NOFX are releasing the extremely old “Thalidomide Child EP”. It was recorded in 1984 and the tape was recently found in the Fat Wreck Chords headquarters. This was a time back when Fat Mike looked something like this old picture we’ve got of him. Only one of the tracks included has been heard before.

According to the front-man the EP is “pretty fucking terrible” and will be released as an eight track 7″ later this year. You can read the interview here.

Australian fun-punks Frenzal Rhomb have posted a new track, “Bird Attack”, to their Facebook page. The subject matter of the short track seems to be based around the idea of being attacked by birds. The track is taken from their upcoming record “Smoko at the Pet Food Factory” which drops on August 19th on Shock Records.

The Get Up Kids have released a new video for the track “Rally ‘Round The Fool”. The track is from their most recent album, “There Are Rules” released earlier this year on their own label, Quality Hill. You can watch the video on the Paste Magazine website.

Manchester, UK based ska-punk-hip-hop Sonic Boom Six have posted the video for their new song “Sunny Side of the Street”. You can buy it from here and have a look at the video by clicking here. The summery track is a chilled out reggae number about their hometown of Manchester.

The track is only available as a CD single so far and is out on SB6’s own label, Rebel Alliance Recordings.

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Mike Park of Asian Man Records has announced that his label will release the next Andrew Jackson Jihad record “Knife Man” on September 20th this year.

Andrew Jackson Jihad are a folk-punk/anti folk duo from Phoenix, Arizona. The band consists of singer/guitarist/songwriter Sean Bonnette and upright-bass/backup vocalist Ben Gallaty. The band have been rising steadily in popularity over the last couple of years and look ready to hit the big time with a support slot on Frank Turner‘s US tour this fall.

In the email update from Asian Man Mike Park released the following information he had gleaned from a phone call with Sean.

“This album deals a lot with living in Phoenix, AZ. This is the longest album to date clocking in at over 40 minutes. 16 songs total. A bunch of great Phoenix musicians add their talents including: Owen Evans from ROAR, Preston Bryant from DOTH, Steven Steinbrink from FRENCH QUARTER, & Shane Kennedy from GO BIG CASINO. Recorded in East Mesa at audioconfusion studios by jalipaz.”

Their last full-length album “Can’t Maintain” was released in 2009, also on Asian Man Records, but the band have released a couple of splits since then including this year’s split 9″ with Toronto’s O Pioneers!! on No Idea Records.

If you aren’t already stoked you definitely should be.

Mike Park, founder of Asian Man Records and all round punk hero, has made his new children’s album “Smile” available for pre-orders on CD and vinyl. The 12 track album contains a mixture of ska and indie pop tunes designed to get kids dancing while educating them.

500 exclusive copies of the album were pressed onto white vinyl, each of these comes with a pack of four crayons with Mike’s face on the box and a coloring insert. You can get your hands on a copy here. Each vinyl pre-order comes with an mp3 download code.

Last night, the Bouncing Souls kicked off the New York leg of their “For All the Unheard” tour by playing a double feature of “The Good, the Bad and the Argyle” and “Maniacal Laughter” at the Highline Ballroom.

The show opened with the “Rocky” theme blaring over the speakers, and a boxing-style announcer guy (who at first glance kind of looked like Glenn Beck, but thankfully was not) proclaiming the album’s stats — “weighing in at 31 minutes” — as a woman walked the stage carrying a giant copy of the album cover like a sign.

The Souls came out, no messing around, and launched right into the album’s opener, “I Like Your Mom.” They played through most of the record without much talking — other than when they called the first show the “easy night” then promptly messed up the beginning of the next song. Oops.

After closing with “Deadbeats,” the group left, and the announcer came back to repeat the earlier fanfare for “Maniacal Laughter.” This album has more fan favorites on it and the whole second half of the show was a lot rowdier than the beginning. For their last song, “The Ballad of Johnny X,” they brought out the actual Johnny X (not this guy) to accompany them.

They didn’t play any encores and just stuck to the albums in order, but hey, the next three nights are enough of an encore for me. I’ll be at all four of these shows, so check back to hear more about each one. Photos from last night are below, and go here to see a couple of videos.

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After a lengthy hiatus, Oxnard, California, OG punk/post-hardcore outfit No Motiv announced a flurry of new activity. The band officially departed from their longtime Vagrant Records home, signing with upstart label Siren Records.

Also today, the band announced that their long-awaited new EP, “Winterlong,” will officially drop on August 30th. Additionally, they are offering up a new single “Once Again Sundays” from that very release. Click here to check it out.

No Motiv’s last release was 2004’s “Daylight Breaking.”

Boston’s Have Nots have premiered a music video for the title track off their latest album “Proud.”  Check it out here.

“Proud” was released May 3rd via Paper + Plastic, and is the band’s second full length release.

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Upstart Massachusetts-based label Topshelf Records is offering up a ton of free music today. They’ve released their “2011 Label Sampler,” featuring such bands as Into It. Over It., Run, Walk!, Empire! Empire!, and a bunch more (boy howdy, that’s a lot of punctuation!).

As a bonus, the sampler also includes tracks from such “friends” as Defeater, Joyce Manor, Balance And Composure, Former Thieves, Touche Amore, and a couple dozen other bands. Obtain your own copy here.