February 2006 News

JOE STRUMMER FILM
Music documentary specialist Julien Temple (THE FILTH AND THE FURY, GLASTONBURY) has announced his next film will focus on the late, great Joe Strummer of The Clash. Temple said he planned to make a movie “about his life. Not so much about the Clash, although they were obviously a huge part of that. It’s a film about Joe, about the man, the story of his life, the music before The Clash and after The Clash — as well as about The Clash.” Temple has hours of film already, much of which he shot with Strummer before his untimely death in 2002.

(LAST) NIGHT OF THE LIVING SKULLS
March 11 at the Showcase in Corona, The Skulls, sadly, will be performing their final show. The boys will be going out in style, though, as it will be a huge party, with supporting acts Wrecking Crew, Neon Maniacs, Prima Donna (which features former Skulls member Kevin Preston), and special guests like “the one and only 1977 masque master of ceremony Bruce Barf,” according to the band’s MySpace page. They also say thank you to everyone for supporting them over the past five years. The band were one of the original (great) L.A. punk bands back in the day, but relatively quickly broke up. Frontman Billy Bones started the band up again in the ’90s and released two fabulous studio albums on Dr. Strange and a live record.

A TRUE KING OF PUNK
On January 30, Poison Idea guitarist Pig Champion (Thomas Roberts) died in Portland, Oregon. He, along with frontman Jerry A., bassist Chris Tense, and drummer Dean Johnson formed the mighty hardcore band in 1980 and released a number of records, beginning with 1983’s PICK YOUR KING. By the time of 1986’s KINGS OF PUNK, Roberts christened himself Pig Champion when he blew up to 450 pounds. When Pig Champion left in the early ’90s, the band dissolved and released PIG’S LAST STAND, a recording of their final gig. However, that was not to be the last of Poison Idea, as they came back (albeit with line-up changes) and put out more records, the last being ’04’s FEEL THE DARKNESS.

R.I.P. RKL FRONTMAN
RKL (Rich Kids on LSD) frontman Jason Sears passed away at the end of January as well. The Santa Barbara band were major contributors to ’80s/’90s punk. Sears fronted RKL from ’83-’89 and again from ’94-’96. In 2001, KEEP LAUGHING-THE BEST OF RKL (Mystic) came out. After his time with the band, Sears recorded JASON SEARS AND MERCURY LEGION (Malt Soda), which was released last spring.

I’M A WHORE FOR…
Cheap Sex are working on 15 new songs for their third LP for Punk Core to be titled WRITTEN IN BLOOD, following LAUNCH OFF TO WAR and HEADED FOR A BREAKDOWN. In support of its release, hard-charging street punks will head out in the summer with labelmates The Scarred. To hear a rough track of “Russian Roulette” (no, it’s not a Lords of the New Church cover…!) from the new album go to: www.myspace.com/punkcore or www.punkcore.com.

DARKEST HOUR MANIA
Darkest Hour’s headlining REVOLVER-sponsored tour with Himsa, A Life Once Lost, The Acacia Strain, and Dead To Fall runs from February 17 until April 1, hitting virtually every market in the U.S. They announced that their 12-minute instrumental opus “Veritas, Aequitas” (from ’04’s HIDDEN HANDS OF A SADIST NATION), will be played at select dates (announcements posted on www.darkesthour.cc), and they’re going to pull some older material out on various shows. Moreover, DH entered the studio in January with Brian McTernan to re-mix and re-master their first Victory album, SO SEDATED, SO SECURE (to be released March 7), and it will contain a new layout, liner notes written by the band, two new tracks, covers of Pentagram’s “Be Forewarned” and Battery’s “Go Back To The Gym”. Their last album of all-new material was last year’s killer UNDOING RUIN (Victory).

PHOENIX RISING
Tampa’s Phoenix Mourning, a screamo/metalcore band, was picked up by Metal Blade. Their debut, which will be produced by Tom Morris (Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse) and titled WHEN EXCUSES BECOME ANTIQUES, comes out April 18.

TRUSTKILL DRAW FIRST BLOOD
San Francisco metallic hardcore band First Blood have signed with Trustkill. The band, which features ex-Terror bassist Carl Schwartz on vocals, are working on their debut for Trustkill at the moment and look to release it in the spring. They have some shows scheduled with Ignite and Comeback Kid for the end of February into March. Check www.myspace.com/firstblood for details and to hear some of their previous material.

