Happy New Year! Our end of year celebrations draw to a close today! (Though, we still will be posting site wide "Best of 2015" lists a little later.) But today, were posting some of the zaniest zingers, the wackiest witticisms, and silliest snaps from Punknews interviews in 2015. Click read more to see what bands and other artists had to say to Punknews in 2015.
Spoonboy is gone and in his place is the return of David Combs and rest of the The Max Levine Ensemble! After seven years away from the LP game, the DC "power trio" has blasted back with Backlash Baby (their best release yet).
The band has always made their trade in revved up pop-punk (with a smidge of hardcore for good measure) but the new record is band's snappiest to date. But, the new record ain't no "let's kiss at the sock hop" kinda jam. Rather, over top of the bopping beat, Combs gives Death the middle finger, cries out for Mother Earth, and talks about the cops kicking in the doors of activists. Heavy stuff.
So, Punknews' John Gentile spoke to Combs about the new record, the end of Spoonboy, and the Grim Reaper himself! They also talk about Fugazi, because, you know, Fugazi, dude. Check out the interview below.
2006 seems to have been a great year for prolific punk albums. Just to name a few, Dead To Me’s Cuban Ballerina, The Draft’s In A Million Pieces, The Lawrence Arms Oh! Calcutta! all came out in 2006. The Loved Ones released a great album in 2006 as well, it is called Keep Your Heart and it will be turning 10 really soon. The band is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of this album in the best possible way by touring the US in early 2016. Editor Samantha Barrett spoke with bassist Michael Cotterman over some early morning coffee to speak about the celebration for the decade old record and what he is currently spinning on his turntable.
SoCal-based Sic Waiting has been around since 2000 and has been churning out melodic punk tunes for more than 15 years. They recently put out a brand new release titled Derailer on Felony Records. Editor Samantha Barrett met up with Jared Stinson in a coffee shop in Brooklyn to discuss the new album and how their recent tour went.
When Jarret Nathan joined PEARS in January of 2015, he had only one request: to be able to stand in his best friend’s wedding on Saturday, November 14th, in Philadelphia -- that’s it. On Thursday, November 12th, Nathan found himself approximately 2,800 miles from Philly, in Santa Barbara, California, finishing off the last few dates of PEARS’ latest tour with Lagwagon and a red-eye flight to Philly out of LAX airport -- which was two hours away.
Offering up a ride from The Velvet Jones to LAX, and declining gas money in exchange for an interview, news editor Stevie Navarre Allen got Nathan from point A to point B while getting the scoop on what it was like to join PEARS, sign to Fat Wreck Chords, share the stage with legends, and much, much more in under 365 days (with occasional corroboration from singer, Zach Quinn).
Cassie Ramone is a modern day punk rock champion and if you don’t think so then you are wrong. She kicked out jangly pop-punk that had hints of Neil Young in Bossy. Then, she forged a radical new sound in Vivian Girls by bending girl group harmony around a hardcore combustion engine. And just when that was hurdling along, she formed the Bob Dylan-as-basement-show-rocker stylings of the Babies with Kevin Morby. No matter how fast you go, she’s always three steps ahead of you.
To that end, she’s about to release a straight-up Christmas album. Say whaaaaat?! That’s right. Ms. Ramone is going where few indie-punkers have gone before. A stone cold, earnest, Christmas album out this December via Burger Records. (Oh yeah, right now, she’s also in a college-rock band and a punk band that is obsessed with OCD.)
So, to learn about Cassie’s history, Punknews’ John Gentile had Cassie talk about all her different bands and just what X-Mas means to her.
Back in 2001, Blag Dahlia had all he could stand and he couldn't stands no more! You see, while the The Dwarves frontman and his band wrote a slew of hardcore, pop-punk, and garage bangers, the majority of the early hits were being kept in chains by the evil, the nefarious, the creepy “record industry.â€
If you ask Blag, one of the worst parts was that movies and TV shows wanted to use Dwarves tunes in their features, but they couldn't seem to wrestle the rights from the slimy clutch of the dreaded “music exec.†So, The Dwarves re-recorded their earlier hits as 2001's How to Win Friends and Influence People. The record served as a greatest hits comp and as a way for that sly fox to license his own songs to pictures for big bucks… well, “big†bucks.
Now, the album is being reissued by Reptilian Records this Friday. So, Punknews’ John Gentile had Blag tell the stories behind the band’s early hits.
Dead Fucking Last's second LP, 1995's Proud to Be , has always been out of time. Released during the '90s pop-punk boom, the record bore more in common with Wasted Youth and Minor Threat than Green Day. But, despite the bands lo-fi charging, the album seemed to stand on its own, influenced by other time periods, but not a retro record. When punk rock was getting more radio friendly, DFL brought back a grimy edge.
Well, now Epitaph Records and Burger Records are reissuing the '90s classic. So, Punknews' John Gentile spoke to band founder Monty Messex about the LP, his history and the band's future.
Winter may be coming, but don't tell The All Brights. As far as those sun-bleached boys are concerned, it's an endless summer, and nowhere is that more clear than on their debut EP, …Are Wild For The Night! , which dropped a few weeks back on Red Scare. On the EP, the band trades surfboards for driving pop-punk riffs and catchy singalong choruses. It's very much a soundtrack for a day at the beach, or in the case of The All Brights, every day at the beach. Punknews editor Adam Eisenberg caught up with band members Mattsimum Waves and Pat L. Board to chat about the new release, ask about the term "yacht punk" and find out why the 405 is always jammed.
Tsunami Bomb is back! Founded by Oobliette and Dominic Davi, the band soon went on to define pop-punk with their singer Agent M. After some lineup changes, the band ended in 2005, Davi and Oobliette having left years before.
But now, original members Oobliette, Davi, Brian Plink and Gabriel Lindeman have brought back the Bomb. They're playing their first show back on December 19 with the Vandals and they're releasing a rarities collection on January 29. But, all eyes are on the band: Are they still an entity of nuclear warhead capabilities or are they just little firecrackers?
Punknews' John Gentile spoke to Oobliette and Davi about the reunion, playing without Agent M and their first show back.
It’s pretty hard to not come across a band Jack Dalrymple is in. It’s also hard to not love at least one of the projects he’s involved with. The guy is clearly a sought after talent and with good reason. He was in One Man Army and he is currently back in Dead To Me. This year he was very busy with the release of toyGuitar’s first album and touring as well as touring with the Swingin’ Utters after they had released Fist Full of Hollow in 2014.
And it looks like 2016 could be just as busy or even busier for him between touring and finishing up the next Dead To Me record, American Son of Cholo, which supposedly is coming out around then. So with all of this going on in his life, news editor Ricky Frankel caught up with Jack at It’s Not Dead Fest to chat about how he manages to balance being in all of these awesome bands, while maintaining a stable family life at home, being “the new guy†in the Swingin’ Utters, getting back in Dead To Me, guitars, and a whole lot more.