Doghouse act Weatherbox was robbed in New York City at the start of their recent tour and release date of their new album American Art. The band’s press release reads:

The rumors are true. Weatherbox was about to go on their first national tour ever. Since they live in San Diego and the tour started in New York City, they had to drive cross-country to start this shindig with The Casket Salesmen. They arrived in NYC this past Tuesday when…bam! it happened. Apparently, some good Samaritans in Brooklyn thought it would be awesome to steal the band’s van, all of their equipment, and pre-made vegan snacks ready to eat. Bummer. It was a bitter-sweet day. On one hand, the band got to release their first full-length record, American Art. On the other hand, they got jacked hard and thought they’d have to cancel the tour.

Luckily, The Casket Salesmen are great dudes; they’re letting Weatherbox use their equipment for the entire tour letting the show still go on!

However, if you have any information about the band’s stolen gear, van, and vegan cheese, please contact [email protected]. In lieu of accepting any donations, the band is just asking for supporters to check out their music at Interpunk or iTunes.

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The man at the centre of a Canadian government leak scandal is a member Ottawa punk band the Suicide Pilots. Jeff Monaghan drums for the Dead Kennedys influenced act, who with songs like “Harper Youth” and artwork depicting an airplane flying into the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill leave no question to their political allegances.

The 27 year old was a contract employee with Environment Canada for the past four years. He was recently arrested by the RCMP for breach of trust for allegedly leaking the Conservative government’s regulations plan for air pollution and climate change to media. No charges have been laid at this time.

Monaghan’s affiliation with the band came to light as reporters delved into his past. Furthermore he’s been labeled as an anarchist in the press due to his work as part of the collective who set up the independent bookstore Exile Infoshop. Perhaps less controversially three years ago he was awarded for founding a student-run food collective at Carleton University. On the charges Monaghan commented in a prepared statement:

The spectacle of my arrest, the subsequent RCMP press release and the prepared statements from Environment Canada, including [Environment Minister John] Baird, have been crafted to bully public servants… What I can tell you is that the proposed charges against me pose a profound threat to the public interest. They are without precedent in their disproportionality, they are vengeful, and they are an extension of a government-wide communications strategy pinned on secrecy, intimidation and centralization.

You can hear music from the Suicide Pilots via their MySpace page.
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