Search Results for: me first and the gimme gimmes

Search Archives Only

DS Record Radar: This Week in Punk Vinyl (Less Than Jake, Rise Against, Slick Shoes & More!)

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold […]

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold one, and break out those wallets, because it’s go time. Let’s get into it!

Check out the video edition of this week’s Record Radar, presented by Punk Rock Radar:

Less Than Jake bats leadoff this week with their brand new EP Uncharted, due out November 15th on Pure Noise. The EP features 7 new songs and is (coincidentally?) available on 7 different color variants. Every variant comes with a printed compass design on the B-Side. Here’s the full list of colors on offer:

– Blue, Yellow & White w/ Orange & Black Splatter (250 Copies) – SOLD OUT

– Yellow in Clear w/ Blue, Bone & Green Splatter (500 Copies) – BUY

– Easter Yellow / Blue / Bone Tri-Stripe (500 Copies, Retail Variant) – Buy w/ Autographed Postcard / Buy w/o Postcard

– Electric Blue Glitter (250 Copies) – BUY

– Half Red / Half Bone w/ Black Splatter (250 Copies) – BUY

– Sapphire Marble (1,550 Copies) – BUY

– Sea Blue & Electric Blue Pinwheel w/ Bone Splatter (500 Copies, Band Variant) – On sale now at LTJ shows

Edmonton melodic punk band King Thief’s self-titled debut LP is out now! You can get it on red and white cornetto colored vinyl and/or black wax from Thousand Islands Records. Meanwhile, Disconnect Disconnect has their own exclusive translucent tan color variant limited to 100 copies. This band’s lineup boasts members of This Is A Standoff, Teenage Bottlerocket, Choke & more. Highly recommended pickup for you discerning melodic punk collectors.

Orange County ska-punks Bite Me Bambi’s new album Eat This is due out next month and you can pre-order it now on two color variants: Hot Pink w/ Black Splatter and Pink Marble, limited to 250 copies each. Check out the latest single “Do the Damned”!

Rise Against’s Appeal to Reason is back in print for the first time in 5 years with a new pressing on orange colored vinyl, which is supposedly limited – exactly how limited it is, I don’t know! What I do know is you can get this for $29.99 instead of the $85+ previous pressings are going for on Discogs. Get it here.

Another Rise Against record back in print for the first time in a long time is The Black Market. It looks like this has actually never been repressed since its original release in 2014. This isn’t a fancy 10th Anniversary reissue or anything, just a new pressing on black wax, but I figured it’s noteworthy since this, too, fetches a pretty penny on the resale market currently. Get the new pressing for $27.98 right here.

Tooth & Nail Records has released three deep cuts from their catalog on vinyl for the first time ever! These include As Cities Burn’s 2009 album Hell Or High Water, Slick Shoes’ 2002 self-titled record, and Dogwood’s Building A Better Me from Y2K. These were available exclusively at Furnace Fest 2024 but it sounds like Tooth & Nail will be putting leftover copies up on their webstore at 9am pacific / noon eastern on Halloween.

Speaking of Halloween, Black Russians have a new record coming out this Halloween and you can get it on black wax from our friends at Memorable But Not Honorable Records here in the states, and or mates at Punk Rock Vinyl in the UK. There are just 100 copies total (50 per label) so you’ll wanna act fast on this one.

The only (cover) band that matters Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are hot on the heels of their new album ¡Blow it…at Madison’s Quinceanera! and they’re continuing to have a ball with this 7″ single featuring a new cover of Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs’ “Most People I Know (Think That I’m Crazy)”. I’d never heard the original before, but I guess it’s considered somewhat of an Aussie classic, so it’s fitting the band will have an exclusive variant of this on their Australian tour with the Dwarves in a few weeks. For now you can get the 7″ from Fat Wreck on (non-Australian tour exclusive) colored and/or black vinyl.

Well, that’s all, folks. Another Record Radar in the books. Short one this week! 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, leave us a comment below, or 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 (or do, I’m not your father). See ya next time!

