miseryXchord ♫

New album, new video, new tour... our boys are back and members of Buzznet's AFI community is filling the site with their photos, videos and journals about the band.

This week, we've had a lot of photos and tour blogs from AFI's US tour, including tour videos by Jade Puget and photos from our own PanasonicYouth/Mark, who couldn't wait for them to reach California and is following them on tour in the Midwest.

AFI News: AFI Announces New Tour Dates & Contest

On the heels of the release of their new album, Crash Love, perennial rockers AFI have announced a new string of tour dates, taking them throughout the West in January. Also, wrap your head around the new contest Buzznet is sponsoring...AFIles Contest

AFI will be using a Canon G10 camera to document their tour. It's a total mystery what the band will be taking pictures of. At the end of their tour, they are going to go through all the entries in this group and 1 person will win AFI's camera with all the unrevealed pictures they are taking on tour. You can enter the contest or view/vote on entries here.

AFI's Tour Blogs - Jade Puget has had his camera at ready to give us glimpses of AFI's tour. See them and a lot more on AFI's official Buzznet profile

Hartford

Providence

Rochestor

Hampton

Tulsa

Follow PanasonicYouth on tour with AFI!

In Transmission With AFI: Tulsa 11/03/09

AFI performs @ Cain's Ballroom 11/3/09

In Transmission With AFI: St. Louis, 11/04/09

AFI performs at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri 11/4/09

AFI 'Crash Love' Signing In Kansas City 11/5/09

Buzznet photographer Jane Bush caught up with AFI @ The Pageant St. Louis, Mo. 11/04/09 

Before leaving Los Angeles for the next leg of AFI's tour, Hunter Burgan dropped by DJ Rossstar's Punk Rock Show as a surprise co-host

MalloryBV blogged about seeing AFI at the Ulalume Festival in Columbia, MD and got a pretty unique shot of Davey Havok

AFI fans are great artists! Check out this awesome drawing of Davey Havok by havokisthecure

AFI alumnus Geoff Kresge hit the stage with Tiger Army for the 2nd annual Octoberflame Festival.

Last but not least, being on tour doesn't stop Hunter Burgan from analyzing Joe Jonas With Demi Lovato, Ms. GaGa And Natalie Portman

The Community Round-up is a new semi-weekly feature from the AFI Community Music Guides. If you see some cool original AFI-related media on Buzznet, please let me know so I can include it!

We're looking for homes for Shalua's kittens (now grown cats). Our city is so overcrowded with homeless cats (there're a dozen running loose on our block from the same source as the ones we rescued) that we couldn't find anyone to adopt them and the shelter automatically kills everything that's dropped off because they're overcrowded and cannot find homes for the cats they already have. Every home we had lined up has fallen through... they decided they didn't want more cats, someone gave them an adorable kitten and they didn't want another, someone wanted an outside cat because the coyotes ate hers (FUCK THAT).

Unfortunately, my evil cat-hating home nurse (who didn't like my 3 old cats sitting in the living room) instead of turning my case over to someone else, simply stopped coming to change my IV (causing my IV to go too long without a change and rupture one day in my kitchen. I'm considering suing the shit out of them at the moment) and called animal control saying I had "unhealthy cats", because she thinks my having any cats at all is unhealthy in my condition. Passive aggressive much? (In case you missed the back story, I have Lyme Disease, yes I was bit by a tick while camping, they didn't catch it in time, I have to take IV antibiotics every day until I die, basically) So now I suddenly have to find them homes NOW.

They're sweet cats, and they need INDOOR homes (without dogs), 2 of the brothers are pure white and go limp when you pick them up (like rag dolls). One of them is EXACTLY like Shalua, but bigger. The other 3 brothers are grey, black and tabby. They like to roll on my wool carpets from Afghanistan (smell like sheep I guess?) and chase furry mice. They are all extremely people oriented, but shy of large men and loud noises. 

If you know anyone in Southern California who has been looking for a cat and thinking long term about what adopting one is going to mean (not going off to college in a year and planning to dump them on the 'rents, moving to Peru as a foreign exchange student, marrying some girl with a rottweiler) I could really use some help right now...

I've posted blogs about "predatory" artist contracts and shooting restrictions in the past...

First Three No Flash, Oh yeah and give us all your pictures for free…

The dying art of gig photography: Today's concert photos strangled by restrictions

as well as one's about other artists who afforded greater creative freedom to their fans...

