Fitz & the Tantrums join Dangerbird Records Roster

Following up on last week’s A&R report, congrats to Fitz and the Tantrums who have inked a deal with L.A.-based Dangerbird Records. The band heads out on tour with Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings in May and has an eastside residency at Spaceland in June… Sweethead, the new project from Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, will be playing Monday nights in May at Spaceland. Their new self-titled album comes out May 11th via The End Records… Expect to see plenty of label and publishing folks out tonight for Burn Down the Mission at Hotel Cafe. We hear the band has been busy fielding more calls to showcase for labels on both coasts… Stay tuned.

Sick of Sarah @ The Roxy, Friday 4/23

As quickly as it came, the annual rock n’ roll oasis in the desert known as Coachella is over. So while you tend to that lingering sunburn and exercise the last of those acid-demons, let’s play catch-up on some new signings and stories we’ve been following… Los Angeles indie-label Dangerbird Records, who has been on a recent signing-spree stocking their coffers with a wide spectrum of artists, has put paper to Fitz & the Tantrums and we hear negotiations are in motion. FATT opened for The Specials last week at Club Nokia and will be joining Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings on tour in May… We hear Epic Records is finalizing a deal with Denver’s Joel Jorgenson. The singer is managed by Michael Goldberg and Isaac Hayes for 108 Management (we’ve also confirmed that 108 does not stand for their combined IQs)… Momentum continues to build for Las Vegas-act Imagine Dragons, who played to a sold-out room last Wednesday for the BMI/KROQ-presented show at The Viper Room. Having only played a handful of L.A. dates, it was impressive to see industry take a literal back seat to a sweaty crowd of fans singing along to the band’s late-night set. With a growing regional fan base and an impressive live show, labels seem to be closing in – we hear an East Coast major is looking to shut it down early, while publishers and booking agents have joined the scrimmage too… Radio continues to build for L.A. locals Dead Country with adds at Santa Barbara’s KJEE and KROX in Austin, as well as spikes at Live 105, KNRK in Portland and Denver’s modern rock KTCL; spins are also continuing in their hometown on KROQ. Could there be outside forces at work here? The band just finished a tour with The Bronx and will be supporting Far on a series of upcoming dates. Their self-titled EP is out now… And if you slept on the radio action on South Carolina’s Villanova, it looks like the band is now off the market. We hear an East Coast major is finalizing paperwork to close the act who are getting serious spins on influential modern rock station WARQ… Look for Steve Greenberg’s S-Curve Records to release new albums from Seinking Ships and The Belles on June 8th. Eric Matthews, formerly on Sub Pop, collaborated with Ohio musician Christopher Seink to record the new full-length Museum Quality Capture, while Lawrence, KS combo The Belles will release their sophomore album Times Flies When You’re Losing Your Mind… It certainly does… Finally, catch Minneapolis’ Sick of Sarah tomorrow night in L.A. for the early show at The Roxy. The band, who has been compared to Sleater-Kinney and The Breeders, is building a big following in the mid-west and is one of two artists featured during the month of April in Journeys stores nation-wide…

IN THE MIX: Jay Lewis, Purevolume, Ben Roethlisberger

Jaguar Love @ RM64 Dirty Dog Party 3/19

Like ours, your inbox has probably been piling up with post-SXSW coverage emails. To help with the clutter, here’s a look at a few post-festival reviews and interviews from some of this year’s standout artists… Live4ever catches up with the UK’s Band of Skulls on their blitz through Austin and Townshend-like amp wreckage… Buzzbands has video of locals Shadow Shadow Shade from the IFC Crossroads House… Spinner reviews Dawes‘ “career-making” performances in Austin… Gordon Voidwell and Fitz & the Tantrums were a gear-nerds dream, Keyboard Magazine has all the synthillating details… Fader gets intimate with David Vandervelde and Vevo interviews Glasgow’s Twin Atlantic… And if you missed it, you can read our wrap-up post here…

Portland, Oregon's Baby Monster @ Cinespace Tuesday, March 30th

Mon. Mar 29th – Square on Square @ Silverlake Lounge (view)

Tues. Mar 30th – Baby Monster @ Cinespace (view)

Wed. Mar 31st – Brothers at Sea @ Boardners (view)

Thurs. Apr 1st – Radio Moscow @ Spaceland (view)

Fri. Apr 2nd – Fitz & the Tantrums @ Los Angeles Natural History Museum (view)

Mark Williams @ Bitter End (NYC) Friday, March 26th

For industry folks in the Big Apple, be sure to check out singer/songwriter Mark Williams perform at the Bitter End tomorrow (Friday, March 26) at 9pm. The 18-year old multi-instrumentalist is a stand-out virtuoso guitar player. He’s been playing professionally since he was 9 and played with B.B. King in Nashville when he was 11. New EP Starlit Stages is starting to get the attention of several East Coast label folks. Management is Ben Lazar (e-mail: blazar70@gmail.com)…

