Detroit Mutant Radio killed it at the IMR Festival held at the end of April this year. From what I hear, they impressed just about everyone that was there. Above is simply a sample and  doesn’t do the performance justice. Head over to Detroit Mutant Radio on FaCeBOok  and give them a listen and a ‘like.’

Read more and see more (and much better) videos from DMR on beatlanta here.

Be sure to check out Indiemusicreviewer.com – hosts of the IMR Music Festival 2012

Our good friends PlanetRAWK will be hitting the road for their first nation tour opening for Outlaw Nation. The band and beatlanta are asking for your help. Here is a little bit from the band…

PlanetRAWK will be venturing out on their first national tour this May, June and July with national act Outlaw Nation and we seriously need your help. Due to the high gas prices and food we are asking all you beautiful people to help and donate whatever you can to help keep us on the road. We need assistance with gas, food, lodging and even a little promotional stuff. Donate what you can by clicking the link and helping this movement —- DONATE HERE.…

May 26th — Houston, TX @ Dan Electro’s

May 27th — Austin,TX @ Flamingo Cantina

May 28th — Dallas, TX @ 2826 Arnetic

May 29th — Monroe, LA @ TSUNAMI

May 31 — Atlanta, GA @ Smith’s Olde Bar

June 1st — Asheville, North Carolina @ Emerald Lounge

June 4th – Myrtle Beach, SC @ The Sound Hole

June 5th – Norfolk, VA @ Jewish Mother

June 6th – Geneva, OH @ The Cove

June 9th – New York, New York @ Sullivan Hall

more dates to be announced….

Click here for a FREE ALBUM DOWNLOAD from PlanetRAWK

 Watch that shit all the way through (video above)- the 2nd song starts about half way in and will blow your socks off. I’ve seen this band once before at the beatlanta house fest in July 2011 (15 band house show w/ 7 floated kegs – stay tuned for info on more house fest shows) but I was playing host somewhere and missed most of the performance. I made sure I saw them this time around and to my pleasure…they killed it. Angel the vocalist is nothing short of stunning on stage with a sassy allure that I’m sure causes guys everywhere to turn to groupie mode. She bounced around stage while the band behind her popped out dance pop melody after dance pop melody. I don’t know about you but I’m in love for sure. Cusses is a small band with a big brand, soon to be caving in dance floors in a town near you.

The band has been growing in popularity with a video even landing on MTV (not a measure we judge by but someone somewhere I’m sure – see the video here). Point being…people like Cusses and so do we, and so should you probably. Even I was surprised to hear that what is their debut album is to be released this May 26th, 2012. They’ve been able to build in popularity with live shows alone and we here at beatlanta fucking love that. They have a ton of eager fans waiting on the album and I’m sure its going to blow us away. Find out more at Cusses on FaCEbOoK. Click the pic to enlarge and read the interview…

http://www.indiemusicreviewer.com/

Check back this week for more pics and videos from the IMR Festival including videos of: Detroit Mutant Radio, Damon Moon & the Whispering Drifters, The Romans, Baby Baby, Odist, Novakord, Gun Party and Jungol.

(we hosted Moondogs for a beatlanta house show in March and they fucking brought the house down  – we highly recommend their live show)

review by David Ranew…

 The self titled EP Moondogs is the debut EP from the Atlanta trio. The EP is 5 tracks (recorded in just 10 horus) of garage rock fused with punk and a sprinkle of blues throughout. Just like their live performances Moondogs EP brings on an adrenaline rushing energy that that leaves with us with our heads still banging and feet tapping after the last song ends.

The EP has a vigorous start with Goodbye and then quickly gets a bit bluesier with Highway 41 Blues. Fueled with a steady beginning drum the track dives into familiar riffs before falling into a classic blues chorus. The EP continues its garage punk aura and maintains its blues feel with the longest song of the EP, Can’t Take My Pride. At six minutes the song takes on a journey of angst and determination. Then we get hit with nice diversion from the bluesy side of the album with Square In  A Circle. It is short and sweet with high get-up-and-go and a raging guitar solo. Get your stomp and fist pump on with this one. The last song of the album is Screws, while only comprising of a few lines of lyrics the song is a complete garage punk jam with a constant vibe of pulsating noise.

