Though Sherwood were a whole lot cooler when that short Mexican looking guy was in the band, they are nevertheless still the homies, and they’ve been representing NorCal and MidCal all over the world as of lately, touring Europe, Asia and everywhere else their RV takes them, which will soon include their recently announced Fall headlining tour. Here’s the release, replete with dates, openers and hyperbole. Word of warning though, don’t play dice with Joe Greenetz. He picks that shit up like a motherfucker:

GOLDRUSH! - A Sherwood tour this October meant for seeing friends, polishing old finds, and mining new ones.

SONGS! - Between touring abroad and playing festivals in North America, the Sherwood lads have begun writing songs for a new album slated for 2009.

DELUXE! - This fall will also see the release of Sing But Keep Going [Deluxe Edition], Sherwood’s first album repackaged with 4 previously unreleased songs.

TOUR! – Thus with songs both old and new in mind, the guys are eager to catch up with friends and see what you all think.  That means select dates on the west coast this October with support from The Pink Spiders, The Summer Set, Barcelona, and The Reign Of Kindo:

October 2008:
Tue 07 Sacramento, CA @ The Boardwalk*
Wed 08 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour*
Thu 09 San Diego, CA @ UCSD+
Fri 10 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction* Sun 12 Phoenix, AZ @ Clubhouse*
Wed 15 Salt Lake City, UT @ Studio*
Thu 16 Provo, UT @ Velour**
Fri 17 Rexburg, ID @The Westwood Theatre**
Sat 18 Boise, ID @ The Venue**
Sun 19 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre**
Mon 20 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey** (
Thu 23 San Francisco, CA @ Slims**
Fri 24 Visalia, CA @ 210**
Sat 25 San Luis Obispo, CA @ Downtown Brew**
* The Pink Spiders, The Summer Set, The Reign Of Kindo
** The Pink Spiders, Barcelona, The Reign Of Kindo
+ Kris Roe of The Ataris

A couple of years back, Synthesis Videographer and hero to an entire generation of YouTube emos, Video Matt, hit the road with some bands who, at the time were just starting out: the Season’s Company (who are now known as The Maine), Danger Radio, The Scene Aesthetic and Anarbor. He recently dug out the tapes of footage he shot during that tour and compiled them into a couple montage style clips for the Synthesis YouTube channel, the first of which I’ve posted above. If you’re curiosity is piqued, parts II and III are also up over at the shite for your perusal.

I might have a few cents to throw in about Atmosphere, the time I interviewed Slug, the state of independent hip-hop and other topics, but seeing as how I have an article due for Jake for the Synthesis weekly…here’s the part where I copy and paste an entire press release.

ATMOSPHERE TO PAINT THE NATION ON FALL TOUR
Atmosphere’s Fall tour embarks on September 10th in the US.

Atmosphere are ready to “Paint The Nation” and will do so by playing over 50 shows across the US this Fall in support of their new album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold. The trek kicks off September 10th in Fargo, ND and includes festival dates including Monolifth in Denver, Street Scene in San Diego, Edge Fest in Phoenix and KFMA Fall Ball in Tucson. The full lineup of the “Paint The Nation” Tour is Atmosphere featuring special guests Abstract Rude, Blueprint and DJ Rare Groove. The first leg of the tour is below and the second leg will be announced next week.

Atmosphere killed it on the Late Show with David Letterman this past Wednesday night, check out the performance of “You” featuring backup vocals from P.O.S. here:

Atmosphere's sixth studio album When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold debuted at #5 on the Top Billboard Top 200 in April and has now scanned almost 120,000 units and is the fastest selling Atmosphere record to date. Atmosphere was MTV's 52/52 "Artist Of The Week." back in May (you can watch clips on Atmosphere's MySpace). Atmosphere headlined the first ever Soundset Festival in Minneapolis this past May that featured the very best in independent Hip Hop. Soundset sold over 12,000 tickets. The first single off the album, "You" is getting heavy airplay across the country and is currently climbing the Alternative charts thanks to rotations at KROQ/LA, INDIE 103/LA, 91X/San Diego, KNDD/Seattle, KVGS/Las Vegas, KITS/San Francisco, KEDJ/Phoenix, KROX/Austin, KWOD/Sacramento, KCCQ/Des Moins, KFMA/Tucson, WLUM/Milwaukee, Sirius, XM and Music Choice among others. Look for the music video for "You" to hit in the beginning of September. Atmosphere has now performed "You" on Conan, Letterman and is booked for Jimmy Kimmel's outdoor stage on Wednesday, September 24th.

