Search Results for: ska

After all the work entailed by the simultaneous release of the analog-sounding I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and the electronica-tinged Digital Ash in a Digital Urn a little more than two years ago, Bright Eyes mastermind Conor Oberst says he wised up. “I think we had enough of the double record last time,” he laughed. “It was pretty hectic, and the tour that followed, to promote both albums, ended up being a lot on us. We’re trying to be a little smarter this time around. The idea was definitely to make one strong album that made sense.” That album, Cassadaga,… Read more »

Switchfoot’s new Columbia album “Oh! Gravity” is pulling the band onto the road for an extensive North American tour in February and March. Labelmate Copeland will open. The trek begins Feb. 14 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, Calif., and wraps March 31 in the quintet’s San Diego homebase. Fans might even expect a concert after the concert in some instances. “I often find that after I get off stage I still have more music left in me. Hanging out with our friends in Nickel Creek in Chicago taught me what to do with the leftover music,” Switchfoot frontman… Read more »

When Ronald Simmons first heard James Brown’s hit “Cold Sweat,” he was blown away, especially by Brown’s command, “Give the drummer some!” “When I was a kid I would go crazy when I heard that!” said Simmons, 53. “It did something to me: I’ve been drumming for the last 35 years.” Simmons was among thousands of fans waiting Thursday outside the Apollo Theater to pay their respects to Brown, who died on Christmas Day at age 73. As they stood in the cold, many spoke passionately about Brown’s impact on their lives. “He is our royalty, our music royalty,” said… Read more »

For many college seniors, extracurricular activities are limited to mailing out résumés, organizing rallies in the campus quad and hitting up the occasional nickel-beer night. But for 20-year-old Emerson College senior Pearl Wible, her after-school schedule included directing a music video for bombastic Texas rockers… And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, which, as fate would have it, just happened to fall during exam week. “It was pretty much the week from intense hell,” Wible laughed. “I’m also an RA on campus, so in addition to exams and shooting the video, I also had to help a… Read more »

You’d think that by this point – 15 years into their career – people would know that SoCal punkers Guttermouth are all about the tongue-in-cheek fun. They are called “Guttermouth” after all. But that isn’t the case. Every time the band try to joke about anything it backfires. From issues with former record labels to lead singer Mark Adkins being deported out of Canada after a much-publicized exposure issue in Saskatoon years ago and now a to-do with the majority of left-wing punk rock bands and their anti-Bush stance, Guttermouth can’t win. It’s a situation made more perplexing by the… Read more »

“I asked the audience to raise their hands if they had a flag sticker on their car,” relates KillRadio singer Brandon Jordan. Sweaty yet adrenalized, the diminutive ska/punk/rock singer is relating an amusing anecdote of his band’s first foray into live performances. “About three-quarters raised their hand,” he continues. “I told them they were fucking idiots because they’re breaking the flag code. Flags are only supposed to be flown on poles. They’re not supposed to be stickers; they’re not supposed to be bandannas, they’re not supposed to be jeans… it doesn’t make you a patriot. The cloak of a scoundrel… Read more »

Few things are sadder than aging punk rockers attempting to cash in on their misspent youth, especially their desperate act of trying to recapture the glory days of fickle preadolescents with disposable incomes. Such is the lot of Good Charlotte and Simple Plan, purveyors of a Splenda version of pop-punk so lightweight that only Top 40 radio will touch it. Not that the bands resemble glossy pop stars, per se: GC’s members look like thugged-out suburbanites who overdosed at the tattoo parlor, and the Plansters are the mischievous skater kids hellbent on crashing keggers thrown by the football jocks. Good… Read more »

New York, NY – San Diego rockers Unwritten Law have parted ways with Rob Brewer, the band’s long-time guitarist. The veteran rockers will remain intact as a four piece and are on tour now with Sum 41 in support of their new album Here’s To the Mourning. “It was an incredibly difficult decision, albeit the right thing to do given the recent circumstances,” remarked Unwritten Law vocalist Scott Russo. “Rob is irreplaceable and we plan to continue as a four-piece. We wish him the best and remain confident that Unwritten Law will continue to make great music.” Considered by many… Read more »

New York – Singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne will spend most of the summer on the road in North America, beginning July 13 in London, Ontario, and wrapping Sept. 3 in Montreal. Gavin DeGraw and Butch Walker will serve as opening acts at various points, as well as other yet-to-be announced artists. The artist is expected to spice up the set lists by making appearances on drums and piano. She’ll also recast certain songs in an acoustic setting. Lavigne will be out in support of her sophomore RCA album, “Under My Skin,” which has sold 2.6 million copies in the United States,… Read more »

Drummer Derrick Plourde – a founding member of Southern California punk band Lagwagon – and Hideaki Sekiguchi – who slapped the bass for Tokyo garage-punk band Guitar Wolf – both died Wednesday, news that sent shockwaves throughout the underground punk rock world. Plourde was 33, and Sekiguchi was 38. Fat Wreck Chords, which released Lagwagon’s earliest material, confirmed Plourde’s death in a statement posted to the indie label’s Web site, which read, in part, “March 30th was a sad day for the Fat Wreck Chords family, as we learned about the passing of Derrick Plourde. We consider him one of… Read more »