Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath frontman and icon of British heavy metal, dies aged 76
A pioneering force in heavy music, Black Sabbath influenced a lot of how I feel about musical styles, and much of how I play. Ozzy’s solo career continued to be a major influence in my life, and the lives of many others.
Sincere condolences to Ozzy’s family, friends, and fans.
-Jerry Actually
Sexy, sleazy, ballsy, and rocking … is my take on the new Cam Girl release.
Hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, the group is about as opposite the folksy, roots, Americana that my mind conjures up when I think of Asheville.
Times they are always changing though. Keep up or get left behind, right?
Musically, the album is full of arena rock beats, arpeggiated guitar runs, operatic vocals, and sweeping solos.
The lyrics ooze innuendo. Clearly politically, and socially charged they add gravity to the theatrics of the album.
This is great rock and roll.
I can’t help but think of Shonen Knife, combined with Iron Maiden, filtered through a Bill and Ted lens.
Check out Flesh & Chrome by Cam Girl
Cheers!
Jerry Actually
WATCH Lyric Video For “No Longer Young”
“classic Propagandhi, in terms of attitude: very confrontational politically-conscious punk.” – Vice
“an ambitious, multi-part thrash epic with tons of nasty, tricky riffs.” – Stereogum
“We’re definitely not a band that responds well to someone telling us we need to put something out,” Propagandhi frontman Chris Hannah quips. “That happens when we have something to talk about – and now is definitely the time for that.” In true Propagandhi fashion, their new record ‘At Peace’ is smart music for dangerous times. Out now via Epitaph Records, listen to it in full HERE.
A limited run of At Peace vinyl in multiple color variants is available to pre-order HERE
The band also shares the official lyric video to focus track “No Longer Young” which bassist Todd Kowalski adds, “This song is about the search to find or revive one’s true spirit despite the pressure and negativity of the present world, and hopefully it’s a little inspiration to keep on working towards a more just world. It’s also a reminder that no one is any better than anyone else, in the end we all return to dust. “ WATCH HERE
The ever-evolving standard-bearers of politically charged punk have actively kicked against musical confines and bro-punk conservatism, promoting a message of anti-fascism since 1986. Distilling their DNA of breakneck riffs, hardcore ethos, and radical consciousness, their message remains as vital, and volatile, as ever.
“Everything I’m singing about is still coming from being the same person that wrote and sang our first record ‘How to Clean Everything’ in 1993,” Hannah recalls the band’s snarky skate-thrash origins. “But what we’re putting into the songs now, probably reflects more despair than 30 years ago when we had similar perspectives, but with strands of hope and naivete. Now it’s the existential dread of eking out a life worth living in this completely failed society.”
Marking their first release since 2017’s Victory Lap, At Peace was forged during the ominous political climate in the months before “Emperor” Trump’s ascent to power. Penned shortly before the American oligarch’s suggestion that Propagandhi’s home country become the U.S.’s 51st State, it was then mixed by Jason Livermore (Rise Against, Hot Water Music) at Blasting Room Studios in December 2024. This collection of poetic and polemic songs captures the anxieties and turmoil of the band’s four members, offering a powerful and poignant portrait of uncertainty.
Though at its core, At Peace is Propagandhi’s plea for hope against hopelessness. “Twenty years ago, we had a sense that things are fucked but that there could be a mass mobilization of people against the oligarchy, the billionaire class,” says Chris. “I don’t think that exists much in our music anymore and I don’t believe that mobilization is forthcoming. I hope to be proven wrong.”
Propagandhi is vocalist Chris Hannah, drummer Jord Samolesky, bassist/co-vocalist Todd Kowalski and guitarist Sulynn Hago.
