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Though his band are known for their mixture of electronics and guitars, Bravery frontman Sam Endicott, who produced their self-titled debut, said O'Brien's rock pedigree ( , , ) was a reason he was picked for the job.

"My feeling was there's no reason to have a producer just to have a producer, and I don't want some new name that's the hot sh*t guy," he told AOL Music. "I was like, 'If were gonna have a producer, let's have someone who is consistently great and will bring something interesting.' Brendan is a guy we've all really respected.

I was really into growing up, and he did 'Evil Empire.'
As it turns out, O'Brien proved to be a perfect fit. "The new stuff is less electronic," Endicott said.

"We always embraced a lot of electronic music and dance beats, but we think of ourselves as a rock band first."

My intention was to not make a group of songs, but to make an album in the traditional sense."
He believes that fans are ready for a return to the days of complete works. "I think it's almost coming back. Things happen in cycles," he says.

"And I feel like people are getting a little bit tired of the one-hit wonder or the candy without substance, especially this new generation. Everybody I talk to who's a teenager seems way hipper then when I was a kid, and I think they're ready for serious art."
Lennon believes there are a lot of artists already doing that.

"I would say that does that really well, , even crazy sh*t like Even though he's totally out there, he manages to think of the record as a whole piece. does for sure. I think is doing really good at that and blew my mind as well.

is hip too."
And another artist Lennon just had the privilege of playing with is right up there. "I just guested in this band with Brian Bell from , and that record totally has that thing we're talking about.

"

6.
"The scary thing is, it's not just the British media," he says. "It's the media around the world, and [that's] really what this song's about -- the way that terrorists prey upon fear to keep people in place, and also the way there seems to be an anti-Islamic subtext to the way these stories are reported."
Okereke says the record also took inspiration from the complaints of the band's friends who are stuck in 9-5 jobs.

"I think that's one of the themes for this record -- people doing jobs that they feel that aren't really an expression of who they are as a person," he says. "Realizing that's what being an adult is, really, that transition from the optimism of your teens to the realities of adulthood -- I've explored that a lot."
At any hour of the day he pleases, we might add.

Leaning against the Beverly Hills sign is quirky indie-folkster , who kicked off his new tour last week at L.A.'s Troubadour.

Green told AOL Music he plans to stay loose on the jaunt, for which he'll be supported by longtime pal
"This tour is sort of like an open book," he said. "I haven't really toured here since I made 'Friends of Mine.' I'm definitely going to play stuff from all of my albums.

I want to hopefully take a number of requests."
What's changed? For one thing, he's learned to pay attention to the advice about not mixing prescriptions with post-show booze.

"I had this whole sleepwalking thing where I got abandoned [by his crew]," he recalled. "It was completely induced by Ambien and alcohol. I threw out the bottle of Ambien.

"
The baby-faced trio are hoping to hit the studio by Christmas to lay down some of the follow-up to their 2006 debut, 'Young For Eternity.'
"We've got 19 songs at the moment," blond bassist Charlotte Cooper tells AOL Music. "We're writing new ones all the time, so we're itching to get in the studio.

"
Some of the new cuts they've already played live include 'Shake Shake' and 'Kalifornia,' which was inspired by a trans-Atlantic television trip.
"We wrote the song after we came back from recording our performance on 'The O.C.

'," Cooper explains. "That was a crazy time for us. The first time we ever go to America, and we perform on a TV show in Hollywood.

"
What do baby-faced Las Vegas emo rockers -- who took home the VIdeo of the Year VMA Thursday night for their 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' --have in common with aging hair band ? Apparently, a piece of stage scenery, if singer Brendon Urie is to be believed.
Though he was still recovering from a head injury sustained when a festival attendee pelted him with a projectile at England's Reading Festival last Friday, Urie told AOL Music his band plan to borrow a bit of the Crue's live set for their upcoming stadium jaunt, kicking off this fall.

The boys declined to say whether it was a prop, pyrotechnics, a rotating drum kit or hair extensions. And guitarist Ryan Ross noted that "we haven't heard back yet." Stay tuned.

