Someone once called me "emo" because I had Dashboard Confessional on my iPod. I recall taking it as an insult back then, because the term just seemed insulting. First off, I didn't pigeonhole music I like into any genre, and secondly, I wasn't a Hot Topic-shopping hipster with armbands and tattoos on my neck. Anyway, speaking with others in the industry throughout the years, the term can illicit a negative connotation much like "pop" can. Call them emo, rock, emo-rock, alt-rockers or - as Liam Lynch used to shout - "whatever," Hawthorne Heights don't care so long as you continue to enjoy the music. And clearly a lot of people are. The band(JT Woodruff, Micah Carli, Mark McMillion, Matt Ridenour, and Eron Bucciarelli) are currently headlining the dare-I-say-it emo-friendly Warped Tour in support of their recently-dropped fifth album Zero. The Ohio natives dropped by the Music Conservatory of Westchester earlier this month to perform a track off the album, discuss its "non-concept" concept album nature, and praise the mighty legs of the Vans Warped Tour. Watch. Listen. Love.
"Golden Parachutes"
Interview
Remaining Warped Tour Dates:
7/23 - Bonner Springs, KS @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
7/24 - St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/25 - Atlanta, GA @ Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood
7/26 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Vinoy Park
7/27 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
7/28 - Orlando, FL @ Central Florida Fairgrounds
7/29 - Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
7/30 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
7/31 - Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheater
8/2 - Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
8/3 - San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
8/4 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Center Parking Lot
A-Sides "Delve Into Twelve" Countdown
Each week A-Sides unleashes its Top 12 tracks of the week AKA the "Delve Into Twelve"based on the following contributing factors: songs I'm playing out that particular week NO MATTER WHEN THEY WERE RELEASED (think overlooked songs, unreleased tracks, and old favorites), songs various publicists are trying to get me to listen to that I did and listened to and liked (phew), posts and trends I've noticed on my friends' Facebook walls, and - most importantly - the songs 1 1/2 year-old son gravitates toward. Yeah, you read that right. This weeks follows below (LW= last week's rank):
12. "Rotting Pinata" - Sponge
11."Hi Lo" - IAMDYNAMITE
10. "Meet My Friends" - Gold Fields
9. "Came Back Haunted"(LW-9) - Nine Inch Nails
8. "If I Loved You" (LW-6) - Delta Rae
7. "Don't Swallow the Cap" (LW-5) - The National
6. "Holy Grail" (LW-2) - Jay-Z/Justin Timberlake
5. "Doin' It Right" (LW-3) - Daft Punk/Panda Bear
4. "Do I Wanna Know" (LW-4) - Arctic Monkeys
3. "Gun" - CHVRCHES
2. "You & I" (LW-1) - Crystal Fighters (Watch them perform the song live on A-Sides here)
1. "Hurricane" - MS MR
About A-Sides Music
Jon Chattman's "A-Sides Music" series usually features artists (established or not) from all genres performing a track, and discussing what it means to them. This informal series focuses on the artist making art in a low-threatening, extremely informal (sometimes humorous) way. No bells, no whistles -- just the music performed in a random, low-key setting followed by an unrehearsed chat. In an industry where everything often gets overblown and over manufactured, I'm hoping this is refreshing.