Nick Johnson
Nate Gangelhoff
Corey Ayd
Danny Elston-Jones

I was beyond stoked to get the chance to speak with Banner Pilot.  I’m a little late on the train, just catching wind of these dudes when they re-released their Resignation Day album on Fat Wreck Chords. I feel like I’ve missed out on a few years of some solid punk rock. Who knew Minneapolis could produce anything but a shitload of snow? I SURE DIDN’T.

I caught up with Nick and Nate at The Blue Star in downtown Los Angeles.  Check out my photos and interview, which also includes live footage from the show!

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Banner Pilot Twitter

Banner Pilot Facebook

Banner Pilot Official

Orange County’s Death By Stereo just announced signing to Viking Funeral Records.  VFR is a label that Pennywise guitarist, Fletcher Dragge founded with Ken Seaton of Hardline Entertainment/ Suburban Noize Records.  DBS is about to release their sixth full length album entitled, “Black Sheep of the American Dream.”

“I am personally proud to be a part of Viking Funeral because Fletcher, Ken Seaton and the whole Suburban Noize family have the same DIY, never back down mentality that we have. Viking Funeral is a perfect home for us, as we’ve seen how labels work and the majority of them are more interested in making a quick buck instead of developing an artist that puts out great records,” commented Efrem Schulz from Death By Stereo.

DBS has been in the hardcore punk scene for quite some time now, and their crazy tour schedule keeps them busy and on the road with bands like AFI, Sick Of It All, Rise Against, Thursday and the Vans Warped Tour, gaining them an immense fan base all around the world.

The band will be direct support for Agnostic Front’s Hardcore Worldwide European tour with Naysayer throughout February.

DEATH BY STEREO TOUR DATES

Feb 02 – Andernach, Germany @ Juz-Live Club w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 03 – Aarau, Switzerlan @ Kiff w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 04 – Pinarella Ra, Italy @ Rock Planet w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 05 – Romagnano Sesia, Italy @ Rock n Roll Arena w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 06 – Rome, Italy @ Blackout Club w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 07 – Gorizia, Italy @ Pieffe Factory w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 08 – Wien, Austria @ Szene w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 09 – Cham, Germany @ L.A. Lifestyle Club w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 10 – Cottbus, Germany @ Gladhouse w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 11 – Berlin, Germany @ SO36 w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 12 – Heerlen, Netherlands @ Nieuwe Nor w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 13 – Cassel, Germany @ Kulturfabrik Salzmann w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 14 – Augsberg, Germany @ Kantine w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 15 – Saarbruken, Germany @ Garage w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 16 – Cergy Pontoise, France @ Lobservatoire w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 17 – St Brieu, France @ La Citouille w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 18 – Montpellier, France @ Secret Place w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 19 – Strasbourg, France @ La Laiterie w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 20 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Speakeasy w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 21 – Hannover, Germany @ Faust w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 22 – Jablonec, Czech Republic @ Eurocentrum w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 23 – Krakow, Poland @ Kwadrat w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 24 – Lodz, Poland @ Dekompresia w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 25 – Leipzig, Germany @ Conne Island w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 26 – Marchendorf, Germany @ Stillbruch w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 27 – Lindau, Germany @ Vaudville w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 28 – Schweinfurt, Germany @ Alter Stattbahnhof w/ Agnostic Front

Feb 29 – Hamburg, Germany @ Kaiserkeller w/ Agnostic Front

Mar 01 – Magdeburg, Germany @ Factory w/ Agnostic Front

Mar 02 – Brochum, Germany @ Matrix w/ Agnostic Front

Mar 03 – Mons, Belgium @ Maximum HXC @ On Air Studio w/ Agnostic Front

Mar 04 – Den Bosch, Netherlands @ W2 Poppodium w/ Agnostic Front

Mar 10 – Las Vegas, NV @ Aruba

Mar 20 – Tucson, AZ @ Surly Wench Pub

DBS Official Site

Jack Terricloth
Rebecca Schlappich
Matthew Landis
Leslie Wacker
Sandra Malak
Mora Precarious
Francis Morin

PWV sat down with founding World/Inferno member, Jack Terribloth, at the start of their tour with The Adicts.  We dove into everything from literature to Cadilacs to my awesome make believe band, Slutknot.  Check out the photos by Chad Elder and meeee (Denise Borders for the new viewers/raging alcoholics that can’t remember anything).

