{"id":32938,"date":"2016-12-06T14:02:25","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T19:02:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=32938"},"modified":"2016-12-06T14:02:31","modified_gmt":"2016-12-06T19:02:31","slug":"on-stage-bonus-live-for-today-tonight-at-tla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=32938","title":{"rendered":"On Stage (Bonus): Live ‘For Today’ tonight at TLA"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Staff Writer, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"For<\/a>

For Today<\/p><\/div>\n

For those who live \u201cfor today,\u201d today is for you \u2013 especially if the \u201cfor today\u201d in question is the band For Today.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Today, a Christian metalcore band from Iowa, will bring its \u201cFarewell Tour\u201d on December 6 to the\u00a0<\/span>Theatre of the Living Arts (334 South Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1011, http:\/\/www.lnphilly.com<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The band was formed in 2005 by Ryan Lietru, Mike Reynolds, David Morrison, and Jon Lauters. The final line-up features Ryan Leitru (lead guitar, vocals), Brandon Leitru (guitar, bass), Mattie Montgomery (unclean vocals), and David Puckett (drums).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe grew up in Sioux City, Iowa and that\u2019s where the band has always been based,\u201d said Ryan Lietru, during a phone interview last week as the band was driving through Arkansas on its way to a show in Florida. \u201cRight now, I\u2019m living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lietru explained why For Today was calling it quits after 11 successful years of making its own style of music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of it has to do with family,\u201d said Lietru. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing it for a long time \u2013 11 years. We\u2019ve accomplished what we wanted to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

A lot of us are married now and the singer has a few kids. There are more things to do in life that touring and playing in a band.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a great career. We\u2019ve put our wives through college. But, there comes a time when transition is necessary. We\u2019ve all spread out. My brother lives in Cincinnati. Our singer lives in Mobile, Alabama. No-one lives in Iowa any more<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, we have the rare chance to celebrate. We have the opportunity to do one more tour and see it off well. There is a life cycle in every band. Bands don\u2019t last 30 years any more. We\u2019ve accomplished what we\u2019ve wanted to do as a band and now we can call it on our own terms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Today has released seven albums \u2013 \u201cEkklesia,\u201d \u201cPortraits,\u201d \u201cBreaker,\u201d \u201cPrevailer,\u201d \u201cImmortal,\u201d \u201cFight the Silence\u201d and \u201cWake.\u201d The prophetically-named \u201cWake\u201d was released on Nuclear Blast Records in October 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIronically, we didn\u2019t plan on \u2018Wake\u2019 being our final album,\u201d said Lietru. \u201cOur previous tour focused on songs from \u2018Wake.\u2019 This \u2018Farewell Tour\u2019 is about celebrating the career of the band. But, in a strange way, it\u2019s almost like a funeral service. With seven albums, it\u2019s difficult to pick and choose songs. We play something from every record \u2013 the songs people want to hear.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith hardcore, it\u2019s more a collective experience. Audiences sing along. It\u2019s about joining things together. Lately, we\u2019ve been drawing audiences across generations. A part of it is that we\u2019re Christian rock. We\u2019re very upfront with the hope that we\u2019ve found.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for For Today \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/kvOSqWHrugk?t=15<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at TLA, which also includes Norma Jean, My Epic, Silent Planet, Young Graves, will start at 7 p.m.\u00a0 Tickets are $20.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Loamlands\"<\/a>

