One of the many bands SPIN.com caught up with at Seattle’s Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival this September was goth-rock outfit Schoolyard Heroes, a blossoming quartet with a devout hometown following, which landed on October’s Spin mix.But a select group of Seattleites isn’t so enthused about the youngoutfit’s gruesome lyrics and onstage antics, and have taken a vocalstance. The group, a collection of concerned parents, was motivated bya letter to local paper the Seattle Post Intelligencer, inwhich one reader stated his curiosity incited by a paper review led himto the band’s website, which “horrified” him with “blood curdlinglyrics” and song glorifying “death, dismemberment, murder, suicide.”
In the wake of the complaint, one parent went as far as to post a petitionagainst the band. “We are a group of upset parents who are trying tostop a tragedy before it begins, and that tragedy is SchoolyardHeroes,” the online petition read. “It has been brought to ourattention that there is a cult of young children, ONLY 13 YEARS OLD insome cases, following this band around and running away from home. Thismust be stopped.”
“They are evil! They want to corrupt ourchildren and drive them to murder with their fascination with the darkand evil world of Satan!”
Speaking to SPIN.com from the road,prior to their set in Grand Rapids, MI, bassist Jonah Bergman commentedon his band’s persecution and the mindset of those behind the petition.”It’s incredible, there’s nothing that can celebrate the ignorance ofparents like this letter — how out of touch are they with the lives oftheir children?” Bergman, admitting that the band’s lyrics do in factdiscuss “zombies and stuff,” as well as other graphic imagery, statesthe those involved with the petition have “clearly never heard ourmusic our seen our shows… We love everyone, we give everyone a chance,it’s not about worshipping the devil — it’s a Halloween dance everynight.”
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“The letter’s a perfect example of why he [the author]shouldn’t be writing a letter but sitting down and understanding hiskids and understanding why they’re listening to this kind of music,”Bergman continued. “We as a band offer kids somewhere to go and dosomething positive. While some kids are out getting drunk and gettinghigh, they can come down to a Schoolyard Heroes show and shake theirass!”
So far the petition has accumulated roughly 27signatures, some of which are accompanied by small notes. “My daughteris a huge fan of this band and I never took the time to listen to theirlyrics until now. I took away her albums and threw out their t-shirts,”wrote Dara Capognigro. “There hasn’t been a band this evil since Ozzy,”wrote Ruth Altchek. But a few other jokesters are hitting thepetition’s page in jest. “They killed my pet goat the last time theytoured in Michigan,” joked DouG.
Decide for yourselves; the Schoolyard Heroes certainly seem like kind, cordial youngsters in this video interview.
Apollo Sunshine Wrap LP, Tour
Though currently mixing their forthcoming LP, Great Mysteries of the Old Soul, the band’s third full-length set to date recorded over the summer in New York’s Catskill Mountains, Apollo Sunshinehave emerged to unveil a 16-date tour to preview the new effort, whichhas yet-to-be issued a release date. The outing, slated to kick off inBoston Oct. 3, will lead the band — thanks to their new bright blueschool bus christened “The Blue Buffalo” — across the country and intocities like Toronto, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, and Houston.
Apollo Sunshine tour dates:
10/3, Boston, MA (The Paradise)
10/4, Burlington, VT (Higher Ground)
10/5, Montreal, QC (Petit Campus)
10/6, Toronto, ON (Mod Club)
10/7, Ft. Wayne, IN (Sunset Hall)
10/10, Minneapolis, MN (400 Bar)
10/11, Omaha, NE (The Waiting Room)
10/12, Denver, CO (Larimer Lounge)
10/13, Salt Lake City, UT (In the Venue)
10/15, Seattle, WA (Crocodile Cafe)
10/16, Vancouver, BC (Media Club)
10/18, San Francisco, CA (The Independent)
10/19, Visalia, CA (Howie & Son’s Pizza Parlor)
10/20, West Hollywood, CA (Troubadour)
10/26, Houston, TX (Walters on Washington)
10/27, Hattiesburg, MS (Thirsty Hippo)
Viva Voce Unveil Reissues, Tour
Portland, OR-based musical and romantic couple Kevin and Anita Robinson, a.k.a. Viva Voce, will reissue the their second and third LPs, 2003’s Lovers, Lead The Way! and 2004’s The Heat Can Melt Your Brain,as a two-CD set Nov. 13 via Amore! Phonics. The reissued set will alsoinclude remixed songs, original demos, and unreleased material. Inaddition, fans can catch Viva Voce on tour this fall opening a sectionof Jimmy Eat World’s previously announced outing.
Lovers, Lead The Way! tracklisting:
1. “Fashionably Lonely”
2. “One in Every Crowd”
3. “Red D-Lish”
4. “Wrecking Ball”
5. “That’s Right,… Watch Out!”
6. “Birds on the Wing”
7. “N Luv W/ U”
8. “Brightest Part of Everyone”
9. “Yr Epic Heart”
10. “Best Thing Ever (Maybe Not)”
11. “The Tiger & How We Tamed It”
12. “Perpetual No”
13. “Salsalito”
14. “Someplace Worth Being”
15. “Let’s Bend Light”
The Heat Can Melt Your Brain tracklisting:
1. “Alive With Pleasure”
2. “Lesson No.1”
3. “Business Casual”
4. “The Lucky Ones”
5. “High Highs”
6. “Daylight”
7. “The Center of the Universe”
8. “Free Nude Celebs”
9. “Mixtape = Love”
10. “They Never Really Wake Up”
Bonus Tracks:
11. “Paper Doll” (Unreleased)
12. “Wrecking Ball” (Tunng Remix)
13. “Lesson No.1” (Original Demo)
14. “Red D-Lish” (Live)
15. “Fashionably Lonely” (Live)
16. “Wrecking Ball” (Live)
17. “Doo-Wap Death Trap” (Unreleased)
18. “Tonight You Belong to Me” (Live)
Viva Voce tour dates:
10/26, Atlanta, GA (Center Stage) *
10/27, Myrtle Beach, NC (House of Blues) *
10/28, Raleigh, NC (Disco Rodeo) *
10/29, Washington, DC (9:30 Club) *
11/6, New Brunswick, NJ (State Theater NJ) *
11/9, New York, NY (Terminal 5) *
11/15, Chicago, IL (Riviera Theater) *
11/16, Champaign, IL (Assembly Hall) *
11/17, Omaha, NE (Kiewit Fitness Center) *
(* w/ Jimmy Eat World)
