De/Vision and Seabound are currently touring North America together. So far, the tour has been a real success, with everyone who has been to one of the concerts so far saying how much they enjoyed it. There are only a few dates left, so don’t miss your chance to see these two great synthpop bands performing live.

If you didn’t get the opportunity to go to one of their recent concerts, don’t worry. You can still watch one live right from your computer. Tonight’s dual-headliner concert at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, California, will be streamed live on the venue’s website. Be sure to check it out at DNALounge.com/webcast.

Seabound and De/Vision, two of the greatest and most popular synthpop bands in Germany, or anywhere for that matter, will be teaming up to tour the United States this January. Both bands toured America individually in early 2008, but now they have joined forces to create the Alliance Tour II for 2009.

The tourdates are scattered throughout the country and include a few cities where neither Seabound nor De/Vision have played before, like Denver, Colorado, or West Palm Beach in Florida. That’s a great opportunity for fans living in these regions that bands sometimes don’t visit. In addition to that, Iris, the American band that Seabound toured the U.S. with in 2008, will also be joining the bands for the two Texas dates.

Seabound and De/Vision - Alliance II North American Tour Dates
Jan 09 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Ground Zero
Jan 10 - Chicago, Illinois - The Abbey (Tickets)
Jan 11 - Detroit, Michigan - Smalls (Tickets)
Jan 13 - Toronto, Ontario - The Opera House (Tickets)
Jan 14 - Boston, Massachusetts - Machine Night Club (Tickets)
Jan 15 - NYC, New York - Don Hill’s (Tickets)
Jan 16 - Austin, Texas - Elysium (Tickets, albeit a little sketchy)
Jan 17 - Dallas, Texas - Lakewood Theater (Tickets)
Jan 21 - San Francisco, California - DNA Lounge (Tickets)
Jan 22 - Denver, Colorado - Cervantes (Tickets)
Jan 23 - West Palm Beach, Florida - Respectable Street (Tickets)

If you want to start off the new year right, be sure to see Seabound and De/Vision live in concert.

First new Corvus Corax song online

Corvus Corax is still working on their next album Cantus Buranus II which is scheduled for release on August 1st, but they have already uploaded a new song on their MySpace page. It’s called “O Varium Fortune” and despite the fact that it’s only a 3-minute rough mix of the song, it’s still well worth a listen. It’s very nice, definitely Corvus Corax. I’m eagerly awaiting this album.

Seabound offers an exclusive MP3 download

During Seabound’s U.S. Alliance Tour, they performed the song “Watching Over You” as an encore with Iris’s singer Reagan Jones in certain cities. This duet was so well received by the crowds that the band decided to record it. Now it’s available as an exclusive MP3 download for fans of both bands to enjoy (or relive the experience, if you were there) over and over again. This particular recording was made at the March 29th concert in San Francisco. To download “Watching Over You” live, just head on over to Seabound.de or simply click here.

Udo Dirkschneider celebrates 20 years: Special concerts, DVD, South American tour

Udo Dirkschneider first met fame as the singer for Accept, but for the past 20 years he has been at the head of his own band U.D.O. To celebrate, the band has planned 2 special concerts in Germany, one of which will have an extra-long 3 hour set that will also include several Accept songs. This concert will also be filmed and turned into a DVD in the future for all U.D.O. fans who couldn’t get tickets for the sold out show.

U.D.O. is also booking concerts for South America and Mexico during the first half of June. For details, visit the tourdates page of U.D.O.’s website.

Schock’s “Making of Halt Still” video

As I reported a while ago, Schock is hard at work on their next album, Halt Still. But it looks like they are making a lot of progress on the album because they recently released a “making of Halt Still” video on their MySpace page. It’s in German, but even if you can’t understand any of it, there’s still plenty of music to listen to between segments of the members speaking and making random noises.

Seabound’s US tour just finished up about a week ago, so we’re ready for the next bit of news from them. This Tuesday, April 8th, the band will be releasing their first live album called Come Forward-Live In Berlin. And for once, the United States will get a German release first. The German/European release of this album isn’t happening until April 25th because Seabound’s former European label, Dependent Records, shut down last year so it looks like the album is being released worldwide through Metropolis Records now.

