As you've hopefully noticed, the blog went through a complete overhaul and revamp at the start of the year; I've tried to keep the blog as structured, clean, and user-friendly as possible, including the posts themselves. I feel as though there're still a few features and changes that people are not entirely aware of, though, so here goes:
Firstly, I'd like to bring to your attention that we no longer post leaks or material that is not free. Over the years, we've grown quite a bit, and in doing so, we've become great friends with bands and labels all over the world. To post our friends' music for free, which is not meant to be, goes against our motto. We understand that the pirates in some of you have not been happy with this, but that's just not the way we function anymore. In many instances, the money bands receive from their work, is all they live off. Wherever you work or study, I'm sure you wouldn't like your work to be distributed against its intentions. It's nothing new, and being that most of the bands we post are local, it's just common sense. On that note, I'd also like to mention that we no longer restrict ourselves to purely Easycore bands. Yes, I know what the blog's called, but it doesn't seem fair to not post a talented Pop Punk/Hardcore band just because they don't have breakdowns in every song. Typically, I will try to post more Easycore bands than not, but a Pop Punk or Hardcore band will always sneak through. If you're one of the people that've blamed us for not posting good Easycore anymore, then you have to realise that the type of music bands make and if they choose to release it for free or not, is entirely out of our control. We will always respect the bands' wishes.
Secondly, I'd like to mention that the main blog (now www.xeasycorex.net) remains mostly for downloads, interviews, and reviews. Anything and everything else, from upcoming releases to music videos, will be posted on our Tumblr page. I think that by expanding our horizons to other forms of promotion, such as interviews and reviews, we take our love and appreciation for music a step ahead, while allowing fans to better understand the musicians. If you look up on the navigation menu here, you'll notice that the News and Upcoming Releases will filter certain posts from the Tumblr feed. You may've already noticed this though, since all posts are relayed to our social pages.
My third point is a combination of a few reminders: similar to the ever-so-popular chatbox we have here, we also have a forum where you can drop by and discuss all things music with a handful of us regulars. You may even find certain releases not posted on the blog.
To the right of this post, in the sidebar, we also have a drop-down menu, titled Archive, where you can view posts for certain bands, genres, and now even states, or countries if outside of the US.
I only mention these because I'll often see people leave messages in the chatbox asking for certain links or how to view certain bands' posts.
Given that the large majority of followers/people use Facebook, I introduced a like button on each post which will let you share posts that you've liked with friends, and in turn, give us a better idea of what you like the most.
Also, in the same sidebar, we've also added a PayPal donation button. The button is only there if you ever feel like donating some spare dinero. Any donations will help pay for blog maintenance-related costs.
Moving on, even though a lot of the time we interact directly with followers and bands, I feel that we're still nameless faces to some.
The blog was founded in 2008 by Omar (OmarHESY), who lives in Mexico, plays in the band HESY, and runs Sunny Day Apparel. Our second member is Anthony (Thenoid), who lives in Connecticut and runs Sex Robot Records.
I (mario-182) live in South Australia, I joined the team late last year, and I'm a Web/Graphic designer. I also conduct the interviews and am to thank/blame for the blog's layout and design. Before myself, we had 2 other members, but they've been MIA for some time now.
Finally, I'd like to remind you all that our ears are always open to suggestions. Email us, tweet at us, write on our wall, ask us something on Tumblr, whatever! You guys keep us doing what we do.
~Mario
Exclusive: Life On The Sideline EP announcement, music video premiere
Since releasing Honesty Is A Dying Breed two years ago, Life On The Sideline has remained active on the road and is now ready to unveil its upcoming EP, Never Settle. To kick things off, we're premiering the music video for the band's new single, "Echo", which tells the sad story of a young girl reminiscing times spent with her deceased partner. While not a pop punk song per se, it's as catchy as one with an infectious chorus that you'll inevitably get stuck in your head. The band's sound could be compared to that of Transit's and The Early November's. Fans can pre-order the EP on iTunes and CD here, before it's released on June 7th. […]
