Hello everybody and welcome to Navel Gazing: your look back at the week in Punknews. I’m Justin and I’ll be your guide through some of the most popular, notable, and otherwise attention getting stories of the past seven days. Each and every Punknews story is built from tips contributed by you fine folks, and here’s what got the community talking…

Controversy seemed to be a topical theme this year, with Be Your Own Pet talking about song censorship and being forced to play Warped Tour. Reminder for new bands: always check the fine print. The always even-keeled Angels and Airwaves talked about the recent My Chemical Romance suicide controversy. Additional headlines were made by the former singer of Escape The Fate running from the law.

This week saw new tracks from a few old favorites. The list included Rancid (“L.A. River” live), Less Than Jake (“Abandon Ship”) and Alkaline Trio (“Help Me”) stepped up to the plate. This week saw full album streams from veterans The Offspring (Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace) and critical darlings The Hold Steady (Stay Positive).

New releases? We got two: a 2009 release from the Ataris and a 7″ from San Francisco’s Cobra Skulls. Regulars to the site were stoked when they heard about a Dillinger Four tour with NOFX on the East Coast and the long awaited Hot Water Music San Francisco show with Dead To Me and Strike Anywhere. Europeans are going to be flooding the stores looking for basketball jerseys and camo shorts because Madball is coming. New school hardcore kids are also stoked across the pond since Have Heart, Verse and Shipwreck AD are headed there as well.

We also said goodbye to two bands this week. Relatively new hardcore act Ambitions said goodbye while From Autumn To Ashes also said adios.

To top off the week, we had CNN reported on the growth of Vinyl and the falling sales of CDs. Virgil is stoked.

This week we spoke with Fear Before The March of Flames. Our Video of the Week featured extinct Fat Wreck outfit Western Addiction. This week’s Editors’ Picks featured Carpenter and Eli “Paperboy” Reed.

So what’s coming up this week? Look for releases from Terror, Throw Rag, Mouthbreather and that hits collection from Sonic Youth with tours kicking off from Rancid (North America), Rival Schools (UK), and a Canadian tour featuring Strike Anywhere, the Flatliners and Hostage Life.
Source Continue reading Sunday June 15, 2008 →

Former Osker and Fingers Cut MegaMachine principal Devon Williams is touring in support of his recently released album Carefree. The record was the first released under Devon’s own name. Williams’ tour will see him hit both US coasts and play a few shows in Canada.
Source Continue reading Tours: Devon Williams →

Moncton, New Brunswick’s Varsity Weirdos have announced that they’ll have a new full length out this August. No set release date has been announced but there’s a good chance that It’s Alive Records will be involved. The label previously released the Ramones-core act’s Fly Me Up To The Moon EP in 2006. The band is promising “big news” to come on the bands playing the planned record release shows.

The Varsity Weirdos recently released an extremely limited edition split 7″ with Astoria, New York’s Steinways as a wedding gift.
Source Continue reading Varsity Weirdos set to release new full length →

Ronnie Radke, who parted ways with Escape the Fate shortly before the band released their full length debut, has apparently skipped out on parole and is currently hiding from police.

According to Fox 5 Vegas, the former Epitaph-signed singer was involved in a fight that led to the death of Michael Cook. While another man was charged with the murder, Radke was charged and convicted of battery for his involvement in the situation.

You can find the rest of the story here.
Source Continue reading Former Escape the Fate singer on the lam →

Brian: Vancouver’s Carpenter have one huge collective mancrush on John Cougar Mellencamp. Seriously. Look at their MySpace page. Whether it’s ironic or not, a certain level of down-home Americana certainly comes through in an otherwise melodic and fluid punk rock sound, and consequently, those who fell in love with last year’s Marriage by Attack in Black should quite easily flock to Carpenter’s new album, Law of the Land. The album was released this past Tuesday via Smallman Records. If you need more motivation to check them out, perhaps it’ll pique your interest to know their alumnus includes By a Thread, All State Champion and Daggermouth.