At Peace Tracklisting
1. Guiding Lights
2. At Peace
3. Cat Guy
4. No Longer Young
5. Rented P.A.
6. Stargazing
7. God of Avarice
8. Prismatic Spray (The Tinder Date)
9. Benito’s Earlier Work
10. Vampires Are Real
11. Fire Season
12. Day By Day
13. Something Needs To Die But Maybe It’s Not You
Propagandhi North American Tour Dates
June 5 – Granby, QC – Festival Au Lac
June 7 – Pont-Rouge, QC – Parc De Li’le Notre Dame
June 20 – Victoria, BC – Victoria Curling Club
Follow Propagandhi On Socials:
From Manitoba, Canada, Propagandhi return with their new single “Cat Guy” ahead of their upcoming record ‘At Peace’ out on May 2nd. A blistering anthem dripping with sardonic wit and razor-sharp critique, the track finds the Canadian quartet as incisive as ever, wielding breakneck riffs and subversive lyricism with a smirk and a snarl.
A tribute to societal identity with a twist, “From my songwriting perspective, the two things I was thinking of was capturing a little bit of Judas Priest’s Firepower LP as if SNFU’s Chi-Pig was writing the lyrics,” laughs frontman Chris Hannah.
In true Propagandhi fashion, At Peace is smart music for dangerous times. The ever-evolving standard-bearers of politically charged punk have actively kicked against musical confines and bro-punk conservatism, promoting a message of anti-fascism since 1986. Distilling their DNA of breakneck riffs, hardcore ethos, and radical consciousness, their message remains as vital, and volatile, as ever.
“Everything I’m singing about is still coming from being the same person that wrote and sang our first record ‘How to Clean Everything’ in 1993,” Hannah recalls the band’s snarky skate-thrash origins. “But what we’re putting into the songs now, probably reflects more despair than 30 years ago when we had similar perspectives, but with strands of hope and naivete. Now it’s the existential dread of eking out a life worth living in this completely failed society.”
There’s no mistaking that on their first album in eight years, their frontline social activism has been supplanted by a deeper sense of reflection. Nearly a decade later, the members of Propagandhi have a lot on their minds. “We’re definitely not a band that responds well to someone telling us we need to put something out,” the frontman continues. “That happens when we have something to talk about – and now is definitely the time for that.”
Marking their first release since 2017’s Victory Lap, At Peace was forged during the ominous political climate in the months before “Emperor” Trump’s ascent to power. Penned shortly before the American oligarch’s suggestion that Propagandhi’s home country become the U.S.’s 51st State, it was then mixed by Jason Livermore (Rise Against, Hot Water Music) at Blasting Room Studios in December 2024. This collection of poetic and polemic songs captures the anxieties and turmoil of the band’s four members, offering a powerful and poignant portrait of uncertainty.
Though at its core, At Peace is Propagandhi’s plea for hope against hopelessness. “Twenty years ago, we had a sense that things are fucked but that there could be a mass mobilization of people against the oligarchy, the billionaire class,” says Chris. “I don’t think that exists much in our music anymore and I don’t believe that mobilization is forthcoming. I hope to be proven wrong.”
Propagandhi is vocalist Chris Hannah, drummer Jord Samolesky, bassist/co-vocalist Todd Kowalski and guitarist Sulynn Hago.
At Peace Tracklisting
1. At Peace
2. Prismatic Spray (The Tinder Date)
3. Rented P.A.
4. Guiding Lights
5. Cat Guy
6. No Longer YounG
7. Stargazing
8. God of Avarice
9. Benito’s Earlier Work
10. VampireS Are Real
Hans Gruber and the Die Hards announce a west coast tour this spring as support for Escape From the Zoo!
