Tag Archives: EP

Music, New Release, Punk, Review

EP Review: MakeWar – Stay

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MakeWar are easily one of the most exciting bands to hit the Fat roster in recent years. I have been a fan of them since they were a one man show called Sad & French and always knew the potential the band had as they grew.

Lucky for us, they dropped a nice surprise on a couple weeks back. No, they did not to a split with NOFX, Frank Turner, Me First or anything (yet), but they did drop an EP that made me equal parts sad and happy.

The Brooklyn, NY punk band has been gaining ground over the past couple of years with their catchy yet emotionally driven punk tracks and Stay is no exception. It may be just 4 songs, 2 unreleased and 2 of which are original takes on songs from their last release Get It Together, but they are all solid tracks and absolutely needed to be released for all to hear.

MakeWar

Listening to the opening track “Stay” brought forth some personal trauma of losing my best 4-legged friend about a year ago. The track, a homage to Jose Prieto’s dog (Bruno) is a must hear with with Vinnie Caruana (Movielife/I Am The Avalanche) taking on singing duties on behalf of Bruno. I smiled and teared up while listening to this previously unreleased song that was more or less the last conversation the two had while remembering the great times I had with my beloved Sweet Lou and Zeus. This track will punch you in the heart if you love(d) your pet unconditionally.

“I’m Sure My Little Brother Never Listened to Lagwagon” was the other unreleased track and was a total banger. Loved the bass licks that reminded me of Matt Fremon as well as the recollection of punk life pitfalls.

“American Futbol” and “My Bones” were a little rawer than what showed up on Get It Together but equally as great and served as a reminder how much I adored their Fat debut.

2021 has been yet another shit year, right? I personally thank bands like MakeWar for persevering on with their true passion and providing those distractions we all need to make these days a little better.

MakeWar play The Fest today and then have a few Northeast shows lined up on their way back home in early November. In 2022, they landed some Europe shows with some band called the Descendents.

I have said it before and will say it again, these guys are going places. Do not sit on them.

Also, can we talk about how sick the color pressing of Stay is? I ordered mine the day it dropped and adore the variant that was shipped to me:

Want your own? Head to Fat Wreck Chords and snag one today!

Emo, Music, Music News, New Release, Punk, Review

EP Review: Eighty-sixed, Kid – s/t

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Cleveland’s Endnote Records made their introduction during the start of this stupid pandemic this past Spring and the first act they signed was Akron native Daniel Palmentera’s Eighty-sixed, Kid.

Perhaps this means absolutely nothing to you and that’s cool, but if you know the history of Palmentera and the man behind Endnote, Andrew Wells, you’d be like me and understand how much sense it makes for these two to be working together.  These two have a history together that includes friendship as well as creative avenues and seeing them form this partnership was one of the better things to happen in 2020.

Eighty-sixed, Kid started as a needed progression once Palmentera’s previous punk band, My Mouth Is The Speaker, seemingly put things in park for a while.  The stage name came about after constant solo-touring all over Northeast Ohio for a few years.  With the routine performances came fine-tuning and maturity forming a sound that contains plenty of unselfish demeanor.

The debut self-titled EP by Eighty-sixed, Kid will be released on October 30th, and let me tell you, it far surpassed my expectations.  Palmentera put it all out there without holding back whatsoever.

“I Like Their Old Stuff Better” relates to anyone who truly holds passion to being engulfed in music.  I loved how personal this pop punk song was and even more so appreciated the chorus.  It’s a catchy, heartfelt track that’s extremely relatable, especially to me.

That’s not to say the EP was all cheerful material.  “Gut Punch” pushed back to the 2000s emo days and brought forth gutted feelings about moving forward on an uneasy path.  The track wasn’t too complex and held itself together even with it being heavy on the sorrow.

Another track to mention was “When You Came Home You Never Really Came Home”.  This song hit me because I’ve lived this a couple of times and I would never wish this feeling upon anyone.  People tend to say how a certain song pulled on their heartstrings, but this song punched a hole in my heart and left me numb for a moment.

There was no reprieve in emotion by Palmentera on this EP.  He literally put himself out there for all to hear and you can feel the pain.  As mentioned before, the self-titled EP resonated with me perhaps in an uneasy way, but I appreciated the hell out of it.  I look forward to what Eighty-sixed, Kid creates moving on.  This is not an act to sit on at all.

You can preorder the EP by visiting Endnote Records.

Interview, Music, New Release, Punk

Interview: Doug Carrion of Field Day (Dag Nasty, Descendents)

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I have to admit, I was a little stoked when Doug Carrion emailed me the other day asking me to check out his new band called Field Day.

In case you were not aware, Carrion has been in some of the greatest punk bands out there including Dag Nasty and Descendents.  So yeah, I might have geeked out slightly.

Field Day formed in 2019 after Carrion and other Dag OGs Brian Baker and Peter Cortner tossed around the idea of performing Dag Nasty’s Wig Out At Denko’s (Dischord Records) and Field Day (Giant Records) live.  The discussion turned over a new leaf in terms of a band and Carrion and Cortner decided to start the band.

