Category: Music News

The Sidekicks-Grace

I need to start by getting a couple things off of my chest, and if you like them you can keep them, if not you can throw them back at me.  Number 1, The Sidekicks are not a punk band.  I’m not trying to be negative, or add fuel to the fire of the genre acceptance fight, but there isn’t a single punk lick on the 4 tracks which appear on Grace.  I think sometimes when music appeals to listeners who prefer punk music we have to call it punk or else we feel like (for lack of a better phrase) “not repping the brand.”

Number 2, I didn’t like the single at first, which probably has a lot to do with gripe number 1.  I took repeated listens, and I actually had to make comparisons to other music that I like in order to help me along.  This is something I don’t usually like to do, but on the first two tracks “Grace” and “The Wallflowers” (the first of which also appears on their full length Awkward Breeds) lead man Steve Ciolek  vocals bring back fond memories of rocking out to Weezer without River Cuomo’s self loathing lyrics.  The next two tracks “The 9th Piece (Alternate version)”, and “Stay” (the first once again appears on their recent full length) have the same type of feeling as Graham Nash’s Songs for Beginners (one of my favourite non-punk albums). 

It has been a long time since I have been able to say I liked a different band or album without being able to attach the punk label to them mostly because I feel like it is cheating on my musical love, but sometimes to enjoy good music I have to accept the fact that I can be friends with other genres without betraying the other.  With Grace, The Sidekicks have introduced me to a new friend.

 

 

 

 

The Class Assasins-Equalize X Distort The Studio 3 Sessions

I have long been a fan  of Rebel Time Records and I own and enjoy almost every single release on the imprint, but for some reason I have always been weary of listening to one particular group that has released music through them, The Class Assassins.  I don’t even know if I can come up with a valid reason as to why, which became even more apparent when I actually sat down and listened to them.

I recently sat and listened to their two latest releases, Treason, which is available on 7″ vinyl from Rebel Time Records, and Equalize X Distort The Studio  3 Sessions. The latter recording is an 8 song live recording which was done in November at CIUT FM in Toronto.  The recording features 6 songs from the groups back catalog (including ” Treason” and ” Start Again” from the Treason 7″) as well as two covers “Breaking the Law” and “Fortunate Son”  (which I have heard covered before but the group has definitely added their own spin to this classic with a bass and drum intro).  The recording was apparently limited to 100 copies on cd but it is available in its entirety on their bandcamp page.

Listening to The Class Assassins reminds me of the Street Dogs songs “Punk Rock ‘n’ Roll”.  Not because it sounds like it, but because if Punk Rock ‘n’ Roll was added to the many sub-genres of punk I imagine they would have either wrote the recipe for it or redefined it.  Now while I am only currently familiar with the 8 tracks from these two releases, they are full of exactly what I like in punk songs,fast paced guitar attacks and  fist pumping, rabble rousing, sing along choruses.  Treason and Equalize X Distort were my introduction to The Class Assassins, and it is as good as a place as any to start, and I highly recommend you do.

14th Annual Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival

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14th Annual Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival
Memorial Day Weekend • May 25 – 28, 2012
Downtown Las Vegas

MORE BANDS JUST ANNOUNCED!!!

Rancid, Nofx, Pennywise,
Sham 69, Hepcat, The Adicts,
Hot Water Music, The Briefs, Youth Of Today
Street Dogs, Dead Ending, Real McKenzies, Old Man Markley,
The Beltones , Far From Finished, Toys That Kill,
American Heist, Holding On To Sound,
The Bots, The Dips, American Werewolves,
PLUS MORE GREAT BANDS TO BE ANNOUNCED


TICKETS ON SALE!!!