Standout acts from SXSW continue to heat up on the heels of the famed festival. Last night saw a sold-out crowd for Cymbals Eat Guitars at The Echo. Many were also there to catch openers Bear in Heaven and new Frenchkiss/Mom&Pop signees Freelance Whales… We hear several East Coast label folks have flights booked to catch Imagine Dragons in Utah on April 9th & 10th.  The band also plays the Viper Room in L.A. on April 14th… Fitz & the Tantrums lived up to high expectations in Austin last week and as predicted it didn’t taken long for label offers to start coming in. Expect to see label and publisher reps out among the fossils for the band’s First Fridays performance next week (Friday, April 2) at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. Stay tuned…

Jon Pikus: Master of Wristbands

The first day of SXSW Music was lively as ever, falling on St. Patty’s day, 6th street was running wild… We started off the evening at the ASCAP party, where we caught impressive performances from HoneyHoney and Kopecky Family Band, but Josh Briggs’ hotdog suit was nowhere to be found. Feeling plenty good, it was a perfect time to catch a sweaty set from Scorpion Child at the World’s End showcase at Encore… Midnight saw Fitz & the Tantrums pack the tent at the KCRW showcase, where they played some songs from their newly finished album. Good stuff. We ended the night with friends new and old at the Driskill bar. Stay tuned…

Gordon Voidwell lands on earth to play the RM64 Austin Party

Last week we announced the lineup for our upcoming day-party in Austin at the Dirty Dog Bar on Friday, March 19th. Before taking a closer look at the artists playing the party, we’re also pleased to announce that Buzzbands.la has now joined the festivities too…

Glasgow’s Twin Atlantic is currently on the road in the U.S. with Fall of Troy and Envy On the Coast after completing their recent UK headlining tour. Influential BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe has been playing the band’s last two UK singles, “What Is Light? Where Is Laughter?” and “Lightspeed” and they’ve been getting consistent nods in Kerrang and Rock Sound… [4:20PM]

Jaguar Love, the new project from Johnny and Cody formerly of The Blood Brothers, released their debut album Hologram Jams on March 2nd via Fat Possum Records. In its relatively  short existence the band has already supported NIN, Queens of the Stone Age and is currently drawing big crowds for their headlining tour…  [3:40PM]

Lots of buzz surrounding L.A.’s Fitz & the Tantrums who has been packing shows and amassing fans on both coasts.  A recent sold-out NYC headlining gig was their first in the city and last month they played back-to-back Friday shows at The Echo in Los Angeles, filling the room both nights.  They also supported Maroon 5 and Flogging Molly on tours last fall, and are played and featured regularly on KCRW… [3:00PM]

Gordon Voidwell is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, rapper, remixer, fashion writer and easily one of Brooklyn’s busiest and most talented residents.  He opened V.V. Brown’s first NYC show last month and has received a wide range of press nods; even a piece on the Huffington Post of all places.  Mark Ronson has spun GV on his radio show and the comparisons to Prince are more than fitting… [2:20PM]

“She is the closest thing to Jim Morrison in the Silverlake scene and her live show is mesmerizing,” says the LA Record of Jonneine Zapata, whose impressive live show garnered the artist support slots with Soulsavers and The Racontuers last year. They recorded their new album with Steve Albini and it will see a release this summer… [1:40PM]

Las Vegas, the hometown of One Pin Short, might not be anywhere near the coast, but the band’s sound is definitely full of  socal beach reggae flavor.  Their first full-length was recorded by Eddie Ashworth (Sublime, Pennywise, Slightly Stoopid) and independently released last year… [1:00PM]

Friday, March 19th
1 – 6PM
Dirty Dog Bar
505 E. 6th Street
FREE ENTRY
21+

That’s right, we’ve combined our three favorite things; great music, FREE drinks and good friends… It all happens on Friday, March 19th from 1 – 6pm at The Dirty Dog Bar in the heart of Austin’s 6th street during SXSW… We were lucky enough to land some of our favorite new artists to play our party (ok, we told them there’d be free booze and a backline, but they still said yes)… The lineup includes, Twin Atlantic, Jaguar Love, Fitz & the Tantrums, Gordon Voidwell, Jonneine Zapata and One Pin Short.  Join us and our friends from Double Stereo, XO Publicity, Propellerhead, SESAC, Brightman Music and Buzzbands.la for a good ole fashion Austin bash. Hit up the RSVP and Event Page…

Mumford & Sons @ Troubadour Tuesday Night

Mon. Feb 8th – Imagine Dragons @ The Roxy (view)

Tues. Feb 9th – Mumford & Sons @ The Troubadour (view)

Wed. Feb 10th – Joe Sib’s California Calling (ft. Audra Mae) @ Largo (view)

Thurs. Feb 11th – Joe Pug @ The Echo (view)

Fri. Feb 12th – Fitz & the Tantrums @ The Echo (view)