Cancer Bats – Sabotage Video

Official video for Cancer Bats’ cover of the Beastie Boys hit ‘Sabotage‘. Cancer Bats can here be seen taking to the streets in an attempt to track down the Beastie Boys.

Hassle Records Summer 2010 Sampler

Providing a taste of what the label has to offer; Hassle Records is currently giving away a Summer Sampler featuring nine tracks from its artists. If you weren’t already convinced of the brilliance of this UK label then this ought to be the thing to do it, with a number of artists featured here including Alkaline Trio, We Are The Ocean, Cancer Bats, and Rolo Tomassi.

With the instrumental rock of 65daysofstatic, the mellow indie pop of fun., and the full on hardcore attack of Trash Talk there is therefore plenty to sink your teeth into here, with the label offering up some of its artists’ best material, completely for free.

Cancer Bats’ fantastic cover of the Beastie Boys hits ‘Sabotage’ is featured here, as too is We Are The Ocean’s superb sing along anthem ‘Look Alive’ from the ‘Cutting Our Teeth’ album, and the incredibly upbeat pop punk fun of Fireworks’ ‘Detroit’ is included here also. Hassle Records has got some supremely talented artists on its roster right now, and as you listen to this Summer Sampler this is something that quickly becomes glaringly obvious.

There’s a great deal of variety here and it’s therefore probable that you won’t enjoy all nine tracks equally, with so much variety here however the sampler should have something to offer for everyone, and as it’s available as a free download you can’t really go far wrong in giving these nine tracks a try.

This sampler provides fantastic evidence of what a great job Hassle Records is doing as a record label right now, putting out quality music of all different genres, and backing it up with a passionate team of music lovers that help give the record label the reputation it deserves.

Give this Summer Sampler a try and it surely won’t leave you disappointed.

Rating:

The following is the full list of tracks featured on the sampler:

65daysofstatic – Crash Tactics
Alkaline Trio – This Addiction
Cancer Bats – Sabotage
FACT – Slip of the Lip
Fireworks – Detroit
fun. – At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)
Rolo Tomassi – Party Wounds
Trash Talk – Explode
We Are The Ocean – Look Alive

fun. – At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be) Live Acoustic Video

A recording of fun. performing the track ‘At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)‘ acoustically, live from their kitchen. ‘At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)‘ is a track from the band’s ‘Aim and Ignite‘ studio album which is due for release on June 7th through Hassle Records.

Free Hassle Records Summer 2010 Sampler

Having celebrated Slam Dunk Festival in style with five Hassle Records artists performing there, Hassle Records is now giving away a free sampler featuring nine tracks by artists on the label. Alkaline Trio, Rolo Tomassi, Trash Talk, We Are The Ocean, Fireworks, FACT, 65daysofstatic, Cancer Bats and fun. can all be found on the sampler, and if you’d like to download a copy of the sampler then you can do so here.

The following is the full list of tracks featured on the sampler:

65daysofstatic – Crash Tactics
Alkaline Trio – This Addiction
Cancer Bats – Sabotage
FACT – Slip of the Lip
Fireworks – Detroit
fun. – At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)
Rolo Tomassi – Party Wounds
Trash Talk – Explode
We Are The Ocean – Look Alive

Alkaline Trio – Mercy Me Video

The official video for the Alkaline Trio single ‘Mercy Me‘. ‘Mercy Me‘ can be found on Alkaline Trio’s ‘Crimson‘ album and reached number 30 in the UK; the band’s most successful UK single to date.

Alkaline Trio – We’ve Had Enough Video

The official video for Alkaline Trio’s ‘We’ve Had Enough‘, the first released single from the band’s ‘Good Mourning‘ album in 2003. ‘We’ve Had Enough‘ reached number 50 in the UK and number 38 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Alkaline Trio – Private Eye Video

The official video for Alkaline Trio’s ‘Private Eye‘, the second single taken from the band’s 2001 ‘From Here to Infirmary‘ album. The single reached number 51 in the UK, rising two places higher than previous single ‘Stupid Kid‘.

Alkaline Trio – Stupid Kid Video

‘Stupid Kid‘ was the first released single from Alkaline Trio’s ‘From Here to Infirmary‘ album back in 2001. The single reached number 53 here in the UK and was played heavily on UK music channels such as Kerrang! and P-Rock.

Introducing Alkaline Trio

Having featured FACT, Rolo Tomassi, We Are The Ocean, and Fireworks throughout the week, bringing an end to our Hassle Records Week of Slam Dunk bands is Alkaline Trio (although we do still have some non band specific Hassle Records activity planned for the weekend). Alkaline Trio is a band that probably doesn’t need too much introduction, introducing them we are though, so here’s what we have to offer about the Illinois three-piece.

After forming in 1996 it took the band just two years to record its debut studio album as ‘Goddamnit’ was released through Asian Man Records in 1998, and with its half hour album of punk rock the band was quickly able to establish quite a name for itself. A second album followed in 2000 in ‘Maybe I’ll Catch Fire’, again through Asian Man Records, and in 2001 it was time for the band to hit the mainstream with its Vagrant Records release ‘From Here to Infirmary’ which saw the band have two hit singles in ‘Private Eye’ and ‘Stupid Kid’.

With Alkaline Trio now well on the road to success, it was time for the band’s most popular album to date as ‘Good Mourning’ was released in 2003. With this release came further single success, and Alkaline Trio was now well and truly a force to be reckoned with within the punk rock world. With ‘Crimson’, ‘Agony & Irony’, and ‘This Addiction’ having now followed, Alkaline Trio is a band with seven albums worth of material behind it, and with such a healthy back catalogue the band has continued to grow and flourish.

