AMP Magazine - Latest Updates

AMP Says: Monthly Music Recommendation for Sept. & Oct. 2009

2009-09-24T21:21:19-05:00

• Bash any bands/talk trash, or THREATS: This is not a place to say how much a certain band, person, music genre sucks. Just stick to voting please.

• Self Promoting: Okay so we always support hardworking bands, especially independant bands who self promote! However, we would appreciate it, if you guys just talked about the listed bands in blog comments. If you just have to promote your band, there is a place for you on our Forums page! If you would like your band to be featured in AMP SAYS, send us a message on myspace!

• NO SCROLLING COMMENTS, OR VOTING TWICE (all scrolling and duplicate IPs will be deleted, blocked from commenting!): Feel free to say what you have to say, just don’t repeat yourself over and over. Keep it to a few lines, and one comment only. Be respectful.

General FYI:

RIYL stands for Rocks If You Like

September / October 2009 RIYL: Hellogoodbye PlayRadioPlay, Breathe Carolina Read more...	RIYL: Simple Plan, Mayday Parade, All Time Low Read more...
RIYL: Casey Jones, Evergreen Terrace, H20 Read more...	RIYL: The Blood Brothers, Refused, Hit The Lights Read more...
RIYL: Every Avenue, Sing It Loud, Forever The Sickest Kids Read more...	RIYL: For Today, Sleeping Giant, A Plea For Purging Read more...
RIYL: Ceremony, Shook Ones, Hour Of The Wolf Read more...	RIYL: Foo Fighters, Fugazi, Hot Water Music Read more...

Win The Worlds Coolest Guitar!

2009-09-21T22:31:13-05:00

Win The World’s Coolest Guitar! Gibson Les Paul Classic, signed by Alexisonfire at Warped Tour 09. The guitar will be auctioned off. Proceeds will be donated to Skate For Cancer.

Please stay tuned for more information on how you can win.

AMP Exclusive: Warped Tour: 15th Anniversary Party Photos!

2009-09-18T18:25:27-05:00

Click Image to Browse through Gallery!

Guest Blogger: HEIDI MINX of Builtonrespect.com!

2009-07-09T19:24:09-05:00

Our Last Night: The Ghost Among Us

2008-03-07T17:52:05-05:00

More Underoath influenced Metal for the kids! However, these guys are better at it than most. Solid vocal and guitar harmonies can be found through out “The Ghosts Among Us” the young act’s first record with Epitaph.

Songs like “Recovery” have beautiful epic chorus’ but lack that pure hardcore punch when singer Trevor Wentworth decides to let the screams fly. If you’re into The Chariot, Underoath, or Haste The Day, you should definitely check these guys out.

Built on Respect: Puppies, DIY, and tattoos

2009-11-01T03:15:47-05:00

I’ve definitely settled into my schedule here. Last week, one of my oldest friends here, Wangdu, got his Visa, and left with his wife for the US.

The evening we went to the bus station, i found a small group of puppies.

I love the dogs here, I’ve found so many puppies and always blog about when I do. I guess I wanted to say WHY I love them so much. There is something pure about puppies: they love everyone. They waddle over to you, they don’t care if you are young or old, what color your skin is, they just want to give kisses, get hugs, and play. They haven’t been destroyed by fear or hate, they just unconditionally love. There are 8 of these little guys in all, and I’ve been taking them milk everyday. They are refreshing!

I also decided to start to do some interviews with my friends here. My friends who live in exile here have had drastically different life experiences than my friends in the West. I realized that often I only share these stories when I’m with my friends in New York.

After Inked has been helping to sponsor the work that I do here, so when I met Tamding, a Tibetan tattoo artist, designer and musician, I thought it would be really cool to interview him for AfterInked.

The interview is up in two parts, it is one of the longest ones I’ve done here.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Also this week, Built on Respect gained the support of Jailhouse Records, and one of their bands, Teenage Rehab. TR’s third album, Let’s be Enemies is out on November 10th. It’s available on http://www.Interpunk.com, and most independent retailers, however, there is currently a package deal available at http://www.jailhouserecords.com. A percentage of album sales goes to Built On Respect.

