Silversun Pickups, and the success of an Independent Record Label....

Alternative/Indie rockers' Silversun Pickups are the "poster-child" band for Dangerbird Records, an independent record label based in Los Angeles.

The band originated in the Silver Lake music scene in L.A. and is comprised of four mutual friends spawning from previous bands in the area. Brian Aubert - guitar/lead vocals, Nikki Monninger - bass/vocals, Chris Guanlao - drums, and Joe Lester - keyboards/samples/sound manipulation. They released their debut EP "Pikul" in July 05' and recorded "Kissing Families" which is still my favorite song to date.

Dangerbird records signed the band to an independent record deal and released their follow-up first full length "Carnavas". Silversun Pickups hit the road in support of the new album and first two singles "Lazy Eye" and "Well Thought Out Twinkles" which entered the Billboard modern rock chart in the Top 10. While on tour, SSPU blazed the stage at a "little" (sarcastic) music fest called Coachella, and shared the stage with some of rocks great bands on the road including Snow Patrol, Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs, Wolfmother, and Ok Go, scooping up new fans along the way. Key licensing opportunities arose with the success of the singles, with placements in the ever popular Guitar Hero/Rock band and Tony Hawk video games.

"Swoon", the bands newest 10 track album has received the most commercial success for any release to date thanks to the first single "Panic Switch" which can be heard all over commercial radio nationwide, and a video played on heavy rotation at MTV and VH1 (Define heavy? They don't play video's). "Swoon" was released April 14 09' with positive reviews by critics and charted at #7 on the Billboard Music Charts selling over 42,000 copies. Check out their newest single "Substitution".

"Some songs are very quiet and delicate, [while] others are just fucking loud." (quoted lead vox Brian Aubert - Alternative Press Magazine)

Top 5 reasons why they rule:

1) Kick-Ass female bassist/back-up vocals who is mistaken for the lead singer.
2) Drummer raises crash symbol up over his head.
3) They are on an independent record label and have out-sold the majority of major label bands.
4) They make more money per album sale due to the fact they are on an indie label.
5) Going on a limb - Major labels want them but cannot have them!

-Look out for flying Origami birds.....

Muse.....The New British Invasion?

Muse is currently the opening act for U2's 360 Tour, need I say more? To even be considered an opening act for U2 is beyond the scope of any bands imagination.

Muse was formed at a community college in their hometown of Teignmouth, England in 1994 and have since become one of the most popular bands in Great Britain and Europe and finally starting to catch major fire in the US. Major recognition started following the East/West Records release of the bands third album "Absolution" which featured stand out tracks "Time is Running Out" and "Hysteria". Muse relentlessly toured the UK and US in support of "Absolution" and performed they're largest show to date at the Glastonbury Festival in England in 2004. A wave of emotions followed when drummer Dominic Howard's father died of a heart-attack an hour after the show.

The follow-up album "Black Holes and Revelations" was released on Warner Brothers Records in July 2006 and charted number 1 on Billboard in the UK and crept up the US Billboard charts to a number 9 position. The album was considered a huge success and launched Muse into the forefront of rock stardom largely due to the impressive singles "Supermassive Black Hole", "Starlight" (my personal fav.) and "Knights of Cydonia". I can highly recommend checking out all three of these tracks if you have not done so already. The success of "Black Holes and Revelations" garnered Muse for world-wide tours and headlining acts on the worlds festival circuit, exposing they're sometimes under-appreciated talent to the rest of the world.

The long awaited album named "Resistance" dropped this past September 2009 and charted a well deserved number 3 on Billboard. First single "Uprising" was released a week before the album and featured a live performance at MTV's Video Music Awards while the band was embarking on yet another worldwide tour in support of the new album.

Spin Magazine: "They turn to the next logical ladder rung of pretension: symphony. And they may have finally found the perfect category to fuse with their ever-swooping brand of rock."

The New York Times: "The Resistance, the crispest Muse album yet, is unapologetically and ambitiously beautiful."

Show support, buy an album for a change....