Cancer Bats and 'Rockstar Taste of Chaos' VIP contest

Want some free RTOC tickets, swag and a chance to meet the Cancer Bats? Enter the 'Rockstar Taste of Chaos' VIP contest!

Further details:

GRAND PRIZE

2 tickets to the RTOC show of the winner’s choice
2 Thursday VIP meet and greet passes for the RTOC show of their choice
2 after show Meet and greet passes for the RTOC show of their choice
1 year subscription to the Thursday fan club Digital copy of “Resuscitation of a Deadman”
1 Cancer Bats T–shirt
1 autographed copy of the Cancer Bats’ album “Hail Destroyer.”
Cancer Bats — Custom Skate Deck
$100 Gift Certificate to WWW.DiNGLIFE.COM
Any five cases of Rockstar Energy Drink of your choice.
Rockstar Energy Drink sweater, hat, and a shirt
1 year subscription to AP Magazine and AP merch (1 Hoodie and 1 T-shirt)

4 RUNNER UPS

2 Thursday after show Meet and greet passes for the RTOC show of their choice Digital copy of “Resuscitation of a Deadman”
2 Cancer Bats after show Meet and greet passes for the RTOC show
1 autographed copy of the Cancer Bats’ album “Hail Destroyer.”
Rockstar Energy Drink sweater, hat, and a shirt

And listen to Cancer Bats.

The Abominable Iron Sloth tour dates for early 2009

Jan 3 2009 The Excommunicate House - Vancouver, Washington
Jan 5 2009 Burt’s Tiki Lounge - SLC, Utah
Jan 6 2009 Three Kings Tavern - Denver, Colorado w/ GAZA
Jan 7 2009 The Avenue - Wichita, Kansas
Jan 8 2009 Rubber Gloves - Dallas, Texas
Jan 9 2009 Red 7 - Austin, Texas
Jan 10 2009 Little Joe’s Bar - Shreveport, Louisiana
Jan 11 2009 Insomkneeacks - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jan 12 2009 The Saturn Bar - New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 13 2009 The Bombshelter - Jackson, Mississippi
Jan 15 2009 Cave 9 - Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 17 2009 Swayze’s - Atlanta, Georgia
Jan 18 2009 The Wherehouse - Winston Salem, North Carolina
Jan 19 2009 Nara’s Sushi - Richmond, Virginia
Jan 20 2009 The Velvet Lounge! Inauguration day! - Wash DC
Jan 21 2009 The Khyber - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 22 2009 The Charleston - NY, New York w/ the_Network
Jan 23 2009 MARS - Providence, Rhode Island w/ the_Network
Jan 24 2009 ABC No Rio - Manhattan, New York
Jan 25 2009 Westcott Community Center - Syracuse, New York w/ ARCHITECT
Jan 26 2009 Mr. Roboto Project - Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania
Jan 27 2009 The Factory - Rochester, Michigan
Jan 28 2009 The Dayton Dirt Collective Space - Dayton, Ohio
Jan 29 2009 Skull Alley - Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 30 2009 the Anchor - Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 31 2009 LEMP arts center - St. Louis, Missouri
Feb 1 2009 Mojos - Columbia, Missouri
Feb 2 2009 The Foundation - Kansas City, Missouri
Feb 3 2009 The Nerdcore house - Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 4 2009 Blastomat - Denver, Colorado

Artist Entry: the_Network guitarist Kevin Howley and the nightmare of Heathrow Airport

..a short story from a puke-laden sheet of lined paper

Nov. 25th, 2008: Heathrow Airport, London

Alright, I’ve found out what fresh hell really is. Are you ready? You put a diagnosed insomniac in Heathrow Airport at 1:30 a.m. with no medication and make damn sure that his plane doesn’t leave until 3:30 p.m. the next afternoon. Its emergency-room white in here and the people lying about look sicker than any I’ve seen at a hospital.

I’ve been you. I’ve judged people here. What I want you to know is that on your next trip to the airport, you might see someone curled up next to a plastic potted plant with luggage fashioned into some terrible sleeping apparatus, and you might judge that person. You’ll probably think, “Wow, nobody gives a fuck about that guy,” or ask yourself, “What type of true fuck up do you have to be to be trying to sleep like that in public?”

