Port City Music Hall

The Leftovers are a pop punk/power pop band from Portland, Maine who have released 4 records and played over 400 shows in 46 states and over a dozen countries in the last 6 years. With a sound centered directly between The Ramones and The Beatles, The Leftovers deliver the combination of sun soaked melodies and a raw ...driving energy that can’t help but evoke that fun loving summer time feeling all year long.

Forming in 2002, The Leftovers developed a modest fan base in New England. After two local releases and playing shows throughout the northeast, they finally hit their stride with a release of their third album, "Party Tonight", in 2006. The album fueled their touring farther into the United States and across the pond to England. The band garnered a true following within the underground pop-punk scene, receiving notable attention from all-stars Ben Weasel (of Screeching Weasel fame) and Larry Livermore (founder of Lookout Records). Their drummer, Adam, even found himself touring with The Queers from time to time.

In early 2007 The Leftovers entered Smart Studios to record their critically acclaimed album "On The Move", which was released on Rally Records. Taking cues from The Beatles, Beach Boys, and classic 70s power-pop while not forgetting the energy of The Ramones and 90s pop-punk bands, The Leftovers fashioned a sound that is distinctly their own. The album took them on 3 more full US tours and a full tour of the European mainland.

In the summer of 2008, The Leftovers signed with Oglio Records and entered Kingsize Soundlabs in Los Angeles, California to record their follow-up to "On The Move". Alongside producer Linus Of Hollywood (Size 14, Rx Bandits, P-Diddy), The Leftovers entered the studio ready to create something refreshing and original. The resulting record, “Eager To Please”, was released worldwide in the summer of 2009 on Oglio/Crappy Records and features 14 rock and roll gems laced with guest appearances by Brett Anderson (The Donnas), Kim Shattuck (The Muffs), Parry Gripp (Nerf Herder) and Coz Canler (The Romantics).

After another full US tour in the summer of 2009, The Leftovers are going strong (despite never having an agent or manager) with a staggering fall tour schedule of the US and Europe alongside bands that include Bowling For Soup, The Queers, MC Lars, and Zebrahead. Fueled by an incredible work ethic, a never-ending quest for fun, and an endless supply of sunny days and cute girls, The Leftovers will continue to burn up stages around the world, turning summer into a 365-day season. 366 if it’s a leap year.

$5 advance / $9 day of show

Tickets available at www.portcitymusichall.com and at all Bull Moose Music stores.
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On-sale Friday, Nov. 20 at 9 am at www.portcitymusichall.com and Bull Moose Music stores.

A gifted songwriter, singer, and musician, Ryan Carera has emerged as a captivating live performer and charismatic personality, winning over a legion of devoted fans. Since the summer 2004 album, TAKE IT ALL AWAY, Ryan Cabrera has... quickly earned a reputation as one of the most compelling new voices on the modern pop scene. Now, with YOU STAND WATCHING, he has delivered a mature and accomplished work which more than lives up to the promise of his platinum-selling label debut.

Recorded over a three-week period in June 2005, the self-produced set sees the 23-year-old Cabrera taking a spontaneous and organic tack towards his new music. Refining his artful pop-rock sound, Ryan has crafted an exceptional set of songs that showcase his rapid growth as both a composer and a performer. Marked by an engaging lyricism, killer hooks, and his distinctive, unaffected vocal style, YOU STAND WATCHING stands as a major step forward for an artist who has clearly become someone to watch.

Produced by Cabrera and the Goo Goo Dolls' Johnny Rzeznik, the album made a remarkable debut at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart. Certified RIAA gold a mere month after its release, the album's success was fuelled by a pair of irresistible hits, 'On The Way Down' and 'True' – both of which are RIAA gold-certified digital singles.

Ryan celebrated TAKE IT ALL AWAY with a year of nearly constant roadwork, with sold-out headlining shows as well as support stints alongside the likes of Jewel and Jessica Simpson. 'I didn't really feel any pressure in following up TAKE IT ALL AWAY until people kept mentioning it,' Cabrera said. 'You know, the second record is the hardest one to do. Hey, thanks a lot! But when I got to making the new album, I forgot about all that stuff and just tried to write and record the best songs I possibly could.'

Cabrera spent the spring of '05 writing songs at his manager's Hollywood home, overlooking the lights of Los Angeles. As the music evolved, Ryan decided to truly own the project by producing the album himself. As he worked, the call came from MTV inviting him to host their new reality performance competition series, Score. With his agenda now including a TK-episode TV series to tape, Ryan faced the briefest of windows in which to record. Having little time to waste, he opted to produce the album on his own. 'It was just easier,' he explains. 'Instead of someone else coming in and hearing my music, and then saying where they thought it should go, I was able to say, okay, this is where I think it should go. Plus, I loved producing the last record with John, but never really got the credit for it. This time I thought, 'I'm going to do it by myself and whatever happens, happens.'

For some songwriters, newfound celebrity might have proven a roadblock to frank lyrical expression. Cabrera admits to occasionally worrying about his more personal songs, aware that the public knows a thing or two about his private life.

