It's time to make a statement.

Hello, friends. Donald here. I am writing to you to let you know that a lot has been happening in the Keep Calm camp over the last few weeks, and a lot of them are about to finally be set into motion in the next few days. All of these things are what we all believe to be a positive change, and Craig, Madison and I could not be happier at the direction of the show. But before we get to that, I want to come clean about a few things.

I started Keep Calm and Carry On when I was a junior in college. I had been awarded a slot for a specialty show on WTSR, with the approval to play the best in emo music, or at least what I believed to be the best. I had an eye on the future and realized that I only had two short years to make my mark with the show, so I opted for a name that people would recognized and feel a connection to immediately. With a familiarity in the name, I felt it would be an easier way to gain and keep people's attention, at least for the two years that I was in college. What I could have never imagined, however, was what would happen after that. I began to integrate my personal music blog (the one you're reading now) with the show, and ended up being able to use WTSR's resources to interview some of my favorite bands. The show became such a success that it attracted Craig to it, and within two weeks of knowing him, I knew that I had found someone who could help the show continue past my time at college. The two of us worked hard, went on some crazy adventures, and continue to have them to this day. The two of us accomplished things I never thought I'd even learn how to do and then some. Then, when we maybe started to take our accomplishments for granted, a young girl named Madison came to our show, and her work ethic and passion for the scene not only created even more opportunities for the show, but it also helped reignite the passion Craig and I were struggling to maintain. The three of us are now developing into a great team, and I've never been more proud.

But there remains the issue of how we started. When Keep Calm was conceived, I was alone, and therefore anything that went into the promotion, production, and direction of the show and blog was from me alone. Now, I'm one of three voices that's heard when we make decisions, yet we were still working with a blog that I created and a show time I selected for a show that I named. It sounds so totalitarian, I'm surprised Craig and Madison didn't revolt.

Anyway, the three of us have talking a lot over this summer, and agreed that it was time to reimagine the show, from the ground up. It began with our three schedules pulling us in different directions to the point that the three of us could rarely make our typical show time from 9-11pm on Friday nights. Therefore, we've requested (and been approved for) a completely new showtime on WTSR, which will be revealed in the coming months. The next order of business was the website. While we recently changed our layout, the three of us agreed that it was time to draw inspiration from our friends at Smash Cut Reviews, and decided to move our site from blogspot to a site that we had even more control over, with our own domain name. As we discussed changing the site, the show time, and the very format we post with, I had an idea: what if we changed the name, too? Craig and Madison agreed, and after much discussion, we've decided on a name, that I will now be sharing with you.

From this day forth, our show/blog will operate under the identity of The Garden Statement. It's a name that holds great importance to the three of us, as it serves as both a tribute to the state we were all born and raised in, while referencing a song from a band we all love (shout out to Hidden in Plain View!), and if you ask me, adds a little more impact to what we do. The most important part of the music we listen to is the statement it makes. Whether it's carefully crafted lyrics, expert musicianship, or that innate quality you sometimes can't even put into words, the music that sticks with us does so because it makes a statement. And that's what we want to do: we want to make a statement about the bands we love, the bands doing things the right way, the bands making the best music, and the bands that you need to check out.

I know I speak for Craig and Madison when I say that our run as Keep Calm and Carry On became something the three of us never could have predicted, and has taken us to places we never expected. We've been so fortunate to enjoy the success we've had, and we feel these changes we are making will help us accomplish even more in the future. We would all like to thank you from the bottom of our collective heart for any support you've offered and hope you will join us as we move forward as The Garden Statement. We'll still be giving you the same great content we always have, but with even more conviction and passion that we had before.

tl;dr: Keep Calm and Carry On has become The Garden Statement. You are cordially invited to the launch of our new site, which should be coming your way in the next couple of days. Thank you forever.

As always, and for one last time, Keep Calm, Carry On, and Open Your Mind.

Love,

Donald Wagenblast, Craig Ismaili, and Madison Ouellette.

