On March 18, JSHOCK DD LLC will release two albums and a live concert DVD from Japanese rock bands D’espairsRay and the Underneath in conjunction with their appearance on the North American Rockstar Taste of Chaos (RTOC) tour.

“Both D’espairsRay and the Underneath represent the best of Jrock Revolution,” says Bob Divney, general manager of Adrenaline Music Group, which distributes JSHOCK DD LLC. “Their music engages and pushes the cultural envelope and we are thrilled to bring their music to the U.S. market.”

From D’espairsRay, JSHOCK DD LLC will distribute the album “MIRROR” and the DVD "Spiral Staircase #15 Final.” “MIRROR” showcases the band’s blend of industrial and melodic rock, while “Spiral Staircase #15 Final” demonstrates the charisma and musicianship that have propelled the band to worldwide fame. Formed in 1999, D’espairsRay frequently tour throughout the United States and Europe and were a headlining act of last year’s Jrock Revolution festival.

Head over to http://www.ampmagazine.com and be sure to check back regularly for additional journal updates from The Frantic!

For the Frantic's latest tour dates visit: www.myspace.com/TheFrantic or www.thefrantic.com.

Catch The Frantic at SXSW this week:

Mar 12 2008 11:00P
The Chuggin’ Monkey at RedGorilla Fest Austin, Texas
Mar 13 2008 7:00P
Camel/Taste Of Chaos Party at The Beast House - Upstairs from Emo’s Austin, Texas
Mar 14 2008 8:00P
Headhunter’s Tiki Bar (Sinister Muse Records SXSW ’Biggest Little Party In Austin 2008’) Austin, Texas
Mar 15 2008 8:45P
Guitar Hero III Outdoor Stage (Texas Rockfest) Austin, Texas

The lineup that P.O.D. to multiple platinum success
with “The Fundamental Elements of Southtown” and “Satellite” (featuring
“Youth of a Nation,” “Alive,” “Boom,” and "Satellite") is back with their
INO/Columbia Records debut, “When Angels and Serpents Dance” on
April 8, 2008.
Prior to the release, the band will take part in Hard Rock Café's month
long charity drive for Musicians on Call and perform at various Hard Rock
Café's throughout the country. On Tuesday, March 18 there will be an
album listening event at Hard Rock locations in Atlanta, Boston,
Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Orlando,
Philadelphia and San Francisco. These listening parties will have a
voluntary $5 donation to the Musicians on Call charity and a register to
win drawing for various P.O.D. items.
Beginning March 25, P.O.D. will criss-cross the country to perform live in 8
markets at various Hard Rock Café venues including a special hometown
show on April 7 in San Diego the night before the CD is released in-stores.
The Hard Rock shows will give P.O.D. fans a chance to be up close with
the band in the intimate setting of the Hard Rock Café venues. The San
Diego show will be broadcast live over the internet on ALL ACCESS Warrior
Pass. This will allow fans to have access to exclusive footage, witness the

Children Of Our Mistakes, Vayden

Post-grunge rock is seemingly making a comeback and Vayden is one of those artists who is attempting to help with this phenomenon with their album Children Of Our Mistakes. This disc starts off with the title track of the album as it flirts with hints of strings accompanied by heavy guitar licks, blues-inspired bass and tons of snares followed by a raspy screech on vocals. It’s not a bad rock track as it has that highly aggressive attitude that most groups want.

Vayden gets politically active on “Uniforms” as it sends a blunt message of anti-establishment, socially-active hard rock that groups like System Of A Down, Rage Against The Machine or Tool would observe, but with the intricate power chords of a glam metal group and vocals coming out of the areana rock realm. The choral refrains of children singing near the bridge was a nice touch as the bass and drum breaks pummel you alongside an echoed lyrical style. “Karma Is A Professional Wrestler” breaks it down a notch as it’s smoother and has down tempo rhythms then kicks you in the face with tons of attitude. It’s not gloomy, but has that melancholic scale reminiscent of many mid-‘90s alternative rock acts that followed the same tones of progressing grunge rock with heavy music.

Rumors are swirling that mega acts Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails will be headlining the popular Lollapalooza musical festival. The festival, which started off as a tour but has been scaled down to a three day festival, runs from August 1st-3rd this year.

While the reports aren't confirmed, the Chicago Tribune reported that rumors are swirling over the possible lineup with the those two acts on the top of the bill.

In the wake of his divorce from Heather Mills, which is expected to take a sizable chunk of his savings, Paul McCartney has authorized the release of the Beatles' back catalog on iTunes, in a deal expected to net over $400 million. The release will help soften the blow of McCartney's multi-million dollar divorce.

