocks Oswald Hobbes' and "Third World" Timmy's fucking faces off at their album release show at the Beat Kitchen. All photography by Tim Toomey on his D90.

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He added, “I like the immediacy of it. There’s a lot of information put in short songs and they don’t let go. That was the whole vibe for me. You should have seen me working the vocals out in the middle of the night, amongst my taxidermy owls in the tower screaming my guts out, unable to stop until 9:00 a.m. and then sleeping on a couch for two hours before starting again. So the whole process of the album is very close to that mental boner that just didn’t go away.”

Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice will hit stores in the U.S. on February 9th. For more information on HIM, visit their official site at www.heartagram.com.

Ville talks about Heartkiller

“Kings And Queens,” the first single from 30 Seconds to Mars‘ new album, This Is War, has been out for awhile. It almost made it onto our Songs We’ve Put on Repeat post, but it was just too soon. Needless to say, I am a big fan of the single, and the same could be said about the majority of the album. It’s another step in the band’s evolution from “some-actor-who’s-in-a-rock-band” with their first album, to a more polished band with their second album, and to where they stand now with their own unique sound.

Link opens in iTunes

While I may stand on an island alone in my enjoyment of the new album, that’s not to say that I still wouldn’t be slightly embarrassed if my headphones unplugged while I was jamming out to this at Assault HQ. It’s good, but maybe it’s a bit beyond me intellectually. The over-arching themes of the album seem a bit too epic. I had this same feeling on their previous release A Beautiful Lie, and always found myself reaching for something a little more heavy, (like Rise Against). That said, This Is War has an even more epic feel to it than A Beautiful Lie, but I like it nonetheless.

Samples and soundscapes appear throughout the album that sound similar to the techniques the band employed in A Beautiful Lie, and at times overpower it–in my opinion, this is where the album falters a bit. Real bands with real instruments is something I’ve always believed, and while 30 Seconds to Mars has that element, there are times when it feels overproduced. In the opening track Escape, it’s welcomed because it succeeds with a chilling chant of “This is war” at the climax, but in the two closing tracks I felt like I was either listening to a Trevor Rabin/Michael Bay soundtrack or some sort of weird 80′s high fashion techno remix.

On the other hand, Kings and Queens, Vox Populi, This Is War, and Night Of The Hunter seem to have just the right blend of rock to keep me interested. By far Kings and Queens is still my favorite track on the album, but there are at least 4-5 comparable songs here, and that’s as good a ratio as you’ll find on one disc. I even liked listening to Hurricane, featuring my arch rival and nemesis Kanye West. (Though he sounds more like the auto-tuned singing from Brokencyde than he does Kanye.)

Overall, a solid album, and it will almost certainly be on my picks of the month for December.

Track Listing

1. Escape
2. Night of the Hunter
3. Kings and Queens
4. This is War
5. 100 Suns
6. Hurricane [feat. Kanye West]
7. Closer to the Edge
8. Vox Populi
9. Search & Destroy
10. Alibi
11. Strangers in a Strange Land
12. L490

Kings and Queens video (this is badass)

Like this band? You may also like Makeshift Prodigy from Chicago

A band I’m a huge fan of from Chicago, Makeshift Prodigy, (Link opens in iTunes) has a sound similar to this new album, and I’m quite a big fan of theirs. Check them out at their Official Website.

I’m sure most people have in one way or another heard of Puddle of Mudd. If there was one thing I surely wasn’t going to pass up, being a wannabe rock star myself, it’s interviewing a band that has done it all: partied, toured virtually nonstop, and most importantly, been successful doing so. (8 million records sold to all you haters out there.) I got a chance to talk to them on the phone about their strange stories as well as ask them a few questions about their new album, Songs in the Key of Love & Hate.

Link opens in iTunes

Since the guys had already done 35-40 interviews, I decided to pepper them with questions like, “Is it true you had the Puddle of Mudd logo on condoms at one point?“, but I also decided to grind out a few details about how the band chooses an opening band, as well as ask them why bands don’t party like they use to. Check out the full interview download below, or just check out a few of the highlights.

Have you explored any alternate release strategies, and how has the internet changed the playing field?

(Label Dude responded) For this album we are doing a direct to consumer strategy as part of the option, so there will be special packages that the fans can buy where the band will be signing the booklets, and they’ll get an exclusive shirt. So we are employing a different, more direct to the fan relationship with this album, but we will be going through all the various retail outlets including iTunes.

Wes Scantlin: We did do a thing off of our previous record where we put a golden ticket in  one of our records and this chick from… I don’t even know where she lived but her and a bunch of her friends got to come out in their own tour bus with us for a week. Although, I was the only one who would hang out with them the whole time. The rest of the guys in the band didn’t even like, talk to ‘em. [laughs]

Ryan Yerdon: We were debating doing that on this album, but not actually putting the golden ticket in

Wes Scantlin: Yea, and then no one will ever find it.

Ryan Yerdon: And then we were just going to give it to our guitar player Paul’s girlfriend so she can come out and be with us for a week.

Wes Scantlin: I was just going to say that I got it so I can get another tour bus for a week. [laughter]

What do you look for in an opening band?

Wes Scantlin: Alot of the time you want to have a couple of bands that are rolling with you that have got some heat, VH1, MTV, alot of radio airplay–stuff like that, and then ya know give some not so fortunate people. Ya know, cut one band some slack, the ones rolling in a van, slugging it out out there and give somebody else a chance to play in front of your crowd–the ones that don’t really have a deal or anything like that.

Ryan Yerdon: It’s the combination of a band that doesn’t have a deal, but your shit’s kinda cool so we’ll take you with us, and the other stuff is a band that will bring a few more people to the show.

Best place to play?

Wes Scantlin: Man, every city has their own little personality. I kinda like playing a smaller, b-market city, where you’re kinda rolling through a little town and you’re the party, showing up with an awesome show, and there’s nothing else going on in town. Everybody in the whole town is coming cause it’s the weekend–kids, families, picnic baskets, blankets, it’s like a day out for the family–everybody comes.

Ryan Yerdon: As long as the crowd is good and the energy is there then I don’t care if it’s in a club or an outdoors show or an indoor show. If people are excited to see us, that makes it a good show, and a favorite place to be.

Wes Scantlin: I like it when little kids show up and they’re like 8, 9, or ten years old, and it’s their first show and they’re having a blast, like the first blast of their life. Then you get to meet them later and give ‘em high fives and they’re totally in show and just loving it.

