Slaves are a band based in Sacramento, California. They have recently embarked on their "The Beautiful Death Tour". They played an awesome set in San Antonio, Texas with Secrets, Picturesque and Out Came the Wolves.
Recently, following the sudden breakup of Slaves, ex-vocalist Jonny Craig revealed he will be touring solo alongside with Tilian Pierson, and Kurt Travis. Craig also wrote a letter to his fans, concerning his addictions, and his hope to continue Slaves. Read below to check it out!
Recently, Slaves had broken up. They had revealed that the last few days of their recent tour, would be their last. In light of the situation, the bands frontman, Jonny Craig had shared that he has some positive news coming, and the bands guitarist shared some information on more reasoning behind the split. Check it all out below!
In the midst of the current “Souls On Fire Tour,” Jonny Craig and Kyle Lucas have released the visuals for their song, “The Party And The Dream.” The video was directed by Justin Clough and features live footage shot during the nation-wide tour. The tour featuring: Jonny Craig, Kyle Lucas, Secrets, Hearts & Hands, and Bleach Blonde concludes this week in California with stops in San Diego, Pomona, and Sacramento. View the video below
Dance Gavin Dance’s new record “Acceptance Speech” has proven itself to stand solid in place with the rest of this band’s discography.
Editor’s Note: Fixed the egregious error about Jonny Craig being the singer.
Although the album doesn’t do much to stand out from the band’s past work, this is the perfect collection to listen to if you are a new fan. “Acceptance Speech” captures the band’s high energy atmosphere and very high-pitched singing melodies that make up Dance Gavin Dance’s style that launched them to popularity. For old fans, this album doesn’t bring much of anything new to the table, but will be a satisfying listen to hear the most updated set of the band’s sound.
“Acceptance Speech” starts off fast and energetic, sets the tone by sporting the impressive vocal skill of Tilian Pearson. This album touches on a few other genres other than it’s own, featuring a rap segment and heavy electronic effects. In addition to these positive aspects of the album, the band represents their ability to create an album that captivates a post-hardcore sound. Each song more compelling than the next, Dance Gavin Dance delivers a fluid album that shows the mastery of their sound. From their nearly feminine sounding vocal support, to the metal-core fundamentals, this band has proven once again that they can represent their genre fully.
This newest release is a blessing and a curse. Although this album fits perfectly in line with the band’s direction, sound, and style, it fits a bit too well. Dance Gavin Dance seemed to play it safe with “Acceptance Speech” sticking very closely to the vibes of their earlier releases. To add on to the redundancy, many of the vocal techniques are repeated throughout the album. Towards the end of the album, many dynamics and vocal melodies start to sound very similar to those in the other songs. There is a line between fluidity and repitition and this album walks that line very closely at some points.
For first time listeners, this is a great album to represent the sound of Dance Gavin Dance. To long time followers, some might find “Acceptance Speech” as a disappointment. Although the band holds up to it’s sound, this album isn’t much of a refreshment for old fans to dive in to. But, with such selective cons, this overall fluidity and originality overpower the blandness of the album. Definitely a good choice if you are looking to spice up your play list!
Rating: 7.5/10
-Nic
Jonny Craig’s rapidly changing career only continues to surprise listeners with his newest solo release “Find What You Love and Let it Kill You”.
Fans have heard Craig from a range of many different genres and styles so this album will not be a hard adjustment to make although it strays from anything heavy. This is not a con, but just a warning of the changes. This album is very much an electronic pop album similar to something out of Justin Timberlake’s repertoire. This style perfectly fits with Craig’s voice, as demonstrated with the artist’s previous work. Catchy high-pitched melodies and even some rapping, these songs will most certainly refresh any listener looking for a new sound to catch on to.
On the surface, this album can be calming and relieving when listened to casually. Songs like “Diamond” and “I Still Feel Her Pt. 5 (feat. Kyle Lucas)” support this relaxing atmosphere heard throughout most of the album. Craig’s voice will immediately pull you in and keep you interested in the start of the album. The electronics in the background create a great foundation for Craig to get his lyrical messages across. Ranging from life struggles to unrequited love, Jonny Craig represents the essence of the disappointment and frustration we have all felt during hard times. The melody lines and instrumentation create an impressive musical environment to match the lyrical content. With a solo album such as this one, this aspect of the writing strategy is immensely important. Everyone knows Jonny Craig can sing, but can his songs get the listener interested and more importantly, keep the listener entertained from start to finish. Well that seems to be just the problem with this album.
