Bridge the Gap instantly made waves in the skate punk scene with the release of their debut album Secret Kombinations earlier this year. Now they’re back with a brand new single called “Revenant”, produced by Bill Stevenson at the Blasting Room. We’re thrilled to bring you the exclusive premiere of the track’s music video. Check […]
Bridge the Gap instantly made waves in the skate punk scene with the release of their debut album Secret Kombinations earlier this year. Now they’re back with a brand new single called “Revenant”, produced by Bill Stevenson at the Blasting Room. We’re thrilled to bring you the exclusive premiere of the track’s music video. Check it out below and add “Revenant” to your rotation on Spotify.
Frontman Chad Jensen had this to say about the band’s new single and their plans for the near future:
“We’re going back to The Blasting Room in February to record album No. 2, so we wanted to drop a new tune to hold our fans over and let everyone know we’re staying busy. This is an emotional song for the band. It was also produced by Bill Stevenson.“
San Francisco punk rock four piece Tess & The Details are gearing up to release their debut album Runaway next month on Double Helix Records. We’re stoked to bring you the music video for the brand new single, the album’s title track. Check it out below! Tess & The Details is fronted by Tess Stevens, […]
San Francisco punk rock four piece Tess & The Details are gearing up to release their debut album Runaway next month on Double Helix Records. We’re stoked to bring you the music video for the brand new single, the album’s title track. Check it out below!
Tess & The Details is fronted by Tess Stevens, with Gideon Berger (ex-Useless ID) on drums, Pity Party’s Dustin Galecki on lead guitar, and Lawrence Hood on bass. The band’s 12-song debut LP Runaway is due out November 14th. My fellow collector nerds can get the record on three different awesome vinyl color variants here here.
Upcoming shows:
Saturday, October 14th – Crepe Place, Santa Cruz Sunday, October 15th – Kilowatt, San Francisco Friday, October 20th – Tamarack, Oakland
It’s a special day over here at Dying Scene HQ as we get the distinct honor of being the first to announce and congratulate the newest members of the Jump Start Records team: Wes Hoffman and Friends! Joining the catalog of punk rock heavy-hitters such as A Wilhelm Scream, MxPx, Off With Their Heads, among […]
It’s a special day over here at Dying Scene HQ as we get the distinct honor of being the first to announce and congratulate the newest members of the Jump Start Records team: Wes Hoffman and Friends! Joining the catalog of punk rock heavy-hitters such as A Wilhelm Scream, MxPx, Off With Their Heads, among many, many others, Wes Hoffman and Friends’ distinct blend of pop and skate punk make them a perfect fit for the lengthy resume Jump Start has already built.
“We seemed to have a similar mindset and perspective on things. We recently went on tour with Bad Planning who has been on Jump Start for a while, and they had nothing but good things to say. It all came together pretty organically and naturally”, wrote Hoffman. “After talking with the owner, Jeremy, and learning about the label’s ethos, I thought it would be a great fit for us.”
Not only is the St. Louis-based quintet signing to a label with a catalog full of “household names” around the punk community, but they’ll become labelmates with some of the bands’ largest influences who have put out some of their favorite releases. “Jump Start released MxPx’s ‘Plans Within Plans’ on vinyl in 2012. I listened to that album on repeat when it came out. I’ve been an MxPx fan for over 25 years, so they’ve been a huge influence on me as well as everyone else in the band”, wrote Hoffman. “A Wilhelm Scream has also released several albums on vinyl with Jump Start. I’ve always been a big fan of them, and we actually got to play with them last year. Belvedere is also one that played that brand of fast, technical skate punk.”
This signing comes just ahead of their debut full-length set to release in November. “How It Should Be” has everything a pop-punk or skate-punk fan could want, with elements familiar to fans of Belvedere and MxPx.
I couldn’t be happier seeing the hard work these guys have put in finally pay off. Although I’ve only been familiar with them for maybe 6 months, it’s been so cool following along with the shows they’ve been playing and the music they’ll soon be releasing. I made the short drive from Nashville up to Indianapolis last month to catch these guys live and, all I have to say is the only thing that outdid their live performance was how cool and friendly these dudes were.
Great things are sure to come as this should serve as both a healthy confidence booster and a great platform to expand their reach. Each member was able to share their own unique insight into what this personally meant, as well as how this benefits the continuing emergence of the group:
Johnny Wehner (Guitar) – “I never thought I’d play a show outside of St. Louis, so signing to a label means a lot to me. I am very excited to play more shows and to expose our music to a broader audience with the help of Jump Start!”
