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.

This is your reminder that the new Number One Gun album, The North Pole Project is in stores today. You should buy it. And they didn’t even pay me to say that, at least not yet. And if you’re wondering what ever happened to that amazingly svelte bass player who used to pwn the stage with NOG, well these days he’s on the road with some lopdick band named Emery, and blogging for this here website. Scroll down about one inch and see for yourself.  

So our friends (or I guess I should say friend) Number One Gun are set to release their third studio joint, The North Pole Project on January 15th. This record was written, performed and produced single-handedly by frontman Jeff Schneeweis, as you can see in the video for the album’s first single “Wake Me Up” posted above (and filmed, BTW in beautiful Chico, CA!). Check the video, then check the e-card for the new record THEN catch the band on their west coast tour with fellow Chico fame stackers Brighten. Dates are below: 

1/15/08-Seattle, WA- El Corazon
1/16/08-Portland, OR-TBA
1/17/08-Bend, OR-The Domino Room
1/18/08-Nampa, ID-Northwest Nazarene University
1/19/08-Salt Lake City, UT- Solid Ground
1/20/08-Las Vegas, NV-TBA
1/21/08-Phoenix, AZ- TBA
1/22/08-Victorville, CA- Club Karma
1/23/08-San Diego, CA- TBA
1/24/08-Anaheim, CA- Chain Reaction
1/25/08-Modesto, CA-The Modesto Underground
1/26/08-Sacramento, CA- Club Retro
1/27/08-Carson City, NV- The Warehouse
1/29/08-Fresno, CA- The Starline
1/30/08-Chico, CA- TBA

DO IT

So for some reason to day a bunch of awesome emo bands decide to lace people up with tracks off of their forthcoming records. ZOMG THNX!

Thrice has posted two tracks off their forthcoming Fire and Water EPs over at AOL’s Spinner. You can check out “Firebreather” (which, as you might have guessed is off of Fire) and “Digital Sea” (off of Water) here. These EPs, especially Fire, are seriously OWNING my stereo right now. If you like Thrice, or shit that’s angrily melodic, you will not be bummed out when these CDs street on October 16th. For more about these EPs, and the two more that are set to follow in spring, check out AlchemyIndex.com.

Our friends ( or I guess I should friend hehehe) Number One Gun have also posted a brand new track off their forthcoming CD, The North Pole Project due out in January 2008. The song is called “Millions” and you can check it out on the band’s Purevolume page, if you so desire. Being fortunate enough to once again have heard this entire record, I can tell you that this CD is definitely not the “safe” move for a band coming off of two well-received, super straightforward melodic rock releases. There is a lot of crazy shit happening in the mad genius mind of head NOGger Jeff Schneeweis and he spend some long days and nights in the studio crafting some ultra epic hooks and some pretty wild loopiness for this CD. There’s some songs on there that are straight aggro, and some songs on there that might make you want to grab your friends sister and make out with her a little bit. Its on some other shit, and I mean that in the good way.

And last but not least, today marks the debut of the third track to be previewed off of Emery’s forthcoming I’m Only a Man. Like the previous two tracks, “After the Devil Beats His Wife” has got people talking. Check it out on the band’s Purevolume page and figure it out for yourself, bro.

1. Outdated Memes

2. Shameless Linkz

3. YouTube

4. Late Breaking News

Number One Gun is not only one of Synthesis Magazine’s favorite bands, but they also come from our hometown of Chico,CA. Thus, it is our duty to review their new album before anyone else does. Needless to say, it beats balls like a pinata.

Number One Gun
Promises for the Imperfect
Tooth and Nail

In the two years since the release of Number One Gun's debut full length, Celebrate Mistakes, the band has gone through a lot: three drummers (thankfully ending up back where they started with Jordan Mallory), two guitarists and countless miles logged on tour with some of the biggest names in the melodic rock scene, in the process inking a deal with one of said scene's most seminal labels, Tooth and Nail. The resulting album, Promises for the Imperfect, showcases a road-tightened, newly focused Number One Gun.
What the first record sometimes lacked in continuity, Promises makes up for in spades. Even as the band vacillates between the driving ((Pretend�) and the anthemic (the first single (We Are�), Number One Gun succeeds where many bands fail; maintaining a distinct, unique and unmistakable sound. All-star producer Aaron Sprinkle (Acceptance, Anberlin) lends a bit of his personal touch to the record, but you could record Number One Gun on a boom box and there would still be frontman Jeff Schneeweis' amazing voice, the band's unabashedly melodic songcraft and the technical tightness born from thousands of hours spent on stage and in practice. However, Number One Gun certainly takes full advantage of the studio on Promises for the Imperfect, layering on tasteful keyboard lines, lush vocal harmonies and an otherwise full palette of drum, guitar and bass sounds, all the while letting the songs speak for themselves. Promises for the Imperfect is about as perfect an album as this genre of music has yet to produce. For fans of Relient K, Acceptance, Mae or just good, old fashioned, unpretentious melodic rock music, check out Number One Gun. You'll dig it, I promise.
– Daniel Taylor

Tracklisting

Pretend
Regrets Of Photographs
We Are
Fireside Wing
There Is Hope
Who You Are
All You Have
Golden Smile
The Time Is Now
Life Is What You Make It