Best!
Heidi

Meet: 1997

2009-10-21T17:24:41-05:00

For their third Victory release, 1997 pulled out all the stops when recording Notes From Underground. Being at the end of their contract, the band made sure to make the album the most well-rounded experience yet. Come October 13th, the world will finally be able to find out just what the band had been up to during their free moments of 2009.

1997 signed early on with Victory Records in ‘06 after playing strong local performances in their hometown of Chicago, Illinois. In April 2007, the band released their label debut A Better View of a Rising Moon while touring the states with THE AUDITION and THE GRADUATE. Fast forward two years and the band is marking their third release with some of the strongest and most well-written tracks to date. Recorded and produced back at home for their first time, 1997 took a different approach when going into the sessions regarding Notes From Underground. The band has flown out to their producers in the past, but this time 1997 took things into their own hands. “We held ourselves up in our practice space for about four months, and wrote all the songs we had going through our heads and while we were on tour,” Caleb told AMP during their interview. “It’s more extreme in every way, I think. We did it ourselves so we had a lot of time and ability to put our ideas into actual sounds. This album turned out a lot more earthy than our previous albums because of its nature. I would say it’s heavier and softer. It’s got heavier parts that were written before, but it has a more intimate feel than we’ve ever had before.”

While recording only took about a month’s time, the album’s pre production had been undergoing for the five months prior to entering the studio. “1997 is a pretty bumpy band, but we kind of thrive off of that. Creative wise, it was very smooth. We were all flowing and on the same channel,” Caleb explained. “Last year we just got our new girl singer, so we have just been really jelling with her. We went out on a couple small tours with her, but now we’re about to go out on our Fall tour. This year we’re booking it ourselves, and we have big plans for the upcoming Spring and Summer. We’re going to hit up a lot of festivals.”

When reviewing the new record, you can’t help but compare the growth in sound between Notes From Underground and the band’s Victory debut a few years back. Everything feels more connected and in tune, making for quite an enjoyable record. “We just recently did a concert at Metro in Chicago where we just played the whole album front to back with guest musicians,” Caleb told AMP when asked what new tracks had been played live. “A lot of kids were coming up to me about ‘Pagan Melodies’...that song is where we channeled all our anger. People really responded to it live because it just sounds like chaos. We’re all screaming and swearing at each other on stage.” Whether it’s the darkly melodic sound of “Falling Down”, the aggressive speed of “Sympathy For The Dead”, or the afore mentioned “Pagan Melodies”, Notes From Underground shows off a unique blend of soothing and violent sounds one is sure to find entertaining.

“It’s been a good ride and we’re really thankful for everything they [Victory] did for us,” Caleb expressed about the ending of their label contract. “I think that our plan is to become as do-it-yourself as possible.” So what is following the band’s October release? 1997 plan to tour their asses off for Notes From Underground, so make sure to pick up the new record when it hits shelves on the 13th and catch them on the road.

Four Letter Lie

2009-10-21T17:21:20-05:00

With A New Day nearing its release, FOUR LETTER LIE have a lot more than just a new record to be proud of. The band has not once slowed down since their careers took off several years back. Their latest, and third, release is powerful, raw, and unbridled, so it’s safe to assume the attack is still underway.

FOUR LETTER LIE started receiving press attention soon after their formation in 2005. Before the band was even signed, they had self released a successful EP and appeared on Warped and Taste of Chaos tours. Victory Records took notice and signed FOUR LETTER LIE in 2006, immediately putting them in the studio to record their debut, Let Your Body Take Over. The band followed the record with lots of touring and the 2008 release of What A Terrible Thing To Say, a record that took the band’s formula and improved upon it.

Now comes A New Day, an album that immediately proves more aggressive than anything the band has previously released. Thanks to the Victory stream of the album, fans have already tasted the power and energy encompassing the band’s latest release. With the loss of their singer, it was up to Brian Nagan to step up and bring his game more into the mix. “The record hits hard. There’s a lot of emotion. The vocals, the lyrics...a lot of stuff built up and came out that came out to give it that more aggressive and brutal sound,” Brian explained to AMP.