NIN relaxes policy on audience cameras/recording equipment

and an ongoing current discussion on Flickr's concert photography group

Photography releases are a pressing topic both to concert photographers, and managers trying to protect the band but ensure that they receive press coverage and high quality promotional material is run when they release a new album and start a touring cycle. Most releases I've seen simply state that photographs will be used for editorial purposes only... Some limit use to one publication and require permission before any photos are used elsewhere (still, for editorial use. I've only encountered one of those). 

I have never been presented with the following but was aware of it's existence with several other bands, and was dismayed to find out another band under the same management, who I intended to photograph, is now using this contract on their new tour. 

Note: Without a model release, in the US I am already only able to use photographs of a person for editorial (news) coverage and possibly limited print sales. In no case could I legally use their images on commercial products or advertising, print t-shirts or other merch etc. That's even without having a photo pass to a concert.

PHOTOGRAPHER RELEASE

Dated:________________________



I, __________________________________ (name of photographer) hereby agree to the following with respect to the photographs that I will take, or cause to be taken, of the musical group collectively known as (BAND NAME REMOVED)("you") on the date ______________, 2009 (the "Photos"):

1. I have the limited right and permission to use certain Photos that have been approved by you solely in connection with one (1) article about you contained in ________________________________ [State name of publication].
The Photos may be used only in an article, publication or other medium initially disseminated to the public within one year of the date of this agreement. I shall have no right to otherwise use or re-use the Photos in whole or in part, in any medium or for any purpose whatsoever, including, without limitation, promotion, advertising, and trade, without your written consent therefor.

2. I hereby acknowledge that you shall own all rights in the Photos, including the copyrights therein and thereto, and accordingly, I hereby grant, transfer, convey and assign to you all right, title and interest throughout the universe in perpetuity, including, without limitation, the copyright (and all renewals and extensions thereof), in and to the Photos. I agree that you shall have the right to exploit all or a part of the Photos in any and all media, now known or hereafter devised, throughout the universe, in perpetuity, in all configurations as you determine, without obtaining my consent and without any payment or consideration therefor. I understand that you will give me appropriate "photo credit" where possible. I understand further that all aspects of said "photo credit" shall be determined by you in your sole discretion and that failure to a ccord said "photo credit" shall not be deemed a breach of any obligation, express or implied. I further grant to you the right to use my name, likeness and biographical xxdata in connection with the distribution, exhibition, advertising and exploitation of the Photos. I will, upon request, execute, acknowledge and deliver to you such additional documents as you may deem necessary to evidence and effectuate your rights hereunder, and I hereby grant to you the right as attorney-in-fact to execute, acknowledge, deliver and record in the U.S. Copyright Office or elsewhere any and all such documents if I shall fail to execute same within five (5) days after so requested by you.

3. You may assign my rights under this agreement in whole or in part.

4. I hereby waive all rights of droit moral or "moral right of authors" or any similar rights or principles of law which I may now have or later have in the Photos. I warrant and represent that I have the right to execute this Certificate and that the Photos are and shall be new and original with me and shall be capable of copyright protection throughout the universe, that they do not and shall not violate or infringe upon any common law or statutory right of any party, or constitute unfair competition and are not now and shall not be the subject of any litigation. I shall indemnify and hold you, and your employees, officers, agents, assignees and licensees, harmless from and against any losses, costs, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses arising out of any claim by a third party which is inconsistent with any warranty or representation made by me in this Certificate.

5. This Certificate contains the entire understanding of the parties and will be governed by the laws of California in the United States of America applicable to contracts entered into in California in the United States of America.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have signed this Certificate effective as of this ______ day of ___________________, 2009.


ACCEPTED AND AGREED:
By: __________________________________________ ________________________________
Photographer Print or Type Name Here
(BAND NAME REMOVED)
By: __________________________________________
An Authorized Signatory o/b/o (BAND NAME REMOVED)

While this may indeed protect the artist (except from criticism over the contract!), there is no reason under the sun that any photographer in their right mind should sign this contract.

Even if you're not a professional photographer, just a fan of the band, and are dying to be able to photograph them with a real photo pass, you need to realize that:

1) You would not own any rights whatsoever to the photos taken at this show.

2) You could not post any of these photos on your personal website, myspace, or anywhere else.

3) You could not use any of these photos in your portfolio (if you wished to someday be a professional photographer or show your work.)

4) You could not print them out and give them to your friends and family.

5) You could not use them as reference to do drawings or painting based on them, or allow others to do so.

6) They could be published on websites/magazines without crediting you.

7) They could sell a poster or other merch with your images without paying you a fee or even crediting you as the person who took the photo.

