Silversun Pickups have announced a new album called Physical Thrills.
The sixth studio effort from the “Panic Switch” outfit will be released August 19. It’s the band’s second record to be recorded with Nevermind producer Butch Vig following 2019’s Widows Weeds.
“This record is alive,” says frontman Brian Aubert. “It sits somewhere in between a collection of songs and an imaginary friend. A friend that from March of 2020 to April of 2021 would not only introduce itself to me but keep me company through that time of intense isolation.”
The first single from Physical Thrills is called “Scared Together” and is available now via digital outlets. Its accompanying video is streaming now on YouTube.
Silversun Pickups plan to tour the U.S. in support of Physical Thrills, hitting cities, including New York City, Boston, Nashville and Los Angeles. The exact dates and venues have yet to be announced.
Here’s the Physical Thrills track list:
“Stillness (Way Beyond)”
“Sticks and Stones”
“Hereafter (Way After)”
“Dream at Tempo 050”
“Scared Together”
“Alone on a Hill”
“Hidden Moon”
“System Error”
“Empty Next”
“Dream at Tempo 310”
“We Won’t Come Out”
“Stay Down (Way Down)”
“Quicksand”
“Dream at Tempo 150”
(UVALDE, Texas) — State and local officials have agreed to release surveillance footage from inside the hallway of Robb Elementary School during the May 24 mass shooting that ended the lives of 19 students and two teachers, a key Texas state legislator said Monday.
The development appears to end a weeks-long dispute between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the mayor of Uvalde over how to handle the sensitive video, although it is not clear when the video will be made public.
The public back-and-forth ultimately became a source of conflict between some family members of the victims and officials who claimed to represent their interests.
At a Monday hearing in Austin, Rep. Dustin Burrows, the chairman of a special Texas House panel investigating the Robb shooting, said the video “would contain no graphic images or depictions of violence,” but supported releasing footage of the police response to help the public better understand what happened inside the school.
“I can tell people all day long what it is I saw, the committee can tell people all day long what we saw, but it’s very different to see it for yourself,” Burrows said. “And we think that’s very important.”
Burrows did not say when the video would be released, but committed to “continue to put pressure on the situation and consider all options in making sure that video gets out for the public to view.”
More than six weeks after the massacre, questions remain about the response of the police and the 77 minutes that elapsed between the time the shooter entered the school and when law enforcement breached the classroom and killed him.
(NEW YORK) — A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder stemming from the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old boy on a New York City subway platform, authorities said.
The teen suspect, whose name was not released because he is charged as a minor, is also charged with criminal possession of a weapon, according to the New York Police Department.
Police identified the victim as Ethan Reyes, 14, of Yonkers, New York.
The stabbing unfolded around 3 p.m. Saturday when officers responded to a report of “a crime in progress” inside the West 137th Street-City College train station in the city’s upper Manhattan neighborhood, according to the NYPD.
Officers found Reyes on the northbound No. 1 line platform with a stab wound to the abdomen. He was taken by ambulance to nearby Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, NYPD Transit Chief Jason Wilcox said at a news conference Saturday night.
Wilcox said the suspect, initially identified as a person of interest in the homicide, was taken into custody for questioning after being found at West 173rd St. and Broadway suffering wounds to the back, abdomen and left hip, Wilcox said. He said the individual was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to survive, police said.
A preliminary investigation found that a fight or dispute between the suspect and victim began outside and spilled into the West 137th St. station, where investigators believe Reyes was stabbed on the subway platform, police said.
Wilcox said the NYPD Crime Scene Unit recovered a knife and a broomstick from the crime scene.
It was not immediately clear what the fatal fight was about.
The slaying followed a series of recent high-profile crimes that have taken place in the New York City subway system, including some captured by passengers on cell phone video.
In April, a 62-year-old man was arrested and indicted on federal terrorism charges after he allegedly detonated a smoke bomb and shot 10 passengers on a Manhattan-bound N subway train during the morning rush-hour commute.
In March, a 25-year-old man was charged with murder after police alleged he abruptly pulled a gun and randomly shot a 48-year-old stranger on a Q line train heading from Brooklyn to Manhattan, according to prosecutors.
In January, a 40-year-old woman died after she was pushed onto the subway tracks and struck by an oncoming train at the Times Square-42nd Street station. A 61-year-old man, described by police as homeless, was charged with second-degree murder, but has since been declared mentally unfit to stand trial and placed in a psychiatric facility indefinitely.
This fall, the country legend will embark on the second leg of her arena tour, Reba: Live in Concert, with 17 dates across the country.
Kicking off on October 13 at the Cajundome in Louisiana, Reba and opening act Terri Clark will also visit Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, the Moody Center in Austin, the Paycome Center in Reba’s native Oklahoma and more. The trek wraps on November 19 in Wichita, Kansas at INTRUST Bank Arena.
“I’m so excited to be headed back out on tour this fall. We had so much fun in the spring, we just had to get back out there and do it again,” the “Fancy” singer professes in an Instagram video.
Reba kicked off 2022 with a series of Reba: Live in Concertthat featured an all-female lineup, including Tenille Townes, Caitlyn Smith, Reyna Roberts, Brandy Clark and more.
Tickets for the new string of shows go on sale to the public on July 15 at 10 a.m. local time. See the full list of dates on Reba’s website.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will host hundreds impacted by gun violence on the White House South Lawn Monday to tout the first major bipartisan gun legislation to pass through Congress in nearly 30 years.
Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law last month, but the signing was somewhat overshadowed, coming one day after the Supreme Court released its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Monday provides the president a new opportunity to take a victory lap — but it comes one week after another mass shooting at a July Fourth parade in Highland Park, Illinois, left seven dead and dozens wounded.
“I recently signed the first major bipartisan gun reform legislation in almost 30 years into law, which includes actions that will save lives,” Biden said in the Roosevelt Room addressing the latest mass shooting. “But there is much more work to do, and I’m not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence.”
Gun violence survivors and family members of victims of recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, are expected to attend, as well as survivors and family members from the Columbine, Sandy Hook and Parkland mass shootings, among others. But while many in attendance are expected to praise the legislation, some gun safety advocates lament that it doesn’t go far enough.
Guns Down America and other gun violence advocacy groups are expected to host a counter-programming event Monday outside the White House calling on Biden to establish an office at the White House to more urgently address gun violence.
Ahead of Monday’s event, Biden asked Americans in a tweet to text him their stories of how gun violence has impacted their communities, looking to tout how the new law will help stop similar violence.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act includes $13 billion in new spending for mental health programs and for securing schools. It also makes background checks stricter for gun buyers under 21, helps to close the so-called boyfriend loophole to restrict domestic violence offenders from purchasing guns, and incentivizes red flag laws to remove firearms from people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.
But it doesn’t go as far as many wanted, including Biden, lacking measures such as universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
As the president marks progress on gun reform Monday, he will also call on Congress to act further.
Biden is expected to urge Congress to confirm Steve Dettelbach to serve as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
He will also call on Congress to bring him “legislation that would ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, strengthen background checks, and enact safe storage laws,” according to the White House.
The president’s call for more congressional action comes as the Senate returns from its July Fourth recess Monday. Notably, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will not be at Biden’s event, as he is isolated with COVID-19.
Schumer’s positive test serves as a reminder that COVID is still a looming threat, though the close spacing of chairs on the White House South Lawn Monday doesn’t appear to reflect that concern.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
Here’s what’s been happening lately in the world of live rock music:
Shane Hawkins, the son of late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, paid tribute to his father with a cover of the Foos classic “My Hero.” Shane joined the band The Alive to play drums on a live rendition of the song during a July 4 neighborhood party in Laguna Beach, California.
If The Alive sounds familiar to you, that may be because the band’s usual drummer, teenager Kai Neukermans, made headlines when he filled in for Matt Cameron during a Pearl Jam show.
You can watch footage of the “My Hero” performance via TikTok.
Rage Against the Machine finally kicked off their U.S. reunion tour Saturday in East Troy, Wisconsin. The outing, which marks the “Killing in the Name” outfit’s first live shows together since 2011, was originally scheduled for 2020 before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Setlist.fm, the show included performances of classics like “Killing in the Name,” “Bulls on Parade” and “Sleep Now in the Fire” as well as Rage’s cover of Bruce Springsteen‘s “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” Social media video shows that the band also used an onstage screen to declare “Abort the Supreme Court,” a reference to its recent overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Finally, Pearl Jam jammed with The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr on Saturday during the grunge band’s show in London. Marr joined PJ for covers of Neil Young‘s “Throw Your Hatred Down” and The Who‘s “Baba O’Riley.”
Pearl Jam also played in London on Friday and were joined by tennis legend John McEnroe for a rendition of Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
One hundred years ago today — July 11, 1922 — the Hollywood Bowl officially opened.
The Los Angeles amphitheater has gone on to become one of the world’s most iconic venues. It’s hosted countless concerts and many famous live albums have been recorded there, including notable ones from The Beatles and The Doors.
ABC Audio chatted with a few well-known artists about their own experiences performing at the historic venue.
Steve Miller, who has played the Hollywood Bowl multiple times, says, “[I]t feels iconic when you get there and you look out…It kind of feels like the ’40s or the ’20s in California…It has a real traditional feel to it, so it’s special for that reason.”
