The swing craze might have lasted a short while in the late 90’s, as a booming ska hungry audience formed around major labels, but the bands that were around for that period of time are still kicking. Case in point: The Cherry Poppin Daddies, who are set to release a new album entitled, Susquehanna on June 10th, 2008. Swing fans will be glad to know that they are not ditching their horns, and not going into a more rocksteady sound, and this will be a great release in light of recent releases that have no staying power. A tour is most certainly to follow the release, so stay tuned here for more information on that. For now, check out the official Cherry Poppin Daddies myspace page or check them on tour now:

Apr 19 2008 portland, Oregon @ Wonder Ballroom
Apr 26 2008 Eugene, Oregon @ Wow Hall
May 9 2008 Seattle, Washington @ Triple door
Jun 4 2008 Los Angeles, California @ Crash Mansion
Jun 5 2008 San Juan Capistrano, California @ Coach House
Jun 6 2008 Long Beach, California @ The Blue Cafe
Jun 7 2008 Santa Ynez, California @ Chumash Casino
Jul 12 2008 Bend, Oregon @ Bend Summer Fest
Jul 19 2008 Chicago, Illinois @ Beverly Arts Center
Jul 20 2008 Vernon Hills, Illinois @ Summer Celebration @ Century Park
Jul 23 2008 Lewiston, New York @ Artpark
Jul 24 2008 New York, New York @ BB Kings Blues Club
Jul 25 2008 Falls Church, Virginia @ State Theatre
Jul 26 2008 Liberty Lake, Washington @ Pavilion Park
Aug 10 2008 Walker, Minnesota @ Northern Lights Casino
Aug 15 2008 Carson City, Nevada @ Brewery Arts Center/ Outdoor
Dec 30 2008 Maricopa, Arizona @ Harrah’s Ak-Chin-Oasis Lounge
Jan 31 2009 Ottawa, Ontario @ Centrepointe Theatre

Russian Circles is embarking on a tour, and you can catch them in the following west coast cities:

Mar 20 2008 Neumo’s Seattle, Washington
Mar 21 2008 Richards on Richards Vancouver, British Columbia
Mar 22 2008 Berbatis Pan Portland, Oregon
Mar 24 2008 Blue Lamp Sacramento, California
Mar 25 2008 The Crepe Place Santa Cruz, California
Mar 26 2008 Bottom of the Hill San Francisco, California
Mar 27 2008 Echoplex Los Angeles, California
Mar 28 2008 The Casbah San Diego, California
Mar 29 2008 The Brickhouse Pheonix, Arizona

For more information on Russian Circles, check out their official website.

Wilco is going to hit the road, and you can catch them playing the hits, and maybe even some new tracks if you’re lucky. Here’s the dates for the latest road trip for Wilco:

03-20 Byron Bay, Australia - East Coast Blues Festival
03-22 Whitianga, New Zealand - Bluesfest
03-23 Auckland, New Zealand - Bruce Mason Centre
03-24 Wellington, New Zealand - Opera House
03-26 Melbourne, Australia - Palace Theatre *
04-30 Rochester, MN - Mayo Civic Center
05-01 Fargo, ND - Fargo Civic Auditorium
05-02 Winnipeg, Manitoba - Burton Cummings Theatre
05-04 Bozeman, MT - Emerson Cultural Center
05-05 Missoula, MT - Adams Center
05-07 Grand Junction, CO - Avalon Theater
05-08 Colorado Springs, CO - Pikes Peak Center
05-09 Albuquerque, NM - Popejoy Hall
05-11 Austin, TX - Stubb’s
05-12 Austin, TX - Stubb’s
05-15 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
05-16 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
08-07 Charleston, SC - North Charleston PAC

Pluto Records has been below my radar for a while, until this morning when they’ve officially announced the signing of a new band: My America Is Watching Tigers Die! That’s right, the band with the long name is now officially signed to the label that brought you the first ep from Norma Jean and the earliest recordings from As I Lay Dying. Scope out the band on their official myspace page, and check out Plutorecords.com for more information on this momentous occasion.

