Hey all!

Here’s a few bands that we haven’t covered in a while:

Homer Hiccolm and the Rocketboys
Dignan
The Closure
and someone who brings back a little bit of nostalgia for Brandon …. The Evan Anthem

You can see Jonezetta’s album artwork for their new one Cruel To Be Young below.  This album comes out on August 16th and the cover was created by the Invisible Creature design team.  What do you think of it?

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Click below to see The Becoming’s new album cover for their debut record on Tooth & Nail Records, Volume 1 which hits stores September 30th.  This album cover was created by the Invisible Creature design team.  Do you like the album artwork?

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Impending Doom present to you their brand new video for the song “My Nemesis” and it’s being shown over at MTV’s website, but we have decided to post it below for your viewing pleasure (and because some of you are too lazy to click over to the MTV site). Check out the br00tality below.

The Classic Crime has sold a significant number of albums of The Silver Cord.  How many you ask and why is it significant?  Click below to read an explanation from Matt.

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Becoming The Archetype are currently in the studio with Devin Townsend recording their 3rd album.  They will be continuously be updating their fans via video blogs of which you can see the first one on their myspace page.

Head over to Stereo Subversion to check out an interview with Ronnie Martin.  Joy Electric also has a video on the way for their song Four Gone Pierre!

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster will be touring this fall with A Static Lullaby, Showbread, Confide and Attack Attack.  You can see all the tour dates below. (absolutepunk.net)

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This probably shouldn’t have surprised me so much considering how much we pay at the pumps.  Today, Exxon Mobil has reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history.  They posted a net income of $11.68 billion on revenue of $138 billion in the second quarter.  If you break it down, that is apparently a profit of $1,485.55 a second.  You can read more about this in an article here on CNN.

After Edmund will be performing at Projekt Revolution in Atlanta which will be airing on MTV2.  Headliners on this tour are Linkin Park, Chris Cornell and The Bravery.  Click here or below for a message from the band about this.

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Click here to watch an interview with Stephen Christian (Anberlin) about SPIN’s book club.  (absolutepunk.net)

Gwen Stacy has announced they will tour this October with Unearth, Protest The Hero, The Acacia Strain and Whitechapel.  Click below for details and tour dates.

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Lead singer Kendall has stepped down from Burden Of A Day.  You can read his statement about this below.

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Anyways… here’s a band that sent me a message:

Aevory Nash

I really like their song “The Rock Solid Reprise”.

Check em out, they are a small band, not to mention that they seem to be newer. Some laid back and slightly chill music. Give em a chance, and remember that the recording quality may be limited.

I will post more bands, from previous e-mails, so those who sent me messages a while back, do not worry, I’ll get to your band(s) that you suggested. Remember to read my previous post about Filaedelphia.

I just posted my review of a live Ten Shekel Shirt set I saw today. You should definitely give it a read, especially as your alternatives probably consist of Facebook and work.

I’m in the Great White North (New Hampshire, to be exact) chilling at Soulfest. It’s been great so far. Expect reviews of Kevin Max’s and Jars of Clay’s sets today soon, as well as Kiros’s A Single Strand, Capital Lights’ This Is An Outrage!, the Foxglove Hunt’s Stop Heartbeat, (possibly) second opinions of the latest from the Wedding, Run Kid Run, and Secret & Whisper, and a lot more Soulfest live sets.

But for tonight, I’m heading to bed. Tomorrow should include sets by Kiros, Flatfoot 56, Run Kid Run (possibly twice), August Burns Red, the Wedding, and an acoustic set by none other than Reese Roper. Aren’t you jealous?

You should be.

Artist: Ten Shekel Shirt
Live at Soulfest, July 30, 2008.
Label: Rounder Records
Review by the Headless Horseman.

Setlist:
1. This Story*
2. Risk
3. Spark
4. Wartime Lullaby
5. It’s Slavery
6. Jubilee
7. Fragile
8. You Rescue
9. Daylight*
10. Ocean
11. Peace With You

* - I’m not positive about these songs, but they’re my best guess.

