News Update Week Ending 07-27

TWLOHA Wants You To Pick Up The Phone
Pick Up the Phone is a campaign partnership between the communities of To Write Love on Her Arms and PostSecret to provide support for the work of the National Hopeline Network and The Kristin Brooks Hope Center (KBHC). This year, 1-800-SUICIDE will observe their tenth anniversary since being established in 1998 by Reese Butler. The organization was founded in memory of Reese’s wife, Kristin, who committed suicide. Since that time, The Kristin Brooks Hope Center has provided help to nearly three million callers. However, the 1-800-SUICIDE hotline is currently in need of some assistance of its own. Over the past decade, The Kristin Brooks Hope Center and 1-800-SUICIDE have been able to provide help to so many people through the Hopeline network. With your support and with the support of TWLOHA and PostSecret, they will be able to continue to provide this assistance, along with the comfort of complete confidentiality. The unique services that are currently provided and the services that they will be able to provide in the future are what makes Hopeline such a valuable asset to our society. "With your support, we can work together to prevent tragedy and to stand with Hopeline in this pivotal moment. In moments of bravery and confusion and honesty, people turn to 1-800-SUICIDE - nearly three million of them. The folks at Hopeline have been answering those calls for ten years, picking up the phone when it's mattered most. Now it's our turn. This is our moment to respond," says To Write Love on Her Arms founder, Jamie Tworkowski. "I think TWLOHA and PostSecret are very special websites and communities... These communities are precious, fragile, strong and meaningful... What a thrill to be combining forces to help Reese Butler and Hopeline. I have been working with Reese since 2005 and before that I was a volunteer answering Hopeline calls at a Hopeline crisis center. I personally know the good works that Reese is behind and truly appreciate all the time and effort you all are contributing to. I believe it is some of the most important work being done on the planet," says PostSecret founder Frank Warren. As a result of the many calls that 1-800-SUICIDE receives every day, and because of a delay in government funding, Hopeline is struggling to pay their phone bill. If this bill is not paid, the government will be allowed to fully take control of 1-800-SUICIDE. Part of what makes Hopeline such a powerful resource is that the calls placed to this number are completely private and confidential. We believe that the responsibility for providing a private and confidential environment in which to find help should remain in the hands of those who had the heart and compassion to begin this work ten years ago. As a result of the many calls that 1-800-SUICIDE receives every day, and because of a delay in government funding, Hopeline is struggling to pay their phone bill. If this bill is not paid, the government will be allowed to fully take control of 1-800-SUICIDE. Part of what makes Hopeline such a powerful resource is that the calls placed to this number are completely private and confidential. We believe that the responsibility for providing a private and confidential environment in which to find help should remain in the hands of those who had the heart and compassion to begin this work ten years ago. For this reason, TWLOHA is encouraging everyone to support the Pick Up The Phone campaign by donating directly to the Kristin Brooks Hope Center, buying a Pick Up The Phone t-shirt (coming soon) or joining the Hopeline 99 Club. The money that comes from these donations will be used to help pay the phone bill that connects about 50,000 callers each month to the National Hopeline Network and keep 1-800-SUICIDE in the hands of The Kristin Brooks Hope Center. This support also paves the way for future services, such as training of online counselors to provide assistance through one-on-one live Internet chat. In order to continue making this necessary help available, we must all work together to pay this phone bill and keep 1-800-SUICIDE a private and confidential source of help and hope. With your help and support, together we can prevent tragedy from occurring and help Hopeline stay in the private hands of the people who had the heart to create it. To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.
More information can be found here:
hopeline.com
twloha.com

Capital Lights On Billboard's Top Heatseekers
Last week marked the label debut for power pop/rock band Capital Lights. Following their release of This Is An Outrage, Capital Lights finds the debut charting on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart this week at No. 51. The project also landed on Billboard's Christian Rock chart at No. 12 and Top Christian Albums at No. 34. In addition, This Is An Outrage grabbed the attention of the digital buyers on iTunes as it debuted on overall Rock Chart at No. 27 during street week. "It definitely feels great to actually be on the Billboard and iTunes charts," exclaims vocalist Bryson Phillips. "God has really been blessing us! We are just glad people are actually buying our album and getting excited about what we are doing. We hope to continue this momentum as we keep touring like crazy the rest of the year." Capital Lights will be a part of the first Creation Festival: The Tour with Kutless, Thousand Foot Krutch, Pillar, KJ-52, Fireflight, Worth Dying For, RunKidRun and Esterlyn.
For more band or tour information, please check these out:
myspace.com/capitallights
creationfesttour.com/index.html

