On their fifth record as a band, THE ATARIS find themselves drastically changing their entire approach to music. Not only has their overall style changed, but the entire make-up of the band has been uprooted. The only remaining members from their 2003 hit album So Long, Astoria are longtime frontman Kris Roe and guitarist Joe [...]

Long Island’s daily paper, Newsday, has a write-up on the highly successful business MerchDirect. The company, which got off the ground nearly eight years ago, recently inked a deal with the estate of ODB to become to the merchandiser of clothing, posters, etc. bearing his name and image. One of MerchDirect’s founders is Justin Beck of GLASSJAW fame. Check out the article here.

- It’s amazing to think about his company went from being a small storefront in a bland strip mall on Long Island’s south shore, to now having a 40,000 square facility. I remember hanging out a couple of times at the original location and looking at a single shirt press, and wandering my way through densely packed rows of shirts and shipping bins. It’s a great story all the way around.

From the inbox:

“Those of you that have seen us [CAPITAL] live know that we throw around a BURN cover of “Out of Time” every once in awhile. We recorded it a while ago with our friend Scott Jablow, and it will be coming out on a Revelation Records 20th Anniversary compilation that has old and new bands covering classic songs from the Revelation catalog. [We] put up a preview of the unmastered version; it’s kinda low so just turn up your speakers.”

- Awesome. If anyone knows of quality covers of BURN’s classic “…Shall Be Judged,” drop me a line.

It’s always interesting to read about and then hear a band that combines good music with an intelligent voice. Whether this is exhibited in the way the members approach their music or write their lyrics, it should be noteworthy in a scene where a band’s true intentions are commonly hidden by the public masks they [...]

Although not quite a new release, I got my hands on FOUR STAR ALARM’s 7″ on Underground Communique Records. The two song EP features an original tune named “Cities In Dust,” and a great cover of the SUGAR song “Titled.” You can stream “Tilted” on the band’s MySpace page (among a bunch of other songs from the band’s Thick Records EP). FOUR STAR ALARM is fronted by Jeff Dean of THE BOMB and THE STORY SO FAR. If you’re a fan of SAMIAM, SEAWEED, or HUSKER DU, definitely check this out.

Members of SET IT STRAIGHT and FIRST TO LEAVE have formed a new hardcore punk band named ANXIETY. Two nuggets of screaming angst have been posted on the group’s MySpace page.