Liquor And Poker Hooks Up With An ‘American’ Beauty
Sophomore Full-Length From Bay Area Rockers American Heartbreak Due
April 18, 2006
LOS ANGELES – For nearly a decade, American Heartbreak have been one
of rock’s underground heroes, but with the April 18, 2006 release of their
eponymous second full-length, they’ll aim to leave the underground
behind and follow in the footsteps of their arena rock idols. Three
songs from the new album have been posted online at both the band’s
website and MySpace page.
The San Francisco-based quintet – co-founded by Billy Rowe, onetime
guitarist for Jetboy (a band All Music Guide calls “one of the best-
kept secrets of ‘80s glam metal”) – blend a punk-influenced pop-metal
aesthetic with the melodic allure and accessible hooks of classic pop
radio. The group’s new album – co-produced by Rick Parker (Black
Rebel Motorcycle Club, Space Twins [Weezer guitarist Brian Bell’s
side project]) – proves that if the New Wave of Classic Rock is in
session, American Heartbreak is at the front of the class.
Along with vocalist Lance Boone and former Exodus bassist Michael
Butler (currently the host of the highly successful “Rock and Roll
Geek Show” weekly Podcast), Rowe first introduced American Heartbreak
to rock fans via the 1997 EP What You Deserve, initially released on
Perris Records. After several tribute album contributions and lineup
changes, their first full-length, Postcards From Hell, surfaced three
years later on hometown indie Coldfront Records. The album recalled
the unpretentious fun of supercharged Sunset Strip rock while
reinterpreting the buzz-saw melodies of arena rock legends such as
Kiss and Cheap Trick for a post-alternative rock age.
Following a 2001 split-CD with The Libertines, the group added rhythm
guitarist Casey Crenshaw prior to a European tour, during which they
recorded a live set that became the foundation of their next release.
2003’s You Will Not Be Getting Paid (Perris Records) featured five
live songs, five acoustic tracks (including Starz and Cheap Trick
covers) and six remixed songs from the What You Deserve EP.
After the European releases of You Will Not Be Getting Paid and
Postcards From Hell on People Like You Records in 2004, the group
returned to the continent for another tour in early 2005. Back on the
home front, they toured the West Coast with Backyard Babies, The
Chelsea Smiles and Crash Kelly that summer. (The group has also
toured and/or gigged with The New York Dolls, The Donnas, Queens of
the Stone Age, Buckcherry, Warrant, Cinderella, The Scorpions, Dio,
Sebastian Bach, L.A. Guns, Starz and Tsar, among others.)
By year’s end, the band completed its second full-length with co-
producer Parker. The result: 13 tracks of timeless rock n’ roll. It
proves that while trend-seekers may be fawning over the latest batch
of rock “saviors” as if the genre was invented only yesterday,
American Heartbreak is the real deal – a band impervious to fads and
driven purely by the desire to play loud, catchy rock.
American Heartbreak will play a series of Western U.S. shows before
and after the album’s release, with additional touring to come.
Tour Dates:
March 22 Las Vegas, NV – Beauty Bar
(w/The Hellacopters
and Nebula)
March 30 San Francisco, CA – Annie's Social Club
(w/The
Kimberly Trip)
April 1 Sacramento, CA – Fox & Goose
(w/The Kimberly Trip)
April 7 Long Beach, CA – Alex's Bar
(w/ The Generators)
April 8 Pomona, CA – The Tiki Room
(w/ The Generators)
April 28 San Francisco, CA – The Pound
(w/ Jetboy)
April 29 Los Angeles, CA – The Whisky
(w/ Jetboy)
