Taking Back Sunday still have a hold on my heart...

North Carolina has spawned its share of great musicians but none of them has been underestimated for too long. Adam Lazzara the amazingly hot lead singer of Taking Back Sunday lived in High Point before moving to Long Island, N.Y.
Taking Back Sunday has had the success of many other typical rock bands. They started out in N.Y. in 1999 with Antonio Longo on lead vocals, Jesse Lacey on bass and backing vocals, John Nolan on guitar, Eddie Reyes on guitar, and Stevie DeJoseph on drums. After a few other line-up changes, the final member of the band are; lead singer Adam Lazzara, bassist Matt Rubano, guitarist Eddie Reyes, drummer Mark O’ Connell and new guitarist and back-up vocalist Matthew Fazzi. Fazzi is replacing Fred Mascherino, who left the band in 2007 to work on his solo project, The Color Fred.

The rock band released their first full length album, Tell All Your Friends in 2002 with Victory Records. With that album they got a feel of the spotlight in the alternative rock scene.
In 2004 they were the opening act for Blink-182 and the co headliners for the Vans Warped Tour. On July 27 that year they released their second album, Where You want To Be. The album debuted in the charts at three, the following year it went gold. The single “A Decade Under the Influence”, made the album a major success along with the song “This Photograph Is Proof (I know you know)”. Three songs off of the album were featured in block buster movies that year.
With the success of their second album, the third came out on top. Louder now was released April 25 2006 with the bands new label Warner Bros. Records. It sold over 600,000 copied and landed at two in the Billboard charts. The first single off the album, “MakeDamnSure” spiraled to number one on the charts. They even had the song “What it Feels Like to be a Ghost” featured on the Transformers movie soundtrack. The album showcased the bands raw talent with Lazzara vocals and Mascherino’s screaming back ground vocals. Not only was the album amazing, but during their live shows they give their songs the true justice they deserve.
The following year the band joined My Chemical Romance, HIM, and Placebo as opening acts for the Linkin Park Tour Projekt Revolution. Their performance was one of the many highlights of the show. Lazzara drew the crowd in with his on stage antics and ability to swing the microphone around without hitting anyone. Even though their set was short, it was worth standing in blistering hot weather for.
In late 2008 the band started working on their fourth studio album, New Again. They’ve been performing in secret shows across the states to promote the album. On May 9 they will be on the stage again with My Chemical Romance at Madison Square Garden.
On the band’s blog Rubano said that, “On this record, we challenged ourselves to write the best songs we possibly could while trying new things in an effort to push the envelope in terms of what it means to sound like Taking Back Sunday. I think this record has an honesty and an urgency that we haven't achieved before.”

The first single, “Sink Into Me” will be released for radio airplay April 27. The album will be out in stores June 2.
For the spring they will be headlining a tour in the U.S. with Anberlin and Envy On The Coast. They will also be playing at The Bamboozle festival in May and The Bamboozle Left festival in April.

Video for "Sink into me"

Kings of Leon finally gets the attention they deserve

Nashville, T.N. based band Kings of Leon is having an award winning year. The alternative rock band is having great success with their latest album, Only by the night. At the 2009 Grammy Awards their single, “Sex on Fire" won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
Kings of Leon is a family band with three brothers and a cousin making amazing music. Caleb Followill is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. His brothers Nathan and Jared provide drums, bass guitar and additional backing vocals. Their first cousin Matthew is the lead guitarist and back up vocalist.
They all grew up in a very religious household. Their father was a Pentecostal minister who traveled to other churches from time to time. They all learned how to play instruments by performing at churches with their father.
In 2002 they signed with RCA records and began working on their EP, Holy Roller Novocaine.
The band’s first album Youth and Young Manhood was released in August 2003. That album made them a success in the United Kingdom and Australia. It peaked at number three on the U.K. charts. The album had three singles: “Molly’s Chambers”, “Wasted Time” and “California Waiting” all entered the U.K. charts throughout the year.
Their second album Aha Shake Heartbreak was released in the U.S. in February 2005. Every band members wrote the songs on the album. They received the help of producer Angelo Petraglia on this album as well as their first one. The song “Taper Jean Girl" was used in the 2007 movies Disturbia and Cloverfield. The band also received much respect from several of rock musicians, including Bob Dylan. The band toured with Pearl Jam and Bob Dylan for much of 2005 and 2006. The album was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns.
Their third album Because of the times was released in the U.S. on April 3rd 2007. This album was also produced by Petraglia and Johns. The album gained mixed reviews from many critics. Some said that the band failed to show them that they matured; others said it was their greatest work. However, the album debuted in the U.K. at number one. The album featured the singles, “Charmer”, “Fans” and “On Call”.
In early 2008 the band started working on tracks for their fourth album Only by the night. In an interview with the U.K. magazine NME Jared said that the album would "rock harder" and that they were "ready to tackle their southern roots...again." For inspiration the band listened to bands like Crystal Castles, My Morning Jacket and Radiohead. The song "Crawl" from the album was released as a free download on the band's website on July 28. "Sex on Fire" was then released as the second single in later the next month. The song became the band's first top 10 hit and first British number 1 and it also reached the top spot in Ireland. It was also their first song to chart number 1 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock chart in the U.S.
The album went five times platinum in the U.K. and remained at number for four weeks. The album was released a few days after that in the U.S. and reached number 5. The second single "Use Somebody" achieved worldwide chart success. The album was named the UK's 3rd biggest selling album of 2008 and the biggest selling album of 2008 in Australia. At the Brit Awards 2009 they won Best International Band and Best International Album where they also performed the song “Use Somebody”.
Currently the band is touring throughout the U.S. and U.K. They will be performing in N.C. at the end of April.

Here's a performance of "Crawl" from the "Only by the night" album. Yes, there are other good songs than just "Use Somebody" on the damn album.