Thursday, September 23, 2010

Bad Religion - Dissent Of Man


Bad Religion is streaming their new album "Dissent Of Man" over at there myspace page. Check it out. http://www.myspace.com/badreligion

Dropkick Murphys -Tomorrow's Industry

Madball Fires Drummer



Madball has announced the dismissal of drummer Jay Weinberg in the midst of their Canadian tour with Comeback Kid. Frontman Freddy Cricien explained:

I'm letting Jay go in Canada because I just feel he doesn't represent this band well on a character level. It would go against my own code of ethics to keep him around. Not saying he's a bad drummer. I won't take that away from him. But the reality is - he has a lot to learn about paying dues, and about life in general. Granted, he is a kid, but I'm not sure that he'll ever be built for this particular lifestyle. I wish him the best of luck, but the MADBALL machine rolls on!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Lemuria - Interview



Check out this recent interview with Lemuria.

http://www.the1stfive.com/features/lemuria-bridge-9-j-robbins-the-bass-player-shuffle-and-australias-importance-in-risk/

Rancid - Leicester Square

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Smoke Or Fire New Album "Speakeasy"



Your pals in Smoke or Fire have announced that they will release their new studio album on November 9, 2010. The record is titled the Speakeasy and is the first full length for the band since This Sinking Ship in 2007. In the interim, they issued Prehistoric Knife Fight. The record was recorded with Matt Allison at Atlas Studio and also marks the recorded debut of Ryan Parrish (Darkest Hour) and songwriting debut of Gwomper (AVAIL) Joe McMahon commented:

We were so happy to be able to record the new record with Matt Allison in Chicago. Matt is not only a great friend of ours, but really becomes the 5th member of the group when you're in the studio with him. We were working with a pretty slim time period on this record, and everyone really showed up. Ryan Parrish killed it on drums, and made such great contributions during the writing process. It was also a lot of fun to watch Gwomper record his Bass on the record.

He gets so into it, I think he moves around more while he's recording than he does on stage. The only hitch we ran into was me losing my voice half way through recording vocals. When that happens all you can do is wait until it comes back, and you have no idea how long that's going to be. It took 6 days before I could start singing again. When the record was finished, Jeremy and I both agreed it was the first time we had left the studio with everything coming out exactly the way we wanted. The songs, the artwork…everything. We couldn't be happier with this record.

The band will be at Fat's CMJ showcase on October 23rd in New York City.

Remembering Johnny Ramone RIP


October 8, 1948 – September 15, 2004

MOUTHPIECE Buffalo 1995 Part 3

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Rancid - Backslide

MOUTHPIECE Buffalo 1995 Part 2

New Releases This Week 9/14/2010



Fucked Up - Year Of The Ox (Merge)
Terror - Keepers Of The Faith (Century Media)

Brian Fallon of Gaslight Anthems Blog

Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem has posted an update to his blog revealing that he is, in fact, working on the "night time" music he mentioned in his blog. He had said this about it previously:

I would like to make a record people can listen to in the night time. I think I'd like to do that with a band name and some friends where we can dress like the Bad Seeds, in suits. Seriously.

So far, Brian has only confirmed the "night time" part, but has not picked a suit yet. Check out the blog here. http://cassettesinthemailbox.blogspot.com/2010/09/whats-up-this-is-whats-up.html

Polar Bear Club Interview

Interview with Chris Browne of Polar Bear Club

August 11, 2010 by Brian Kraus
Category: Interviews
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Polar Bear Club

Photo Credit: Mitchell Wojcik

Does constant time on the road at 24 affect your ability to lead a normal life?

“Normal” is all relative. There’s no way to make what we do fit into the same mold as someone working a 9-5 job, but we’ve had to make it normal for ourselves. It becomes a routine on a larger scale. Instead of getting up and going to work eight hours a day and then coming home at night, we go out and devote ourselves to our craft for a couple months on end and then come home and try to decompress for a week or a month or something (all while writing and planning our next block of activity). And it becomes normal life by necessity. Little things tend to keep us grounded — seeing friends in different cities, eating at regional food chains, getting the spot closest to the a/c in a shitty motel room, and so on. It’s great because I wake up every day excited for what that day is going to bring, but it sucks because it requires sacrificing relationships with family and friends who have a more conventional life. All in all, I’m just very lucky to be able to devote my time exclusively to things I want to be doing.