Gwen Stacy Answers Fans' Questions Live
Ferret Music melodic hardcore outfit Gwen Stacy has announced that they will do a live fan interactive interview on Fearless Radio on July 24th at 5PM CST. Fearless Radio is a popular internet radio stations based out of Chicago, IL that strongly focuses on the independent music market. To have your questions asked to TJ Sego, drummer for Gwen Stacy, send a message on AOL Instant Messenger or Yahoo Instant Messenger to fearlessradio00 or on MSN Messenger to fearlessradio. Gwen Stacy has been hard at work in support of The Life I Know, which has been a great success with both the fans and the media. Absolutepunk.net said of the album, “The Life I Know is full of energy, catchiness, and guitars that beat you senseless.”
For additional information on the band and album information, please visit:
myspace.com/gwenstacy

Norma Jean New Album News
Head over to Alternative Press to hear the premiere of a new Norma Jean Song, "Self Employed Chemist." The song is off their upcoming album "The Anti Mother" which is available in stores and online August 5th! You can now pre-order the album over at Smartpunk and get a free T-shirt with purchase, while supplies last.

Sever Your Ties' Debut In Stores Now
Sever Your Ties' debut album, "Safety In The Sea" is available in stores and online now! You can get it at your local Best Buy, FYE or wherever music is sold. You can also download it for only $7.99 over at iTunes! For the latest news, music, tour dates, extras and more from Sever Your Ties, check out their e-card and album trailer!

Blessid Union Of Souls Are "Close To The Edge"
After rotating band members, management companies and record labels over the past few years, BLESSID UNION OF SOULS—founders lead singer/songwriter, Eliot Sloan and bassist Tony Clark, along with six year vets Bryan Billhimer (guitars) and Shaun Schaefer (drums)-- are back with the band's sixth studio album, CLOSE TO THE EDGE. It’s due out September 16 on Torque Records (distributed by Sony/Victory/Red). The first single, “Could’ve Been With Me,” is currently being serviced to radio stations nationwide and will be made available on iTunes in the coming weeks. With CLOSE TO THE EDGE, the Cincinnati band embarks on an album that is more indicative to what the four of them bring to the table musically. Taking eight tracks from their previously independent album, PERCEPTION and adding four fresh new songs to the record, the band is back in full force with a new outlook on their careers. Blessid Union Of Souls fans can be reassured that they have not abandoned the song writing integrity that helped establish them as one of the premier groups of the past decade. Their knack for simple, sing along melodies can be heard in the instantly likeable “I’ll Be There” and their taste for intriguing themes is evident in their opening track, “Back From The Dead,” which is an emotional, personal piece about recovery from addictions. “CLOSE TO THE EDGE, in its entirety and its title, represents exactly where we are as a band,” explains lead singer Eliot Sloan. “There’s a sense of urgency in this record that was completely unintentional and I think it turned out better than anyone in the band expected. It’s the record we’ve been trying to make for the last 5 years, and to hear it as a completed work, knowing it’s about to be released to the masses, has us feeling like this is the first record we’ve ever released.” Blessid Union Of Souls has been blessed indeed since their 1995 debut. They’ve had eight Top 40 hits including “I Wanna Be There,” “Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)” and “I Believe,” which reached #1 in the U.S., Southeast Asia and England while becoming the fourth most played song of 1995; they’ve performed worldwide with The Goo Goo Dolls, Bon Jovi, Shania Twain, Sarah McLachlan and with Mike and The Mechanics at two sold-out shows at Royal Albert Hall in England; their songs have been heard in movies with Jodie Foster, Jim Carrey and Penny Marshall, as well as on TV shows like "Cold Case," "All My Children," "Dancing With The Stars" and "American Idol.” With their humble, not-so-rock-star attitude, radio-friendly songs and an absolute love for their fans, Blessid Union Of Souls continues to defy odds and remain a steady, driving force on the music scene. With their new album on the horizon and a tour to follow, the band doesn’t complain about the climate of the industry, they just continue to do what they’ve done from the beginning that have made them a mainstay in pop music: write songs from the heart.
For more information, please visit
blessidunionofsoulsonline.com
myspace.com/blessidunionofsouls

Red Is Anything But "Already Over"
GRAMMY-nominated modern rock band Red's current music video, "Already Over," now airing on MTV2, recently became the #1 Most Streamed music video at MTV2.com! Since the June 6, 2006 release of End of Silence, Red has toured non-stop (over 250 dates per year); collected five No. 1 radio singles at Christian Rock radio ("Breathe Into Me," "Already Over," "Break Me Down," "Let Go" and "Lost"); had three singles hit Top 10 ("Breathe Into Me"), Top 15 ("Let Go") and Top 20 ("Already Over") at R&R Active Rock radio; seen "Already Over" reach Top 30 at R&R Alternative radio (currently number 28 with a bullet); won a Dove Award (Rock Recorded Song for "Breathe Into Me"); had "Already Over" added at MTV2; had "Let Go" used by CBS in promotion of its hit drama "Without A Trace" and received a GRAMMY nomination in the category Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album for End of Silence. The five-member band is: Michael Barnes, lead vocals; identical twins Anthony Armstrong, guitar and Randy Armstrong, bass; Jasen Rauch, guitar; and Hayden Lamb, drums. End of Silence was produced by Dove Award-winning producer/songwriter Rob Graves and mixed by Ben Grosse (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fuel, Sixpence None the Richer).
For more information on Red, visit their MySpace:
myspace.com/dropofred

