Between The Buried And Me Announce Details For Upcoming Fall Tour

Posted on June 16, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: Metal Blade Records

Courtesy: Metal Blade Records/Entertainment One

North Carolina’s own and recent Metal Blade signees, Between the Buried and Me, will hit the road this Fall. The band will be touring in support of its most recent release, The Parallax II and will perform the whole of both Part I and II at each stop on its upcoming tour. It won’t be touring alone once it hits the road beginning Friday, September 13^th. Also coming along for the tour will be The Contortionist, which will be touring in support of its most recent album, Intrinsic. Also along for the ride this Fall will be The Faceless and The Safety Fire.

Fans of BTBAM in North Carolina will get two chances to see the band on its upcoming tour. The very first date on the tour will be at Ziggy’s in Winston-Salem. The band’s only other North Carolina tour date will be the penultimate performance of the tour on October 24^th. The band is scheduled to perform at The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC.

Tickets for the tour are available for purchase now online at
http://www.SHOWstubs.com
. General admission tickets will go on sale at local outlets beginning Friday, July 12^th. VIP packages are being offered to the shows via
http://www.SHOWstubs.com
. The VIP packages include the choice of a general admission ticket or deluxe bundle featuring an exclusive t-shirt, necklace, button pack, poster, loaded flash drive, or a flexi-disc with the live version of ‘Astral Body.’ The video for ‘Astral Body’ is available for viewing online now at
http://www.betweentheburiedandme.com
.

A full list of the bands’ upcoming tour is available below.

BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME
Tour w/ The Faceless, The Contortionist, The Safety Fire
09/13 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy’s
09/14 Knoxville, TN NV
09/15 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
09/16 Jacksonville, FL Brewster’s Roc Bar
09/17 Orlando, FL The Plaza Live
09/19 Houston, TX House of Blues
09/20 Austin, TX The Mohawk
09/21 Dallas, TX House of Blues
09/23 Denver, CO Summit Music Hall
09/24 Salt Lake City, UT Murray Theater
09/26 Mesa, AZ The Nile
09/27 W. Hollywood, CA House of Blues
09/28 San Diego, CA House of Blues
09/29 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory
09/30 San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom
10/01 Sacramento, CA Ace of Spades
10/03 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
10/04 Seattle, WA El Corazon
10/05 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
10/07 Calgary, AB The Republik
10/08 Edmonton, AB Starlite Room
10/09 Winnipeg, MB Garrick Centre
10/11 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
10/12 Chicago, IL Metro
10/13 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre
10/14 Louisville, KY Headliner’s Music Hall
10/16 New York City, NY Best Buy Theatre
10/17 Worcester, MA The Palladium
10/18 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
10/19 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
10/20 Cleveland, OH Peabody’s Downunder
10/21 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s Theatre
10/23 Baltimore, MD Sound Stage
10/24 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
10/25 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom

All the latest tour news and more on BTBAM is available online at
http://www.betweentheburiedandme.com
,
http://www.metalblade.com/btbam
,
http://www.facebook.com/BTBAMofficial
,
http://www.youtube.com/btbamofficial
, and
http://twitter.com/btbamofficial
.

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to
http://www.facebook.com/philspicks
and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at
http://philspicks.wordpress.com
.

Teen Pop Star Releases Debut EP

Posted on June 11, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: Semper Augustus Records/Fresh Tracks Marketing

Teen pop star Lena Fayre has released her debut EP. The self-titled release from the sixteen-year old singer boasts five tracks, including her debut single, ‘Belong To You.’ The song in question is a bittersweet song about love, loss, pain, passion, and triumph. The video for the is available online now via YouTube at

.

Also included on this new EP are the songs,’ Love Burning Alive’, ‘Fate’, ‘Silver’ and Fayre’s next expected single, ‘Jukebox Love.’ ‘Jukebox Love’ was co-written by Fayre and Jaden Michaels. It’s said to be quite the uplifting pop song based in themes of romance that would be a good fit for any summertime party. ‘Love Burning Alive’ is more of an electronica/techno/dance style piece co-written by Jenn Decilveo. The sound of ‘Fate’ is different from the other four pieces on Fayre’s EP. That’s thanks to the fact that the song, was written in a minor scale. It’s till one that many fans will find enjoyable with its heavy back beat. ‘Silver’ is sure to be as much of a club hit as ‘Love Burning Alive’ and any of the other songs on this record. Its infectious groove crafted partially by world renowned producer, instrumentalist and songwriter, Brian Howes (Closure, Van Howes Studios founder) and Jason “JVP” Van Poederooyen (Van Howes Studios co-founder) will get any fan dancing and sweating.

