Standing Hawthorn

“Reunite your heart and your mind, you won’t be surprised what you’ll
find” Standing Hawthorn singer Paul Schulte’s evasive and passionate
lyrical style will never let the listener in on the exact intent of this
line or how it connects to the bigger picture in “When its Time” , the
lush anthem on the bands new release Living Without Lies. But taken out of
context it becomes a statement that defines the record and the current
state of the band. The present state of Standing Hawthorn is as close to
ideal as a rock band could be. The assemblage of songs and the wide
variety of influences that swirl in and out of the new record is a
testament to a band presenting itself at its best. Honest, passionate,
convictive and proud.

Standing Hawthorn is Schulte, Chris Karn, Brent Loomis and Stoner (Douglas
Stoner Peterson). The four-some have a long history together. Meeting in
High School and finding out that their musical tastes were much different
than everybody else’s at the time. They bonded over bands like REM, The
Replacements, The Jam and The Clash. What started as a youth filled, “lets
play at this party and see if we can get chicks”, turned into a much more
serious effort and conscious decision to see how far this band thing could
go. After all it was by far the most exciting thing going on in Southern
Orange County. The band complimented each other well with Karns'
progressive, layered guitar sounds, Loomis' intricate, galloping bass
lines and Stoner's solid, sometimes reckless style of drumming. A truly
unique sound was born in the suburbs.

The songs on Living Without Lies project the atmosphere and the changing
seasons and relationships that the band encountered over the last two
years. It was a group effort in the truest sense–trading song ideas,
switching instruments, sharing lyrics, crafting melodies and everybody
singing, which was a first for the band.

Now armed with their finest work to date, Standing Hawthorn is set out to
share the fruits of their labor and take a fresh look at what’s ahead.

Jeramiah Red

Jeramiah Red is Orange County’s raucous answer to southern rock and roll. Formed in 2008, the band has kicked up the dust of the local music scene with their dirty blues guitar, steel-drivin' harmonica and powerful vocals. Wes Dickson (vocals, acoustic guitar), Ian Cullen (lead guitar), Travis Ruiz (harmonica, percussion), Tim Miller (bass) and Matt Pleskacz (drums) have played together in different incarnations throughout the years. After shedding the skins of their previous bands, Jeramiah Red was formed and they ventured into a new sound influenced by acts like The Raconteurs, The Black Keys, and Bob Dylan. Percussionist Travis Ruiz does all the album and poster art for the band.

Jeramiah Red released their EP, Ghost Tracks From the Getty EP in December and was nominated for "Best Album" in the Orange County Music Awards, up against Social Distortion, Young The Giant and Thrice. The album captures Jeramiah Red's gritty blues rock, which ranges from rowdy ("Can't Help Myself") to catchy ("My Baby"). It was recorded at ArtiSans Label in Fullerton and produced by Barrett Slagle (Great Glass Elevator) and engineered by Kyle Griffin.

They were recently nominated for six categories in the OC Music Awards along with 2 wins– a rare feat matched only by Young the Giant. The nominations include: Best Album ("Ghost Tracks from the Getty"), Best Song ("Can't Help Myself"), Best Rock, Best Americana, and winners in Best New Artist, and Best Blues.

Midnight Hour

Midnight Hour first came together in 2006, one year before their first ep “Ghost in the Mirror” was made.  Although he was happy with the art they created together, front man Brad Lodge was never comfortable with his bands initial mix of members.  Fate interceded and Lodge met Tim Johnson, Dan Ardis, Jared Mitchell and James Mitchell. With the lineup solidified the Band began collaborating on material; within weeks, the single, “Running Away”, was created and helped introduce the band to the world via several T.V. shows.  This exposure created the global base that has spawned over a million YouTube hits via fan generated videos.  Since then the band has self produced their first LP (self titled) and got the funding they needed to create the record from their loyal fan base.  The first single, “Modern Love” has gotten the biggest push from Los Angeles based juggernaut KROQ and has been complemented by college radio spins.  Staying true to their roots the band has decided to end 2011 in their backyard with a series of homegrown shows at High Schools and Colleges.  The video for “Modern Love” debuted on KROQ in mid-November.

Seedless

Taking progressive rock rooted with both reggae’s rhythm and message, their music has captivated a new generation of reggae fans. Seamlessly interchanging between genres, their live show takes you for a ride that will leave you begging for more. Look for Seedless to be one of the break out acts of 2012!

2012 marks a big year for Seedless. They will be releasing the much anticipated follow up to t
heir debut album “Twisted Roots,” which was nominated as one of iTunes Best Reggae Albums of 2010. With no shortage of material or inspiration, they will once again make 17th Street Recording Studios, in Costa Mesa, CA their home to record with favorite engineer/producer Lewis Richards. Plans to tour in support of the album are in discussion.

Seedless' previous full length album was released on August 28th 2010. You can find it on iTunes - "Twisted Roots" was named iTunes "Best Reggae Albums of 2010"

Mishka

Born in Bermuda and raised in the Caribbean, Mishka is a traveler and a sailor at heart. A free spirit, whose lyrics melodies and grooves, are reflections of the roots and culture in which he grew, Mishka’s music is Caribbean at the core, and yet it's an eclectic sound that contains many elements and genres. From bass heavy roots reggae, to mellow acoustic ballads, songs of love, songs of social
justice and consciousness, you have to hear for yourself and experience the music.

Mishka's journey has taken him full circle, from an independent singer songwriter, then signed to big record labels like Creation and Sony, through the bright lights of Hollywood working with Matthew McConaughey and his jk livin label and finally right back home, where he is at his best, in the Islands, creating his own brand of music, in total artistic control of his songs and his life. Having just come off a summer long tour of North America, with a stop in Japan he is about to head to St Croix in the Virgin Islands, to finish recording songs for his upcoming album to be released this fall.

Warren Wyatt of WorldSound, the exclusive global representative of Mishka, comments: “He’s a musical force of good and righteousness, a positive power for change in an increasingly negative world. Mishka has a lot to say and it's worth listening, his songs open eyes and hearts and change people…… for the better .”

Mishka, who recently toured over 40 North American venues with Maui born Female Hawaiian Superstar Anuhea has performed with a wide cross-section of top acts including Dirty Heads, Michael Franti, Matisyahu, John Brown's Body, Burning Spear, Slightly Stoopid, Pepper, Luciano, Xavier Rudd, Sly and Robbie, The Roots, The Cat Empire, Gregory Isaacs, Donovan Frankenreiter, Jimmy Buffet, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown & many more.