Hes Retnu (Drums) – “Partnerships are everything. I’m extremely excited to partner with Jump Start and earn the chance to amplify alongside the amazing roster of talent.”
Stephen Fee (Guitar) – “We love to write and play music and having Jump Start in our corner enables us to do more of what we love with a different level of support and focus. Turn it to 11!”
Jacob Boyd (Bass) – “Having Jump Start in our corner is incredibly validating and will definitely help our music reach an even bigger audience. I’m stoked for what the future holds.”
These guys have a ton in store for the coming months leading up to their release. If you aren’t familiar with Wes Hoffman and Friends, there’s all kinds of great stuff here to get the two of you acquainted: click here for the interview I had with Wes and bassist Jacob Boyd a few months back, catch WH&F at one of their Midwest dates listed below, or keep scrolling for the short email interview I had with the guys that details the journey leading up to their signing. As always, thanks for checking out the site, Cheers!
Shows!!!
3/31 – Kansas City, MO – miniBar*
4/1 – Lincoln, NE – 1867 Bar*
4/2 – Columbia, MO – The Social Room (early show, 5pm)*
4/28 – Cape Girardeau, MO – Blue Diamond#
4/29 – Springfield, MO – Rock Bottom#
5/19 – St. Louis, MO – The Heavy Anchor^
5/20 – St. Joseph, MO – Sk8bar (early show, 5pm) ^
What does it mean to you as a band to be asked to sign with this label?
We’re extremely excited to be a Jump Start band. For us, this is the start of a new era for our band. We still have a lot of work to do, but it’s truly an honor to be a part of the Jump Start roster and have our album be a part of their catalog. They’ve been around for over 25 years and done over 100 releases, so they’re a well-established label. We’re going to keep working hard: writing, touring, making connections, and adding more and more energy to our live show. The biggest change is that we now have support of an established label which we’re very thankful for.
Why do you feel Jump Start is a good fit for you guys?
Jump Start has had some awesome releases and bands that seem to fit well with our sound. I absolutely loved the You Vandal album “Pretend I Don’t Exist” that came out last year. It was one of my most-listened to albums of 2022. After talking with the owner, Jeremy, and learning about the label’s ethos, I thought it would be a great fit for us. We seemed to have a similar mindset and perspective on things. We recently went on tour with Bad Planning who has been on Jump Start for a while, and they had nothing but good things to say as well. It all came together pretty organically and naturally which was also a sign to me that it would be a good fit.
Are there any bands on this label that are particularly influential?
Jump Start released MxPx’s “Plans Within Plans” on vinyl in 2012. I listened to that album on repeat when it came out. I was training for a half-marathon at the time, and would just let it play front to back. I’ve been an MxPx fan for over 25 years, so they’ve been a huge influence on me as well as everyone else in the band. A Wilhelm Scream has also released several albums on vinyl with Jump Start. I’ve always been a big fan of them, and we actually got to play with them last year. Belvedere is also one that played that brand of fast, technical skate punk. They’ve partnered with Jump Start on several releases too. Oddly enough, we have a show with them later this year too. It will be super cool to be a part of a label that’s worked with some of our favorite bands.
How would you summarize this achievement based on the amount of hard work you guys put in to get to this point?
Over the last year, up until now, we’ve worked very hard. I’m at a point in my life where I really want to put 100% into my songs, our shows, our releases, etc. We spent a lot of time on the road last year, and I spent a lot of time in the studio working on songs for our new album. We really put everything we had into this upcoming album and did multiple sessions to add little touches like tambourine, gang vocals, and have some friends play keys and sing on it. When we started talking to labels, I felt like we had put in the right amount of work to land on a good label, and that’s exactly what happened. It’s very cool to see the late nights in the studio and long drives pay off.
I’d also love to hear about the process of how this occurred from start to finish, how long you’ve been talking with the label, stuff like that.
I had reached out to Jeremy from Jump Start in August 2022 after we had released our single and video for “Where Summer Never Ends.” That was the first single released from the new album, so I sent it to several labels and industry contacts. He had replied, said he liked the song, and we continued to talk about what a band-label relationship might look like. We checked in from time to time, but after I got the masters for the upcoming album, I sent them to him, we had a call, and decided to move forward in working with them.