SAD BUT TRUE
Transplants frontman Skinhead Rob confirmed the rumors about the band breaking up, which began after they canceled their fall tour. The guys, who released two albums during the band’s lifespan will still be busy, of course, as Skinhead Rob has Expensive Tastes, Tim Armstrong has Rancid, and Travis Barker has Plus 44.

NOT A FATAL BLOW
400 Blows guitarist Christian left the L.A. band last month after releasing their last album last spring, ANGEL’S TRUMPETS AND DEVIL’S TROMBONES (GSL). The two remaining members, vocalist Skot and drummer Ferdinand, will soldier on and are seeking another guitarist to round out the line-up of the outta-control punk/metal band.

NO KIDDING
Nitro punks No Trigger release CANYONEER (produced by Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore at the Blasting Room) March 21. The Oxford, Massachusetts band have some songs up at www.myspace.com/notrigger, including “More to Offer”, which singer Tom Rheault said “deals with a personal pro-feministic, pro-equality stance on underground music. I guess you could say it’s simply a kind of a call to arms to a scene where 95 percent of voices heard are those of men. We also had the honor of having a female guest vocalist help out with the song, and I think it makes it that much more relevant and powerful.”

THEY’RE GOING TO HELL FOR THIS ONE
NOFX’s new EP, NEVER TRUST A HIPPY is out March 14. Two of the six songs included will later appear on their next LP WOLVES IN WOLVES’ CLOTHING, out April 18. Fat Wreck Chords wants to make a couple things clear in regard to the upcoming full-length: it’s 18 songs, about 35 minutes and there are no hip-hop beats or is Cream influences. The Website also says that members of the NOFX 7” Club might recognize a few songs, but they are different versions. Check www.fatwreck.com to get more up-to-date info on the new record, a secret SF show, and mp3s.

GREELEY ESTATES AND THE CONFESSION TO TASTE SOME CHAOS
Greeley Estates and The Confession are heading out with Deftones, Thrice, Story of the Year, and the rest of the second Taste of Chaos tour, kicking off February 16 in San Diego. Prior to this, Greeley Estates signed to Record Collection, released the CAVEAT EMPTOR EP, and co-headlined the MySpace Fall Tour in 2005. They’re currently in the studio in L.A. with Lou Giordano (Taking Back Sunday, Husker Du, Mission Of Burma) recording their second full-length album, out in the spring. The Confession meet up with the TOC tour in Florida after February dates with Avenged Sevenfold.

FREYA PLANS
Freya will be releasing a new album entitled LIFT THE CURSE on Victory in May. For now you can check out a previously unreleased track, “Born In Blood”, at: www.myspace.com/freya or www.freya315.com. Also, they’re playing the PETA2 Fest in Boston February 25.

SEXXXY
MTV’s Website reported that The Eagels of Death Metal, who are to release their sophomore album, DEATH BY SEXY, April 11, have been confirmed as the support act for all of the dates on The Strokes spring tour, which begins March 3 in NYC.

STRAY CATS TRIBUTE
GO CAT GO - A TRIBUTE TO STRAY CATS (Baseline Music/Hairball8) is out Valentine’s Day, and has been heralded “Thee psycho album of 2006,” as it features an international line-up of 15 of the best psychobilly bands and one awesome ska band paying tribute to one of the greatest rockabilly acts, Stray Cats. Some of the bands who contributed inlcude Batmobile, Hellbillys, The Phenomenauts, The Rezurex, Tony Slash’s the Rocketz, Mad Marge & the Sonecutters, and The Astounding Roy Gorbisons.
Record release parties will be taking place around the world, so keep checking
www.myspace.com/straycatstribute for details. One announced already is Mad Marge & the Stonecutters/Thee Merry Widows, Hellbillys, and The Phenomenauts at The Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco Februrary 24.

OUR LAST NEWS ITEM
Veteran punks Toy Dolls, who’ve said they will release a favorites collection within the next year, have added some new members to the lineup: guitarist Duncan Redmonds (Snuff/Guns n Wankers/The Pissmops) and bassist Tommy “Goober” Blyth (Goober Patrol), who will be playing on the band’s “Our Last Tour.” The band will be playing shows in such locales as North and South America, Japan, and Russia. The tour’s moniker goes along with their latest releases: OUR LAST ALBUM and OUR LAST DVD.

