For more than three hundred Nazis fell by your gun"
Afterboltxebike are a hardcore punk band from San Nicolás de los Garza , Mexico who formed in 2015 with the intention of sharing their Communist ideology. Their name comes from a song by Basque punk band Kortatu and roughly translates as After Bolsheviks. As well as putting across their message via music, they're also involved in various political initiatives.
They're a 3 piece comprising of Gabriela (drums), Andrea (bass/vocals) and Diego (guitar/vocals). As far as I'm aware, they've only recorded a couple of songs so far, one of them is called De Que Lado Estas and asks which side are you on? The bosses or the workers? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoTFqsndBlA
The other song, which you'll find below, is about Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the World War 2 Red Army sniper who was credited with over 300 kills and is the most prolific female sniper in history. She was the subject of a 1946 song by Woody Guthrie, a sample of which was used to end the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHKjOl9ocR0
Afina su mira, recarga su arma Su objetivo es la peste parda Respira hondo y dispara Otro nazi ha muerto por sus balas Defendió Odessa y disparo en Crimea Lyudmila Pavlichenko era toda una guerrera Esperando en la nieve inicio el infierno De los fascistas que invadieron
Trecientos nazis murieron Pavlichenko los cazó Oficiales y sargentos A ninguno perdonó.
Their line up features Stevie Williams (vocals), Jake Laderman (drums), Rod Goon (guitar), Will Robinson (guitar) and Hanny J (bass/vocals). They've been together since 2009 and you can check out their music here : https://clownsband.bandcamp.com/ For more band info go here : https://www.clownsband.com/
If you're in the UK or Europe watch out for them soon in a venue near you...
They've a new album (their 3rd) scheduled for later this year, it'll be titled Lucid Again and this is one of the tracks that'll feature on it. Mixing hardcore and power pop to great effect, this is Dropped My Brain.....
One of my favourite songs of 2017 so far is a new one by Atlanta all female trio The Coathangers. They formed as a 4 piece in 2006 but following the departure in 2013 of keyboard player Bebe Coathanger slimmed down to the current line up of Crook Kid Coathanger (Julia Kugel) (vocals/guitar), Minnie Coathanger (Meredith Franco) (bass/vocals) and Rusty Coathanger (Stephanie Luke) (drums/vocals). They've released 4 albums on Suicide Squeeze Records plus a bunch of singles and split releases, you can check out their music here : https://thecoathangers.bandcamp.com/music.
They're currently in the middle of a mammoth North American tour and they'll follow that up in early summer with a few festival dates in Europe. You can get more details here : http://thecoathangers.com/.
Released to coincide with the tour is the new song you'll find below. Intended as "an allegory for what we are witnessing in our country" this is an expression of frustration called Parasite.....
Elder Abuse formed in 2012, are from Winnipeg, Manitoba and feature ex members of Daggermouth. They play "fast songs about girls and stuff" and list a bunch of influences including Leatherface, Pennywise, Neil Young, NOFX, Jawbreaker, Descendents, Social Distortion etc.......
Their first release was 2014's mini album Born To Lose and you can find it, along with a track they contributed to a split 7" with Anchorless here : https://elderabuse.bandcamp.com/.
Next month sees the release of their first proper full length, titled Burnt, it'll be available on State Of Mind Recordings and Little Rocket Records. They've already premiered a few songs from the album, one of which you can find the video for below. Stop worrying about stuff that doesn't matter, surround yourself with the people that do matter. No more bad days because when life gives you lemons, make Lemonade.......
Following on from yesterday's update featuring D.L.I.M.C. here's another one of Mark Winter's many projects. G.S.B. (Goldman Sex Batallion, or Gordon Spicer Band as was ) have released a cassette ep called Goldman's Beat and it's more of Mark's inventively off kilter diy indie punk. There's also a non ep track called I Like Violence on the Cool Bands cassette compilation alongside songs by some of his other bands such as Ooze, Big Zit, C.C.T.V. etc.
From Goldman's Beat this is the "hit" it's a jaunty, wickedly inventive pop song called Telephone Bore....
I'm not even going to pretend to know much about D.L.I.M.C. other than it's the brainchild of Mark Winter, one of the most original and inventive musicians out there. From Indiana, he's also involved with a plethora of other bands such as Coneheads, Liquids, G.S.B. (I'll feature them on here soon), C.C.T.V. etc....
As D.L.I.M.C. (it stands for d.leopardo industrial music co.) he's released a bunch of catchy as hell diy cassettes (February Cassingle, July Cassingle etc) that you can find on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5moaPjC8XUcKmd9bbNqqYDvRYAY3dxQR ). The song you'll find below is the one that seems to be most people's pick of the bunch, it's from the November Cassingle and it's called Wicker Park....
Living in the suburbs is such a drag
My parents give me money to fill plastic bags
Someday I’ll live large and get a brand new car
Drive to Chicago where my life will start
Oh I’m so cliche
The city and my suburb are the fucking same
I'll move to Logan Square, shop at Wicker Park
American Apparel and latte art
Staying inside after it gets dark
I love the city just not the poor parts
My alternative lifestyle is a fucking farce
Mommy thinks I’m crazy cause i dyed all my hair
Pour packages of food items on the clothes that i wear
Some less fortunates tried to steal my backpack
The six corners is the only place where i don’t get laughed at
So you work for a company that tells other people
About a service that a copy company offers through a website?