Those looking for a comparison as to what to expect, this brand new EP bears influences from the likes of Alicia Keys and the first lady of pop, Madonna. The EP can be ordered online now via iTunes at
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lena-fayre-ep/id659857109
.

Fans of Lena Fayre can keep up with all of the latest from her online on her official Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/LenaFayre
and her official website,
http://lenafayre.com
.

To keep up with all of the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to
http://www.facebook.com/philspicks
and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at
http://philspicks.wordpress.com
.

Black Sabbath Celebrate New Release With Special Online Event

Posted on June 10, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: Universal Republic Records

Black Sabbath’s decades in the making album, 13 will finally see the light of day tomorrow, Tuesday, June 11^th. In celebration, the band—Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi—will hold a special live Town Hall via Google+ Hangout. It will be streamed live on Google+ and YouTube. The Town Hall will also be broadcast live on Ozzy’s Boneyard on SiriusXM at 7:00pm EDT. The band will be joined by both Ozzy’s son Jack (who directed the clips to launch 13) and Rage Against The Machine drummer Brad Wilk (who covered the drums on the album) for the event. Osbourne and Butler will appear live at the Angel Orensanz Foundation for Contemporary Art while Tony Iommi will appear live from Birmingham, England. Jack Obsourne and Brad Wilk will be on hand live from Los Angeles for the presentation. Comedian Jim Norton will host the show. Norton is a co-host of the Opie and Anthony Show on SiriusXM, and is also a host on Ozzy’s Boneyard.

Viewers can tune in to the special event live on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/officialsabbath
. Fans that have SiriusXM can tune in to the even on Ozzy’s Boneyard on channel 38 and through the SiriusXM Internet Radio app for smart phones and other connected devices. Audiences can also watch the event online at
http://www.siriusxm.com

Black Sabbath fans can keep up with all of the latest from the band online at
http://www.blacksabbath.com
,
http://www.facebook.com/BlackSabbath
,
http://twitter.com/OfficialBlackSabbath
,
http://instagram.com/officialblacksabbath
, and
http://google.com/+blacksabbath
.

Carnival Of Madness Band Line-Up Announced

Posted on May 29, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: abc-pr

With the unofficial start of Summer come and gone, that means that lots of people will be hitting the roads very soon for their annual Summer vacations. It also means that the annual rush of Summer music festivals will also be hitting the road. One of those festivals is the annual Carnival of Madness tour. The festival tour begins Sunday, August 11^th. A full list of tour dates will be made available on the official Carnival of Madness website
http://carnivalofmadness.com
next Monday, June 3^rd. Tickets will go on sale next Friday, June 7^th.

The tour—sponsored by Monster Energy—will feature Shinedown, Papa Roach, Skillet, In This Moment, and We As Human on the bill. This year’s tour is not the first time on the festival’s lineup for Shinedown. The band headlined the festival tour in its inaugural run in 2010. When it hits the road, the band will be touring in support of its new EP, The Live Room. The EP features five songs from the band’s most recent full length LP, Amaryllis. Also included in the new EP are performances of Carole King’s classic hit, ‘I Feel The Earth Move’ and audio and video performances of the band’s latest single, ‘I’ll Follow You’, as well as its megahit, ‘Bully.’

Skillet will be touring on the heels of its most recent full length studio release, Awake. The album was one of only three rock albums that went platinum in 2012. The only other rock albums to reach Platinum status in 2012 were El Camino from The Black Keys and Babel from Mumford & Sons. That was just one of the many honors for Awake. The album debuted at #2 on Billboard’s “top 200 Albums Chart” and #1 on its “Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums” chart. Also, it reached #1 on iTunes’ “Top Album” chart. It garnered the band three Billboard Music Awards and four hit singles, including the Gold-Certified #1 single, ‘Awake & Alive’, the Gold-Certified ‘Hero’, ‘It’s Not Me It’s You’ and the Platinum-Certified ‘Monster.’ The companion video to ‘Monster’ earned more than 52 million views on YouTube. NBC used ‘Hero’ for broadcasts of its weekly NFL Sunday Night Football. It also served as the theme song for WWE’s 2012 Royal Rumble broadcast. On June 25^th, the band will release the follow-up to Awake with its new full length album, Rise. The band already has released two songs from the album, ‘Sick of It’ and ‘American Noise.’ Both songs have already hit #1 on the iTunes Rock Chart.