Wanna catch up on all of our Record Radar posts? Click here and you’ll be taken to a page with all the past entries in the column. Magic!

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

DS Record Radar: This Week In Punk Vinyl (Less Than Jake, The Dopamines, The Jasons, Sum 41 & More!)

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold […]

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold one, and break out those wallets, because it’s go time. Let’s get into it!

Check out the video edition of this week’s Record Radar, presented by our friends at Punk Rock Radar:

Less Than Jake‘s got a new 7″ coming out September 1st on Pure Noise Records. It features the band’s two new singles “Broken Words” and “Walking Pipebomb”. The only way you can get the “Easter Yellow w/ Heavy Black Splatter” colored 7″ right now is in a $35 bundle with a T-shirt ($36-37 for my fellow girthy boys and girls). This is likely the first of many new 7″s to come from LTJ. Get it here.

Fat Wreck’s 25th Anniversary series rolls on with Me First and the Gimme GimmesAre a Drag! Bad news: This has already sold out on Fat Wreck’s US store. Good news: It’s still in stock on their UK store! So I guess if you missed out, suck it up and take it up the ass on that shipping. Or perhaps you’re Bri’ish and you’ll save on shipping!

Speaking of the British, our mates at Brassneck Records have a bunch of cool new releases out now and/or coming soon. Up first is the a new LP from Orlando, FL power-pop-punk band Vicious Dreams! Turn Off My Brain comes out next Friday, August 9th, and is available on three color variants (and black vinyl) from Brassneck in the UK, and Swamp Cabbage, Dirt Cult, and GC Records in the US of A. Also noteworthy, this is the cheapest record I’ve seen in like 10 years. $12 for an LP!!! How the fuck? Don’t sleep on this one.

Also out now on Brassneck Records: two new 7″s! The first of which is the bad ass debut EP from Nottingham, UK punk band Reduced (members of TV Crime, Scene Killers, The Hip Priests, etc.). I could type paragraphs upon paragraphs trying to convince you to buy this, but I’ll save my breath and tell you to just listen to the thing. I guarantee halfway through the first song you’ll be clicking Add to Cart on the Brassneck store. This shit is great, by far my favorite release of the year so far.

The pride of Dayton, Ohio, The Raging Nathans are celebrating their debut album Losing It’s 10th birthday with a big time reissue. Recess Records has and exclusive translucent orange color variant, while Rad Girlfriend has their own uranium glass variant (as well as black vinyl). Other things of note: the cover art is new and improved! This has been out of print since 2014! PagMan.

It truly wouldn’t be the Record Radar without at least one NOFX record, and on tap this week is the 10 millionth Punk in Drublic. I believe is the first to bear the “30th Anniversary” branding, however. The NOFX merch store doesn’t list a color variant but this looks like it’s the “Beer White Black Splatter” variant from their Brooklyn pop-up store a few weeks ago. Get it here. Also shoutout to NOFX for charging $12 to ship a single record. Keep on keeping punk rock elite!

It also wouldn’t be the Record Radar without one or two new records from the friendly people at Mom’s Basement Records. We’ve got a few this week, and they’re good ones! First up is the long awaited reissue of The Jasons‘ debut album Get Fucked, back in print for the first time since 2017 and very soon to be out of print once again. There were five variants to choose from, but now your choices are down to red vinyl and black wax. These are selling fast; get yours here.

Next up from Mom’s Basement: A brand new split 7″ from The Jasons and Italy’s Ratbones! Blitzkrieg Blasphemy features 2 tracks from each band and it, too, is available on 5 color variants limited to 100 copies each. Buy it with your money here.

Beloved Italian punk festival Punk Rock Raduno‘s new compilation LP Punk Rock Raduno Vol. 7 features 28(!) songs from awesome bands like 7 Years Bad Luck, Mean Jeans, Jagger Holly, The Zatopeks, The Odorants, and many others! There are 500 copies on black vinyl and you can get it from Mom’s Basement in the US, Punk Rock Raduno and Radiation Records in Italy, Monster Zero in Austria, and Stardumb Records in the Netherlands. It probably would have been easier to tell you all the places you can’t get this record.

