Anchor & Braille have been recording their sophomore album for over a month now, and the band has now confirmed that the title for the album will be The Quiet Life. Check out a tweet from Anchor & Braille below by clicking “Read More.”
Anberlin are working on a new album, and the band has confirmed that they have 20 new demos and are gearing up to hit the studio. Check out a tweet from the band below by clicking “Read More.”
Anberlin will be heading out on a mini-tour with States and Foxy Shazam in January. Check out the dates below by clicking “Read More”.
Stephen Christian, Anberlin’s lead singer, had to leave the Switchfoot tour early due to urgent family issues. Phil and Dan from Story Of The Year are replacing Christian on vocals for the remaining dates on the tour. Read an update from Anberlin below by clicking “Read More”.
Downtime is a simple way to connect an artist with causes they believe in and want to support while on or off the road. Jay Harren started the organization just this past March, and PropertyOfZack had the chance to catch up with him to dive into what the organization stands for, what bands they work with, and how they hope to expand. Read up!
For those who don’t know, can you explain what Downtime is?
I was on tour with a band that I signed two years ago in England and it kind of hit me that these bands work really hard while they’re on the road, but that they did have a lot of downtime on their hands, which is where the name came from. That meant travelling between venues for six to eight hours and sitting in the bus or the van or whatever. Or arriving in the morning and waiting around till night until soundcheck. Most musicians agree that when you’re on the road full time that there are a lot of opportunities to do nothing. I started thinking about what it would look like if these bands started donating a small portion of their time to a cause that they believe in and want to personally get behind. That was two years ago. I started thinking about it and I left Columbia back in March and started working on it full time. The response has been great. We have a good little roster of bands that keeps growing. We ask the bands what causes they want to support, they tell us, and then we connect them and that cause. We ask the bands to make a very lo-fi video on purpose. That video gets placed on the Downtime portion of their Facebook page. Fans can see what the bands are up to. I know it’s not practical for bands to jump into a car once they get to a venue and drive to a house or to a soup kitchen. So the idea is to allow them to use their social networking tools because it’s super easy. Rather then asking them to leave a venue, we ask them to send out tweets or to do an update. Manchester Orchestra just tweeted out about raising money for their cause. This band Group Love is raising awareness for Little Kids Rock. They support that cause in their own way, and if they need help or ideas then we of course help.
Can you discuss your history in the music industry?
I started a band when I was in college in Atlanta and I wanted to get my music heard. I started interning at a radio station with the intent of slipping them my demos. That led to a full time job in the promotions department and then a full time job as the music director of the station. I ended up working there for eight and a half years. I recognized that I definitely should not have been on the singing side of the mic, I should be on the business side. I did radio for eight years during which time I also managed some bands. I got a gig for A&R at Columbia Records in New York. I got a job as the A&R manager at Columbia Records where I worked for five years. I signed Manchester Orchestra and Hey Monday. Both of them are Downtime artists now. I left in March and started doing this full time.
Do you have a team behind you as well, or is it predominately you?
I do have a few partners. It’s predominately me though. I have one guy who has relationships with non-profits who need help. I have another guy who’s a big picture marketing person. We’re going to eventually grow it out of Facebook. Eventually we want to host it out mydowntime.com. On the individual pages you’ll have way more content and opportunities for fans to actually engage in whatever their cause is. We’ll have a mobile app for it as well so fans can check in with their bands. Ultimately, we want it to trickle down to the fans from the bands. We started at Facebook because that’s where the fans exist.
Stephen Christian (Anberlin) has been working with Dave Elkins of Mae for the upcoming Anchor & Braille record, and he has now confirmed that it is half-way completed. There is still no set release date for the record. Check out a tweet from Christian below by clicking “Read More”.
Carrollhood is a brand new side-project that features Nate Young of Anberlin, Tim McTague of Underøath, and Reed Murray of Marksmen. The band is offerring a free download of a song called “Remission.” More details regarding the project should be released sometime soon. You can download the song below by clicking “Read More”.
Anberlin have announced that they will be putting out a live release called Live From House Of Blues Anaheim this coming Tuesday, July 5th. The release will be an iTunes exclusive that features 15 audio tracks and 11 video tracks. Check out the track listing below by clicking “Read More”.
Live Song: ”Impossible” // Anberlin // Live From House Of Blues In Anaheim
Anberlin have announced a very special five-date Australian tour this coming August and September. Along with their normal songs and show, they will be mixing in some special covers, an intimate acoustic portion with a storytellers feel where they will talk about writing and recording, playing special versions of their own songs that they haven’t played before, and they are also working on some special guest appearances - and even a Q&A time during the show. Tickets go on sale July 1st. Check out the dates below by clicking “Read More”.
Check out a video with Adam from Taking Back Sunday and Stephen from Anberlin.
UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC RECORDS has set the MEDIABASE Alternative chart record for the most consecutive weeks on the chart with ANBERLIN - Feel Good Drag. The smash hit song has logged 53 consecutive weeks on the Alternative chart as of October 3rd. The previous Alternative chart record was held by VIRGIN RECORDS with THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS - The Kill.