Loamlands<\/p><\/div>\n

On December 7, Boot and Saddle (1131 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 215-639-4528, www.bootandsaddlephilly.com<\/span><\/a>) will host a show that is at the opposite end of the music spectrum. It\u2019s highly unlikely that anyone attending the For Today concert will be back out a night later to hear Loamlands\u2019 show at Boot & Saddle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Loamlands is the musical vehicle for Kym Register, who performs as a duo with Will Hackney.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe type of music we play is queer country\/classic rock,\u201d said Register, during a phone interview last week from her home in Durham, North Carolina. \u201cThis project was born out of the ashes of another band \u2013 Midtown Dickens. I\u2019m doing this project with my longtime friend Will Hackney. Will and I found each other in that band.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter listening to Creedence Queerwater Revival, we decided we wanted to play classic rock \u2013 that classic rock didn\u2019t have to be cheesy. We grew up listening to classic rock and country was the music of our parents\u2019 generation. After playing in Creedence Queerwater Revival, the music was moving to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up a Pisces. As a kid, I listened to music for self-expression. My grandfather William Minor was a pedal steel guitarist who played at the Grand Old Opry so I do have some of that lineage shit happening for me. When I was growing up, I listened to the Pixies and a lot of punk stuff. I came over to country listening to Bonnie Raitt.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI started writing songs when I was around 13 or 14, I had an electric guitar and I was listening to Green Day. From the start, I always was picking things up \u2013 drums, banjo, accordion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another life-changing event happened to Register during that time period.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was when I was around 13 or 14, I realized I was gay,\u201d said Register. \u201cThe South is The South. There were some queer bands. It\u2019s always hard coming out that you\u2019re queer or different. It\u2019s especially hard if you\u2019re living in North Carolina.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Register, \u201cMost of the important dates I can recall are moments of drastic change\u00a0–\u00a0because they\u2019re painful. These are moments of personal growth that wedge themselves into our memories.\u00a0These are the\u00a0anniversaries, the birthdays, the points on a timeline. Moments that we remember clearly because they are recorded meticulously in lyrics, photo albums, and journals. Listening to recordings of my first band brings me back to parking garages with \u2018good acoustics,\u2019 and playing music with my best friend.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Those were songs\u00a0written\u00a0purely for ourselves that somehow made their way to DIY venues and houses across the country. The experience was formative, and then it imploded\u00a0–\u00a0leaving me to reexamine my relationship to music and performance. Thus was born\u00a0Loamlands, a musical endeavor aimed at telling stories of being from\u00a0the South through present day queer caucasian eyes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018When\u00a0Loamlands\u00a0began, I wanted to break out of the folk-punk cocoon that I had spun around myself for eight years. The only thing I was sure of\u00a0was\u00a0that I wanted to\u00a0write\u00a0thoughtfully. I was on the cusp of something new, but I wasn\u2019t quite there yet.\u00a0I rarely plugged in. I\u00a0was terrified\u00a0by the idea of\u00a0writing\u00a0a song that revolved around something\u00a0other than a feeling.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018I had internal guilt around loving the major label classic rock and country music my parents listened to.\u00a0I never imagined wanting to croon like Loretta Lynn or play the perfect guitar lead\u00a0\u2014\u00a0because \u2018punk,\u2019 because \u2018fringe.\u2019 because \u2018queer.\u2019\u00a0I slowly started to accept my own influences.\u00a0I fell in love again with Stevie Nicks and Bonnie Raitt and Kim Deal.\u00a0And then I got them all tattooed on my\u00a0arm, never to forget the power-houses that I grew up on, that saved my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Loamlands is now touring in support of its recently-released debut EP \u201cSweet High Rise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Sweet High Rise\u2019\u00a0chronicles this journey of reaching outside of myself,\u201d said Register. \u201cWhen I learned\u00a0–\u00a0at a free school\u00a0–\u00a0that NC pride was born out of the protest and riots following the murder of two gay men on their way to a swimming hole in Durham I wrote \u2018Little River.\u2019 Seeing the constant barrage of police, borne\u00a0out of the institution of slavery, killing people of color, queer folk, and countless marginalized communities\u00a0and\u00a0getting away\u00a0with it, I wrote \u2018Get Ready.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow can any thoughtful human not be angry at the current state of our world?\u00a0Those people know that they will stay in poverty under the current system while the word\u00a0\u2018progress\u2019\u00a0is used as a pat on the back for liberal policy\u00a0makers and developers.\u00a0The same story is repeated under a different guise, Slavery still exists\u00a0\u2014\u00a0it\u2019s just more covert. Prisons still cage folks and make them invisible to\u00a0any\u00a0passersby\u00a0attending expensive reproductions of \u2018The Lion King\u2019 or whatever at the\u00a0multi-million-dollar theater across the street.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in the\u00a0South, and in Durham in particular, most of my life.\u00a0I see the same things happening to my small town that I\u2019ve read about for years in history books.\u00a0Speedy gentrification is raising property taxes and kicking poorer folks further towards\u00a0the outskirts of town. We know this. On this record, I\u2019m telling stories. Stories about love, about abuse, about Durham\u2019s brutal history with LGBTQ and\u00a0police violence. I\u2019m telling stories of my own, stories that I\u2019ve encountered,\u00a0stories\u00a0that enrage me and that maybe not everyone knows.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Making the album was a challenge for Register.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe made the album about a year-and-a-half ago,\u201d said Register. \u201cWe had bene working on the record for a long, long time. It was DIY and we didn\u2019t have much money. We got our friends to play with us when we recorded it at studios in the Durham area. We finally finished it about six months ago. We also have a lot of unreleased tracks and writing some new tunes. Hopefully, we\u2019ll have an album together soon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Register offers a great description of \u201cSweet High Rise\u201d \u2013 \u201cThese are reflections\u00a0of a queer dirtbag in love, of owning the desire to kill all abusers, of small town break ups, of the pent-up anxiety that comes\u00a0being on the cusp of\u00a0identifying as angry and\u00a0of standing\u00a0strongly as gender queer when I am misidentified as \u2018she\u2019 or \u2018he.\u2019 This record is a release.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Loamlands \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/2Vz0eIi9xh0?t=217<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at Boot and Saddle, which also features Trophy Wife and Eric Slick, will start at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Yonas\"<\/a>