Lamont Hiebert is an abolitionist. And no, I’m not speaking figuratively. Ten Shekel Shirt frontman Hiebert is also a co-founder of Love146, an organization dedicated to ending child slavery and exploitation. This makes for some interesting stories inside the world of Ten Shekel Shirt beyond even the band’s transformation from a praise-and-worship powerhouse to a purveyor of Brit-pop serenades.

I hadn’t heard much from Ten Shekel Shirt since Much, the band’s CCM debut. (Not that it was bad. There is some good CCM, and Much was definitely among that number.) I knew they had put out a second effort, but it appeared they’d shed their previous style, and I never got around to picking it up. But I figured it would be cool to see them again, especially as, having paid for the festival, the concert was free. Life’s little blessings.

Lamont opened the concert by telling a story about a time when he — not yet a Christian — skipped a rock concert to go to church with his girlfriend, where he had a premonition that he would be called up front. And indeed the pastor called “the boy in the white ten rows back” up to the front and told him he would one day be a missionary, as, in a way, he now is. It was cool to hear the way God worked out his plan for Lamont’s life. And then the music started.

Ten Shekel Shirt opened with “This Story” — I think. I was walking down the hill trying to get up front, so I sort of missed the details there. But my mother liked it, which is a tough sell. They launched immediately into “Risk,” the excellent title cut from the band’s sophomore CD. As Hiebert sang lines like “To be loved and to love is what everything is all about…I’m allowed to live to make the Maker smile…” over the Snow Patrol-esque music, I realized that my iPod has been missing these guys.

Hiebert took a pause to talk about his work with Love146 and how it affected the forthcoming third effort, entitled Jubilee, and then played “Spark,” the band’s new single about forgiveness releasing us from the bondage of hatred and bitterness and the subsequent light that fills us. The lyrics about slavery and God’s intervention continued through the aggressive confrontation “It’s Slavery,” “Fragile,” an encouragement to those being exploited that it isn’t their fault and that healing is possible, and “Jubilee,” a touching and uplifting ballad about a girl rescued from child prostitution who, upon seeing a picture of Jesus, burst into tears and told her new host family that she had always wanted to be a Christian but felt too unclean because of the lifestyle forced upon her. The passion the band put into these songs was unmistakable, the music behind them is evocative, and the results were beautiful and often chilling.

After this, Ten Shekel Shirt stepped back into worship with “You Rescue,” a song thanking God for his redemptive work in our lives. They even brought out a couple of standards from Much, which was cool for me. I was hoping they wouldn’t totally ignore the CD, and they didn’t, soaring through album highlight “Ocean” and closing with “Peace With You.” Looking at the beautiful hills of New Hampshire as Hiebert sang “Something about the heavens makes me stand in awe again” was an awesome experience. We have a great God.

Here are some things that it would be good for you to do:

1. Check out Love146. Find out about what’s going on in the world. It’s the 21st century, and more people are being sold and exploited now than were at the height of African slavery. Start talking about the problems, and find out if there’s any way you can get involved.

2. Head to the band’s MySpace and check out some new songs like “Spark” and “Jubilee.” If you want more after that, look into Much, Risk, and some thirty-second clips of Jubilee.

3. Jubilee drops August 19th. Mark this one on your calendars. Ten Shekel Shirt are back, and they have some amazing stories to tell.

You guys need to check out this band from New Zealand called ALL LEFT OUT. Apparently they are on the U.S. Warped Tour right now. They have two albums up on Itunes. Levi Daniels told me to check them out.

Underoath has 10 special edition suit cases for sale for $250 each to go along with their new album release.  Seems like a pretty steep price but if you’re interested check out the details here. (absolutepunk.net)

You will be able to stream Norma Jean’s new album The Antimother from August 1st through 4th on their myspace site.  The Antimother hits stores August 5th.

