It’s Sunday, December 9th, 2007. Welcome to Navel Gazing, your look back at this week in Punknews.

The people must have something good to read on a Sunday

Let’s start with the industry lunacy, of which there was a lot this week. Firstly, Universal Music has instructed their artists to cut their streaming music to 90 second clips, a remarkably short sighted move that could go on to affect bands like AFI, Brand New, Angels and Airwaves. The Songwriters Association of Canada is demanding a $5 tax on all internet users to compensate for piracy. That’s not the only dire news for Canuck music fans, as DMCA style legislation is being introduced in the country that’s even more restrictive then its reviled US counterpart. There’s been controversy over Rolling Stone’s recent “Indie Rock Universe” feature with observers claiming that it was just one big tobacco ad.

We had word on a number of upcoming releases. The Bouncing Souls shocked some fans by planning a digital release for 2008 claiming “It doesn’t make sense to release a CD because nobody really buys them anymore.” Justin Sane discussed an expanded instrumental pallet to be found on the new Anti-Flag record. Rancid has plans to release a B Sides and C Sides collection via their merch store. Dillinger Four is also still dropping hints on their long-awaited album. We had word that the Bronx, Every Time I Die, Reel Big Fish, Street Dogs and the Briggs would be among the bands performing on the 2008 Warped Tour. Foo Fighters are taking Against Me! ou ton a stadium tour, perhaps the latter band’s biggest gig to date. Smoke Or Fire and Fake Problems are also planning a February trek. This week saw Fall Out Boy comment on their Grammy nominations, the Locust robbed in St. Louis, and members of Green Day performing in Foxboro Hot Tubs. Fat Wreck Chords also gave fans a holiday treat in the form of their Hanuk-Comp.

The twentieth edition of Vinyl File featured a conversation with Kyle Gebhart of Doghouse Records. Our Editors’ Picks of the week featured music from Connecticut’s Hostage Calm.
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Brian: We posted this a while back, but I figured it’s good enough to warrant another mention. Connecticut’s Hostage Calm released a pretty great four-song demo a few months ago. The band feature just about all of the short-lived At All Costs — the horn-laden late `80s youth crew-style band, not At All Cost, the weird Texas vocoder-laden metalcore band — and change it up a bit from their former act, with a more melodic, Dag Nasty-minded approach and light but somewhat Quicksand-esque guitar crunch. You can stream the demo at their above-linked MySpace page, or download the entire thing in a higher quality for free via MediaFire.
Source Continue reading MP3 of the Week: Hostage Calm →

Folk punk rockers Andrew Jackson Jihad are coming over to the West Coast from their den in the Southwest on tour this December. They’ll start in San Jose and make the loop up through Seattle and back down through their home state of Arizona and end up on the Eastern seaboard as well. The dates are below.

The Jihad have released a split with Ghost Mice this year as well as their well-received LP People Who Can Eat People Are The Luckiest People In The World, which you can stream here at Punknews.org
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Long Island-based ska/punk act The Fad were recently involved in a van accident. The band reported:

At 3:30am Saturday morning, we lost control of our van on Interstate 76 heading east. The entire highway was a sheet of ice, we slid into the median, spun 180 degrees and flipped our van and trailer. Everyone was ok for the most part. John landed on his head and hurt his neck a little. We put everything we had into this tour and we just lost it all. The van, trailer, and our equipment is all we own. We still have no clue if our equipment will work when we get home. We are just happy to be alive. If you would like to help us out and have a paypal account, please donate to [email protected]

any amount would be appreciated. hopefully we can take care of our debts and get back out on the road sooner than later. thank you so much for the support!

The band is still planning to make their December shows in Richmond, VA and Westfield, NJ with Patent Pending and Murphys Kids. The band signed to Bankshot! Records earlier this year.
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Telestai featuring the husband and wife team Brian Telestai and Kerith Telestai, will release their debut EP on January 1st of 2008. You can check out music from the release via their MySpace page.

Brian and Kerith played bass and violin respectively in Epitaph act I Am Ghost. They left the band earlier this year over conflicting religious beliefs among band members. The duo performed on their recent full length Lovers’ Requiem.
Source Continue reading Telestai (former I Am Ghost members) to release debut EP in January →

German pop punks the Donots have launched their own label dubbed Solitary Man Records to release their next full length in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The band parted ways with their old home of HUN Records following the release of their 2004 full length Got The Noise.

A few years ago the band launched a Japanese version of Solitary Man to put out records in that market. The Japanese version of the label has released music from the Beatsteaks, Dropkick Murphys, Dover, Toy Dolls and Boy Sets Fire among others. Ingo Donot commented “We’ve made some very positive experiences in Japan so far which have convinced us to expand to Europe and take care of the new DONOTS record ourselves.” As for Japan, the new record will be put out there in a joint venture between Solitary Man and Howling Bull Records, titled Bull/Man Records.
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The recently announced Foo Fighters winter tour will feature none other than Gainesville, FL upstarts Against Me! in the opening slot.

The Foos are supporting their 2007 full length Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace while Against Me! is backing their major label debut New Wave.
Source Continue reading Tours: Foo Fighters / Against Me! →

The Public Serpents have run out of songs to give us, so instead have released their “confirmed” lineup. The band currently consists of Early Gates on drums from the Ray Gradys, Adam Sixgun playing guitar from Sixgun Radio, Jon Fawkes on the other guitar from The Filaments and Suicide Bid, “Heavy Metal Chris” on bass from American Distress, Piss Shit Fuck and Animale, “Xray” playing third guitar from Piss Shit Fuck and American Distress with Skwert of American Distress, IN-DK and Choking Victim singing.

The band has been trickling out updates and songs for quite some time now.

A label for their release is still undetermined, but they’re self-releasing their demo via Tent City Records.

The album promises a merger of dancehall reggae, punk and ska akin to “Choking Victim, INDK, Operation Ivy, The Specials, American Distress, The Clash, Misfits, Bucaneer and Buju Banton.”
Source Continue reading Public Serpents reveal lineup →