Punk Rock
Punk in the Park 2021 U.S. Festivals to Feature Pennywise, NOFX, The Vandals, Face to Face, and More
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-14T19:03:07+00:00“>April 14, 2021 | 3:03pm ET In another sign that things are opening up on the festival front, a pair of events dubbed Punk in the Park will take place this May and November in Arizona and California, respectively. Each will feature a lineup of notable punk bands. Originally, the two-day California edition, Punk in the Park – Orange County, was set to be the inaugural version of the new fest, but pandemic restrictions led organizers to move the original 2020 dates to April 2021 and then again to November 6th and 7th at Oak Canyon Park. That makes the one-day Punk in the Park – Arizona event, taking place May 29th at Big Surf Water Park in Tempe — the first stagin...
Chubby and the Gang Share New Song “Lightning Don’t Strike Twice”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-14T20:01:42+00:00“>April 14, 2021 | 4:01pm ET Last fall, London punk five-piece Chubby and the Gang signed to Partisan Records and revealed that they were penning a new album. Now, the band returns to the spotlight to share “Lightning Don’t Strike Twice”, a brand new single available as a 7-inch that will also supposedly appear on their next record. Stream it below. “Lightning Don’t Strike Twice” is a riveting dose of pub rock set to the tune of class struggles. Across the song’s three-minute runtime, Chubby and the Gang sprint through punk riffs with enough gang hollers and zippy guitar lines to recall Thin Lizzy. That vibe comes to life in the single’s accompanying music video....
Alice in Chains’ William DuVall Releasing Album from His 1980s Punk Band Neon Christ
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-08T15:27:39+00:00“>April 8, 2021 | 11:27am ET Alice in Chains singer William DuVall is releasing an archival album by his 1980s hardcore punk band Neon Christ. The compilation, titled 1984, will be out on Record Store Day (June 12th) via Southern Lord and DVL Recordings. A teenage DuVall played guitar in the blistering Atlanta quartet, which was rounded out by drummer Jimmy Demer, bassist Danny Lankford, and vocalist Randy DuTeau. The band would launch DuVall’s impressive career, with the guitarist later joining California punks Bl’ast after Neon Christ’s breakup in 1986. Neon Christ’s brand of aggressive hardcore featured elements of heavy metal guitar from DuVall, leading to th...
Fucked Up Go Long on New 22-Minute Song “Year of the Horse – Act Three”: Stream
Fucked Up have released “Year of the Horse — Act Three”, the third track off the Toronto punk band’s upcoming EP celebrating the Chinese Zodiac. Stream it via Bandcamp below. “Year of the Horse — Act Three” clocks in at a whopping 22 minutes (!) and is structured like a play. It’s theatrical and dramatic — which is par for the course so far with this EP, considering it comes with extensive liner notes — and sees singers Maegan Brooks Mills and Tuka Mohammed sharing their duties with frontman Damian Abraham. Unlike the first and second tracks from Year of the Horse, though, this new act features vocals by a surprise guest: Matt Berninger of The National. Needless to say, it makes for an unexpected listen. As per tradition, Year of the Horse is part of Fucked Up’s ongoing series tied to...
Dropkick Murphys Unveil New Song “Queen of Suffolk County”: Stream
Dropkick Murphys have offered another taste of their new album, Turn Up That Dial, ahead of its April 30th release. The punk-rock veterans have unveiled the new song “Queen of Suffolk County”. The new track follows the single “Middle Finger”, which arrived with the album’s announcement in late February. “Queen of Suffolk County” opens with the voice of a newscaster announcing the arrest of a Suffolk County woman who was arrested for a stabbing outside a bar. The song then proceeds to tell the story of the knife-wielding femme fatale, with lines like, “You best stay out of her way/ She don’t joke, and she don’t play.” The Massachusetts-based Celtic punkers recently performed a St. Patrick’s Day livestream that garnered more than 1 million views, landing at No. 1 on Pollstar’s livestream cha...
Ex-Misfits Singer Michale Graves Is a Potential Witness in a Capitol Insurrection Case After Joining the Proud Boys
Former Misfits singer Michale Graves is a potential witness in a possible Capitol insurrection trial after joining the Proud Boys last year. According to Reuters, Graves (real name Michael Emanuel) was in Washington, D.C. on January 6th — the day of the riot — to play a private concert organized by a group called “Latinos for Trump” on the request of a fellow Proud Boys member. Graves told Reuters that he didn’t think the Proud Boys were capable of participating in the attack that left five people dead, including a D.C. police officer. “These guys have a hard time getting an order together for McDonalds,” Graves said of the Proud Boys in the new interview. One of the defendants charged with the insurrection conspiracy and prominent Proud Boy member Ethan “Rufio” Nordean said in a court fil...
