Pillar News
Nominations for the 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards were announced at Belmont University’s Curb Café with Tulsa-based rock band Pillar securing a nomination for Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year for its sixth studio project, Confessions. Over its 10 year career, Pillar has reached nearly 1 million in album sales (including two albums with sales exceeding 300,000 copies each), performed for more than three million people and tallied 10 No. 1 radio singles, 13 Top 5 hits, a GRAMMY nomination, four Dove Awards, and nine national headlining tours. And they still continue to impress critics and fans alike. Known for unparalleled energy, commitment to excellence and consistently surpassing fan expectations, the hard rock quartet delivers big on an album full of weighty messages. Confessions (released 9/22/2009) debuts the talents of new members, bassist Rich Gilliland, drummer Taylor Carroll and new producer, Rob Graves (Red, Wavorly). The album has inspired Pillar frontman Rob Beckley to co-author a book elaborating on important themes from the record. Co-produced with the American Bible Society, the book, aptly titled “Confessions,” is available free of charge on tour dates, with book excerpts available here. Pillar’s previous studio album, For the Love of the Game (02/26/08), debuted at No. 4 on SoundScan’s Christian (overall) album chart. Since Pillar’s Dove Award-winning label debut Above in 2001, the band has graced the cover of numerous Christian and mainstream magazines with features in Rolling Stone, Spin, Bass Player, and Hit Parader. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based band also won Fuse TV’s “Next Big Thing” award and has seen its music played on numerous ESPN sports programs, including SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight (during montage highlights from the 2007 World Series) and College Gameday, as well as CBS and FOX Sports.
Seabird Ready To Win Even More Fans
Fresh off the December release of their sophomore album Rocks Into Rivers, Credential Recording’s artist Seabird will be hitting the road this spring with Switchfoot, Sherwood, NeedToBreathe and more for a mix of club and arena tour dates. Seabird will join Switchfoot starting this week in Texas for their “Hello Hurricane” tour. Beginning in March, the band will team up with Sherwood hitting much of the Midwest and West. Next up for Seabird will be dates with NeedToBreathe, Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers starting in late April running through May. The band is already confirmed for several major summer festivals including Alive Fest, Ichthus Festival, Cornerstone Festival, Creation East, Rock the Desert, Fall Quest, Purple Door and more. “Every band at some point in their career has lied about how excited they were to be on a tour with bands that no one has heard of so it should be easy to tell we are not lying when we say how pumped we are at the way 2010 is shaping up,” admits band front man Aaron Morgan. “We have been huge Switchfoot fans for years and are truly honored to share the stage with them for part of their ‘Hello Hurricane’ tour. Following the Switchfoot tour we head out with Sherwood, who besides having a massive internet presence have an excellent new album to share with an always enthusiastic audience. We could not be happier that our good friends NeedToBreathe have also invited us to support them on a portion of their ‘Won’t Turn Back’ tour.” The first single from Rocks Into Rivers, “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful,” quickly shot up the CHR chart where it is currently No. 3. The song is also in the Top 20 on the Rock chart in addition to being released to new and active at AC Monitor this week. In the midst of radio success, Seabird is filming a video for their hit single “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful” this month. “We are thrilled with the success we have seen with the band’s single so far and feel this song still has huge potential in front of it,” says Grant Hubbard, Vice President of National Promotion at EMI CMG. “The band’s hard work and effort in the songwriting and recording process has really paid off as we are seeing this song climb the charts at our CHR format. We are looking forward to pushing this song to the Christian AC format in the coming weeks.” The recognizable sounds of Seabird have received support from major networks ABC, CBS and mtvU where the band’s music has been used in promotion for Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), Pushing Daisies (ABC), Numb3rs (CBS) and more. Seabird has also hit such key stages as South by Southwest, MOBFest 09, Forecastle Festival and even headlined the opening night of the MidPoint Music Festival. Cincinnati-based Seabird comprises brothers Aaron (vocals/keys) and Ryan (guitar) Morgan as well as Preston Lane (drums) and Brandon Weaver (bass). The band signed with Credential Recordings in late 2007 and released its debut label project,‘Til We See The Shore, June 24, 2008. A collaborative effort with producers Jacquire King (Modest Mouse, Kings Of Leon, Tom Waits, Switchfoot) and Allen Salmon (Mute Math, This Beautiful Republic), the album received phenomenal national publicity, featured on episodes of “Numb3rs,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and promos for ABC’s 12-time Emmy-nominated series, “Pushing Daisies.” Their latest, Rocks Into Rivers, was produced by Paul Moak at the Smoakstack in Nashville, and Matt Hales at Ocean Studios in Los Angeles. The band was also recognized by its hometown as “Artist of the Year” at the 2008 Cincinnati Entertainment.
