THE STARTING LINE DECIDE TO TAKE A HIATUS

At 4:30pm est today, (3/6/08), The Starting Line held an online press conference on AbsolutePunk.net.  Below is the announcement the band made:

From all the east coast to west coast states
I want to feel the warmth from the buzz that I create
But I’m really not too sure
If it’s ever gonna happen
But I know that I’m not too concerned

Imagine getting your first job when you were 15 years old and doing that exact same job for the rest of your life. Even if it’s the dream job that most people would kill for, eventually you need to stop for a minute and see what else is out there.

This is one of the most difficult decisions we’ve had to make but after eight years of nonstop touring and recording The Starting Line will be taking a break after their headline tour with Bayside, Four Year Strong and Steel Train (March 18 - April 20) and the college shows following the tour. This break does NOT mean the band is breaking up or going on hiatus it just means were going to stop for a little while and focus on other things in our lives besides The Starting Line. This break may last a year, two years or a few months, as of right now we don’t know. We’re talking to some friends about doing a quick tour to South America as well as options to tour Europe, Japan and Australia again and we’re not ruling them out. We just aren’t going to be doing any full time touring or recording as The Starting Line for a while.

We’ve had our ups and downs with countless record labels (We The People, Drive-Thru, MCA, Geffen, Virgin and finally The Capitol Music Group) over the years and every time we thought we had the right team a label president would be fired, or our label would be taken over by a new company. At each of these places there were people who loved us and would do anything for us and others (usually the ones making the financial decisions) that just didn’t give a shit about our band and after going through this for such a long time we need to take a step back and figure out what’s next for The Starting Line.

Before we go we have one last tour to say goodbye to everyone and we’re working with our friends at pickRset to make this best tour ever. Head over to http://pickrset.com/bands/thestartingline/ and pick the songs you want to hear on this tour and we will do our best to play as many of them each night on the tour.

This is not an end but a new beginning, to celebrate this new beginning we have a some exciting news to share with everyone. Sometime this summer or early fall we plan to finally release the unreleased record that we recorded for We The People Records. We are also talking about putting together a DVD to go with the record that will chronicle the Drive Thru years. We have tons of tapes to find and dig through and interviews to do with everyone to properly document that part of our lives but we think we can have it ready by the summer.

Everyone in the band will still be busy so you won’t be able to get rid of us that easily.

Kenny just finished recording the debut record for his band Person L, expect to see a release plan and tour announced soon, rumor has it he may even make an appearance at this year’s Bonnaroo. You will also get to see the most recent addition to the Starting Line, Brian Schmutz in Person L’s touring band. If you want to check out some tunes from the L peep http://www.myspace.com/personl

Matt and Tom have been working on a new project with some friends, called The Seventy Six, and just happened to put up a myspace page today with some songs and videos. The sound of the band may come as a shock to some of you, in the best possible way. Please show your love and support and check it out. www.myspace.com/theseventysix They have some big plans in the works and plan on announcing them as soon as they can.

Mike and one of his close friends will be starting a company that we will tell you all about once all the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed. Of course he has a band he’s going to be jamming with as well and when we have more to report on that we’ll let you know. Most importantly Mike will be making up some lost time with his beautiful daughters. He’s missed many a milestone and is looking forward to some much needed bonding time with his little girls.

Announcements like this are so hard for everyone, especially the band, and we want to make sure we didn’t leave out any information, so we’re going to stick around for the next hour or so and answer as many questions as possible. 

We’ve invited many of our friends who have worked with us over the years to post in this conversation too because after many years working together some of them are just as much a part of The Starting Line as we are. Here is a list of some of the people we invited to join us here today.

Randy Nichols (manager), Steve Tamburello (tour manager), Shawn Corrigan (guitar tech), Matt Geyer (merch guy and assistant to manager), Matt Gray (drum tech), Melissa Sabo (old school fan, ex MCA and managers assistant), Richard, Stefanie, Kristine, Josh, John and Kim (Drive Thru past and present), Dave Stein (lawyer), Paul Orescan, (Geffen Records), Evan Peters (Geffen) Lexi Ben-Meir (Geffen), Christine Wolf (Geffen), Mike Mc Koy (lawyer), Tim’Oheir, Howard Benson, David Wolter (Virgin), Bill Carroll (Virgin), Howard Petruziello (Virgin), Heidi Anne-Noel (Virgin), Jon Nelson (Sony/ATV) Charlie Adams (We The People), Ron O (booking agent), Geoff Meall (UK agent) Jason Tate (AP.net).

