Dying Scene

Dying Scene Interview: Brandon Bloxdorf of Apollo City Comics talks making indie comics and creativity

As I tell our fearless leaders here at Dying Scene, I swear to you all I’m not trying to turn this site into a comic book site. However, there is no denying that the ethos and DIY spirit of punk rock intersects with indie comics or most forms of art for that matter. It can […]

As I tell our fearless leaders here at Dying Scene, I swear to you all I’m not trying to turn this site into a comic book site. However, there is no denying that the ethos and DIY spirit of punk rock intersects with indie comics or most forms of art for that matter. It can sometimes be a lot of hours of work for little, if any success. Which is why it has been great to see Apollo City Comics grow over the years.

Initially starting as a podcast by founder and creator Brandon Bloxdorf, Apollo City Comics takes a punk rock approach to publishing by releasing an anthology series similar to the compilations released by indie record labels we all loved growing up, starting with …And Out Come The Comics. Over the last year, Apollo City Comics has released a number of titles from some of the creators featured in this and other anthologies they have put out. We caught up with Brandon to talk about Apollo City’s latest anthology, This Comic Kills Fascists and other projects coming soon.

Dying Scene: For the people who read this and don’t know about Apollo City Comics, give us a little bit of a history.

Brandon Bloxdorf: Essentially, this was a podcast I started because I had been writing for comic book websites and I was trying to figure out how to break into comics. I was a musician most of my life. I had been in bands and they just didn’t work out the way I wanted. It was too much drama and too much crap. And so I thought, “I love comics. I love literature. I should try this out.” I just didn’t know how to break into the industry. I didn’t know how to make a comic. I didn’t know how to find an artist or how to pay an artist. Just all of it was a mystery. So I started the podcast in 2018 to find a way to study craft. If I could study craft, I could learn some secrets and develop a series. I’ll go to school for English. I’ll just take a creative writing approach. If you fast forward a few years, I was just stuck doing the podcast and talking about books. I actually started interviewing indie creators primarily because I wanted to find out stuff from them. They’re the ones who I’d be on the level with. It didn’t make sense for me to interview Scott Snyder and Tom King and all these bigger industry people. And I was like, indie people, that’s what I got to do. So we started interviewing them. 

I met a guy named Mark Bernal and he was starting up a publishing house called Lesser Known Comics. It seemed like such a good opportunity to be a part of. They’re like a hippie commune that kind of exists through one another. I had a bunch of life stuff happen that caused me to move over here to Virginia. Luckily enough, that’s where Mark lives, too. He lives right outside of DC. I got fired from my job. I was at a low point. We went to Baltimore Comic-Con trying to pitch Teenage Babylon. He suggested just making a punk anthology that’s on theme with your story, build an audience, and then you’re not starting from zero. I put together this punk anthology. I opened submissions through the podcast. I had like eighty people submit. The Kickstarter was funded in under an hour for a $1,000 goal. We made five times our goal with that Kickstarter. Then I had people asking me questions about how to put together an anthology. Apollo just took off in 2023. Like, right when that punk anthology finished up. It’s been a year and a half, and we’ve put out 14 books. We just launched a dual anthology this morning. It’s crazy where Apollo’s gone from to a pinnacle point in the indie community. I also work for a very popular printer that indie comic creators use, Comix Wellspring. I’ve just maneuvered myself into the indie comic scene in an insane way. 

The first anthology was …And Out Come the Comics. Did you have any… I don’t wanna say rules, because it’s punk rock, there shouldn’t be any rules. Were there any parameters, I guess?

Yeah, I’m very inspired by Heavy Metal, the 1980s movie. It transformed me as a kid. I wanted to do my version of that in a way— A bunch of short stories one to six pages long. That way we could get a variety. I just wanted to know, what does punk mean to you through this story? How does punk reflect in your mind? Is it an ethos? Is it like an attitude? What is it? All of these creators submitted a story basically telling their best version of what punk means to them. There’s so many mixtures and ways to interpret art and some of these stories, but that was the whole thing. Punk rock and indie comics saved me, they gave me hope. I just wanted people that were involved with comics in the punk rock scene and had something to say about it. Granted, there’s a lot of goofy, cool stuff, you know, and there’s some personal stories, some funny stories, or just dragons getting their heads cut off.

I was gonna say Big Fucking Sword feels like a Heavy Metal comic. 

Hell yeah. That was one of my favorites, man. Dylan’s such a good artist.

I like those little blurbs about punk rock means to you and the other writers. It was a nice little touch. 

That goes back to finding myself. You hear so many people talk about what’s punk rock, and what’s not punk rock, like, it’s a very loose definition. I think we need to follow a loose definition versus being nitpicky about it. You’ve met those punks, you know what I mean?

