Drummer and songwriter John Wright started Nomeansno with his brother Rob back in 1979. On Sep. 20, 2015, the influential band will be inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Punknews staffer Keenan Novi caught up with Wright to talk about the hall of fame ceremony, the current status of Nomeansno and writing music for robots.
Hatebeak is taking extreme metal to even more extreme places. At the base of the band’s sound is Blake Harrison and Mark Sloan who cut vicious, technical, unforgiving grindcore and death metal. But, the true star of the band is Waldo their vocalist, an African grey parrot who squaks and screams while the band tears out nasty riff after nasty riff.
After a decade of releasing splits, this Friday, the band is about to release their debut long player this, Number of the Beak (Reptilian Records). The release includes their material released to date as well as a side of brand new songs. On the new tunes, the band gets even more daring in their embrace of the jagged and steely, cutting songs that have the gruesome pummeling of Napalm Death but the sheer spiraling of Nile. And Waldo? He spits and clicks and clacks out some of his most vicious vocal takes ever.
To learn about the new album, Punknews’ John Gentile spoke to Waldo about the LP, his bandmates, and being an Avian minority in the metal scene.
When discussing Fucked Up, publications almost invariably focus on Damian Abraham, the obsessive, bearded, pro-toking vocalist, or Mike Haliechuk, the mysterious, visionary, oft-reserved lead guitarist. And to be fair, these two men are punk-par-excellence, both having taken the genre to daring, weird new heights. But, who is the guy that serves as the band’s backbone, the band’s engine, the metal sinew that holds the whole thing together while injecting himself into the proceeding (most of the time without you even knowing it?) That’s drummer Jonah Falco.
Falco’s drumming is flexible and distinct. He can roll out quiet, expressive comments in a barely there jazz cadence, but he can also storm down like Keith Moon if Keith Moon was in a d-beat band. But, on top of that, Falco is also a song-writing acolyte, having contributed to a great many Fucked Up songs. In fact, the band’s newest release, Year of the Hare, out tomorrow on Deathwish, is mainly the work of Falco and Haliechuk.
The release, which is the band’s seventh of twelve planned Zodiac 12-inchers, finds the band taking a song, tearing it apart, and then sewing it back together in a grotesque fashion. The tune, which pays slight homage to Alice in Wonderland, details a dude just completely losing his shit. To learn about how the this daring, fractured tune came to be, Punknews’ John Gentile spoke to Falco about the new release, being the “regular Joe†in Fucked up, and why Penny Rimbaud is cool.
Dummerfest 2k15 is almost here and we know you're crazy excited. To get you even more stoked Dummerfest organizer and Direct Hit! frontman, Nick Woods, sat down with another band who will be performing at the festival, Tenement. Check it out below and also scope out his recent interview with Juiceboxxx right here. Dummerfest will take place June 20 in Milwaukee, WI at the Metal Grill.
If there’s a band in punk who get the “Toughest To Pin Down†award, it would probably be Tenement. That’s likely a by-design distinction, coming from a group of relatively rural musicians, led by perhaps the most focused songwriter in the genre that this writer’s had a chance to pick over.
Calling the Wisconsin natives “dedicated†would be an understatement. They’ve spent more than their fair share of time on the road, touring with Screaming Females, Night Birds, and dozens of other, lesser-known, but no-less-awesome groups who exist on the fringe between art and pop. They’ve released a dizzying number of records since 2008, including 10 singles in multiple versions, 2011’s criminally-underappreciated LP Napalm Dream , compilations, original and re-released songs on cassette, and more, pieced together mostly at singer Amos Pitsch’s hand-assembled home studio. Their collective knowledge of recorded music is encyclopedic. Their live sets often last less than 15 minutes before exploding into feedback and wrecked equipment. And, of course, they proudly deliver proverbial middle fingers to many of the standbys that have come to define “punk rock†in 2015.
This was an intimidating interview for yours truly. From a distance, the band seems unapproachable and wild, and difficult to measure. But I was surprised by how interesting it was to chat with Pitsch, bassist Jesse Ponkamo, and drummer Eric Mayer over email, discussing their thoughtful approach to crafting what this writer considers to be one of the freshest, most interesting approaches to DIY music in 2015. They’re also playing this writer’s Dummerfest event on June 20 in Milwaukee, and have a new double LP out right now from Don Giovanni Records – Predatory Headlights . You should come experience it for yourself.
Are you ready for Dummerfest 2k15? If not Dummerfest organizer and Direct Hit! lead singer, Nick Woods, sat down with Juiceboxxx to get you amped up. Dummerfest will take place June 20 in Milwaukee, WI at The Metal Grill.
