Bad Religion tore up the stage one song at a time at the New York City stop of their world tour supporting their latest bar-setting album, True North. Punknews interviewer Jason Epstein got a chance to catch up once again with bassist Jay Bentley and guitarist Brian Baker before the show to chat about their "mediocre" albums, going to an S&M club with Fat Mike and of course, True North.
Punk rock photographer Mark Beemer, founder of The Syrentha J. Savior Endowment (SSE) and Shirts For A Cure (SFAC), recently announced the launch of a new IndieGoGo campaign to fund the re-release of his discontinued book of live show and press images, Stealing Time. First published in 2001, the book features images from Beemer's two-plus decades as a staple on the punk and hardcore scenes. The book contains a number of updated images including punk and pop-punk stalwarts such as Rise Against and My Chemical Romance, as well as photos of scene veterans The Bouncing Souls and Hot Water Music.
The IndieGoGo campaign to fund Stealing Time ends April 9, 2013. Once the book has been funded, all proceeds from its sales will go directly to SSE to help underprivileged women battling breast cancer. You can find out more, or make a donation to the IndieGoGo campaign here.
Punknews' staffer Justine Rowland spoke with Mark this week about the book, working with Drexel University Music Industry students on the IndieGoGo campaign, and SSE/Shirts for a Cure.
Jon Curtis might be one of the busiest people in UK punk, but he's also one of the nicest. His upbeat and engaging onstage banter has drawn many a drifting punter to his band, The Cut Ups.
When he's not playing guitar/singing for the Exeter punks, Jon is part of Exeter promoters Freakscene, runs Flying Saucer Tour Booking, works for (and is active within) the Methodist Church, and is a volunteer for Devon and Cornwall Food Association. He's also a husband and father. Despite these commitments, Jon found the time to chat with Punknews staffer Rich Cocksedge about punk rock, ethics, faith and football.
Steve Niles and Matt Pizzolo grew up in the east coast hardcore scene, but never outgrew what they learned from it. Previously of Gray Matter and Three, Niles has established himself as one of the most respected writers in contemporary comics. He is best known for his horror work, including 30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre and Edge of Doom. Pizzolo is the founder of Halo 8 Entertainment, putting out a mix of film, comics and transmedia works, including Your Mommy Kills Animals, N.Y.H.C. and Pizzolo's own Godkiller.
The pair recently launched a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign for their Occupy Comics initiative, and have teamed up with Epitaph Records boss Brett Gurewitz to form Black Mask Studios, a comics publisher seeking to combine the expertise of the three into a new outlet for interesting creators.
Andy Waterfield sat down with Steve and Matt to talk about Occupy, the birth of Black Mask, practical applications of the DIY ethic and why the comics industry needs some fresh thinking.
Off With Their Heads frontman Ryan Young spoke with Punknews staff writer Adam Sever a few days before their 10 year anniversary / record release show to discuss the new album, the history of the band and the weirdness that comes with selling a tour van on Craigslist.
Their latest album Home was recently released via Epitaph and they are currently on tour through the end of March. The band will be kicking off a tour with Alkaline Trio and Bayside on April 25.
Hailing from the Pittsburgh area, Complete Failure are a band that take their music seriously, but find balance by injecting some smart and subtle humor. The band play what could be defined as grindcore, but to stop there unfairly cheapens the listening experience plus comes with a number of preconceived notions. Much of their latest release, The Art Gospel of Aggravated Assault, never lets up and pushes listeners to examine their existence--all at the speed of a runaway train. Punknews staff interviewer Andrew Clark spoke with vocalist/lyricist/graphic designer Joe Mack about the band's work, Pittsburgh DIY, and sources of creativity outside of music
When it was announced earlier this year that Terror had signed to Victory Records to release their forthcoming album Live By The Code, it surprised many. Having heard so many unsavory stories about the label circulated from various bands over the years; what led one of hardcore's most prevalent names to sign to them? Punknews staff interviewer Faye Turnbull chatted with outspoken vocalist Scott Vogel about the band's decision, Terror's turbulent relationship with Century Media, reiterating how The Ghost Inside and Refused are "fake" bands and a load more.