Yeah, I knew all those punks growing up. I’ve got kids and they’re about to be teens. So, I’m teaching them to not be those punks.

Yeah, I used to get made fun of as a high school kid for not being punk enough. I’m more punk than you guys because I don’t give a fuck. 

So, the newer anthology is, “This Comic Kills Fascists.” When does the physical version come out?

I got it from the printer on Tuesday. So, I’m gonna go to this convention. After that, I’ll be mailing out all the physical copies. The digital version came out in January. I think we put it up just to start raising funds when we go to print since we didn’t do a kickstarter for it. That’s one of the most exciting books we did. It was such a fast turnaround and kind of showed us that we know how to make a book on the fly. The election happened and literally the day after we decided we were doing this book. We opened submissions within our circle. We got twelve in and we narrowed them down and we created this resource book.

I really liked that part of it.

And honestly, so much has changed since the election itself. We’ve already wanted to do part two. There are so many communities that are heavily affected by what’s going on. We really want to keep on doing this. It really came out being a big fan of Anti-Flag. Chris No. 2 was who I modeled myself after as a bassist stylistically. I really loved Anti-Flag because they gave me hope. They informed me about politics, gave me a viewpoint and gave me something to understand that was tangible. Since they’re not around anymore, I wanted to do that, but through comics. How do I figure out how to be what Chris No. 2 is and Joe Strummer was, but through what I have and what I could provide in my community?

That was the missing component and missing your favorite band in general. They would inspire me and just be the anchor I needed to know things would be alright in the world. What happened to that band hurts a little extra because of those details, but we’re always trying to be our heroes. We want to respect our heroes and do what we can for them. So I thought it was a good way to honor them in a sense, you know?

You have a couple other anthologies on the website. 

That’s where things kicked off with Alex Batts, the co-owner of Apollo City Comics Publishing. He saw the punk anthology and had this idea for a cyberpunk anthology. He just didn’t know how to execute it and wanted some advice. I didn’t know him at all. We met in person and it was like a great first date. We talked for like four hours. It just worked so well. He was such a productive person and understood the vision and scope of what I wanted to. He really became the backbone of everything. I’m good at organizing and managing community. Back end stuff is where my brain just clicks out. It takes me forever to do some stuff. I’m good at being in front of people. He’s good at taking care of all the technical tidbits and contracts and staying organized and keeping me on track. 

That’s how CyberSync came together. That was a great book. We gotta bring it back in print. We’ve sold out of all of our first run. The same thing kind of happened with Kai Brown and The Shadow Anthology: Dark Sides Calling. We’re publishing two of her other books this year. These three anthologies kind of defined what Apollo City Comics is. We have punk rock, we have sci-fi, and we have a book about introspective passion, you know, like really looking inside yourself. It’s always been about passionate people making passionate comics and we’ve kind of ran with that since then.

I was looking at your other books. What are some of your other favorite books? Are they ongoing series, or are they on going as they can be?

Hyperforce is an ongoing series. That’s with Adam Matthew Smith. Issue two is launching at the end of March. That’ll be on Kickstarter. We’re actually opening up the pre-launch page. That could be up to twenty issues, but there’s a long stretch for that series. Outerspaced, that’s with our friends, Eric Allred and Ben Collins. That has about ten issues planned as of right now. Another part of Apollo that works out really well is our stoner line. All of us are very 420-friendly. They’re doing another book called Too High to Die, which is probably coming out next year..

Oh, nice. Is it like a horror thing?

It’s actually Home Alone meets Die Hard. It’s about big pharma versus little farm growers and how big corporations are taking out these like the bottom half.  It’s a comedy, but we’re going to have them making these crazy devices to fight off this brigade of big pharma people trying to take over their shop. There’s a lot of humor in it. There’s a lot of anti-establishment stuff sprinkled in.

Awesome. Those all sound fun.

I have the Broadcast Dialogues. That’s my other book; it’s an eight-page book that will be my big space opera sci-fi book, launching this year, too.

That’s awesome. Those all sound fun. Tell me about the Found Footage anthology.

That one just wrapped. It was our February Kickstarter. I teamed up with a great creator, Jade Lauder, who has his own line of comics called It’s a Horror Show. He’s done four issues of it already. They’re kind of like one-off stories. Some of them were also in the Punk Anthology in his submission with the punk rock werewolf. His love of Trick r Treat, Creepshow, and VHS kind of brought this about. He’s actually making art that goes in between some of these submissions. It’s kids going into a comic book shop and they’re reading these stories. Those are the submissions we’re reading from the creators. I have Teenage Babylon short story in there.

You have your two anthologies that you just launched today, Kick Out the Jams and The One Hitters.

