The Sword reschedule U.S. tour dates

I'm excited and super disappointed at the same time right now.When Austin based metal group, The Sword, announced that original drummer Trevitt Wingo was leaving the band, it was heart breaking. After catching them at ACL, their final show with Wingo, they announced he was leaving. Shortly thereafter, they found a replacement drummer.

Kevin Fender, best known for his work with the Texas hardcore outfit Employer, Employee, will be their drummer now. While I'm glad they will continue on, their new tour dates do not include any Austin gigs. Oh well, they will be back at some point. Here are the new U.S. tour dates:

Reschedule US Tour Dates:

11/27: Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
11/28: Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre
11/29: Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
11/30: Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
12/01: Roanoke, VA @ Martin's Downtown
12/02: Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
12/03: Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts
12/04: New York, NY @ Webster Hall
12/05: Boston, MA @ Royale Boston
12/06: Washington, DC @ The 9:30 Club
12/07: Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small's Theatre
12/08: Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
12/09: Huntington, WV @ V Club
12/10: Covington, KY @ The Mad Hatter
12/11: Detroit, MI @ The Shelter
12/12: Chicago, IL @ Metro
12/13: St. Louis, MO @ The Firebird
12/14: Iowa City, IA @ Blue Moose Tap House
12/15: Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar
12/16: Little Rock, AR @ Juanita's

Win a free signed CD or vinly signed by The Sword

 That's my old friend Bryan Richie from The Sword. He's holding a signed CD and vinyl of their new album, Warp Riders. He had all the members of the band sign both for me. As much as I wanted to keep them both for myself, I didn't. Instead I am giving them away on Red River Noise. After all, it is better to give than receive. To learn how you can win these, visit Red River Noise here.

New music video: 'Tres Brujas' by The Sword

Tres Brujas

The Sword | MySpace Music Videos

There is no better band on the planet right now. The new album from The Sword, Warp Riders, is out in stores today. Want a lesson in metal? Get it on vinyl. Even the Austin blogger faux-hipsters are talking about it and they never touch anything but see and be seen indie shows. That's what's up.

This record is going to be EPIC!

This will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine. It will be on vinyl and it will be mine...

The Good, Bad, and WTF! about ACL 2010 part one: The Good

So I'm sure you all saw the 2010 ACL line up announcements Tuesday. It is always a big deal when one of the major music festivals announce their upcoming line up, I get that. What I saw when looking around online yesterday was not only how excited people were, but also how disappointed they were with the headliners. I must say it caught me by surprise also to see The Eagles and Phish right there alongside Muse. I didn't see that one coming. As I looked at the rest of the line up, I couldn't help notice how the headliners were the only thing about ACL to not to live up to expectations. Let me point out what, or who rather, makes the uber expensive ACL tickets you bought worth your money. Trust me, you need to read this thoroughly and give an honest listen to the videos.

New Tour Dates for The Sword

The Sword (photo by Jack Thompson)

My favorite band of all time is and always will be Rage Against The Machine, but The Sword challenges that crown every time I listen to their music or see them live. The Austin metal Gods rocked Fun Fun Fun Fest in November and are currently working on a new album. If you were at Fun Fun Fun Fest, you heard a few of their new songs. For those of you who weren't there, don't worry. They are still epic and rock your face off. Their new stuff sounds just as good if not better than what they've done thus far. They just announced some new tour dates, which appear to be strictly regional for now. There isn't an Austin or San Antonio date, which is a real bummer, so I may be driving to Corpus, Houston or Denton for one of their shows. Here are the dates and cities:

January 23 Corpus Christi, TX House of Rock
January 24 Houston, TX Warehouse Live Studio
January 25 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
January 27 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone Café
January 28 Oklahoma City, OK Conservatory
January 29 Denton, TX Rubber Gloves

Did I mention they rocked Fun Fun Fun Fest? Here is a video someone captured in decent quality of one of their new songs entitled "Tres Brujas", which translates as "Three Witches". Check it out.



