Kicking off the show was a group of scene legends that go by the name of Terrible Things. Made up of Andy Jackson (Hot Rod Circuit), Fred Mascherino (The Color Fred), Josh Eppard (Coheed and Cambria) and Brian Weaver; the band’s talent shined playing tracks off their debut self-titled release. Starting with the song that shares the same name as both the band and album title then slowing it down with “Lullaby”, it was clear the band was capable of playing a varied range of music. Going through the set it seemed almost effortless as Fred and Andy perfectly exchanged vocals with one another. Though many in the audience were not familiar with Terrible Things, the songs had them nodding along. The greatest response came during single “Revolution” as Fred hoped to captivate the newcomers by having them sing the chorus back to him. Closing the set off with “The Arsonist’s Wife”, a strong performance was had and this band shouldn’t be in an opening slot for much longer.

After having a rough year of losing members, their record being pushed back after becoming label-less, and cancelled tours; Mercy Mercedes let this all subside as the band came out with high energy and a positive attitude. Playing an even mix of both new and old songs, singer Nate Smith belted out poppy lyrics while guitarist $B-Real$ counteracted with blaring guitar solos. Having the crowd at the band’s focus the whole time, tracks like “Get It Darlin” and “Believe It” got the audience dancing and most known song “The Perfect Scene” had everyone singing along.

With her raspy voice and tough-girl attitude, Juliet Simms of Automatic Loveletter commanded the stage as soon as she stepped foot onto it. “Parker” and “Hush” shined through and a cover of Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta” seemed to perk the audience up. During one song the band demanded fist pumping out of the crowd, due to the relative proximity of the Jersey Shore to NYC. The set relied heavily on songs off recent release Truth Or Dare which had charted 23^rd on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

The time everyone was waiting for had finally arrived as Valencia took the stage to a roar of cheers.  The band opened with “Consider Me Dead” and then shifted into “Where Did You Go?”. Despite reports of vocalist Shane Henderson being sick, he seemed very lively as he ran around the stage making eye contact with every person in the room. Continuing on, the setlist consisted mainly of songs from 2010’s Dancing With A Ghost and 2008’s We All Need A Reason To Believe.

Thanking the audience for being so great, Shane said “We were going to play one more, but I’m having so much fun let’s play a couple more”.

The band then proceeded to play oldie “Away We Go”, which resulted in an enormous audience reaction and sing-a-long. For “Stop Searching” the members of the other bands on tour came out to join in on vocals. Since this was a Christmas tour, the band also covered “Father Christmas” by The Kinks, which Valencia had also just released a video for. Valencia then played “Holiday”, which received a strong reaction and slowed things down with “I Still Need You Around”, which Shane stated was about his mother.

After that the band walked off stage, but the lights remained dimmed and chanting from the audience ensued. The band broke into new song “Pieces” and the closed with crowd favorite “The Space Between”.

As the night ended, band members walked around eager to meet fans and put a nice ending to this diverse tour.

While Hulu, the premium video destination has been mulling over the idea of an IPO since August, it has quietly tabled the idea. According to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal, Hulu is instead looking at other ways to raise revenue.

Citing unnamed sources, the paper says that Hulu’s board shelved the idea for an initial public offering (IPO) because of concerns that Hulu doesn’t have long-term rights to the content is shows online.

Instead, Hulu may look to subscription offerings beyond the recently-introduced Hulu Plus. These subscriptions may allow the site to distribute material is currently doesn’t offer. What that content is, the paper’s sources couldn’t say.

Additionally, Hulu may raise funds by getting its existing owners to put in more money.

The Hulu Plus service goes for $7.99 per month, down from $9.99 per month during the preview period. Hulu is already aggressive about raising revenue. As a recent report from comScore showed, the site streamed 1.1 billion video ads in November, making it the top site for video ads. Its viewers averaged 42.4 ads per person. Hulu shows ads even on Hulu Plus content.

According to the Journal, Hulu is outperforming the company’s expectations for paid subscribers. In a recent interview, Jason Kilar, Hulu’s CEO, said the site was generating “material” revenue, and will earn $260 million in revenue for 2010.

The votes were:

• Chairman Genachowski: In Favor
• Commissioner Clyburn: In Favor
• Commissioner Copps: In Favor
• Commissioner McDowell: Against
• Commissioner Baker: Against

All of the Commissioners took their time making their viewpoints known.

In arguing for the measure, Michael J. Copps said he wished this measure had been stronger, “Going as far as I would have liked was not in the cards.” He specifically wished wired and wireless broadband would operate under the same rules.

Robert M. Mcdowell disagreed, saying “The FCC is not Congress. We cannot make laws.” He accused the Commission of an “obsessive quest to regulate at all costs.”