Come Forward-Live In Berlin has 12 songs which makes it one of the shortest live album I’ve ever seen, but no doubt it’s worthwhile for any fan of the band. In North America, you can pre-order the album for just $12.98 direct from the Metropolis mailorder site. It’s the least expensive place I’ve found, plus you’ll get the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting the musicians and their independent label more directly. The least expensive place to pre-order it in Europe seems to be AlphaMusic.de which also provides some short samples of the tracks.

Seabound - Come Forward-Live In Berlin tracklisting:
01. Scorch The Ground
02. Exorcize
03. Poisonous Friend
04. Avalost
05. Contact
06. Domination
07. Castaway
08. The Promise
09. Hooked
10. Watching Over You
11. Torn
12. Breathe

We have been experiencing a major influx of German bands touring over here in North America in recent months. So far in 2008, we have seen The Jeans Team, De/Vision, and And One all successfully complete their tours, but the fun has just begun! 4 more German bands have recently confirmed that they will also be touring America. They are: Seabound, Doro, Accessory, and Destroid. In addition to these confirmed bands, Unheilig fans also know that there have been rumors of an American tour later in the year for that band. And as an extra boost to all of this excitement, the Finnish cello rock band Apocalyptica (which has a lot of connections with German bands) will also be going on an extensive 30-concert tour across the continent. 2008 has just gotten a lot better!

I will certainly post the full tourdates for all of the bands listed above in the coming weeks, but the next band to arrive is Seabound so I need to tell you about them first…

Seabound is the next German band to tour America
Seabound is a synthpop duo which has produced 4 studio albums to date. With a rapidly expanding fanbase worldwide thanks to the support of Metropolis Records, they are now preparing to embark on their first tour overseas. The “Alliance Tour 2008″ will take Seabound across the United States for 14 concerts. Shortly after the tour concludes, the band will release their first live album Come Forward - Live In Berlin on April 8th. The electro group Iris will be opening for Seabound throughout the entire tour, except the Connecticut show because that’s a larger festival with lots of bands.

You can listen to some of Seabound’s music on their MySpace page. Seabound.de also has lots of info about the band, from photos and lyrics to album reviews and additional MP3 samples. Take some time to check this band out, and head to one of their concerts if you like their music. I’ve heard they put on really great shows.

Seabound “Alliance Tour 2008″ dates:
Click the link on the venue for ticket info

Mar 12 - Shampoo - Philadelphia, PA
Mar 13 - Rock and Roll Hotel - Washington D.C.
Mar 14 - Blacksun Festival - New Haven, CT
Mar 15 - The Madison - New York City, NY
Mar 16 - Water Street - Rochester, NY
Mar 18 - Pegasus - Pittsburgh, PA
Mar 19 - Luna - Detroit, MI
Mar 20 - Darkroom - Chicago, IL
Mar 22 - Elysium - Austin, TX
Mar 24 - Club Dada - Dallas, TX
Mar 26 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
Mar 27 - Mt. Tabor - Portland, OR
Mar 29 - DNA Lounge - San Francisco, CA
Mar 30 - Safari Sam’s - Los Angeles, CA

There are lots of German bands touring North America in 2008. Most of them are just coming to the United States, but a few are heading further North to Canada as well.

We made this page so it’s easy for you to find all the bands, their dates and venues in one place. The list is in chronological order according to the band’s first concert date. It’s easier to see them this way than in a normal calendar or alphabetical order.

