More bands have been added to the already killer lineup of the 2010 Punk Rock Bowling Fest.  Against Me!, Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, TSOL, Adolescents, Filthy Thieving Bastards, and Stretch Marks were added to the roster yesterday (previously added bands below).

The 12th Annual Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festal will take place in none other than Sin City, Las Vegas.  The festival kicks off on Thursday, 6 May with Punk Rock Texas Hold ‘Em and continues through Sunday, 9 May.  The music festival starts Friday, 7 May.  So far, here’s the line-up:

Flogging Molly, Youth Brigade, Swingin’ Utters, NOFX, Tony Sly (No Use For A Name), Fucked Up, The Revival Tour, The Cobra Skulls, Teenage Bottlerocket, Old Man Markley Against Me!, Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, TSOL, Adolescents, Filthy Thieving Bastards, and Stretch Marks.

Get on down to punkrockbowling.com to register your team, get the scheduling, and find out about tickets and lodging.

German punk rockers, Stehcafe, are streaming all 4 songs from their new EP Inspired By Memories on their MySpace page.  FYI – In a couple weeks the songs will be available for free download.

Fans of technical melodic-hardcore punk might want to give these dudes a listen.

**The Album Reviews published on Dying Scene are written and submitted by regular users of the site.  These users are not professional music critics nor are they paid for what they write.  If you disagree with an album’s rating, feel free to voice your opinion and give it your own rating in the comments.  If you’d like to submit your own review do it here.

Before I begin my rant I should probably tell you a little about my background/taste in music. I would consider myself your average everyday blue collar worker. I have been working since I was 14 years old & have always loved music. I have been married for over 10 years & have 3 children. My first concert was R.E.M. on their “Green” World Tour. I have always enjoyed alternative/underground/indie music & in high school I was first introduced to punk rock by friends. My first punk show was Bad Religion/All on BR’s “Generator” tour. My friends & I actually hung out with Scott Reynolds from All before the show, but we’ll save that story for another day.

I first heard Rancid on a Sunday night while watching MTV’s 120 Minutes. Their video for “Salvation” was incredible!!! Tim’s snarled singing style along with their F-You look just grabbed me. I went out the next day & purchased their 1994 album “Let’s Go.” I have been a Rancid fan ever since & each album continues to blow me away. It’s amazing how these guys continue to grow/mature as song writers & each album has it’s own distinct sound/style. “Life Won’t Wait” demonstrates my point more than any other Rancid album to date. This album is clearly the pinnacle of their career & perhaps the most hated by their fans (which I have never quite understood).

“The phenomenon your about to witness could well revolutionize your way of thinking. We are presenting the startling facts & evidence that pick up where other explanations leave off. Some of these revelations may very well go against things you have been taught & perhaps believed all your life. Prepare yourself for the evidence which will follow:” –Intro to Rancid’s 1998 album “Life Won’t Wait”–

From the sonic guitar/harmonica on “Intro” to the xylophone on “Hoover Street” to the reggae drums on “Life Won’t Wait,” Rancid truly proved themselves as a songwriting force not to be reckoned with. The infectious Hey-Ho’s…Lars lyrical delivery…Matt’s amazing bassline…”Bloodclot” is pure punk & an absolute punk rock gem on this album. From that to Tim’s quiet snarled poetry & xylophone on “Hoover Street,” you could already tell that the punks from Oakland were taking the listener to a place their previous releases only hinted at.

The song “Life Won’t Wait” is pure reggae/ska bliss. Tim & Lars tag team vocals are exactly what Rancid fans love! Add in surprise guest Buju Banton’s vocals and you have an instant classic. This is Rancid pushing themselves to the limit & proving that they are more than just the stereotypical mohawked 3 chord punk rockers we have all been accustomed to. “Here’s the new face of rock ‘n’ roll.” A lyric delivered with absolute sincerity on another ska tune “Hooligans.” That lyric is a rally call to all of you haters out there who critizied these guys so hard for this album. “Wrongful Suspicion,” “Crane Fist” & “Coppers” are 3 more exquistely written reggae tunes.