Mishka has released four Albums to date including the eponymous Mishka in 1999, One Tree in 2005, Above the Bones in 2009, and Talk About in 2010 all of which have received critical acclaim around the world. In 2009 Mishka released a special digital only collection of acoustic songs entitled Guy With a Guitar. This led to iTunes naming the release the Best Singer Songwriter Collection of the Year.

Mishka’s releases have charted around the globe including his last three releases reaching the #1 spot on Billboard Magazine’s Reggae chart. Mishka continues to tour extensively both solo and with his band playing clubs, theaters, and festivals all over America, Canada, the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Japan.

The Aggrolites

The Aggrolites are more than a band they are a movement unto themselves. They carry a banner - one created with their own hands. This banner reads, “Dirty Reggae,” and represents their signature fusion of reggae, soul, grit and determination. For seven magnificent years, this dirty reggae bunch has rolled from city to city, across the pond and up main street USA. They rally the kids, the parents, the students, the cops, the bosses and the drifters. The people come, they relish in The Aggrolites, the dirty reggae and the joy that comes with it all. The liberating rhythms and catchy grooves demand a return trip.

Out of the Los Angeles school of hard knocks, The Aggrolites have earned a Ph.D in "feel good music." On the road they educate with the thunder and punch of the reggae drums and bass, the ripping, soulful melodies of the organ and guitars, and Jesse Wagner’s voice - a gift from the heavens, a perfectly intact gift from Otis, Sam, Ray and Wilson.

After eight years of touring the globe, The Aggrolites are proud to reveal their first live album, Unleashed Live Vol. 1. With five previous studio releases under their belt, including recently released Rugged Road, the next logical move for the band was a compilation of their favorite songs recorded live from recent shows at The Belly Up in Solana Beach, CA and The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Unleashed Live Vol. 1 features songs from all four previous studio releases plus a version of The Beatles “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Banana” by the legendary reggae artist, Roy Ellis. Release date will be announced sometime this fall and available digitally worldwide and in select retail outlets nationwide.

The Aggrolites have a specific way of making music. They don't over think it, they don't obsess over pop culture demands, they walk onto a stage or into a recording studio and let "it" happen - a culmination of inspiration - from the road, from playing alongside legends, and from the energy and motivation of their die hard fans.

The Aggrolites are Jesse Wagner (vocals, lead guitar), Roger Rivas (organ), Jeff Roffredo (bass) and Alex Mckenzie(Drums).

They have five other full-length albums to their credit -- Dirty Reggae (Axe, 2003), The Aggrolites (Hellcat, 2006) and Reggae Hit L.A. (Hellcat, 2007), IV (Hellcat, 2009) and Rugged Road (Young Cub, 2011) “A glorious, surprising treat. Ideal for your next soul shakedown party,” raved Peter Relic from Rolling Stone. In 2007, the band also collaborated with Rancid front-man Tim Armstrong on his solo A Poet's Life (Hellcat 2007) CD/DVD release.

The Aggrolites are well represented in film, television and video games. Their songs have been featured in NBC's Friday Night Lights, MTV's The Hills, Nick Jr.'s Yo Gabba Gabba, USA's Dr. Steve-O, MavTV's Rad Girls, the award-winning surf film The Pursuit, and Australian video game Cricket. The Aggros-backed, Tim Armstrong and Skye Sweetnam duet, "Into Action," is featured in Dream Works Pictures' Hotel For Dogs and Summit Entertainments "50/50" featuring Joseph Gorden-Levitt and Seth Rogen. Their renditions of The Specials' "Ghost Town" and Musical Youth's "Pass The Dutchie" will be heard in the upcoming teen surf comedy Endless Bummer, and "Free Time" will be in Walden Media's musical-romantic comedy Band Slam.

The Aggrolites have shared the stage with Social Distortion, Rancid, Flogging Molly, 311, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Dropkick Murphys, Against Me! and Gogol Bordello. They have graced the stages at such notable events as Vans Warped Tour, SXSW, Coachella, Fuji Rock in Japan, West Coast Riot, Open Air St. Gallen, Pohoda Festival, Rebellion Festival, Chiemsee Reggae Festival, Couvre Feu Festival, among numerous others around the world.

Steel Pulse

Steel Pulse was formed in 1975 in Birmingham, England, specifically the inner city area of Handsworth. The founding members were schoolmates David Hinds (the primary songwriter as well as the lead singer and guitarist), Basil Gabbidon (guitar), and Ronnie "Stepper" McQueen (bass). All of them came from working class West Indian immigrant families, and none had much musical experience. They took some time to improve their technical proficiency, often on Roots inspired material by the Wailers, Burning Spear and several other prominent Jamaican artists. McQueen suggested the group name, after a racehorse, and they soon fleshed out the lineup with drummer Steve "Grizzly" Nisbett, keyboardist/vocalist Selwyn "Bumbo" Brown, percussionist/vocalist Alphonso "Fonso" Martin, and vocalist Michael Riley.

Steel Pulse initially had difficulty finding live gigs, as club owners were reluctant to give them a platform for their "subversive" Rastafarian politics. Luckily, the punk movement was opening up new avenues for music all over Britain, and also finding a spiritual kinship with protest reggae. Thus, the group wound up as an opening act for punk and new wave bands like the Clash, the Stranglers, Generation X, the Police, and XTC, and built a broad-based audience in the process. In keeping with the spirit of the times, Steel Pulse developed a theatrical stage show that leavened their social commentary with satirical humor; many of the members dressed in costumes that mocked traditional British archetypes (Riley was a vicar, McQueen a bowler-wearing aristocrat, Martin a coach footman, etc.). The band issued two singles -- "Kibudu, Mansetta and Abuku" and "Nyah Love" -- on small independent labels, when they then came to the attention of Island Records after opening for Burning Spear.

