Since news of a fan’s death at the Bonner Springs, KS stop of Vans Warped Tour broke yesterday, a few more details have emerged. While the cause of the man’s death is still not known, the tour has released a statement:

“As the Vans Warped Tour awaits a complete report from the Bonner Springs law enforcement and medical examiner on the passing of a concertgoer at yesterday’s (August 2) show in Bonner Springs, KS, the tour would like to offer their thoughts and prayers to the young man’s family and friends. Tour organizers are working closely with Capitol Federal Park @ Sandstone staff and local officials to determine the actual facts surrounding this tragic incident and will make further details known as they become available.”

The venue in Bonner Springs, the Sandstone Amphitheater, has identified the man as Curtis Alan DeForest, 26 and of Wichita, KS. They offered a statement of their own:

“Curtis Alan DeForest, age 26 of Wichita, Kansas, a patron attending yesterday’s Van’s Warped Tour at the amphitheater was transported to Providence Medical Center where he later passed away. An investigation by the Bonner Springs Police Department and the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office is ongoing. The cause of death has yet to be determined and the venue is working closely with authorities to aid in their investigation.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Mr. DeForest.”

We’ll keep you updated as more details surface.
Source Continue reading More details about Warped Tour death in Kansas City →

The Adolescents have released two more songs off their upcoming album The Fastest Kid Alive. You can check out “Learning To Swim” and “Inspiration” at YouTube or by clicking below.

The Fastest Kid Alive follows up 2005’s O.C. Confidential, and will be released on Finger Records later this year.
Source Continue reading Adolescents: “Learning To Swim” and “Inspiration” →

On Sunday August 1st, bassist Darren Davies of the Welsh band Slowjam passed away at the age of 41.

Davies formed the group in 1987 with friends Dave Alderman and Matt Grey, formerly of Cardiff bands the Soldier Dolls and I Mobster. On the band’s 1990 album Crabapple, recorded by Iain Burgess, Slowjam experimented with “the drum machine hardcore of Big Black, the dance rhythms of the Effigies and the melody of DC bands such as Fugazi.” Slowjam supported Naked Raygun on their UK tour, recorded a split with art rock act Crabladder, released a 12″ titled Freefall and another full length titled Pig on Stator. They were active until 1993 when they disbanded to pursue other projects.

Thanks to Welly of Artcore Fanzine for the details on Slowjam’s career. Our deepest condolences go to Darren’s family and friends.
Source Continue reading Slowjam bassist Darren Davies (1968-2010) →

Kinda Like A Fest 6 is fast approaching. The show, set to take place on August 7th in Half Moon Bay, California, will feature bands like All Teeth, Big Kids, Black Breath, Comadre, Daikon, Glasses, Heartsounds, Make Do and Mend, Seahaven and Shook Ones. The annual event will also feature a vegan/vegetarian bake sale, BBQ, and potluck during the day. Canned food donations to benefit Second Harvest will also get you a few bucks off at the door. You can find out more at MySpace or Facebook.
Source Continue reading Kinda Like A Fest 6 to feature Shook Ones, Comadre, Make Do And Mend, Heartsounds →

Toronto’s Born Ruffians are headed across the border this fall for a US tour with Winter Gloves and the Meligrove Band. The group is touring in support of their recently released sophomore album Say It.
Source Continue reading Tours: Born Ruffians with Winter Gloves, Meligrove Band (US) →

Captain, We’re Sinking is headed out on a two week tour kicking off at the Lock And Key Collective Birthday party. The band will be hitting shows around the midwest and mid-Atlantic. The band last released It’s A Trap! and recently recorded some followup tracks in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Source Continue reading Tours: Captain, We’re Sinking! (Midwest, Mid-Atlantic) →

It has been well over four years since The Lawrence Arms released their last full length in 2006’s Oh! Calcutta!. While collectively the group has remained relatively quiet (to their standards), individually, they have remained active. Perhaps the most recognizably busiest one is guitarist Chris McCaughan. Under the Sundowner moniker, McCaughan found success in 2007 with his first “solo” record, Four One Five Two. After three years, Sundowner is ready to follow up its debut with We Chase the Waves. Punknews contributor Matthew Bentel caught up with Chris at a Mexican restaurant in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood to talk about the new record, his vision for Sundowner, and – of course – the Lawrence Arms.