The Classic Crime's The Silver Cord Available Now
The Classic Crime's new album, "The Silver Cord" is available in stores and online now! Pick it up at your local Hot Topic for just $9.99! The album is also available on iTunes. To sample songs from the new album, head over to their MySpace. You can also catch the making of the video for their single, "Abracadavers" on YouTube.

Jonezetta's "Cruel To Be Young" Out September 16th
After two years on the road touring with the likes of Mute Math, The Whigs and Shiny Toy Guns (to name a few) promoting their debut album Popularity, Jonezetta gear up to release their sophomore studio album, Cruel To Be Young, out September 16th on Tooth & Nail. Produced by Aaron Sprinkle (Anberlin, MxPx, Pedro the Lion, the Almost) and recorded in Seattle at The Compound over the course of six weeks, this album, their second for Tooth & Nail, is the band's most engrossing and accomplished work to date. From the opening notes of “Wide Awake,” to the sprawling echoed chords of “Busy Body,” Jonezetta have taken a different approach with the creation of Cruel To Be Young. A departure from songwriting tactics used on their prior releases, the band tried to keep it simple as far as the technology available to them. “It was a whole new approach with this record because the songs are shaped more so you have to hear the entire album before making conclusions. I think America has such bad ADD these days when it comes to art and entertainment and attention spans have gone down to zero. This record was an attempt to give the feeling I had growing up listening to an album until the music rubbed off the disc. Making an honest connection with it,” says singer Robert Chisolm. Armed with a fresh start and clean slate, Cruel To Be Young, is the natural evolution from their prior album. “…we want to bring people back to the days when you could put on a CD or go see a show and forget everything that’s going on in the world around you and be totally swept away by the music,” says Chisolm. There are several examples of such inventive ecstasy on the current collection, including the initial concert anthems “Wide Awake,” “Busy Body” (both mentioned above) and “Sick In the Teeth” along with an unpredictable title cut that starts at 150 beats per minute and slows itself down to 90 come the complex bridge. The piano-tipped “Paint & Picture” marks Jonezetta’s most organic and ethereal reflection to date, while “Holding On To You” offers yet another unexpected switch up between an emotive opening, jarring chorus and stream of aggressive soloing over sky high harmonies. The approach taken to this record has allowed Jonezetta the clarity to pull out more sophisticated sounds. Each track flows brilliantly from one song to the next. Cruel To Be Young, is proof that Jonezetta have grown immensely as composers, musicians and lyricists in the two years since their last album.
Catch Jonezetta on tour:
Aug 14 Ocala, Florida
Aug 15 Jacksonville, Florida
Aug 16 Augusta, Georgia
Aug 17 Raleigh, North Carolina
Aug 18 Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Aug 20 Albany, New York
Aug 21 Syracuse, New York
Aug 22 Toledo, Ohio
Aug 23 Grand Rapids, Michigan
Aug 24 Joplin, Missouri
Aug 25 Tulsa, Oklahoma
Aug 26 Ft. Worth, Texas
Aug 27 Austin, Texas
Aug 29 Tuscon, Arizona
Aug 30 Anaheim, California
Aug 31 Sacramento, California
Sep 2 Ogden, Utah

Mortification Set To Release DVD
Mortification's biggest and best Visual package "Live Humanitarian" is being released as a Double DVD set by Nuclear Blast Records world wide on September 26th. "live Humanitarian" will be released in Region 0 so can be viewed anywhere in the world on any DVD player or computer. DVD number 1 captures the band Live in Perth Western Australia at an iMax Theatre. Filmed by 7 cameras and highlights a massive lighting show. This includes a giant Cross of Light in a Huge steel circle that perfectly represents the band's Mission and became the Icon for last year's Live Humanitarian Tour. DVD 2 Has extensive reflections from Steve Rowe about family, Christianity, musical influences, why the band has taken different directions and Christian and Mainstream Metal in general. Steve states, "The History of Mortification, stylistic advances and why the changes have come will make a lot more sense to everyone after watching the "Steve's place Part 2" Section". DVD 2 also contains high lights from the bands Live Humanitarian European Tour last year, the entire 1996, 19 Minute EnVision EvAngelene film clip and footage of Steve competing at The Australian Track and Field Championships in 2005.

