DS Show Review & Gallery: Red Scare Industries 20th Anniversary: The Bollweevils, The Brokedowns, Brendan Kelly and the Wandering Birds – Chicago

While Red Scare Industries is not old enough to drink yet, it can certainly throw a kick-ass party. In its 20 years of putting together albums, it has curated a selection of artists that have touched lives across the globe. For those unfamiliar with Red Scare Industries, the label was founded by Tobias Jeg, an […]

While Red Scare Industries is not old enough to drink yet, it can certainly throw a kick-ass party. In its 20 years of putting together albums, it has curated a selection of artists that have touched lives across the globe. For those unfamiliar with Red Scare Industries, the label was founded by Tobias Jeg, an alum of Fat Wreck Chords who decided to do his own thing. In 2004, he produced two albums for The Falcon and Enemy You.

A 20-year-long legacy is no small feat, and they have used this time wisely, working with and shaping an impressive catalog of artists. In Chicago, at the very least, some of the most iconic bands have worked or are still working with the record label; Red Scare has managed to, in a way, help shape the sound of the Chicago punk scene’s sound without a doubt. 

A very interesting aspect of how Red Scare operates is how they maintain good relationships with their artists and the appreciation they have for each other. The clearest proof of this appreciation is their recently released album, 20 Years of Dreaming and Scheming, featuring songs from their artists and even a few bands that came out of retirement to participate. To list a few, Won’t Stay Dead, the Bollweevils, The Brokedowns were all part of the event, both the album and the live shows. 

The album released was just half of the party. Two shows in Chicago, one each in Wisconsin, Portland and Seattle and to wrap it all up, two more at the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas. All in the span of three weeks. What a busy month it will be. But hey- you only turn twenty once. 


To kick off the party, playing their characteristic spooky and mesmerizing blend of pop and horror punk, Won’t Stay Dead was the first band on the ticket. Sadly, due to typical Chicago traffic, I was unable to get there in time to photograph and give a proper review of their set. That being said, Won’t Stay Dead generally are incredible performers so go ahead and check out their cover of Enemy You’s “Ex-Machina” which is also a part of Red Scare’s anniversary compilation and a certified banger.

Chicago punk rockers The Bollweevils took the stage and as per usual, the crowd’s excitement went through the roof almost immediately. Standing still is nearly impossible when the Punk Rock Doc is on stage. His contagious energy fills up the entire venue as he jumps, high kicks, and joins the crowd in the mosh pit. The way he connects with the audience is truly special and never gets old. The fans and them always seem to have such an incredible almost symbiotic relationship in which both feed off each other’s energy, escalating to a point where everyone regardless of how many times they have seen them live, if at all, feels like they too are a part of the show.


In between songs, the banter between the band members is hilarious, constantly joking and teasing each other, but when the first chord strikes it is time for business. Once the music starts, the playful banter transforms into some of the most solid punk rock anyone could ask for. Their repertoire includes an impressively solid collection of thoughtful lyrics while retaining the speed and aggression that has been part of their core sound for decades. 

One thing about the band was different this time, though: joining them on the drums was Timmy Lydon, who made playing the drums seem effortless while matching the tempo and energy of the rest of the band. As always, the band delivered a tight performance that was both energetic and fun.

“Honk If You’re Horny” is both the cheesiest bumper sticker and one hell of a catchy tune by Elgin Illinois’ punk quartet The Brokedowns. Hilarious and irreverent immediately come to mind when thinking about this band. With songs titled “Osama Van Halen,” and “Kony 2022” this band’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics are put in contrast with a musical set that is both fast, and gritty but at the same time oddly melodic. It is a unique blend of concepts that in theory should not work but synergize perfectly well to create their distinct sound.

The Brokedowns were more than just the music, just like the previous band, the banter in between songs made it easy to relate with them and feel like the space in between songs was just as much a part of their set as the music they play. These guys managed to put together equal parts of catchy riffs, cheeky lyrics and a gritty voice that make them a band that is easily enjoyable to listen to and even more to see live.

A few moments after The Brokedowns finished their set, a familiar face, and even more familiar voice took up the stage. Sporting a bandana around his neck, followed by his stylish bandmates wearing matching tracksuits, Brendan Kelly and the Wandering Birds pick up their instruments and begin their set. Well, two familiar faces, as Deanna from Sincere Engineer joined the band for the evening playing the electric guitar and backup vocals.

Brendan Kelly, from The Falcon and The Lawrence Arms, played his acoustic guitar and sang for the crowd with his very iconic raspy vocals and a demeanor that somehow made me nostalgic for something I didn’t know I missed. As a masterful storyteller, with every song he was able to transport the audience through a journey of emotions; some songs sounded sorrowful, other songs were joyful, but all of them made you feel something. The perfect balance between folk, punk, and rock and roll served as the perfect catalyst for the experience.

And so, the night ended with a most perfect band to bring closure to the evening filled with music, laughter, and the beginning of the rest of Red Scare Industries’ anniversary party. What a great experience it must be to see so many people, both artists and fans, come together to celebrate the hard work and the influence of what once was a small project has turned into over the course of two decades.

Check out the photo gallery below for a few more photos of the show!


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DS Show Review & Gallery: MakeWar, Good Friend, and Tightwire at Reggie’s Music Joint. Chicago (11.01.2023)

Photography by AndresAlejandro Chaves MakeWar, Good Friend, and Tightwire kicked off November at Reggie’s Music Joint. The bands, which represent three different continents, united for a fun global punk rock humpday. MakeWar, off of Fat Wreck Chords, is led by Jose Prieto, a fellow Venezuelan to this piece’s photographer AndresAlejandro Chaves (both are now North […]

Photography by AndresAlejandro Chaves


MakeWar, Good Friend, and Tightwire kicked off November at Reggie’s Music Joint. The bands, which represent three different continents, united for a fun global punk rock humpday.


MakeWar, off of Fat Wreck Chords, is led by Jose Prieto, a fellow Venezuelan to this piece’s photographer AndresAlejandro Chaves (both are now North America based). Edwin Santacruz hails from Colombia, while Greg Taylor came to the band from Florida. Together, they have created a powerful skatepunk group whose forceful set left the crowd exhausted in the very best way.


Good Friend originated out of Northern Ireland and found a home on Red Scare Industries. Its lively set in the middle of the bill was the perfect bridge from South America to North America. Lead singer Adam Carroll aka Mad Adam may also be familiar to DS readers via helping us celebrate the World Cup last year.


Tightwire, another outfit from Red Scare Industries, is a band familiar with Chicago and has many friends in the Windy City. A whole bunch of said friends appeared stage front for a boisterous set. I include myself in that category. But whether it is in their hometown, my adopted city, or where you dear readers reside, I encourage you to check this group out as soon as possible.


Please check out more of AndresAlejandro Chavez’s images from this show. Thanks and Cheers!


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DS Interview: Dr. Daryl Wilson on “Essential,” the first Bollweevils record in over a decade (and John Wick and Ayn Rand and Dragon Ball Z and more)

Friday, May 5th, marks the release of what may be realistically referred to as the longest awaited release in the baker’s-dozen-year history of your favorite little online punk rock website. (This one, obviously.) The album is called Essential, and it’s the latest release from beloved Chicago punkers The Bollweevils.  That’s the cover art up there. […]

Friday, May 5th, marks the release of what may be realistically referred to as the longest awaited release in the baker’s-dozen-year history of your favorite little online punk rock website. (This one, obviously.) The album is called Essential, and it’s the latest release from beloved Chicago punkers The Bollweevils


That’s the cover art up there. Fun, right? The album is noteworthy for a variety of reasons. Not only is it the Bollweevils first full-length album in practically a generation (and definitely their first since Dying Scene has existed), it’s their first proper release on Red Scare Industries, and their first release mixed at the legendary Blasting Room in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Perhaps more importantly, however, it’s noteworthy in the way that it plants a battle flag that symbolizes that not only can some of the old guard, who have long-since moved past the days of trying to make a living solely from punk rock wages, can not only put out an album that’s super poignant and super energetic and super fun, they do so in a way that raises the bar for the younger bands that have been following in their collective wake.

Due to the way that both the music industry and the media technology sector have changed since the early days of the Bollweevils, we caught up with the band’s enigmatic frontman Daryl Wilson in the throes of what you can probably safely say is the first semblance of a press junket of his music career. When last Dr. Daryl and I spoke in the context of conducting an interview (watch it here if you missed it), it was that first summer of Covid and it was in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and it was through the lenses of Wilson’s roles not only as an emergency department physician but as a person of color living through probably the most public time of racial unrest that this country had seen since the 1960s. Thankfully, we’ve solved both coronavirus-related public health crises AND systemic racism in the almost three years since that conversation, so this time we could devote our energies to punk rock!

Check out our admittedly wide-ranging chat below. Plenty of insight on the recording of the album, the process of getting it mixed at the Blasting Room, the coolness of existing on Red Scare in the time of bands like No Trigger and Broadway Calls, the dynamite new material being put out by other long-time scene vets like Samiam and Bouncing Souls, avoiding the woulda, shoulda, couldas when looking at their legacy, and much more!

Surprisingly enough, the conversation below is condensed for content and clarity reasons.

Dying Scene (Jay Stone): So how are you? It’s good to chat with you again!

Daryl Wilson: It’s been a minute, man, hasn’t it? I’m doing pretty good! It’s been a pretty interesting past three or four years to say the least, but I’ve come out on the other end still kicking! Getting older and I think a little bit wiser and I have a better worldview of things. The priority list is more tailored to true priorities. It’s kind of good. It’s refreshing to not have anxiety about stuff! (*both laugh*)

Does it feel like we’re officially on the other side at least of the pandemic part? I know some of the other social and political stuff we probably won’t be on the other side of for a long time, but does it seem like at least pandemic-wise, we’re just back to “normal,” whatever that means nowadays?