Music is a very relationship-based industry. It takes a while to build those relationships and see how you vibe with people. I’m very thankful that this all came together very organically and naturally. It did feel like somewhat of a long process and at times, it was hard to be patient, but the patience eventually paid off. As I mentioned previously, I want to do everything right, and be as strategic and intentional with our goals as band as we possibly can.
I want to thank Jeremy at Jump Start for taking a chance on us, and giving us the opportunity to put this record out. And thanks to all the people who have supported us, been to a show, bought merch, or told people about our band. It means more to us than you can imagine!! There’s more to come. The album should see a release in November of this year.
Here’s something fun to get your weekend kicked off a little early. World, meet The Calamatix. The Calamatix, meet the world! The aforementioned four-piece are a new-on-the-scene “reggae-rooted, punk-flavored quartet” featuring the dynamic Raylin Joy on lead vocals, Adam Porris (Lost City Angels, Far From Finished) on guitar, Clarence “Pocket” Kidd III on drums and […]
Here’s something fun to get your weekend kicked off a little early. World, meet The Calamatix. The Calamatix, meet the world!
The aforementioned four-piece are a new-on-the-scene “reggae-rooted, punk-flavored quartet” featuring the dynamic Raylin Joy on lead vocals, Adam Porris (Lost City Angels, Far From Finished) on guitar, Clarence “Pocket” Kidd III on drums and William “Matty” Taylor on bass. The project started as a writing project between Joy and – you guessed it, the inimitable Tim Armstrong – before turning into the full-fledged band that’s just about to burst onto the scene.
Armstrong signed the band to his Epitaph imprint, Hellcat Records, and together they’re releasing the first fruits of their labors. It’s a video for the rocksteady/first-wave-ska-inspired “Rootstyle,” and you can check it out below. It’s perfect early summer music. Stay tuned for more from The Calamatix coming down the ‘pike.
The third and final day of Riot Fest had a bit more rain and clouds but that seemed totally fitting for the main headliner of the day, The Cure, and Dying Scene has photos for you in case you missed it. We are also showcasing some other amazing bands, including AFI, Earth Crisis, The Bronx, […]
The third and final day of Riot Fest had a bit more rain and clouds but that seemed totally fitting for the main headliner of the day, The Cure, and Dying Scene has photos for you in case you missed it. We are also showcasing some other amazing bands, including AFI, Earth Crisis, The Bronx, Gorilla Biscuits and Fleshwater!
Fleshwater is an alternative post-hardcore band from Georgetown, Massachusetts. Anthony DiDio and Matt Wood are also members of hardcore group Vein.fm.
Straight-edge hardcore band Earth Crisis brought a blazing and intense performance.
The Bronx! If you are lucky enough to embark on Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog Cruise in November you’ll see them there!
Finishing off his three-peat performance weekend, Walter Schreifels and the Gorilla Biscuits had no shortage of energy!
I first saw AFI at Riot Fest 2013; ten years later they still put on one of the best shows. If you haven’t seen them live yet you are really missing out.
The Cure closed out the night with a mesmerizing concert to an emotional crowd of fans that waited for this moment all day.
Check out the full gallery below and revisit day one and day two!
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!
Is it already that time of year again!? Riot Fest is back and we have three days worth of photo galleries of some of your favorite bands and some up and coming bands you should put on your radar! Check out some of the bands from the first day of Riot Fest and give them […]
Is it already that time of year again!? Riot Fest is back and we have three days worth of photo galleries of some of your favorite bands and some up and coming bands you should put on your radar! Check out some of the bands from the first day of Riot Fest and give them some love.
FEA is a Chicana all-female band from San Antonio, TX. Produced by Laura Jane Grace, they debuted their self-titled LP in 2016. FEA set the bar early on for the first day of Riot Fest with their raw, fierce, and powerfully feminist punk rock energy.
New York-based garage punk band The Bobby Lees quickly become one of my favorite bands of the year after hearing “Guttermilk” for the first time. In true punk rock fashion their drummer, Macky Bowman, ran laps around the stage in nothing but his tighty whities (and that was just a warmup).
Code Orange is a sludgy, thrashy, metalcore punk rock band that obviously cannot be defined by only one single genre. Their intense set was one not to miss.
Yard Act is a fun post-punk British band. Their newest single “The Trench Coat Museum” was released in July and co-produced by Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr.
Walter Schreifels had a particularly busy Riot Fest weekend not only performing with Quicksand on day one, but also Rival Schools and Gorilla Biscuits on the following days. For its 30th anniversary, Quicksand played their 1993 album Slipin its entirety.
