We start "This Week In Music" off on a downer this week. First, Matt Good announced that From First to Last is going on indefinite hiatus, followed the next day by Craig Owens [formerly of Chiodos] announcing Matt Good joining his, as of yet, unnamed new project.
Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms and The Falcon, annouced the completion of a new untitled solo album. Kelly has stated, although, that he has no idea who to bring the album to due to it not exactly sounding like a punk album. Here's to hoping he figures something out so we can get our grubby little paws on it.
Another song from the new Blaqk Audio album titled Bright Black Heaven has been streaming on Sirius radio. The song is called, "Bon Voyeurs" and, lucky for you Blaqk Audio fans, someone has ripped the song and posted it on youtube. Check it, here.
Bad Religion has posted the first song and artwork from their upcoming album, The Dissent of Man, and launched the pre-orders. You can check out "The Devil In Stitches" on their myspace. The band will also be touring the US with Bouncing Souls and Off With Their Heads. Not all the dates are there yet, so keep on checking if you don't see your city.
Keeping the classic punk band news going, The Adolescents released three songs from their upcoming album The Fastest Kid Alive which the band has been working on since 2007. You can check out the songs here: "Tokyo Au Go Go", "Jefferson Memorial Dance Revolution", and "Peace Don't Cost A Thing."
Saves The Day released an acoustic version of "Let It All Go", which you can listen to on the band's website, to be featured on the 4th volume of Bug Sessions. The band will also be opening for the Motion City Soundtrack and Say Anything co-headlining tour, which is a shame because those bands should be opening for Saves The Day.
Mike Ness, lead singer and guitarist, of Social Distortion announced that their debut on Epitaph Records is to be titled Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes. Ness also went on to promise a release date in November.
Senses Fail announced that their upcoming album will be titled The Fire. Let's just hope this album is actually a fire and not just some smoldering ember like their last album was. The band will also be touring with Bayside on a tour that kicks off October 19th, which makes Jenn's lumping of the two bands in one bullet point last week kind of creepy.
Tegan and Sara have released a new video for "On Directing" from the album Sainthood. Dig those crazy Canadians.
Reverend Horton Heat have announced plans to record their August 12th show to release as a live DVD in celebration of their 25th anniversary.
The Birthday Massacre have finished up their new album titled Pins and Needles, which is set to be released on September 14th. The band will also be on a headlining tour in support of the new album, which is to start August 20th.
Planes Mistaken For Stars, who played their final show in January of 2008, will be playing both The Fest and a one-off reunion show in Chicago. Let's hope that the one-off bit was bullshit and they either do a full tour or get back together.
Rocket From The Crypt, or the best band in the universe [called so by fans due to their amazing live shows], was a 6-piece band of totally awesome dudes hailing from San Diego, California that formed in 1990 along with Drive Like Jehu after frontman John Reis's previous band Pitchfork disbanded.
For the most of its life, Rocket From The Crypt consisted of: John Reis aka Speedo on guitar and lead vocals, Andy Stamets aka ND on guitar and backing vocals, Pete Reichert aka Petey X on bass and backing vocals, Paul O'Beirne aka Apollo 9 on saxophone and backing vocals, Jason Crane aka JC 2000 on trumpet and backing vocals, and Adam Willard aka Atom on drums. This was the line-up from 1990-2000, when Atom left the band due to disagreements over the band's direction and was replaced by Mario Rubalcaba aka Ruby Mars, who played with them until their demise.
Often labeled a punk band, but far from true, Rocket From The Crypt plays classic rock and roll infused with punk attitude and backed by an intense ska-free horns section. To date, Rocket From The Crypt have 7 studio albums ["Paint as a Fragrance", "Circa: Now!", "Hot Charity", "Scream, Dracula, Scream!", "RFTC", "Group Sounds", and "Live From Camp X-Ray"], 2 EPs ["The State of Art Is On Fire" and "Cut Carefully and Play Loud"], 1 Live CD/DVD of the band's final show [aptly titled "R.I.P."], 3 Compilation Albums ["All Systems Go" Vol. 1-3], and about 22 vinyl singles [most of which were collected on the "All Systems Go" compilations].
Rocket From The Crypt's songs are very catchy due in part to the fairly simple, yet awesome, lyrics coupled with the vocal delivery [call and response/chanting/whoas/whatnot] and sonic onslaught of the music. Some awesome examples of Speedo's lyrics include: "Say hello to my little friend, a broken spleen and a heart of gold. Has a face that the world adores, yeah, but lives a life that belongs in hell, no.", "School ain't shit, I read it in a book.", and "My hands were just untied, so I'm using my fist to buy me time. The run-around runs around and goes to the past. Maude, let the young livers pass. We're so strong and we're so feared. They're gonna look back and never knew we're here."
Eventually, after being a band for 15 years, the members of the band started to focus on other projects and RFTC just kind of fell by the wayside. In 2005, after breaking up Hot Snakes [another band John Reis was a member of during his time in Rocket From The Crypt], Speedo announced that RFTC was also breaking up and would be playing their final show on Halloween in San Diego that year. The show was filmed and subsequently released with an album of said show, titled "R.I.P."