For more info about what's coming up in 2010 from The Sword, check out my interview with bassist Bryan Richie at Fun Fun Fun Fest in November 2009.

Some Saturday Fun Fun Fun Stuff with The Sword, Dead Confederate & more!

It's been a long recovery from last week's Fun Fun Fun Fest. It was the best day of the year on Saturday, then got ugly and muddy on Sunday. None the less, it still kicked major ass. How can a festival in Austin, Texas with GZA and Danzig headlining suck? It is not possible. It is has been my favorite music fest not named Pachanga. It was my first year as "press" and it was a blast! I got to meet some local headliners whom I've loved for a long time and some cool touring acts whose music I enjoy.

For coverage my friend and Double Stereo contributor, Ajay Miranda, decided to do photo-slide video podcasts a la The New York Times. It was a way for us to pump out stuff quickly with visuals and to have something to load on YouTube.

On Saturday my first interview was Dead Confederate, a Georgia alt-psych rock band who I really dig. I missed their set unfortunately, but they were entertaining during the interview and cool to just talk to around the media tent during the day. They told me their Danzig story and the reason they never put out the live video footage they advertised recently. Here's that interview:



The second interview I did on Saturday was with a member from The Sword, which as you all know is my favorite band right now. Normally I'd be more geeked out about it, but this interview was different. You see, the interview was with my old high school chum whom I have known for a while, bassist Bryan Richie. We just sat and talked and talked and talked. Bryan has always been a sharp and witty guy. he gives honest answers and some will crack you up. I felt like it was a way for me to catch up with an old friend rather than the traditional interview so to speak.

We talked so long that Ajay had to edit it in three parts in order to upload to YouTube. We start part one by taking it back to our Round Rock High School days, playing in a band with Ryan Figg who is now with The Octopus Project. Part two talks about Third Eye Blind and meeting Lars Ulrich for the first time. In part three, we talk about what is coming up for The Sword in 2010 and he tells me the name of some new tracks.

Sword fans, this is porn for your metal ears! No one but me could have given this to you. I hope to do it again with Bryan and the other members soon. I got to see thier set, and was going to come hell or high water, and it was EPIC! I can't wait for the new album. Here's the interviews:







Some other cool stuff that Saturday night at Fun Fun Fun Fest was getting to check out Ajay's interviews with indie-post rockers Red Sparowes and Russian Circles. As always in the media tent, there were plenty of opportunities for photo ops. I totally took advantage and got some cool photos. Check them out:

Me with Red Sparowes

Me with The Cool Kids

Me with Death

I have more Fun Fun Fun stuff coming soon. On Sunday is when I talked to some awesome Austin bands you should know and took some other cool pics. Thanks again to Transmission, The Austinist, Double Stereo, Ajay Miranda, and my photographers Chantel and Mari for holding it down Saturday. My good friend Sarah Vasquez also helped out big time by taking photos when the other photographers were in the field. I don't know what I'd do with her there or at all really. It was a blast and seeing Death more than anything made the whole experience for me. They were amazing and it felt like I was in a time warp before punk was even a genre. Let me know what you all think, especially Sword fans. 

The Sword added to Fun Fun Fun Fest Line Up

The Sword

www.swordofdoom.com

 Today through the magic of Facebook, I learned that the world's greatest young metal band was added to this year's Fun Fun Fun Fest Line up. That's right....Austin's own rock Gods, The Sword, will take the stage on Saturday at the black stage. Check out the Fun Fun Fun Fest website for what that means exactly.

The addition of The Sword really solidified this year's festival for me, and not just because I am the biggest fan boy on the planet. I always look forward to Fun Fun Fun Fest as it the Red River rat mecca of festivals, but this year it was missing a little something in comparison to last year. When I saw Bad Brains (even though it sucked), All, Dead Milkmen and Brownout, it kicked total ass. Even with Danzig and Jesus Lizard as the headliners, I felt Fun Fun Fun was missing a metal piece. Not anymore...good move Transmission.