Oh you go to a club in Boystown where they play retro new wave music?
What’s that like?
Who fucking cares about the brand of circular sunglasses that you wear
Your slick beard or your fixed gear bike
Or whatever shit that encompasses your life
I happen to think that your boring and trite
So you say there the same, does that make me half right?
I’m still better off than you, you delusional ass wipe
People like you just make me sick
Your city is the suburbs, your poor is for the rich
When you abandon your apartment and move back with your mom
I hope it all burns so your neighborhood is gone!
If you check out their Facebook page...(https://www.facebook.com/yourdreamnails/) you'll discover that London band Dream Nails are "Queer feminist punk witches ready to hex you." I can safely say that after listening to their debut ep these 4 enchantresses certainly have me under their spell.
Described as being like The Ramones meets Bikini Kill, it's no surprise that their music is up tempo, fun punk that seethes with a strong undercurrent of swirling anger. They've got something to say but they aren't going to be all po faced and self righteous about it when they can get their message across just as forcefully whilst having a good time.
These sisters (Janey, Lucy, Anya and Emmett) are definitely doing it for themselves as you'll hear if you check out their wonderful DIY ep...... https://dreamnails.bandcamp.com/album/diy
My favourite album of 2016 was Backbars And Alleyways by Belfast Oi! Oi! punks Takers & Users. This kind of gritty, passionate working class music doesn't get much better then this (https://takersusers.bandcamp.com/releases) so you can imagine how thrilled I was 3 months ago when I was sent 3 unreleased songs to play on the Just Some Punk Songs show. Now there's a video for one of those songs available ahead of it's release next month on Randale Records (http://www.randaleshop.de/).
One of my favourite new groups, Takers & Users formed in 2014, took their name from the song by The Business and line up with Darzo Kingston (vocals/bass), Michael Kerr (guitar/back up vocals), Stephen Sprouley (drums) and Ryan Baron (guitar/back up vocals). Gigs lined up in support of the new single include this Friday (24th Feb) in Belfast alongside Steve Ignorant with Paranoid Visions, 11th March alongside Rixe (in Schiltach, Germany) and then they'll be returning to blow away the heaving throngs at the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool.
A nostalgic look back to their formative years when they grew up running riot with their mates, kicking a ball around in the park, getting drunk, fighting and being chased by the cops, this is the song that confirms the debut album was just a precursor for what will no doubt be a string of classic releases. This is Glory Days.....
Some of you may remember that my best of 2017 chart featured a song by Grand Rapids band The Lippies. It was just one of the excellent tracks that made up their s/t debut album and the announcement that they were splitting up just as they appeared to be hitting their stride was received with dismay. Fast forward a few months and a couple of members of The Lippies (guitarist Lawrence Cole and bassist Taylor Shupe) have joined forces with drummer Josh Stacey (The War Between/Cosmonaut) and his wife (vocalist) Krystal Stacey to form The Bloody Lips.
It's a touch heavier than The Lippies but I'm enjoying it immensely, there's 10 tracks in not much more than 15 minutes and as a calling card it's definitely job done. Shame about The Lippies but from the ashes rises another great band.
Former Victim & Androids frontman Joe Zero continues his build up towards the summer release of his second solo album, The Eternity Man, by releasing a fang-tastic new single. The Manchester based solo artist, real name Joe Moody, has been releasing a single a month since his politically acerbic Christmas offering, Syria. This time around he's penned a true story of a woman who dresses in a long black gothic coat and could very well be trouble but she's too alluring to resist. Titled Love And The Vampire, it's an infectious kick ass rock n roll song with added punk rock bite. You can find it here : https://joezero.bandcamp.com/
If you're anywhere near Belfast on 1st April, you'll be able to catch Joe performing an acoustic set at the Belfast Pavilion as part of the Punk For The Homeless benefit. He'll be sharing a stage with Northern Irish legends Protex, Stop Stop Start Again and The Inflatable Dolls.
Accompanied by a video featuring some classic vampiric clips, this is Love And The Vampire.....
When we go out drinking, You always buy me double! This got me thinking, Perhaps you are just trouble!
But when the Moon shines bright And your eyes are all aglow... And when you lick your lips... I love your Moonlight Show! For you're my Vampire Love! You're my Vampire Love! You're my Vampire Love... YOU ARE MY VAMPIRE LOVE!
When you walk in the Graveyard, With your long black Gothic coat, You give me goosebumps, When you stare at my throat!
You are my Vampire, my little Vampire! YOU ARE MY VAMPIRE LOVE!
She is my Vampire Girl ( My Vampire Baby)
"Girl I'm just a Vampire for your Love... And I'm gonna Suck ya!!!"
Something a little different today, next month sees the release of a split mini ep by a couple of bands who both went down very well when I featured them on here or played them on the show last year. To whet your appetite for it I've managed to get a joint interview with both vocalists, Jim Styring (B-Leaguers) and Barry Phillips (Hooligan Crooners). Basically I asked them about their respective bands, about the new mini album and as that album is going to be called Tales From A Punk Rock Road Trip I got them to talk a little about life on the road. This was the result.
