LIVE 105 SAN FRANCISCO FEATURES GREAT UNSIGNED TALENT ON THEIR "BFD '07" LINEUP -- Alternative KITS (Live 105) San Francisco has announced the lineup for their "Live 105 BFD 07 - Northern California's Biggest Alternative Music Festival" taking place on June 9 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. The concert features a lot of the usual -- most of the signed acts are playing most or all of the CBS Radio summer shows -- but our friend (Music Director) Aaron Axelsen has come correct once again with finding some fresh new Bay Area talent to showcase alongside the big guns.

The BFD lineup features Bloc Party, Social Distortion, Queens Of The Stone Age, Interpol, Kaiser Chiefs, The Faint, Silversun Pickups, The Bravery, Coldwar Kids, CSS, Sum 41, Shiny Toy Guns, Tiger Army, The Matches, The Lovemakers, Audrye Sessions, Every Move A Picture, Scissors For Lefty, Honeycut, Street To Nowhere, and three unsigned acts of note: Poor Bailey, Minipop and Immigrant.

THE CRIMEA, DROPPED FROM WARNER BROS., GIVES AWAY NEW ALBUM -- (story taken from Coolfer.com) -- After being dropped by Warner Music, The Crimea self-financed its sophomore album and will give it away for free as a digital download and hopes to make up the difference through touring, merchandise sales and licensing revenue. (The band is selling copies of the CD version.) I find it especially interesting that the publicists, marketers and radio promoters who will work the album have waived their fees in return for a share of future revenue. Secrets Of The Witching Hour will be released May 13th. (The Guardian)

A posting on the band's MySpace page:

"1. We are releasing the album FOR FREE, FOR ALL TIME on our website - www.thecrimea.net - on May 13th.

2. You can also get the physical format (round disc, artwork, credits, a thanks list that pisses more people off than pleases) by pre-ordering copies from the shop link on our website, or in shops.

Maybe it's because we've lived with the idea for so long, but people don't quite 'get' the free idea. Chill out. There's no catch. It's the proper album, laboured over, loved and - occasionally - hated (but always because we'd been up for 48 hours and there wasn't any artichokes in Tesco's bargain section). It's the real deal, folks. For nothing. No catch. End of story."

ANOTHER TALENTFILTER ARTIST NABS MANAGEMENT / LABEL DEAL -- Semi-confirmed rumors have it that TALENTfilter artist Five Finger Death Punch (first tipped in February) has linked up with The Firm for management and The Label for a recording deal. Their debut album, The Way Of The Fist, was set for a self-release on June 12 ...no word on whether the release date will change.

OFF TO THE DESERT FOR COACHELLA! Apologies for the lack of postings this week -- we've been busy slathering on layers of sunblock, pre-hydrating and making other preparations for our trek to the desert for the Coachella Festival. Back in town on Monday if we make it back at all -- Wish us luck!!

UPDATE: TOWNSHIP WINS WBCN BOSTON'S "ROCK N ROLL RUMBLE" -- We hear the show was fantastic. Good for them! Township plays classic rock for the future. Check their MySpace page to hear some tracks.

TRIANGLE FOREST WBRU 'ROCK HUNT' WINNER (story taken from www.allaccess.com) -- Brown University's Alternative radio station WBRU Providence has announced that Triangle Forest is the winner of the "2007 WBRU Rock Hunt," the station's annual local band competition. The trio beat out semi-finalists Hello Mahalo, Arcadia Landing and The Blizzard Of 78. As winners, Triangle Forest took home a multi-thousand-dollar prize, including other gifts from local sponsors.

CLEAR CHANNEL’S “UNDISCOVERED” HD RADIO STATION – In case you weren’t aware, Clear Channel Radio has one of their HD Radio stations programmed with all unsigned artists. If you don’t have an HD radio, not to worry – the "Undiscovered" channel is streaming online. Check it out HERE. While the artist names/song titles don’t appear as they’re being played, you can E-mail the station’s Programmer for information about acts you take a liking to. To stream other Clear Channel HD radio stations, click here.

