Photo Atlas hits the road

Denver-based dance-punk phenoms – and way serious XBOX 360, PSP and PS2 gamesters! – The Photo Atlas will kick off the longest headlining U.S. tour of their career to date, in support of NO, NOT ME, NEVER, their debut album on Stolen Transmission Records (a joint release with Morning After Records). The 2-month 48-city trip opens on October 3rd at Yellowstone Valley Brewing in Billings, Montana, and wraps up at Vino’s in Little Rock on December 4th before heading back into the studio to record their follow up album scheduled to be released in 2008. (Please see complete tour dates below.)

The Photo Atlas itinerary is highlighted by three separate shows in New York City – two of them scheduled for October 17th & 20th, to coincide with the annual Greenwich Village-based CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival (which runs from October 16-20th). Three weeks later on Veteran’s Day, November 11th, the band returns to New York for a night at the Knitting Factory.
The fans will be brought along on this tour by checking out postings on the bands band new website- kept www.thephotoatlas.com, where they will be updating their tour journal daily!

The Photo Atlas – Alan Andrews (vocal/guitar), Bill Threlkeld III (guitar), Mark Hawkins (bass), and Devon Shirley (drums/sampling) – were named “One Of 100 Bands To Watch In 2007” by A­P (Alternative Press) magazine early in the year, and then graduated to “One Of The 22 Best Underground Bands That Likely Won’t Stay Underground For Long!” in the July issue. (AP gave NO, NOT ME, NEVER a 4-star review upon its release in March, then invited the Photo Atlas to play their annual showcase during the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference the same month in Austin, Texas.) The buzz was reinforced when the video for the band’s single “Handshake Heart Attack” was nominated as one of “The Freshman 5” on mtvU was in the spring.

Now it turns out that the guys are passionate video gamesters who have toggled through hundreds of first person shooter and action adventure games. XBOX 360 rules for Devon and Mark, who play Black, Dead Rising, Everquest, Gears of War, Guitar Hero 2, and Lord Of The Rings: The Battle For Middle Earth, as well as online versions of Halo 2 and Call of Duty 2 & 3.

Devon and Bill share their collection of PSP games: Capcom Classics, 300 The Game, Lemmings, EA sports Fight Nights, Gangs of London, Killzone: Liberation, Syphon Filter, Twisted Metal, and Worms.

On his own, Devon still goes for PS2: Final Fantasy 7 and 8, God of War and God of War 2, Grand Theft Auto (all versions), Guitar Hero 1 & 2, Gun, Metal Gear Solid (all versions), Prince of Persia, Red Dead Revolver, Resident Evil (all versions), Shadow of Colossus, Socom: U.S. Navy Seals, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell ( all versions), Tomb Raider, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 – to name a few!

The Photo Atlas’ explosive blend of machine-gun guitar percussives, Brit-rock dance­ability and punk rock urgency come ripping out on NO, NOT ME, NEVER. The band draws on the staccato energy and powerful dynamics of Fugazi, the off-kilter, proggy changes and pained, plaintive vocals of At The Drive In, and the straightforward drive of Bloc Party to create a frenzied, blistering, often paranoid noise. But one that you can dance to. Their debut album was one of the first releases on Stolen Transmission, an imprint of Island Def Jam Records launched in 2006 by Rob Stevenson, Island Records Executive Vice President, A&R, and Sarah Lewitinn.

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THE PHOTO ATLAS ON TOUR

Date City Venue
Oct. 3 Billings, MT Yellowstone Valley Brewing
4 Rapid City, SD The Imperial Hotel
6 Tinley Park, IL Mojo’s Rock House
7 Newton, IL Newton Community High School
9 La Crosse, WI The Warehouse
10 Iowa City, IA The Picador
11 Dekalb, IL The House Cafe
12 Cleveland, OH Agora Ballroom
13 Pittsburgh, PA Garfield Artworks
14 Brooklyn, NY Luna Lounge
16 Camden, DE The Venue
17 New York, NY TBA ANNEX- CMJ!!!
18 Allentown, PA Crocodile Lounge
19 Red Bank, NJ Internet Café
20 New York, NY CMJ- TBA
23 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
26 Danbury, CT Billy Baloney’s
27 Waltham, MA Chum�s Café
28 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place
29 Lansing, MI Mac’s Bar
30 Columbus, OH The Basement

Nov. 3 Orlando, FL Backbooth
4 Naples, FL Lucky�s @ 951
5 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
7 Wilmington, NC The Soapbox
8 Charlotte, NC The Casbah at Tremont Music Hall
9 Raleigh, NC The Brewery
10 Danville, VA Plan B
11 New York, NY The Knitting Factory
12 Baltimore, MD The Ottobar
13 Utica, NY Skate-a-rama
14 Allston, MA The ICC
15 Kingston, PA Backstage Enterprises
16 Altoona, PA Jaggard Umc
17 Edinboro, PA The Hangout
18 Kettering, OH The Attic Club
19 Memphis, TN Dregs
20 Atlanta, GA The Drunken Unicorn
24 Springfield, MA Nu Brew
25 Louisville, KY Uncle Pleasants
26 Ft Wayne, IN The Anchor
27 Chicago, IL Subterranean
28 Lawrence, KS The Bottleneck
29 Wichita, KS Eagles Lodge
30 Wichita Falls, TX The Onesixnine

Dec. 2 Austin, TX Emo’s
3 Houston, TX Walter’s on Washington
4 Little Rock, AR VINO’s