By: Zane Brammell

One of rock’s newest heavy-hitters, DED continue to knock charts with the release of their newest project, the two track micro EP entitled “Mannequin Eyes.” The release is the follow-up to their 2017 debut album “Mis-An-Thrope.” After generating over twenty five million streams on streaming services, landing the band on popular playlists such as Spotify’s Viral 50, Apple Music’s Rock Hard and Amazon Music’s Top 50 Rock Songs, the band set a high bar to follow.

The lead single, “A Mannequin Idol (Lullaby)” is a fast tempo race around the bases blending both hard rock and post-hardcore allowing listeners little time to breathe. With a voice reminiscent of Jonathan Davis of Korn, the ferocity in which DED lead singer Joe Cotela provides one vocal remedy sure to cure any ailment. Directing distaste towards the music industry, “You just want a pretty face to sing you a song / a lullaby that turns you on / but it’s all so vain, so criminal / do you really want a mannequin idol?” the band is steadfast in distancing themselves from the ‘mannequin idols’ on popular radio today.
    Known for their headstrong attitude made apparent on their last release, the second track from the micro EP “Eyes Sewn Shut” further pushes boundaries. A ballad-esque provocative piece about standing strong in the face of adversity “I won’t be a slave / and waste away / living everyday with my eyes sewn shut / as the world decays / I remain / Have you had enough? / living with your eyes sewn shut” is a demanding testament to defend what you believe in, in the vein of punk rock.The lead single, “A Mannequin Idol (Lullaby)”

To support the release, DED is slated to hit the road with a powerhouse of performers: In This Moment, Black Veil Brides, and Raven Black for an extensive cross country forty-date tour beginning March 24th in Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues Orlando and wrapping up May 17th in Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre. You can check below for a full list of dates.

DED is expected to release a full length album later this year. The album will be the first release under Suretone Records’ renewed, multiple-year deal with ADA Worldwide for exclusive distribution. In the meantime, add “Mannequin Eyes” to your workout playlist and hit the gym. You’re gonna need it to keep up with the pit when you catch them on tour later this year.  ​

Stay tuned for updated tour dates, due to the tour being postponed!

Written & Photos By: Zane Brammell

You can watch the new video for “Millennium” below, and follow the band on their various social media outlets. While you wait for everything to pass, flip the record over, lay the needle down and listen to some great music. ​

By: Anthony Cannella

​Dashboard Confessional is currently on their 20 Year Anniversary Celebration Tour and recently made their way to the House Of Blues in Chicago for three straight sold out nights! On the third night we were able to catch them with The Get Up Kids, as we witnessed Dashboard Confessional serenate the legendary venue to perfection. The third show out of the three in Chicago was the absolute perfect one to be at, due to the fact that the setlist was a combination of the two albums “The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most” and “A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar” instead of just one of them in its entirety. This heartfelt, well thought out setlist can be found below in the photos along with a visual of the unforgettable night of celebration we had with Dashboard Confessional! Check it below!

This tour genuinely is one you do not want to miss as Dashboard Confessional showcases their talents and proves why this band has been in business for 20 years and counting. Also, this tour will bring you down memory lane with these chart-topping hits! There are still plenty of dates on this tour, so we assure you that if it’s coming near you, don’t hesitate to see it no matter what setlist/album they are performing that night. Most shows, as you can see, are sold out, but don’t let that stop you from trying to find a ticket. We promise it will be worth it!
Check out some of the videos below to have a taste of what songs you could be hearing at the show!

​This article represents my beliefs, opinions and views.  It does not represent the beliefs, opinions or views of Headrush Tv, Epitaph Records or Thrice and the members thereof. 

​Greetings to all good men and women.  Twenty months ago, I was driving my wife, whom I had impregnated with our fifth child, to an OB appointment.  Fifth child and fifth boy, in case anyone was wondering the ratio.  Same wife.  A deer had ended its life on our family transport just prior to this point and I was driving a rental.  It was a rental with an XM Satellite Radio and on that magical radio signal from outer space I heard a song titled The Grey by a group named Thrice.  I had stumbled onto a treasure trove of wondrous sounds spanning almost two decades.

Upon returning home from the appointment, I promptly started mining the depths of Thrice and the lead singer Dustin Kensrue’s solo gems.  There was not one thing I heard that wrinkled my nose. Every single song was fragrant, potent and delicious.  The songs were deep, meaningful, purposeful, well-constructed and beautifully executed.  For me personally, there are a few groups like this such as Bad Religion, Rancid, Needtobreathe, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Demon Hunter, Bob Marley and Pink Floyd. 

