Down the Line Magazine

16/05/2024

We are gearing up for a new issue, with some big surprises about who will be in the next issue. As a preview, we have posted a new interview with Randy and Matthias Layton of Alternative Records. Read about their upcoming re-issues of Robert Vaughn and Steve Scott, as well as the plans for the transition the record label to Matthias:

Randy Layton is a legend... to those of us that know good music. Which is not often what you hear about label owners (and not always a good thing when you do), but Randy in many ways transcends the typical label owner pigeon hole. He collects rare tracks like an uber fan, but releases albums and com

16/02/2023

Did you think we were dead? We are not really “back” – it just took two years to get this issue together thanks to… well, all of this (gestures at the world). This issues features a visual journal of AudioFeed 2022, plus new interviews with Ric Alba, Kevin the Persian, Joel Heng Hartse, and Christian Geeks Classic Rockcast. There is also a nice memorial for David “Burrito” Villalpando Memorial, as well as older interviews with Frank Lenz and The Huntingtons added just because they rock. Oh, and even some reviews and back cover art by Michael Gerard Knott. Read or download at the Archive.org link below. Speaking of that, we are also switching our media “hosting” (PDFs and podcasts) over to Archive.org, so that hopefully the stories we tell here will out live us all. Currently all of our issues and podcast episodes are up on our nice fancy Archive.org page, but you will see all links in the archives on this site change over to Archive.org in the hear future. We will keep using Issuu and Scridb as long as those services are free for us to use. Plans are in the works for the next issue, which will hopefully not take another two years to unleash.

https://archive.org/details/dtl-issue-024

Issue 24 of Down the Line magazine. Features a visual journal of AudioFeed 2022, plus interviews with Ric Alba, Kevin the Persian, Joel Heng Hartse, Christian...

16/02/2023

Issue 24: AudioFeed 2022

02/12/2020

Michael Bridges, whom many of you know as Mikee Bridges of Sometime Sunday / Tradegy Ann / TOMFest / etc fame, is raising money for any interesting project called "Blood Sweat and Sin: The History of Christian Rock." Here are the basics: In similar fashion to the documentary series Hip Hop Evolution, Sonic Highways or anything Bourdain, Blood, Sweat and Sin is a Documentary tv series about the History of Christian rock....

https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/12/02/help-fund-a-docuseries-on-the-history-of-christian-rock/

15/11/2020

So when a release gets sold as “alt country musician goes heavy metal”… well, you have to admit that sounds a bit suspicious. Daniel Markham is a name I have heard, but never really listened to as I don’t get into a whole lot of the alt country scene. But when Velvet Blue Music helps promotes a release of any kind, I tend to give it a shot....

https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/11/14/daniel-markham-burnout/

07/11/2020

Yep - you read that right: "On one of the most important days in history, November 3, 2020, Leaderdogs for the Blind dropped Feel This. The new 5-song EP is available exclusively on Bandcamp. The EP will be released wherever you find music online on Tuesday, November 10, 2020." They have also added their 1995 full-length Lemonade to their BandCamp site as well.

https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/11/07/leaderdogs-for-the-blind-release-new-ep-feel-this/

29/10/2020

Another one we missed when the site was broken - Blue Stahli announced the deadchannel_Trilogy, and released the first album in that trilogy called Quartz: "An alternative metal masterpiece with electronic beats and industrial rhythms, resulting in a sound that is both aggressive and melodic. The first album in the deadchannel_Trilogy leading to Obsidian." You can see the various streaming and purchase options on the Blue Stahli website. Copper and then Obsidian are next up in the trilogy.

https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/10/29/blue-stahli-releases-the-first-album-of-new-trilogy/

28/10/2020

Love Coma is back with a new self-titled album and several accompaniment albums: "This is our new, eponymously titled album, Love Coma, available as a digital download & compact disc. Also available as a bonus item is a PDF with lyrics, liner notes and photos. There are three companion pieces to this album for you to enjoy: Instrumentals (a completely instrumental version of this album), … [ 62 more words ]

https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/10/27/love-coma-releases-new-album/

