In celebration of their recent release, Cycles, we have teamed up with Cartel to give one lucky fan “picture personalized” flip cam along with a merch pack including a signed album, t-shirt, and band poster. Head to the contests page to enter.

LIGHTS new video for “Ice” can be seen below.

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Floral Terrace’s new EP, Theme of the Night, is available on iTunes for only $1.99. A commercial for the release can be seen below.

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This Providence’s new video for “Keeping On Without You” can be seen below. The video has also come under some heat as possibly being plagiarized.

Transit and Man Overboard will be releasing a 7″ split. The split can be purchased via Pure Noise. It will be available in limited collector colors including red, white, and blue. All three colors can be purchased as a package as well. In addition, the split comes with digital downloads of the songs or a digital copy can be purchased at all digital outlets.

The members of Skillet recently visited MTV to share five facts you never knew about the band.  Check out the video to learn about the ladies in the group, their albums so far, and the two things the band can’t live without.  The band is currently on the Awake and Alive tour with Hawk Nelson and Decyfer Down. Check out Skillets upcoming tour dates below.  Skillet’s latest album, Awake, is in stores and on iTunes now!

Alive and Awake Tour Dates

Nov 6  The Great Salt Air                                                                              Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 7  Paramount Theater                                                                          Denver, Colorado
Nov 10  Casper Events Center                                                                   Casper, Wyoming
Nov 12  The Midland By AMC                                                                     Kansas City, Missouri
Nov 13  Stephens Auditorium-Iowa State University                      Ames, Iowa
Nov 14  Minneapolis Convention Center Auditorium                     Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nov 15  House of Blues                                                                                Chicago, Illinois
Nov 17  The Pageant                                                                                      St. Louis, Missouri
Nov 19  Maude Cobb Center                                                                      Longview, Texas
Nov 20  Palladium Ballroom                                                                        Dallas, Texas
Nov 21  The Berry Center                                                                            Houston, Texas
Nov 22  Abilene Civic Center                                                                      Abilene, Texas
Nov 27  Remingtons                                                                                       Springfield, Missouri
Nov 28  Adler Theater                                                                                   Davenport, Iowa
Nov 29  Duluth Entertainment Convention Center                           Duluth, Minnesota
Dec 1    Royal Oak Music Theatre                                                              Detroit, Michigan
Dec 3  Memorial Auditorium                                                                      Chattanooga, Tennessee
Dec 4  Hobart Arena                                                                                       Dayton, Ohio
Dec 5  Agora Theater                                                                                     Cleveland, Ohio
Dec 6  Deltaplex                                                                                              Grand Rapids, Michigan

A trailer for Blink 182’s upcoming documentary, Blinkumentary, can be seen below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

(Sorry for the huge delay in getting this interview up–I’ve been really sick!)

 I had the chance to stand outside in 40 degree Midwest weather with the very charming and extremely cold Anarbor at the Picador in Iowa City, IA. As I watched the native Arizonans shiver in their flip-flops and t-shirts and talk about their current journey, I realized that they truly were a group of down to earth guys, despite their quickly rising popularity, and wanted little more than a home cooked meal—and some jackets.

 ~ Introduce yourselves to all of us at Driven Far Off!

Mike: Hey, I’m Mike and I play guitar

Slade: I’m Slade and I am lead vocals

Adam: I’m Adam and I play guitar

Greg: Hey, I’m Greg and I play drums

 ~ So what’s the story behind Anarbor? How did the band form?

Slade: We’ve known each other since we were in fifth grade and we wanted to start a band. We’ve been a band for 6 or 7 years now, since 2003 when we played our first show.

~ What were your emotions when you finally got signed to a label? Obviously it was amazing, but were you freaked out at all?

Adam: More excited; pumped, really. We wanted it to work for forever. All through high school all we wanted to do was get on the road and play shows and do what we are doing now, so it was really exciting to have that opportunity. We were all stoked.

~ You have shared the stage with big names: from Fall Out Boy to The Academy Is. Do the nerves ever get to you? Do the bands give you tips or criticism?

Greg: I actually get more nervous in front of less kids. In front of huge crowds by nerves actually go away. When you are playing a big show, basically anything you say to them they will be like “YEAH!”

~ Did you ever think that “Let the Games Begin” would be such a hit when you were writing it, now that it’s been on shows from The Hills to Good Day in LA?