WITH NOT DISTASTE
Baltimore political grindcore/metal purveyors Misery Index recently signed to Relapse and are currently recording their still-untitled debut LP for the label in Atlanta with Eyal Levi. Some early track titles include “Conquistadores”, “Outsourcing Jehovah”, “Breathing Pestilence”, “Dystopian Nightmares”, and “Meet Reality”. The record’s expected to be out in May. They’ve previously released RETALIATE (Nuclear Blast/EMI) in 2003 and a bunch of independent records through their own Anarchos record imprint. They’ve also announced a tour for May with like-minded awesome acts Disfear and Phobia in tow. Check www.relapse.com for info.

DECONTROL
Controlling The Famous have finished recording their debut full-length record, entitled AUTOMATIC CITY, with Alex Newport (At The Drive-In, Panthers). It should be released in the spring. For now, you can hear a demo of “Heart Attack” at Emotional Punk: www.emotionalpunk.com/mp3/Controlling_The_Famous-Heart_Attack.mp3

HASTE THE DAY HAPPENINGS
Haste the Day welcomes Stephen Keech as vocalist for the band on their upcoming tour with Bleeding Through, Every Time I Die, and Between the Buried and Me, which runs now through March 1. In April, the band is to commence writing new material for their next album. Currently their latest disc, WHEN EVERYTHING FALLS (Solid State) is rapidly approaching the 50,000 sales mark in the U.S.

BOW JOIN SLF
Ireland’s Blood or Whiskey will be joining seminal punk band Stiff Little Fingers on their U.K. tour. Since the release of BOW’s CASHED OUT ON CULTURE in March ’05, the band have been at the forefront of the current Irish-infused punk trend by mixing traditional Irish music with punk in a manner that hasn’t been seen since the masterful Pogues first made their historic stamp on the genre. Check out info on the band and dates at: www.myspace.com/bloodorwhiskey or http://www.bloodorwhiskey.ie

THE FUTURE IS NOW
L.A. Punk/dub purveyors Future Pigeon are set to release THE ECHODELIC SOUNDS OF FUTURE PIGEON on April 11. The band draw upon elements of dub/reggae, psychedelic rock, Afro-beat, and death disco, taking the experimental slant of Lee Perry and Can, and fusing it with the punk sensibilities of The Clash to create a sound all their own. See: www.futurepigeon.com for more.

PUMP UP THE VOLUME - FACE THE MUSIC
The Who’s Pete Townshend has a warning for all you iPod users out there: you may face irreparable hearing damage if you don’t keep the volume down. The legendary guitarist said his hearing has been damaged badly by years of using studio headphones and now he must take 36-hour breaks between recording sessions. On his Website he cautioned: “If you use an iPod or anything like it…you MAY be OK…But my intuition tells me there is terrible trouble ahead,” adding, “I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal [users] deaf.”

THIS AIN’T NO RINGLING BROS.’ PRODUCTION
The International Ska Circus takes place March 11 in Las Vegas at Clark County Amphitheatre and features some of the biggest names in the genre: The Skatalites, Toasters, Pietasters, Reel Big Fish, Voodoo Glowskulls, Fishbone, and The Skeletones, as well as La Banda Skalavera, Westbound Train, Suburban Legends, The Debonaires, Super Pineapples, and Goldfish Don’t Bounce. Furthering the spirit of the 2003 Ska Summit, the ISC concept brings together ska, reggae, and punk artists from around the globe. The Circus will make its American debut after sold-out European jaunts in London and Prague. This can also be a two-day event if you purchase a V.I.P. ticket at www.ticketmaster.com. That way you get to go Friday March 10 to Jillian’s for the Official Pre-Party, which includes a celebrity bowling tournament and band performances.

NOW THEY’RE HAPPY
Reel Big Fish is officially off the Jive Records roster and that’s just fine with them. After four years and two full-lengths (WE’RE NOT HAPPY ‘TIL YOU’RE NOT HAPPY and CHEER UP!), RBF can now pursue more daring opportunities that didn’t fit into the corporate scheme of things and Jive will continue to search for the next big boy-band. The ska troupe’s manager, Vince Pileggi, said, “The traditional major label business model is a dinosaur whose feet are already covered in tar,” and that they’ve “been in touch with numerous labels and are actively considering aggressive deals that we hope will be the new industry standard.” RBF are overseas touring at the moment and then will play the International Ska Circus. They’ll soon announce their summer touring plans. www.reelbigfish.com