JUST SOME PUNK SONGS (JSPS) : Hi guys, can you start off by telling me about B-Leaguers and Hooligan Crooners......
JIM STYRING (JS) : B-Leaguers are an original punk rock and roll band, from Lincoln, UK. We came together through a shared love of the music and a desire to make something happen. We wrote a bunch of songs and played a handful of shows. There was no real plan. I'm Jim, the frontman. We have Ched on guitar, Mikey on bass and Nate on drums. We've all played in bands before, but something just seemed to click with this line up, the chemistry works. Our debut album, 'Death of a Western Heart' was released last year, on an American label. It's picked up some great reviews and made us some great friends. And we're about to release a new split mini LP, with some of those new friends, Hooligan Crooners. 'Tales From A Punk Rock Road Trip' will be out on March 31st, on the PWVA Records label. It's a collection of good, honest punk rock songs. We can't wait for people to hear it! We play the LP's official release night, with Hooligan Crooners, at the Mulberry Tavern, Sheffield, on Friday 31st March. And the following night, Saturday 1st April, both bands will be playing the Punk & Disorderly Festival, Salisbury. Hope to see you there!
BARRY PHILLIPS (BP) : Hooligan Crooners grew out of a social-media love-affair. We’re so modern it hurts. I set up a Facebook page “The Punk Wars Veterans Association” and after a couple of years it really took-off. Nan (Hools) was on there and posted lots of cool (sometimes obscure) punk tracks. It was obvious we had similar tastes. Nan had come through a life-threatening illness and had put a band together down in his hometown of Dole (Jura, France). He was celebrating his luck at still being alive and decided to make the most of it. He told me he was looking for a guitarist. At the time I was still living in Sheffield so there was no realistic chance of me doing anything. And I’d been “retired” for 20 years anyway! A year or so later I moved to the Netherlands and Nan and I arranged to meet up in Paris at a Guerilla Poubelle gig in early 2015. We got on really well and he talked me into giving it a shot. It turned out he already had a guitarist (Kouett Punk) and a tremendous young drummer (Clement Passant) and it was a bassist he really needed. So I took one for the team and went back to pretending to be a bass player. So 18 months on and we’ve released two maxi EPs (“Hell Yeah! It’s Hooligan Crooners” and “From Paradise To Halfway” – both with additional guest remixes from e.g. members of The Boys and EMF) and we’ve just recorded 3 tracks for a forthcoming split mini LP with the great B-Leaguers (Lincoln, UK). We’ve had a fair amount of radio play in the UK, France, Spain and the US and played gigs in France and Germany. Kouett left the band last month by mutual consent and we have an old Sheffield band-mate of mine stepping in for the upcoming dates to promote the album. We are making our first visit to the UK and also have a couple of French dates. We plan to tour again in September and October – France, Germany, Switzerland and Netherlands. There’s a chance we’ll also be back in the UK if we can make the money side of it work! We’re pretty darned excited about the UK dates but it’s obviously different for me being from the UK and having played in a few bands (Demob, The Blitz Boys and Sheffield “twisted country band” The Rainsaints who were signed to the legendary Belfast label Good Vibrations) albeit hundreds of years ago!! We’ve had some nice press coverage too – Louderthanwar and Vive Le Rock being the best known. It’s probably better to let the reviewers describe us since they have been very complimentary and are all pretty consistent talking about how we let our (1977-81) influences hang out. The Boys, Generation X, The Clash are usually mentioned and Social Distortion, Rancid, The Ronettes, Jesus & Mary Chain, Die Toten Hosen and Goldbalde have all been thrown in the mix!
Hooligan Crooners - From Paradise To Halfway
JSPS : Calling the new album Tales From A Punk Rock Road Trip suggests it might be worth asking you about your touring experiences. Have you got any tour stories to share?......
JS : It's certainly not as glamorous as is widely believed! There's a million things going on to make sure the gig happens that night. Getting everyone and everything there, on time, sober. Quite often the gigs that are the most memorable, are the ones that on paper, you wouldn't have first thought. It's always about the crowd, the people who've made the effort to come out and see you. There really is no barrier with us, we're all in it together, sharing that 40 minutes. Without an audience, there's little point being there. There's the stories of getting lost, vehicle breakdowns, double bookings, equipment failure, etc, but I'll leave the more sordid stories to Hooligan Crooners...
