Columbia/Loud Records’ Stereomud will be headlining what promises to be one of the most aggressive, exultant and satisfying underground hard rock tours of the summer: the “Pain & Suffering” Tour featuring Columbia/Dv8 Records’ Endo.
The “Pain & Suffering” Tour kicks off Monday, May 21 at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan and will feature either Columbia/Portrait Records’ Spike 1000 or Columbia Records’ Flybanger. Inspiration behind the name of the “Pain & Suffering” Tour can be found in the music of the bands: Stereomud’s current hit, “Pain”; Endo’s first single “Suffer,”; and “Make Me Suffer,” the first single from Spike 1000.
Currently on the road opening for Crazy Town, Stereomud is: Erik Rogers (vocals), Corey Lowery (bass), John Fattoruso (guitar), Joey Z. (guitar) and Dan Richardson (drums). The group is currently enjoying the burgeoning success at Mainstream Rock radio of “Pain,” the first single from Perfect Self, the band’s 13-song debut.
Perfect Self was recorded in Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York by producers Don Gilmore (Lit, Linkin Park), Rick Parashar (Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Blind Melon), and Howie Beno (Ministry, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sister Soleil) respectively, and mixed by Jay Baumgardner (Papa Roach, Orgy). The slam-banging songs on Perfect Self range from powerful, pissed-off anthems to addictively melodic and commercially-viable rock tunes. Perfect Self will be in-stores on May 22.
The explosive rock band Endo has been refining the group’s live performance chops on the road since the release of Evolve, the band’s debut album, on March 20. Immediately following a 17-day jaunt opening for Sepultura, Endo – Gil Bitton (vocals), Zelick (bass), Joel Suarez (drums), Eli Parker (guitar) – launched a series of dates opening for Static-X. The group toured extensively with Nothingface and Machine Head last year, winning ecstatic converts at every show.
Greg Burk, writing in the L.A. Weekly (April 6, 2001), previewed Endo’s set raving “Endo isn’t an opening act you can casually skip. This tetrahedron out of Miami…radiates imagination, not just energy and conviction. Swirling noises bridge transfunctional guitar riffs; heavy grooves bleed just enough soul for flexible humanity; cabala-reading singer Gil Bitton rages without being a moron.”
Spike 1000 – Shannon Harris (one of the very few female lead vocalists in contemporary hard rock), Bill Thompson (guitar), Mike Hennick (bass), Jeff Jones (drums) – is an aggressive young band from San Francisco. Originally from Bakersfield, CA, where they grew up together, the members of Spike 1000 migrated north to the Bay Area three years ago. All members share equally in the songwriting, giving Spike its own unique sound. The band released a 5-song CD two years ago, and Jonathan Davis (lead singer of Korn) picked them as one of his five new metal bands to watch in the March 21, 1998 issue of Kerrang! Waste Of Skin,” Spike 1000’s upcoming debut on Columbia/Portrait Records, is produced by Malcolm Springer, mixed by Brendan O’Brien and is scheduled to hit the racks o’ retail on July 3.
Spike 1000 has made a strong impression on the local San Francisco music scene, playing with Korn, Stone Temple Pilots, God Lives Underwater, Long Beach Dub All-Stars, Machine Head and others. SF Weekly wrote, “Harris has a voice that can blast your hair back one minute with volume and grit and then smooth it forward again with soul and sexiness. As a group, Spike 1000 confidently stretches out heavy grooves into engaging four-minute ruminations on anger, frustration and pain. Like the blues, heavy music about pain doesn’t make you hurt – it makes you feel better.”
Flybanger is Garth (vocals), Bryan Fratesi (guitar), Tom MacDonald (bass, vocals) and Rob Wade (drums). Following the February 20 release of the group’s debut album Headtrip To Nowhere, Flybanger hit the highway to share bills with Amen and Sepultura. Flybanger had last toured in December as part of a package which included Clutch and Corrosion Of Conformity (COC).
The music press has been buzzing about Flybanger. In a review of Headtrip To Nowhere appearing in the February issue of CMJ New Music Monthly, Dylan Gadino wrote: “The Vancouver-based quartet puts the wah-wah, the melody and most importantly, the metal back into heavy metal…imagine the offspring of old and new Clutch, a more melodic Fu Manchu or a mild Corrosion Of Conformity and you’ve got Headtrip To Nowhere. It’s a place where hard rock is still subtle and is refreshingly easy on the ears. With assistance from producer Matt Wallace, Bryan Fratesi’s acid guitar riffs are just as prevalent as the melodic choruses Garth musters, most notably on ‘Evelyn,’ ‘Blind World,’ and ‘Radical.’ Headtrip might not prompt you to throw fists or break stuff, but it just might have you singing along again.”
The Stereomud/Endo “Pain & Suffering” Tour Itinerary
- May 21 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom – Spike 1000
- May 22 – Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre – Spike 1000
- May 25 – Detroit, MI – Shelter – Spike 1000
- May 26 – Milwaukee, WI – Rave Bar – Spike 1000
- May 27 – Grand Rapids, MI – Intersection – Spike 1000
- May 29 – Kansas City, MO – El Torrian – Spike 1000
- May 30 – Chicago, IL – Metro – Spike 1000
- May 31 – St. Louis, MO – Galaxy – Spike 1000
- June 1 – Indianapolis, IN – Birdie’s – Spike 1000
- June 2 – Columbus, OH – Polaris Amphitheater – Stereomud only
- June 2 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall – Spike 1000
- June 4 – Buffalo, NY – Backstage Pub – Flybanger
- June 7 – Toledo, OH – Main Event – Flybanger
- June 8 – Des Moines, IA – Hairy Mary’s – Flybanger
- June 9 – Springfield, MO – Juke Joint – Flybanger
- June 10 – Madison, WI – The Annex – Flybanger
- June 13 – Memphis, TN – New Daisy Theatre – Flybanger