Paper Tongues plays for the people. Fusing massive rock n’ roll melodies with fiery hip hop beats, the Charlotte band conjures an infectious, incendiary sound on their A&M/Octone debut, due out this summer. Embracing elements of rock, funk, rap and soul, these seven individuals have created something you haven’t before. It’s music for dancing, crying, loving and living. Paper Tongues—Aswan North, Devin Forbes, Cody Blackler, Joey Signa, Clayton Simon, Jordan Hardee and Danny Santell—are a collective of artists, and this record is their first masterpiece.

Paper Tongues’ eclectic sound ranges from bombastic songs like “For the People” that can light up a packed arena or a dance floor, while the soulful electronica-infused “Trinity” is inspiring and invigorating. Guitarist Devin Forbes comments, “Our music is extremely eclectic because we’re all coming from different places. Aswan grew up with hip hop, Clayton grew up with electronica and I grew up with rock, but it all comes together fluidly in Paper Tongues.”

Paper Tongues was officially born in 2007 on the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina. Lead singer Aswan North, helped found the “Inprov Music Experience”, a weekly event where musicians played for the homeless at a main intersection in the middle of the city. The current band lineup congregated at uptown Charlotte weekly, slowly developing a bond. Aswan started cultivating his song writing and presence during those shows. He brought those street sounds and ideas to producers in Los Angeles. It didn’t take long for Aswan’s collaborators to feel the power and magnitude behind the ideas of his music. This caught Cody and Devin’s attention. They had been formally playing as Paper Tongues. With Cody, Devin, Jordan and Clayton’s help, Aswan quickly set out to find other members for this entity. As the songs sprung to life, Paper Tongues was reborn with the same vision to impact rock n’ roll with a new sound.

A wide variety of influences inform Aswan’s vibrant, vivacious vocal style, which falls somewhere between Al Green’s Sultry falsetto and Steve Perry’s uplifting bravado. “Kool and the Gang and Grandmaster Flash were hugely influential. Anything out there with a great hook grabs my attention. As a kid, there was a ton of country music around me—Ricky Skaggs, Kenny Rogers, Hank Williams Jr., Loretta Lyn, and Conway Twitty. I took all that in too, and it helped me write lyrics.”

Working with producers Brian West (Nelly Furtado, K’Naan, Bela Fleck), Mark Endert (Maroon 5, Gavin DeGraw, Madonna), John Fields (Switchfoot, Jimmy Eat World), Billy Hume (Ying Yang Twins, Bone Crusher, David Banner) and up-and-coming producer, Nicolas Balachandran. Paper Tongues crafted an album that’s bustling with energy. However, there’s a deeper purpose for the band. Keyboardist Cody Blackler explains, “It’s rock music for sure, but we also want to bring something new.”

Paper Tongues want to work from the inside out too. Aswan continues, “I wouldn’t want to start a revolution. I believe things only change from the inside out. I don’t feel that we can change much unless we’re willing to join hands with people who have already been bleeding. We want to do something new and fresh with the tools that already exist so the people who built those tools respect and honor us as their nephews.” There’s no doubt they will.

Ultimately, for Aswan and Co. Paper Tongues is a way of life. “We want fans to walk away from our music with that good feeling. We think our music can bring healing for a group of people, a society, bad politics and artists that feel hopeless. Paper Tongues’ music should heal you and make you take a chance again.”

Welcome to rock n’ roll’s best hope for evolution. Open up for Paper Tongues. — Rick Florino

Even though Zach, Nathan, Cameron and Michael are still in their teens, they carry themselves like stars. So why not call themselves Allstar Weekend? The Hollywood Records quartet may be young, but they have the talent, nerve and off-the-chart charm needed to go all the way. And don’t worry. They will.

Beyond their exceptional musicianship and stage presence, these guys write great pop songs: melodic, smart and edgy. Zach and Nathan do most of the writing (though Cameron and Michael weigh in). Moreover, they wield a mature craftsmanship beyond their years. It’s unmistakable in songs like the synth-hook-laden “Dance Forever” and the introspective “Journey to the End of My Life,” available as a download on iTunes.

“I’m a kid,” says lyricist Zach, “so I feel issues a kid my age would listen to. I try not to write every song about a girl.” Adds Nathan, “When we first came to this band, we just felt we had to write all the time. That’s all we did. We just developed this cool writing process, and people started liking it.”

