Rockstar Energy Drink Taste Of Chaos Festival Announced

Last year marked the Rockstar Energy Drink Taste of Chaos festival’s return to Southern California after a five year break. Now, for the second year in a row, the festival will return to San Bernadino, CA on Saturday, July 16th at the San Manuel Amphitheater Festival Grounds.

This year’s lineup includes Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, Quicksand, The Get Up Kids, The Starting Line, Saosin with Anthony Green, Senses Fail, The Early November, The Anniversary, Hot Rod Circuit, and Reggie and the Full Effect. In addition, the festival will also include food trucks, craft beer, carnival rides, a vendor village and more!

Information regarding tickets can be found below!

Review: No Country For Old Musicians | Reggie and The Full Effect

I don’t think that there’s anything that James Dewees won’t do on a record. It’s been half a decade since we’ve heard from Dewees in the form of Reggie and the Full Effect, but he’s back in … well, and I’m sorry, but I have to say this … in full effect. Sorry.

Attempting to add humor into music, especially music as dark and personal as RATFE’s can be, is walking on thin ice. Tough, but not impossible. Along with bands like Ludo and Wheatus, Dewees has always found a great balance to this tricky formula, and No Country for Old Musicians continues down that path, wasting no time in doing so. Right out of the gate, the ridiculous and twangy “Introduction” crashes (literally) into “Super Croc VS Mega Doosh,” which packs a Three Cheers-era My Chemical Romance sound.

The craziness continues during the span of the entire album, whether it’s the intergalactic spaghetti western “Guerrera,” the story of being pulled into the underworld because your plea bargain to exchange yourself for Bruno Mars failed on “37,” the fantastically ridiculous fake accent during “Sundae, Booty Sundae,” or a handful of other short half song/half skit pieces scattered throughout.

Dewees’ sense of humor is definitely noticeable, but it isn’t overpowering or overdone. On the songs and snippets that focus more on the comedic side, they make sure not to overstay their welcome, typically clocking in under a minute, acting more like quick intermissions than actual songs.

“Who Needs Another Drank?” is quick-witted and fun, and starts off with a sound-bite shoutout to Albany, which earned an instant bonus point in my book. “Kanji tattoos … Still in Style???” is a hands-down highlight, opening with clinking bells and swirling synths and eventually building to a chorus that makes you want to dance around in the rain and scream and swing your hair around in circles.

As much insanity as there is on No Country for Old Musicians, and I think the album art itself acts as a pretty good indicator for what you can expect, Dewees returns from a five-year break, still boasting his unrivaled ability to seamlessly stroll the line that separates absurdity and authenticity. All jokes aside, there’s a whole lot here to enjoy.

Release Date: November 19^th, 2013
Rating: 3.75/5
Runtime: 46:37

Tracklist:
1. Introduction
2. Super Croc VS. Mega Doosh
3. 37
4. Fowlin’ Around
5. Revenge is a dish best served at Park Chan-Wook’s
6. Guerrera
7. Gimme back my leg
8. Robo Fonzie meets Frank
9. Who needs another drank featuring Floppy disk-0
10. Sundae, booty sundae featuring Fluxuation
11. Kanji tattoos still in style
12. We make a breakfast
13. To the Fruit Wizards of Donnington
14. DMV featuring Common Denominator
15. Disregard
16. Danka Shane

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Written By: Eric Riley

Review:: Matt Pryor/James Dewees Split

Matt Pryor’s work as a part of The Get Up Kids has made his a pioneer within our music world. His honest, brutally passionate lyrics have always held a standard that others can only hope to achieve. Though The Get Up Kids may be where his primary recognition comes from, his productions stemming from The New Amsterdams and the Terrible Twos (his kid’s music group) have also made quite the impression.

Later this year, Pryor will be releasing his newest solo record, Wrist Slitter – his third album on his own. But, being the marathoner that he is, he teamed up with James Dewees, of Reggie and the Full Effect and My Chemical Romance fame (and, you know, The Get Up Kids as well), to release a short split EP beforehand.

The first of his three tracks, “I Can Be So Cold,” is a full-band effort reminiscent of what we’ve grown to love about Pryor’s music. His definitive voice is just as it has always been, coupled kindly with trademark lyricism, slammed piano keys, and harsh guitars.

“Failing You” is a sprinted pop-punk gem. Racing by in under two minutes, it’s a brief anthem for dealing with letting someone down and trying to get beyond it. Pryor screeches “I’m trying, dying, I’m failing you every time. Your patience is just wasted … I just go on and on for hours until everything around me disappears,” screaming over not being able to “control the monster when it starts.”

Closer “Peculiar” begins gently, sounding like a gradually-building music-box lullaby. A strange fading swirl of electronic static ebbs and flows throughout the background, drawing flashbacks to old JamisonParker tracks. Pryor’s looped vocals “My whole life, regretting, the time is resetting, I’ll always remember this moment forever” repeat themselves as the distorting chaos grows. The song ends, leaving an echo of “forever” ringing in the listeners’ ears. It is, in the simplest of terms, haunting and gorgeous.

Rating short EP’s like this is always tricky for me. On one hand, I want to spitefully give it a “0” because I’m petty and bitter that it is only three songs. Then again, on the other end of the spectrum, I want to give it a “6” because it’s really damn good. So, we’ll average that out to a “3.” Yay, math! (Don’t worry, there won’t be any more of that noise. We’ll focus on music.)

Release Date: September 30th, 2013
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 7:15

Tracklist:
1. “I Can Be So Cold”
2. “Failing You”
3. “Peculiar”

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Written By: Eric Riley