It has been reported that OFF!’s upcoming tour dates have all been cancelled.
Lead vocalist Keith Morris recently slipped into a diabetic coma and is taking time out to recover. In addition to being OFF!’s frontman, Morris is also involved with Flag, a band including other former Black Flag members. Flag have been booked to appear at the Punk Rock Bowling Festival in Las Vegas in May. So far, this – and Flag’s other prior shows – remain unaffected.
Big D & The Kids Table have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund not one, but TWO new albums.
Best associated with the third wave of ska in the US, the band’s sound can be somewhat more eclectic, taking in elements of punk, pop, thrash, reggae and a bit of dub. With this in mind, Big D are set to release two albums: one of upbeat ska and punk, with a second release taking in more of their lighter, reggae influenced sounds.
In addition to the run of dates posted here, pop-punkers The Ataris have extended their upcoming 2013 tour.
The additional dates include ten shows in the UK and are as follows:
Following a much earlier EP and cuts on various comps, this 2011 7” by City Mouse is a superb disc. Issued on It’s Alive Records (home to The Copyrights, The Methadones and Gateway District), this record represents the Riverside, California punks as an underground band at the top of their game.
Fitting a huge amount of energy into just over six minutes, these four songs grind and bounce just as well as material released by many of the best-known names in melodic punk rock/pop punk. Classic sounding tunes need a great vocal, and in City Mouse’s frontwoman (and mainstay) Miski Dee Rodriguez, this band has an extra edge. Her voice moves between a melodic punk warble and attitude-filled hard rock rasp, which although not as instantly recognisable as a voice such as Tilt’s Cinder Block, for example, is more than distinctive.
The strongest cut, the razor-sharp ‘Dumb Dumb Dumb’ makes great use of a simple refrain and equally simple riff. Listening a little closer, a particularly busy bassline provides some more sophisticated elements; Zac Howe is a very talented player. Likewise, the highly infectious ‘Bird Song’, combines a fast punky riff with a sharp vocal line, the intermittent presence of the already familiar “here is the church, here is the steeple” line is guaranteed to make this tune stick in your memory.
The other two songs (‘You’ and ‘The Rhyme’) may not quite have such instant lyrical hooks, but are certainly on a par musically, especially at those times Howe’s basslines rattle out notes at speed, constantly fighting Dee’s guitar work for superiority. Of particular enjoyment is Miski’s performance on ‘The Rhyme’, on which her voice rings the best results out of nearly line.
Like Pinhead Gunpowder’s ‘Fahziah’, ‘Nervous Breakdown’ by Black Flag or ‘Spiral Scratch’ by Buzzcocks, here, City Mouse adds more weight to the argument that, when approached correctly, the 7” four-song EP is the ultimate punk artefact. If you have ever been attracted to (m)any of the punk bands from California – particularly the best Larry Livermore-produced ones on the Lookout! Records label – then this is definitely for you.
August 2012
Following an EP in 2008, US/Czech punks Pipes and Pints attracted a cult audience with their first full length LP in 2009. Three years on, their brand of Celtic street punk gets a second airing on ‘Found & Lost’. It is unlikely to win over many people who’ve previously not grasped any other bagpipe led punk outfits, but most of the songs are incredibly strong. The strength of the material combined with a fantastic production job from Darian Rundell (known for his work with Pennywise and 98 Mute) is enough to ensure the band picks up a few new fans of their chosen subgenre on their ongoing journey.
Offering a good overview of the band’s sound, ‘One Connection’ forges ahead with some tough street punk riffs and a sound worthy of Rancid/Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards. Crunchy guitars and rumbling bassline attack the listener with a near relentlessness, and it is quickly obvious that in terms of rhythm section, Pipes and Pints could rival most of their better known contemporaries. While the tune is excellent, the best moments come courtesy of a gang vocal that hits hard with some simple repetition. …And it’s that shout-along, near anthemic approach which eventually proves ‘Found & Lost’s best calling card, something which sits proudly front and centre during the title cut. While that particular song doesn’t have one of Pipes and Pints’ most imaginative arrangements, it wins through on the chorus alone. On the relatively lengthy ‘Warpath 82’ they take a similar tack, topping a strong punk ethic with gang vocals, infectious whoas and, ultimately, moments of call and response between chorus and lead voice which provide a great sense of unity.
A touch more tuneful in places, ‘Calling Me’ adopts quieter verses, led by bassist Ondra Balvin. When it kicks in, the tune has a full-on bounce quota, with a sound that hints at previous work classic punkers and sometime label-mates Face To Face. While each band member gives their all, interestingly, the most memorable aspect comes from Votja Kalina’s bagpipes, as he uses them to deliver something akin to an upbeat riff as opposed to the more usual drones. Throw in more gang vocals and you have a winning combination. Although cut from similar elements, the rousing ‘Right Or Wrong’ pushes all the right buttons with punky attack and old-school, slightly 50s rock ‘n’ roll guitar break. Since the music is solid throughout and (during the quietest moments) Syco Mike sounds like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Dicky Barrett, this particular track would have been improved if Kalina had left the bagpipes to one side…just for a while.
Perhaps the strongest track overall on this second outing, ‘Her Life and Thoughts’, mixes traditional staccato punk riffs with heavier guitar chops showing a strong sense of light and shade throughout. Although the vocals have the usual gravelly approach, the lyrics are delivered crisply and have an audible quality that’s well suited to the relatively melodic style adopted. The bagpipes – used here in a very traditional fashion – add intermittent drones, which although aren’t necessarily bringing anything vital to the overall mix, are fine enough. After all, you can’t really tackle Celtic punk without them.
Looking at the bigger picture, the band have a knack with a chorus that deserves to greet the ears of a bigger audience. If you like bagpipes and punk, you’re fine and dandy and firmly set for half an hour of fairly raucous singalongs, but if the bagpipe starts to grate – let’s remember, it’s never been the most musicial of instruments – ‘Found & Lost’ could be considered a tougher listen at times, at least for some. At their best, though, even if not as well rounded as the Dropkick Murphys on this disc, Pipes and Pints could teach the often-on-autopilot Flogging Molly a thing or two.
January 2013