​While listening to Thrice, of course Black Honey floored me. Talk about painting a powerful picture of selfishness and greed.  Beggars also resonated with me. It is such a fantastic melding of the content to the sound.  I knew an old theologian who said that he was just one beggar showing other beggars where he found bread.  There was another one as well by Dustin Kensrue titled It’s Not Enough that made me pause with emotion.  Yes, I’m old and yes, I’m a warrior, but I’m allowed to be touched by a work of art. 

Anyways, to my joy, Thrice was on Epitaph Records.  Epitaph Records had been and continues to be a pleasure to work with.  Having shot some of my favorite artists from the label, I reached out to them for approval to behold Thrice’s Vheissu Tenth Anniversary Tour.
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To be fair, I had the honor of shooting Thrice on the Rockstar Energy Disrupt Festival this past summer.  It was my first time seeing and photographing them.  I found the performance absolutely amazing.  Everyone involved does a top-shelf job. 

​The last sentence was the last sentence I wrote before my son passed away.  I had planned to finish this article the following day, but instead I was laying on the couch in tears as our friends came and went. That first day I just wanted to lay there and listen to worship music, then about halfway through I wanted to hear Thrice.  I had been listening to so much of their music leading up to the concert and when I write an article, I listen to live performances. Some of the songs brought me comfort.  It’s true; we are all beggars. There is no them and there is an artist in the ambulance.  But the song that really struck me over and over was It’s Not Enough by Kensrue.  One of my kids asked why I kept playing it and I said because it’s important to me.    

​My wife and I, along with our family, had been wandering around in the desert for 7 years.  My son who died had been in the foster care system, abused and neglected, and at the age of two months he was placed in our home.  We knew he was our son from first sight, the first sight of his little misshapen head from being left laying on his back, the sight of unknown sores all over his body, and the sight of his drooping left eye socket.  We knew that he wasn’t like our other biological babies as we loved him through the endless angry screams.  Through years of severe challenges and stresses we fought for him in court and in doctors’ and specialists’ offices. We fought for him in our home and on our knees. 

Shortly after he came into our home, I stopped being able to see God’s hand in our circumstance.  My son was diagnosed with autism pretty early in his life.  We had little support from our church and friends, except for one friend.  We felt that hot sand, the never changing landscape and no nourishment.  We watched others walking through rich flowery fields with their foster children.  Their stories seemed perfect.
 
My wife and I had loved doing missions together in the past and had arrived at the decision to foster as a way to continue to serve the least of these.  James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself unstained by the world.”  Additionally, we had hoped to adopt.  I’m adopted and knew that one day I would adopt a child as well.  In my ignorance I thought there was an equation here. We care for orphans plus self-sacrifice equals God’s blessing, God’s provision and praise.  I had failed to read the preceding verses in James 1 which talked about trials and perseverance.             

​Three years ago, we were able to adopt our son.  It was also three years ago that the diagnosis of autism was thrown out and he was instead diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder.  We had not heard of it before; few have.  We had no idea of what this meant.  However, we are his parents and we would labor to find solutions.  Turns out there’s no real solution and no real cure for this disorder, for this mental illness. 

​I kept our daily trials from the majority of people.  He is my son. This is my family and it’s my job to protect them. Therefore, I’m not going to write in detail about it here.  Those who were really close to us knew, his doctors knew, and his psychiatrist knew.  My wife was amazing and resilient.  She worked so hard for our son, fighting daily on the battlefield of life for his protection and healing. 
 
Undeniably my son loved some things in life- his baby brother, trains, bowling, spaghetti, spaghetti pizza (his own invention), control, Mr. Rogers, the Triune God, the Bible, his Daily Bread and the mountains to name a few.  With his disorder, had he decided not to love God, he would have shredded his Bible. But instead he loved it. It calmed his mind.  At the time he passed away he had memorized Ephesians chapters 1 and 2 and hundreds of other verses.  He had just turned 7.  Additionally, a couple of years prior, he had just started reading out of the blue, without anyone’s assistance, and he loved to read the Bible.  God’s provision.