Mignon Clyburn also indicated she wished the order went further, saying consumers would benefit from including wireless broadband in this ruling.

Meredith Attwell Baker opened her comments with a simple disagreement, saying “I really, really, really descent.”

Genachowski opened his comments quoting, “The web as we know it is being threatened.” He continued he wanted “a strong and sensible non-idealogical framework” to address this issue.

What IS Net Neutrality?

What the order actually addresses was summed up by LANCE ULANOFF, writing in PC MAGAZINE, “I find both the support and opposition to the FCC’s efforts confounding. On the support side, I wonder why those who favor laissez faire would want the government to get involved in a process that seems to be doing just fine by itself. There appears to be no shortage of Internet access and information innovation, and regulation could actually slow that down. On the opposition side, I wonder why people are not more concerned about actions by some of the biggest ISPs and gate-keeping companies that either allow or block innovation on our home and mobile devices. Without government intervention, these companies can do pretty much what they want, meaning they can allow as they please, block as they please, open the pipes when they want and damp them down as they feel necessary.”

Earlier this year, The FCC’s ability to regulate the net was handed a loss, following an appeals court decision that said the agency lacked the authority to stop COMCAST from blocking bandwidth-hogging applications.

In a blog post on the band’s official site Paramore wrote that the Farros had actually decided to leave the group “a couple of months ago,” and that, while fans might be shocked by the news, the remaining three members — frontwoman Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis and guitarist Taylor York — weren’t.

“None of us were really shocked. For the last year it hasn’t seemed as if they wanted to be around anymore,” the statement read in part. “We want Josh and Zac to do something that makes them happy and if that isn’t here with us, then we support them finding happiness elsewhere.”

The Farro brothers — guitarist Josh and drummer Zac — founded Paramore with Williams and Davis in 2004, and though the group has lost two of its core members, they pledged to continue on.

“We never for a second thought about leaving any of this behind. We really hope that you can be encouraged by the fact that the three of us who are still here are ready to take on another chapter of our journey together,” the statement read. “You have always been what keeps us going so why would we stop now? We want to stick by you. Knowing that we have a unified passion and a clear vision makes us feel stronger than ever.”

Earlier this week, a blog post announcing the Farros departure began making the rounds. And though it was credited to the band, in their statement on Saturday, Paramore denounced it as “a fake.”

“The ‘blog’ that was posted regarding everything that is going on with our band …we aren’t sure who did it or why… And we aren’t sure how they timed it this way,” their statement read. “This is the first time that we have spoken out about what’s going on and we wouldn’t have released an official statement that important through a personal blog. So, we’re sorry for any confusion and just to remain clear, this is the first time we have spoken out about this.”

Paramore concluded by thanking their fans for standing by them, and promised that 2011 will be a big year for the band. Farro brothers, or not.

“We have some amazing things lined up for next year starting with our tour in South America. We are still coming to you and we are excited about who we are bringing with us! The tour is still on and we can’t wait to see you all,” they wrote. “As we look back, and now as we look with excitement to the future, in all of this what truly matters are the good times. The pictures of us with our arms around each other, the long van rides, your faces while you sing along as we play. Thank you for getting us right here to this very moment. We look forward to our best times. And we hope you will go there with us.”

Tour Dates:

• 1/21 @ Downtown Brew – San Luis Obispo, CA *
• 1/22 @ Troubador – Los Angeles, CA *
• 1/23 @ Rhythm Room – Phoenix, AZ *
• 1/25 @ Cambridge Room – Dallas, TX *
• 1/26 @ Stubb’s – Austin, TX *
• 1/27 @ Warehouse Studio @ Houston, TX *
• 1/28 @ Parish – New Orleans, LA *
• 1/29 @ Phineas Phogg – Pensacola, FL *
• 1/30 @ Masquerade – Atlanta, GA *
• 2/1 @ The Social – Orlanda, FL *
• 2/4 @ New Brookland Tavern – Columbia, SC *
• 2/5 @ Greene Street – Greensboro, NC *
• 2/7 @ Jammin Java – Vienna, VA *
• 2/8 @ First Unitarian Church – Philadephia, PA *
• 2/9 @ Highline Ballroom – New York, NY *
• 2/10 @ Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA *
• 2/11 @ School of Rock – S. Hackensack, NJ  *
• 2/12 @ Mr. Small’s – Pittsburgh, PA *
• 2/13 @ Mod Club – Toronto, ONT *
• 2/15 @ Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH ^
• 2/16 @ Eagle Theatre – Pontiac, MI  ^
• 2/17 @ Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL ^
• 2/18 @ Blue Moose – Iowa City, IA ^
• 2/19 @ Bottleneck – Lawrence, KS ^
• 2/20 @ Marquis Theatre – Denver, CO ^
• 2/22 @ Complex – Salt Lake City, UT ^
• 2/23 @ The Venue – Boise, ID ^
• 2/25 @ El Corazon – Seattle, WA ^
• 2/26 @ Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR ^
• 2/28 @ Slim’s – San Francisco, CA ^
• 3/2 @ Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA ^

* w/ Gold Motel, You, Me, And Everyone We Know, and Now, Now
^ w/ Jukebox The Ghost, Gold Motel, and Now, Now

The track is taken  The album will be available for pre-order later in the week, though a teaser for the album, featuring footage from their recent live dates, can be seen here.

