The future of Fall Out Boy starts now.

Well It‘s official, Fall Out Boy are back. In late 2009 the band shocked fans with the announcement that they were on a hiatus in order to pursue side projects. Rumours of a reunion have been passed around over the web since October last year when they all got together for singer, Patrick Stumps wedding. However on the 4th February the band released a statement on their official website and Twitter with a photo of themselves stating,

''The future of Fall Out Boy starts now. Save Rock And Roll.’’

Fall Out Boy announced a series of intimate tour dates on the same day. The tour kicked off in their home town of Chicago. The only UK dates to take place are held at Camden Underworld on the 25th February and Leeds & Reading in August. Tickets for The Underworld sold out when tickets apparently went on sale three minutes before they were supposed to. This left fans outraged, even more so when websites such as Viagogo placed tickets on-line later in the day for £300.

The Underworld holds a capacity of 500 people and a few lucky fans will get to experience the intimate concert a few months before the new album Save Rock And Roll is even released. The band also announced last week that they were pushing the album forward a month. The release date is now being released on April 15th. The statement from their official website reads,

'So when we got this all rolling we didn't expect it to be so crazy. But we weren't kidding when we said we had the album done – so why wait? It means the world to us the way you have welcomed us back.’’

So with five albums under their belt and new hit single ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark,’ lets expect big things on the horizon.

my cultural diary

we had to do a cultural diary based on an interview with an interesting person and write it as if it's them writing it using quotes. I did mine about my friend Declan O'Mara.

My Dad got me into Ice Hockey. We lived in Nuneaton not too far away from Coventry and heard that ice hockey was starting and the new season began. We went down to the ice rink to watch a game against Solihull. It was all pretty new, junior hockey was starting as a development. I was aged eight by the time I started playing.

If it wasn’t for hockey I definitely wouldn’t have visited all the places I have been to. The chance to go to about five countries in the same year is mind blowing when you think about it. Each place we went to was a new experience.

The best place I got to visit playing hockey was Hong Kong. I played for GB in the world inline championships. It was unreal to travel across the world to play a sport I learned in Coventry as a child. Another amazing place I went to was Detroit, this was my first encounter with the AAU Junior Olympics For the first time I played against Canada and USA. We came 4^th in the whole tournament. Whilst I was there I entered a skills competition to win fastest skater. I found myself in the final against a guy from the Czech Republic which I won.

I quit hockey for a few reasons. First was the fact I lived so far away from a team that competed at a high enough level. Also Lincoln University doesn’t offer Ice/Inline Hockey as a society.

I run my own production company called ‘Dead Skull Films’. We specialize in making any form of video content. It tends to range from filming music videos to promos for bands. I started it around a year ago. I got an email reply one day from a club night called ‘Detonate’ in Nottingham. I filmed for free and gradually got paid small amounts. It just blew up and everything turned out how it is today. Companies I have worked for include Ram Records and UFK Dub step. I have worked for artists such as Skrillex, Enter Shikari and DJ Fresh.

When I go to gigs to enjoy myself I usually feel like I have to be doing something. It’s strange being in the crowd when you have seen behind the scenes and know the bands you are watching as your friends.

I don’t really have many hobbies because filming is just like a hobby to me. I would say DJing is another hobby but it’s nothing serious.

My favourite film of all time is Back to the Future. Other than that I don’t really watch many Hollywood blockbuster films and pay more attention to the indie scene of films. I would recommend the film Rubber to people; it is about a serial killer who is reincarnated as a tyre.

I’m an Xbox 360 kinda guy. I have the usual games such as Fifa 13, Call of Duty and NHL 13 They’re all pretty much games I can play online with my friends.

I have too many favourite bands to name but I would say it’s a mixture of Bring me the Horizon, Enter Shikari and Chase & Status. I think the reasons I like this kind of music is because of my childhood friends. One half of them loved Drum & Bass and the other half liked metal/rock music so I have the best of both worlds.

Music tech night review

Not my best review but it's ok.

Music Tech night presents…

Beware wolf, Soul Burn, Paper Plane, The Mcques.

Huddersfield Student Union

 It’s 9:00pm which seems late for a gig. With 4 bands on the bill tonight it is not likely to end till midnight but that isn’t stopping people staying to see their favourite bands play. There is a good turn out tonight and about half an hour after being seated the DJ Dale Johnson introduces the first band.

By the time Beware wolf arrive Huddersfield SU is more or less full. The 3 piece alternative band dive straight into their first song. The rhythm is in sync and vocals are clear. After a few songs the singer announces their drummer is in fact standing in for the usual drummer who couldn’t make it. The music is almost Biffy Clyro influenced with the amount of pauses and heavy riffs being used. The band show true talent, in fact if they hadn’t have mentioned they had a stand in drummer I don’t think anyone in the audience would have known.

Soul Burn seem to take it in turns to play slow and fast songs. Two guitars dominate the mere 30 minute set. The use of pedal effects and broken chords creates a chilled out atmosphere and the use of breakdowns grabs audience attention. The band work well together as the slow melodic melodies build up to great crescendos towards the last few songs. Unfortunately it’s hard to hear the singer’s lyrics over the volume of the instruments.