The band has a 7″ titled 2.0 coming out this summer and the one track I heard called “Searching For Answers” is just solid.  They were supposed to play Now That’s Class in support of the release, but that stupid virus had to go and ruin that for now.

Seeing how we are all stuck indoors, I thought I’d ask Carrion a few questions about the new band:

BHP: So whose idea was it to even talk about getting Dag Nasty back together?

DC: The idea of a reboot was mostly driven by the fans asking where Peter was hiding and if we would ever perform the Wig Out at Denko’s material live. Just to be super clear, Field Day is the band with me and Peter Cortner who sang on Wig Out at Denko’s and Field Day (Giant Records), Kevin Avery, and Shay Mehrdad.

Between the fans asking, and a few conversations with the members, we agreed that Peter and I would call this project Field Day in order to avoid confusion with the fans and promoters.  Now, when you see a flyer with Field Day on it, you know it’s Peter and Doug and if you see a flyer with Dag on it, that’s gonna be Shawn and Brian.

What was the turning point in the discussion to where you decided that maybe it was best to just try something new?  

Peter and I talked about Field Day being an extension of where we left off with Dag Nasty, so I’d say maybe that was right at the beginning of the conversation in Nov 2018.  Our initial goal was to have fun, start doing shows, start writing and to start recording.  We gave ourselves around 9 months to work on the live show and then set our minds on having new music done and released within the first year.  Well, our first show as Field Day was July 12th, 2019 and we have new music recorded and coming out June 5th, 2020…that’s 11 months from the first show!!!

Prior to me hearing “Searching For Answers” and getting ever so pumped for more material, I noticed y’all were supposed to play a Cleveland show.  Sadly this pandemic prevented that from happening.  How’s the band handling all of this and will the tour happen in time?
Glad you like it!! Yep, we have a new 7” coming out on Unity Worldwide in Germany, distributed by Cortex in Europe and RevHQ here in the states.  I produced it, Cameron Webb (Pennywise, Ignite, Motorhead) mixed it. If you’re a vinyl fan, you can preorder a few different colors from the distributors and if you just want to download the songs, iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc. will have music June 5th.

Cleveland, along with a bunch of other shows, had to be postponed which was frustrating, but had to be done.  We’re hoping to get back to Cleveland in late July but that really depends if the local and state governments are allowing concerts. For the states it’s up in the air at the moment.

Separately, we are scheduled to go to Europe [from] October 31st to November 8th and we’re hoping that comes together. It’s also out of our hands and up in the air, but a possibility.  Although we haven’t been playing live shows because of the virus, during the downtime, we’ve stayed really busy doing press, a lyric video, interviews, and etc to set up this 7”.  Also we’ve been writing new songs for our next release possibly later this year.  On our end we’re ready to jump right back into the studio as soon as we get the OK.

What can Dag Nasty and Descendents fans expect from Field Day?Positive vibes and singalongs for sure!! We play almost everything from Wig Out at Denko’s and Can I Say with a few select tracks from the Field Day recording. Expect to have fun and be projected into a time warp because Field Day play the recorded songs true to form.

Our motto in the band is “Be Humble and Don’t Suck.” Over the past 10 months of shows, we’ve met lots of new faces, reconnected with old friends and everyone is having a blast!!

Another thing people can expect is the informal hangout with the band after the show.  Usually two weeks before a show, we start getting requests from people who want to get photos or have stuff signed when we come into their town, so we started building in time after the shows to hangout with fans. It’s really cool!!

Head over to RevHQ.com to preorder a copy of the 7″.  The EP will be streaming online upon release.
Check out the band’s Facebook page for updates.
70's, 80's, 90's, Metal, Music, New Release, Punk, Review, Rock

EP Review: Charger – Charger

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Not trying to prove my age here folks, but I have been a fan of Operation Ivy and Rancid for a good 25 years now.

Needless to say when I heard that Matt Freeman had a new project on Pirates Press Records, I had to stop what I was doing to check it out.

Freeman has been in so many punk rock bands since the late 80s aside from Rancid including MDC, Dancehall Crashers, Auntie Christ, and of course Devil’s Brigade.  He even filled in for Social D for a bit. His bass playing is undeniably amazing and his deep, raspy singing style is unforgettable.

Having known his history, I figured Charger would follow suit, but I was so wrong and beyond blown away at what I heard.  Sure, there was a Hellcat feel, but smashed up against pure hard rock a la Mötorhead and Black Sabbath.

I shouldn’t just speak of Freeman as two other talented-ass musicians put their heart and sound into the self-titled Charger EP.  Andrew McGee plays guitar and then there’s Jason Willer on drums and vocals.  He’s from Jello Biafra’s Guantanamo School of Medicine and some other band called U.K. Subs.

“Crackdown” started with the bass playing I have grown so fond of along side some serious guitar playing.  The moment Freeman took the mic, I knew this album was gold.