We’ve invited others too and hopefully they will all join us to talk about TSL, past, present and future.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last eight years and see you all this spring and don’t forget to go to http://pickrset.com/bands/thestartingline/ to pick what you would like to hear and buy tickets to the tour.

Matt, Tom, Mike, Kenny and Brian
This is no attempt
To abandon anyone
It is the influence of the music we love

BLUE NOTE RECORDS PRESENTS DIANNE REEVES

On April 15, four-time Grammy-winner DIANNE REEVES returns with WHEN YOU KNOW, her first Blue Note album of new material in five years, and her first recording since she provided the award-winning soundtrack to the 2005 film Good Night, And Good Luck.

WHEN YOU KNOW is a collection of songs that celebrate the different phases of love in a woman’s life, from the naive love of The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination” to the more experienced love of Cy Coleman’s “I’m In Love Again.”

TMBG MANIA GRIPS THE NATION!

New record, new tour spark Giant Fever across America!

They Might Be Giants’ latest disc, Here Come The 123s, is dominating  the charts! The CD/DVD set debuted in the top ten on Billboard, and at  number one on Amazon where it still currently resides weeks later.  Sales have been so strong it has buoyed their precious kid’s effort, Here  Come the ABCs, back up the chart where it is now number two! This puts them ahead of kids’ media beheamonths Hannah Montana and Kidz Bop!

TMBG is on a new leg of their 90 city nation-wide tour, out in support of both the new album and their critically acclaimed “The Else,” produced by the Dust Bros.  The band has been playing sold out shows for 14+  crowds across the Midwest last week, and are on to Florida and Texas.

Two special kids shows have been added: Portsmouth, NH on 3/29, and New York, NY on 4/20. Check below for full list of dates.

Finally, TMBGs Friday Night Video Podcast for Families (we know it’s  too long a title!) is turning into a national favorite, routinely popping  up in the top ten on iTunes’ music podcast chart with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. The podcast is free, and features brand new videos every week. It’s hosted by the John and John puppets (seen above celebrating President’s Day).  

This is the link. it’s one click away!
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=268647482

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS TOUR DATES
All shows 14+ except Portsmouth and New York

03/04:   Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
03/05:   Austin, TX @ Stubb?s
03/06:   Houston, TX @ Meridian
03/07:   New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
03/08:   Jackson, MS @ Hal & Mal?s
0309:    Birmingham, AL @ Workplay
03/11:   Tampa, FL @ Jannus Landing
03/12:   Fort Lauderdale, F L@ Revolution
03/13:   Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
03/14:   Jacksonville, FL @ Free Bird Live
03/15:   SOLD OUT Atlanta, GA @Variety Playhouse. Second show added at 5:30
03/16:   Charlottesville, VA @ Satellite
03/28:   SOLD OUT Boston, MA @ Somerville Theatre
03/29:   Portsmouth, NH @ The Music Hall (Family show 2pm, Adults 8pm)
03/30:   Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
04/20:   New York, NY @ Town Hall (2 family shows, 1 PM and 4:30 PM)

PLIES SET TO RELEASE SOPHOMORE ALBUM

Big Gates/Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic recording artist Plies has announced early details of his hugely anticipated new album, entitled “DEFINITION OF REAL.” 

The collection – which features the buzz track, “Bust It Baby, Pt. 1,” and his first official single, “Bust It Baby, Pt. 2” – arrives in stores and at online retailers on June 24th.

“Bust It Baby, Pt. 1” is already stirring things up at radio and throughout the hip-hop underground.  This week, the Ft. Myers, Florida-bred rapper personally presented “Bust It Baby, Pt. 2,” the second installment of the double single – featuring a special guest appearance from Ne-Yo – to radio stations across his homestate of Florida.

“DEFINITION OF REAL” arrives hot on the heels of Plies’ 2007 debut, “THE REAL TESTAMENT,” which has received RIAA gold certification.  The album – featuring the blockbuster hit singles, “Shawty (Feat. T-Pain)” and “Hypnotized (Feat. Akon)” – entered the Billboard 200 at #2 upon its release last summer and continues to run strong, coming in this week at #10 on Billboard’s “Top Rap Albums” ranking.  In addition, “THE REAL TESTAMENT” has spawned a series of blockbuster ringtones, with a minimum of five tracks from the album present on Nielsen Ringscan’s “Top 200 Mastertones” chart for the last 23 consecutive weeks.