Although they’re not the headliners Paper Plane is probably the most anticipated band on the Bill tonight. The 3 piece rock band are the battle of the bands 2012 runners up and have a lot to live up to. Vocalist Jack Bennet hasn’t lost his touch, vocals are perfection and all 3 seem lost in the music. They are the first band to interact with the audience properly taking some time out between songs.  The set is led by heavy chords, varied tempos and use of instrumental breakdowns. They play harder, faster and louder than the other bands so far. The strobe lights seem to appear whenever they feel like it, mistake or not it definitely boosts the atmosphere in the room. Many guitar spins, screaming vocals and air jumps later they bring the set to an end. ‘’And in the end, I’ll build a time machine,’’ is a worthy finish bringing an orchestral backing track to the finale. It doesn’t look hard for them to be able to follow up their 2011 album ‘Draw your own holes.’

It must be hard to finish off the night as the main headliners. However, The Mcques seem to be pulling it off. The bass takes the prominent lead creating an upbeat, bouncy rhythm. Half way into the 3^rd song they take the risk mixing an old 90’s dance song with one of their own but it works well. They play almost stiff like throughout the set but it’s uncertain whether that’s a trademark or if they’re just not used to bigger crowds. By no fault of their own, half way through people are looking tired and start to head home. Although they play well together it’s clear they have only been together for a year, not that the music is bad but there is minimal interaction with the audience. The Mcques play a simple set with not much lighting but it ends the night on a high.

 

Tyler Douglas profile piece

In class for an assignment we had to do a profile piece. We had to get a transcrcibed interview and make a piece out of questions and answers. The guy I chose was Tyler Douglas a man I met in America when I was doing a hockey tournament. Working time zones out was difficult but here is my finished piece.

Tyler Douglas, Profile Piece.

Set in Loganville GA, Skyline Recording Studios isn’t the average recording studio; it is fully equipped but is provided for local artists who can go there to record professionally for an affordable price. They know what they’re doing and Skyline Studios is slowly on its way to the top of the Music Industry and has made a big name and great reputation already. It provides an excellent environment for everyone to give their best shot at the mic and caters for artists/bands at a range of different genres from Hip-Hop to Acoustic and Metal. The studios are operated by non-other than twenty-one year old Tyler Douglas.

 

Born on October 8^th 1990 to an American/British family Tyler grew up in Atlanta GA. As a teenager he studied at Loganville High School. He became interested in sound and music whilst at school and it went from there. ‘’My favourite subject at school was Physics, I loved learning about how sound travelled and how it could be manipulated to the human ear.’’

 

From High School Tyler went on to study Audio Engineering and became a Master engineer at SAE Institute Of Technology. Here he would learn everything he needed to get a job in the music industry. He recalls ‘’I chose my career in the music industry because once I started getting involved in bands my friend had a tape recorder and we would just use that to record ourselves. I would put the songs onto the computer and mess with the sounds to make things sound better.’’

 

Tyler was born into a sporty family, whilst at High School he played for the Ice Hockey team Loganville Red Devils. During his time there his main position to play was defence. As a team they played in the State Championship and went on to win the National Championships later that year. When asked if he still played he replied ‘’I still play hockey for fun with some old friends but I don’t find the time anymore to play at high standards.’’

 

He started work in 2005 at Skyline Recording Studios while he was still at High School. He worked with a great deal of artists, mainly local and made his way up to running the studio himself where he is currently positioned. In his seven years there he has worked with the likes of Katy Perry, Usher, Drake and Justin Beiber where he got to spend time with them recording new material. ‘’Katy was my favourite person to work with she was so down to Earth.’’ He addresses her first name only which suggests they became friends while she was recording there. However Tyler’s time spent with Celebrities is kept pretty private, he is modest and not one to boast.

 

When asked if he has had any bad experiences at the Studio he seems eager to answer. ‘’I haven’t really had any bad experiences here at skyline studios. You just get those little problems every once in a while, but hey, its music business, you never know what’s going to happen. Things don’t always run smoothly, one minute it could be going perfect and next there could be a blown speaker Either that or the artist has had a bad day at the office and is giving everyone a hard time. No matter what happens Tyler is always at hand to help with the recordings. When Tyler is not working At Skyline studios he is usually found working at other studios or working for as a stage tech for Live Event Solutions, a production company that delivers professional Audio, Lighting and video.

 

One Christmas Tyler’s parents bought him some microphones for his drums so he could record demos and covers of him playing. ‘’From there I knew this is what I wanted to do, I kept building on my equipment and that’s how I got to where I am today.’’

 In fact Tyler has been in bands himself and recorded in Skyline Studios. From 2007-2010 he was in a band called Fortune Favors The Brave again playing drums. They were unsigned but released songs for listeners over music website Myspace. They gave off the sound of electronica/Pop Rock. Whilst together they recorded 15 demos and 2 EP albums before going their separate ways. ‘’My commitment to Skyline Studios and side projects means I no longer have time to commit to playing in bands anymore myself, I do miss it but me and the guys remain great friends.’’

