Madina Lake Leave Tour

Madina Lake have pulled out of their US tour with Me Talk Pretty, Hawthorne Heights and The Young Electric. They write on their Facebook page:

Ahoy fellow passengers,

It’s with a heavy heart, I bid you news that scores below average in the “good” department. I won’t belabor the uppity seas we’ve been navigating for the last year or so, as it seems to be old hat, like the October issue of People magazine that still resides in your bathroom. You’ve read it so throughly that now, you’ve gone so far as to read the editor’s letter in the beginning.

That said, I’m writing to inform you that Madina have to drop off of our current US tour with MTP, Hawthorne and Young Electric.

Life is a serious proposition you see. At this stage in our career, we can’t afford to sustain such a tour, under the current structure of it. We’ve high tailed it back and forth the US soil roughly 9 times over 6 years. As impossible of a decision as it was, we had to pull the plug. This time in our lives, finds us dealing with an attempt murder trial, a baby, recovery, loving patient wonderful wives, and a priority to tend to these things.

We believe we can create more with some time off, and shape Madina into the entity we envision it to be. Connecting with our friends all over the country is unrivaled in its splendor. Sadly, this treasured time is only 1 or 2 hours of the standard 24 hour day. The rest is difficult. This decision was made on the merit of what is best for Madina and its fans/friends and the wonderful future we aspire to experience with it.

We made dear friends with wonderful bands, Hawthorne Heights, Me Talk Pretty and Young Electric….continue to support the tour, as they won’t disappoint. To the cities we missed, we will make this up we promise.

Vains Of Jenna Split

Vains Of Jenna have announced they are splitting up.

They wrote on MySpace:

After 7 years, we have amicably and mutually decided to end Vains Of Jenna.

There's no drama behind the decision. We simply feel like it is time to
move on in our lives and close this chapter.
It has been a truly amazing journey for us over the years and we are
greatful for the opportunity to do what we've done with this band.

A huge thanks to everyone involved, all of our supporters, and of course
all of our fans from around the world. We love you.

1,2,3,4 THE END!!!

Nicki, Jacki, JP and Jesse

Black Velvet is sad to hear this but wish the guys good luck to the guys in their future endeavours.

Templeton Pek ‘Slow Down For Nothing’ EP

Templeton Pek have unveiled snippets of tracks on their forthcoming EP, ‘Slow Down For Nothing’, the trio’s first release on People Like You Records. The CD was recorded with producer Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers/Lostprophets/Bullet For My Valentine) and sees a slightly more melodic Templeton Pek.

Check the tracks out over at http://soundcloud.com/templeton-pek-official/sets/templeton-pek-slow-down-for

The band comment on the tracks:

Pre-order the digipak CD at http://www.peoplelikeyoushop.com/Item/Templeton_Pek_-_Slow_Down_For_Nothing_-Ltd-_Digipak-/161

Black Velvet 71 

Issue 71 of Black Velvet Zine is out now and includes:

In-depth Interviews with:

Octane Ok, Motley Crue (Nikki Sixx), Alter Bridge, Within Temptation, Theory Of A Deadman, Madina Lake, Kids In Glass Houses, The Answer, Black Stone Cherry, The Famous Class, Stakeout & The Super Happy Fun Club

Concert reviews including Def Leppard, Alter Bridge, Within Temptation, Madina Lake, Switchfoot, Rise Against, Bowling For Soup, The Answer, Octane Ok, Kerrang! Radio Breakthru Tour and The Return.

Tons of album, single and EP reviews such as Johnny Panic, Sebastian Bach, Razer, The Super Happy Fun Club, Funeral For A Friend, Lionsex, Big Truck, LA Guns, Cornerstone and Toxic Federation.

‘Me, Me, Me & My Rock CV’ - the section where someone in the music industry tells us what they do and why they do it. This issue we feature Mike Newman of ethicalWares/Four Dogs Music.

Norman Matthew of Murder FM writes this issue’s ‘A (Musical) Note From…’ column.

All the usuals such as Supersonic Future Superstars (featuring Kev Bayliss, Take The Seven & Adakain) & DVD reviews.

Thanks to: Kev Bayliss, EthicalWARES, M.I.C, When Words Fail & Overweight.

Buy In Person from:

Birmingham Newspoint Newsagents, Cardiff Spillers Records, Derby Viva Hate, Dudley ST Records, Leeds Jumbo Records, Redditch Train Station Newsagents, Southampton October Books, Baltimore Atomic Books, Chicago Quimbys, Joseph Beth Bookstores – Cincinnati, Cleveland & Lexington, Amsterdam American Book Center, Belgium IMS Hasselt, IMS Leuven, IMS Meir, IMS Melkmarkt, Wilco BV (IMS Breda)

Order Online from:

www.fourdogsmusic.co.uk, www.ethicalwares.com, www.punkrockshop.co.uk & www.beeunique.co.uk
www.atomicbooks.com & www.quimbys.com

More info at www.blackvelvetmagazine.com

Halestorm on Roadrunner - New EP & Album

On February 5th Halestorm release their new “Hello, It’s Mz. Hyde” EP. This will be the first release on their new label, Roadrunner Records. They follow Shinedown moving from Atlantic over to Roadrunner in the UK.The EP will be followed by a new full-length release entitled ‘The Strange Case Of…’ due for release on April 9th.

 The tracklisting of ‘Hello, It’s Mz. Hyde’ is:

Love Bites (So Do I)

 Rock Show

Daughters Of Darkness

 Here’s To Us

Check out a preview of the EP here:

Those who buy the EP from iTunes can later purchase the album at a discounted price, as part of their ‘Complete Your Album’ promotion.

The album’s full tracklisting is:

1. Love Bites (So Do I)

2. Mz. Hyde

3. I Miss The Misery

4. Freak Like Me

5. Beautiful With You

6. In Your Room

7. Break In

8. Rock Show

9. Daughters Of Darkness

10. You Call Me A Bitch Like It’s A Bad Thing

11. American Boys

12. Here’s To Us

Make sure you catch Halestorm in the UK with Shinedown next month. Dates are:

Wed 8^th Feb - LONDON Roundhouse

Thu 9^th Feb - NOTTINGHAM Rock City

Fri 10^th Feb - NEWCASTLE O2 Academy

Sun 12^th Feb - BRISTOL O2 Academy

Mon 13^th Feb - LEEDS O2 Academy

Tue 14^th Feb - MANCHESTER Academy 1 

Thu 16^th Feb - GLASGOW O2 Academy

Fri 17^th Feb - BIRMINGHAM HMV Institute 

Madina Lake Lose Guitarist

Mateo Camargo has announced his departure from Madina Lake. Mateo was away from the last US tour, so this does not come as a surprise - although we’re sad by the news. Mateo tweeted, ‘I love those dudes. what we did musically is important and hope you all understand it was the best 7 years of my life,’ before adding ‘I will continue to make music forever. join me, love me and stay friends with me’.

Follow Mateo at www.twitter.com/mateocamargo or Madina Lake at www.twitter.com/madinalake

Bowling For Soup UK Acoustic Tour