Well, you know what? On your second trip to the airport, you might be that fuck up looking for that bit of shade a potted plant provides. You might find yourself thinking, “Should I sleep on the rock hard ground, the rock hard benches, or on top of all my belongings?”
You might hear one of your fellow international middle-class refugees barking a foreign language into a phone and understand every word. You might know that that Haitian guy lying on his "Member’s Only" jacket is saying, “Yea! I’m in the airport at 2:00 a.m. and it fucking sucks!”
You know why you might know all of this? Because I know all of this right now.

I’ve played about 14 shows in the last 10 days throughout the U.K., showered about three times, drank an ocean of alcohol, and now I’m trying to sleep on my band’s dirty laundry and equipment wondering if the creep with one carry-on is going to steal my awful Nikes.

This is where the busy come to die.

As their heart fails next to a Krispy Kreme, the other people look up at monitors for flight times, check their watches, or yell at their kids. The hopeful walk around as if a king-sized mattress and feathery pillow lay clean and inviting right around the next departure gate. Some people come prepared with sleeping mats, bags, or blankets, but people like you and me, we don’t expect to be in this situation.

The creep near me, I don’t think he’s eyeing my shoes. I think he’s hoping I’ll fall asleep so he can mess around with my smelly body. There are couples jerking asleep in each other’s arms. As the woman instinctively reaches to scratch her nose, her boyfriend pulls her closer. The scene is so damn sweet that I hope my plane goes down.

Some days, you just look at the people around you and realize that you’re just another mutated lifer out on a weekend pass. Some other days, you see some Asian guy’s ass as he fumbles for a cup of tap water, with his hat protecting his eyes from the scorching lights of Heathrow’s innards. Some days, you don’t have a towel to throw in.

My bed’s shuffling around while I write. I’m going to put my shoes on, go brush my teeth, and maybe visit the airport’s nearby “Prayer Room” and hope for sleep. I’ll let you know when the Air Canada gates open -- or an airport bar. I need to put this journal in my bag and finish the bed building process. That’s right -- I’m going to try to sleep on what you’re reading.

CANCER BATS on ROCKSTAR ENERGY's 'Taste of Chaos' tour!

From the official press release:

ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK TASTE OF CHAOS continues to stake its claim as the preeminent winter rock package tour. Always an explosive, in-your-face affair, ROCKSTAR TASTE OF CHAOS features today’s biggest and on-the-verge of stardom hard rock bands. Blaring, boisterous and brutal, this year’s tour will be no different. Heralded by Florida’s Backstage Pass as “delivering some of the best known acts in the rock 'n roll world," past RTOC performers have included a who’s who of this decade’s most popular rock bands including My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Rise Against, Deftones, Killswitch Engage, 30 Seconds to Mars, The Used and over three hundred more.

Tour co-founder Kevin Lyman, always with his ear to the street and his hand on the scene’s pulse, chose this year’s cutting edge lineup after watching many of these same bands explode on the 2008 Van’s Warped Tour. By taking fan feedback to heart and personally handpicking artists that he feels will be breaking out in ’09, the lineup includes headliner THURSDAY, as well as BRING ME THE HORIZON, FOUR YEAR STRONG, PIERCE THE VEIL (all of whom will rotate their spot on the bill throughout the tour), and CANCER BATS. In addition, one local Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands winner will open the show at each stop.

“After listening to what fans had to say during Warped Tour and watching many of these bands with thousands of fans watching them perform,” Lyman explains, “these are the bands rock fans want to see. And I believe they’re all on the brink of breakout success.”

Last year, the Asbury Park Press praised Lyman for his forward looking approach to the tour, writing: "No wonder the Rockstar Taste of Chaos is known as the 'Winter Warped Tour.' Much like the highly successful summer rock jaunt, Rockstar Taste of Chaos is affordable and offers a wide range of bands. Lyman, who assembles the Warped Tour lineup, goes out of his way to put together a package of punk, hard rock and true alternative acts for the bill."

This year, fans can expect a low ticket price (between $20-25 per ticket) as well as the return of the fun-filled concourse offering a bevy of fascinating distractions in between sets guaranteeing that the pandemonium will begin as soon as fans enter the venue.

