Debut

New Music Friday – Dead By Sunrise

“Out Of Ashes,” the debut from the side project of Linkin Park’s frontman Chester Bennington’s new band, is here. Dead by Sunrise started to form in 2005 while Bennington was writing songs for Linkin Park’s “Minutes to Midnight” Album. The band also features Ryan Shuck and Amir Derakh (from Orgy/Julien-K), bassist Brandon Belsky, drummer Elias Anda (also from Julien-K), and keyboardist Anthony Valcic.

Per Dead By Sunrise:

“I came up with a few songs that felt and sounded really good, but I knew they weren’t right stylistically for Linkin Park. They were darker and moodier than anything I’d come up with for the band. So I decided to work on them on my own rather than turn them over and have them transformed into Linkin Park tracks,” says Bennington.

The band’s name, which was previously “Snow White Tan,” reflects the time during the album’s recording in which the band was living a ‘really self destructive lifestyle’ and weren’t sure they were going to make it to the next day. Bennington says the albums’ name is from ‘coming out of that self-destructive path and rising from the ashes.’ Back on May 10, 2008, the band performed three songs, including the song “Morning After,” at the 13th anniversary party for Club Tattoo in Arizona. The song was written by Bennington and originally performed on December 9, 2001 at the Live in Berlin concert. This was the first time that he had officially performed the song under a new name.

Recording of the band’s debut album began in July 2008 after touring for Linkin Park had finished. “Crawl Back In” is the first official single off the album, followed by “Let Down.” Dead by Sunrise’s MySpace page is featuring the video for the band’s first single, and will hold an exclusive listening party for its debut album on their page this week. Fans will be able to stream the album, which will be released by on October 13th, in its entirety on Myspace from October 8th through the 10th. MySpace will direct users to the listening party via links on both the site’s homepage and its music page. They are scheduled to perform at The Gramercy Theatre in New York City on October 14th, and at the Roxy in Los Angeles on October 19th. You can watch the video for the song “Crawl Back In” above. HWDamers – Let us know what you think!

Lauren Conrad Launching Clothing Line at Kohls

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again! Lauren Conrad revealed yesterday that she is launching a new and improved apparel line that will be sold exclusively at “Kohls” department store. The announcement comes one month after “The Hills” star announced that her high-end “Lauren Conrad Collection” would be going on hiatus at the end of the season. What, failing at your first attempt wasn’t punishment enough? So just what kind of clothing are we going to be looking for?

Per Us Magazine:

“It is a California chic line,” she tells Usmagazine.com of the new brand, called LC Lauren Conrad. “It is a little more casual. They are basically trying to take that California style and make it accessible everywhere.”

In other words, expect her line to be boring and predictable, much like her personality. The line of clothes will be priced averaging between $20 to $60, and will be available in October at Kohl’s stores nationwide, as well as on the company’s website. The line is going to first debut consisting of only clothes, but may expand to include shoes, jewelry, handbags, intimates and sleepwear later on.

“We are very excited to announce our partnership with Lauren Conrad, a pop culture icon whose style resonates with our contemporary customer,” Don Brennan, the senior vice president of Kohl’s, told Us in a statement Monday. “We are confident the LC Lauren Conrad collection brings customers both the contemporary style and the world-class brands they want at a price that delivers incredible value.”

Pop Culture Icon is an overstatement! Apparently the big-wigs at “Kohls” didn’t keep up with how much of a bomb her last crack at this was! So what exactly made Conrad halt production on her pricey boutique “Lauren Conrad Collection” and create a label for “Kohls“?

“It was just kind of a battle I had because I wanted to do a higher-end line — I wanted to do a contemporary line — but I was also very aware that the reason I was able to do it at such a young age was because of fans that have supported the show and have supported me,” Conrad tells Us. “So this was my way of being able to still do what I love and work with a great company and also make it accessible to the fans that made it possible in the first place. My family has always shopped at Kohl’s, so I’ve always known about them and I think that they do a really great job,” Conrad says of the franchise, which has also partnered with designer Vera Wang. “I like having more of an eclectic style where you mix high ends and more affordable pieces,” she says. “It’s great to be able to go to a store like Kohl’s and get really good classic pieces and mix them into your wardrobe.”

Lauren Conrad at “Kohls.” Hmmm… I can’t wrap my head around the fact that she’d even step foot in the parking lot, nonetheless the actual store. I’ll take January in the pool on how long until her items wind up on the clearance rack! How hard is it to design tank tops and matte jersey dresses anyway?

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