The band has just returned from an Australian tour with Reel Big Fish, and have announced the first set of dates for 2011 with an east coast U.S. tour with Reel Big Fish this January.

Fresh out of the studio from recording the new record When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes, Yellowcard are getting ready for a busy first half of 2011 on the road. With UK and Asian tour dates already announced, the boys have announced the U.S. portion of its tour. Kicking off on the East Coast in Sayreville, NJ’s Starland Ballroom on March 25th and circling around the country, the band will be direct support for Hopeless Records labelmates All Time Low on “The Dirty Work Tour”, with Hey Monday and The Summer Set in the opening tour slots.

“This is our first U.S. tour in three years and we are so stoked on how it’s all coming together,” wrote the band in a joint statement. “We are all just as anxious as you are for next year to get here. It will be worth the wait, for all of us.”

Gearing up for the release of their seventh album When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes on March 22, 2011 via Hopeless Records, Yellowcard have called this record “the product of thousands of miles of traveling to write together, hundreds of emails containing demos and new ideas, and finally, eight weeks of twelve hour studio days, working together again as a full band.”

With over three million of their previous records sold, Ryan Key (vocals/guitar) and original members Sean Mackin (violin) and Longineu (“LP”) Parsons (drums) continuing with Ryan Mendez (guitar) will be joined by longtime friend of the band Sean O’Donnell (bass), whose addition has been described as a “natural fit” for the current mindset and progression of the group. When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes was produced by Neal Avron, the “sixth member of the band” who has produced three of their previous albums including their breakthrough Ocean Avenue.

All Yellowcard tour dates can be seen here.

The private-equity shop run by financier Guy Hands has been informing its backers that it may ultimately hand over the keys to the business to its lender after losing a nasty legal battle with Citi.

A Terra Firma source insisted the company has not yet made any decision on EMI’s future and is still mulling its options.

That said, there are few options available to the wily Hands at this point, other than walking away from the record label he paid $6.7 billion to acquire back in 2007, several sources familiar with the situation told The Post.

Indeed, Hands has already had to persuade investors to plow an additional $156 million into EMI to keep it from defaulting on the roughly $5 billion loan he took out from Citi to buy the company.

Talk of a possible handover of EMI comes after The Post reported earlier this week that investors in a pair of Terra Firma funds that own EMI have told Hands that they aren’t willing to invest more money in the debt-ridden music company, which boasts such acts as Katy Perry and Lady Antebellum.

Terra Firma faces another debt deadline in March, when Citi is likely to demand it inject more money into EMI to make good on the terms of its loan, sources said.

Last month, Terra Firma lost a nasty high-profile legal battle with lender Citigroup, which it accused of duping the company into purchasing the struggling record business — a move many viewed as a last-ditch effort to gain leverage in its battle with its lender.

Citigroup and Terra Firma officials declined to comment.

The band members are proud of their album as well. “We have 10 songs on the record that we couldn’t be more proud of,” says guitarist Trevor Kelly. “The response from our fans has been the best part.”

The first single, “Happily Ever After” will be impacting radio on January 11th. The track offers a glimpse into the source of unconventional songwriting and the tricky interplay of words.

“I love rap and hiphop,” vocalist Rachel Taylor says. “Jay-Z is a huge inspiration. Rappers inspire the way I write my lyrics. Everything they write is so real, everything they rap is so raw. It’s something they’ve lived, and that’s exactly how I want to write. The rhythm and the rhymes are so powerful.”

Equally surprising is Trevor’s inspiration for his intricate guitarwork. “If you listen to our music, you can tell Trevor loves metal. He uses alternate picking and everything is played in dropped D tuning [alternate tuning style in which the lowest string is tuned down one whole step]. You can hear it most when we go into halftime. All he learned musically comes from metal.”

My Forever is the culmination of the last two years in the life of the two friends who met in a music store, wrote a couple of great songs that got them crowned as PureVolume’s #1 Unsigned Artist of 2009, and signed a major label deal.