Steel Pulse's first single for Island was the classic "Ku Klux Klan," which happened to lend itself well to the band's highly visual, costume-heavy concerts. It appeared on their 1978 debut album, Handsworth Revolution, which was soon hailed as a classic of British reggae by many fans and critics, thanks to songs like the title track, "Macka Splaff," "Prodigal Son," and "Soldiers." Riley departed before the follow-up, 1979's Tribute to the Martyrs, which featured other key early singles in "Sound System" and "Babylon Makes the Rules," and solidified the band's reputation for uncompromising political ferocity. That reputation went out the window on 1980's Caught You, a more pop-oriented set devoted to dance tracks and lovers rock. By that point, Steel Pulse was keen on trying to crack the American market, and went on tour over Island's objections. Caught You was issued in the States as Reggae Fever, but failed to break the group, and they soon parted ways with Island.

Steel Pulse moved on to Elektra/Asylum, which released an LP version of their headlining set at the 1981 Reggae Sunsplash Festival. Their studio debut was 1982's True Democracy, a generally acclaimed set that balanced bright, accessible production with a return to social consciousness. It became their first charting LP in America, making both the pop and R&B listings. The slicker follow-up, Earth Crisis, was released in 1984 and featured producer Jimmy "Senyah" Haynes subbing on guitar and bass for founding members Gabbidon and McQueen, both of whom left the group by the end of the recording sessions. They were replaced by guitarist Carlton Bryan and bassist Alvin Ewen for 1986's Babylon the Bandit, another Haynes-produced effort that ranked as the group's most polished, synth-centered record to date. It featured the powerful "Not King James Version" and won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album.

In 1988, Steel Pulse released State of Emergency, their most explicitly crossover-oriented album yet. They also contributed the track "Can't Stand It" to the soundtrack of Spike Lee's classic Do the Right Thing. In 1991, they released another heavily commercial album, the Grammy-nominated Victims, which featured the single "Taxi Driver." Backing up the song's views, Steel Pulse filed a class-action lawsuit against the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, charging that drivers discriminated against blacks and particularly Rastafarians. Founding member Fonso Martin left that year, reducing Steel Pulse to a core trio of Hinds, Nisbett, and Brown. Their backing band still featured Ewen and was elsewhere anchored by guitarist Clifford "Moonie" Pusey, keyboardist Sidney Mills, trumpeter Kevin Batchelor, Saxophonist Jerry Johnson and Trombonist Clark Gayton.

The 1992 live album Rastafari Centennial marked the beginning of a return to the group's musical roots, and earned another Grammy nomination. The following year, they performed at Bill Clinton's inaugural celebration, the first reggae band to appear at such an event. 1994's studio album Vex completed Steel Pulse's re-embrace of classic roots reggae, though it also nodded to contemporary dancehall with several guest toasters and a digital-flavored production. 1997's Rage and Fury continued in a similar vein, and was nominated for a Grammy. In 1999, the group released another collection of live performances, Living Legacy.

Fast forward a long seven years since their previous album, Rage and Fury, Steel Pulse would return yet again, this time with African Holocaust, and yet again have their ranks dwindled. Core members David Hinds (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Selwyn Brown (keyboards, backing vocals) are the only ones to remain from the band's original line-up, but they more than hold their own and they're joined by a deep roster of supporting musicians, a list too long to list. As always, the music is what's most important, and on that count, this Steel Pulse lineup indeed makes the mark. Granted, it did take them seven years to get the album out, but still it won a Grammy Awards Nomination for Best Reggae Album of the year. There's really not too much else to say about African Holocaust. Longtime fans will know what to expect. Newcomers should know a few things: above all, Steel Pulse are known for performing well-written, Afrocentric songs that are rebellious without being negative or inflammatory, and though the band membership has changed over the years, the type of songs hasn't, nor has the steady move away from dancehall that was apparent on the band's previous album. the message and music remain true to the band's principles and vision.

Steel Pulse is one of Britain's greatest reggae bands, in terms of creative and commercial success. Steel Pulse started out playing authentic roots reggae with touches of jazz and Latin music, and earned a substantial audience worldwide. Their 1978 debut, Handsworth Revolution, is still regarded by many critics as a landmark and a high point of British reggae. By the late '80s, Steel Pulse had won a Grammy and were working full-fledged crossover territory. They subsequently returned to a tough-minded, rootsy sound and have added touches of dancehall and hip-hop along the way.

Santigold

Santigold is Santi White: an artist whose perseverance relies on invention, a champion who survives off her own skill and faith. She is a major muse watched by the inspired world, an in categorical performer who collapses time and genre with one hand guided by tradition, while the other hand carves out a shining future. Santigold is neither calm nor mayhem, but from her lungs burst every color in between.

After four years of hide and seek in which blogs blew up at the sudden release of any track with her name attached to it, Santigold returns in a moment of global aggression and vulnerability. Honing in on the hyper-media cult of personality, in her unmistakable voice she asks the listener: Into what fantasy do you hurl yourself as you gaze into the glow of your machine? The answer to this question is central to what drives "Master of My Make-Believe," her latest work to be released this spring on Atlantic Records.

As an antidote against self-celebratory status updates in a climate where the focus on fame outweighs a day's emotions, "Master of My Make-Believe" summons pop culture zombies back to life. This is sound proof of an artist on a diligent journey, measuring the power of individual mood against social clamor. Sifting through a wondrous wreckage of airplay, upload, and anguish, Santigold's talent lies in filtering reality through freakdom, to find in desire a timeless spark of raw magic.

Anyone caught referring to "Master of My Make-Believe" as a sophomore effort is only half right. Though relatively fresh as Santigold, Santi White's history of writing, production, and performance stretch beyond the century's flip. Her collaboration with the industry's most recognized and respected talent is something continuous and wide reaching, making her musical lineage all the much richer. Declared Best Breakthrough Artist by NME in 2008 and Pop Music Vanguard by ASCAP in 2009, the voice that defines Santigold is as complex as the faces that pack a subway car, as intimate and honest as conversation on a weathered stoop.

Through chopped pianos, the clink of glass bottles, and the peaking blast of motorcycle engines, "Master of My Make-Believe" accounts for 21st century details of life from the heart's center to the mind's periphery. In her pen and in her voice, the breadth of substance presented in Santigold's newest songs is immediate and complex. There are valleys here wherein the drudge of daily living is met with caution and confronted by mortality, but underneath it all there is the celebration of each person's power and vision to fight toward what they believe. Consider this your invitation.

Milo Greene

Milo Greene is not real. However, the fictitious character that is Milo Greene is very much alive. His makers perceive him as an intellectual entrepreneur. In his poised and dignified manner, he keeps things close to the vest and lets everyone know who’s boss. He is exactly the type of man you would want to represent you in any business venture…and that is exactly why he was created.

