The third part of Dream Not Of Today‘s interview with Fat Mike of Fat Wreck Chords and NOFX has been posted. In this segment, Mike talks about the future of the label, particularly as related to the new pricing model that they are trying. He notes:

Now we’re selling CDs for four bucks, so it’s about the same thing. It’s just like it was when we started. It’s not some big deal. We just have to keep our expenses low, we’re not going to spend fucking marketing dollars at chain stores. We’re just taking it back to how it was. To how punk labels used to be in the eighties. A lot of bands aren’t spending $20,000 or $30,000 in the studio anymore. They’re spending $5,000. I have a really nice studio in San Francisco and I’m giving it to bands for $8,000 and they can stay there for the month.

It’s not like the label can close any time soon, because I got NOFX that still sells hundreds of thousands of records and the Gimme Gimmes still sell that many. The last Strung Out record still did 60,000.

You can check out the entire interview here which also talks about Rise Against, The Flatliners and 360 deals.
Source Continue reading Fat Mike wraps up interview; talks business, future of Fat Wreck Chords →

Ryan O’Connor of Outbreak has posted an update on the band’s status which includes some major lineup changes and a departure from Bridge 9 who released 2006’s Failure:

The last year has been a really crazy time for me personally and for Outbreak. Anyone who’s seen us over the last year has probably noticed we’ve had member changes and multiple fill ins. We’ve gone through some rough patches that I feel would be the end of most bands. I’ll start by saying that it won’t be the end for Outbreak.

Next week we enter The Outpost with Jim Siegel to record our new full length album, which will be self titled. As of now, we do not have confirmation on the label who will be putting it out, but we decided we’re recording anyway. No, it won’t be out on Bridge 9. We fulfilled our contract with Bridge 9 after our last album, so we’ve been “shopping” for a couple months now. I think Chris Wrenn (Bridge 9 owner) is a good guy with good intentions and smart business sense, unfortunately I can’t say the same for everyone else I’ve encountered at Bridge 9. I’ll leave it at that.

Check out the blog entry with more details including an explanation of the departure of two members to Cruel Hand, here.
Source Continue reading Outbreak talks leaving Bridge 9, member changes, falling outs, new EP, eventual LP →

Frank “Dr.Frank” Portman of The Mr. T Experience and more recently, of the critically acclaimed young adult novel King Dork, has posted an update on the film version of his book. In late 2006, the book was “optioned” for a film by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay:

Practically every conversation I ever have with anyone eventually gets around to this question. What they’re wondering about is the status of potential King Dork film. For some time now I really haven’t had much of an answer.

as unlikely as it seemed, a new deal was reached just this week. The King Dork movie: it lives. This time around it is Sony Pictures. Same producers (Gary Sanchez.) Seth Gordon, the guy who did King of Kong, is attached to direct. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll get made but it is way more likely than it was last month.

Frank continues to work on his next novel, Andromeda Klein. The book is due out August 25, 2009.
Source Continue reading King Dork movie adaptation status update, release date for follow up →

Gainesville, FL based label Sound Study Recordings has announced that the second volume of their Live at The Atlantic 7″ Series will feature Off With Their Heads. The 7″ will come on limited, hand-numbered vinyl with artwork by Richard Minino, better known as Horsebites. The record is expected by the end of the month. The first volume of the series was a split 7″ featuring Young Livers and Army Of Ponch and was released in 2008.

You can check out the live version of “I Am You” on the label’s myspace page.
Source Continue reading Off With Their Heads to be featured on next Live at The Atlantic 7″ →

Germany’s Area 4 Festival has announced this year’s lineup. The event is set for August 21-23, 2009 in Lüdinghausen, Germany.

The event will feature Die Toten Hosen, Faith No More, Rise Against, The Offspring, Farin Urlaub Racing Team, Deftones, AFI, Eagles of Death Metal, Kettcar, Anti-Flag, Thursday, Life of Agony, Mad Caddies, Get Up Kids, PanteóN Rococó, Broilers, Turbostaat, Zebrahead, Callejon, Cj Ramone and Baddies.

More details are available on the event site.
Source Continue reading Rise Against, AFI, Thursday, Get Up Kids, Mad Caddies at Area 4 →

In an interview with ThePunkSite.com, Adam Turla of Murder By Death gave some details about some of the band’s upcoming releases, including their seven inch series and eventual new full-length:

The next one with Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls came out this week. We did William Elliott Whitmore and O’Death and then the next one that’s coming out in August is Lucero and then Langhorne Slim from New York. I’m writing stuff in my head and then after this tour we’re basically gonna take the summer off and start the process.”

The band released Red of Tooth and Claw in 2008.
Source Continue reading Murder By Death detail new 7-inches, talk new album →

According to their official blog, The Dwarves are currently in the studio recording their new album, titled The Dwarves Are Born Again. No word yet on a release date or label.

