Unhappy with the current state of ska music, We are the Union decided to stick out their own necks and try to change things for the better in the Summer of 2005. Getting a paycheck is not on their agenda. Instead of following typical ska punk conventions, WATU takes a harder-nosed approach to the genre. With influences ranging from Philadelphia/New Jersey favorites Lifetime and Kid Dynamite, and bands like Slapstick and This is a Standoff, they rage with the best of them while still retaining a heightened sense of melody. Their love for fast music, horns and their incredibly short attention spans are a simple explanation for why WATU sound the way they do. Over the past year and a half, they have also been incredibly hardworking. With 8 east coast and Midwest tours under their belt in this short span of time, they’ve now thrown caution to the wind and plan on touring full time. This will surely add to the list of heavy hitters they’ve shared the stage with that includes Mustard Plug, Set Your Goals, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Bomb! The Music Industry, Four Year Strong, Fireworks, A Loss For Words, The Swellers, and The Flatliners. Their work ethic cannot just be applied to their tours either. Their first full-length “Who We Are,” self-released in the summer of 2007, was given away for free by the band via the Internet. Their generosity was met with a rapidly surging fan base and an offer to have the record released in Japan via InYaFace Records. Their expectations for the band are simple. They want to keep making music they love while touring relentlessly in order to provide people with a positive environment for fun and the venting of frustration. Paper + Plastick saw the youthful exuberance and the amount of integrity this young bunch of punks had and quickly wanted to become involved. With a 3-song teaser EP in the works for this Summer and a full-length on the way in the Fall you’ll soon know why we felt the need to bring WATU to the people. Some incredible artwork is in the planning stages as well, so this release will surely be up to Paper + Plastick’s lofty artistic standards as well.

Fast dudes, fast tunes.

Paper + Plastick 

Metal Blade Records history by Dan Slessor:
Founded upon owner Brian Slagel's enduring drive to find great bands and get their music out to as many people as possible, since 1982 Metal Blade has brought wave after wave of powerful, innovative, and often genre-defining music to the ever-hungry metal masses. It is this ethos that has seen Metal Blade build up a stunning and diverse catalogue, weather the various storms facing any independent label, and in an age of declining record sales boast the most successful years of its existence as it strides into its fourth decade.

What perhaps makes this achievement all the more notable is the fact that Slagel never even intended to start a label. Working in an LA record store and writing for various publications, Slagel was acutely aware that many great bands in the local metal scene were being ignored, and he decided to release a compilation of tracks drawn from these ranks. "There were a lot of really good bands and I was just bummed out that nobody could hear them. It just seemed like I could help them out and have some fun at the same time, and that compilation was the first Metal Massacre," he states. Collating tracks from then unknown bands including Ratt, Bitch, Cirith Ungol, and Metallica amongst others, the compilation sold out immediately. "How important is Metal Blade to our career? They're only the reason we are enjoying the worldwide success we have today," states Metallica's James Hetfield. "Without Brian's openness to some raunchy teens with a crap sounding cassette tape we would be who knows where, and playing who knows what!" With the popularity of the tape spurring Slagel on, the first seeds of Metal Blade were sown. "After the success of those compilations I just started putting out records of bands that I was friends with, but without ever really intending it to be a label at all," he explains. "After I put out four or five releases I started to feel like something was happening, and I decided to quit the record store and quit college and see where it went."

Battling through the first few lean years, when the label consisted solely of Slagel working out of his mom's poorly ventilated garage in the San Fernando Valley, it gradually grew in both revenue and stature. Within a few years Metal Blade would go on to release the debuts of Slayer, Armored Saint, Trouble, and Corrosion Of Conformity amongst others, fanning the flames of the burgeoning metal scene and launching careers of bands that would go onto reap global success. "Without Metal Blade, there is a damn good chance we never would've made it out of L.A," says Slayer's Kerry King. "That was the one bit of luck we needed. You can be the most awesome band on the scene, and if no one notices you, you don't catch on. And Brian Slagel is still one of the biggest metalheads I know!" This genuine love and devotion to metal is central to the relationship many of the artists have with Metal Blade, and King Diamond credits much of its relevance and strength to this passion. "I refer to it as having 'boots on the ground'," the mighty Dane states. "It's not like a major label where some people might be into what you're doing but a lot of them just see it as a job – there's a genuine love for metal there. Through staying true to that and doing their own thing they've carved out a very specific niche that they control, and as an artist it's wonderful to be a part of that."over the years. Clearly without those people we couldn't do what we do, and to everyone out there who has helped us along by being a fan we are so very grateful to you."

Read more: http://www.metalblade.com/us/about-us/

World Circuit Records has made its reputation by producing some of the finest albums of the past three decades. The label’s prestigious roster includes the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club and associated solo artists (including Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González, Omara Portuondo and Orlando ‘Cachaíto’ López), Malian blues pioneer and Grammy-winner Ali Farka Touré, Malian divas and social activists Oumou Sangaré and Fatoumata Diawara, master kora player Toumani Diabaté, the illustrious Orchestra Baobab, musical iconoclast Cheikh Lô, and Fela Kuti’s legendary drummer and co-creator of Afrobeat Tony Allen. 
 
With reissues and brand new releases coming soon, World Circuit continues to bring diverse, genre-defying music to a wider audience.

ATTICUS ANTHEM
Bjorn Franklin – Lead Vocals & Acoustic Guitar
Johnny Marchetta – Lead Electric Guitar & Vocals
Jared McGivern – Drums & Percussion
Olly Skelton – Bass Guitar

“Imagine that guy from the Goo Goo Dolls doing dirty things with one of the Edge’s delay pedals, and then somehow this band were formed out of the resultant fractals of sound coming out of the U2 guitarists amps. This is big, fists-in-the-air music. They ooze confidence up on stage, and the emotive punch of the singer’s voice along with their widescreen music suggests that they don’t see any line on the horizon”
— Paul Klotchkow, Leftlion

KALW is local public radio from the San Francisco Bay Area. Tune into 91.7FM or find some of KALW's fine programming here, from shows like our nightly newsmagazine Crosscurrents. And check out the sounds from special projects like Audiograph, which is out to capture the sonic signature of the Bay Area. 

We've been keeping track of new music on the internet since 2005. 

We repost tracks that enter the top 5 in our popular chart. See http://hypem.com/popular for the full chart.

i play guitar and produce music ! hello !

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