Yonas<\/p><\/div>\n

Another interesting show will take place on December 7 when Yonas performs a show at the Foundry at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, 215-309-0150, www.thefillmorephilly.com<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Hailing from New York City,\u00a0Yonas, whose full name is Yonas Mellesse, is one of hip-hop\u2019s most-hyped emerging artists. Known for his incredibly unique style, the 28-year-old makes it known that he is unlike anyone else in the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fusing thought provoking content and infectious melodies, with crossover music production,\u00a0Yonas\u00a0has begun changing the face of music. In just the past three years,\u00a0Yonas\u00a0has independently sold 100,000+ songs, 15,000+ Albums, and has accumulated over 70 million streams digitally. His albums have consistently reached Top 5 on the iTunes Hip Hop Charts, Top25 on the overall iTunes Albums Charts, and Top 50 on the Billboard Hip-Hop charts.<\/span><\/p>\n

The buzz generated from\u00a0Yonas\u2019 movement has also captured the attention of Mainstream Culture. His song \u201cFall Back\u201d was featured in the major motion picture \u201cThe Place Beyond The Pines,\u201d leading to similar song placements in major campaigns with Warrior Sports, Pepsi, and Fuse TV.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, I\u2019m in Virginia where one of my homes is,\u201d said Yonas, during a phone interview last week. \u201cI\u2019m packing and getting ready for the tour. I\u2019m leaving tonight for New York City. Half of the shows are with Felly and Gyps and then I\u2019ll be headlining another 10 shows by myself. I\u2019ll be touring for three months altogether. The tour ends February 28.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got three EPs tee-ed up to go out over the next three-to-four months. They are five-to-six song projects. I\u2019ll have one out in the next two weeks, another in January and another in February.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI try to keep recording when I\u2019m on the road. Logistically, it\u2019s kind of crazy. I have a mobile setup. I use ProTools and Logic and I can even record in my hotel room.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy music pretty much starts with the production. Something in the music will inspire me to start writing. Up-tempo or melancholic \u2013 the music guides me to what to write about. I just put into words what I hear from the music and combine it with my life experience \u2013 writing things that are true to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Yonas began his music career at the early age of six, when he was enrolled into violin classes by his parents as an attempt to focus some of his otherwise wild energy. After putting the violin down, and getting more into the culture of New York City, Yonas became interested in writing hip hop music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMusic has been there on-and-off relentlessly my entire life,\u201d said Yonas. \u201cMy mom put me in violin classes when I was six. I also played sports in my high school and college years. Along the way, I started getting back into music. I got into hip hop and freestyle when I was in high school. I realized I could make money through something and decided to give it a shot.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI learned how to make a song instead of just rapping and freestyling. It sets me apart that I write my own songs. I listened to a lot of oldies like Otis Redding. My style of music and influences are different than most of hip hop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to get away from original hip hop. I want to do it on my own and make it exciting. I can produce a song right on the spot. On the road, I\u2019ll have a deejay with me. Eventually, it would be nice to have a full band behind me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Yonas \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/TKM_m0UOlLo?t=4<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at The Foundry, which also features Felly and Gyps, will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff,\u00a0Staff Writer, The Times For those who live \u201cfor today,\u201d today is for you \u2013 especially if the \u201cfor today\u201d in question is the band For Today. For Today, a Christian metalcore band from Iowa, will bring its \u201cFarewell Tour\u201d on December 6 to the\u00a0Theatre of the Living Arts (334 South Street, Philadelphia, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[7426,9210,9211,9212],"class_list":["post-32938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-for-today","tag-loamlands","tag-yonas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32938"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32939,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32938\/revisions\/32939"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}