Category Archives: Music News

Good Riddance To Play Again!

5 years ago, a punk band I had grown up with played their final show.  They called it quits to do their own thing, raise their families, and just live lives with the intention of being done forever (hence the final show). 

 As bummed as I was then, I respected Good Riddance‘s decision. Their final show was recorded  in 2007 and the band released it.  To this day, Remain In Memory – The Final Show is an album I still listen to on a regular basis.  It is just that good.

Today, I was on their website GRpunk.com killing some time and saw this:

After nearly five years, Good Riddance has decided to perform as a band again. The number of shows, when and where and all the other specifics have yet to be determined but for those of us who really missed the songs and those of you who maybe never got to see the band play, there will be Good Riddance shows in 2012 and perhaps beyond.

This is awesome. 

Ex-Suicide Machines Frontman Jay Navarro Continues With Break Anchor

I used to love the Suicide Machines and I am sure a lot of you out there did too.  I was stoked to learn today that Jay Navarro has decided to try his luck at a new band called Break Anchor.  Sure, the Suicide Machines have played a couple of shows here and there since their 2006 break-up, but nothing has been released and there really have not been any talks about new material.

Break Anchor is straight up blue collar punk rock out of Detroit.  I’ve only heard one song so far and am really looking forward to their debut.

Streaming on AOL Spinner is the song I speak of, “A Failure of Epic Proportions.” The song will be featured on Break Anchor’s first release, a three-track, 7” vinyl EP called Blackhearts and Blackouts.  I need me a copy of this in my collection.  The artwork alone is killer!

Navarro had this to say about why he started a new band as well as what happened with the Suicide Machines.

“People don’t really know the whole story of the end of the Suicide Machines…in short, I had decided to either to call it quits or just play shows once and awhile. I wanted to get a job and raise my children.”

“Things just ended up badly between Dan and myself. Six years have passed since then. A job with medical insurance and a 401k, not a ton of money but steady scraping by. The American Dream, right? It’s a brutal job working in a 10 below freezer, lifting heavy ass cases 60 hours a week. I come home tired and sore as fuck like most blue collar people. My high school education doesn’t qualify me for much. But then again I work with plenty of guys with college degrees and amazing credentials who can’t score a job. Now they can’t pay back their student loans and many of my friends and their families have lost their homes to banks. Some are just squatting till the police kick them and their children out. Michigan is at its worst. Like many, i’m so tired when I come home from work I want nothing to do with my wife or kids. Which was the whole reason I quit touring in the first place. I’m so sore I can’t sleep, so I drink and pop pills. I wake up in pain. I’ve watched, as i’m sure many of you have, the corporations rule and control the world…our system has completely failed us. I feel I have failed my kids, my wife, and myself. I have failed all those who have believed in me. American Dream? This isn’t living. So one drunken, frustrating night I wrote this song. It’s not a song about feeling sorry for myself or anyone, and it’s not an apology. It’s just me saying, ‘You know what world?….with my last dying breath, I will spit Hell at thee.'”

Look for the 7″ release by Break Anchor to drop March 20th on Paper + Plastick Records.

Fat Mike Writes A Ragtime Album?

It’s true folks.  Fat Mike, you know that guy who boozes it up a lot in NOFX, has written a ragtime album that will also supply as the soundtrack for Soma Snakeoil’s new fetish film Rubber Bordello.

Remember “Buggly Eyes” from White Trash, Two Heebs, and a Bean?  Well you can expect an entire album full of music just like that song. 

It’s actually something Fat Mike has wanted to do for years.  Teaming up with members of the Mad Caddies and Tom Waits’ backing band, Fat Mike has created 10 old time-y ragtime tunes guaranteed to entertain.  His music also will provide for the soundtrack to a flick that is probably best stored in a shoebox under your bed.

HEADS UP! Rubber Bordello is for mature audiences only, so make sure you are 18+ before heading over to the site to check out the preview of the movie.  It’s not for everyone.  Let that be your warning…

Head over to iTunes to check out Fat Mike’s soundtrack and snag it for yourself!  I will have a review shortly up here.

The Revival Tour – Spring 2012

The Revival Tour is back on the road and will be swinging through Cleveland on April 6th! 

The Cleveland stop will feature Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Dan Andriano (Alkaline Trio / In The Emergency Room), Cory Branan, and Nathanial Rateliff all playing at the Grog Shop.  This is going to be a night to not miss! 

Get your tickets now! There are also bundles available for purchase as well where you can score a ticket and a special vinyl.

Rock On The Range 2012 Lineup Announced!

Now in its 6th year, the ever popular Rock On The Range is taking over Columbus, OH, from May 18th to the 20th at Columbus Crew Stadium.

“If you thought last time was a blast, then this time we are gonna blow your f#@*ing mind,” – co-headliner Rob Zombie.

The current lineup for RotR 2012 is as follows: Incubus, Rob Zombie, Shinedown, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch, Slash, Megadeth, Chevelle, Cypress Hill, Mastodon, Theory of a Deadman, Volbeat, Down, The Darkness, Halestorm, Escape The Fate, P.O.D., Lacuna Coil, Adelitas Way, Black Stone Cherry, Cavo, Attack Attack!, Trivium, Bobaflex, Falling In Reverse, Redlight King, Aranda, Emphatic, Otherwise, James Durbin, Black Tide, Kyng, 12 Stones, SOiL, Rival Sons, Eve To Adam, and Ghosts of August.

That’s a pretty healthy lineup!  I do not know about you, but there a few bands playing this year that I would not mind checking out, including The Darkness, Volbeat, Mastodon, and Down.

To make things even more fun, the Friday Night 4Play returns, which is an absolutely FREE with every RotR weekend ticket purchase. The May 18th party will be featuring performances from Hairball, Foxy Shazam, Hells Bells and more… Did someone say Foxy Shazam???

Tickets go on sale on Friday Feb. 10th at 10am.

This has proved to be a fun weekend festival year after year.  Don’t miss out!