![Band on Band: Measure [SA]/New Bruises](https://ww2.punknews.org/images/frontpage/fp-1286685953.jpg)
Welcome to a very special Fest edition of Punknews' Band on Band. Today we feature The Measure [SA] and New Bruises. Both bands are not only playing this year's Fest but also share a split available on Kiss of Death Records. Luckily for us, Lauren of The Measure [SA] and Bryon of New Bruises recently took some time to quiz each other about beavers, drummers and canine behavior.
Few artists are as polarizing in modern punk rock as Scott Sturgeon… aka STZA Crack… aka Sturg Fuckin' Hipster…. aka… well, the man needs aliases. Singlehandedly creating the Crack Rock Steady genre, Sturgeon forged a fascinating combination of punk, ska, metal, and classical music which often referenced drug use, battling the police, and the southern lord. This combination of music and extreme politics led many in the punk scene to view Sturgeon as a true visionary, able to mend the audio, visual, cerebral into a singular expression, while others saw him as blindly spouting rhetoric for the effect and not the message.
While his earlier bands Choking Victim and Leftover Crack were the bands that really brought Sturgeon into the public punk conscious, his latest band, Star Fucking Hipsters seems to be the focus of his energy. After releasing an album on Fat Wreck Chords and a follow up on Alternative Tentacles, Sturgeon is planning to release his third album in four years. This bears a stark contrast to the release rate of Leftover Crack, a band that was often put on hiatus by band member tension, sojourns to South America, and battles with customs. But now that Sturgeon seems to be refreshed and is kicking out the jams at an almost frantic pace, Punknews interviewer John Gentile lit up a pipe with the modern punk icon to get the low down on his renewed energy, the meaning behind some of his more obscure lyrics, and whether or not he's serious when he says he wants to kill cops…
With all the genre blending that happens in punk it's no surprise that as the years pass hip-hop would gain an even stronger following with the punk crowd.MC Lars continues the trend with his self-stylized "post-punk laptop rap." Although he's a hip-hop artist Lars has sampled Fugazi, worked with Gabe Saporta and disses Gerard Way. And that was all from his last album. The emcee sat down with interviewer Alex Eschbach to discuss his follow-up to This Gigantic Robot Kills, Herman Melville, rapping in a library and the Insane Clown Posse.
Way out on the west side of Scotland's Isle of Skye, there's a remote village called Torrin. With its 65 residents, ageless mountains that jut out over the cold sea and stone walls that seem to crop out of nowhere, the rural community seems eerily reminiscent of the creepy settlement found in The Wicker Man. Oh… also… it has shafts dug into the earth that may have been used in pagan ceremonies 2,000 years ago.* But, while Torrin is a place of quiet clam, should you find yourself wandering along one of its dirt paths, you might hear a thick CLANG CLANG CLANG resound through the hills. Were you to follow the echoes to the source, you'd find Rob Miller hovering over an anvil, forging a sword in the traditional style as used by the ancient tribes. While Miller is one of the last few who hold onto this bygone art, he's also a father of an entirely different kind of art…
During the late 1970's, in the English countryside of Devon, Rob along with his brother Stig, formed the "Band with No Name", which eventually, after associating with Crass and sending mutilated pictures to a journalist who slagged them off, would form into the legendary amalgamation that is Amebix. Sort of a combination of the riffs of Black Sabbath, the growl of Motorhead, and the moroseness of Joy Division, Amebix created a unique sound that was almost as gothic as it was futuristic. One of the first bands to bring a metal heaviness to punk, Amebix tackled topics of class warfare, the effect of prescription drugs, and even meta-physics. Recently, after 20 years of inactivity, Amebix returned with a 2009 tour and 2010 EP release (Redux). To get the scoop on why Amebix rose from its ashes, Rob's opinion of the "crust punk tag", and the best sword for defending against a viking siege, Punknews interviewer John Gentile recently spoke to Rob Miller, Amebix's vocalist and bassist after the day's metal work was complete.
Fresh off the release of their fourth full length Symptons + Cures, Comeback Kid have embarked on their habitual trek of constant touring in jam-packed clubs, this time alongside the likes of A Wilhelm Scream, Living with Lions, Parkway Drive and Four Year Strong. Vocalist Andrew Neufeld walked the streets of Vancouver while chatting with Mark Millard about the new record, its direction and notably, where he's individually at now as opposed to three years ago when he first made his debut in the front man position.