THEY’VE MADE THE BIG-TIME
At the tail end of January, the boys of Motley Crue received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Bassist Nikki Sixx purportedly told hundreds of fans, “We’re across the street from the Erotica Museum and Frederick’s of Hollywood. This is a perfect place for us to be.” Yeah, sounds like something he’d say…

AND NOW… TOMMY LEE NEWS
Bruce Sinofsky, one of the directors of the rock documentary METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER, will make a documentary on Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee. According to Sinofsky, the still-untitled film “seeks a candid glimpse behind the celebrity and tabloid personality into who Tommy really is, watching him interact with family, friends, and business associates.” Last time the cameras were on Tommy, was when he starred on last year’s TOMMY LEE GOES TO COLLEGE reality show on NBC.

NODES TOURING HARDCORE
Fresh off their tour with Sinai Beach, Nodes of Ranvier announced the dates for their upcoming outing with Still Remains, If Hope Dies, and Demiricous. The tour begins March 22 in Grand Rapids, MI and goes till May. It also sees the band playing Facedown Fest March 31 in Pomona, CA. Check www.facedownrecords.com for information.

HARDCORE ’81
The enticing 98-minute documentary AMERICAN HARDCORE: THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN PUNK ROCK 1980 - 1986 by Paul Rachman and inspired by Steven Blush’s authoritative tome AMERICAN HARDCORE: A TRIBAL HISTORY, was screened at the Sundance Film Festival last month. We say “enticing” because the film deals with the most influential bands of the era, including D.O.A., MDC, TSOL, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Agnostic Front, Youth Brigade, Minor Threat, and Cro-Mags, to name just a few. Plans are underway for screenings in other cities. To learn more, go to: www.myspace.com/americanhardcorefilm.

CHRONICLES OF A HEADBANGER
Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen, and Jessica Joy Wise’s METAL: A HEADBANGER’S JOURNEY will be released February 24 in Canada. The documentary (the first-ever in-depth film made on the subject) follows Dunn, a professional anthropologist, long-time heavy-metal fan, and practitioner through his own band, in a worldwide trek, as he searches for the source of the mythology surrounding the genre. The film features such greats as Alice Cooper, Dee Snider, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson, and Rob Zombie, as well as “newer, more extreme spokesmen,” and looks at the genre’s beginnings, through doom and thrash, hair-metal, black metal, and today’s metalcore phenomenon. The film is distributed in Canada by Seville Pictures, and Seville International is handling international sales and has sold to it Warner in America. View the trailer, find more information about the release, and directors’ blogs at www.metalhistory.com.

THEY GOT THE ANTIDOTE
Fearless act SoTheySay have posted “Over-Exposed Photo” from their upcoming Matt Squire (Panic! At the Disco, The Receiving End of Sirens) album ANTIDOTE FOR IRONY on PureVolume.com. You like? You can pre-order the album at www.fearlessrecords.com. It hits the streets March 7.

BYE BYE BIBLE SCHOOL
In SKRATCH news’ never-ending quest to report on all “intelligent design”-related happenings, we now report another slam to the anti-evolutionary belief. A group of parents in Fresno sued the El Tejon school system, accusing it of violating separation of church and state with a high-school course called “Philosophy of Design,” taught by a…minister’s wife. In the settlement, the district agreed to halt the course and said it would never again offer a “course that promotes or endorses creationism, creation science, or intelligent design.” This is a big win, as it shows schools nationwide they can’t offer anti-evolution classes “whether they do so in a science class or a humanities class,” according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the organization representing the parents. As previously reported, a school in Dover, PA was barred from teaching “ID” along with evolution in a science class.

THIS STONE’S FOR YOU
A kidney stone passed by the ubiquitous William Shatner was sold for $25,000 by GoldenPalace.com, an online casino. The idea may be terribly gross and disconcerting, but at least the money from the golden stone is going to a housing charity, Habitat for Humanity.

UNSTOPPABLE
The Casualties long-awaited DVD, CAN’T STOP US, comes out March 7 via SideOneDummy. Included on the disc are live shows, behind-the-scenes footage of the punks on the road, interviews, and more. The band will be on tour with Anti-Flag and The Unseen throughout March and April. Check www.sideonedummy.com for all related info.