“Who Would’ve Thought” is Tim at his best! His vocal delivery along with Lars bluesy guitar…..AWESOME!!! Mighty Mighty Bosstones vocalist Dicky Barrett was a nice touch on “Cash, Culture and Violence.” The harmonica on “Cocktails”…..Matt Freeman’s bass on “1998”…..the rockabilly of “Lady Liberty”…..”Something In The World Today” is more punk rock nirvana…..

I think I’ve made my point. Both lyrically & musically this album is far superior to anything else these guys have put out. The year 2000 found these guys having to prove themselves on the self-titled “Rancid” album all because of you haters who came down so hard on these guys for showing some song writing talent on “Life Won’t Wait.”

If you are a Rancid fan, then give this record another spin. If you’ve never heard Rancid, this is a great place to start.

Thanks for letting me rant. See y’all in the pit……

In a really informative interview new Pennywise singer Zoli Teglas informs Life In A Bungalow about his joining Pennywise, plans for a brand new Pennywise album, the future of his former band Ignite, a potential Zoli solo project, and a lot more.

Spoiler alert:  Zoli and the Pennywise gang are already writing a new Pennywise album from scratch (no Jim influence).  Ignite will continue on as a band WITH Zoli, and Zoli has a solo album coming out in a few days.  I have no idea how the hell all of that is possible considering all the touring with Pennywise but I’m stoked.  Check out the full interview here.

For those of you waaaaay out of the loop, former Ignite vocalist Zoli Teglas joined Pennywise as their new lead singer when Jim Lindberg suddenly decide to leave the band.

Vancouver pop-punkers McRAckins are releasing their newest album It Ain’t Over Easy March 26th on Wolverine Records (Germany).  Per the press release, this album “is chock full of hard hitting, smile inducing, hook riddled tunes you’d expect from the McRackins.”

The album cover art is <= there and the track listing can be found here.

[Read more…]

Hit The Switch is currently recording a new album, which they hope to have finished by June.  That’s all we know for now but we’ll keep you posted.

The band released their last album Observing Infinities in May, 2009.

The Swellers have recently posted a new music video of their song Fire Away, which appears on their latest album, Ups and Downsizing, released on Fueled By Ramen last September. MTV (ugh) caught the video while the band was performing at their NYC show during the Dino Initiative Tour a little while back. Check it out here.

The Swellers are still on tour. Check out dates and locations on their Dying Scene Shows page.

Every Friday the punk rock geniuses here at Dying Scene are going to unleash a little bit of punk scene trivia all over your asses.  Today’s “fun factoid” is about one of the best punk albums of the 90’s:

The NOFX album White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean gets its name from the ethnic or religious background of NOFX band members – Eric Melvin (guitar) and Mike (bass/vocals) are both Jewish and Hefe (guitar) is Hispanic.  But that’s not the “fun factoid” because everybody knows that.  What you probably didn’t know is that White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean was originally going to be named White Trash, Two Kikes and a Spic but Melvin’s mother was offended and threatened to tell his grandfather, so they changed it.

Know an interesting story or bit of punk rock trivia?  Share it with us here and if we publish it, we just might send you a reward.

Thought this was pretty cool, and might be interesting to you miserly punk music enthusiast.  GC Records is doing a “Back To The Future $3 Flashback sale” in which they are offering CDs for only $3 each (postage paid in the US).  Check it out here.

Close Your Eyes have just completed their first music video for a track from their new album, We Will Overcome, which was released February 16th on Victory Records. The video for Song For The Broken was filmed in Texas on a rare snow day, which we can momentarily spot in the video. Check out a little teaser of the entire video here.

Close Your Eyes are on the road as we speak, so head over to their Dying Scene Shows page to find out dates and locations.