Here are a few videos to help demonstrate the awesomeness that is Rocket From The Crypt.
Since I haven't had enough free time to sit down and write, I decided to smoosh together the important music-related news from the past two weeks! Intrigued? Then keep reading.
Recap for the week of July 11th:
Bad Religion has finished recording their upcoming album, Dissent of Man, which will be released on September 28th. Not only is this the first release from the band in three years, but it will also be their fifteenth studio album.
In the wake of a split 7" with Bouncing Souls in the works, Hot Water Music frontman Chuck Ragan revealed that he is also planning a split with Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem. After HWM went on hiatus in 2006, Ragan released a number of solo albums and splits as a folk artist, so this is familiar territory for him.
Taking Back Sunday have an upcoming live CD entitled "Live From Orensanz." The album is entirely acoustic and will be released on August 17th. The limited edition CD/DVD version of the album will only be available to order on the band's website, while the regular version will be available at stores and for digital download.
A new album from Weezer is set to be released on September 13th on an indie label. The album will be the follow-up to 2009's Raditude, which received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. In an interview with newstimes.com, Rivers said of the new album: "There's definitely going to be a more raw rock energy on this one."
Recap for the week of July 18th:
Jimmy Eat World has finished recording their new album, Invented, and the members have already revealed the album artwork and track list for the album. The songs are listed below, while you can view the album artwork here.
1. Heart is Hard to Find 2. My Best Theory 3. Evidence 4. Higher Devotion 5. Movielike 6. Coffee and Cigarettes 7. Stop 8. Littlething 9. Cut 10. Action Needs an Audience 11. Invented 12. Mixtape
The album will be released on September 27th and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon for $10.
Tim Kasher, lead singer of both Cursive and The Good Life, will be releasing a solo album on October 5th. The album is titled The Game of Monogamy.
Do you like free music? Of course you do. Head on over to Amazon to download the free summer sampler from SideOneDummy Records. Big D and the Kids Table, Anti-Flag, The Casualties, and Flogging Molly are just a few of the bands featured on the sampler.
The first episode of Every Time I Die's webseries, Shit Happens: The Series?, is available on the Vans website. A new episode will be posted every Wednesday, so keep checking back.
Comeback Kid has posted the first new song from their upcoming album, Symptoms and Cures (out August 31st). The song, "Do Yourself A Favor," is available for listening on the band's MySpace page and sounds like everything else they've ever released. Not that I'm complaining.
A new video for Gogol Bordello's song "Pala Tute" has been released. A new video with some creepy stop-motion animation, to be exact:
The world's greatest horror rock band, Calabrese, has finished inking their upcoming comic book. As the band stated on their website, "The next step in the process is the lettering, leading the way towards printing, then ultimately making it into your sweaty, grubby hands." Click here to see a few panels from the comic.
Travis Barker (Blink-182, Transplants, +44) has a solo album coming out in the near future, aptly titled Give the Drummer Some. The drummer revealed via Twitter that he is recording a video for the first single, "Carry It," which has guest appearances from Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) and RZA (of Wu-Tang Clan fame). If that isn't the strangest group of people to be featured on the same song, I don't know what is.
As if you haven't read the words, "finished recording their upcoming album," enough in this post, I've got two more for you. Both Bayside and Senses Fail have completed the recording process for their new albums. Little has been revealed by either band, so it's okay to lump them into the same bullet point for lack of material to elaborate on.
If you're a fan of The Adicts you know that this band has been making music since 1975 and is the only punk band to be performing as long as it has with it's original line-up. If you didn't know that, well, now you do.
If you're already a fan of The Adicts, then there's really nothing for you not to love here. They still play the same type of light-hearted, quirky punk that you're accustomed to, while still managing to sound fresh and not like the same thing you've heard for the past 3 albums. Pete Dee continues to evolve his offbeat guitar style on this album, and the rest of the band sound as tight as you'd expect from a band that's been around for about 35 years.
Now, lyrically speaking, you're not going to find any deep or poetic lyrics here. The Adicts are, first and foremost, about having fun and they hit that mark as always. While some of the lyrics are often cheesey [I don't know what a "Reaky Deaky Boy/Girl" is and I don't want to know what a "Reaky Deaky Boy/Girl" is], you'll often find yourself singing said cheesey lyrics long
after listening to this album
due to it's infectious pop sensibilities. Vocally, Monkey, sounds as good as he ever has and there are plenty of whoas/ohs/et cetera to go around.
There are, however, some odd points on the album. "Gangster," while a cool song, doesn't sound like The Adicts and "Mr.Hard," is another weird one. The music is pretty awesome and sounds like The Adicts, but there's something about the lyrics/vocals that I don't enjoy as much.