BP : There is small issue of it being a 1,500km round trip for me to rehearse and record with the Crooners. During those trips there have been some interesting times. The first time I went I bought a rail-card only to find out that the more direct trains were sold-out. So to get my money’s worth and travel on cheap trains I went half way across France practically to Le Havre - 7 changes of train Amiens, Rouen, Lille…it took me 14 hours to get to the Jura. Things got darker on some journeys. I travelled on the Thalys a day or so after the guy attempted to attack passengers with a Kalashnikov. I have to transfer from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon in Paris and I was outside Le Bataclan a couple of days before the attack – I hadn’t noticed it before, but this time there was a young band carting in their gear so it caught my attention. Our drummer Clement lost a friend from Dole during that attack and we had to cancel rehearsals for the funeral a day or so before our first gig - it seemed that half of the town turned out for the service. There were police patrolling every gig in France during that week…even ours down in the Jura! I travelled back a few days after – now it’s a common sight for armed police or soldiers to board the train in Belgium or France and question passengers about every item of luggage. On a lighter note, last month three armed French police on the train asked for my passport – when they saw it was a UK passport the biggest one said “After Brexit…” and mimed tearing up my passport and throwing it out of the train window. How they laughed. The day I came back through central Paris last month was the day of the Louvre shopping centre attack. There was barely a sign that anything had happened. Another time I was flying back from Lyon after a gig and the day before there had been an attack and a guy was beheaded near the airport. It’s weird, on the one-hand it becomes almost “normal” yet on the other hand…every time I walk through Place de la Republique on my way between stations I think about how it looked the week after Le Bataclan attacks with all the memorials. Enough of the depressing stuff!! Punk Rock Road Trip seems a fair description of life in the Hooligan Crooners – mainly because we are based in the Jura and it’s so far from anywhere “rock’n’roll”. That makes it difficult to play one-off gigs as a “normal” band would. We played in Berlin last year and it was such long trip we took a night at a campsite in Jena, ex East Germany en route (Carl Zeiss Jena was all I could think of because I had a CZJ 1970’s football programme from the UEFA Cup). The campsite owner said “you guys look like a band but where’s your gear?”. He’d had a US metal band in the week before and they had “several 5 metre trailers”…he refused to believe there were 5 of us and all of our gear, food and drink in a camper van. Then the van got broken into outside the venue in Berlin. We were actually all standing out in the street having a few beers after the gig when the promoters who had left a few minutes before started shouting from down the road. Of course, we didn’t understand so we were slow to react before chasing the scuzzy toe-rags…if we’d been just a little more multi-lingual we might have caught them!! Typical French and British eh!! We couldn’t secure the broken windows so Nan and I sat up all night drinking cheap wine in the campervan in a heavily-residential street – outside the hostel we’d booked and paid for! By the small hours, I reckon if anyone had tried to break in again we probably would have been too drunk to catch them anyway!
B-Leaguers - Rock And Roller Toons
JSPS : Can you give some info on the new album. With both bands being based in different countries how (and where) did you go about recording it and what can we expect from the songs?......
JS : We recorded at Insonic Studios, here in Lincoln, where we recorded our first album. It's a great studio, Gaz Wilde did a great job producing and keeping us in line. There's two new tracks on the record and we've also put 'Rock and Roller Toons' on there, from our first album, 'Death of a Western Heart' It's one of the songs that people really seemed to enjoy (and we shot a video in Liverpool), so we thought we'd give it another chance to be heard. The two new songs are, 'World Famous (in a little town)' and 'Voting For The Neighbours'. World Famous is really about how a song can instantly take you back to a point in your life. How you can suddenly be back there again, with the old crowd, in the old places, watching the old bands. But it's not a depressing track, that'll have you crying into your beer, it's a celebration of how we're all still here, still into the music and still as passionate as ever! 'Voting For The Neighbours' I guess, is about self belief and following your heart. Staying focussed through good, and more often than not, bad times. It's that gang thing again, we're all in this together.
BP : The title of the new LP comes from a couple of sources. Hooligan Crooners songs are nearly all “short stories”…like a scene or scenes from a road-trip movie. It seemed to us that many B-Leaguers songs were also like that. Much of life is a Punk Rock Road Trip anyway, if you take notice there’s plenty of raw material to work with. Of course it’s romanticising stuff a bit and there are “fictions” within it. That’s just song-writing – that’s just writing I guess. Punk Rock Road Trip is just a way of recognising experiences and realising how lucky you have been to have had these experiences…and yet still be here. Pretty much every song is a celebration of that. We’ve lost a lot of friends on the journey so we try to celebrate them too. With the album being a split and the bands in different countries there will obviously be some differences in the sounds. But we think that’s a strength. It is important that the bands and the tracks are compatible - so that fans of one band get to hear another band they might like and don’t feel cheated when they buy the album. B-Leaguers recorded, mixed and mastered in Lincoln whilst Hooligan Crooners used the same small studio (Loue River Studios) in the tiny village of Chay in the “Valley of Love”! We’ve used the studio for the previous two EPs, we enjoy working with Bernard Montrichard there. And it’s cool to be in the middle of the countryside with no distractions – for 3 days we live on wine, beer and cheese! We mixed and mastered in Dole with a very talented young-man called Holy Beard! He helped with mixing and mastering the previous EP and also did a left-field remix for us on that. He’s got a great future as an artist (Warp Records style tracks), an engineer and a producer. Several people commented that we had found our sound on the second EP. The 3 new tracks on the album don’t stray far from that – although Bernard (who is a mighty fine musician) commented that this time we seemed more confident and that now there is a very distinct and recognisable “Hooligan Crooners” sound. We try to stick as close as possible to the live arrangements. The songs themselves? Opening track “It Goes Like This” is quite anthemic (although hardly stadium stuff!) in the vein of “From Paradise To Halfway” or “Kings Of Summer”. “Holy Shit” (which has nothing to do with religion) is a 176bpm rip through what is basically a country song played with big, fat, dirty guitars. “Head Full Of Chemicals” I always think of as a nod in the direction of the great, great Rudi…a cranked-up pop-song.