My Forever was produced by Casey Bates (Chiodos, Portugal. The Man, Foxy Shazaam) and Aaron Sprinkle (The Almost, Eisley, Pedro The Lion, Mae), with additional recording done in New York City with Dan Romer (Ingrid Michaelson).

On signing with the label, Man Overboard commented; “We pride ourselves on having a relentless work ethic and are proud to be a part of Rise’s roster. Matthew, Craig and Sean all value their position at the label as a lifestyle and not just a job. We have always worked with people who are going to constantly push themselves to do better and great things and these guys have proven to do just that. 2011 will prove to be our busiest year to date as we already have several releases and world-wide touring coming up.”

Agreeing that the label is a good fit, Transit wrote; “Rise is a label that we’re very excited to be working with, since in reality there is no “Rise Sound” and they have always been a diverse label. They are here to support Transit for what we are, and what we do. We are stoked to be on the same roster as rad bands like Piebald and This Is Hell, as well as our friends in Man Overboard who also just signed with Rise . We’re happy and ready for the future.”

Both bands are also signed to Run For Cover Records and upcoming releases will come out on both labels. Transit will also be releasing a new acoustic EP, Something Left Behind, February 22nd on Mightier Than Sword Records. The bands are currently kicking off a European tour together and plan to tour extensively throughout 2011.

The move, which has been rumored in the music industry for weeks, was confirmed on Tuesday by a spokeswoman at the RCA/Jive Label Group, the division of Sony where Mr. Weiss, 51, is chairman and chief executive.

Universal, whose labels include Interscope, Island, Def Jam, Geffen and Motown, has not said what Mr. Weiss’s role will be at the company. But it is expected that he will run Universal’s East Coast operations under the company’s new chief executive, Lucian Grainge, who takes over on Jan. 1 and will be based in Los Angeles.

In a statement, Sony said that Mr. Weiss would stay at the company until his contract expired at the end of April.

Known as a shrewd and frugal deal maker — a talent that has served him well as budgets in the music industry have shrunk over the last decade — Mr. Weiss began his career by the side of his father, Hy Weiss, a Romanian immigrant who in the 1950s helped found Old Town, a doo-wop and rhythm and blues label. In the days before the government crackdown on payola, Hy Weiss became known for aggressive promotional tactics like his “$50 handshake.”

In 1982, after graduating from Cornell, Mr. Weiss began working at Jive Records, a label that dominated the teen-pop era of the late 1990s and early 2000s with Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync.

Jive became part of the Sony empire through a series of acquisitions and mergers. In 2002, BMG Music bought its parent company, Zomba, for $2.7 billion, and in 2004 BMG formed a joint venture with Sony. Four years later Sony acquired BMG’s half, creating two music separate music divisions.

Sony’s market share for album sales in the United States is 27.5 percent, while Universal has 30.5 percent of that market, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Long considered a rising star at Sony, Mr. Weiss in 2008 took over the RCA/Jive division — the BMG half — from Clive Davis, the power broker whose artists have included Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys. (Mr. Davis remains Sony’s chief creative officer.)

That promotion gave Mr. Weiss control over a portfolio of labels that releases music by Ms. Spears, Justin Timberlake, the Dave Matthews Band, Kelly Clarkson, R. Kelly and Kesha, among dozens of other acts.

Mr. Weiss’s move to Universal may signal the end of a power struggle within Sony to succeed Rolf Schmidt-Holtz as the chief executive of the company’s music division. Mr. Weiss had been competing fiercely for the position with Rob Stringer, the chairman of Sony’s other music division, the Columbia/Epic Label Group.

Sony has not yet named a replacement for Mr. Schmidt-Holtz, who is expected to remain until his contract ends early next year.

From December 1-25 the label will be featuring a different piece of exclusive content from Fearless’ artists with a different outlet each day – from tour videos and behind-the-scenes access to exclusive announcements, interviews, contests, live chats and more.

Highlights this week include: blessthefall’s latest tour video from on the road with Atreyu; exclusive interviews with Mayday Parade, Breathe Carolina, Every Avenue, Artist Vs Poet and Go Radio and the final video update from the Fearless Friends Tour.

All the content can be found on Facebook.com/FearlessRecords.

Back in 2006, things were starting to go bad for Yellowcard. The band had parted ways with longtime guitarist Ben Harper, under less than amicable terms. They were forced to scrap a run of shows when frontman Ryan Key underwent vocal surgery. Lights and Sounds, the ambitious follow-up to their breakout Ocean Avenue album, had tanked, and the band began taking swipes at one another in the press as a result.

Things only get worse from there. Yellowcard’s next album — 2007′s Paper Wallsstiffed to such a degree that their label, Capitol, refused to continue promoting it — and by the end of 2008, Yellowcard were left without a label and decided to call it quits.

