Sick Puppies in Lincoln Journal Star 3/3/11

[stephb]

http://journalstar.com/entertainment/mu ... um=twitter

Sick Puppies to bring the rock to hip-hop/pop Blizzard Tour
By L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / Lincoln Journal Star JournalStar.com | Posted: Thursday, March 3, 2011 11:50 pm

What do Sick Puppies have in common with Nelly, 3OH!3 and Cali Swag District?

Not much, except they're all on the Blizzard Music Tour 5.0, which will stop Saturday at the Pershing Center.

Sick Puppies is a rock band from Australia. Nelly's a rapper from St. Louis, 3OH!3 is an electro-pop duo from Boulder, Colo., and Cali Swag District is a hip-hop group from Southern California.

"When we first heard about the tour, it was 'that's really weird' but in a cool way," Sick Puppies bassist Emma Anzai said. "I think it will be all right. There was this one show we did that was similar to this. It was with 3OH!3. It was more like a pop show."

Sick Puppies is on the tour because, in Anzai's words, "we've crossed over to the pop format" when the song "Maybe" hit the radio and Top 100 charts last summer. But that wasn't the first time the band got wide exposure.

In 2006, a video of its song "All The Same," featuring singer/guitarist Shimon Moore wearing a sandwich board that said "Free Hugs," was uploaded to YouTube. The video, which supported the Australia-based Free Hugs Campaign, has received more than 67 million views.

"We were lucky like that," Anzai said. "It was right about the time that YouTube was getting noticed, really getting huge. It was one of the videos that got a lot of views really fast. That helped us get signed. But it took awhile."

It took awhile because Moore and Anzai were in transition, moving from Australia to the United States.

The move, after the band had released one album, came because there's not much of a market Down Under for Sick Puppies' brand of punk-influenced hard rock. It's a sound heavily influenced by Rage Against the Machine -- "our favorite band" -- and trios such as Silverchair and Green Day.

"We love the three pieces that can really make it sound big," Anzai said. "Every person has to make the most of their instrument. You have to have the song and make it sound big. The dynamics are important. It has to be big and loud."

Anzai and Moore, who started the band as high school students in Sydney in 1997, got jobs and worked for a couple of years before making the move to Los Angeles in 2006, then recruited drummer Mark Goodwin via Craigslist to replace Chris Mileski, who remained in Australia.

Running contrary to the do-it-yourself surge in rock today, Sick Puppies had a singular goal when it came to America.

"We had to get a major deal to stay here," Anzai said. "A little bit of luck came on our side. We needed something to push us. With a major label, they're still going to have the means to be able to get your music out in a way you would never be able to do yourself."

The group got that deal with EMI/Virgin Records and released "Dressed Up As Life" in 2007 and "Tri-Polar" in 2009.

"Polar Opposite," an eight-song EP of acoustic versions of some of the band's better-known songs, was released exclusively at Walmart for physical copies and at digital retailers Tuesday. But Anzai said Sick Puppies had no plans to go back into the studio any time soon.

"We're pretty much going full speed ahead on this one," she said. "We have a new single out, 'Riptide,' and we're going to be touring, touring, touring."

That touring, which will see Sick Puppies headlining for the first time later this year, likely won't go to Australia. Anzai and Moore have returned to play just once, opening a few shows for Nickelback last year.

"We spend 90 percent of our time in the U.S.," she said. "The market there (Australia) for our kind of rock isn't very big. So we don't really think about going back, even though it would be fun to play for people we know back there."

A few days before the Blizzard tour began, Anzai was coming up with a set list, scouring the band's albums for "softer songs" that would be more likely to connect with an audience that wants to hear songs like "Maybe."

Anzai was confident the band could come up with a half-hour to 45 minutes' worth of music that will fit with the rest of the tour. And she says the tour will take them to places Sick Puppies haven't yet reached and an audience that might not see them if they were playing a rock show on their own.

"I'm excited about it," she said. "I think it will be cool. We're a rock band. But we'll make it a friendly set."

[stephb]

Here is a review of that show from the same paper...

http://journalstar.com/entertainment/mu ... 323cb.html

Review: 'Blizzard' Tour packs Pershing
By ANDREW LAMBERSON / For the Lincoln Journal Star JournalStar.com | Posted: Saturday, March 5, 2011 11:00 pm

The Blizzard Music Tour brought a slew of acts across many genres to Pershing Center on Saturday night. A line wrapped around the Centennial Mall and down M Street in the evening sunlight as people waited to see Nelly, 3OH!3 and Sick Puppies, among others.

Big Reeno, a DJ and MC Duo opened the show with a quick set, followed by Internet famous group Cali Swag District. The group of four from Inglewood, Calif., brought a powerful set, ending with its hit single "Teach Me How to Dougie." In between sets, DJ Dextrious spun beats to keep the crowd alive.

Next, Australian power trio Sick Puppies took the stage to begin the rock portion of the show.

The band did, however, play a few R & B hits like "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child and "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green (that's the edited name of the song, I can't write the real name of the song in the paper). The band's set, however, was mostly filled with power ballads.

"It's 2011, I know everyone has a cellphone," said Puppies lead singer Shimon Moore as the band started playing another ballad. Audience members raised their phones in the air to emulate the days when lighters were used for that effect.

Pershing was almost full save a few empty seats toward the back.

Electro hop duo 3OH!3 was next, bringing hits like "Starstrukk" and "Don't Trust Me" to the Pershing stage. Its act featured two robotic wolves that shot green lasers from their eyes for the duration of their set.

Finally, headliner Nelly took the stage just after 10 p.m. Nelly's setlist included hits like "Hot in Herre" and "Ride Wit Me." Because Nelly has so many hits, many of the songs were performed in medley form. His act also featured a full band and three MCs.

The next stop for the Blizzard Tour is Sioux City, Iowa.