Decemberadio Is "Satisfied"
Virginia-based rockers DecembeRadio burst onto the national scene with their self-titled Slanted Records’ debut in 2006. The band was honored with a GMA Dove Award for Rock Album of the Year, earned three additional Dove nominations (including Best New Artist and Song of the Year) and scored a GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album. Their winning streak continued at radio where “Love Found Me” and “Dangerous” heated up rock radio airwaves while “Drifter” and “Find You Waiting” became Top Five hits in the CHR format with “Find You Waiting” hitting the Top 10 at AC. DecembeRadio was named Breakout Band of the Year at the Rock Radio Summit and were the only Christian act touted among Billboard Magazine’s 2006 “Artists to Watch.” Christianity Today named them among their Best Band of the Year and Best New Artist picks. The band's songs even turned up on network television, including the CBS drama series "Cane" and Discovery Channel’s popular series "Hazard Pay," for which “Dangerous” became the theme song. The band admits that there’s a heightened level of expectation surrounding their sophomore release Satisfied, which hits stores August 26th. “There’s definitely a lot of pressure,” admits lead guitarist Brian Bunn. “At the same time, we know we’re doing this for the right reasons and God’s going to take care of us. So we went into the studio, and we did what we love to do best. We just tried to make great music and have fun doing it. It’s as simple as that.” Drummer Boone Daughdrill agrees. “God started to show us that He is working in all of us. New ideas, new lyrics, new riffs just started coming out of nowhere. All of a sudden we had a couple of really cool songs, and that got us really excited about this new album.” DecembeRadio recorded Satisfied at Atlanta’s famed Southern Tracks Recording studios and once again turned to producer Scotty Wilbanks (NewSong, After Edmund). “It just goes so much deeper than just being a producer. Scotty is like a brother to us,” says Bunn. “He really is like the fifth member of the band you could say. He understands what we want to do and where we want to go musically. We grew up on a lot of the same things and listened to the same music; but at the same time, it’s nice because he’s a keyboard player and we’re a more guitar-driven band. It’s good to get that different perspective from somebody who’s not a guitar player. He brings us balance and helps us stay true to who we are.” As they began writing and recording their sophomore effort, the band felt a new sense of confidence in their musicianship and a feeling of creative freedom. “We were having the most fun that we’ve ever had in making this music and that’s the way it should be,” says lead vocalist/bassist Josh Reedy. "DecembeRadio's rock sensibilities and their nod to southern influences make them a refreshing sound in the Christian music landscape,” stated Mark Funderburg, president of Word Distribution. “With their 2006 GRAMMY® nomination and growing fan base, we are certain that their next record, Satisfied, will bring Eric, Josh, Brian and Boone even more attention as it promises to deliver great songs and the rockin' enthusiasm we've come to expect from this hard-working band." DecembeRadio has toured relentlessly for the past two years, most recently opening for Third Day in the spring of 2008. The band will continue to tour throughout the year in support of the new album, taking their music directly to the fans with an energetic live show that combines music and ministry. “People connect with how real you look them in the eye whether you’re rocking out or you’re getting them to sing along with you,” says Reedy. “When they feel they are a part of the show, a part of the band or just a part of that song, that is what we strive for when we step on that stage.” Guitarist Eric Miker says their live show had considerable impact on how they made the new record. “We learned more about our fans and what they like,” he says. “We learned a lot about what works best live, and we wanted to make sure all the songs work great live. We just wanted to make music that the fans like.” “We want to share with the world what Christ has done for us and for them,” says Daughdrill. “I feel like God calls us all to be a light - we have a choice in how we respond to that. Hopefully we can be an encouragement to others, letting them know the satisfaction we’ve found in Christ.” Satisfied will be distributed by Word Distribution/WEA with digital distribution by EMI CMG Distribution. The album will contain bonus material including a photo gallery, live performance video and a behind-the-scenes, making-of-the-album video. Fans will be happy to note that Satisfied also contains the recent hit “Find You Waiting,” which was not available on the original debut release. The first single from the new release “For Your Glory” is currently going for adds at CHR radio and will be hitting AC stations later this month. “Better Man,” the first rock single, will be hitting stations later this month as well.
For more information:
myspace/decemberadio
decemberadio.com

Agraceful Posts New Songs On MySpace
Agraceful have posted two new songs on their myspace page. The furious metal with melodic elements in their songs are on full display here and a preview to their full-length debut for Sumerian Records, The Great I Am to be released on Aug 19th. The band is currently appearing on the Scream The Prayer Tour alongside such groups as Impending Doom, My Children My Bride and A Kiss For Jersey.
For more information on Agraceful and their upcoming album, visit:
myspace.com/agraceful

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