Jesse: The words “soul revivalist” usually tend to conjure shudders and shrugs amongst music nerds, along with utterances of “Amy Winehouse?” from the masses. But there’s a new boy in town by the name of Eli “Paperboy” Reed who’s music rings true to the soul, R&B, and Spectorish pop of the late 50s and early 60s. With a slew of tracks up on the boy’s MySpace page, one would think it would be hard to pick a favie; not so, however, as “Take My Love With You” takes the cake (incidentally, this is the cake I brought for an ‘Org editor’s picnic, sorry dudes, it’s been stolen). Starting out with a shrieking howl and some bluesy riffs, the song breaks down into one of the most hip-shakin’-est tracks of the decade. And he’s pretty easy on the eyes too.
Source Continue reading MP3 of the Week: Editor’s Picks: Carpenter, Eli “Paperboy” Reed →

Albany, NY’s Heal These Wounds have signed with Hotfoot Records. The band is entering North Sea Studios with Brett Portzer (Recon) in August to record their full length album, which is tentatively due out in October.

The band will be hitting the road in late June with Arise And Ruinand Kill What I Adore. You can check out some demo tracks at their MySpace page.
Source Continue reading Heal These Wounds sign to Hotfoot Records →

Sal of Electric Frankenstein has written a lengthy editorial on the so-called vinyl resurgence and some of the reasons behind it. Along with that, Sal confirms that his band is alo working on some long-awaited new material:

By October of this year, not only will Electric Frankenstein release a double gatefold vinyl album release coupling two of their latest albums “Burn Bright Burn Fast” and “Super Kool” on the Jailhouse Records label, but they also will release a special DVD release spanning their long career called “Legacy of Electricity – The Electric Frankenstein Retrospective”. Not only that, but the band will continue to release their steady schedule of vinyl 7″ singles on labels such as Zodiac Records in the USA and No Bollocks in Germany.

Source Continue reading Electric Frankenstein talks vinyl resurgence, new material →

Vultures United have announced that they will be reissuing their self-released debut EP this summer. The record is titled Dead Hearts and is due out July 08, 2008. The disc will be released as a “deluxe edition” on Basement Records.

The band noted:

The “deluxe” edition is SUPER limited. We’re talked a 100 piece pressing limited. It’s going to be in a digipack with new artwork + 2 bonus songs that were recorded during the “Dirt Hearts” sessions that you can’t find anywhere else (actually, you can find “Amputees” on the Basement Records Compilation “Wrong Side Of The Trax”), but whatever

Source Continue reading Vultures United talk “Dirt Hearts” reissue →

SideCho Records has announced that they have signed Bay-area musician Michael Zapruder. The singer/songwriter is set to release his debut album for the label, Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope sometime this October. The album was recorded in a two week session with Scott Solter (Spoon, Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice). Zapruder’s band, Rain of Frogs, contains members of The Decemberists, Tom Waits‘ band.
Source Continue reading SideCho Records signs Michael Zapruder →

Sky Eats Airplane has posted a newtrack from their forthcoming self-titled full-length. Due out July 22, 2008, the 11 track release was recorded with producer Brian McTernan (Circa Survive, Hot Water Music) at his studio in Baltimore.

You can find “The Artificial” on their myspace page.
Source Continue reading Sky Eats Airplane: “The Artificial” →

Valencia have announced a release date for their forthcoming sophomore full length. The record is titled We All Need a Reason to Believe and is due out August 26, 2008. It is the follow-up to This Could Be a Possibility which was released in 2005.

Source Continue reading Valencia plans August release →

East Bay hardcore band Static Thought have posted a new track from their upcoming album. The record is titled The Motive For Movement and is due out September 09, 2008.

You can find the song on their myspace page.
Source Continue reading Static Thought: “Splinters and Stones” →

Bullet for My Valentine have posted the latest video from their album Scream Aim Fire.

Source Continue reading Bullet for My Valentine: “Hearts Burst Into Fire” →