Drive a few miles south on US19 from Dying Scene editor Screeching Bottlerocket’s hometown of Clearwater, FL and you’ll find yourself in St. Petersburg, FL. It’s just like Clearwater, but with slightly less Scientology. Why does this matter? Because the band we’re premiering a new song from today is St. Pete’s own Spanish Needles! The […]
Drive a few miles south on US19 from Dying Scene editor Screeching Bottlerocket’s hometown of Clearwater, FL and you’ll find yourself in St. Petersburg, FL. It’s just like Clearwater, but with slightly less Scientology. Why does this matter? Because the band we’re premiering a new song from today is St. Pete’s own Spanish Needles!
The band’s debut EP Sifting Through the Wreckage is due out on May 3rd and they just launched pre-orders for the purple colored vinyl (limited to 200 copies). If you pre-order the record from their Bandcamp before May 1st, you can get it for the low, low price of $12! At $1 per inch, that’s a value you simply cannot beat.
To coincide with this momentous occasion, your friends at Dying Scene are premiering a brand new track from the EP, track #4 “Dom DeLouise”, so go ahead and check that shit out below. Also! One last thing; Spanish Needles will be playing a record release show on May 31st at Bayboro Brewing. You can get a ticket and a copy of Sifting Through the Wreckage on vinyl for just $20. Another unbeatable value. Go here for more details.
This premiere is brought to you in part by Punk Rock Radar. If you’d like your band’s music video to be premiered by Dying Scene and Punk Rock Radar, go here and follow these instructions. You’ll be on your way to previously unimagined levels of fame and fortune in no time!
<p>Those who rolled up early to last September’s Beck and Phoenix show on Lansdowne Street were likely entranced by Sir Chloe, the rising Vermont indie rock project led by vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist Dana Foote. It seemed like only a mater of time before Sir Chloe — who released a pair of well-received albums in 2020’s Party Favors and last year’s I Am The Dog — were selling out tours of their own, and tonight (April 17) they do just […]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com/2024/04/17/this-show-is-tonight-sir-chloe-show-up-all-over-again-in-cambridge/">This Show Is Tonight: Sir Chloe show up all ‘Over Again’ in Cambridge</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com">Vanyaland</a>.</p>
Main photo by Will Byington Stiff Little Fingers (SLF) is embarking on its final coast-to-coast North American tour. The tour also celebrates the 45th anniversary of the band’s seminal debut album, Inflammable Material. I caught up with SLF’s founder and frontman, Jake Burns, in advance of the tour’s commencement. Jake Burns founded Stiff Little Fingers […]
Main photo by Will Byington
Stiff Little Fingers (SLF) is embarking on its final coast-to-coast North American tour. The tour also celebrates the 45th anniversary of the band’s seminal debut album, Inflammable Material. I caught up with SLF’s founder and frontman, Jake Burns, in advance of the tour’s commencement.
Jake Burns founded Stiff Little Fingers in his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1977. Burns grew up during the “The Troubles,” as the sectarian civil war raging in Northern Ireland was known. Inflammable Material, which included amongst its classic songs, “Alternative Ulster” and “Suspect Device,” addressed the political turmoil and violence all around it, and brought them to the attention of music fans, and others, worldwide. It is still considered one of the greatest and most important punk albums ever made.
As stated on the band’s site, “Along with The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Damned, Buzzcocks, they were there at the start of the punk rock movement and are still recording and touring today.“
Burns, and his wife Shirley Sexton, moved to West Virginia a few years back from Chicago, where they resided for almost two decades. Burns and bandmates, Ali McMordie; Steve Grantley; and Ian McCallum, kick off their US tour on May 1st, 2024, starting on the East Coast and heading west.
Mer Gold: Please tell us about the inspiration for the title of the tour and the latest track from the band. I understand it is inspired by the “Hate Has No Home Here” campaign in Chicago.
Jake Burns: Yes, that’s correct. That local campaign had such a powerful title that I wanted to share it with people outside of Chicago. I felt it applied not just to a neighborhood or a city but, in fact, to life. So, I broadened the scope of the idea in the lyric to be pretty much all-encompassing.