8) They can use your name, photo and personal xxdata (including commercially or for advertising purposes) without your permission or compensating you.

9) If someone infringes on the rights you've granted them via this contract (example: you got a fan in one of the shots and they don't bother to get a release from that person before printing a poster, so they get sued) YOU are responsible for the legal fees/damages resulting from the lawsuit.

10) In the US Copyright lasts for the lifetime of the owner plus 50 years (70 years in some other countries). You may love a band, but the band's MANAGEMENT is the one administering this, and 10-15 years from now the person holding the rights to their material might not even BE the band, or anyone who you want to support in any way (example: Trent Reznor lost the rights to "Pretty Hate Machine" because of a bad business manager. Would you want your photographs potentially supporting someone other than the band?)

The only way to make these contracts go away (and hopefully be replaced by ones that respect both the band and the photographer) is if you DO NOT SIGN THEM.

http://75.101.210.210/tos

"As a SPIN Earth registered individual/user you may submit content. User submitted content includes videos, photos, text, and comments and are collectively referred to as "User Submissions." For clarity, you retain all of your ownership rights in your User Submissions. However, submitting your material, for good and valuable consideration, the sufficiency and receipt of which you hereby acknowledge, you hereby grant to SPIN Earth (SPIN Media, LLC) and its affiliates a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide license to edit, telecast, rerun, reproduce, use, create derivative works from, syndicate, license, print, sublicense, distribute and otherwise exhibit the materials you submit, or any portion thereof in any manner and in any medium or forum, whether now known or hereafter devised, without payment to you or any third party."

Seriously, I can sign up to your site, write reviews/posts or blog photos, and you'd be able to print them in your magazine and elsewhere FOR FREE, FOREVER?

Just no.

Websites need to stop pulling this crap, and keep their "use" of your posted content to that necessary to publish the site... which used to be the norm for user agreements... instead of exploiting their users for the possibility of adding to a media archive they can use as free crowd sourced content down the road on their other projects/sites.

Jade gets down to the nuts and bolts of songwriting and getting good sound for Crash Love with EQ Magazine in this new interview. Check out the entire interview online here.

AFI's Jade Puget and Hunter talk to UltimateGuitar.com about Crash Love (and their songwriting process for it), choosing producers, their solo projects (Blaqk Audio and Hunter Revenge) and of course, what they look for in a guitar (a couple of the quotes might be mixed up on this part when they have Hunter talking about a new Gibson Cloud (YUM!) that Jade later refers to planning to bring on tour :)

Jade - "I’ve always loved shredding but I haven’t tried to bring too much of it to AFI ‘cause it’s not really appropriate. It gets corny if you do it too much. There’s only one other AFI song in the 11 years that I’ve been in this band where I’ve really shredded. And that was a couple of records ago. It was a song called “Dancing Through Sunday” on our Sing the Sorrow album. So I think doing it rarely makes it more impactful. So if all of a sudden you go a few years and all of a sudden you do another solo, it’s a rarity. So it’s not like, “Oh, he’s doing another solo.”

Hunter: "Let me interject this – as for basses, I had Fender send me just a variety of stuff and I have over 20 basses in my collection. I brought everything to the studio and I would sort of do shootouts between things and it ended up coming down to this brand new stock P bass that Fender sent me that sounded better than everything. Even like these basses from the ‘50s and stuff. So I ended up using that on almost everything."

Great stuff... along with an interview with Adam recently by one of his gear sponsors about drum tracking on Crash Love, it's always nice to read more about the song writing process and musicianship by the guys in the band who don't hppen to be the lead lyricist/vocalist :)

You can read the entire interview here on Ultimateguitar.com

Davey Havok shares photographs of his art collection and some insight on being a musician with Juxtapoz Magazine. He also shares some tidbits of info about AFI's upcoming tour and gives advice for young artists and musicians. 

Read the interview here on JUXTAPOZ Art & Culture Magazine.

You can find the "Deluxe Premium" CD bundles of "Crash Love" he mentions in the interview, containing 12 limited edition prints by Camille Rose Garcia, each inspired by a song from the album, in AFI's webstore.

To see more art inspired by the music of "Crash Love", check out the Flickr group for AFI's UK fan art contest that was announced on Veronicasawyer.com last week.

I just needed to post to say I am ridiculously excited to be seeing AFI at their Album release party next week.

I am not posting with capslock, because capslock is wholly insufficient to express my feelings about this. 

