Icon vs. Icon

Gabba gabba hey! Two hugely popular Roger Corman rock films that have long been out of print will hit the home-entertainment shelves on May 4, 2010: the Rock ’N’ Roll High School 30th Anniversary Special Edition DVD and Suburbia Collector’s Edition DVD, the first two titles launching the highly anticipated Roger Corman’s Cult Classics home entertainment series from Shout! Factory. Newly remastered and available for the first time in Anamorphic widescreen (16:9), Rock ’N’ Roll High School Special Edition and Suburbia Collector’s Edition provide the outrageous candor of teenage angst and nostalgic reverie of a counterculture rock movement that captured the hearts of many generations. With explosive musical performances from the Ramones, T.S.O.L., The Vandals and D.I., and extensive bonus content including all-new interviews and commentary with cast and crew, rare behind-the-scenes footage and much more, these two definitive home entertainment releases from Shout’s Roger Corman’s Cult Classics line are a must-have for Roger Corman fans and film aficionados as well as anyone who remains young at heart. Each DVD title is sold separately and has a suggested retail price of $19.93.

Executive produced by Corman and directed by Allan Arkush (Heroes), Rock ’N’ Roll High School boasts performances by the Ramones and stars P.J. Soles (Halloween) in the lead role of Riff Randell, Vince Van Patten (Hell Night), Clint Howard (Grand Theft Auto), Dey Young (Spaceballs), Mary Woronov (Death Race 2000), Dick Miller (Piranha) and Paul Bartel (Hollywood Boulevard).

Based on Arkush’s own high school fantasy, the 1979 cult film takes place at Vince Lombardi High School — the wildest, most rockin’ high school around! That is, until a thug of a principal, Miss Togar, comes along and tries to make the school a totalitarian state. With the help of the Ramones, the students of Vince Lombardi battle Miss Togar’s iron-fisted rule and take their battle to a truly rockin’ conclusion!

Rock ’N’ Roll High School quickly developed a devoted following after its release in 1979 and became a mainstay of the midnight movie cult circuit. As with films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, audience members began to dress up like the cast and the Ramones for screenings.

Arkush, a self-described “unabashed rock ’n’ roll fanatic,” chose the Ramones to star as the film’s musical heroes, as he felt they epitomized pure rock ’n’ roll. As Arkush remembers, “We staged a live, marathon show at the Roxy Theatre that consisted of 22 hours of nonstop Ramones,” and the tireless quartet also wrote two songs for the film: “I Want You Around” and “Rock ’N’ Roll School.” The Ramones were fans of Corman as well. Johnny Ramone said in an interview at the time, “When we found out Roger Corman was behind the picture, we said, sure, we’ll do it because we knew he had a reputation and we knew he made good movies.”

ROCK ’N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL 30th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION
EXTENSIVE SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:

• New Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (1.85:1)
• Special Introduction And “Thank You” From Director Allan Arkush
• Audio Commentary With Director Allan Arkush, Producer Mike Finnell And
• Screenwriter Richard Whitley
• Audio Commentary With Roger Corman And Dey Young
• New Audio Commentary With Director Allan Arkush, P.J. Soles And Clint
• Howard
• Back To School: A Retrospective Including All-New Interviews With Allan Arkush, Roger Corman, Joe Dante, Dey Young, Marky Ramone And More . . .
• Staying After Class: A Roundtable Interview With P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten And Dey Young
• Interview With Roger Corman Conducted By Leonard Maltin
• New Interview With Director Allan Arkush Including A Look At Rare, Behind-The-Scenes Stills From His Personal Collection
• Audio Outtakes From The Roxy – Audio Recording Of The Ramones Shooting
• The Final Scene
• Original Radio Ads And TV Spots
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Original Theatrical Trailer With Commentary By writer/director/actor Eli Roth Courtesy Of Trailers from Hell.
• Additional Roger Corman Trailers
• And more TBA!

Written and directed by Penelope Spheeris (Wayne’s World), featuring live performances by T.S.O.L., The Vandals and D.I., and starring Bill Coyne, Chris Pederson, Jennifer Clay and Christina Beck, 1984’s Suburbia deftly explores the punk rock generation and follows the unforgettable journey of two teenage boys who escape their unhappy home and join a group of runaways, punks who have banded together to form their own family. Dubbing themselves “The Rejected,” (aka T.R.), the teens have taken squatters’ rights in a filthy, abandoned house, and are bound together by tragedy and punk rock until they’re confronted by the “Citizens Against Crime,” a group of irascible adults from the suburbs who blame the punks for the ruin of their town. During the course of filming, the production used real kids for many parts in addition to professional actors (and includes the acting debut of Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea).