Turnstile was of the headliners for the first day (along with the Foo Fighters). Check out the rest of the photos from the first day below, and look out for our coverage of day two and three of Riot Fest!
Day 2 of Riot Fest had a slew of big names (including Queens of the Stone Age, Death Grips and…Insane Clown Posse!?) and up-and-coming artists. We are featuring the Viagra Boys, PUP, Steve Ignorant Band/Crass, Rival Schools, Warpaint and Enola Gay for today! Irish post-punk noise rock band Enola Gay made their US-debut in Chicago […]
Day 2 of Riot Fest had a slew of big names (including Queens of the Stone Age, Death Grips and…Insane Clown Posse!?) and up-and-coming artists. We are featuring the Viagra Boys, PUP, Steve Ignorant Band/Crass, Rival Schools, Warpaint and Enola Gay for today!
Irish post-punk noise rock band Enola Gay made their US-debut in Chicago for Riot Fest, and performed a late night after show with the Viagra Boys. They will be back touring in the UK and EU in November.
Walter Schreifels strikes again! Post-hardcore group Rival Schools did a full-album performance of their 2001 debut, United by Fate.
LA-based indie-psych-rock band Warpaint played a dreamy set to mellow the mood before jumping back into the mosh pits.
Steve Ignorant co-founded the legendary anarcho-punk band Crass in 1977 from Epping, Essex, England. In 2019 Steve started the Steve Ignorant Band with Carol Hodge (vocals & keys), Jay Bagnall (drums), Peter Rawlinson (bass) and Pete Wilson (guitar). They played a complete set of Crass songs, psyching up both old fans and new.
PUP (abbreviation for Pathetic Use of Potential) is a Canadian punk band formed in Toronto, Ontario, originally under the name Topanga. They have quite the following and energetic fans!
A little rainy set for the Viagra Boys did not stop them from giving everyone the eccentrically weird and fun performance we’ve come to expect from the Swedish punk rock band. Dying Scene covered their show in Chicago earlier this year when they played at the brand-new venue, The Salt Shed, and it is still one of my favorite shows I have seen so far this year. They played all the fan favorites (“Sports,” of course) and had no shortage of crowd surfers (see the surfing Pikachu in the gallery below).
Check out the full gallery below! Did you miss day one? Take a look here!
Festival season is in full swing, and one of the biggest European fests of the Summer is just around the corner. Punk Rock Holiday is an annual event held in Tolmin, Slovenia, a small but beautiful European country nestled between Italy and Croatia. PRH, contained on a site near The River Soča, attracts thousands each year […]
Festival season is in full swing, and one of the biggest European fests of the Summer is just around the corner. Punk Rock Holiday is an annual event held in Tolmin, Slovenia, a small but beautiful European country nestled between Italy and Croatia. PRH, contained on a site near The River Soča, attracts thousands each year for its unique blend of camping in natural beauty, a tight-knit community of regular attendees, and fantastic lineups that features some of the biggest names in punk rock, as well as a batch of some of the most exciting up-and-coming bands from around the world. This year’s edition is back, featuring another behemoth lineup from August 7-11 in what will surely be another PRH for the ages.
As a person who has been regularly attending punk and other music fests and shows for roughly a decade, PRH has always been on my radar. In 2023, I will finally be able to attend and take in the music, the sites, the community and hopefully provide the Dying Scene readers with coverage of some classic names, and bands you may have never heard of! Before packing up for Slovenia, here are some bands I’m most looking forward to seeing.
Rob’s Must-See Punk Rock Holiday Sets
Pennywise
Pennywise is a veteran of the festival scene, but seeing them at Punk Rock Holiday seems like a completely different beast. One of the trademarks of the festival is that the stage features no barrier, instead opting for a connected mini stage where fans can stage dive off of and interact with the band. This feature comes into the spotlight whenever Pennywise plays as the crowd devolves into absolute bedlam. Just check out their last performance at PRH 2019, featuring road flares, circle pits, and a full-on invasion of the stage.
Even for those who have seen Pennywise many a time, myself included, a performance at Punk Rock Holiday is must-see.
Maid of Ace
One of my most anticipated sets from a band that may be under the radar for some is the excellent band of Hastings, UK natives, Maid of Ace. The band, which consists of sisters Alison Cara Elliott (Lead vocals/Guitar), Anna Coral Elliott (Vocals/Guitar), Amy Catherine Elliott (Bass/Vocals), and Abby Charlotte Elliott (Drums), has been releasing ferocious music and putting on fantastic shows since 2014. Their most recent release, Live Fast or Die, was named the 6th best album of the year by Vive Le Rock in 2020. If you haven’t checked out this band, give them a try!