Atlanta street punk band Rotten Stitches‘ new record Above the Ashes is out now on Charged Records. You can get it on the very pleasantly named “Punk Puke Splatter” (330 copies) or “Panama Canal Splatter” colored vinyl (170 copies) right here. Also available in Europe from Voltage Records. Recommended if you like The Casualties, The Exploited, Total Chaos, etc.

The Dopamines will be releasing their new album 80/20 soon on Rad Girlfriend Records (US), Bearded Punk Records (EU) and Brassneck Records (UK). Pre-orders begin this coming Friday, August 9th, with four color variants to choose from, along with black vinyl and 50 test press copies. This will be their first new record in 7 years!

Sum 41 finds their way back onto the Record Radar yet again with some snazzy new color variants of 2016’s 13 Voices and their latest and final record Heaven :x: Hell. Each of these is limited to 500 copies on “100% Eco-Friendly, zero-impact, carbon-neutral” vinyl; you can get both of them from Rude Records.

And New Found Glory is following Sum 41’s lead with new color variants for 2020’s Forever & Ever x Infinity (neon yellow / 1,000 copies / get it here) and their 2004 kinda-sorta-ish fan favorite Catalyst. The latter is limited to 1,000 copies on Baby Blue/Sea Blue/Highlighter and will be available exclusively on The Catalyst 20 Years Later Tour.

Revelation Records is reissuing Sick of it All‘s self-titled debut 7″ as a benefit to frontman Lou Koller, who was recently diagnosed with cancer after a tumor was discovered in his esophagus. Pre-orders will be open through August 14th and they’ll be pressing as many copies as there are orders for this purple 7″, with all proceeds helping Lou in his fight against cancer. You can get the 7″ here.

And we’re keeping it sooper hardcore with this new live record from Counterparts. Live in Toronto was recorded in, well, Toronto in 2022 and it’s available on four quite wordily named color variants. These include: Oxblood Glitter (250 copies), Brown & Electric Blue with Heavy White & Oxblood Splatter (400 copies), Oxblood in Milky Clear with Heavy Brown & White Splatter (1,350 copies). All of those can be purchased right here. There’s also the Clear / Half Brown with Heavy Oxblood Splatter on Clear Side Only variant (holy fuck that’s a long one) which is exclusive to the band’s webstore.

Remember Simple Plan? They’re reissuing all of their record on super duper not-so-limited colored vinyl (in fact, I believe this is the first time quite a few of these albums have been released on vinyl). The standalone LPs are available on a slew of variants; there’s also a box set (which has its own exclusive color variants) and even more exclusive splatter variants exclusive to Alternative Press. I’m (not) just a kid and (I presume) life (as a Simple Plan superfan who has an insatiable urge to buy every variant of these records) is a nightmare!

Well, 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, leave us a comment below, or 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 (or do, I’m not your father). See ya next time!

Wanna catch up on all of our Record Radar posts? Click here and you’ll be taken to a page with all the past entries in the column. Magic!

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

DS Record Radar: This Week in Punk Vinyl (MxPx, Suicide Machines, Reel Big Fish & More)

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold […]

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold one, and break out those wallets, because it’s go time. Let’s get into it!

Check out the video edition of this week’s Record Radar, presented by our friends at Punk Rock Radar:

New MxPx record! Find A Way Home is due out August 25th. There are a bunch of color variants, including one with a die cut cover, and a picture disc. Pre-orders are live now on mxpx.com and they seem to be shipping immediately (mine did, at least). Check out the new single “Stay Up All Night”:

The Suicide Machines are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of their 2003 album A Match And Some Gasoline. In addition to playing the album in full on a brief tour with Against All Authority and Kill Lincoln this December, they are also releasing it on vinyl for the first time ever! SideOneDummy has a few color variants on their webstore, and Zia Records has an exclusive blue galaxy variant limited to 300 copies.