This is SLF’s last US coast-to-coast tour, how did you decide the time was right to make it the final one?
To be fair, my knees pretty much made the decision for me! LOL. Seriously, though, we are all getting older and SLF have always prided ourselves on a pretty high bar when it comes to live performance. So, I decided I wanted to scale back the amount of touring we undertake to try and keep that bar as high as possible. I’ve seen a number of bands move into their 60’s and try to play as often as they did in their 20’s. In a lot of cases, they simply can’t pull it off and “ease up on the gas” a bit. Understandable, but I didn’t want to do that.
Photo by Michael Steff
What are you looking forward to most on this tour? What can your fans look forward to?
Playing a lot of towns that I know I’ll probably never see again. Most of the places we’re playing have incredibly fond memories for me and I’m looking forward to seeing them one more time. Also, they now contain friends I’m hoping to catch up with, even briefly, especially in Chicago. The tour set will be much the same as the recent one in the U.K., which means we’re putting in a couple of songs we rarely, if ever, play, as well as most of the old favorites.
Will you miss touring coast to coast?
I’ll miss the people, but not the travel. That’s one of the main reasons for scaling back. But, we’ll still do the occasional festival if we get asked. They usually involve a few shows around the main date, so it’s almost certainly not the last time we’ll play over here, but it will be the last “long scale” trip.
Last year, you and your wife Shirley, moved from Chicago to a rural area in West Virginia. How did that decision come about for you both?
Well, without banging on about my age all the time as I don’t “feel” that old(!), but 65 seemed like a good time to look at slowing things down in all aspects of my life. Take a bit of time to “smell the roses”, if you know what I mean. Both Shirley and I have always lived in large-ish cities, Washington DC and Chicago in her case, Belfast, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Chicago in mine. So, I fancied living in a small town before I shuffle off this mortal coil. I looked at a lot of small towns, not just here in the U.S. but also back in Ireland and Scotland and we decided on this little one in West Virginia. Shirley has family in the State, so we’d been coming out this way for Thanksgiving etc for many years and knew we loved the area.
Is country life what you expected? I’ve seen some of the photos you have shared elsewhere, which are beautiful.
It’s fantastic. Everything we could have hoped for. We’re still finding new stuff after almost a year here. It’s such a change of pace to come from Chicago to a small town with around 3,500 residents. You know you’re not in a major city anymore when the main story on the local news is a runaway cow blocking the main intersection in town!
Photo by Will Byington
You are married to an American from the DC punk scene, and became a US citizen partially to vote against Trump. What is your reaction to his continued support? And in general, the support for those worldwide whose own autocracy flourishes?
I find it incredibly saddening. From the selfishly wealthy who can never see beyond their bank accounts when it comes to elections to those who have been duped into buying the scapegoat nonsense that his campaign relies upon, it’s all very dispiriting that this is where humanity is in the 21st century. That an obvious charlatan and snake oil salesman such as Trump can deceive and delude so many people, so easily it would seem, is heartbreaking. I refuse to believe that all of his “fanbase” are rabid racists, although a proportion undoubtedly are. I think that we have all been fed such a diet of mis-information over the past few years that it’s very difficult for some people to see the wood for the trees. And, the consequences of that are truly terrifying.
You are well known to be a supporter of Newcastle United FC of the English Premier League. How do you think your Club will finish out the season? Dying Scene readers will recall that you have noted your love for the NUFC in our World Cup special. Have you found a “Newcastle Pub,” in your new stomping grounds?.
A: No pub here, I’m afraid. I did buy the biggest television I could find and install it in the basement so I can watch the games. Newcastle have had a frustrating season to say the least. Hampered by an unbelievable injury list and also by over-achieving last year, I always felt we were a year ahead of schedule. As I said, the injuries haven’t helped, nor has Sandro Tonali’s ban. If they manage to get into any sort of European competition, that will constitute a decent season at this point.