Local Spotlight: Falling Through the Center of the Earth

Band Name: Falling Through the Center of the Earth
Band Members: Dan Boyle, Ari Gazetas, Dank Bill, Pat Fitzmaurice, Matt Kohanowski
Hometown: West Milford,NJ
Formed: 2014
Genre: Metal

Album Review: The Story So Far - Songs Of EP

Hate all you want, but at some point, you're going to need to give credit where credit is due: The Story So Far have figured out where they fit into the grand scheme of the scene, and they know how to keep finding ways to increase their already exponentially-expanding fanbase. Last year's sophomore effort What You Don't See was a mental maturation and audible tightening of the screws from the brash, bold, often immature Under Soil and Dirt. 2013 also saw the band stray from their pop-punk starter kit sound, opting for a stripped-down, subdues effort on a split with The Story So Far. Maybe it was the fact that Tumblr went crazy for the acoustic track "Clairvoyant" that turned out to be one of the band's best songs, the fact that they're on Warped Tour this summer, or the fact that their meteoric rise through the ranks may be too rapid for indie label Pure Noise Records to handle, but something's possessed the band to keep their creative juices flowing. And the result of that motivation, whatever its cause may be, has produced a brand new EP, Songs Of. 

Keep Calm Presents: An Interview with Dylan Mattheisen of Tiny Moving Parts

  

 

     On June 5th, Tiny Moving Parts played to yet another sold-out crowd while a part of Modern Baseball's headlining tour.  Amidst all of the excitement of playing five sold-out shows in a row, including one at Webster Hall with 600+ people, Tiny Moving Part's Dylan Mattheisen took some time to chat with Keep Calm and Carry On about tour, an upcoming LP, and signing to Triple Crown Records!

Album Review: Tigers Jaw - Charmer

Throughout the early stages of this so-called "emo revivial," there were a few bands that held things down for the newcomers like Have Mercy, The Hotelier, or Old Gray came and really started the movement. One of them, very quietly, was Tigers Jaw. With their moody, smooth jams and their ability to capture the emotions of any given moment while always evolving their sound and setting the pace for the sound of the scene as we know it. They've been one of the most respected bands to come up from this scene in the last few years, and on Charmer, their fourth full-length, Tigers Jaw continue to prove why so many have fallen in love with them.

Album Review: Muscle & Bone- "Peace & Light"

 

     2014 seems to be the year that 90's emo is making a huge comeback.  This is partially due to awesome young bands making new music reminiscent of the sound that started the genre some 20 years ago.  Muscle & Bone's debut LP Peace & Light is yet another stellar emo album released this year that combines both new and old influences, giving a fresh take on an older sound. 

Album Review: Old Gray / Tiny Moving Parts Split 7" EP

     From looking at each band's discography separately, it would be naive to think the Old Gray/Tiny Moving Parts split would be anything but devastating.  In the past year, both bands have made great strides in popularity.  Although that brings along tons of anticipation for new material, it also has critics examining such material under a microscope, determining if new releases are a step in the right or wrong direction.  Even with that pressure, this split further secures Old Gray's and Tiny Moving Parts' spots in the genre.  The bands combined their talent and promise into one release that is one of the best splits we've heard all year.  With an underlying theme of anxiety and death running through these four tracks, the bands address similar situations from different perspectives, both sonically and emotionally.  Even so, the subtleties in each track compliment each other impressively well. Let's look at the split track-by-track.

Show Review: Skate and Surf Festival 2014

When the landmark pop-punk and hardcore festival Skate and Surf announced that it would take place for the first time in almost ten years last year, the announcement was met with overwhelming support. That support turned to jeers, however, as the even was marred by a location change that proved to be both a logistical and organizational nightmare, a weekend forecast that simply didn’t co-operate with an outdoor festival, and a rumors of heavy merch cut percentages causing several bands to refuse to sell merchandise at the festival. I was fairly critical of last year’s Skate and Surf, saying that the one saving grace was that I also was able to go to Six Flags each morning before the festival grounds opened (and Fall Out Boy playing an awesome set in the pouring rain didn’t hurt).