In the DIY music world, having proper representation is key. Lacking an actual manager, college classmates Andrew Heringer, Robbie Arnett, and Marlana Sheetz concocted a virtual one – Milo Greene – to promote their individual musical efforts. It wasn’t until 2009 that the three began creating music together. While house sitting in the isolated Northern California foothills, the trio wrote and recorded a handful of songs. Seeking a name for their new venture, they thought it only natural to pay tribute to the fake manager/booking agent that had represented them throughout their college years: Milo Greene.

Eventually Heringer and Sheetz moved to Southern California, where Arnett was living. There, they added Graham Fink (formerly of ‘The Outline’) and Curtis Marrero (formerly of Arnett’s band ‘Links’). The five-piece made a habit of escaping periodically to desolate West Coast locations to continue the story they had started.

“We had no TV, no Internet, we had a fire going, and we had to hush the dogs,” Arnett says, acknowledging that the environment probably accounted for their music’s pastoral feel, as well as its meticulous attention to detail. Sheetz concurs: “Every place we’ve made music has been isolated, and it has certainly helped us focus.”
Milo Greene’s formal recording sessions for their self-titled debut with co-producer Ryan Hadlock (Ra Ra Riot, Blonde Redhead, The Gossip, The Lumineers) followed suit; they took place at Bear Creek Studio, a converted circa-1900 barn in the country near Seattle.

“We set out to make the album a cohesive piece, something that takes you from Point A to Point B,” Arnett says, “which is maybe not the brightest thing to do in a singles world, but …” Heringer finishes the thought: “Every song does stand on its own, so you never know what to expect sonically or emotionally.”

Milo Greene is a collection of voices that live and breathe simultaneously with the breadth of an omniscient, collective consciousness. The melodies invoke long drives down the California coast and the feeling of leaving home. There is something meditative about it, as though it asks to be listened to alone and given one’s full attention. Guitar lines swell and recede as ocean waves would. A slight dissonance can be sensed underneath a seemingly passive exterior; a tension can be found in passing tones that evoke jazz harmony and the sense of waiting for something really big to happen, a sense of growing inevitably older while grasping at the threads of youth.

The themes explored on Milo Greene’s Chop Shop/Atlantic Records debut are timeless: a quest for permanence, a longing for virtue, a need for reciprocity in all that is good. “When, when, when we’re older / Can I still come over?” the band asks in “Silent Way,” looking hopefully into the future. It’s a future less daunting when faced with the strong bond imagined in the song “Don’t You Give Up on Me,” with its solemn vow “I’ll go wherever you go.”

Those songs, along with the embraceable “Autumn Tree” and “Cutty Love” embody the simple notion that, not unlike the way the quintet makes music, we are all in this together. “We all long to be comforted and secure,” Arnett says. “If our music sounds nostalgic, it’s for the times in our lives we felt that way. If we sound hopeful, it’s because we want to feel that way again.”

Says Fink: “We’re all in our 20s, but we’ve all had past lives. We’re coming to this band from a place where we lived out other dreams. And especially at the age we had them, we didn’t really see an endpoint. We saw the sky as being the limit.”
Wielding four-part harmonies and indelible melodies over sprawling, percussive arrangements, there is no lead singer of Milo Greene. They work powerfully as a team, yet each member is unique and can stand on their own.

“Four of us were lead singers in our previous projects,” Arnett says, “so we really have no focal point, no lead melody writer or lyricist. Everything is Milo.”
Their fictitious character, Milo Greene, is British, they muse, and well versed in art and history, with eclectic tastes in music. The kind of guy who wears a three-piece suit even when it’s hot, and has a record player in every room.
“I think he would be a big fan of our music …” Arnett says.
Fink interjects: “But only because he’s very vain.”

The White Buffalo

The White Buffalo represents an authentic homage to the times of hard touring, hard drinking artists who truly lived what they sang about.  Seamlessly moving from heartfelt ballads to raucous bar songs,  The White Buffalo sings with honesty and thoughtful reflection as he wanders the road, sharing his music.  Everything about him is big, from his imposing physical size to his amazing vocal range. From his whiskey-drenched, growling lows to heart-stopping highs, The White Buffalo paints a touching picture, whether he stands alone or performs with his energetic, charismatic band.

Since the release of "Hogtied like a Rodeo" in 2002, through last years acclaimed, "Prepare for Black And Blue" EP (Nettwerk), The White Buffalo has driven thousands of miles to dozens of cities performing their songs and connecting with music <http://www.artistdirect.com/#>  fans.

The White Buffalo’s latest album, "Once Upon a Time in the West", (Unison Music-fall, 2011) features songs that are rooted in the everyday struggles, of both epic and personal scales, with elements of blues, country western, folk, and classic rock.

Influenced by story-tellers like Waylon Jennings, Tom Waits and Bad Religion, the album ranges in themes from slices of life in the shadows ("The Bowery") to coming out of a battlefield ("Ballad of a Deadman") to dark heroic fantasies ("The Pilot,") from putting the concepts of family and country under the microscope ("I Wish It Was True").

"The whole point of songwriting is taking people on an emotional journey, like a mini-movie," says Smith. "Most of my songs capture moments in time, small snippets of life and some paint broader pictures. It’s less about the Old West, than the new one I grew up in, with some politics and some nostalgic memories of my childhood in Southern California."

Anuhea

Anuheake'alaokalokelani Jenkins (Anuhea) was born in December 1985 on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

A self-taught guitarist and song writer, Anuhea began showcasing her talents while boarding at Hawaii's famous Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu. "We would print out guitar chords to Bob Marley and Jack Johnson songs at school then skip water polo practice to go back to the dorms and jam them. Once I got the basic idea of guitar I then started writing my own songs." Anuhea enjoyed the spotlight. She was the head anchor for the daily campus-wide news, hosted a variety of TV shows for local television stations, and acted in school musicals.

After attending film school in Orange County California for a year, Anuhea realized she wasn't heading in the direction she was most passionate about, music. So she abandoned her scholarships and embarked on a soul-searching odyssey to Australia for 3 weeks. She returned to the islands and immediately got into the scene, performing at a local coffee shop. These gigs turned into paid restaurant gigs and she eventually put a band together using friends from around the island.