The band’s last proper full-length was 2004’s The Dwarves Must Die.
Source Continue reading The Dwarves enter studio →

The lineup for Berea Fest IV has been confirmed. The fest will take place July 17-18 at St. Paul Lutheran’s Church in Berea, OH and feature performances by Delay, Tin Armor, Halo Fauna, Annabel, The Sidekicks, Asinine, Spooktober, Ghost Mice, Pink Houses, Mountain Asleep, Thousandaires, Good Luck, Saint Seneca, American War, Letters to the Moon, Two Hand Fools, Slingshot Dakota, Sack Lunch, Bridge and Tunnel, The Read, Reverse the Curse, Super Bobby, Underdogs of Nipomo, Submarine Spaceship, New Creases, The Dopamines, Amelia, Positive, Ghost Town Trio, and Le Vansona. The set times and days for each band have not yet been confirmed.

More information on the fest can be found here.
Source Continue reading Berea Fest IV lineup announced →

Hello everybody and welcome to Navel Gazing: your look back at the week in Punknews. I am not Adam White, he’s gone for a few weeks, so this week I’m filling in to 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 this week…

This week was a mix of the old and the new. The most important news was obviously that the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are going to tour and record a new album. Don’t call it a comeback! For some reason the news that Rock Band added Social Distortion, Replacements and Elvis Costello set you guys off – maybe you’re Guitar Hero fans? Underoath stepped in it when they seemed to not know a thing about pioneering metal act Metallica. Agnostic Front is rolling out on tour, I’d make a clever quip but I value my kneecaps.

The oddly controversial Alkaline Trio decided to leave Epic, start a label and plans to record in the summer. Phew. New reformed pop-punk dieties blink182 are working on a new album and recording after their upcoming tour. Another similarly huge band you may have heard of was in the news a bit this week. Green Day news is as follows: Green Day streams songs from new album, Streams of “21st Century Breakdown”, MySpace is airing a May performance, they’re touring with Kaiser Chiefs and Fuse plans a Green Day day.

Fat Mike of NOFX was also in the news, talking about the music industry and recent price drops. Check out Part One and Part Two. You might have heard about a band called The Gaslight Anthem who was recently interviewed in Washington Post Express. And in totally unrelated news A Wilhelm Scream is recording new EP, album, AND posted a b-side.

We also took a look at Your Favorite Records from April. Fantastic taste our readers have.

Punknews.org is proud to continue publishing road journals from Mike Hale (Gunmoll, In The Red). Having packed up his belongings, moved out of his apartment, and committed himself to living as a touring musician, Mike has some tales to tell. Check out Episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and now Episode 9 of For Those Still Standing. Our Dispatches series of band tour blogs featured Comeback Kid (Episode 4, Episode 5), and Bridge and Tunnel (Episode 1).

This week’s Editors’ Picks recommended music from Disguster. As always we brought you new Streaming Music including the new full length from Allston, MA’s Kill Conrad, and Austin, TX’s Broken Gold (members of the Riverboat Gamblers. So what’s coming up this week? Look for new releases from NOFX, Mike Hale, So Many Dynamos, and Rivers Cuomo (live) with tours kicking off from Bouncing Souls / the Loved Ones / Black President (US), Fake Problems / William Elliott Whitmore (US), the Human Abstract, Vanna, Oh, Sleeper (US), Virgins (UK), and Testament / Unearth (US).
Source Continue reading May 10, 2009 →

Joyful Noise has signed long-running Indianapolis indie rock act Marmoset.

The band spent nearly a decade on the Secretly Canadian label, last releasing Florist Fired in 2007.

Their Joyful Noise debut, Tea Tornado, is set for an August 4th, 2009 release. You can download an MP3 of “Peach Cobbler” here.

The band have a few tour dates coming up as well.
Source Continue reading Joyful Noise signs Marmoset →

Issue Oriented, the podcast hosted by Ronen Kauffman, vocalist of Zombie Apocalypse and author of New Brunswick, New Jersey, Goodbye – Bands, Dirty Basements and the Search for Self has posted its 42nd episode. The show features performances by Good Old War and Mansions, and an interview/performance by Fake Problems that includes an unreleased song.

Check it out here.
Source Continue reading Issue Oriented 42 featuring Fake Problems, Mansions, Good Old War →

Baroness is set to head into the studio next week to begin work on the follow-up to 2007’s Red Album.

The band will be working with producer and engineer John Congleton (Explosions in the Sky, Black Mountain, the Polyphonic Spree) on the release, which should hit stores in the fall.
Source Continue reading Baroness set to record →

The Briggs have begun announcing dates for their forthcoming “Come All You Madmen” tour. The jaunt will feature support from Left Alone and many more dates are expected.

Source Continue reading The Briggs / Left Alone →