So when the festival was announced as returning in 2014, I made a promise to myself. Despite having gone to every New Jersey area Bamboozle/Skate and Surf since 2008, I would only go to Skate and Surf 2014 if Midtown reunited. Well, it turns out festival organizer John D’Esposito got Gabe and the gang back together for not one but two sets on the weekend. As a result, I decided to make the trek to Asbury Park for the second day of the two-day festival. The festival suffered yet another location change this year, moving from Middletown to Asbury Park, but yet again the location change ended up benefiting the festival in the long run. Moving the festival back to Asbury Park allowed Skate and Surf to go back to its roots and allowed the fans to appreciate the festival’s legacy. 

Keep Calm Presents: An Interview with The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die

Roughly two months ago (late March 2014), Keep Calm sat down with The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die.  What started as the usual interview turned into a half hour long conversation, addressing everything from preparing for their European tour (which just ended), new material in the works, to how they feel about being the term "emo revival." Huge thanks to Greg Horbel and Chris Zizzamia for taking some time to talk to Keep Calm and making this one of the most entertaining interviews I've been a part of.

~Madison

Emo Hall of Fame Inductees

Longtime listeners of the radio show that accompanies this blog may know that in the second ever Keep Calm and Carry On broadcast, Donald Wagenblast inducted twenty songs into the Emo Hall of Fame. This concept was created as a way to showcase some of the songs that have shaped the emo genre.

Here is his first class of twenty inductees from the fall of 2011:

Local Spotlight: On Your Marks

 Long story short, Keep Calm and Carry On will now feature kickass local bands.  To find Madison's full statement on why this is super important to us, click here.  If you're not into that, just be sure to read Keep Calm and Carry On's first Local Spotlight, featuring the incredibly hardworking and cool guys from On Your Marks.

Album Review: The Menzingers- Rented World

The Menzingers are in the midst of a streak which has become exceedingly rare. To use some allegories from the world outside of the music scene, they are in the midst of a Joe DiMaggio-esque 56-game hitting streak or a Franklin Delano Roosevelt presidential election streak. Releasing three straight critically acclaimed punk albums in a 4 year span is something that almost no modern punk band has been able to accomplish. Even The Menzingers’ contemporaries in The Gaslight Anthem fell victim to critical fatigue with American Slang (an album that received mixed reviews upon its release). Yet, hot off the heels of their breakthrough record Chamberlain Waits in 2010, The Menzingers released one of the best-written albums punk of the 21^st century in On The Impossible Past in 2012. Would they crack under the pressure of having to follow-up what would be many other bands’ magnum opus, or could they respond with another classic album? 

Keep Calm Roundtable: Record Store Day 2014 Discussion

Here at Keep Calm and Carry On, we've all taken a more elevated interest in collecting, listening to, and learning more about the apparent resurgence of vinyl records, both within the scene we cover and on a broader scale throughout today’s music landscape. The intimacy of setting up your speakers, player, and actually listening through an entire album can be something we grow too busy or too lazy to do, but when you make the type of investment collectors new and old are making, it can become a very fulfilling and ever-evolving hobby. This resurgence of vinyl has been anchored in the culture of the scene by an event that takes place once a year at independent record stores around the country.

We are, of course, talking about Record Store Day. Held on the third Saturday of April (which is coming soon!), Record Store Day began in 2007 as a way to support independent music stores, which have taken significant blow after significant blow after the advent of illegal downloads sent the music sales business back to  square one. This event is highlighted by artists and record labels putting out exclusive releases (for vinyl and CD collectors alike), and only selling them through a network of independent stores. This celebration has only gained momentum in the recent years, and that upward trajectory seems poised to continue long into the future, thanks to the continued resurgence of vinyl as a way to consume and listen to music. (If you’d like to learn more about record store day, follow this link.)

With artists like Bayside, Chiodos, Circa Survive, and many others releasing rare collectible vinyl for this year’s event, and due to the group’s heightened interest and awareness of the festivities, Keep Calm is celebrating this year’s Record Store Day by holding our second-ever roundtable to highlight what we’re looking for, and other releases that you should definitely check out!

