The Postal Service

2003 saw Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) and multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel, Figurine) unite as The Postal Service, a long distance collaboration named for their working method of exchanging tracks via the US Mail. The duo – joined by a number of friends including singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis – proved a phenomenon with the February 2003 release of their one and only studio LP, ‘Give Up’, earning worldwide applause and eventual RIAA Platinum certification thanks to infectious electro-pop smashes like “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” (a top 3 sensation on Billboard’s “Hot Dance Singles” chart), “We Will Become Silhouettes (which reached the top 3 on the Canadian Singles Chart), and of course, the magical RIAA Platinum-certified “Such Great Heights.” The album’s stature continued to grow in the years following its original release, ultimately spending 19 non-consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s “Top Electronic Albums” chart. In 2013, a commemorative 10th anniversary edition of ‘Give Up’ saw the singular collection expanded with 15 bonus tracks, including two brand new songs, “A Tattered Line of String” and “Turn Around.”

Death Cab For Cutie

Formed in Bellingham, WA in 1997, Death Cab for Cutie immediately entered the ranks of the era’s most definitive bands, thanks in large part to the remarkable power of co-founder, vocalist, guitarist, and lead songwriter Benjamin Gibbard’s complex, often bittersweet songcraft. The band made their worldwide popular breakthrough with 2003’s RIAA Platinum-certified ‘Transatlanticism,’ later named by NPR as one of “The Decade’s 50 Most Important Recording” and Rolling Stone as one of the “100 Best Albums of the 2000s.” Fueled by critical acclaim, an array of high profile soundtrack placements, and such hit singles as “The Sound of Settling” and “Title and Registration,” the album debuted among the upper half of the Billboard 200 – Death Cab for Cutie’s first ever entry on the overall chart. A 10th anniversary edition of ‘Transatlanticism’ containing previously unheard demos and outtakes arrived in 2013, prompting NPR to write, “For all its ubiquity and imitators, ‘Transatlanticism’ holds up as an exquisitely produced, largely flawless record in which every song is bound to serve as someone’s favorite.”

Incubus

As a sonic and spiritual enigma, Incubus continue to stretch, shape, and shake the foundation of alternative music, embracing endless possibilities and eclipsing any and all boundaries in the process. The multiplatinum Los Angeles band—Brandon Boyd [vocals], Mike Einziger [guitar, piano, backing vocals], José Pasillas II [drums], Chris Kilmore [turntables, keyboards], and Nicole Row [bass]—tune into the creative exchange between them and beam it back to audiences as loudly (and lovingly) as possible. To date, the quintet have notably sold over 23 million albums, scored dozens of multiplatinum and platinum certifications around the globe, gathered billions of streams, and notched six consecutive Top 5 debuts on the Billboard 200. At the same time, they have graced the bills of festivals such as BottleRock, Ohana, Lollapalooza, and Rock In Rio in addition to headlining arenas and amphitheaters worldwide. During 2021, the musicians celebrated the 20^th anniversary of their seminal double-platinum third full-length offering, Morning View, with a worldwide livestream. Incubus returned to the house where they famously recorded the album and performed the entire tracklisting from front-to-back for the first time. It incited a rapturous fan response, and the band decided to do it again in October 2023. The group sold out the legendary Hollywood Bowl and performed Morning View in front of a hometown audience, unassumingly kickstarting another era. Between launching a massive US Morning View arena tour in 2024, they ignite the next phase of Incubus with Morning View XXIII and more new music on the horizon. So, are you in?

Bush

After three decades, well over 24 million records sold, a GRAMMY® Award nomination, 1 billion streams, and
a procession of #1 hits, BUSH stand tall as rock outliers whose imprint only widens as the years pass. Turn on
rock radio, and it won’t be long before you hear “Glycerine” or “Machinehead.” On the big screen, their
music courses through blockbuster franchises such as John Wick. On the road, they regularly pack
amphitheaters and ignite festival stages. In 1994, the group delivered their seminal debut, Sixteen Stone. It
notably achieved a six-times platinum certification, remaining a pillar of modern rock. Rolling Stone cited it
among “1994: The 40 Best Records From Mainstream Alternative’s Greatest Year,” while Stereogum
exclaimed, “It feels like music untethered from time, separate from its history.” The triple-platinum follow-up,
Razorblade Suitcase, bowed at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and boasted “Swallowed,” which garnered a
GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Hard Rock Performance.” Their catalog spans the
platinum The Science of Things [1999] through The Kingdom [2020], which arrived to acclaim highlighted by
“Flowers On A Grave” and “Bullet Holes.” As indefatigable as ever, the band released its ninth full-length
offering, The Art of Survival [BMG] in late 2022. Thus far, they have notched 25 straight Top 40 hits on the
Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, earning seven #1 entries. This Fall, the band is releasing their first
ever career retrospective, Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023.

