The Almost in LA April 12-14

As THE ALMOST--the brainchild of Underoath drummer/vocalist AARON GILLESPIE--prepare to release their debut album SOUTHERN WEATHER April 3 through a joint venture with Tooth & Nail and Virgin Records, the group has announced West Coast dates with Say Anything and Saves The Day as well as an East Coast trek with Paramore and This Providence. The West Coast run will hit Los Angeles for three consecutive shows: April 12 and 13 at the House of Blues and a second performance April 13 at the Vans Warped Tour Kick-Off Party with K-Os, Meg & Dia, The Briggs, Bleed The Dream and Jimmy Mar. In late April, THE ALMOST head out on a three-week tour with Paramore and This Providence, with a stop May 2 in New York City at the Bowery Ballroom, just prior to the band’s May 5 Bamboozle Festival performance at New Jersey’s Meadowlands.

In other news, THE ALMOST’s debut video for their first single “Say This Sooner”--which can be viewed here: http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/virg001/the_almost/video/southern_weather/thealmost_say_this_sooner_hi.asx--has been received with tremendous support from the video outlets. MTV2 launched the video on Monday, March 19 through the channel’s premiere platform “Unleashed,” with the video airing every hour on the hour. The video was also added to MTV2 this week and is in current rotation on FUSE, Music Choice and The IMF! In addition, music from SOUTHERN WEATHER will be featured on MTV2’s “The Drop” on Saturday, April 14, holding the band in the company of past “The Drop” artists Fall Out Boy and Good Charlotte.

Meanwhile, the powerful song is impacting radio, with adds at such stations as: KNDD “The End” (Seattle), KDGE “The Edge” (Dallas), KTBZ “The Buzz” (Houston), WSUN “97X” (Tampa), CIMX “89X” (Detroit), WPBZ “The Buzz” (West Palm), KXRK “X96” (Salt Lake City), KRBZ “The Buzz” (Kansas City), WXDX “The X” (Pittsburgh), KTCL (Denver), KXTE “X-treme Radio” (Las Vegas), WOCL “O-Rock” (Orlando), KTEG “The Edge” (Albuquerque), WYBB (Charleston) KPNT “The Point” (St. Louis), WBS “The Edge” (Phoenix), and KHBZ “The Buzz” (Oklahoma City), among others.

Meanwhile, this week, THE ALMOST has streamed their new SOUTHERN WEATHER album in its entirety for fans on their MySpace page: (www.myspace.com/thealmost).

GILLESPIE leads THE ALMOST on vocals and guitar and the band is rounded out by JAY VILARDI (guitar), ALEX APONTE (bass) and KENNY BOZICH (drums). GILLESPIE--who sings and performs virtually every note and instrument on his solo debut--teamed with acclaimed producer Aaron Sprinkle (Pedro The Lion) for SOUTHERN WEATHER.
SOUTHERN WEATHER is already garnering early critical praise. Here’s a sample:

“Although Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie cites Dave Grohl as the drummer-turned-frontman inspiration for his brazenly unscreamo project The Almost, musically it has far more in common with late-’90s emo acts like Jimmy Eat World and Sense Field. Although Gillespie’s croon is still distinctive, the 11 driving tracks on Southern Weather--on which he played nearly every note--allow him to stretch and sing his heart out alongside gospel choruses (‘Amazing, Because It Is’) and melodic rock riffs (‘Everyone Here Smells Like A Rat’) with equal aplomb. However, the highlight of Southern Weather is ‘Dirty And Left Out,’ a confessional--and decidedly non-secular--duet with former Sunny Day Real Estate frontman Jeremy Enigk that’s chilling enough to give goose bumps to even the most stringent non-believers.”
--Jonah Bayer, ALTERNATIVE PRESS, May 2007, CD review

“Ask Underoath drummer/singer Aaron Gillespie about his biggest influence and he’ll tell you in a heartbeat: Dave Grohl is the man. No surprise then, that in his new side project The Almost, Gillespie has set aside Underoath’s ferocious post-hardcore for an arena-worthy alt-rock sound that’s understandably drawing him comparisons to the Foo Fighter’s honcho and ex Nirvana skinsman. …Their frontman’s trademark modesty aside, The Almost’s debut, Southern Weather, gives Gillespie’s musical hero a run for his money. From the monster power chords and dynamic fireworks of the first single ‘Say This Sooner’ to the gentle acoustic melancholia of ‘Dirty And Left Out’ (featuring ex Sunny Day Real Estate singer Jeremy Enigk on guest vocals), Gillespie has nailed the Foo Fighters formula as much as he’s expanded on it.”
--Aaron Burgess, REVOLVER-Feature, May 2007