Slade: We actually didn’t have it in mind for it to fit into a sports thing, but everyone we talked to afterwards were like, “you guys wrote that perfectly,” and we didn’t even mean to; it wasn’t intentional.

Adam: Yeah, the NFL then came along and turned it into the music for the macho tackle scenes, which was awesome.

~ So there’s new of a full length on the way. Can you tell me anything about that?

Slade: In this record we’ve found our style of music. It’s just something new for kids to listen to. Basically, the EP was just a taste and this is going to be the meal.

Greg: We’re working hard because it is our first full length and we’ve only just released EPs locally.

~ Are you happy with how Free Your Mind has done? Is there something you’ve noticed didn’t work so well on the EP and maybe you’ll add that to your full length?

Slade: No, we were pretty stoked with it.

Adam: As far as music goes, we’re just trying to show kids what we have to say, because we have 13 songs instead of 7.

~ So how did the name “Anarbor” come about?

Mike: My family is from Michigan, and my sister was born there and was one of the people who got me into music. It was a good one-word name. We didn’t want a long ass one.

~ If you could choose one song off of your EP to broadcast to the world, which would it be and why?

Greg: I would say “Always Dirty Never Clean,” because it’s really what we stand for.

~ What’s the hardest part about touring? Do you anything you really miss that was left behind?

Mike: We all have dogs that we miss really badly. We can’t wait for the day when we can bring a dog on tour with us.

Adam: Home cooked meals, our beds, our friends.

~ So how are you guys going about writing your new album? Do you sit in a room and hum melodies, or is it solo?

Slade: basically we just get a cool riff that we like and sit down and figure it out. We have some of the instrumentals recorded, and we bump them in the van wherever we go. Sometimes we take a guitar to the back of the van and jam. There’s no real process, we just go by how we feel. We just generally do it in the van, since we spend the most time there.

Mike: Our van is awesome. We have the windows blacked out, with black poster board allover them…it’s like the Batcave—it’s all dark.

Justin Pierre is currently out on the road promoting Motion City Soundtrack’s new album, My Dinosaur Life. Check out all the videos and pictures of the adventure over at mydinosaurlife.com. Justin also stopped by the Threadless headquarters to talk and sing some new songs. Check out the video below. Justin also stopped by the Alternative Press offices for a special acoustic show. Check out those videos here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Motion City Soundtrack have posted their second studio transmission video. In this video you can see the band in the studio recording their new album, My Dinosaur Life, with Mark Hoppus (Blink 182).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dashboard Confessional are currently streaming their new album, Alter The Ending, on their MySpace page. The album is due out next Tuesday November 10.

Motion City Soundtrack has set January 19, 2010 as the release date for their new album, My Dinosaur Life. Check out the album art and track listing below.

Track Listing

1. Worker Bee
2. A Lifeless Ordinary (Need A Little Help)
3. Her Words Destroyed My Planet
4. Disappear
5. Delirium
6. History Lesson
7. Stand Too Close
8. Pulp Fiction
9. @!#?@!
10. Hysteria
11. Skin And Bones
12. The Weakends

Can you please introduce yourself and your role in The Almost?

My name is Jay Vilardi and I play guitar and sing back up vocals.
How did The Almost come together? What is the band history?

Aaron called me years ago telling me about this new project that he was trying to get off the ground. Since I was touring at the time, I joined a few weeks later. I think by then “Southern Weather” was essentially completely recorded. But from then on (once I joined the band) Aaron told me that it was my job to hire other guys and teach them the material as if it was my own. The funny thing is that I only really hired our bassist Alex. Everyone else came from mutual friendships or were dudes Aaron knew. I also had to teach Aaron the songs before our first tour since he was out with UO and hadn’t touched a guitar in months.
Can you tell me a little bit about your new album Monster Monster? and the Monster EP?

Monster Monster is our accidental concept piece about the “darker” side of people and human emotion. It’s about real life. How people are and what we hope to become. I feel like the lyrics could be best explained by Aaron, but musically – we wanted a no gimmicks rock and roll record. Hindsight being what it is – I think that the “no gimmicks” thing has inadvertently become a gimmick. At least thats what I hear…  The monster ep is cool because it give people the chance to get some extra bonus material from the recording session. The ep is limited to under 10,000 and has 5 unique covers. It also comes with a second disk that is blank (until Nov 3rd) when the full length record is available to be burned on it.

How is the album different from Southern Weather?

