2008 Take Action! Tour lineup announced

Hopeless/Sub City Records has officially announced the lineup for the 2008 Take Action! Tour featuring headliner Every Time I Die, as well as From First To Last, The Bled, August Burns Red, and The Human Abstract.

Initial dates for the tour have also been announced (see below) An exclusive internet-only pre-sale will begin December 10 at 3pm local time in each market of the nationwide tour. Fans who purchase four tickets to a show will be invited to an exclusive meet and greet at the venue with Every Time I Die and receive a signed Take Action! Tour poster from the band. To access the pre-sale please visit. http://tixx1.artistarena.com/takeactiontour.

The tour, now in its seventh year, will benefit non-profit organization Do Something, a group that gives young people the opportunity to personally help change the world. Putting their money where their mouth is, Do Something distributes weekly $500 grants to young people with an idea about how to make a difference in their community. In 2007 alone, the site issued over $240,000 to young people who are making change in communities across the globe. Last year Do Something reached over 10 million young people, age 25 and under, and helped them take action.

Headlining the 2008 Take Action! Tour is Every Time I Die who recently released The Big Dirty through Ferret Music this September. "As a band that is more often than not actively pursuing leisure, it will be a nice change to finally take some action," says ETID front man, Keith Buckley.

From First To Last will release its next album through Suretone Records in early 2008. Guitarist Travis Richter is anxious to hit the road as part of Take Action. “We are very excited to be a part of this year’s Take Action! Tour and to contribute to a great cause,” Richter explains. “We can’t wait to kick the tour off with our old friends in Every Time I Die and make new friends with the other bands as well.”

Arizona’s The Bled released their latest effort Silent Treatment on Vagrant Records this fall. Drummer Mike Pedicone is eager to be part of the Take Action! Tour, noting, “It has been a long time coming that we tour with our close compadres in Every Time I Die. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to be a part of a tour with a seriously positive message. There are a lot of tours out there with bands who are spitting meaningless junk in your ear. It’s comforting to know we'll be out with good peeps and on a tour that supports a good cause.”

Singer Nathan Ells of the band The Human Abstract is also proud to be involved with the tour. "Being a band that tackles world issues in our music, and also a band that cares about putting out a positive message to our audience, makes The Human Abstract very glad to be on a tour that promotes those very things,” Ells points out.

In 1999 Hopeless Records formally started supporting non-profit organizations through their Sub City imprint and Take Action! initiatives. Since then the label has released over 30 charitable titles and donated over 1 million dollars to various non-profit organizations including over $450,000 through Take Action. The tour has previously featured many future stars including: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Jimmy Eat World, Avenged Sevenfold, Hawthorne Heights, Chiodos, Thrice, Anti-Flag, Silverstein, Dillinger Escape Plan, and many more. Take Action! 2008 will benefit Do Something by donating 10% of all ticket sales and 5% of the suggested retail price for each Take Action! Volume 7 compilation sold.

Hot Topic, the music lifestyle mall retailer (hottopic.com), is once again the title sponsor of the tour. Hot Topic is a natural fit, as they demonstrate a passion for music in everything they do. Since the inception of Take Action! in 1999, Hot Topic has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Take Action! cause, helping to educate millions of people to make a difference. Additional generous sponsors and partners of the 2008 tour are: tour producer, Live Nation, MySpace, Purevolume, Alternative Press, Absolutepunk.net, and Fanscape.

Here’s a little more information on each band on the 2008 Take Action! Tour:

EVERY TIME I DIE
A five-piece hardcore band from Buffalo, NY, the band was founded by brothers Keith and Jordan Buckley. Sporting an enigmatic live show, the band’s sound is an unorthodox mix of blistering metal, progressive hardcore and a melodic sensibility. Having outlived the use of numerous bass players, thanks in part to inner conflict and discrepancies over musical direction, the band hasn’t only survived but flourished with tour-stealing performances on the Vans Warped Tour and Ozzfest, as well as on the Download Festival and Rock AM Ring overseas. This Fall saw the release of the band’s fourth record, The Big Dirty on Ferret Music which was produced by Steve Evetts (Dillinger Escape Plan, Saves The Day). See www.myspace.com/everytimeidie for more info.