You managed to finish school while PBC was still on the rise. Does it seem most of your peers skipped college? Is it something you’re glad you got out of the way before going full-time with PBC?

I’ve found they come in all shapes and sizes, but people in our walk of life seem more likely to have foregone higher education in favor of hitting the road early. Some of my best friends never even finished high school, and have more intelligence and maturity than any of the people I met at a top-20 law school. I’m definitely glad I went to college and even to grad school. That stuff gave me perspective and established some of the most important relationships and life lessons I’ll ever learn, and I have no regrets. Am I using ANY of the substance I learned there? Absolutely not. But I don’t really think that’s the point anyway. If I could take back any one thing, it would be the crippling financial debt from the grad school I never finished. But it’s all part of the journey I suppose.

What do all these mystery haters that are the topic of “One Hit Back” have against PBC?

I don’t really like addressing lyrical questions because, well, I don’t write the lyrics. But to go out on a limb, I think that song was important more as a time and place thing, as a means of growth. I feel like all of us care much less about that sort of thing now than we did even a year ago. We needed to get past the negativity that always comes with being an established punk/hardcore band in order to fully realize and enjoy what we do. At some point you take a step back and think, “man, for every one outspoken shithead there are ten cool people that love or hate what we do but don’t need to tell everyone about it.” So to answer your question: it doesn’t matter what anyone has against us, and I can’t even pinpoint it. For as long as music (and the internet) exists, certain people will find things to hate and insult and others will appreciate the art and move on with their lives, and maybe even make their own! For a band making their first properly organized record whose lives were mired in uncertainty, hateful comments could hurt a lot. But with experience comes more confidence, and now I think we’re less concerned with critics and haters, and more with just making music that we feel good about and letting the rest work itself out.

Have there been any creepy side effects of being in PBC? Stalkers? Bizarre Facebook messages? Spill.

Not too much, really. Most of the people that bother to meet us or write to us are super cool and appreciative, and we’re just grateful that they care. I don’t add people on social networks that I don’t know in real life, so I hope people aren’t offended when I deny them, but that’s about it.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen during your set?
Live @ The Underworld, London

Photo Credit: BMHC Photography

At a headline show in London this spring, a drugged-out crowd surfer landing on stage unconscious and pissing himself mid-song. It was honestly terrifying but luckily he was OK. That, and the first and only time we’ve been flashed a set of boobies while playing was at the Phoenix Warped date.

You guys are notorious for slaying some covers in the set. What ones do you have cooking up, or are they a surprise?

We actually don’t have much cooking right now but we do like to keep it a surprise. We’ve tossed around the idea of a sort of classic-rock-cover-medley song, but I don’t want to go into specifics because that’ll just ruin the fun if and when it does happen.
Chasing Hamburg

Chasing Hamburg

Looking forward to the writing process for the follow up to Chasing Hamburg, are there any unifying aspects surfacing already?

Between Jimmy and I we have probably 14 or 15 song ideas ready to go. I know Nate has some stuff he’s working on as well. We’ve only had time to get to one or two as a full band so far, but I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about PBC songwriting. Things are coming together naturally and smoothly, and we all seem to want the same things this time around. I think the next record will maintain the variety of songs that we like, but the performance will have a little more “vibe” or “groove” to it if that makes any sense. We’re not going to be afraid to just take a song where it needs to go rather than micromanaging everything. It may end up being more of a pop-rock record than we’ve ever done before, but the ideas are just as quirky and intense as ever in my mind.

With bands of your level have you observed any conscious efforts to be something else rather than themselves?

It is just so different for every band. Most of the time bands across the board are just trying to make music they think is good, you know? People tend to think there’s some secret or something, but even the most successful artists are just perfectionists trying to do what they do best. In some cases that may be to look cool and get haircuts, but most of the time the music industry is surprisingly like a meritocracy. Do an awesome job, work your ass off, and success will (okay, may) follow. That’s just how I like to look at things, though.

