Red Bull Records artists New Beat Fund are releasing their debut full length album Sponge Fingerz on June 16th. Sponge Fingerz, which was co-produced by Matt Wallace (Faith No More, Maroon 5) and mixed by Tony Hoffer (Foster the People, Beck) was recorded at LA’s legendary Sound City Studios.
New Beat Fund birthed when a piggy bank with the words “New Beat Fund” encrypted on it was catapulted into the facade of a corporate building. Jeff “Burnie Baker” Laliberte (guitar/vocals), his brother Paul “Snapz” Laliberte (bass), Shelby “Button” Archer (guitar) and Michael “Silky” Johnson (drums) came together a few years back, releasing an EP, Coinz, and touring across the country with artists like blink-182, 3OH!3, Aer and Pepper as well as at local frat parties and venues up and down the west coast. “Scare Me,” off Coinz was an early favorite on SiriusXM’s Alt Nation, it is also featured on Sponge Fingerz.
For their full-length debut, the Southern California four-piece combines sunny surf rock with elements of hip-hop, garage pop and west-coast punk, shoving it all in a blender to cook up a colorful mash-up called “G-Punk.” “It’s not just punk rock, or indie, or weird psychedelic art. We were all exposed to different things growing up, so we didn’t choose to only go in one direction,” says Shelby.“We don’t claim any certain scene,” adds Michael, “and that’s kind of what we represent as a band. We want people to be cool with being weird, and thinking about things differently. We wrote the record in Topanga Canyon—the freest place ever—we live in Southern California…that’s the whole vibe of our band. Just being weird and free.”
Sponge Fingerz includes songs like “Sikka Taking the Hard Way” with its funky dub breakdown and noodling electric guitars, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers-worthy chorus of “Halloween Birthdaze,” as well as “It’s Cool” which Kat Corbett recently premiered on her 106.7 FM KROQ radio show.
Checkout the video for “Sunday Funday”:
New Beat Fund will be out on the Vans Warped Tour all summer and they recently played the tour’s kick-off party at Nokia Theater in LA. Full tour dates are below.
5/01/15 – Lido Live – Newport Beach, CA (with Nikka Costa)
5/09/15 – Saturdazed Sonoma County Music and Arts Festival – Rohnert Park, CA (with Shwayze)
6/19/15 – Pomona Fairplex – Pomona, CA
6/20/15 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA
6/21/15 – Seaside Park – Ventura, CA
6/23/15 – Quail Run Park – Mesa, AZ
6/24/15 – Isleta Amphitheater – Albuquerque, NM
6/25/15 – Remington Park – Oklahoma City, OK
6/26/15 – NRG Park Main St. Yellow Lot – Houston, TX
6/27/15 – Gexa Energy Pavilion – Dallas, TX
6/28/15 – AT&T Center – San Antonio, TX
7/01/15 – Tennessee State Fairgrounds – Nashville, TN
7/02/15 – Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood – Atlanta, GA
7/03/15 – Vinoy Park – St. Petersburg, FL
7/04/15 – Cruzan Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL
7/05/15 – Tinker Field – Orlando, FL
7/06/16 – Morocco Shrine Auditorium and Grounds – Jacksonville, FL
7/07/15 – PNC Music Pavilion – Charlotte, NC
7/08/15 – Farm Bureau Live – Virginia Beach, VA
7/09/15 – First Niagara Pavilion – Pittsburgh, PA
7/10/15 – Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
7/11/15 – Nikon at Jones Beach Amphitheatre – Wantagh, NY
7/12/15 – Xfinity Theatre – Hartford, CT
7/14/15 – Xfinity Theatre – Mansfield, MA
7/15/15 – Darien Lake PAC – Darien Center, NY
7/16/15 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
7/17/15 – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre – Toronto, CA
7/18/15 – Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD
7/19/15 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ – NVMP will be here!
7/21/15 – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain – Scranton, PA
7/23/15 – Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls, OH
7/24/15 – The Palace of Auburn Hills Parking Lot – Detroit, MI
7/25/15 – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre – Chicago, IL
7/26/15 – Canterbury Park – Shakopee, MN
7/27/15 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Maryland Heights, MO
7/28/15 – Marcus Amphitheatre – Milwaukee, WI
7/29/15 – Klipsch Music Center – Noblesville, IN
7/30/15 – Cricket Wireless Amphitheater – Bonner Springs, KS
8/01/15 – Utah State Fairpark – Salt Lake City, UT
8/02/15 – Pepsi Center Parking Lot – Denver, CO
8/05/15 – Qualcomm Stadium Parking Lot – San Diego, CA
8/07/15 – Portland Expo Center – Portland, OR
8/08/15 – White River Amphitheater – Auburn, WA
Nevermind The Posers 