Battleme to Launch US Tour with the Toadies, 3/1

Battleme is set to release his new full-length studio album - Future Runs Magnetic - on March 11th on El Camino Media. The new album was produced by Doug Boehm (Girls, Guided by Voices) and is the follow up to his 2012 self-titled debut. A week after the album drops, Battleme will be joining up with the Toadies as they hit the road for their Rubberneck 20-year anniversary tour. Kicking off at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, AZ on March 19th, the tour will have the two bands hitting legendary venues across the US including the Troubadour in LA, First Avenue in Minneapolis, the Metro in Chicago, Irving Plaza in NYC and the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philly. This will be the first major US tour for Battleme.

Originally from Austin, TX and now based in Portland, OR, Battleme is the inner psyche and stage moniker of songwriter Matt Drenik. Drenik started his musical journey with Austin based band Lions before deciding to start Battleme in 2009 as a vehicle for a country song he wrote for FX's hit television show Sons Of Anarchy. "I had always written bedroom pop and acoustic songs and loved the lyrical element of outlaw country," Drenik explains, adding that Battleme came out of necessity when he wrote "Burn This Town" for the music supervisor for the show. The haunting ballad was immortalized on the finale of Season Two just nine months after it was written.

After a move to Portland and some extensive writing sessions, Battleme released his self-titled debut with the help of his good friend Thomas Turner from Ghostland Observatory. Turner recorded the album with Drenik and released it out via his own label Trashy Moped Records on April 24th, 2012. Battleme was well received by the press, "Battleme is a new, groove-oriented project and a breath of fresh air," wrote The Atlantic and MTV Buzzworthy premiered the video for "Touch" calling it "...upbeat and edgy, all tightly strummed electric guitars and soaring falsetto as the rhythm section does its best LCD Soundsystem." Following the release, Battleme hit the road playing a number of shows including the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle, MusicFest NorthWest in Portland, and a West Coast headlining run.

In November 2012 his song "Lights," co-written with The Forest Rangers for Sons of Anarchy, got picked by Entertainment Weekly as one of the "best music moments from recent episodes of your favorite shows" in their "TV THAT ROCKS" column. By this time Drenik was hard at work on his next Battleme album. He played SXSW 2013 before heading into the studio to begin work on Future Runs Magnetic with Boehm. They tracked most of the album's songs live in Portland and Los Angeles before Battleme returned to Austin this past fall to perform at this year's Austin City Limits. More touring followed including a number of headlining shows, dates with Metric and a Portland show opening up for none-other-than the Artic Monkeys.

Drenik is excited to release his sophomore Battleme album Future Runs Magnetic with El Camino Media on March 11th and join up with his old Texas friends the Toadies when they hit the road for an extensive US tour in support of the 20th-Anniversary reissue of their platinum selling debut. Battleme will be adding some headlining dates of his own to the run. A complete list of confirmed dates are below and please check www.battleme.tv for the most up-to-date information.

Battleme w/Toadies
March 1st @ Club 21 in Portland, OR (Battleme Headlines/Release Show)
March 19th @ Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, AZ
March 20th @ Belly Up in Salona Beach, CA
March 21st @ Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA
March 22nd @ House of Blues in Anaheim, CA
March 23rd @ The Independent in San Francisco, CA
March 25th @ Wonder Ballroom in Portland, OR
March 26th @ El Corazon in Seattle, WA
March 28th @ Park City Live in Park City, UT
March 29th @ Gothic Theatre in Englewood, CO
April 9th @ Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, OK
April 10th @ The Pageant in St. Louis, MO
April 11th @ First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN
April 12th @ Metro in Chicago, IL
April 13th @ Turner Hall in Milwaukee, WI
April 15th @ Mercury Ballroom in Louisville, KY
April 16th @ The Vogue in Indianapolis, IN
April 17th @ Bogart's in Cincinnati, OH
April 18th @ Magic Stick in Detroit, MI
April 19th @ Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights, OH
April 21st @ Altar Bar in Pittsburgh, PA
April 23rd @ Royale in Boston, MA
April 24th @ Irving Plaza in New York, NY
April 25th @ The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ
April 26th @ Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, PA
April 27th @ Black Cat in Washington, DC

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