Banquets had a whirlwind of a year in 2013, from putting out their sophomore LP entitled Banquets to touring in support of it. The band may have some tricks up their sleeves for 2014, including more releases. Interviewer Samantha Barrett spoke to guitarist Dave Frenson about their new split and the label he helps run.
David Williams likes to take photographs of men drenched in water that are wearing nothing except tightey-whities. He also lived in Antarctica for three months and shot pictures of seals in sub-zero weather.
But, he's not just a weirdo that likes taking photos of exposed flesh, be it of the homo erectus or pinniped variety. He also tours with punk bands, including Elway, and snaps live shots. Also, this one time, he shot pics of Metallica for Ozzfest. Oh yeah!
Because Williams has been around the world snappin' them pics, Punknews features editor John Gentile spoke to Williams about his world travels, shooting pictures amidst ice, and why Dad-Rock bands are the true party kings.
Click read more for the conversation and some pics.
A (not really that) new thing we've tried to keep going here at the 'org is a series featuring a band interviewing another band they either really like, respect and/or just enjoy. In this edition, we have Late Bloomer and Old Flings interviewing each other. The two bands released a split together late last year, which you can hear below. Enjoy!
Philadelphia's Ex Friends have a song where the refrain goes, "Cops crack skulls! Cops crack skulls! Cops crack skulls!" The funny thing is, that while you expect the vocals to be some grizzled, crustie-lifer, they are actually extremely poppy sounding, and with different words, could fit on pretty much any radio hit that you could name. Such is the quagmire of Ex Friends - a band of smart, thoughtful people that can go toe-to-toe with you on Anarcho-punk or Flaubert.
One of the group's driving forces is Joel Tannenbaum, who, as you may know, is also one of the guys in Plow United. He did some heavy time in the Gomorrah that was the 90's Philly punk scene before spreading his wings and getting a doctorate. But now, he's back and is eager to smash out some pretty hard punk rock that also flirts with sounds far outside usual punk conceits- think Conflict meets Leatherface.
Because Mr.-Smarty-Pants just got his PHD, features Editor John Gentile rang him up and they spoke about the newest Ex Friends album Rules for Making Up Words (which just got released on vinyl, yo!), memories of the old Philly punk scene, and fightin' with the cops!!!
You can click read more for the brawling tips.
Philadelphia post-punks Death of Lovers feature members of other local acts probably familiar to early 2000s hardcore and shoegaze fans: Horror Show, Nothing, Swan Dive and Night Sins. The group, whose Buried Under a World of Roses EP recently came out via Deathwish Inc., incorporates musical elements of the past but does so with a unique twist that is not easy to pin down. Staff interviewer Andrew Clark spoke with vocalist/guitarist Domenic "Nicky" Palermo a few weeks ago on Skype in what felt like a stream of consciousness dream, touching upon the band's history, Philly being a crappy place and personal musical evolutions.
Your favorite band? Yeah, Rebecca Reed has shot them- twice. She's pulled the trigger on everyone from Masked Intruder to Rise Against to Gaslight Anthem to Nas to Green Day to Fucked Up to AFI to Slayer Kendrick Lamar to Rancid to Iron Chic to Tim Barry to Elvis Costello to Chuck Ragan to Alkaline Trio to The Melvins! And not only that, she's had her shots published in Alternative Press, Rock Sound, and pretty much every promo shot ever. Also, she once photographed a bottle of Coca-Cola.
Because Reed is the professor of punk photos, features editor John Gentile spoke to her about her shots, the portrayal of women in modern photography, and of course, Melviiiiiiiiiiiinsssssss!
Click read more for the conversation and a set of hella awesome pics.
This week Morning Glory releases their new album, War Psalms.
In order to celebrate the release of the album, Punknews had Morning Glory frontman Ezra Kire pick ten of his favorite war songs and tell us a little bit about each tune. In addition to his picks, Kire penned a pretty heartfelt letter about his youth, growing up in Sri Lanka, and what the new album means to him.
You can click read more for the letter and Kire's ten favorite war tunes.
Alex DiMattesa is a busy guy. The man behind Grave Mistake Records puts in a full day's work handling every aspect of the label's operations, while also managing one of the largest distros you're likely to find. That work entails much more than just putting out the finished product from bands like Night Birds, Big Eyes and Red Dons. It means packing tape and cardboard, daily trips to the post office and having an accountant. Punknews Copy Editor Adam Eisenberg caught up with DiMattesa to talk about life at the the helm of a DIY label, how he built his massive distro and where he keeps all those damn records.
In the 80s and 90s, New York was a blistering hotbed of gritty music, thumping through the alleyways and manhole covers, telling brazen tales of the streets. Much of it came via hip-hop pioneers like Grandmaster Flash, EPMD and Public Enemy. Much of it was also told by the emerging hardcore scene including Agnostic Front, the Cro-Mags and of course, Sick of It All.
"It was cool because a lot of the messages in hip hop are similar to those in punk rock," says Sick of It All/Cro-Mags bass player Craig Setari (aka Craig Ahead) in a light Queens accent. "Like, slightly different, but with the same underlying message of fighting oppression…of fighting and seeing the injustices in the world and not closing your eyes."
He pauses, pondering the similarities a bit more.
"It was definitely a parallel movement and even though it was a different genre of music, the message was ultimately the same," he adds. "Yeah, they had a lot in common."
Just after some grocery shopping at an Asian vegetarian market in the Flushing neighbourhood of Queens ("Sorry, can you hold on for a sec? I have to pay"), Setari spoke to Punknews interviewer Gen Handley about the legendary New York hardcore scene and the yet-to-be-named Sick of It All album coming out (hopefully) this fall.
Adam Davis is a maniac. Like, this one time, he drew 100 robots. Some were happy. Some were sad. Some were murderous. Some were just robots. That's (an insane) dedication of Nick Blinko proportions. THEN, after that, he drew 100 dinosaurs! But, not only did he draw 100 of them, he hid them in random spots around the Bay Area, spread clues as to where they were hidden, and then kept track of them as people found them.
On top of that, he's done art for Mike Park's Childrens records, about a million punk rock flyers, and probably did a logo for your friend's band. But! On top of THAT, he was in Link 80 and Desa, formed the the crust/death metal band Primary (which did anarcho-metal versions of Mormon schoolchildren songs), and is one of the masterminds behind the wonderfully chaotic and bizarre Gnarboots.
Because Davis likes hiding things in bushes around the bay area, and because he's in a few of the wildest, most creative punk bands ever, features editor John Gentile spoke to him about art, robots and why Mike Park doesn't like to look at paintings of wieners.
You can click read more to learn all about Mr. Roboto.
Photo by Kevin Zamani
Comeback Kid singer Andrew Neufeld knows the band inside and out, not only from a vocalist's standpoint but also a guitarist's point of view as well. Neufeld switched from guitar to vocals after the 2006 departure of original CBK vocalist Scott Wade. After the switch, the band has seen a few other members come and go, but its current incarnation has birthed the band's newest album Die Knowing, set for release through Distort and Victory Records on March 4th. Staff interviewer Gregg Harrington caught up with Neufeld to discuss the new album, the band's recent trip to South Africa and touring with a wide array of bands.