Monty Messex on Dead F-cking Last's 'Proud to Be' reissue

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.

The All Brights talk big waves, banana leaves and punk's east coast-west coast rivalry

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.

Oobliette and Dominic Davi talk about the return of Tsunami Bomb

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.

Jack Dalrymple talks about toyGuitar and his 3,841 other bands

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.

John Wright (Nomeansno) talks about writing songs for the robotic band Compressorhead

You all know John Wright. He’s the legendary punk musician that drummed for Nomeansno, who were one of the bands that took punk from simple-three chord bashing to alternative avant-garde ruminations to complex, shifting arrangements. If anything, Nomeansno are champions of thinking man’s punk rock. He’s also the vocalist for the hockey-themed Hanson Brothers who revel in ye olde three-chord bashing.

Well, now Wright has hooked up with Compressorhead, the trio of Robots who kick out driving, grim and gritty punk rock. That is, Compressorhead are not three guys dressed up as robots, they are actually robots that play instruments- there is no pre-recorded audio backing track for these modern marvels.

Well, now the droids are manufacturing a vocalist unit to add to their group. So, they asked Wright to write some tunes for them. Punknews spoke to Wright about what it’s like to pen tunes for cold, metallic hands.

Old Flings (Fest Interview)

Punknews' Ricky Lineberger got the chance to interview some of the under the radar bands at Fest this year. Old Flings lead singer and guitarist Matt Evans talked to Ricky L on the phone about the differences from being a Fest fan and a Fest artist, touring Europe and the future of Old Flings.

Meridian (Fest Interview)

Punknews' Ricky Lineberger had the opportunity to interview some of the under-the-radar bands playing Fest 14 this year. Max and Jake of Meridian were kind enough to speak to Ricky L outside a house show in Charlotte on their tour supporting The Cathedral. They grabbed some Cookout and Jake skated while all of them talked Fest, new albums and touring.

World/Inferno Friendship Society

And once more, the most important day of the year for World/Inferno Friendship Society fans doth approach: HALLOWMAS.

The celebration, which takes place on October 31 at Brooklyn’s Warsaw Hall is the day where the dead commune with the living, one is free to express oneself however one chooses, and the Great Pumpkin- that fickle, chaotic, ageless entity- rises from his dark abyss and grants wishes upon the sincere, and wreaks havoc upon the wretched. And on that day, World/Inferno, a five to eleven piece band that blends classic 70’s punk with blue-eyed soul with big band music (and a little anarcho-punk philosophy) delivers their most impassioned, most complex, most complete performance of the year. Two years ago there was a coffin and entire Gospel choir. Last year they played for two and a half hours. What will this year bring?

In order to learn about this year’s supplication, features editor John Gentile spoke to Inferno frontman Jack Terricloth about Hallowmas, the latest record This Packed Funeral, and the infamous punk rock riot of 1986.

Tim Browne (Elway)

Elway has been churning out orgcore tunes for the better part of eight years. They recently released a new record titled Better Whenever on Red Scare this past July. Punknews editor Samantha Barrett sat down with frontman Tim Browne to chat about the new album and his favorite Fest moment.

CJ Ramone

If you don’t know who Ramones were then what the hell are you even doing on this website? If you do, then you know that without them the music world would be very different than it is today. Arguably, punk rock really wouldn’t exist. The Ramones are a crucial punk band and their legacy will live on for a very long time -- hopefully forever. CJ Ramone replaced bassist Dee Dee Ramone in 1989 and played with the band until they broke up in 1996.

In addition to the Ramones, CJ has since been in 22 Jacks and released two records, Reconquista and Last Chance to Dance as a solo artist. But there is a lot more to him you might think. So Punknews news editor Ricky Frankel caught up with CJ Ramone at It’s Not Dead Fest where they discussed CJ playing Cuba, being on The Howard Stern Show, what he has planned for his musical career and, of course, being in The Ramones.

Oso Oso (Fest Interview)

Well… like yesterday's interview interview with Dollar Signs, we sent Punknews writer Ricky Lineberger out to interview Oso Oso. But, instead of interviewing frontman Jade Lilitri, he decided to spend all night playing NBA 2k15 with the band instead.(Wims won, but Ricky thinks he cheated).

So, we had to send Ricky out again at great expense to interview Lilitri. They talked about Fest, sports and the future of Oso Oso. See the interview below.