Tour Dates:
3/20 – Akron, OH
3/21 – Columbus, OH
3/22 – Covington, KY
3/23 – Grand Rapids, MI
3/24 – Chicago, IL
3/25 – Milwaukee, WI
3/26 – La Crosse, WI
3/27 – Minneapolis, MN
3/29 – Denver, CO
3/30 – Salt Lake City, UT
3/31 – Idaho Falls, ID
4/01 – Portland, OR
4/02 – Seattle, WA
4/25 – Spring, TX
4/27 – Tulsa, OK
4/29 – Tempe, AZ
4/30 – Pomona, CA
5/01 – Los Angeles, CA
5/03 – San Luis Obispo, CA
5/04 – San Francisco, CA
5/06 – Portland, OR
5/07 – Seattle, WA
5/08 – Spokane, WA
5/10 – Boise, ID
5/11 – Salt Lake City, UT
5/13 – Denver, CO
5/14 – Omaha, NE
5/15 – Des Moines, IA
Tantrum Of The Muse Raising Funds For Vinyl Release
Broken Circles and our friends in Tantrum Of The Muse need your help! The band just had their first album, The Heart Is A Two-Headed Sperm, remastered and they would love to see this album get pressed on vinyl. This isn’t possible without your help. They have set up a Kickstarter project in order to raise the funds necessary to press the record. We have 50 days to reach our goal. We would love it if you helped us spread the word.
Kutless Rocks On
BEC Recordings’ Kutless has impacted fans once again with another power ballad, “What Faith Can Do.” Kutless’ hit song has struck a chord with listeners since its debut in the fall with their worship project “It Is Well.” This week “What Faith Can Do” broke into No. 1 on AC Monitored, marking its spot at No. 1 in four Christian radio formats (CHR, AC Mon, AC Indicator, Inspo). The hit song spent four weeks at the top on CHR (currently No. 2), and remains No. 1 on AC Indicator, AC Monitored, Inspo and the new National Christian Audience Chart (the most popular Christian song ranked by airplay audience impressions). The single is mentioned in this week’s Billboard chart highlights. From the beginning this song and album has touched fans. The single remained at the top on the iTunes Christian chart for weeks, and the album debuted at #1 on iTunes Christian Albums chart, No. 42 on Billboard 200 and at No. 3 on Billboard Top Christian Albums. In addition, “It Is Well” peaked at No. 11 on the Overall Top Albums chart on iTunes. This success is a follow-up to the RIAA Gold selling “Strong Tower” album. Reviews and critics praised this album’s integrity saying the album was “clearly all about worship,” “a sincere call to worship,” and “a staple in any worship collection.” This week “It Is Well” will pass the 100K units sold mark. Kutless is also currently on the Casting Crowns “Until The Whole World Hears” 2010 tour. The tour began earlier this month and will continue across the nation until March 27th ending in Florida.
The Devil Wears Prada News
America’s first-ever hard rock and heavy metal music awards show is back! The second annual REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS presented by Epiphone will take place Thursday, April 8, returning to Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. The show will later be televised on VH1 Classic Saturday, May 22 (air time TBA). Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster. This year, hosting duties for the Golden Gods will be shared between musician, activist and entrepreneur Andrew W.K. and professional wrestler, actor, author and metal fan Chris Jericho. The nominees of nine different categories–plus the recipients of this year’s prestigious Golden God Award and the Revolver Golden Gods Lifetime Achievement Award–were revealed today at a press conference held at The Rainbow Bar & Grill on the world famous Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Both hosts were on hand, along with Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne), Vinnie Paul (Hellyeah, Pantera), Chuck Billy (Testament), Kat Von D (“LA Ink”) and NFL Dallas Cowboys Marc Columbo, Cory Proctor and Leonard Davis to announce the nominees. New for this year, fans everywhere can cast their vote beginning today to choose who will take home the awards for “Best Guitarist,” “Best Drummer,” “Best Vocalist,” “Album of the Year,” “Best Live Band,” “Best Underground Band,” “Most Metal Athlete,” “Hottest Chick(s) in Metal” and “Comeback Of The Year.” Voting can be found here.