Anuhea descends from Hawaiian, Chinese, German and Welsh ethnic backgrounds. In 2006 she competed for a crown in the Miss Maui Scholarship Pageant, the preliminary to the Miss Hawaii and Miss America Pageants. Not the pageant-girl cliche by any means, Anuhea embraced the challenge of the pageant and performed an original song "I Just Want You Around" for the talent portion of the competition. She walked away with a trophy for Miss Congeniality and 2nd Runner Up. "I thrive off of challenges. I had hit a point where I was pretty stagnant, and I had some student loans I really wanted to pay off. Plus you see pageants on TV as a kid, and I just always wanted to try to be that girly girl for once in my life."

Anuhea's musical and performance skills continued to improved with every performance, and successes came steadily. She took the initiative to market herself as a musician initially acting as her own manager, booking agent, music producer and distributor. Anuhea even took recordings from a live taping for a public radio station and turned them into her first real demo CD "Rough Cuts" which through her myspace page got her discovered by manager / record label co-owner Warren Wyatt.

A naturally gifted songwriter, Anuhea's word choices are a clever balance of emotions where each song tells a unique story, each story a lesson learned."I'm influenced highly by R&B and Soul, Hip Hop and Funk, but my instrument is acoustic guitar. I tend to write most of my songs during the craziest parts of my life. I'll write pages and pages in my notebook in no order then go back with my guitar in my hands and sing the words as lyrics to some chords. That's how most songs start for me." Anuhea wants to be a part of a new generation melding the melodic traditions of her island upbringing with modern beats and influences.

Music has been in Anuhea's family for generations, so it was inevitable that her seeded passions would reflect the same. Anuhea's father is from the North Shore of Oahu in the surfing culture of Haleiwa. His younger sister, Nalani is a founding member of the most popular female group in the history of Hawaiian Music, Na Leo Pilimehana. Anuhea's mother, an Oregon native, comes from a musical family as well, her father is a popular country guitarist.

Anuhea has shared the stage with Bruno Mars, Babyface, Al Green, FloRida, Hoobastank and Pepper. She and her band have toured Japan and Guam with the Armed Forces Entertainment Tour for the troops and their families. She had official showcases at South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin Texas in 2009 and 2010. Anuhea headlined the national 2010 Right Love Tour, and the 2010 Surf Roots Tour along with iTunes Best Reggae Album of the Year recipients, The Green.

In April 2010 Anuhea performed alongside Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley & Taj Mahal at the sold out Kokua Festival at the Waikiki Shell. She went on to win 2 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (Hawaii's version of the Grammy's) for Contemporary Album of the Year and Most Promising Artist. Anuhea continued recording hit radio singles and touring throughout 2010.

In 2011 Anuhea and band performed the Half-Time show at the NFL ProBowl at the Aloha Stadium. In March she went went on a trip to New Zealand as part of the Mana Maoli Collective. Mana Maoli is a non profit organization that brings funds and awareness for Hawaiian charter schools in Hawaii, the Mana Music program, and the Kane Hunamoku voyaging canoe program. The Collective is an all-star band featuring a artists and musicians from Hawaii's top acts. The lineup included artists like John Cruz, members of Natural Vibrations, Kapena DeLima of the legendary Kapena, percussionist Lopaka Colon, and more. The band and hula dancers represented Hawaii at festivals like Pasifika and WOMAD, and gave workshops and classes throughout the schools of Aotearoa.

In summer 2010 Anuhea hit the road again with artists Mishka and Mat. McHugh of Australia's The Beautiful Girls on an all-acoustic tour across the US and into Canada. Along the way, Anuhea was writing the songs for her sophomore album. Ever the opportunist, Anuhea saw the opportunity to do something productive during some downtime before soundcheck in New York City. With her manager behind the iPhone video camera, Anuhea walked the streets of New York, her ukulele in hand, lip synching to her newest song "Simple Love Song". An 8-hour edit on iMovie later... the music video for "Simple Love Song" was created. It has almost 1 million views and became Hawaii's #1 song of the summer. The tour, the single, and the video were a taste of what was to come with the new album from Hawaii's sweetheart.

During the recording process, her radio successes in Hawaii caught the attention of Jacob Hemphill, lead singer of the reggae chart toppers SOJA out of Arlington, VA. After a few phone conversations and song writing sessions via skype, their vibes worked together sweetly and Jacob ended up penning a song for Anuhea's album called "Its Not The Same". Shortly thereafter, Anuhea went to the East Coast for some serious songwriting with the reggae band. Jacob and Anuhea wrote and recorded a duet titled "Easier" which will be released soon, as well as an Anuhea version the SOJA song "Losing My Mind". When finding an opening act for their sold-out "Strength to Survive Tour", of course SOJA chose their new friend Anuhea. The tour started in Hawaii and finished at a sold out House of Blues in San Diego, with Anuhea getting called back on stage to sing "You and Me" with Hemphill and the boys every night.

Her album "For Love" was released on iTunes on Valentines Day, Feb 14th 2012. Amidst the Grammy's and the Whitney Houston passing, "For Love" still managed to hit the #20 spot on the ultra-competitive Pop Charts on iTunes. Its physical release was on March 13th, and with 5 radio singles in rotation in Hawaii, it quickly became the #1 album in the islands.

Universal Fontana distribution has Anuhea's album available in most Walmarts on the West Coast, and iTunes has Anuhea "For Love" available internationally in every single country.

Anuhea is set to hit the road again this May and June on a US tour with her old tour mate Mishka on the "Love and Roots Tour" (dates on Anuheajams.com). International tour dates later in 2012 will take her to Japan, New Zealand and Australia, Brazil and Europe.

The future is bright for this Maui songbird. Anuhea's determination, passion, optimism and raw talent are the foundations for the success that is to come. "I just feel lucky that I've found my dream and am able to pursue it... My main goal as a music-maker is to help people find theirs, whatever it may be."

Delta Spirit

When it came time to record Delta Spirit’s third album, the band members knew one thing: It was time to shake off the stylistic labels that have shadowed them since they formed in San Diego, CA, in 2005. Though lyricists Matt Vasquez and Kelly Winrich were grateful for the warm reviews that their previous albums Ode To Sunshine (2008) and History From Below (2010) received, they were perplexed at being called “rootsy Americana” or “twangy folk.” In their eyes, Delta Spirit has always been a thoroughly modern rock band, and, with their self-titled new album, they set out to prove it.