Yeah, I mean, lessons learned, right? That’s the natural progression of the disease process. The virus becomes less and less apt to kill its host. It becomes easy to spread, but it’s not really good for a virus to kill off its hosts, because then it doesn’t propagate. Coronaviruses do that anyway. The long-term immunity versus coronaviruses is so minuscule. Since antiquity people would get coronaviruses and they’d mutate so rapidly that you’d have lower conveyed immunity. It would spike and then it would drop and you’d get the same coronavirus a few months later. You might get the same coronavirus nine times in a year. They weren’t novel viruses. This was a novel virus, so it was something that our immune systems had never seen before, so of course the response was “oh my god!” Now we’re at a different point where there’s individuals vaccinated, natural immunity that’s occurred over time, the virus changing…we don’t know if there are any other long-term residual things yet. Finding out that, you know, exposure to Epstein-Barr virus might have lead to individuals having a propensity for MS is kind of crazy. We’ve learned that over time, and we don’t know what the long-term stuff will be with this. We don’t know if it’s affecting our T-cells in some way where we have a different long-term immunity to things. I’m not saying this for certain, I haven’t done research or studies on this, but is there some rationale where this is why we had such a bad set of viral illnesses in children during this past winter? Most kids getting RSV don’t get THAT sick, historically, but we had a bunch that got sick, so is there some issue with the way our immune systems have been affected by these bouts of Covid? I don’t know. I’m not saying that to start some controversy or “oh my god, this physician said…” (*both laugh*). Anything I say is not representing my hospital, this is just me talking. But human beings throughout all of our history and existence have come out on the other end of things that have been as bad as what we’ve (just) walked through. We’re a pretty scrappy species in some sense. To sit back and worry about “is this the end?” I mean…you’ve had people preaching on corners of streets from the times of Rome up to today where they’ve said “The End Is Nigh” and guess what? We’re still here! (*both laugh*) So let’s not put too much of a doom spin on everything and we’ll keep on kicking.

There’s a guy in the Boston area who I first encountered I think when I was a freshman in college. You’d see him outside sporting events and I know I saw him in Salem, Massachusetts, for Halloween because that’s what you do…and I remember him having this big sandwich board on it saying like “The End Is Nigh” and “Repent” and it had like a burning cross on it…and he’s still out there doing it, twenty-five-plus years later. It’s like…how “nigh” is it? (*both laugh*)

One day he’ll be right! (*both laugh*) And he’ll be able to say “see I told you so!” (*both laugh*) Let’s just spend all our time with that sandwich board on and continue preaching that until it happens. Why not just live your life? You’re already walking around dead with a sandwich board on. You’re not “living.” Just go live! In all reality, every day is your first or last day, right? You have no idea when the ticker over your head is going to go “TIME’S UP!” That should spur you on into “maybe I should just live as best as I can for today because I’m not guaranteed any moment. I could talk to you today, Jason, and that could be it! It’s always good to talk to someone that is cool and that you can talk to and say ‘this is a great connection,” and if this is the last conversation I ever have, let’s make it good, right? Why make it horrible? Why start your day with that sort of a horrible situation? Listen, I’m no sage, and I know I make situations really uncomfortable for people (*both laugh*) and I can be just a retch of a human being, but the good thing is, I woke up and I have an opportunity today to make up for that. That’s a good thing. I can try and do better. And that’s all you can do, right?

Okay so there’s no real natural segue here, but let’s bulldog into talking about the new record! It feels like it’s time. It’s obviously been a LONG time since the last Bollweevils record…

Fourteen years!

Yeah, and I think Dying Scene is officially thirteen years old, so I think this is the first Bollweevils release of the Dying Scene era!

Wow! Yeah, it’s been a long time. Nothing’s good or bad, it just is…and it’s 14 years now, and for me right now and the guys in the band – we’ve talked about it – it’s something that feels like it’s full. It feels like it’s something that took the time and it was the proper time to make it come out. There are probably a lot of reasons as to why it took so long. A part of it is that the band had some changes in members and we were in flux. We’d written some of these songs and we’d been playing them and we recorded a couple of them for a 7-inch for Underground Communique that came out – the Attack Scene 7-inch – and they were going to be on our next LP, which we thought was going to be out in the next three years after that 7-inch was put out. But no, that didn’t happen. We had members change prior to us even recording that. Our original bass player Bob had quit the band. We didn’t know for a while if we were going to be a band. That was the biggest question, “do we want to keep doing this?” And I think when we finally had the addition of Pete Mittler to the band as our bass player, that kind of made us who we are. I think we gelled, and we became The Bollweevils as we envisioned ourselves to be. It made it easier for us to buckle down and say “we need to put these songs out. We need to record these things, we need to have the new songs put out.” So we did! We finally got our schedules together, which is always a logistical nightmare! It is a whiteboard with so many pins in the wall with red yarn coming from all of these connections and somehow in the middle John Wick is there somehow! (*both laugh*) So it is a culmination of this ripening. We finally got the seeds planted and the tree grew and then fruit finally came from it. We had the right soil mixture with everybody as members of the band. The pandemic in some ways helped to kind of foster us pushing forward and doing this because we knew we might never get a chance to do something like this, so let’s get it done. And as we got older, the maturity of the band kind of seeps into it. We took our time – we had the time and we took our time instead of just “here’s what it is, we’re all done, one shot, let it play.” And so I think that it took a long time, but I think that it was warranted and it shows in the record. The record itself is so full and it’s one of the best things I think that we’ve ever put out.

Yeah, it’s really good! And I don’t just say that. It’s really good. 

Yes! And I think it’s good on so many different levels. Sonically – how it sounds – I’m getting chills just thinking about it, but it sounds really, really good! Then, it’s like, the songs themselves, you listen to them and you’re like “wow, that’s got a hook, that’s a catch!” and then you listen to the lyrics and you’re like “oh my god, these lyrics! Wow, you’re saying this right now?!?” It’s complex but simple, it says things in a concise manner, it’s not like you’re just gassing on forever. It’s really a good record! (*both laugh*) I don’t usually do that, I’m not one to talk it up and say “oh this is so great,” but it is! I think because we put in all the time, you can sense that when you listen to the record.

How long a process was the writing? It wasn’t written all in one batch, obviously. Like you said you had the 7-inch come out and other songs you’ve played live. But how regularly were you writing in the let’s say decade between the last album and the gears being in motion for this one to be finalized?

It’s funny, because there are songs that we didn’t record for this. We had ideas for songs that we were working on that didn’t make the cut, and I think that’s part of it. Sometimes you force it and try to make things work. Sometimes you can tell a band throws on a record just to put on there. We didn’t do that. We made sure we have quality instead of quantity. We could have a quantity of songs and riffs that Ken was writing that we would put something down for, but they just didn’t work. We were woking on them in rehearsal and we’d try to do them and they just didn’t feel right. These songs we did that felt right, we could work on them more and more. Even when we had them initially worked out, we kept working on them over the years before they were put out in this final iteration for the record. We were able to criticize each other and our performances, and that’s a thing that we couldn’t do in our early years.

Yeah, I was going to say, that’s a tough thing to do as a young band when there’s ego involved and whatever else. 

Absolutely! Everything’s personal. “Oh, you don’t like the way I’m singing this? I’m the singer! I’m the guy that writes the lyrics! Screw you, this is what it’s going to be!” That’s not the way to do it. We are a unit. I could take the criticism that Ken could say to me, or Pete or Pete would say. Like “we know what you should sound like on this, and I don’t like what you’re doing right now. It doesn’t sound complete.” And I’d be like “well, this is how I heard the song in my head, this is how I’m writing…” and they’d say “no, you can do better. Maybe change the cadence on that or that word seems wrong…” Or Ken would play a riff and Pete or I would say “can you change that riff a little bit?” It was definitely all of us collaborating together. We all have our roles in the band of what we do, but we can take what somebody said and say “we can do this better.” Playing the song live, you get to say “hey, that sounded okay, but maybe we can work on it a little bit more and make it sound better” and then we’d find nuanced things with the songs in rehearsals as we played them more and more. The ability for us to use constructive criticism and not destructive criticism like it used to be is a part that helped to make the sound sound so good. The mixing of it too…we had it mixed by Chris Beeble at The Blasting Room. That was due to Joe Principe. I gave him some of the demos early on – and in fact, it goes back further than that – when we actually presented the record to Red Scare and Toby had heard it and Brendan had heard it, Brendan came back and he said “I want to do your record, it’s great, but you know what? You’ve got to get this mixed again.” And Ken was like “Whaaaaat?” And Brendan said “it doesn’t sound like you. I remember seeing you guys when I was a kid and you guys were Chicago punk rock how it’s supposed to be, but this doesn’t sound like you’re supposed to sound. You’ve got to get it remixed.” And we were like “ooookay…that was a hit.” And Joe had kinda hinted at sending it to The Blasting Room, and I said “what, get it mixed where Rise Against gets their stuff done? We can’t afford that. We’re the Bollweevils, we’re working every day.” He hinted at it, but didn’t say “do it.” So we took a chance, we ponied up the money for it, and the mix came back and it was like “BOOM!” Beeble worked so closely with us on it, he was like “here’s what I need on this, here’s what’s going on…” He made it sound awesome!

You didn’t re-record anything after the initial thing was done, right?

No! I swear, I’ve said this before and I will say it again every time, the only person that can mix our stuff now is Chris Beeble. That is it. He knows us, he set the bar, he is the gold standard. So as it was mixed. Jeff Dean, who we recorded with here at the Echo Mill in Chicago, he also was really instrumental in forcing us to do things more than once. We’ve prided ourselves on coming in, laying it down, getting it done and getting out, but it was like “replay that again, replay that again, resing that again, do the lyrics this way, change that…” while we’re recording. It’s like “you’re killing us, man, there’s no way that we’re going to redo this multiple times.” I’d be like “this take was really good!” And he’d say “yeah, it was good, but it wasn’t great, do it again.” It was making sure that everything that we did was done to the best of our ability. That comes out on the record. I mean, you’ve heard it. What’s your favorite song on the record?

You know what? I made notes when I listened to the album the first time, which is a thing I try to still do a lot. Obviously “Liniment and Tonic” is great because that’s a super fun song, especially as a person who’s now in his mid-forties. It seems very appropriate. I really like “Galt’s Gulch.” That’s a cool song and it’s a little bit of a different song. I kept coming back to that in my notes. I like that sort of acoustic intro that builds and becomes this BIG sound. I like “Theme Song.” (*both laugh*) I like that “we are the Bollweevils” chant. It’s so fun and goofy and it’s very honest and self-deprecating too. I really appreciate that. “Bottomless Pit” is pretty cool. 

Which is a throwback, because we re-recorded that. It was on Stick Your Neck Out! and we initially thought that our masters for all of those records were gone. It turns out that they’re not, so we were thinking we could re-record some of those songs, because we want them to sound how we sound now. The iteration of who we are now is who we are as a band. This is the Bollweevils. This is who we’ve grown to be and this is our final form, or if you’re looking at a Dragon Ball Z our final Frieza or whatever. (*both laugh*) We definitely wanted to put these songs down as who we are now. We play our instruments better, I sing stronger than I did. It’s the old song, but it sounds new. We did that one and we did “Disrespected Peggy Sue.” We did them now because this is who we are. It’s not the old-school recordings. Sorry, I cut you off! I just think “Bottomless Pit” is a great song. Go on, I like hearing about your favorite songs from the record!

I really like the guitar riff from “Our Glass.” That’s a really cool song too. But I keep coming back to “Galt’s Gulch” if I had to pick. So let’s talk about that song a little more if we can. Where did that one come from? It’s a little bit of a different song from the rest of the album. I know you’ve played that live, but what is the origin of that song? How far back in the writing process?

