- From the band’s upcoming EP on Run For Cover Records. So good.

From the inbox:

Strike First Records is pleased to announce the signing of Southern California’s EARTH FROM ABOVE. These guys have been tearing up SoCal for a while now and will be recording their debut full-length in January with engineer Chris Eck (Impending Doom, Mirrors of Dead Faces, Oblige) for a spring 09 release. You can hear “The Antidote,” a brand new pre-production song on their MySpace right now.

Earth from Above growl and sneer their way through their live sets, with two studied metal vocalists at the helm; and their shows are just a taste of what will come out of Chris Eck’s recording studio.

TOUR DATES:

Oct 31 The Paradigm w/ Impending Doom, Yucaipa, CA

Nov 8 The Maac w/ Impending Doom, Chula Vista, CA

Nov 14 The Green Turtle Whitier, CA

Nov 22 PC Paramount w/ Impending Doom, Paramount, CA

Nov 29 Salon Fiesta w/ Impending Doom, Tijuana, Baja CA

- Oooooh, “with two studied metal vocalists.” Was it at-home tutoring, or at the Metal Skool?

- After a label switch from Matador to The End Records, EARLY MAN are back with a new four song EP of revival thrash that simply smolders. When I finally get my time-machine working, I’ll make sure I put these guys on tour with METALLICA in 1986.

Clay Street Records is a new vinyl-oriented label run by Zach Lowery, of Grey Flight Records. The label’s first two releases are the KID DYNAMITE collection Cheap Shots, Youth Anthems (300 copies on black, 700 on translucent gold), and DEAR AND THE HEADLIGHTS’ Small Steps, Heavy Hooves (a double LP, also 300 on black and 700 on translucent gold). Both can be ordered from Vinyl Collective.

From the inbox:

Barsuk Records is excited to announce that all five of NADA SURF’s studio records will be issued on vinyl for the first time ever. The set will be released on November 25, 2008 and will be collected in a limited-edition box. Limited to 1,000 numbered copies, the career-spanning box contains all five studio albums on vinyl, an exclusive repressing of the first 7″ single, and full-color 24-page lyric and photo book. It will also include download codes for MP3 versions of The Proximity Effect, Let Go, The Weight Is a Gift, Lucky, and a collection of rare and out-of-print bonus tracks and b-sides.

The label and band are also excited to announce the winners of the Nada Surf / You Tube “Weightless” video contest. Congratulations to the winning directors, Richard Card and Austin Trotter, who will receive $3,000 from Barsuk Records for their video that focuses on transitions and dream-like experiences, both ordinary and surreal. Second-place winner Sean P. Rogan and his breathtaking skydiving (yes skydiving) entry, and third place winner Sam Kuhn and his beautifully shot black & white paper airplane video will receive a copy of the Nada Surf vinyl box set, an assortment of Nada Surf t-shirts and CDs and some gear from the good folks at www.dakine.com. You can watch the winning entries at: barsuk.com/nadasurfcontestwinners

Fall tour dates:

November:

9 New York, NY The Living Room (Kidrockers event – Matthew +Ira acoustic)

19 Mexico City, Mexico The Vive Cuervo Salon

21 Denton, TX Hailey’s #%

22 Austin, TX Emo’s #%

24 Oklahoma City, OK Bricktown Ballroom #%

25 Little Rock, AR Juanita’s #%

28 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Café #%

29 Chicago, IL Metro #%

December:

2 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club #%

4 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero#%

5 Washington, DC 9:30 Club #%

6 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom #&

7 New York, NY Webster Hall#*

8 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s %$

I’m not sure if Eyeball Records has a scout in Sweden or not, but they sure do have a knack for finding fresh, talented Swedes. The label picked up JETTIE and released their all-around solid US debut earlier this year, and now they’ve brought on TIGER LOU. While this quartet definitely shares certain dreamy qualities [...]

Perhaps I’m showing my age, but I’ve always thought of AVAIL like s’mores. S’mores are, as you know, gram crackers, chocolate and marshmallows; simple, very tasty, always welcome, and yet, somehow, much more than the sum of its parts. You can see where this is going, I’m sure. Describing AVAIL is simple, and yet odd. [...]

From the inbox:

Issue Oriented Podcast Vol. 37: Host Ronen Kauffman talks to F*UCKED UP’s MIKE HALIECHUK (aka 10,000 MARBLES) and JOSH ZUCKER (aka CONCENTRATION CAMP aka GULAG) about misinformation, friendship, and lots of other crazy stuff.

Then Ronen talks to POISON THE WELL guitarist RYAN PRIMACK about the band’s upcoming releases, the economics of band survival and much more.

This episode also features the World Premiere of 2 songs from the new band DETOURNEMENT, featuring members of THE RATCHETS, LIFETIME, BIGWIG, ENSIGN and more!

listen: issueoriented.com

- Ya know… among all the possible nickname or aliases to choose from in the English language, I’m pretty sure “Concentration Camp” is a real rarity. How does one arrive at the decision to go by the handle “Concentration Camp?” What was wrong with “Knuckles,” or even “D-Beat?”