Joe McMahon has detailed a mainland European tour with his full band, The Dockineers. The Smoke or Fire man is to perform tracks from his solo album “Another Life”. The support for the tour will be Scotland’s folk-punk singer songwriter Billy Liar. Full details of the October tour, which takes in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, […]
Joe McMahon has detailed a mainland European tour with his full band, The Dockineers. The Smoke or Fire man is to perform tracks from his solo album “Another Life”. The support for the tour will be Scotland’s folk-punk singer songwriter Billy Liar.
Full details of the October tour, which takes in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, are below.
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Cambridge based rap collective False Adults, who comprise of rappers Dronic and MC iPod alongside producer and artist LXE, have released their debut EP “I’ve Wondered Sometimes, Whether I Could be a Rapper” on Aaahh!! Real Records. Originally released under the name “MC iPod x Dronic”, it’s been re-released on the punk/indie label under the […]
Cambridge based rap collective False Adults, who comprise of rappers Dronic and MC iPod alongside producer and artist LXE, have released their debut EP “I’ve Wondered Sometimes, Whether I Could be a Rapper” on Aaahh!! Real Records. Originally released under the name “MC iPod x Dronic”, it’s been re-released on the punk/indie label under the new band name.
You can listen to the full EP below.
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Michigan’s Forest Green are streaming a new song called “My Sinking Stone” You can listen to it below. They released their self-titled EP in 2005.
Michigan’s Forest Green are streaming a new song called “My Sinking Stone”
You can listen to it below.
They released their self-titled EP in 2005.
Durham, North Carolina punks Almost People have released the music video for their song “All I Was” off band’s upcoming EP Priorities, which is scheduled to be released through Fevered Visions Records on October 13th. You can watch the video below. The EP is limited to 500 one-sided 12″s (50 Fest/Tour pizza splatter with silk screened […]
Durham, North Carolina punks Almost People have released the music video for their song “All I Was” off band’s upcoming EP Priorities, which is scheduled to be released through Fevered Visions Records on October 13th.
You can watch the video below.
The EP is limited to 500 one-sided 12″s (50 Fest/Tour pizza splatter with silk screened B-side, 150 Fevered Visions Durham Flag exclusive, 300 black). The album, which features guest appearances from Jared Hart of The Scandals and Will Romeo of Gameday Regulars, was recorded by Pete Steinkpof of The Bouncing Souls at Little Eden and mixed by Scotty Sandwich at The Sandwich Shoppe. You can pre-order it here. They released “Songs for Best Friends” on Anchorless last Fall.
English punk legends The Adicts have announced that their eleventh album called And It Was So! The record is due out on November 17, 2017 via Nuclear Blast in U.S. and Arising Empire in the U.K. You can check out the album art and track list below. The Adicts last released All the Young Droogs in 2012 through DC-Jam Records.
English punk legends The Adicts have announced that their eleventh album called And It Was So! The record is due out on November 17, 2017 via Nuclear Blast in U.S. and Arising Empire in the U.K.
You can check out the album art and track list below.
The Adicts last released All the Young Droogs in 2012 through DC-Jam Records.
So this last weekend I see an ad on Facebook that reads “Upstart Music-Arts Brewfest and Fleamarket” and what caught my eye was the font in the word Upstart was the same as Upstart Fest and the Upstart Antisocial Campout two of my favorite punk festivals/tours so I went to the page that was linked […]
So this last weekend I see an ad on Facebook that reads “Upstart Music-Arts Brewfest and Fleamarket” and what caught my eye was the font in the word Upstart was the same as Upstart Fest and the Upstart Antisocial Campout two of my favorite punk festivals/tours so I went to the page that was linked on the ad and sure enough the good people from Upstart Fest had put together a street festival in the little town of Catskill NY which is maybe an hour and a half north of where I am from in Poughkeepsie.
And with nothing to do on this fine end of summer day I grabbed two friends and we made the drive up to Catskill NY which turned out to be a really cute little town right on the Hudson River and an easy drive from where we lived. Upon arrival at about noon it appeared the Fest was already in full swing and the street was filled with people, my friends and I grabbed a beer from the Rip Van Winkle Brewery tent and caught the last two songs from a set done by Danny Stitches who looked and sounded like a dead Waylon Jennings, and before you think I’m making fun of Mr. Stitches I’m not, he was done up in rather professional makeup to look like Frankenstein’s Monster with a black cowboy hat and he sang country songs, and from the little I heard was quite good.