“Aaron Gillespie represents the better half of Underoath’s vocal team, delivering discernable lyrics and sing-along choruses. Such musical pretty parts dominate The Almost, a side project that permits Gillespie to explore more straightforward songs. Underoath may be the biggest hardcore band in America, but The Almost balance emo sensitivity and moshworthy rock rhythms.”
--Jason Harper, THE PITCH, January 17, 2007 (Kansas City)

“The album opens with ‘Say This Sooner,’ whose shuffling snare and chik-chicking acoustic guitars make it clear from the start that The Almost is definitely not short for the Almost sounds like Underoath. …even when cranking up the volume, Gillespie opts for subdued tempos and patiently melodic hooks, and the results are typically pleasant if not overwhelmingly memorable. The moments on Southern Weather that stand out as particularly gratifying are those that find Gillespie scribbling a little further outside of the lines: the grunge-y, fuzzed out chorus of ‘Never Say I Told You So;’ the downright countrified ‘Dirty And Left Out.’”
--Daniel Taylor, SYNTHESIS, March/April 2007, CD review

“Southern Weather finds Gillespie--also the singing drummer of fan-favorite Christian powerhouse Underoath--stepping out from behind the drums to center stage to explore a less aggressive side of rock. There’s no screaming on Gillespie’s solo bow and cameos from Jeremy Engik (Sunny Day Real Estate) and the Starting Line’s Kenny Vasoli leave little doubt about Southern Weather’s melodic character.”
--Ronen Kauffmann, ALTERNATIVE PRESS-Feature, April 2007


DATE CITY VENUE
With Say Anything and Saves the Day:
Tue 4/10 San Diego, CA Soma
Wed 4/11 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
Thu 4/12 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
Fri 4/13 Los Angeles, CA Key Club (Warped Kick-Off)
Fri 4/13 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
Sat 4/14 Pomona, CA Glasshouse
Sun 4/15 San Francisco, CA Slim’s
With Paramore and This Providence:
Fri 4/20 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution
Sat 4/21 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre
Mon 4/23 Orlando, FL The Social
Tue 4/24 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
Thu 4/26 Norfolk, VA The Norva
Fri 4/27 Towson, MD Recher Theatre
Sat 4/28 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Sun 4/29 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
Tue 5/1 Boston, MA Avalon
Wed 5/2 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
Sat 5/5 East Rutherford, NJ Meadowlands Sports Complex
(BAMBOOZLE)
Mon 5/7 Cleveland, OH Agora Ballroom
Tue 5/8 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Wed 5/9 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
Vans Warped Tour 2007
Thu 6/28 San Diego, CA Coors Amphitheatre
Fri 6/29 Pomona, CA Pomona Fairgrounds
Sat 6/30 Ventura, CA Seaside Park
Sun 7/1 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
Tue 7/3 Vancouver, BC Thunderbird Stadium
Thu 7/5 Calgary, AB Race City Speedway
Sat 7/7 Salt Lake City, UT Utah State Fairgrounds
Sun 7/8 Denver, CO TBA
Wed 7/11 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Pavilion
Thu 7/12 Las Cruces, NM NMSU Practice Field
Fri 7/13 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
Sat 7/14 Dallas, TX Smirnoff
Sun 7/15 Houston, TX Reliant Center
Wed 7/18 Atlanta, GA Hi Fi Amphitheatre
Thu 7/19 Jacksonville, FL Metropolitan Park
Fri 7/20 Tampa, FL Vinoy Park
Sat 7/21 Miami, FL Bayfront Amphitheatre
Sun 7/22 Orlando, FL Tinker Field
Mon 7/23 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Tue 7/24 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Wed 7/25 Washington, DC Merriweather Post Pavilion
Thu 7/26 Scranton, PA Montage Mountain Amphitheatre
Fri 7/27 Detroit, MI Comerica Park and street
Sat 7/28 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Sun 7/29 Minneapolis, MN Metrodome
Tue 7/31 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheatre
Wed 8/1 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Centre
Thu 8/2 Cleveland, OH Tower City Amphitheatre
Fri 8/3 Camden, NJ Tweeter Center
Sat 8/4 New York, NY Nassau Coliseum
Sun 8/5 Englishtown, NJ Raceway Park
Tue 8/7 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Wed 8/8 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
Thu 8/9 Boston, MA Tweeter Center Lot
Fri 8/10 Buffalo, NY Darien Lakes Field
Sat 8/11 Toronto, ON Park Place
Sun 8/12 Montreal, ON Park Jean Drapeau
Tue 8/14 St. Louis, MO UMB Bank Pavilion
Wed 8/15 Kansas City, KS Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Fri 8/17 Boise, ID Idaho Center Amphitheatre
Sat 8/18 Seattle, WA Gorge
Sun 8/19 Portland, OR Columbia Meadows
Thu 8/23 Fresno, CA Selland Arena
Fri 8/24 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
Sat 8/25 Los Angeles, CA Home Depot Center