1 The Head and the Heart – The Head and the Heart
“We can start moving forward.” The Head and the Heart has nowhere to go but forward since the release of their debut album this year. It is full of gorgeous harmonies, heartfelt lyrics, and unpredictable, yet seamless song structures.

2011 holds for them a tour with the #2 band on my favorites list…

2 Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame

3 Sam Quinn – The Fake That Sunk A Thousand Ships

4 Jenny and Johnny – I’m Having Fun Now

5 Bad Books – Bad Books

6 Rocky Votolato – True Devotion

7 Steel Train – Steel Train

8 Frontier Ruckus – Deadmalls & Nightfalls

9 Fair – Disappearing World

10 Lakes – The Agreement

11 Menomena – Mines

12 Dylan Gilbert – Pangaea

13 Commerce – The Things I Say Vs. The Things I Mean

14 Rogue Wave – Permalight

Top Shows of TwentyTen
5 The Stuffing
4 Something Corporate
3 Elonzo/ Ben Walker/ Nathan Hussey at House of Softcore (our very first house show!!)
2 Fall For Greenville
1 SceneSC Fundraiser featuring Valley Maker/ The Internet/ American Gun/ The Restoration/ Calculator at New Brookland

Sam Quinn from Ramseur Records on Vimeo.

The new Sam Quinn album, The Fake That Sunk a Thousand Ships, came out yesterday on Ramsuer Records.  For fans of The Everybodyfields and Sam Quinn, this day has been a long time coming.

If you like your music poppy and depressing like I do, you’ll love the new album.  Check out the video above to hear a little bit from it and to hear Sam talk about the new music.

Quinn will be at The White Mule in Columbia on May 29th.

Order the new CD.

(Beardless, Pictured here May 3 by Knoxville.com)

We’ve made it no secret that we have a band crush on The Everybodyfields.  And we’ve done our fair share of Jill Andrews solo project promotion, but now it’s Sam Quinn’s turn.  We caught Quinn at a sold out show at The Evening muse and meant to ask him who was living in his beard.  Never got the chance, but it tis a glorious beard.

Sam Quinn’s first solo album,The Fake That Sunk 1,000 Ships, will come out May 11th on Ramsuer Records and might be his saddest to date.  “This album is so down it’s ridiculous,” he said in a statement. “It’s real stuff I was going through, a real bad year in my life so I just wanted to hash it out and get over it. It’s real—it’s not about hopping trains or coal mining or making liquor.”

Pay what you want for the new 4 song EP “As I Grew” from Life on Repeat.  This is their first release under the Equal Vision record label that they were recently signed to.  They will be touring this December with Sent By Ravens (Florence, SC) who were also recently signed to Tooth and Nail.  Enjoy the free music.

Before R.E.M. released their last album Accelerate, they took a one week residency at Dublin, Ireland’s historic Olympia Theatre.  The new live CD will have 39 songs from these working rehearsals.

In addition to the new songs that appear on Accelerate, R.E.M. reached back in their catalog and played 29 songs from their early IRS years that were rarely if ever played live.

Guitarist Peter Buck compared the live rehearsals to an “experiment in terror.”

“We were just trying to do something we hadn’t done before,” said Buck, “which meant there was no relaxing during the set. Every second we were playing something we didn’t know all that well. Which was kind of good… there were all kinds of terror elements going on during that show.”

In support of the new Live album, R.E.M. has set up a new website featuring a full tracklisting, a video for “Driver 8″ and a video for “Living Well is the Best Revenge.”

A special edition 2 CD + 1 DVD live show will also be available.

After 20 years of solid country hits from Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks, the duo are “calling it a day.”

In a message via their Web site they said to not believe whatever rumors you hear about their break up, it was just time that has gotten the best of them.

Since 1990 Brooks and Dunn have hat 23 No. 1 hits on 10 studio albums.

This made Scene SC national news because I’ve always wanted to write the title Brooks & Done and mean it.

Brand New have released the first single off their upcoming album “Daisy” on their Myspace today.  What do you think about “At the Bottom?”

All of their albums so far have been dramatically different than the previous one, but I feel like this song would have fit in fine with the last album.  Maybe they have hit a maturity level they can stick with.

Listen to Seventy times 7, Sic Transit Gloria, Jesus Christ and then At the Bottom and you can literally hear a band grow up.

In support of his new album Curse Your Branches (8/25) David Bazan will ditch the house shows for a little while and take off on a US tour.

Bazan is no stranger to Columbia although he isn’t stopping in on this tour.  He has come to New Brookland Tavern multiple times over the last 10 years and has even included USC on his last trip through South Carolina.