Tour co-founders, John Reese, Lyman and Darryl Eaton state: "We are very excited about the great bands and concourse activities planned for the 2009 North American Tour. ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK has been a great partner helping us bring fans a great package and a big show at a very fan-friendly entrance price. We’re really proud that the RTOC has become an important event on music fans’ calendars in the long, cold winter in the U.S. and Canada."

ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK Marketing Director Mike Kelso states, “Live music is very important to ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK and for the past four years the worldwide success of ROCKSTAR TASTE OF CHAOS has been instrumental in the success of our brand.”



With nearly 300 worldwide dates over the past fours years, playing in over 20 countries including the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Japan, France, Mexico, New Zealand and Italy among others, ROCKSTAR TASTE OF CHAOS, the only worldwide lifestyle festival tour, is back with another onslaught of winter dates in the U.S. and Canada.
The ROCKSTAR TASTE OF CHAOS pre-sale begins Friday, December 12th, at 10AM in each market. Please go to www.rockstartasteofchaos.com for all on sale information, ticketing links, and concert dates.

News Update: New video of the_Network on tour in the UK

Due to the holiday, there isn't much news to report. But until next week, we have a tasty snack for y'all.

Here's a video shot during the_Network's UK run:

Dance Club Massacre and Architect on tour now!

DANCE CLUB MASSACRE “Circle of Death”
Through of hale of intoxication and deranged Willy Wonka style weirdness, Chicago's Dance Club Massacre have returned with a vicious sophomore record, Circle of Death, bridging the unusual gap between the worlds' of The Devil Wears Prada and Dimmu Borgir. The band attacks from all sides melding their brand of noisy, screamo-grind with symphonic black metal orchestration. This unlikely stylistic pairing showcases the group's maturing into a sound that is distinctly their own. “CIRCLE OF DEATH” in stores November 11, 2008!!
Dance Club Massacre will be hitting the road this month with Dr. Acula!
11/12 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen CD Release show!!
11/17 St Louis, MO The Creepy Crawl
Tour with Dr. Acula
11/18 Lawrence, KS The Bottle Neck
11/19 Tulsa, OK The Pink Eye
11/20 Arlington, TX Molly’s
11/21 San Antonio, TX Rock Bottom Bar
11/22 McAllen, TX The Incubator
11/23 Corpus Christi, TX The Compound
11/24 Baton Rouge, LA The Darkroom
11/25 Panama City, FL Beamers
11/26 Ocala, FL The Capital
11/29 Wilmington, NC Lucky’s
11/30 Greensboro, NC Club Rain
12/01 Danville, VA Plan B
12/02 Fredericksburg, VA The Refuge
12/03 Yonkers, NY The Haunt
12/04 Pittsburgh, PA Blue Violet Cafe
12/05 Southgate, MI The Modern Exchange
12/06 Mokena, IL Soundlab

New music from Circle of Death online now at http://www.myspace.com/danceclubmassacre and http://www.myspace.com/blackmarketactivities

ARCHITECT “Ghost of the Saltwater Machines”
Just when you thought Architect couldn't get any heavier, angrier or more politically agitated, the Great Northern Trendkill has returned with the most over-the-top release of 2008, Ghost of the Saltwater Machines. Architect's latest effort hits at a vital time. In the wake of a historical election, Ghost of the Saltwater Machines is even more relevant. The songs are politically fueled with lyrical topics including attacks on current administration and figureheads of the free world (Camelot), Middle America being bled dry from government and big business (Death & Taxes) as well as free speech and civil liberties (Traitor). When the abrasive songs rip your eardrums, you listen. And when the vocalist bellows their apocalyptic message, you believe it. With the music scene so destabilized and the fact that Architect is basically the anti-trend, chances are GOTSWM won't see the band rising to super stardom. But as they have always done, there will be touring, trash talk and destructive live shows to accompany this beefy, bone crushing album and those brave enough to listen are in for one of the heaviest records of the decade. “GHOST OF THE SALTWATER MACHINES” in stores November 25, 2008!!