All of the accolades received by Skillet have potentially helped another band on the bill for this year’s tour. That band is We As Human. The band was signed to Atlantic Records in 2011 via Hear It Loud, a partnership formed partially by Skillet’s John Cooper along with manager Zach Kelm and Todd Rubenstein after Cooper had discovered the band. The band’s self-titled debut album will be available June 25^th.

In This Moment joins this year’s tour on the heels of the release of its latest album, Blood, which was released in August 2012. Blood debuted at #15 on the Billboard “Top 200 Albums” Chart and has sold over 150,000 copies since its release. The album spawned two hits, ‘Adrenalize’ and its title track. The band’s 2007 debut record, Beautiful Tragedy earned the band a spot on both the 2007 and 2008 Ozzfest. And 2008’s The Dream landed the band a slot on the 2009 Warped Tour. 2010’s A Star-Crossed Wasteland was the band’s highest-charting album until the release of Blood.

Papa Roach’s most recently released single, ‘Where Did The Angels Go’ reached #1 on the Active Rock Radio Chart from BDS/Billboard. The single comes from the band’s most recent full length release, The Connection, released via Eleven Seven Music. The album was released in October 2012 and debuted as iTunes’ #2 Rock album. It’s just one of ten Top 10 rock hits and seven Top 10 alternative hits. The band also has two Grammy nominations and an MTV VMA nomination.

For more information on each band and the upcoming tour, fans can go online to the festival’s official website,
http://www.carnivalofmadness.com
or its official Facebook page,
http://www.facebook.com/CarnivalofMadness
. Audiences can also get the latest updates on the tour via Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube at
http://twitter.com/carnivalofmadness
,
http://instagram.com/carnivalofmadness
, and
http://www.youtube.com/carnivalofmadness
.

Trouble With The Heights More Proof Of The Power Of Indie Flicks

Posted on May 17, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: Viva Pictures

Viva Pictures’ crime drama, Trouble in the Heights is an interesting movie. This is not exactly what one would think about when one thinks about crime dramas. And it’s also not the standard shoot-‘em-up action movie, either. Rather than letting itself descend into the standard action subgenre, Writer/Director Jonathan Ullman offers audiences a story that is a deeply emotional piece that will instantly pull in audiences and keep them engaged right to the end of the story’s roughly ninety-minute runtime.

The story at the center of Trouble in the Heights focuses on the theft of drug dealer Nevada’s (Raul Esparza) ill gotten money by main character Diego’s little brother Javy (Antonio Ortiz) and his friend, Robby (Cruz Santiago). Because of the actions of Javy and Robby, Diego (Rayniel Rufino) is forced to make some tough decisions. Those tough decisions only make this hard working man’s life even more difficult, especially in finding out that his girlfriend Ana (Alexandra Metz) is carrying his child. Diego’s personal struggles both as a result of his brother’s actions and news that he gets from Ana make him a sympathetic and far more believable character than any of the anti-hero stereotypes from other closely related crime thrillers. Because he is such a believable character, audiences will find it so much easier to root for him. And because viewers will find it so easy to root for Diego, they will in turn find themselves becoming increasingly engaged in the overall story right to its surprise conclusion.

Ullman’s writing and acting on the part of Rayniel Rufino in Trouble in the Heights are both important parts of the movie’s success. Just as important to its success was its general lack of violence. This may come across as a minor factor. But one would be remiss to ignore this factor. While guns are brandished, not a single shot is fired and not a single drop of blood is shed throughout the course of the story. The most extreme level that the violence reaches comes early in the story when Nevada has two of his men throw Robby over a bridge in front of an oncoming train for having stolen his money. The actual act is never actually shown. But it is understood that this is what happens to Robby. Aside from this vile act, the only other extreme included in Trouble in the Heights is the movie’s coarse language. The language is obviously not suitable for younger viewers. But it helps to make the characters and story that much more believable.