You’ve been on the road as a unit for a while. Being in a band is like a Mormon marriage, can everyone love each other unconditionally?

Something like that, ha ha. It’s definitely a cliche at this point, but we’re like a family. More like siblings really. We fight and bicker and hate each other at times. But we all want the same things and we have all grown to trust each other and have each other’s backs. Touring has taught me to let go of anger and to realize my own faults in a way more magnified way.

How many hands are in the PBC creative process, meaning everything that we see and hear? Does it go beyond the five of you?

Jimmy, Nate, and I generate all of the song ideas. The five of us arrange them together. When we work with a producer, we like him or her to be an active and vocal part of the process. As far as press and photos and other non-music stuff, we have management and an agent and a label just like most other bands like us, and we welcome their input because we chose them and we value their expertise. But all decisions ultimately come down to a vote between the five of us. Again, there’s no big secret.

This is going to be PBC’s first Warped Tour. What’s going through your collective heads? Edit: It’s over.
Warped Tour

Photo Credit: Ethan Hansen

If I were a more motivated individual, this question would have been relevant as I type this. But alas, it’s not. All I can say in retrospect is that I had a great time and I can’t wait to do it again, but it was very different than any tour we’ve done. I’m glad to be sweating less and sleeping more now.

Anyone on the Warped circuit you were anticipating meeting? Bands you watched daily?

Eh, I’m over being starstruck by musicians, with maybe a couple exceptions. I watched a lot of our friends (The Swellers, The Flatliners, Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals, Every Time I Die, etc.) and hung out a bunch with them and a lot of others. I discovered some great stuff like Closure in Moscow (from Australia) and I Can Make A Mess (Ace Enders from The Early November). Warped was great for expanding your horizons and testing your own ability to truly maintain an open mind. I saw a lot of shit I didn’t like at all, but I also made some unexpected friends. At this point I have to mention NeverShoutNever, who I didn’t know before the tour and turned out to be a group of genuinely good people, both band and crew.

Where does this crossroads of new listeners wandering to your stage lead you?

We have no predetermined ideas on this. We want as many people to like our band as we can get, because we know what we want to be and we only plan on changing as change naturally occurs. Headlining tours are awesome in some ways, support slots are awesome in others, festivals are great in still different ways. At this point, I consider myself a musician and all of this is part of that career and life experience. I’m along for the ride.

Was the grand response to the “Living Saints” music video expected?
Living Saints

Living Saints

Not really, but it wasn’t wholly unexpected either. Tom Collela, who created and directed the video, is a genius who we’re lucky enough to be great friends with. Emmett and Tom went to high school together and we’ve been crashing on Tom’s floor for way, way too long now. So when we saw the video and went “holy shit this is awesome,” it wasn’t surprising, but we had no idea what to think about its wider reception. I think its great and all the credit should go to Tom for knocking it out of the park.

Are you happy with the creative outlets currently available to you?
Live @ The Boardwalk, Orangevale

Photo Credit: Carly Hoskins

Like any borderline-OCD perfectionist type, I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied. I end up hating most everything I make shortly after its finished, and the focus turns to improving the next creation. I love that I’m a part of Polar Bear Club, Achilles, and the few other things in which I get to participate, and lack of time pretty much prevents any large-scale new projects. But the last two years or so have also brought a great deal of new friends, many of which I have a ton of respect for and would LOVE to collaborate with at some point. So I guess we’ll see what comes up when time permits. I’m moving to Boston with my girlfriend shortly and know a number of people there that I’d like to make music with if possible.
Achilles

Achilles

It’s not common knowledge among PBC fans that you play drums in Rochester, NY’s Achilles. Anything new to report from the camp for 2010?

Achilles is alive and well and an important part of our lives. We don’t have many chances to get together, but we’re close friends and always love when we can play. Rory is in Soul Control; Rob is a married art teacher with two kids, two pets, and a slew of other activities taking up his time; Josh is just graduating college and moving on to employment and/or grad school; and I do PBC. For now, we’ll be doing shows in Buffalo and Syracuse at the end of August, and then a show in Brooklyn to benefit Jake Stults in September. We’re writing a new EP that we’re going to record with Jay Maas from Defeater, and we have some exciting progress but can’t really predict when it will be ready to record. I firmly believe Achilles will exist in some capacity until one of us is no longer physically capable of playing our instrument.
Cave In

Cave In

When was the last occasion you moshed, if ever?