Check out Architect on tour this fall with Rose Funeral!
11/14 Portland, ME The Asylum with The Red Chord and Overcast
11/15 Poughkeepsie, NY The Chance with The Red Chord and Overcast
11/25 Syracuse, NY The Westcott Cinema CD Release Party
11/28 Buffalo, NY Club DiabloTour with Rose Funeral
11/29 Pittsburgh, PA The Roboto Project
11/30 Wheeling, WV Yesterdays Draught House
12/01 Columbus, OH Bernies
12/02 Louisville, KY Bulldog Cafe
12/03 Nashville, TN The Muse
12/04 Selma, AL The Loud House
12/05 Panama City, FL Beamers
12/06 Tampa, FL Transitions Art Gallery
12/07 Orlando, FL The Dungeon
12/08 Augusta, GA Sector 7G
12/12 Fredericksburg, VA The Refuge
12/15 New York, NY Lit Lounge

New music from "Ghost of the Saltwater Machines" online now at http://www.myspace.com/architectkills and http://www.myspace.com/blackmarketactivities

For more information or to request a promo, please contact:
Michelle Ferraro, Head of Publicity, michelle@blackmarketactivities.com
Sheena Hamilton, Publicity Assistant, sheena@blackmarketactivities.com

BMA News Update: Cancer Bats to tour with In Flames in the UK; Animosity on 'The Price is Right;' Khann update and more

We're tryin' to keep stuff simple in a complex world.

So we'll keep this introduction simple and get to this week's news brief.

-BMA Staff


CANCER BATS will embark on a crusade with In Flames in the UK, here's the official press release:

Canada’s very own riff masters, Cancer Bats, are proud to announce that they will be trekking across the UK with the mighty In Flames in April. The band spent July and August in the US with Bullet for My Valentine and Bleeding Through and plans for more US tours are currently in the works. Check back to http://www.blogger.com/www.myspace.com/cancerbats often to get updates!

The video for "Lucifer’s Rocking Chair" from the band’s latest album, Hail Destroyer, is up now on http://www.blogger.com/myspace.com/metal..

CANCER BATS
Tour w/ In Flames
04/15 Norwich, UK Waterfront
04/16 Colchester, UK Arts
04/17 Brighton, UK Concorde 2
04/21 Newcastle, UK Academy 2
04/22 Dundee, UK Fat Sams
04/23 Belfast, UK Mandella Hall
04/24 Dublin, IE Academy
04/25 Cork, UK Pavillion
04/27 Exeter, UK Lemon Grove
04/28 Cardiff, UK University Solus
04/29 Cambridge, UK Junction
04/30 Sheffield, UK Corporation
05/01 Liverpool, UK Academy 2

“Full of youthful energy and great chops, their second full-length never sounds forced, and the first two tracks alone kick more ass than most bands’ entire discographies.” Revolver - 4/5 stars

“Hail Destroyer takes everything that made the first [disc] great and amplifies it.” - BW & BK

KKKKK – Kerrang!

“Currently the best punk rock band in the world…” – NME (UK)

“Hail Destroyer is the new background music for every rad party in the world. If it’s not, then I don't want to go to that party. Get this record…..be somebody, baby.” TheSaltyPirate.com


Animosity had its very own TV appearance on CBS' "The Price is Right." Watch the band cheer on Carlos Garcia of fellow California band Antagonist -- not to mention the ironic prize Garcia is offered to win (think band essentials).

Architect will kick off the release of its new album, "Ghost of the Saltwater Machines," with a free show on Nov. 25 at 7:30 pm at the Westcott Cinema in Syracuse, NY. The band will be shooting live footage for a video at this show, so come out ready to rage at full potential. Rouges and Merrimac are set to open the show. Check out the exclusively released songs from the release on the BMA and Architect MySpace pages -- you won't be disappointed.

Khann is currently in post-production for two music videos soon to be released. The band also is planning a plethora of upcoming tours, including possible West Coast, European and Canadian runs. A US tour for early 2009 is in the works and will be announced soon. Check out Khann's MySpace page for pleasurable listening.

Destroy Destroy Destroy is shooting a video for "The Wretched Forest" from the band's upcoming Jan. 6 release, "Battle Sluts." The album artwork and song "Born of Thunder" are posted on the band's Myspace.

The Black Market Activities indie merch store has some updated swag. You'll be making all your friends jealous with your purchase, no doubt!