Garbage

Alternative rock band Garbage consists of Shirley Manson, Duke Erikson, Steve Marker and drummer Butch Vig. They have been together for over 25 years, selling more than 20 million albums since their debut in 1995. Their unique sound, songwriting and electric live performances have inspired worldwide attention, chart success and critical acclaim. They are considered one of the most influential bands of their generation.

Their seventh and most recent album NO GODS NO MASTERS was released on BMG Records to some of the best reviews of their career. They are currently at work on what will be their 8^th studio album.

Jimmy Eat World

Jimmy Eat World is celebrating three decades and 10 albums of existence in 2024. The Mesa, AZ, four-piece’s commercial breakthrough came with the release of several singles from their album Bleed American, with “The Middle” hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart and peaking at No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, where it spent 33 weeks total and became RIAA-certified Platinum. Futures, their follow-up to BA, featured “Pain,” which also hit No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. In October 2019, the band released their tenth album, the critically acclaimed Surviving, which became one of three “chapters” of their 2021 globally streamed series Phoenix Sessions that also included Futures (Chapter V) and Clarity (Chapter III), performed in their entirety (available on YouTube here). Recently, they’ve released two independent singles, “Something Loud” and “Place Your Debts,” with the former charting 21 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay.

Girl Talk

Girl Talk (aka Pittsburgh’s Gregg Gillis) has been constructing meticulous sample-based music since 2000. His early work was known for its raw experimental nature, but by the release of his 2006 album, Night Ripper, that style evolved into genre-smashing, breakneck-paced party jams. Night Ripper consisted of over 300 songs, from wildly disparate Top 40 genres and eras, mashed up and layered together into one cohesive collage. It received critical acclaim, and the attention resulted in a rapidly growing fan base. Gillis ended up quitting his biomedical engineering day job one year later.

Girl Talk continued to develop his signature style with the release of Feed the Animals in 2008 and All Day in 2010. Each album grew increasingly detailed and complex. He steadily toured over the following years, bringing his renowned confetti-covered and sweat-soaked performances to venues ranging from house party basements to major festivals. By 2014, Gillis began focusing on collaborative work producing hip hop for some of his favorite rap artists. That same year, he released “Broken Ankles,” an EP with Freeway. Since “Broken Ankles,” Gillis has steadily earned an impressive list of production credits and collaborations with his artistic contemporaries including, but not limited to, Wiz Khalifa, T-Pain, Tory Lanez, Young Nudy, Bas, Cozz, Erick The Architect (from Flatbush Zombies), Smoke DZA, and Don Q.

Violent Femmes

Violent Femmes formed in 1981 as an acoustic punk band playing on the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their main influences at that time were Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and The Velvet Underground. Their goal was to rock harder than any other acoustic act on the planet.

After being rejected for an audition by a local nightclub, the Femmes set up outside a Pretenders gig and began to play. Pretenders’ lead singer Chrissie Hynde asked them to open that night’s show, which gave the young band a publicity boost and caught the attention of Richard Hell, who invited the Femmes to open for him in NYC. A rave review in the New York Times eventually led to a record deal, which in turn spawned worldwide touring.

Violent Femmes eponymous debut album became the first and only album in Billboard history to enter the charts with a platinum certification- eight years after its release. Over the ensuing three decades, the Femmes became a mainstay of festivals, clubs, and theaters in more than 20 countries worldwide.

MTV’s “Unplugged” show was inspired by the Femmes, although they never actually appeared on it. Their raw sound and honest lyrical perspective has been cited as an influence by artists as diverse as Pink, Keith Urban, The Smiths, The Pixies, John Cusack, Mark Morris, and Wim Wenders.

More than 40 years into their careers, Violent Femmes continue to attract young audiences on tour, create lasting music, and inspire people of all ages.

Tonic

Music always undoubtedly brings us closer together. The connection forged runs as deep as any family bond does. Similarly, the story of Tonic revolves around the longstanding, close brotherhood shared among members Emerson Hart [vocals, guitar], Jeff Russo [lead guitar], and Dan Lavery [bass]. Since 1996, the GRAMMY® Award-nominated multi-platinum trio has consistently delivered anthemic and undeniable rock fashioned from eloquent songcraft, lyrical honesty, and unshakable melodies. Along the way, they translated true experiences and real memories into a storied catalog that resounds as loudly today as it did over two decades ago.

“Sometimes, I’ll see somebody in the crowd who’s not more than twenty-years-old,” says Emerson. “This person will be singing a thought I had in 1995 right back to me: every word and every note. Realizing the power of that was a big moment for me. If there are people in the crowd and we’re playing together, that’s the magic of it. We still love it. There’s an understanding this is bigger than us.”

The songs continue to endure. To date, the band has landed six Top 10 singles, sold 4 million-plus records, and garnered a pair of GRAMMY® Award nominations. As the story goes, Emerson and Jeff linked up together in Los Angeles as Tonic during 1994, with Dan joining the group in 1996. Inspired after catching U2’s Joshua Tree Tour in his native New Jersey, Emerson went to L.A., where he and Jeff launched the group. Their full-length debut, Lemon Parade, not only went platinum, but it also yielded the “#1 Most-Played Rock Song of 1997” in the form of the lead single “If You Could Only See.” The band’s follow-up single, “You Wanted More,” served as the lead-off from the platinum Original Soundtrack Album for American Pie and the second full-length, Sugar.