I actually have Kick Out the Jams. It’s a beautiful book, forty pages. I printed it because we had the funds. We’re doing this one week Kickstarter because right now we’re wrapping a documentary this week. We’re doing an in-store event and going to Indie Creator Con.  A bunch of the Apollo team is crashing at my place starting tonight. I have someone driving in from New York and some people driving up from Texas. Eric Allred and Javi Martinez—they just had these stories kind of floating about, and we made it happen. Kick Out the Jams is really about how much we love music in itself.  We got all these cool music stories from our friends, put them into one anthology. The title is an homage to the MC5. It’s always fun to do those things too. 

For One Hitters, we were going to do a preview book at Indie Creator Con. It’s a twenty-four page anthology. We are actually debuting a series that I’ve been working on, The High Adventures of Weed Wizard and Bong Boy. Our first chapter is going to be in this anthology. I’m excited for that story to come to life.

That’s awesome, man. It’s good to see how much Apollo City Comics has grown.

Yeah, believe me, it’s a trip. June will be our two-year publishing anniversary. So it’s kind of wild. It felt at the time like I wasn’t making progress, but then all of a sudden we’re publishing 14 books in a year and a half. I’ve been doing this since 2018, trying to figure it out. Yeah, it just happened to click, and it just worked. And when it works, you just run. That’s what people need in the community, from music to comics, is just someone to listen, check it out, and give it a chance. We’re going to make our dreams come true because all of us who do this don’t want to live in regret. I don’t want to do that day job thing and then just have it take over my life. I’m glad that we’re shooting these shots now because you never know when things can change. I think you’ll like so many of our upcoming releases. We’re doing volume two of the punk anthology. My book, Teenage Babylon, which is a cosmic punk rock love story, will be out this year as well. 

I liked what I saw of Teenage Babylon in the punk rock anthology.

It’s way different now, too. We have a new artist on it, and Christian has taken it in a totally new direction. It’s gonna be a gorgeous book. 

by Staff Writer Forrest Gaddis
Tags: 
Apollo city comics Comics Heavy Metal Punk

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DS Record Review – The Sleeveens – “S/T”

I’ve always felt it’s much more difficult to get something great out of the fewest layers than the other way around. For all the music nerds, yes, diminished chords, modulation, etc: all cool too, but you’re just showing off at some point. If you can catch that “hell yeah” feeling with just a few tools then you’re […]

I’ve always felt it’s much more difficult to get something great out of the fewest layers than the other way around. For all the music nerds, yes, diminished chords, modulation, etc: all cool too, but you’re just showing off at some point. If you can catch that “hell yeah” feeling with just a few tools then you’re cooking with gas, in my completely unwanted opinion.

The Sleeveens seem to have figured that equation on their debut self-titled full-length, release in 2024 via Dirtnap Records. Based in Nashville with frontman from Dublin, the locations seem to have informed the sound. There’s a healthy dose of 70s Irish punk bands like Stiff Little Fingers (bassist James Mechan is also the guitar tech for the legendary band and also produced this record) and The Undertones (whom are covered here on the album with a ripper version of “Get Over You”) mixed with the American garage punk style found on Goner Records and, well, a number of bands from Dirtnap Records, so the landing place for the release makes sense. 

Outside of the cool pedigree and name drops, the tunes are simply great. There is a timeless quality to the songs. To those who haven’t wasted most of their brains on learning recording technique and guitar tone, I could say this came out anywhere between 1978 and yesterday and it might make sense. That mostly speaks to the simplicity and resilience of the punk rock n roll style. It always has and likely always will sound really cool! But, really what matters here is that it just sounds perfect. It’s big and loud coming through some good speakers while still sounding nice and lo-fi, hardly any edges smoothed down. It has the trappings of garage with the simple, buzzing riffs and the microphone-might-be-inside-this-guy’s-mouth vocals.

Though it feels fresh and doesn’t come out as a pastiche or hero worship like a lot of power pop or punk bands often can, you hear some influences. All good ones, too, so it works. The riff of “Metallica Font” has a bit of pub rock in the vein of Dr. Feelgood. “Aretha Franklin” makes me think of Australian garage icons Royal Headache. Let It Be-era Replacements is once again brought to mind, always a good thing in my mind. For instance, a real burner on the record, “Haunted Neighborhood”, has some echoes of the Minneapolis band’s “Unsatisfied” in its refrain.

What stands out the most on this record is Stef Murphy’s songwriting style. Thematically, garage punk often leans into the nihilistic or satirical. That exists here (“Gloryholes”), but the best songs, for me, are the ones that lean a bit more romantic. Dare I say, poetic. Many of the songs feel like they would only need slight tweaks and they’d sound just fine on an old country record, or a Billy Bragg-style troubadour record. The song that represents that the most and the jewel of the record is the opener, “Give My Regards to the Dancing Girls.” Within seconds of my first listen, I started it over and paid attention. I’m likely to have said to myself, “yes, now we’re talkin’.” I initially thought it must be a cover of an old standard Celtic tune, with the lilting melody and feel-good vibe of a tune sung in a bar I’m imagining is a real place somewhere. While it’s more Pogues in spirit than in practice, unplug the guitar amp and turn the Chuck Berry lead line into a fiddle and you’ve got a song right off of an alternate reality Rum Sodomy & the Lash. I don’t have a better superlative than that.