David Bazan USA Tour (with band)

Joining Bazan on tour will be: Eric Elbogen: guitar (Say Hi), Andy Fitts: keyboards + guitar (Aqueduct), Casey Foubert: drums (Richard Swift, Sufjan Stevens), Blake Wescott: guitar (long-time Bazan collaborator)

10/01 - San Francisco CA - Independent
10/02 - Costa Mesa CA - Detroit Bar
10/03 - San Diego CA - Casbah
10/04 - Los Angeles CA - Troubadour
10/05 - Tucson AZ - Solar Culture
10/07 - Austin TX - Mohawk
10/08 - Denton TX - Dan’s Silverleaf
10/09 - Memphis TN - Hi-Tone Café
10/10 - Murray KY - Lovett Auditorium / Murray State
10/11 - Birmingham AL - Bottletree
10/13 - Orlando FL - The Social
10/14 - Atlanta GA - Drunken Unicorn
10/15 - Chapel Hill NC - Cat’s Cradle
10/16 - Washington DC - Black Cat
10/17 - Philadelphia PA - Kung Fu Necktie
10/18 - New York NY - Bowery Ballroom
10/20 - Cambridge MA - TT the Bear’s
10/21 - Montreal QC - Il Motore
10/22 - Toronto ON - Lee’s Palace
10/23 - Pontiac MI - Pike Room
10/24 - Chicago IL - TBA
10/25 - Champaign IL - Highdive
10/27 - Madison WI High – Noon Saloon
10/28 - Minneapolis MN - Turf Club
10/29 - Iowa City IA - The Picador
10/30 - Lawrence KS - Jackpot Saloon
10/31 - Omaha NE - Slowdown
11/01 - Denver CO - Hi Dive
11/02 - Salt Lake City UT - Kilby Court
11/05 - Vancouver BC - Media Club
11/06 - Portland OR - Mississippi Studios
11/07 - Seattle WA - Neumos

Stereogum is also offering a free download of his new song “Bless this Mess.”

Equal Vision Records announced today that they have signed Life On Repeat.  You might remember Life on Repeat as Amen, The Animal, the band that played the Scene SC Kickoff Party last November.  Although the band is based out of Maryland, they have close ties to South Carolina through their singer, Patrick Purves, who is a Columbia area native.

Life on Repeat is currently slated to go into the studio in August with producer Brian McTernan (Thrice, Circa Survive, Senses Fail).  The digital EP is set for a Fall release.

Equal Vision is a great label for them and I couldn’t be prouder of these guys.  And it will always be awesome to see Veara, The Decade and Aviary Fire in these guys top friends on myspace.

Equal Vision Records have signed Salisbury, MD’s Life On Repeat! The band – vocalist Patrick Purves, guitarists Andrew Baylis and Zach King, bassist Devon Voisine, and drummer David Walker – have been active for several years in various forms. Previously known as Amen The Animal, Baylis explained the name change was necessary as the former, “carried a hefty load of history, including old members. It didn’t feel right carrying on as Amen The Animal when I was the only original member of the lineup.” As Amen The Animal, the quintet garnered buzz with their self-released EP, My Iron Heart.

With somewhat of a fresh start, Life On Repeat are preparing to spread their infectious brand of pop-rock with melodic hooks, dance-able beats and driving guitars in the form of a digital EP to be recorded with producer Brian McTernan (Thrice, Circa Survive, Senses Fail) in August and released later this fall. “He’s responsible for so many successful albums that each of us grew up listening to. When we heard that we had the opportunity to record with him, it was a no-brainer,” explained Walker.

“Upon leaving the studio, we wish to not see home for months at a time, no matter what it takes,” Baylis expressed what could possible be the band’s mantra. Striving to perfect their craft not only in the studio, but more importantly live, self-booked tours have kept the band on the road for over two years, including shows with Versa Emerge, Dance Gavin Dance, The Ataris, and more. Just a month ago, Life On Repeat played all 6 dates of Cornerstone Festival 2009. While consistent touring is an essential ingredient for the recipe of any successful band, it was a much bigger requirement for the quintet. “In a nutshell, there is no music scene in Salisbury; the closest venues are about 2 hours away. We rented out halls and churches to hold our own shows,” Walker described. “Throughout the past year or so, we’ve basically established our own local scene through the shows we’ve set up.”

Of the signing to Equal Vision Records, the band says, “Equal Vision has not only launched the careers of many highly respected artists, but they have maintained a work ethic that continues to prove they are here to stay. From day one, we aspired to be involved with a label that is, in every way, able to properly have our music heard. We couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds with Life On Repeat and EVR.”

Amen, The Animal-My Iron Heart from Scene SC on Vimeo.

Weezer debuted two new songs at the Jisan Valley Rock Festival in South Korea last week.  The songs are titled “I’m Your Daddy” and “The Girl Got Hot.”  They are both terrible terrible songs.  Every time I think Weezer can’t write a worse song, they do.

It has been all downhill since Matt Sharp left the band.