3 Day Festival Passes On Sale
Fri. Feb. 24 @ 1pm (PST)
$100 (plus $5 service fee)
(Sat. May 26 • Sun. May 27 • Mon. May 28)

Single Day Tickets on Sale (Based on Availability)
Mon. March 5 @ 1pm (PST)
$40 (plus $2.50 service fee)

Daily Lineup To Be Announced on Feb. 24, 2012
The Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival was started back in 1999 as a way to bring the independent music community together for an annual party. It has since grown into a 3 day festival in downtownLas Vegas that brings out fans and bands alike from all over the world. Make no mistake, this is a PUNK ROCK PARTY that features some of the best bands of the past 35+ years, from the old school pioneers and classics to mainstays and up and comers.  Founders Shawn and Mark Stern of BYO Records and seminal SoCal band Youth Brigade have been heavily involved in the PUNK ROCK community since the late ‘70’s and spend countless hours scouring their record collections, memories and abilities to reach out to old friends and new to put together an amazing line-up every year.

Joining previously announced acts Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise, The Adicts and The Briefs (original lineup) are: Sham 69 (Pursey / Parsons / Tregunna ’77 lineup), Hepcat, Hot Water Music, Youth Of Today (NYC 80’s Hardcore Monsters), Street Dogs, Dead Ending (featuring Joe Principe of Rise Against, Derek Grant of Alkaline Trio, Vic Bondi of Articles Of Faith, and Jeff Dean of Noise By Numbers), Real McKenzies, Old Man Markley, The Beltones, Far From Finished, Toys That Kill, American Heist, Holding On To Sound, The Bots The Dips, American Werewolves AND MORE TBA!!!!

All festival shows are ALL AGES.

To purchase tickets, register for Punk Rock Bowling and for more information, visit: www.punkrockbowling.com

 

The City Calls New Video for Meet In The Middle

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The City Calls new music video ‘Meet In The Middle’ has just been released. Produced by the extremely talented Josh Partridge who has worked with such U.K. bands as ‘Sell Your Sky’

The band is also heading out on tour in February with Forever August and Malokai I’ve included the dates and details below.

15.02 London – The Good Ship
16.02 Nottingham – The Maze
17.02 Yeovil – Tabernacle Junction
19.02 Winchester – The Railway Inn

REFUSED NOT F***ING DEAD

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Groundbreaking Band To Play Coachella and Way Out West Festival

The groundbreaking, highly influential Swedish hardcore band Refused have announced a series of shows scheduled for summer 2012. This is the band’s first appearance since their breakup in the late ‘90s and will include performances at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 13th and 20th and the Way Out West Festival in Sweden Aug 9-11.

Refused have released the following statement and the full statement can be found here:   www.officialrefused.com 

…It’s been a motley 14 years since our band came apart. We’ve all kept busy in our respective endeavors but we’ve all remained friends and kept in touch. There have been offers, and lots of jokes about these offers. We’ve sort of looked down from our high horses and made fun of people who’ve just wanted to share the psychopathic intensity that we would deliver on a nightly basis in our post-pubescent prime. A reunion has just seemed irrelevant to us. Too much other shit to do…

 …We never did “The Shape of Punk To Come” justice back when it came out, too tangled up in petty internal bickering to really focus on the job. And suddenly there’s this possibility to do it like it was intended. We wanna do it over, do it right. For the people who’ve kept the music alive through the years, but also for our own sakes…

Originally released in 1998, The Shape of Punk to Come  “blurred the lines that separate punk, metal and hardcore, while peppering this brutal fusion with bits of techno percussion, jazzy rhythmic change-ups and long, complex song structures that support politically-charged messages,” (CMJ,1998).  Refused’s most critically acclaimed and final album exploded on the scene with the jaw-dropping hardcore anthem “New Noise,” which helped change the game forever by influencing a range of genres to this day, which includes being named “Best New Re-issue” by Pitchfork.com in 2010.