Brave Saint Saturn now has a myspace page with songs from all of their albums posted. Click here for their myspace page. Their third and final album “Anti Meridian” is coming this September. For those unaware, Brave Saint Saturn features former members of Five Iron Frenzy.

I don’t see that this has been posted but let me know if it has.  You can view the video trailer for Norma Jean’s new album The Antimother right here.

I sent out a post a few weeks ago, asking for bands from readers (and people who are in bands, we have tons that visit this site, so if you are in a band, give me an e-mail, it is found at the bottom of this post).

Well, I got an e-mail about this band, and check them out: Filaedelphia

Once again, I am asking for bands, they have to be faith based and/or deemed as “Christian”. Please no bands that have broken up. I need more bands, and they do not have to be “new bands” anymore… at least suggest bands that haven’t been posted up on here in a while.

E-mail the suggestions to: ivmcontest@gmail.com

If you know of a band that fits the above criteria, and you haven’t seen them posted on here in a long time, etc. e-mail them to me, and I’ll see if I can post them up.

Trenches has officially been welcomed into the Solid State Records family! You can listen to a new song called Sacrament right here.  Their new album The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole is available in stores and online September 16th!

I have the My Epic cd in stock. I will ship them out Friday so you’ll have them on release day. Every order of My Epic “I Am Undone” gets a free My Epic Poster and sampler cd. Order here for only $10. This is definitely one of the hottest releases of 2008!

I have also received the Torque Records re-release of the band Kiros and their full length “A Single Strand”. You can buy that here. It is recommended for fans of Anberlin and Jimmy Eat World and I think you’ll all love it.

The fantastic band Amen. the Animal have a new demo up on their myspace page. Please check these guys out.

I now present to you, the Indie Vision Music Tshirt. Click the link and purchase one today. They are $12each and I have sizes Small-XXL.

Willet is a band from Maryland made up of 3 brothers whose music you can check out at their myspace site.  You can pick up a copy of their new album Virus on their website or on iTunes.  You can download their single Wineskin for free through the Lifelight Festival site right here.  (source)

Check out your favourite record label’s Facebook page and become their fan by clicking on one of them below:

Tooth & Nail
Solid State
Credential
Blood & Ink
Facedown
Gotee (group)
Forefront
IndieVisionMusic (group)

Any that I’m missing?

Click here to see Remedy Drive’s new video for their single Daylight.

Matt Wertz is heading out this September 15th with O.A.R. for a short tour.  Click below to see the upcoming tour dates.  His new album Under Summer Sun will be released this coming September 16th.  You can listen to 4 of the tracks off of the new album at Matt Wertz’s myspace site.

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These guys are some of my friends, check em out, they are one of those “up-and-coming” bands: These Hearts

Just a band, playing music, and enjoying life. Also, they posted up their own rendition of “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” as a video on their page, that was done at a Battle of the Bands back in April.

xLooking Forwardx posted a blog on their myspace to update fans on what is going on with the band. The blog goes into detail about band members starting careers outside of music and talks about the lead singer’s new baby girl. The band still wishes to do ministry in the hardcore scene but have very little time to contribute to it now. Check the blog for more details.

Check out live video of Fair in the studio now at fairforever. com!  They are online chatting while they finish up recording for their new album, so swing by and say hey!

Our weekly Lastfm Charts have been updated for the week. If you still haven’t joined our Lastfm group, please do so my clicking here. Our top 20 can be seen below.

1. The Classic Crime
2. Anberlin
3. Underoath
4. Thrice
5. Relient K
6. Emery
7. August Burns Red
8. Norma Jean
9. Showbread
10. Coldplay
11. Copeland
12. Children 18:3
13. Project 86
14. As Cities Burn
15. As I Lay Dying
16. Still Remains
17. Demon Hunter
18. Falling Up
19. Mae
20. Family Force 5

On August 26th Deas Vail will release a new EP titled White Lights.  (absolutepunk.net)

They are also spending some time in studio in Nashville “getting stuff in motion for the new album due out in January of 2009.“