I've been a fan of the band Alphaville since I was quite small.  They seem to have a knack for catch hooks and lyrics that never fail to make you think about when and why they were written.  If you're not familiar with them, you've probably heard Big In Japan and Sounds Like A Melody, so that should job your memory.  So, when I heard that they'd be coming to the States to tour for the first time in eleven years I bought a ticket immediately.  It caught my attention that Christopher Anton (former frontman for InSoc) had assembled a …

Last week word about the album Ultrawired from a band called Dope Stars Inc. exploded onto Twitter. DSI, as they are called (because 140 characters enforces a certain amount of textual economy) are based in Italy and have a decidedly retro sound and image as bands go these days. They are heavily inspired by the sound and appearance of some of the synthpop, industrial, and techno acts of the early to mid 1990's as well as some influential metal bands of the 1980's (they specifically cite Guns 'n' Roses and Motley Crue as some sources of their inspiration). If you …

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On Friday evening, our good friend Derek Pegritz drove down from Pennsylvania to visit Lyssa and I and stay with us for the weekend because we had another wacky and amazing adventure all lined up: A trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to see a concert at the Trocadero Center thrown by Dancing Ferret Productions. A veritable trifecta of awesome music would be played at this venerable Philly venue, Cesium-137, ThouShaltNot, and Information Society. This was to be a most unusual show in that it would be recorded for a future DVD release …

Mark Nicholas, formerly known as the band Cosmicity, has announced that he'll be playing a live concert next Saturday at In Perpetual Motion net.radio to promote his upcoming east coast tour. Mark's partner in crime DJ Ginger Snapp will be joining him in concert as his engineer and backup singer, which is always a treat.

The show begins at 2030 EST5EDT - hit the 'listen live' link and watch and listen!

On 16 June 2007 Mark Nicholas (formerly known as Cosmicity) will be playing the Depot in Baltimore, Maryland with Red This Ever and The Case of Gretta Conners. Tickets will be available at the door for $5us.

Todd of A Different Drum was nice enough to post a YouTube playlist of music videos of some of the synthpop acts his label works with, such as Leiahdorus, De/Vision, and Cosmicity. Check 'em out.

Mark Nicholas, formerly known as the synthpop act Cosmicity, has released his first album in four years, entitled Duchess 33. Cosmicity wrapped in the year 2003 with the release of Escape Pod for Two, which marked a turning point in his life. Mark got married, you see, and that changed his creative outlook on life quite a bit, if tales told are true.

Mark's an awesome guy; I got to meet him at the Summer Synthpop 2000 Festival way back when, and he's a lot of fun to talk to. However, seeing as how this is his first release since …