When Kevin Skaff left the picture, FOUR LETTER LIE members had no other choice than to become more involved in the writing process. “He [Skaff] wrote most of the guitar parts. Connor and John weren’t really included as much. It was kind of switched up this time. John and Connor were the main song writers and now it was time for them to showcase their talents and show what they could do. They stepped it up huge,” Brian explained. “We were working on an album when Kevin left the band. We had a record that was almost done. And then he left the band, so we pretty much had to scrap that and start over.” Despite pushing things back, the change in line up allowed the remaining members to unite in a fashion better than anything the band had previously released. In the words of Nagan, “it came out sick”.

“People are digging the transition and the change. So far the feedback has been awesome,” Brian told us when discussing the reactions the band was receiving from new tracks. With a new sound akin to a crossbreed between POISON THE WELL and EVERY TIME I DIE, A New Day proves countless times that FOUR LETTER LIE are branching out into a much more brutal and progressive breed. “With this third record, I’m getting to do what I want. Rather than being like ‘well I have to scream in this part, and not scream in that part, and not scream in this part’...it was the first time I got to sit here and think ‘I get to go all out on these songs’. We definitely progressed from where we were back then. If we weren’t growing musically, that would be kind of weird.”

As for the remainder of the year, the band plans to be on the road from now through 2010. “We lost a member, but life goes on. We’re going to keep on rolling,” Brian expressed when the conversation turned to the title of the new record. “The overall theme of the record is a lot of people tend to live in the past. It’s kind of about putting the past behind you and ‘it is what it is’. It’s like living and learning from your past experiences...the world doesn’t stop, it just keeps on going. You’ve got to make the most of right now, and you’re going to wake up tomorrow and it’s a new day. You’ve got to make the most of it.” Lyrically and musically, A New Day showcases just that. Tracks are tighter, more honest, and more realistic than ever before. “I’m pretty big on writing about things I’ve experienced in life; it would be weird for me to write about something I’ve never experienced in my life. A lot of it is personal battles and struggles.”

Right from the get go, the record shows no mercy. “We’re All Sinners” feels like a series of breakdowns, while “Key to the World” is the most expansive track the band has ever recorded. Like that song, A New Day has a very adventurous tone throughout, even when chaos is unleashing. Ambitious and true to itself, the album is a chapter leap for the members behind FOUR LETTER LIE. Make sure not to miss it or them. “We live and die by living and learning. Friends come and go, bands come and go. The world keeps right on turning and we will be right here with it.”

Built on Respect: Mac vs. Paypal - A Parable

2009-10-15T04:10:26-05:00

Yesterday, there was a massive power surge in Dhasa—enough that it started to fry my Mac power cord (thank god not my computer!) It was bad enough that the power was shut down in the whole state for 8 hours yesterday while they fixed it. Such is India.

As my cord is currently held together with electric tape, and I’m here for another month and a half, I freaked, and talked to my friend in the States to send me another. Luckily I had had the presence of mind to get AppleCare after I got my Mac.

I called into Apple, and got through in less than 2 minutes. I gave them my serial number, and explained that my cord was fried. Within another 2 minutes, they made a note on my account, and said my friend could go to ANY Mac store, and get it for free to send to me.

Simple, polite, and cool. Seriously, Mac has got it together.

That brings me to PayPal. Back in August, I had made a transfer for the Hope Center, from their PayPal to their bank account. Since day one, there have been problems, things like their monthly limit not lifting because of ‘bugs’. Every month I have to call in, explain to no less than 4 people the situation, before I can get to an ‘escalations’ department manager. Well, since August, that large transfer has been missing. I called in before I left the States to hear, “You need to verify your bank information.” Well, when we started the account, we uploaded no less than 10 forms of ID and paperwork. I could go on for a while, but let’s just say that last nite, and midnight I talked to the third person in escalations, who really wasn’t sure why a trace hadn’t been started, even after we submitted the band information no less than 8 times, and why there had been no reply to 8 emails in the past week.