Currently Allstar Weekend is in the studio working the likes of Howard Benson, Eddie Galan, Charlotte Caffey, John Feldman and Dave Bassett. But long before that, San Diego band’s homegrown demos were good enough to wow siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines, founders of Drive-Thru Records, and now managers of the band. “We don’t freak out about bands too often, and we never insist every band we work with is destined for Top 40 success,” says Stefanie. “Allstar Weekend is one of those rare instances where we just know they’re going to be huge.”

Iconic Finnish rockers HIM have just released a new video for “Heartkiller,” the first single off their upcoming album Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice. The new album, which was produced by Matt Squire (The Used, Saosin, All Time Low), will be the HIM’s seventh full length record over their 13 year career.

HIM frontman Ville Valo recently sat down with Metal Hammer magazine to discuss the forthcoming album saying, “Lyrically, it’s the most sexual [album], the most horny one, we’ve ever made. The horny and the horned. Like the IMPALED NAZARENE song. It’s got that and a sense of immediacy: ‘I want it now, now, now.’ It’s not about being poetic or forlorn about something that is about to happen, it’s actually about something that is happening at this very moment in time.”

He added, “I like the immediacy of it. There’s a lot of information put in short songs and they don’t let go. That was the whole vibe for me. You should have seen me working the vocals out in the middle of the night, amongst my taxidermy owls in the tower screaming my guts out, unable to stop until 9:00 a.m. and then sleeping on a couch for two hours before starting again. So the whole process of the album is very close to that mental boner that just didn’t go away.”

Want a bit of background on the song?
Be sure to re-watch our testimonial video, which includes some words from our friend Mark Hoppushere.

We had a blast filming this with director Isaac Rentz. And the kids were amazing!. Let us know what you think in the comment section.

Get ready for tomorrow: We are streaming My Dinosaur Life in it’s entirety on Myspace, so check back on Motioncitysoundtrack.com for the details!

Have you ever gotten driving directions from a girl? Then you’ll love this video.

The Main Drag “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter”*
Directed by Isaac Ravishankara
Shot at Brooklyn Fire Proof

Read our review of The Main Drag’s new album @ CWG Magazine

*This version of A Jagged Gorgeous Winter appears on the video game Rock Band 2 and is a remixed version of the original album track from The Main Drag’s LP “Yours as Fast as Mine”

Featuring: Freeway, Jakk Frost, Statik Selektah, Hollewood Playboi & Clemmye

Director: Rik Cordero
Producer: Mike Fox
Cinematograper: Ryo Murakami
Prod Co: Three/21 Films

Twenty seconds into “Let’s Go,” the opening track on CARTEL’s third full length CYCLES, singer Will Pugh declares, “I’ve got so much left to do but I’ll start with this song.” For the Atlanta, GA pop-rock quintet to be prioritizing, to have their collective gaze so firmly focused on the horizon, the future and all its possibilities is both incendiary and inspiring. Incendiary and inspiring as this, after all, is a band that has toured the world over, from Tokyo to Toronto, from Brisbane to Bristol, had a smash single in “Honestly,” has had over 36 million MySpace plays as well their own MTV mini-series chronicling the recording of their second album and has amassed coverage in Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, USA Today, and the New York Times. CYCLES could have easily been the staid soundtrack to a victory lap, but rather than rest on their laurels and bask in the comforts of history they chose instead to go forth, to grow, to cohere into a singular unit (fused together through dedication, perspiration and elbow grease) and, over the course of the eleven tracks that make up CYCLES, to create a sterling collection of hook-laden modern rock, succinct and self-assured.

Motion City Soundtrack – Justin Pierre, Josh Cain, Matt Taylor, Tony Thaxton and Jesse Johnson – are gearing up for their major label debut – My Dinosaur Life – due out January 19th on Columbia Records. In anticipation of the new album, the band released their first new song “Disappear” from the album on October 20th and today they are premiering the video for “Disappear” on MySpace!

In addition, if you haven’t already heard about the “Dino Trail” yet go to www.mydinosaurlife.com and follow the one and only Justin Pierre as he continues his adventures across the US – busking, hanging with fans, playing in dorm rooms, visiting radio stations, jamming with bands, etc. There are some great photos and video clips, so once you’ve checked out the new music video – check out the Dino Trail clips!

And if you want to see the band live, catch them in December when they join up with Weezer for a handful of dates or check them out on one of the 2010 headlining dates just announced earlier this week!

Motion City Soundtrack – “Disappear”

Motion City Soundtrack | MySpace Music Videos