New Menzingers Release and Tour 2012

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THE MENZINGERS TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM

Band To Tour In Support Of Anticipated Epitaph Records Debut

Rising punk rock band The Menzingers create a rousing sound featuring crashing power chords, rock steady drumming and anthemic sing-along choruses alongside powerfully poetic everyman lyrics. The group is set to release their Epitaph Records debut album On The Impossible Past this February 21st. Fans are invited to pre-order the album by going to www.themenzingersstore.com.

On The Impossible Past was recorded at Atlas Studios in Chicago with longtime collaborators Matt Allison (Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms) and Justin Yates. While the record retains all the raucous spirit of the band’s earlier efforts sonically, it’s a monumental step forward. “I think that ‘Gates’ is one of the most mature songs on the album,” guitarist/vocalist Tom May explains, referencing the tender rock song sung by Barnett that truly transcends genres. “I hope it surprises people because it’s not a straight-forward punk song with gang vocals or anything like that but it still definitely sounds like us.”
Continue reading New Menzingers Release and Tour 2012

Tomas Kalnoky Debut Solo

TOH KAY (TOMAS KALNOKY OF STREETLIGHT MANIFESTO) ANNOUNCES DEBUT SOLO FULL LENGTH STREETLIGHT LULLABIES
TO BE RELEASED NOVEMBER 22, 2011 ON
PENTIMENTO MUSIC COMPANY

Toh Kay, perhaps better known to the masses as Tomas Kalnoky, frontman for Warped Tour favorites Streetlight Manifesto, will be releasing his debut solo album, titled Streetlight Lullabies on November 22, 2011 via Pentimento Music Company. The album features 10 Streetlight Manifesto songs stripped down to their acoustic bones, offering a rare glimpse into Toh Kay’s creative process. While Toh Kay began as a series of acoustic shows, it has since evolved into a fully developed musical project which strives to intimately connect listeners with the songs they treasure.

Toh Kay’s first release, You By Me: Volume 1, which came out almost exactly a year ago this November, was a split with friend and labelmate Dan Potthast and featured each covering, rearranging, and changing five of each other’s songs for the album. After select dates around the United States and the world in support of the release, Toh Kay sat down to record Streetlight Lullabies in May of 2011 at The Pentimento Recording Company, the label’s in-house studio in Southern California. The album features sparse, personal arrangements of Streetlight Manifesto favorites such as Watch it Crash, The Big Sleep and A Better Place, A Better Time.

Pre-order for Streetlight Lullabies is available through Pentimento Music at www.theriscstore.com.

KOFFIN KATS SIGN TO SAILOR’S GRAVE RECORDS

KOFFIN KATS SIGN TO SAILOR’S GRAVE RECORDS; NEW ALBUM OUT IN JANUARY

October 4, 2011 – Los Angeles, CA – Detroit based punk band Koffin
Kats ( http://www.koffinkatsrock.com/ ) have signed a deal with punk
label Sailor’s Grave Records ( http://www.sailorsgraverecords.com/
).  The trio, which consists of Vic Victor (Vocals/Upright Bass), EZ
Ian (Vocals/Guitar) and Eric “E Ball” Walls (Drums), will release
their new album, Our Way and The Highway, on January 24.  The band is
currently on a three month long US tour giving fans a taste of the new
record along the way.

Watch Koffin Kats’ special announcement here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJc5SD3RhFI

Formed in 2003, the Motor City trio has worked their way up from
Detroit gutter punks to champions of the psychobilly scene with their
toxic blend of booze, tattoos and rip-roaring punk rock ‘n’ roll.
Continue reading KOFFIN KATS SIGN TO SAILOR’S GRAVE RECORDS

Dorset Speed – “Its My Party”

Ok… It’s short, free and not at all bad. The first two tracks rip it and the latter are good, but there is a very strong resemblance to a vocal genius, not to be named by me. Sounding similar is sometimes just how it is, but to me I hear this vocalists exact style. Oh well, I wish I could posses those pipes myself. I dig these guys and hope they continue to play energetic punk with non sense lyrics, just move a little further away from copping, more to the ends of influence. Just go get it, it is worth it.