Keep Calm Presents: An Interview with Christian Holden of The Hotelier

     It's very rare that an album comes out in the end of February and is quickly named an Album of the Year contender.  Yet, for The Hotelier's Home, Like No Place is There, there is no question that this album is the one to beat for 2014.  A name change and one new album later, The Hotelier is taking the music scene by storm, whether they recognize it or not.  Luckily for Keep Calm and Carry On, vocalist Christian Holden sat down with us a few weeks back in Brooklyn to discuss the name change, crowd reactions, and, of course, the album that we cannot stop talking about.  Big thanks to Christian for taking some time out of this hectic night for an interview!

Keep Calm Presents: An Interview with Joey Vannucchi of From Indian Lakes

 A couple weeks back, I had the opportunity to sit down the From Indian Lake's frontman Joey Vannucchi to talk about their recent headlining tour, signing to Triple Crown Records, and the making of their next full length.  Big thanks to Joey and the rest of guys From Indian Lakes for hanging out with Keep Calm and Carry On! 

Album Review: The Used- Imaginary Enemy

Halfway through the second track of Imaginary Enemy, I exclaimed, “They’ve finally done it- they’ve put it all together on an album.” This was right around the bridge of “Cry,” when vocalist Bert McCracken cuts through a series of electronic effects to offer a guttural screech of “Nicer than that.” What follows is a punishing 25 seconds of metal riffs provided by guitarist Quinn Allman and bassist Jeph Howard. 

The opening track, ”Revolution,” and the track I spoke about above, “Cry,” are just about everything I could possibly expect in an album from The Used. They’re upbeat, incendiary emo anthems. If only the rest of the album could be like that.

Album Review: Chiodos- Devil

    

     With Craig Owens returning to Chiodos, balance was restored in the world and things seemed right again.  Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but in all seriousness, I've been waiting for Craig Owens to come back to this band since he left.  While this may not be the line-up that gave fans All is Well that Ends Well and Bone Palace Ballet (original lead guitarist Jason Hale left in 2012, replaced by former- Fall of Troy guitarist Thomas Erak), Chiodos’s newest LP Devil hits us with passion reminiscent of the pre-Illuminaudio days without losing the growth they found in instrumental technicality.

Album Review: Various Artists - Punk Goes 90s, Vol. 2

Hello, friends! Donald here. Now, I know what you're thinking: they made another "Punk" Goes album? And Keep Calm is actually reviewing it? The answers, unfortunately, are yes and yes. When Craig and I reviewed Punk Goes Pop 5, we had a ton of fun with it, and for some reason Hopeless Records just can't give up the ghost, so here we are again. Punk Goes 90s, Vol. 2 actually has a few intriguing storylines, thanks to the triumphant return of Yellowcard to the mix, the inexplicable spotlight Ronnie Radke continues to be given, and the fact that the Fearless Records got away from having bands do pop covers. With that, let's sift through the mud together. There may be gold awaiting (but probably not)!

(Writer's note: as per our tradition, Donald will be posting a small review of each cover, while Craig will be posting a .gif of his reaction to each track. Fasten your seat belts.)

Album Review: Manchester Orchestra - Cope

God, where have you been? Manchester Orchestra have been quiet for far too long. It's been four years since the release of the band's polarizing third full-length Simple Math, which was a sharp left turn from the guitar-driven Mean Everything to Nothing. The band's dabbling in atmospheric layering and experimentation-based rock did produce some great moments, but it wasn't quite up to par with Everything to Nothing or the band's debut I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child. Never the type of band to pander to what the outside voices are saying about them, the band took their time and have now returned with Cope, and the hopes of returning to their place as one of the most talked-about bands in alternative rock.

Album Review: Seahaven- Reverie Lagoon: Music for Escapism Only

    

    When Seahaven announced the title for their most recent LP, I rolled my eyes, thinking it was both cheesy and unnecessarily long.  However, upon listening, Reverie Lagoon: Music for Escapism Only is a pretty accurate description of California band's latest release.  Taking a step back for the punchy lyrics and heavy lines heard in Winter Forever and the quick tempos of Ghost, this album takes a different turn, focusing on ambient instrumentals with Kyle Soto's droning and longing vocals.