Ryan Yerdon: We bring kids on stage, Wes always invites the kids up on stage. We did a show a few weeks ago in Seattle, and this kid came up on stage and he stayed there for like 3 or 4 songs

Wes Scantlin: He was just kind of jamming dude. Most of the time they get up there and they’re like shocked, like “WOAAAAH!” This kid was just like let’s rock!

Ryan Yerdon: Yea this kid was up there for like 3 or 4 songs, dancing, making faces, so that made that a great show.

West Scantlin: It’s a good thing cause I was hammered that night, and I caught some shit for it.

Ryan Yerdon: No you weren’t.

West Scantlin: No… I wasn’t.

Do you party? What’s the wildest thing you’ve had happen

Ryan Yerdon: Well the craziest things we’ve had happen can’t really be shared. It’s like a band of brothers but…

Wes Scantlin: There was something that had to do with a banana getting inserted in a weird thing and actually exploding.

Ryan Yerdon: It wasn’t pretty.

Wes Scantlin: It was really weird man…. We’re pretty mellow right now, but you should have caught us back in the day when we were a bit crazier. Now it’s just mellow man. We just sit in the back of the bus and see who can drink the most beer till like 3 or 4 in the morning.

It doesn’t seem like you get too much of that partying anymore nowadays. Vegan/Straight-edge rock seems to be picking up momentum…

Wes Scantlin: There’s this thing in the record business now called the, “No Tolerance Clause” where they’ll just pull the plug on you if you get too fucked up. Which has happened to me. [laughs]

What was the best part about playing for the troops in Iraq?

Ryan Yerdon: I have to say the best thing is just seeing the faces of the soldiers after we got done playing. We do a meet and greet with everybody, and it seems like it was a really high percentage of the people that watched the show actually stay and came up to us and we signed things for them and they were so thankful. It all made sense in that moment looking at those guys saying, thank you guys for coming here, and we really need your support. Just hanging out with all those guys and playing for them–they made it worth it worth it when we got there. We kinda thought we were crazy to do it.

West Scantlin: I think the hardest thing about playing was seeing the young 18 year old soldiers who’ve had their arms or legs blown off, especially when they’re there with their family, or girlfriends or whatever, that’s definitely the hardest part about playing for the troops. They still have a good attitude about it, but it’s the saddest thing to have to see someone who’s just a kid that’s just blown to bits that’s still alive–who’s going to have to go and get prosthetics and shit. That’s the hardest thing about it. It just sucks to see that kind of shit.

What’s the most outrageous thing Puddle of Mudd has had their logo on?

Wes Scantlin: Yea we had condoms for awhile, and it was kinda strange cause my bass player Doug was embarrassed that I had made the condoms, and I’d just be throwing them out into the crowd, jokingly, and he took like 750 of them, and took them to his house and threw them away because he thought it was embarrassing to the band to have condoms. So he took them and threw them away. Yea, and I paid for them–so he’s basically throwing my shit down the drain.

…I like to go bare-back style.

Advice for guys getting started that are still playing local shows in one region?

Wes Scantlin: The only advice I can really throw out is practice your craft, and your writing ability. Don’t expect someone to come walking up to your front door with a record contract–ever. You gotta get out there and fight for it and get your music to the right people. Fortunately, we have the internet now, and we got the MySpace, the Youtubes, Facebook, so you can use that to your benefit, and uhhh… pray.

Get Puddle of Mudd music:

Download the full interview:

Puddle of Mudd Interview (mp3)

Puddle of Mudd have a new album out today (December 8th, 2009) called Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love & Hate which you can purchase on iTunes.

More Puddle of  Mudd

Behind the scenes to Puddle of Mudd’s music video to their first single, Spaceship. (Link opens in iTunes)

Ever since the first time I saw Thrice live at the Fireside Bowl in Chicago when I was 16 I knew they’d be big. It’s been awhile since I connected as much with them (musically) on anything they’ve released, but I remain a loyal fan nonetheless. Here’s their new video I stumbled across on MySpace:

The one tool you need in your toolbox as a band (which basically makes you a small business owner) is to install and configure Analytics on your website. Do yourself a favor and get off of MySpace. At the very least MySpace should just be used as another avenue to reach fans, not your only or primary point of contact. For this particular tutorial, we use WordPress as our content management system of choice. I recommend WordPress to anyone who asks me simply because of how easy it is, and how easy it is to integrate Google Analytics.

If you’ve already setup Google Analytics you can skip down a ways on the page as I go into the aspects of Google that will mean the most to you. It’s a good idea to look over the initial setup to make sure you’ve done everything properly. The way I setup Google does enable tracking on a few more important items that you don’t get by just copying and pasting the code Google supplies to you.

Get WordPress or a something similar CMS

With WordPress you have two choices to setup your site:

1. Download the software and install it to your web host (Recommended)
2. Host your website remotely on yourname.wordpress.com (less freedom)

Some hosting providers like Media Temple have a one click install for WordPress. This helps things along considerably. If you can’t afford your own domain name and/or hosting. Signup for an account on WordPress.com. Your name will be YOURNAME.wordpress.com to start, but you won’t be able to have complete freedom over the look and feel of your site.

If you have no other choice, start with option 2. You can always export your data and import it to your own web hosted .com later.

Signup for a Google Analytics account using your Google account name

I’ve had a Gmail account for awhile now so all I had to do was go to Google.com/analytics and sign up for an analytics account.

Setup your profile

Setting up your profile is as simple as putting in your website address for each website you have. If you want to setup e-commerce tracking for your online store you have to enable this option later. For now, just enter in the basic information for your site.

Our site already has a profile so the additional site we just setup appears below that domain name. (assault.it.com) You’ll also notice that the status icon is a little alert. That’s because we need to actually setup the embed code on the site.

Click on the edit link on the right, and then click on the Check Status link over to the right

Now you’ll see what we need to get our hands on which is the Google Tracking code. (On the right) You can just copy and paste this into your site if you’re not using WordPress, but it’s better to integrate it with the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin so you can enable additional features not offered with just copying and pasting the code.

If you just copy/paste the code into your site you won’t get any of the additional benefits setup like goal funnels so don’t do that.

Leave this window open for now, and I’ll explain how to implement this code with the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin in the next step.