Download Festival 2012

Last week was actually amazing. We arrived in donnington at half 7 on the weds and by the time we had pitched our tents an gazebo it had started raining so badly. We explored of the village on the Thursday and half of it got shut off for a few hours the floods and mud was that bad. The mud was awful but I didn’t let it ruin the week. My mate amber left early Fridaywithout seeing any bands. I saw so many bands and loved it my favourites were steel panther, tenacious D, Metallica and of course black sabbath. chants of Fenton, butt scratchahh and badgers and camping with 12 good mates made the week even better.

Big venues vs small venues for concerts (UK)

 We had to do a feature for Radio on anything we wanted to do with the music industry. I did a voxpop of fans outside Leeds Cockpit and Interviewed support band The Swellers.

Cue:

There has been much discussion over the years as to what size venue is best for concerts. Smaller venues suggest more intimacy between fans and the band. But some people feel a bigger venue makes the band feel more accepted and that they have finally ‘made it’. Smaller venues bring the better sound and sell tickets quicker whereas big venues allow the artist to put on more of a show as space allows them to do more on stage.

INTRO: Deaf Havana fans outside Leeds Cockpit, Bar staff in gig venues and American band The Swellers talk about their opinions on this topic.

Journalistic Writing exercise 4

Hopes Die Last
Who are they? A five piece, post- hardcore/screamo band from Rome, signed to Standby Records. They formed in 2004 and although released 2 ep albums have been kept pretty quiet on the music scene. Their first ep released in 2005 consisted of six songs and they were classed as pop punk/emo, it doesn’t surprise as emo was one of the biggest genres around in the rock industry at this time. ‘Your face down now’ EP released in 2008 is the album that is classed as Post hardcore/screamo. After playing a few dates in America and Europe, the bands former vocalist Nick decided to leave the band claiming on Myspace he loved them to bits but he wasn’t happy playing that kind of music anymore.
‘Six years home’ is the 2009 album that includes new singer Daniele Tofani. Only one music video ‘some like it cold’ was released in promotion of the album. They have also done covers of songs such as Katy Perry’s- fireworks. The band are working on a new album out later this year and are promoting it by going on a UK tour supporting American band Attack Attack! A tour in Europe follows.
For people who like. The devil wears prada, Chiados, Asking Alexandria.

You Me At Six plus supports Live review.

Date 28^th March 2012
Venue: Manchester O2 Apollo
Line-up: The Skints, Mayday Parade, Kids In Glass Houses, You Me At Six.

London’s own reggae/ska band The Skints come onstage just fifteen minutes after doors open. They bring the rap vibe onto the scene straight away singing so fast it’s impossible to hear what is being said. To play to a 7,000 strong crowd there for mainly You Me At Six, it is hard to please the majority. The only song that seems to get the audience moving is a cover version of Katy B’s – On A Mission.

Next up are Mayday Parade, the only American band in the line-up.  They are the first band to get everyone psyched for the night ahead. With microphone tricks, hit songs and a good interaction with the crowd they live up to expectations. The only disappointments are that they don’t play one of the better known songs ‘Miserable At Best’ and that the twenty minute set isn’t long enough.

Kids In Glass Houses have been on the rise since the fresh pop rock scene of 2006 and seem extremely grateful to be back in Manchester. Halfway through the set list, singer Aled Phillips appears to have a torch in his hands which is in fact the microphone stand. He uses it to separate the crowd and form a wall of death before the heavy guitar riff to ‘Fisticuffs’ fills the room and everyone goes crazy. The atmosphere in the room is on a high, Kids In Glass Houses are definatley crowd pleasers.

It’s been a great year so far for You Me At Six. Their 2010 album ‘Hold Me Down’ went gold earlier this month. ‘Sinners Never Sleep’ got a top ten spot in the album chart and three of the band members have their own clothing lines. They’re becoming extremely successful and this is their biggest headline tour to date. In fact so big that they added extra dates to the Manchester leg of the tour.

For the first time in a while the band have added effects to the show. From a silhouetted curtain drop to dry ice from the beginning it looks like the venue are in for a treat.

They kick off the set with intense, quick riffed ‘Loverboy’ and the energy stays put for the rest of the show. Josh Franceschi has a great stage presence about him and creates a special connection with the crowd. Halfway through, the band takes a break from the fast tempo songs and plays some of the slower ones. ‘Crash’ proved most popular with fans holding up lighters, phones and getting on shoulders.

Following ‘Crash’ is the encore, from the front to the back for the final three songs everyone in the Apollo is bouncing and singing along.  The only things people could possibly complain about was a lack of songs played from their first album ‘Take Off Your Colours’

You Me At Six show they want to move away from the pop route to a rock sound, they finish with ‘Bite My Tongue’ with Josh belting out the screaming part that belong to Oli Sykes and the crowd mosh pitting away. All in all it is a great gig with nothing to be faulted.