I was lurking at Hawthorne Heights Myspace page today and I noticed that the big promo pic at the top was shot right here in good ol’ Chico, in Upper Bidwell Park, known around here as simply Upper Park. It seems like the last year or so Upper Park has been in more many emo band pics as Paul Frank. First there’s the cover of the new Saves The Day record, Under The Boards, which makes sense since STD frontman Chris Conley has been known to lurk around these parts:

Then there’s also the video for Number One Gun’s “Wake Me Up,” which makes a lot of sense, since Number One Gun aka Jeff Schneeweis live right here in Chico. In fact, if you look hard enough at that Hawthorne pic you can see a couple pieces of that door that Jeff smashes at around the 3:12 mark in the video, still kicking it on the hillside thar. Wake Me Up, moar liek PICK IT UP AMIRITE?? KEEP BIDWELL PARK BEYOUTEEFUL!!!1

UPDATE: It turns out that the backdrop in the above Hawthorne pic is actually the cover art for their new CD, Fragile Futures.

On the heels of today’s earlier announcement that Hawthorne Heights had dropped its suit against Victory Records and would be releasing their next full-length August 5th, the band has posted a clip of a new song called “Rescue Me” on their Myspace. If you’re just guessing who produced Fragile Futures, you can, and should notice the way the letters in this post look.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ:

Chicago, IL - The surviving members of platinum selling rock band Hawthorne Heights have agreed to drop, in its entirety, their August 2006 lawsuit against Victory Records entitled Eron Bucciarelli-Tieger, Casey Calvert, Micah Carli, Matt Ridenour, JT Woodruff, p/k/a “Hawthorne Heights” v. Victory Records, Inc., et al, and Victory Records, Inc. v. Eron Bucciarelli-Tieger, et al. (No. 06 C 4258) filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Victory Records will release Hawthorne Heights’ third studio album titled Fragile Future on August 5, 2008. Fragile Future follows two highly successful albums with Victory Records. The Silence in Black and White (2004), peaked at #5 on the Billboard Top 200 reaching platinum status. The band followed up in 2006 with If Only You Were Lonely which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Chart and was certified Gold shortly thereafter.

Victory Records Owner Tony Brummel commented, “Everyone at Victory is ecstatic about the forthcoming album from Hawthorne Heights. It is by far their best material to date. When Victory and Hawthorne started our relationship in 2003 it was always about beating the odds. Our country has just seen and experienced historic change with the Democratic nomination of Barack Obama. Everything happens for a reason and there is tremendous positivity in the air. We have lived in a reality of petty disputes, unresolved misunderstandings, unhealthy friction and negative sensationalism for too long. Forgiveness and the ability to reunite are powerful gifts. They create a spirit. Couple that spirit with great music and you have something that is extraordinary and transcendental. You cannot change the past but you can affect the future. There is a bigger lesson and story here than just releasing a new album. Victory, and I know Hawthorne Heights, are thankful to be a part of that.”

Hawthorne Heights‘ Drummer Eron Bucciarelli reflects, “We now regret having begun the lawsuit we filed in 2006. We should not have listened to those, who, for whatever reasons, were then advising us to pursue this strategy. We are sorry for having put Victory Records and Tony Brummel through this ordeal, and regret any negative publicity that may have resulted. Many false, hurtful and incorrect statements were made, especially on the Internet, none of which were true. Tony Brummel and Victory gave us our start, and did an unprecedented job with our first two albums. We hope they can repeat that success with our third studio album. Unfortunately, we cannot change the past, but we’re now taking steps to heal the wounds and start fresh.” Singer JT Woodruff offered, “We are so excited to release our third album. It feels absolutely amazing to finally have a release date in sight. Over the past year or so we have written a lot of songs, thrown away a lot of songs, and over the last month wrote a lot more songs. This last batch totally sums up where we are as a band, what we have been through and most importantly…where we want to be. Through all of the smoke and fire, we feel these songs are the best material we have ever released”.

Well at least the record had a badass producer. Not sure if it’s public knowledge or not, but let’s just say as far as Chico goes, he’s Number One.

For years, friends of mine on the touring circuit would speak in reverent, hushed tones about the man they called Nightbeast, a roadie and TM for bands like Hawthorne Heights by day, but a one-man musical genius by night. I finally met the man, the myth the legend, Nick Nightbeast when he came through town tour managing Metro Station. We had some beers and bonded over being fat, bearded men in a scrawny boy world and I was instantly convert into a follower of the Beast. And I’m not alone: Nightbeast’s new full length, Inside Jokes for Outside Folks, dropped in stores everywhere yesterday and there were I’m sure, literally tens of people waiting breathlessly to purchase it. For those who weren’t though, might I suggest taking a perusal of the Beast’s Purevolume page, where the record can currently be streamed in its entirety for FREE? You’ll be glad you did.