Download/Install/Activate The Google Analytics Plugin for WordPress to your blog

You’re better off using the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin for a 3 reasons:

1. The plugin will track outbound clicks to see where people are leaving your site and what links they are clicking on when they do leave your site.
2. The plugin will automatically put the proper code on all aspects of your site, and when an upgrade is available it’s as easy as clicking upgrade.
3. Your downloads will automatically be tagged as /downloads/wp-content/uploads/your-file-name.zip so you can get an idea of how many downloads you are getting.

To download the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin you can either add it through the administration interface by going into your WordPress Admin area: http://www.whateveryourdomainis.com/wp-admin and then click on the arrow next to the Plugins link and click “Add New”.

Then, do a search for “Google Analytics for WordPress” and it should be the first result. Install and move on to the next step or install it manually via the directions for installation on the plugins’ WordPress page which I have pasted below:

Input your Google tracking code

Remember the code we left open in another window from before? This is where we need that code again.  You just need the id off of your tracking code which I’ve highlighted below, not the entire copy/paste code that Google gives you.

Copy that part of the code and paste it into the configuration text box like I have below.

Set up your settings similar to how I have to ensure you’re tracking downloads as well as outbound clicks from your site.

Collect the data!

Gather several weeks worth of data before you really go in and analyze where people are coming from and what parts of your site are most popular.

What’s important?

Depending on how you are using your site there are a variety of things that could be of importance to you. (Besides just actual traffic of course)

If you’re using your website as a place where you can push your music to the fans with downloads then that’s going to be one of your most important areas to pay attention to. To view your download statistics go to the content report, and then “Top Content” section.

Then filter your content by downloads by typing “/downloads” into the text box as I have below:

Another thing to pay attention to is your  traffic sources. How are users finding you? Google searches? Reverbnation? MySpace? Twitter? Blog posts?

Want to increase/decrease the date range?

Been a few months since you installed the plugin code? How about increasing the date range from the past month to the past few months? Or past few days? Do that on the dashboard where you see the calendar:

Setup Goals (AKA Super Fucking important)

After you’ve ensured your data is being collected you’re going to want to setup goals.

Goals allow you to setup a flow on the site for how they find you up until they actually do something. (For istance,  download a file off of a specific page)

There are 3 types of goals you can setup, the most important to us being the URL destination which allows us to set a user path for a visitor coming to our site. Name the goal and select URL destination and you’ll see the rest of the Goal Details options that I have in the screen capture below:

“Goal URL” is the second have the the name of the page the user should end up on, and goal value is something to set up if you’re setting a monetary value for something like a digital download. For instance, if you have a file uploaded to your site as I have above, your goal URL would be downloads/wp-content/uploads/name-of-the-file-you-uploaded.zip

Note: You can take this link from the information in your Top Content section like I showed you how to do above.

If you want to track users from say, your homepage to your downloads page you can enter in the separate steps a user would take to get from your homepage to your actual file download.

If I had 4 pages I could enter them all in each field and name each step to determine how many users are able to make it through the entire goal funnel.

At Assault’s online clothing store, we use goals to track our user’s sticking points in our shopping cart check out process. If we find there are a lot of users abandoning their carts after they get to a specific step in the checkout process, we know there must be some sort of usability issue.

One of the coolest aspects of the goals and e-commerce tracking is that you can determine where your actual converted sales/downloads are coming from most. (Meaning the websites that send you the most downloads and money!)

Google analytics goals are critical when determining what social networks to push your music to the hardest, which blogs to keep pimping your free gear to cause their audience buys digital music, which twitter users are giving you shoutouts, etc. etc.

I say again, setting up Goals and Goal Funnels will give you visual proof of where you are having success with getting your music downloaded. I can’t stress this point enough!

If you find most of your users aren’t getting to your music downloads, then you need to give them a clearer call to action on all your pages.

If you’re users are bouncing after :20 seconds and only visiting one page, then they’re not finding what they came to your site for.

There are HUNDREDS of things you can learn from all the data Google gives you. Are your fans primarily hitting the page on the site with your pictures? Are they coming to the free download of a song you offered them that got plugged by a blog? Are they looking at your bio because you have a hot chick lead singer and they want to see if she’s single? (Assault‘s top viewed page on our store is for our zombie t-shirt. Go figure.)

Analytics is the key to your online strategy. It tells you what you’re doing right, and what you’re doing wrong. It’ll also tell you what your fans want more of, and if you’re getting them to the right place in the fewest amount of clicks.

Want more info? Did you get stuck at a certain point? Want some one on one advice? Send me a message on Twitter or post in the comments. I reply to just about everything that comes my way.

Pop-punk is one of the easiest genres to get wrong; the ingredients are simple enough that anyone can give it a shot, and fan expectations are famously low. That’s what makes the new Swellers record, Ups And Downsizing, so refreshing: these guys absolutely nail it. The songs are catchy, the riffs are chunky, and there’s enough wit present in the lyrics to satisfy the discriminating pop-punk fan. After undergoing numerous lineup changes and the usual amount of toil and trouble, The Swellers seem to be on the cusp of breaking out and getting the recognition they deserve.

The Swellers – Fire Away Video

Ups and Downsizing in Flint, Michigan

The Swellers prove they have the essential down pat right away; opener “2009″ finds singer/guitarist Nick Diener wallowing in the kind of new year’s misery that’s fueled great tracks in the past from Alkaline Trio and Motion City Soundtrack, although the tone here never slips into negativity or ugliness. And, though the riffs may be familiar enough, they keep circling around in interesting ways, dropping out and then coming back harder. This is the formula for most of Ups And Downsizing, and when it works, The Swellers make a case for themselves as a more masculine Paramore; this is friendly mall punk you can blast in your car without feeling like a teenage girl.

The Swellers consistently go deeper than the average pop-punk concerns; the title track features smart lyrics about the recession (the band is from Flint, Michigan, so they know a thing or two about economic downturn) and closer “Dirt” is an enjoyably vinegary missive aimed at anyone attending Dienen’s funeral. “Feet First” and “Stars” switch up the tempo; the former is a pretty standard ballad entry, but the latter runs six minutes and features a Slash-worthy guitar solo as it reaches its super-cathartic climax.

Ups And Downsizing is a big step forward for the Swellers; their previous full-length, My Everest, traffics in much of the same thematic and musical territory, but the delivery is more pungent and forceful this time around. The rest of the band is almost impossibly tight . Think Fall Out Boy’s Take This To Your Grave: Standard elements recombined in an interesting way, with some studio sheen to help the medicine go down but enough rawness to keep the energy popping. And the flawless rhythmic interplay on these songs showcases a precision that probably is only possible when it’s your brother on drums (Jonathan Diener handles the skins).