The internet has turned the entirety of the industrialized world into something surprisingly similar to the DIY punk scene. For those who remember a world before the internet became a household utility, you might recall a time when people found out about bands almost entirely through word of mouth. In the days before Punknews was a thing, and MRR and HeartattaCk were hard to find, people learned about their bands from friends and voices within the culture. Punk scenes since the late '70s have functioned on tribalism. Read American Hardcore, and notice how it's organized: There are different sections for different regions and different chapters for different states, each with their own bands, venues, slang, style of dress and general milieu. There is still a mainstream--a collection of "normal" interests--but it's far more facile and fickle than ever before. There's often more power in the many cultural tribes that now thrive in the small venues and message boards and blogs. It's the reason why seeing Kyle Kinane's Death of the Party on the Best New Music section of Punknews had such a powerful effect.
It often seems that the people for whom the DIY punk scene was an integral part of their growth are often now following interesting and less-traveled paths, almost as if the scene gave them an advantage in this new world, or ingrained in them some kind of crucial value. Kyle Kinane came up in the small punk venues and comedy clubs of Chicago and his success has paralleled that of the fellow Chicago comics with whom he shared those small stages, comics like Matt Braunger and Kumail Namjiani. While Kinane's narrative, grown-up slacker brand of standup has resonated with comedy enthusiasts, it seems to have especially resonated with those who came from similar beginnings. Perhaps touring with no money and sleeping on couches was good practice for a world where even major label bands are sometimes expected to pay their own way on tour.
Punknews staff writer Jon Reiss caught up with Kinane to find out the extent to which punk has played a part in his adult life, and how it does-or does not-reconcile itself with the comedy lifestyle.
Unbeknownst to him on March 11, 2013, Mikey Erg found himself as a candidate for the currently empty drummer's seat in Against Me!. An online petition was started, now with 800 signatures and counting, that was addressed to AM! asking them to instate the pop-punk legend behind the kit. Though the campaign wasn't his doing, Erg decided to ride the wave and now finds himself gunning for that number one spot.
In order to see how the campaign is going, Punknews features editor John Gentile met up with Erg where they discussed the rigors of a political campaign, what he can bring to Against Me! and whether his past record of doing hard time will hurt his chances of getting the drummer's seat.
There is no modest way to say it. Ron Reyes is a pivotal part of West Coast punk. He played drums in Redd Kross when they were still called Red Cross. He got a Germs Burn directly from The Germs. He cut the vocals for Black Flag's Jealous Again. He was one of the main subjects in The Decline of Western Civilization. He once harassed David Lee Roth.
After tearing it up on the sunset strip, Reyes moved to Vancouver where he continued to write and perform with various bands, including the Stooges meets punk of Crash Bang Crunch Pop. But now, he's got a brand new band called Piggy. For the first time ever, and after some 30 years of hoping, Reyes plays guitar in a band and they rip. Piggy is combination of hard rock, punk and that unquantifiable ingredient Ron Reyes, baby. On top of that, Reyes has once again joined up with guitarist Greg Ginn to reunite Black Flag, which will be touring and releasing a new album this year.
In order to learn a little history and to get the scoop on all of Reyes' current projects, Punknews features editor John Gentile phoned up Reyes and the two spoke about Piggy, a band called the Happy Tampons, Black Flag and just what the deal was with DLR.
Allison Weiss's 2009 Kickstarter campaign to make …Was Right All Along launched the DIY musician's career and cemented her reputation as a savvy and hard working self-promoter. In the months that followed, she toured with Lou Reed, spoke at SXSW and moved to Brooklyn, where she recorded her second full-length Say What You Mean (out April 16, 2013). She signed with No Sleep Records and has headed south for a months-long tour, with stops again at SXSW (where she will perform at a showcase for the first time) and a lengthy stint on the Vans Warped Tour.
Punknews staff writer Allyson Rudolph caught up with Weiss on day one of her tour to learn more about her move to No Sleep, her commitment to talking about pizza on the Internet, her first ever AOL screen name and how she's feeling right this second.