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.
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 🎃
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!
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m not gonna beat around the bush here. This album fucking sucks. It’s terrible. It’s awful. I want to hop in a DeLorean and go 88 miles an hour back to last week and tell myself not to listen to this steaming pile of garbage. With a few exceptions, most of this […]
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m not gonna beat around the bush here. This album fucking sucks. It’s terrible. It’s awful. I want to hop in a DeLorean and go 88 miles an hour back to last week and tell myself not to listen to this steaming pile of garbage.
With a few exceptions, most of this record – Jerry Only‘s supposed “debut solo album” – sounds exactly the same as the last “Misfits” record The Devil’s Rain. If you enjoy listening to Jerry recklessly howling over miscellaneous backing tracks that sound like they were pulled from a royalty free hard rock music library, Anti-Hero is the album for you.
The record starts on a low note with “Fear the Walking Dead” and its weird, fucked up sounding synthesizer(?) intro. Then Jerry starts singing, and things take a turn for the worse. A few unremarkable tracks later, we reach “Taboo”. This is a really fun, bouncy punk rock ‘n’ roll song; definitely the best on the album. “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care” is a close second with its upbeat, Ramones-ish feel. And then we come crashing back to reality as Anti-Hero closes with its wet fart of a title track. Jerry’s wailing about “millions tortured, raped, and sacrificed” while some shitty little arena rock style guitar riffs that don’t match the tone of the lyrics in the slightest carry on in the background. What the fuck.
There are two things I’ll give Mr. Only major kudos on. 1) He didn’t call this a Misfits album (though I’m fairly confident Danzig gave him an ultimatum when they started doing reunion shows). 2) There’s only 8 tracks on this piece of shit, so while it’s quite the unpleasant experience, your suffering isn’t too prolonged.
And listen folks, I’m not some Jerry Only-hating, Danzig-era Misfits purist or anything like that. In fact, I think American Psycho and Famous Monsters are awesome. But even I have to draw the line somewhere, and Anti-Hero is where I draw that line. Actually I drew the line at Project 1950 and The Devil’s Rain, but I am drawing an even bigger, bolder line this time.
In closing: fuck this album. It’s irredeemably bad (two of the songs are alright though so that’s kinda cool). Don’t listen to it. Don’t buy it, unless it’s as a gag gift or something. Listening to Jerry Only’s Anti-Hero was the wost possible way I could have chosen to spend a Friday night, but I did it for you, the people! And I’m sure you’ll appreciate my sacrifice.
Official Review Score: 1.38 out of Five Crimson Ghosts
Hello, and welcome to the latest installment of the Dying Scene Record Radar! If it’s your first time joining us, thank you! This is a weekly column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl. So kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, grab a few beers, and break out those wallets, because it’s […]
Hello, and welcome to the latest installment of the Dying Scene Record Radar! If it’s your first time joining us, thank you! This is a weekly column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl. So kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, grab a few beers, and break out those wallets, because it’s time to run through this week’s new releases and reissues (and there are a lot of them). Let’s get into it!
Another week, another 25th Anniversary reissue from Fat Wreck Chords! This time around it’s Lagwagon‘s 1997 classic Double Plaidinum being reissued on some very pretty colored vinyl. You can get your hands on it here (US of A), here (EU), and here (Australia).
Misfits bassist Jerry Only has released a new solo album called Anti-Hero. He claims it’s his first release of the sort, but I’d argue some of “The Misfits” later output could be considered Jerry’s solo material. Whatever. Check it out below (spoiler: it fuckin’ sucks), and grab the record here if you dig it.
Tim Barry recently released a new solo album titled Spring Hill. If that wasn’t enough for you, the Avail frontman also has a 7″ featuring some new b-sides. This one’s due out November 11th, and you can grab it here. Or if you’re in Gainesville this weekend for The Fest, these will be available at his merch table.
PUP is the second Canadian band to appear on this week’s Record Radar, with their 2016 LP The Dream is Over getting repressed on “Hot Pink/Violet” colored vinyl. SideOneDummy says this is this record’s 11th pressing; holy fuck! Get your copy here.
If you haven’t already exceeded your credit limit by purchasing tickets to Blink-182‘s upcoming tour, you’ll be happy to hear that Tom DeLonge’s other band Angels & Airwaves have repressed an assload of their records. Newbury Comics, Brooklyn Vegan, and The Hard Times have exclusive color variants of all these, along with a new pressing of Mr. DeLonge’s solo album To the Stars… Demos, Odds And Ends.
