350 Fest V took place a couple of weeks back, August 23-25, 2019 at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Headliners included Me First and The Gimme Gimmes, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones; and Naked Raygun. Included amongst the many others playing, were Suicide Machines, The Eclectics, Airstream Futures, The Repellants, Tight Night, 88 Fingers Louie, an acoustic […]
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
350 Fest V took place a couple of weeks back, August 23-25, 2019 at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Headliners included Me First and The Gimme Gimmes, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones; and Naked Raygun. Included amongst the many others playing, were Suicide Machines, The Eclectics, Airstream Futures, The Repellants, Tight Night, 88 Fingers Louie, an acoustic set by Anthony Reneri of Bayside, Zebrahead, The Menzingers, Lucky Boy Confusion; and The Bollweevils.
Relive it or find out what you missed by checking out the pics and a full write up below!
Italian rock trio Teenage Bubblegums have release a video for “In Limbo”. The track is taken from their upcoming record of the same name, out 13th September on Monster Zero Inc. It is the follow up to 2016’s Days Of Nothing. Have a watch below.
Italian rock trio Teenage Bubblegums have release a video for “In Limbo”. The track is taken from their upcoming record of the same name, out 13th September on Monster Zero Inc. It is the follow up to 2016’s Days Of Nothing.
Lagwagon will release Railer, their ninth full length album, on October 4th through Fat Wreck Chords. Following recent single “Bubble“, the band are now streaming another track from it. Have a listen to “Surviving California” below. Album pre-orders are up now.
Lagwagon will release Railer, their ninth full length album, on October 4th through Fat Wreck Chords. Following recent single “Bubble“, the band are now streaming another track from it. Have a listen to “Surviving California” below.
Burly City natives The Penske File are streaming their latest song “Copper Sky”. No word yet on whether this is a part of a larger project, but coming off the heels of their 2018 masterpiece Salvation, one can only hope. The new track features that maple-coated vocal sound we’ve come to love, as well as the raw […]
Burly City natives The Penske File are streaming their latest song “Copper Sky”. No word yet on whether this is a part of a larger project, but coming off the heels of their 2018 masterpiece Salvation, one can only hope. The new track features that maple-coated vocal sound we’ve come to love, as well as the raw guitar sound that can only be acquired through some long, cold nights, floating through the endless misery of a Canadian winter.
As mentioned above, The Penske File’s latest release was Salvation back in 2018. Unlike George Louis Costanza, The Penske File is definitely Penske material, so do yourself a favor and give them a listen. [Read more…]
Norwegian blackened hardcore band SIBIIR have announced a European headline tour in support of Ropes, their second full-length album out October 4th via Fysisk Format. Inspired by the Siberia region of Russia, which the band describes as “the coldest place on Earth”, SIBIIR have received significant praise for their past releases and especially for their 2016 […]
Norwegian blackened hardcore band SIBIIR have announced a European headline tour in support of Ropes, their second full-length album out October 4th via Fysisk Format. Inspired by the Siberia region of Russia, which the band describes as “the coldest place on Earth”, SIBIIR have received significant praise for their past releases and especially for their 2016 self-titled debut. Though they use the “blackened hardcore” label to define their unique blend of black metal and hardcore sounds, SIBIIR consistently demonstrate a passion for experimenting outside of genre confines. Check the tour poster above to see if you can catch them.
We last heard from SIBIIR when they dropped their EP Leeches back in July. Check out the title track from that release below.
Happy Friday, gang! Dying Scene are stoked to bring you some brand new music from English hardcore vets The Restarts! The East London-based trio has got a brand new LP, Uprising, due out on Pirates Press Records on October 25th. BUT because they love you, the Pirates are bringing you the debut single, “Black Dog,” […]
Happy Friday, gang!
Dying Scene are stoked to bring you some brand new music from English hardcore vets The Restarts! The East London-based trio has got a brand new LP, Uprising, due out on Pirates Press Records on October 25th. BUT because they love you, the Pirates are bringing you the debut single, “Black Dog,” today!
Here’s what Kieran Plunkett, who mans bass and vocal duties for The Restarts, has to say about the song:
“The song Black Dog touches on the awareness of mental health and how it has been stigmatised. We all know people (some quite near and dear to us) who struggle with depression or other forms of mental health. With a little understanding people (who suffer manic depression and bipolar disorder) can quite easily live productive lives. It is the stigmatisation and shame that worsens the illness and increases likelihood of suicide. We have lost friends over the years to suicide and conversely know others who manage to cope with it. So the more we understand it the better chance we have to fight this.”
The term “Black Dog” was coined by the English writer Samuel Johnson and later popularised by Winston Churchill. Here’s a video explaining that analogy.
The Restarts’ recent split with SUBHUMANS was released recently via Pirates Press; get yours here. While you’re at it, pre-save “Black Dog” right here!