Tickets are available: https://www.hgdhband.com/tour-dates
4/05/2025 Austin, TX at Kick Butt Coffee
4/06/2025 Dallas, TX at Three Links – Deep Ellum, TX
4/07/2025 Oklahoma City, OK at Grand Royale
4/09/2025 Albuquerque, NM at Ren’s Den
4/10/2025 Mesa, AZ at The Nile (Underground)
4/11/2025 Pomona, CA at Characters Pomona
4/12/2025 Long Beach, CA at Alex’s Bar
4/13/2025 San Diego, CA at Brick By Brick
4/15/2025 Las Vegas, NV at The Usual Place
4/16/2025 Reno, NV at Club Underground
4/17/2025 Sacramento, CA at Cafe Colonial
4/18/2025 Grants Pass, OR at Our Studio
4/19/2025 Roseburg, OR at The Annex
4/22/2025 Eugene, OR at Wandering Goat Coffee
4/23/2025 Portland, OR at Twilight Cafe and Bar
4/24/2025 Longview, WA at Fei’s Carriage Restaurant & Lounge
4/25/2025 Seattle, WA at The Vera Project
4/26/2025 Bellingham, WA at The Shakedown
4/27/2025 Bremerton, WA at The Charleston
4/29/2025 Boise, ID at The Shredder
4/30/2025 SLC, UT at Aces High Saloon
5/01/2025 Denver, CO at Moe’s Original BBQ Englewood
5/02/2025 Colorado Springs, CO at The Black Sheep
5/03/2025 Fort Collins, CO at Blast N Scrap
5/04/2025 Omaha, NE at Reverb Lounge
5/06/2025 Des Moines, IA at Lefty’s Live Music
5/07/2025 Madison, WI at High Noon Saloon
5/09/2025 Appleton, WI for Skappleton / Fox Valley Music Festivals at Appleton Beer Factory
5/10/2025 Chicago, IL for Shoot the moon festival at Reggies
5/12/2025 Milwaukee, WI at X-Ray Arcade
St Louis punks Fight Back Mountain share “Sticker Book”. This new song is the final single released in anticipation of their Death And The Miser album (out Feb 13th). “Sticker Book” is perhaps the album’s most reflective and affecting outing; lyricist/guitarist Anjelica Aquilino describes the song’s inspiration, saying “I was thinking of my grandma who died of an eating disorder decades before I was born. It instilled a very deep specific feeling when I first heard that story. The song evolved to represent our moments of melancholy that stop us and invoke an undefinable yet specific emotion.”
“Sticker Book” stands in striking contrast to the most-recent Fight Back Mountain release “No Recourse”. While the latter placed the band’s hardcore influences up front on a raging dispatch against a world going to rot, “Sticker Book” slows the pace and incorporates 90s alt rock influences on a slow burner that steadily drives the emotions home.
Death And The Miser is the third full-length outing from Fight Back Mountain. Vinyl and digital preorders are now available, here. Across twelve cuts, the album lays out a testament to modern life in flyover country and the dawning realization that everything you were told growing up is no longer true. The first hint of the Death And The Miser arrived in November 2024 with the release of the stormy ripper “Trouble & Havoc”.
This new album is the result of the band’s latest sessions with longtime producer Gabe Usery at Encapsulated Studios. Usery previously helmed the band’s releases Times Beach (2019), Lavender Sky (2021), and the Backslider EP (2023). As always, the Fight Back Mountain lineup is comprised of vocalist/guitarist Adrian Barnello, lyricist/guitarist Anjelica Aquilino, bassist Andy Kohnen and drummer Devin Dessieux.
RAT BOY’s ever-adventurous voyages across genres have taken the band, fronted by Jordan Cardy, on similarly sprawling journeys across the globe. But wherever they go, they inevitably find themselves boomeranging back to their Essex homelands. And that’s the topic that RAT BOY explore as they share their new single “SUBURBIA CALLING”, their first new music in over two years.
“SUBURBIA CALLING”
Bringing together spiky indie-pop thrills with Jordan’s drawling semi-rapped vocals, “SUBURBIA CALLING” could be a big beat Blur, or The Streets had they emerged mid-Britpop. As we’ve come to expect, RAT BOY’s musical anarchy is the backdrop to Jordan’s distinctly British lyricism, his postcard pictures of small town culture providing equal measures of insight and humor. “SUBURBIA CALLING” is RAT BOY’s response if Essex ever needed its own national anthem. Priced out of London, you’re back in a world of commuters, curtain-twitching neighbors and Union Jacks – and you know what? It’s good to be back home. While it’s specifically about Essex, “SUBURBIA CALLING” will be relatable to anyone in the satellite towns or outer travel zones near any big city.