Plies is currently featured on the cover of Don Diva Magazine, heralding their partnership on the upcoming “Plies/Don Diva Prison Tour.”  Further details of Plies’ historic pairing with the “Original Street Bible” will be announced shortly.

In other news, Big Gates Records – the label co-owned by Plies with his brother, Big Gates – recently signed its first new artist, marking the rapper’s entry into the music industry’s executive class.  An official announcement unveiling Plies’ new protégé will be made in the coming weeks.

For up-to-the-minute news and information, visit http://www.pliesworld.com/ or www.myspace.com/plies.

TRISTAN PRETTYMAN UNVEILS NEW VIDEO “MADLY”

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Tristan Prettyman has started her tour along with G. Love & Special Sauce in support of her new album entitled Hello. The album will be released April 15, 2008, on Virgin Records and is an appealing portrait of this freewheeling San Diego, CA, native as she narrates stories about her life, loves, and heartbreaks. “I really wanted the album to be a reflection of me,” Prettyman says. “If someone were to say, ‘Tell me about yourself,’ I would just hand them a copy of Hello and say, ‘Here, this is everything you need to know.’”

Now with Hello, Prettyman says she’s “stepped it up a notch,” chalking up the artistic leap between twentythree and Hello to the confidence that comes from incessant touring (”we were able to record pretty much everything live because I had toured for so long”) and just the passage of time. “I have grown so much in the last two years,” she says. “I’ve gone through so many changes and I think the album definitely reflects that. It’s more grown-up, and it just feels legit. I’ve never been more excited about anything in my life as I am with this record. It is so me.” [Tristan’s songs are] “salted with a bluesy defiance and her own throaty whisper, making these crank-up-the-volume choruses on songs like “Madly” all the tastier.” - Marie Claire.

VIDEO: “Madly”
Madly (Windows Media)
Madly (Quicktime)

HEADLINE TOUR:
March 19 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern
March 20 Los Angeles, CA Roxy Theatre
March 21 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House
March 22 San Francisco, CA Café du Nord
March 24 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
March 25 Seattle, WA Chop Suey
March 28 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
March 29 Aspen, CO Belly Up Tavern
March 30 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
April 1 Ames, IA Maintenance Shop
April 3 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
April 4 Chicago, IL Back Porch Stage @ House Of Blues
April 5 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues - Cambridge Room
April 7 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
April 9 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
April 10 New York, NY Blender Theatre @ Gramercy
April 11 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
April 12 Arlington, VA IOTA Club & Café
April 15 Nashville, TN 3rd & Lindsley
April 17 Orlando, FL The Social
April 18 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits
April 19 Decatur, GA Eddie’s Attic
April 20 Decatur, GA Eddie’s Attic
April 22 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay Theater
April 24 New Orleans, LA The Parish
April 25 Houston, TX Meridien Small Room
April 26 Austin, TX Stubb’s Indoors
April 27 Dallas, TX House Of Blues - Cambridge Room

Tracklisting:
1. Hello
2. Echo
3. California Girl
4. Madly Madly
5. Blindfold
6. Handshake Agreement
7. War Outta Peace
8. You Got Me
9. Don’t Work Yourself Up
10. Just a Little Bit
11. Interview with Who
12. In Bloom

http://www.tristanprettyman.com/
http://www.myspace.com/tristanprettyman

SKOPE MAGAZINE AT SXSW 2008

Skope has teamed up with our PR firm, Meow Poww Media to throw a party of our own at SXSW. This party is going to be awesome and we are giving away drinks, tattoo giveaways, and the show is free. See you in Austin, TX!

For more info email: skopepr@Skopemagazine.com

DENTYNE AND BEN’S BROTHER INVITE FANS TO TAKE MUSIC TRIVIA QUIZ

Dentyne Ice “Frog Kiss” Prime Time Ad Campaign Featuring Ben’s Brother’s “Kiss Me Again” Currently Airing

Do you know who provided the inspiration for The Knack’s 1979 smash-hit “My Sharona”? Or which hair-metal band wasn’t “fooling around” with its 1983 hit single?  Can you name the artist that’s “bad to the bone”? Relentless Records/Capitol Music Group recording artist Ben’s Brother and Dentyne are asking fans to take a music trivia quiz to test their music knowledge.

