Band Spotlight: BEARTOOTH

I always wonder what makes talented dudes in the secular music scene leave the safety of shows without judgements like "Did he just swear?", or "Are they REALLY a Christian band?" for the christian scene (or the semi-christian scene, depending on how forward you are about your faith), which is known for ripping bands up and spitting them out if they don't meet certain requirements. Something must have happened to make Caleb Shomo, formerly of Attack Attack!, decide that the obviously Christian influence of BEARTOOTH was a step above what Attack Attack! was bringing to the table.

Caleb Shomo has been on the tour circuit since the age of 15, when he joined AA playing keys and synth. After two lineup changes, Caleb was made the front man of AA. He left for reasons he related to depression in December of 2012. Now 21, he owns a record production company, an electronic side project titled CLASS, and has his band signed to Red Bull Records.

BEARTOOTH brings an exciting sound that I feel hasn't been heard yet. With Caleb's lyrics that come straight from his own struggles, and a band behind him with a perfect balance of insanity, skill, and eccentricity, they refuse to be ignored in a scene full of bands that, largely, sound the same.

"I have a problem"

 I guess a bottle can't save my life

I guess a bottle can't tame my mind

this is my reward, a barely beating heart

but I still lie to myself, I always lie to myself

my hands are in the air, and god I hope you're there

cause I can't make it myself, I'll never make it myself

GO LOUD
Kyle Jenkins

     

3SN Top 50

Those of you who follow the 3SN blog are getting something a little extra this week for the 3SN TOP 50!
You're getting the whole Top 50 list, early, so you can get a jump on downloading all the best music. Happy holidays!
 Kyle Jenkins

50. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Wide is the gate
49. 7eventh Time Down - Wait for you
48. Phinehas - The deepest of graves
47. Southbound Fearing - Vale tudo
46. Project 86 - Omerta's sons
45. Sumerlin - The fallback
44. Cord of 3 - The edge
43. Fallstar - Shallow believer
42. We As Human - Strike back
41. Disciple - Outlaws
40. For All Eternity - Vacant room
39. I Anthem - Fighting gravity
38. Nine Lashes - Break the world
37. Lastwatch - The countdown
36. Random Hero - Freakshow
35. Skillet - Not gonna die
34. The Almost - I'm down
33. Disciple - The one
32. Ashes Remain - End of me
31. Memphis May Fire - Prove me right
30. Spoken - Through it all
29. I Am Empire - Sing
28. Phinehas - Panhammer
27. Project 86 - New transmission
26. Fit For A King - Bitter end
25. August Burns Red - Provision
24. The Wedding - In the end
23. Silverline - Vicious
22. Decyfer Down - Fight to win
21. Red - Die for you
20. Random Hero - Mercy
19. Righteous Vendetta - The fire inside
18. Wolves At The Gate - Slaves
17. Project 86 - Off the grid
16. Fit For A King - Skin & bones
15. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Remember me
14. I Am Empire - Gravity bomb
13. The Classic Crime - Glass houses
12. POD - Higher
11. Oh, Sleeper - The pitch
10. Love & Death - Meltdown
9. For Today - Crown of thorns
8. Icon For Hire - Cynics & critics
7. Silverline - Lights out
6. Thousand Foot Krutch - Light up the sky

5. Disciple - Once and for all
4. Skillet - Sick of it
3. The Almost - Ghost
2. Red - Perfect life
1. August Burns Red - Fault line

Christmas music

I know the cool thing to do is to complain, but..
I don't actually hate Christmas music. This is the time of year where the Christmas tunes are smothering the airwaves, and without fail, the complaints start. I get it, I don't really like it, but it doesn't really ruin my day. If you don't like it, don't listen to it. You'd think people don't know how to use an iPod considering how cheesed people get.
I've been having to learn a lot of Christmas tunes for church lately, and here's what I've discovered.. even if you don't like the traditional Christmas song, there's probably a band out there who's done a cover of that song and made it sound rad. My church, Connexus, is pretty culturally relevant with our music, and we tend to get a bit heavier than most churches with stuff like this. Even though I thought it couldn't be done, you can add some guitar hooks and make it sound like pretty much any other modern worship tune. I've come to appreciate a lot of it.

However, this will always be the best Christmas music.
















What's your favorite (or least favorite) Christmas tune?

Back from the dead

After two and a half weeks in a sickly nightmare, I've finally gotten out of bed, and can finally return to work now that I won't infect everyone at LIFE100.3. I've been watching quite a bit of youtube throughout all this, so here are the latest in LOUD music videos.

If this video reminds you of Underoath, that's because it was directed by none other than Daniel Davidson, previously of Underoath. I'm not really a huge fan of this kind of video, but I appreciate that they're trying something different.
I get shivers at 2:50, every time. Powerful lyrics.

See... Very Underoathy. 

I discovered a band recently called Beartooth, and they're absolutely incredible. I went to see them in Toronto recently and had a good chat with the drummer about their faith and how they as a band try to reach people. You might recognize the frontman as Caleb Shomo, formerly of Attack Attack!. These guys have released two videos already, and considering they as a band only officially have four songs released (they played all of them at the show, aswell as a new one), that's pretty sweet.