The EP, meant to tide over Spree fans until spring '07, when they release their third album, 'The Fragile Army,' will include two new songs as well as covers of tracks by , and frontman Tim DeLaughter's former band, .
The two new cuts, 'Mental Cabaret' and 'I'm Calling,' are expected to showcase the band's new, more rock-y direction, in part inspired by DeLaughter's ex-outfit. "I'm so excited for people to hear it," he tells AOL Music.

"For me, it's like a blast from the past."
The band will also hit the road for the first time in 18 months, beginning Sunday with . "He really wanted us to open up for him, and we thought it was so peculiar, it's an interesting juxtaposition," DeLaughter said.

Posted Aug 31st 2006 12:03PM by
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After spending the last weeks of summer getting their feet wet with Warped Tour audiences, alt-rock combo are using their recent time off to plan for a new tour they'll kick off in late September.

The band are currently planning a bigger production for the fall jaunt, but guitarist Tomo Milicevic says they're eager to turn their show into a very extravagant affair. "We don't have the means at this point to do the things we see in our heads," he tells AOL Music.

"We see a full interactive show with performers, and a lighting show to rival that of any great [tour] that's ever happened. In the near future we're gonna start to be more capable of actually seeing that stuff through, which is really exciting for us."

The band are also using the coming weeks to work on new material, but fans shouldn't expect to hear new cuts just yet.

"We're way too anal and freaky about that stuff," Milicevic says, laughing. "We don't want to share anything until we're completely satisfied with it, and that can take along time. We have to really believe it's something great before we let anyone hear it.

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While the Kaisers were celebrating and introducing numbers from their upcoming second album, it was an end of the road of sorts for Franz Ferdinand, whose singer, Alex Kapranos, confirmed to AOL Music that it was his band's last show for some time.
"We're taking a break," he said. "We've been on the road for a long time.

"
Chicago's are the early favorites to grab the Moon Man for Best Video Choreography on a Treadmill with their clip for 'Here It Goes Again.'
From their latest album 'Oh No,' the vid for the high-octane track is quickly garnering admirers, including 'Good Morning America' host and resident rock afficianado Charles Gibson.
Having just finished a tour in support of fellow Angelenos , Southern California's are taking a little time off in the run-up to the Sept.

12 release of their second album, 'Monument to the Masses.'
So what is the electronic-infused rock act doing? Chilling in a studio yard with 'Rockstar: Supernova.

'
"I was throwing a football with yesterday," guitarist Timmy Anderson tells AOL Music. "Those guys are there in the back doing their thing. It's pretty awesome.

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The show itself is another story, Anderson says. "It's like watching a car crash -- you can't really look away," he laughs. "I've only seen the show once or twice.

I actually can't really stomach it, seeing some of those old- school, hardcore heroes of mine acting like beauty school pageant directors."
Note some attitude? There's plenty of that on the group's new record, too.

While their self-titled 2003 debut treaded some glammy turf, 'Monument' takes an aggressive, almost -inspired leap.
"That's hot. I like that term," he says of our suggestion.

"Musically, I think there is that little tone of aggressiveness in a lot of what we do. It's not really out of anger or angst, it's like this reckless, free kind of thing that comes out naturally. Hopefully we can translate that live.

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When the , the L.A. group whose debut album, 'Astoria,' was released last month, kick off a national tour next week at the Troubadour, they'll have support from some familiar faces.

The band, whose 'Call In the Cavalry' single has been heard on HBO's 'Entourage,' will be joined by their close friends in fellow L.A. band the .

"Here to New York and back, and everywhere in between," Shys vocalst/guitarist Kyle Krone told AOL Music backstage at San Diego Street Scene. "It's going to be great. We've played together a lot.

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Given the fact that the two bands know each other so well, expect to see lot a of musical give-and-take. Various band members take turns sitting in with their co-headliners on organ, guitar or harmonica, says the Colour's Luke MacMaster.
"It's the rock 'n' roll circus," Krone promises.