David Bazan and his band will be headed out on tour in the USA in March and April with the Headlights.

03/03/10 Wed – Salem OR – Ike Box
03/04/10 Thu – Eugene OR – Sam Bond’s Garage
03/05/10 Fri – Sacramento CA – Blue Lamp
03/06/10 Sat – Visalia CA – Cellar Door
03/07/10 Sun – Santa Barbara CA – Soho
03/08/10 Mon – Long Beach CA – Alex’s Bar
03/09/10 Tue – Las Vegas NV – Beauty Bar
03/10/10 Wed – Phoenix AZ – Sail Inn
03/12/10 Fri – Norman OK – The Opolis
03/13/10 Sat – Springfield MO – Gallery Sounds
03/14/10 Sun – St Louis MO – Old Rock House
03/15/10 Mon – Newport KY – Southgate House
03/17/10 Wed – Nashville TN – Exit/In
03/18/10 Thu – Asheville NC – Grey Eagle
03/19/10 Fri – Columbia SC – New Brookland Tavern
03/20/10 Sat – Richmond VA – Alley Katz
03/21/10 Sun – Baltimore MD – The Ottobar
03/22/10 Mon – Philadelphia PA – First Unitarian Church
03/23/10 Tue – Brooklyn NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
03/27/10 Sat – Grantham PA – Messiah College
03/28/10 Sun – Columbus OH – The Basement
03/29/10 Mon – Bloomington IN – The Bishop
03/30/10 Tue – Grand Rapids MI – Calvin College
04/01/10 Thu – Iowa City IA – The Mill
04/02/10 Fri – Urbana IL – Canopy Club
04/03/10 Sat – DeKalb IL – House Cafe
04/04/10 Sun – Milwaukee WI – Pabst
04/05/10 Mon – St. Paul MN – Turf Club
04/06/10 Tue – Fargo ND – The Aquarium
04/08/10 Thu – Missoula MT – The Palace
04/09/10 Fri – Spokane WA – Empyrean
04/10/10 Sat – Bellingham WA – Western Washington University

* Headlights will be opening March 3 – April 5.

“True Devotion sees Votolato stripping down his arrangements and baring his soul via a 10-song collection of nearly flawless compositions. FOUR STARS” – Alternative Press

There was a printing error in the printed version of AP that showed a 2 1/2 star rating with the album review. The actual star rating is 4 stars. AP was quick to fix the mistake in their web edition. But could not get it corrected in time for the printed version. They deeply regret the error and any confusion this may have caused.

Read the entire review here.

Undertow is pleased to announce the addition of Barsuk recording artist, Rocky Votolato, to our management roster.

In his decade-plus life as a songwriter and musician he has sought to articulate something essential about life, writing songs that seem to have been scratched into a boxcar wall by a worn-out and lonesome ghost. His gravelly, sandpaper smooth voice and introspective lyrics mark him as that most rare of punk-rocker-turned-acoustic-troubadours: Votolato writes graceful, understated, human, unpretentious songs, demonstrating that simplicity is still a viable option for accomplished songwriters.

Reserve your copy of his latest album, True Devotion, between now and February 23rd and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a private house show for you and 20 of your closest friends! Also, three runners-up will win a signed copy of the record and free concert tickets.

Everyone who pre-orders the CD will get to hear it NOW, via immediate access to a full-album digital stream, and will receive with their order a bonus 7″ single (while supplies last).

Be sure to check the latest tour dates so you can see Rocky Votolato in your city.

links: website | myspace | facebook | twitter | wikipedia

Will Johnson is the guest editor at Magnet Magazine all week.
Check out a Q&A here.
And then check out his daily posts here.

NO DEPRESSION 12/22/09:

The noughties were the decade when the music community liberated itself. Suddenly any ‘musician’ with half a voice could record an album at home, create a website and sell it on-line. The downside was that there were suddenly thousands more ‘recording artists’ competing for our attention and some of the finest songwriters of the decade really didn’t get the attention they deserved. One of those is Will Johnson.

Let me tell you a little about Will. He’s a workaholic; this year alone, he has toured with his own bands, Centro- matic and South San Gabriel, performed a few solo gigs and played guitar and provided backing vocals for Drive By Trucker Patterson Hood’s solo venture ( including a fine set at No Depression’s first festival at Marymoor Park in July). More recently, he could be found on the road playing drums for indie ‘supergroup’, the Monsters Of Folk and has just released a duo album with Jason Molina ( of Magnolia Electric Co ). Did I mention that he had exhibition of his baseball art in Dallas, Texas back in August ? [ READ MORE ]

I just heard about the passing of Greg Slay. Very sad news. I met Greg in 1992 when I was working at Hewgley’s Music in Nashville and he was the drummer in Loppybogymi. Greg and I hit it off immediately. He spent a lot of time hanging out at the drum shop and eventually started giving lessons there when he was not touring. My first touring experience was a hot, sweaty trip to the deep south in a light blue Chevy van with Greg, Tim and James. It was one of the best times I had on tour. I would not be doing what I do now if it was not for the time I spent with them. They changed the way I thought about music, art and life. I was not in touch with Greg for many years but I thought about him often and always with great fondness. My deepest sympathies go to his friends and family. – Bob

We are sad to hear about the death of Vic Chesnutt. He was an amazing person with a huge heart and unlimited talent. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Two years after the release of their critically-acclaimed album Say Something, Brooklyn-based indie pop quartet Via Audio (Jessica Martins, Tom Deis, David Lizmi, and Adam Sturtevant) have unveiled the plans for their sophomore album, Animalore, a collection of eccentric sounds infused with fairy tales, folklore, science fiction, romance, seduction, and adventure.

Recording the album in Spoon drummer Jim Eno’s Austin, Texas studio in 2009, Via Audio tackled their latest songbook as Eno artfully crafted different sonic palettes for each unique song on Animalore. The result is an indie rock album that serves as a pop-up book for adults, bursting with vivid colors and secret corridors at the turn of every page.

Via Audio will release Animalore via Undertow Music Collective on February 23rd and the band will be busy supporting the record on the road all year.  You can check out “Babies” from the album here

Thanks to everyone who has made this year’s living room shows such a success!  Your support has been unprecedented and we look forward to doing more in 2010. If you haven’t had a chance to check one out head over to www.undertowtickets.com for more details.  These shows are limited to very few tickets and many shows have already sold out.

David Bazan Living Room Tour

Rocky Votolato Living Room Tour