Tag: Punk

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The Wonder Years

with Tigers Jaw, Tiny Moving Parts, and Worriers

Doors: 7PM

Taking its name from the TV show The Wonder Years, the Philadelphia punk pop band was formed by guitarists Matt Brasch and Casey Cavaliere, vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell, bassist Josh Martin, drummer Mike Kennedy, and keyboardist Mikey Kelly. The sextet got its start in 2005 when previous combo the Premier split up. Regrouping under the new name, the band began playing shows and released two split singles that year (with Bangarang! and Emergency and I). In late 2007, the Wonder Years self-released an album, the emphatically titled Get Stoked on It!, and quickly caught the eye of California label No Sleep, which signed the band. Their first record for the label was the EP Won’t Be Pathetic Forever, which came out in June of 2008. Following a split single with All or Nothing, Kelly left the band. After a year spent recording its second album, the group released The Upsides in January of 2010. The record made a dent in the lower regions of the Billboard charts, and gained the Wonder Years a deal with the larger indie Hopeless, which reissued the album in September with four bonus tracks.

In the time between releases, drummer Kennedy quit the band and was replaced by Nick Steinborn. Kennedy soon returned to the fold and Steinborn bounced over to play keys and guitar. With the lineup solidified, the Wonder Years got to work on their next album with producer Steve Evetts. In 2011, they released their third album, Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing, followed by the arrival of a B-sides compilation, Sleeping on Trash, as well as their fourth full-length album, The Greatest Generation, in 2013. The following year, lead singer Campbell released his first album with his solo project Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties, We Don’t Have Each Other, with Campbell adopting the persona of Aaron West in his songs. After Campbell returned from a tour with the Roaring Twenties, he began working on songs for the next Wonder Years project, but suffered a powerful case of writer’s block that triggered a severe bout with depression. Campbell eventually channeled the emotions stirred up by his struggles into the group’s fifth studio album, 2015’s No Closer to Heaven, a concept piece about coming to terms with the death of a loved one. The Wonder Years’ next release, 2017’s Burst & Decay EP, offered acoustic versions of songs from their three previous LPs. The group re-entered the studio later that year with producers Joe Chiccarelli and Carlos de la Garza to record their sixth album. The resulting Sister Cities was released in 2018 and saw them shifting their sound away from their pop-punk roots.

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DESCENDENTS

Doors: 7PM

Show: 8PM

Support: Radkey, Rehasher

 

Fueled by “rejection, food, coffee, girls, fishing and food,” the Descendents sprang up during the halcyon days of the Los Angeles punk scene; fusing the blind rage of hardcore with an unexpectedly wry, self-deprecating wit and a strong melodic sensibility that set them distinctly apart from their West Coast brethren. They gradually emerged as one of the most enduring and adored bands of their time. Formed in 1979, the Descendents initially sported an edgy power pop sound inspired by the Buzzcocks. Through ups nad downs and intermittent disbanding and rebanding, the Descendents returned in 2016 with Hypercaffium Spazzinate, their first new studio material in 12 years. The album delivers all those good Descendents feelings their fans love. “Each time we make a record it’s almost like the first time all over again,” says drummer Bill Stevenson.

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REEL BIG FISH – The Beer Run

All-time Revolution favorites, Reel Big Fish was one of the legions of Southern California ska-punk bands to edge into the mainstream following the mid-’90s success of No Doubt and Sublime. Like most of their peers, the band was distinguished by their hyperkinetic stage shows, juvenile humor, ironic covers of new wave pop songs, and metallic shards of ska. The group cultivated an underground following that broke into the mainstream when their single “Sell Out” became a modern rock radio and MTV favorite. Still fronted by original lead singer and song writer Aaron Barrett, Reel Big Fish continue releasing albums and touring relentlessly, playing more and more countries and bigger venues all over the world.

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ST. Pauli Presents Less Than Jake & Pepper

Less Than Jake are back!
“But they never went anywhere, “you protest. Well reader, in that sense you are correct. But this fall they’re not only serving up their first full-length in five years, but-after more than two decades together­ also embracing a total back to basics approach .
Throughout a career that has run the gamut from salt-releases and small indie imprints to large independent labels and major music conglomerates, the band has always been more than the sum of its parts. Now more than ever, though, they espouse their stature as a DIV collective that works together-or at least in tandem with a few trusted allies-on every element of their creative output. Drummer Vinnie Fiorello recalls, “We started out very internal and nowadays we handle a lot internally again.”
The result of their old school approach is the old school sound of See The Light created without any external meddling from corporate lackeys. “Everyone had their alone time with chords and some quick structures; we all put our ideas down before we got together,” says Vinnie,” Then we sat at an octagon table in our warehouse and went through: this is what we think about this song, maybe we should do it ska maybe we should do it punk-true band songwriting in essence.”
Not only was the songwriting a true group effort, but -like the three EPs the band have released since 2008’s long-player GNV FLA -so was the actual recording of See The Light, which was tracked entirely at Gainesville’s The Moathouse, owned by LTJ bassist Roger Lima, who took lead production duties with communal input and assistance from his four band mates and live sound engineer.
“Roger has been recording our demos since the beginning of the band and steadily has worked his way up learning about studios from everyone we’ve worked with in the past “says trombone player Buddy Schaub. With no ticking clock and no studio fees piling up the band used their breathing room to create somewhat of a rarity in today’s prefab music world: a full-length album that gels as a complete thought, lyrically and musically, Buddy adds,”I think this is one of the closest representations of our band to date. We’re all really excited for this record t o get out into the world and we can1wait to hear what people thinkI”
Like 2000’s release Borders and Boundaries the new record was mixed at the famed Blasting Room by punk rock legend Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag) and Jason Livermore, but don’t let that lead you to believe that there’s anything same-ish about See The Light. ” f you’re expecting retreads and repeats,this record will disappoint,” exclaims Roger.” t’s all new songs and new vibes only recorded in our old school way.”
While some other bands of a certain vintage are latching onto musical trends you won’t find any dubstep beats or vocoder distortion on See The Light-a titie that nods to the band’s history of marrying dark lyrical content (the tunnel) to bouncy musical arrangements (the light at the end). Less Than Jake aren’t turning away from their roots, and echoing Mark Twain, Fiorello points out that the rumors regarding their genre’s demise are greatly exaggerated.” Punk has been declared dead every year for 30+ years and it’s still going stronger than ever. People like to declare things dead just because it’s dead to them but if bands are passionate about what they’re doing they’ll attract fans who are passionate.”
As fits a band born long enough ago to now be of legal drinking age, Less Than Jake pulls in a multi­ generational audience, which Vinnie notes is often a family affair, “Our crowd now is 16 to 40, and Ive met kids as young as eight or nine Dads bring their sons and it’s a weird rite of passage; moms bring kids in saying, ‘We’ve watched you guys for 15 years. ‘But will the band stick around long enough to draw in a third generation of fans? “I don’t know man, I think our guys on that would be NOFX and Bad Religion.
When you see Fat Mike or Bad Religion hang It up, maybe : but like them, we’re gonna ride that
out. “We’re glad to be along for the ride Hop on board when See The Light sees the light on November
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Save Ferris with special guests Baby Baby