Next followed a poppy band called Ramona Lane, whose front man had a good voice, they weren’t bad and with some polishing and more stage presence may be able to gain some recognition down the line in the new alternative scene. The set after that was by a young looking band called Frances Dean, fans of Nirvana rejoice these guys brought back the dead with this set, the front man stood out as the omnipresent grunge master with a permanent scowl on his face as the rhythm guitarist kept the frantic momentum going as they entertained the growing crowd and local fans.
We shared some delicious spinach and potato pierogis bought some ear rings and another craft beer this time from Keegan Ales which was also really delicious, and then returned to the stage to see Mr. Danny Stitches back up there with a different front man and a full band who called themselves Casanova Frankenstein And The Voodoo Machine. Dressed in black and red bowling shirts and all done up like corpses they rocked out a set of creepy rockabilly songs that got us all thinking that we needed to start getting ready for Halloween. And as it happened they did a really great job and were a lot of fun.
The next three bands slated to appear were a surprise, a very good surprise for me as I know and love them all, Dr. Beardfacé And The Spaceman, Pitchfork Militia, and Kyle Trocolla and his full band The Strangers. I was surprised because there was no mention of any of the performers I could see on the Facebook Ad other than “Bands” so obviously once I read the whiteboard with the full list of bands the day got a whole lot more interesting for me.
Dr. Beardfacé And The Spaceman hit the stage hard, opening the set up with Teenage Runaway, one of my favorite songs off their latest album, and then just rolled into song after song in an almost panicked pace hitting us with one song after another Ramones style for at least 45 minutes the crowd growing as they played and jumping when they layed into their cover of Dramarama’s anything anything.
A band who I haven’t seen in years was up next, Hudson Valley legends Pitchfork Militia got up and after their first song announced that this was their 23rd year as a band which garnered cheers from their fans and other show goers as they played their infamous brand of “Cow Punk” with front man Peter Head playing his guitar with a toy fire truck to the amazement of onlookers who were unfamiliar with the bands onstage antics.
And finally Kyle Trocolla of Two Fisted Law fame showcased his solo work with the backing of a full band called The Strangers. I was, or am I should say a big fan of Kyle’s solo work, his song writing and his musicianship are on par with contemporaries like Tim Barry and Chuck Regan I believe. And I had heard he occasionally performs his acoustic songs with a full band but have never seen him do it. Let me state for the record he blew us away, I will stand as a firm fan of his solo acoustic stuff and think his last album The Stranger was one of the finest albums of 2016 but hearing those songs played by a full band with all the additional instruments and intricacies a full band can bring was absolutely phenomenal and a really great treat.
So from three Poughkeepsie girls thank you Upstart people for giving us another fine day of music, food, beer, and really interesting vendors and artists…Yes let me not forget to mention the very interesting vendors, artists and craftspeople who made up the bulk of this fine fair as I ramble on about music. There were vendors manning booths selling canned and jarred foods, fruit and vegetables, cool punk clothing, not so cool mainstream clothing (a girl needs that too) vinyl records, really great and interesting artists, jewelers etc. everything and more you could want or ask for in a street festival of this type.
Upstart Music-Arts Brewfest And Fleamarket, We loved you!
Joy Opposites, featuring ex-members of FACT (Japan) and The Amity Affliction (Australia), are currently streaming a new track titled “Head Full Of Tongues.” You can listen to it below. “Head Full Of Tongues” is the first single taken from Joy Opposites’ upcoming second album Find Hell. The album is set to be released on November […]
Joy Opposites, featuring ex-members of FACT (Japan) and The Amity Affliction (Australia), are currently streaming a new track titled “Head Full Of Tongues.” You can listen to it below.
“Head Full Of Tongues” is the first single taken from Joy Opposites’ upcoming second album Find Hell. The album is set to be released on November 8 via Hostess Entertainment. You can find the tracklist and album art below the new track.
London festival Might As Well Fest is happening next Saturday (7th October), with the lineup now complete. Artists performing include Kamikaze Girls, Sombulance, Almeida, Eat Defeat, Harker and Lay It On The Line. The stages are split across two venues in the capital – the Old Blue Last and The Macbeth. Reduced price tickets ahead […]
London festival Might As Well Fest is happening next Saturday (7th October), with the lineup now complete. Artists performing include Kamikaze Girls, Sombulance, Almeida, Eat Defeat, Harker and Lay It On The Line. The stages are split across two venues in the capital – the Old Blue Last and The Macbeth. Reduced price tickets ahead of the event are available to buy now.
A full list of bands performing is below.