The breakdown in “Victim” is tough and ever so authoritative.  The band clearly tossed massive nods to metal bands of the 80s/90s without losing grip of their punk roots.  You know the band had all the fun playing this one.

“Damage” ripped.  Riffs, slapping bass, insane drumming, and Freeman bellowing into the microphone.  There was a huge Hawkwind and Iron Maiden nod on this one.  This track right here is proof that this band has a ton to offer.

“All Kings Must Die” pretty much was what would happen if Rancid and Mötorhead had a baby.  There’s really no other way to put it, and it works just so well.  Beyond entertaining to listen to as it covers metal, thrash, and punk rock without skipping a beat.

“Dragged Down” again pushed back to 70s/80s metal giants like Maiden and Metallica.  The chorus on this one was perfect and evoked serious headbanging opportunities.

The EP might have flown by, but it was flawless and left me wanting far more.  Here’s hoping for a full-length soon.  Freeman, McGee, and Willer easily have proved their talent in this release will surpass the expectations of many.  I foresee a lot of music lovers getting into this one.  It’s topped my best of 2019 list easily and I have listened to the EP daily for a few weeks now and not grown tired at all of it.

Side note, if Charger was the music that Fraser, Buscemi, and Sander would have played in Airheads, it would have been the greatest movie of all time.  I am not sure why I kept thinking of that movie while listening, but I couldn’t help but share.  Plus if you recall, Lemmy was in that movie…

 

Acoustic, Music, New Release, Punk, Review, Rock

EP Review: Face To Face – Hold Fast (Acoustic Sessions)

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It seems like every punk band out there is dropping acoustic albums as of late.  This facade may come off as lazy or desperate to some, but when stripped down right, it makes so much sense.  Still, it is easy to just dismiss them because of how many are out there.

I have to give it to Unwritten Law though who first captured my fascination with the whole punk rock bands doing acoustic renditions of their songs years back.  I remember hearing Music in High Places and becoming obsessed instantly.  Then Rancid busted out an acoustic set in front of me live once at one of their shows and I adored it.  Perhaps this aging punker just enjoys slowing down things a little bit.

When I heard Face To Face was releasing an EP of acoustic versions of their songs over the years, I was nervous.  Mind you Face To Face is easily one of my all time favorite bands from my 90s, I was worried that it would not go well, but I couldn’t have been so wrong.

Hold Fast simply is songs from Face To Face’s 30+ years (with a slight hiatus) career put into an acoustic style.  Perhaps sparked from their “Econo-Live Tour”, the band decided it was their turn to try.  Actually, Face To Face did acoustic sets years back as I remember a friend’s band opening for them and quickly having to learn how to relearn their songs so they could stay on the bill with them – Back to this EP though.

Hold Fast is listed as an EP, but at 33 minutes, it could easily be an album.  I was impressed to see 10 songs tracked on the Fat Wreck Chords release and was more impressed with where they call came from on their discography.

“All For Nothing” started off the EP with an alt-country twangy version of the catchy Laugh Now, Laugh Later track that I am sure Lucero fans would totally appreciate.  I quickly realized after this song alone the amount of time put in by Face To Face to transformed them into a completely different style.

“Disconnected” was the song I was most worried to hear.  This radio-friendly track that caught the most attention on Big Choice was part of the soundtrack to my life in the late 90s and I’m still quite fond of it to this day.  I held off listening to this song at first and waited until the album came out to take it in.  I had nothing to worry about.  This song was perfected transformed from a pop punk jam to an acoustic masterpiece.  I loved everything about this song from Keith’s slowed down singing to the backing vocals and even the guitar playing.

I was kind of shocked to hear “Keep Your Chin Up” the EP as it was a new song, but as soon as the chorus started I immediately understood.  It fit perfectly.

“Don’t Turn Away” was completely dissected and put together as one hell of a track.  The lyrics remain the same, but everything else about it screams alt-country with even some rockabilly qualities to it.  This was such an enjoyable track to rediscover though a different genre.  Just wait for that guitar solo.

“Aok” was another version I just absorbed and adored instantly.  This is one of those other songs that was part of the soundtrack of my life and hearing it on a different caliber was just so appreciated.

I can not say every track on the EP blew me away as some were at status quo like “Ordinary” and even “Velocity”, but I did not skip past a single song.  Nothing was completely unbearable which led me to believe the band truly gave it their all.

I truly feel Face To Face did this for the sake of trying something new and not looking for a quick paycheck (leave that to Me First and the Gimme Gimmes).  These So. Cal. punks have matured so much since back in the day and clearly have moved past their punk rock roots musically.  I really think people who never were into Face To Face are going to hear this and become fans of these renderings.  I am also hoping they just decided to make new music in this style.  I have the feeling it would be amazing.

Don’t dismiss this EP at all folks.  Face To Face is far more talented than you think, especially if you just assume they are just some aging punk rock band looking for a quick payday.