Jeans Team

Read the article here for details and links

January 04 - San Francisco, CA - Loaded
January 05 - Los Angeles, CA - The COG
January 10 - New York, NY - Grasslands
January 11 - Montreal, QBC - Zoo Bizarre
January 13 - Toronto, ONT - Drake Hotel
January 15 - Detroit, MI - Scrummage
January 16 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
January 18 - New York, NY - Ruff Club

De/Vision

Read the article here for details and links

February 06 - Philadelphia, PA - Shampoo
February 07 - Passiac, NJ - The Loop Lounge
February 09 - Austin, TX - Elysium
February 10 - Tucson, AZ - Asylum
February 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Safari Sam’s
February 14 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
February 16 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
February 17 - Portland, OR - Sabala’s at Mt. Tabor
February 19 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Vegas
February 21 - Minneapolis, MN - Ground Zero

And One

Read the article here for details and links
Read our concert review here

February 14 - Washington, DC - Club Five
February 16 - Philadelphia, PA - Shampoo (Dracula’s Ball)
February 17 - New York, NY - The Madison
February 19 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
February 21 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
February 24 - Los Angeles, CA - Crash Mansion
February 26 - Denver, CO - Oriental Theatre
February 28 - San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit

Seabound - Alliance Tour

Read the article here for details and links

March 12 - Philadelphia, PA - Shampoo
March 13 - Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
March 14 - New Haven, CT - Blacksun Festival
March 15 - New York, NY - The Madison
March 16 - Rochester, NY - Water Street
March 18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Pegasus
March 19 - Detroit, MI - Lune
March 20 - Chicago, IL - Darkroom
March 22 - Austin, TX - Elysium
March 24 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada
March 26 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
March 27 - Portland, OR - Mt. Tabor
March 29 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
March 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Safari Sam’s

Doro Pesch

Read the article here for details and links

March 21 - West Springfield, VA - Jaxx
March 22 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
March 23 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
March 25 - Toronto, ON - The Funhaus
March 26 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody’s
March 28 - Detroit, MI - I-Rock
March 29 - Mokena, IL - The Pearl Room
March 30 - St. Paul, MN - Station 4
April 01 - Milwaukee, WI - Vnuk’s Lounge
April 04 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
April 05 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
April 07 - San Marcos, CA - Jumping Turtle
April 08 - West Hollywood, CA - Whisky a Go-Go
April 09 - Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse
April 11 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
April 12 - Ft. Worth, TX - Ridglea Theater
April 13 - San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit
April 15 - St. Petersburg, FL - The State Theater
April 16 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
April 18 - Nashville, TN - The Muse

Accessory - More Than Machinery US Tour

Read the article here for details and links

March 26 - Philadelphia, PA - Shampoo
March 27 - Washington, DC - Chief Ikes
March 29 - Newark, NJ - QXTs
March 30 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum
April 02 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
April 03 - Chicago, IL - The Kinetic Playground
April 04 - Phoenix, AZ - Jug Heads
(see below for Accessory’s West Coast tour in June/July)

Kraftwerk

Read the article here for details and links
Here’s an older article about the Coachella Festival

April 19 - Minneapolis, MN - Myth
April 20 - Milwaukee, WI - The Eagles Ballroom
April 23 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
April 26 - Indio, CA - Coachella Festival

Ellen Allien - Boogy Bytes Tour

May 01 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
May 02 - San Francisco, CA - Mighty
May 03 - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
May 04 - Portland, OR - Holocene
May 05 - Toronto, ONT - The Social
May 08 - Montreal, QBC - Parking
May 09 - Quebec, QBC - Le Cercle
May 10 - New York, NY - Studio B

Feindflug, Funker Vogt, Kiew, Noisuf-X, Xotox

Read the article here for details and links

May 15-17 - Montreal, QBC - Festival Kinetik

Destroid

Read the article here for details and links

May 22 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
May 23 - Austin, TX - Elysium
May 25 - Columbus, OH - Hi-5
May 28 - New York, NY - Sapony
May 29 - Washington, DC - Liv
May 30 - West Palm Beach, FL - Respectable Street
May 31 - Orlando, FL - AKA Lounge
June 03 - San Francisco, CA - Fat City
June 05 - Portland, OR - Mt. Tabor Legacy
June 06 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
June 07 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon - Daniel Myer DJ set only
June 08 - Portland, OR - The Fez Ballroom - Daniel Myer DJ set only
June 09 - Denver, CO - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
June 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory - Daniel Myer DJ set only
June 14 - Phonix, AZ - Sadisco