2010’s ‘This Addiction’ has been Alkaline Trio’s most successful album to date as it has reached number 11 on the Billboard 200; a resounding success for the band’s very first release through its own Heart & Skull record label (joint released with Epitaph). With seven albums behind them, the future looks to be rather bright for Alkaline Trio, and if the band continues to run like clockwork then we can no doubt expect to see studio album number eight released at some stage in 2012.

The following is the official video for ‘This Addiction’, the title track and first released single from the band’s most recent release:

Fireworks Interview

Continuing with our Hassle Records week we sent a few questions through to Fireworks, and guitarist Chris Mojan was the man that was kind enough to get back to us with his responses.

Massive thanks to Chris Mojan for providing us with this interview, and I’m sure you’ll join us in wishing Fireworks good luck for the show at the Islington Academy with Four Year Strong and The Wonder Years this evening:

Alt-UK: You recently toured the U.S. with New Found Glory, Hellogoodbye, and Saves the Day, over the weekend you played the Relentless Stage at the Slam Dunk Festival, and you’re now about to head off for a few dates in Germany/France with Four Year Strong and The Wonder Years; it’s been a pretty special year for you so far, what’s it been like to have played such high profile shows?

Chris Mojan: I’d definitely say this last year or so has taken a bit of adjusting. It took us awhile to get used to playing shows in these settings as opposed to the smaller diy shows we’d play on our own. With that said though, it’s been incredible. It feels great to be playing to so many more people and sharing the stage with so many great friends, new and old.

Alt-UK: Did you get to see many other bands at Slam Dunk, and if so, which bands particularly stood out for you at the festival?

CM: With all of the running around and general insanity regarding festivals it was really hard to catch a lot of bands. The ones that stood out for me though were Moneen, Alkaline Trio, Crime In Stereo and The Wonder Years. Great bands.

Alt-UK: What would you say has been your favourite show to date since forming, and are there any bands that you particularly enjoy touring with?

CM: Hmm. Picking one show is difficult. I’d say the release show for AIHTOIMOC would be a good bet. It was a home show which meant all of our friends and families could be there, so many people came out and every band that played was incredible. Although playing shows in places like Sydney and Moscow is hard to top.

Alt-UK: If you could tour with any bands in the world, which would you most like to play alongside?

CM: I think I’d like to tour with She And Him so I can become friends with Zooey and her husband. Or perhaps Grinder, Darren McCarty of the Detroit Red Wings band…

Alt-UK: It was only in December that you came to the UK for the first time, how have you found that your music has been received in the UK and how does playing here compare to playing in America?

CM: Everything is so different here. I can honestly say kids seem to be way more into having a good time at shows here. It’s also strange to go to clubs here and hear us and our friends bands being played. Way different culture. I wouldn’t step foot in a club in the states.

Alt-UK: Having toured the UK a few times now as a support band, do you think that in the next year or so we’ll be seeing you come back over here as the headline band?

CM: That’s the plan

Alt-UK: Growing up in Detroit you were obviously fans of pop punk, what other genres would you say appeal to you most though, and which bands would you say have had the greatest influence on you?

CM: Indie rock, hardcore, punk rock whatever really. We tend to listen to it all. When we started we were really influenced by bands from the Toronto area like Boys Night Out and The Fullblast . Then of course obvious ones like Descendents and Jawbreaker. We never really set out to sound like any of them though.

Alt-UK: What albums have you been listening to on the tour bus lately, and are there any in particular that you’d like to recommend to our readers?

CM: Records I’ve been listening to lately.. The National-High Violet, Good Old War, Harms Way-No Gods, No Masters, there’s a lot more, but I can’t remember right now. I’d recommend all of them really.

Alt-UK: Not only have you toured with New Found Glory, but Chad Gilbert actually produced your ‘All I Have to Offer is My Own Confusion’ debut; what was it like working with him on the record?

CM: It was great. He is a great friend of ours, and had a lot to offer to the record.

Alt-UK: It must have been pretty cool releasing your debut through Triple Crown Records in the U.S., the label that Brand New released ‘Your Favourite Weapon’ and ‘Deja Entendu’ through, will you be sticking with them for album number two and when can we expect the follow-up to ‘All I Have to Offer is My Own Confusion’ to be released?

CM: Yes, they will be releasing the next full length, which will hopefully be out around the same time as AIHTO was released last time. So this March/April?

Alt-UK: You recorded your first promo video last year for ‘Detroit’, how did it feel to get your first video recorded and what did you think of the way that it turned out?

CM: It was probably the most exhausting, yet fun two days of my life. Our good friend Matt did the video as a big favor basically, we’ve grown up with him and he’s went so far doing what he’s doing, so we were most excited to work with him.

Alt-UK: Do you currently have any plans to get another promotional video recorded, and if you could record a video for any track from your album, which do you feel that you’d have the most fun with?

CM: We have no plans, but if we did another video I think we’d do 2923 Monroe St.

Alt-UK: 2010 has obviously been a pretty great year for you so far, what are your plans for the rest of the year though once you’ve finished the show in Stuttgart next week?

CM: We will be home writing for two months, then doing a two month headliner with some great bands in the States.

Alt-UK: Best of luck for the show at the Islington Academy this evening; is there anything else that you’d like to mention to our readers that we haven’t already covered?

CM: Nope. You have covered it all. Thanks friend.

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