This record was written with straight up rock and roll in mind. Other than having an overflow of material for this record, I think the songs are a bit more intricate and sonically pleasing. The recording/production is better. Overall tones (guitar, bass, drums) are super legit. My favorite part of the record sonically has to be the mix. Randy Staub did a great job. Other than that, these songs are a result of the most insane teamwork experience I have every been a part of. Everyone worked really hard on the material. Southern Weather was recorded by Aaron.

In what ways is The Almost different from Underoath? What do you like about The Almost in comparison to Underoath?

Underoath are a great heavy band with real intense artistic undertones. With The Almost, we shoot for a more straight up rock and roll sound that pays tribute to everything we all grew up listening to. It’s easier for us to experiment with slow or country sounding songs in this band. Underoath push the envelope for sure, but might feel limited because they’re confined to the Screamo genre. Maybe I’m nuts, but I feel like The Almost could go in virtually any musical direction if we really wanted to… Im not saying it would sound good LOL but we could try.
What are your touring plans for the rest of this year and 2010?

Im stoked to see opportunities for us to play everywhere and anywhere we can. We have such a great time, we have a hard time passing those situations up. That being said – we’re still working on our itinerary for 2010 but there is talk of heading down to Australia and maybe South Africa (if you can believe it)!! I would love to do warped tour, but we’ll see if we cant make that happen!
What goals do you have for The Almost?

This music means so much to me personally. The Almost represents so much in y life. For me, it would be great to have the chance to play anywhere we’re welcome. More touring! We just finished the record, but I look forward to getting started on another.
Any last words?

Monster, Monster Novemeber 3rd!!!! Monster Limited edition EP on sale NOW!!!!!! Get it before its gone!

A Trailer for Angels & Airwaves upcoming movie “LOVE” can be seen below. “LOVE” is inspired by the bands upcoming album of the same name, due out February 14, 2010.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sherwood’s new video for “Maybe This Time” can be seen below. The song comes from the bands new album, QU, in stores now.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Artist: Every Avenue
Album: Picture Perfect
Label: Fearless Records
Purchase: iTunes
Release Date: November 3rd, 2009

Overall: 8.5
Music: 8.0
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.5

A little more than a year ago, Ever Avenue began turning heads with their debut album Shh…Just Go With It. Their standard pop-punk fare was super sweet and sugary with hooks, but couldn’t seem to hold fans over for very long leaving people craving more after a brief sugar high. Now they are back with their second album Picture Perfect, looking to shake things up and turn the volume up higher than ever.

It seems that with time Every Avenue have grown tired of the same old, same old pop punk format and are looking to switch it up this time around. Some songs still have the same charm as their debut (“Mindset”, “Saying Goodbye”), but for the most part they are making their own way in the scene and defining themselves as more than that. Songs like “Girl Like That” with it’s swirling piano, and the heavier influences of a song like the title track“Picture Perfect” give Every Avenue more character and a stronger presence with this album.

The tone of Picture Perfect is much different than their debut as well, where the latter had a more positive tone of better days and summertime, this album dances around the opposite. “Tell Me I’m A Wreck” and “Finish What You Started” both are a little somber with their lyrics, but deliver with catchy hooks and bursting choruses that are becoming the band’s trademark.

Overall it’s a great feeling to listen to a band that sounds as though they have found themselves, and that’s the case with Every Avenue. Picture Perfect is a great sophomore effort that isn’t just another pop punk release, even the cliche ballad “The Story Left Untold” doesn’t feel trite and over done like most others. This band has a winning release that will provide them with enough notoriety that picture perfect won’t be an ironic jab at their lives (given the cover), but rather reality for a band that deserves their time to shine.

To start, can you please introduce your self and your role in There For Tomorrow?

I’m Micah and I sing and play guitar.

How did the band all come together? What is the history behind the band?

The history is more historic than everybody thinks it is. Chris and Jay have been playing since I was 13. You know, just messing around doing local shows. We grew up in Orlando and we are about to play Back Booth again..It’s a small 400-450 capacity venue.

Did you guys put out any demos or EPs when first starting out?

Yeah, we actually have a full length out that we put out on this little record label when we were young. Everybody is really confused by it because it’s still on iTunes and it’s when I was 14 so I was prepubescent so I sound like Michael Jackson when he was in the Jackson 5. But it was still edgy, metal inspired rock.

So, you guys put out a record in June called A Little Faster. Even though it’s been out for a few months, how do you guys feel about the album overall?

