Event Description : Join us on our Outdoor Stage for a Mini-Concert featuring TIGER ARMY!!!
For the devoted who tattoo the lyrics and “TigerBat” logo on their bodies, Tiger Army is more than a band – it’s a way of life. Nick 13’s music channels the frustration, loneliness, despair and triumph of sheer will of a lost generation, buzzing with power and dark romance. The loyalty of the band’s following is evident on their MySpace page and website, where hundreds of photos of Tiger Army related tattoos can be found.
Music from Regions Beyond, hailed by Alternative Press as one of this year’s “Most Anticipated Albums,” is the definitive work by Tiger Army.
It is a thrillingly diverse record, running the gamut from the break-neck yet melodic “Afterworld” (which generated over 13,000 spins its first day on MySpace) and the soaring modern rock anthem “Forever Fades Away,” to the dark wave pop of as the Cold Rain Falls” (which has elicited early comparisons to New Order) and the country-leaning balladry of “Where the Moss Slowly Grows.”
It is also the first Tiger Army album that was not self-produced. A-list producer Jerry Finn (AFI, Morrissey, Rancid) partnered his experience and expertise with Nick 13’s passion and self-motivation, resulting in an album that will be remembered as this year’s best. The two became acquainted during the sessions for AFI’s Decemberunderground (which features multiple backup vocal contributions from Nick 13), and discovered that they shared similar recording philosophies, including a love of analog tape and vintage gear.
The worldwide psychobilly scene owes an enormous debt to the So Cal trio; whose four albums and relentless touring have infused the genre (a blend of punk and rockabilly with dark elements) with the interest of countless new listeners. Music From Regions Beyond pushes psychobilly forward musically and otherwise by breaking its “rules,” the way Joy Division, The Smiths or The Cure forged a new “post” punk. Tiger Army embraces its psychobilly roots but transcends the genre with nuanced introspection and a staunch stance against novelty. They follow the example laid down by The Beatles who always maintained a connection to their first musical love, the rockabilly of artists like Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins, even while expanding and redefining it – in some cases beyond recognition.
The three years between Music from Regions Beyond and III: Ghost Tigers Rise have seen Tiger Army transform into an international phenomenon. After a lengthy run as direct support for Social Distortion, Tiger Army’s own “Dark Romance” tour ended with a five-night stand at the House of Blues in Hollywood, followed a few months later by four nights back-to-back at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California. All nine shows sold-out before doors opened.
A handful of shows with Morrissey in the US and UK came next. After that, Tiger Army went out as direct support for their longtime friends in AFI, wrapping up in front of a capacity crowd at the legendary Long Beach Arena, recently documented on the platinum selling band's new DVD I Heard A Voice (which includes a guest appearance from Nick 13, who performs on the song “A Single Second.”)
Tiger Army played their first show in 1996 at the Bay Area’s legendary punk collective, 924 Gilman Street, known as the venue where everyone from Green Day to Rancid got their start. The gig saw them opening for AFI, who lent Nick 13 their drummer, Adam Carson.
Rancid’s Tim Armstrong took notice of Nick 13’s songs via a series of demos, later collected as The Early Years EP, and signed Tiger Army to his Hellcat Records imprint strictly on the strength of Nick’s songs and vision knowing full well he had yet to secure a steady lineup.
|