No king but caesar

Et tu, Brute??

Hi everybody (hi Dr. Nick!). I hope you're seated or prone, or otherwise in a comfortable position, because we have a sonic hurricane in store for your ears today. The playlist features a collection of raucous and loud punk rock tunes, from the likes of Good Riddance, Milk Teeth, IDLES, Lower Class Brats, Scream and more.

So, whachya waitin' for? Go listen, NOW:




Liner notes:

Spotify playlist

Tracklist

• 1Sluggish by Freygolo
• 2Brickwork by Milk Teeth
• 3 Mercedes Marxist by IDLES
• 4Bet you never thought by Scream
• 5Trollhammaren by Finntroll
• 6Falling Down by Teen Mortgage
• 7Who writes your rules? by Lower Class Brats
• 8The Dukes by Face First
• 9No king but caesar by Good Riddance
• 10Typical  by Hobo Johnson

Support Local music!! (I am Going to start Writing the Way Trump tweetS). Go Check out dc's very Own Teen mortage's laTeSt EP, Life/Death. You can name your own price to own a digital copy of this tremendous sonic effort, but don't be cheap. Also make sure to follow these guys on social media, go to shows, buy merch, etc etc etc

You can read about the Inner Ear robbery here; I'll try to keep you apprised of any and all updates around this act of ass clownery

Oh man, this guy I know posted his FaceApp of a FaceApp of a FaceApp of a FaceApp picture. it. is. nightmare.

Here is that band Milk Teeth. They're based in the cute, little English country town of Stroud, and make fantastic music. Go give 'em a spin!

Last, but certainly not least......drum roll please....Good Riddance's newest record, Thoughts and Prayers! Per the PR release from Fat Wreck: "the genre-defining melodic-hardcore geniuses in Good Riddance aren’t shy about reminding you that, frankly, they’ve still got it." ENJOY!


OK that's it...thanks as always for tuning in, and make sure to check back next week for more punk and (punkish!) rock. 

I'll just end on this note...

Big dick is a thumbs up guy

Happy mid week, people, and welcome to the latest installment of Wednesdays With Andrew, your weekly overdose of punk (and punkish!) rock. 

I decided to do something a bit different, but not unheard of here. While I don't have my weekly podcast/online radio offering for your rabid ears today, I have not completely abandoned you.

The month of June happened to feature a whole lot of really awesome new music being released by some pretty fucking old punk rock acts. I have taken the time to listen to ALL of it for you, and am sharing my thoughts on a few of them below...enjoy....

Firstly, Good Riddance...last week this veteran, Santa Cruz-based melodic hardcore foursome shared a new single, 'Our Great Divide', in anticipation of the planned release of their Thoughts and Prayers LP later this year. And GOOD GOD, vocalist Russ Rankin has still got it. He may be 51, but his pipes have not let off the gas one fucking bit. With a melody to make Tony Sly proud, Russ charges forward at blistering speeds, supported by lead guitarist Luke Pabich's style of punchy, piercing guitar hooks, and a rhythm section that imbues an unstoppable intensity throughout the entire track. To me, 'Our Great Divide' is a powerful and catchy anthem that stays true to GR's sound and spirit over the years. And with an album name like Thoughts and Prayers, you know that they still have a lot to say. Can't.fucking.wait. For my European friends, go see Good Riddance on tour this summer!

A few hundred miles down the Golden Coast, another punk rock staple also brewed up a new tune. After an 8-year drought of new material, Long Beach's True Sounds of Liberty, colloquially known as T.S.O.L., exploded back onto the scene with 2017's The Trigger Complex. Well, Jack Grisham & friends are back with a satirical cover of the American classic 'What a Wonderful World.' Spoiler alert: Jack doesn't really think so. Although the single, entitled 'Is This a Wonderful World,' may mark a brief departure in musical style for the band, the no-holds-barred political messaging is certainly familiar for any fan of T.S.O.L.

Now, June 3rd was a big day for any diehard Pixies fan. Sometime early during that humid, buggy day, Boston's most eccentric garage rock band announced a new album, Beneath the Eyrie, slated to drop this September, and shared their new single 'On Graveyard Hill.' They also announced a podcast, 'It's a Pixies Podcast' which will kick off in June and will focus on the creative process of writing and recording Beneath the Eyrie. When a band has been around as long as the Pixies, you start to worry whether they'll lose their edge, or 'take a different direction'....well, although Kim Deal's presence is still sorely missed, I can safely say that On Graveyard Hill sounds A LOT like the Pixies should.

Last but certainly not least, Iggy Pop is getting into some new trouble. Although this isn't technically new music, the godfather of punk released a new music video for 'Run Like a Villain' as part of the reissue of his 1982 album Zombie Birdhouse. The reissue promises to make a crisper, cleaner listening experience for an album that showcased Iggy at his strangest and most poetic, against a backdrop of blaring synth and pseudo Afropop beats.

I've linked to all the relevant media above, but for those who want a nice and tidy playlist...here you go!

Never stop stopping, you old punk rock rascals. I'll catch ya all next week

Wednesdays With...Luke?!

Happy Wednesday, fellow animals, and welcome to the latest episode of Wednesdays With Andrew, your weekly overdose of punk (and punkish!) rock.

