It has been quite some time since A Rooster for the Masses put out a new album, but the popular local group is doing just that on April 15 at Kings Barcade when they release their third and newest LP No One Is Ready. Still upbeat with a touch of disco and an air of reggae, ARFTM has certainly kept the same vibe with this record as their past discs, and that is a wonderful thing.  Founding member Adam Eckhardt and myself shared a brief 30 minute conversation where he reflected on the history of the band and its current state as well as the new album. We also listened to several new tracks including “No One Is Ready,” “Make Much Sense,” “At The Gates,” and “Die By Day.” Give it a listen below:

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The doors open at 9 p.m. and the show starts at 10 p.m. Greensboro-based Decoration Ghost and Raleigh favorites River City Ransom are also playing. Tickets are $6 online and $8 at the door.

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Tir Na nOg and WKNC are proud to present Local Beer Local Band this Thursday, which will feature music from River City Ransom, IAMDYNAMITE, and Rocket Surgeon!!! Show starts at 10 p.m., 21 and up, and FREE FREE FREE!  Special deals on Local BEER and Tir Na nOg’s mega delicious burgers will be on special as well!

In case the Cheerwine flavored Krispey Kreme donut didn’t quite do it for you, the next best product launch this week has to be iPhone app Sound Around, which hit the market today.  Sound Around is a brand new iPhone app aimed at local and national artists and made by co-founders and brothers Scott and Steven Klein of NC State cred right here in the Triangle.

Sound Around is an easy-to-use app creator for bands that lets musicians and groups create customizable apps which their fans can download for free.  Twitter updates, push notifications, concert calendars, music streaming, and more are right at everyone’s fingertips.  For more information, check out this short video below:

Sound Around – Launch from Sound Around on Vimeo.

Local artists River City Ransom, I Was Totally Destroying It, Valient Thorr, Rome Is Dead, and American Aquarium have been doing test trials on the app for a couple of months now, and The Separate are set to release it’s Sound Around app this evening.  Ben Pritchett of RCR had this to say about their experience so far:

“The Sound Around app is an exceptional service. After talking with the Sound Around creators, I could tell they were all about getting the maximum amount of content to their customers. And they’ve done a great job of providing my band the tools to put as much content out to our fans as we want. Content is available instantaneously after uploading, giving Sound Around an “organic” feeling. The Sound Around app is extremely intuitive to use, so it only took minutes before a good amount of our band’s content was available. And even with being this intuitive, it still manages to create a level of customization so I feel my band’s app is different from any other band’s app that will be found on the App Store.”

Scott and Steve are both coming on the Local Beat this Friday, July 2 at 6pm to chat about the new application.  Be on the listen and you could win a free three-month trial!  Screenshots below:

Unfortunately there is currently not an Android version of the app but that is planned for a release in a couple months.

So after a short blogging hiatus, I have returned with my fourth installment to the Local Music Picture Blog. My hiatus does not mean that I didn’t attend any shows, I was just having an allergic reaction to my computer… or something like that…which seems to be carrying over to this post, as the posting of pictures just does not want to work for me . But don’t worry, you can see all my pictures clicking on my name and then clicking on Pics.

But anyways, last Thursday, I went to The Brewery to rock out with The Pneurotics, Pink Flag, River City Ransom, and The Dry Heathens, and rocking out is exactly what went down.

The Pneurotics are an alt rock based out of Chapel Hill. Their 2008 release, Forty, is relaxed alt. rock which features a few slight folk music nuances. Most of the show, however, was performances of material that will be released on the yet to be named album they intend to release in the fall of 2009. The new material is solid, driving, guitar heavy rock’n roll, and I for one can not wait til fall to get my hands on the cd. The Pneurotics next show is The Johnny Cash Bash at The Pinhook. They will be paying tribute to Johnny Cash with The Tender Fruit, Gambling The Muse, and Bull City.

Pink Flag… where to start? Pink Flag is a three piece, all girl, pop punk /grunge rock extravaganza that is based out of Durham. Now I have to be honest here, the first time I listened to  Introducing Pink Flag & The Homewrekers, I was ify about it. But having seen Pink Flag live, I do have a new appreciation for the album. And anyone that thinks they are the stereotypical, all girl bands are bad or ok at best, type of outfit; go see them live and they will destroy your brain with awesome. All the girls can play and sing great, as shown when they switched out their instruments and vocal roles. Their next show will be tonight at the Relay For Life Benefit at Local 506 with I Was Totally Destroying It and Lake Inferior. Pink Flag will also be featured at WKNC & Tir Na Nog‘s Local Beer, Local Band night on March 26th with Whatever Brains.

River City Ransom, third to take the stage, is a five man, pop group based in Raleigh. RCR’s performance was perhaps the most laid back of the night. The group’s Myspace claims the groups is Punk, but I think they are straight Indie Rock. We’ll have to wait and see what direction they choose to go in as the group as just recently added a few members. River City Ransom’s next showing will be at the Reservoir on March 23rd with The Dry Heathens and Dark Knights of Camelot.

The Dry Heathens were last on the night, and the Durham based, indie punk,  group showed up to kick ass as usual. This makes the third time I’ve seen them and I am pretty sure they get better each time. If you can not make it to their show on March 23rd, I suggest you make it to the second night of Viking Storm (the Hammer No More The Finger’s CD release celebration weekend) when they play with The Beast, Deleted Scenes, The Future Kings of Nowhere, and Hammer No More The Fingers. The show will be  freaking awesome  and worth every penny. And if you can’t make either of those shows I encourage you to listen to The Dry Heathens first releases, First Contact With Ground, because it is a truely great album.

Hopefully next week I will have pictures  in the picture blog, but in the mean time, don’t forget to check out The Rock Report and catch a great local show!

Rich of The Pneurotics came into the Local Lunch on 3/12/09 for a quick interview, live performance, and debut of brand new material.

The Pneurotics played with Pink Flag, River City Ransom, and The Dry Heathens at The Brewery last night (3/12/09).

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Tune in Thursday, March 12th at noon as DJ Murdoc interviews The Pneurotics on Local Lunch.

Chapel Hill based The Pneurotics, will be playing at The Brewery with River City Ransom, The Dry Heathens, and Pink Flag Thursday night at 8pm.

Look for Murdoc’s Local Music Picture Blog later this week for coverage of the event.