Dementia 13 have a reputation for being wildly offensive and crude but it’s their wild onstage antics and blistering live show that they are respected for.  A band that puts the oldest punks in their place aside, they are also one of the hardest working and gigging bands in the Brisbane punk scene with a show every other week.  The band are set to hit the stage at Spoonfest on May 21 with some other talented punk rockers but we asked them a few questions first in our quest to get to know them better.

Bassist, Dan gave up the answers and some secrets about the band.  We talked about their song writing which as it turns out is done by a machine, the perks and challenges of being in Dementia 13 and their most recent release “In One Year and Out The Other.”  You can also stream “Sans Regrets”  from the EP while you read the interview.  Check it all out here.

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Belgian melodic punk band The Octopussys, have premiered the music video for “Tonight,” a pretty solid pop-punk song that will appear on their upcoming album “Face The World.”  Check out the video here.

“Face The World” is due out May 14 on Funtime Records.  You can pre-order it here.

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Splits are really interesting.

Though I’m not a fan of the length of most splits, I truly enjoy when a split between two or more acts is done right. It’s like a young couple in love; if the chemistry is there together they  can create something beautiful. I’ve always thought a split (and any album for that matter) should be very cohesive and aware of itself. Personally, no matter how good one or two of the acts on a release are, a split’s true strength lies in how the bands make their songs work together, and not in the individual songs (though it’s an added bonus if the songs also rule). I’m pretty sure that the dudes in La Dispute and the one man band Koji agree with me if their split endeavor Never Come Undone is any indication.

The short EP kicks off with Koji’s two songs, both of which are beautifully arranged acoustic ditties that tug at the heart strings. “Peacemaker” is a pluckier and twinklier number that has Koji’s voice guide the song while the instruments create a lush soundscape for the words to prance through. Though I’m not totally familiar with Koji’s entire catalog, I think it’s safe to say that “Peacemaker” is not a typical Koji song and has the songwriter experimenting a bit with instrumentation and tempo; something that I found very appropriate to for this release. The song is followed by “Biomusicology”, which is far more standard Koji fare but nonetheless effective. Though poppier in nature, somewhere between the tasteful inclusion of a string section and the comely outro “Biomusicology” showcases all the things that make Koji one of the better singer-songwriters of our time. His attention to melody, detail and lyrical delivery is ever present throughout it’s nearly 6 minute duration which keeps the song from becoming stale as many acoustic songs tend to.

On the other side of the split we’ve got post-hardcore act La Dispute. This is where that chemistry I was talking about in the introduction comes into play. Though not generally the most chaotic band on the scene, La Dispute aren’t necessarily a quiet band and I was intrigued  to see how they would compliment Koji’s quieter numbers. Their side of the split opens up with “Sunday Morning, At A Funeral”  which finds similarities to Koji’s “Peacemaker” in the way that it is vocalist Jordan Dreyer’s voice that carries the song while the instruments calmly play behind his melancholy poetry. The track is a simple, bluesy arrangement that I find is very similar to “Andria” and “Nobody, Not Even The Rain” from their previous full-length. Even when he’s not screaming, Dreyer’s almost beat-poetry like delivery is full of emotion as he tells his sad tale while the instrument section accentuates the song in all the right spots. Definitely not exactly what I expected from La Dispute, but I was pleasantly surprised by the relatively calm song. The band follows with “Last Blues”, an acoustic rendition of their song “Last Blues For Bloody Knuckles” also from their previous full-length. Again Dreyer gives his throat some rest and limits himself to his beat-poetic delivery, which works very elegantly with the band’s acoustic choice. The song’s original desperate tone is still incredibly present and it’s safe to say that nothing was lost in the translation. Perhaps the acoustic version is a bit more defeated in nature than it’s full-band counterpart, but when it comes to a song about a failed marriage, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Honestly I have nothing bad to say about this split. It’s everything it wants to be and needs to be. Four elegant songs that work exceptionally well together despite the genre differences. A highly recommended split for fans of either band as I’m sure if you enjoy at least one of these acts you’ll find some reward in the other’s part as well.

If you have been under a rock for the past few months you won’t be aware the folks behind Soundwave Revolution have been drip feeding the line-up through Facebook.  If, like me, you just want to see it in one hit here is the full, confirmed line-up for the festival:

Main Stages

Van Halen – Alice Cooper – Bad Religion – Panic! At The Disco – Hole – Alter Bridge – All Time Low – Steel Panther – Sum 41 – Yellowcard – The Used – Hollywood Undead

Stage Three

Sisters Of Mercy – Dashboard Confessional – Face To Face – D.R.U.G.S – Thursday – Story Of The Year – Madina Lake – Four Year Strong – Relient K – Set Your Goals – Hellogoodbye – Funeral For A Friend – The Pretty Reckless

Stage Four

Machine Head – Danzig – Gojira – Hatebreed – Cro-Mags – Hellyeah – Unearth – Times Of Grace – Whitechapel – Kverletek – Watain – In This Moment – Holy Grail

Stage Five

The Damned Things – Every Time I Die – The Swellers – We Are The Ocean – Skindred – Street Dogs – The Acacia Strain – Zebrahead – Framing Hanley – Attack! Attack! (UK)

Stage Six

Devin Townsend Project – This Providence – Black Veil Brides – The Word Alive – The Dangerous Summer – We Are The In Crowd – Terrible Things – Versa Emerge

BRISBANE – Saturday 24th September

SYDNEY – Sunday 25th September

MELBOURNE – Friday 30th September

ADELAIDE – Saturday 1st October

PERTH – Monday 3rd October

Taken straight from the good folks Bombshellzine.com as the Soundwave Revolution website ain’t loading.   For full details head on over to the Soundwave Revolution website when the heat dies down.  Whether or not the festival will be a revolution or not remains to be seen.

No Use for A Name have announced the dates for their Australian tour this July/August. Check ’em out here.

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At 10 EST, Fake Problems will be streaming their live set from The Knitting Factory. Click here to watch.

Samiam will be releasing their new album, their first in five years, on Hopeless Records. The band hopes to have the album out sometime in 2011.

The release will be the band’s 8th studio album. The band’s latest album was “Whatever’s Got You Down,” released in 2006.

Click here to watch Travis Barker’s new video “Misfits (ft. Steve Aoki)” from his recent solo album “Give The Drummer Some.”

Click here to stream the album “Who’s Going To Miss You If You Go?” by Late Nite Wars.

The record was released today (May 10th) on Panic Records.

The members of Less Than Jake have been busy dudes. In addition to recently completing a nation-wide tour and self-releasing a live DVD, sax player JR has revealed that the band is currently in the studio recording a brand-new EP. They hope to release in time for Warped Tour where they will be playing in its entirety.

The band’s latest studio recording was last Fall’s ‘TV EP.”  Their DVD “Anthology” will be available June 21st on their label Sleep It Off Records.