Welcome to Specialty!!!

Standing Shadows (self-released), from Los Angeles. Standing Shadows recently spent weeks recording in Joshua Tree desert with producer Chris Goss (Queens Of The Stone Age, UNKLE, Duke Spirit, The Cult) at Rancho de la Luna, with engineer Ethan Allen (Gram Rabbit, Daniel Lanois, Spindrift). The band sweated out 3 new songs in the ungodly desert heat to be released in October 2011. From glockenspiels & FunMachines, to keytars & pots & pans, the band played on every instrument & surface available. Songs include the wild & energetic “Freakshow”, epic-heartfelt “Just A Part Of Me”, & the song "One by One" features Dave Catching (QOTSA, Eagles Of Death Metal) on guitar. New single, "One By One" is at radio NOW. You can learn more and download here.

Stellar Corpses (Santa Carla Records), from Los Angeles, CA. “We met in the drunk tank. I came to, and there they were! The acoustics were great, but it gets pretty boring when your only audience is the police.” – Dusty Grave, lead singer, Stellar Corpses Well, if that leaves you with your jaw on the floor, read on. The band’s sense of humor is evident in the above quote. The four guys in Stellar Corpses (which literally means “dead stars”) not only rock, but are also intelligent, cool people and have kick ass personalities. And they’re not bad to look at either, for all the females reading this. Good looks aside, they can rock the hell out of any venue they play. They’re hard core rockers to the bone, and they prove it every time they hit the stage or whenever their music is played. Their new album, Dead Stars Drive-In (Santa Carla Records), will be released on January 24, 2012, and was produced by Joe McGrath (AFI, Tiger Army, Alkaline Trio and many more). “It was amazing to record in the same place that so many of my influences recorded,” Dusty exudes. “Black Flag, Descendents and Pennywise to name a few. And working with Joe McGrath was incredible. He helped us to make the best record of our lives. “We are excited to have some really special guests on the album like Hunter Burgan (AFI), Jade Puget (AFI) and Michael Graves (Misfits)!” Lead single, "Vampire Kiss" is going for airplay Top of 2012. You can learn more here.

The Valery Trails (self-released), from Houston, TX. Andrew Bower grew up in Brisbane, Australia, and while he was surrounded by music at home, he didn’t start playing guitar until he was in college. “The late 80s post-punk scene drew me in,” he recalls. He picked up a guitar and started a band with his bass playing brother Sean. “We learned how to play in our first band. When the last band we were in fell apart, we started working a couple of songs... in my home studio. When I moved overseas, The Valery Trails project came to a halt. It was going to be a three month trip, but turned into an indefinite absence.”  Andrew’s job for a multinational energy company took him to Papua New Guinea, Angola, California, and Houston, Texas where he now lives. While Andrew traveled the world, Sean continued his musical career, landing a gig with Brisbane’s Grand Atlantic, one of Australia’s most popular underground pop bands.  The music of The Valery Trails tips its hat to the experimentation of Ozzie bands like The Go-Betweens and Died Pretty, but with a pop touch that’s all their own.  Andrew’s serene vocals float through the mix like the voice of a romantic ghost, fading in and out of the pulsing, oceanic guitar textures giving the music the dizzy, delirious aura of a fever dream. The songs are angular, ambient, tuneful and disturbing, inhabiting a sonic landscape that’s at once familiar and distinctive.  Lead track, "This Town" impacts Specialty radio February 9, 2012. You can learn more here.