The general lack of violence, the solid acting of Rayniel Rufino, and writing throughout Trouble in the Heights help to make the movie stand on its own feet against the endless flow of fare more violence and sex laden movies within the crime drama/thriller genre. There is at least one more factor that viewers should take into account in considering the movie’s success. The movie’s cast in general has plenty of acting chops under its belt. But none of the cast members are major name stars. Case in point: Dominic Colon. Colon plays Diego’s friend, Junior, which is a small role. Colon is known largely for his role of Manny Spamboni on PBS’ re-imagined take on the classic educational show, The Electric Company. He has also had roles in the hit movies, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, August Rush, and We Own The Night just to name a few. Keeping in mind that the cast is largely unknowns, they have collectively put on performances that play their own role in the overall success of the story. This, along with the story’s other previously mentioned factors makes Trouble in the Heights a surprisingly interesting movie within the annals of recently released crime dramas/thrillers. It turns out to be a movie that is deserving of at least one watch. It is available in stores and online now. It can be purchased online via Amazon at

Trouble In The Heights

. A trailer for the movie can be viewed via YouTube at

.

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews, go online to
http://www.facebook.com/philspicks
and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at
http://philspicks.wordpress.com
.

ESPN Networks Win Five Sports Emmys

Posted on May 8, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: ESPN

ESPN proved once again Tuesday night why it is “The Sports Leader.” The ESPN family of networks took home five Sports Emmy Awards Tuesday night at the 34^th annual Sports Emmy Awards. The annual awards program is put on by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Among its awards were top honors for journalism, technical and creative excellence and marketing.

ESPN2’s E:60 took home the award for Journalism for its feature, “Beitar Jerusalem.” The feature focused on the Beitar Jerusalem Soccer team and its infamous fan base. Audiences saw firsthand the behavior of the team’s overly devoted fans and its sometimes overtly racist tendencies. ESPN reporter Jeremy Schaap and a filming crew went to Israel to film the feature. The award for this feature was the fifth Sports Emmy in four years for E:60.

ESPN’s Outside The Lines brought home Sports Emmy for its feature, “Breaking The Silence.” This feature focuses on the story of Monika Korra. Korra, a native of Norway, was a member of SMU’s cross country team. While a member of the team, she was raped by three men. But through her personal strength, she went on to help find the men and convict her assailants. She now speaks publicly about such acts of violence. “Breaking The Silence” won the Sports Emmy for Short Format Camerawork. It Outside The Lines host Bob Ley worked with ESPN reporter Tom Rinaldi for the feature. The award is the fifteenth Sports Emmy for the show.

Full features weren’t the only things for which ESPN received awards. It also brought home a Sports Emmy for its “It’s not crazy, it’s sports” promotional campaign. The campaign brought home the award for Best Promo-Institutional. One of the more memorable spots in the campaign told the story of a man named Michael Jordan who lived in Chicago. The man in question was not the famed basketball legend. Audiences can check out the promo at

.

ESPN’s recent upstart network, ESPN 3D brought home its own award yesterday. It defended its 2012 award in the Technical Team Remote category, winning this year for its coverage of the Winter X Games. ESPN 3D is the only all-sports 3D network on television today.

In the category of New Approaches – Short Form, ESPN’s Sports Science won its third Sports Emmy in as many years.

Yesterday’s wins bring the total number of Sports Emmys for the ESPN family of networks to one hundred and fifty three in its twenty-six years of eligibility.

Borgore Coming To North Carolina On New Tour

Posted on April 24, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: MSO PR

Rapper/DJ/singer Borgore is set to release his latest EP this Summer. That EP is expected to be followed up by a new full length record this fall. Borgore will be touring this Spring and Summer in support of both releases. The upcoming tour includes a stop in North Carolina’s “Queen City.” That tour stop will be Saturday, June 15^th at Phoenix. The stop is just part of a much bigger tour that includes performances at a number of festivals. Among those festivals included in Borgore’s tour schedule are: Kanrocksas, Electric Daisy Carnival Chicago, Orion Music + More, Free Press Summer Festival, and the Boonstock Music & Arts Festival.