October 26, 2004. Club Tundra in Syracuse, Cave In played “Juggernaut” and that was that. Yes, I had to search through the syracuseshows.com archive to figure that out.

Finally, Upstate New York is a breeding grounds for pop-punk and hardcore. Who do you hope will take it to the next level this year?

The new Such Gold songs I heard were a really big step up and they’re working hard too and that’s awesome. Like Wolves is an awesome band and seems to be gaining momentum, too. Some of my friends started a new band called The Curl And Drag that should be great, in the vein of How We Are. I’m sure there are a ton more but those come to mind first. Oh, and Tracker’s band, Mayflower, is awesome despite being less active.

Taken from adequacy.net

Friday, September 10, 2010

Negative Approach


Negative Approach have posted three songs from their upcoming 7-inch, Friends of No One. The 7-inch and CDEP is due out on Taang! Records and actually represents material recorded in 1984 but (officially) released for the first time this year.

Check out the title track as well as "Genocide" and "I Got a Right" from the EP on their MySpace page. http://www.myspace.com/negativeapproach

The band's 10-Song EP is being reissued on October 12, 2010 by Touch and Go Records.

Dr. Strange To Reissue Government Issue & Stalag 13



Dr. Strange Records has announced that they have just reissued two classic records from D.C.'s Government Issue and Nardcore legends Stalag 13. Dr. Strange has announced that both Government Issue's "The Fun Never Ends" and Stalag 13's "In Control" will also feature bonus tracks not available on the original releases.

You can purchase both records by visiting the Dr. Strange website. Both records also have a limited edition colored version limited to 200 copies each.

Cruel Hand/Backtrack Tour Dates

Cruel Hand and Backtrack will spend a month together on tour this fall. Cruel Hand is supporting their latest Bridge Nine Records album, Lock & Key.





October 22, 2010 Alexandria, VA The Lab
October 23, 2010 Virginia Beach, VA Skate High
October 24, 2010 Greensboro, NC Legitimate Business
October 25, 2010 Lexington, SC Oak Grove Civic Club
October 26, 2010 Tampa, FL Transitions
October 27, 2010 Pembroke Pines, FL Talent Farm
October 28, 2010 Jacksonville, FL Warehouse 8B
October 29, 2010 Atlanta, GE 585 Wells
October 30, 2010 Nashville, TN Rocketown
October 31, 2010 Cincinnati, OH Warsaw Arena
November 01, 2010 Evansville, IN Resurgence Church
November 02, 2010 St. Louis, MO Fubar
November 03, 2010 Little Rock, AR Downtown Music
November 04, 2010 Dallas, TX The Nightmare
November 05, 2010 Houston, TX Walter's
November 07, 2010 San Antonio, TX Ten Eleven
November 08, 2010 Mesa, AZ Nile Underground
November 09, 2010 Tijuana, Mexico Bodega Aragon
November 10, 2010 Canoga Park, CA Cobalt Cafe
November 11, 2010 Fresno, CA The CYC
November 12, 2010 Berkeley, CA 924 Gilman
November 13, 2010 Sacramento, CA Branch St.
November 14, 2010 Seattle, WA Fusion Cafe
November 16, 2010 Rapid City, SD Trea Bingo Hall
November 17, 2010 Kansas City, MO Scion Lab
November 18, 2010 Omaha, NE The Commons
November 19, 2010 Minneapolis, MN The Beat
November 21, 2010 Lansing, MI Mac's
November 22, 2010 Toledo, OH Mickey Finn's
November 23, 2010 Edinboro, PA The Hangout
November 24, 2010 Syracuse, NY Lost Horizon
November 26, 2010 Brooklyn, NY Knitting Factory
November 27, 2010 New Haven, CT Lilly's Pad
November 28, 2010 Holyoke, MA Waterfront Tavern

Get The Most - Think It Through

Thursday, September 9, 2010

The First Step


One of the best hardcore bands!