In between a marathon of touring, they released Head On Straight in 2002. The single “Take Me As I Am” received a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal” as the album vied for “Best Rock Album”—only to lose to Bruce Springsteen, “which is still a huge honor being from Jersey,” laughs Dan.

After a five-year hiatus, the three-piece returned to the charts on the heels of Tonic in 2010, landing in the Top 50 of the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart and Top 25 of the Billboard Top Independent Albums Chart. Following a successful Pledge Music campaign, they re-recorded the seminal Lemon Parade acoustically for 2016’s Lemon Parade Revisited.

“The idea was, ‘How do we do something new?’,” continues Jeff. “We wanted to take it back to the origins of the tracks. So, we sat in a room with acoustic guitars and played. It was a gratifying moment. At the same time, it made us realize that we really enjoy making rock. We love the thrill of playing. It’s come full circle recently, and it’s affected what we’re creating now.”

Outside of Tonic, each musician made a pronounced musical impact of his own. As a sought-after composer for film, television, and video games, Jeff wrote the score for HBO’s critically acclaimed The Night Of in addition to composing for Legion, Counterpart, Star Trek: Discovery, and more. He garnered the 2017 Primetime Emmy® Award in the category of “Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special” for Fargo. Dan played bass in the multiplatinum pop rock outfit The Fray before going on to establish himself as a writer and producer. In recent years, he’s been involved in artist management, working with the likes of Joe Jonas and Adam Lambert. Meanwhile, Emerson ignited a successful solo career, including albums such as Cigarettes and Gasoline [2007], Beauty in Disrepair [2014], and his 2019 third full-length 32 Thousand Days.

No matter what, the members of Tonic find themselves coming back together, hitting the road every year.

“This is like musical home base for us,” Dan leaves off. “From there, we can branch out and do other things, but this is something we all go back to. The fact the three of us have managed to stay together since 1996 with only a few years off is something we’re very proud of. The truth is we’re just three dudes from New Jersey and New York who have the same sensibilities. That’s why we’re still together decades later.”

Jeff agrees, “Every time we get back together, it just sounds and feels like Tonic.”

“The songs keep us around,” smiles Emerson. “We love seeing the excitement in fans’ eyes. We’re all connected. When we play, it’s a moment where we all feel something together.”

Filter

Diversity has been a hallmark of Richard Patrick’s career, and it’s administered with crushing efficiency on his latest eclectic set of new material from his band Filter. Fans weaned on the industrial outbursts and corrosive beats of such platinum-selling albums as Short Bus and Title of Record will be ecstatic to hear Patrick’s unmistakable scream and unflinching honesty dominating this new album. The prolific multi-instrumentalist swings back and forth between intensely personal narratives and politically charged diatribes in throwback industrial crushers. On the surface, tracks like “Thoughts & Prayers,” “Murica” and “Come Take My Guns” detail disgust in the goings on during Trump’s time in the White House, while a track like “Race to the Bottom” chronicles the alcoholics road to addiction.

Frontman Patrick, the lone constant member of the veteran industrial rock act, reunited with original Filter programmer and producer Brian Liesegang to write several songs on the new record – Filter’s first in five years. While Patrick has always participated in the production of his music, this is the first time he has officially sat in the producer chair. In so doing, he has called upon several friends to help create his latest masterpiece, including newcomer Zach Munowitz and rapper TweezeDaShaggyGod. Filter was originally formed in Cleveland, OH in 1993 when Patrick desired to start his own band after leaving Nine Inch Nails as their touring guitarist. Their debut album Short Bus was released in 1995 and ended up going platinum, largely due to the success of the single “Hey Man Nice Shot.” The follow up, 1999’s Title of Record, also went platinum driven by the success of the song “Take a Picture.” Filter’s third album, The Amalgamut, was released in 2002, though sales stalled when Patrick checked into rehab after years of heavy alcohol and drug abuse just as touring and promotion began. Upon getting healthy, Patrick formed the supergroup Army of Anyone with Dean and Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots and Ray Luzier of Korn, released one critically acclaimed album and toured the U.S. After AOA went on hiatus, Patrick returned to Filter, releasing Anthems for the Damned in 2008, The Trouble With Angels in 2010, The Sun Comes Out Tonight in 2013 and Crazy Eyes in 2016.

Lit

Lit is considered one of the preeminent bands to have come out of the post-grunge era of the late 90’s and helped define an entire generation of SoCal power punk with hard-charging hits like “My Own Worst Enemy,” “Miserable,” “Zip-Lock,”, and “Lipstick & Bruises.” The band has released 6 worldwide studio albums, including their RIAA Certified Platinum A Place in the Sun, and they are currently writing and recording to release new material.