Also available at Newbury Comics: new exclusive color variants of two Gaslight Anthem albums. They have American Slang on “Clear Smoke” colored vinyl (600 copies), and The ’59 Sound on “Frosted Blue” colored vinyl (750 copies). Pretty colors! How many times can I use the word “color” in a paragraph?! A lot, apparently.
It’s been a minute since we heard from the Riverboat Gamblers, but they’re putting out a brand new 7″. Check out the title track “Two Little Hearts” below, and grab the wax here.
Against Me! fans, Red Scare has a fresh new pressing of Laura Jane Grace‘s debut solo album Bought to Rot. This is a very good record! Go here to obtain your own copy of this very good record.
Friendly reminder! Next Friday, November 4th, MxPx will be dropping brand new reissues of three classic records: Life in General, Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo, and The Ever Passing Moment. These are limited to 1,000 to 2,000 copies each (depending on the variant), and they will be available on the band’s webstore at 10AM Pacific / 1PM Eastern time. Don’t miss out!
RECORD OF THE WEEK!
We here at Dying Scene are all about trying new things, so this week I’m challenging you, loyal reader, to listen to something new! This week’s Record of the Week comes from Northern Ireland’s No Matter. These guys kick fucking ass, and their latest album Bad Chemistry is great. Check it out below, and grab the LP here (US) or here (EU). You will not regret it!
And that’s all, folks! Another Record Radar in the books. As always, thank you for tuning in. If there’s anything we missed (highly likely), or if you want to let everyone know about a new/upcoming vinyl release you’re excited about, send us a message on Facebook or Instagram, and we’ll look into it. Enjoy your weekend, and don’t blow too much money on spinny discs. See ya next week!
*Wanna catch up on all of our Record Radar posts? Type “Record Radar” in the search bar at the top of the page!
Happy Thursday, comrades! Dying Scene is thrilled to be able to bring you yet another exclusive, and it’s a banger! Belgian party-punks Charlie Bit My Finger are releasing their third studio album, Back and Fourth, tomorrow via Thousand Islands Records in USA/CAN and Bearded Punk Records in Europe. BUT, they thought it would be swell […]
Happy Thursday, comrades!
Dying Scene is thrilled to be able to bring you yet another exclusive, and it’s a banger! Belgian party-punks Charlie Bit My Finger are releasing their third studio album, Back and Fourth, tomorrow via Thousand Islands Records in USA/CAN and Bearded Punk Records in Europe. BUT, they thought it would be swell if we could let you hear it a day early, and we agree! Give it a listen, and check out all of the places you can still get your hands on a copy of Back and Fourth right here!
If you happen to find yourself in Belgium on November 5th, you can make your way to the Back and Fourth record release show here. You can also check out their recent video, “Breaking Out,” right here.
Brooklyn based melodic punks Warn The Duke are releasing a video for the track “Anniversaries” which is on their upcoming, ten track LP All That’s Solid. That’s it, just thought you should know. ….just kidding! We wouldn’t be here if that’s all we had to feed you, baby birds! Although the video doesn’t hit the […]
Brooklyn based melodic punks Warn The Duke are releasing a video for the track “Anniversaries” which is on their upcoming, ten track LP All That’s Solid. That’s it, just thought you should know.
….just kidding!
We wouldn’t be here if that’s all we had to feed you, baby birds! Although the video doesn’t hit the public airwaves until this coming Saturday, we got our grubby lil hands on it early (100% legal means, promise) and wanted to share it with our readers! The band is celebrating the official debut with a Release Show at the Cobra Club in Brooklyn on 10/29. But they ain’t stoppin’ there! Right after the show, they’re loading up and heading to Bean Town to play with Big D and the Kid’s Table at Brighton Music Hall the very next night. So, if you’re in one of those ‘hoods, stop by, say “Hi”, have a drink and listen to some terrific tunes!
Now, on with the video! Slap that play button (the repeat button a few times, too) and enjoy, comrades!