Reel Big Fish‘s Candy Coated Fury is getting a Deluxe Edition reissue, with five bonus tracks and a gatefold jacket with glow in the dark cover art. Enjoy the Ride Records pressed a bunch of sweet color variants, but the only one still in stock is the Alternative Press exclusive variant, limited to 200 copies. Get it here before it’s gone, too.

On an unrelated note: word on the street is Turn the Radio Off will be getting a repress of its own in the near future. Stay tuned for more on that!

Austrian punk veterans 7 Years Bad Luck are back with a new album. No Shame is due out August 4th on Monster Zero Records. Their last album Great, Big, Nothing is a hard act to follow, but the first single “I’ll Forget You” makes me think they’re up to the task. Check that out below and get the record on aquatic blue colored vinyl here.

The Gaslight Anthem announced their new album History Books will be released on October 27th. This is the band’s first new record in almost a decade. There are like a trillion color variants of this thing and I’m not gonna bother trying to name them all. Here‘s where you can get some of them.

Five Iron Frenzy is releasing a full-discography box set called Put Your Waste In Its Place. You get 10 records for $250 in a box that looks like a flaming dumpster. That’s a value that can’t be beat, folks! Get it here (you can also grab the individual records here).

Portland, Maine pop-punks Borderlines‘ debut album Keep Pretending is out now on Hey Pizza! RecordsMom’s Basement Records, and Memorable But Not Honorable Records. Check out my favorite track “The Greatest Resignation” below and get it on vinyl here, CD here, or cassette here.

SACK‘s Get Wrecked is getting a new pressing from Clearview Records, limited to 300 copies on canary yellow colored vinyl. This goes up on the label’s webstore Wednesday, July 26th at 6pm Eastern Time.

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes‘ latest album Are We Not Men? We Are Diva! is getting its first new pressing in nearly a decade. There are an undisclosed number of copies on red w/ black splatter colored vinyl (as seen in this very poorly cropped image). Get yours here.

Asian Man Records is reissuing the TaxpayersGod, Forgive These Bastards: Songs From The Forgotten Life Of Henry Turner. The 2xLP on red and black swirl colored vinyl features b-sides, demos, and interviews with band members. Get it here.

Agnostic Front‘s Victim in Pain is back in print, with a fancy new embossed cover. There are a bunch of variants exclusive to different retailers, including Generation Records (red, 200 copies), Revelation Records (yellow, 1,000 copies), and Revolver Magazine (black platinum swirl, 500 copies). Bridge Nine has the blue and silver color variants on their webstore.

Well, 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, leave us a comment below, or 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 (or do, I’m not your father). See ya next week!

Wanna catch up on all of our Record Radar posts? Click here and you’ll be taken to a page with all the past entries in the column. Magic!

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

DS Record Radar: This Week in Punk Vinyl (The Offspring “Smash” 30th Anniversary, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, new Sludgeworth 7″ & More!)

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold […]

Greetings, and welcome to the Dying Scene Record Radar. If it’s your first time here, thank you for joining us! This is the weekly* column where we cover all things punk rock vinyl; new releases, reissues… you name it, we’ve probably got it. Kick off your shoes, pull up a chair, crack open a cold one, and break out those wallets, because it’s go time. Let’s get into it!

Check out the video edition of this week’s Record Radar, presented by our friends at Punk Rock Radar:

Up first this week we have the new album from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes ¡Blow it…at Madison’s Quinceanera!. In addition to being the band’s first album in a decade, this is also the first record to feature Strung Out’s Jake Kiley on guitar and CJ Ramone on bass. And like most Fat Wreck releases lately, the colored vinyl already sold out before this week’s Record Radar could go live, which is truly unfortunate. You can still get it on black wax and/or compact disc (otherwise known as CD by those in the trade) here in the US, here in Europe, and here in Australia.

The Offspring’s Smash turns 30 this year and though it doesn’t seem like it’s going to get a reissue with bonus content or anything, the record has gotten repressed on some new colors. So far two variants have been announced: the pearl variant, which is already sold out on the band’s webstore, and the green variant, which is limited to 300 copies and available exclusively at the Punk Rock Museum in Vegas. There’s also the previously announced Record Store Day Essentials “milky clear” color variant that you can get from your local record store, or here.