BLIND MELON (!?) -- (unsigned) -- Rumors of a reunited Blind Melon (with a new singer) have been floating around since September of last year. As it turns out, the rumors are true -- the new singer is, in fact, 25 year-old Texas native Travis Warren. Warren's previous band was called Rain Fur Rent. He's also got some solo music posted on his personal MySpace page.

Anyway, the re-formed Blind Melon has been working on new material and they plan on having it finished by June. Want a sneak peak of what to expect? CLICK HERE. The group has signed on with Rick Canny at Sanctuary Management as well.

WBCN BOSTON ROCK N ROLL RUMBLE FINALISTS: After eight nights of band battles in Boston, the 29th annual 'BCN Rock N Roll Rumble finals will take place this Friday in Boston (sidenote: for a radio station to have been doing ANYTHING for 29 years straight is quite an accomplishment these days!). Winners of the Rumble in previous years include The Dresden Dolls, The Sheila Divine, The Amazing Royal Crowns, Gang Green and 'Til Tuesday. Bands that have participated in the past include Aberdeen City, Apollo Sunshine, Cave-In, Piebald, Letters To Cleo, Morphine, Powerman 5000, The Lemonheads and Face To Face. Here's some information about the two finalists and the wildcard band:
BAKER (unsigned, unpublished) -- Five-piece based in Cambridge, MA. Recently completed recording their debut full-length with producer Justin Pizzoferrato (Dinosaur Jr., Apollo Sunshine, Self Righteous Brothers). Shins-y/Modest Mouse-y/Sonic Youth-y. Not major label material, but could still be successful if marketed properly.

TOWNSHIP (unsigned, unpublished) -- Quartet from Roslindale, MA. Very cool stuff -- sounds like Jack White singing over lost rough demos from The Who. The fact that they've got bands in their MySpace top 'friends' list including Slade, Sir Lord Baltimore, Bubble Puppy (?!) and Captain Beyond earns them WICKED points.

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE (unsigned, unpublished) -- Hmmm...These guys are the wild card act and I think only the fine folks of Boston and 'BCN know why. White boy funky-jammy hip-hop. Ozomatli with an overbite. If you like this sorta stuff, you'll like the band -- and I'm sure they'd sell merch if they played Bonnaroo, but....ehh... They DO have lots of shows booked, so they're hard-working guys. We'll give 'em that.

KEEP AN EYE ON THESE TWO: These two unsigned acts have songs featured on the new FMQB SubModern #012 -- a trade mag sampler that goes out to Rock and Alternative radio Stateside. It'll be interesting to see if they find some fans out there...FMQB's samplers usually don't feature music from unsigned acts.
MAXIMILLION (unsigned) -- Five-piece based in Hollywood, CA. Spending the early Summer in Rome, Italy recording their debut LP and will return to L.A. to have it mixed/mastered. A U.S. mini-tour will follow beginning in August. For fans of Editors, The Cure, Muse. "The Cell" is the featured track on the FMQB disc.
MAN ON EARTH (unsigned) -- Quartet from New York -- Had some success with their 2005 LP titled Disposable Sounds For The Fickle Mind at college radio and with film/TV synchs. Recently recorded a new album with producer Ken Lewis -- "Something Better" is the group's song that's been placed on FMQB SubModern #012. Decent edgy post-Brit-Pop.

THE MEDIAM (unsigned, unpublished) -- Portland, Oregon four-piece The Mediam has been around for a while. They've been busy building their fanbase in slow-and-steady mode, and their recently recorded material could be the final ;iece of the puzzle to push them out into the mainstream. With one of their songs officially added into rotation on tastemaker Phoenix Active Rocker KUPD, regular support from hometown Alt-outlet KNRK, and the Contraband Music Group backing their play at Stateside radio, The Mediam are worth a listen. Check their MySpace page to hear songs from their new LP, Actress, set for an onsale date of June 5. "Slide" is the track spinning on KUPD.

TALENTfilter ARTIST UPDATE! Figured we'd take some time and fill you in on the haps of some of the acts we've written about over the past couple of months...

First up is Southern California's NHOI (Never Heard Of It). The band recently won the EA Games "Burnout Band Slam 2" competition -- they beat out over 9,000 other acts to win a Virgin Records demo deal and a possible song in an upcoming "Burnout" videogame. Go to the Burnout Bandslam MySpace page to read more.