This show was initially slated to take place a few days prior (Thursday the 20th, if you must know) but due to…reasons…the band was forced to cancel a few shows in Hamden, CT, and Buffalo, NY, and Titusville, PA, but thankfully the Boston show was able to be slid from a Thursday to a Sunday […]
This show was initially slated to take place a few days prior (Thursday the 20th, if you must know) but due to…reasons…the band was forced to cancel a few shows in Hamden, CT, and Buffalo, NY, and Titusville, PA, but thankfully the Boston show was able to be slid from a Thursday to a Sunday evening, which means instead of being yours truly’s first Lucero show in five days, it was his first Lucero show in eight days. Talk about first-world problems.
ANYWAY…the rescheduled show marked Lucero’s first trip to Boston proper in just over a calendar year, and it took place back at Paradise Rock Club, the legendary 900-ish capacity venue that’s become a bit of a regular stop on the Memphis five-piece’s fall tours. Due in part to the show being moved to a new date (which, in turn, happened to be a cool and drizzly Sunday night), the show was perhaps a little more sparsely attended than it otherwise would have been, but that just gave the attendees more room to dance and get rowdy as the band ripped through a two-hour, twenty-four song barn-burner of a set.
The band kicked things off with the trio of “For The Lonely Ones,” “Chain Link Fence” and “Sweet Little Thing” as has been as close to a script as you’re going to get at a freewheeling Lucero show. From there, at least a cursory level of attention was paid to a “setlist,” although a look at the printed game plan (see the slideshow below) and a look at the list of songs they actually played reveals numerous deviations from the course. It’s a Lucero show, after all – you can’t go off the rails if there were never rails to begin with!
The band ended up playing a pretty representative sample of tracks from across their near quarter-century career. Four tracks from the upcoming twelfth studio album Should’ve Learned By Now (lead single “One Last Fuck You,” “Nothing’s Alright,” “Buy A Little Time,” and “Macon If We Make It,” the latter of which sounds like the closest thing to a crossover hit that we’ve heard from them in some time) were spread out between such classics as “Watch It Burn” and “Smoke” and “Texas & Tennessee” and, of course, “The War.” Crowd requests are a normal part of a Lucero show and they would have spent four hours playing all the suggestions lobbed at them on this night, but some surprise yesses included “Darken My Door” and “Pull Me Close, Don’t Let Go” and “Little Silver Heart” and “No Roses No More,” the latter of which dates back to the earliest days of Lucero’s career but has become a massive, dual-guitar shred-fest of a song that could easily serve as a cathartic show closer on any given night.
L.A. Edwards once again served as formidable openers on this particular night. It marked the band’s first appearance in Boston, although it wasn’t the band’s frontman and namesake’s first time in town, as he regaled the crowd with a story of a night spent at the very same venue years prior working as a guitar tech for the one-and-only Lucinda Williams…only to have one of her guitars wind up stolen on that very night. (Don’t worry, he tracked it down on Comm. Ave after a few nervous moments. A particular high note on this night found the three Edwards brothers (Jay, Jerry and Luke from left to right in the picture here) gathered around a solitary mic to kick off a soulful rendition of the Townes Van Zandt classic “If I Needed You” before returning to their respective instruments and joining guitarist Landon Pigg to close things out.
The Lucero/L.A. Edwards fall tour runs through the rest of this week, winding down Sunday night in Bloomingon, Illinois. Check the full bitchin’ rundown here, and check out our photo slideshows below!
Lucero Slideshow
L.A. Edwards Slideshow
Axel
Amen!
Travis
At first I thought someone shit in your Cheerios, but then I realized it was your ears. It does NOT sound like Devil’s Rain at all… Totally different engineering and tone. His bass sounds like it always does I guess?
I agree with your ranking of songs (except Fear the Walking Dead), but the good songs are good and the bad songs are ok. The engineering is my least favorite… But the original Misfits albums had terrible engineering.
But hey you got clicks so good on you I suppose?
You must be a riot at parties.
Rick
Unfortunately, Jerry’s primarily issue is he is held to an unreasonable standard considering that he is a member of the Misfits. His music sounds different than what historic Misfits fans are used to and there’s nothing wrong with that. He is doing his own thing and that’s perfectly fine. Just because it isn’t aligned with what you’re used to listening to doesn’t mean it’s bad.
The issue is clearly with OP. He demonstrates an inability to write an unbiased piece which his article is filled with indecent yet emotionally driven language. Why such rage? It’s like encountering an unhappy dimwit that hates his own life so he feels the need to dump on others because that is his only channel to his own self gratification. And really, that’s a very low level of living.
Bottom line? OP isn’t a logical minded individual and his expressed views should be bypassed on all counts.