Tomorrow, Mischief Brew releases their new album, This is Not for Children. The album finds the band evolving from their previous LPs. Gone is the clacking, clinking, shambolic instrumentation. In its stead is a new, direct, pulsating energy, and the band uses that energy beam and reflects inward.
This is Not For Children dwells on the gentrification of Philly, laments the tragic loss of friends and looks at a town that is literally built on top of a giant, blazing fire. To learn about the band's current focus, and to get some history, features editor John Gentile spoke to the Brew and their friends. You can read the interview below.
The Melvins do play well with others. Across a span of 24 studio albums, 12 EPs, 12 live albums, 68 singles (or so), the band has collaborated with more than 30 other musicians. In fact, their latest album, Hold It In is a full length collaboration with Paul Leary and Jeff Pinkus of The Butthole Surfers.
On top of that, this week, the band embarks on a massive summer tour with Pinkus on bass! (And, Melvins' pals Le Butcherettes are opening and share a new 10-inch with the band!)
So, Punknews' John Gentile spoke to frontman Buzz Osborne about some of the band's collaborations. You can click read more to see what Osborne thinks about working with Jello Biafra, Lustmord. Leif Garrett, Mike Patton, and more.
Brooklyn’s A Place to Bury Strangers are the world’s loudest band. They just defeated Spinal Tap to take the title. Ok, I really have no idea if this is true on a decibel meter versus say, Metallica or something, but surely they are in contention. The noise rock band harnesses fuzz pedals, feedback and reverb in ways you’ve never heard before, thanks to guitarist/singer Oliver Ackermann’s own custom pedals. Combine that with Joy Division-style creepy melodic vocals and hammering, unrelenting drum beats and you’ve got APTBS.
Ackermann leads the trio on their fourth full-length Transifixiation, which came out earlier this spring. Staff reviewer, Punknews Podcast producer and Best Midwestern Podcast co-host Greg Simpson (aka greg0rb) sat down with Ackermann to discuss how they got to be “The World’s Loudest Band,†the new album, his custom pedal company Death By Audio and how dumb Pitchfork reviewers can be. Hit Read More for the interview.
Things are looking bleak. Innocent people are getting killed by the police and the police don’t seem to care. Civil rights are eroding. More and more, the dollar controls elections. The guys in Anti-Flag are bummed out about it.
For 27 years, the band has been attacking political and social injustice and things just don’t seem to be getting better. So, perhaps paradoxically, on their upcoming album, American Spring (out May 26) the band is rejuvenated and charged to fight back.
Equally surprising is just how introspective this album is. In fact, the band’s own Chris #2 had a strong hand in crating the album. He tapped into his own personal tragedies, such as the end of a 17 year relationship and the tragic murder of his sister. These emotions were used as conduits to comment on national issues of police injustice, income inequality, and the justice system. Features editor John Gentile spoke to Chris #2 about the new album and it's genesis. You can read the interview below.
Seattle, Washington's Success is a positive voice in a punk scene often saturated with perpetual negativity and dishonest presentation. They play upbeat, catchy pop-punk with an optimistic message always grounded in reality. They released their Red Scare debut, Radio Recovery, on March 24, 2015, and kicked off a tour with Masked Intruder that culminates in an appearance at Punk Rock Bowling (Yo, did you hear? Punknews is a sponsor!). Punknews interviewer Alex Meylink had a chance to talk with singer/guitarist Aaron Rev about the band's origins, the new album and the road to Red Scare.
The Mormon hardcore punk trio Tartar Control, composed of Sean Hart, Robert Selander and Robot, have been spreading the good word of The Lord and the great benefits of good oral hygiene to the Southern California punk rock scene since they self-released their first album, Holy Crap!, in 2011.
For those of you who are new to Tartar Control, just know that they are a very visual band. The “Jesus Is Love†video will give you what you need to know. And then if you can see them live, do it (especially is you plan on attending Punk Rock Bowling)! Just check out their their full live sets online.
Four years after Tartar Control released Holy Crap! , they finally self-released a new album called We Forgive You earlier this month. I, Ricky Frankel, reviewer, podcast panelist and occasional interviewer drove down to The Doll Hut in Anaheim, California, where the “Jesus Is Love†music video was filmed, coincidentally, to interview Sean and Robert outside of the sketchy and potentially haunted hotel that was near the venue before they performed that night. Just know that I was pretty much laughing during the whole interview, but I spared you all from having to read a ton of “hahahas†throughout it.