Please imagine me standing on my chair squeeing with excitement. If your pets are running about the house as if hearing some hypersonic whistle, they are probably hearing me.

Oh, and there's a chance I may be taking photos.

And I get to stay over at Mark's house and play with Moo.

I have no words left, so I'll just wave my arms emphatically.

In an interview with Zane Lowe, Muse states they’re likely to feature on the soundtrack to New Moon - the latest installment of the Twilight series.

Singer Matt Bellamy revealed: “I spoke to the director yesterday (and) he wants the track I Belong To You, the sort of vaudeville piano track. He wants a rendition of that but the only thing with the new film is they want the songs to be exclusive to the film. So he’s asking if I mind doing, or if we mind doing an alternative version of it.”

Asked if they were up for it Matt said: “I think it’s alright- if it was one of the main tracks on the album I would never do it. But it’s actually one of the weirder tracks on the album. (It’s) one of the can't believe we got away with it kind of tracks. I think it might be worth giving it a go cos it’s a track that might not get played live very often… one of the obscure tracks off the album so it might give that track some life that it wouldn’t have otherwise.”

Muse’s hit Supermassive Black Hole featured in the first Twilight film- giving the three piece exposure in the States.

Dom from the band said: “It’s opened it up in some kind of way, millions of people listening to Supermassive Black Hole that have probably never heard our band before- which is not a bad thing.”

He added: “They have all gone bloody vampire mad over there seriously, it’s crazy!”

MTV2 will be broadcasting the interview between Zane Lowe and Muse tonight at 10PM.

"Interspersed with their videos plus the new tracks live, we got Muse on the brown couch and Zane found out all about their future plans."

Sourced from: http://www.mtv.co.uk/film/twilight/news/154660-exclusive-muse-for-new-moon-soundtrack

Do you think the song fits with New Moon's storyline? If you're a Muse fan how do you feel about their music being included on the Twilight soundtracks? Do you see the benefit to the band of greater exposure, or does it just make you RAGE WITH THE FURY OF TEN THOUSAND SUNS?

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show

Want to get a chance to meet the band or snag an autographed copy of their upcoming album, Crash Love? AFI has announced two new contests for UK-based fans  on VeronicaSawyer.com that you'll want to check out!

The first is a lyric competition. The band wants you to listen to the tracks provided on the contest widget (click on "Listen" for the list of songs already posted), read the lyrics, then draw, photograph, sketch, or create a comic page or a tattoo of your interpretation of the lyrics. They've set up a FLickr group to upload your entries, and new songs will be posted each Monday. 

The second contest is to win 1 of 5 autographed copies of Crash Love by forwarding the contest widget to as many people as possible via posting it on your social networking profiles, blogs, bulletins and by emailing it to friends (it's also embed-able, but please don't spam other people's notes/comments on Buzznet :)

On September 10, AFI released a free download of "Fainting Spells," an unused song from Decemberunderground sessions that will be released on deluxe editions of Crash Love... a surprisingly different song that's been described as "Awesome", "Strange" and "Mind blowing" by some Buzznetters.

On his blog, Shy Boys Win, Jade posts:

"As you know, the lyrics to the chorus of Fainting Spells are pretty difficult to figure out. I even had to email Davey the other day to ask what they were.

So let's have a contest to see who can come the closest to figuring them out (just the chorus lyrics). I've already given you one line. This contest will be great because I don't have any prizes and someone from the our camp will probably post the actual lyrics before everyone can guess, but REGARDLESS....take a stab at it."

Should this song have been included on Decemberunderground? What do you think of Fainting Spells, and what's your guess for the lyrics of the chorus?

UK mag Rock Sound are interviewing AFI next week and they want you to suggest the questions. Now's the opportunity to get those burning issues off your chest! Send your questions to rsvp@rocksound.tv and remember to include your full name and where you’re from.

"AFI return with their long-awaited new album ‘Crash Love’ on Sept 28 and play the Reading and Leeds festivals this weekend. To celebrate, Rock Sound is giving you the opportunity to put your questions to Davey Havok and co…

Is there anything you've ever wanted to ask them but never had the guts to? Well, now you can because we'll do it for you. 

Want to know where they’ve been hiding all this time or what hair products Davey uses? Of course you don’t, do you? Well, get those thinking caps on and get those questions over to us, pronto. 

Just email in to rsvp@rocksound.tv before Aug 31 and we'll pick the best questions and put them to the band. Don't forget to tell us your name and where you're from! Mark your email 'Your Questions First: AFI’."

