F*cked Up

Toronto, ON's Fucked Up have become one of those rarities in modern music: a critically acclaimed hardcore punk act. Granted, they're one with enough creative flourishes to keep the adjectives flowing for days on end. Their first full-length, 2006's Jade Tree-released Hidden World, does exceed the 70-minute mark after all, and left various press pieces recommending it for fans of everyone from Black Flag and Negative Approach to Pink Floyd and the Who.

I spoke with rhythm guitarist Concentration Camp (Josh Zucker) and bassist Slumpy (Sandy Miranda) last Friday after the Brooklyn, NY stop of their ongoing U.S. tour, which also featured a set from partners in crime Career Suicide.

Pastepunk's Jason Bergman, who took the photos you see below, conducted an interview with frontman Pink Eyes (Damian Abraham) the same night, so be sure to check that out as well.

The Copyrights

I recently chatted with one of pop-punk's finest bands, the Copyrights about everything from stealing cable, to harmonicas, to the difference between good and bad pop punk. Oh, yeah, we also discussed their new album, Make Sound, out now on Red Scare Industries.

The Spill Canvas

The Spill Canvas' Nick Thomas was nice enough to answer a few of my questions via email recently. We discussed his past past role in Nodes of Ranvier, Superman and caught up about their progress on their next full-length.

Sage Francis

I recently exchanged some emails with Epitaph's flagship hip hop act, Sage Francis. Fiercely political and representing some of the best of underground hip hop, Sage talked about his new album, politics and his work on the film, Pride and Glory. His new album, Human: The Death Dance was released May 08, 2007.

The Automatic Automatic

We recently spoke with UK-based The Automatic Automatic. The band has quickly become quite a phenomenon in the UK on the strength of their singles, "Raoul" and "Monster." (You can check out both on their Punknews.org Profile) Taking a sound that is equally influenced by bands like At the Drive-In, The Futureheads and Blur, the band will be bringing their new album to the States later this month. The record is titled Not Accepted Anywhere and is due out June 26, 2007.

Tiger Army

I recently spoke with Nick 13, frontman of long-running Hellcat act Tiger Army. The band recently delivered Music from Regions Beyond, their fourth full length for the label and one with a completely different lineup from their previous album.

Nick and I talked about the record, Warped Tour, speaking Spanish and psychobilly.

Akimbo

Jesse Raub, the reviewer you love to hate, recently chatted back and forth with Aaron and Nat of Alternative Tentacles Bonecrushers Akimbo. The three of them talked about their two upcoming albums, as well as the issue of spontaneous combustion amongst guitarists.

The two albums are the follow-ups to Forging Steel and Laying Stone which was released in 2006. The first is titled Navigating The Bronze and is due out August 21, 2007.

For those unfamiliar with the band, it's best to check out the reviews here or take it from the band: "Usually I just say we're really loud and leave it at that."

Ask Bomb the Music Industry! anything!

Tonight I'll be sitting down with the illustrious Jeff Rosenstock, mastermind behind the intoxicated incarnation known as Bomb the Music Industry! There are a ton of questions I'd like to ask, however, in true BTMI! spirit I think letting the people pick would be a little more appropriate.

So post away below, and the questions with the most responses will get asked. But people, don't respond to your own comment, we'll know…

Seth Hubbard, Press Liason for Polyvinyl Records

Jesse Raub recently talked to Seth Hubbard, Head of Publicity at Polyvinyl Records over email. The two talked about press campaigns, the limits of a small label and of course the drama surrounding illegal downloads. On that subject particularily Hubbard says:

I don't think people getting music for free is a new concept by any means. Granted it is easier now then ever before but I can remember as a kid getting tapes from friends, or even taping things off the radio. Then once CD burning started to happen I would get new music that way too. People have always shared music with friends and it is how a lot of people find out about new bands.

Inquisition (part 2)

We recently caught up with Thomas Barnett and Rob Huddleston of seminal melodic-hardcore group Inquisition. In our second installment, the band discusses how hardcore/punk has changed over the past 10 years and what their take on on both the positive and negative aspects of it are.

You can also check out part one here.

Inquisition

We recently caught up with Thomas Barnett and Rob Huddleston of seminal melodic-hardcore group Inquisition. The video interview was quite lengthy, discussing a plethora of subjects, so we've broken it down into separate segments. In part one, the band discusses the sold-out reunion shows this upcoming weekend, playing together again for the first time in over a decade, and what those attending can expect from the performances.