Source Continue reading Interviews: Chris McCaughan (Sundowner, The Lawrence Arms) →

Lemuria have announced the title and release date for their sophomore full-length. The record is titled Pebble and it’s due out on November 9, 2010 via Bridge Nine Records, following up their Asian Man Records-released 2008 debut, Get Better. Pebble was recorded at The Magpie Cage in Baltimore, MD with producer J Robbins. Drummer/vocalist Alex Kerns had this to say about the recording process, as well as the direction of the band’s new material:

“The new songs don’t stray far from ‘Get Better’ but at the same time, our new material is a little more high-energy. We are very proud of this record and can’t wait for the world to hear it … We couldn’t be happier with out the album turned out and have J to thank for it. It was an amazing experience working with him, his catalog and style definitely complimented the new songs we wrote.”

More details are expected to be announced soon. The band will be on the road with New Found Glory soon and will be performing at Best Friends Day in Richmond, VA as well as The Fest 9 in Gainesville, FL. They also have three dates lined up for Canada in September with Anti-Flag.
Source Continue reading Lemuria sets title, release date for new LP →

The AV Club has posted the latest chapter of its Undercover live covers series. This week it’s Mates of State – along with guests, including comedian Todd Barry on drums – tackling the 1984 Replacements classic “I Will Dare,” originally found on Let It Be. You can click Read More to watch the performance.

Appropriately, Mates of State released a covers album entitled Crushes earlier this year.
Source Continue reading Mates of State: “I Will Dare” (The Replacements) →

Lansing, MI power trio Cheap Girls have begun announcing their touring plans for the fall. So far the jaunt mostly includes dates along the west coast, but more shows are expected to be announced soon.

The band also recently wrapped up recording for two new 7-inches as well as an unnamed cover song. One of those releases is likely their previously announced split with Lemuria for No Idea Records, expected out in late September/early October. Cheap Girls last released My Roaring 20s in 2009.
Source Continue reading Cheap Girls begin announcing tour, new music on the way →

A 26 year-old fan died yesterday at the Vans Warped Tour in Bonner Springs, KS, just outside of Kansas City, MO. Details are scant at this point, but with rumors that the death was due to dehydration, the organizers of the tour posted this message to the Warped twitter account:

“There is no confirmation this was due to dehydration, cardiac, other substances, etc. We do provide first aid to anyone who needs it. If this was due to dehydration, the tour is not responsible for water prices and we change venue rules to allow you to bring it in with you. What’s happened today is an unforeseeable tragedy that shouldn’t have happened. We are all upset and shocked and our hearts are heavy. Please remember to be responsible when you are at an event like this. At ANY possible sign of a problem, PLEASE contact a venue member.”

It’s worth noting that yesterday Bridge Nine Records, who has a tent on this year’s tour, posted an update to their twitter account that said the venue in Bonner Springs was charging ten dollars for a bottle of water in 100 degree temperatures. We’ll keep you updated as more details surface.

Our deepest condolences go out to the friends and family of the fan.
Source Continue reading Fan dies at Warped Tour in Kansas City →

Our stream today comes from Tempe, AZ’s Rumspringer. We’ve got a stream of the band’s new full length for Traffic Street Records, Empty Towers.

You can check it out on their Punknews.org page.
Source Continue reading Rumspringer: ‘Empty Towers’ →

If You Make It has posted the latest album from Paul Baribeau, Unbearable, for free (donations encouraged) download. Check it out here.

Unbearable is Baribeau’s fourth record, following up 2007’s Grand Ledge which was released by Plan-It-X Records.
Source Continue reading Paul Baribeau’s ‘Unbearable’ up for free download →