2 festivals in 2 days. I passed up doing 2 Warped dates this weekend, because it's Linkin Park's only North American performance this year. 

08.20.2009

Davey Havok, Jade Puget, Hunter Burgan and Adam Carson, collectively known as AFI, will release their eighth studio album, CRASH LOVE, September 29th on DGC/Interscope Records. Produced by Joe McGrath (Alkaline Trio, Green Day) and Jacknife Lee (U2, Weezer), CRASH LOVE is possibly AFI's most focused, direct and ambitious effort to date. "I am so proud of this record. I really believe it's the best AFI record. It honestly feels like we've made our first truly timeless record. We didn't set out to do that--you can't set out to do something like that--but it definitely feels like that's what we've achieved: created the album by which we'll be remembered," expressed front man Havok. With an album full of standout tracks including "Medicate," "Veronica Sawyer Smokes," "End Transmission," "Beautiful Thieves" and more AFI is poised to do just that, be remembered.

CRASH LOVE, the follow up to platinum albums Sing The Sorrow (2003) andDECEMBERUNDERGROUND (2006), will hit stores September 29th while the first taste of single "Medicate" lands on airwaves and the Internet on August 25th. "Medicate" will be made available for sale digitally on 8/25 and CRASH LOVE will also be available for pre-order on the same day at iTunes. Fans who pre-order the album from iTunes will also receive the exclusive bonus track, "Breathing Towers to Heaven," an unreleased demo from the CRASH LOVE sessions.

In support of the forthcoming album AFI will head out on the road, the band's second home, beginning this October in the United States. For more information on AFI, including the latest news, tour dates, and more visit www.AFireInside.net, www.MySpace.com/AFI or www.facebook.com/AFireInside and stay connected with the band on Twitter @AFI. 

AFI TALKS ABOUT CRASH LOVE

"Crash Love is certainly not a concept album or rock opera by any stretch, but the songs are generally connected by a greater theme... The album title itself can be construed as a command, as a destructive kind of love, or as a desire for a relationship that's heading inevitably toward disaster or flameout. The lyrics of some songs trace an arc from adoration to the desire to tear down the object of affection. These songs are written from perspectives both sympathetic and critical, as well from both the inside the relationship and outside."--Davey Havok

Crash Love, AFI's eighth full length studio album, due out September 29 on DGC/Interscope, is indeed informed not only by the ever-evolving chemistry between the musicians in the band but also by the members' personal lives and perhaps most of all by the always intense relationship between AFI and its fans. The latter has intensified considerably over the most recent of AFI's 18 years as a band, with 2006's decemberunderground entering the chart at #1 with first week sales of nearly 200,000 and subsequent sold out shows at the Long Beach Arena and Bill Graham Civic as well as appearances on Saturday Night Live and at Live Earth--not to mention 2003's Sing The Sorrow going platinum. These experiences were bound to have an impact on four kids from Ukiah, California who formed a rudimentary punk band in 1991 with aspirations of playing in the SF Bay Area and possibly releasing a few singles and an LP or two.

"The record is really more about how the great attraction to inappropriately shared intimacies, carefully constructed personas, and the loss of a sense of self can affect an entire world," Havok explains. "As well as how this loss of self is sought after rather than resisted... With today's media, we have such quick and pervasive access to the trivia of anyone's lives. Everything is intensified and indulged, this desire and ability to know everything you possibly can about anyone, from what thread-count bedsheets they sleep in to whether or not they believe in ghosts."

While Crash Love is the first AFI record to feature such prevalent sociopolitical and observational perspectives, the darkly personal AFI lyrical strain is distinctly present on standout tracks like "Medicate" and its stark portrait of a user/enabler relationship, as well as throughout the ill fated death ride scenario of "End Transmission." Elsewhere, the newer approach shines on the self-explanatory "Darling I Want To Destroy You," "Veronica Sawyer Smokes" with couples Jade Puget's Smiths-esque guitar signatures with a tale of heartbreak brought on by disappointment with a teen idol, "Beautiful Thieves" with its privileged characters whose actions carry no consequences, and "Too Shy To Scream" which sets yearning, distanced adorations against the backdrop of a drumline-inspired shuffle propelled by Hunter Burgan's bass and Adam Carson's drumming.