Last September, Dentyne tapped Ben’s Brother’s hit single, “Kiss Me Again,” for its use in the much-talked-about Dentyne Ice “Frog Kiss” television commercial. The single has had remarkable digital sales success fueled largely by the commercial, which is currently airing during popular network primetime shows such as “American Idol,” “Lost,” “Gossip Girl,” “Lipstick Jungle,” “America’s Next Top Model” and  “One Tree Hill,” among others. You can check it out here:

Following the massive response to the advertising campaign, Dentyne and Ben’s Brother decided to further develop their relationship through an online campaign focused on a flyaway contest, free downloads and a music quiz.

Just for hanging out on the site, Dentyne is offering up the tracks “Kiss Me Again” and another fan favorite, “Let Me Out,” as free downloads via iTunes. In addition to testing their music knowledge and scoring free music, fans could enter to win a chance to see Ben’s Brother perform in Austin, TX at the Levi’s Fader House. Sponsored by Dentyne, the contest has garnered more than 8,000 entries. The winner and a guest will receive an all access pass to the SXSW music festival, airfare, hotel accommodations, VIP treatment at the Levi’s Fader House - and they get to meet the band!

The quiz, contest and free downloads are all part of a unique, multi-platform “widget,” which functions on Facebook, MySpace and other social networking pages, giving fans the opportunity to share it with friends and even grab it for their own homepages. Fans can grab it here:

http://www.bensbrotherdentyne.com/

Ben’s Brother will join with label mates A Fine Frenzy and Ferras for a string of West Coast shows next week (see below for details), then head to Austin, TX for the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film and Music Festival, where they’ll perform at Smokin’ Music on March 12th and at the Levi’s Fader House on March 13th. Past performances at Fader House have included Amy Winehouse, Ghostface, Feist and The Fratellis.

Growing up in London, singer Jamie Hartman was known as Ben’s brother - Ben being his cricket-star elder brother. But that all changed with the December 2007 release of Ben’s Brother’s full-length debut, Beta Male Fairytales. Jamie and his band mates - Kiris Houston (keyboards/guitar), Dan McKinna (bass), Dave Hattee (drums) and Tim Vanderkuil (guitar) - have received rave reviews for the album, which includes “Kiss Me Again” plus a dozen other equally irresistible compositions ranging from the old school soul of the anthemic “Rise” to gloriously vulnerable ballads such as “Let Me Out” (which was tapped for the Thanksgiving episode of the hit ABC series “Grey’s Anatomy”). “Hartman…knows his way around a beautiful chord progression and an emotive lyric,” said London’s Sunday Times, going on to describe the band’s songs as “immaculately rough-hewn.”

Ben’s Brother - West Coast Tour Dates

3/4     San Francisco, CA               Café Du Nord
3/6     Portland, OR                    Doug Fir Lounge
3/7     Seattle, WA                     The High Dive
3/8     Vancouver, BC           Media Club
3/12    Austin, TX                      Smokin’Music (SXSW - midnight)
3/13    Austin, TX                      The Fader House (SXSW - 1:30pm)
3/14    Austin, TX                      The Four Season’s Lawn (SXSW - 1:15pm)

http://www.bensbrother.com/

http://www.myspace.com/bensbrothermusic

DUFFY SINGLE “MERCY” 4th WEEK AT #1 IN UK

ROCKFERRY DEBUT ALBUM IN-STORE IN UK SHIPPING OVER PLATINUM IN 1ST WEEK! U.S. RELEASE SET FOR MAY 13th ON NEW MERCURY RECORDS LABEL!

Young Welsh singer Duffy, whose debut album ROCKFERRY arrived in stores today in the UK only (already platinum), has captivated the nation with her current single “Mercy” now in its third week at #1 in the UK national chart. Amazingly, this was based on download sales only (which rose 33% in week two) as the physical single wasn’t issued there until last week. The song is also #1 on the airplay chart for the fourth week running and #1 on both Radio 1 and Radio 2 netting the biggest weekly audience of any record in the UK so far this year with spins with an audience of 77 million.

