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In the three decades since first convening at the University of Massachusetts, Buffalo Tomsinger-guitarist Bill Janovitz, bassist-vocalist Chris Colbourn and drummer Tom Maginnishave built a formidable body of work. Having first made its mark with a raw, raucous approach that put the band at the forefront of the '90s alt-rock explosion, the intrepid trio has consistently revealed new layers of musical and emotional depth, as manifested in the bittersweet ballads, soul-searching songcraft and rousing rock tunes that make up the new album Quiet and Peace. The consistently compelling 11-song set (on the band's own Scrawny label, in association with Schoolkids Records) finds the band simultaneously mining their best-known sonic elements while breaking new ground on emotionally resonant new tunes such as "All Be Gone," "Overtime," "Roman Cars," "Freckles" and "CatVMouse.

In the three decades since first convening at the University of Massachusetts, Buffalo Tomsinger-guitarist Bill Janovitz, bassist-vocalist Chris Colbourn and drummer Tom Maginnishave built a formidable body of work. Having first made its mark with a raw, raucous approach that put the band at the forefront of the '90s alt-rock explosion, the intrepid trio has consistently revealed new layers of musical and emotional depth, as manifested in the bittersweet ballads, soul-searching songcraft and rousing rock tunes that make up the new album Quiet and Peace. The consistently compelling 11-song set (on the band's own Scrawny label, in association with Schoolkids Records) finds the band simultaneously mining their best-known sonic elements while breaking new ground on emotionally resonant new tunes such as "All Be Gone," "Overtime," "Roman Cars," "Freckles" and "CatVMouse.

The collection of new songs Life Is A Flower, Life Is A Gun almost didnt make it,to tape,to the recording microphone, to the stage. Its been a while since the musical world has heard from Angie Aparo, his last album was released almost eight years ago. You might know him from his songs, being covered by Faith Hill, Big & Rich, Edwin McCain, Sheila E. and Miley Cyrus. You might go his solo shows. If you have cd, THE AMERICAN; you heard greatness, if you saw him live; you saw genius, and now this album. Angie suffered a stroke at the age of 55: Created solely by Angie himself, using computer loops, traditional instruments, and the voice of Siri give his songs a visual texture to the audio landscape capture in his mind. Angie is an audio scientist when it comes to his art form and thats why hes so exemplary. As a stroke survivor, its important to me to raise awareness about stroke, which can happen to anyone at any time, said Aparo. It wasnt always easy, but I came back strong from a stroke and have returned to my music career with a newfound appreciation for life. Music saved me and now I want to share my gift with others by playing a few songs at the National Stroke Associations Comeback Trail 5K in my, hometown. As Life Is A Flower, Life Is A Gun opens up we have an artist that had to reboot, restart and relearn. Angie has regained, released and in the process has been reborn since that mind-shattering day. But if anything, we all can learn from him. For as a society we tend to give sympathy out to those have fallen ill, suffered or in deep pain with their minds or bodies. And Angie does want your hugs but he also you wants you to take his determination and inhale it for yourself.

Forming in early 2015, the members of Happy Abandon were hardly strangers. Operating in the same circles that are the cogs of any small, tightly knit scene, Vance, Ellis, and Waits had known each other for years before as students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Within a few weeks of first playing together, they worked their way onto bills at local shows and by years end Happy Abandon was hitting the road, touring through nearly every state east of Texas and Canada. It was at SXSW that the band initially hooked up with North Carolina music denizen and future label head Stephen Judge, playing multiple slots at his annual SXSW party. From there a relationship was born that would eventually lead to Judges offering Happy Abandon a recording contract via his freshly re-branded label Schoolkids Records. The band continued to write, to tour, and to fine-tune their performances when, in late 2016, they suffered the unexpected loss of three dear friends in three separate incidences. In dealing with these heartbreaking premature deaths, in concert with the trials and travails of everyday life, the songs began to pour out en masse, with subjects ranging from personal loss to abandonment to homelessness - which singer Peter Vance suffered for a stint - to heartbreak to the indomitable power of will. It was through this lens that the band began to see this new set of songs on a grander perspective and began to realize that the wider concept behind their music was the idea that a person needs to feel life, to experience it in every facet, to feel as many emotions as possible, to completely immerse themselves in whatever emotion they may be experiencing, and how, in an effort to protect ourselves, we all tend to hide behind masks, or more appropriately, some kind of facepaint. Vance, who readily admits that he slips behind his own masks on a regular basis, began to see these songs as a vehicle by which to reveal what's behind his facepaint. Writing furiously, Happy Abandon soon found themselves with a batch of the best songs they'd yet written and soon decamped to the tiny hamlet Macon, North Carolina (population 116), where Jason Merritt's lake house studio sits on the shores of Lake Gaston, to create their album. Within a week they emerged with the ten songs that would become Facepaint, their debut long player, and found their brand of genre bending art music with deep-rooted pop sensibilities more finely honed than ever before. Working with Merritt acting as co-producer, Jamie Candiloro working as mixing engineer, and frequent collaborator Alex Thompson handling keyboards and string arrangements, Happy Abandon captured at once their high flair, their foreboding sensibility and their warmth in a record that is at-once propulsive yet patient, dark, and distant while warm and engaging. Vance's voice, a tinny yet warm throat-yell which bears an eerie resemblance to Jeff Buckley, sits astride Happy Abandon's intensely emotional music, which owes as much to the members' experience in theater, marching bands, and orchestras as it does to their myriad musical influences such as Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Bird, and The National. While full of songs about loss, Vance is quick to point out that Facepaint is not a breakup album. Rather, if the album were to have a subject, it would be the relationship a person has to loss and loneliness, which can manifest itself through breakups, homelessness, familial abandonment, and death. These relationships provide the outline for Facepaint, from the emotions they conjure to the settings in which they exist and the facepaint we all hide behind to make those heartbreaks a little more palatable.

Daniel and Danny Chavis are natives of Raleigh/Chapel Hill, North Carolina and East Village residents for the past 28 years. They are also co-founders of the groundbreaking band The Veldt, who lifted their band’s name from a Ray Bradbury science fiction story. Musically reared in the church and juke-joints of their native southern state, the twins have been performing since they were children, listening to music that included gospel, Motown and Pink Floyd. 

Symmetry/"Slow Grid"

Dutch indie legends Bettie Serveert return on their 25th Anniversary with their 11th studio album, Damaged Good. This limited edition exclusive magenta Vinyl LP will include a digital download and full CD, the only version available in the United States. The CD will not be available on it's own. Damaged Good is one of ’The Betties’ most diverse albums so far, including songs barely 60 sec long up to an 8 min epos and everything in between. It’s a ‘big story’: intense, raw, tender, but mostly passionate and fierce. Some songs will definitely remind people of their classic Palomine, the debut album that started everything 25 years ago.

01 B-Cuz 02 Brickwall 03 Brother (in Loins) 04 Damaged Good  05 Whatever Happens 06 Unsane 07 Digital Sin (Nr 7) 08 Mouth of Age 09 Love Sick (feat. Peter te Bos) 10 Mrs. K  11 Never Be Over (feat. Prof. Nomad & Co)

The 10th album of Dutch alternative indie-rockband Bettie Serveert will be released early 2013. Oh, Mayhem! is the title of the cd, which has been described by insiders as being their most audacious disc since their debut album Palomine from 1992. The follow-up on Pharmacy of Love (2010) finds the band more energetic and confident than ever.