Koji met up with us before his show at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City. Not too long ago, he was robbed in New Orleans but was able to make light of the situation with some help from friends and fans alike. This tour story describes his humbling and positive outlook.
Although I do hold myself true to the hard and heavy stylings of mostly hardcore and metal I absolutely love myself some good powerpop and that’s exactly what Broadway has offered up with their new album Gentleman’s Brawl. The band has matured an incredible amount from their last effort but have still held true to the sound that many fans have already fallen in love with. The familiar aggressive hooks lace the shit out of this entire record with songs like “Faster, Faster” “Lawyered” and “Vagrant Stories” but one standout track “Medication” a power ballad, will stick in your head for days at a time. The chorus really shows the true songwriting skills the band threw down for this one. All in all I think this is a great direction for the guys and when the record comes out they’ll see what all of their hard work has been for.
Gentleman’s Brawl comes out June 19th and you can check out they’re track “Vagrant Stories” via Alternative Presshere
We spoke with Jeremy Bolm, lead singer of Touché Amoré, before their show with Defeater in Hillsborough, NJ on April 20. He discusses a tour story, retrospection, his admiration for Rise Against, advice for local bands, and sharing a bill with Willie Nelson.
Good morning and to whomever reading this thinks I might be talking about them, I am and fuck you. As I went through my daily goings on of my morning (went to work, made myself some coffee, rummaged through my never ending list of music and sports blogs) I came across an article on a prominently read music blog saying, “so and so asking for donations to record a new record” and as most normal hard working people would feel, it immediately rubbed me the wrong way. I click the link read through the short paragraph explaining they have just been dropped from their prospective record label and need funds for not only the recording process itself but FOOD, strings, drum heads, DEODARANT (because they put in parenthesis they smell really bad for a failed comedic effort) as well as marketing, promotion and other things. Now, I just went from being rubbed the wrong way to feeling basically enraged, appalled at the audacity of this entire move and clearly motivated to write this hate rant right here.
As we all know when Kickstarter and these new donation websites started to pop up it has been a very controversial topic for anybody listening to, performing or working with music. People jumped up on they’re soapboxes real quick in ways to cut down all these bands just looking for handouts and asked where is the work ethic? Since when do you just get to start a website and get everything handed to you? Obviously I completely agree with all of the naysayers, saying this is just another method in a way to cheapen the music we encounter because well, it is. Although I do want to make it known that I do support Kickstarter campaigns when a hard working band is on tour and run into the unfortunate event that their equipment/van/money gets stolen. There is nothing you can do when such a shitty thing happens and I don’t think it’s wrong to extend a hand and ask for help but when you’re asking for help because of your own irresponsible tendencies as a band or are just looking for the easiest way to get a record out and get on tour well that is where the problem lies.
This new mentality of “oh well if people want it they’ll help us out” is preaching a new level of success in irresponsibility. Kids with silver spoons permanently implanted in their mouths are now not getting that reality check real life tends to serve you when trying to do something you love and showing that it’s just as easy as asking mommy and daddy for money for that brand new whatever the fuck it is you don’t need. It’s ruining my scene, it’s ruining your scene and it’s taking down music as a whole. If you got dropped from your label WORK to find another one, if you can’t afford ten new merch designs for a two week tour then don’t fucking print all of them. As much as playing music is an amazing way to remove yourself from real life being in a band IS real life. You need to start at the bottom rung and you need to endure those hardships if you want to continue because as the times get harder and the money gets tighter it weeds out the people who are in this for the wrong reasons and in turn gives credibility to the people who have stuck it out. Now any asshole can put a breakdown and a dance beat together ask their fans for mommy and daddies money and live the life so many are trucking along just to get a taste of.
Against Me has been one of my favorite bands for a really long time now. I remember going into a, now defunct, record store in New Jersey when I was like fifteen, buying “Reinventing Axl Rose” on black vinyl and spinning that record for days on end. I even nerded out so hard that nearly pissed my pants when I found the cryptic etching on the vinyl itself. I was then lucky enough to see them play everyday for about two weeks straight on last Summer’s Warped Tour. Honestly, they are such an incredible punk rock band that I have high regards for.
You’ve probably already heard about lead singer Tom Gabel’s very public decision to begin to live his life as a woman, after living the first thirty one years as a man. At first I thought this was some kind of strange joke since I never really trust the press and their often outlandish stories. But this is very real.
Rolling Stone published an article detailing Gabel’s journey and decision. I found the article online and highly suggest you read it.
Support this dude and don’t be an asshole about it.
What many people didn’t know about the Beastie Boys is that before all their Hip-Hop albums, they released two very early NYC punk-style records. NJ hardcore punkers, 96, recently released a cover of “Believe Me” off of Aglio E Oglio for stream/free download in honor of the passing of Adam MCA Yauch. Enjoy.
Summer is here! Our summer line drops right now. While I do love every item in the collection, this is my favorite piece. Keep in mind that all our clothes are limited edition. Once they are gone, they are gone for good. So don’t sleep! Get yours before it’s gone.
I shot and edited The Fresh’s first ever Tour Story with my homies in Handguns. They told me a gnarly story about getting robbed while very, very far from home. Only people who LIKE The Fresh can watch it though.
Don’t forget your roots. Gorilla Biscuits got back together last summer for a super chaotic and equally awesome Black N Blue Bowl in NYC last summer. They gave so many kids (such as me) the chance to see them live after breaking up however many years ago and to say the least it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
Yes they are considered a hardcore band but the melodic quality in the music is what helped them stand out from the rest. This is true blue NYC punk and even for all you kids that are mostly into pop-punk I’m sure if you got the chance to ask one of your favorite bands who influenced them GB will at least be in their top 5.
Moving Mountains is killing it with their own form of alternative/post-rock tinged with poppy hooks that can be owned by some of the best pop-punk bands. This song is from their upcoming EP New Light which will be coming out in April. Check them out on tour with Coheed and Cambria (wut?) at the end of April
New Tigers Jaw song off their upcoming split withBlack Clouds
As always Tigers Jaw knows how to keep consistently pumping out the jams that keep you in that catchy good mood but have this deeper layer that so many worthless pop songs can’t achieve. Excited to hear about future moves that they’ll make but in the meantime pick up their last record Two Worlds (if you haven’t already) it’s one of my favorites.
Well, to be 18 again…..on the eve of my 24th birthday I thought, what kids are killing it right now? Who are the fresh faces in the scene that are making me wish I was in a good band when I was their age and skipped the whole higher education thing? That band is Code Orange Kids out of Pittsburg, PA. Freshly signed to Deathwish Inc. they’re style of gritty unrelenting hardcore/punk will have you stomping your way around the pit so hard you may either A) break the floor or B) break one of your feet.The grasp these dudes have on the importance of the heavy riff (leaving out any overt uncreative chug breakdown garbage) is incredible and even better it’s not too much. Aside from the heaviness of the songs they show their seriously creative side with the almost post-rock clean guitar/screaming microphone-less interludes that manage to be the thread that string together these massively crushing songs in a way that it almost gives your mind a break but keeps that gripping anxiety feeling you get through the whole EP.
The guys will be hitting the road in April with favorites of mine Touche Amore and Defeater you can check out the exact dates below. Do not miss one of these shows tour packages like this don’t come around too often.
We’ve teamed up with Freak Out Dude (ex-Cash Cash) to premiere their brand new music video for “NJ.” The song features guest vocals from Washington Square Park. You can check it out below.