That was one of the ones written back early in like post-2015. We’d been working on that one for a long time. Initially, that song was a song that Ken was persistent in bringing to rehearsal. We’d play it, and we wrote some stuff for it, and we were like “it’s okay…” and he was like “no, this song is great!” I just didn’t know what I was going to do for it, and what I was going to sing. I started thinking about some topics that I wanted to delve into. I read a bunch of stuff, I’d read a lot. In my days, I’ve read some Ayn Rand. I read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. The funny thing about those books is that they are works of fiction. (*both laugh*) To try to adopt objectivist viewpoints in some sense to live by is kind of counter to what humans do. I understand the idea of groupthink and the fear of what collectivism would be, but I don’t think of collectivism in that sense. I’m talking about trying to take a community and break a community apart. I think, yes, the idea of individuals existing and being an individual is super important. Individuals have skills that they can offer to a community to allow that community to continue to thrive. My skills as a physician are necessary to make sure the community can thrive because not everybody can do what I do. If somebody has the skill to make sure that water is clean so we can drink it, I can’t do that. I’m glad that there’s clean water that will allow me to go on. I think we have to live together as human beings and lift each other up so that we all can strive to survive against the elements and a universe that doesn’t really care about us. So individualism and being an individual is super important. I agree with that 1000%. In The Fountainhead, Roark being who Roark was and the individual that he was standing up against the idea that we all have to do things this way, that this is the only way you build buildings and all that, that is kind of horseshit. You’re going to be who you are. To have Toohey and those folks say “we’re going to slow you down and break you up and you all have to think the same way,” that’s horseshit too. But to take that into life, and to philosophically say “I’m not going to follow your rules because I’m going to be such an individual that I’m going to hunt on my own and kill things on my own and you have to do it your own way too.” Like, sometimes you need to help people. Maybe helping that person means helping the person that’s going to be the physician that saves you later on, because he can’t cultivate food on his own. So that’s why, I think, the whole idea of “who’s John Galt?” and everyone shrugging their shoulders and walking away and creating your own society that’s outside of society because “we’re all individuals and you guys are all drones so screw you,” that’s not the way we function. So if you just shrug your shoulders and go “who’s John Galt?” the world actually falls apart around you. It really does. Oh and Ayn Rand took handouts, we all know that and let’s not forget that! (*both laugh*)

Yeah, I remember Atlas Shrugged sort of blowing my mind as a ninth grader reading it and you think “oh yes, this is brilliant! It’s perfect!” And then you hit, like, senior year in high school and realize “oh, wait a minute…”

Right! You realize “oh, you know, some people are dependent! Children are dependent people, it’s okay!” 

Right!

So I wrote that as a perspective of the individual who’s like “I’m going to walk around and keep shrugging my shoulders and ignore everything and say “who’s John Galt?” That’s all I’m going to say to you! Understand what that means and walk away.” That’s just a horseshit excuse for not wanting to do anything, and not wanting to help. 

Wasn’t that around the time, too, that there was like a hedgefund guy that tried to start a Galt’s Gulch community somewhere, like some unincorporated area somewhere? 

Yes, there was! I remember that vaguely, yes! And where are they now? (*both laugh*)

Oh I’m pretty sure he got indicted and he’s in prison. It was essentially a Ponzi scheme and…honestly…like you couldn’t have seen that coming?

Haha, yeah! You know, I’m not trying to disparage if anyone has a belief that way, but I don’t think it is realistic to function that way in a community. In a society, it doesn’t work, and in a community, it doesn’t work. We have to work together to overcome things. Yeah, if somebody says “I want you to produce less in your company because I’m not doing really well so slow down to let me catch up,” you’re not going to do that. You’re going to say “no, I’m going to do this still, you had your opportunity…” and you help them understand how best practice works. But we live in a world of competition, right? That’s how we got about things. I mean, baking cakes is a competition for Christ’s sake. It gets really ridiculous. But, if it makes you strive to do better, sure! But if you’re just going to “give me all the answers to something!” I don’t believe that either. You can’t give everyone all the answers, but if someone doesn’t know for sure and I’m the expert, I’m going to say “yes, I’m here to help you out because you don’t know.” 

How long ago did you actually record the album, and have you still been writing since it was all sent off to Red Scare?

So let’s see. The total time recording, if you took that in days is probably like six days. That was in two sessions, like three days in each session, and that doesn’t include mixing and things, that’s just the recording part. It took us probably two years to get it all completed. It was during the pandemic that we did it all. In the early part, we got together and laid down these songs. If you’re talking about the whole recording process beforehand, a lot of these songs have been worked on since 2015 and up. And after that, yes, we’ve been writing other songs. Ken brought riffs to practice the other day and actually, our stand-in bass player Joe Mizzi brought some riffs too.

Oh nice! 

The idea is that were all supposed to bring a song. Now, I can’t play an instrument (*both laugh*) but we are in the process of trying to write other songs. We can’t just sit on this and “we’ve got it, we’ve hit the pinnacle, we’re done.” 

Well, you can. And bands do. There’s the very real thing of becoming a legacy band, particularly when it’s not everybody’s day job. Nobody’s making a living on The Bollweevils. Some bands do do that. You play a couple dozen shows a year in your best markets and be a legacy band. Sometimes you lose the drive to keep writing and coming up with no ideas, so to me it’s cool that not only is there a new album, but that you’re still writing more and those wheels are still turning. 

Yeah, there’s always something that spurs on the want to write. Whether it’s something that I’m dealing with in healthcare, whether it’s something you see because of the state of politics or the general miasma of people existing. Or something philosophical that you see pertains to day-to-day life. Sometimes that spurs on that creative juice. I could write lyrics all day but I don’t have the tune in my head that it goes to. And that’s hard. We don’t usually write that way. I don’t usually write lyrics and say “Hey Ken, write a riff for this.” Usually Ken is playing a riff and I have this idea what I should be singing to the riff. I may have a theme based upon something I’ve written at some point and I might have to modify my lyrics because that’s not really going to be, but the theme still exists for the song. So, Ken sent some riffs to me the other day, and I’ve been listening to them, and it’s like “okay, I can see where this goes.” And then I have lyrics, but sometimes that isn’t what the song is going to be about or the theme is going to change, so now that’s in the process of being fleshed out, and having that creative fire. There’s days where I just don’t have it. I’m just exhausted from a day with the kids or my wife and I are doing something, so I don’t have that. But then, I might wake up in the middle of the night and have this idea and have to write it down, so I have a pad of paper next to the bed and I have to write them down, or I use my phone to record a melody for something. We still have some things to work on, so it won’t be fourteen years before the next record! (*both laugh*)

Everybody says that, but then life happens…

I know! We said that back in 2015, like “oh, we have a new record coming out!” “Oh yeah? When’s it coming out?” “Well, some day!” Just like “The End Is Nigh” sign, right? We told you it was coming out! (*both laugh*)

One of the first interviews that I did for Dying Scene back in 2011 was with Sergie from Samiam about what was then the new record, Trips. And then maybe five years later, it was the fifth anniversary of that record and they’d been doing an album every five years or whatever, so I think I messaged Sergie like “must be new album time, right?” and he was just like “uh, no.” 

And finally, that new album is awesome!

It’s SO good.

It’s awesome. I was waiting for that to come out. I saw them at Fest, and they were playing the new songs and they sounded so good. Samiam is one of my favorite bands ever, and I just have that new record on repeat. I was just listening to it this morning again. I just love it. 

I’ve asked a bunch of people similar things, but thirty-ish years since Stick Your Neck Out, do you still have that same feeling when you put an album out? Do you get that same sort of feeling when May 5th comes and it’s now available to the world? 

I guess it’s been so long that I forgot what that feels like! (*both laugh*) 

Fair enough.

I guess it feels new to me. I’m excited about it because I can’t believe that I have this work of art that we put together and that’s going to be out in the world in less than a month. That’s crazy to me. It’s exciting. I guess the feeling I had previously was nervousness at some point when I was younger. Now, I don’t feel that anxiety. Listening to this and putting this record together and everything we did for it, it’s complete. It’s full, and I feel really proud of it. It’s really, really good. At least, I believe that, and the guys in the band believe that. Somebody else could think it’s complete garbage, and that’s their opinion, but I’m not worried about that. We put Stick Your Neck Out, and it was like “okay, this is us on Dr. Strange. We’re putting this record out and people will get it.” And they did. People still talk about it and say “oh that record’s awesome, you’re such an underrated band.” 

How does that land when people say that?

That we’re underrated?

Yeah, because I feel like I’m guilty of doing the same thing, but then I worry that it’s a backhanded compliment when we say “oh, you guys were great, you were my favorite band, you should have been huge!” 

I guess maybe? But it’s our own doing, right? I kind of limited us. We couldn’t do certain things. We had opportunities to, like, tour Japan, tour Europe, all these things, but I was in medical school. I was going to be a doctor. I limited our exposure. Could we have been bigger than that? Yeah, but it would be short-lived. We’re not paying the bills with punk rock. “Punk rock doesn’t pay the bills,” so says Milo. I mean, for them it does, but for the rest of us… (*both laugh*) I get to be a doc and play in a band. It’s still fulfilling in a visceral and spiritual way. Once again, it doesn’t pay the bills, but that’s not what this is about. I have a profession that does that, but I have these opportunities! I got to meet you and we became buddies through this world. I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many people that I would have never believed as a kid that I’d get the chance to meet. I’ve met some of my heroes. To meet some of the guys from Descendents. To go on tour with Dead Kennedys for a short run. To play with Bad Brains during Riot Fest. If you told me as a teenageer that “hey, you’re going to play a show with Bad Brains,” like…I would have told you you’ve been smoking ganja! (*both laugh*) But that happens. Those experiences are what brings about this existence and these life experiences. No matter whatever money you have and whatever material things you have, they’re all going to break. That’s kind of what “Our Glass” is about. The material things you have are going to break, but the real important things that you have and establish and the relationships with people and the places that you’ve been and the experiences you have, that’s going to be the things you have on your deathbed. Your big-screen TV isn’t going be there when you die. Your iPhone or whatever is not going to be there. Nothing material is going to matter. So, going back to the whole thing of it being a backhanded compliment of “hey, you were underrated,” it’s maybe a backhanded compliment, but it’s also kind of cool that when people hear that stuff, they go “man, you guys shoulda been…coulda been.” Yeah, maybe, but I was limiting us because of my professional choices. So back to the original question does it feel different or does it feel like it did releasing records before? No, it feels brand new to me because we haven’t done this in such a long time.

That’s really cool! I feel like there’s some buzz about it, and that’s not always the case when bands put out albums nowadays. It can be easy to get lost in the sauce, but I feel like there’s buzz around the new Bollweevils record. I can say that as a fan, that’s pretty fulfilling. Like “hey, people still care about this band I like!” Because you never REALLY know…

Right, and for some people it’s going to be their brand-new introduction to us.

