Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

Fest!

Most people already know this, but if you’re just waiting for that Punknews.org post, get with it, people! Fest 9 is on, Halloween weekend in sunny Gainesville, FL. This will be my first Fest. The plane tickets have been purchased, and it’s time to start training my liver. The event is sponsored by Pabst, after all.

If you’re going, sound off! More details will be coming as they’re known. If you want to scoop as it happens, go hit up the Fest message board. I’m there as mcflynnthm.

Off With Their Heads

I feel like a news site up in here or something. Anyway! According to their Twitter, and this here article, Minneapolis’s favorite manic-depressive punks, Off With Their Heads, have signed to Epitaph Records, home of Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio, the Weakerthans, Frank Turner, and a shit-ton of really terrible bands. I’m looking at you, Escape the Fate.

The move is somewhat surprising. I kinda figured them for a Fat Wreck-bound act, maybe doing one more on No Idea before moving on up. But hey, regardless, good for them! They’re one of the best bands out there now, and deserve to get as big as possible.

According to the linked article, they’ve got a new record dropping June 1st. It’s looking to be a good year.

Spring Heeled Jack

I almost never use the “News” category, because, well, this isn’t a news site, but if you haven’t heard the news:

Connecticut-based ska heroes Spring Heeled Jack are doing some reunion shows! And reissuing their albums Static World View and Songs From Suburbia on vinyl! If you’re not familiar with the band, they were awesome, and home to such fine folks as Chris Rhodes, who plays in the Mighty Mighty Bosstones these days, and JR of Less Than Jake before he was snorting PEZ with those lads.

Speaking of JR, he writes about the history of the band briefly in his blog, before making the big announcement. You can check out that post here.

Get stoked!

Update: Punknews.org has the story now, too. Only new detail is that Connecticut’s Asbestos Records will be handling the aforementioned re-releases. Check the story here. And while you’re at it, go take a look at the Asbestos Records site, and their offerings. The vinyl reissue of Big Daddy Multitude, in particular, is excellent.

The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

My dad called me up to tell me that Liam Clancy, the last surviving original member of the Clancy Brothers, died today. Liam was perhaps my favorite singer of all time. If you haven’t heard The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem’s In Person at Carnegie Hall, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy. It shows the foursome at its finest, before a live audience.

This is really sad to hear. Liam made some wonderful music, as part of the group and solo, and he will be missed.

Have a strong pint for one of Ireland’s finest troubadours.

Further reading: NPR’s story on Liam.

Riot Fest 2009 promo poster

Chicago’s Riot Fest Records are once again putting on Riot Fest, a multi-day festival of awesome punk rock and ska. Last year’s festival featured ALL, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, the Ergs!, Mustard Plug, the Methadones, the Lawrence Arms, the Bouncing Souls, and so many more awesome bands.

This year’s lineup includes:

• Screeching Weasel
• NOFX
• The Alkaline Trio
• Murder City Devils
• The Dead Milkmen
• Cock Sparrer

I went last year, just to the Sunday show, and it was truly excellent. I will definitely be back for 2009. Hell, Screeching Weasel alone would be enough to merit the trip.

The Descendents

It’s a sad day for me, and pretty much all punk fans out there. Frank Navetta, founding guitarist and songwriter for seminal California pop-punk band The Descendents has passed away suddenly. His exact age is unknown at this time.

The band, which formed in 1979 as a surf-rock band, adopted punk rock upon the addition of vocalist/biophysicist Milo Aukerman. Their first album with Aukerman was the Fat EP, followed by the landmark Milo Goes to College LP. The album featured their trademark bouncy rhythms supporting lyrics about girls, coffee, food, girls, and parents. Naturally, the music resonated with many teenagers; it had the aggression of the SoCal hardcore scene, with humorous topics they could identify with more closely than the political rage of bands like the Dead Kennedys.

Navetta left the band during the recording of their follow-up album, I Don’t Want to Grow Up. He became a fisherman in Oregon, and lived a fairly low-key life post-Descendents.

Deepest condolences go out to his family and friends. Thanks for the great tunes, Frank. RIP.

[Source: PunkNews.org]

The Beatles

Yes, it’s true! The Fab Four (minus two, I guess) themselves have ironed out a deal with Harmonix, the Cambridge, MA-based company behind the first two Guitar Hero games and the Rock Band franchise, to develop a Rock Band-like game “based solely on the music and career of the [Beatles].”

“The project is a fun idea which broadens the appeal of The Beatles and their music. I like people having the opportunity to get to know the music from the inside out.” -Paul McCartney

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