We found the sound that we've been looking for, that we've been growing into, and as soon as we hit on it, we ran with it,” Vasquez says. “That’s why it’s a self-titled record, so we could connect our identity with the album, because this album is what we think Delta Spirit is. People make records for their time and we wanted to make one for our time. Just like novelists want to write the Great American Novel, we wanted to make a Great American Record. Not one about yesterday, but one about right now.”

To help them realize their vision, Delta Spirit recruited producer Chris Coady, not only for his indie-rock credentials (he’s worked with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Beach House, and Smith Westerns, among others), but also because, with five strongly opinionated band members, Delta Spirit needed a producer who wouldn’t be pushed around easily. “We also wanted a great engineer and someone who knew how to make sounds that didn’t sound stock and average,” Vasquez says of Coady, who brought in a home-built synthesizer, which was used on the song “Home.”

The band also experimented sonically, creating layers of texture by using previously verboten instruments like MPC samples and drum machines. They also empowered their new guitarist, Will McLaren, to create stand-alone parts, and to go to town on electric instruments. The experimentation can be heard throughout the album, which opens with the rollicking opening number “Empty House,” and serves as a transition between Delta Spirit’s previous sound and its new one. “The intention was to introduce the album with something that hints at what we used to sound like,” Winrich says. “We wanted to ease people into it.” The band, who recorded the album at Dreamland — a converted church built in 1896 in Woodstock, New York — also upended traditional song structures, playing around with writing songs with no choruses (“California”) and generally throwing off simple verse-chorus-bridge conventions, making sure each verse felt different from the one that preceded it.

When it came to lyrical content, Vasquez and Winrich stuck to what they knew. “We’re not hearkening back to anything in the lyrics,” Vasquez says. “We’re writing about situations that are mostly personal. I think the topic of love has affected us the most.” The most direct approach comes from Winrich. “My songs all seem to pertain to one situation, a failed relationship,” he says. “‘Anyone who’s been in a long-distance situation will be able to relate to ‘California.’ ‘Otherside’ is about being delusional and holding onto something that may or may not be real, and ‘Time Bomb’ is about being blind to what the future holds and how happiness and sadness are kind of intertwined.”

Several (though not all) of Vasquez’s songs tend to make their points through the perspective of others, a style favored by some of his favorite songwriters, including Tom Waits and Nick Cave. On “Empty House,” he takes on the persona of a construction worker who is seeing the Dharma in his work. “This guy is mixing concrete and suddenly notices the tiny glinting specks in it,” Vasquez explains. “He begins to wonder ‘What got me here? Where am I headed?’ and relating that little speck to his life.” “Tellin’ The Mind” is about Colton Harris Moore, the teenager known as the Barefoot Bandit who became an internet sensation after committing several burglaries, and stealing and crashing a plane. “I loved him,” Vasquez says. “I thought he deserved an anthem.” “Tear It Up” was originally inspired by the events in Egypt during the Arab spring, but morphed into a more universal song about what can happen with people get together with a common goal. Vasquez’s most personal song is “Yamaha,” which he wrote for his wife when she grew upset about his being away on tour for long stretches of time. “I felt like shit but I couldn’t do anything. A guy’s first instinct is to fix it, but you can’t when you’re three time zones away, so I wrote this song for her.”

The album’s raucous energy and no-holds barred performances will appeal to Delta Spirit’s fanbase, which has grown consistently thanks to their explosive live shows. The band, who have completed headlining tours of the U.S. and Europe and appeared at SXSW, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Coachella, are looking forward to hitting the road and playing the new songs. “There’s no other experience on earth like playing music with people and feeling that kinetic energy,” Vasquez says. “I want to do it even when I’m old and it’s ridiculous to see me on stage. If I can hold on to even a tenth of the feeling we have when we’re playing, I’ll be happy.”

Jimmy Eat World

Invented, the sixth full-length album by Jimmy Eat World, contains the signature big hooks and sing-along melodies for which the band has become famous.  Fans of the band’s older hits like “The Middle,” “Sweetness,” and “Pain” will find lots to grab onto…and those same fans will be happy to learn that Mark Trombino, who served as a producer on the band’s first three albums Static Prevails, Clarity and Bleed American, is again at the helm for Invented. While the music is “classic Jimmy Eat World,” the lyrics come from a completely different place than ever before.

Jim Adkins, the band’s primary lyricist, credits this new lyrical direction to an exercise he created for himself as the band was putting the finishing touches on their previous album, Chase This Light. At the time, Adkins had recently discovered two books -- Cindy Sherman’s  “Completely Untitled Film Still” series and Hannah Starkey’s “Photographs 1997-2007” and became taken with the creation of his own back stories for each photo.  “I would take about ten minutes and blast through every aspect of the scene that came to me. Who was this particular character and who were the people in her life? How did she end up in this scene?” Adkins says, “It was intended to be a writing exercise -- much like an exercise lots of people employ every day called ‘object writing.’ The point wasn’t to get material for Jimmy Eat World songs, it was only to get my brain in a mindset for working. Eventually, though, ideas developed in those sessions did start creeping into songs.  The album title ‘Invented’ refers to a song which I feel sums up the mood here,” Adkins adds, “but could also be taken more literally as this album is the deepest into character writing we have tried so far.”

The reconnection with producer Mark Trombino occurred in San Diego during the band's sold-out national tour commemorating the 10-year anniversary for the album Clarity.  Adkins tells the rest of the story: “It had been a really long time since we had met. We talked for a while and it was good. We had already been working on material for Invented for a while, and we were thinking of hiring a producer to work with us, but we wanted someone with a specific skill set and willingness to work in a non-conventional setting.” The idea was the band would work out a song as much as they could on their own in their studio, Unit 2 in Tempe, Arizona and then send the multi-track recordings to Trombino in California. “Mark is a ninja with a computer,” Adkins adds, “After trying out a couple songs we knew he brought something really complimentary to the sessions. We would be recording the foundations of one song in Arizona as he was mixing another song in California.”

Jimmy Eat World got their start in 1994 and has gained a reputation for being a band of great perseverance and hard work.  Since the 1999 release of their breakthrough debut album Clarity, they’ve sold millions of records, have had numerous top ten singles at Modern Rock Radio, appeared on Saturday Night Live and have toured with Foo Fighters, Green Day and Weezer.