Photo by Michael Steff
Stiff Little Fingers kicks off its final US Coast to Coast tour on May 1, 2024, at the Paradise in Boston, MA. Ricky Warwick, from Belfast, Northern Ireland. It ends (as solo headliner) at Observatory in Santa Ana, CA on May 26, 2024.
Dying Scene will be on hand for the Chicago stop at The Metro on May 10, 2024.
SLF will also be one of the headliners at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas on May 27, 2024. In August they play Rebellion Fest in Blackpool, England; followed by dates in Cork and Dublin in Ireland; and Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Photo by Craig O’Connell
Whether you are longtime fans of the band or are just discovering the punk legends, whether you have seen them live or have yet to do so, make sure to catch them on the road while you still can.
Ekko Astral have released a video for their song “on brand”. The video was produced by Kate the Cursed (who also edited it and did VFX) and Joel Holzman. The song is off their album Pink Balloons which is out today via Topshelf Records. Ekko Astral will be touring the US with IDLES in June. Check out the video below.
The Dopamines have announced two PA shows and one down in Dc. Those are all in early August. They also added that one show is a door deal (as opposed to a guarantee) so they need you to buy tickets so they can get paid. The band also reminded everyone that they have a new album on the horizon, but they did not offer more details than that. You can see the dates below.
The lineup for this year’s Over The James festival has been announced. Along with Avail, The Menzingers, The Suicide Machines, Sheer Mag, Division of Mind, and Doll Baby will be playing. Over The James will take place on Brown’s Island in Richmond, Virginia on July 27.
<p>As an artist who is always equipped with as many catchy tour names as she has all-star jokes and material, Kathleen Madigan is once preparing an all-out potluck of hilarity for her next hour. As announced earlier this week, the longtime crushing stand-up comedian will be making her way back to Boston this fall with one show at The Wilbur on November 15, as part of her upcoming Potluck Party tour. Although Madigan’s trips to the area have remained pretty […]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com/2024/04/17/kathleen-madigan-prepares-a-potluck-of-laughs-for-the-wilbur/">Kathleen Madigan prepares a ‘Potluck’ of laughs for The Wilbur</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com">Vanyaland</a>.</p>
The Chats are hitting Europe this Winter. The tour covers a good chunk of November and December and finds the band hopping all over the UK and thee olde continent. The Prize and Rifle open. You can see the dates below.
<p>We’re calling the next trend now: Haunted honeymoons, inspired by Boston’s own Why Try? The alt-rock band dropped a quick succession of singles this year — “Ghost” and “All I Have” — culminating in their record Honeymoon, which arrived earlier this month (April 6). The record indeed maintains a honeyed quality, radiating a rosy glow over some less-than-welcome situations: Bouts of sudden trepidation (“Automatic Panic”), your nightmarish early 20s (“Grace”), and the stagnancy of solitude (“Ghost”). Hence, a honeymoon with […]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com/2024/04/17/why-try-embark-on-a-semi-haunted-honeymoon/">Why Try? embark on a semi-haunted ‘Honeymoon’</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com">Vanyaland</a>.</p>
Get your dancin' shoes on because we are debuting the new track by As for the Future! As for the Future is new Brazilian/Nossa Nova influenced group headed by David Nagler. The group features an impressive array of musicians including vocalist Alexia Bomtempo, Mauro Refosco (David Byrne’s American Utopia, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Atoms for Peace), and Ryan Keberle (David Bowie, Maria Schneider Orchestra). The band takes classic Brazilian rhythms and styles and pushes them into space-age sonic drift. It's groovy and makes you feel like you're a real cool, sophisticated person. Plus, there is a trumpet solo that makes you feel like you are walking around Greenwich Village and maybe you'll run into someone like Andy Warhol or Dizzy Gillespie… or maybe you'll get mugged, but at least the soundtrack is super nice. Speaking to Punknews, Nagler says "'Encyclopedia of Songs' is all about songwriting, taking what goes on in the world, from the profound and awe-inspiring to the personal and mundane, and turning it into something that you can sing and play. It’s about collective and creative expression, which can be accomplished with equal doses of enthusiasm and patience." You can pre-order the band's new album right here and hear the new tune below, right now!