The MxPx marketing machine thought fast and capitalized on the very short-lived solar eclipse hype. One of many variants of the band’s new album Find a Way Home came with alternate cover art in a die cut jacket showing the printed inner sleeve; you could flip it to show the sun (or maybe it’s an asteroid, idk) or the moon through the cutout. Well they took that same color variant and swapped out the inner sleeve with one that has some solar eclipse art, so that’s cool I guess. You can buy it here if you’d like.

In other MxPx-related vinyl news, some new color variants of the 2018 self-titled album recently popped up on the band’s merch store as well. I’m not sure how limited they are, but can get the record on “Let’s Ride Red” and “The Way We Do Blue” right here. And one last thing before I move on, if anyone involved in the operation of the MxPx Merch Arsenal happens to reading this, you fuckers need to re-enable Media Mail as a shipping option because there’s no way in fuck I’m paying you $14 to ship a single record with USPS Ground Advantage. Sweet Christ.

The friendly people at Mom’s Basement Records are releasing The Young Hasselhoffs The Obsolete Man on vinyl for the very first time, 13 years after its original CD release. This is limited to 50 copies on clear w/ black splatter, 100 copies on white marble, and 100 copies on white w/ black splatter colored vinyl. You can get all three here.

Screeching Weasel side project turned Chicago punk cult favorites Sludgeworth reunited in 2022 and in 2024 they’re releasing their first new music in over 30 years. The band’s new 7″ features two brand new songs, “Together, Not Together” and “Foundation”, and it’s due out May 17th on Red Scare. Check out a live recording of one of the tracks below and pre-order the 7″ here.

Asbestos Records just put some cool records up on their store, the first of which is this first time vinyl release of 2002’s The Least Worst of the Suicide Machines. Like the Young Hasselhoffs record I talked about earlier, this had only ever been released on CD previously. But now you can get it right here on slime green colored vinyl! (limited to 800 copies), or black wax (limited to 100 copies, exclusive to Asbestos Records Subscription Club members (sign up here)), and white vinyl (ltd. to 100 copies). The last one is supposedly a “Ska Fests Exclusive”, see the Suicide Machines‘ upcoming tour dates here.

Also available from Asbestos Records: Spring Heeled Jack‘s new live album Live from the Legendary Toad’s Place. This was recorded at the band’s 2010 reunion shows at, you guessed it, Toad’s Place in their hometown New Haven, CT. It’s limited to 300 copies on orange colored vinyl and you can get it here. SHJ will be playing some shows to commemorate the record release over the next few weeks; go here to check out the dates.

And last up to bat from Asbestos is Sonic Boom Six’s new compilation album Re:Generation. Unlike the orange variant that was released last month in the UK, this US exclusive purple color variant is a 2xLP with a bunch of bonus tracks on that second LP. Add it to your cart before you check out with those Suicide Machines and Spring Heeled Jack LPs, and catch the band touring the US’ east coast this week.

Samiam‘s 2000 album Astray has been repressed on a few new color variants: Smartpunk Records has it on the very wordily named Red/Coke Bottle Clear/Yellow Tri-Split Vinyl which is limited to 300 copies, Down in the Valley Records has 300 copies on Yellow w/ Red/Orange Splatter, and there’s a plain yellow variant you can get on Hopeless Records webstore and probably in record stores once it releases on June 26th – they pressed 900 copies of that one.

Brooklyn’s Radar (no affiliation with the Dying Scene Record Radar) will be releasing their self-titled debut LP on May 17th via Dead Broke Rekerds. Check out the schweet music video for the lead single “Doesn’t Matter” and pre-order the record here.

Also from Dead Broke Rekereds! Another cassette release infiltrates the Record Radar – this time it’s New England punk band Doc Hopper’s career spanning compilation Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blew. Previously released on a very limited # of CD-ROM, you can now get it on a very limited # of green cassette tapes riiiight here (that # is 100, btw). Speaking of cassettes, if you like collecting punk rock on cassettes, Dead Broke has a lot of other awesome punk rock cassettes. So many, in fact, that they dedicated an entire section of their distro to the format. Very nice!