Facebook Album of More Photos

 Check out the interview cut with some live footage from the show! 

WIFS Official Site

WIFS Twitter

WIFS Facebook

While on the road with Casey Jones, Death Before Dishonor, No Bragging Rights and Hundredth, I talked to some of Boys No Good in their first video interview ever. MAKING HISTORY OVER HERE, PEOPLE. This tour is Casey Jones’ farewell tour as they are going on a permanent band hiatus so I was definitely stoked to be there for this show.

Bob, Adam and James

Near the sketch stairs in the back of Cobalt Cafe, PWV talked to Bob, Adam and James.  While they warned me they were semi awkward dudes, I begged to differ once we actually got settled in the interview. They were swell and really seem like a good bunch of dudes. Boys ARE good. See what I did there?

Terror
The New Blood 

Iced Earth
Anthem

Forever
Blessed by a Broken Heart

Man Overboard
Something’s Weird

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Billy Graziadei
Danny Schuler
Bobby Hambel

RIGHT? Biohazard is alive and well! As a pioneer of the punk/hardcore fusion genre, these dudes have been around the block a few times.  I was stoked to hear they were working on new material, because it had been a solid 6-7 years since their last release. They brought in legendary producer, Toby Wright (Metallica, Alice in Chains, Sevendust) to produce the 13-track album in Los Angeles.

Reborn in Defiance is available via Nuclear Blast, so be sure to grab your dumb ol’ ass a copy!

Track List

1 – 9:IIIX6.941 

2 – Vengeance Is Mine 

3 – Decay 

4 – Reborn 

5 – Killing Me 

6 – Countdown Doom 

7 – Come Alive 

8 – Vows Of Redemption 

9 – Waste Away 

10 – You Were Wrong 

11 – Skullcrusher 

12 – Never Give In 

13 – Season The Sky

The first track is just an intro, so we can skip to Vengeance is Mine, which was one of the tracks they streamed early.  This definitely got me stoked to hear the rest of the album.  It uses a good mix of both vocalists (Evan was on this album but has since then announced his departure from the band). Some part of this track are a little on the cheesy-hardcore side, if you look at lines like, “Payback’s a fucking bitch,” but I mean.. the track title alone should warn listeners that lyrics like that would be included. I won’t say it’s original but I can get into it for sure.

Decay follows with another slow, basic hardcore intro. This song is alright with me until about 1:05 into the track when the chorus starts.  I don’t know why but it bores me a little bit.  It’s sort of bland and just sounds like something that might have been put out in the mid-90′s or something.  That could be a compliment but it’s not meant to be one in this case.  I like Biohazard in general, but this track makes me skip to the next song in hopes I like it better.

The fourth track, Reborn, already has my attention more than the previous one within the first 30 seconds.  I definitely like this chorus a lot better.  Overall, the song has more feeling than it’s predecessor. It’s still not my favorite on the record, but it’s restoring my faith in the album for the time being.

Your Disease was a track that had to grow on me.  At first I was really on the fence but after listening through the album a few times, I was alright with this one.  I don’t prefer the slower, drawn out side of Biohazard… or well, I don’t prefer the slower side of hardcore in most cases.  But something about this slower track is okay with me, although it has that similar 90′s almost radio-rock sound to it. Mehhhh.

The next song, Countdown Doom, was one they released a little early so we all got a preview.  I’m not too down with the overall tone of the song, but I don’t hate it either. It takes about 90 seconds for me to get into the track.  It’s just sort of slow but then picks up about mid-song.  I like the lyrics of this track better than the previous ones for the most part (“They are the problem, we are the solution” “It’s always the same game but different names”).  Come on, guys. GET MEAN.

Come Alive becomes my favorite track so far within the first few seconds.  I really like faster, thrashy hardcore. The track starts off with quick drums and vocals, and doesn’t really slow down much.  The chorus is a bit slower but generally this song is pretty upbeat the entire track.  I can imagine this track being one kids getting into when played live, although I’m yet to experience that.  I will give you the full report later.