FROM FIRST TO LAST
Signed to Suretone Records in early ’07, the Los Angeles band recently completed its first release for the label with veteran producer Josh Abraham (Velvet Revolver, Linkin Park, 30 Seconds To Mars) with mixing duties handled by Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Velvet Revolver). The album is set for release early next spring. The band recently returned to the core line-up of its early days with co-founding guitarist Matt Good stepping up to handle lead vocals and co-founder/guitarist Travis Richter and new permanent member/bassist Matt Manning handling additional vocals. Drummer Derek Bloom remains behind the skins. See www.myspace.com/fftl to learn more.

THE BLED
Hailing from Tucson, Arizona, The Bled recently released its third record, Silent Treatment on Vagrant Records. The band entered the studio in March ‘07 with producer Brian McTernan (Converge, Strike Anywhere, Thrice) in Baltimore, where they spent six and a half weeks tracking a total of 14 songs that were eventually reduced to the 11 charging, compelling tracks that compose Silent Treatment. No strangers to the road The Bled has toured previously with Slipknot, Alexisonfire, Thrice, Midtown, The Used, My Chemical Romance, Senses Fail, and AFI, as well as Projekt Revolution with Linkin Park. Check out www.myspace.com/thebled for more information.

AUGUST BURNS RED
Since entering the Billboard Top 200 charts at #81 in June 2007, August Burns Red's latest album, Messengers on Tooth & Nail Records, has continued to exceed everyone's expectations. Meanwhile, the band has been touring nonstop in support of the album. August Burns Red still continues to gain fans and impress their followers with their crushing metal riffage since 2003. These Pennsylvania natives will take a back seat to no one on this upcoming installment of the Take Action Tour! See www.myspace.com/augustburnsred for more info.

THE HUMAN ABSTRACT
Named after a poem by writer William Blake, the Los Angeles band is known for its technical proficiency and undeniable candor. The combination of advanced technical musicianship and intense creative drive has managed to clearly distinguish the band from the rest of the scene. The Human Abstract will be recording their sophomore release for Hopeless Records in January 2008, and expect to release it in the spring. Go to www.myspace.com/thehumanabstract to learn more.

Initial 2008 Take Action Tour Dates:
2/14/2008 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
2/15/2008 Milwaukee, WI The Eagles Club (The Rave)
2/16/2008 St. Paul, MN Station 4
2/17/2008 Chicago, IL House of Blues
2/19/2008 Kansas City, MO The Beaumont Club
2/20/2008 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
2/21/2008 Magna, UT The Great Salt Air
2/22/2008 Boise, ID The Big Easy Concert House
2/23/2008 Spokane, WA The Big Easy Concert House
2/24/2008 Seattle, WA El Corazon
2/25/2008 Portland, OR Roseland Theatre
2/27/2008 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
2/28/2008 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
2/29/2008 San Diego, CA House of Blues
3/1/2008 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
3/2/2008 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
3/3/2008 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater
3/5/2008 Dallas, TX House of Blues
3/6/2008 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
3/7/2008 McAllen, TX Cine El Rey Theatre
3/8/2008 San Antonio, TX The White Rabbit
3/12/2008 Saint Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing
3/14/2008 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall
3/15/2008 Norfolk, VA The Norva
3/16/2008 Baltimore, MD Ram's Head Live
3/19/2008 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre
3/21/2008 Worcester, MA The Palladium
3/22/2008 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore at the TLA
3/24/2008 New York, NY The Fillmore New York @ Irving Plaza
Additional dates to be announced.

Information about Volume 7 of the Take Action! Compilation series will be released soon.

The latest information can always be found at www.takeactiontour.com.