Crash Love, it has to be said, features AFI's Puget, Burgan and Carson playing at their most focused and direct. Where Sing The Sorrow and decemberunderground saw the band's compositions increasingly steeped in atmospherics that created a moody-heavy realm that often threatened to engulf the songs, Crash Love is, according to Carson, "the sound of the four of us playing in the same room. It's by no means stripped down but you really hear the band. Sing The Sorrow--and to certain extent decemberunderground--gave us our first experience with big budget recording, which led to some really dense arrangements, electronics, overdubs and so on. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but this time we came in with 14 songs we were playing really well and wanted to capture that energy."

Having entered the studio with fully formed and woodshedded songs, Puget and Burgan were freed to come up with novel approaches to each of their instruments--reducing their dependence on strings, keys and other embellishments both organic and electronic. Following a writing process that Puget recalls taking "the better part of a year," the band convened in late 2008 with producers Joe McGrath and Jacknife Lee to begin work in earnest on what would become Crash Love. "We don't jam," Puget explains. "But we had the material so completely formed by the time we began recording that we were able to do things more on the fly this time, to concentrate on sounds as well as performance, to contribute anything that worked, that made a sound that was interesting. So we ended up with sort of a 'Shabby Chic' recording aesthetic: The sounds we came up with separately could be really rough and abrasive but assembled together they created an end result that was really beautiful."

Carson adds, "Personally I'm more interested in the way AC/DC sounds big: Tones that are really big but don't necessarily need a stadium, that sound just as big in an 800 capacity club."

Carson speaks from experience. Having co-founded AFI with Havok in 1991, he's seen his share of clubs that size and considerably smaller.

Within a year of forming, the original AFI lineup pressed up about 200 copies of the split 7-inch Dork with fellow Ukiah High students Loose Change (of which future AFI guitarist Puget was a member). A smattering of singles, EPs and compilation tracks followed, as did the early AFI albums Answer That And Stay Fashionable (Wingnut, 1995) and Very Proud of Ya (Nitro, 1996), all showcasing a youthfully exuberant, often sophomoric East Bay hardcore punk style that began to cultivate a following as the band hit the road, playing virtually anywhere in the world that would have them.

The first hints of AFI's more diverse and mature current direction would appear on the band's third album and first to feature Burgan on bass, Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes (Nitro, 1997) and the subsequent A Fire Inside EP (Adeline, 1998). It would be one more year, however, until the present AFI lineup and sound would truly coalesce with the addition of guitarist Puget and the release of fourth album Black Sails In The Sunset and the All Hallows EP (both Nitro, 1999). Another year later, fifth album The Art of Drowning (Nitro, 2000) would provide a breakthrough, as the fully realized and unmistakable AFI sound already having built a following in the hundreds of thousands, would receive its first taste of mainstream exposure as that record's "Days Of The Phoenix" found its way onto modern rock playlists.

With sixth album Sing The Sorrow (Dreamworks, 2003), AFI made an exceedingly ambitious leap forward, enlisting co-producers the late Jerry Finn and Butch Vig and expanding their musical palette in all directions: First single "Girl's Not Grey" represented the band's most infectious "pop" moment up to that point and became a bona fide hit, while live favorite "Death Of Seasons" incorporated pounding industrial rhythms and mournful choruses before dissolving into a cacophony of screaming anguish. Elsewhere on the record, "Silver And Cold" provided bittersweet balladic verses that exploded into an irresistible chorus, while "Leaving Song Part 2" and "Dancing Through Sunday" showed the familiar AFI chant-along choruses to be as fierce and frantic as ever, even while couched in increasingly sophisticated musicianship.

As with AFI's previous surges forward, their dedicated legions of fans made the leap with them as new ones joined in droves: Sing The Sorrow sold in excess of one million copies in the U.S. and "Girl's Not Grey" won the 2003 MTV2 Viewers Choice award. Critics joined in for the first time as well, with best of 2003 accolades awarded by the likes of the NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, GUITAR WORLD, SPIN and REVOLVER, as well as from longtime supporters ALTERNATIVE PRESS.

"I was completely in awe then and still am now," Burgan recalls. "It all seemed to have come naturally from our efforts and honestly that's really hard for me to comprehend."

The band was stunned yet again when the sixth AFI album, decemberunderground (Interscope, 2006), released on 6-6-06, stormed into the U.S. album chart at #1, selling 182,000 in its first week and unseating the Dixie Chicks from their multiple week perch atop the charts. Also produced by the late, lamented Finn, decemberunderground yielded the band's biggest anthem to date, "Miss Murder," which went on to be named #7 in ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's 10 best songs of 2006 and #15 in ROLLING STONE's 100 best songs of the year. Other decemberunderground tracks that instantly assumed fan classic status alongside longtime AFI fan favorites included the frigidly beautiful "Love Like Winter," the hyper aggressive "Kill Caustic," and the infectiously melodic "Summer Shudder" and "The Missing Frame." decemberunderground went on to sell over a million copies, providing AFI with its second consecutive platinum album, as the band sold out venues on the level of California's Long Beach Arena and San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Center, made its debut appearance on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, and played the New Jersey installation of 2007's Live Earth festival.

