Alien Ant Farm leads a lineup that also includes Local H, GlassJAw at Earshot, kicking off the national SnoCore tour tomorrow at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel.
SnoCore debuted seven years ago, a winter version of the Vans Warped Tour, the annual summer rock circus featuring punk, rock and other less heavy-styled bands than you'll find in the plethora of hardcore metal fests.
Unlike Warped, however, SnoCore nixes the alternative athletic displays (skateboarding, BMX, etc.) and concentrates on the music.
It was founded by John Boyle, and is now co-run by the artist-based resource and record label, ARTISTdirect. Previous SnoCore tours have included bands such as Sublime, Primus, Blink-182, Fear Factory, The Pharcyde, Everclear, System of a Down, and Boston's Powerman 5000.
After tomorrow's date at Lupo's, the tour moves on to hit 36 other cities across the country.
ROCK DUO Local H joins the lineup for this year's SnoCore Tour, which kicks
off Friday at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel with Alien Ant Farm headlining.
The Grammy-nominated headliners, Alien Ant Farm, broke out last year with the excellent musical chops and playful, witty style of their debut
ANThology
(DreamWorks Records), which included a nu-metal-ish cover of Michael Jackson's 1988 hit
Smooth Criminal.
Though incongruous at first glance -- a metal version of a disco song? -- it works well, with frenzied vocals pushed along by thick chugging guitar riffs highlighting the song's dark story.
Local H is an interesting duo with a fourth CD,
Here Comes The Zoo,
due from Palm Pictures records on March 5. Founding member, guitarist and singer Scott Lucas also adds bass lines via his specially adapted guitar, and is now joined by onetime Triple Fast Action drummer Brian St. Clair.
Local H's new CD, named for an Iggy Pop song, includes guest spots from Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and The Misfits' Jerry Only.
The sound is classic- and garage-rock-based, touched by the almost ubiquitous influence of Nirvana, which results in harmonies and melodies juxtaposed with driving guitar and frenetic rhythms.
Progressive hardcore outfit GlassJAw recently made the jump from indie metal label Roadrunner to Warner Bros. The Long Island, N.Y.-based band released its debut 2000 album,
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence,
but has also undergone recent lineup changes when ex-Orange 9MM drummer Larry Gorman was drafted into the hot seat.
Opening the bill will be newcomers Earshot, a heavy-rock band with a sound reminiscent of Tool, but just a shade or two lighter in feel and thought. This multinational Los Angles-based quartet releases its debut CD,
Letting Go,
in May on Warner Bros.
Icicle Ball
This year, once again, SnoCore's recently launched sister tour, SnoCore Icicle Ball, will run simultaneously and feature more eclectic and less mainstream artists.
The Icicle Ball's bill is something of a coup: The headliner will be jazz jam band Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, with agit-prop funkateers Spearhead, rocking soul singer Nikka Costa, hip-hop crew Blackalicious, poet and filmmaker Saul Williams, and salsa hip-hop blenders Ozomatli.
Local fans have to wait until next month for the Icicle Ball, when the tour visits Lupo's on March 22.
The Snocore Tour is at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, 239 Westminster St., Providence, at 9 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $16.50 in advance.
The Icicle Ball comes to Lupo's at 9 p.m. on March 22. Tickets are $20.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Printer-Friendly Version