by BBG

Mike of Night Birds gets a bug's eye view at ABC No Rio (more by Keith Marlowe)

Let's get down to it... Mike's last live show with Night Birds will be January 12th in Brooklyn, NY. The band has become a fairly time-consuming commitment, and with the other three of us really pushing and wanting to do even more, Mike just wasn't able to divert enough time from his new record store and his more recent writing projects. With the best intentions of both the band and himself in mind, he has made the decision to part ways with Night Birds. After three years, we are obviously bummed to see him go, but we are all still on perfectly good terms and there is no bad blood. In fact, Mike will remain in the band, along side our new guitar player, to write our second full length LP this Winter, with hopes of recording in early Spring.

Mike was a huge part of Night Birds. If we didn't have the perfect replacement and it just didn't feel right, we would call it a day. We're very critical of ourselves, always have been, and would not do this band half-assed. We are very excited to welcome PJ Russo to the Night Birds lineup on guitar. He plays in a great band called PHIBES, and the second we started playing together, it really just clicked. He's a brilliant guitar player, and honestly fits the band perfectly. He will begin playing with us in February and you can come see for yourself.

That January 12th show at Lulu's is FREE and open to the public (21+, that is) and also features appearances from Livids (ex New Bomb Turks), Foster Care, Pampers, and Nuclear Santa Claust.

If you can't make it to Lulu's to see off Mike, then make sure and head to see Night Birds with PJ on guitar supporting World Inferno Friendship Society on February 18th at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets are still available.

All tour dates (including a 2/29 Chris Gethard show?), as well as some streams and video are below.

Continue reading "Night Birds will wave goodbye to guitarist with a FREE show this week (tour dates)"

words & photos by Keith Marlowe

Eric Davidson of New Bomb Turks, mid-flight

Two great rock bands, the New Bomb Turks and Live Fast Die, reunited Saturday night (6/26) at the Bellhouse to help promote New Bomb Turks singer Eric Davidson's new book, We Never Learn: the Gunk Punk Undergut, 1988-2001. It's an amazing chronicle of the unheralded rock scene that launched the careers of bands like The Hives and The White Stripes. There are stories of legendary underground bands, crazy tours, and general debauchery.

The evening started with Eric reading some passages from his book, and then showing some awesome videos of bands like the Dwarves, the Didjits, the Gories, and thee Headcoats. Colombus, Ohio (the Turks hometown) based The Ex-Whites got the music started with a solid set of sneering mid-western rock'n'roll. Next up was Brooklyn's own Live Fast Die playing their first show in almost a year. The two constant members Camaro Werewolf (Ethan) and Viking Thrust (Aaron) were joined by guitar player Eric Cecil and drummer Jeff Ottenbacher. Jeff is one of the hardest working drummers in NYC at this point, besides the occasional Live Fast Die gig, he also plays in Adult Themes, Golden Error, and Doug Gillard Electric. Live Fast Die (named after a GG Allin tattoo) dusted off some classic songs, like Got Nitedo and Forged in Flames, as well as some ones they had never played live, including "Dawn of the VHS" and "Pizza and Vomit". The set ended with Camaro playing while lying on his back, and the audience showered him with beer.

The rest of the review, tons of pics, and some video are below...

Continue reading "New Bomb Turks played the Bell House w/ Live Fast Die (pics), Eric Davidson wrote a book & is touring (dates)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Cock Sparrer - "Spirit of '76" (MP3)

First of all, Riot Fest Chicago is not a celebration commemorating the riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention. There are no cops in attendance (unsympathetic ones anyway), and no one is there to "set the record straight".

In 2005 Mike Petryshyn started Riot Fest... With one eye on the legendary Chicago punk scene and the other on the bands that inspire them, he started building the festival, with an ambitious multiple show/venue format despite his inexperience. He put special emphasis on reuniting influential punk and underground bands who hadn't shared the stage in years and Chicago's rich punk history has always been a huge part of the Riot Fest roster, this year 11 bands from the area are confirmed so far.

Year five of Riot Fest in Chicago is systems-go from Oct 7th-12th and with an enviable punk rock lineup of Butthole Surfers, Naked Raygun, Cock Sparrer, Dead Milkmen, Murder City Devils, NOFX, 88 Fingers Louie, Screeching Weasel, Pegboy, Off With Their Heads, and many many more. Full lineup and flyer (with New Bomb Turks not listed) is below.

Besides the obvious awesomeness of Naked Raygun, who played their first reunion gig at Riot Fest in 2006 (and who are playing NYC soon, tickets on sale), and a few key others, one exciting band on the lineup is the UK's Oi! pioneers Cock Sparrer:

Cock Sparrer (initially Cock Sparrow) are a punk rock band formed in 1974 in the East End of London, England. Although they never enjoyed much commercial success, the band is considered one of the most influential streetpunk bands in history, helping pave the way for the late-1970s punk scene and the Oi! subgenre. Their style was influenced by pub rock, glam rock and raw 1960s beat music as delivered by bands like The Small Faces and The Who. Their lyrics mostly dealt with topics related to the daily lives of working class people.

Cock Sparrer recently played Chaos in Tejas. Riot Fest and a two night stand at The Great American Music Hall in San Fran are currently the only US dates that the band has lined up for the future (dates below).

Cock Sparrer just released their first album in 10 years, Here We Stand, which washed up on US shores last month via Pirates Press. The 14 track LP was recorded by Pat Collier (The Vibrators) and mixed by Lars Fredriksen (Rancid) and includes "Spirit of '76" which is downloadable above.

Meanwhile, Riot Fest is also spreading it's wings out west to bring Los Angeles it's own taste from November 12-14. Lineups are to be announced, but look for those bands at the participating stages of The Palladium, The Wiltern, Key Club and The Roxy. More details are to come.

Continue reading "Riot Fest Chicago - 2009 lineup (Cock Sparrer, Dead Milkmen, Butthole Surfers, Naked Raygun, Murder City Devils & more) "

photos by Bryan Bruchman

Magnetic Field in Brooklyn is closing down, and this is sadly their final week of shows. Last night's show featured The A-Bones and special guests the Condo Fucks. Bryan Bruchman (aka Subinev) was there to document the action....

Continue reading "the A-Bones & the Condo Fucks (Yo La Tengo) @ Magnetic Field's final Friday night of shows, Brooklyn, NY - pics"