Fit For A King. Always good. Not really too much I can say here, these guys are just plain awesome. The stick toss at 1:12 is pretty much the dirtiest thing I've ever seen. 

Kyle Jenkins

3SN Concert guide

FOR TODAY will be at the Opera House with FIT FOR A KING in Toronto on Tuesday, February 11th. If you go to that show and fall in love, go see them again on the Vans Warped Tour, coming to the Molson Canadian Ampitheatre on July 4th. If you missed it, go check out For Today's new tune "Fight The Silence", and a remixed and remastered release of FFAK's 2011 album "Descendants".

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, THE GHOST INSIDE, and TEXAS IN JULY will be at the Pheonix Concert Theatre in Toronto for the long awaited 8:18 Tour.

I just saw August Burns Red, Blessthefall and Beartooth at the Sound Academy. ABR never fails to impress, even with this being my fourth time seeing them. Honestly though, the highlight for me was seeing BEARTOOTH and then chatting with the drummer later that night. These guys are reaching kids with the gospel in the only way they know how; making killer music, and being real. 

Caleb Shomo, formerly of ATTACK ATTACK!, has brought lyrics to the table that are just too honest, humble, and aggressive to ignore. Watch out for this band, and go check out "Go Be The Voice" and "I Have A Problem" from the bands ep, "Sick". Both songs have the Kyle Jenkins seal of approval.

Now you're updated. 

  Kyle Jenkins

Why I hate winter / complaint party

All my life, I have had an absolute hatred for snow. Because I am cold and bitter, here are a list of totally valid reason why winter, and the snow, sucks.

-It's cold
-The snow gets inside every crevice of your clothing
-I have to buy all these winter clothes. They're expensive. I don't like expensive.
-Driving is a miserable experience, and I love driving
-In relation to the last one, winter is literally trying kill you. Don't you dare get in that car
-I can't go for runs outside
-It's cold
-Winter tires cost like $600. Why is that even necessary
-Stuffy noses
-You're always either too hot, or too cold. You cannot master wearing layers, it is impossible
-We all live like vampires because it's dark by 5pm
-The Flu
-It's cold
-Winter clothes always seem to smell bad. Why?
-My cats won't go outside anymore, so winter is even sucky for cats, and everyone loves cats, therefore you cannot love winter
-Gotta shovel that driveway, AND half the road in front of your driveway because they haven't invented snowplows that don't create snow fortresses of impenetrability in front of your driveway yet
-Dry lips. If you don't have lip chap, lets be honest, kissing is just terrible
-I can't feel my face
-It's cold
-I can't longboard
-Ice has turned the sidewalks into a twisted game of real-life minesweeper
-It's really cold

Do I need to go on? No.
Winter is terrible, and we should all just stop what we're doing, and hibernate.

Kyle Jenkins

The Walking Dead

People often ask me why I watch The Walking Dead. I guess it's often assumed that anyone who watches it is doing so just to see people get ripped apart by zombies, because, what other reason could there be? Okay, yeah, it has loads of gore. It's commonplace to see someone get their leg hacked off, a chunk of their arm bitten off, or a zombie ripped in two. But honestly, I don't really love that stuff. It adds to the overall creepy and dangerous theme of the show, but that's not why I watch.

The characters in this show are amazing. Diverse, constantly changing, full of emotion, and representative of how most of us think people would really respond to a disaster. This isn't a band of fearless zombie murdering machines bent on revenge, most of them are just normal people trying to keep loved ones alive and sane in the midst of it all. 

My favorite character (as I'll tell anyone who will listen) is a guy called Daryl.

Say hello to Daryl.

This guy wasn't treated so great by his parents as a kid. Having to fend for himself most of the time, neglected, beaten, abused, he turned into a pretty bad dude, and him and his brother would steal from you, and if you still had your teeth after they were done with you, you were lucky.
Cue zombie apocalypse. (I'm going to avoid spoilers moving forward, you're welcome)
Daryl winds up being part of a larger group when everything on earth goes south, yknow, people eating eachother and everything. He goes from being a total loser, to a leader who has to turn against his own brother and his old ways. He's not as tough and emotionless as he had made himself before, and this comes out as he gets attached to other characters on the show, often putting himself at risk for those he cares about (which lately, is everyone he meets). He's still a bit rough around the edges though, and you don't want to get him mad, or this guy will totally throw you into a pit of walkers. This actually winds up being an asset, when things need to be dealt with.
He's pretty much the epitome of a badass. Also, the epitome of how to be a really nice guy. Also he rides a motorcycle and his weapon of choice is a crossbow, so he's also a silent ninja. Did I mention he really likes kids? Oh, and he really respects women.

So basically, Daryl's great, and you should watch The Walking Dead. It's honestly the best show I've ever watched, and it will change your life, no word of a lie.

Kyle Jenkins