When last we spoke with Strung Out frontman Jason Cruz, it was a couple of days prior to the release of his iconic band’s acoustic EP, Black Out The Sky. The album marked a bit of a departure, a change of pace album more than two decades into the band’s history of pioneering a blistering […]
When last we spoke with Strung Out frontman Jason Cruz, it was a couple of days prior to the release of his iconic band’s acoustic EP, Black Out The Sky. The album marked a bit of a departure, a change of pace album more than two decades into the band’s history of pioneering a blistering punk/metal hybrid. The album had been a bit delayed – its predecessor, Transmission.Alpha.Delta was already three years old and was, itself, the band’s first new album in six years at the time – and came at the end of a tumultuous two-year period that found long-time drummer Jordan Burns exiting the band, replaced by Runaway Kids’ RJ Shankle.
Fast-forward a less than eighteen months, and we caught up with Cruz again, this time on the heels of a new, fully-plugged-in full-length. On August 9th, the band released their ninth studio album, Songs Of Armor And Devotion, on Fat Wreck Chords, and from the first moments of the album’s opening track, “Rebels & Saints,” the new music finds the quintet firmly, aggressively, planting their battle flag as an ongoing force to be reckoned with nearly three decades into their career. That’s a concept that is certainly not lost on Cruz. “I think that we’re all still working class dudes. We’re still hungry. I feel like we still have to fight for every little thing that we’ve got and everything that we do. Nothing is easy for us, so I think that that in and of itself adds to the gravity and the sincerity of what we do,” he explains. “We earned the right to still be here. I think that if you’re going to do this – to do anything – you have to earn the right to keep doing it.”
Cruz notes that even with so many releases under their studded belts, the band experiences collective anxiety in the last period of time before an album officially drops, and the tone of that anxiety has shifted as much as anything else over the course of their career. “Up until the time it gets released, you’re wondering, especially with social media and everything that’s going on these days, everyone’s got an opinion and everyone feels their opinion needs to be heard, and they start throwing around how they think you should write the songs.” This forces the band – somewhat less-than-reluctantly – to pull back moreso than usual from social media outlets and to let their own collective consciousness steer the ship. It’s the quality that’s lead the band to continue producing material that’s as hungry and vital as ever. “I think that if you believe and something, do it or act it or live your life around it or just be it, and if people are inspired by it, good, if they’re not…I don’t worry about it.“
Cruz’s songwriting has never been the type to shy away from sociopolitical issues, and that’s certainly no different on Songs Of Armor And Devotion given that the period we find ourselves in is ripe for commentary. However, Cruz’s songwriting is also the type that’s not going to beat you over the head with on-the-nose references. Instead, he opts for more of a storyteller’s role, allowing the listener to make her or his own connection with the music. That, of course, is by design. “I think music is more intimate than that, and the way it affects you when you first listen to something, or you first put on a CD or you have a moment…music is something so personal and intimate,” he explains.“I think a problem with our generation, or just this time, is a lack of intimacy with all things, you know? Everything is so fast and mass-produced and gamma rays in your face and radiation in your face and instant gratification, but there’s no intimacy with anything anymore.“
2019 finds Cruz not only assuming his storyteller’s role for Strung Out again by way of writing lyrics and creating artwork, as he’s now done for the bulk of the band’s releases; he’s now branching out into the world of author of children’s books! October 25th at the Copro Nason Gallery in Los Angeles, Cruz will be throwing an art show that serves as the launch for his debut book, There Are Such Things As In Your Dreams. The title was developed by one of Cruz’s daughters and inspired the central theme of the book. “It’s a simple children’s poem with some cool pictures. It’s trying to explain to a kid what dreams are.” In fact, There Are Such Things As In Your Dreams is the first of three books that Cruz has lined up. “The first one is basically a nursery rhyme or a kids’ poem with pictures. The second one is a little bit darker. The third one is a motherfucker…but that’ll wait ’til (his daughter is) a little older!“
*excerpted artwork from There Are Such Things As In Your Dreams courtesy of Cruz himself*
As a songwriter, Cruz has not shied away from digging around in some dark places and exploring themes that might be awkward or strange or uncomfortable, and that won’t be different when it comes to his career as an author of kids’ books. “I am who I am in front of my daughter; sometimes I write about dark stuff, but I think at the core of everything I do is love,” Cruz notes. “I think if you read anything I write, it’s about love. I’m not a hateful person, I don’t write about hateful things. Everything I do comes from love, so naturally this book comes from love and dreams.” To that end, Cruz approached the process of creating the art and storyline for a children’s book in much the same manner that he approaches creating music, be it for Strung Out or another project like Jason Cruz and Howl. “To me, a children’s book is just like a song,” he explains. “They’ve both got rhythm, they’ve got imagery. It’s a simplified, poetic approach to telling a sorry or a thought or a theme, you know?“
Head below to check out our full Q&A with Jason Cruz…or at least the first 22 minutes of our conversation before my recorder miraculously shat the proverbial bed. If you’re going to be in Southern California the last week of October, you can RSVP to the above-mentioned art show/book launch here; it’s free, and it will also feature guest artist and skateboarding icon Steve Caballero and an acoustic performance by Strung Out!