If you’re a fan of the typical pop-punk sound, Ups And Downsizing is worth more than just a listen. It’s worth memorizing as a textbook example of exactly how this stuff sounds when it’s done right. I’d place it in the mighty pantheon right alongside Alkaline Trio’s Goddamnit and Green Day’s Kerplunk, and that’s about as high of praise as you’re likely to hear around these parts. And, just like those records, telling your friends about Ups And Downsizing amounts to sharing a wonderful gift. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in twenty years, up-and-coming punk bands instructed their producers to “make it sound like the Swellers.” That’s how fine their command of pop-punk principles truly is.

The Swellers are opening for Less Than Jake at Metro on Tuesday, November 24; if you’re in the Chicago area, I highly advise you check these guys out. (Both myself and “Third World” Timmy will be at the show.) This is real, no-bullshit rock ‘n’ roll, and that’s a rare commodity these days. Buy tickets now!

More from the Swellers

• The Swellers Myspace
• The Swellers Twitter
• Nick Diener’s Twitter
• The Swellers on iTunes

It’s been almost a year since I last had a chance to see Rise Against, as they’ve been touring all around the world the past year, but they’re finally coming back this December 18th for their 10th anniversary show at my favorite venue in Chicago, The Metro.

The band recently released a video for the song Savior off of their most recent album, Appeal to Reason. It compliments many of their previous videos carrying some of the same themes, as well as being shot in and around Chicago. (From what this Chicago native can tell)

Unlike their previous work, however, this video has a somewhat humorous take on the current state of the union. The same themes from their previous videos are present, but this time, instead of being blatantly forward with their message they’ve decided to use what is possibly a more powerful storytelling technique: humor. (Something we at Assault are quite fond of.)

You’ll have to watch the video for yourself to see what I mean, but I have to say that I agree with the central core messages of the video which are forgiveness and openness.

Rise Against also released a new Digital 45 this week on iTunes with the single, “Grammatizator” as well as a live version of the song, “Hero of War”. You can get it now on iTunes.

Along with the video there’s a quick making of featurette with some insight from the director, Kevin Kerslake who provides some interesting insight into the background of the song and music video:

And just in case you’re a fan of orchestral music, The Vitamin String Quartet did several covers of Rise Against’s songs. It’s the first time I ever considered a group of classical musicians totally badass. You can get it in iTunes here.

America loves a comeback story, and Creed‘s is a doozy: after racking up huge sales, conquering the world, and becoming the critical community’s favorite punching bag, the band’s arrogance and stupidity finally caught up with them. Singer Scott Stapp spent two years as a painkiller-addicted tabloid fixture, and his reign at the bottom was replete with on-stage breakdowns and an extremely odd Kid-Rock-assisted sex tape. But now the band is back, and they’re ready to reclaim their place at the top of the charts. Is America really ready for more Creed? Or are the memories of the pain they inflicted with “Higher” still fresh? After listening to their new album Full Circle (opens in iTunes) for six long hours, I have returned with a verdict: Too soon.

I’ve never been a Creed fan, and Scott Stapp is the primary reason. This is true for the majority of people who love to loathe Creed: it’s not that we hate bombastic rock ‘n’ roll, and it’s not that we’re “too cool” to get on Stapp’s wavelength. The critical reaction to Creed functions as a knee-jerk response to lyrics so misguided that even on this, their ostensible apology to the fans, Stapp keeps asking us to align our sympathies with his alleged misfortune. Late in the record he admits he “made this mess [him]self,” but it comes after a solid forty minutes of tortured bloviating about his heart being tattooed on his sleeve. Listening to Creed is like putting a book about why bad things happen to good people on your nightstand.

To the band’s credit, the riffs on half these tracks are absolute face-melters. Having never owned a Creed album or listened to their music beyond the ubiqutious singles, Mark Tremonti’s fretwork comes to me as a delightful surprise. This kind of grungy sludge isn’t necessarily what I require for my own heaviness needs, but I’m also not theoretically opposed to it. When these guys stay away from the ballads, their music is awesomely bottom-heavy and rhythmic; I can totally understand the appeal of watching the band shake stadiums. But, unfortunately, ballads comprise precisely half of the album, and that’s when Creed starts running into trouble. Without the sound and fury of Tremonti’s power chords, Stapp’s woeful, sub-Vedder crooning is fatally exposed.

“Away In Silence” and “Rain” are the most blatant offenders – the playing is competent but unexciting, and the lyrics are downright repulsive. I’m all for Stapp’s comeupance, but I wish he’d saved the self-flagellation for his therapy sessions. Everybody knows exactly what kind of trouble the dude has been mired in for the better part of this decade so I don’t know why we need to rehash the details, in the most banal and clichéd manner possible, for fifty minutes. Furthermore, it’s tough to muster much pity when the guy basically opens the record by bellowing “I’m entitled to overcome!” I’m hard-pressed to figure out why, precisely, this guy feels entitled to anything now: Creed had a good run of hit singles, they sold over thirty million records worldwide, and Stapp’s infamous onstage martyr-pose fueled countless teenage girl masturbation fantasies. It’s not really our fault, as listeners, that Scott Stapp became addicted to various substances, acted like a moron, and lost a lot of money. The guy should take a cue from hip-hop, embrace the inherent drama of his status as a drugged-up diva, and have some fucking fun with it already.

In the end, Full Circle faces the same problem Creed has always faced: the pseudo-Christian sprituality that functions as a lynchpin of their mythology is also their undoing. Rock ‘n’ roll is devil music, and has been since time immemorial (or, at least, the 1950′s.) So until Stapp learns to stop whining and accept his inner Lucifer, a Creed record will never be a good time. Full Circle is a mostly turgid slog that occasionally livens up but ultimately can’t shake free of the two-hundred pound albatross standing front and center. And so, thirteen years after they first tasted mainstream success, Creed remain locked in a prison made of pomposity and frustration; they still can’t shake the shackles of shittiness.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to get to check out the New Music Seminar in Chicago, and a question was posed to the speakers, “What iPhone applications should I have?” There was a bit of confusion, and some suggestions–none of which that I felt were really helpful applications for touring bands. Links open up in iTunes.

I’ve put together a list of the 5 applications that I have used in the past that I feel would be incredibly helpful to any touring musician, without including the obvious like Google Maps, Facebook, or Myspace.

