Former Voodoo Glow Skulls frontman Frank Casillas has a new band called the Hardyville Stranglers. The Arizona based band’s newly released debut EP First Cuts delivers 16 minutes of unadulterated, no-frills punk rock. Check it out below. Casillas, a founding member of Voodoo Glow Skulls alongside his brothers Frank and Eddie, parted ways with the […]
Former Voodoo Glow Skulls frontman Frank Casillas has a new band called the Hardyville Stranglers. The Arizona based band’s newly released debut EP First Cuts delivers 16 minutes of unadulterated, no-frills punk rock. Check it out below.
Casillas, a founding member of Voodoo Glow Skulls alongside his brothers Frank and Eddie, parted ways with the Riverside, CA ska-core band in 2017. This EP is the singer’s first new, original music since his 29 year tenure with VGS came to an end.
<p>There are few times when hollering “I love patriarchy” is wholly appropriate, and one of those rare occasions comes tonight (October 31) while pressed up against sweaty, sexy strangers experiencing Patriarchy at The Midway Café in Jamaica Plain. Yeah, you could see yet another screening of some classic T&A horror flick this Halloween, or you could drink in a lascivious goth-pop band that’s fronted by NSFW filmmaker Actually Huizenga in the flesh. “I’m here to help you out / Out […]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com/2022/10/31/this-show-is-tonight-patriarchy-whip-jamaica-plain-into-shape/">This Show Is Tonight: Patriarchy whip Jamaica Plain into shape</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com">Vanyaland</a>.</p>
Deanna Belos’ nom de plume et scène is Sincere Engineer, but sincere is also a great way to describe the human behind the guitar and voice. I recently did a photo shoot with the multi-hyphenate Midwesterner (singer, songwriter, guitar player and fun provider) as we rode Chicago’s Red and Green Lines, and took over parts […]
Deanna Belos’ nom de plume et scène is Sincere Engineer, but sincere is also a great way to describe the human behind the guitar and voice.
I recently did a photo shoot with the multi-hyphenate Midwesterner (singer, songwriter, guitar player and fun provider) as we rode Chicago’s Red and Green Lines, and took over parts of some CTA train platforms post-Riot Fest. This happened just days before Sincere Engineer embarked on a European tour. We later followed up with an interview in which she describes, among other things, the experience of being on stage, her creative process, and fun. That last word serves as a sort of mission statement for the Chicago native.
Deanna Belos starting playing the guitar at age 12. Her foray into music was due to the work of those who stood out to her when she was just a kid. She tells me,
“The bands I watched while I was growing up inspired me a lot.”
Belos soon discovered her favorite band, the Lawrence Arms, by way of Alkaline Trio, which she also loves. Belos is proudly from the Windy City and this is reflected through her affection for the hometown punk scene and the musicians borne out of it. So many of those who inspired her have become good friends, including the lead singers of the aforementioned bands.
The year 2022 saw Sincere Engineer promoted to one of the Riot Fest main stages. She looks as comfortable on it as she does on smaller stages in smaller venues. Her band, composed of guitarist Kyle Geib, bass player Nick Arvanitis, and Adam Beck on drums, also seems right at home on the expansive stage.
I asked her how conscious she is of the crowd and her surroundings as she performs. Belos tells me,
“I’m usually amped by the time we get on stage. But leading up to it I’m always nervous and pacing.”
Her strategy for relieving that case of nervousness?
“I always try to look at the crowd and make sure everyone’s having fun…” adding, “but I always try to look straight ahead and focus on playing.”
There was no doubt the Riot Fest crowd was having fun as evidenced by how many partook in a Corndog Circle Pit [Video by Pray AFK]. This particular circle pit was an homage to the opening track, “Corn Dog Sonnet No. 7” off of Sincere Engineer’s debut album Rhombithian. Belos joyfully relates her reaction when she noticed it happening,
“I was able to see it from the stage, yes! It was super cool. I almost teared up at it. A fan started a Facebook event to coordinate the corn dog pit and it kinda took off from there.”
“Corn Dog Sonnet No. 7” is an infectious tune but it also showcases her signature “Raw, Lonely Punk.” I am not quoting Belos there but rather a certain late legendary, comedian whose visage is inked on her leg.
It was in 2017, after Belos replied to a user called @braverygravy “Lol, maybe @NormMacDonald will listen to it.” The one-time Saturday Night Live cast member and comedy icon tweeted back: “I have. What’s not to love. Raw, Lonely Punk.”
To this day, Belos uses a screenshot of that interaction as her Facebook cover image.
It’s not hard to see why her songs and especially “Corn Dog Sonnet No. 7” hits so many, famous or not, in the heart so strongly, and somewhat painfully:
“What am I supposed to do now?
