Punknews reviewer Max Power recently sat down with Rochester, New York's Such Gold for a quick chat. The band's in the midst of a busy season of touring in support of their Deep In A Hole EP on Bird Attack Records. Check out their interview below.
Punk Rock Bowling is this month in Vegas, baby! (We're sponsors!) And, while a lot of people focus on the punk rock aspect, perhaps these days, the bowling side of the equation is somewhat overlooked (in lieu of the boozin', gamblin', and debauchery of Sin City.) But every year, the festival hosts a for-real-deal bowling tournament where amateurs compete for that most glorious of all prizes, the PRB bowling trophy!…and some cash, too. To that end, we asked a bunch of bands, including Hot Water Music, Rise Against, Rats in the Wall, The Dwarves, The Last Gang, and more for the their bowling tips to help you prepare for this most sacred contest. Check out the inside tips below!
If you have done your punk rock history homework, then you know about X. The band was (and still is) a major force that pioneered the LA punk scene, starting in the late 1970’s. The band’s album Los Angeles still makes “top punk albums” lists consistently to this day. X recently celebrated their fortieth anniversary and will be playing the main stage at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas this year (Pssst… we’re sponsors!). Contributing editor Ricky Frankel caught up with the band’s drummer, DJ Bonebrake, to talk about the early LA punk scene, the band’s connection to the show Children’s Hospital, his work with The Germs and Joe Strummer respectively and much more. Read or listen to their conversation below or on iTunes.
Photo Credit: Michael Hyatt
It's hard to overstate the influence of Ian MacKaye on the punk rock scene. To that end, to get a taste of Ian's reach, staffer Chris Kanner spoke to a few contemporary DC bands about what Ian MacKaye means to them. Check out the interviews below.
Photo By Amy Farina
Out Live Death bring an endearing sound to today’s hardcore punk world. They aren’t a heavy mosh-laden hardcore band, nor are they cut from the uber-melodic punk fabric. Out Live Death exist somewhere between those sonic worlds because that in-between sound is what they connect with as musicians. They deftly navigate a sound that is at once angry and antagonistic, and just melodic enough to get heads bopping. They just released their first full-length, Has the Past Taught Us Nothing?, on State of Mind Recordings. It is, simply, a tour-de-force of social and political angst steadied by a sound cultivated from both the early New York and California hardcore scenes. Mike Musilli sat down with Paul, the singer, and Paulie, the drummer, on a cold snowy March afternoon to talk about the new record and more.
Not only does Garrett Dale from Red City Radio have one of the most iconic moustaches in punk rock, he is one savvy day drinker in Oklahoma City area and is a great punk crooner. His band recently released a new album titled SkyTigers through Red Scare, contributing editor Samantha Barrett woke up the very delightful vocalist/guitarist Garrett Dale to talk about the new album, tour, and giant margaritas.
Steve Ignorant is a punk rock champion - though, being the kind of guy he is, he’d dismiss the title as mere flattery. A founding member and vocalist of Crass, Ignorant was substantial in not only kicking off the anarcho-punk movement itself, but helped forged a sound and line-of-thought that reverberates through punk through this very day.
Yet, when Crass stopped, Ignorant kept moving forward with bands like Schwarzenegger and Stratford Mercenaries, and even performing with Conflict. Now, he’s got two active groups- the acoustic Slice of Life and a jacked-up, all out punk attack collaboration with Paranoid Visions. The later pair just released 1977220174U , a live album from Rebellion Fest 2017 that includes Ignorant covering songs from throughout his discovery as well as a few well placed covers.
Because the record just came out, and because Ignorant and Paranoid Visions as bringing a similar set to Punk rock Bowling this year in Vegas (Pssst… we’re sponsors), Punknews’ John Gentile Spoke with Steve about the new LP, Hip Hop, and saving people’s lives. Check it out below.
One of the more notable albums to come out in 2018 so far has been A Vulture Wake’s The Appropriate Level of Outrage, which was released on January 31, 2018 through Bird Attack Records. The band has a stacked line up that features Chad Price of ALL and Drag The River, Joe Raposo of RKL and Lagwagon, Sean Sellers of Good Riddance and Real McKenzies and Brandon D. Landelius of The Mag Seven. The band has been touring quite a bit and already has plans to release a new EP later this year. Editor Ricky Frankel caught up with lead singer and guitarist Chad Price to talk about how the band got started, the new album, his time with ALL and more. Read or listen to their conversation below or on iTunes.
Sometimes the best types of bands can happen by accident, take Gods of Mount Olympus No stranger to the punk music scene, Brian Wahlstrom, while playing with Joey Cape and his Bad Loud project, decided to mess around with some Billy Joel songs during a sound check in 2012. Writing songs on piano that needed heavy drums and guitars to come to full realization, Brian needed to but a band together. Fast forward to a few years later, Brian and drummer Paul Rucker were able to recruit Steve Morris of Unwritten Law to play guitar, and by chance of luck, have bassist/fan of band Matt Riddle of No Use for A Name, to make the band a 4 piece. The piano-centric punk rock band just played their first show as a 4 piece last month, and recently released their debut EP on Bird Attack Records. Punknews writer Matt Dumont was able to catch up with Brian while gearing up for the release. You can check out his interview below.
With several albums and EP’s to their name, The Shell Corporation have become a contemporary gem in the Los Angeles punk scene. After a bit of a break, they are back with their new and very powerful album called Fucked, which will be out on March 2, 2018 through La Escalera Records and Gunner Records. Editor Ricky Frankel caught up with lead singer Jan Drees and guitarist Curtiss Lopez to talk about the new album, the movie Network, their interesting album art choices, Jan becoming an airplane pilot and a bunch more. Read or listen to their conversation below or on iTunes. (Music from The Shell Corporation is featured in this episode, Brian Pretus's DownWrite.com Profile).
Photo Credit: Dr. Matt Grimmer
This Saturday Punknews.org, along with Beau's All Natural Brewing, Some Party, and Melanie Kaye PR, will throw our first event in Toronto, Ontario. The Hinterland Hoedown goes down at the Bovine Sex Club and will bring together St. Catharines vets The Lucky Ones, the reunited Toronto garage-punk group The Exploders, Montreal's eclectic Bolo Mojo, and celebrated singer-songwriter Jenn Fiorentino. I spoke to all four acts recently about their storied histories, latest records, upcoming projects and more.