Jordan says, “This is a love letter to the suburbs. It made us and shaped us. It’s good to be back.”
“SUBURBIA CALLING” was produced by the renowned Stephen Street (Blur, The Smiths, Kaiser Chiefs). It was written by Jordan alongside the track’s co-producer Sam Preston (jxdn, MOD SUN).
When RAT BOY first emerged with his debut collection ‘THE MIXTAPE’ (which recently debuted on Spotify) he immediately earned a one to watch reputation, his genre agnostic style and biting lyricism encapsulating his generation’s experiences. But RAT BOY was only going to play by his own rules. Initially a solo project, RAT BOY evolved into a full band identity (with guitarist Harry Todd, bassist Liam Haygarth and drummer Noah Booth) with the more visceral spirit and darker themes of their debut album ‘SCUM’ nonetheless firing them into the UK Top 15.
RAT BOY’S next stop was a leftfield turn into the American punk scene, working with its pivotal figures such as Tim Armstrong (Rancid, Operation Ivy) and Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion, Epitaph Records) as well as touring with The Interrupters and earning the admiration of Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park). It was an experience that resulted in the album-length mixtape ‘INTERNATIONALLY UNKNOWN’ and the follow-up ‘GOVERNMENT VACATION’ EP. Since then, RAT BOY have focused on their other related projects (LOWLIFE’s ‘PAY DAY’ album and a mixtape from MILA) and brand new music, with only sporadic live shows in 2023 with a gig as special guests to YUNGBLUD and a hometown warm-up in Chelmsford.
Expect more news from RAT BOY soon.
Follow RAT BOY:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | X
SKA PUNK INTERNATIONAL FEST REVEALS LOCATION AND FULL OF LINEUP FOR SPI FEST 2024
Windsor, CT-
The highlight of 2023 for many concert goers was Ska Punk International Records’ inaugural SPI Fest at the Flamingo Cantina, in Austin, TX, headlined by the Toasters, Tsunami Bomb, the Littlest Man Band, and Hans Gruber and the Die Hards. The event sold out and was full of so much love and chaotic good. Ska lovers traveled from all over the USA and Canada last March to meet their many internet friends and musicians from the Ska Punk International community. Ever since, there’s been folks asking when the next festival would be? And where?
With the intention of making each SPI Fest a travel destination, Ska Punk international will be moving the location from year to year. Ska Punk International Records, in partnership with CT Ska Productions, is proud to announce that the 2nd annual SPI Fest will be held on May 17 and 18th at 25 Central St in Windsor, CT.
Gary Woodruff of CT Ska Productions jumped at the chance to partner with SPI, stating, “When Chris asked me to work with him on the festival, I knew it was fit. Part of our mission is to bring acts to CT that might otherwise skip the state.”
SPI Fest will be held at a new all ages venue known as 25 Central Street.
About the venue, Woodruff says, “Partnering with 25 Central Street as a venue was a logical choice. The new space is a former vaudeville theater with a main floor and a mezzanine that’s perfect for the event, accommodating vendors, and most importantly allowing all ages attendance.“
25 Central Street is in the Windsor Historic District within walking distance of Windsor Railroad Station. Windsor, CT is just outside of Hartford, CT and one of the first English settlements in North America. Windsor is on the land of the Pequot and Mohegan Native Americans.
SPI Fest will take place across two days, May 17 and May 18, 2024. The lineup consists of bands from Ska Punk International Records as well as friends of the Dallas based record label. Many of the groups perform ska music and its various subgenres.