Well this is pretty awesome. Chicago’s (but really all of ours, right?!?) Sincere Engineer has dropped a brand new video. It’s for a new track called “Dragged Across The Finish Line,” and I’m pretty sure it’s about every single 5k road race I’ve ever run. Anyway, check out the video below, fellow human trash cans! […]
Well this is pretty awesome. Chicago’s (but really all of ours, right?!?) Sincere Engineer has dropped a brand new video. It’s for a new track called “Dragged Across The Finish Line,” and I’m pretty sure it’s about every single 5k road race I’ve ever run. Anyway, check out the video below, fellow human trash cans!
“Dragged Across The Finish Line” is featured on the upcoming Red Scare Industries 15th anniversary compilation alongside other ass-kicking bands like The Bombpops, Ramona, The Copyrights, The Lippies and more! Pre-order it here!
What? A free all ages show? Who does that anymore??… The good people over at Altercation Records do, that’s who! Yes our friends at at Altercation have teamed up with Mole Mole Restaurant in Poughkeepsie, New York to deliver some kick ass punk rock, paired with some dynamite tacos, and have dubbed the show…What else? […]
What? A free all ages show? Who does that anymore??… The good people over at Altercation Records do, that’s who!
Yes our friends at at Altercation have teamed up with Mole Mole Restaurant in Poughkeepsie, New York to deliver some kick ass punk rock, paired with some dynamite tacos, and have dubbed the show…What else? PUNK & TACOS.
Headlining this to good to be true event are the East Coast’s premiere Ska/Punk outfit, HUB CITY STOMPERS, who will be sharing the stage with KYLE TROCOLLA AND THE STRANGERS, BABE PATROL, RIVERSIDE ODDS, ZOMBII, and JENNIE ANGEL.
There will also be some interesting vendors hawking some cool music-oriented wares.
The date for this shindig is: Sunday September 15th
The time is: Noon-7pm
The Location is: Mole Mole Restaurant, 357 Hooker Avenue Poughkeepsie NY
You can check out the Facebook page for this event here.
And as my friend from New York would say- “Not for nuttin, Dat looks like a great show…and it’s effin’ free!”
So if you are anywhere near New York’s Hudson Valley on Sunday, September 15th get yourself over to Mole Mole on Hooker Avenue in Poughkeepsie for two of the best things in the world…Punk & Tacos.
Paper + Plastik Records is bringing us a new EP from folk artist Matt Pless this September 13, a follow-up to the 2017 full-length Catch Me if You Can. If you’re already a fan of this long-winded young singer/songwriter then that bit of news probably arouses more than a little excitement, and if you’ve never heard of […]
Paper + Plastik Records is bringing us a new EP from folk artist Matt Pless this September 13, a follow-up to the 2017 full-length Catch Me if You Can. If you’re already a fan of this long-winded young singer/songwriter then that bit of news probably arouses more than a little excitement, and if you’ve never heard of him then you’re in luck, because Dying Scene is premiering a wonderful new track off the upcoming Nero EP called “When the Frayed Wind Blows” RIGHT MEOW! It’s a song filled with wise-cracking perspective harried in the Greenwich Village tradition of American folk rock resurgence re-personified as:
“xeroxed zines, pixel memes and screen printed patches waxing philosophical mayhem on a leather jacket. It’s prophetic graffiti, stickers, pins and stick and poke tattoos, It’s self education, self organization, and selfish yet selfless all at once. It’s in the starry hungry eyes of every idealist weirdo I have met along the road, spitting in the face of injustice and hitching a ride toward a new tomorrow. It’s a wild moment in history and if you are reading this, you are probably a part of it. Call it DIY, call it folk punk, call it revolution, call it foolishness…call it whatever you want. I like to think that this is the stuff of inspirational legend, lightning in a bottle, magical liberating chaos on fire.”
That’s an old quote but it still fits, and perhaps predicates a bit of the passion Pless obviously feels about his craft. Of course, I’m of the camp that just calls it folk punk, but when it really comes down to it, “When the Frayed Wind Blows” is a tune that speaks for itself and there’s not much I can say that Pless doesn’t already punctuate conclusively. There is no shortage of clever lyrics for excerpts with the only issue residing in the decision where to actually place that closing quotation mark. No way are this writer’s chicken peckers typing out that whole song! You can stream “When the Frayed Wind Blows” below, and enjoy!