“The year’s brightest new talent,” raves Q magazine in England, “the pocket-sized Welsh girl with the voice of a ’60s soul diva.” Los Angeles-based media pundit and tastemaker Bob Lefsetz (The Lefsetz Letter) also caught on early: “[”Mercy”] is something completely different,” he posted online last month. “It sounds like it was cut in America in the midsixties, before the country had become completely infatuated with the U.K., before FM took over from AM. It sounds like a 45 you spun in the basement with the lights low as you inched your spiked shoes and sweater-encased chest up to the opposite sex, copping a cheap feel.”

ROCKFERRY was recorded in England with ex-Suede guitarist turned record producer Bernard Butler, Jimmy Hogarth and Steve Booker. Excerpts of “Mercy” and two other songs, “Rockferry” (the first UK single) and “Warwick Avenue,” are sampled on http://www.myspace.com/duffymyspace.

Guileless and beguiling at the same time, and blessed with effortless Motown and Stax chops, 23-year old Duffy’s homegrown style has taken her homeland by storm. From out of nowhere, she was tipped for success by 150 of the UK’s most knowledgeable and influential music critics and broadcasters, landing the number 2 spot in the BBC’s Top 10 Sound of 2008 poll. Journalists have unanimously compared her to the greatest British female pop singer who ever lived - as The Standard proclaimed, “Her once-heard-never-forgotten voice incorporates the aristocratic pain of Dusty Springfield.” Tastemakers on this side of the pond second that emotion - the Los Angeles Times calls Duffy “[the] female Otis Redding”; while SPIN magazine included her in its “One to Watch” issue (February).

From out of nowhere, Duffy has blown away London’s hype-driven music machinery like a gust of fresh air. She was born and raised in the tiny Welsh village of Nefyn (population 2,550 at last census) a place too remote to be driven by style wars or opposing music factions; the nearest record store was a bus ride away and only stocked the Top 40. Isolated, her musical muse was immaculately conceived and soulfully nurtured. Opting out of college, she worked as a waitress, sang in a bar, and cobbled out some demo recordings, some of which found their way to Jeanette Lee, noted founder and partner of the Rough Trade record label and manage-ment company. She recognized Duffy’s huge potential, encouraged her to write her own material, put her in the studio with like-minded co-writers/producers, and signed her to A&M/Polydor UK.

http://www.iamduffy.com
http://www.myspace.com/duffymyspace

KATY PERRY WILL RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM ON CAPITOL MUSIC GROUP

Capitol Music Group has already released a digital EP from pop-rock songstress Katy Perry — entitled Ur So Gay — through iTunes and other online retailers. The Ur So Gay EP includes the title track, a hilarious kiss-off to an ex- boyfriend; a club remix of the song by DJ/producer Junior Sanchez (Madonna, Shakira); “Use Your Love” (new version of The Outfield’s hit single “Your Love”); and “Lost,” an honest, searching ballad that shows a more vulnerable side of this talented, multi-dimensional artist who, though she’s only 22, has been writing songs, playing guitar, and performing for several years.

Check out “Ur So Gay”
Ur So Gay (Explicit)
Ur So Gay (Clean)

The video for “Ur So Gay” will be premiering on MySpace on Thursday, March 13th

The middle child of two pastors, Perry grew up listening to gospel music and singing at church in Santa Barbara, CA, but “the heavens opened my eyes w1hen I stumbled upon a Queen record and I was forever saved,” she says with a laugh. “Their musicality and lyrics were so flamboyant and fun and cheeky, I’d never heard anything like it before. I think I draw from wanting to be Freddie Mercury.”

Indeed, Perry’s theatrical flair and irrepressible sense of humor come through loud and clear on Ur So Gay, which is just a taste of what the public can expect when Perry releases her debut full-length album in Spring 2008. Working with an array of noted producers, including Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette, No Doubt), Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dr. Luke (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne), Butch Walker (Pink, the Donnas), and Greg Wells (Mika, Natasha Bedingfield, Rufus Wainwright), Perry delivers her feisty, confessional songs with the confidence of a veteran storyteller. “Every single one of my songs is drawn 100 percent directly from my life” she says.

To get to know music’s new “It” girl, please visit her official website http://www.katyperry.com or MySpace page http://www.myspace.com.katyperry