SUBURBIA COLLECTOR’S EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE:

• New Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer (1.85:1)
• Audio Commentary With Director Penelope Spheeris
• New Audio Commentary
• Theatrical Trailers

Following the release of the Rock ’N’ Roll High School 30th Anniversary DVD and Suburbia Collector’s Edition DVD, Shout! Factory will continue to present Roger Corman’s Cult Classics home entertainment releases on a monthly basis. Upcoming highlights include Death Race 2000, Battletruck (aka Warlords Of The 21st Century), Deathsport, Forbidden World, Galaxy Of Terror, Attack Of The Crab Monster, Not Of This Earth (1957), Piranha and Humanoids From The Deep, among others.

Independent filmmaker-producer Roger Corman’s storied career ranks as one of Hollywood’s most amazing success stories. Having produced more than 350 films and directed 50 others, his influence on American film goes far beyond his own energetic, creative low-budget movies. He is arguably one of Hollywood’s most gifted and masterful filmmakers.

Noted for his keen ability to spot young talent, Corman’s most lasting legacy will undoubtedly be the legion of producers, directors, writers and actors he has fostered, among them: Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Ron Howard, Peter Fonda, Jonathan Demme, Gale Anne Hurd, Diane Ladd, Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Bruce Dern, Talia Shire, Charles Bronson, Joe Dante, Peter Bogdanovich and Sally Kirkland.

Odeon Entertainment and MVD Visual are proud to announce the release of Sid! – By Those Who Really Knew Him on November 17th in North America.

This package, the first intimate full-length 80 minute documentary on Sid’s life, marks 30 years since his death from a heroin overdose (he was just 21 years old). Many of those closest to Sid speak for the very first time about this true punk icon who burned out, but never sold out.

This brand new documentary, in association with ITN Archive, charts the fall and rise of Sid Vicious from punk’s hero to society’s cultural icon of the twentieth century.

Sid’s short and controversial life is profiled with interviews from Jah Wobble (childhood friend, founder PIL), Steve Severin (Siouxsie and the Banshees), David Vanian (The Damned), Malcolm McLaren (Sex Pistols Manager), Viv Albertine (Flatmate, The Slits), Ron Watts (100 Club), Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), Rat Scabies (The Damned), Caroline Coon (Writer and Artist), Vivienne Westwood (Sex Designer), Marco Pirroni (Adam & The Ants), John Tiberi (Sex Pistols Tour Manager), and many more of Sid’s close friends.

Featuring previously unseen archive footage and filmed in HD, this new documentary provides the most definitive and intimate life story of the punk hero who truly lived his life with chaos and anarchy. Fuelled with a soundtrack of Sid’s own music, this is the faithful telling of Sid’s life story by those who really knew him.

In addition to the DVD documentary, this special collector’s edition includes a 10 track CD of Sid live in New York’s, and a biography booklet profile by best-selling music author Mark Paytress.

You can order ‘Sid! – By Those Who Really Knew Him’ at this location >

POWERMAN 5000 has new music in the works and are hard at work on a new release for 2009. They have now revealed the cover art for the name album, which is titled ‘Somewhere On The Other Side of Nowhere.’ The album hits stores on October 6th, 2009.

In a recent interview Spider commented:

“We made this record with a clear vision and a purpose. We wanted to reclaim a sound we created and represent certain influences as only a band like Powerman 5000 can. While writing we would watch Godzilla or Ultraman films to ensure the sonics were on point. We knew that this record needed to sound like the footsteps of a giant robot!”

The album will be available on i tunes and all digital outlets as well as in CD format with a 12 page booklet.

Swing on by Powerman 5000′s Official Myspace Page to check out a medley of the songs “Super Villain”, “V Is For Vampire” and “Horror Show.”

Rise Against has premiered the new video for “Hero of War” on Myspace and has issued the following is a message:

We’ve just completed our new video for the song “Hero Of War” off of our record, Appeal To Reason. “Hero Of War” is the story of one soldier, not all soldiers, as he battles not just the war around him, but the war that rages within. Inspired by true events, we were given the choice to either document the tribulations of these times as they unfold around us, or ignore them. To ignore these problems, in our opinion, is letting down the brave men and women who risk everything. “Hero Of War” is our attempt to lift the stigma that surrounds everything from the skyrocketing suicide rate of troops, torture, internal sexual abuse, an under-funded VA, and the growing number of military personnel fighting Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as they return home. We hope this song and this video help the simmering dialogue about these problems evolve into a rolling boil.

