Lemuria has been one of the hardest working bands in rock and roll these past few years, touring extensively off 2008’s Get Better before getting signed to Boston’s Bridge Nine Records earlier this year. They’re currently in the studio recording a full-length follow up, and I had a chance to sit down with Sheena, Alex, and Kyle while they were on the road to get the scoop on their life on the road, their upcoming album, and how their van got its nickname. Check it out here! And more pictures from the show are up here.

Thanks again to Stephanie and Chris from B9 for helping me out on this. Alex, Kyle, and Sheena are nicer than my mom, which is saying a lot, so thank you guys for taking the time to sit down and chat with me in that parking lot on a summer night in Baltimore.

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Rochester, NY, rockers Polar Bear Club have a reputation for their energetic live shows and well-crafted songs. Let me tell you – everything you’ve heard is true, every last bit of it. I had a chance to catch up with vocalist Jimmy Stadt before the guys hit the Warped Tour this summer – check out what he had to say here. We talk about the band’s upcoming album, the success of the Living Saints video, and how they almost didn’t sign to Bridge 9 Records.

Thank you to Stephanie and Chris from B9 for hooking this up, and of course to Jimmy and the rest of PBC for an awesome interview and a better show. More pictures from this show are up here.

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Ever wonder where some bands come up with their band names? Well, we do, and we’re sick of sitting around scratching our heads about it. We’re hitting the streets (aka. “Internet”) to find the origins behind some of the more bizarre, intriguing or just plain random band names in the scene. Every Wednesday we’ll be pulling the curtain back on a different band and this week it’s everybody’s favorite Irish folk-punk act Flogging Molly.

According to legend, the Irish punkers got their start playing every Monday night at an Irish pub in Los Angeles called Molly Malone’s.  They played there so often lead singer Dave King said it was like flogging a dead horse, and next thing you know, a band name was born.

Check out last week’s Band Name Origin story: No Fun At All

Denver, Colorado’s pop-punk outfit, The Gamits, have recently returned from hiatus to record a new album titled “Parts”.  It will be released in October as a joint venture between Suburban Home Records and Paper + Plastick Records.  You can check out an acoustic demo of the new song “No One Cares Why Should I” right here.

The Gamits released their last album, Antidote, on Suburban Home in 2004.

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Every Time I Die are starring in their own weekly webseries titled Shit Happens: The Series? and today they have aired Episode 2.  As per usual with any touring band this episode features a breaking down tour van, but there’s also some pretty entertaining antics involve flaming hot, hot sauce and bodily orifices (not the ones on the face).  Love or hate the band, it’s actually pretty entertaining/gross.  Check it out here.

Every Time I Die’s latest album, New Junk Asthetic, was released last October on Epitaph Records

Not to be outdone in putting out solo material by fellow Lawrence Arms co-vocalist, Brendan Kelly, has announced that he recently finished writing his own solo album.  He states in his blog:

I’ve got a record written and I’m just kind of figuring out what to do with it. It’s not TLA, it’s not the Falcon and it’s not really ‘punk’ so much as punk influenced rock, and as such, I’ve got no idea where to put it out or what to do with it. I’ve got the players, but not a ton else. So, here’s your chance, industry mavens who secretly read my blog: sign me up! I’m gonna be huge!

Kelly put out a split album of solo material with Joe McMahon of Smoke Or Fire titled Wasted Potential in March on Anchorless Records.

The trolls among you are gonna love this post: Maryland’s pop rock act Good Charlotte recently covered the Blink 182 classic Dammit in concert.  You can check it out here.

Both Good Charlotte and Blink 182 are currently working on new studio albums.

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You can snag a free digital sampler from Tooth & Nail / Solid State Records by going here and liking the Tooth & Nail facebook page.  The sampler includes 25 new and unreleased track from both labels’ rosters including a bunch of bands I’m too lazy to type out (see the track listing here).

Outbreak is currently working on a music video for their song Human Target off their self-titled album released last November on Think Fast! Records.  You can check out a behind the scenes video from the filming of it right here.

Says the band:

Sorry this is taking forever to complete and please don’t let the delay trick you into thinking we’re producing a billion dollar video with me jumping off a ship and swimming with Dolphins i.e. Guns N Roses “Estranged” (although that would be pretty awesome)…the truth is, we’ve all been busy, so things are taking longer than we anticipated.

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California Hardcore / Metal / Punk band Common War (featuring James Gericke of Skyline Collapse and Death By Stereo and the former drummer for Cry Havoc) are streaming all 6 songs from their as yet unreleased EP on their MySpace page..  This is a must listen for fans of Skyline Collapse.

The band states that their main focus right now is on booking live shows but they are also currently writing material for their debut release.