Fans can get tickets for this show and all of Borgore’s upcoming shows online at
http://borgore.wantickets.com
. Borgore’s fans can get a full tour rundown, and all the latest news from Borgore online at
http://www.facebook.com/borgore
,
http://twitter.com/borgore
,
http://www.youtube.com/buygore
,

, and
http://www.buygore.com
.

Green Day Back On The Road

Posted on March 28, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: BB Gun press

Pop punk trio Green Day kicks off a new tour tonight. The tour kicks off at the Allsate Arena in Rosemont, IL. The tour is in support of the band’s recently released trilogy of albums, Uno!, Dos!, and Tre! It will take the band through a total of approximately thirty-six dates, most of which will be dates in Europe. After tonight’s show, the band moves on to Moline IL tomorrow at the i Wireless Center and then on to the CONSOL Energy Center this Sunday in Pittsburgh, PA.

The European leg of the tour kicks off May 24^th at the Blue Cross Arena in Milan, Italy. The European leg of the band’s tour will take it from Italy to Serbia, to Austria and throughout the U.K., Russia, France and many more countries. The current slate of dates has Green Day wrapping its tour at the Bilbao BKK Live Festival on May 13^th in Bilbao, Spain. To get a full listing of tour dates and all the latest news from the band, fans can “Like” Green Day on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/GreenDay
. Fans can also keep up with all the latest from the band on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/greenday
.

Spock’s Beard Release New LP’s First Single

Posted on March 18, 2013 by philspicks

Courtesy: InsideOut Music

Spock’s Beard has released the first single from its upcoming eleventh full length studio album, Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep. The song, ‘Something very Strange’ is quite the interesting song, with its rather sci-fi feel. Alan Morse (guitars) said of the new song, “The album version of ‘Something Very Strange’ has an awesome intro that’s going to make it a great live opener – big, spacey, lots of guitar feedback and an otherworldly vocoder bit. Then the Hammond organ kicks in and we’re off to the races! It’s got a great groove, a crazy bass part and enough B3 noodling to satisfy even the most hardcore Leslie fanatic. The chorus is massive, especially when Ted kicks it up an octave on the second chorus. Then we go off into Progland in the middle 7/8 section, with Ryo and me trading off wiling solos. Then a huge build into the last chorus, and we go out with a bang! In addition to that, it has a real trippy sci-fi lyric about aliens appearing in the sky, and the people on the ground looking up to face what’s coming – which is, apparently, very strange! J The people come together in the face of the incoming threat and make their peace with each other. Hopefully it won’t take that for us to come together.”

The new song is available to listen to now at
http://www.progrockmag.com/news/spocks-beard-premiere-something-very-strange
. The band’s new album will be available Tuesday, April 2^nd via Century Media Records. The band’s only currently listed concert is a CD release party on Saturday, April 13^th at the Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, California. Fans can keep up with the latest updates on live shows, news, and more on the band’s official Facebook page,
http://www.facebook.com/spocksbeard
, its official website,
http://www.spocksbeard.com
, on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/spocksb
and
http://www.insideoutmusic.com
. Audiences can also check out the band’s videos online through YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/Spocksbeard
.

AI Finalist Signs Motion Picture Deal

Posted on March 12, 2013 by philspicks

Chris Medina first came to national attention during his time on the hit Fox singing competition, American Idol. Now the singer is taking the next step in his career. He has officially signed a major motion picture deal with MCS41 (Metropolitan Creative Studio) to star in a movie about himself and his fiancée, Julianna. For those who don’t know, Medina was a contestant on the tenth season of AI. His story was one of the more moving of that season. He revealed to the judges that before coming to audition, Juliana had been in a wreck and had been left with brain damage as a result of the accident.

The planned movie, What Are Words? is taken from the song of the same name, which Medina had written for Juliana after the accident. Medina explains the signing in his own words in a video posted to YouTube. Medina is visibly moved by this new development in his career. Audiences can view it now at

. After checking out his announcement, fans can also pick up his new EP, Letters to Juliet now on iTunes. Just go to
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artists/chris-medina/id422369479
.

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to
http://www.facebook.com/philspicks
and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news in the Phil’s Picks blog at
http://philspicks.wordpress.com
.

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