MARITIME ALBUM
Flameshovel will be releasing the new album from Maritime April 4. WE, THE VEHICLES, the second album from the collective of Davey von Bohlen, Dan Didier (both formerly of The Promise Ring) and Eric Axelson (formerly of Dismemberment Plan), is said to take an occasional turn toward the darker, denser corners of years past and that the band remain tethered to pop perfection, but have taken space to let that pop cycle through all its permutations. The record will prove that Maritime are more than a side project or “ex-members of” act.

WAR OF AGES
Impressed by their strong work ethic, determination, and some of the best metallic hardcore out today, Facedown signed War of Ages, who just released their self-titled debut full-length last year and played over 250 shows. Their label debut will be recorded in June at Trax East Studios. They’re presently on tour with Hell Within and in March head out with Bloody Sunday. Go to www.facedownrecords.com and check out their welcome video with clips from “Only The Strong Survive”.

WELCOME TO 1984
On January 16, former Vice President Al Gore called for an independent counsel to look into President George W. Bush’s controversial secret eavesdropping program. Gore said a probe “can rebuild confidence in our system of justice,” pressing that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should appoint a special counsel to address “obvious conflicts of interest” that prevent investigations of what many believe to be law violations by Bush. The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to hold hearings as early as this month.

THE PARTY’S NOT QUITE OVER
With the release of their new live CD/DVD, SMOKING POPES AT METRO (Victory) on February 28, The Smoking Popes announce a North American headlining tour from February 22 to March 12, with Bayside, who’s ACOUSTICA CD/DVD (Victory) is in stores the same day. The pairing of these two bands made perfect sense, as Bayside’s Anthony Raneri sites Smoking Popes as a strong inspiration and Caterer contributed to Bayside’s new album (he helps out on their cover of “Megan”). Smoking Popes have been a staple in the punk and indie rock scenes since the ’90s and helped shape a generation of music fans and wrote the book for Chicago’s indie rock scene. The band, who formed in ’91, broke up in ’98, and then reunited last year, playing Chicago’s Metro November 11. For dates: www.victoryrecords.com.

AS FOR BAYSIDE…
The band added Gavin Miller (formerly of Staring Back) to fill the void left when drummer John “Beatz” Holohan died in the October van accident, which SKRATCH reported on in a previous news section. Badly injured bassist Nick Ghanbarian was being temporarily replaced by Nick Testa (guitar technician for Hawthorne Heights) while he was recovering from back surgery on Long Island.

REICHSTAG ROCK
The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower are back home in San Diego recovering
from touring almost every inch of the globe in 2005. They just finished recording two songs with Alex Newport (Melvins, the Locust) for a 12” EP for Artfag Records. The B-side will contain remixes done by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner and The Locust’s Gabe Serbian. They’re also writing for the follow-up to LOVE IN THE FASCIST BROTHEL out later this year. The Plot hits the road again starting February 23 and make their way to SXSW, picking up Genghis Tron March 7 and play South by Southwest March 17 and 18.

PEARL JAM PHOTO BOOK
Together with fellow renowned Seattle photographer Charles Peterson, Lance Mercer in 1998 issued the first Pearl Jam photo book, PLACE/DATE and now will be putting out a new volume called 5X1: PEARL JAM THROUGH THE EYE OF LANCE MERCER. The book will be sold via www.pearljam.com. Of the book, Mercer says he had lots of never-before-seen photos, “like behind-the-scenes stuff.” As a result, this book is “more personal” with less “live stuff” than the previous tome. The photos are from the early- to mid-’90s. Mercer’s next book will be “of the overall music scene,” he says, which “could be from Malfunkshun to Soundgarden” with possibly some punk bands. As for Pearl Jam, they’re looking to release their next album on J Records late spring.

YOU WANT FRIES WITH THAT?
Remember those freaks who placed a severed finger in a bowl of Wendy’s chili? Because of their hair-brained scheme to extort money from the fast-food chain, Anna Ayala, who said she bit into the finger last March, was sentenced to nine years, whilst husband Jaime Placencia, the one who actually obtained said finger from a co-worker who lost it in a work-related accident, was sentenced to more than 12 years.

LADIES, WOMEN, AND GIRLS
Women have acquiesced power in three countries this past month. With Liberia inaugurating Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa FINALLY sees the continent’s FIRST female head of state; Chile elected Michelle Bachelet as its first female president; and Finland’s Tarja Halonen, known as “the mother of the nation,” won a second six-year term in office, defeating her Conservative party opponent with 51.8 percent of the vote.

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