Between Hot Water Music "reunions" and a solo-effort that has resulted in what promises to be an extremely prolific endeavor, Chuck Ragan, hasn't really slowed down since he set out to do just that. Either way, his fans are luck for his decision to remain active. Punknews reader Dan Balda recently caught up with Ragan and asked him a few questions.
Moments after New Brunswick, N.J.-based quartet, Let Me Run, finished what they described as the "biggest set" of their young, promising careers – opening for The Gaslight Anthem and The Bouncing Souls at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, N.J. – Travis Omilian (vocals, guitar), Trevor Reddell (drums), Louis Barbiere (bass) and Corey Perez (guitar) sat with Punknews.org interviewer Zack Zeigler to discuss their performance, their new record, Meet Me at the Bottom, the way New Brunswick shaped their music, and just how drunk Louis got the night before the most important performance of their lives.
Our friend and yours, Mikexdude has put together a great interview with Polar Bear Club and we're bringing it to you today. He explains:
Surprise, surprise, eh? Well, I was thinking: "Who is a great, relevant band that could possibly pop my interview cherry." Actually, I knew exactly who I wanted; I don't think my love for Polar Bear Club is any news to the Org-readership --- pun definitely intended. Recently, guitarist Chris Browne and I exchanged E-mails, shot the proverbial breeze, discussed their recent admission into the Bridge 9 family, and most notably, a brief insight on their highly-anticipated follow up to 2008's Sometimes Things Just Disappear. Punknews exclusive: We should expect "shorter songs and more energy."
The New York Hardcore institution known as Agnostic Front has been around in consistent form since 1983, making it one of the longest-running hardcore bands that hasn't splintered into some unrecognizable faction or faux-legacy of reunions and hostile takeovers (see "Dead Kennedys," "Misfits," "Gang Green," etc). Nearly thirty years after their formation, I (GlassPipeMurder) had the chance to sit down with founding guitarist Vinnie Stigma, Joseph James, Mike Gallo, and drummer Pokey Mo, who had just joined Agnostic Front last month. I don't feel like I pulled any punches in this interview, and the band was very forthcoming, sincere, and appreciative of the interest in Agnostic Front. The band released Warriors in 2007 and talked about the past, present, and future of Agnostic Front backstage before their show at Minneapolis' Triple Rock Social Club.
Austin Lucas has had a quite a busy year. He's already released a split 7"with Frank Turner, as well as a full-length, Somebody Loves You. Michael Dauphin recently chatted with Lucas about his last US tour.
Some bands haphazardly release a DVD with every new album. For others, like Grand Rapids, Michigan's ska-punk veterans Mustard Plug, the process can sometimes take a bit longer. After 17 years on the road and still going, the band released its first in Never Get Out of the Van: The Story of Mustard Plug last December.
In addition to the usual fare of live footage and music videos, the band has culled 17 years worth of footage and cuts of a retrospective interview with the band's founders, Dave Kirchgessner and Colin Clive to create a true documentary.
Kirchgessner exchanged emails with Pads & Panels Bill Jones about Never Get Out of the Van.
The Swingin' Utters are one of those bands that can "change the game" for someone, so to speak. Especially if you have an affinity for punk rock, their albums are easy to pick up and enjoy since they are, in essence, a street punk band. But the Swingin' Utters have been doing much more than just street punk, and have been able to incorporate Americana sounds into their songs with such ease and efficiency, that even the most stubborn punk find him (or herself) caught listening to, and thoroughly enjoying, a country tune when that wasn't their intention. After that, all it takes is paying the slightest bit of attention to the words, and this enjoyment easily becomes an immersion. Suddenly, a whole new genre of music opens to the listener. Bands like these are few and far in between and it's the reason that almost ten years after discovering them I'm still finding something new to enjoy in their albums.
Trips to the East Coast don't happen very often for these guys, and when I heard that they were playing Philadelphia (and at the North Star Bar no less!), I (Ollie Mikse knew it would take some sort of divine intervention to stop me from being there. Adding to the experience was my chance to chat with a pensive and serious Swingin' Utters before their set, and a much more loose (and slightly inebriated) version afterward.
Gregg Gillis, best known to the music world under his stage name, Girl Talk may not be the first thing you think of when you hear punk mentioned, but the Pittsburgh DJ sensation recently made a trip to Harvest of Hope to play cuts from his latest album Feed the Animals. Our own Shenelle Copplin caught up with him to talk.
There are few bands out there that I'll listen to regardless of how I'm feeling. Whether I'm down, in a rush, or restless, I'm always in the mood for some Marked Men. Their last album Fix My Brain, with a perfect mix of melody and head-bobbing goodness, turned many heads and made everyone wonder where their new favorite band had been all along. The much anticipated follow-up Ghosts, although a step back sonically for the band, is a definite step in the right direction; it continues where Fix My Brain left off, but adds the rough elements of their previous recordings. Also gone are many of the slowdowns, leaving us with an album that the band thinks is much more what they envisioned the Marked Men would sound like. Whatever the case, Ghosts is the perfect Marked Men album, and is sure to make many Top-ten lists again this year. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.
Ghosts is now streaming at Punknews.org, and our own Ollie Mikse had a chance to speak to Mark Ryan (Guitar/Vocals) and Joe Ayoub (Bass) individually about their new release, their move back to Dirtnap Records, and the music scene in Texas.
On the initial stop of the Swingin' Utters first Midwest Tour in six years, our own Tyler Barrett sat down with guitarist Darius Koski, also of the Filthy Thieving Bastards and the Re-Volts at Minneapolis punk dive, the Triple Rock Social Club. While the band's last studio full-length was 2003's
Harvest of Hope Festival is coming up in just a few days, and one of the bands taking part is Toronto, Ontario's The Flatliners. The band has been touring extensively in support of their 2007 Fat Wreck Chords release, The Great Awake. Our own Zack Zeigler sat down with the band's Chris Cresswell to discuss the festival, touring plans, and more.