The deal has been rumored and delayed more times than we can count, but this time industry insiders say that the tracks will be available by the end of the year.

The profits from making the music available on iTunes will be split amongst Paul, Ringo Star, and the families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison. Past deals with EMI, Sony, and Michael Jackson will also mean that they'll get a cut on payday. It's not yet clear how much McCartney stands to make personally from the deal.

McCartney's divorce has cost him nearly $10 million to date, and insists that he is worth less than the £825 million commonly cited. Mills suggests that he is worth much more than that, however. Details of the settlement are expected to be drawn up over the next ten days. Mills is expected to receive between £20million and £30million.

Take Me Anywhere, Chris Taylor

Singer/songwriter Chris Taylor makes his Beck Recordings debut with a collection of modern worship on Take Me Anywhere. Take Me Anywhere starts out with “Turn Me Around.” “Turn Me Around” has a ton of pop rock melodies backed by swirling synths, intricate guitars and a sharp tenor vocal pushing out the faithfulness of Taylor’s devotion to God.

Unlike the first track, “Made For You” is completely stripped down to just a simple guitar hook and a light piano notation with tons of acoustics creating this gorgeous exuberance. Next was the title track of this disc and at first it sounded more like a ballad, but turned right around into a solid pop song with up tempo keyboards, frenetic guitar patterns, high hatsand Chris’ soft vocal skills telling us a lovely story. “You See Through Me” is similar, but has a lighter tone structure and almost sound like a combination of a worship song and a pure terrestrial radio bubblegum pop track.

All Time Low are making some serious noise. The Maryland four piece pop punk outfit will make their network TV debut tonight, performing their new single "Dear Maria, Count Me In" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC, 12:05AM est) MTV will enter All Time Low's video for "Dear Maria, Count Me In" into their DISCOVER & DOWNLOAD program starting Monday, March 10th and it will be added to MTV (Big Ten Rotation), MTV2 (Elite 8), MTVu and MTV Hits.

All Time Low grace the cover of Alternative Press this month and will be co-headlining the partially SOLD OUT AP Tour which kicks off next week in Houston and includes a stop in Austin for SXSW. Full tour rounting is below. All Time Low's debut album So Wrong, It's Right continues to sell extremely well, scanning between 1,500 and 3,000 a week and totaling 70,000 units since the albums release in late summer on Hopeless Records.

Chicago's YAKUZA has confirmed more dates on the band’s upcoming tour down to South By Southwest, featuring a showcase alongside Serj Tankian, and up the West Coast into Canada, culminating in a hometown show in April supporting Disfear. Additionally, the band has posted the track “Congestive Art Failure,” which joins the previously posted new tracks “Egocide” and Praying For Asteroids” on the band’s MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/yakuza”).

YAKUZA continues to support the critically-acclaimed ‘Transmutations,’ which saw a summer 2007 release through Prosthetic Records. The follow-up to ‘Samsara,’ ‘Transmutations’ was recorded with producer and multi-instrumentalist Sanford Parker (Rwake, Pelican, Minsk) in Chicago and has spawned a video for the track “Black Market Liver” which was directed by Sara Jean and is available online here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptPLaObjGO8).

YAKUZA on tour

3/09 St. Louis, MO – APOP Records (in store performance, all ages)

3/09 St. Louis, MO – Creepy Crawl

3/10 Memphis, TN – Black Lodge Video

3/11 Fayetteville, AR – Old Post Office (with Deadbird)

3/13 Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa (SXSW with Serj Tankian)

3/14 Austin, TX – Mugshots (SXSW day show)

3/15 Austin, TX – SXSW TBA

3/16 San Antonio, TX – The Crossing (post-SXSW BBQ and bands)

Following the 2007 release of his most recent studio album, The Yearbook, Christian hip-hop artist, KJ-52 ended the year with television placement and began the new with a CCM Reader’s Choice award and two Dove nominations leading into upcoming dates on the “Cross the Line” Superchic[k] tour.

In late November, prior to the writer’s strike halting most television shows, KJ-52’s “Your Gonna Make It” appeared on the hit CBS drama “Cold Case.” It was the first time the artist’s music has appeared in primetime television. If you missed this episode, check it out at: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=21910228

In the January 2008 CCM Reader’s Choice issue, KJ-52 was voted by his dedicated fans as the Favorite Hip-Hop Artist for the third year in a row. Printed in the magazine, KJ-52 thanked his fans saying, “Thank you so much. It’s exciting to know that what you’re doing is connecting with people on many different levels. I consider it an honor to just be nominated for this award, much less to actually win it; it’s amazing where God can take someone. I remember reading CCM when I was just a teenage baby Christian, and to now be able to be in it is an honor and a privilege.”