David Crowder Band To Help Local Communities
The Life & Faith Tour is a Christian festival with a major fundraising component to benefit the local community, born out of the simple desire to give back and leave a community in better shape than it was when they arrived. Created years ago by former fireman Ronnie Jackson, as an initial fundraiser for the local fire department in Kenbridge, VA, what started out as a cookout with local entertainment grew into a major fundraising event with headlining acts such as Travis Tritt and Alabama. Today, over 30 years later, the tour has grown into a major family attraction. What sets it apart from other festivals is how it presents an opportunity for organizations to raise funds; this is done by simply spreading the word. Starting February 15, tickets will be available for $47.50 and $10 of that automatically goes to a local organization. If the ticket buyer doesn’t choose a beneficiary, a default organization in each city will benefit, ensuring that the community benefits from every ticket sold. Organizations will range from local churches and youth groups to the YMCA, Red Cross and other worthy civic groups. Churches and organizations are welcome to sign up as a beneficiary starting on January 15.“This is truly an effortless act, all organizations have to do is talk about the show, and then when a patron goes to buy a ticket, that organization gets $10 just for the referral,” Jackson explains. “However the churches and organizations must be registered on the tour’s website to become a beneficiary. When purchasing a ticket, patrons will be able to choose a church or organization where their ticket proceeds will go. Each Life & Faith venue can hold 70,000 people so a sellout crowd would leave that community with $700,000 as the tour busses pull out of town. It is truly a remarkable way to give back to the community.”
Compassion International is just one of the many sponsors that have climbed on board to help make this event possible. As a beneficiary for the tour, it is an opportunity that not only raises funds for their own organization, but it also benefits others in the surrounding communities as well. For every 70k people who attend, the tour will provide the funds to build a Habitat of Humanity home in that state.
For organizations to register to become a beneficiary and to view the full all-star lineup along with finding more information, go here:
lifeandfaithtour.com
Impending Doom On Tour In April
Impending Doom have just announced a co-headlining tour with Through The Eyes of the Dead set for spring 2010. Also appearing on the tour are Chelsea Grin, Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, and Arsonists Get All The Girls. Impending Doom is gearing up to release their follow up album to 2009’s The Serpent Servant, a new full length which will be called There Will Be Violence and will be released on July 20, 2010. Tickets for the Road To Metalfest tour will go on sale Friday February 26th for the following dates:
4/9 Colorado Springs, CO
4/10 Omaha, NE
4/11 Minneapolis, MN
4/12 Milwaukee, WI
4/13 DeKalb, IL
4/14 Fort Wayne, IN
4/15 Cleveland, OH
4/16 Detroit, MI
4/17 Windsor, ON
4/18 Toronto, ON
4/20 Ottawa, ON
4/21 Montreal, QC
4/24 Worcester, MA
4/25 Poughkeepsie, NY
4/26 Allentown, PA
4/27 Vineland, NJ
4/29 Richmond, VA
4/30 Raleigh, NC
5/1 Augusta, GA
5/2 Jacksonville, FL
5/3 Orlando, FL
5/4 West Palm, FL
5/5 Tampa, FL
5/6 Douglasville, GA
5/7 Columbus, MS
5/8 Memphis, TN
MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE Release New Video
In June 2008, a guy by the name of Mitchell Davis created and posted a parody video about the Usher cologne fragrance and living the day in the life of the rapper on You Tube. In his video he wondered if a band like MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE had their own fragrance, and what his day would be like. After finding out about the video, the band reached out to Mitchell and an instant friendship was formed. They both agreed that it would be amazing to do a full video for “On Wings of Integrity” and take his original concept and continue the story. MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE’S video “On Wings Of Integrity” features Mitchell living a day in the life of the band and the MCMB fragrance. The video debuted online on February 16th with over 60,000+ hits within 18 hours. Check out the video here.
Jars Of Clay Gets Six
Veteran progressive band Jars of Clay may have reinvented its sound with last year’s The Long Fall Back To Earth, but its peers in the Christian music community continued to honor band members in some familiar ways, with the band picking up six nominations for this year’s GMA Dove Awards. The group was well represented in the GMA Dove Awards’ general categories, picking up mentions in the Artist of the Year and Group of the Year categories, as well as inclusion for Song of the Year for “Two Hands.” The Long Fall Back To Earth was also nominated as Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year, as well as notching two slots in the creative category Recorded Music Packaging of the Year, for the standard and limited editions of the project. But the band will not be partaking in any celebratory beverages in honor of its nomination slate, as band members are in the early stages of its annual “40 Days of Water” benefit for its long-time charitable concern Blood:Water Mission. Jars of Clay, along with many other artists and fans, undertake drinking water as their only beverage for 40 days (coinciding with the Lenten season) and donating the savings to support local water projects in Uganda.
