Tag: Tooth & Nail Records

My first interview in over 2 years and what better way to celebrate a comeback than an interview with an all around great guy and world renown Vinyl slinger, Jason Z. of UnoriginalVinyl. This is quite an entertaining and lengthy read with loads of very interesting tidbits including some info on an upcoming special release you’ve all been waiting for. So clear your plate for the day, find some spare time, and read one of the best interviews I’ve ever done. Welcome to The Weird, Wild World of UnoriginalVinyl.… Continued →

AP2 was the continuation of, or the evolution of the forerunner Argyle Park. The first incarnation of the band recorded one album, Misguided, for R.E.X. Music in 1994, performed only one live performance at Cornerstone Festival in 1995, then broke up shortly after amidst a plethora of controversy in Christian music circles. The bulk of the controversy involved the band not being positive enough or evangelistic enough. While the bands’ members were all known by pseudonymous aliases, it is fairly well-known that the creative forces behind the project were Scott Albert (AKA Dred and Deathwish) of Circle of Dust/Celldweller and childhood friend Chris Martello (AKA Buka), who at the time worked for MTV Sports and was responsible for getting lots of Christian alternative/punk/hardcore bands into MTV programming.… Continued →

Today’s Song of The Day comes from a band called “Capital Lights”, which are little heard of this day and age and whose last album released all the way back in 2012. That was 12 years ago, can you believe it? This band released 2 fantastic albums. While some people didn’t find as much enjoyment in the last album (final?), I certainly did. One of the highlights (there are plenty) for me off that record was “Honey Don’t Jump”. With lyrics about pulling someone from the brink of depression only to show them God’s love, grace, and ultimately, salvation in him.… Continued →

The very first official Furnace Fest Vinyl announcement has taken place and 3 albums have been revealed as part of this exclusive: Dogwood “Building a Better Me” (2000), Slick Shoes “Self Titled” (2001), and As Cities Burn “Hell Or High Water” (2009). You can find these 3 at Furnace Fest next Month courtesy of UnoriginalVinyl and their very talented team. Let’s hope a different variant of each will appear online for those of us who can’t attend Furnace Fest. Which ones are you excited for?… Continued →

The Christian indie scene suffered a great loss last week, losing notable drummer Geoff Riley, known best for his immaculate time-keeping skills in the band Puller. The band was formed by Mike Lewis (ex-For Love Not Lisa, secular grunge/post-hardcore band), and hailed from Oklahoma. Mike posted the news of Geoff’s death, and some very poignant thoughts about Riley’s life and artistic contributions to the independent music scene via Instagram. Because it can’t really be said any better than this, I’m linking the post and including the entire text here: Geoff Riley Instagram Announcement “Hearing the news of my friend and music partner Geoff Riley passing is an overwhelming devastating loss.… Continued →

Indie pop duo Bon Voyage was a collaboration of Jason Martin (Starflyer 59, and about a dozen others) and his wife Julie on vocals. The project was somewhat accurately described as “Starflyer with female vocals,” which is not inaccurate though not really complete either. Whereas SF59 added layers and layers of guitars and fuzz, Bon Voyage stripped things back to the pop essentials. Julie’s vocals are akin to Julee Cruise, most famous for her work on the Twin Peaks soundtracks. The band released three albums for BEC and/or Tooth and Nail, and we haven’t heard from them since 2008.… Continued →

I’ve been a fan of Starflyer 59 since the affectionately titled “Silver” (officially self-titled) released in 1994. So when offered the chance to interview Jason Martin in advance of their new album Lust for Gold, I jumped at the chance. Always known for being brief in interviews, he still managed to be substantial in his correspondence. LH: The response to the new single “909” has been incredible so far, with many people commenting how the sound hearkens back to 90s-era SF59 with the later style of vocals.… Continued →

Legendary hardcore band Focal Point, from Northern California, is well-known not so much for the music they created (tragically), but for the groups that had their origin in the quintet. Training for Utopia, Demon Hunter, Nyves, and Low and Behold all trace their origins back to Focal Point at least in part. As important as those connections are, it’s a shame that too few actually remember the music of Focal Point, as it’s probably my favorite of all the aforementioned. They arrived on the scene late in the “new school hardcore” movement of the early 90s as hardcore was becomingly increasingly more metallic, and yet hadn’t fully shifted into metalcore, which would happen a year or two after Suffering of the Masses dropped.… Continued →

Burnt Toast Vinyl will be pressing the classic Element 101 album, “Stereo Girl” on vinyl for the very first time. The album was originally recorded in May of 2000 at The Blasting Room in Colorado and produced by Bill Stevenson, Stephen Egerton, and Jason Livermore. This album has been remastered from the original analog tapes by Jason Livermore. Stereo Girl is being pressed on 180 gram vinyl and available in two limited variants – Jersey Shore Blue & Pink Noise. The album artwork was redesigned by Matt Traxler and includes rare photos from the studio.… Continued →