The full lineup:
Catbite (Philadelphia, PA)
Mutiny (Fullerton CA, Denver CO, & Pittsburgh, PA)
Stop the Presses (New York, NY)
Matamoska (Los Angeles, CA)
Hans Gruber and the Die Hards (Austin, TX)
Call Me Malcolm (UK)
Kmoy (New York, NY)
The Best of the Worst (New Jersey)
PWRUP (Agawam, MA)
Mega Infinity (Seaford, NY)
Runaway Ricochet (Minneapolis, MN)
Sgt. Scag (New Haven, CT)
Common Sense Kid (UK)
Bondbreakr (Austin, TX)
Eevie Echoes & the Locations (Brooklyn, NY)
Plastic Presidents (Omaha, NE)
Checkered Past the Ska Cast (Canada)
Joker’s Republic (New Jersey)
Take Today (Philadelphia, PA)
Flip and the Combined Effort (Dallas, TX)
Ghost Tones (Connecticut)
Solgyres (Connecticut)
The label and festival team and all of the bands hope to bring the same chaotic good energy as the 2023 festival. In addition to the community values being reflected in the event itself, the label’s initiative to give back will include Punk Rock Saves Lives, who will be present to raise funds and awareness for their projects and swab guests for the bone marrow registry. Ska Punk International has been raising funds for life saving initiatives to prevent cancer from the first compilation the label released in 2021, Songs for Moms.
Tickets are now available at SPIFest.org
About Ska Punk International Records
Ska Punk International is a record label run out of founder Chris Reeves’ home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. When Chris founded SPI Records in 2021, he founded the record label on 3 principles, community, accessibility and giving back.
About CT Ska Productions
CT Ska Productions is an all volunteer organization that provides safe spaces for awesome bands to play dope shows while raising money for charities that support diversity equity and inclusion.
Wanna listen to the new Mutiny EP? Sure you do. Get some here: https://li.sten.to/thebandmutiny
Mutiny is a skacore supergroup formed during the COVID Pandemic by Eric Fazzini, Jordan Pepper and Chris Ruckus.
But in case you forgot, the members of Mutiny are:
Efrem Schulz (who is in Death by Stereo, Voodoo Glow Skulls, and Manic Hispanic)
Mike Cambra (Death by Stereo and the Adolescents)
Chris Ruckus (Dissidente)
Eric Fazzini (Voodoo Glow Skulls and PWRUP)
Jordan Pepper
Jose Pazlodan (Voodoo Glow Skulls)
Adam Shah
The honorary members of Mutiny are:
Ryo (Frail)
Shinji (Frail)
MEAN JEANS RELEASE NEW ALBUM, BLASTED, TODAY VIA FAT WRECK CHORDS
BLASTED NOW STREAMING ON ALL PLATFORMS
AUSTRALIAN TOUR WITH THE CHATS
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “LOST MY MIND” (YOUTUBE)
Get ready to shred, Mean Jeans fans! The Portland punks have unleashed their killer new album, “Blasted,” today. Crank it up on YouTube or your favorite streaming service – it’s a guaranteed party. Missed the epic “Lost My Mind” video? Don’t worry; Mean Jeans brings the Judge Judy-inspired courtroom justice straight to your screen.
For our Aussie fans, gear up to catch Mean Jeans live alongside The Chats on their tour, which kicks off today! Additional tour dates worldwide will be announced soon, so stay tuned. Here’s a snippet from what Billy Jeans shared: Getting back on tour post-pandemic and doing 9 weeks with The Chats in the US and Australia reignited our appetite for shredding. We got home, wrote a new album, and recorded it by ourselves in Portland over 5 days. Blasted’s got more fast + wild loser anthems, a couple tearjerkers, more Houndy singing, and I finally figured out how to do a guitar solo. We’re kicking the year off with another Australian tour, this time a punk cavalcade of 6 bands.
From the moment they started 15 years ago, Mean Jeans have been creating their own slime punk fantasy world. Study their six previous album covers and you’ll find junkyards full of bongs and yo-yos, macaroni galaxies, Jägermeister spaceships, alien saxophonists and pink slugs in bondage dripping ooze. On their newest full-length album Blasted, the goofball trio have clearly been through wild years and seen some shit—on the cover, the three members peer out of toxic waste bins, no longer cartoons of themselves but instead incredulous country-fried maniacs who are still following a slime punk dream, and dealing with where it’s led them.