B-Leaguers
Hooligan Crooners
JSPS : What does the future hold for B-Leaguers and Hooligan Crooners?
JS : We're very much looking forward to playing with Hooligan Crooners, and for the new record to come out. We also have some festivals coming up this summer, and we're just waiting on confirmation on a few other things. We're always writing new songs, so at some point, we'll be back in the studio. And we shoot a music video for one of the new tracks very soon, so look out for that! Check our facebook page to keep up to date with what's going on.
BP : The first thing is obviously the new split LP and the dates in the UK and France. Then we hope to do a couple more small festivals in France during the summer as we did last year. Right now we have just started the (sometimes soul-destroying) round of setting up dates for the autumn. We are concentrating on France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. But we have already been approached about some more UK dates. That’s great news but it is so expensive for us it makes it difficult – thankfully we have a lot of very kind friends and supporters who offer us accommodation and help so we can at least consider it. Generally, if you are a DIY band/act and don’t have a promoter (and don’t come from a big city where you could build a name/reputation through local gigs), it is so difficult to put together a tour – whether that’s mainland Europe or UK. Contact 50 venues and you may get 2 replies…and one of them will be “no thanks/non-merci/nein danke”. We have been talking with some other amazing bands who are DIY and they talk of the struggle, having to buy on to a tour (with some so-called “punk” legends!!), playing 270 dates in a year and coming back with 300 Euros each to survive on until the next tour starts 3 months later. It’s just not sustainable. And we obviously have the added complication of the distance between us. So we have to find other ways of doing things. That’s why we took the decision to concentrate on two tours a year and whatever summer festivals we can pick up. We plough on through and each tour, each release, builds the reputation a little more and hopefully leads to more and better offers next time around. And, gradually, we are getting to build a small network of bands who are willing to try and help each other to DIY, bands from the UK, Germany, Greece, Ireland and even the US. It’s still 50 contacts for one positive reply but it’s a start…and it feels good to be part of it. It would be really cool if that could become a DIY co-op but then it would probably need someone to do it full-time and then it would be at risk of just being another promoter. Don’t get us wrong…there are some GREAT people out there promoting and without them we’d all be buggered. We thank them all! Hooligan Crooners UK Dates : Nottingham Doghouse, Mar 29th, Sheffield Mulberry Tavern Mar 31st – LP launch party with B-Leaguers, Salisbury Punk & Disorderly Festival April 1st (watch this space for an additional date on Mar 30th). “Tales From A Punk. Rock. Road. Trip.” split mini-LP w/B-Leaguers is released March 31st on PWVA Records and will be available on CD and download.
Thanks for your time and effort guys, I'm looking forward to hearing the album and I'm sure a new song from each of you will feature Just Some Punk Songs soon.
Tuesday's Just Some Punk Songs show earned many positive comments from the people who were listening in the chatroom and I thought I'd post one of the songs that seemed to go down a storm (If anyone wants to check out the show, it's saved here : http://mixlr.com/just-some-punk-songs/showreel/just-some-punk-songs-140217/).
S.B.F. are from California and are Cruz Somers (Socialites, UV-B, Beneath My Blood) and Raymond Schmidt (Race Car, Shrink Ray). Last year saw the release of a self titled cassette ep on Abnormal Broadcasting and it's since been remastered for vinyl by Daniel Husayn and is available from Drunken Sailor Records : https://drunkensailorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/st-7-3. There's also going to be a new 7" to watch out for on Goodbye Boozy Records.
There's 4 songs on the current ep, they feature a drum machine, some very cool garagey guitar playing and plenty of weird electro bits. The tags on Bandcamp include hardcore punk, abnormal, Black Sabbath noise and bomb. I think it sums things up fairly well but have a listen and add your own adjectives. This is A Haunting We Will Go.....
''The show is over. The audience get up to leave their seats. Time to collect their coats and go home. They turn around. No more coats and no more home''.
Since then they've released a split ep with Epic Problem and they posted a Christmas song on Bandcamp. You can snap up all those releases name your price here : https://holiday.bandcamp.com/
The reason for them returning to Just Some Punk Songs today is so that I can share the news that there'll be a debut album coming out on 31st March. It's titled California Steamin' and it'll be on Antikoerper-Export. If you're a vinyl junkie you might want to pre order one of the limited edition Ganja Green vinyl copies ( http://antikoerper-export.com/produkt/holiday-california-steamin-lim-col-lp-download-preorder-out-31-03-2017/ ). It'll also be available through Brassneck Records, Pumpkin Records, No Time Records and Predudice Me Records & Distro.
Adz, Ry, Paul and Matt will be touring France and Spain during March and April and there's also a few UK dates as well. More details are available on Facebook.... https://www.facebook.com/sunshinemyass/
As a taste of things to come, the band have just released a new video. Making me await the album release with a fervant anticipation, this is No More Coats, No More Homes.....
If "feminist coldwave" featuring synth rather than guitar sounds like your cup of tea then I'm sure you'll enjoy this (in fact you probably discovered it a few months ago and are wondring why I'm so late to the party!). The lead track from the ep is a hypnotic and slightly creepy song called Everything Is Fine....