King’s Tonic

Read the article here for details and links

May 23 - Los Angeles, CA - Doll Hut
May 24 - Anaheim, CA - Ceros
May 28 - Los Angeles, CA - Di Piazzas
May 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Fullerton Back Alley
June 06 - Las Vegas, NV - Double Down Saloon

Accessory - More Than Machinery US Tour - West Coast

Read the article here for details and links

June 22 - San Francisco, CA - Fat City
June 23 - Portland, OR - The Fez Ballroom
June 24 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
June 26 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Vegas
June 28 - Las Vegas, NV - Vector
June 30 - Tucson, AZ - I.C.E.
July 04 - Los Angeles, CA - Das Bunker

The Scorpions

August 01 - Kelseyville, CA - Konocti Harbor
August 02 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater
August 03 - Costa Mesa, CA - Pacific Amphitheater
August 05 - Tucson, AZ - AVA Amphitheater
August 08 - Minneapolis, MN - Myth
August 09 - Sparta, WI - Fort McCoy Army Base

Soman

Read the article here for details and links

August 22 - Los Angeles, CA - Das Bunker
August 23 - Madison, WI - Reverence Festival

[:SITD:]

Read the article here for details and links

20 Sep 08 - USA – Hollywood, California - Safari Sam’s
21 Sep 08 - USA - San Francisco, California - DNA Lounge
24 Sep 08 - USA - Portland, Oregon - Bossanova
25 Sep 08 - CAN - Vancouver, British Columbia - Red Room
27 Sep 08 - CAN - Calgary, Alberta - The Underground
28 Sep 08 - CAN - Edmonton, Alberta - New City Suburbs
30 Sep 08 - USA - Seattle, Washington - El Corazon
02 Oct 08 - USA - Salt Lake City, Utah - Murray Theater
03 Oct 08 - USA - Denver, Colorado - Hi-Dive - Vendetta Festival
04 Oct 08 - USA - Lawrence, Kansas - The Jackpot Music Hall
05 Oct 08 - USA - St. Louis, Missouri - The Bluebird
06 Oct 08 - USA - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - The Miramar Theater
07 Oct 08 - USA - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Ground Zero
08 Oct 08 - USA - Chicago, Illinois - The Abbey
09 Oct 08 - USA - Cincinatti, Ohio - TBA
10 Oct 08 - USA - Hamtramck, Michigan - Smalls
12 Oct 08 - CAN - Toronto, Ontario - The Reverb (The Big Bop Nightclub)
13 Oct 08 - CAN - Montreal, Quebec - Cafe Campus
14 Oct 08 - USA - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The New Alhambra Arena
15 Oct 08 - USA - Boston, Massachusetts - TBA
16 Oct 08 - USA - Washington DC, Washington DC - Club Liv
17 Oct 08 - USA - New York City, New York - The Knitting Factory
18 Oct 08 - USA - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Pegasus
19 Oct 08 - USA - Nashville, Tennessee - Salvation @ Hollywood Disco
20 Oct 08 - USA - Louisville, Kentucky - TBA
22 Oct 08 - USA - Atlanta, Georgia - TBA
23 Oct 08 - USA - Jacksonville, Florida - TBA
24 Oct 08 - USA - West Palm Beach, Florida - Respectable Street
25 Oct 08 - USA - Orlando, Florida - TBA
27 Oct 08 - USA - Baton Rouge, Louisiana - TBA
29 Oct 08 - USA – Tulsa, Oklahoma - The Marquee
30 Oct 08 - USA - Dallas, Texas - The Church @ Lizard Lounge Dallas
01 Nov 08 - USA - San Antonio, Texas - Atomix
02 Nov 08 - USA - El Paso, Texas - Chic’s
03 Nov 08 - USA - Albuquerque, New Mexico - TBA
05 Nov 08 - USA - Garden Grove, California - Club Xile @ The Can Nightclub
06 Nov 08 - USA - Sacramento, California - Sky Room @ The Country Club
07 Nov 08 - USA - San Diego, California - Brick By Brick
08 Nov 08 - USA - Scottsdale, Arizona – Sadisco @ Chaser’s