25/10/2020

Daniel Markham has been writing compelling songs for over 20 years now. Ranging from the Alt. Country heavy hitters of his youth to the sprawling soundscapes in recent years, Markham has never been one to be held down by genres. Still, there was always a correlation between those albums that made it distinctly Daniel Markham. His 4th LP, Burnout, takes a match to all those amalgamations and torches all remnants of his past through a blistering set of 12 songs. [ 318 more words ]

https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/10/25/daniel-markham-to-release-new-album-burnout/

23/10/2020

While the website was down, several DTL Collective bands or long time DTL related bands made new releases: And How released album #50 billion with Hindsight Bias. Peter Johnston (recently interviewed for the DTL Podcast) released a new EP called City of God. Cast the Dragon finally released a debut album. Seriously - look, a press release: "Today is the long anticipated release of… [ 147 more words ]

https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/10/23/and-how-peter-johnston-cast-the-dragon-and-king-never-release-new-music/

23/10/2020

For some reason, the entire website crashed a couple of months ago... except for the front page. So it looked fine if you went to the front page or the admin page, but anything else? Dead. Every fix I could find just didn't help. Finally I had to dig into some old coding skills and figure out the problem myself (turned out to be a corrupted htaccess file for those that are curious). A lot was missed in that time. Sorry about that! Time to catch up on some music....

https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/10/23/the-website-is-back-up-hopefully/

09/09/2020

"Two Pound Planet started life as Urban Edge with Tom Shaw (Guitar and Vocals) and Jerry Chapman (Bass and Vocals) around 1982. By 1984 Jerry Finley had joined the band (Drums and Vocals). Finally, by 1986 18 year old keyboardist, Jason Buss joined the band, which recorded its first full-length album titled Bottom of the Stairs. Bottom of the Stairs… [ 243 more words ]
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/09/09/help-re-issue-two-pound-planets-songs-from-the-hydrogen-jukebox-mitch-easter-sessions-on-vinyl-and-cd/

27/08/2020

"Alar's single "Pan-Dem-ic" is available early for purchase on Bandcamp! Get all three tracks for $3 or buy single tracks for $1 a piece. Get it now! Proceeds of the sales go to Heart Support is a community created by Jake Luhrs of August Burns Red where people discover the strength to overcome suicidal thoughts, depression, addiction, and other adversity. [ 52 more words ]
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/08/26/industrial-supergroup-alar-releases-new-music/

02/08/2020

Yes, you read that correct. The Steve Taylor-fronted supergroup Chagall Guevara is back. They are raising funds to release a live recording from 1991 on vinyl, as well as a collection of unreleased demos, extra songs, and two newly recorded songs on CD. Which, yes, is backwards from how most bands do it (new music usually goes on vinyl), but this is Steve Taylor. The Kickstarter is almost funded after one day, so you might want to jump on this to see where the stretch goals go.
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/08/01/chagall-guevara-raising-funds-to-release-live-album-and-new-music/

Yes, you read that correct. The Steve Taylor-fronted supergroup Chagall Guevara is back. They are raising funds to release a live recording from 1991 on vinyl, as well as a collection of unreleased…

29/07/2020

Those that have been waiting for the Marc Plainguet underground tapes from the 80s will want to hit up his new BandCamp page. So far there are three releases up - Amebas in Love from 1986, World Media also from 1986, and Blood & Fire from 1987 - and more in the works. For those not familiar with Plainguet's work, he describes it as "minimal wave electronic music" that is "quirky, weird, electronic sounds from an older era." He was also a member of the classic band Gadget, with re-issues also planned for them as well.
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/07/29/marc-plainguet-re-issues-on-bandcamp/

17/06/2020

"I promised new and old music in my last update, so here we are with a bit of both: the 'Old Lo-Fi Songs Written for Girls' EP is out today on BandCamp, and it is is indeed a flashback to the music I was writing 15-20 years ago, even though some of the recordings are new. As the title of the album insinuates it's a collection of friendship love songs, actual romantic love songs and the occasional heartbreak song, written in my early twenties when I used the bandname 'The Irresistible 21st century virgin boy'. [ 135 more words ]
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/06/17/bram-cools-releases-old-lo-fi-songs-written-for-girls-ep/

“I promised new and old music in my last update, so here we are with a bit of both: the ‘Old Lo-Fi Songs Written for Girls’ EP is out today on BandCamp, and it is is indeed a flas…