Loopt

Want your fans to see where you are without having to update via Twitter? Loopt lets your fans see where you are in the country at the time, and allows you to update your status with what you’re doing there.

Cost: Free

WordPress

Need to write a message to your blog directly from your phone and include pictures? WordPress is by far the most popular blog platform, and this application integrates seamlessly with it.

Cost: Free

iSwipe

Want to take credit cards at your merch booth? Have a Paypal account? No need for a bulky credit card terminal, iSwipe integrates directly with several popular payment gateways and is great for a band on the go. It’s easy to use and easy to setup. (We used it at all the Assault Shirts live Summer Events.)

Cost: $0.99 (UPDATED!)

Pixelpipe

Taking lots of video and photos with your phone, and need an application that integrates and uploads media to virtually every service on the net? Thought so. Pixelpipe easily integrates with just about every major service out there and is great for publishing on the go.

Cost: Free

Tweetie 2

If you’re in a band, then you better be on Twitter. If you’re on Twitter, you better have Tweetie. It’s the best application out there for interacting with your Twitter followers, and it’s affordable too!

Cost: $2.99

Know of any applications I missed? Post them in the comments. Like lists like these? Follow me on Twitter here. I’m always posting helpful tips and links.

With 2007’s Riot! Paramore rode a jangly and simple pop-punk sound to platinum crossover glory, and they keep the edges safely beveled with their new album Brand New Eyes. There’s plenty of punchy, sugary goodness for the band’s die hard excitable-teenage-girl fan base to latch on to here, but study the grooves closely and you’ll find enough substance to enchant even those over the legal drinking age.

Produced by Rob Cavallo (who mastered capturing this particular art form 15 years ago with Green Day’s Dookie), Brand New Eyes is factory fresh and ready for radio. Lead single “Ignorance” taps into the same well of girlish indignation and churning guitars that propelled their breakthrough hit “Misery Business” to Alternative Nation (Jr. Division) dominance. It’s not a new sound, but their SoundScan numbers indicate the formula ain’t broken. The band succeeds most, though, when they keep the tone bright with late album standouts “Feeling Sorry,” “Looking Up,” and “Where The Lines Overlap,” a trifecta of perfect pop that makes a decent (and somewhat shocking) case for Brand New Eyes as a coherent album rather than a singles collection padded with filler. “Where The Lines Overlap” is the most winning, with it’s joyful chorus refrain of “No one’s as lucky as us!” and sweetly melodic riffage.

“The Only Exception” and “Misguided Ghosts” fulfill the obligatory “sensitive” portion of the record with varying success. The former track has the boring acoustic guitars and fey twinkling of reheated mid-90’s AOR rock (think an even lamer Dishwalla) but “Misguided Ghosts” travels most of the distance towards being genuinely affecting via unadorned guitar strums and wistful vocals.

Those vocals are, more than likely, what you’re here for, and Hayley Williams is in fine form throughout. Her spunky personality and Hot Topic good looks are obviously key to the band’s success but it’s still easy to underestimate the genuine talent she possesses for pushing hooks into interesting new directions and imbuing every utterance with absolute sincerity. She lets it rip on the relatively epic “Brick By Boring Brick,” salvaging  a clumsy chorus with forceful verses and some old-fashioned gang vocals at the end, and her performance on album closer “All I Wanted” is nothing short of stunning – by the time Brand New Eyes fades out on a short wave of guitar distortion, there’s no real excuse to be dissatisfied.

Paramore has delivered, again, an album much better than was necessary. Brand New Eyes may be familiar at every turn, but it’s the good kind of familiar – this record makes me wish I was still in high school so I could play it loud in my car without attracting odd looks from fellow motorists. Paramore don’t do avant-garde; they do indestructible and spit-shined.  Brand New Eyes is unabashedly lightweight; that doesn’t make its pleasures any easier to resist.  When Williams sings “I’ve got a feeling that if I sang this loud enough, you would sing it back to me,” it’s difficult to contradict her.

Choice jams:

• “Careful”
• “Brick By Boring Brick”
• “Feeling Sorry”
• “Where The Lines Overlap”
• “All I Wanted”

One of these Tuesday mornings I’m hoping that when I take a quick peak at the top songs in the “Rock” category on iTunes there will really be something is not only rock, but also good. I’m not one to complain and not do anything about it so I’ve taken it upon myself to hopefully bring you a few new songs that aren’t Daughtry, Creed, or John Mayer-esque in sound.

iTunes Top 10 singles in Rock at the time of this blog post. Meh

The Swellers – Fire Away

The Swellers remind me of a cooler, less emo version of what Saves the Day used to be back when I was in high school. Drawing from their experience touring with Less Than Jake, Set Your Goals, and Four Year Strong, The Swellers finally seemed to have made their break as they’re now opening up for Paramore. They sound kinda like somewhere between punk rock and Lit–if you can imagine what that’s like.

AFI – Medicate

AFI was one of my favorite bands growing up. (All the way back to their All Hallows Eve and hardcore screaming days) They seem to have grown up quite a bit and still manage to turn out solid albums despite being around for over 18 years now.

Thousand Foot Krutch – Fire It Up

I honestly can’t remember how I found these guys, but all I can say is they’re good, and this song is good. If you’re like me and kinda feel like a pussie when you listen to pop punk, this should help.

Brand New – You Stole

My first Brand New show was in the back of a bowling alley at the Fireside Bowl off of Fullerton in Chicago back when they were still having rock and roll shows there. They were OPENING for Thrice, and now they’re filling up the Aragon Ballroom. Our resident music critic, Oswald Hobbes reviewed their new album Daisy just recently. Check that out if you haven’t.

Weezer – (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To

The first album I ever owned was “The Blue Album” by Weezer cause my mom wouldn’t let me get the Offspring cd cause it had a parental advisory sticker. In retrospect, it wasn’t that bad of a decision. Feel free to disagree, but there’s no way Five for Fighting should be ahead of Weezer… on a rock chart… ever.

Wolfmother – New Moon Rising

Everytime I listen to Wolfmother I feel like I stepped in a time machine. A time machine of awesome. This single off their new album definitely deserves to be in the top ten. Maybe just one spot above Daughtry.

Dagoba – The Things Within

So I just found out about these guys, and posted  their music video. I don’t know how I missed them because this song is over three years old now, but I guess that’s what I get for “going away to art school” as they say.