It started at the top of the mountain and its a little ball just rolling getting progressively bigger and bigger. You know, like the snowball effect. It is definitely a great representation of what we are. It’s a great foundation for where we want to go in the future. It’s really opening up our eyes a lot to see how people react to it. It’s all about an identity thing. Like, what 18-19-20 year old guys know who they are? You know? It’s hard. So, I think these next couple years are going to be me just writing and us writing and finding ourselves. I write personal real things for me. Real experiences. It’s all just going to be my journey.

How have fans responded to the album?

It’s really odd. Everything we’ve been getting from critics are really really great. I think it’s been cool because people now see our potential and we can be taken seriously. I think a lot of people that are now following what we do respect that we are just genuine and have big dreams.

How would you say A Little Faster is different from the two EP’s you guys have put out Pages and the Self-Titled EP?

It’s been just a few years of progress. It’s another step toward what we want to be in the future. It’s hard to say that we “chose” what we wanted to do. We do what we know. We have certain intentions. We pick A or B and that’s what we are going to do and stick to it.

We are currently sitting at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, Ca for a stop on the Manatour. How has the tour been so far?

It’s been great. Coming off of Warped Tour, we are stoked to play in clubs again. We grew up playing in clubs. Warped Tour was cool and it was hard but it’s awesome to play in front of small rooms and packed room with kids just really dedicated to music. We’re coming up on halfway of the tour right now.

What would you say some of your major musical influences are and why?

Umm well I started playing guitar because of my father. He was an entertainer. He played guitar and sang. I started playing guitar when I was 6. My first record I bought was Metallica. I learned every Metallica song off the Black Album by the time I was like 10. So, I started listening to metal and every genre since I was young. All of us see eye to eye on a lot of the same things and are influenced by Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Third Eye Blind. Just real genuine good bands..rock inspired.

What are your plans for the rest of 2009 and the beginning of 2010?

We got another tour we just locked down with Mayday Parade in December. We are doing direct support. That’s gonna be great. They are great friends of ours. We are taking January off but we are also releasing an acoustic session that we filmed. We are going to set out on another nationwide tour but details will be coming out soon. That will be early spring. And then we just deal with things as they come.

What are some of your goals as a band?

Especially coming off of Warped Tour and diving into that realm, we saw some stuff we hated and stuff that we loved. We are just going to keep our eyes open and our ears open and learn from everything and do it our own way. That’s all we are really going to do. Lyrically, I just want to speak for people that are unspoken for. Sometimes there are people that can’t really find anything to grasp onto and we want our band to be that band that sticks around and not just a temporary thing.

Any last words ?

Buy A Little Faster. It’s in stores, on iTunes. Plenty of things are coming. We just got a featured song on a Cartoon Network movie called “Ben 10″. We are the featured song on that album. We released the single on iTunes as well as the acoustic version and the video version. We are gonna keep going, so that’s all.

Copeland have broken up. A message from the band can be read below.

Dear friends,

We have come to an extremely difficult decision. It has come time for us to move on from Copeland and follow other paths in our lives. We are absolutely grateful to have been able to make music for as long as we have. In the last 9 years we’ve been able to see parts of the world that we never dreamt we would see. We have shared the stage and built friendships with immensely talented artists. We’ve been afforded the opportunity to make 4 records that we’re extremely proud of. Most of all, we feel honored that people have cared so much for our band and for our art. We appreciate every listener who has allowed our music to be a part of their lives. We want to offer our deepest thanks to every individual who has supported us on this ride. It has profoundly impacted our lives.

To put your minds at ease, we assure you this is not a bitter break up. We all individually feel Copeland has run its course in our lives and it’s time for us to pursue what is next. We couldn’t end things without a proper goodbye, so we are planning a final farewell tour in the US this coming Spring, as well as one final jaunt around the world to some of our favorite countries. We are really excited about seeing you all one more time, and we hope it turns out to be the best Copeland tour ever.

It has been discussed and we are not ruling out the possibility of recording one more album sometime in the future. However, this spring tour will be our last.

From the bottom of hearts, thank you for all of your love and support.

Aaron, Bryan, Jon & Stephen

Enter our new giveaway for a pair of tickets to one of The All-American Rejects and Taking Back Sundays upcoming shows.

The Almost are currently streaming their new album, Monster Monster, on their MySpace page. Monster Monster is due out this Tuesday, November 3rd. Let us know your thoughts.