Order the full-length here or stream here!

by Staff Writer Lanny Durbin
Tags: 
dirtnap records dublin Garage nashville power pop

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DS Gallery: Post-hardcore band Movements play Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom with Scowl, Citizen, and more! (3/22/25)

Orange County’s Movements is currently on a hefty North American spring tour with special guests Citizen, Scowl, and Downward; of course Dying Scene would not miss this (and neither should you!) Tulsa, Oklahoma’s dreamy shoegaze band Downward opened the night with a set of beautifully light and ethereal songs. They recently released Downward (LP2) on […]

Orange County’s Movements is currently on a hefty North American spring tour with special guests Citizen, Scowl, and Downward; of course Dying Scene would not miss this (and neither should you!)

Tulsa, Oklahoma’s dreamy shoegaze band Downward opened the night with a set of beautifully light and ethereal songs. They recently released Downward (LP2) on March 5th and are slated to play Furnace Fest this year in October. 

Scowl took the stage next with furious and infectious energy as the crowd grew larger. Lead singer Kat Moss’s iconic lime green hair illuminated the stage along with her fierce prowess that bellowed through every note she sang.

Scowl is releasing their newest album Are We All Angels on April 4th via Dead Oceans and I cannot tell you how psyched I am for it. You can pre-save the album here! Bonus: watch the video for “Not Hell, Not Heaven” here! 

According to their Bandcamp, “Much of Are We All Angels grapples with Scowl’s newfound place in the hardcore scene, a community which has both embraced the band and made them something of a lightning rod over the past few years… At every turn on Are We All Angels, the band explores ambitious new directions and bends genre norms. Moss makes the most immediately noticeable evolution, dropping some of the gnarling bite of the band’s previous work in favor of a more textured and sometimes delicate approach. She flexes harmonies and melodic sensibilities that might surprise even the most dedicated Scowl fans.”

Post-hardcore emo band Citizen played to an eager audience that sang along to every song, which comes as no surprise from my fellow elder emos. After the release of their debut full-length album Youth in 2013, they became a featured act on the Vans Warped Tour. Ten years later Citizen released their fifth studio album Calling the Dogs on October 6th, 2023 via Run for Cover Records.  

Bringing the night to a close, Movements brought even more melancholic post-hardcore emo to Chicago to a now packed house. Their newest single “Where I Lay” was released on February 19th through Fearless Records. 

Check out the full galleries below!

by Staff Writer Mary_Sunde
Tags: 
alt rock Aragon Ballroom Are We All Angels Audiotree California

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DS Show Review: Koffin Kats, The Last Gang and Distorted Times at Jazzbones in Tacoma, WA (03/21/2025)

Tacoma is a special place. Often overlooked as a sister city to the dominant metropolis of Seattle, the town has long had a history of nurturing it’s own unique music scene apart from that sprawling cultural behemoth of the Pacific Northwest with whom it is historically and intrinsically entwined. It’s the birthplace of such greats […]

Tacoma is a special place. Often overlooked as a sister city to the dominant metropolis of Seattle, the town has long had a history of nurturing it’s own unique music scene apart from that sprawling cultural behemoth of the Pacific Northwest with whom it is historically and intrinsically entwined. It’s the birthplace of such greats as garage originators The Sonics, surf veterans The Ventures, mathcore legends Botch and current street punk heroes NOi!se, among countless others. One of the many venues keeping that tradition alive in this bustling nest of creative incubation is the historical Jazzbones, and it’s here that I found myself on a rainy Friday night to bear witness to the return of the mighty Koffin Kats and their touring partners The Last Gang!

After stopping by nearby hidden gem The Red Hot for a pre-show bite and a brief sojourn to local arcade The Triple Knock for a few rounds of pinball, I made my way over to Jazzbones just as the opening act Distorted Times were taking the stage.

Although a fairly new band, this collection of Portland punk scene veterans have been kicking around and honing their skills for over a decade in various bands such as Ground Score, PROBLEMS and Dirty Kid Discount. Despite only having played a handful of shows at this point in time, it is clear that these folks take their craft seriously and put their all into their well-crafted tunes. Keep an eye out for these upstarts, and check out their recently released singles via Crash Assailant Records, including the most recent offering “Hella Highwater“ featuring Jay Navarro of Suicide Machines fame. Blasting through a set that ranged from skate punk speed, street punk fury, and ska-tinged melodic punk, aided by the horn section of fellow Portland scene stalwarts Los Mal Hablados, they drew the growing crowd in and kept them enraptured from start to finish. As their time neared its end, they closed their set with their final number, “Another Wasted Night”, and its sweet refrain “remember somehow, somewhere, somebody still loves you.” A simple, but an effective message, and one that resonated in these trying times.