This week I have a real treat in store for you. I had the amazing and humbling opportunity to sit down with Luke Pabich, of Good Riddance fame, to talk about his other passion project - Coercion. The on-again-but-mostly-off again band's 2016 release of Exit Wounds capped a 20 year long period of anticipation for Luke, and provided much needed sonic relief. Their recently released Veritas EP takes their hard rock angst, thrashy guitar craft and deeply introspective songwriting to a new level.

Join me as I chat with Luke about Coercion's origin, their incredible decades-long journey that resulted in them finally showing their songs to the world, and learn what's in store next. Oh and you better fucking believe we showcase a lot of the tunes off the new EP.

What are you waiting for...go listen, NOW:



Liner notes:

Here's the web player link to the interview, and the accompanying Spotify playlist

Tracklist

• 1Veritas by Coercion
• 2Choices by Coercion
• 3The Reasoning by Coercion
• 4Decease and Desist by Coercion
• 5Suffer by Bad Religion
• 6Serial Killer by Vio-lence

Editor's note - I did have to edit the interview slightly for brevity's sake. But if you want the full, uncut version of my talk w/ Luke just send me a note @ WednesdaysWithAndrew@gmail.com and I will share the whole enchilada 

OK, this is where you guys come in. Go check out the rest of Coercion's newest EP Veritas, here; if you feel so inclined buy a digital copy, and hit up your local club owners and promoters and demand they bring Coercion to you!  



That's it for this week, folks. Thanks for tuning in, and HUGE shout out to Luke for enlightening us with his punk rock folklore. Until next week...

Sacrifice

Hey all, and welcome to the latest episode of Wednesdays With Andrew, your weekly overdose of punk (and punkish!) rock. 

This week I completely sacrificed my body, and your weekly listening pleasure, for my weekend birthday celebrations and then for Sunday night's Good Riddance show at Rock & Roll Hotel. I did not have time to put together the normal podcast for this week, BUT DON'T DESPAIR I cobbled together a playlist from the bands that played on Sunday, and did a brief write up of the show. 

It was an incredible set of sets, and although it was not nearly a sold out crowd, the punks and misfits who did brave the cold Sunday air to show their respects gave it their all to ensure the bands felt welcomed and appreciated in this, our nation's toilet/capitol.

Here's some tunes from Old Bay Thrashers, Counterpunch, Bigwig and Good Riddance...enjoy!



Liner notes:

Here's the web player link for those of you who prefer that.

If you don't have Spotify, sorry?

I, very very unfortunately, missed the first act of the night, Old Bay Thrashers. But I did check out their stuff online and am super bummed I didn't get to see 'em live. Beyond an incredible band name, these Baltimore miscreants play a style of fast, catchy melodic punk that hearkens back to the glory days of 90s punk. Plus, their merch guy was hilarious. Also bonus points for the song title 'Erection Flawed'

Counterpunch was the second set of the night, and they must be some really nice dudes. They lent their entire backline for all four acts on the bill, which is pretty fucking generous. I caught part of their set, and what I saw I liked. I had heard a few of their songs before, but was not overly familiar with their stuff. Continuing a rich history of punk rock in Chicago, Counterpunch provided a very emotionally driven, fast style of skate punk that had people a-bumping and a-bouncing. Good shit.

Bigwig. Although Bigwig was one of my favorite, and most listened to, bands throughout high school, I was quite surprised/proud of myself for knowing almost all of the lyrics to each of the songs they did in their roughly 40 minute set. And ask anyone I know, I have a terrible memory, am super A.D.D. and just generally suck at knowing lyrics. I guess fucking muscle memory kicked in or something, or the lyrics are just that infectious, but I was even singing along to tracks I hadn't listened to in years. Bigwig fucking nailed it. One of the cleanest and technically on-point punk sets I have seen in a while. Really, really talented musicians, and they play a diverse range of tempos and styles to ensure there's something for everyone to like. Oh also, I am not sure if they brought their own sound guy, but the sound quality was incredible, and so clear. Noteworthy tracks - Flavor Ice, A War Inside, Sink or Swim, Girl in the green jacket.

Speaking of talented musicians, most people that trudged out to Rock N Roll on a shitty, cold Sunday night did so for the headliners, Good Riddance. Guitarist Luke Pabich was kind enough to get me on the guest list, and for that, A MILLION THANKS, friend. People got fucking rowdy for Good Riddance's 60+ minute-long set. I was a bit worried given the smaller-than-anticipated crowd (maybe 100-120 people?), but everyone there rocked out hard for Santa Cruz's longtime pillar of melodic hardcore. I had never seen GR live (cos these guys don't typically grace our district...last show here was in 2000?? come on guys!), but it was worth the wait. The set list was well rounded with tracks from a wide range of their sizable repertoire (but still heavy on Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit), Russ was incredibly engaging as a frontman, and they played with a conviction and passion that is critical to a band like Good Riddance's success. Oh, also, their bassist Chuck is the smiliest motherfucker I have ever seen. He was so much fun to watch. And the band, though well noted for their strong political opinions, was extremely positive, and focused not on shitty issues that most bands like to call out (understandably) when playing DC, but instead focused their message around love and community. And pies. Noteworthy tracks - Mother Superior, Last Believer, A Credit to his Gender, Nobody Likes a Cynic. 

OH, non-concert-related bonus - if you guys dig Good Riddance (or Fury 66, or Death by Stereo...), you should really get excited for Luke's other band, Coercion's upcoming album, Veritas. Read about it, and check out their single/teaser track, here.

That's it, tune in next week for (hopefully) a real episode of Wednesdays With Andrew!

Banned in D.C.

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