​I don’t mean to go on and on, so I’ll get to the point….perhaps.  My son’s disorder was like The Nothing in The Neverending Story.  So often it swallowed up all and so often I felt like the Rockbiter. I’ve also got big strong hands, but it seemed that I, that we, were not enough to hold onto our loved ones.  However, near the end there were more good days than bad.  We had a good Thanksgiving, a good Christmas; he had a good 7th birthday, and my wife’s birthday in the months preceding his death.  That was so rare, and I was so grateful. 

​The night he passed away I was praying about him and felt the Lord tell me to have my wife go and lay down with him.  She came to me just after and said she thought the Lord was telling her to go lay down with him.  She did and got to pray over him, sing to him and tell him she loved him.  We thought he was having another mental health crisis, which we had seen in the bad times in the past.  As I put him in the car to go to the hospital, I got to tell him that I loved him.  I was able to look him in his face and tell him, “Daddy loves you.”  I thought that he’d be home the next day as I sent him and my wife down the mountain to the children’s hospital.  I’m eternally grateful for that moment to hold him and tell him I loved him.  So many don’t get that opportunity.

​Moments later he was gone, absent from the body and present with the Lord.  I know that many of my friends don’t believe in God; many of you who read this don’t believe either.  It’s my position to love, but in that love, I want you all to know the peace and joy we have in the sorrow and where that comes from.  Jesus was only harsh with the religious leaders. He was compassionate with the lost, the humble, with the lowly, the sinners, the adulterers and the broken.  He was compassionate with me.  I was against Christians, against the God of the Bible up until God saved me kicking and fighting against him when I was in my mid-twenties.  I get it. I so get it, and my heart breaks for you.  I love you where you are, and He loves you where you are too. 

​Seven years in the desert, seven years as the Rockbiter, seven years looking for the star of Bethlehem.  Then all of a sudden, the fire, the light, the burning bush surrounded me, surrounded my family.  In our grief and anguish there was a tangible peace, joy and love present.  In the fire another was with us.  It’s hard to describe because the grief is still there, but it’s not the same; it’s not hopeless.  There is hope.  My son is no longer is consumed and troubled.  He wanted to do better. He wanted God to change his heart. He wanted to be rescued.  All I wanted was to be his dad but The Nothing is a thief and so often stole moments from us.  In that moment God entered and said, “He is mine.”  What belongs to another can’t be taken or stolen from us when the one with ultimate claim demands a return.  I see God’s hand through all of this from the smallest things like my friend Steve randomly showing up to plow our drive the day before my son died. The next day our driveway was lined with grieving friends that never would have been able to park if that small act had not been performed.  To every need being taken care of, love, emotional support, playing with my other children, taking them out, financial help, food in abundance, the empathy and compassion of the law enforcement community, love from the community at large, and love from the schools I work with.  A local pizza shop, Altitude Pizza, specially made twenty-five of my son’s spaghetti pizza creations for the memorial service and would not accept payment.  The funeral home was exemplary and loving like a friend.  A friend supplied handmade Minion cupcakes that were outstanding and hosted a tamale party to give us a large supply of frozen meals for the future.  But the biggest evidence was the peace, the peace and joy in the midst of the storm.  In the midst of the tears.

Don’t get me wrong, the pain at times pierces me like a knife. It’s a pain I’ve never felt.  Morning and night I cry, but I’m so grateful for his peace.  I miss the missing.  I just wanted to be his dad completely, to hold onto him like the Rockbiter. But in the end, it wasn’t The Nothing that took him.  No darkness, but the Light, the King of King’s, the Warrior King.
 
A few days after he passed I woke up around 3 or 4am.  My wife had gotten up; I knew she was writing, that God had given her an outlet.  It turns out that He had given her the words to say at the Memorial Service.  As I lay there praying, the words of It’s Not Enough kept coming to my mind and I felt God telling me to use it at the Memorial Service. An odd choice I told God, but I rolled with it.  I’m not in a position to argue.  I’ve learned to listen, and God would show me why the song needed to be included. 

​Around that time my friend Mark had text extending his condolences and asking if there was anything he could do.  Mark had joined me at the Thrice concert having been a long-time fan.  Mark is also a pretty talented singer and guitar player.  I asked if he could perform the song.  He immediately said he would.  I had imagined an acoustic version, so when he sent back a link for an acoustic version and asked if that would be ok, I said it was excellent.        
 
