The Explosion have announced some details on their upcoming farewell shows. Although no supporting bands have been announced, the locations and dates have been. The first show will be on Friday, August 31st at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia, and the second show will be on Saturday September 1st, at The Knitting Factory in NYC.

The band broke up earlier this year, and still plan to release their final record, Bury Me Standing.
Source Continue reading The Explosion announce details on final shows →

Old school punk rock act The Freeze have announced dates for a Southwest tour beginning on June 14th. Best known as one of the bands on the compilation, This is Boston, Not LA, this will be the first time in 20 years that they have left the east coast to tour through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

Source Continue reading Tours: The Freeze →

The track listing has been announced for the upcoming 2007 edition of the Sounds of the Underground compilation. The record is simply titled Sounds of the Underground 2007 and is due out June 19, 2007.

Source Continue reading Sounds of the Underground Tour 2007 CD+DVD compilation →

Kawakami, the long-time vocalist and guitarist for the Japanese band Disclose, has died from an unintentional overdose. According to reports, the singer died from a lethal combination of sleeping pills and vodka.

Kawakami was the mainstay in the band’s revolving lineup. Disclose’s sound, based on the infamous Discharge, was legendary within Japan’s hardcore punk scene. Their numerous releases (14 split 7″s, one split LP, two LPs, and ten 7″s and 10″s) over the past 15 years and heavily distorted, blown out noisy style influenced hundreds of other bands, much like Discharge did in the 1980s.

Our deepest condolences to his friends and family.

A fan has provided a link to a YouTube of a recent performance.
Source Continue reading Kawakami of Disclose (-2007) →

Another Hopeless act has made the jump to a major label, with recent signing Nural joining Atlantic Records, part of the Warner Music Group. The follow up to The Weight of the World will be the first in a joint venture between Hopeless and Atlantic and ensuing albums will be released solely via the major label.

Source Continue reading Nural joins Atlantic →

Jesse Raub, the reviewer you love to hate, recently chatted back and forth with Aaron and Nat of Alternative Tentacles Bonecrushers Akimbo. The three of them talked about their two upcoming albums, as well as the issue of spontaneous combustion amongst guitarists.

The two albums are the follow-ups to Forging Steel and Laying Stone which was released in 2006. The first is titled Navigating The Bronze and is due out August 21, 2007.

For those unfamiliar with the band, it’s best to check out the reviews here or take it from the band: “Usually I just say we’re really loud and leave it at that.”
Source Continue reading Interviews: Akimbo →

Indie supergroup the New Pornographers have announced US tour dates in support of their upcoming Matador Records full length Challengers. The band will depart from their Canadian home base in British Columbia in mid September and travel down and up the US west coast.

The 12 song full length features 9 tracks penned by Carl “A.C.” Newman and three by Destroyer‘s Dan Bejar. Newman, Bejar, Neko Case and Immaculate Machine’s Kathryn Calder all provide vocals. Label Matador Records recently announced a limited edition digital “box set” to accompany the record, a deluxe preorder edition available through their Buy Early Get Now program that will feature three discs worth of b-sides, live material and other media.
Source Continue reading The New Pornographers (US west coast) →

Everyone’s favorite bathtub dwelling solo artist, James Dewees aka Reggie and The Full Effect, has posted some new music from his upcoming album.

The record was produced by Sean Beavan and is titled She Loves Me Not. A release date has not yet been set. The album is the follow up to 2005’s Songs Not To Get Married To. (Those confused by the new songs should recall that James was in this band for a spell.)

You can check out the new songs on his myspace page.
Source Continue reading Two new Reggie & The Full Effect songs →

Pelican has posted the dates for their summer tour. The tour will kick off next month in Europe.

The band is touring in support of City of Echoes, which you can stream here.
Source Continue reading Tours: Pelican →

We have another last minute contest for you. Suprise, suprise, it’s also in Virginia Beach, courtesy of our pals at 151 Productions. This time, it’s Tim Barry, and special guest Josh Small. The first two entries get in with a pal for free tonight. Plus, to sweeten the deal, the first winner also gets a copy of Tim’s solo debut, Rivanna Junction.

If you promote shows, or have friends that do, tell them to contact us for a possible “Free Shows and Schwag” contest. Trust me, we want to get as many cities involved as possible, but we gotta know who wants to help you get into which shows!
Source Continue reading Contests: Tim Barry (tonight in Virginia Beach) →

Our friends and collaborators, Justin and Dante, have spearheaded a new team on the AIDS Walk themed on this very website. He explains:

With the blessing of Punknews guru Aubin, Punknews editor Justin has begun the first Punknews.org team for the San Francisco AIDS Walk, on July 15, 2007. Though details are currently scarce the team is looking to work with local record labels and Punknews readers.

If you’re interested in helping the team, you can register here by clicking “Join a team”, then selecting “Punknews.org – 7592” from the list of teams and filling out the required information. People not in the San Francisco vacinity can still help by making a general team donation here.
Source Continue reading San Francisco AIDS Walk with your friends from Punknews.org →

As expected, the first Rage Against The Machine countdown completed today. The page has announced a show for June 16th, 2007 to take place at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI.

The bill will also feature Queens of the Stone Age and you can check out the show poster. While fans expecting a major tour may be disappointed, there remains another countdown which will be revealed in August. Only 74 days to go…
Source Continue reading Rage Against The Machine announces Midwest appearance →

Well, I never got to that update that I I thought I would do last week.  I'll try again this week.  In the meantime, enjoy the latest installment of the GR2 Top 15 for Free! Yup, you heard it right- Free!

1. NOFX – Hot Dog In A Hallway
2. Snapout (aka Fastpace) – Hope
3. Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards – S.P.D.
4. The Mad Caddies – Contraband
5. Rancid – Gunshot
6. Spoiled Rotten  – Media Frenzy
7. The Briggs – Media Control
8. Supersuckers – Pretty Fucked Up
9. Consumed – Wake Up With A Smile
10. Anti-Flag – Turncoat
11. Swingin' Utters – Pills & Smoke
12. Dropkick Murphys – Barroom Hero
13. Social Distortion – Ball and Chain
14. Rollins Band – Drive By Shooting
15. Monster Magnet – Kick Out The Jams