Smoke or Fire have fleshed out the recently announced tour with additional shows in Australia and New Zealand. The band continues to support 2007’s This Sinking Ship.

Source Continue reading Smoke Or Fire (Japan, Australia, New Zealand) →

Telescreen, the recent project from members of Classic Case and Codeseven have signed to Tragic Hero Records.

The band includes four ex-members of Codeseven including Eric Weyer (guitar), Jon Tuttle (bass), Matt Tuttle (drums), and James Tuttle (guitar) alongside vocalist Jared Draughon, formerly of Classic Case.

The band plan to release a multi-media CD/DVD on the label in 2009.
Source Continue reading Telescreen (Ex-Codeseven) join Tragic Hero Records →

Bleeding Through have posted a new track from their upcoming album. The record is titled Declaration and is due out September 30, 2008. It is the follow-up to The Truth which was released in 2006.

You can check it out here.
Source Continue reading Bleeding Through: “Death Anxiety” →

A number of you submitted and emailed about this unusual new video from Mean Magazine. The film features none other than Gandhi-himself, Sir Ben Kinglsey performing as Ian MacKaye in a video tribute to Minor Threat.

The video was directed by Kashy Khaledi.
Source Continue reading Sir Ben Kinglsey stars as Minor Threat-era Ian MacKaye in new video →

Buzzgrinder‘s editor has posted a response to the recent, controversial post from Thursday’s Geoff Rickley which decried the current state of activism in music. Along with criticizing the medium Geoff used (MTV), the blog post goes on to explain that the fault does not rest just with the bands, but with the public:

It wasn’t just ‘political punk’ that got more accessible. Everything got more accessible. With that the masses are neutered, overwhelmed and ready for bed 10pm. Don’t blame the bands, blame everyone. Music ain’t dangerous because dangerous takes time.

Go to local board meetings or pull a lever every four years? Support a band or download an MP3? Help the homeless or watch Lost? Volunteer in your community or make out? Expecting music to change a generation is like expecting dogs to talk.

You can check out the rest of the post here.
Source Continue reading Buzzgrinder responds to Geoff Rickley’s recent blog →

Today we’ve got the new album from Monikers. The record, Wake Up, and follows their 2007 Split [7 inch] with Banner Pilot.

You can check out the entire album on their Punknews.org Profile.
Source Continue reading Monikers: “Wake Up” →

Best Buy has finally revealed what it is doing with all those “extended warranties” they get you to purchase. The retail giant has purchased online music store, Napster for $121 million dollars. It is unclear why the brick and mortar retailer wants the firm which has lagged behind both Apple’s iTunes and Amazon’s MP3 store entry. Even MySpace has expressed intent to join the fray.

The folks at TechCrunch were even more critical, concluding: “Best Buy just wasted $121 million.”
Source Continue reading Best Buy buys Napster for $121 million →

Mouthwash have announced plans to release their first full length in more than seven years. The record is titled True Stories and is due out September 22, 2008. It is the follow-up to 1000 Dreams which was released in 2001.

The UK-based ska/punk outfit has four new songs from the album streaming on their myspace page.

You can buy the album directly from the band here.
Source Continue reading Mouthwash to release “True Stories” →

According to a report from NME, Foo Fighters are set to take a “long break” from music and have warned fans not to expect a new album any time soon.

Frontman Dave Grohl told BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles that the band were set to go on hiatus then return with a new sense of purpose further down the line.

The band released Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace last year
Source Continue reading Foo Fighters go on hiatus →

Cute Is What We Aim For and Secondhand Serenade will be touring together this fall. Support will be provided by A Rocket to the Moon and Automatic Loveletter.

Source Continue reading Tours: Cute Is What We Aim For / Secondhand Serenade / Rocket to the Moon →

Said Radio has been forced to cancel their remaining upcoming shows with Tiger Army, including October’s OCtoberflame 2008 show. Frontman Eric Ozenne has suffered a leg injury and is unable to perform.

The band has a new record in the works, so look for more news and word on a return to the stage some time soon.
Source Continue reading Said Radio cancels Tiger Army dates due to injury →

The lineup has been announced for the Mike Patton and Melvins-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties: Nightmare Before Xmas. Patton, who runs Ipecac collaborated with the Melvins to choose the lineup which includes The Damned, Butthole Surfers, Isis, Dalek, Meat Puppets, Joe Lally of Fugazi, Squarepusher, Kill Me Tomorrow and many more.

Source Continue reading Isis, Damned, Locust, Torche, Joe Lally, Melvins at ATP Christmas →

An enterprising reader decided to follow up on our recent story regarding XM’s removal of their punk stations by contacting the company directly and recieved the following statement from one of the DJs, Lou Brutus:

Thanks so much for taking the time to write with your comments on XM 53 Fungus. We recognize and appreciate the fact that Fungus and punk, ska and hardcore has loyal fans like you, but because we have limited space on our platform for music channels, we’re often faced with having to make difficult decisions when it comes to what’s available on our channel line-up. Fungus was one of the channels that had a very loyal but also a very limited audience.

Some of the music heard on Fungus can be heard on other XM channels including Fred (XM 44) and Ethel (XM 47). Again, we appreciate you being a fan of Fungus and hope you listened to enough other XM channels to stick around as a subscriber.

Back when the satellite radio format was being launched, one of the advantages touted by executives was the format’s ability to serve many more channels than conventional radio. This, it was argued, would have allowed satellite providers to serve more niche audiences.
Source Continue reading More info on the XM/Sirius elimination of punk rock →