Rebelution

On Jan 10th, 2012 the Santa Barbara, CA based band Rebelution released "Peace of Mind" through their own label 87 Music in partnership with Controlled Substance Sound Labs. Peace of Mind was released as a multi-length triple album which includes Peace of Mind: Acoustic as well as Peace of Mind: Dub. Marking the highest chart debut of Rebelution’s career, Peace of Mind debuted at #13 on the Billboard Top 200, #1 Reggae and #1 Independent albums as well as #4 on the iTunes overall album chart. The band previously had four top 10 albums on the Reggae chart and their 2009 release Bright Side of Life debuted at No. 54 on the Top 200 and #1 Reggae.

Rebelution kicked off their 42 city “Peace of Mind Tour” the day after the release, selling out shows at Philadelphia's The Electric Factory, Hollywood Palladium, Fillmore in Denver and Hard Rock in Orlando, FL.

Peace of Mind marks the first time Rebelution has expanded beyond their usual self-production enlisting producers Michael Goldwasser (Easy Star All-Stars), Amp Live (Zion-I), Yeti Beats (Kool Keith, George Clinton), Keith Armstrong and Errol Brown (Stephen, Ziggy, Damian, and Bob Marley). The album builds upon the band’s signature style while venturing into new musical genres from the lush strings incorporated into the gentle “Route Around” to the driving guitar and synths throughout “Lady In White”.

Originally formed in 2004, members Eric Rachmany (vocals / guitar), Rory Carey (keyboards), Wesley Finley (drums), and Marley D. Williams (bass) met in college, while residing in Isla Vista, a popular beachside community in Santa Barbara. It was there that the seeds to Rebelution’s future were planted, creating inspiring and engaging music that would leave their listeners with the sense that they have the power to make this world a better place. The band continuously tours across the country, ventured to South America and Europe, and has previously performed at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits among others.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros formed in 2007 after singer Alex Ebert met fellow singer Jade Castrinos outside of a cafe in downtown Los Angeles. In 2009 the 10 member troupe released their debut album Up From Below which featured the universally appealing hit “Home” as well as fan favorite’s “40 Day Dream” and “Janglin”.

The past few years have been spent constantly touring the world while winning over audiences at festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Leeds, Austin City Limits and more. With their follow up album Here featuring “Man On Fire” and “That’s What’s Up” recently being released, the band will tour Europe, North America and Australia this year while a third album is expected in early 2013.

The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are an American rock band, formed in Norman, Oklahoma in 1983.

Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "Psychiatric Explorations of the Fetus with Needles", "Free Radicals (A Hallucination of the Christmas Skeleton Pleading with a Suicide Bomber)" and "Yeah, I Know It's a Drag... But Wastin' Pigs Is Still Radical". They are also acclaimed for their elaborate live shows, which feature costumes, balloons, puppets, video projections, complex stage light configurations, giant hands, large amounts of confetti, and frontman Wayne Coyne's signature man-sized plastic bubble, in which he traverses the audience. In 2002, Q magazine named The Flaming Lips one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die".

The group recorded several albums and EPs on an indie label, Restless, in the 1980s and early 1990s. After signing to Warner Brothers, they scored a hit in 1993 with "She Don't Use Jelly". Although it has been their only hit single in the U.S., the band has maintained critical respect and, to a lesser extent, commercial viability through albums such as 1999's The Soft Bulletin (which was NME magazine's Album of the Year) and 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. They have had more hit singles in the UK and Europe than in the U.S. In February 2007, they were nominated for a 2007 BRIT Award in the "Best International Act" category. By 2007, the group garnered three Grammy Awards, including two for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

On October 13, 2009 the group released their latest studio album, Embryonic. On December 22, 2009, the Flaming Lips released a remake of the 1973 Pink Floyd album The Dark Side Of The Moon. In 2011, the band began releasing new songs every month of the year: some were collaborations with artists like Neon Indian and Lightning Bolt; some were elaborately packaged ideas such as a 24-hour-song on a USB drive embedded in a real human skull.

Beats Antique

Experimental world fusion and electronic music trio Beats Antique continues to receive praise for their fourth full-length album Elektrafone, out now on the band’s own Antique Records. The new release has garnered attention from MTV who hails the music as “ridiculously catchy” while Scripps Newswire calls the record “a cool curiosity.” Elektrafone follows the band’s 2010 album, Blind Threshold, which debuted at #2 on iTunes electronic charts and was praised by MXDWN as “meticulously crafted with an array of sounds and a variance of melody.” The band will continue to celebrate the album with further tour dates this spring, including stops at Coachella and the Sasquatch! Music Festival. See below for further details.



Beats Antique premiered their most recent video for the song “Revival,” off Blind Threshold, on the YouTube Music Homepage. Created by director and animator Ivan Landau, who called the experience, “a collaborative dream” and illustrator Leighton Kelly, the short film travels through surreal landscapes meeting mythical creatures that depart on a far-reaching journey to revive dance from the dead. Landau comments, “This video started as a little dream. It’s been amazing watching it materialize from subconscious to screen.” Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SA_kvN3pVk.



Formed in San Francisco in 2007, Beats Antique is the musical alliance of producers David Satori, Tommy Cappel and world-renowned belly dance performer and producer Zoe Jakes. Satori and Cappel both trained classically before venturing to locations including Bali, West Africa and Serbia. With extensive backgrounds in multicultural music production, they command the spectrum of live and digital instrumentation with skills born of hip-hop and jazz. Jakes adds a third dimension as the multi-cultural and disciplinary dance counterpart, with her professional experience in two major Bellydance troupes. All of this sets the scene for the group’s stage show which has impressed audiences at festivals including Bonnaroo, All Good, Wakarusa, EDC Las Vegas, Outside Lands and Electric Forest. The band will embark on a U.S. tour this fall, please see dates below. 



In the four years since Beats Antique emerged, the group has released three albums and a pair of EPs. Off the charts, Beats Antique readily allies with nonprofits such as The Sustainable Living Roadshow, collaborating on their Spring 2011 Eco Education tour to support social change with music.

For more information, please contact Cami Opere, Mary Moyer or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.

Jane’s Addiction

Great bands break rules, but legends write their own. JANE'S ADDICTION have actually written the rule book for alternative music and culture through a combination of genre-defying classic songs and a cinematic live experience. Their songs serve as the Ten Commandments for alt rock, inspiring an entire generation of bands such as Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam and Tool. When the Los Angeles quartet came along, they merged alternative and rock like no one before, becoming the first alternative rock band, creating a new sound and attitude.