-Rise Against

“The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naive and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who loves his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.”- H.L. Mencken

SUPPORT THE TROOPS: END THE WAR

More About Rise Against…
You can’t force artistry. True musical creations are typically launched via pure inspiration or serendipitous moments and ideas that are often baked to perfection through sheer work and dedication. Still, many musical artists have opted to churn out songs with a cookie-cutter, assembly line mentality, cramming albums with formulaic songwriting, by-the-book tolerances and the kind of bullish one-upmanship that’s more commonly seen in a corporate — and definitely not creative — environment.

But, as frontman Tim McIlrath confirms, there is no preset framework for the Chicago-based melodic hardcore band that refuses to adhere to any established norm in the music industry. McIlrath says the foursome —bassist Joe Principe, drummer Brandon Barnes and guitarist Zach Blair — simply engage in their album making activity without over thinking and precisely planning every step, and that includes the band’s latest release, Appeal to Reason.

“We took the same approach to this record as we’ve done to our previous records, which is actually a lack of approach,” McIlrath says. “There’s no approach. It’s just show up and let’s play. There’s no plan, we don’t map it out, we don’t decide on a direction. We just kind of let it happen real naturally. That’s how it happened.”

“We don’t have a set formula,” Principe concurs, “but what we do have is writing constantly while we’re touring. Any idea we have, we’ll try it. We don’t want to limit ourselves.”

But looking back at the career of Rise Against, one can see that the band’s reach also grew organically from its roots in the national underground punk scene to a phenomenon that has touched the lives of millions of listeners across the world — nothing was charted nor prescribed. With equal doses of perseverance, conviction, artistry and commitment, Rise Against rose from the local Chicago scene through its earliest independent releases, The Unraveling (2001) and Revolutions Per Minute (2003). After landing the opening slot on high-profile national tours and joining the Vans Warped Tour roster, the profile of Rise Against sharply rose outside of the occasionally insular underground.

In 2004, the band released its breakthrough, Siren Song of the Counter Culture to an amazingly receptive response, with sales rocketing near Gold status. With nearly a year of consistent touring and promotion to reach both potential listeners and its longtime fans, the band’s singles “Give It All” and the introspective “Swing Life Away” captured the hearts and honest minds of audiences via alternative rock radio stations across the country. The follow-up, 2006’s The Sufferer and the Witness followed a similar path of success, with its engaging lead single “Ready to Fall” spun on heavy rotation, both on the air and on stage and its subsequent singles “Prayer Of The Refugee” and “Good Left Undone” topping the radio charts.

Though the fluke test is seemingly over, Rise Against have not opted to rest on their laurels with the creation of Appeal to Reason. Working again with their team of producers, Bill Stevenson (NOFX, Evan Dando, Comeback Kid) and Jason Livermore and mixer Chris Lord Alge (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, AFI), the band returned to their “home studio” of the Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colo. for two months to track their latest creation. However, this is where any semblance of a prescribed attitude ends.

For example, instead of writing enough songs to satisfy a full-length album requirement, McIlrath notes that the band was incredibly prolific during the writing sessions for Appeal to Reason. In fact, Rise Against allotted a solid week of just playing time in the studio, and did not track anything for the first ten days.

“We wrote a gigantic number of songs,” he says. “We’ve always wrote about the number of songs that would end up on our records. You’re not going to hear long lost Rise Against B-sides, we rarely have anything extra. But this time we wrote some 30 pretty solid ideas. Things were just flowing out of us. We just kept spitting songs out. We had to boil that down to a record. That was the hard part.”

Also, McIlrath says that Rise Against is continually listening and incorporating new elements to its trademark sound. For example, “Long Forgotten Sons” finds the band invoking more of an ‘80s vibe, somewhere between The Cure and early Fugazi, while “The Strength To Go On” was influenced by McIlrath’s love for bands like Tool.

The lyrical content of the songs on Appeal to Reason have also greatly widened Rise Against repertoire’s spectrum. “The Strength To Go On” finds McIlrath further questioning the information that’s disseminated into society.