What am I supposed to do now?
When you’re still not around
And you’re all I think about“
When it comes to writing songs, it’s a melding of creative methods which works best for Belos.
“I continually write lyrics just in a document, but typically I’ll play guitar and just riff til something comes to me. If nothing comes to me I’ll use some previously written lyrics and try to puzzle them together to make a song.”
Belos’ humor is often in the form of self-deprecation, and she seems about as humble as any musician I’ve met. When pressed to list some of the qualities which help make her a great musician, this is about as boastful as she gets:
“I think I can write a relatable song and that helps!“
As to other parts of the life of a working professional musician, Belos returns to the same three-letter word so important to her.
“Favorite [part] is watching people have fun at our shows.”
With every favorite of that life, there are challenges as well.
“Hardest…touring probably. It’s fun and rewarding but it’s a hard endurance test haha.”
When it comes to Chicago venues at the top of her list, she has two.
“Metro is my favorite venue to play in Chicago! And Empty Bottle is my favorite to see a show at.”
Belos is grateful for the experiences she has had as Sincere Engineer.
“We have been so fortunate to get to play with some of our favorite bands. Playing Metro with Alkaline Trio was surreal. Riot Fest too. Hometown shows are always the most fun.”
But she is also keenly aware that not all shows are equally great. She maintains a pretty positive outlook even after such shows.
“I try not to beat myself up too much about it, but make sure to try harder next time.”
Belos, asked which musicians inspire her, returns again to two of her long-time faves with whom she is now friends.
“Brendan Kelly [Lawrence Arms, The Falcon] for his songwriting and stage banter. Matt Skiba for his song writing and being cool.”
While it seems, from her current success and increasing stardom as Sincere Engineer, that it must have been a foregone conclusion Belos would become a professional musician. However, she once considered going into the medical field. “Overbite” from Rhombithian describes how she disabused herself of that notion.
“I wanna give up
I wanna give up
I don’t wanna try no more
I wanna stop all these pathetic attempts and saving this shipwreck
Swim right out the door
Before it sinks with a fraction of what’s left of my dignity
I swept so many failed tests under carpets
Deep down I knew this is not what I wanted (not what I wanted)”
Sincere Engineer’s fan base is growing exponentially and no doubt many members of it are glad Belos abandoned attempts to place the initials D.D.S. after her name.
There is one part her life Belos did felt harder to abandon.
Per Belos,
“I was an animal care technician for laboratory animals. It was a tough decision and I’m still getting used to it. It still makes me nervous!”
Returning to the subject of the tour from which Sincere Engineer just returned, Belos happily indicates, it was a success and tells me
“The tour went really well! It was super fun to visit and play in a bunch of new places.”
Belos continues,
“It started in Ireland and ended in Germany. There were stops in England, Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria along the way.”
Such a whirlwind tour left little time for anything more than playing a set at one venue and traveling to the next city or town to perform there. She informs me,
“We did get a little time to sightsee. Not a ton. We went to the Guinness Factory in Ireland, saw the Berlin Wall stuff in Germany. The rest was mostly just doing stuff around the venues we played at.”
On this particular tour, someone especially close to Belos’ heart stepped in to help her out when one of the band members sadly had to stay back in the States. Per Belos,
“My drummer Adam [Beck] couldn’t do the tour because of work. It was nice having Jeremy [Hansen, her long-time boyfriend] there and made me feel less homesick, and he’s such a great drummer and it was an honor to play with him. He played in the band Tricky Dick in the ’90’s.”
Belos was not the only member of the band thankful Hansen could help out. Kyle Geib describes him this way,
“Jeremy was such a great candidate to step in on the European tour! We all love Jeremy.”
For Hansen, it was a blast as well. He tells me,
“It was lovely! Lots of fun. Shows were good. Hangs were good. Got to do some sightseeing. Doing it together was special.”
That’s the thing about Sincere Engineer. While it may be described as a solo project, Belos’ love and admiration for her friends, who double as her band members, is obvious, as is their love for her. This all adds up to…you guessed it…fun.
Belos now has a little breathing room to just kick back and relax at home. After an exciting and seemingly exhausting year, hopefully Belos will be able to enjoy the holidays with family and friends. Once 2023 hits though, she will be back onstage. First up, headlining at Bottom Lounge on January 14. Belos reports there are a couple of other events already inked on her 2023 calendar.
“And we’re doing Slam Dunk in the UK again and SBAM festival in Austria next May/June!”
Should be fun.
In what little time off from Sincere Engineer-related activities, Deanna Belos lists her favorite activities as “Bike riding, kayaking, plants.”
Please see below for images from my recent photoshoot with Deanna Belos, on September 23, 2022, and from her set at Riot Fest on September 16, 2022 in Chicago IL.