The first couple songs of this album will pull you in and keep you enticed for the first few tracks,but after that the album becomes very monotonous in its overall atmosphere. Craig’s pure vocal skill can only hold out for so long before the creativity of the album is questioned. In the end, the album doesn’t quite hold up to the inevitable questioning. Some of the songs like “The Open Letter” and “Jesus Died For You…Not Me” seem to drag on and on without any particular direction. Although this is a solo album, Craig’s vocal skill and techniques seem to lose their initial excitement halfway through the album. The songs start to meld together and the fluidity of the album is lost before it’s over.
Overall, the feel of this album is something that can be very refreshing at first listen. As a whole, the album lacks a driving structure. Songs repeat vocal phrases without structure and the direction of the songs and album are lost after the first 10-15mins. I’m not sure it’s right to expect a masterpiece from a solo vocalist, but this album lost its touch before it was over. I highly recommend checking out some of the songs as they are very unique for the genre or R&B style singing. But as an album, “Find What You Love and Let it Kill You” just falls short.
Rating: 6.5/10
-Nic Cheatle
Jonny Craig (Dance Gavin Dance, Emarosa, Isles and Glaciers) has announced the dates his “Souls On Fire” 2013 U.S. tour. William Beckett (September 20 through October 6), Secrets (October 7 through October 26), Kyle Lucas, Hearts & Hands, and Bleach Blonde offer support on the tour. Jonny Craig is touring in support of his new EP “Find What You Love And Let It Kill You” which comes out September 24th.
09/20 @ Bottom Of The Hill – San Francisco, CA
09/21 @ Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
09/22 @ El Corazon – Seattle, WA
09/24 @ In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT
09/25 @ Marquis Theatre – Denver, CO
09/27 @ The Firebird – St. Louis, MO
09/28 @ Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
09/29 @ Peabody’s Downunder – Cleveland, OH
09/30 @ The Crofoot – Pontiac, MI
10/01 @ Altar Bar – Pittsburgh, PA
10/02 @ Empire – West Springfield, VA
10/04 @ Upstairs @ The Palladium – Worcester, MA
10/05 @ The Note – West Chester, PA
10/06 @ Highline Ballroom – New York, NY
10/08 @ Kingdom – Richmond, VA
10/09 @ Greene Street Music Hall – Greensboro, NC
10/10 @ The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
10/11 @ Jack Rabbits – Jacksonville, FL
10/12 @ The Social – Orlando, FL
10/13 @ The Local 662 – St. Petersburg, FL
10/15 @ Warehouse Live – Houston, TX
10/16 @ Red 7 – Austin, TX
10/17 @ Trees – Dallas, TX
10/18 @ The Percolator – El Paso, TX
10/19 @ The Rock – Tucson, AZ
10/20 @ Pub Rock – Scottsdale, AZ
10/22 @ Roxy Theatre – West Hollywood, CA
10/24 @ Soma Sidestage – San Diego, CA
10/25 @ The Glass House – Pomona, CA
10/26 @ Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CAVIP Meet and Greets available for purchase here:
http://jc.soundrink.com
Myka, Relocate will release their debut full length album, Lies To Light The Way, on October 29th(Artery Recordings/Razor & Tie).Fans can pre-order the album now at Merchnow. Bundles include signed posters and variety of t-shirts, hoodies, and tanks. The tracklist can be seen below
1. Revolve
2. Dead Ties
3. Something To Dream About
4. The Inevitable
5. Natural Separation
6. Useless feat. Telle Smith
7. Doublespeak
8. Playing It Safe feat. Jonny Craig
9. The Answer
10. Dry Spell
11. Cold War
12. Admitting The Truth
Jonny Craig's upcoming album, Find What You Love And Let It Kill You, hits stores on September 24th. Tracklist is below
1) The Lives We Live
2) I Still Feel Her Pt. 5 (Ft. Kyle Lucas)
3) ( Diamond )
4) The Open Letter
5) Jesus Died For You.. Not Me
6) The Upgrade
7) The Ratchet Blackout
According to Under The Gun, Bradley Walden (ex-Squid The Whale) has been confirmed as Emarosa’s new frontman
It is fact that in early 2012, Walden was asked to audition for the spot left open by former Emarosa vocalist Jonny Craig. He demoed a few songs, but never accepted the position. After another year of writing and touring with Squid the Whale, the crooner left the band for reasons unannounced. In his departure statement, Bradley made a light reference to an Emarosa song by saying, “The past should stay dead, I’m ready to embrace whatever the future brings.” This of course was an allusion to a popular song from Emarosa’s Relativity.
After seeing Jonny Craig tweet about the singer taking the Emarosa position, I reached out to confirm or deny. Walden publicly denied the claim at that time, saying that “nothing [was] off the table” at that point.
Since then Emarosa has been more and more active, making it apparent that progress was being made. Progress that couldn’t be made with out a singer.