Laura Stevenson and the Cans are currently on a huge US tour, showing off their indie-folk-punk jams both new and old. Only a few days into the tour, and Laura has already lost her guitar, ran out of money, had an amp brake, and had The Can's van hit. Despite all of this she seemed to be positive and upbeat when she talked to Punknews interviewer Matt Humphries on a Monday afternoon.
or hear the audio here.
Buzz around a band can stem from a variety of places. It might come from a catchy-but-not-too-catchy anthem, embracing live shows or a lyrical and musical honesty that radiates far beyond anything less sincere in the sometimes-bleak punk scene. With The Menzingers, their buzz has come from all of aforementioned sources and it continues to grow louder with every EP and LP they release. Just before leaving on a long stretch of shows across North America, The Menzingers co-vocalist/guitarist and "whirling dervish" (as described by Red Scare Records' CEO Tobias Jeg) Tom May chatted with Punknews contributor Gen Handley about his affinity for Death Cab For Cutie lyrics and who to ask for if you're ever passing through Scranton, Pennsylvania.
For years Jeff Rowe has played in punk bands, but this year sees the release of his debut solo album Barstool Conversations, on Anchorless Records. Interviewer Alex Eschbach sat down on a boat to discuss why acoustic folk-punk has become so popular, his first year at Fest, why Boston artists seem to love their hometown and (of course) Ben Affleck.
The Beauty in the Bass Line According to The Art of Fiction by John Gardner, the best stories ever written are the result of genre bending of some kind. Taking something that people are used to experiencing a certain way, and blending it with something they wouldn't expect, like mash potato quesadillas. It's awesome try it. A lot people have purported to combine punk rock with hip-hop. With the success of 311 in the mid 90's, a slew of hip- hop-mixed-with-everything-else bands emerged, most of them rap-core, most of them boring. Therefore, when people describe POS as a rapper with punk rock influences, it doesn't really convey the reality of what he does. POS's brand of punk rock hip-hop is more visceral. Rather than carefully inserting rock and roll moments into rap songs, he injects the energy of punk into hip-hop songs. Hip-hop is his style, without question, but behind it lays an attitude, an ethos that we don't usually equate with hip-hop. He's collaborated with artists such like The Bouncing Souls and Jason Shevchuk from Kid Dynamite. Listening to these collaborations there's a sense of shared excitement between the artists, and never an awkward mashing of styles.
Punknews writer Jon Reiss, having grown up in DIY punk, believes that it can be a meaningful experience that can affect any number of aspects of one's life. Perhaps most interesting are those who carry that spirit into things we wouldn't expect, be it music writing, cooking or even parenting. He's written extensively on the subject looking for examples of people whose roots in punk manifest in interesting and different ways. POS's music is a great example of how punk can pop up where you might not expect to see it.
After just wrapping up a tour of the U.S.,End of a Year continues to celebrate their latest release on Deathwish, You Are Beneath Me. Heavily influenced by the Revolution Summer in DC, EOAY continues to offer something a little different in the world of modern hardcore. As a fresh band on Deathwish, vocalist Patrick Kindlon has nothing but positive things to say about their new label since they allow EOAY to be, "weird," as he puts it. He also shared some thoughts with Punknews interviewer Stephanie Thornton about the response to the new album, lyrical inspiration, poking holes in Cruel Hand's condoms, and receiving criticism from Gnarls Barkey fans.
A couple years ago, Punknews interviewer David Siffert walked into a bar in the middle of nowhere in Brooklyn. He had gotten lost on the way, so he was late. On walking into the show room, he was assaulted by one of the most glorious screams he had ever heard. He looked and saw a very small person, in a very red dress, holding a guitar, the head of a microphone literally inside of her mouth, belting out absolutely soul-crushing sounds. Meet Marissa Paternoster, guitarist and singer for Screaming Females and sole member of Noun.
Marissa has been extremely busy lately. Her band, Screaming Females, put out possibly the best album to come out last year in Power Move. This year they have already released an outstanding singles compilation, toured the country with Ted Leo, and had some serious van trouble. They have also recorded the follow-up to Power Move, Castle Talk, which will be released on September 14. Somehow this was not enough for Marissa, so she recorded her second solo album, Holy Hell, under the moniker Noun. In all of her free time, she decided to answer some questions for the 'Org.