Those Rat Bastards are a street punk / oi! band from Brisbane, Australia who's debut 7" single will be released on April 1st by Spirit Of The Streets Records (on silver, red or black vinyl). They're a 3 piece featuring Cam Mitchell (drums/vocals), Craig (guitar/vocals) and Viktor Humi (bass).
Unfortunately I know pretty much bugger all else about them (feel free to share any info you might have in the comments section) so I'll just post a link to their Facebook page... https://www.facebook.com/ThoseRatBastards/
This is the video for the A side of the new single, Grind You Down...
When I was young I always dreamed of more. I did my time on factory floors. Making money to pay. For those things that'd make me numb.
Every day it's the same old shit. It doesn't take long to get sick of it. What's the point in it all? When you can't seem to get off the ground.
Chorus.. Some days you're gonna take the hits. Hold fast and refuse to quit. Keep fighting until you're dead in the ground. Don't let the bastards grind you down
You think this year things are gonna change. This time is ours no more need to complain. But you get screwed over and it's back to no more fun.
One thoughtless second, one stupid error. Now your life has changed forever. It's a hard climb back When you're always beaten down.
Chorus.. Some days you're gonna take the hits. Hold fast and refuse to quit. Keep fighting until you're dead in the ground. Don't let the bastards grind you down.
When I was young I always dreamed of more. I did my time on the factory floors. Making money to pay. For those things that'd make me numb
One thoughtless second, one stupid error. Now your life has changed forever. It's a hard climb back When you're always beaten down
Chorus.. Some days you're gonna take the hits. Hold fast and refuse to quit. Keep fighting until you're dead in the ground. Don't let the bastards grind you down
Guttfull are a "dirty sax" punk band from London who have been described by Parallel magazine as resembling Bikini Kill if they had a baby with The Undertones and adopted a saxophone player. The line up features members of bands such as Thee Faction, TheWimmins' Institute, Kenickers, Charlemagnes, Down Love and Those Unfortunates; Momoe Tasker (vocals), Cassie Fox (guitar), Gemma Gompertz (bass), Phil Whaite (sax) and Magnus Alanko (drums).
They've only been together for around 6 months but their energetic brand of X Ray Spex / Slits inspired punk is earning them plenty of rave reviews. They're hoping to record their debut album in the summer but in the meantime there's 3 songs posted on Bandcamp, one of which is their debut single https://guttfull.bandcamp.com/
The single is a gleeful up yours to US president Donald Trump. I'll be playing it, along with a bunch of other cool punk tunes on this week's Just Some Punk Songs show. It's on air at 8pm (gmt) on Tuesday 14th February and this is where you'll find it (if you want to join the regulars in the chatroom just right click the link) : http://mixlr.com/just-some-punk-songs/
Today's update sees a welcome return for East Kilbride's alternative gasmask rockers EK Decay. Lining up with David Middleton (vocals), Jamie Stevens (bass), John Hunter (guitar), Jamie Barnes (drums) they're a band who've picked up a rabidly loyal fanbase (The Collective) who are frequently aboard the battlebus following the band the length and breadth of the UK.
Since forming in 2013 they've released a couple of very well received albums, No Hope and The Collective and there's a dvd in the pipeline. Find out more here : http://ekdecay.weebly.com/
Their latest release is a new single. Titled Armageddon, it's going to be available on vinyl and if you pre order it from the above link they'll send you a free cd copy.
As frontman Midi is an approchable kind of guy I asked him for some info on the single and on the newly released accompanying video.....
"We filmed this video at the decaying Buchanan castle, just outside Glasgow, and it was meant to be a big production effort with a local Video company who were desperate to break into the music video scene but after we hired a bus to take our fans there the company let us down at the last minute as the "Weather was too wet to film outdoors" ....... we decided to go ahead and do a DIY film with "The Collective" making them the main part of the story as a way of thanking them for their loyalty over the years of selling out buses wherever we play and getting into the gigs like no other fans we have seen and so this video shows them in all their mad glory................. the music box is meant to signify the beginning and end of the story because who knows how long the fun will last. Armageddon is a serious song but hopefully the video can put a smile on a few peoples faces ........ god knows the world needs that right now. With the rise extremism and terrorism around the globe and with politics taking an alarming swing to the right, the world has never felt so unsafe. The nuclear arms race in unstable countries like Iran & North Korea has everyone on the edge of their seats. The expansionism of Russia and the now a total screwball like Trump running the most powerful country in the world has us all reaching for the gas mask and heading to the bunkers ......... Armageddon is coming and don't say we didn't warn you!"
This Is Armageddon......
* for some reason, it seems that when you click on the video it won't play but it's easy enough to watch it, just click where it says watch this ideo on youtube and it'll take you straight to it *
Sweet FA (or Sweet Fuck All if you prefer) are a skinhead rock n roll band from Philadelphia who formed in 2015 and feature a line up of Bullock (vocals, lead guitar), Chris Z (guitar/lead vocals), Eric (bass/vocals), Hand Hammer (drums) and Casey (vocals).
