Wowsers! Did you guys know that The Distillers almost made a new album together a couple of years ago? Crazy! Apparently the band went into the studio with Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn, but the situation just wasn’t working, and nothing came of it.
Speaking of Greg Ginn, his band Black Flag is continuing its revolving door policy with brand new bass player Tyler Smith stepping in after the departure of Dave Klein, just months after the controversial joining of new vocalist Mike Vallely, who usurped Ron Reyes during the band’s run on Hits & Pits this past December. Hmmm. The band’s Victimology tour kicks off soon, no word of Australian dates as of yet, but I’m feeling pretty underwhelmed by it all.
Speaking of Hits & Pits, 100 new tickets to the Hi-Fi Bar show in Melbourne have just been released. Get yours NOW if you don’t already have one. Unwritten Law, The Casualties and Face to Face on one bill? Be still, my beating heart!
The official first round of announcement of bands has been made for the Tasmanian leg of the home-grown punk/ska/hardcore/thrash festival Up The Punx! and it’s sounding pretty sweet! K-Mart Warriors, Admiral Ackbar’s Dishonourable Discharge, Hopes Abandoned, Fatty Esther and Public Liability, amongst others, will destroy the Brisbane Hotel in Hobart on Saturday, June 21st. Melbourne show details as they come to hand.
Joe Young, founding guitarist of the wildfully influential and incredible Antiseen, has sadly passed away. No word on the cause of death. He was 54.
Las Vegas punk rockers New Cold War have just released their self-titled debut five-song EP and it has a bit of a Strike Anywhere vibe, if that tickles your testes.
Billie Joe Douchebag (wait, is that how you spell Armstrong?) recently played guitar for The Replacements at Coachella this year. Cool? Ummm .. You decide!
We all know us punk rockers dig a good horror movie, but sadly, you can’t always believe the hype surrounding them. This is most certainly the case with the new Australian movie The Babadook. Rave reviews from film festivals and print media the world over had me salivating for the Melbourne premiere I was lucky enough to be invited to, but sadly, the film was underwhelming at best. Very small cast, overly simple story, pacing issues and a bad edit left me feeling like I wasted an entire evening. Fans of Tumbleweed and the Meanies, however, will notice that the appearance of the Babadook is ripped off from those bands’ tee-shirts and record covers. Avoid, like I should have done.
May 27 sees the release of Leave a Light On, the brand new album from the awesome 7 Seconds, via Rise Records.
Written by Chris Cruz