An Adventure to the Echoplex

I got home yesterday and Back to the Future II has on TV so I flipped it on and got hooked. Some of the graphics were a little cheesy but for the most part its still a pretty sweet movie. My roommate, Chris, came home and got hooked to the movie too. As we were watching the movie Chris wanted me to go to LA with him to see his friends band Nico Stai.

At first I was thinking about just curling up in my bed and relaxing for the night. I couldn't decide what to do so we ate dinner (Del Taco of course) and went to Best Buy. Keeping with the theme of not being able to make decisions I spent awhile trying to decide if I wanted the three disc special edition Wall-e or the cheaper one disc Wall-e. 30 minutes later I finally came to the decision of getting the three disc version.

We got home and Chris was ready to take off to LA. Still not decided which direction I wanted to take my night I put on my shoes and decided to head out with Chris. I typically avoid LA at all costs mainly because it has to be the worst place to drive in the country. Lucky for me I didn't have to drive.

We headed for the Echoplex which was fun venue. The trendy black interior was a good setting for an indie show. Nico Stai started playing shortly after our arrival and put on a great show. On our way back home I knew I made the right decision.

Check out Nico Stai's music on their myspace.

Review - The Morning Of (The World As We Know It)

I wrote this review awhile ago but stopped blogging for awhile. But since I have started posting again I figured I would add this to the collection.


Band: The Morning of
Album: The World as We Know It
Label: Tragic Hero Records
Rating: 3/5



Lets get straight to the point shall we? Do you like poppy girl and boy dueling vocals? You do? Well the Morning Of’s new album The World as We Know It should be a nice addition to your collection. Although, at times it’s hard to tell which singer is the girl the harmonization between the two singers is the highlight of the album.

If you have been to Disneyland before and stayed for the fireworks show you have heard the very cheesy and overdramatic intro speeches. The opening track on this album, “Goodbye Gravity, Welcome Change”, was a little like of these firework intros. The only difference being The Morning Of have a more emo theme to their dialog rather that Disney. The opening track would have been pretty cool without the melodramatic dialog and was just instrumental with the back up vocals. The track could turn off some listeners right off the bat, but that would be doing the listener a huge disservice because the next track will cure your thirst for a poppy little diddy.

The album is pretty consistent throughout the record keeping with the formula that works for them. On the track “The World as We Know it” has a random sound clip in the middle of the song, which catches the listener by surprise. The should have done a better job calling attention to the sound clip by lower the volume of everything else because it almost sounds more like a subliminal message. You can however recognize the sound clip at the end of the song better.

One of the few bumps in the road was the track “There’s a Bully in the Park” which took misstep when they decided to sound more like a hard rocking Paramore than sticking with their own sound. Despite some cheesy lyrics this release is a good pop record that you will find yourself singing along and dancing to. As I discussed the beginning of this review if you like that catchy girl boy dueling vocals than this record is for you.

Wall-e In Stores Today

One of my favorite films of the year is being released on DVD today and for a 23 year old male you might be surprised that movie is Wall-e. The movie has hardly any dialog but it has the audiences attention for every second. Its a great movie that I highly recommend for everybody. Also, out on DVD today is Tropic Thunder. I didn't get a chance to catch this one in the theaters but I am intrigued to see it on DVD. Don't forget that DVDs are usually on sale the first week they are released.

John Frusciante Announces New Record

John Frusciante has officially announced his new record will be entitled The Empyrean which will be released on January 20th via The Record Collection. For more information read his blog at johnfrusciante.com

The Empyrean Track listing:
1. Before The Beginning
2. Song To The Siren
3. Unreachable
4. God
5. Dark/Light
6. Heaven
7. Enough Of Me
8. Central
9. One More Of Me
10. After The Ending

The Empyrean Cover Art:

Poor Friends "Secret Love Affair"

Check out this live performance from Poor Friends if you like what you hear add them on Myspace

Dear Jack

Review - Driving East (The Future of the Free World)

Band: Driving East
Album: The Future of the Free World
Label: The Militia Group
Rating: 2/5



After hearing Driving East’s EP I was pretty excited to hear what they could do with a full-length. Songs on the EP such as “Backseat” and “Come on, Come on” showed a lot of promise for Driving East and pop punk as a genre. Unfortunately Driving East’s full length, The Future of the Free World, fails to deliver.

The short 10 track album seems to be more of the same in a genre that is lacking creativity in recent days. Three out of the four tracks from the band’s EP made the full-length, leaving The Future of the Free World short on new material. “Backseat” and “Come on, Come on” are the strongest tracks on the album, but that’s already old news. Outside of those two, the songs lack originality and aren’t nearly catchy enough to warrant replaying the album.

The opening track “Away” is halfway decent and one of the few that I would have agreed to put on the record. The children’s choir call-and-answer with lead singer Barrett Mullins left me wondering “was that rad?” or “was that a little cliché?” The album also closes on an acceptable note with “Somebody Get Me Out of Here.”

Driving East has often been compared to Cartel, another Militia Group band of the past. Sadly, Driving East’s debut album doesn’t even come close to Cartel’s Chroma. I am a huge Militia Group fan and believe for the most part that the label can do no wrong. I’m sorry to say that this is one of the few albums Militia has put out that has failed to meet expectations.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US

I just realized that a year ago on this day I started Bang the Man. I have big plans for Bang the Man and I hope I get to spend more time working on the site this year. So Happy One Year to Us!

Panic! Honda

Panic! at the Disco has been announced as the headliner of the Honda Civic Tour which is scheduled to visit approximately 45 cities in North America this spring/summer. Some criticize Panic! for not having to pay their dues as a band since they got huge without really having to try. This tour will only echo those arguments even more so. Panic! was in attendance during the Ducks game this last Wednesday and interviewed with Billy Mac during the game. Billy Mac is a pretty good interviewer and Panic! gave him a horrible interview. They were just trying to joke around but it turns out that they aren't funny or at least not in this interview. I'm interested to see if their sophomore release will have the same response as their first effort.

Sony BMG Deals with Amazon

Sony BMG has come to terms with Amazon and has agreed to sell their catalog on Amazon's MP3 store. The reason this is a big deal is because Amazon sells their music in an unprotected format.