Next to take the stage were Orange County road warriors The Last Gang. From the first note, these Fat Wreck alum set out to prove to the crowd that they have what it takes to grab the room by the throat and hold them enthralled and entranced for the duration of their allotted 40 or so minutes on stage. Bashing and grooving through a collection of tunes from across their discography, Brenna and the boys gave the audience far more bang for their buck than I’m sure new listeners were expecting from the California collective. They clearly had their fair share of fans in attendance as well, as evidenced by the enthusiastic crowd seen pumping their fists at the front of the stage, and singing along from the opening verse of “The Others” all the way through to crowd favorite closing tune “Blood Drunk”. 

Despite their punk leanings, The Last Gang proved to be more than just one trick ponies as they seamlessly transitioned from fist pumping punk barn burners like “Dogmatic Capitalizer” from recent album Obscene Daydreams, and classic pop centric reggae tinged single “Gimme Action”, to the mellow dark groove of personal favorite “Noise Noise Noise” from  their 2021 release of the same name. Not a second was wasted, as the incredible all-star team of Sean, Sam and Ken blasted through the set with precision and impeccable energy, keeping the crowd screaming with glee as Brenna mugged and postured with effortless control and infinite cool.

Finally, with the crowd buzzing, The Koffin Kats took to the stage. Foregoing their usual walk on music, they immediately plowed into their intro, leading the crowd in a pulsing chorus of whoas bleeding deftly into their opening number, “Riding High” from their classic album Our Way & The Highway, straight into crowd favorite “Graveyard Tree” without a moment to breathe. The hits just kept coming, as the denim cutoff-clad charmers grinned and galavanted around the stage with plenty of humor and a remarkable amount of grace. One thing can be said for these Detroit greasers, if nothing else, and that is that nobody could ever accuse them of taking themselves too seriously. Though the content of their lyrics may be dark and brooding, their delivery is friendly, comedic and welcoming. As Vic lifts his beautifully decorated upright bass into the air, the crowd is given a glimpse of what may as well be the mantra of this ragtag group etched on the back of the instrument: Party Time. That it was.

As they steam rolled through numbers covering witches (“Witch In The Woods”), muscle cars (“V8 Nightmare”), love lost (“Graveyard Tree III”), and even a spirited punkabilly rendition of the Hall and Oates classic “Maneater”, the audience is treated to a well rehearsed act complete with instrument swapping solo sections, rowdy singalongs, and the creative use of Vic Victor’s double bass as a jungle gym mid song. Not to be outdone, Tommy Koffin adeptly  strangles his beautiful sparkle black signature Reverend guitar with deftness and finesse, pulling grit and aggression out of it one moment, and seasick clean reverberations the next, never disrupting the well-oiled showmanship this trio are known for. It’s truly a sight to behold.

Holding things down in the back, Eric “E Ball” Walls vacillates between rousing four-on-the-floor stomps and hypnotic tribal beats, blending his steady kick and snare with the slap of Vic’s bass to perfect effect. These three have clearly put a lot of time and elbow grease into their show, and the efforts are well-received by the crowd here at Jazzbones. Though not the typical leather jacket and motorcycle boot-clad crew one might expect for a psycho or punkabilly headliner, the diverse crowd seemed to be made up of a wide swath of subculture enthusiasts, all thrilled to watch the Michiganders set the stage ablaze for their entertainment.

As the night drew to a close, the band ripped into a block of crowd pleasers including “The Bottle Called”, “The Way of the Road”, and “Koffin Kat Rock” before bidding the audience a fond farewell with their closing ditty, “For Hire”. This however was not the end, as they jumped straight into a reprise of their intro, joined on stage by Brenna and Ken of The Last Gang, as well as their tour manager Andrew, daringly clad only in a pink thong and a Burger King crown. A fittingly ridiculous end to a raucous and thoroughly enjoyable evening.

If you love good music, good company, and good times, I highly recommend looking out for these bands the next time they roll through your area. I guarantee you will be glad you did!

by Staff Writer Andy Wylie
Tags: 
Distorted Times Jazzbones show review tacoma The Koffin Kats

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DS Exclusive: Ratbones premiere music video for “Piero Zanfretta” from upcoming LP “Spaghettification”

Italian Ramonescore quartet Ratbones are back with their new record Spaghettification set to release April 18th on Mom’s Basement Records. What’s more, we’re bringing you the exclusive world premiere(!) of the music video for their brand new single “Piero Zanfretta”! Check that shit out below and keep an eye on Mom’s Basement (US) and I […]

Italian Ramonescore quartet Ratbones are back with their new record Spaghettification set to release April 18th on Mom’s Basement Records. What’s more, we’re bringing you the exclusive world premiere(!) of the music video for their brand new single “Piero Zanfretta”!

Check that shit out below and keep an eye on Mom’s Basement (US) and I Buy Records‘ (Italy) webstores for Spaghettification vinyl pre-orders launching soon.

This premiere is brought to you in part by Punk Rock Radar. If you’d like your band’s music video, song, album or whatever to be premiered by Dying Scene and Punk Rock Radar, go here and follow these instructions. You’ll be on your way to previously unimagined levels of fame and fortune in no time.

SPAGHETTIFICATION
RELEASES APRIL 18TH

MOM’S BASEMENT RECORDS (US)
I BUY RECORDS (ITALY)

by Staff Writer Screeching Bottlerocket

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DS Spotlights: Punks Doing Good March 2025: Six Feet Over. Working to Prevent Suicide and Helping Survivors of Suicide Loss.

Mental Health issues affect nearly every, if not every, family and every community. The Punk community is no different. The good news is that there are people within this community doing their level best to improve the lives of those dealing with such issues, working to prevent suicide, and working with the surviving loved ones […]

Mental Health issues affect nearly every, if not every, family and every community. The Punk community is no different. The good news is that there are people within this community doing their level best to improve the lives of those dealing with such issues, working to prevent suicide, and working with the surviving loved ones of those who have taken their own lives.

One such organization is Six Feet Over (SFO). The Michigan-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization was founded in 2012 by Katie Hardy following the suicide of her mother. Hardy has also survived the suicide of eight friends so for her, this is a way forward and her calling.

Its mission statement per the SFO website:

To provide financial and emotional support for survivors of suicide loss and individuals with lived experience of suicide, while engaging in community prevention through mental health education and advocacy to support healthier futures.

The organization’s Administrative Coordinator Laura Lukofsky described how Founder and Executive Director Kate Hardy came to start Six Feet Over,

She began this journey by selling tee shirts at Detroit Punk Rock shows simply to promote awareness and normalize conversations about suicide loss due to her personal experiences, and she wanted to be there for the communities she was/is a part of.

The non-profit does a multitude of things but it is also composed of two major programs. The first is called Suck It! Suicide (SIS).

On its website, SIS describes what it is and its approach,

Suck It! Suicide (SIS) is the outreach program of Six Feet Over, which also does the bulk of the fundraising for Six Feet Over through merchandise sales and in person donations. SIS specializes in community outreach, doing so in unconventional ways and places.

We keep it real. Suicide is a serious issue, but that doesn’t mean we can’t bring laughter and light into our outreach. Our tables are full of hugs, laughs, and sometimes tears—along with merch to help raise funds and keep our mission going strong. Because supporting mental health can be real, raw, and still a good time.

The second major program run by Six Feet Over is called Lemon Aid.

Often overlooked by the general public are the issues, financial and otherwise, faced by survivors of a suicide loss. This is where Lemon Aid, described as “Postvention & Support,” comes in to help. Six Feet Over describes “postvention” this way,

Postvention is the response and services provided following a death by suicide. Postvention includes working with loss survivors and the larger community to provide debriefing and support services, including linking with resources and providing emotional support. We consider postvention as prevention, as we know that those who are exposed to suicide are at a greater risk for suicide themselves.

The program assists with funeral and memorial services, helps with obtaining granite memorials and headstones as well as urns and caskets, It also assists with bio-cleaning services & others.

The program is presently available in Michigan and Kansas but the organization is working hard to expand it to other states. For those in the aforementioned states, the application and details of its requirements are available on the website.

Funding for Six Feet Over is achieved in several different ways.

In Kansas, the Lemon Aid program is funded by a grant from the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS).

In Michigan, funding is done through Donations from the public, state grants, event and program sponsors, and sales merchandise and from fundraising events via Suck It Suicide.

Six Feet Over does crucial work and donations are important to, as Laura Lukofsky told me,

“Keep the doors open” as it were. It’s one of the very few non-profits that all the proceeds go to our mission.

Six Feet Over is doing so much more than can be fully described in a few paragraphs. As Katie Hardy told me,

Beyond our programs Suck It! Suicide (outreach) and Lemon Aid (loss survivor support) we also do a bit of consulting, and a lot of talks and presentations. Our main focus though are the programs. Our foundation is built on knowing our wheelhouse, perfecting the services, keeping up on best practices, listening to those with lived experience to better understand and provide what people are asking for, and maintaining the highest quality and standards we can. People deserve nothing less than the best we can do. Period. 

If you can, PLEASE consider donating here. You can also volunteer with SIS, starting by filling out a quick application here.

Six Feet Over can be followed on Facebook and Instagram. Check it out and help them out!

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Artwork Credits:

SFO logo: Brook Brewster, Multi-medium artist. Instagram: @broken_glass_co

SIS logo: Cheryl Tash, Tattoo artist.Instagram: @cheryldoestattoos

Lemon Aid logo: Nadia Garver, Tattoo artist/shop owner. Instagram: @bogwitch

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NastyNate also put together a playlist of punk songs related to mental health. You can check it out here.

If you or someone you know is in crisis please call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; call 911; or visit your nearest Emergency Room.

by Staff Writer MerGold
Tags: 
Lemon Aid mental health non-profit Punks Doing Good Six Feet Over

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DS Gallery: Flatfoot 56’s St. Patrick’s Day bash in Chicago featuring Catch 22, The Copyrights and MANIA! (Reggie’s Rock Club, 3/8/25)

It is March, which means it is time for Flatfoot 56’s annual St. Patrick’s Day bash in Chicago! Held at Reggie’s Rock Club, this year’s sold-out show included Catch 22, The Copyrights and MANIA.  MANIA is one of Chicago’s newest punk bands featuring members of Bad Sons. They are surely here to stay as they left […]

It is March, which means it is time for Flatfoot 56’s annual St. Patrick’s Day bash in Chicago! Held at Reggie’s Rock Club, this year’s sold-out show included Catch 22, The Copyrights and MANIA. 

MANIA is one of Chicago’s newest punk bands featuring members of Bad Sons. They are surely here to stay as they left an impressive mark with their high-energy and aggressive scowls, hyping up an increasingly packed house. 

Pop punk band The Copyrights have been around since 2002 and are currently signed with the infamous Fat Wreck Chords. The Carbondale, Illinois band certainly has their own following, especially being around for as long as they have been. The Copyrights are a midwestern pop punk staple. 

Adding to the varied punk genres of the night, New Jersey’s ska band Catch 22 made an appearance. Their 1998 debut studio album Keasbey Nights is a ska essential. We have a feeling you will be seeing more of them in the future! They currently have several fests lined up this year: Derby Punk Fest, Pioneer Valley Ska Fest and Supernova International Ska Festival. 

Bringing the late night to a close, Flatfoot 56 brought the aggressive Celtic punk to the St. Patrick’s Day bash, making everyone a little Chi-rish. You can catch them in April for a couple of shows with The Koffin Kats and the absolutely stacked line up that is Punk in the Park Denver this summer. 

Check out all the pictures below! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

by Staff Writer Mary_Sunde
Tags: 
Bad Sons Carbondale catch 22 celtic punk chicago

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DS Exclusive: Listen to Ottawa punks Sunshine Overload’s new single “Wrong or Rite” from upcoming album on Mom’s Basement Records

Ottawa punks Sunshine Overload have signed over their souls to Mom’s Basement Records for the release of their new self-titled album – coming soon! To celebrate the momentous occasion, your best buds at Dying Scene are bringing you this exclusive premiere of the album’s opening track “Wrong or Rite”. Check that shit out below(!) and […]

Ottawa punks Sunshine Overload have signed over their souls to Mom’s Basement Records for the release of their new self-titled album – coming soon! To celebrate the momentous occasion, your best buds at Dying Scene are bringing you this exclusive premiere of the album’s opening track “Wrong or Rite”. Check that shit out below(!) and stay tuned for more to come.

This premiere is brought to you in part by Punk Rock Radar. If you’d like your band’s music video, song, album or whatever to be premiered by Dying Scene and Punk Rock Radar, go here and follow these instructions. You’ll be on your way to previously unimagined levels of fame and fortune in no time.

by Staff Writer Screeching Bottlerocket

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Dying Scene Show Review: Kraftwerk at The Anthem, Washington, DC (03/16/2025).

On Sunday, 16 March 2025, legendary German electronic band Kraftwerk brought their Multimedia Tour 2025, celebrating 50 Years of their groundbreaking fourth album, Autobahn, to a packed crowd at The Anthem located on The Wharf in Washington, DC.  The party started early with fans lining up well before doors opened at 6:30 pm, with the […]

On Sunday, 16 March 2025, legendary German electronic band Kraftwerk brought their Multimedia Tour 2025, celebrating 50 Years of their groundbreaking fourth album, Autobahn, to a packed crowd at The Anthem located on The Wharf in Washington, DC. 

The party started early with fans lining up well before doors opened at 6:30 pm, with the queue wrapping around the block. Fans piled in, and bought merchandise, and took their seats. The show started at 8:00 pm sharp, with synths, drum machines, and laser lights taking this small community on an otherworldly adventure to the synth-dimension. The band wrapped up their two-hour set at 10:00 pm.