We are getting so close to the release of the new My Epic album and this is the 3rd song from that new album, “Loriella”, due out June 28th on Tooth & Nail Records. Check out this new song titled “Make Believe” below this post. The song takes on a decidedly more chill, electronic infused vibe not all that far in sound from say The Postal Service, Unwed Sailor, even some Band of Horses. You can find the lyrics to the song over on this YouTube page that the song appears on.… Continued →

Tooth & Nail Records has just signed the band – My Epic! This will be the first time in their careers that they’ve changed labels. Their last non-label release was “This is Rescue (EP)” back in 2006. Congrats to the band and label. Let’s not forget all the amazing music they made with Facedown Records. They’ve got quite a hill to climb to beat those expectations that began with their last releases. “Northstar” is out this Friday and yes, it is a single. Click here to pre-save the new single.… Continued →

The world of Christian music has lost a true icon. Michael Knott was confirmed dead yesterday, March 12th. Knott was a true pioneer in independent Christian music, leading a plethora of bands, dabbling in multiple genres, engaging prolific solo work, in addition to being a visual artist. Starting in the 1980s, Knott joined existing band Lifesavors, a Southern California power pop/new wave band, but later took leadership of the band. Initially Knott continued the new wave direction, but things took a darker shade in 1987 when he rebranded the outfit LifeSavers Underground and released one of the most influential album our scene ever produced, Shaded Pain.… Continued →

The Rocky Valentines which is the project led by Charles Martin who happens to be an accomplished musician and songwriter by his own right, is releasing his much anticipated debut record titled “Erase” on March 29th through Tooth & Nail Records and Velvet Blue Music. Oh and his father just happens to be Jason Martin of Starflyer 59. Pre-order this album in a few different options right here.… Continued →

This band from Southern California was one of the first wave of bands who set the foundation for what was known as “Spirit-filled hardcore.” A wave which also included Focused, Strongarm, Six Feet Deep and a handful of others, many of which remained unsigned. The scene was characterized by ‘new school’ or ‘chugga chugga’ or metallic hardcore of the early to mid-90s, combined with lyrics that were bold and unapologetic about faith issues. The first time I heard Unashamed was actually a live show as they were the opening band at the first Tooth and Nail Weekend in 1994, a mini-fest at the Where-House in Bartlesville, OK featuring all Tooth and Nail bands (also on the bill were Focused, Chatterbox, Plankeye, Starflyer 59 and Wish for Eden who sadly had to cancel due to a broken down van).… Continued →

Poor Old Lu are/were one of the most celebrated alternative rock bands in the Christian scene. They hit at the height of the Christian indie scene in the 1990s, and formed a core unit of alternative rock bands that included The Prayer Chain, Plankeye, Starflyer 59 and a handful of others. Hailing from the Seattle area, the band also had close ties with others in the scene like Pedro the Lion, Damien Jurado, Blenderhead, and even Sunny Day Real Estate (vocalist Jeremy Enigk provided guest vocals on one POL track).… Continued →

This punk rock supergroup features ex-members of Crux, Empty Tomb, Cicero, and Gov’t Hate Mail. So you can see why I was excited about hearing this disc. The EP contains 7 songs, clocks in around 17 minutes, and comes as a pro-CDr in a standard jewel case with a single panel insert with credits and no lyrics. Musically what we have here is no frills punk rock and roll. It’s not quite as spastic as Crux, and doesn’t have the hardcore/thrash leanings of Empty Tomb. When comparing to its members previous projects, it’s probably closest to Gov’t Hate Mail, but just slightly heavier than that project.… Continued →

Jeremy Alan Gould has done it again! His regular podcast “The Rumors Are True” recently featured Russell Holbrook of Joe Christmas and World Against World. In the episode, there’s real talk of a possible Joe Christmas reunion. Check out the episode here: Russell Holbrook interview at The Rumors Are True… Continued →

Indie Vision Music is proud to present yet again, a new Slow Coming Day music video for the song “Truth Behind The Lies” off the brand new album “The Lost Tapes” which dropped today through Fair Vaux Recordings and Steadfast Records. We celebrate a great mostly underrated band that has stood the test of time to become a legendary “classic” (can I say that?) band full of cherished much loved indie hits and songs that’ll move you. I have been a Slow Coming Day fan going way back before the Tooth & Nail days back when they released their very first independent EP.… Continued →

Those classic Spirit Filled Hardcore OGs known as FOCUSED, are reuniting FINALLY for a show (or shows) this fall or in 2024 (heck, do both!). They have announced there will also be an appearance by a 90’s Spirit Filled Hardcore Legend so my hopes are high that it is one of my faves. We are coming up on the 30th anniversary of both their debut record “Bow” and the launch of Tooth & Nail Records, which actually began right here in Orange County, California almost 3 decades ago.… Continued →