God had revealed to me the purpose of the song being included.  No matter how much money we had to try and heal our son, no matter what I did to try and find peace in our stormy life, no matter how much sacrifice was made, it would never be enough to make him whole… to make my family whole.  To make me whole.  Only God makes broken things whole again.  Broken hearts, broken minds, broken lives and broken souls made whole through Him.  That’s the point. In spite of all our striving we are incapable of making ourselves whole, of making others whole. There will always be something left to be desired.  God is enough though, enough to make my son whole.  To make us whole and it's beautiful.

Feel free to reach out to me if you like, feel free to watch the memorial service on Facebook or just drop me a message.   
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I would like to give a big thank you to Thrice and Dustin for making music that spoke to me, my family and friends during this hurricane.  Thinking back now I can hardly remember the concert. What I remember was that they were outstanding.  If I were to summarize, it would look like this- spot on, on point, and awesomeness.  What I will remember is the comfort I received, and that God gave me It’s Not Enough for my son’s memorial service.       
 
Thank you for taking the time to read this article.  I wanted to honor my God, my son, my family and the band in the writing process.  It was healing to a degree.  Thank you for allowing me to have this outlet.
 
Sincerely,
Just Another Beggar
Jonathan Stark
starkphotography@hotmail.com

A Good Lookin Tour
March 4 — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania @ Peterson Events Center
March 6 — Charlotte, North Carolina @ Spectrum Center
March 7 — Duluth, Georgia @ Infinite Energy Center
March 10 — North Charleston, South Carolina @ North Charleston Coliseum
March 13 — Hampton, Virginia @ Hampton Coliseum
March 14 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania @ The Met Philadelphia
March 15-16 — Washington, D.C. @ Anthem
March 18 — Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ Coca-Cola Coliseum
March 20 — Columbus, Ohio @ Nationwide Arena
March 21 — St. Louis, Missouri @ Chaifetz Arena
March 22 — Southaven, Mississippi @ Landers Center
March 27 — Dallas, Texas @ American Airlines Center
March 28 — Austin, Texas @ Frank Erwin Center
March 29 — Sugarland, Texas @Smart Financial Centre
April 1 — Independence, Missouri @ Silverstein Eye Centers Arena
April 3 — Chicago, Illinois @ United Center
April 4 — Minneapolis, Minnesota @ Armory
April 9 — Omaha, Nebraska @ Baxter Arena
April 10 — Madison, Wisconsin @ Alliant Energy Center
April 23 — Tulsa, Oklahoma @ BOK Center
April 25 — Denver, Colorado @ Pepsi Center
April 28 — Salt Lake City, Utah @ Maverik Center
April 29 — Missoula, Montana @ Adams Center
May 1 — Portland, Oregon @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum
May 2 — George, Washington @ Gorge Amphitheatre
May 5 — San Francisco, California @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
May 8 — Inglewood, California @ The Forum
May 15 — Boston, Massachusetts @ TD Garden
May 16 — New York City @ Madison Square Garden
May 22 — Nashville, Tennessee @ Bridgestone Arena
May 24 — Louisville, Kentucky @ KFC Yum! Center

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By: Anthony Cannella
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Sleep Signals recently dropped some massive news with the announcement of their next EP ‘2020’ coming out on May 8th! Along with that announcement, Sleep Signals gave us a taste of what’s to come with putting out the second song on the new EP “Fireproof” with an insane music video to follow. Check out the music video for “Fireproof” below!

With hearing this news, we knew that we had to know more about this outstanding project. We shared words with Sleep Signals vocalist Robert Cosgrove about everything. Check out below on what he had to say!
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HeadRush Tv: Hello Sleep Signals, first off it’s amazing to hear from you guys! Your new EP is dropping in 2020 along with a new song “Fireproof” that is on it and being release February 28th! With you guys being in the studio working on this project since May of 2019, how does it feel that the release date is finally here and the first song is being released?

Robert Cosgrove: It’s amazing to finally get some new music out! We’ve been working hard in the studio between tours for months and it’s great to finally see a finished product. We’d never spent that much time in the studio on a release, so it feels really good to finally have a tangible product in our hands!
 
HeadRush Tv: Following up 2017’s “At the End of the World” which was a huge success for you guys! What things did you take from that project that you converted into this one? And How did the process differ on this EP than “At the End of the World”?