So, it may have come as a surprise to the die-hard fans when YC announced that the band were re-forming in August, with plans to record a brand-new album, to be released on a brand-new label, Hopeless Records, in March. Though, according to Key, the news really shouldn’t have shocked anybody. After all, despite what one may have thought, Yellowcard never really went away in the first place.

“We took a break in ’08, and it just felt like it was time to step back a little bit, and everybody went off and did their thing,” Key said. “And earlier this year, our drummer, Longineu Parsons, was the one that kinda started making phone calls, just saying, ‘What do you guys think about maybe getting back together?’ And then all the rest of us started talking and, uh, it just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Of course, given their rather rocky history, getting the band back together wasn’t as easy as a few phone calls. There were things that needed to be said, and they needed to be done face-to-face.

“We definitely sat down with each other and talked about all the things in Yellowcard that had worked and not worked, and what we would need it to be this time around to make it work, and everybody really seemed to be on the same page,” Key explained. “The record is just awesome. … We’re so excited about it, and it was because, I think, we did get some of that stuff worked out and talked about and, you know, you’re friends for 15 years … so there’s stuff that you gotta work out with each other to be able to keep working together.”

And though neither Harper nor Mosely are taking part in the 2010 version of Yellowcard, Key is determined to press on with the core of the band — himself, Parsons and violinist Sean Mackin — intact. And as proof, he offers up the title of YC’s new album: When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes, a handle he probably couldn’t have thought up back in 2006.

“It actually came from a young lady I was trying to, uh, take out for an evening, and she had mentioned that she was kind of seeing someone else, and had to think about it,” he laughed. “I wrote her a text message back that said, ‘When you’re through thinking, say “yes,” ‘ and it just kind of resonated, I guess. As lame as it may be, it’s from a text message.”

Financial details weren’t disclosed, but according to the New York Times, the deal is worth $60 million over three years. The paper said that the 35-year-old previously agreed to a three-year deal with Clear Channel, estimated to be worth $35 million, in 2008.

Some had wondered whether Seacrest would reduce his radio commitment when his old contract expires at the end of the year given that he also appears on E! and produces reality shows, such as Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Instead, he seems to be increasing his commitment in return for more money, agreeing to develop with Clear Channel new radio content for syndication, including digital platforms. Clear Channel and Seacrest will also explore the creation of TV content, a record label, music publishing business and concert series, the company said.

He will also continue to host the daily On Air With Ryan Seacrest on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and host the American Top 40 chart countdown. Plus, Clear Channel said he will serve as a spokesman and advocate for the firm.

“Everyone at Clear Channel is thrilled to renew and expand our partnership with Ryan, who is not only a top radio and television personality but also a true visionary who has firmly established himself as America’s leading curator of popular culture,” said Robert Pittman, the recently named Clear Channel chairman of media and entertainment platforms. ”His likability and broad appeal are a key reason why his shows have such phenomenal reach and penetration.”

“Ryan exemplifies the level of talent and programming we are committed to bringing our listeners across a variety of platforms,” said John Hogan, president and CEO of Clear Channel Radio. “His experience and track record as a host and a producer and his extensive industry relationships make Ryan an ideal partner for the development of new vehicles as we drive growth opportunities across all of our radio platforms, on air, online and on-site.”

Said Seacrest: “Clear Channel’s programming is only beginning to scratch the surface of what we can achieve together to connect with audiences and create innovative and compelling opportunities for listeners and advertisers.” He vowed to help bring “the untapped potential of radio to life across a range of delivery platforms.”

In a scene whose description may typically be reserved for an underground rave, those in attendance were treated to a magnificent concert complete with a brilliant light show, flying multi-colored balloons, frequent bursts of confetti and a sense of togetherness.  Previously strangers, fans were brought together by a common theme.  The love of great music.

As Anthony Green and company launched into the 90-minute set, fans were instantly treated with the first 3 tracks of the band’s most recent effort, Blue Sky Noise.  Fans didn’t have to wait long before the Philadelphia five-piece dove into their back catalog with old favorites such as “In the Morning and Amazing” and “Holding Someone’s Hair Back”.

In the predominantly Blue Sky Noise heavy set-list, the audience was treated to a multitude of concert surprises.  The band was joined onstage by a fan club choir as Green strummed acoustically to “Spirit of the Stairwell”, enormous confetti-filled balloons bounced around the venue during “Imaginary Enemy” and fan favorites such as “In Fear and Faith” were plentiful.

In the midst of the encore, which kicked off with “Compendium” before leading into “Dyed in the Wool”, Green expressed his gratitude while summing up the camaraderie-esque feeling of the evening.