The members of AFI readily acknowledge the debt their success story owes to their fiercely local following, The Despair Faction. AFI and The Despair Faction have long enjoyed an intimate relationship that goes beyond more conventional fan club perks such as exclusive merchandise and ticket pre-sales to soundcheck parties regularly organized and attended by DF members who come bearing gifts ranging from homemade AFI artwork, clothing and other keepsakes to vegan baked goods for Havok and Burgan. "They're not really a fan club per se," says Puget. "The Despair Faction was conceived to be more interactive than that, to have more of a direct connection with us."

This connection was inverted and intensified with the Begin Transmission experiment that took place during the recording of Crash Love. AFI solicited videos from the band's fans, each giving a glimpse into the life of the video's maker, with the understanding that a handful of entrants would be chosen to contribute backing vocals to the new record. Havok, Carson, Burgan and Puget personally went through over a thousand entries, ultimately choosing six winners who were then notified in person by longtime AFI tour manager Smith Puget and flown to Los Angeles to guest on Crash Love (where they can be heard prominently on the "Flash Flash Car Crash" refrains of "I'm Trying Very Hard To Be Here," for example). Honorable mention runners-up each received handmade Valentine's Day cards from members of AFI.

"We turned the dynamic around," says Burgan, who was voted Top Music Twitterer in this year's Shorty Awards. "We looked into the lives of the fans. Real people doing real things. It was very interesting to see who's out there, what they're feeling and what they're doing with their lives. They already know who we are, so it was good to get to know them for a change."

Carson adds, "The idea was to engage the fans and make them a part of the process. I didn't expect to be so floored by the effort that went into these kids' videos of their lives. It was a great state of the union, so to speak. And we came away from it feeling that much more of a bond with them."

If the quality of Crash Love is any indication, that bond will only continue to intensify. "I am so proud of this record," Havok concludes. "I really believe it's the best AFI record. It honestly feels like we've made our first truly timeless record. We didn't set out to do that--you can't set out to do something like that--but it definitely feels like that's what we've achieved: created the album by which we'll be remembered."

http://totalassault.com

Coming in 2010, Davey Havok finally starts to catch up to bandmate,  Hunter Burgan (who has designed 2 different shoe designs and also holds the position of Vegan Ambassador for Macbeth) with a new Zu Boutique/Macbeth Studio Project collaboration. Based on The Eliot style, his shoe is made from 100% Vegan materials and comes in 4 different options in either black or blue canvas accented with a liberal amount of rhinestones. YES, RHINESTONES! (would you expect less?)

Founded by Blink-182's Tom Delonge and Mark Hoppus with friend Jon Humphrey, of skateboard company Adio Shoes (Hoppus is no longer involved with the company), Macbeth footwear has collaborated with artists such as Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), Tegan & Sara, Fred Mascherino (The Color Fred), Hunter Burgan (AFI), and Mike Dirnt (Green Day) while also supporting charitable organizations associated with the music scene such as Shirts For A Cure.

So what do you think of Davey's first shoe design? Do you think you can rock sparkly shoes as well as Davey can?

"There aren't any loop-based songs...The focus of this album is guitars. It's a guitar record." - Davey Havok

A preview of "Medicate" and it's cover art, the first single off of AFI's impending album Crash Love has appeared on Amazon.com.

While the song won't be available for purchase until August 25, you can still listen to a high quality 30 second preview.

Deborah Konopnicki at Bombshellzine.com who last week brought us a review of the 5 track press sample of AFI's upcoming album, "Crash Love", has now been able to make a track by track review of a promo of THE ENTIRE ALBUM!

An excerpt from her review:

"AFI’s ‘Tweet to reveal’ adventure gave us a partial insight into “I Am Trying Very Hard To Be Here”. A video clip on their official website features the five “Begin Transmission” contest winners practicing the backing vocals for the chorus with the band. The song starts with what I can only describe as a ‘dirty rock’ riff that really sets the tone for this moody number. The chorus etches itself in your mind with the chanting from the video, “Flash flash, car crash! We’re not fixtures, Quick now, quick! Take our pictures. “The album’s theme could suggest this is a song aimed at the paparazzi, and with one incident becoming rather obvious, the death of Princess Diana. The guitar really stands out on this track. It gives it a fantastic bluesy/rock vibe that AFI have never really toyed with before. I can really see most AFI fans latching onto this one and adoring it."

