SHREDnews

By: Erica Lenti

If you thought “Alligator” – the latest single from Canadian indie-rock sensations Tegan and Sara couldn’t get any catchier, think again.
The sister act have experienced a great deal of success since the release of their 2009 hit album, Sainthood. Between landing a summer tour with Grammy-nominated Paramore, and volunteering their time to charitable [...]

For a band signed to Universal, Lydia is certainly able to retain their indie-band persona. It’s a good thing too, because you won’t hear their ambient rock on the radio too often, so they might as well stay loyal to their small but devoted fanbase. They gained considerable popularity in their hometown, Gilbert, Arizona before [...]

“My Dinosaur Life” was suggested as one of the best albums of 2010 back in January when it was released and some even say the best. Motion City Soundtrack have had an amazing rebound in the music scene with this record and it shows on their recent headlining tours, first the Dino Inititave and now the tour that brought them to Rocketown in Nashville, TN on April 12th with Fun., A Rocket To The Moon, and Sing It Loud!

Residing right next to The Middle East Upstairs lays The Middle East Downstairs right in Cambridge, Mass. The two are divided by The Middle East Restaurant and completely different venues (in the same place of course). While the Upstairs has events like Throwed and have more local shows, the downstairs has mainly bigger shows with more known bands.

In Boston, it seems that many local bands are popping up all over the place. Recently, new talent has been appearing every where. Some bands have been around together longer than others and some are just starting out. Many of these bands that I have seen and met are currently attending Berklee College, which makes me wonder how many more bands this college will produce. The Alibi District is just one of the talented bands from Berklee.

Shred News editor Craig Johnson checks in with the guys from Fun. in Nashville, TN at Rocketown while they’re on Motion City Soundtracks headlining tour. He talks to them about things like how the tour is going, upcoming plans, how the response for their debut release has been, and much more!

Shred News editor Craig Johnson checks in with Ace Enders from I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business in Nashville, TN at Rocketown while they’re on Copeland’s farewell tour. He talks to him about things like how the tour is going, upcoming plans, how I Can Make A Mess will effect his other project, and much more!

Shred News editor Craig Johnson checks in with Josh James from Evergreen Terrace in Nashville, TN at Rocketown while they’re on their headlining tour. He talks to him about things like how the tour is going, their upcoming plans, funny tour stories, and much more!

March 12th, The First Congregational Church in Braintree was the place to be. Not only was it the farewell show for local fan favorite Semester Abroad, but it was also a hometown show for Nick Santino of A Rocket To The Moon! Along with those two talented acts, local main stays like Lannen Fall, The Bay State and The Blue Pages rocked the crowd along with a surprise acoustic set from Anthony of Stay! There couldn’t be a more energetic crowd anywhere else last night!

Skybox is a band of four boys from Chicago that sounds more like sunset at a carnival than Illinois’ usual pop punk offerings. Their first album, Arco Iris, was released in 2006 and after touring the country and gathering an underground following they released “Morning After Cuts” in January of 2010.

The bio on their website tells the story of the band formation as a veritable fruit salad of events (the roles played by a banana, a guava, and an avocado) but Akudama’s music sounds less like the produce section of a grocery store and more like your grandmother’s record player on the back porch in summer, if the records were chosen by that cool older cousin you’ve always looked up to.

Canadian singer/songwriter Alexz Johnson has been on a non-stop rollercoaster ride the past few years. After her hit television show Instant Star ended, she signed to Capitol Records eager to pursue a music career. When Capitol merged with Virgin Records, Alexz was dropped. Refusing to give up, she signed to Epic Records only to be dropped again. Refusing to give up, Johnson wrote all new music and recorded independently, finally finding Orange Lounge Records to distribute her new records. Over three years later, here we are with the masterpiece called Voodoo.