It has taken now 2 months to get PayPal to start a trace on the Center’s money. I still don’t know where it is, but I’m supposed to get a phone call today.

Seriously, I think this is a parable for so many things. You can take responsibility, trust someone who comes to you with a problem, and say, “Yes, I can help you and will do it now.” Or, you can be mistrustful, only worry about yourself, “There’s a problem? That’s not my problem. Not sure why that happened.”

I Love the ‘Mac’ people in the world—one’s that are proactive, that want to help, that look at the big picture. I understand that there are ‘PayPal’ people too—one’s that believe everything is someone else’s problem, not theirs, and maybe if they wait long enough it will all just go away. As of today, I am just reminded that it takes all kinds, and at least I’m learning to be patient. But when you know a small non-profit needs that money desperately to pay their rent, and provide books for their students - books that will change their students’ lives through education—I’d be lying if I didn’t say it puts a really sour taste in my mouth.

That aside, things are moving forward here. I’ve found a location for the SamaSource program—that too took patience. I’m looking now for a project manager, and then to set schedules to bring the trainers here.

The Dalai Lama is teaching for the next 7 days, so the town is full, and my regular class schedule is tentative - trying to get in classes in between the teachings.

My friend Chin is in from Australia, so I’ll be catching up with him throughout the week. In the meantime, I just wanted to say, I hope everyone has a ‘Mac’ kind of week!

Best, Heidi

Built On Respect: The quest for spirituality in Hardcore contines

2009-10-03T05:43:20-05:00

Saverio Sgaramella of Concrete Block

heidiminx: You grew up in Turin, tell me about the city?

Sevario: Turin has changed a lot from the 70’s (when I was born). It changed from an industrial city to a tourist town. In the ‘80 when I was a teen, the city was tough, a lot of heroin destroyed two generations of adolescents, including lots of my friends, but on the other side, the hardcore scene gave birth to some of the best bands ever in Turin including Declino, Negazione, and Indigesti.

The scene became active again in ‘99 when I started my old band, Woptime. That band lasted 6 years, I think we were one of the most influenced bands of that decade for the Italian hardcore scene.

HM:What is the music scene like there?

S:Now we have some good bands like Collision of My Axioms, Hardknocks, and Afterburner. People are really getting interested in hardcore again—the last three years were terrible.

HM: How did you get into hardcore music?

S: I got in the scene in 85; my first seven inch was Negazione, back then I didn’t know what to do in my life, I had many problems with my family and I hated to go to school. I was always in the street, but at same time I didn’t want to join the mob.

In 1985 it was impossible to find a job; nowadays the situation isn’t much better in Italy, particularly in Turin! Anyway, I liked hardcore and the lifestyle immediately. My friends and I listened to lots of Italian bands and great American bands like Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Suicidal Tendencies, Crumbsuckers, Ludichrist and so many others.

At some point I bought a skateboard, and in 86 I won the national skateboard street style championship, I was one of
the best steet-style skaters until 89. Unfortunately my career ended after I busted my ankle.

HM: How long have you studied Buddhism?

S:I get into Buddhism one and a half yeas ago; I follow Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism (if you’re interested in more information check out SOKA GAKKAI INTERNATIONAL)

HM: How did you get into it?

S: My life was broken in 1,000 pieces, I drank a lot – did drugs, and I didn’t care about anything – I think I was just waiting to die. I felt lonely and useless, most of my friends were in the same condition, so it was really hard to find an escape from that shit.

I knew about Buddhism cause when I stopped my skate career in the early 90s, I started to practice martial arts such as Karate, Muay Thai, JKD, and Savate. When one of my best
friends asked me to start to practice I said to myself, “Yes, it’s time, I’ve got nothin’ to lose, do it.”

HM: Is there a connection for you between Buddhism and hardcore? If so what is it?

S: For me the connection is the positive message. I play HC – my current band is called Concrete Block—cause I’m not
satisfied with my life. I practice Buddhism to help my self and people closer to me to push into positive direction. We don’t know why we live into pain and sorrow, so I’m trying to change my karma, change poison into medicine.