Early 2000s emo, you gotta love it! One of the best, and painfully one of the most obscure in the genre was twothirtyeight (or sometimes 238). The band hailed from Pensacola, FL in the state’s panhandle. Florida seemed to be a haven for emo and hardcore during that era, and many of those bands ended up on Birmingham, AL’s Takehold Records, and then eventually on Tooth & Nail when they bought Takehold’s roster and much of its back-catalogue. Twothirtyeight played a style of emo that minimized the hardcore influence and instead delved into a deeply emotional form of indie rock, like secular counterparts in Braid, Cursive, or Christie Front Drive.… Continued →

Gosh, this song . . . this band . . . has a way of evoking memories of a certain period of my life. Lo-fi indie rock with only 2 members. One on guitar and vocals, and the other on drums. They released a very short–only 3 songs–but brilliant self-titled EP on Tooth & Nail in 1997. T&N had a fantastic run of EPs around that time (Pedro the Lion, Warlord, Inner Means, Training for Utopia, etc.) and this was certainly one of them. The songs were lo-fi, but not noisy.… Continued →

A word document popped up in my Dropbox while I was searching for old files. It showed that the tentative line up for the “I’m Your Biggest Fan 2” compilation that I assembled for Tooth & Nail Records on March 11th 2002, 21 years ago. A couple bands had to be swapped for a couple reasons but the final lineup is pretty close to what I had planned out. I have created a little collage video with a couple song samples from the compilation through YouTube which you can view below.… Continued →

The best way I can describe Coolidge is as a sort of ‘prequel supergroup.’ All of the members are now well-known for their contributions to indie rock, though none of them were very well-known at the time, and Coolidge remains a fairly obscure blip on the map of alternative music. Formed in 1992, the band featured Damien Jurado on bass and vocals, David Bazan (Pedro the Lion, Headphones, Lo Tom) on drums, and Eben Haase (Blenderhead, Don’t Know) on guitar. They played an intense and unique form of emo-core that interweaved lo-fi indie rock into the mix.… Continued →

The mighty Training For Utopia have reunited for a special set at Furnace Fest 2023. This will be an explosive day without a doubt. Between Ryan and Don Clark, everything from your favorite album artwork, critically acclaimed band projects, and even indie hits you didn’t know they were a part of were comprised of these two men. More info can be found at Furnace Fest right here or on Facebook here. You can now follow them on Instagram @tfutopia … Continued →

All you early Tooth & Nail and indie rock fans who were alive in that thriving musical era of the 90’s, will be stoked to hear that Morella’s Forest debut album “Super Deluxe” is getting the vinyl treatment and available in two different beautiful color variants. You can buy the vinyl release through Lost In Ohio right here. These ship in November. This label has put out quite a few amazing re-releases including Fluffy and Sixpence None The Richer among several others. I’m holding out hope that some other 90’s era indie releases will get the vinyl treatment as well.… Continued →

Today a new Vinyl pressing goes live for Roadside Monument’s album, “I Am The Day of Current Taste”. UnoriginalVinyl has behind this mighty pressing and will be sold in both the Tooth & Nail Store and BurntToast Vinyl stores. In addition, there will be copies at Furnace Fest and at some upcoming RM gigs. Find out more info right here.… Continued →

Most of you will know that Ronnie Martin has been making music since the late 80s (at least) with Morella’s Forest 1988, Dance House Children, and most famously Joy Electric, not to mention a host of side projects like Ronald of Orange, The Foxglove Hunt, The Brothers Martin, and so forth. While there’s a lot of history with Martin’s expertise in making quirky, electronic pop music, in a sense none of that matters. Not that the history isn’t respectable–but what we really want to know is, is this record going to be good?… Continued →

I’ve been listening to Ronnie Martin’s music since the late 80s, when he and brother Jason (of Starflyer 59 and many others) were known as the duo Dance House Children. That group reveled in synth-pop, but with a super quirky edge. There was nothing in the Christian nor secular markets quite like it. After two underrated albums, the pair split. Jason started the legendary indie rock monster Starflyer 59, while Ronnie carried on with synthesizer-created music in the form of Joy Electric. Picking up where Dance House Children left off, Joy Electric took the quirkiness to extreme new levels.… Continued →

Watashi Wa just released their fantastic “come back” album titled “People Like People”, last Friday and are already off to a strong start with a new music video and Tour to follow. Check out the really great music video for the song “Trust Me”, below. What are your thoughts on this eclectic, yet poppy and definitely indie sounding, surprisingly strong new offering from Watashi Wa? Its a mix of styles but definitely current and featuring a cast of characters as guest vocalists that would make even the common underground music fan’s head explode!… Continued →

No, The Supertones weren’t the first Christian ska band. The Israelites’ first album pre-dated them by a year. But in the UK, Rev Counta and the Speedoze* (another incarnation of Ishmael United) had released a full-length as early as 1980! And perhaps some Jamaican bands that didn’t fit into the CCM/CBA mold had been active earlier than that, it’s hard to say. However, the Supertones were the first Christian ska band to release an album on a nationally-distributed label, releasing The Adventures of the O.C. Supertones just a few months before Five Iron Frenzy dropped Upbeats and Beatdowns.… Continued →