As I said, the first Bollweevils record of the Dying Scene era, so it’s the first one we get to cover!

Yeah, and since we were underrated, we were under the radar, so some people didn’t see us or hear us, so it’s like “oh, that’s who they were! Now I can explore some of the old stuff!” I remember we did a thing in California seven or eight years ago, something like that, and I remember being on a radio show, on the phone, and I remember being told that someone had heard “Bottomless Pit” and said “yeah that’s a great song!” and they’d never heard it before. They said “that’s such a great song, it sounds like you just recorded it recently” and I was like yeah, I don’t think we had a sound that was dated. We were a 90s punk band, obviously, but I think our sound translates to today and to yesteryear. That was the greatest compliment to hear, that somebody had heard that and was blown away by it. I was like “yeah, that was recorded way back when, we were sloppy…” (*both laugh*) Now, hearing this record today, using that song from thirty years ago that we rerecorded and reimagined the way that it is, we’re like a whole different band, even though we’re the same band. So people will get to experience this for the first time as we are, and people who have experienced us before will experience us again and go “oh my god, look at them, they’re still out there doing this!” I’m being so prideful right now, it’s horrible. But it is a new experience for me. Though I’ve had the experience before, it feels like a new experience for me, and it’s really exciting. 

I think that one of the takeaways from the record, I feel like the older I’ve gotten and the greyer my beard has gotten, I’ve gotten away from some of the 90s punk rock thing. “Liniment and Tonic,” right? My back hurts, my knees hurt. (*both laugh*) I think that sometimes there can be a shelf life to a sound like that, but I think there are some moments on this record that eclipse all of that. It’s very much in the vein of a 90s punk rock record, but it sort of transcends that. 

Thank you! And we were talking about that as a band. At our core, we are a punk rock band. Whatever we write is going to be a Bollweevils song. And that’s one of the things that would happen sometimes. A criticism would come out that members of the band would say “that song that you wrote is good, but that’s not a Bollweevils song.” Some of those songs never saw the light of day. 

Is that because they’d be stylistically wrong? 

It wasn’t true to ourselves. It was like “just write what we know. Write our stuff and just play it and be done with it and don’t try to do something that’s not us.” It’s ridiculous when you’re trying to be something that you’re not. At the core, we’re still just a punk rock band from Chicago, and that’s what we’re going to play. I think that part of it too is that I don’t think we know how to play anything slow. That could be a problem in and of itself, because as you get older it’s harder to keep up in some sense. We pride ourselves in trying to keep up with what we do. Like, I worked out this morning. This is my trying to fight against the inevitability of entropy! (*both laugh*) We only know how to play like we play, so even if there’s a song that sounds almost kitsch, like “Liniment and Tonic” or “Theme,” it’s still us. You’re like “that’s still punk, it’s still hard. It’s got a hook, but it’s still them!” We pride ourselves in saying “there’s no reason for a song to be over two minutes and thirty seconds. It doesn’t make any sense. Why not just say your peace and be done. Hit them in the face and be done. Knock them out and be done with the fight. You can’t go twelve rounds, knock them out in three! Come on, Tyson, take them down!

In looking at my notes, I think the songs that we talked about as my favorite…

Are the longest ones! (*both laugh*) Well, sometimes you gotta box a little bit. Sometimes you gotta box a little bit. 

You gotta keep your arms down and let them tire themselves out, like Muhammed Ali, right? 

It’s all good! Exactly!

Is there fear in songs like that that they risk not being “Bollweevils songs” because they aren’t ninety seconds of four-on-the-floor, punch-you-in-the-throat “punk rock”?

No, I think if you even go back out to Stick Your Neck Out, “Failure of Bill Dozer” is a longer song and that’s a great song. We’ve added that back into our sets. That’s one of the songs that we brought back. That song is one of my favorite songs too. I don’t want to paint myself into a corner and say every song has to be a minute and thirty seconds or two minutes. Songs evolve into what they need to be, but they still have to be “us.” All the songs that are on there, if they are more than two minutes, it’s because that’s what the song had to be. They are still us. You can listen to them and say “wow, this is different, but that’s still a Bollweevils song.” It’s not like you listen to “Galt’s Gulch” and think, “wow, that’s weird.”

Yeah, I mean, it’s not a Rush song. 

Even “Our Glass” is different but it’s still us. It’s a Bollweevils song still. Somebody asked me once what I would say to younger me if I could go back in time, or to a younger band you’re playing with that asks what you do to have this longevity in punk rock, I say “just be yourself and do the things that you enjoy.” Play what you want to play. Don’t fall into some kind of trap where you have to trend it up or do something different. Play what you love. If you happen to write a record that’s some experimental noise thing and that’s who you want to be and that’s who you are, do that and be good with that. Make sure you’re good with it. With this record, with Essential, everything about it, we are so good with. That’s just the bottom line. No matter what anybody says about it, they can sit back and go “how do you feel about the record?” I think it’s great, and if you don’t, I wouldn’t do anything different. It would have been that way no matter what. It’s perfect for us. 

Are there people for whom you get nervous about what their feedback is going to be? People that you look up to as pillars, like the Descendents guys or whoever? 

Yeah, if they heard it and they said “that sounds great!” I’d think “well, I can die now!” 

Do you get back to that sort of childhood fanboy thing?

Oh god yeah! A person that makes me overly giddy and ridiculous and the worst punisher over is J. Robbins. I told him that recently. Denis Buckley, my good friend Denis, always reminds me that “dude, you punished him so hard when they came to Chicago way back in the day.” I couldn’t talk, I was stumbling and fumbling and J. Robbins was like “is he okay?” I couldn’t talk to him. I saw him at Riot Fest recently and I told him that and I said “I’m just letting you know, I fall apart when I see you. I do. I’m just such a fanboy of yours.” And he was like “no, it’s good, let’s take a picture.” And then he Friended me on Facebook and I was like “AHH!” (*both laugh*) But like, if the guys in (Naked) Raygun heard this and they were like “well this is horrible,” it would hit me a bit, but I would still have to just accept that, but I’d still think it’s good. I would take it to heart in some sense. If my best friend Paul says something sounds bad, I’d listen to those words. He can criticize me all the time, he does all the time anyway (*both laugh*) and I take his word. He actually was critical about some things when I was working on songs for this. But he loves the record, so that makes me think that it’s going to be good. Our friend CJ is a good friend of ours, and he would tell us if this sucked, and we would take his word to heart. But he’s like “this record is great, man. This record is great.” That makes us feel confident as well, but again, real confidence comes from within. If we didn’t feel like it was good…it’s done, we can’t change that, and we feel good about it. We feel really good about it. I think that is kind of pervasive with the buzz. People are hearing it and going “wow, this is good!” I’m glad that that is being reaffirmed in some senses. But yeah, if someone I idolized since I was a kid said this was trash, it might sting for a bit, but then again, you can’t please everyone, you know? An 80% is a B, so if I can get 80% of people to like it, that’s a passing grade. I’m still in the mix. I’m confident in (the record), I feel great about it. We put out the best that we could do right now…until the next thing comes out! 

It made me go “oh wow, I still like punk rock!” 

See Jason, that makes me feel good! 

I’m not going to try skateboarding, but I can still like punk rock! 

Then I’d see you in the hospital!

Hey, thanks for chatting. This was fun. Instead of doing it podcast-style like the last time we talked, the site is back up and running so I get to go back to pretending to be a writer. It was hard to be away from for a while, because if you don’t do it enough, that muscle atrophies. I’m sure that if you had gone fourteen full years without writing a song and then tried to jump back into it, that would be even worse.

Oh it’s definitely atrophy. It’d be ridiculous. It is one of those things where…think about the past three years of things that have happened, and the proliferation of bands having records come out. You’ve got the OFF! record, you’ve got the Samiam record out there, Drug Church’s record is out there…bands are just writing stuff that’s so good, and older bands are writing stuff that’s so good. We’ve had this time to think and reflect and meditate on our existences and what’s going on around us, and a few summers ago, the tragedies that would happen with the violence inflicted upon individuals, the unrest in the world, the upheaval of things and the change, and election season, and all of this stuff that swirls around you, and then realizing once again that we as human beings are going to survive this like we survived anything else. Plagues have happened, there’s been social upheaval before. All of these things have happened, we’ve seen these things before, and we’ve survived. That anxiety that comes with that, you have to find an outlet, and a lot of that is sitting down and writing out how you feel and writing about these things and getting rid of that. A part of that with this record, by the way, was that everybody had tragedies that they were having and anxieties that they were having and we all got to have this catharsis and put it out there and it came together. Art is emotional, and there’s a lot of emotion put into it, and when it comes out, you go “oh, this expresses exactly what I was concerned about.” Other people probably have the same feeling, and when art hits, it invokes an emotional response and people latch on to it and it makes you feel comfortable. I think that’s what this record has. You listen to it and you go “there’s something that’s hitting me about it that’s good. It’s hitting me right here.” 

And I think it does so in an interesting way. That’s a difficult needle to thread. Coming out of the last three years and being inspired by the last three years but without overtly talking about the last three years, and without making an album that’s overtly political and directly takes on the social upheaval and the political upheaval of the last three years. It’s an interesting needle to thread, to be able to do an album like that, that reinforces the good that came out of the last three years without being a constant, fist-shaking. There’s certainly a place for that…

That song “Resistance” is on there!

Right!

But the whole of the record is what it is…it’s a whole thing. Everything has a place and it all fits together. Not that it was written as a rock opera, but the songs do have almost a sense that they’re puzzle pieces that make up the whole as a piece of work.

I’m really excited for people to hear it. The fact that some of my favorite albums of this year are from people like Bollweevils, Samiam, Bouncing Souls…bands that have been staples for a long time and that are still putting out records that are so good. Sometimes, I try to step back from it and say “okay, do I like the new Souls record because it’s a new Souls record, or do I like it because it’s a really good record.” And it is a really good record. The new Samiam record, irrespective of if you’ve liked Samiam for years, is a really good record. 

Yes, that new Bouncing Souls record is so good! It’s awesome to see bands like us putting this stuff out there that’s so good. The time is just right. … It’s fun, I’m doing this whole circuit, I guess, of talking to people…

Did you do that twenty, thirty years ago? I mean the internet wasn’t what it is now, but…

It was a little internet, but ‘zines would come around here and there. But it wasn’t like this. This is probably the biggest media tour (for the Bollweevils) ever, and it’s easier to do because fo the internet. It’s really easy to do this. Rather than set up a time to have somebody come out and sit down…now I can do a couple phone things, do this, it’s cool. There are a lot of things to organize and fit into the “so open” schedule that I have (*both laugh*). (But) this whole experience has been amazing. There’s something really new about it, and it just feels exciting. It feels like there’s some kind of electricity around it, and it’s amazing. 