Perry Farrell stands out as one of music's most forward-thinking and enigmatic frontmen, and his vocals soar with vibrancy, vulnerability and vitality. Guitar god Dave Navarro conjures simultaneously psychedelic and epic riffs. Stephen Perkins' tribal stomp remains hypnotic and transfixing. In 2010, Jane's Addiction began writing and recording a new album--The Great Escape Artist--for release on Capitol in October 2011, to be supported with a worldwide tour. The band and producer Rich Costey (Muse, Franz Ferdinand, Interpol) added TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek to the creative team. Sitek, best known for his production work on TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Foals, is writing and playing bass on the new album.

The addition of Sitek writing music with Navarro and Perkins pointed the record in a decidedly alternative direction. Farrell's melodies and lyrics completed the picture, the results of which created a more natural progression of Jane's music from their inception as the creators of alternative rock as they now step into 2011 with a very modern-sounding record that somehow magically still harkens back to the original vibe of the group.

Taking a more musical approach, the members switched off on instruments and stretched out a bit, as Navarro played some bass, Sitek played some guitar, and Perkins experimented with several new percussion instruments. The group even brought in long time touring member and session player extraordinaire, Chris Chaney, to play additional bass.

To further the experimentation, Jane's Addiction enlisted the help of the Masters Musicians of Joujouka, originally discovered by Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones in the late 60's, to create the lush but bizarre background to their first released track from the new set called "End to the Lies." The Master Musicians of Joujouka recorded their parts in the wilds ofMorocco.

"End to the Lies" was leaked in April 2011 on Chilean radio when Jane's Addiction headlined Lollapalooza Chile in Santiago at the first official Lollapalooza staged outside the United States. A final mix of the initial song was released online a month later along with a striking video directed by Alex Bulkley from Robot Chicken fame.

The group's first single "Irresistible Force" is a cosmic love story. According to Rolling Stone, the song "...comes on like an art-metal freak show set on some distant planet." Spin Magazine went further on to say "...frontman Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro both put in stunning performances...It sounds like a band revitalized."

Acclaimed for their swirling sonic symphony and unique studio alchemy, Jane's Addiction have sold over seven million records in theU.S.alone. They've also garnered Grammy nominations and spearheaded the movement of modern American festival culture by launching and headlining Lollapalooza. Even during dormant periods, their classic songs pulsated through rock radio constantly and their influence resounded through countless acts.

Jane's Addiction laid the foundation for their legacy in Los Angeles. There probably isn't a more appropriate birthing ground for music this unique. In 1985, Farrell met the band's original bassist Eric Avery, and they immediately connected over a shared musical perspective wanting to shake things up. They'd only hone that perspective further with the addition of Perkins. Everything fell into place once Perkins suggested Navarro, and the first incarnation of the band was solidified. Headlining various local venues and becoming a veritable phenomenon in the L.A.club scene, Jane's Addiction garnered the attention of numerous major labels. Even though they'd officially sign with Warner Bros. in 1986, the band chose to release their live debut, Jane's Addiction, via indie label Triple X Records in 1987, keeping a D.I.Y. attitude that'd define their career. Recorded live at The Roxy, the album stirred up national interest, introducing their one-of-a-kind style to the world at large.

In 1988, Jane's Addiction would officially arrive as a pop culture force with their first proper studio album, Nothing's Shocking. The band created a sound that the world had never heard before. It was as riff heavy as it was sensitive. Farrell lyrically chronicled the stranger side of L.A. life, telling personal tales that'd stick with fans just as much as Navarro's licks did. The characters that populate tracks like debut single "Jane Says," "Ted, Just Admit It..." and "Had a Dad" were just as alive as the music itself. Farrell examined sex, violence, love, drugs and so much more with Marquis de Sade-style wit and Andy Warhol-esque vision. It's easy to wonder who those songs are about, and if those people are all out there somewhere on the fringes. The album artwork, a naked sculpture of Farrell's girlfriend at the time, and the video for "Mountain Song" both were widely banned. However, Nothing's Shocking was "alternative" in the purest sense of the word. Jane's Addiction live for their art and nothing else. Trademark song "Jane Says" charged up the Alternative Songs chart and the album was certified platinum, also grabbing a Grammy nod in 1989 for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, and audiences everywhere fell under Jane's spell.

For their second studio album, 1990's Ritual de lo Habitual, the band went further down the rabbit hole musically. Fully embracing their psychedelic and progressive side, tracks like "Three Days" and "Then She Did..." exceeded the eight-minute mark, becoming elegant aural tapestries with mystique a la Led Zeppelin. The album reached 3x-platinum in the U.S with two #1 singles "Stop!" and "Been Caught Stealing," the latter of which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.
It was almost as if the band's chemistry bubbled too much, and they needed a break at this point. In 1991, for the Jane's Addiction "farewell" tour, Farrell concocted Lollapalooza. His visionary idea brought alternative nations together like never before, and the touring festival ran annually until 1997. After the first Lollapalooza, Jane's Addiction went on hiatus, but they never truly went away. The band embarked on 1997's highly successful Relapse Tour with Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass, supporting their inclusion on the Private Parts soundtrack. A gold-selling compilation, Kettle Whistle, also hit shelves that year.

The world needed Jane's Addiction in 2003 just as much as it did in 1985, and the band released Strays, their first new album in 13 years. After debuting at #4 on the Billboard chart, the album quickly reached gold status, and first single "Just Because" was their biggest single to date landing at #1. Jane's Addiction was once again everywhere with "Superhero" becoming the opening theme song for HBO's hit show "Entourage" at the same time. The band headlined the re-tooled Lollapalooza festival that summer.
After taking a break in 2004, the band reunited in 2008 for a fiery performance at the first-ever USANME Awards. Instantly, they began channeling the same mystic energy that fueled them on their earliest tours and they wanted to share it with the world. The best way to do that was by hitting the road on one of the most successful tours of 2009, NIN/JA with Nine Inch Nails. Not only did it hearken back to the band's first tour together, but NIN/JA illuminated Jane's Addiction firing on all cylinders with their biggest and most visually stunning stage production yet as well as flawless playing. Given the success of the tour, new music was a must, and The Great Escape Artist is a triumph for Jane's Addiction.