VersaEmerge – Past Praying For

I’m not doing this because all the bands on this list are fronted by dudes–I swear. VersaEmerge is a relatively new band, and another band on the Fueled by Ramen bill along with The Swellers. If you’re kind of into Evanescence but a bit less dreary, and quite a bit more upbeat–check this song out.

Oh, Sleeper – Son of the Morning

If Dustin Kensrue of Thrice decided to start making serious rock again like he used to, except draw from a bit more heavy bands like Killswitch Engage and Poison The Well, then Oh, Sleeper would be somewhat close to the result. A bit scream-o and a bit Fear Factory, this one will give you a nice kick in the ass in the morning, and it’s been proven to have more caffeine than that powdery instant coffee from Starbucks.

Taking Dawn – Time to Burn

For those of you that remember the band The Union Underground (What happened to them anyways?) you’ll do just fine with Taking Dawn. A little bit Axel Rose, a little bit Atreyu. Definitely worth the one dollar download.

Now I’m no Oswald Hobbes, but I do tend to be somewhat particular about what I think is good rock music, so if you completely disagree and think I don’t know what I’m talking about… that’s fine. Post some rock songs in the comments or send me a tweet and point me in the right direction.

Lead me to the promised land o’ internet trolls.

Friend of mine sent me this, and I must say it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to enjoy some real heavy death metal, but I sincerely enjoyed this song/video by Dagoba called, “The Things Within”.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbZCZ8Hp9iY

This particular song is off of Dagoba’s, “What Hell Is About” album that they released in 2006. I like the song so much I think I’ll make it my alarm clock.

Out Of Ashes, at first glance, seems superfluous – a side project from the voice of Linkin Park in 2009? This particular voice became the sole focus of LP’s musical attack once the inherent repulsiveness of the rap-rock genre became apparent even to its most successful progenitors a few years ago. So Out Of Ashes works from a familiar musical template: simple, crunchy riffs; snappily consistent 4/4 beats; and, of course, that voice.

Chester Bennington has forged a very distinct identity in the world of modern radio rock. While most of Linkin Park’s nu-metal peers take their vocal influences from either the pig-squeak Cannibal Corpse school or that rumbly, mush-mouthed baritone bastardized from Eddie Vedder’s cracked and vulnerable orginal, Bennington, by contrast, seems to have studied Anthrax’s John-Bush-era records. His voice is strong and steady, essentially high but coated in gravel. His greatest gift, though, is his ability to carry a strong melody; that is what sets any given Linkin Park anthem aside from the rest of the slop it’s smuggled between on radio playlists.

Out Of Ashes is bracingly melodic from start-to-finish; it begins with the relatively bright one-two punch of “Fire” and “Crawl Back In,” Both tracks lyrically address Bennington’s by-now-infamous self esteem issues, but they do it in the context of major key stadium rock. It’s a refreshing switch from the uniformly downbeat output of his other band, and one that figures prominently in Out Of Ashes overall success – every time a lowly angst-nugget like “Let Down” clogs the record’s flow, a stomper like “Condemned” is right around the corner to blast the proceedings back into high gear.

Bennington doesn’t do anything new on Out Of Ashes. The closest he comes to subverting the establish Linkin Park formula is the Phil Collins beat and moderate synth squiggles of “Let Down” or lightweight power-ballad “Give Me Your Name” (complete with Slash-esque, edge-of-the-cliff guitar solo). Elsewhere it’s business as usual, which means that people who love Bennington from his day job will flock in droves to hear this pleasant variation. It may not be groundbreaking, but if you come here looking for fresh musical ideas, you kind of deserve the disappoint. Out Of Ashes is a machine-tooled musical thrill ride, and the thrill comes from the factory precision with which these ingredients are scientifically combined. The outcome of the experiment is never in question, but that’s why this stuff sells.

That’s also why it works.

Choice Jams:
“Crawl Back In”
“Inside Of Me”
“My Suffering”
“Condemned”
“Walking In Circles“

By the time their last album dropped in 2006, most of Brand New’s early-aught emo peers had already flamed out on major labels and retreated to the warm embrace and low standards of Vagrant Records. The band makes it clear with their new record, Daisy, that they’re just now getting started. Following the heavy, multi-layered gloom of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, Brand New have rejiggered their formula yet again.

Album opener “Vices” begins with a snippet of gentle piano-driven gospel music before exploding into riffs sharper and more vicious than they’ve ever showcased. The album gets continually better from there, especially on repeated listens. Daisy is a difficult and complex record that must be absorbed before it can be fully appreciated — and like Brand New‘s past releases, it’s well worth the effort.

Daisy clocks in at an initially underwhelming 40 minutes. That brevity works to the band’s benefit. On an album this full of dynamic shifts and strange experiments, its welcome could have easily worn itself out if they pushed much further.

Instead Daisy is a compact and nuanced thrill ride, with nary a second of bloat. The band cranks up the amps and adrenaline on aggro showpieces one minute (see the riotously charging “Gasoline” for an example of how hard these fellas can hit) and then turn the heat down to simmer for “Bed” and the title track, which both remain relatively quiet while harnessing big power, threatening at any moment to lurch off track and become something else entirely.

Lead guitarist Vincent Accardi’s riffs have a spooky, bent quality — it sounds like he’s been studying early Modest Mouse records. That influence is never as obvious as during the two-minute interlude “Be Gone.” It’s nothing but a gnarled blues riff and some super-distorted vocals, but it’s one of the most distinctive and effective tracks the band has ever recorded.

Daisy is a rare beast in the oft-uninspiring alternative rock genre. It can clobber and caress in equal measures, and at no point does the band consider those qualities mutually exclusive. The experience is as pleasant as stroking a unicorn’s lustrous fur — and as shocking as having that same unicorn impale your heart with its horn. It’s serious business, and fans of sharp and innovative guitar rock should hope lead singer Jesse Lacey’s recent hints that the group might disband prove entirely false. I’m crossing my fingers there’s plenty more where this came from.

Lookout for The Alumni Club. They're touring, and they're one of the best local power/punk/pop bands I've heard in awhile.

It’s not too often that I get to plug bands before most people find out about them simply because there aren’t that many that are pluggable--but about once a month I stumble across a band in the Chicago area that seems to be a bit ahead of the curve for their genre. In 2000, it was Thrice. Shortly thereafter, it was Thursday, before them it was Saves the Day, Dashboard Confessional, Boysetsfire, and I think I may have just found my most recent potential break out band…

The band is The Alumni Club, and they’ve just posted a music video from their newest album, Up Early and Out Late called, “About Last Night”. Fallout Boy seems to have revolutionized the power pop/punk genre, and I think the guys from The Alumni Club give them a pretty good run for their money--Even Sans Jay-Z to do their intro.