In March of 2015 they announced themselves with a name your price Demo and the following February they released the 5 track pre album promo cassette, Live By The Sword. Both these, good as they were, were just laying the groundwork for debut album, Mission Accomplished. Released by Rebellion Records and Longshot Music, it's one of the best new Oi! records around (and as I've mentioned several times, this is a genre that is currently in rude health with many great releases coming out). You can listen and discover just how good it is here : https://sweetfaphilly.bandcamp.com/
If you like this kind of music (and if you're still reading then I'm assuming you do), then you'll be blown away be the likes of title track, Mission Accomplished, American Skinhead Pride and the Romper Stomper inspired Forth To War. Another modern day classic is the song about an angel with a dirty face, living alone on the backstreets, this is Anti World.....
Brad Pot are from Melbourne, Australia and line up with Brad Pot, Tristan Trashcan, Wavy Gravy and Steve (whom I assume couldn't be bothered to think up a whacky name). I've seen plenty of comparisons with The Buzzcocks bandied about but they ain't as straight up edgy pop punk as Pete Shelley's mob. Granted there's plenty of catchy hooks and songs like Bullshit could have fit nicely onto Another Music In A Different Kitchen but overall there's a bit more of a garage vibe and maybe a little more inventive quirkiness. Forget the comparisons, Brad Pot are releasing an early contender for best album of 2017 and that's all you really need to know.
Now for the important bit. 3rd of March is the date that mega cool label Slovenly Records will be releasing the Self Titled album on vinyl and cd. Can't wait? then get over to Bandcamp as it's already streaming..... https://slovenly.bandcamp.com/album/brad-pot
As I've said, it's gonna be one of my favourites of the year so check it out. There's also a video for the lead song, this is Air Strike.....
More female fronted garage punk today but this time around we're in much more Ramones inspired straight up punk "n" roll territory. Midnite Snaxxx are from Oakland, California and feature ex Loudmouths' front woman Dulcinia Gonzalez (guitar/vocals), ex Loli & The Chones guitarist Chris Santamaria, Camylle (bass/vocals) and Sammy (drums/vocals).
Thus far they've released a handful of singles, a 2012 debut s/t album and now they're back with sophomore album, Chew On This. Due out on Pelican Pow Wow Records on the 14th Feb, it's already digitally available on Bandcamp and you can find it, along with the earlier releases, here : https://midnitesnaxxx.bandcamp.com/
I've already mentioned The Ramones influence but you can also toss into the mix the likes of The Dictators, Cheap Trick plus former Snaxxx drummer Tina Luccessi's previous band The Bobbyteens. Chew On This is just as you'd expect, classic 60's girl group songs played by a band that grew up listening to classic punk and power pop bands. It's all very catchy but there's enough bite to have me hoping that very soon Midnite Snaxxx will Rule The World.....
So far this week you've had the off kilter sounds of Booji Boys and Janitor Scum and as the Bandcamp tags for today's band include "sick" "slam" "weirdo" and "whacked out" you can probably guess that I've decided to run with the theme for at least one day more.
Judy And The Jerks are a band from Hattiesburg, Mississippi whom I know pretty much zilch about. As they've just released a debut demo they're obviously a new band, the solitary line of information on Sorry State's page for the cassette release of the demo informs me that they feature members of Big Bleach and more!
A review over on Boston Hassle raves over the cassette and says they play "sugar-coated garage-punk at whiplash speeds." My review (if I was any good at writing reviews) would say it's an infectiously frantic female fronted blast of scuzzy garage goodness with the lead track being a shout out to all those things such as milkshakes, french fries, ice cream and big cakes that possibly don't feature in a healthy diet but who gives a fuck, they're oh so bloody tasty. You can indulge yourself "name your price" here : https://judyandthejerks.bandcamp.com/album/demo
This is Sweet Treat (For Me), be careful it doesn't rot your teeth.....
Janitor Scum is a one woman maelstrom of skew whiffed punk rock that you need to hear. From Calgary, Alberta, this is the kind of inventive music that takes inspiration from The Fall and to be honest is more exciting than the material that Mark E Smith and his latest backing band are currently putting out (decent, though not earth shattering as that is). If you're gonna riff on the best, make sure you ain't a pale imitation, Janitor Scum definately succeed in that.
A visual artist (who's put together animated videos for some of her songs) and one half of Calgary label Pee Blood Records (https://peeblood.bandcamp.com/) , Riz is the driving force behind Janitor Scum. Releases so far include the 2015 demo, the Live On CJSW ep (with backing band The Scums and featuring an awesome cover of The Fall's City Hobgoblins) and last year's debut LP (on the mega cool Lumpy label) . You can (and should) check them all out here : https://janitorscum.bandcamp.com/
One of the many delights from the album is Shopping Cart. The version on the live ep is equally wonderful and is already on Youtube so I'll go with that. Enjoy and then go listen to everything else thus far released.....
With their Devo inspired name you'd think Booji Boys might have a sound that's slightly quirky and you'd be right. Basically they're purveyors of catchy garage / pop punk tunes but thanks to the raw recording they sound a little other worldly. Some of you may be put off by this, others will fall in love.