“The chorus, it’s definitely taking and looking at where we get our information from and who’s telling us the information and who’s right and who’s wrong and how everything we do has some kind of spin on it and who can you trust,” he says. “How we were brought up, how we were raised, everything, and how we separate the truth from the lies, and our entire upbringing. And when it really boils down, it’s hard to see what we know is true and what we know is false. It’s interesting thought.”

The touching acoustic-based “Hero Of War” puts Rise Against dead in the center of a generation of military service personnel who are battling their own personal wars outside of those in the Middle East. Partially based on true stories, the song is actually an amalgamation of a number of characters, starting with military recruitment.

“That’s something we deal with when we play shows that have a recruitment tent,” says McIlrath. “There’s a guy from the army roping in kids. We’re talking about those kids who see the army as an option. When I was 17 years old, I met with an army recruiter, because I considered joining the army, the armed forces. I wanted to go out and see places and do this. We get a lot of e-mails from kids who are soldiers, all branches from the armed services. They come out to our shows. They tell you their stories and their stories are in the first verse, a sum of a lot of the stories that I’ve heard.”

The second verse documents situations at Abu Gharib, Guantanamo Bay, and the Haditha revenge killing for an IED explosion. And the song’s third verse was based on a true story after McIlrath watched a documentary called “The Ground Truce.” Moved by the film, McIlrath wrote a majority of the song inspired by the stories and images presented in the documentary.

“Neil Young documented the Kent State shootings in Ohio and so many bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival and Buffalo Springfield did so much,” says McIlrath. “I learned more about the Vietnam War from bands like that than I did from the history books. As this war is hopefully coming to a close, and as stories of what happened are coming out, I needed to write a song that dealt with the reality of war.”

The album’s first single is the straightforward, four-chord heavy rocker “Re-Education (Through Labor).” “It’s a good way to start off this new record, because I think the album has a lot of progression and something different to offer,” says Principe, “and I think that song represents us the best.”

Of course, none of the songs on Appeal to Reason are able to make much of an impact if there isn’t an audience to receive them. And for McIlrath, creating connections to the band’s audience is of paramount importance — regardless of size, scenes or musical styles.

“It’s still about reaching people, putting what we’re giving into these people, making them think and challenge the ways of thought, creating conversation and dialogue and putting new ideas forth for people to consider,” says McIlrath. “And when you have a bigger fanbase, that’s even more fun to do, because all of a sudden your voice is louder. Now you have a bigger bullhorn than you actually have. It’s exciting and fun and I look forward to the next couple years with this record. Now that we have a fanbase, it’s just a question of what are we going to do when we’ve been given the privilege that we’ve been given.”

Green Day found their way into the hearts and minds of America’s youth in the mid-90s with the release of the band’s third album, Dookie. It is hard to believe that 15 years have come and gone so quickly since the release of that landmark album. It is even harder to believe that the Northern California pop-punk trio responsible for that album, would have gone on to carve out such a niche for themselves, churn out a slew of monster hits and still continue to evolve musically.

The 2004 release of American Idiot blew the collective minds of music enthusiasts and the group’s fans alike. The album sold 12 million worldwide copies worldwide in an era where illegal downloading was at its peak and CD sales were plummeting. This was surely due to the fact that the band easily blended a radio-friendly sound with a powerful message that served as the voice for many who felt they had none in the era of the Bush Administration. 

Green Day’s eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, is set to rock its way into stores May 15, 2009. The new release is one of 2009′s most anticipated albums and it does not disappoint as the band continues to explore new musical ground. At its core, the album is an ambitious rock opera that tells the tale of two characters, Christian and Gloria, over the course of three soaring acts: “Heroes and Cons,” “Charlatans and Saints” and “Horseshoes and Handgrenades.” Balancing both light and dark moods, the album serves as a manifesto of sorts for a generation still trying to make a sense of wars abroad, recession at home and the hope for a brighter day in America.

On the album, the music surges effortlessly with the raging guitar, tight drumming and vocal harmonies that fans have come to expect from the trio. However, the band isn’t content to simply dish out another serving of the same old sounds. With the legendary Butch Vig (producer for such monster acts as Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage and Nirvana) along for the ride, the band introduces new elements, such as Beatles-esque strings, inviting piano work and even a glammed out guitar sound reminiscent of Queen’s Brian May. At no point on the album do any of these new elements from their ever-growing musical arsenal seem forced. Given this room to experiment and grow musically as they have on this album, one has to wonder what lies in store for future Green Day’s future works.