And I think with it coming out on Red Scare, Toby and Brendan have a pretty cool thing going on.

Yes! And Pouzza is coming up, and there are a bunch of Red Scare bands playing that. Like No Trigger…I’ve loved that band for the longest time. I love those guys. Broadway Calls is another one. They’ve got so many cool bands on there. We were the old school, OG guys on there now. It’s cool to be on a label with a lot of younger bands, some of whom had never seen us, some of us who had never heard of us, and we get to play with them and they’re like “how old are you guys again?” “Oh we’re in our fifties!” “What?! No way!” “Yeah, you young bucks better up your game, because we’re still coming for you!” (*both laugh*) It’s cool to be in this band and on this label. Toby and Brendan are really supportive and the bands on the label are just amazing. 

Yes! That new No Trigger record is so good. And it’s so weird, but it’s so awesome that they just kind of went for it.

It’s so cool. It’s not another Canyoneer. I love Canyoneer as a record, but they definitely let you know on this one that they can write a song that you’re going to have to think about, I’m letting you know about these fascists and everything else, and you’re going to be singing along with it. Tom (Rheault) from that band is such a smart guy and John is a grat guitar player. I love them, I really do. I was fanboying out about them when they came on the label. Thinking about this youth movement of bands, and how good they are, it makes me feel rejuvenated sometimes. I’m proud that we still can play and keep up with them and sometimes surpass some of them. I’m like “god, I can’t believe I can still do this at 52,” but then I look over and see Keith Morris and seeing Circle Jerks play and seeing OFF! play, it’s like..that’s who I want to be. That’s what I want to grow up to be. That’s amazing. Seeing Descendents, too, it’s like…that’s what I want to have. The longevity that these guys show is way inspiring. Keith though is totally inspiring. The Circle Jerks are amazing. OFF! is just awesome. They just bring it every day, and I want to do that when I’m sixty. Will I be in my mid-sixties doing this? Of course I will. 

Well, in fourteen years, for the next record…

(*both laugh*) Exactly!! 

We’re not going to get the folk punk record next time, huh?

No, it’ll still be hard and fast. I won’t be able to jump as high, but it’ll still be a part of the whole schtick. My knee will be in a brace, but here we go!

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Big Tour Announcement: Red Scare Industries announce West Coast Psyop tour w/Elway and Heart & Lung

Hey Left Coasters! Our comrades at Red Scare Industries have announced a pretty cool tour coming your way next month! The tour is being billed as the Red Scare West Coast Psyop, and it features the likes of Elway and Heart & Lung. Elway have certainly earned their stripes as road dogs over the years, […]

Hey Left Coasters! Our comrades at Red Scare Industries have announced a pretty cool tour coming your way next month!

The tour is being billed as the Red Scare West Coast Psyop, and it features the likes of Elway and Heart & Lung. Elway have certainly earned their stripes as road dogs over the years, but this will be Heart & Lung’s first time heading west outta Chicago. Go support them, won’t you? Details are in the flier and down below, and tickets are available at redscare.net – jump on ’em!

 

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DS Show Review & Gallery: The Return of Sludgeworth! Tightwire and Permanent Residue join in on the fun (Chicago – 04.08.2023)

Sludgeworth, the1990’s beloved Chicago punk band, returned to the stage on a recent Saturday night. With support from Chicago’s Permanent Residue, and rapidly ascending Minneapolis band Tightwire, it was an incredible night on stage and a helluva fun one offstage at Cobra Lounge. Longtime fans who were there at the start and have been waiting […]

Sludgeworth, the1990’s beloved Chicago punk band, returned to the stage on a recent Saturday night. With support from Chicago’s Permanent Residue, and rapidly ascending Minneapolis band Tightwire, it was an incredible night on stage and a helluva fun one offstage at Cobra Lounge. Longtime fans who were there at the start and have been waiting decades to see them play again were thrilled. Some even expressed disbelief that this was even happening. Others in the crowd, whether not born yet at that time, too young to remember them, or not from Chicago, instantly became new fans. Cobra Lounge was packed at this sold-out show. This was a momentous show, but this night also helped demonstrate why, though Chicago may be called the Second City, for some many it is #1 when it comes to its punk rock community.


First, a note about that community: It is a tight-knit one. Like a family, there are many different personalities and perhaps not everyone gets along. But far more often it is easy to witness the support those in the community have for each other, including most musicians, most of the venue owners and staff, other behind-the-scenes people, and yes from my experience most of the photographers and writers covering the shows. This night was no exception, though it did seem to be an all-star event. Tobias Jeg, founder and owner of Red Scare Industries returned to the Windy City to support one of his label’s band, Tightwire, do business, and hang with so many good friends. There were some heavy hitters among the punk rock musicians on hand to celebrate the return of Sludgeworth. Among those spotted at the event were Naked Raygun‘s Jeff Pezzati, Daryl Wilson and Ken Fitzner from The Bollweevils, Joe Principe of Rise Against, Deanna Belos aka Sincere Engineer, Brendan Kelly from The Lawrence Arms and The Falcon, Steev MF Custer from Death and Memphis, 88 Fingers Louie‘s Denis Buckley, and Joe Sowinski, currently of Static Age, but formerly of The Evictions, Major Threat, and The Old Comiskeys. Dave Simon, of Deal’s Gone Bad, The Crombies, and Anger, a popular bartender at Cobra, was on the job this night but is definitely a prominent member of the Windy City punk rock family. I would be remiss if I did not mention him. I’m guessing there were others but in the cozy confines it was sometimes hard to see much else around me as I documented the festivities.


For a smaller venue, such as the case with Cobra Lounge, that’s quite an impressive turnout. Witnessing this amount of support for each other is one of the biggest reasons this Long Island born and raised, Chicago transplant, who spends a good deal of time each year traversing the Lower East Side of NYC, loves the Chicago punk rock scene. Oh, and the oftentimes very good, sometimes great and occasionally, phenomenal music factors in too.


Ok, now that the scene is set, on to the show. I moved to Chicago in March of 2009, so I had no idea of Sludgeworth until very recently. However, in the weeks leading up to it, I was repeatedly told I had to be at this show by various friends They argued that this was going to be an important one. Fortunately, this came from close friends who were on the ground during the first Sludgeworth era. So of course I had immense trust in them. All I can say is damn! Well, that and thanks to those who insisted I attend. And of course, all that I am about to say in this piece. Because, wow! Sludgeworth is straight-up phenomenal, both in music and performance. Oh and there was the live performance debut of a future punk rock star. More on that in a bit.


Having documented Dan Schafer as the lead singer for Dan Vapid and The Cheats multiple times and also seeing him front another of his groups, The Methadones, I knew going into this event that he is a dynamic performer and musician. But with his Sludgeworth bandmates, this was taken up a notch. He worked the cozy stage, engaged the fans about as much as one can without actually jumping into the crowd. Schafer spent much of the time extending his arm, microphone wielded tightly in his hand into the upfront scrum. Yes, this is a common movement in shows. Yet the frequency with which it was done here, coupled with the frenzied glee from fans who seemed to remember every lyric to all of the songs from long ago, surely set this apart. No doubt Schafer and bandmates were having a blast.


Mike Hooten on bass, Adam White and Dave McLean on guitars, and drummer Brian McQuaid aka Brian Vermin behind the kit, each commanded their spots on the stage individually. Collectively, they powered the music against which Schafer’s vocals were set.


Red Scare Industries recently re-issued the band’s 1995 record, “Losers of the Year.” They opened with, the appropriately titled for this event, “Never Say Never.” From there Sludgeworth drove through an electrifying set that included fiery renderings of “Follow,” “Another Day,” “She’s Not Disposable,” “Waste It Away,” “Angry Man,” and “Two Feet on the Ground.”


Every band member appeared very glad to be together on the stage again. McQuaid, with Yankees cap (per McQuaid “It’s 100% Jay-Z and 0% baseball.” That said, Let’s Go Mets!) turned backwards on his head, spent most of the set with a giant grin on his face as he slammed through, in the very best way, the setlist. McQuaid was also celebrating a very special moment on stage, and he had reason to be proud.


Brian McQuaid’s 13-year-old son, Max McQuaid, made his live performance debut when he took over on the drums for the song “Anytime.” The kid crushed it. This is no generous hyperbole to encourage Max, who has been playing drums for five years. He legit killed it on the the song “Anytime.” Fans showered the younger McQuaid with some of the loudest cheers of the night, immediately adopting him in a sense as the newest member of their beloved band. Almost jumping into a bear hug with his Dad on stage just added another verklempt-inducing moment. Later, Max stage-dived, and crowd-surfed, the only one to do so this night and Schafer jokingly put the kibosh on him invading the stage to try it again. Instead, Max had to make do with rocking out on the shoulders of a family friend named Mikey. Max signed a drumstick for me after the show. I’m going to hold onto it because this young man is a drummer who we should all keep an eye on. He is part of the next generation of great Chicago punk musicians preparing to take over. I have no doubt about that.


As great as the show was, I was curious as I am sure many or most of the fans old, and new were. The obvious question being, how did this event happen?

I caught up with Schafer by DM a few days post-show to get some answers.

We had the reissue of “Losers of the Year” on Red Scare records, and I believe, if memory serves me correct, the idea was floating during various Zoom interviews back in December. It was met with a resounding no, which turned into a maybe, into a yes, and into an enthusiastic, hell yes. How? I’m not exactly sure. There were some problems to work out, but we did.”


And the welcome news: “Yes. We will be playing again in 2023 and will have a new single.

Indeed the band, played a new tune called “Together, Not Together.” Fans were euphoric.

Schafer shared the genesis of the new song,

Through the excitement of playing again, they suggested it to me. I was dead set against it. They sent a riff to me, and I was like, “Hmmmm…”

He continues, “Next thing I know, words pop into my head, and we go back and forth with voice memos. We made the final touches on it the day before the show.

So Schafer’s verdict on the show?

I couldn’t have asked for it to go any better. I felt well-rehearsed, relaxed, in good spirits, great camaraderie, enthusiastic fans.

 “The passage of time was a mind trip. It’s been 30 years since we broke up. Aside from a handful of reunions over the years, the thought of these songs being in somewhat of a demand in 2023 is pretty incredible.”

Incredible? Yes. Incredible news that there is more to come this year from Sludgeworth? Absolutely.


When you have such a major event headlined by a beloved band, you better make sure the two support bands measure up to the importance of the night. The organizer of this show hit the jackpot.

Playing in the middle spot was Tightwire, a band on a rocket ship to greatness, ready to blast off. I have covered the band a few times for Dying Scene since our resurrection and know that there are plenty more to follow. The Minneapolis quartet are big fans of the Windy City, and the Windy City has many big fans of the band.