Which isn’t to say the Jeans are jaded. In fact, the band—Billy Jeans, Houndy and Junior Jeans—seem to be having as much fun as ever on this record, ripping through these 15 rapid fire ear worms without coming up for air. They seem equally focused on tight catchy songwriting and packing in Easter eggs and absurd lyrical references, including (but certainly not limited to) Tim Armstrong’s X-Filescameo, Mike Schank’s PCP overdose story in American Movie, multiple songs with lyrics about their space-obsessed kindred pop-punker Tom DeLonge, a chorus borrowed from Seal, and a not-very-legal piano collage of well-known pop-punk melodies.
Anyway, this record is a frantic and frenetic joyride, though probably one made in Rick from Rick And Morty’s Space Cruiser and through time and space, rather than any form of road-based vehicle here on Earth. But that energy was probably enhanced by the fact the band recorded Blasted all by themselves here on this planet. Well, at The Trash Treasury in Portland, OR, at any rate—the city where the band first got together and which is one of the least Earth-like cities on, well, Earth. At their own behest, the trio were left entirely to their own devices, putting themselves through their own physical paces by trying to be in two places—the control room and the recording room—at once. One of Rick’s portal guns might have helped make it easier, but who needs a producer or engineer? It’s just another cook waiting to spoil that delicious, fluorescent green, slime punk broth.
“Studio time is just more fun when no one’s in charge,” says Billy Jeans. “To some extent, I know what I’m doing, and to some extent the other dudes know what they’re doing, but none of us are pro at all. Like, Junior would have to run over to the control room, hit the record button and then run back, all while holding the bass, and then we’d play. It’s idiotic, but when it’s just the three of us fucking around, the vibe is there.”
You can hear that all throughout Blasted. It’s a weird, wonderful and wacky album, but also not without its occasional serious moments. Mean Jeans are—still, after all these years—a band that love to party, and that’s what they continue to do on these songs. Every once in a while, though, you might catch a little regret about doing so, if not a full-on hangover. Opener “I Don’t Give A Shit Anymore” might sound like a statement of nihilistic intent, but it’s more what Billy calls an “underthinkers anthem”, a direct response to him overthinking everything all the time, while “Look What Punk’s Done To You”, “Took Too Much” and “I Don’t Know What I Did Last Summer” all address the comedown of life lived in the fast lane. But then there’s also “Something’s Going On”, which is the best (and possibly only) song that’s ever been written about the cult 1986 comedy horror b-movie Class Of Nuke ’Em High.
At the same time, the album also serves as a kind of meditation on pop-punk, about what it means to be a punk band as opposed to a band playing music in the style of punk. Can you be both? Does it even matter? Maybe. Maybe not. What matters is that, with Blasted, Mean Jeans have made a record that defines what they are and what they’re not at the same time. Most importantly, it was fun for them to make, and it’s an absolute joy to listen to. For Billy, that’s always the aim.
“We’re a band in it for the good times,” he says. I’ve always thought if we’re not having fun, then it isn’t Mean Jeans. Which isn’t a recipe for success in the music biz, but I could bitch about that all day if you want. What’s the difference between being a bitch and being punk?” He doesn’t answer his own question, but it might be found somewhere in these songs
Mean Jeans Tour Dates – Tickets Available Here.
BLASTED track-listing 1. I Don’t Give a Shit Anymore
2. Let’s Go
3. Diagnosis
4. Lost My Mind
5. Blasted to the Moon
6. Something’s Going On
7. Reggie
8. Taco Bell Parking Lot
9. Look What Punk’s Done to You
10. Slugs
11. Break up With You
12. Took Too Much
13. I Don’t Know What I Did Last Summer
14. Living Large on a Credit Card
15. Pop Punk Casualty
