The No Longer Teen Teenage Bottlerocket
I don’t want to get hung up on age, but with a band named Teenage Bottlerocket no longer clearly teenagers, it was bound to come up, was it not?
nofx
Bikini Killed it in NYC
Another evening, another “revenge” concert show in NYC. This one featured the legendary and resurgent female punk band Bikini Kill and yep, they “killed it.” Under threat of rain (it was again Pier 17’s Rooftop downtown NYC) and variant (yes, you-know-what is surging again), the crowd stretched around the entire seaport, surprising my silly expectations. I […]
Violent Femmes & Me First in NYC
It was a beautiful September NYC evening. Perfect for an outdoor concert, made more enjoyable by the fact that all attendees had either been fully vaxxed or tested negative for covid. No more guessing someone’s status. No more stress about someone getting right up next to you to yell and spit in your ear (well, […]
NOFX – Just the Flu
I interviewed Fat Mike & El Hefe of NOFX a few years back. I was green and they were pretty tough on me at first, but after a while, I caught a glimpse of sympathy in his eyes as well, and felt he pulled a punch or two as a result when he realized I […]
South Africa – Half Price Band, A Really Good Deal
I’ve heard a lot of punk bands in my life… from all over the world. From Asia to Latin America to Russia, Europe and the U.S. and I’ve heard some really good (and yes, some not so good) punk, ska, reggae, rockabilly & psychobilly music. But on my very first trip to the continent […]
White Riot and Los Crudos
Been reading the book “White Riot… Punk Rock and the Politics of Race” for the past few weeks. I’m almost finished and more on it later. It’s an intense book that is proving to be valuable in terms of the history of punk and of getting another perspective than the typical Ramones, Sex Pistols, Clash […]
“Punktology” Gets Some Love
Big ups and big thanks to the folks at Concierge Questionnaire for the little profile on our film “Punktology…The Worldwide Power of Punk Music”. They asked me to name a few films that inspired my love of travel and I listed NOFX “Backstage Passport” and the “Transiberian” with Woody Harrelson (not a great or a […]
Punk Outlaw Records Signs Leading Punk Band From Serbia
“We’re excited to have UPS! be our first band from the punk music hotbed of Eastern Europe” states Robert Rose, Founder of Punk Outlaw Records. “These guys have important things to say and our intention is to help them say it” Rose continued.
Russia – A Punk Preview
As you may know I’m heading to Russia later this week to try and find out a little of the lowdown on the punk, rockabilly and psychobilly scene. Russia is a BIG country (the world’s largest with 6.6 million square miles), I have a short time (8 days) and have just limited myself to the […]
Keep it Real and Control Yourself Dude!
I believe in keeping it real. Every so often, I like to strip away the veneer that I find myself putting up to the outside world, and showing the real and yes, sometimes painful inside that really is. Usually some event or travel provides the impetus for this. You see, while I always believe in […]
If you have to explain it…
If you have to explain what punk is to someone, then is it possible that the person you are explaining this to could still be a punk? Obviously, if you are explaining punk, it means they are only marginally aware of what constitutes punk music and may or may not even be aware of such […]
NOFX’s Fat Mike Strikes Again
I don’t know if you’ve heard about the stir Fat Mike’s “Cokie The Clown” performance made at the recent SXSW festival in Austin, Texas? If you haven’t, check it out here, it’s pretty mind-blowing stuff and the punkest thing I’ve heard of in a while. Reading the review brought back memories of my interaction with […]
NOFX
In honor of NOFX’s upcoming concert in Buenos Aires (and the fact that I will sadly miss it because I will be in Uruguay by then) I thought this segment with NOFX might be worth revisiting. Argentina, Chile, Peru and Brasil get some nice shout outs from Fat Mike. I hope to subtitle this in […]
Don’t Cry for Drop Dead Dreams
It seemed very appropriate that I was to meet the members of Buenos Aires punk band Drop Dead Dreams at the famous Plaza de Mayo, where countless demonstrations had occurred against the government over the years. When lead singer and original member Matyas arrived along with his bandmates Pablo and Kamo, we decided to conduct […]