The group, on the Red Scare Industries label, had the energy to match the headliners. Singer Tane Graves shredded his vocal chords, and his bass. Both guitarists Noelle Stop, often in close proximity to Graves, and Paul Mullaney, lurking in the darker corner of the small stage, contributed powerful vocals whilst driving the music. Drummer Parker Thompson seemed to be happily destroying his kit in proper service of the music.

Tightwire kicked off its set with the appropriately titled for this night, “Party,” and ended with “AYL.” In between they jammed through “Six Feet Deep,” “Told Yah,” “Hidden Planet,” “Spell On Me,” and “Anyone But You.”

I look forward to seeing them again in short order. I’d hazard a guess anyone else who has witnessed them live feels the same way.


Another band I had the pleasure to document previously, as support for The Brokedowns a few months back, is Chicago’s own pop-punk Permanent Residue. It’s a fun crew led by singer, guitarist, and harmonica player Kate Manic, also from Fuck You Idiot. Her bandmates are Jake Levee of Canadian Rifle, on bass. drummer Victor Lord Riley, and guitar player, Vince Miller. The band, off the Long Island label, Dead Broke Rekerds, provided a great opening for the show. Its music is played at a full-throttle pace, with the songs clocking in under two minutes long. The speedy set started with “Ogden Avenue,” the title referencing a well-known street named for Chicago’s first mayor, William B. Ogden. It was followed by “O Well,” “Resignation,” and “I Don’t.” The last song in the set was the delightfully titled “David Gilmour Girls.” I expect the band to be headlining more and bigger shows. But wherever they are on the bill, make sure you check them out.


This was a top-shelf night of great music, equally great friends, and massive talent amongst the fans. Please see below for more photos. Cheers!


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DS Photo Gallery: SACK with Huntingtons and The Young Rochelles (O’Briens – Boston, 3/5/22)

SACK brought their sweaty, high-energy street rock carnival to a sold-out O’Brien’s Pub last weekend. It was the last stop on their brief, four-day ripper of a Northeast tour that found them shredding the gnar alongside a couple of Ramonescore-inspired stalwarts – Huntingtons and The Young Rochelles – for the long weekend. Let’s have a […]

SACK brought their sweaty, high-energy street rock carnival to a sold-out O’Brien’s Pub last weekend. It was the last stop on their brief, four-day ripper of a Northeast tour that found them shredding the gnar alongside a couple of Ramonescore-inspired stalwarts – Huntingtons and The Young Rochelles – for the long weekend. Let’s have a look at the evening’s festivities, shall we?


Hitting in the leadoff spot for the evening were The Young Rochelles, who kicked off the shindig in perfect fashion – which we of course mean both literally and figuratively. The Long Island-based trio blistered through a pogo-friendly set that included “E.T. Cell Phone,” “I Need My Mommy To Do My Laundry” and, of course, “I Never Saw The Ramones.” Also, can we give Ricky Rochelle props for manning both lead vocal AND drumming duties, but not doing it with one of those Phil Collins/TED Talk headsets? That shit can’t be easy.


Batting second was none other than Baltimore’s finest, Huntingtons. I lost count (read as: ran out of fingers) but I’m pretty sure the quartet ripped through like 20-ish songs in a set that couldn’t have been much more than thirty-five minutes and featured what may well be the first attempt at a circle pit I’ve ever seen at O’Briens, which is all the more impressive when taking into account that the median age of paid ticketholders was closer to 40 than 20, and it was a Sunday night. In quintessential Huntingtons fashion, the set finished with an extended, stage-crashing singalong rendition of “No Pool Party Tonight” that was one of the highest highlights of the evening.


Last but not least, of course, was SACK. What is there to say about SACK that best puts the band into words for those that haven’t seen them. It’s loud and it’s fast and it’s metal and it’s sweaty and it contains myriad singalongs to such heartwarming classics as “I Used To Give A Shit” and “I Hate The Bech Boys” and “Live Action LARP.” Oh, and of course the tender ballad “I Tried Suicide.” It’s one hell of a party and I totally thought another photographer was going to eat shit with his camera in the pit but he was far braver than I’ll ever be. If you’ve only seen Kody sing while playing lead guitar in TBR or the Lillingtons, seeing him in full-fledged punk rock frontman mode is a sight to behold.


Check out more shots from the raucous evening below!

SACK Slideshow


Huntingtons Slideshow


The Young Rochelles slideshow

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DS Exclusive: Good Friend debut “Tell Me Ma” video just in time for St. Patty’s Day

Good Friend, everyone’s favorite Northern Irish punk rock trio, have got a super fun video for your viewing enjoyment and your friends here at Dying Scene are fired up to share it with you. The video is for the track “Tell Me Ma,” a Northern Irish classic which if you’re like me, you have committed […]

Good Friend, everyone’s favorite Northern Irish punk rock trio, have got a super fun video for your viewing enjoyment and your friends here at Dying Scene are fired up to share it with you.

The video is for the track “Tell Me Ma,” a Northern Irish classic which if you’re like me, you have committed to memory from your Nana’s old Dubliners and Clancy Brothers tapes. The lads have given it a fresh spin, just in time to pregame for your St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Here’s what guitar player and two-time Super Bowl winning coach* Andy Reid had to say: “Anyone could have covered this song, to be honest. I fucking hate it, but if anyone is gonna butcher this tune it might as well be us!

“Tell Me Ma” appears as part of a two-song digital single, being released by our comrades at Red Scare Industries. It’s due out this Friday (March 10th). Here’s where you can buy your very own copy. Here’s what ye olde label had to say:

We like to rib Good Friend about being from Ireland, but the truth is we love them for it.  Well, now the joke is on Red Scare, because they’ve turned the tables and given us a couple Celtic punk songs to release in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Fans of The Pogues and Flogging Molly will enjoy this pair of rollicking ditties… Sláinte!

Check out “Tell Me Ma” below!


*obviouly he’s not THAT Andy Reid…we think…

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DS Show Review & Gallery: The Brokedowns Record Release with Chinese Telephones, Dangerous Chairs, and Permanent Residue (01.28.2023: Chicago)

When Dying Scene last documented a live performance by The Brokedowns it was long ago. I jest, it was just about a month earlier, opening for The Arrivals on New Year’s Eve. This time, The Brokedowns headlined a sold-out show, with support by Dangerous Chairs, Chinese Telephones, and Permanent Residue. Big sounds in a small […]

When Dying Scene last documented a live performance by The Brokedowns it was long ago. I jest, it was just about a month earlier, opening for The Arrivals on New Year’s Eve. This time, The Brokedowns headlined a sold-out show, with support by Dangerous Chairs, Chinese Telephones, and Permanent Residue. Big sounds in a small venue added up a lively Saturday night at the popular Burlington Bar in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood.


This event was the official record release party for The Brokedowns‘ latest release, Maximum Khaki, on Red Scare Industries. The band members – Kris Megyery, Jon Balun, Eric Grossmann, and Mustafa Daka introduced the fans present to many of the songs off the new album, including “Obey the Fumes,” “Ernest Becker at a Costco,” “Chakra Updates,” “Samurai Sword Decontrol,” “Honk If You’re Horny,”

The bouncy melodies in many of the tunes made for soft serve deliveries delivery of some stinging commentary.


Take for instance, “Ernest Becker at a Costco.”

Get in line for the offering you just can’t beat the price

Say c’est la vie to the sky-high fees

Say hello to paradise

I’m in the bargain bin

And I cannot decide

Between the shrink wrapped shit

Or the sweat shop skid.

It is an immensely infectious ode to “Big Boxes” and those who find themselves entranced by them. At least, in my interpretation, and personally the song reminds me of the documentary, “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price.”

The playful song titles and droll lyrics in Maximum Khaki translated live, with an onstage cameo by Chris Sutter of Meat Wave for the tune “Keep Branson Weird,” added up to a killer night of punk music.


Chinese Telephones, out of Milwaukee, WI, and around since 2004, have shared a bill with The Brokedowns in the past, so it was no surprise they fit so comfortably in this lineup.

Just after taking the stage lead singer Justin Telephone put on a pair of very dark sunglasses. He informed the crowd he wasn’t trying to look cool. Rather, the eyewear was to protect him from the bright lights as he was still recovering from a concussion. Head injury be damned, he, along with bandmates Daniel James, Andy Junk, and Logan Stang ripped through “I Can’t Be Right,” “Crying in the Chapel,” “Back to You Again,” “Live Like This,” “Stay Around.” It was a rowdy and fun set. Hopefully, Justin Telephone will soon be fully recovered.


Chicago’s Dangerous Chairs, is comprised of “Little Dave” Merriman from The Arrivals, Jim Mertz, Andy Cline, Chris “The Kid” Landefeld, and Brian Fee. It’s a new group with veteran musicians and a 2022 debut album, Introducing Dangerous Chairs.” The record is loaded with evocative tunes. Among those in this night’s set were “Jeweler’s Lens,” “Slow Bleed,” “Regret Song,” “Statue,” and “Rooftops.” Just as The Brokedowns reminded me of another filmed piece of pop culture, so too did the Dangerous Chairs tune “Superman Is Painless.” It immediately made me think of a song from the iconic film M*A*S*H. An instrumental version of the tune also served as the theme for the equally iconic television adaptation. Turns out I had good reason. Per Merriman:

It’s a play on Suicide is Painless, the theme to M*A*S*H, along with the fact that he commits suicide in the song and also that he would always feel no pain.” That’s a pretty heavy description with lyrics even heavier:

Problematic Superman

As tired as he’s old

His emblem hides his broken heart

and his deeds all seem so cold…”

“...The only way to kill the man

Could only come from his own hand

And when we found him dead at least

You’d think we’d understood”

Apparently I was not the only one to think of the tragic story of the man who first played Superman. Merriman again,

“Andy, one of the guitarists, mentioned the George Reeves connection after it was named.”

Dangerous Chairs ventures into dark waters but does it so well. I am looking forward to hearing more from this group.


Permanent Residue, of Chicago, describes itself as “snotty pop punk.” The band, composed of Kate Manic, Jake Levee, Victor Lord Riley, and Vince Miller, wasted no time getting the crowd involved as it commenced the evenings proceedings. Lead singer Manic, with her furious vocals, led her bandmates through a pummeling set which included “Ogden Ave,” “Resignation,” “Oh Well,” “I Don’t,” and “Gilmour Girls.” Keep an eye and an ear out for Permanent Residue, a band that surely will leave its mark, not in name only.


Please see below for more photos!