Robert Cosgrove: ATEOTW was a really big EP for us, we grew a lot musically. I think we’ve pulled a lot of that growth forward into “2020”. The way we wrote this EP was a lot different than the last few. We worked with a local producer, Ian Combs, so we were able to spend a lot more time on the writing and pre-production for this album. The past few albums we had done in Kansas City and Memphis, so we had a timeframe to get in and do everything all at once. I think having the ability to let some of the music simmer for a while really helped the overall product. There was a lot less pressure to just “get it done” and really focus on writing the best songs we could. Everyone in the band was a lot more involved with the writing on this album too, so that was really cool. I think it allowed us to pull inspiration from a lot more angles than anything we’d done in the past.
 
HeadRush Tv: With you guys working non-stop on this new EP, What was your guys motivation and inspiration during this creative time period?

Robert Cosgrove: Our main motivating factor was really just putting out some great music for everybody who has been with us through this crazy 5 years. It was long overdue! We did 4 major US tours over the past 14 months and met a lot of awesome people and we wanted to make this record for them. We’re proud to be an independent band and our fanbase is the only thing that keeps us doing what we love to do, so this album is for everybody who has come out to see us live or come up to us after a show to get to know us. That is what motivated us.
As far as inspiration and the creativity with this album, we thought it would be fitting to do something special for the year 2020. When we were kids, everybody talked about the year 2020 and what we thought it would be like. Media and film and everything growing up always made 2020 stand out as this year where technology would be so advanced that we’d have flying cars and robots and everything. We wanted to make something that reminded us of that nostalgia, something of a “80s rendition of what we thought the year 2020 would be”. We really took the idea and ran with it. All the artwork, the music videos, the orchestration and synth in the tracks, everything...
 
HeadRush Tv: So, there is a song that is being released off the EP, “Fireproof”, along with a killer music video for it. We had a chance to view a snippet of it before it came out and we couldn’t wait to see it all! What was filming this video like and what statement were you guys trying to get across with the song/video?

Robert Cosgrove: We had a blast filming the music video for “Fireproof” and worked with some very talented individuals putting it together. Conceptually, the song is about the girl who is “Just too cool,” but everybody wants to be with. Everybody who touches her gets burned, but the protagonist is like, “I can handle this.” So in the music video, we just really tried to express that visually and show the frustration and depression that the protagonist was going through. Everybody can relate to this one way or the other, so it was a cool concept. We tried something new with this video where we shot the whole band individually instead of as a group and I think it turned out really cool!
 
HeadRush Tv: Sleep Signals thank you so much for everything and congratulations on the song/music video release and the announcement of when your EP will drop! For your fans reading this, what more can they expect from you guys this year aside from this release?

Robert Cosgrove: As always, our fans can expect us to hit the road hard. We love to meet fans, so we always urge people to just come up and talk to us at a show! We want to get to know you and see you next time we come back through your city! You can expect a lot of tour dates this year supporting the new EP and we can’t wait to get back out on the road to play these new tunes for all of you!
 
As Robert said in the interview, Sleep Signals will be hitting the road hard this year and to back that statement up, they released a bunch of dates for the EP Release Tour! We assure you that you do not want to miss out on these shows as Sleep Signals will be giving you everything they got. See tour dates below!

By: Anthony Cannella

On February 20, The Lonely Generation Tour took us on an emotional rollercoaster at Park West in Chicago, Illinois with the one and only Echosmith along with support from Weathers and Jayden Bartels. This is such a killer tour as each artist brings such an incredible vibe that flows and builds up into the next act. Weathers hits the stage ready to rock as their set is very in your face, which forces the crowd to get extremely hyped! Their set goes so hard and leaves you with no choice, but to rock out and dance along with the band.
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As Weathers finishes their set, the oh so talented family that forms Echosmith takes over! The Sierota family that consists of Graham (drums), Noah (bass, vocals) and Sydney (lead vocals) are a site to see, due to the fact that what can’t this family do! Echosmith pulls out all the tricks during their set leaving you to question what is to come next at all times. Talent even runs deeper in the family as they showcase their Father on the piano for a song that falls mid set. With that being said, Echosmith takes you on an emotional journey throughout their show. They come out with positive fun vibes that truly sets a party setting, but before you know it, they bring it down with some of their powerful songs. As soon as they are done getting you all in your feels, they bring it right back up and end it on a high note with their hit song “Cool Kids”!
This show fell on a Thursday, but they were completely right when they said every night with Echosmith is a weekend party! Check out the photos below to see what we witnessed.