10/06/2020

Lost in Ohio has some exciting news: "Introducing The Lost Archives! So much amazing music has been lost to time, and we are hoping to bring some of it back to the digital world. We are starting humbly today by announcing the digital availability of Black & White World's two fantastic albums on Bandcamp (and coming very soon to Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and all of your favorite streaming services). Follow our sister Bandcamp site to be notified as we continue to add more lost music in the months to come!
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/06/10/lost-in-ohio-re-releases-black-white-world-in-the-lost-archives/

Lost in Ohio has some exciting news: “Introducing The Lost Archives! So much amazing music has been lost to time, and we are hoping to bring some of it back to the digital world. We are start…

28/05/2020

Have you ever been mid-verse of Praise to the Lord, the Almighty during the entrance hymn at Mass and wondered what it would sound like with a big, guitar-laden rock arrangement? Peter Johnston RVA did, and it started a sonic journey that resulted in the first formal, multi-song release from the Richmond, Virginia based songwriter entitled, Be Not Afraid.
http://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/05/28/peter-johnston-rva/

21/05/2020

"They'll Bury Me", has an 80's indie vibe and features Sean from "And How" on drums. You can check out the video here.< The maxi single includes early acoustic versions of "Sirens" and "I Can Move" and the unreleased, "The Gift Of Wisdom" which sounds like a lost "Let's Have Church" Swimsuit Grandma track. It's a free download here. "They'll Bury Me" can also be found on Spotify and most streaming services.
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/05/16/mike-indest-releases-a-new-song-and-video/

15/05/2020

In case you missed it yesterday, Starflyer 59 and Velvet Blue Music released a new single called "This Recliner." It is the lead single from their upcoming EP Miami, due out on June 19th from VBM. "This Recliner" is seeing rave reviews from SF59 fans, as it manages to somehow incorporate many different sounds from the bands past while still moving into the future. There is also a short article about the new music on Buzzbands.
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/05/15/new-music-from-starflyer-59/

In case you missed it yesterday, Starflyer 59 and Velvet Blue Music released a new single called “This Recliner.” It is the lead single from their upcoming EP Miami, due out on June 19t…

25/04/2020

Pyramid, the new EP by Frank Lenz, is nothing short of magic. It’s not indie rock and it’s not a film score. It’s an intentional instrumental project with flawless fluidity. If you liked the more experimental side of Lenz’s 2013 Water Tiger, this one will not disappoint. The primary instruments are analog synths, the kind that are clunky and sound oh so good. [ 210 more words ]
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/04/25/frank-lenz-pyramid/

Pyramid, the new EP by Frank Lenz, is nothing short of magic. It’s not indie rock and it’s not a film score. It’s an intentional instrumental project with flawless fluidity. If you liked the more e…

31/03/2020

Deni Gauthier is a longtime friend of Down the Line, and the fact that he released a new album should be enough to get you to go out and buy it. Well, unless you are in Coronavirus lock-down, then you should be going online to buy it ASAP. Gauthier’s work has always been lush, complex, and deep… but this release really takes it to the next level. [ 154 more words ]
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/03/31/deni-gauthier-he-said-she-said/

Deni Gauthier is a longtime friend of Down the Line, and the fact that he released a new album should be enough to get you to go out and buy it. Well, unless you are in Coronavirus lock-down, then …

30/03/2020

Golf Slang (aka J. Bozeman of Luxury fame) as kind of out of nowhere and with little fanfare released a new album called In Thy Room. So while you are stuck inside saving the world by sitting on your couch (or whatever else you are telling yourself to not get bored with yourself), be sure to check out this new album.
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/03/30/golf-slang-releases-in-thy-room/

25/03/2020

Fine China continues their impressive comeback by releasing the new single "Trees at Night." All of the hype says that this songs is heavily influenced by the late 80s, and in this case... you can believe the hype. So many bands try to get an 80s sound and fall short, but Fine China knows their stuff. Don't believe me? Here is what singer / songwriter Rob Withem has to say about the track: “In my home growing up there was an odd assortment of vinyl records among which were new age type albums by artists like Andreas Vollenweider and Mannheim Steamroller, and a whole stack of Windam Hill samplers from the early 80’s. [ 62 more words ]
https://downthelinezine.com/blog/2020/03/25/fine-china-releases-new-single-trees-at-night/