California Wives may conjure images of bleached hair and augmented chests, but one spin of "Marianne" will have you doing the Molly Ringwald on a library table before you can say "Joy Division." The band is currently in the middle of finishing up their debut full-length, to be released on Vagrant Records at some point this year. The Chicago four-piece consists of Joe O'Connor, Jayson Kramer, Dan Zima, and Graham Masell. They released an EP in 2010, which gained the band enough momentum t

When you talk dream projects that you wish could become resurrected -- something we do for shits and giggles from time to time -- very high on our list is John Kennedy Toole's posthumously-published, picaresque novel "A Confederacy of Dunces" (published in 1980, eleven years after the author's suicide at the age of 32). Steven Soderbergh and Scott Kramer (producer for "The Limey") wrote a screenplay in the late '90s (we still have a copy lying around somewhere) and in the early aughts, they attached David Gordon Green to direct circa "Undertow," and names like Will Ferrell, Mos Def, and ...

The deceptive foursome California Wives (Joe O’Connor, Jayson Kramer, Dan Zima, and Graham Masell), are actually Chi town residents with plenty of 80′s blowing through their hair and mustachios. On bright sunny days, the lads like to sit on a bench, cock their heads and daydream of Lisa Frank and Fraggle Rock. “Marianne” bespeaks of the times [...]

Brad Paisley's Virtual Reality World Tour hit the road again playing three sold-out shows in St. Louis, Indianapolis and Cincinnati this past weekend. Special guests on the tour are The Band Perry and Scotty McCreery with Easton Corbin joining the tour on select dates. "The Escape" plaza area was well received with thousands of fans arriving early afternoon to enjoy games, contests, photo ops and performances on the "Virtual Opry" Stage by Kristen Kelly, Kramer">Jana Kramer and Love and Theft....

California Wives are pleased to announce today that they have officially joined the ever-growing Vagrant Records roster. "We were excited to sign to Vagrant because it gave us the opportunity to work with a great producer who pushed us to think outside of our tendencies as musicians. The newer instrumentation and arrangements were a result of that relationship in the studio. We are thrilled to be a part of such a terrific roster of musicians at Vagrant and we can't wait to put the new music out there," says vocalist and guitarist Jayson Kramer.

From KCRW DJ Jason Kramer: About a year ago, I was browsing the web and came across an amazing video called “Atlas Hands”. The singer had a soft and inviting voice and style of writing that grabbed my attention. Fast forward to today – and a million hits later — UK singer Benjamin Francis Leftwich is packing houses on his new world tour. He signed a deal with Vagrant Records last year and released a record called “Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm”. I got in touch with Ben shortly after hearing the song. ...

Kramer">Jana Kramer, also known for her roles on "One Tree Hill," "Entourage" and "Friday Night Lights," will tour in support of her upcoming self-titled release out June 5 on Elektra Nashville. Produced by Scott Hendricks (Blake Shelton, Brooks & Dunn), the album features 11 tracks, while the digital version will include an exclusive bonus track....

Das Düsseldorfer Open Source Festival feilt weiter am Line-up für dieses Jahr. So vervollständigen jetzt unter anderem Singer/Songwriter Honig sowie die Indietroniker von The Hundred In The Hands die lange Liste der Acts. Die Veranstalter des Events, welcher am 30. Juni stattfindet, haben bereits die Disco-Punker WhoMadeWho bestätigt ( motor.de berichtete ), die Anfang des Jahres mit ihrem groovenden Album " Brighter " die Kritiker beeindruckten. Zudem werden sich auch die Indietronic-Newcomer Breton die Ehre geben, welche laut eigener Aussage große Kraftwerk -Fans sind. Demnach dürften sie auch große Freude an den Neo-Krautrockern von Stabil Elite finden, die sicherlich zahlreiche Songs aus ...

Launched in 2001, Rethink is the first-ever Canadian breast cancer charity to bring bold, relevant awareness to the under-40 crowd; foster a new generation of young and influential breast cancer supporters; infuse sass and style into the cause; and, most importantly, respond to the unique needs of young (or youngish) women going through it.

aphotic \ey-FOH-tik\, adjective: Lightless; dark. Coined in the early 1900s, aphotic comes from the Greek word photic meaning "light," as in the word photo, and the prefix a- meaning "not." Splenda Daddy A man who strives to be a Sugar Daddy but just doesn't have the funds to pull it off. She was all excited that she had finally landed a Sugar Daddy until he rolled up in his Accord. It was then she realized she had landed a Splenda Daddy, instead. Trivia What lies at the feet of the Statue of Liberty? A broken chain, symbolizing Lady Liberty ...

MusicRow Feb/Mar cover girl, Kramer">Jana Kramer made her Grand Ole Opry debut April 13, performing "I Hope It Rains," and her first single “Why Ya Wanna" [...]

Ironbound Films 90 min., dir by Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, and Jeremy Newberger with Morton Downey Jr., Pat Buchanan, and Chris Elliot Our airwaves [...]

A charlatan, a ringmaster, and, at his most charitable, an irresponsible pig. This was Morton Downey Jr., and “Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie” is probably the film he deserves. Destined to provoke knowing nods from his fanbase, and predictable tsk-tsks from his detractors, 'Evocateur' examines the seeds that were planted in the late eighties when “The Morton Downey Jr. Show” hit the airwaves to a cacophony of pop culture noise. From the directing team of Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger, 'Evocateur' highlights Downey’s immodest beginnings, as the liberal son to a crooning father and a ...

Origami Vinyl’s Record Store Day 2012 (Doors open @ 8am) At the Echo. Doors @ 11:30am. All Ages. Free Entry. 7pm – Big Black Delta 6pm – Henry Clay People 5pm – Electric Guest 4pm – Races 3pm – Zammuto 2pm – Electric Flower Group 1pm – Jenny O. 12pm – All Tiny Creatures At Origami. DJ sets from 8am – 3pm by: Jason Kramer – [...]

Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer has created his own brand of organic, fair trade, custom-roasted coffee called Rockin’ & Roastin'. The beverage comes in both regular and decaf, medium and dark and Ethiopian and Guatemalan roasts. Wanna cuppa Joe(y)? Then order it here. Do you drink coffee? Favorite