"As a front-man, the charismatic Slug has matured into one of hip-hop's best performers." LA Times

First Leg of the "PAINT THE NATION" Tour Ft. Atmosphere & Special Guests Abstract Rude, Blueprint and DJ Rare Groove
**Bold are festival dates w/just Atmosphere
Wednesday 10-Sep-08 Fargo, ND The Venue
Thursday 11-Sep-08 Sioux Falls, SD Sioux Empire Expo Center
Friday 12-Sep-08 Omaha, NE Slowdown
Saturday 13-Sep-08 Denver, CO Monolifth
Monday 15-Sep-08 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
Tuesday 16-Sep-08 Missoula, MT Wilma Theater
Thursday 18-Sep-08 Eugene, OR McDonald Theater
Friday 19-Sep-08 Sacramento, CA Empire
Saturday 20-Sep-08 San Diego, CA Street Scene
Sunday 21-Sep-08 Bakersfield, CA the Dome
Monday 22-Sep-08 Santa Cruz, CA Catalyst
Thursday 25-Sep-08 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern
Friday 26-Sep-08 Las Vegas, NV HOB
Saturday 27-Sep-08 Phoenix, AZ Edge Fest
Sunday 28-Sep-08 Tucson, AZ KFMA Fall Ball
Tuesday 30-Sep-08 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
Wednesday 1-Oct-08 New Orleans, LA Tipitina's
Friday 3-Oct-08 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution
Saturday 4-Oct-08 Orlando, FL Firestone
Monday 6-Oct-08 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
Tuesday 7-Oct-08 Ashville, NC Orange Peel
Wednesday 8-Oct-08 Richmond, VA Toads Place
Friday 10-Oct-08 Baltimore Ram's Head
Saturday 11-Oct-08 New Haven, CT Toad's Place

MySpace: www.myspace.com/atmosphere
Label: www.rhymesayers.com

Holy hell, this is going to be a great tour.  The unfortunate part is that they’re stopping before they hit sunny olde’ Northern California, but for the rest of you this should be amazing.

9/30 - Workplay Theatre Birmingham, AL *
10/01 - Masquerade Atlanta, GA *
10/02 - Stages Hilton Head, SC *
10/03 - Jannus Landing St Petersburg, FL *
10/04 - House of Blues OrlandoOrlando, FL *
10/05 - Common Grounds Gainesville, FL *
10/07 - Greene Street Club Greensboro, NC *
10/08 - Black Cat Washington, DC *
10/09 - The Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA*
10/10 - Starland Ballroom Sayreville, NJ**
10/11 - Webster Hall New York, NY**
10/12 - Wilbur Theatre Boston, MA *
10/14 - Bogarts Cincinnati, OH
10/15 - People’s Court Des Moines, IA
10/16 - First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
10/17 - Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
10/18 - Majestic Theatre Detroit, MI
10/21 - Gothic Theatre Englewood, CO**
10/22 - In the Venue Salt Lake City, Utah

If you don’t know about Ray LaMontagne you best learn. A good way to do this would be to check out on his upcoming tour, dates of which were announced today and our relayed below for your convenience. An easier way would be just to wait to check out his new record Gossip In The Grain which drops October 14th. An even easier way would just be watch some YouTube videos and save your money for gas.