For those of you who like metal and want to see the next up and coming band, be sure to check out Pack of Wolves. I have seen the guys from The Sword at some of their shows if that tells you anything. They are at where The Sword were like maybe five years ago. The first time I saw The Sword was at Room 710,may you rest in piece. Then I saw them at Emo's, then Stubb's as they embarrassed headliner Clutch. I have all the respect in the world for Clutch, but you can't play after The Sword in Austin.Only Metallica can do that, and they have as The Sword was their opener on a good leg of their world tour this year.

In case you don't have a pulse or are just plain lame, let me briefly introduce you to the world's greatest metal band and the best thing to come out of Austin since EVER. This is the video for "Maiden, Mother & Crone" off their latest album, "Gods Of The Earth":



For more info on Fun Fun Fun Fest, visit the following links:

Fun Fun Fun Fest Website

Fun Fun Fun Fest Myspace

Fun Fun Fun Fest Twitter

The Sword Rocks the Earth at Stubb's

Saturday night the rock God’s of the Earth touched down on Austin and brought us my absolute favorite metal band, The Sword. The Sword hail from Austin, so I guess this was a homecoming show for them after touring with Metallica overseas. Saturday night at Stubb’s, they opened for Clutch. They seem to be doing pretty well for themselves in the black t shirt world.

Saturday couldn’t have been a better night for The Sword. Stubb’s outdoor is the best venue to see a show in Austin…when the weather is nice that is. The last time I saw the Sword was in January at Emo’s. At that time their latest album "Gods of the Earth" was not out yet and they only performed a couple of tracks off the album. After months of listening to it since its spring release, I was more than ready for this show. I knew in January they were playing some serious next level music. At this point and from here on out, they are so far ahead of everyone else.

How Metallica and Clutch could let them open baffles me. On one hand they get to play with The Sword and help draw in new fans, putting together a better show. On the other hand, the one I consider to be the stronger hand, The Sword will one up you. Maybe it is to pass the torch and for The Sword to live out their dreams of playing with those guys. Still, playing with either of those bands is a testament to the respect they have in the metal world.

As soon as they came on, they played their Gods of the Earth album intro, making the crowd scream and throw up their metal horns. By that point it was dark outside with only the stage lights keeping them visible to the packed crowd. Their title track Gods of the Earth, the third song on their set, got the pit started. It pretty much continued throughout the rest of the set. My body was a little sore from just being in there for fifteen minutes. I know better, but that rush one gets when your face is rocked off overcomes you and you have to get that energy out in a pit.

The Sword didn’t really say much. They did introduce the band at one point, and said “this is an older one for you” before breaking into their Guitar Hero II song Freya (By the way, that is the only song I can play on expert. I can’t be touched on Freya). What else took me by surprise was that they did a Kiss cover right before that. I don’t listen to too much Kiss, so I honestly didn’t’ recognize the song. I just found it funny given that I tell people who never heard of The Sword that they came from the seventies as the demon rock child of Black Sabbath and Led Zeplin. Kiss is more of old style camaro mullet rock, but whatever.

Overall, this was the best I have ever heard The Sword play. They get better every time I see them. I become a bigger fan every time I hear them. Not since Rage Against the Machine or early Metallica (Kill Em All & And Justice For All era) have I been this excited about a band. I even started a Sword tattoo I am going to base a sleeve around.

I did not stay for Clutch Saturday. I had other obligations downtown Saturday night, but I heard from friends who stayed that they were good. I was wondering who stayed as I saw many people leave after The Sword finished. Plus, I have seen Clutch before in San Antonio at The White Rabbit a long time ago. One Clutch show was good enough for me. As for The Sword, I can’t get enough. If they come to town, I’m there. If they put out a new album, I buy the CD and the vinyl. If you don’t like metal, The Sword will change that. I know fans Saturday who were seeing them for the first time, will see them again. In case you are lame and missed the best concert this year, here is a clip of the show for you: