Remember when Rise Against was a little more edgy and a little less radio friendly? I miss that stage of the band, and if you do too then I’ve got a new group for you to check out. Spinning out of South Bay, Los Angeles Fine Dining isn’t breaking any molds with their style, but […]
Remember when Rise Against was a little more edgy and a little less radio friendly? I miss that stage of the band, and if you do too then I’ve got a new group for you to check out. Spinning out of South Bay, Los Angeles Fine Dining isn’t breaking any molds with their style, but they’re certainly doing the genre justice. Speed, melodic aggression, gang shouts… If that’s the stuff that floats your boat like it does mine I recommend you check the band out via the music video and a full stream of their debut EP, “Grass Fed Tunes,” below.
Bandaid Brigade is a brand new musical project from Zach Quinn (PEARS) and Brian Wahlstrom (Scorpios, Gods of Mount Olympus) intent on ripping up, setting fire to, and consigning to history the genre rulebook, with their eclectic and decade-spanning approach to songwriting. The duo have just announced their debut single, ‘Travel Light’, the first track […]
Bandaid Brigade is a brand new musical project from Zach Quinn (PEARS) and Brian Wahlstrom (Scorpios, Gods of Mount Olympus) intent on ripping up, setting fire to, and consigning to history the genre rulebook, with their eclectic and decade-spanning approach to songwriting.
The duo have just announced their debut single, ‘Travel Light’, the first track to be taken from their forthcoming debut album, I’m Separate. Further details of the full-length’s release are yet to be revealed, but you can watch the hilarious video for the lead single below.
“Both Brian and I wrote different sections for this song independently during different years, on different sides of the country,” says Quinn of the single. “Two unused chord progressions found their counterparts, and it was f*cking magical. As far as the video goes, I figured I’d let the camera crew in so they could film some of my spin class that I teach when the gym can afford my rates…”
Recorded at Black in Bluhm Studios in Denver, CO, and co-produced with Chris Fogal (The Gamits), the album features drummer Paul Rucker (Street Dogs, Drag the River). Quinn and Wahlstrom stretch beyond their punk roots on this project with ambitious songwriting, polished arrangements, and a throwback sound that draws some detectable influences from early progressive rock. The heavy ‘80s disco groove of lead single ‘Travel Light’ is light on the distortion, instead opting for a heady mix of Sprinsteen’s attitude, Elton John’s artistic balladry, and classic pop rock disco grooves echoing ABBA and Earth Wind & Fire.
“The thing that I kept thinking about the whole time was how much it reminded me a lot of a post-first-album The Clash,” says Quinn on the inspiration for the new project, “but then, I also thought to myself, ‘This is also way easier to listen to than Sandinista! ever was.’ We had the advantage of being able to look retrospectively over decades of rock and pop, and we were kind of able to pull from all of that—all the good stuff, and leave all the bad stuff out. You know, one band that kept coming up as we were making the record is Genesis, but Genesis songs are sometimes eight minutes long. We were like, ‘Well, that’s not necessary. We don’t need to do that.’ I feel like there were elements of that, all different examples of that.”
As for the band itself’s genesis, Quinn made his name fronting critically acclaimed New Orleans-based hardcore punk band PEARS, whilst Wahlstrom is a classically trained opera singer and pianist whose touring and recording career is rooted firmly in punk rock, and has included frequent collaborations with Joey Cape (Lagwagon). The duo connected on a tour produced by Cape’s label, One Week Records, which brings artists into a high energy, week-long write-arrange-record process that culminates in a completed album and follow-up touring. The pairing fully leverages the combination of Quinn’s raw edge, Wahlstrom’s finesse, and the lyrical power of dual songwriters.
Stay tuned, as tour dates for 2019 will be announced soon.
In a joint statement, the surviving members of Brooklyn, NY indie rock band Stringer say, “Mark Fletcher, our brother and bandmate passed on Feb. 19th, 2019. For six years we made music. We lived our lives together with a bond that can only be forged by the most intense and ecstatic experiences, we spoke in […]
In a joint statement, the surviving members of Brooklyn, NY indie rock band Stringer say, “Mark Fletcher, our brother and bandmate passed on Feb. 19th, 2019. For six years we made music. We lived our lives together with a bond that can only be forged by the most intense and ecstatic experiences, we spoke in our own language. Mark and filmmaker Chris Elia made this video featuring a collection of strangers and his best friends singing his words. We think this is fitting because Mark made friends so easily and it didn’t take long for a stranger to become a best friend.”
Elia, a longtime friend of the band and frequent collaborator adds, “When Mark was in the Bay Area this past winter, he used his camera phone (as well as his outgoing & charming personality) to start filming the 1st verse in my old neighborhood. We spent literal hours talking on the phone during his trip, part of which involved his vision for a lyric video. He was so ecstatic about the initial rough cut I had sent him, so I can only imagine the happiness it would have brought him to see the completed video full of familiar faces singing his song.”
Members of Stringer, along with family and friends of Mark’s have also banded together to launch The Mark Fletcher Studio, a non-profit that has been set up in his memory. Stringer’s practice room in Bushwick, Brooklyn has been refitted to host analog recorded sessions that are free for artists.
The band adds, “We are running this studio solely on community donations so any help is greatly appreciated! Even $5 or $10 will go a long way. Please donate here.
Produced by Adam Reich (So So Glos, ex-Titus Andronicus), Stringer’s critically-acclaimed album ‘My Bad’ was released in July on Wiretap Records.
The inaugural T1 Fest will take place on Friday, November 8th and Saturday, November 9th at The Forge in Joliet, IL. All proceeds from the shows will go to the JDRF, (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) to assist in their fight against type 1 diabetes. Organizer Jim Costanzo felt compelled to establish the event after his […]
The inaugural T1 Fest will take place on Friday, November 8th and Saturday, November 9th at The Forge in Joliet, IL. All proceeds from the shows will go to the JDRF, (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) to assist in their fight against type 1 diabetes. Organizer Jim Costanzo felt compelled to establish the event after his family was affected by the disease. He explained, “My nephew Joey was diagnosed at the age of three and like so many others, we had no understanding of it, but we quickly learned that this is a very serious illness.” He continued, “Working with the JDRF to learn what lied ahead for him, we saw so many families that were not able to handle the financial burden of providing care for their child. We have since made it a goal to raise as much money as possible to assist the JDRF in their mission to raise awareness and find a cure for type 1 diabetes.”
Costanzo cited his experiences growing up in Chicago’s punk scene as motivation for coordinating this fest. When reflecting on those times, he said “What we found was a community, a scene where even as teenagers we could make a difference. Whether it was playing shows against racism or gathering coats for the homeless, we saw that through music change was possible. One day we were discussing ideas on how we could do our part and we thought it would be great to put on a benefit show like back in the day.”
After setting his idea in motion, Costanzo was able to assemble a lineup that features numerous noteworthy acts. Friday night is headlined by Flatfoot 56 with support from Brendan Kelly, (Lawrence Arms/Wandering Birds) The Brokedowns, and Andrew Thomas. Saturday’s festivities begin at 3:30 PM, with the following bands playing: The Smoking Popes, The Lillingtons, 88 Fingers Louie, Dan Vapid & The Cheats, Vandoliers, Kali Masi, The Reaganomics, and Cap Gun Heroes. Tickets for each individual night are available, as well as weekend passes, and can be purchased here.
If you’re confused about who the hell Tommy & June are, join the club. Fat Wreck Chords quietly released the acoustic duo’s debut album last week without any of the usual fanfare you’d expect from the prominent label. If you’re curious what the deal is, here’s the origin story straight from label owner Fat Mike himself. […]
If you’re confused about who the hell Tommy & June are, join the club. Fat Wreck Chords quietly released the acoustic duo’s debut album last week without any of the usual fanfare you’d expect from the prominent label. If you’re curious what the deal is, here’s the origin story straight from label owner Fat Mike himself.
I never really put a band together before. It seems like a weird thing to do, but some things need to happen. I meet a lot of people on tour. Tommy I met in Israel about 12 years ago. Great singer/songwriter playing in a punk band. He was cool, and I started listening to his solo stuff. It was great, but no one ever came to see him play in the US. I felt bad. One day in SF Tommy asked me what he should do. He said no one comes to see his punk band or his solo shows. I said that’s how it goes. You’ve been doing this for over ten years and if you’re not drawing a crowd now, you never will. He was bummed. I was bummed. He’s a great songwriter, but who cares? Two days later I remembered I met an Iranian Colombian dude on tour that was a great singer-songwriter too. I hadn’t spoken to him in years….I had a weird idea. I emailed both of them and told them to start a band together. I know you live in two different parts of the world….but I think you would make a great two-piece band. Let me produce the record and we’ll see how it goes. You don’t have to tour. Just spend a week in the studio with me. I said record short acoustic weird songs with a new wave edge. They did. We did ten songs that came in at 20 minutes. I fucking loved it. Totally simple and clean and short and catchy and I had never heard a band sound like this before…. AND like Stiff Little Fingers (Protestants and Catholics), no one expects a Jew and a Colombian Arab to be making music together. Like SLF, it’s fucking good.
I introduce to the world Tommy and June…. two kinda boring guys that make really fucking great music together.
South African folk punks The Shabs have released a video for their song “Lesson Learned” and you can check it out below. The song is the 3rd single from Cape Town’s influential folk punk band The Shabs new album Can You Hear Us at the Back, which released via Just Music on the 1st March 2019. Since […]
South African folk punksThe Shabshave released a video for their song “Lesson Learned” and you can check it out below.
The song is the 3rd single from Cape Town’s influential folk punk band The Shabs new album Can You Hear Us at the Back, which released via Just Music on the 1st March 2019. Since the release the band have toured extensively across South Africa as well as Europe, including shows in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and most recently the UK. The video is a collection of footage taken from all these tours and was edited by bassist Ryan McArthur, who wanted to give the viewer an inside look into tour life as he explains, “With this video we wanted to give everyone a personal look into what it’s like spending time on the road – we wanted to show people that we absolutely love what we do but that it can also be tiring, challenging and definitely isn’t glamorous.”
Vocalist and guitarist Jon Shaban adds, “The Can You Hear us at the Back Album Release tour was definitely the longest and most intense tour we’ve taken on as a band. We learned so much on the road and we made a lot of mistakes but we’re so proud of what we achieved. We played over 40 shows in 6 different countries and we pushed ourselves harder than we ever have before. It was great to reconnect with all our friends along the way and make some lifelong friendships which has always been one of our favourite things about touring. The video is a little glimpse into the adventure”
The Shabs released Can You Hear Us at the Back earlier this year. If you’re a fan of The Dreadnoughts or Ramshackle Glory you will also enjoy these guys.
Veteran UK anarcho-punks Subhumans have announced that they will have new music for the first time in over ten years, as Crisis Point is due out in September on Pirates Press Records. They last released Internal Riot in 2007. In support of the new record they have also announced a East Coast US tour. Check […]
Veteran UK anarcho-punks Subhumans have announced that they will have new music for the first time in over ten years, as Crisis Point is due out in September on Pirates Press Records. They last released Internal Riot in 2007.
In support of the new record they have also announced a East Coast US tour. Check out the tour dates below.
New Haven, CT’s latest garage-punks on the scene, Ditch Boys, are streaming their new EP, Seven Minutes With Ditch Boys. Check out the three-song EP below – it will definitely leave you wanting more.
New Haven, CT’s latest garage-punks on the scene, Ditch Boys, are streaming their new EP, Seven Minutes With Ditch Boys. Check out the three-song EP below – it will definitely leave you wanting more.
Ska legends Reel Big Fish, who are best known as one of the bands to come of the third wave of ska, is touring the UK this autumn, playing a string of dates with Lightyear and [spunge]. You can see the tour dates below.
Ska legends Reel Big Fish, who are best known as one of the bands to come of the third wave of ska, is touring the UK this autumn, playing a string of dates with Lightyear and [spunge]. You can see the tour dates below.
Backdrop Falls has just released the music video of “Out of My Mess,” off their latest album There’s No Such Place As Home. The band says the video is a tribute to women, and a mirror of the video “True North” by Bad Religion. You can watch the brand-new video below.
Backdrop Falls has just released the music video of “Out of My Mess,” off their latest album There’s No Such Place As Home. The band says the video is a tribute to women, and a mirror of the video “True North” by Bad Religion.
Remember when Rise Against was a little more edgy and a little less radio friendly? I miss that stage of the band, and if you do too then I’ve got a new group for you to check out. Spinning out of South Bay, Los Angeles Fine Dining isn’t breaking any molds with their style, but they’re certainly doing the genre justice. Speed, melodic aggression, gang shouts… If that’s the stuff that floats your boat like it does mine I recommend you check the band out via the music video and a full stream of their debut EP, “Grass Fed Tunes,” below.