Video Matt got a chance to holler back at our old homie Fred Mascherino from The Color Fred last week at the SF date of the Vans Warped Tour. Check out his interview, then if you’re bored, check out some of our exclusive footage of The Color Fred performing acoustic in Synthesis editor Ryan Prado’s apartment on our YouTube channel, such as “If I Surrender” below. Real shit!

As promised, here is the first installment of Video Matt’s most recent Paramore escapades. This video features the band performing their hit song “Misery Business” live and acoustic at the Hard Rock Cafe in Sacramento,CA. Stay tuned for a lot more Paramore footage, or just subscribe to our YouTube channel and get updated instamatically every time Video Matt gets stoked.

As part of our continuing series of interviews and acoustic sessions filmed live at Synthesis Weekly Managing Editor Ryan Prado’s apartment above the historic Senator Theater in scenic Downtown Chico, we caught up with crazy Canadian Rody Walker, frontman for Protest the Hero and sat him down for a rather humorous song, above, and interview below.

Coming up shortly, as fast as Video Matt’s little fingers can edit will be similar sessions with MxPx and The Color Fred. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay abreast of these updates as they happen. OMG A BREAST!!!! GET IT????////

Not that this is necessarily a broad scoped piece of news, but nevertheless, I feel like trying to stack up some sort of credibility today. My apartment, in the Tower of the Senator Theatre in lovely Chico, CA, will once again play host to a slew of acoustic sets by touring bands. Tonight’s lineup will consist of OG Tooth and Nail punks MXPX, Vagrant Records badasses Protest The Hero, all followed by a set by The Color Fred.

For a taste of what the fuck I’m talking about, check out last week’s acoustic set and interview with Armor For Sleep, as well as the interview with Metro Station.

I’ve always wanted to run my own venue… And not pay the bands SHIT. My dreams have come true!

I am now famous. Or rather, my apartment is. Or rather, some semi-famous dudes in the band Armor For Sleep stopped by my apartment to perform an acoustic set for Synthesis.net.

Check it:

I sifted through a few submissions today and declined about four or five groups based mostly on their lyrical content, or lack thereof, rather. As a songwriter, the difference between hiding behind poorly-constructed metaphors and creating phrases that strike from the bone and come right from the heart is like night and day. There’s poetry in the day to day and honest simplicity will always trump complicated purple prose. That’s why Connor McGuire is our Band You’ve Never Heard of Band of the Day.

British Columbia singer/songwriter Connor McGuire’s songs take a road traveled by the likes of Mason Jennings and Jason Collett , built around acoustic instruments, peppered with non-obtrusive arrangements of mandolins, strings, horns, organs and electric guitar. His lyrical couplets follow ideas to their full conclusion (see “The End of the Line”), blending axioms and blunt moments into a seemless earnestness. You can purchase his album Different After Dawn here.

One thing, though: When will musicians and photographers stop being so infatuated with photos taken by brick walls and/or train tracks? It’s a prerequisite new jack move and it is quite possibly the most boring convention in rock journalism. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP. Connor, you’ve been warned. Wheat fields are out, too.