 Press Release: After departing from Victory Records in July of 2010, Chicago-based pop-punk band THE AUDITION is set to write their own history with the self-release of their brand new EP, titled Chapter II on February 14, 2011. Backed by an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign which ended up raising almost $3,000 over their goal amount and the support of their fans around the world, Chapter II sees the band heading in a fresh direction and honing their signature sound into one that demonstrates a maturity and breadth evident in their earlier releases but not fully realized until now. The first single from the album, the catchy “You Make Me Sick” premieres today on Alternative Press’ website, and can be heard HERE.

The Audition is also set to hit the road with Every Avenue and We Are the In Crowd starting February 14th and running through the end of March (tour dates below). This marks the band’s first tour of the US since 2010, ending a hiatus that left their fans longing for a return to the road. The members of The Audition are equally excited to road-test the material from their new EP after two long years off from touring.

Formed in 2003 by drummer Ryan O’Connor and bassist Joe Lussa, The Audition signed with Victory Records and released their debut album, Controversy Loves Company in September 2005. By that point, the band’s line-up had come to include guitarists Seth Johnson and Timmy Klepek as well as vocalist Danny Stevens. Their 2008 sophomore effort, Champion, cracked the Billboard Top 200 at #157, and their 2009 release, Self Titled Album hit #7 on Billboard Heatseekers. After the release of their fourth album, Great Danger, and the fulfillment of their contractual obligation with Victory, the band began to write for what would become Chapter II. The Audition see this new EP as a second chapter to the career and legacy they want to leave behind.

  You Can Purchase Tickets to the Masquerade Show Here

  Find out more about the Audition

O’Brother has been on tour with Thrice (Thrice is on their farewell tour after ten years together) and will be at the Masquerade on Sunday, May 13th. Tickets are only $18 and it will be highly worth it. Not only to see Thrice on their last tour but to see Atlanta’s own O’brother who spent last year on the road with Manchester Orchestra. I’ve been wanting to see O’brother for some time now after missing them open for their Atlanta date on that tour. I heard their album “Garden Window” and was overly impressed. Its epically dark and dips into some dilated subject matter. The layers in their music can be intense and are seriously fun to listen to VERY loudly.

Bring your good time vibe and make it out next Sunday May, 13th after you pay the ole Moms a visit. RSVP, DETAILS and TICKETS to the show. The link to another video and the album review are below…

Click here to read my album review of “Garden Window” from O’brother and see a live video

Press Release For Black Taxi: Brooklyn quartet BLACK TAXI has been generating quite the buzz lately in the indie-rock world. From their seven performances at this year’s SXSW to the release of their critically acclaimed second album, We Don’t Know Any Better in January, it seems that the band is turning heads and garnering fans everywhere they go. Following up on these successes, the band has announced a run of spring tour dates that will see them traveling down the East Coast and appearances at several festivals this spring, including WMNF‘s Tropical Heatwave Festival in Tampa, FL (full tour dates below). Additionally, the band has released a brand-new remix of their song “Friend”, off their latest album, by esteemed NYC producer Fake Money; it is available for free download via their Facebook page here: http://emailunlock.com/blacktaximusic/friend-fake-money-remix

Frontman Ezra Huleatt has teamed up with the organization Musicians On Call(http://www.musiciansoncall.org) which brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities in New York and other cities around the country. Each week they bring a volunteer musician room-to-room to play for patients in children’s facilities, oncology units, nursing homes, and other sites which allows patients, families and staff a few minutes to forget about the complexities and troubles of their illnesses and focus on something else. “I’ve been hearing about Musicians On Call for the last few years via friends who have participated in it, and I finally decided to get involved,” says Huleatt. “Healthcare and healing are things that I am passionate about and music bridges those two in a way that not all medicine can. Having worked in hospitals in Haiti and in NYC, I have seen first hand the bizarre power music has to bring life into an otherwise staid hospital room, rejuvenating patients. Music is one of those unknowns – a crazy, rugged, beautiful language that needs to be shared, particularly with those who are suffering.”

The band, and Huleatt in particular, have also signed on to collaborate on the independent film Frajíl, which tells the story of an unjustly imprisioned Haitian youth named Frajíl who was accused of killing his boss and was sentenced to life in prison despite lack of evidence or legal representation. The song “Head on a Pike” (from their debut album Things Of That Nature) will be used in the soundtrack to help tell his story. “Dan Ramirez—the filmmaker and driving force behind the Frajíl story—knew of our band through our manager, and we finally connected after he came back from a brutal trip delivering aid, post-earthquake,” explains Huleatt. “Dan initiated our collaboration because ‘Head on a Pike’ perfectly depicted the state of affairs for an unfortunate youth, Frajíl, who has been imprisoned unjustly for many years. ‘Head on a Pike’ speaks of love and truth in an Orwellian world where life is expendable, and the risks immense for any practitioners. A passion that understands death can come at any minute, but nonetheless screams its rebellion.”

