Less Than Jake drummer and lyricist Vinnie Fiorello recently recorded a short 5 minute interview talking about how their upcoming album came about. Among the subjects that Vinnie discusses, are why the band opted to self-release the record rather than going with an established label like Fat or Epitaph, and the challenges that LTJ faced in the process. As well, the band talks about taking ownership of their entire image and is quite critical of the kind of 360-degree deals that have become popular in the industry.

Along with Vinnie, the video includes studio videos and some finished tracks from the album. The record is titled GNV FLA and is due out June 24, 2008.
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Me First and The Gimme Gimmes have posted a song from their upcoming album. The record is titled Have Another Ball and is due out July 08, 2008. The disc features leftover tracks from their debut full length, Have A Ball which was released in 1997 and consisted of the Gimme Gimmies’ take on several 70s-era classics.

This song actually appeared on CD once before, on 1996’s Survival of the Fattest.

You can find “Country Roads” right here.
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Seattle’s venerable Akimbo have posted a new track from their forthcoming Jersey Shores. Titled “Great White Bull,” the track has been posted to Brooklyn Vegan. The band is gearing up for a tour to support the September 23rd release date for the album.

You can either find the track on the website, or follow a direct link here.
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Though full length songs are not available, you can currently streaming bits of all 12 songs on The Offspring‘s upcoming full length. The record is titled Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace and is due out June 17, 2008.

You can preview the songs here.
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Smoke or Fire (with their new bassist) have announced a tour of Japan this fall. The trek kicks off in mid-October and will run for just under two weeks. Along with those shows, the band is also promising shows in Australia immediately afterwards.

Before the Japanese tour, the band is also planning shows in the US and Canada this September and will be spending some time this summer working on a new record. The band released This Sinking Ship in 2007.

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Star Fucking Hipsters, the new project from Sturgeon of Leftover Crack have run into some problems with performing in New York City due to an alleged conflict between the band and the local police.

The band commented on the problem:

So, it would seem that there may be some kind of “Anti-Stza Crack” task force as the police have gone ahead and told Death by Audio (the day before the show…again…mind you) that they can have all the shows they want, they’re just not allowed to host Star Fucking Hipsters.

They didn’t give a legit reason other than ‘tickets were being sold for it’ which is completely untrue. They didn’t produce any of these tickets or say where they saw tickets sold OR give a reason as to why that would even be an issue in the first place.

This police intimidation of the venues that book me and their arbitrary persecution of my band/bands is completely illegal and againstour constitutionally protected First Amendment rights. We are now in touch with a lawyer that will be helping us with our case in suing the New York City Police Department and any other government agencies that may be involved in the censorship of our freedom of speech.

The band also includes Slackers drummer Ara Babajian and Frank Piegaro of New Jersey’s Degenerics.
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The much maligned record label system received some defense from Quote Unquote act The Riot Before. The band explained:

Record labels, especially when bands are small to unknown, are an invaluable asset to artists. The first The Riot Before record probably wouldn’t exist if Brian from Fall of the West hadn’t asked me to make it. I was just some guy with demos on the internet then. Thought it’d be cool to make a proper record one day, but there was really no one keeping me accountable to those ambitions. The labels we’ve worked with have helped to push us.

They’ve provided us the means to get into the studio. And that alone is huge. We’re currently wrapping up a two week stay in the studio (two weeks!), something that never would have been possible if Adam at Say-10 hadn’t bent over backwards to make it happen. We’re close to finishing a record that I’m very proud of, that I’m excited to let others hear, and we have him to thank for giving us that privilege.

The band released So Long, The Lighthouse via the donation-driven Quote Unquote last year.
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Steve E. Nix and the Cute Lepers have unveiled the video for their single “Terminal Boredom .” The clip, produced by Mike and Wheat of Guerrillamonster, can be seen below. . The Terminal Boredom 7″ was released last year by 1-2-3-4 Go! and the song is expected to appear on the band’s debut full length Can’t Stand Modern Music, to be released by Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records on June 24.

The band also recently an in studio session for XM satellite radio station Fungus 53. The set will next air on Wednesday at 3 PM EST, with encore airings this Saturday at noon and midnight
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The Estranged are headed out on the road this summer. The Portland act will be supporting their new LP / CD Static Thoughts, due this June on Dirtnap Records. .

Members of The Estranged have a lengthly history in Portland’s hardcore/crust scene in bands such as Hellshock, Warcry, Remains of the Day and Absolute Rulers. The label describes their sound as “crushing, ominous post punk ala Wipers meets Mission of Burma meets Warsaw/Joy Division.”
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Internet provocateur MC Lars has posted the latest video in his monthly series. The video is titled “White Kids Aren’t Hyphy.”
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After a relatively short hiatus, Trophy Scars have returned and begun work on their next full length. The band had originally begun the hiatus at the end of March due to “financial difficulties.”

The band is now in the studio working on their new full length, Bad Luck and have announced a “welcome back” show at the School of Rock in South Hackensack NJ on June 6th. They released their last album, Alphabet. Alphabets., in 2006.
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Genghis Tron has announced a five 12-inch LP remix series. The set will include remixes of all the songs from the band’s 2008 Relapse debut, Board Up the House. Each will be limited to 1,000 copies, pressed on coloured vinyl and released on one of five labels: Temporary Residence Ltd., Lovepump United, Relapse Records, Anticon Records, and Crucial Blast Records.

For the remixes, the band has enlisted a influential list of collaborators including Justin Broadrick of Jesu/Godflesh, Rob Crow of Pinback, Dntel of The Postal Service, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Ulver,Telefon Tel Aviv, Steve Moore, Danny Lohner, Subtle, Odd Nosdam, Circle, Tim Heckler, and many more. The band added:

We’ve wanted to do something grander and more ‘official’ for a long time, so we’re proud to say that we’ve finally assembled a very massive, very official remix project. We reached out to lots of musicians who we admire and overall we’ve been completely overwhelmed at their willingness to participate in this massive, awesome project.

The first volume of the series is expected on Temporary Residence in September.
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British tabloid The Daily Mail has responded to the criticisms and protests of their coverage of the tragic suicide of a 13-year old British girl.

The newspaper issued the following statement in light of the march against the paper which took place over the weekend:

The Daily Mail’s coverage of the ‘Emo’ movement has been balanced, restrained and above all, in the public interest. Genuine concerns were raised at the inquest earlier this month on 13 year old emo follower Hannah Bond who had been self-harming and then tragically killed herself.

In common with other newspapers we ran an accurate news story recording the Coroner’s remarks and the parents’ comments. We also published two other articles, one of which explained the background to the Hannah tragedy in calm and un-sensational language.

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