From HITS:

RED ALERT: Tony Brummel’s marketshare-leading indie label Victory Records has re-upped for distribution with RED. In other Victory news, the label has settled its differences with Hawthorne Heights and will release the band’s new studio album later this summer. The group just played last weekend’s Bamboozle Left Festival at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA, their first gig without guitarist Casey Calvert, who passed away last November, and will go out on Linkin Park’s Projekt Revolution Tour this summer. (4/7p)

I guess this adds a whole new level of meaning to the old music industry adage “That’s why it ain’t called ‘music friends.’” And all else aside, I’m personally stoked for this news, as the band is set to start tracking said untitled new record with a good friend of mine in the very, very near future. As it hasn’t been announced yet I will refrain from spilling the beans, but its pretty badass for anyone who likes good music and good people which the Hawthorne dudes (and their new producer) definitely are.

Linkin Park is hitting the road again for the 2008 Projekt Revolution tour which kicks off in Boston on July 16. Here’s the press release from our friend Mike Moses:

Los Angeles, CA (April 3, 2008) – Multi-platinum two-time Grammy-winning rock band Linkin Park has announced the much-anticipated lineup for Projekt Revolution 2008. The fifth installation of the band’s raging road show will see them headlining an all-star bill that features former Soundgarden/Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell, electro-rockers The Bravery and Ashes Divide, featuring Billy Howerdel, known for his work with A Perfect Circle. The Revolution stage will be headlined by metallic act Atreyu and features hard hitters 10 Years, fiery Ohio natives Hawthorne Heights and buzz band Armor For Sleep. Also performing will be percussive force Street Drum Corps. The tour launches July 16 at the Tweeter Center in Boston.

In keeping with the theme of revolution, Linkin Park is teaming with Live Nation and giving back to their fans by picking up the tab for the service fees normally tacked onto concert ticket prices. This precedent-setting no-service-charge limited time offer is available for artist fan club members anxious to purchase tickets to the upcoming tour. Beginning at 10AM on April 4th, fans can take advantage of Linkin Park’s special offer to cover the cost of extra fees by pre-ordering tickets at www.lpunderground.com or www.livenation.com. Tickets for select dates go on sale nationally beginning April 11th – go to www.linkinpark.com, www.projektrevolution.com or www.livenation.com for show dates and on-sale information in each area.

“As a thank you to our fan club, we’re picking up part of the tab for their tickets to this summer’s Projekt Revolution,” says Linkin Park co-frontman Mike Shinoda. “We’ll be paying the service charge on fanclub pre-sale tickets, which will save each fan roughly $8-11. Our fan club has been incredibly loyal and supportive, and we hope this gesture lets them know how much we appreciate them.”

In addition, Linkin Park is once again offering their fans the option of purchasing the Digital Souvenir Package, a groundbreaking promotion that provides concert-goers with a special post-gig memento: a live audio download and exclusive concert photos of that night’s performance by Linkin Park, as well as a digital tour program. In short, it provides a live experience that concertgoers will never forget.

Produced by Live Nation and partnered with Major League Baseball, Monster Energy Drink, Verizon Wireless and Nowwhat.com, Projekt Revolution 2008 sees Linkin Park building upon the success and excitement of previous Revolution tours, which included artists such as My Chemical Romance, Korn, Snoop Dogg, HIM, Xzibit and Mudvayne, among others.

“We started Projekt Revolution six years ago and have been lucky to have toured with some great bands,” says Linkin Park co-frontman Chester Bennington. “This year, however, might just be the best lineup yet. We’re looking forward to taking this show on the road and bringing great music to the masses.”

Last month Linkin Park took a break from their headlining tour in support of new album MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT and traveled to New Orleans to help families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The band joined volunteers from Music for Relief, and Habitat homeowner families from New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity to build homes in the damaged Gulf Coast area. Prior to that, Linkin Park’s nonprofit organization, Music For Relief, initiated a partnership with Hollywood for Habitat For Humanity to fund and build homes in hurricane ravaged areas. Additionally, Linkin Park recently donated $1 from each ticket sold on their European & UK, U.S. & Canadian headlining dates to Music for Relief for a tree-planting initiative.

With Projekt Revolution 2008, Linkin Park continues to give back, as $1 from every ticket sold will go toward Music for Relief to support disaster relief and reduce global warming. In just over a year Music For Relief has raised over $1 million for reforestation, planting over 797,000 trees. Music For Relief endeavors to help victims recover and rebuild following natural disasters but also works to reduce global warming. During Projekt Revolution 2008, Music for Relief will continue its grassroots outreach to fans to educate them on how to reduce their own carbon emissions and how those changes can have a global effect.

Tour dates are as follows:

Date City Venue

7/16 Boston, MA Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
7/18 Pittsburgh, PA Post-Gazette Pavilion
7/19 Philadelphia, PA Susquehana Bank Center
7/20 Hartford, CT New England Dodge Music Center
7/22 New York, NY Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
7/23 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
7/25 Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek
7/26 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater
7/27 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion
7/30 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
8/1 West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
8/2 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre
8/3 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheatre
8/7 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion
8/9 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
8/10 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
8/12 Denver, CO Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
8/15 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
8/16 Chicago, IL Alpine Valley Music Theatre
8/17 Indianaplis, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis
8/19 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
8/21 St. Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis
8/23 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center
8/24 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion