NASHVILLE |FR: LIBBY HENRY/MITCH SCHNEIDER/SHAZILA MOHAMMED
WAKING ASHLAND
ARE OFF TO A STRONG START AS ‘COMPOSURE’ LOGS BEST FIRST WEEK SALES IN TOOTH AND NAIL’S HISTORY FOR A DEBUT ALBUM
BAND SHOOTS VIDEO FOR FIRST SINGLE ‘I AM FOR YOU’ IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
WAKING ASHLAND are off to a strong start with their debut full length album COMPOSURE, just released on Seattle indie Tooth and Nail Records. The album–which follows the group’s popular I Am For You EP (2004)–debuted at #19 on the Alternative New Artist chart and at #53 on the Top New Artist Album chart from SoundScan. COMPOSURE logs the best first week sales in Tooth and Nail’s history for a debut, selling over 2,400 copies in its first week. Elsewhere, the album made an impressive overseas debut on the Japanese album chart at #43.
After performing a sold-out May 13 gig at the Troubadour in Los Angeles with Jack’s Mannequin (featuring Andrew McMahon from Something Corporate), WAKING ASHLAND shot a video for their first single “I Am For You” in downtown Los Angeles with director Todd Strauss-Schulson (The Early November/Casualties).
WAKING ASHLAND sublimely fuse potent piano-based rhythms with emotionally driven guitar rock. With veteran punk and indie-rock producer Lou Giordano (Ataris, Taking Back Sunday) on board, COMPOSURE began to take shape. “We chose Lou not only because of his recent successes, but because of his earlier work with bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Sugar,” JONATHAN JONES (lead vocals/piano/keyboards) explains. “From the start, Lou liked our natural sound and his only goal was to enhance it and capture it,” he continues. “Since I grew up playing piano, I always wanted to integrate the emotion of the piano-based singer/songwriters like Elton John and Billy Joel, with the edginess of bands like The Pixies and Husker Du,” JONES adds. “And yet, ironically, we do not sound anything like our influences: they merely served as emotional guides to help us integrate keyboards into our music without sacrificing the sonic impact of the guitars.”
This summer, WAKING ASHLAND–JONATHAN JONES (lead vocals/piano/keyboards), RYAN LALLIER (guitar/vocals), ANDREW GROSSE (bass/vocals) and THOMAS LEE (drums/percussion)–will return to the Vans Warped Tour and join Action Action on tour. They’ll continue to add extensive dates throughout the summer and fall.
Catch WAKING ASHLAND on the road:
DATE CITY VENUE
With Action Action, Spitalfield, Down To Earth Approach
Fri 6/10 Spring, TX Java Jazz
Tue 6/14 Baltimore, MD The Ottobar
Wed 6/15 Providence, RI The Call
Thu 6/16 Wilmington, DE Harmony Grange
Fri 6/17 Washington, DC Black Cat
Sat 6/18 Richmond, VA The Nanci Raygun
Sun 6/19 Greensboro, NC Ace’s Basement
Tue 6/21 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
Wed 6/22 Orlando, FL Wills Pub
Thu 6/23 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre
Fri 6/24 Tallahassee, FL The Beta Bar
Sat 6/25 Heflin, AL Heflin Underground
Sun 6/26 New Orleans, LA The Howlin Wolf
Vans Warped Tour
Thu 6/30 San Diego, CA Coors Amphitheatre
Fri 7/1 Long Beach, CA Cal State Long Beach
Sat 7/2 San Francisco, CA Pier 30/32
Sun 7/3 Ventura, CA Seaside Park
Mon 7/4 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
Sat 7/9 George, WA Gorge Amphitheatre
Sun 7/10 Deer Island, OR Columbia Meadows
With Action Action, Spitalfield, Gatsbys American Dream
Wed 7/13 Seattle, WA El Corazon
Thu 7/14 Boise, ID The Venue
Fri 7/15 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
Sat 7/16 Denver, CO Bluebird Theatre
Sun 7/17 Kansas City, MO El Torreon
Tue 7/19 St. Louis, MO Creepy Crawl
Wed 7/20 Iowa City, IA Gabe’s Oasis
Thu 7/21 Chicago, IL Metro
Fri 7/22 Detroit, MI The Shelter
Sat 7/23 Cleveland Heights, OH Grog Shop
Sun 7/24 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s Theatre
Mon 7/25 Philadelphia, PA North Star
Wed 7/27 New York, NY The Continental
Thu 7/28 Farmingdale, NY The Downtown
Fri 7/29 Montclair, NJ Bloomfield Ave Café
Sat 7/30 Allston, MA Ice Church
Sun 7/31 Hartford, CT Webster Theatre
Mon 8/1 Buffalo, NY The Buffalo Icon
Stay tuned for more touring news and log onto: www.wakingashland.com and www.purevolume.com/wakingashland for free MP3’s and more information.
Contact MSO:
Libby Henry 818-380-0400 ext. 224
lhenry@msopr.com
Shazila Mohammed 818-380-0400 ext. 241
shazila@msopr.com
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