Sept 30 Murat Theatre Indianapolis, IN
Oct 1 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL
Oct 3 Union Theatre Madison, WI
Oct 4 State Theatre Minneapolis, MN
Oct 6 Royal Oak Music Theatre Royal Oak, MI
Oct 7 Queen Elizabeth Theatre Toronto, ON
Oct 9 Opera House Boston, MA
Oct 10 Opera House Boston, MA
Oct 11 Radio City Music Hall New York, NY
Oct 13 Keswick Theatre Philadelphia, PA
Oct 14 The Strathmore Music Center Washington, DC
Oct 16 Meymandi Concert Hall Raleigh, NC
Oct 17 Bijou Theatre Knoxville, TN
Oct 18 The Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
Oct 19 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN
Oct 21 Uptown Theatre Kansas City, MO
Oct 23 Verizon Wireless Theatre Houston, TX
Oct 24 Majestic Theatre Dallas, TX
Oct 25 Paramount Theatre Austin, TX
Oct 27 Macky Auditorium Boulder, CO
Oct 28 Murray Theatre Salt Lake City, UT
Oct 30 Wiltern Theatre Los Angeles, CA
Nov 1 Spreckels Theatre San Diego, CA
Nov 3 Paramount Theatre Oakland, CA
Nov 5 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Portland, OR
Nov 6 McDonald Theatre Eugene, OR
Nov 8 Vogue Theatre Vancouver, BC
Nov 9 Marion Oliver McCaw Hall Seattle, WA

The other day, a post on Chiodos frontman and solo artist Craig Owen’s website said that he had almost O.D.ed on drugs and was taken to a hospital, then a nuthouse for observation. The post was quickly taken down, but Owens has now updated his blog with the details of the event, the situation surrounding it and his plans for the future. It’s kind of tl;dr but if you’re bored here it is:

So, it’s no secret that I have recently went through one of the hardest times in my life. On Sunday, July 20th, I attempted to overdose on prescribed Xanax at my home here in Michigan. Flash ahead 12 hours later, I woke up in the emergency room surrounded by my family and best friends, with an IV in my left arm, and hooked up to machines. I felt confused, angry, selfish, and completely embarrassed. After being admitted to the hospital for a couple of days, I made my way to recovery and built up enough strength and courage with the support of my loved ones enough to make it back home.

I am okay, though. Thankfully, I had no permanent physical damage to myself from this.
This isn’t something that I went through by myself. I am, by no means, alone in this. My family and close friends have been by my side each minute since the incident and, you, my fans, have been right there with me too.

I have received an incredible amount of MySpace messages, comments, emails, instant messages, text messages and voice mails supporting me through this time in my life. So many people loved me more than I ever thought and the amount of happiness that this brings to me is more than I ever could describe.

You have all shown me a new, blinding light within myself and from that ray you seem to shine on me with every one of your beautiful comments (and I read every single one of them), not to mention your undeniable support. Thanks to you, I’ve already began to return to my “normal” self- a person that I had forgotten all about.

Why did this happen?

I have been battling with manic depression, bipolar disorder, and constant anxiety attacks for years. This disease has caused me to hide in my bedroom for weeks at a time, push away the most important people in my life, and learn to hate myself even. I have tried to remain strong through the years, fighting off urges and using the undying support of my fans, friends, family, and loved ones to turn my depression into an art- a music to share with the world.

I also have been speaking with a therapist for around a year now, maybe more. This has helped me to come in touch with who I am as a human being and why I do the things that I do. Rationalizing my imperfections and trying to wear them as if they were badges of honor is something that I had learned to pride myself off of- until this incredibly selfish and stupid act I pulled.

What’s next?

I’m looking towards the future and have been blinded by the brightness of it. After taking care of myself over the past few days, and talking through this situation with my family, friends, and managers, I am committed to creating only positive actions out of the deepest and darkest low I have found myself in with this. I will not be canceling any upcoming shows, with the exception of this Sunday’s show (7/27) in Albany, NY with P.O.D and Everclear. My solo show this Saturday (7/26), WILL STILL BE HAPPENING, and will be an emotional and therapeutic experience, to say the least. With it being in Detroit, and being able to perform softly, with spoken-words, and seeing all of the people that have been by my side though this entire thing, I hope to find a new bliss within this rut I have found myself in.

I cannot wait enough to get back out onto the road with Chiodos for our just-announced headlining tour this August to October. Being in front of all of you gives me such strength and if I hadn’t been home so much for the past few months, thinking too much and allowing darkness to overcome me, who knows if this would have even had happened.

I have a long road ahead of me, no doubt, but I feel that this experience has, oddly enough, given me new strength to take control of my situation and it has shown my loved ones (and myself) the seriousness of what I’ve been struggling with too.

I will not stop playing music, writing, or opening myself up to the people that matter most to me. All we have is one another and this entire situation is nothing but a GIANT reminder that we ALL need to stay strong and hold one another up during even the hardest of times.
I love you- Craig.