"AFI fans often exclaim that they wished ‘Decemberunderground’ would have been ‘Sing The Sorrow part 2’. This is much closer to where they should have taken off in 2003. The tracks are powerful, emotional, passionate and most importantly guaranteed to get you excited about AFI again."

Check out what else she has to say about Crash Love at bombshellzine.com

Photograph ©2008 Thomas Faivre-Duboz. Some Rights Reserved

From SPIN.com - "Les Paul, famed jazz virtuoso and inventor of Gibson's popular guitar series, died Thursday in White Plains, NY, of compilations from pneumonia, according to CNN. He was 94.

Born Lester William Polfuss on June 9, 1915, in Waukesha, WI, Paul is most famous for his influential guitar playing and innovations in recording and instrument technology, which laid the ground work for rock'n'roll. Never satisfied with his instrument, Paul experimented with different designs, and in the 1930s crafted one the world's first solid body electric guitars from a log. The design was bought and refined by Gibson guitars in 1952 and dubbed the Les Paul -- an electric instrument emblematic of the rock sound that has been played by many musicians, including Jimmy Page, Neil Young, Slash, and Billie Jo Armstrong.

"Suddenly, it was recognized that power was a very important part of music,"Paul said of his guitar's effect on music. "To have the dynamics, to have the way of expressing yourself beyond the normal limits of an unamplified instrument, was incredible."

Paul was also celebrated for his inventions in multi-track recording, which allowed different musicians to layer tracks in the studio. This technology would change the face of music recording forever and seal Paul a place in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005."...READ MORE

CNN reports other famous guitarists paying tribute to Paul - "Les Paul was truly a 'one of a kind.' We owe many of his inventions that made the rock 'n roll sound of today to him, and he was the founding father of modern music," B.B. King said in a statement. "This is a huge loss to the music community and the world. I am honored to have known him."

Joe Satriani said in a statement: "Les Paul set a standard for musicianship and innovation that remains unsurpassed. He was the original guitar hero and the kindest of souls. Last October I joined him onstage at the Iridium club in [New York], and he was still shredding. He was and still is an inspiration to us all."

In a statement, Slash said, "Les Paul was a shining example of how full one's life can be; he was so vibrant and full of positive energy."

Photograph from Roadsidepictures. Some Rights Reserved.

Via The Associated Press, Guitarist Joe Satriani called Paul "the original guitar hero", saying: "Les Paul set a standard for musicianship and innovation that remains unsurpassed."

Famous guitarists of every musical genre have picked up a Les Paul at some point in their career, including Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day), Bumblefoot (Guns N' Roses), Lindsey Buckingham, Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard), Chris Chasse (Rise Again), Graham Coxon (Blur), Eric Clapton, Steve Clark (Def Leppard), Sheryl Crow, Al Di Meola, Andy Dunlop (Travis), Elliot Easton (Cars), David "The Edge" Evans (U2), Don Felder (Eagles), Ace Frehley (KISS), John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Noel Gallagher (Oasis), Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead), David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam), Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac), Steve Hackett (Genesis), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, James Hetfield (Metallica), Noel Hogan (The Cranberries), James Honeyman-Scott (The Pretenders), Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), Brian Jones (The Rolling Stones), Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), Terry Kath (Chicago), Alex Lifeson (Rush) Kerry Livgren (Kansas), Paul McCartney (The Beatles), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Bob Marley, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Tom Scholz (Boston), Neal Schon (Santana, Journey), Slash (Guns N Roses), Earl Slick (David Bowie), Pete Townshend (The Who), Ray Toro (My Chemical Romance), Brad Whitford (Aerosmith), Nancy Wilson (Heart), Zakk Wylde, Neil Young, Frank Zappa, and even more musicians listed at musiciansfriend.

Photograph ©2009 MiseryXchord. ARR.  MXC + 1976 Gibson Les Paul Custom

When I was a little kid, I wanted to grow up to be Brian May. I started off playing guitar when I was around 7, and one year my dad (who I only saw once a year or so) sent me this guitar for Christmas. He passed away some time after that while I was cut off from him during family strife due to my parents divorce, and I never got a chance to thank him for it. It is absolutely my most cherished possession. I will never part with it, and if the house burns, the guitar gets out first.