21st Century Breakdown is one of Green Day’s best albums to date and is proof that there is still much musical ground left for them to discover. Standout tracks include “East Jesus Nowhere”, “Restless Heart Syndrome”, “Know Your Enemy” and “American Eulogy.”

Curious to hear what Green Day has in store for you? Hear it for yourself! Stream the album here >
 

Check out the video for “Know Your Enemy” below:

Greenday will soon embark on a full U.S. tour , it’s first in 3 years, beginning July 3rd in Seattle, Washington. For official news and tour dates, head to www.GreenDay.com.

The Tour Dates Are As Follows:

July 3 – Seattle, WA
July 4 – Vancouver, BC
July 6 – Edmonton, AB
July 7 – Saskatoon, SAS
July 9 – Winnipeg, MAN
July 10 – Fargo, ND
July 11 – Minneapolis, MN
July 13 – Chicago, IL
July 14 – Detroit, MI
July 16 – Hamilton, ONT
July 17 – Ottawa, ONT
July 18 – Montreal, QUE
July 20 – Boon, MA
July 21 – Philadelphia, PA
July 22 – Pittsburgh, PA
July 24 – Hartfo, CT
July 25 – Albany, NT
July 27 – New York, NY
July 29 – Washington, DC
July 31 – Nashville, TN
August 1 – Atlanta, GA
August 3 – Tampa, FL
August 4 – Miami, FL
August 5 – Orlando, FL
August 7 – New Orleans, LA
August 8 – Houston, TX
August 9 – San Antonio, TX
August 11 – . Louis, MO
August 12 – Kansas City, MO
August 13 – Omaha, NE
August 15 – Denver, CO
August 16 – Salt Lake City, UT
August 18 – San Jose, CA
August 20 – San Diego, CA
August 21 – Las Vegas, NV
August 22 – Phoenix, AX
August 24 – Sacramento, CA
August 25 – Los Angeles, CA

Green Day

Rolling Stone has broken the news that Green Day’s forthcoming album 21st Century Breakdown — will be released on May 15th, 2009.

The album is the band’s eighth studio effort and first since 2004’s Grammy-winning American Idiot. While Tuesday is the traditional release day for albums in the States, the band is following the lead of labelmates Metallica and dropping its album worldwide on a Friday.

First single “Know Your Enemy” will hit digital retailers in April.

The band is currently plotting a summer tour. Stay tuned for more as this develops.

Courtesy of Screaming Crow Records, footage of former Misfits vocalist Michale Graves performing ‘The Best Of Me’ live acoustic at the Smiling Moose in Pittsburgh is available below. It is a pro-shot three camera clip.

Michale Graves “The Best of Me”

By JASON PRICE

Cleveland-based punk band The Vacancies are back with their�latest album, Tantrum.�This is their second�release on�Blackheart Records, and it picks up right where the band left off on�the last record, A Beat Missing or a Silence Added. What I always�loved about the band’s earlier releases was the that they were�truly inviting to the listener by being so raw and distinctly punk.�What makes the band’s music so accessible is that they write of�social issues from a common man’s point of view, the same issues�that�effect us all. This release is no different.

The band pulls no punches from the opening track onward and forges�ahead with�the punk rock spirit that started the genre years ago. The�Vacancies continue to grow as musicians on this release, taking steps�forward musically and sounding tighter than ever. This marks the�second time the band has worked with Blackheart Records and producer�Kenny Laguna, who have managed once again to capture the high energy�and streetwise sound of the band. The opening track, “Compound”,�starts the album off right, proving that the energy of the band is�still there and more ferocious than ever. This leads in to “Below Merlot,” which keeps up the pace and provides a beer-drinking,�street-punk anthem for the band’s�repertoire, which is something every good punk band needs! “Pride” and “Sick Modern Era”�are representative of the band’s social consciousness and well-crafted tunes that bring to mind some of punk’s early pioneers. Other standout tracks include “Funeral”�and�”Savior,” which are two of the most melodic songs on the record, showcasing the talent of these punks.

From start to finish the album is a gem. Tantrum is a breath of�fresh air from what is being force fed to kids today by the major�labels. No frills, nothing over produced, just raw energy with well-written hooks and lyrics. In short, it is Warped Tour tested and Joan�Jett approved. You don’t get much better than that.