If I can be honest, The Adicts are one of my favorite punk bands and, with that being said, I really thought that this album was going to be lackluster. In the end, it turned out to be a really fun and enjoyable album and I feel stupid for ever doubting The Adicts.
"Our message, such as it is, has always been, have fun. That's timeless and appeals to everyone." -Monkey
Verdict: 3.75/5 Reaky Deaky Boys
Sounds Like: A good time.
Favorite Tracks: "Over There," "Full Circle," "Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out," "Life Goes On"
Thursday has entered the studio to record their sixth studio album. Lead singer Geoff Rickley was quoted saying, "In style, this record feels like a radical departure from our earlier records, but in substance it feels like a return. The songs are more vulnerable than they've been in a long time." Read more from Geoff and the band in the Epitaph press release.
The Gaslight Anthem debuted their video for "American Slang," the first single off their new album. Click here to watch the video or view it below:
A release date has been set for the reissue of Queens of the Stone Age album Rated R. The reissue, which features b-sides, covers, and live performances by the band, will be out on August 3rd.
Thomas Erak recently revealed the name of his new project: Just Like Vinyl. You can follow them on Twitter (@justlikevinylWA) for updates.
Riot Fest, which might just be the most awesome three-day festival in existence, has confirmed the lineup for the shows that will take place on October 6th through 10th. Bad Religion, Snapcase, Circle Jerks, and The Toasters are just a few of the bands expected to perform. View the complete list of bands here and then cry when you realize it's in Chicago. Come to the East Coast instead, please?
Social Distortion announced the dates for their fall tour with Lucero and Frank Turner. To view the full list of dates and locations, visit Social D's website.
Speaking of Frank Turner, Rock Sound published an exclusive article in which Frank states that he'll be entering the studio in September to record a new EP, which will consist of entirely new material.
Love Every Time I Die? Can't get enough of their ridiculousness? You're in luck! Shit Happens: The Series? is a new webseries by the band that will air new episodes every week courtesy of Vans. The first full episode will be available on July 14th.
A Wilhelm Scream posted an update that mentions talk of heading into the studio in the near future. The band has five studio albums to their name, but their next album will be the first full-length recorded after signing to record label Paper + Plastick.
Portugal. The Man released a video for the song "The Dead Dog" off their 2010 album American Ghetto. Right now the video only appears to be available for viewing at thepunksite.com, so head on over.
Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman of Rancid fame have resurrected their psychobilly side-project Devil's Brigade and plan to release a full-length album on August 31st. Until this point, they'd only released a grand total of five songs, all of which can be heard here.
In an interview with KROQ, pop-punk band Blink-182 revealed that they have begun recording their new album, which they hope to release in the spring/summer of 2011. Fans have been anxiously awaiting new material since the band announced their reformation at the Grammy Awards in 2009. Click here to listen to the interview.
For those of you thinking about attending a show sometime in the future and doing some crowd surfing, here's a tip: Don't do it. As someone who's been to numerous shows, I can tell you there is nothing worse than having some jerk kick you in the back of the head or fall on top of you because they think it would be cool to float to the front of the venue just to run to the back and do it all over again. If you don't want to take my word for it, here is a quote from Davey Havok of AFI fame:
"I've actually been meaning to point something out for a while now but it keeps slipping my mind. Just in case someone has misled you to believe otherwise, crowd surfing sucks. I would leave it plain and simple like that but, for fear of someone confusing the statement to be only a commentary against aggressive behavior at shows, I shall further clarify. Not to be confused with crowd crawling to sing along, the dying art of stylistic stage diving or the evermore rare head walking, crowd surfing is a passive, non emotive, 'Hey mom look at me and how wild I think I am.' behavior. While kick boxing, slamming, singing along and the like are all visceral and emotional responses to music, crowd surfing is, simply, weak. Always has been. There is really no better way to cheapen a live performance than to float like a happy little cloud atop the hands of discomforted showgoers. For all those aghast, having been misinformed and tricked into thinking it was cool, or far out, or what ever you crazy kids might call it today, FEAR NOT for you are not too far gone! We at the church of HolyChristCrowdSurfingSucks welcome you with loving arms. Now you know...and you know what GI Joe says about knowing. That is my public service announcement for today."
Ah, a man after my own heart. But in all seriousness, Mr. Havok is 100% correct on this. Even if you don't necessarily enjoy moshing, slam dancing, and the likes, you can agree that it is done while feeling some sort of connection to the music and projecting that energy outward. Crowd surfing just can't compare to anything previously stated or just singing/screaming along to all your favorite tunes. Not only do you ruin everyone else's time by crowd surfing, but you may also ruin your own when someone who doesn't take too kindly to crowd surfers takes action. I've seen everything from people being pulled down so they fall, shoes being taken off and tossed in a random direction, and even someone getting punched in the face. So before you decide to crowd surf, just ask yourself: Do I really wanna be THAT PERSON?
If you're a fan of The Adicts you know that this band has been making music since 1975 and is the only punk band to be performing as long as it has with it's original line-up. If you didn't know that, well, now you do.