Country-rock pioneer Richie Furay recalls that his old band Buffalo Springfield played a particularly exciting show there early in the group’s career, opening for The Rolling Stones in 1966.
“I mean, we didn’t even have a record contract. That’s how new it was for us,” Furay remembers. “I think we were playing maybe at [the famous LA-area club] the Whisky a Go Go, and…that’s all we were doing…And here, all of a sudden, man, the management got us on that show. So…it was pretty cool.”
Furay adds that performing at the Hollywood Bowl was “like going onto the Grand Ole Opry stage or [playing] Carnegie Hall…It was a ‘wow’ experience.”
Jim Messina, meanwhile, will be teaming up with his old musical partner Kenny Loggins for two reunion shows at the Hollywood Bowl this Friday and Saturday. The concerts will mark the duo’s first performances at the venue in 50 years.
“It’s a wonderful venue to play at,” says Messina. “And it’s in our alma mater, being up in Hollywood, where we both started out our careers.”
The back half of the final season of Better Call Saul premieres Monday night on AMC. There has been a lot of speculation about the ultimate fate of Kim Wexler, wife of Jimmy McGill aka Saul Goodman. Because Better Call Saul is a prequel to Breaking Bad, and Kim doesn’t appear in that show at all, many fans assume she’ll be killed. But Rhea [Ray] Seehorn, who plays Kim, says there are other fates for her character that are just as tragic.
“It’s fun being the one that people don’t know where she ends up,” Seehorn tells ABC Audio. “But about halfway through the series, I started to think, ‘Wow, if she is so far down a hole from where we saw her in the beginning that she actually is OK with what Jimmy is doing in Breaking Bad and is fine with it, that’s its own tragedy.'”
Seehorn — who knows how the show ends but isn’t saying — teases other possible “tragedies” that could befall Kim: She could leave Jimmy, or throw him to the wolves to save herself. But either way, she hints, “There’s just not a lot of happy endings going on here!”
Meanwhile, Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk has received four Emmy nods for his role as Jimmy/Saul, but Seehorn has yet to receive a nod. Emmy nominations are announced Tuesday, so how does Seehorn like her chances?
“It’s pretty great to be in that conversation,” she tells ABC Audio. “There’s a lot of brilliant performances out there. I’m thankful that people talk about me in the same group as some of the amazing women that are performing out there in a variety of roles. And I’m … very flattered.”
But, she notes, “It’s a hard thing to to tell yourself, ‘Oh, and now you should wish that it happens!’ Because it might not!”
Gavin DeGraw is giving fans not one but two different tours this summer. Right after wrapping his Full Circle tour, he’s heading back out on the road next month to start his all-new Face The River tour.
The Grammy nominee unveiled his new trek on Monday, which kicks off on August 20 in Clearwater, Florida. This tour will focus on cities in the Midwest and East Coast, including Annapolis, Maryland and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The “Chariot” singer also teased a special “homecoming” show for his pit stop in Bethel, New York — which is a stone’s throw away from his childhood home. The 11-date tour wraps September 13 in Madison, Wisconsin.
“It feels so good any time I hit the road, but adding music from this album to the show makes this run particularly special,” Gavin said in a statement. “To watch fans connect so strongly to this material, which is so personal to me, makes performing these songs one of the greatest joys of my life.”
Just like his sold-out Full Circle tour, this all-new trek will support Gavin’s recently released ultra-personal Face The River album.
“This album is dedicated to my parents,” Gavin said prior to the record’s release. “They were my heroes. It was their love story, their sacrifices, and their guidance that shaped this music.”
Tickets to this new trek go on sale this Friday, July 15 at 10 a.m. local time on Gavin’s official website.
Ever wonder why Jimmie Allen spells his name with an “I-E” instead of ending it with the more conventional “Y”? Well, like a lot of things the singer does, it’s an homage to his family.
The singer actually used to be known as “Jimmy”; He told Today’s Country Radio With Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music that when he goes home to Delaware, that’s how people spell his name. “I go hang out with people that know me as Jimmy with a ‘Y’,” he said, talking about what life is like back home.
But he decided to switch up the spelling in order to pay tribute to his late grandmother BettieSnead. “I switched it to an ‘I-E’ from my grandma, because she spelled ‘Bettie’ ‘B-E-T-T-I-E,’” Jimmie explained.
Of course, that’s not the only homage Jimmie has made to his grandma. His Bettie James album was named after her and his late father, James “Big Jim” Allen. The singer also titled his newest record Tulip Drive after the street where his grandma lived when he was growing up.