I’m not sure what to say about Vows of Redemption really… the lyrics aren’t too bad but I’m not too keen on the talking in the beginning. It makes me resort back to saying some of these tracks remind me of 90′s radio rock-metal or whatever you want to call it.

It’s not that I don’t like this album, although now that I’m typing this out, it definitely sounds like that’s the case.  I’m just not impressed with their progression as a band. I just feel like this should have been some huge comeback album to reassure hardcore fans that they’re still a strong contender in the genre.  I think people respect them whether they’re into this record or not, but it’s definitely not making eardrums pop or making me air drum in the car. I’m sorry, Billy

Moving along, Waste Away is next on the track list.  I like that it begins with “FUCK THAT” because I definitely like that attitude. Ha. But it has the same vibe as the other tracks. I don’t hate it, but I’m not in love with it either.  The chorus is definitely catchy and memorable, but I don’t know if this is going to cause a circle pit.

You Were Wrong reminds me of the side of Metallica that I hate. THAT’S RIGHT, I HAVE BAD OPINIONS ABOUT SOME OF METALLICA’S MUSIC. My hardcore/metal friends don’t always like that but fuck it, it’s the truth. This song is probably my least favorite on the album. It should have been tossed.

The name alone, Skullcrusher, gave me hope that I was going to like this song because it was going to be an emotional, anger-driven track. I wasn’t totally wrong, it definitely picks up the pace a bit and lifts the album from the lull that occurred in the previous few tracks. I really like how many times they use the word die in this track. There aren’t any melodic, drawn out versus to bore me. I’m into it.

Ballistic is a track that solidified my opinion that this band is just simply at a standstill.  It’s not a bad track, but there’s nothing innovative, and it’s the second to last song on the record.  At this point, I was hoping to be blown away by at least one song, or have a song I wanted to go back and listen to again… but I’m sorry to say I was still very “meh” at this point. Although I do like balls.

Alright boys… final track. Let’s do this shit. Season the Sky has to do it for me, right? Make me want to watch grown as men push each other around and fly across the room with only one shoe on. Mehhh that Metallica-ish guitar pops in… my girl boner is weak if not non existent. About two minutes in I realize this is an instrumental track and the album is ended on something I don’t like….. instrumental tracks. Over four minutes of slow guitar and none of the gut wrenching hardcore vocals that make you want to choke people. Poo.

My final verdict on this album is that is slightly bored me for a hardcore album, but if you’re a Biohazard fan you should definitely check it out.  I was interested to see what they would do and I’m just a tad disappointed that they didn’t blow me away or surprise me in any way, except surprising me that they didn’t get more creative. I know they are past their prime, but bands can still make kick ass records and I hope that they don’t quit at this album because it would not be a good one to end on.

I’ll definitely catch them live if they come around. Hopefully they don’t punch me.

Biohazard Facebook

Biohazard Twitter

While NAMM is focused on promoting the companies that make the instruments your favorite and hated musicians jam on every day, the convention also features live shows, signings, and general people watching for even the non-musicians to enjoy.

Look, I found punk rockers at the metal thing!!

The Darlings

www.namm.org

The Sheds

Currents

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All photos/video by Denise Borders and Chad Elder

NOFX and Lagwagon played to a sold out crowd at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip. As much as I love both of these bands, I can’t help but love them more and more every time I see them play. The same bands that ruled my middle school years are now ruling my late 20′s years. YES I AM IN MY LATE 20′S FUCK OFF AND DIE.

Check out my New Years Heave photos/video! NOFX/ Lagwagon NYE ’12

It’s a totally different vibe, changing the tempo from upbeat punk songs about partying to acoustic songs about much sappier subjects. I know that description alone can turn people off from checking it out, but you know what? EAT IT. It’s always refreshing to hear a side gig that actually sounds different than their original band, and then no top of that it ACTUALLY be good. I made a short video featuring two FACE tracks, so check it out and judge for yourself.

Check out the links below to learn more about Face and follow what the fuck’s going on!

Face Twitter

Face Facebook

Face MySpace