'Sometimes I'll write a song and then realize, 'Oh crap, this is for the world,'' he says. 'Songs aren't just for yourself. They get put on a record and everybody can hear them. So I think, 'Do I really want to say this?' But you can't worry about it. I hope people get it and apply it to themselves. It's ok to think you know what a song is about, but what's important is that you apply it to your own life.'

Though his future plans include trying his hand at producing other artists - 'when things slow down' for right now, Ryan Cabrera is excited about the hard work that the coming months hold for him. 'I probably could use a breather,' Ryan says, 'but I figured that eventually there will be a time when I need a break. But right now I'm loving it, so I'm going to keep doing as much as I can.'

www.myspace.com/ryancabrera

Tickets go on-sale Friday, November 20 at 9am and will be available at Bull Moose Music Stores and online at www.portcitymusichall.com

General admission tickets are $12.00 and day of show tickets are $15.00. VIP seated tickets are $20.00. This is a 21+ event.


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Company of Thieves is a band well ahead of its time. The members of Company of Thieves are collectively grounded, and well-versed in the challenges the world faces today. "This is a scary time for a lot of people, government-wise, art-wise, and especially business-wise," says singer Genevieve Schatz. "People seem to be... very held back in what they're willing to invest in – personally, emotionally, and financially. But at the same time, there's a new, gutsy energy coming out right now, almost a generational thing. Today's youth, and to some extent their parents, are really wanting a change, and there's a feeling that we're at the edge of big change right now. Great art always rises up when change is going on."

These exciting – if uncertain – times are reflected in the eclectic sound of Ordinary Riches, an album that moves effortlessly from the seemingly jaunty, piano-led "In Passing" and the catchy pop tones of "Pressure" to the arena-ready sing-along chorus of "New Letters" and the Jonny Greenwood-ish guitar figures on "Old Letters." They are erudite without being pretentious, hooky without being saccharine, and plainly dedicated to its ideals, Company of Thieves' stunning debut album Ordinary Riches reveals a band very much of its time.

"It's true what they say about new bands, that you wait your whole life to write your first record," says guitarist Marc Walloch. "This is the sound of us piecing together things we wanted to try out, playing different parts to see what happened."

While the influences are at times detectable – a little Fiona Apple angst here, a bit of John Lennon's social activism there – the band is far from being mere mockingbirds.

"That's where the band's name comes from," Walloch says. "We've taken what we know and put our own twist on it. It's a kind of 'thievery,' but it's all about paying our respects to what we were inspired by."

One of those inspirations is Oscar Wilde, whose name not only serves as a song title but whose essay The Soul of Man under Socialism also gave the album its title: "Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you."

The Anglo-Irish bard may not be everyone's idea of a rock n' roll icon (notwithstanding his appearance on the Sgt. Pepper cover), but Schatz explains that his Victorian-era lifestyle speaks loudly to the group.

"He was very in-tune with his culture and upper-class society, but at the same time he was making fun of them in his work," she says. "And they embraced and loved him for it, but at the same time they so disapproved of his private life that he was shunned. And in the industry, there are a lot of big shots running around who love the idea of having an artist around only when it's convenient. People like that embrace you but don't realize there's more to life than all this other, superficial stuff."

Another lesson from Wilde that applies equally to the group is his indefatigable spirit, says drummer Mike Ortiz. "It's better to struggle doing what you love than just settling for doing whatever everyone else is doing," he says. "We all took risks with this band, and had to make sacrifices in our personal lives, but if you really pursue what you love then you'll ultimately reap benefits from it."

The band also strives to hearken back to a time when songs' subject matter went beyond hitting the dance floor and hooking up. Time and again, Ordinary Riches presents a cinematic vision of a relationship gone sour or a world in turmoil that speaks to deeper truths.

"We all go through life processing so many things all the time – the weather, the setting, the mood," Schatz says. "Lyrically, we're exploring real-life experiences and how people navigate relationships. Traveling around the Midwest allowed us to see America for what it is and isn't, and helped us get in touch with ourselves."

As such, Company of Thieves songs are often more outward- than inner-looking. "They're not necessarily first person; more from the point of view of a camera," she says. "This is about us presenting our worldview and how we see things today."

That's not to say the album's all about abstract emotion, however. "The Tornado Song" is an intensely personal song for Schatz, based upon a dream of her divorced family trying to reconcile itself and highlighted by a climactic, near-operatic peal of emotion from the gifted singer.

"That's a great example of how we're about not limiting ourselves," Walloch says. "It's not something you hear on every pop/rock album, and it was a challenge for Genevieve – but at the same time it showcases her different vocal abilities. We never feel like we 'can't' do something, and we plan to limit ourselves even less in the future."

One constant factor, Schatz says, will be the band's empathy with the world around them and their peers.

"A lot of people come from a place that's very judgmental, which in turn makes them paranoid about what people are thinking of them. That results in their not allowing themselves to truly connect with someone and have a real relationship, or even a genuine conversation.

"A friend of ours recently said that, for all its flaws, Chicago is a forgiving city, and we really do come from a forgiving place" she adds. "It's about wanting to hear somebody's story. Isn't that what life is all about?"

Tickets available at Bull Moose Music Stores and online at www.portcitymusichall.com

General admission tickets are $10.00 and day of show tickets are $12.00. VIP seated tickets are $20.00. This is a 21+ event.


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