The band was celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of their fourth album, Autobahn, which released in November 1974, and Autobahn made it onto the set-list with Kraftwerk’s recognizable scenic visual. This album is important as it marks the group’s shift from experimental krautrock to an electronic pop sound that is dominated by synthesizers and drum machines. Kraftwerk’s distinct minimalist electronic sound, lyrics about technology and the human condition, and their distinct visual aesthetic laid the foundation for many synthpunk, post-punk, new wave, and industrial artists that followed them down their cultural Autobahn.

The audience went wild to these songs as they escaped the grind of life in the nation’s capital. The band left the stage one by one and as they each received a heartfelt standing ovation at the of the night. 

  • Here are the songs featured in this night’s setlist:
  • “Numbers / Computerworld” 
  • “Home Computer”
  • “Spacelab”
  • “Airwaves”  
  • “Tango” 
  • “The Man Machine”
  • “Electric Cafe”
  • “Autobahn”  
  • “Computer Love”
  • “The Model ” 
  • “Neon Lights”
  • “Radioactivity”  
  • “Tour De France”
  • “La Forme”
  • “Vitamin”
  • “Trans-Europe Express”
  • Encore:
  • “The Robots”
  • “Planet of Visions”
  • “Boing Boom Tschak”

This was a night to remember. Don’t miss your chance to take a trip on the Autobahn with Kraftwerk!!!

by Staff Writer Fleurette Estes
Tags: 
50th Autobahn Computer Love German Autobahn German Band

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DS Album Review – Bad Leavers – “Give and Take”

While ska is on the rise all over the US, one scene that is typically under-represented is the South. Under-represented definitely isn’t the same as unrepresented, and the number of ska bands from the south continues to grow, from Stuck Lucky in Tennessee to Mississippi’s Flying Raccoon Suit, from a growing scene of bands in […]

While ska is on the rise all over the US, one scene that is typically under-represented is the South. Under-represented definitely isn’t the same as unrepresented, and the number of ska bands from the south continues to grow, from Stuck Lucky in Tennessee to Mississippi’s Flying Raccoon Suit, from a growing scene of bands in the Carolinas to Joystick!, Bad Operation, and the Ghost Town Steppas in Louisiana. The newest band to add to explode onto the Southern Ska scene is Atlanta, Georgia’s very own Bad Leavers.

Bad Leavers’ 6 song EP Give and Take is their debut studio recording on Jabroni Records and features trad, two-tone, and reggae influences in a nice, clean recording. The lead vocals from Joe Hottel (formerly of The Skunks) are calm and clear while being harmonized with the backing vocals of A Sherman.

Hottel also handles the guitars and pairs with Reid Stegall on the bass to lay most of the rhythms and upstrokes that are constant throughout the album. A Sherman plays the trumpet while not taking care of backing vocals, and teams up with Rein Stegall and Dave Sherman on tenor and bari sax respectively to fill out a stellar horn section that mostly adds texture to the songs without ever becoming over-bearing or stealing too much attention except when given room to shine in instrumental portions like the outstanding finale in “Going Nowhere.” Finally, drummer Luis Nieves sets up solid tempos to keep the songs moving that definitely carry the tracks forward.

With only 6 tracks to the album, there definitely isn’t any filler, but to me, two tracks stuck out in particular- the opener in “Bait & Switch,” and the closer, “Song for Nobody.” Both tracks are somewhat uplifting, songs about overcoming problems and validating others. “Bait & Switch” is more of a slow reggae jam with a nice, solid horn line in the intro, calm, clean vocals, and a strong duet for the chorus. This track feels like it gives the vibes of a laid-back, smoky, speakeasy, and the end of the track lets the horns out a little bit to breathe. The closer, “Song For Nobody,” is much more two-tone inspired. The rhythm picks up; it requires a dance floor, but definitely not a mosh pit. The horns are a little sharper, the backing vocals are echoed for punctuation in the verses, and harmonized in the chorus. The drums definitely beg the listener to move their feet and the constant upstrokes do their part as well. There is a nice mixing of pace with a short bridge with no guitars to help keep the texture of the track fresh and fluid.

Sure, Give and Take is only six tracks, but in my opinion, this already cements Bad Leavers with the likes of bands like Joe Gittleman, The Operators, and the Prizefighters when it comes to bands that deliver on that reggae, trad, and two-tone sound. It’s such crisp, clean, easy-to-listen-to music that feels instantly familiar and easy to appreciate, with a rhythm that begs to get you moving while also demanding that you listen to the lyrics. The talent level of Bad Leavers is top notch, and it’s evident that everyone in the band has years of experience in the music industry because the mastering and production is equally flawless. It’s so easy to isolate and appreciate every instrument on every track. This is just the beginning far Bad Leavers, and I expect much more to come.

by Staff Writer Gimp Leg
Tags: 
atlanta bad leavers give and take reggae Ska

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