you can also catch My America Is Watching Tigers Die on tour now:

Mar 21 2008 West Chester, Pennsylvania @ Fennario (w/ BIRTH SCREAMS)
Mar 22 2008 Mine Hill, New Jersey @ The Whiskey Barn (w/ BIRTH SCREAMS)
Mar 23 2008 Brooklyn, New York @ Rock Star Bar (w/ BIRTH SCREAMS)
Mar 28 2008 Doylestown, Pennsylvania @ Doylestown Teen Center
Apr 18 2008 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania @ Lower Paxton Youth Center
Apr 25 2008 Frederick, Maryland @ The Mudd Puddle
May 3 2008 Richlandtown, Pennsylvania @ Benner Hall

Most skateboard magazines come through my desk and it takes me a while to get to them and read through all the articles. But yesterday, in the mail came the latest issue of Skateboarder Magazine, and I was thrilled to see that in the middle of the magazine, the guys over at Adidas skateboarding strategically placed a free dvd! That’s right, there’s a free Adidas skateboarding dvd glued to the ad for their latest skateboarding endeavor. The dvd says that it’s from the Adidas skate team’s trip to France, and you can get yourself this free dvd by picking up the latest issue of skateboarder magazine. Here’s the cover, the dvd is placed in the middle in the Adidas ad. So go out, spend a few bucks to get the zine, get a free dvd, support the print world that seems to be dying.

Skatemental.com is up and running, and I’m not sure what I hate more: the all flash, slow loading website, or the near mystery meat navigation, or the use pop-up windows. Apparently there are videos in this site, somewhere, but I’m not going to tell you where. Check out the site for yourself and see why Flash designers need to learn more about user interface.

But before we lose track of things, it’s nice to see Skate Mental trying to push the web a little. It’s better than some other skate websites, with horrible code, lack of effort, or realism. So it’s a draw…the site made me want to break my computer, but than again…it’s nice to see someone at least trying.

The dynamic duo of comedy, are back at it again. With a follow up to their last collaboration, “Blackout” which went platinum. No not “How High”, but a new studio album with the two doing what they do best, spitting rhymes. The album is scheduled to drop later this Summer, meanwhile, no word yet on when the show “Method & Red” will get a comeback, ala “Family Guy”. The album features production by Gilla House, E-Sermon and Rocwilder and there may even be a DJ Premier track or two before recording wraps. Sounds like a winning disc, so keep your eyes open, and your ears peeled for this collaboration between Method and Red.

Limbeck recently posted a new video for the track “Let Me Come Home”. The video was filmed in between cities on their latest tour.

There are plenty of bands under the radar that no one ever seems to find out about, even after 10+ album releases, countless vinyls, and a plethora of ep’s. The guys in Starflyer 59 keep churning out quality indie music, and while many seem to have missed the boat, they still manage to have an audience of fans dedicated to all things Starflyer. They recently announced a new album being mixed and mastered right now, for a release sooner than later. For more information on the new album entitled “Dial M”, check out the official Starflyer59 myspace page. If you’re not familiar with the Starflyer 59 catalog, may I suggest their 2 disc set, Easy Come, Easy Go , a worthwhile introduction of Starflyer 59’s past catalog. Otherwise, you’re going to be hard pressed to get into their music, as they have a HUGE amount of records out.

Coheed and Cambria fans will be glad to know that all their lyrical content was leading up to a single purpose: a comic book. For those of you that are new the Coheed and Cambria musical endeavor, you might not want to jump in so fast. Their albums are riddled with verses and lyrics that have a lot to do with a comic book story line that they were set to release. Now it’s here, and you can scope out the cover art. Check out the latest news and more in depth reporting about the Armory Wars comic, by clicking here.