Death By Stereo’s first two records If Looks Could Kill, I’d Watch You Die and Day of the Death have been repressed. The first one’s available on silver colored vinyl right here; the 2019 repress on purple wax is still in stock, too. The latter is back in print for the first time in almost a decade, with a new glow in the dark green color variant that you can buy with money here.

Los Angeles’ Matamoska have a new record coming May 17th (seems like that’s a popular date to put out a new record) on Bad Time Records. The band’s self-titled LP is limited to 350 copied on “Deep Purple” colored vinyl, which you can get here, and 250 copied on “Highlighter Yellow” colored vinyl, which you’ll be receiving in the mail in a few weeks if you’re a Bad Time Record Club member.

And the last release on this week’s record comes from another LA band; it’s the debut LP from up-and-coming street punk band Dogface Bastards. Pride In My Boots is out now on Casualties guitarist Jake Kolatis’ label Charged Records. Check it out below and get it on vinyl here. You’ve got two variants to choose from – Napalm Bastard Splatter (340 copies) and Boot Stomp Splatter (165 copies). Or you can get both. You have autonomy!

Well, 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, leave us a comment below, or 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 (or do, I’m not your father). See ya next time!

Wanna catch up on all of our Record Radar posts? Click here and you’ll be taken to a page with all the past entries in the column. Magic!

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

DS Show Review & Gallery: Me First & The Gimme Gimmes/The Black Tones/Son Rompe Pera (House of Blues – Chicago, IL – 10/1/22)

The foremost punk rock supergroup cover band hit the House of Blues in Chicago, IL on the first day of October 2022. The band brought the humor and fun, performing others’ classics but at break-neck speed. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes has a rotating cast of characters. At this House of Blues Chicago, only […]

The foremost punk rock supergroup cover band hit the House of Blues in Chicago, IL on the first day of October 2022. The band brought the humor and fun, performing others’ classics but at break-neck speed.


Me First and the Gimme Gimmes has a rotating cast of characters. At this House of Blues Chicago, only one of the original members, Spike Slawson, was on stage. Joey Cape of Lagwagon and Fat Mike of NOFX were unable to join Slawson due to both bands being on tour. However, Slawson did have a pretty solid set of bandmates: CJ Ramone on bass, Speedo aka John “The Swami” Reis of Rocket From the Crypt on guitar, Jake Kiley from Strung Out, and Andrew “Pinch” Pinching formerly of The Damned, on drums. The entire band was decked out in white denim and glittery pink shirts, accented by white ties Slawson added a white sports jacket and Elton John style specs, as well his Lounge Lizard persona.


The band zoomed through a pair of John Denver tunes, “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and “Take Me Home Country Roads,” as well as Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up,” “ScienceFiction/Double Feature” by Richard O’Brien


The set also featured Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time)” by Elton John, “Mandy,” by Barry Manilow and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”


Me First and the Gimme Gimmes serves up a reliably good time, no matter what the lineup at any given time. It’s all in good fun, though there was an early oof moment when Slawson joked about John Denver’s skills as a helicopter pilot (Denver died when the home-made aircraft he was flying crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the crash to pilot errors). Aside from that, the band members play with an earnestness rather than a mocking spirit underneath the levity. They seem to be enjoying this insouciant break from their “day jobs.” The crowd was all for it and left asking for more.


The Black Tones, on its first national tour, got the show started in a big way. The duo, comprised of Eva Walker on vocals and guitar, and her twin brother Cedric Walker on drums and vocals, have built a devoted fan base in the state of Washington. The Seattle duo’s hit song, “The Key Of Black (They Want Us Dead)” speaks to police brutality fueled by racism.The name of the Walkers’ first album, Cobain & Cornbread, is a nod to both their hometown of the Emerald City, and their family’s southern roots in Louisiana.