Their new EP is just $5 on Amazon, or you can surf on to those communists over their at Apple and pick it up on iTunes. Check out the video below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgSHqY5GHec

They mentioned being a “top 40 band in Chicago” on their Myspace. I think they can go alot higher than that.

Tour:Smart and Break the Band by Martin Atkins, a must read for bands about to go on the road

I’ve never been in a band, and I’ve never been a producer or groupie, and I’ve never had what it takes to make it in a band. (Albeit my expert level singing and drumming skills on Rock Band) Lucky for those of you looking to embark on your first tour, there is an incredibly detailed guide on how to do it the right way. The book is called, Tour:Smart and Break the Band. The book was written by Chicago’s own Martin Atkins, and it outlines how to plan, manage and execute a successful tour on any level.

If you haven’t heard of Martin, you’ve surely heard of the bands he has played in including PiL, The Killing Joke, Ministry, and even Nine Inch Nails.

Without going to much into the details of the book,  (It’s nearly 600 pages!) let’s just say that the book covers every single aspect of touring, all the way down to groupies, alcohol, drugs, screen printing, and using spreadsheets! I was recently lucky enough to ask Martin a few questions about the biz, and his book via email.

Tim: I read a quote from you where you mentioned that education was the new thing that drives the creative fire in your mind — something along those lines. Can you tell me a little bit about your school and yourself? What made you decide to start it?

Martin Atkins: Well, I started playing drums when I was nine, started drinking Newcastle Brown Ale and backing strippers at 11 or 12! I joined PiL [Public Image Ltd.] in 1979, performed on the seminal Metal Box album and the next four or so with them over the next 5 years. Then Killing Joke, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Damage Manual. I started the label Invisible Records 20 years ago, built a recording studio, produced a bunch of stuff from Gravity Kills to Skinny Puppy; then, started teaching, went to China, made a documentary, and realized that the book they were using at Columbia for the Business of Touring class was written in 1962! So, I wrote Tour:Smart, then started to revamp a bunch of the courses there. Applied Marketing was a ton of work, but I’m really pleased with the results. I’m working on Band:Smart, the sequel to Tour:Smart, and another 16 days in China amongst many, many other things — and I have four young boys!

I decided to start the school because I saw a need for real world stuff in the classroom. I pitched the people at Columbia several times on allowing me to just bring all of my businesses up there: Label, book publishing, studio, music publishing, film production and all of that — but they didn’t seem to think it was a good idea. So, like I usually do, I just did it! Education — or, more correctly, the relationship and the conundrum of trying to show people an unexpected spark — really gets me going. I’ve loved teaching since the moment I started and I love trying to make my lectures entertaining — otherwise what’s the point?

The possibilities within this are huge and I find myself very excited to see what the future holds.

Tim: Your book is one of the most comprehensive guides I’ve ever read — of any kind. If you could write a second book, what would it be about? Post economic meltdown/apocalyptic zombie outbreak touring for dummies?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzNjmIWbns4

MA: Well thanks! I have nearly finished Band:Smart and, along the way, I’ve put 12,000 words down for the Killing Joke book and I’m working on the PiL one, and a new cool marketing book, too. I do need to get on the Zombie bandwagon, though!

Tim: What are a few of the indicators that it’s time to go on a band’s first nationwide tour? Should they be making money already locally? Should they have a good seed of money saved up?

MA: I think bands should let this stuff evolve organically. Get out to the next set of cities 20, 40 miles out — where fans might travel to see the larger shows; see the five-pointed star inward facing crush strategy! Keep heading out of town in a flower petal pattern. I like to say, “Returning home just in time to fall asleep at their day job!”…but seriously, that’s how hard you need to push it.

Don’t give up your day job until you are on the point of getting fired. And yes, a band should be able to go from a show with 10 people to 40 to 100 to 200 — something like that. If you can’t do that in amongst your local markets, then what makes you think you can do it 400 miles from home where you don’t know anyone? Can’t score any deals or free beer or a bunch of free copies because your mate works at Kinkos, ditto Starbucks etc., etc.

Tim: One of the most profound parts of the book Tour:Smart to me was the fact that running a tour was just like running any small business. The one item that stuck out to me was the use of spreadsheets! How important is it to be organized and keep track of your finances and information when running a tour or a small business?

MA: Well, it’s important — and it definitely fits into that category of not magic, but attention to this stuff enables more crazy magic to happen. For instance, when you start to track random crazy stuff, you learn — let’s say in the case of the sizes of the shirts you have sold. Maybe when you look at the information after 30 shows, you realize that the only size of shirts you sell are L and XL. So, you can stop making the dozen or so small and mediums that you have been wasting money on. Small stuff like that really start to add up.

Same thing with the guest list: Put it on a spreadsheet and take a printer out on the road with you. You can alphabetize and pump up the size of the font at the last minute to make sure — or try to — that there isn’t a problem. Easy shit to avoid, costly and time consuming to try and repair.

Tim: What advice would you give to a band that has a member that is “holding the band back”?

MA: Fire their ass immediately, or give me their phone number now and I’ll do it for you. There is so much working against you that if you know something isn’t right, you have to take care of it — because, rest assured, there are 10 other things fucking up your chances that you don’t know about.

Tim: If there was one gig that a band must take and one that they should avoid at all costs what would they be?

The venue that is too large: Don’t persuade yourself that you are big enough to fill it — you aren’t!

And the show for no money on a rainy Tuesday night at the last-minute because another band needs the help — and to borrow half of your equipment, and as many members of your audience as they can — and can you help with their van? And can they sleep at your house? But there’s no money and you have to play at 6:30 and don’t get a sound check — and you could pack that place on your own. If someone blesses you with the opportunity to do them a really big favor — then do it! This is a small world and what goes around, comes around — for sure.

Tim: What are your top three must do’s for a band trying to get exposure? Having an electronic press kit? Playing as many shows as possible? Having a quality EP? Merchandise?

MA: Err, you got it. And remember that free is the new black — give stuff away, treat your fans like they were your best friends — they are!

Tim: You had a great entry in Tour:Smart about getting sponsorships. Do you have any advice for companies trying to get their clothing to musicians they align their brand with? Is it a sound investment for smaller companies?