For more information, visit:
40days.bloodwatermission.com
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club To Release New Album
With merely weeks leading to the 3/9 release of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s fifth studio album, Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, iTunes is making it available for pre-order now. Upon purchase, the single, “Beat The Devil’s Tattoo,” will be available for instant download with added bonus, “Annabel Lee,” being offered exclusive to this pre-order period, otherwise only available on the vinyl pressing, the Japanese release, and iTunes UK. All versions of the LP purchased through iTunes, pre-sale or otherwise, will include “1:51,” a cult/fan favorite that has not been released until now. This album sees the band return to the rootsy, back porch country sound of Howl, perfectly dusted over their signature wall-of-shoegaze fuzz. In a sense, the duo of bassist Robert Levon Been and guitarist Peter Hayes has started over, with a new vision, new drummer Leah Shapiro as well as a new label – their own Abstract Dragon, in partnership with Vagrant Records. Their newfound confidence and inspiration appears to have rejuvenated them, and their songs bleed with raw intensity. Like the title of the album, a phrase gleaned from Edgar Allan Poe’s 1839 short story, “The Devil In The Belfry,” BRMC stands on the edge of darkness, but never dives in. The trio’s extensive tour begins 2/26 in Sacramento and culminates in Toronto 4/11, after a stop at Webster Hall in NYC 4/8. San Francisco fans will get a special treat, as the band salutes their roots with an intimate performance at Slim’s, their original stomping ground, the night of the album’s release. Upon the tour’s announcements, shows are beginning to sell out, including two nights in current hometown Los Angeles, with a third added due to popular demand.
Tour Dates:
2/26 – Sacramento, CA
2/27 – Reno, NV
2/28 – Las Vegas, NV
3/2 – Denver, CO
3/4 – Boise, ID
3/5 – Seattle, WA
3/6 – Vancouver, B.C.
3/7 – Portland, OR
3/9 – San Francisco, CA
3/10 – San Francisco, CA
3/11 – Los Angeles, CA
3/12 – Los Angeles, CA
3/13 – San Diego, CA
3/14 – Los Angeles, CA
3/16 – Anaheim, CA
3/18 – Dallas, TX
3/20 – Houston, TX
3/21 – Tulsa, OK
3/23 – St. Louis, MO
3/24 – Madison, WI
3/25 – Chicago, IL
3/26 – Milwaukee, WI
3/27 – Minneapolis, MN
3/29 – Grand Rapids, MI
3/30 – Columbus, OH
3/31 – Cleveland, OH
4/1 – Toronto, ONT
4/2 – Montreal, QC
4/3 – Boston, MA
4/5 – Washington, D.C.
4/6 – Philadelphia, PA
4/7 – Pittsburgh, PA
4/8 – New York, NY
4/11 – Toronto, ONT
Gungor Gets Praised
Gungor’s sophomore album from Brash Music titled Beautiful Things has been released amidst critical praise as well as promising feedback from a stellar performance at the 10th anniversary of the re:create conference. Formerly known as The Michael Gungor Band, the socially active, Denver-based foursome is comprised of Michael Gungor, his wife Lisa, as well as friends Brad Waller (guitar) and Josh Harvey (bass). Gungor hits the scene with a different perspective than most bands as the lead singer is perhaps best known for co-writing distinguished songs like “Friend of God” and “Say So” made famous by Israel Houghton. The band’s 2008 debut on Brash Music, Ancient Skies, garnered critical acclaim. Beautiful Things will be the band’s sophomore release, and the third CD release for Michael Gungor.
For more information on Gungor, visit:
gungormusic.com
The Imposter Movie Stars Kevin Max, Kerry Livgren
Pure Flix Entertainment (The Wager, Sarah’s Choice) is happy to announce the release of THE IMPOSTER on DVD, 2/23, 2010. THE IMPOSTER is distributed through EMI/CMG Distribution to CBA retail outlets nationwide. Starring Kevin Max (dc Talk), Jeff Deyo (formerly of Sonicflood), and Kerry Livgren (Kansas, AD), THE IMPOSTER tells the story of a popular Christian rock band, Grand Design, whose lead singer, Johnny C (Max), is spiraling out of control. After his wife and band mates discover his secret life offstage, Johnny C’s life begins to fall apart. Coached by his mentor Proff (Livgren) and a crazy homeless man Tom Wright (World Trade Center, Barbershop), he begins a journey back home to rebuild what is left of his family and home life. Written and directed by Daniel Millican, THE IMPOSTER was a story that needed to be told. “This movie was made for the church,” explains Millican. “I find the closer I pull to Jesus, slowly the masks come off and masquerades end. Hopefully this movie will help viewers choose to find their identity in Jesus.” The DVD, which includes bonus featurettes including “Unmasking The Characters”, Full Music Videos of “Believe (In An Act)”, “Empty”, “Carry On Wayward Son”, and Study Guide Scenes will be available at all major Christian stores on 2/23, 2010.
For more information or media resources for THE IMPOSTER, visit:
pureflix.com/imposter
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