Vinnie Caruana has been keeping busy with the newly reunited The Movielife of late, but he’s also got a solo track slated to appear on an upcoming movie soundtrack. The song is called “I’m Not Coming Home For Christmas (I’m Coming Home For You)” and you can listen to it below. “I’m Not Coming Home For Christmas […]
Vinnie Caruana has been keeping busy with the newly reunited The Movielife of late, but he’s also got a solo track slated to appear on an upcoming movie soundtrack. The song is called “I’m Not Coming Home For Christmas (I’m Coming Home For You)” and you can listen to it below.
“I’m Not Coming Home For Christmas (I’m Coming Home For You)” appears on the soundtrack to a film called (Romance) In The Digital Age, which also features music from James Dewees from Reggie & The Full Effect and John Nolan from Taking Back Sunday and more. Astute fans of The Movielife may recognize the song as a stripped down reworking of the full-band track “Pour Two Glasses”from their latest album, Cities In Search Of A Heart.
The weekend of September 15-17 saw the annual return of Riot Fest. Riot Fest 2017 was held for the 12th consecutive year in Chicago and for the third consecutive year in Douglas Park. Riot Fest saw an eclectic crowd turn out, including multiple generations of families. There were too many young punk fans, some just […]
The weekend of September 15-17 saw the annual return of Riot Fest. Riot Fest 2017 was held for the 12th consecutive year in Chicago and for the third consecutive year in Douglas Park. Riot Fest saw an eclectic crowd turn out, including multiple generations of families. There were too many young punk fans, some just a few months old with mohawks and iconic band tees, to count.
Day 1, held on September 15th, saw, per usual, a wide variety of acts. As with every previous year, legends and veterans gained the headlining spots and the most attention. In this case, the top billed act for Day 1 of Riot Fest, was Nine Inch Nails.
NIN also remains relevant for the prolific film and television scoring work that lead singer Trent Reznor and his collaborator Atticus Ross outside of the group. The duo won the 2011 Oscar for the Score for the film The Social Network. Their work for the currently being broadcast and critically acclaimed 10 part PBS documentary by Ken Burns/Lynn Novick “The Vietnam War” is receiving equal acclaim to the reception of the documentary itself.
The NIN set also demonstrated that the group is as electric as ever. Classics such as “Closer” and “Head Like a Hole” had the large crowd at a fever pitch. However, capping the set; and the night out with “Hurt” was an emotional gut punch. It has always been a powerful song, but as covered by Johnny Cash, that emotional shot to the heart was upgraded several notches, especially as performed in the video accompanying it. Johnny would lose his beloved June Carter Cash just three months after the filming of the video, and he followed her 4 months later. It seemed on this night that NIN was not merely playing one of their own best tunes, but rather, they were also singing it in tribute to one of our most beloved, acclaimed and greatest singer-songwriters. Again, an absolute emotional gut punch and shot to the heart. Not something many people would immediately associate with or expect from what started out as a punk rock festival, at least those with little knowledge of this music.
Also, per usual, several veteran acts played one of their albums in full. On day 1, X did the honors with their classic album, “Los Angeles.” Singer Exene Cervanka wore a black t-shirt emblazoned with her surname on the back and the Los Angeles Dodger log on the front. But a good portion of the crowd (made up of both citizens of the Chicago area, as well as fans who traveled in from other states and other nations) surely appreciated it when she donned a black baseball cap (with a slightly altered color-wise version of) the iconic 4 stars from the City of Chicago flag. X also proved they still have the chops and the songs are still highly adored by their fans.
One of the most powerful sets was that of Saul Williams. He repeatedly challenged the crowd to face truths about the turbulent times brought on in large part by the current occupiers of the White House and Congressional majority party. He made it known, though perhaps not stated outright, that he was about speaking truth to power; and that words of condemnation are not enough,. His message remains that music is meant to spark change. Williams also repeatedly sent out calls to action with his oft-repeated refrain of “Your punk ain’t punk if you don’t smash Fascists.”
Other day 1 acts demonstrated quite the contrary to Riot Fest’s official and self-deprecating motto “Riot Fest Sucks,” They included legends such as Buzzcocks and Ministry; and newer groups: The Hotelier, Death From Above; and The Story So Far.
It may be popular to hate on musical fests, including Riot Fest; something as noted above, at which the organizers playful wink. However, perhaps the only thing that truly sucked about day 1 was the blazing heat. It reached into the at least the mid to high 80’s but felt even hotter for those making their ways from stage to stage and the carnival areas. Head below to see our full photo gallery from Day 1 of Riot Fest Chicago, and stay tuned for coverage from Days 2 and 3 soon!