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DS Interview: 75% of the Brokedowns on their Highly Anticipated 6th Full-Length, due out Jan. 20th on Red Scare

Sometimes referred to as Chicago’s best kept secret and other times called the funniest band on Red Scare, for all of us not currently living in Chicago, we know them simply as The Brokedowns. After officially closing the book on 2022 on a high note with a live show during the late hours of December […]

Sometimes referred to as Chicago’s best kept secret and other times called the funniest band on Red Scare, for all of us not currently living in Chicago, we know them simply as The Brokedowns. After officially closing the book on 2022 on a high note with a live show during the late hours of December 31, they claimed the honor of the last band of 2022 at Reggie’s Rock Club and rang in the New Year in style. Their 2023 is started off on an even higher note, however, with the release of the quartet’s 6th studio album titled “Maximum Khaki”, the band’s fourth release on Chicago label Red Scare.

Out of the gates, the group’s first single “Obey the Fumes” damn near knocks your fuckin’ teeth in. Lead guitarist Kris Megyery kicks the song off with a killer, in-your-face opening riff that sets an excellent tone for the next thirteen tracks of this quick, humorous, thought-provoking punk masterpiece.

In my opinion, this record is what a punk record should be. The songs are fast, both in tempo and duration, with only one track breaking the three-minute threshold (and even that comes in at an even three minutes). The release comes equipped with intriguing, chuckle-inducing song titles that, upon questioning with the band, have both deep and sincere subject matters. After listening from beginning to end and finding myself starting over, I fully understand the pride that these guys hold in their finished product.

“There’s nothing I really regret on [the record],” said Megyery. “At this point I’m usually like ‘Fuck it’s coming out in a few days, this sucks.’ But not with this one, that’s a good feeling to have.”

Keep scrolling for all kinds of cool stuff: music videos for “Obey the Fumes” (which coincidentally was done over a Zoom call as well) and “Samurai Sword Decontrol”, info for their record release show January 28th at the Burlington in Chicago, and the full Q&A with Eric, Kris and Mustafa. Cheers!

Header Photo by Meredith Goldberg

(Editor’s note: The following has been edited and condensed for clarity’s sake because a good chunk of this interview was just four guys shooting the shit.)

Dying Scene (Nathan Kernell NastyNate): So first off, congrats on the new record. I know it’s not technically out yet as of this intervew, but I’ve listened to it several times and I love it guys. How long has this been in the works, I know your last release 2018?

Kris Megyery (KM): Yeah I think we started recording in February but we did the bass tracking March 7th 2020. So pretty much we started recording right before the pandemic and then we finished it up like last summer.

So you started recording back in 2020, but are these songs a lot older than that?

Mustafa Daka (MD): I remember, Kris, we recorded for like a split or something and you were like hey while we are at it, let’s just like demo all these songs you had just shown us, so like there’s a kind of a real rough recording of all those songs like a year earlier so like 2019?

KM: Right yeah it was that Copyrights cover song for the Red Scare comp. And my idea was to try to record a whole album that we’ve never practiced once and I thought it would go awesome *laughs*. And we did, we recorded that Copyrights song and then we just like live recorded the whole album and I remember during the session being like ‘holy shit this is gonna work’, like we just did the whole album in like a couple hours. And then we got home and listened to it and we were like ‘oh this is a turkey’. *laughs* So we went back like a year later to perfect them.

So I always like to ask this with new releases, did you just kind of collect these songs over time after your last release or was it like ‘alright let’s write another record’ and you just sat down wrote songs and recorded?

KM: Yeah the way we operate as a band for at least the last 10 years since I’ve had kids is pretty much just like whoever writes a song, like me or John, we make demos with the song and then everyone kind of learns it from the demo, like we don’t “get in the lab” *laughs* or spend tons of time. Like this shit all goes really fast because it has to. So it wasn’t over time and we never do that over time. Usually like we don’t even think about recording anything until we have a chunk of songs. There’s never like we’re just knocking around one song like normal bands do. Normal bands are like ‘hey let’s work on this one song and it slowly grows’, where us it’s like we binge it all man*laughs*.

MD: I will say, it’s been funny that Kris, since you’ve had kids, you are real quick to just hit us with like a bunch of demos and some of it’s like a Casio drum kit and everything or sometimes it’s just like the drums that he’s got laying around that he micd up. But you’ll hear his kids all over it, so I think it’s awesome. Where you have kids that might kind of get in the way of your being able to write and record demos, Kris kind of just combines those two times together so it’s like ‘well I’m gonna hang out with these kids, they may as well get involved’ *laughs*.

KM: Where a normal person would be parenting, I’m demoing *laughs*.  

So does this record kind of have a theme, I know like with your last release you tackle like some of the thrills of living in the Midwest. Does this have any kind of main theme or does each song kind of have a different theme?

KM: Well a lot of our songs are like political in nature I guess. The last one was actually a lot more personal songs about like growing up and shit, and a lot of like bummer songs. The year we wrote that album like we had a bunch of people close to us die in like one short period of time, so that’s a bummer record for me. But this one is definitely more about just the cultural nightmare we’re all going through, living in our country and you know all that stuff, all that groovy shit.

Where’s the name of the record come from, Maximum Khaki?

KM: So the word khaki, I kept using as this like reference to just like the banality of evil, like bland evil, not referencing like the soldiers, but referencing the accountants who are making the atrocities happen. And when I would write a song I would have the word khaki written in there. It probably started from that Charlottesville rally you know where everyone was wearing khakis, probably stemmed from that. I think John brought it up, he’s like ‘there are like 6 songs where you mentioned khaki’. So khaki was used as a reference to just like bland cruelty. And we were going to call the record “Khaki Majesty” and right before we started making artwork for it the Slow Death from Minneapolis who we’re friends with announced their new album “Casual Majesty”.

MD: I think I told those dudes, I was like ‘you know we’ve got an album coming out called “khaki majesty”, but yeah not anymore’.

KM: I didn’t blame them or anything, but they definitely heard from our attorneys *laughs*.

MD: Yeah I don’t talk to those guys anymore *laughs*.

I know your artwork for the album always comes into question, what drew you to Ryan Duggan for this record cover?

KM: We love him. He did the album “Species Bender” and we love that record cover of ours. And we’ve always loved everything he does and he does with his artwork what I think we’re trying to do as a band, which is like be funny but not be overtly funny; be kind of very subtly funny. And he probably doesn’t want to be connected to us that way *laughs* But it just always makes me smile, always makes me giggle and always makes me think in a nonlinear way, so kind of a no brainer [to go with him]. He’s always been like doing posters and stuff like that around Chicago, and in the last 10-15 years he’s really developed a reputation. He’s got a really unique style.

So starting with “Obey the Fumes” that’s a kickass opener, that’s an awesome opener you guys put out. Walk me through kind of the meaning behind that because I know you said it was about breaking bad habits in one of the press releases, but can you dive in a little bit deeper maybe?

KM: Yeah, initially, like in my head what I see is like an 80s beer commercial where you’re working in a factory, you wipe your brow, you crack open a cool Coors. But in our like dystopian hellscape that we live in, it’s like glue. So you go to your job, and in this case the protagonist of this song goes to a job where he gets skull-fucked by demons every day, and he just wants to crack open a nice thing of glue and fuckin’ cut loose. But that’s the funny version, but it’s like about trying to break bad habits, specifically drinking, like negative drinking habits in a culture where it’s everywhere.

That was actually one of my favorite tracks off the record, do each of you guys have any favorites you’re excited for people to hear once it’s released on Friday?

MD: I love our samurai sword song, that’s probably one of my favorites and I think is the only song that I used to click track on for that whole album.

Eric Grossman (EG): I like that song yeah. “Cinnamon Kings” is probably a highlight for me.

KM: Yeah that song “Cinnamon King” is like our favorite probably. It’s only like 15 seconds long, but so much fun to play. Been playing it live for like three years, we love that one. I like it all, I think it all kind of moves really fast, it’s super short, it’s like our shortest record. It moves along pretty quick, there’s nothing I really regret on it and at this point I’m usually like ‘Fuck it’s coming out in a few days, this sucks’. But not with this one, that’s a good feeling to have.

Yeah I know guys that regret releases they put out because they do it in such a short amount of time, so I mean that’s a good feeling to have.

KM: I wanna warn the listeners, I may be wrong. You might hate this *laughs*, don’t take my word for it, I’m too closely attached to it to have a unbiased opinion.

So I gotta ask you then, some of these other titles are very intriguing. “Honk if You’re Horny” *laughs*?

KM: *laughs* Yeah real subtle.

Tell me about “Osama Van Halen.”

MD: It sounds funny to hear.

KM: It’s a real bummer, but it’s funny. But I was thinking about just like how you know Eddie Van Halen was an innovator, in a very creative way, but like Osama Bin Laden was also an innovator you know what I mean *laughs*, just in a different way. So like the chorus is about like a 4 minute mile because it took forever for people to run it, but once people ran a 4 minute mile like everybody was doing it. So once Eddie Van Halen fuckin’ busted out a power drill every jack off with a power drill could do that. But once someone does whatever fuckin’ atrocities in the newspaper every week, once you see that it makes it that much easier for the next dildo to do that.

That’s actually really cool, I wasn’t sure which direction you were gonna go with that *laughs*. So this is your 4th release over at Red Scare, I take it you’ve had a pretty good experience over there with Toby?

KM: Definitely yeah! Yeah he’s great.

MD: He sends me hoodies and shirts sometimes, and pens, it’s awesome.

EG: Lots of swag. Moose has to pay for them but he gets them *laughs*. When Moose orders it, he gets it.

MD: Sometimes I get $0.69 off and sometimes I get $4.20 off *laughs*.

So from what I’ve seen, the Chicago and Chicago suburbs, the whole scene is flourishing, makes me jealous down here because it just seems like you guys have stuff going on every night. What are some local bands that you guys want to name drop as influences or just bands you’re into?

MD: Wig, I love Wig. I love Permanent Residue, they’re fantastic. Salvation, of course Meat Wave is one of my favorite all time bands. Lollygagger‘s a great band, shit I could keep going. Oh, Avantist.

KM: I’m listening to that Stress Positions EP over and over again for the last couple weeks that’s fuckin’ kicking my head in. Obviously Meat Wave, all the bands Moose said, Wig. Yeah there’s a lot of good shit, there’s always good shit it’s the third largest city in America. Where are you at?

I’m down in Nashville.

KM: Oh yeah that’s not a place known for music *laughs*.

Speaking of locals, Deanna Belos, in “Corndog Sonnet” she named you guys. So when are you guys gonna the line “listen to Sincere Engineer” in one of your songs *laughs*.
MD: I don’t write lyrics

KM: It’s hard to work that in, I’ll figure it out. It’s a little lengthy. It’ll probably be in a super offensive song title, she’ll be like ‘hey thanks but no thanks’ *laughs*.

What about outside of Chicago, what kind of influences do you guys have?

KM: Well the obvious answer, everyone compares us to, collectively we all love Dillinger 4. That was like a huge influence for us. Fugazi’s like my favorite band of all time, that’s creeps in there a lot you know.