On stage, joined by family as back-up musicians and singers they soared. Eva Walker is both an indefatigable shredder and a dynamic vocalist. Cedric Walker is a thunderous drummer, every bash complementing his sister’s swaggering stage presence. With songs like “Mr. Pink,” “Ghetto Spaceship,” and “Mama, There’s A Spider In My Room,” this band will continue to knock the socks off of those lucky enough to see them in the future.


In the middle slot of the evening were the rising stars in Son Rompe Pera. The band, like The Black Tones, is led by siblings. The three brothers Gama: The two Marimberos/Vocalists, Mongo and Kacho, and percussionist/vocalist Kilos. The family is from Naucalpan de Juárezon the outskirts of Mexico City. They are joined in Son Rompe Pera by Raul Albarrán on bass and Albarrán’s cousin, Richi López on drums. The band has played nearly every size of music venue, and was interviewed by National Public Radio. They were also featured in a video for NPR’s Tiny Desk Sessions, On this Windy City Saturday night, Son Rompe Pera buoyantly showcased its sound which is traditional marimba music and cumbia fused with garage punk and psychobilly. Marimberos Kacho’s and Mongo’s synchronized rapid fire banging of their mallets across their marimbas, whilst furiously dancing, building momentum, caused them to appear breathless as they hit the crescendos. Those moments elicited gasps from the crowd followed by roaring cheers. Son Rompe Pera did not just warm up the crowd for the headliners, Instead, it was introducing to many of the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes fans a piece of the members’ heritages and family traditions. In the process, they were also garnering new fans of their music and of the marimba and cumbia.


See below for more photos from the show!

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

DS Show Review and Gallery: Swami and the Bed of Nails + Meat Wave – Chicago (04.12.2024)

John Reis, best known as the guitarist for Rocket From The Crypt, brought his brand new band Swami and the Bed of Nails to Chicago’s Subterranean. In support was Meat Wave, the Chicago group riding a massive wave of acclaim. It was a night of double delight. Swami and the Bed of Nails, is making […]


John Reis, best known as the guitarist for Rocket From The Crypt, brought his brand new band Swami and the Bed of Nails to Chicago’s Subterranean. In support was Meat Wave, the Chicago group riding a massive wave of acclaim. It was a night of double delight.


Swami and the Bed of Nails, is making its new band debut with a series of shows. Though John Reis is mostly known for being a member of Rocket From the Crypt, he has also been a part of Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, The Sultans, and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, just to name a few groups in which he has played an integral role

In SATBON, he is joined by other well-known punk veterans: bassist Tommy Kitsos (Night Marchers and CPC Gangbangs); Lady Dottie and the Diamonds’ Joe Guevara on piano and synthesizer, session player Richard Larson on drums; and Mark Murino (of Radio Wendy and Dirty Sweet) also guitar.

The band entranced the crowd with a set including, “Do You Still Wanna Make Out?,” “Rip From the Bone” “When I Kicked Him in the Face,” “Vape in the Dark Alone.” While all of those songs are off of Reis’ solo album, Ride the Wild Night, the group also performed its first single, How Are You Peeling?

Swami and the Bed of Nails’ lively performance inspired hope in me, and I’m sure in many others in the crowd, that we will be enjoying more music from this group of punk vets.


Chicago’s Meat Wave was founded in 2011, its name inspired by a 2003 story in The Onion, Dozens Dead in Chicago-Area Meatwave.

The band kicked off the night with a raucous performance. Sutter’s growling vocals and guitar playing were complemented by Ryan Wizniak’s pummeling work on drums, and Joe Gac’s fierce bass playing.

The band was runner-up to the legendary Naked Raygun in the 2022 Chicago Reader’s Poll Best Punk Band category. That same year it released Malign Hex with the driving single “10k.” The combination of the two introduced the band to even more listeners, no doubt growing its number of fans.

If you have yet to check out Meat Wave, I recommend you do so soon. The band is just another reason why Chicago’s punk scene stands strong.


This show was a lively and fun one and on a night when the city hosted concerts all over the place, SubT was a pretty good place to be. Thanks and Cheers!