You have to be careful, but — as I say to bands — free is the new black. I have a bunch of ideas for you, but if you target national acts halfway through their tour and show up with some free — and clean! — shirts, then you will be heroes and the band and crew will wear your stuff for the next week!

Affliction put special, nice pillowcases on all of the pillows in Austin for South by Southwest. That was cool, and probably cost a bit, but there are ways to accomplish stuff like that without breaking the bank.

Tim: With Assault, we measure down to the penny sometimes with what we spend our money on. We try to do everything that we possibly can ourselves — see photography, web design, shirt design, accounting, SEO + online marketing, blogging, etc. etc. If there is an expense that’s worth paying for for bands playing relatively often on the local scene, what would it be?

MA: OK, in certain circumstances a buy on to a larger show can be a great idea — it can also be the worst waste of money. But, once again, if a band keeps good records of their sales and attendance — not how many people you wish were at the show, but the real numbers — then you can extrapolate and make decisions based on better facts rather than no facts.

I don’t mean this to sound like a plug for me — because I’m silly busy anyway — but a few bands have brought me in for a few hours or a day to really analyze what they are doing and consult to them on what they are doing right and wrong. Sometimes they are surprised when I call them out on some rock star bullshit or studio elitism stuff, or just their fears. I get to reinforce the good ideas, accelerate them, pour gasoline on them — and put ice down the pants of the insane, distracting shit that many bands surround themselves with, immerse themselves in. And, compared to losing everything — your love of music, your credit rating, your friends, your van and your partner — I’m cheap as fuck!

Tim: If there was one or two careers that would really help you supplement a career in music — as most parents would want for their aspiring musicians — what would it be? I wrote a post on this a while back and someone suggested “car mechanic” — I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought of that.

MA: Yeah, mechanic is great. Studio person, logistics, web, PR, screen printing — anything — welding, culinary, all of that stuff comes in handy. Xbox modding, hair cutting, tattoo — it’s all great shit and the more skills, the more chances you have of tapping into a new audience and involving them in your music.

Tim: Of all the touring you’ve done, which tour was the most fun and why?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTs5SoOteQQ

MA: Well, it seem like it’s the ones from way back. PiL across the USA in 1981 when we did American Bandstand — they still play it in Europe! I was very young and drunk, and speeding through most of it. I had no clue how much it all cost — none of us did really — but, 30 years later, it seems like it was fun.

Parts of Ministry was fun. Lots of Killing Joke. From a drumming point of view, I was at the height of my game — I did Pigface, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Killing Joke and Murder, Inc. all in a mad two-year period. I was drumming all the time.

Pigface was just fantastic in the breadth of the onstage experience: Sitars, cello, harp, belly dancers — Danny Carey from Tool!

I liked touring Europe with Killing Joke — Madrid, Barcelona — oh yeah! — and Japan and Australia.

I guess, every minute of it was terrific! Why, well, someone else — mostly — paid for it. And I’ve forgotten all of the horrible mind-numbing horror!

Tim: What’s the weirdest thing that ever happened to you while you were on tour?

MA: A guy came onstage with a shopping cart all hooked up with pickups and all this mad stuff. We [Pigface] were all really excited. It sounded like a shopping cart! I nearly pissed my pants onstage.

Tim: Of all the skills you mention in Tour:Smart — screen printing, learning HTML, accounting etc. — which proves to be the most valuable in putting together a tour for your band?

MA: You need every single one of them. You can split them up between the band members — that’s a great idea — but you need them all, and more!

Tour:Smart by Martin Atkins, a must read for bands about to go on the road

I HIGHLY recommend Martin’s Book, Tour:Smart: And Break the Band, to anyone who’s in a band. The book includes insight from other musicians, tour managers, producers, sound technicians, booking agents, and just about anyone and everyone involved with the music industry. The book also features guest chapters from Henry Rollins, and Chris Connelly.

I’d also check out the Tour:Smart Plus weekend events going on in October. (Check out the first Tour:Smart Plus Weekend wrap up here.) Martin’s school is called Revolution Number Three which you can check out at their Official Website.

If you’d like to keep up with Martin, or talk to him via the internetzzzz you can @reply him on twitter via @marteeeen. Ask him what he thinks about girlfriends, bacon salt, music, word of mouth marketing, and just about anything else!

From the Broken, tough Chicago metal at it's finest.

It’s been awhile since we’ve recognized a local band that we’re excited about, and mostly that’s because there really hasn’t been any that have caught my attention–that is until recently when I got a chance to listen to some From the Broken.

Like many of the other bands we find on Twitter and Myspace, From the Broken is just getting started and is currently touring locally in and around the Chicago area. They’ve got a 3 song EP out now featuring:

• Today’s The Day
• One Time Hero
• World’s End

You can listen to (like I have many times) on their Myspace page. If you’d like to contact the band directly, I’ve found their Twitter page to be the best way. Their next show is July 26th at the Walter Payton Roundhouse in Aurora.

View a high resolution.

Along with getting a new tattoo this week that was inspired by my favorite band of all time, I decided it was time to design and sell a shirt that was inspired by the same band, Rise Against.

I’ve been listening to Rise Against since about 2003-2004 when I was in college, and since then they’ve only gotten better and better.

Themes ranging from political activism, animal rights activism, and to just have a cause and purpose in general are a major influence in many of the designs and ideas that go into Assault, as well as the songs that make up the new Rise Against album so we thought it’d be fitting to incorporate some of their lyrics as well as some famous quotes and thoughts from some of our favorite books and people.

The main quote on this shirt comes from the book Anarchic Harmony by William J. Murray:

We classify ourselves above other animals because of our so-called intelligence. Why? If we instead chose to classify species according to effectiveness on the planet, mankind would be at the bottom of the totem pole. If we classify according to beauty, or grace, or sheer numbers, mankind wouldn’t make the top third of any category. The fact is that our intelligence, as we now use it, makes us a cancer to the bottom of the ladder of life-forms.

The other main quote in this shirt is from John F. Kennedy:

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.

If you get a chance, listen to some of Rise Against’s new album, Appeal to Reason, as well as their other favorite album of mine, Siren Song of the Counter Culture.

Oh yea, go buy the Peaceful Revolution T-Shirt at the site for our WOOT side deal of the day for $16.99 plus free shipping, or you can wait a week and pay $23.99 when it’s back up to it’s normal price.