“This is one of the best times we’ve ever played Detroit,” Green began.  “It’s unbelievable how honored we feel to come out here and do this for you.  We’re only doing this ‘cause we love music.  We all love music; it makes us feel good.  There’s no distinction between us.”

With that connection to the crowd, fans erupted in applause as the group jumped into their final song, “I Felt Free”.

Kicking off the night was experimental instrumental metal band Animals as Leaders, whose engaging performance, thanks in no small part to the band’s impressive, tight musicianship, was met with warm reception. Segueing between Animals as Leaders and Circa’s immediate opening act, dredg, was recently reunited Codeseven.

Circa Survive aside, the night’s best moments were provided by San Francisco four-piece progressive rockers dredg.  Led by front man Gavin Hayes, the band received a warm reception in their set filled with an assortment of tracks both new and old.  Despite a set consisting primarily of tracks from the band’s most recent album,  The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion, fans were treated to older favorites such as “Bug Eyes” and “Jamais Vu”.

When all was said and done, the concert stood as a reminder of what the music scene should be about.  Coming together for a shared love of quality music and a great time.

idobi: How is everything goin, man?

Gavin: It’s going well.  We’re just wrapping up this Circa Survive tour.  We have another couple of weeks left on this and then we’re heading home for a little bit.  It’s going well, though.  It’s been a great tour, actually.

You said the tour has been going well, what makes that so?

First and foremost, we knew 2 out of the other 3 bands that are on this tour already.  They’re old friends.  Then Animals as Leaders, we’re sharing a bus with them so we got to know them pretty quickly and we bonded well.  You know, getting along [with other bands] and having a good time on tour is always beneficial to the shows, as well.  It just makes everything fun.  That’s the main reason why.  Also, all of the shows have been sold out, or close to selling out.  It’s been a good experience.

Despite the fact that Circa Survive is headlining the tour, have you found that there’s been a lot of good reception for your guys’ set each night?

G: Not every night.  Some crowds have been blankly staring at us, which is fine.  In the end, when we walk off stage, it’s been good.  Some crowds have been crazy.  Overall, it’s been one of our better tours.  We’ve had a lot of our fans out, which helps to guide the crowd, even if they’re not familiar with us.

Are there any cities or shows that have been particularly memorable?

Halloween was fun in Dallas.  San Francisco was really fun, overall.  I know it’s our hometown, but it was really good for all of the bands.  We had a great time.  There have been a lot of good ones, actually.  I’m sure that it varies for each band but there have definitely been a few, for us.  We’ve been doing some headliners in between, too.  We did Syracuse last night, which was fun.  Those are some of the standouts.

You guys are doing a couple of headlining shows after the current tour wraps up, correct?

Yeah, we’re doing a few.  We’re doing 3 on the way back west, since we have to drive all the way back out there, anyhow.  We added some markets…Indianapolis, Omaha and Sparks, Nevada.  We’re just trying to hit some markets that we didn’t hit on this tour.    I believe that we’ve never even played Indianapolis before.

Wow. That should be a good one, then.

Yeah!  Or a bad one (laughs).  We’ve never played there, so who knows.

Well if you’ve never played there before, hopefully everybody you’ve missed in the last 15 years makes it out to the show.

Yeah, totally.

Do you guys have anything in mind for after those few hometown shows?  Going into 2011, it looks like you guys will have some openings in your schedule.

We’re pretty much taking some time off for the Holidays and in mid-January, I believe January 16, we’re doing a benefit show down in LA for Chi Cheng.  There are a lot of bands on that show.  It’s P.O.D., us, Hoobastank and a lot more.  I’m drawing a blank on who else is there.  We’re going to do that and we’ll be starting another tour in March.  Most likely a headlining tour, since our new record comes up March 29.  We’ll start around March 22 so we’re on the road when it comes out.  We’ll most likely be starting on the West Coast so we’re in California for the release shows.  That will probably take us through April and I’d assume we’ll go to Europe after that for some festivals or something.  No concrete plans but that’s how it’s looking now.  That’s the goal at the moment.

So you mentioned that the new record is going to be released March 29, it seemed that might have originally been a rumor, of sorts.  But that being said, I’ll assume that the album is completed, correct?

It is, yes.  We’re doing some mastering touch-ups, some EQ things, but the album is done, overall.  It’s ready to go, pretty much.  We’re getting all of the artwork together and completing all of the final steps before it’s released.

For a band that seems to have a big influence in the art and everything that goes with the album, have you come up with any specific artistic themes or even an album title for the next record?

We’re working on that right now.  Drew, our bass player, has a brother who is a photographer.  It’s going to be photography based, I believe.  I know we’re looking to have it be darker than our past records.  We’ll see.  We’re still waiting on some of the photographs now so we can see where we’re headed with that.  We’ll probably do some painting along with it.

