Saturday, April 05, 2008

Hello Tokyo: Sell The Stars

Hello Tokyo: Sell The Stars

Hello Tokyo, a power pop group from Brooklyn, is the kind of band you can't hate. They have enthusiasm, they have the hooks, all they need are some ideas of their own.

Their debut album Sell The Stars would have been better if they hadn't overstuffed the backing tracks with unnecessary fluff. Back to basics and the garage. Turn up singer Kat and crank up the guitars for the next effort. Make it more power and less pop. The world doesn't need another No Doubt.

Tour dates:
  • 04/11 Bar Matchless - Brooklyn, NY
  • 04/16 Lit Lounge - New York, NY
  • 04/25 The Fire - Philadelphia, PA
  • 04/26 The Rock & Roll Hotel - Washington D.C.
  • 04/29 The Raven - Burlington, NC
  • 04/30 New Brookland Tavern - West Columbia, SC
  • 05/01 Smiths Old Bar - Atlanta, GA
  • 05/03 Coffeehouse - Johnson City, TN
  • 05/04 Cock & Bull English Pub - Covington, KY
  • 05/06 The Poison Room - Cincinnati, OH
  • 05/08 Brother Bean Global Coffee House - Seneca, PA
  • 05/16 Dr. Watson’s Pub - Philadelphia, PA
  • 06/07 Ulysses - New York, NY
  • 07/06 Knitting Factory - New York, NY

Sell The Stars is released on April 22nd.

Watch a video of Alert the Authority.

MP3: Hello Tokyo - Steady The Gun

» hellotokyomusic.com
» myspace.com/hellotokyo

posted @ 1:27 PM | Feedback (2)

Gov't Mule: taking care of the medical bills

Rock 'n''Roll can be hazardous to your health. Gov't Mule takes care of themselves and their crew. From the Health Blog in the Wall Street Journal:

"We found that magic combination of people that have been with us for a while, and we want them to stay," says Stefani Scamardo, who manages the band and also DJs on Sirius satellite radio. “We had an entire band and crew that have no health insurance, and that was troubling."

Big-name musicians like Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes (...) can get health insurance through their union. Even then, the coverage can be costly or available only to those who pile up enough music sales each year, a dicey proposition in an unpredictable business. Crew members, who typically get paid only during tours, often have fewer options.

Gov’t Mule’s plan is from Oxford Health Plans, a unit of UnitedHealth. The band pays all the premiums, which came to $61,507 last year, Scamardo tells the Health Blog. "You don’t budget for it — you just make the decision to do it and deal with it," she says. "It’s something that relieves a lot of stress in our organization; we all feel a lot better and sleep a lot better at night."

» More

Watch a video of Thorazine Shuffle, recorded live at the E-Werk Köln, Germany - 2005/09/06.

(Thanks: Triple-B)

posted @ 8:57 AM | Feedback (0)