With the band releasing a few singles in recent years, hopefully we aren’t too far away from a full release. Either way, I’ll be checking them out on the beach stage at Punk Rock Holiday.
Cigar
Who doesn’t love a good skate-punk set? Cigar, one of the underappreciated acts of the 90s skate punk boom is hot off the release of their comeback album The Visitor in 2022 (read our review here) and has been hitting the road touring. Cigar is a band I’ve never had the chance to see live and I’m excited to see the band play a set of their trademark fast, fun and ferocious tunes. Let us know in the comments if you’re into Cigar, if you’re happy they’re back and if you’ve checked out the latest release from the pioneering group.
Scowl
One of the best parts of music festivals is checking out bands who have just recently released an exciting new project. The group that fills that niche for me at this year’s PRH is Scowl, who is fresh off their release of a new EP titled Psychic Dance Routine which saw the band generate a fair amount of buzz. This buzz has resulted in an odd but momentous past year for the band which has seen them play big live shows like Coachella and opening for Limp Bizkit, but also performing at a Sonic Drive-In in New Jersey. Check out one of their recent music videos to see if it’s up your alley.
It has been a wild ride for a band that released their first set of material in just 2019. If it continues they may be more regular performers of mainstream festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza. It should be interesting checking them out at PRH to see if their hype will translate to a triumphant set in Slovenia.
The rest of the Punk Rock Holiday Lineup
While this is just a short list of some of the bands I’m most looking forward to, there are of course a number of other exciting acts, including but not limited to H20, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Pulley, Dropkick Murphys, etc. If you were attending PRH, who would be your can’t-miss sets? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for coverage of the event from yours truly.
Did you miss Riot Fest this year? Or want to relive those last days of summer seeing your favorite bands? Good news! Fellow Dying Scene contributor Meredith Goldberg and I have all the photos you’ll need of the three-day music festival held in Chicago from September 16-18th, 2022. We are recapping some of the bands […]
Did you miss Riot Fest this year? Or want to relive those last days of summer seeing your favorite bands? Good news! Fellow Dying Scene contributor Meredith Goldberg and I have all the photos you’ll need of the three-day music festival held in Chicago from September 16-18th, 2022.
We are recapping some of the bands from day one here with the live premiere of supergroup L.S. Dunes, one of my personal favorites Destroy Boys, along with Foxy Shazam, Bob Vylan, Boston Manor and Pale Waves.
The day kicked off with UK pop punk/synth pop band Pale Waves who released their third studio album Unwanted about a month prior. They were the first of several bands that travelled to the fest from the UK. Pretty cool!
Boston Manor is next coming from (you guessed it) the UK (Blackpool, England to be exact). This pop punk/post-hardcore band was featured on Punk Goes Pop Vol. 7 in 2017 for their rendition of Twenty One Pilots’ “Heathens”.
One of the beautiful things about music festivals is discovering new bands you may have never otherwise heard of. The two-piece English band Bob Vylan is exactly that; I never knew I needed them in my life until I saw them at Riot Fest. This gritty-abrasive rap punk duo blew me away with their energy and unapologetic outcries against government oppression and xenophobia. The pair is vocalist Bobby Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan, together becoming Bob Vylan!
Glam rock stars Foxy Shazam dominated the fest with their dazzling performance (and attire) and quickly became a crowd favorite. There was so much happening on stage, one minute you see keyboardist Schuyler White jumping into the crowd WITH his keyboard, and the next there’s guitarist Devon Williams balancing his guitar in the air with his mouth. Absolute insanity.
Next up is a band I’ve been digging for the last year. I first saw Destroy Boys in December 2021 at the Cobra Lounge in Chicago and was excited to see they were on the line up for Riot Fest this year. Definitely listen to “Locker Room Bully” and “Crybaby” when you get the chance.
Finally, we have L.S. Dunes! They are the post-hardcore supergroup fronted by Circa Survive and Saosin vocalist Anthony Green, with My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero, Coheed and Cambria guitarist Travis Stever, and Thursday bassist Tim Payne and drummer Tucker Rule. They made their live debut at Riot Fest with heavy riffs and aggressive energy, certainly living up to the hype we were all hoping for. Be sure to check out their album Past Liveswhen it drops on November 11, 2022.
Check out the rest of the photos below and stay tuned for day two!