Unsigned UK songstress Kate Walsh has topped the iTunes UK download chart -- knocking A-list acts such as Take That and Kaiser Chiefs out of the spot. She's sold over 6000 albums. Oliver Schusser, director of iTunes Europe said: "This is an incredible achievement when you consider Kate Walsh is unsigned and still outsold several major international artists."

L.A.-based singer/songwriter Andrew Paul Woodworth, who is unsigned outside of mainland Europe (and also still unpublished), is very close to wrapping up the recording of his album which will be released in Europe through RodeoStar Records.

Still-unsigned singer Jessie Baylin is opening for James Morrison at the Knitting Factory in New York tonight. Go see her you nimrods.

Press continues to build for NY-based band Elizabeth And The Catapult -- peep the mention in a recent Billboard mag.

Unsigned/unpublished singer/songwriter Meiko has been meeting with both major and independent publishers and labels Stateside. She is wrapping up recording her debut offering which looks as if it will be an 8-song mini-album. You can see her live at the Hotel Cafe on April 23.

CINJUN TATE (unsigned) -- Former Remy Zero frontman Cinjun Tate has recorded over an album's worth of BRILLIANT new songs which he plans to release as a solo record. E-mail Team TALENTfilter to hear some music -- TALENTfilter@gmail.com.

A COUPLE FOR THE INDIE LABELS TODAY...
Normaly the mantra here at TALENTfilter is to try our best to turn major labels and publishers on to artists that we feel have immediate mass appeal. There are still artists that benefit from the 'old school' methodology that the majors use to create awareness of new acts. We do come across acts, however, that are super talented, but would best benefit from the slow-and-steady artist development that a smaller indie label (and publisher) has the ability to provide. So here are a couple. Enjoy!

VIRGO LOVES CANCER (unsigned, unpublished, no management) -- Fans of bands like Loop, My Bloody Valentine and Medicine will immediately take a liking to New Jersey trio Virgo Loves Cancer. Fronted by the stunning singer/songwriter/bassist/Virgo Charlie Kindred, NME describes their sound as being like, "...the tunes Primal Scream made before discovering devil dust, only fronted by an asthmatic fairy." The band's debut EP is available on iTunes, Amazon.com and CDBaby.
Virgo Loves Cancer will perform at the Cutting Room in NYC on April 26 at 11PM. Go see 'em -- if for no other reason than to meet the band -- super super nice kids. Expect a bevvy of industry-types to be standing in the back, fiddling with Blackberries.


COLORFORMS (unsigned, unpublished, no management) -- (...We ripped this review directly off their MySpace page 'cuz it nails it completely...) "Colorforms is a Los Angeles-area band featuring the ethereal voice of Alex Lilly (You might recognize Ms. Lilly as one of the backup singers in buzz band du jour The Bird And The Bee). In a crowded field of sometimes-electronic chanteuse/auteurs (see also Bjork, Feist, Cibelle, Colleen, Psapp, etc), Lilly's subversive songwriting, patient composition and impressive production announce an artist to be reckoned with." The group's track, "Nothing Can Come Between Us" has started garnering airplay on local L.A. radio outlet Indie 103.1 -- peep the trippy video HERE.

SonyBMG, Six Apart Launch A&R Social Net, Kill Off Demo Tapes (story taken from www.PaidContent.org) -- SonyBMG has partnered with blog software maker Six Apart to offer artists sites that, starting today, will be its primary method of hearing unsigned new acts in the UK. “If you want our A&R team to hear your music, then don’t send a CD, REGISTER A BLOG,” the world’s number two record company says.
The company will instead direct budding acts to ColumbiaDemos.co.uk or RCADemos.co.uk, each of which is a landing page for Six Apart’s easy-to-use Vox multimedia blogging software that, upon registration, automatically joins new members with a corresponding “neighborhood” for each of the two label imprints. Label bosses including Columbia MD Mike Smith and SonyBMG Europe CEO Ged Doherty have started their own blogs, one of which says: “We don’t want demo CDs anymore, it takes ages for you to do, they get lost and it’s a waste of plastic.”