Black Taxi’s 2012 full-length We Don’t Know Any Better received critical acclaim from the likes of Pop Matters, AOL Spinner,and The AV Club among many other places. The album was produced by Aaron Nevezie (The Black Keys, Dangermouse).BLACK TAXI is Ezra Huleatt (vocals/keys/trumpet), Bill Mayo (guitar/vocals), Krisana Soponpong (bass), and Jason Holmes(drums/vocals).

RSVP and DETAILS

Featured here you’ll find music videos and live videos of many of the great bands playing the IMR Festival next weekend. Take a look, come back and take another look. You can find details on tickets and the festival HERE. . Enjoy…

Jack of Hearts – Official Music Video

Jack of Hearts from Branden Collins on Vimeo.

Baby Baby – “Kidz” Official Music Video

Fine Peduncle at the Beatlanta House October 2011
(watch it all the way through, it gets really good about half way)

The Romans – “Promo Teaser”

Gun Party – “Possessions” Official Music Video

Detroit Mutant Radio at the Hard Rock Cafe in Atlanta, GA

Prisca – “Twenty One” Official Music Video

Paper Dress – “Freedom must be coming Soon”

Trances Arc – “Birds Collide”

Swank Sinatra at the Beatlanta House Fest 2011

NovaKord – “15 Step” (Radiohead Cover)

Odist – “Illusions of Separateness?”

Besides Daniel – “Learn How To Fight?”

Damon Moon & The Whispering Drifters – “Loose Ends”

Jungol 05 – “Places” | WSBF & CTV Live Sessions

  imrmusicfestival.com/

Ron Pope on FAcEBooK

Ron Pope lives in NY but he’s from the Atlanta area. He writes and sings songs. He’s a singer songwriter; currently blowing up a town near you. We had the pleasure to ask him a few questions about his writing, latest album and the show coming up this Saturday at Vinyl in Midtown Atlanta. Check the video above and come back soon for beatlanta’s review of Ron Pope’s latest album “Atlanta.”

Here is the interview:

B: What kind of music do you make (in your own words)?

It’s a little bit of a lot of things that I love, all mixed together to make something that is unique. On my new album “Atlanta” there are rootsy elements and crazy, adventurous sonic elements blended together.

B: What made you want to name your new album “Atlanta?”

I felt that the song “Atlanta” was the clearest representation of what I wanted the album to feel like. The writing and production on that song is exactly what I hoped this album would feel like. 

B: How long has it been since you left the Atlanta area?

I left after I graduated high school. (Wheeler High School, Class of 2001)

B: What do you miss most about Atlanta? Is that portrayed in your album?

I miss so many things about Georgia that it would be impossible to pick just one. Some of my close friends are still down there, so I miss them, of course. Even though I moved away from Atlanta such a long time ago, it still feels like home to me, and I think that comes across in a lot of my work. Regardless of where I lay my head, my heart lives in the South.

B: One thing I noticed upon hearing “Atlanta” is your ability to capture a moment and turn it into a emotional song…you’re a great storyteller. What do you think is key in being able to capture that moment and create a track that is relatable to your fans.

Honestly, I have no idea why people react to the songs or why they make sense to other people. I’m doing my best to be honest; maybe that’s what people like about it? I really don’t know. I’m just trying to write songs that I like…I never know if other people will enjoy them or not until a bunch of people hear them and tell me their opinions.   

B:  What experience do you hope folks get out of a Ron Pope show/album?

I’m hoping to create a community with my music. I want people to feel less alone when they hear these songs. I’m trying to convey the idea that most human experiences are universal. We all experience hope, love, loss, faith, despair, longing, joy, desire…I hope that when people hear my music, they feel connected to the songs. And at the show, I want you to get down…I’m doing my best to burn the house down every single night.

B: Anything you want folks to know about your show in Atlanta this Saturday?

I think that it’s hard to understand what a musician is about unless you see them live. Come to my show and have a good time with the boys and me; hopefully, it’ll help you see my music in a new light.
Get Tickets to the show on Saturday here

Lotus Quadrant on FaCeBOoK