To Write Love on Her Arms 10th Anniversary Concert

Gregory Robson Apr 20, 2016

Ten years ago, 19-year-old Renee Yohe was just another addict struggling with her pain. As fate would have it, a journalist, Jamie Tworkowski, caught wind of her plight and offered his support. That encounter would eventually pave the way for the Florida-based nonprofit To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA). In a decade, the organization has offered help to nearly 200,000 people and raised more than $1 million towards counseling and professional solace for those battling depression, self-injury, suicide and more.

Earlier this month at Orlando’s House of Blues at Disney Springs, a sold-out crowd helped fete TWLOHA and its founder Jamie Tworkowski as part of its 10th anniversary Heavy and Light celebration. With a headlining set by Jon Foreman of Switchfoot and support from Arizona’s The Summer Set, Nashville’s Matt Wertz and Renee Yohe herself, the event proved to be a rousing success.

HARPS – “Rescue” (Live Studio Video)

Jason Tate Apr 19, 2016

Summer Scouts – “Vessel” (Video Premiere)

Jason Tate Apr 18, 2016

Today I’m excited to debut the new video from Summer Scouts for their song “Vessel.” The track comes from the band’s upcoming album, Furthest Reach, which is set for release on May 20th. The song deals with the loss of a parent and confronts the realities of how this changes the home. When describing the track, the band explained it as:

Family life and norms change dramatically after the death of a parent. The home itself takes a drastic shift in its overall aura, a shift that slowly continues for years after the death, forever losing its original feeling. While the family’s personalities experience alterations as well, the house itself holds the significant, glaring symbolism of this dark familial change. “Vessel” visits this feeling that no one in the family wants to face and confronts it in an emotional conversation between the singer (an affected family member) and the house.

I was drawn to the vocal harmonies and rhythm section immediately and would probably say this is a good fit for fans of PVRIS and Mayday Parade — it’s definitely pop-rock but with this atmospheric tinge.

Preparing for Record Store Day

Jason Tate Apr 15, 2016

This weekend is Record Store Day. A time for vinyl nerds to rejoice in a weekend dedicated to their passion, or wax poetic about how it was so much better before it got so popular. Thomas and I discuss this on the podcast this week, but, in preparation for the big day, I asked our friend William Angelos from Creep Records in Philadelphia to put together a write-up of the releases he’s most looking forward to and what to be on the lookout for as you make your way to your local shop.

No Guilt, Just Pleasure (Encore Episode 120)

Jason Tate Apr 15, 2016

This week’s episode of Encore looks at the first week of the website and how things are going so far, then we tackle a bunch of upcoming movies (Star Wars, Fantastic Beasts, Civil War) and give some thoughts on Batman v Superman. This leads to a little talk about comic books. Then we dive into this week’s main topics: Record Store Day, do we believe in “guilty pleasures” for art, our thoughts on buying albums when they’re on sale from a label, and if a bad album from a band can ruin future albums for us. We end by talking about if we’d leave our jobs for “The Ringer” and, of course, talk about Blink-182 finishing their new album.

As I talked with Jason about the transition from AbsolutePunk to Chorus, I started thinking about the impact that website had on me over the years. I thought about all the shows I shot under that little heart banner. As I sat looking at a pile of boxes filled with old film and prints from the past, I realized how sad it would be if these only lived in the cardboard coffins and were never shared with the world. So, I’m going to be posting some pictures from of my favorite shows over the next few weeks.

I’m stealing the “throwback Thursday” moniker, because, why not? This week I’m excited to share some images I captured of The Used at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, CO on April 12th, 2015.

Dave Gaslin Apr 14, 2016

A Chorus.fm Forum Tribute to Motion City Soundtrack

Jason Tate Apr 13, 2016

One of my favorite things about the forums is watching talented and motivated people come together to make awesome things. Today I’m excited to feature the latest in the “member compilation” series that has been taking shape in our music forum — a tribute to Motion City Soundtrack. Below you’ll find a stream of the 17-track cover album all dedicated to the awesomeness that is, that was (insert sad face), Motion City Soundtrack.

HARPS – “Let Me In” (Live Studio Video)

Jason Tate Apr 12, 2016

HARPS will be releasing a remastered version of their EP, Marvelous Cheer, on vinyl via Rocket Heart Records on May 19th. Today we’ve got an exclusive live studio video of the band performing “Let Me In,” and I think the best way to describe this sound is lush, punchy, and full bodied. The plan is to bring you a new live video once a week leading up to the EP release. Head below to watch the video and if you like what you hear make sure to pre-order the album.

Interview: Abe Cunningham of Deftones

Jonathan Bautts Apr 11, 2016

Drummer Abe Cunningham talks the journey behind Deftonesʼ eighth record, Gore, trying to make full albums in a singles-based world, and playing around with juxtapositions while striving for balance at this point in the band’s career.

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One Song for Twenty Years

Jason Tate Apr 8, 2016

For this week’s playlist I asked everyone in the staff Slack chat to pick one song that came out between 1996 and 2016 (roughly the time that AbsolutePunk was sort of a thing). It didn’t have to be their favorite song from that time period, but it had to mean something to them and be special for some reason. I’ve compiled all the tracks that were submitted and put together a playlist on Apple Music and Spotify for your weekend listening pleasure. Below you’ll find a more extended break down of who picked what song. You get one song — what would you pick?

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chorus.fm (Episode 119)

Jason Tate Apr 8, 2016

It was difficult finding something to talk about on this week’s episode of Encore. We almost thought about just continuing our little hiatus because we just weren’t sure if we had any good topics. We ended up settling on one and pretty much spend an hour or so discussing this new website, what led to its creation, some of the decisions made along the way, and what we hope the future holds. This episode is kinda like The Format’s “I’m Actual” and I feel a little awkward spending the whole time talking about me, but, we got it out of the way. Next week we’ll be back with a more regular episode about news and answering questions and stuff. Feel free to hit up the comments (click the little quote button on this post) and let us know if you have anything you’d like us to touch on. Thanks for dealing with our little break — we’re really excited to be back.

Interview: Jason Isbell

Craig Manning Apr 3, 2016

I had a chance to chat on the phone with Americana star, Jason Isbell, about his album release, Something More Than Free. We talked about his philosophy on songwriting, the challenge of following up his magnum opus (2013’s Southeastern), the prospect of him becoming a father, his opinion on why women make better artists than men, the role producer Dave Cobb plays in creating his records, and the idea of blending fiction and non-fiction for songs that always strike a chord.

Interview: Matt Nathanson

Craig Manning Apr 2, 2016

I got to speak on the phone with the ever-amusing and ultra-talented Matt Nathanson. In our interview, Nathanson described the disjointed but ultimately satisfying nature of his brand new album, Show Me Your Fangs. We also discussed the unpredictable audience-request format of Nathanson’s current tour, how some of the best records have “great topography” instead of being thematically or musically cohesive, and how elements of hip-hop and R&B have slowly crept into Nathanson’s singer/songwriter-oriented music.

Interview: Brian Fallon

Craig Manning Apr 1, 2016

I recently had the chance to sit down and chat on the phone with the great Brian Fallon. The interview runs a range of topics, including the inspiration behind Fallon’s folk-heavy new solo album Painkillers (due March 11th), working with Butch Walker, the uncertain future of The Gaslight Anthem, favorite Springsteen songs, and the intriguing possibility of an Elsie: Part II.
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