MD: Toys That Kill

That’s actually the one that you guys reminded me of on this last record, it’s actually in my notes for the interview *laughs*.

MD: I will absolutely rip off Toys That Kill. Jimmy will send me a text message for like whatever we put out and be like ‘oh I heard it’s great’ and I’ll be like ‘listen to this song, that’s the song I totally ripped you off’ *laughs*. I always am like thinking of Toys That Kill whenever I’m playing somehow, I just love love love those guys and I love their drums.

So your album release is on the 28th, where are you guys playing that?

EG: That’s at the Burlington, which is also pretty close to Moose.

MD: I like it because it’s pretty close to the practice spot so it’s like you just gotta pick up the gear, drive just a few blocks and go right back.

KM: Moose’s love for venues are all based on geography *laughs*.

You’re playing with Chinese Telephones, Dangerous Chairs and Permanent Residue, have you guys played with all those guys before?

KM: Chinese Telephones we haven’t played with in at least 10-12 years. And the other two bands we’ve never played with, but we’re friends with all of them. We wanted to play with bands we haven’t played with in at least a decade or never, but they’re all great super great and I’m super excited for all of them. I love them all.

What about your guy’s strict touring schedule? In one of your interviews you said out of town shows 3 a year, do you have those three out of town dates booked up yet or what’s the plan?

KM: There’s a bidding war going on, it’s like when a city hosts the Olympics because when we come to a town it brings a lot to the local economy *laughs*, the dispensaries.

MD: No we haven’t booked anything yet out of town, but we’re gonna definitely play a lot more this year hopefully. We might do as many as four shows out of town *laughs*.

EG: Yeah maybe. We’re talking about maybe.

So when did you guys form, I’ve seen a few different dates, but I’ve come up with 2002?

EG: What you define as the band as it is today was 2002 yeah. John and I have been playing together for a really long time, way before that probably ‘96 or ’97, somewhere around there. I mean we weren’t really serious about it and the band that you see today was 2002. I think that was when we first played with you Moose, right?

MD: Right, I used to watch you guys from like ‘96 and then in 2002 is when I joined the band, holy shit *laughs*.

KM: Yeah we should have changed our name when Moose joined because I feel like it all became kind of different.

MD: But I saw the first Brokedowns show, I wasn’t in the band but I think John was fourteen I was 18

EG: Yeah I think I had just joined the band at that point. I don’t know if I even played that one maybe I wasn’t in yet.

KM: But John was like a fuckin’ 7th grader *laughs*.

MD: I have a DVD that my friend’s uncle sent me and it has the Brokedowns playing like before you and I were in the band Kris. I think it was Taylors last show in the band. Kris and I weren’t even in the band at the time, Eric was but …

KM: Today those are referred to as the who gives a shit years *laughs*.

I’ve talked to a lot of guys who have either quit music or stopped for an extended period of time after doing it for so long, and I mean you guys have been at this for a while and I mean, based on the new record, it doesn’t seem like you guys are slowing down. What’s kept you guys going?

KM: We’re all very close friends and we don’t do much and even when like we were young, the band was never like the top priority. And because it’s never been the top priority, we’ve never had to like really sacrifice. It’s created a very low pressure situation you know.

MD: I always said it was like fishing buddies, but we play music together instead. It’s like when we lived together, sometimes our Fridays are Saturdays would be just going into like Kris’s garage or whatever and just playing for hours, get drunk in the process and sweat it out right.

KM: It’s just as simple as like if someone doesn’t want to do something, we don’t do it. And then the three people that did wanna do it just quietly resent them behind their back *laughs* and we vent to each other about how terrible that person.

MD: It’s always Kris, we always hate Kris.

KM: That’s funny because I always hate you *laughs*.

MD: Oh shit that’s so funny because I hate you even *laughs*.

KM: Honestly though, 21 years, like the band is old enough to legally drink now and I can’t think of an actual fight, like a single one.

EG: I don’t think so, no.

MD: Maybe something I did, probably. If we fought, it had to have been about something I wanted to do or didn’t wanna do.

KM: I love that false modesty there *laughs*.

So you guys have been referred to as the funniest guys on red scare, who’s second, who’s coming for your title right now? I saw Sam Russo a few months ago and that dude was pretty funny.

KM: Wow. We would never say we’re the funniest. Brendan Kelly is obviously insanely funny. The Copyrights are really funny, they’re super funny.

MD: Like personally those guys are funny as hell.

KM: They refer to movies as Kilmers and books as Grishams; every book’s a Grisham and every movie’s a Kilmer, that’s a good bit *laughs*. I love that bit.

Okay, last question here. I know the record’s not even out yet, but do you guys have any other upcoming plans far future maybe? I know you’re kind of known for doing splits, do you have any of those planned for the coming future?

EG: Not really, we don’t have anything planned. Got a bunch of stuff demoed.

MD: I was gonna say Kris already sent us demos for whatever we’re gonna do next, it’s probably gonna be a split.

Any bands that come to mind for doing splits?

KM: We were supposed to do one with Canadian Rifle actually, so probably them. But they recorded their songs and we never recorded ours *laughs*. So we blew that one. But there was a pandemic, in case you didn’t notice *laughs*.

Well that about wraps everything up, I really appreciate you guys taking some time and sitting down with me. Once again, congrats on the new record and good luck with the album release on the 28th.

 

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DS Show Review & Gallery: 8th Annual War on X-Mas. The Falcon, The Dopamines, Tightwire and others. (Chicago 12.02 – 12.03. 2022)

The War on X-Mas continues. No, not the fictional War on Christmas some people peddle as a political weapon. Here we refer to the 8th Annual War on X-Mas weekend stand, held at Reggies Rock Club this year and featuring The Falcon, The Dopamines, Tightwire; and Won’t Stay Dead on night two. The second night […]

The War on X-Mas continues. No, not the fictional War on Christmas some people peddle as a political weapon. Here we refer to the 8th Annual War on X-Mas weekend stand, held at Reggies Rock Club this year and featuring The Falcon, The Dopamines, Tightwire; and Won’t Stay Dead on night two. The second night was a plugged-in evening with full bands but night one showcased singers performing alone with their acoustic guitars and a microphone.

Night One

As Sincere Engineer, Deanna Belos typically has a full band with her on stage. On a very chilly Friday night, Belos delivered a set full of warmth and humor. She set the tempo for the low-key enjoyable evening with a setlist including “Bottle Lightening Twice,” Shattering,” “Out of Reach,” “Overbite, and Trust Me.”


English singer-songwriter Sam Russo recently participated in our World Cup coverage and on this weekend, his own national football club was still in the hunt. As I write this, it still is. But his own performance was just as is strong, albeit on a smaller stage, as those of his fellow countrymen. Running through “Runaways,” “Letting Go,” “Small Town Shoes,” “Young Heroes,” Sometimes,” Russo most surely earned new fans. Oh and playing “Merry Christmas, Baby, I’m Sorry,” was a nice nod to the holiday known for its nog.


Josh Caterer performed a setlist mostly comprised of songs by his band The Smoking Popes. He started with “Simmer Down,” then followed it with “Let’s Hear It For Love,” “Rubella,” “Paul,” and “First Time.” Caterer ended his set with a cover of the Nick Lowe penned, made famous by Elvis Costello classic, “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.” He was joined by what seemed to be most of those in attendance. If it wasn’t quite Christmas caroling, it was close enough for this holiday season evening. It was also lovely.


Brendan Kelly, unlike years of X-Mas past, wasn’t fronting The Lawrence Arms. However, his X-Mas present to the crowd was a set full of the aforementioned group’s songs, including “The Devil’s Takin’ Names,” “Demons,” and “Quincentuple Your Money.” Kelly added “Suffer The Children Come Unto Me,” from another of his groups, Brendan Kelly and The Wandering Birds. In a tip of the hat to one of the night’s earlier performers, Kelly performed “Young Heroes,” by Sam Russo. Neil Hennessy, Kelly’s bandmate in The Lawrence Arms and in The Falcon, as well as a member of The Smoking Popes, joined Kelly onstage for “Old Mexico Way.”


Night Two

Won’t Stay Dead might seem well-suited for Halloween shows, with its spooky aura and members dressed in all black, in what might be called “punk rock semi-formal.” Not to mention the fact that the band page describes the group as “Grungy horror pop punk from Chicago.” However, the band composed of Saffron Lair, Violet Staley, Tyler Palermo, and Will Lange, fit in perfectly as the Saturday night kick-off band. After all, it was the War on X-Mas. They band was as sharp as a “Rivers Edge,” which was also the first tune they played. This was followed up in quick succession by the rest of the set, including “Wicked Plans,” “Hack To The Bone,” “Somebody Put A Cross On My Head (And It Burned)” and “Sink Your Teeth.” Won’t Stay Dead closed out its spirited set with “Damaged Brain.”


Tightwire from Minneapolis, MN delivered a fierce set including “Party,” “Six Feet Deep,” ”Body Language,” “Spell on Me,” and “Pentagram Tattoo,” “Bitter Pill.” Group members Tane Graves, Paul Mullaney, Noelle Stolpe, and Parker Thompson brought the energy and the fun as they tore the stage up. The crowd was there for it.


The Dopamines, from the Queen City aka Cincinnati, OH, had the weekend’s penultimate time slot. The band, comprised of Jon Lewis, Jon Weiner, Josh Goldman, and Michael Dickson, roared through its set, injecting the atmosphere with a heavy dose of adrenaline. Included in said set were “You’d Make A Good Horsecop,” “Straight Papers,” “Cincinnati Harmony,” and “Heads Up Dusters,” as well as “The King of Swilling Powers Part I, II, III,” “Ire,” and “Dan Teets Runs a Marathon.” Frenzied done right.


The Falcon closed out the weekend with a forceful set and a dash of cheeky humor. band members Brendan Kelly and Neil Hennessy were, on this night, joined by Joe Principe (Rise Against) and Kody Templeman (The Lillingtons). All four were sporting matching black t-shirts with The Lawrence Arms logo, except in this case, the logo was covered over by the iconic red “NO” symbol. A wink and a nod to the fact that The Lawrence Arms was unable to make this year’s show. The setlist included a collection of some of the most unique and colorful song titles you’re bound to come across over a stretch of time. The Falcon performed, among others, “The Celebutard Chronicles,” ”Huffing The Proverbial Line Off The Proverbial Dong Or The Blood and the Frog,” ”Hasselhoff Cheeseburger,” “The Fighter, The Rube, The Asshole,” ”Feed The Monkey, Drown The Worm Or Goin’ Home,” “Building The Perfect Asshole Parade Or Scratching Off The Fleas.” The Falcon surpassed the already-high expectations. So did the weekend as a whole. Looking forward to next year’s event already. Maybe The Lawrence Arms will be on the bill?


See below for more images!


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