Greetings, goblins and ghouls! 👻 It’s Halloween and you know what that means: Your friends at Dying Scene have a super spooky playlist that’s sure to make your skin crawl! Whether you’re out trick or treating, or handing out toothbrushes to the neighborhood kids (don’t be that guy), this will make the perfect soundtrack to […]
Greetings, goblins and ghouls! 👻 It’s Halloween and you know what that means: Your friends at Dying Scene have a super spooky playlist that’s sure to make your skin crawl! Whether you’re out trick or treating, or handing out toothbrushes to the neighborhood kids (don’t be that guy), this will make the perfect soundtrack to All Hallows’ Eve. It even has a song from Jerry Only’s critically acclaimed solo album Anti-Hero!
🦇 Go on, give it a listen! Happy Halloween 🎃
Welcome to Navel Gazing, the Punknews.org commenter community's weekly symposium, therapy session, and back-alley knife-fight. Chime in below with your latest playlists, record store finds, online time wasters, and site feedback.
<p>It is a very busy time of year. Just think: you’ve got Halloween parties, all sorts of sports happening at once, apple-picking to do, leaves to rake, and children to swear at. So it’s somewhat understandable if your weekend plans prevented you from making the most out of this year’s IFFBoston Fall Focus, which is currently going on this Halloween weekend at the Brattle Theatre. But the good news is that the fun doesn’t stop on the 30th anymore because […]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com/2022/10/30/iffboston-adds-glass-onion-the-wonder-to-fall-focus-line-up/">IFFBoston adds ‘Glass Onion,’ ‘The Wonder’ to Fall Focus line-up</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com">Vanyaland</a>.</p>
<p>It is a very busy time of year. Just think: You’ve got Halloween parties, all sorts of sports happening at once, apple-picking to do, leaves to rake, and children to swear at. So it’s somewhat understandable if your weekend plans prevented you from making the most out of this year’s IFFBoston Fall Focus, which is currently going on this Halloween weekend at The Brattle Theatre. But the good news is that the fun doesn’t stop on the 30th anymore because […]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com/2022/10/30/iffboston-adds-glass-onion-the-wonder-to-fall-focus-lineup/">IFFBoston adds ‘Glass Onion,’ ‘The Wonder’ to Fall Focus lineup</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://vanyaland.com">Vanyaland</a>.</p>
Devastating news coming from the Dead Kennedys camp today, as the iconic California punk band has announced the passing of drummer D.H. Peligro. According to a statement released on their Facebook page, Peligro passed away in his Los Angeles home on October 28th after he sustained a head injury in an accidental fall. Peligro, otherwise […]
Devastating news coming from the Dead Kennedys camp today, as the iconic California punk band has announced the passing of drummer D.H. Peligro. According to a statement released on their Facebook page, Peligro passed away in his Los Angeles home on October 28th after he sustained a head injury in an accidental fall.
Peligro, otherwise known as Darren Henley, had been a member of the Dead Kennedys since 1981, and played on three studio albums: Plastic Surgery Disasters, Frankenchrist, and Bedtime for Democracy. He also had a brief stint in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and co-wrote a few tracks that appear on their highly-influential 1989 album Mother’s Milk. The legendary drummer was 63 years young at the time of his passing.
Dying Scene’s condolences go out to the Dead Kennedys and D.H. Peligro’s family. We encourage you to blast some DKs in his honor.
The final day of Riot Fest 2022. What a journey it has been! Do you ever get that post-concert blues? Because I sure was feeling it after Riot Fest. Check out our photo gallery of Save Face, Mom Jeans. and long-time favorites Less Than Jake. Mom Jeans. is an indie rock/emo band from California. Time […]
The final day of Riot Fest 2022. What a journey it has been! Do you ever get that post-concert blues? Because I sure was feeling it after Riot Fest. Check out our photo gallery of Save Face, Mom Jeans. and long-time favorites Less Than Jake.
Mom Jeans. is an indie rock/emo band from California. Time to get your sad on!
Another first for me was seeing Save Face and I’m so glad I did. The red jumpsuit-wearing post-hardcore/emo band released their debut album Merci with Epitaph Records in July 2018.
If you’re a ska fan then you are well familiar with Less Than Jake. They formed in 1992 and been making waves ever since. Check them out in the full gallery below, along with some neat shots of their toilet paper shooter (yes, you read that correctly)!
Don’t forget to check out Riot Fest day one coverage and day two!
Sadly, DH Peligro of Dead Kennedys has passed away. He was 63. The cause of death was due to an accidental fall, which was confirmed by the DK's instagram. We send our condolences to DH's family, friends, and fans.