From Halifax, Nova Scotia and featuring members from bands such as Fragment, Grump, Negative Rage, Science Project & Alienation, they've been picking up plenty of comparisons with a couple of other bands that've featured on this blog, Coneheads and Liquids. They've previously released a demo tape, a practice tape and a promo tape and now they're unleashing their debut self titled album. If you're quick, you might be able to pick up vinyl copies from Drunken Sailor ( http://www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk/products/585950-booji-boys-st-lp-drunken-sailor-records-drunkensailor-066 ), otherwise you can get the digital download (along with the earlier releases) "name your price" here... https://boojiboysfuneral.bandcamp.com/
This song illustrates pretty much what they're all about, a killer pop hook, a garage back beat and a wave of distortion, this is Dream Of Booji....
Getting together in 2014 following the demise of The Scabs and Distortion, Top Dog are from Carlisle & Penrith and play classic street punk and oi! They recorded a demo which brought them to the attention of Rebellion Records and the Dutch label released both the 4 track Welcome To My World ep (2015) and last year's excellent self titled debut album.
They were described by Punk Online as being "like a modern day 4-Skins singing about the trials and tribulations of being a working class lad in England in 2016." The momentum started with the demo, ep and album continued with their first European gig in Eindhoven last month and they'll no doubt pull in the punters for their first appearance at the Rebellion Festival in August.
They line up with Steve Slater (vocals), Nigel Barton (guitar), Marc Lewthwaite (bass) and Rab Desborough-Hartley (drums). American fans can sample their gritty tales from the streets of northern England via Longshot Music.
From Rhode Island, Glenn has a number of releases up on Bandcamp including his 2016 album Unimpressed and the exellent Desk Job ep : https://glennrobinson.bandcamp.com/.
Today I'm bringing you a Top 10 of some of his favourite songs. Many thanks Glenn (even if number 1 will leave a few scratching their heads ha!)....
"Selecting your top 10 favorite songs is weird because I wouldn’t consider some of these picks to be in my top 10 favorite bands. Some just have that handful of songs that stay with you forever. Anyways, without thinking too much…In no particular order…"
1) GREEN DAY - Everything
Fight me.
2) WEEZER - Across The Sea
People like to give Weezer a lot of shit. Sure, their first two albums are their best but most people hated Pinkerton when it first came out. I don’t blame them for writing they way they write these days. There’s something admirable about Rivers giving a big “fuck you” to people by writing songs like Hash Pipe and Beverly Hills. Anyways, Across The Sea has always been THE Weezer song for me.
3) RIVERDALES - Back To You
For me Dan Vapid’s input was the highlight of the Riverdales. Vapid is always a source of inspiration when I’m writing my own songs. He’s consistently written solid pop punk songs for over 20 years. Other songs that could’ve been on this list are Heart Out of Season, Annie,Girl Group….all of them! Most of the 90’s Lookout pop punk bands play a huge role in my songwriting and remain high on my list.
4) TOM WAITS - Hang Down Your Head
The gateway song that got me into the massive discography of Tom Waits. Holy shit, does he know how to write a sad song. I have so many favorites of his but this is the song that started it all for me.
5) THE LIKE - Release Me
It’s safe to say I enjoy 60’s influenced, female fronted power pop (is this considered power pop? who cares?). This is just another example of a well written pop song. Their album of the same name is by far one of the best albums I’ve heard in the last 10 years.
6) THE UNIBROWS - 99,999 Needles
This might seem narcissistic, but this is a song from an old band of mine. I only drummed and didn’t write the song so I feel like it can hold a spot on my list. This song comes from our first album Demented Arm Circus. Marc Daniels is not only one of my favorite songwriters but he’s also one of my best friends. He showed me a demo of this when we were in high school about 15 or 16 years ago and I’ve loved it ever since.
7) THE CARDIGANS - Fine
God dammit. I love this band so much. Nobody believes me when I tell them that the band who wrote Lovefool is forever in my top three favorite bands. They have never released a bad album or a bad song. Completely overlooked in the US as a one hit wonder. Their musicianship is off the charts ridiculous. Fine is a perfect example of a well written pop song.
8) ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS - Man Out Of Time
Picking one Elvis song is pretty tough but this is my favorite song of his from my favorite album Imperial Bedroom. I love how the intro was a snippet from one of the demo versions of this song. I don’t understand how this guy consistently writes amazing music. I know I’m a little late to the party since this (and Great Leap Forward) were both released before I was born. Can’t get enough of Elvis!
9) BILLY BRAGG - Waiting For The Great Leap Forward
At 15 years old, this was the first song I ever heard where I was completely blown away by the lyrics. At the time, I was strictly listening to 90’s punk rock so lyrical content wasn’t always a priority. My friends and I had a high school band called The Paranoids and we frequently listened to this song at practices. We were always blown away by the lyric “The revolution is just a T-shirt away.” Aside from the lyrical content, its structure opened my mind to new ways of writing music. The whole song is basically a bunch of verses that slowly build into this giant sing-along chorus at the end. Forever in my top 10.
10) DUM DUM GIRLS - Bedroom Eyes
If there is such thing as a perfect song - this might be it. I could listen to this chorus on repeat for days and it wouldn’t wear me down one bit. It sucks knowing that I will never write a song this good.