SAVE FERRIS is a ska-punk band formed circa 1995 in Orange County, Southern California. Their name is a reference to the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
The band formed after the dissolution of a number of Southern California bands. With Monique Powell as manager, front person, and co-songwriter, the band began to book shows around Southern California to a great underground response.
Financed by Powell’s sister, the band released their debut EP “Introducing SAVE FERRIS” on Powell’s label, Starpool Records, in 1996. They ended up selling close to 20,000 copies of their EP out of the trunks of their cars, with huge support from Orange County independent record shops and fans. That year, Powell provided vocals on the Reel Big Fish song “She Has A Girlfriend Now” on their album “Turn the Radio Off” (Mojo).
With Powell as manager and lead, and as favorites of KROQ radio’s legendary Rodney on the Rock, SAVE FERRIS created a presence on LA’s KROQ radio, possibly being the first unsigned band to do this in LA alternative radio history. Later that year, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gave the band a Grammy showcase award for best unsigned band, earning them a recording contract with Epic Records (SONY).

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Dropkick Murphys 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory Tour 2017

Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band known for their loud, energetic live shows. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums and making a name for themselves locally through constant touring and yearly St. Patrick’s Day week shows held in and around Boston. The single “Tessie” became the band’s first mainstream hit and one of their biggest charting singles. The band’s final Hellcat release, The Warrior’s Code, included the song “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”; the song was featured in the Academy Award-winning movie The Departed, and went on to become the band’s Platinum-selling single and remains one of their best-known songs. The band then began releasing music through their own imprint label. The Meanest of Times made its debut at No. 20 on the Billboard charts and featured the successful single, “The State of Massachusetts”, while Going Out in Style was an even bigger success, making its debut at No. 6, giving the band their highest-charting album. The band’s eighth studio album, Signed and Sealed in Blood made its debut at No. 9 on the Billboard charts. The band is currently recording their ninth studio album which they expect to have released by the end of the year or early 2017.

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NOFX with Dillinger Four, Masked Intruder, The Implants

If someone were to walk into a store and pick up their very first punk record today, they could do much worse than NOFX, This quartet, fronted by Fat Mike, plays fast-paced pop punk, mixed with elements of ska and hardcore. The overall attitude of the band dwells heavily on traditional punk and DIY ideologies. Fat Mike is a very charismatic frontman for a band – depending on your definition of charisma, that is.  He is bold and often snarky and sarcastic, as well as often blatantly political. They are great qualities for a punk rock band that is out to make people think and push a few buttons.  NOFX has been a testament to the potential of a punk band on an independent label to enjoy popularity and success.

Formed in Berkeley, California and relocating to Los Angeles, NOFX steered clear of major labels and commercial exposure over the course of their career, recording an impressive number of full-length albums plus an assortment of EPs and singles. They have made a few videos, but have not given permission for them to be played on mainstream channels like MTV or VH1. In addition to the blatantly political nature of the band’s lyrics, Fat Mike is also politically active. He launched Punk Voter, a collection of punk labels, bands and fans that seeks to educate and inform America’s youth and get them to vote. Specifically, their goal at one time was to vote George W Bush out of office, but even after his reelection, Punk Voter still continued to actively educating young voters about issues that affect them.

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Mayday Parade with Cartel, Stages + Stereos

House of Blues celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a tour featuring Mayday Parade.

For the past six years, the members of Tallahassee, Florida’s Mayday Parade–vocalist/keyboardist Derek Sanders, bassist Jeremy Lezno, guitarists Alex Garciaand Brooks Betts and drummer Jake Bundrick–have been perfecting their unique brand of pop-inflected punk rock. It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a while a band comes along who have crafted a sound that’s so unique it’s hard to believe they haven’t been playing together for decades.  After playing the 2006 Vans Warped Tour, Mayday Parade made 10,000 new fans before playing a single show. In July of 2007 their full-length album debut, the critically acclaimed A Lesson In Romantics, was received with enthusiasm. Dubbed “the best album to come out this year” by the MTV GirlsGonePunk Blog, A Lesson in Romantics has gone on to sell nearly 170,000 copies.  The band recently released their self-titled third album, the follow up to their hit second album Anywhere But Here.  Their next new album is scheduled for a Fall 2013 release.