Do you guys have a title for the album yet?

Not yet.  We’re deciding that in the next day or so.  It’s a democratic process, so it takes a little longer than normal.

Understandably.  You mentioned that the artwork would be a little bit darker on the album, do you think that’s indicative of the overall theme or tone of the music on the album?

Yeah, it’s kind of a dark record.  A lot of friends and other people I’ve showed it to, they describe it as a “dark pop”.  It’s got a dark undertone, but I don’t necessarily feel like the lyrics are extremely somber or anything.  It definitely varies, like a lot of our records.  You have some songs that are mellow, for example, there’s a straight-up acoustic song on this record, which I guess is lyrically sort of somber.  It’s just a dark undertone.  I mean, it’s [produced by] Dan the Automator, so there’s a lot of his influence in there.  His music seems to have that tone to it, you know?  I think that comes through a little bit.

How did you guys end up working with Dan the Automator on this album, anyways?  It seems like a departure from a lot of the stuff he’s done in the past, or maybe even who you’ve decided to work with.

He remixed one of our songs in ’05-’06 and we became friends.  He lives right down the street in San Francisco, actually.  We became friends and had lots in common and started hanging out.  Over the years we’d talked about doing a record together.  It seemed like good timing for all of us, so it just happened.  We just did it.  He was like, “Hey, let’s hear some songs”.  We gave him a bunch of demos and he took control of it.  We actually did it very quickly.

What do you think working with him brought to the record?

Definitely it helped because he’s a really quick worker, so it helped to expedite the whole process.  He is, in my opinion, more of a “feeling” producer than a “perfection” producer, which I enjoyed.  We went in and did drums and bass in 3 or 4 days, then with guitar we even used a lot of the guitar on some of the demos we’d given him.  He was like, “Shit, these sound good, why try to recreate it?”  It was very, you know, spontaneous, loose and based on performance and feeling more than anything.  Or other than trying to be ultra meticulous and perfecting everything until it’s stale.  That was an interesting approach.  There were some vocal takes that I could have had, pitch-wise, a better take but he would say, “No, that feels really good.  Just sit with it and see how you feel about it in a couple of days.”  Then I’d find that it did grow on, you know?

What are some of the influences for this record, either musically or lyrically?

Musically I think that part of it was the collaboration from working with Dan.  There are actually 3 songs on the record that he wrote, musically.  This record, in a way, is a sort of collaboration.  It is still a dredg record, but there are some elements that have more of a collaborative element.  There are a bunch of influences, lyrically.  This isn’t really a concept record or anything.  The songs are taken from newspaper articles I’ve read or anything.  There’s a song about my sister.  Some of the songs are personal.  I actually met a bunch of my biological family since we’ve made our last record and some of it is loosely based on that.  More important personal things have happened to me in the last year and I feel as if it comes off that way.  At least lyrically, it seems genuine, from my perspective.

So more of a personal record?

Yeah, maybe a little bit more personal than some of our past records.  I think it translates well, though.

The last album was out about two years ago, so with this next album set to release in March, that seems to be a shorter than usual wait for you guys.  Why is this one being released so quickly as opposed to other records in the past?  Was it a label issue or just a more personal thing?

Nothing to do with any label issue this time.  I guess the last one took so long because of changing labels and other personal things, though.  I was actually living in Seattle during the writing so I think that part of that, working remotely, sped up the process a little bit.  We were just sending music back and forth rather than four opinions being in a room.  Obviously that can damper the creative process sometimes when you have a lot of opinions in one room.  I think we knew that we wanted to get a record out a lot faster than the 3 or 4-year span that we’d done in the past.  With the way the industry works now, you need to keep offering as much music as possible because people have access to more music than ever.  I feel like people’s patience has dwindled down to a small point, you know?  It’s what we need to do and I don’t see any reason why we can’t continue to do so.  We learned a lot from this writing process and I can’t really see us going back to spacing records out 3 or 4 years.

You mentioned working remotely for this album.  Was this one of the first times that had happened and do you think a lot was gained from the short time period between records?

I think so.  As I said, you’re trading music back and forth.  For me to do work as a vocalist, that’s more under the microscope.  I could sit there with my headphones and a track and add to it or sing a verse or chorus and say “That worked great” or “That’s cool” or “That’s not”.  It’s just more under a [personal] scope, you know?

When should fans expect to hear any new music from the upcoming album?

I’m guessing they should be able to hear it in the beginning of next year.  I’m not positive, though.  I’m sure we’re going to release a song or two on our website when we rebuild that.  We’ll at least give some taste of [the record], unless there’s some unforeseen leak of the record, which I can’t predict right now.  That’s very possible, though.  In either case, I’d say late-January or so.