R.I.P. Rob Vitale, Singer of New York Hardcore Band Black Train Jack Dies From COVID-19
Rob Vitale, the lead singer of New York hardcore band Black Train Jack has tragically died from COVID-19 complications. His death was confirmed by a number of figures in the NYHC scene, including Sick of It All. “Our hearts are heavy tonight,” wrote Sick of It All on Facebook on Sunday night. “We lost our friend to COVID. Thinking of all the shows, the tours all the good times and laughs we shared. Rest In Peace Rob.” Sick of It All drummer Armand Majidi added, “Tonight we honor a truly good man who departed this world far too early. Rest easy Rob. It was a pleasure touring with you and sharing many fond moments. @bobeatsbtj you were loved by many and will be missed dearly.” Black Train Jack got their start in the early ’90s and landed a record deal with Roadrunner Records. They released t...
The Offspring’s “Let the Bad Times Roll” Video Features Laser Cats, Singing Toilet Paper, and More: Watch
The Offspring have unveiled a timely music video to accompany their recent single “Let the Bad Times Roll”. The song appears on the veteran punk-rock act’s upcoming album of the same name, due out April 16th. The video shows an exaggerated view of quarantine life, with the subjects experiencing bizarre and frightening situations while stuck at home. One young woman sees her smartphone turn into a scorpion-like creature as it crawls on her face, while another woman is confronted by singing toilet paper and a giant mask-wearing cockroach. Meanwhile, a young man is playing a video game when a cat appears on screen and starts shooting laser beams out of its eyes. Another dude is attacked at home by a bizarre mob, somewhat mimicking the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building. As a press rele...
Barney the Dinosaur Goes Street Metal in “Second Hand Misery” Video from Warish (Riley Hawk): Watch
Warish, the sludgy punk-metal act fronted by Riley Hawk, are gearing up to release their new album, Next to Pay, on April 30th. Now they’ve tapped Barney the Dinosaur to help promote the latest single, “S.H.M. (Second Hand Misery)”. The song’s music video syncs old VHS clips of the big purple dinosaur with the ferocious street metal of Warish, creating an absurdly hilarious combination. The lyrics to the song appear as subtitles so you can sing along with Barney, just like on the show. Riley, the song of skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, explained, “This video came to mind when I heard the ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ song by Barney playing somewhere while I was in a bad mood and was thinking, this song is kinda evil sounding. Then I went home and instantly started editing the video to ...
The Bronx Announce New Album Bronx VI, Share “White Shadow”: Stream
L.A. punk rockers The Bronx have announced their first new album in four years, Bronx VI, arriving August 27th. They’ve also shared the first single and opening track “White Shadow”. The Bronx can always be counted on for tight, joyous rock ‘n’ roll that toes the line between hard rock and hardcore punk. On the surging “White Shadow”, they bring the big chords, anthemic vocals, and high entertainment value. Or in the the words of vocalist Matt Caughthran: “CLASSIC F–KING BRONX.” For the new album, The Bronx expanded the songwriting duties to include the full band, making Bronx VI somewhat special in the group’s sequential discography. “From day one we really decided that we wanted to make a record that went in different directions and places,” guitarist Joby Ford said in a press release. “...
Dave Grohl: I Never Got Into the Misfits Until My Daughter “Made Me Love” Them
Misfits’ Glenn Danzig (photo by Heather Kaplan), Dave Grohl (photo by Amy Harris) Dave Grohl is discovering new and old music via his teenage daughter Violet. In fact, the 14-year-old aspiring singer turned her dad on to the Misfits, a band he never previously embraced despite his love of old-school punk and hardcore. The Foo Fighters frontman was recently interviewed by YouTube’s Tiny TV channel, and the topic turned to punk rock. Grohl remarked, “You have to be a certain type of person to fall in love with and connect to punk rock music. I think it has more to do with your heart and your head than it does your ear in a way. So my daughter was born with that same heart and that same head as I was.” He continued, “When she was young, and she had great taste in music, she would listen...
10 Riot Grrrl Albums Every Music Fan Should Own
Editor’s Note: Crate Digging is a recurring feature in which we take a deep dive into a genre and turn up several albums all music fans should know about. This time, we celebrate Women’s History Month with a deep dig into the riot grrrl genre. Emerging from the deep forests of The Pacific Northwest, riot grrrl was a rasping rallying cry at a time when gender norms weighed heavily on the mosh pits and politics imposed itself dangerously on ovaries and queerness. With punk legends like Patti Smith and The Slits preceding them, the emerging DIY feminist punk movement of the ’90s brought with it grievances of the third wavers. Faced with no space in the existing punk-rock scene, attention was turned to tackling sexism and carving out a new underground alternative. A movement of rioting gi...