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Dying Scene Record Radar: New punk vinyl releases & reissues (Less Than Jake, The Manges, No Fun At All & more)

Hello friends, and welcome back to the Dying Scene Record Radar! If you missed me, sorry – things have been a bit crazy lately, between Dying Scene undergoing continued renovations, and my miserable job pulling me away from my extracurricular efforts. But I’m back again, with a bunch of new colorful plastic discs you may […]

Hello friends, and welcome back to the Dying Scene Record Radar! If you missed me, sorry – things have been a bit crazy lately, between Dying Scene undergoing continued renovations, and my miserable job pulling me away from my extracurricular efforts. But I’m back again, with a bunch of new colorful plastic discs you may be interested in purchasing with the money your miserable job has deposited into your bank account! Let’s get into it.

First up is something I’m very excited for: Less Than Jake‘s In With The Out Crowd is finally getting reissued! This has been out of print since 2006, and prior to this there were only 1,000 copies in existence. It’s available on purple vinyl here, and I’m certain other variants will be popping up elsewhere very soon. Is this my favorite LTJ record? No. Is it the flaming pile of dogshit people make it out to be? Absolutely not! This is a solid album with some of the band’s more introspective lyricism.

Also from Less Than Jake: a new Deluxe Edition of their latest album Silver Linings. This reissue features two brand new tracks, and four acoustic versions of existing songs. It’s a 2xLP on beautiful colored vinyl, with a screen print of the cover art on Side D. Pre-order yours here.

Italian pop-punk veterans The Manges have a new record coming soon. It’s called Book of Hate for Good People, and you can listen to a few of the singles below. The record is available on blue vinyl here, and yellow vinyl here.

Skate punk fans, listen up! No Fun At All‘s new album Seventh Wave will be available to pre-order Friday, September 17th from SBÄM and DustyWax Records. There are a ton of variants – the white with black splatter will be exclusive to DustyWax, and limited to 200 copies.

Mustard Plug’s iconic 1997 album Evildoers Beware is getting the 25th Anniversary treatment. Hopeless Records has the yellow w/ red splatter LP pictured to the left (or above if you’re on mobile) on their webstore. The band has a silver variant on their own store. Grab an essential piece of third wave ska!

Speaking of third wave ska… Asian Man Records is repressing a bunch of MU330 records! This is the first time these have been in print for a while. Head over to their webstore to get your hands on these.

As always, our Canadian friends at Thousand Islands Records have some awesome stuff on the way! First up, they will be releasing California melodic punk band Sic Waiting‘s comeback album A Good Hill To Die On this fall. Check out the first single “Uncommon Veins” below, and pre-order the record here.

Also from Thousand Islands, a brand new record from German skate punks Straightline. The whole album is available to stream right now (check it out below, it’s fucking killer), and the LPs should start shipping this winter. Head over to their store to get your pre-orders in.

SideOneDummy is reissuing the Swingin’ Utters compilation album More Scared: The House of Faith Years in honor of its 25th Anniversary. Pre-order yours here.

Fat Wreck‘s 25th Anniversary reissue train rolls on, with the latest installment being Me First and the Gimme GimmesHave a Ball. One of the finest punk cover albums of all time, if I do say so myself. You can get it here (US), here (EU), and here (AUS). Yeah!

I am a steadfast supporter of underrated 90’s pop-punk bands, and Cletus is one of those bands. Hey Pizza! Records is releasing their 1999 album Horseplay Leads to Tragedy on vinyl for the first time. The record has been remastered by Mass Giorgini, and it’s available on three color variants. Grab it here.

And last but certainly not least, we have Dan Vapid and the Cheats announcing their fifth studio album Welcome to Dystopia. The official release is months away, but Eccentric Pop Records has announced a special “test pressing edition”, limited to 100 hand numbered copies on black wax. This will be available on their webstore Friday, September 16th at Noon Eastern.

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!

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are a punk supergroup cover band, formed in San Francisco in 1995. The band’s rotating lineup has featured members of NOFX, Lagwagon, No Use for a Name, and the Ramones, among others.