You guys have been around a long time, obviously a lot longer than some of the  elements that are changing the landscape of the music industry right now.  You talked about the leak or fans having a shorter attention span, do you think that all of those things have given you guys a different outlook or approach to things than when you first began over 15 years ago?

Things have changed a lot from when we first started.  When we first started, it was all about handing out demo tapes and things were more based on a local music scene rather than, you know….everything being about globalization of the business.  We’ve grown with the times.  We were a band when the Internet was hitting.  At one point, it was surprising to say, “Oh, wow, we have a website and people are e-mailing us from Turkey!”  That was really amazing to us, at the time.  We’ve grown with the business and tried to evolve with it as best we can.  I think that’s what we’re trying to maintain right now.  I believe it’s what you have to do in any business.

So do you think that all of these changes and the technological landscape of the industry make it harder or easier for an up-and-coming band?

I think that on one level it makes it easier because it’s easy to promote yourself online and build a website or have your music on MySpace or Pandora or whatever it may be.  In turn, it’s been oversaturated so it is easier to get your music out there but now there are a lot more people with music out there.  When we were a band in the Bay Area, you knew the clubs, you played the clubs, other bands went there, you swapped or demos or whatever.  You expanded that way, through slow growth within the state.  Then maybe you’d be out on the state lines and stuff and go from there.  Now you just put up a website and it’s there for everybody in the world to see and like or dislike or critique.  As I said, there’s more music than ever and a lot of it’s amazing music, but it’s harder to dig through the oversaturation, I guess.

Alright man, thanks a lot.  Is there anything else that you’d like to say?

I think we’ve pretty much covered everything.  We’ll be touring again in the Spring so hopefully we see some people out there.  Thanks!

Tracklisting:

West Hartford, CT – Melodic punk rockers Make Do and Mend are excited to announce the band’s first European tour, which will take the band through the UK, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Italy in just two weeks, beginning January 1st. The band will be supporting The Sleeping

Make Do and Mend’s critically lauded debut full-length, End Measured Mile, is available now via Panic/Paper + Plastick Records. The follow up to their well-received EPs We’re All Just Living and Bodies Of Water, End Measured Mile finds Make Do And Mend building on its gruff brand of punk rock, blending passion and intensity with melody and sincerity.

With plans to tour Europe months in the making, Make Do And Mend vocalist/guitarist James Carroll alluded to an overseas tour on the song “Keep This,” screaming “It’s so hard to believe that by December we’ll see Europe /while my friends at home are decorating trees.”

Only a month off, he says “This January we will be heading over to the U.K. and Europe for our first ever European tour with The Sleeping from Long Island, and we are all honored to be afforded this opportunity. We’re extremely excited to play over-seas for the first time!”

01.01.11 – London, UK @ Purple Turtle
02.01.11 – Manchester, UK @ Moho
03.01.11 – Leeds, UK @ The Well
04.01.11 – Newcastle, UK @ Northumbria Univ.
05.01.11 – Southampton, UK @ Joiners
06.01.11 – Hasselt, Bel. @ Muziekodrome
07.01.11 – Essen, Ger. @ Cafe Nova
08.01.11 – Cesena, Italy @ Vidia Club
09.01.11 – Schio (Vicenza), Italy @ Mac 2
10.01.11 – Stuttgart, Ger. @ Juha West
11.01.11 – Wiesbaden, Ger. @ Schlachthof
12.01.11 – München, Ger. @ Feierwerk
13.01.11 – Wien, Austria @ Arena
14.01.11 – Berlin, Ger. @ Lovelite
15.01.11 – Lichtenstein, Ger. @ JZ Riot

Released in April 2001, Thursday’s sophomore album, Full Collapse, pulled Thursday from the underground basement and VFW shows the band were used to and propelled to the forefront of mainstream rock with its unique melding of emotionally charged post-punk and aggressive post-hardcore.

“Full Collapsewas a record that changed the course and shape of my life,” says singer Geoff Rickly. “We began touring for it in basements and VFW halls, continued, opening for bands like the Murder City Devils and Rival Schools and ended up as a full time touring band meeting hundreds of thousands of people with whom we formed deep and lasting connections. Time passes and we embrace new music and different goals but, ten years later, Full Collapse continues to move people and for that we are very grateful. This tour is a celebration of those times and the end of a chapter in the life of Thursday.”

In the ten years since the release of Full Collapse, Thursday have gone on to release three more fan-coveted studio albums, including 2009′s Common Existence with its new label Epitaph Records. With each release the band continues to grow and evolve, pushing boundaries, genres, labels and categories aside. In July, the band entered the studio to begin work on its sixth studio album, which will be released in 2011.

A list of tour dates can be seen here.