Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Canadian Pop Punk's Not Dead (2011)
This is my first official compilation, and features 19 of the best pop punk bands from around Canada. You can stream it for free or download it for 1$. Features bands from Newfoundland, Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario. Thanks to all the bands for their contributions and support.
http://poppunksnotdead.bandcamp.com/
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Neighborhoods Interview (New Jersey Pop Punk)
My name is Frank and I play guitar in Neighborhoods.
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it?
Definitely fast paced, old school style pop punk. Think The Movielife, Kid dynamite, Saves the day, New found glory, but all of their first releases. The first releases always seem to be the most raw. I think this is where we get most of our inspiration, even though we listen to so many different genres of music. We throw our own twist to it. Most of our songs are just about living life... And drinking beer. Fast.
Your album "Facing A Lifetime" is definitely in my top ten favourite albums of 2011. It has a really nostalgic feeling to it. How did that album come about?
First off, that is awesome, and I can not thank you enough for the kind words. Like I was saying, I guess the nostalgia would be us trying to bring back that old style. It's what we all grew up listening to so that's just what comes out. We spent about half a year in our old guitarist's basement just writing every night. We had the nine songs and just decided it was time to record them, so we set some dates at Gradwell house recording with our friend Dave Downham and just went for it. It wasn't super planned out, but I think that actually worked to our advantage. It kept that raw feel in the mix. You can tell by our intro. All of our friends came on the last day to do gang vocals, so of course we brought a couple thirties. Our drunk bickering was recorded while we were standing around doing the vocals. We ended up thinking it was funny and threw it on there.
You recently released a music video for the song "Finer Things", how did that video come together?
Our good friend Mike Carroll, who runs Love and Death records, was actually walking around at this halloween show we played in Atlantic City with a camera. He was pretending to take pictures of people the whole night, but he was actually just video taping the whole thing. It was actually kind of funny, no one had any idea. He took all the shots, plus the live footage and edited it all together. It came out awesome and we couldn't thank that dude enough. He's one of the nicest guys out there. He's actually the one that put "Facing A Lifetime" out for us. Definitely check out Love and Death Records!
This winter you'll be recording a brand new EP with Nick from Man Overboard. How did Nick get involved? Can you give us any info on the new material?
Well, the old Neighborhoods demo's were recorded with Nik, and we've always liked the style of his recordings, so we decided to go to him for these couple of songs. We feel like he'll be able to help us out a lot with what we want to achieve and get done with them. The new stuff is a little different, but still has that old school feel to it. Steve (vocals) and I do a lot more dual vocals back and forth. A lot more harmonies. A lot more hooks. It's still fast-paced, 2/4 time, good old pop punk, but I think there's a little more emotion put into this. Basically, we want everyone to feel the blood, sweat, tears, and beers. We're growing and coming together as a band, and I feel like that's what a lot of the songs are about. In fact, I'm pretty sure Steve and I state our age (23) in at least one line of every song. If I had to compare the songs to another band i'd say they remind me of The Movielife a lot (there's actually a Walking on glass reference in one of the songs. I'll be excited if people catch it.)
How would you describe the Pop Punk scene in New Jersey?
The scene is coming back and growing. It rules, because I have been in love with pop punk since I was in 6th grade. It's really cool to see how far bands like New Found Glory, The Wonder Years, Man Overboard, and Transit, just to name a few, have gone. It gives me hope. If we didn't have this music I don't know what we'd do. Regular 9 to 5's aren't for us. This is how we get away from it.
What's been your favourite show that you've played so far.
We're asked this question a lot, and the answer still hasn't changed. It was definitely the show we played with The Wonder Years and Man Overboard at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. It was the first time The Wonder Years had sold the church out and it's something they've wanted to accomplish for a long time. It felt awesome to share that night with them. Although, every time i'm asked this question I always have to make it a point to say that there's nothing better than playing small basement shows in our hometown. One of our friends had our release show for "Facing A Lifetime", in his parent's basement. Within the first couple of seconds of our first song I was knocked into my amp and got hit in the face with my mic by kids rushing Steve and my mic to scream lyrics that we had written. There is absolutely no better feeling than that. So much sweat, haha.
What's the craziest thing you've seen at a show or while on tour?
We played a show at this small bar in North Philly called O'reilly's about a week ago. There were so many kids getting into the set and I was so pumped on it. Then out of nowhere a huge fight breaks out right in front of Steve and these kids are on the ground going at it. I'm guessing a kid got caught in the face by another one (moshing? haha) and he wasn't too happy about it. We had to stop in the middle of the first song of the set. I had one kid by his shirt with my guitar still around my neck, and Steve's holding another one. We gave a talk about how we don't condone that shit and then tried to figure out where the hell we were going to start the song from because that has never happened to us, and some kid screams "start it from the beginning!" The fact that kids were that amped up on our music makes everything worth it.
Do you plan on playing in Canada anytime soon?
We have yet to get over to the West Coast, so we're trying to conquer that first! Canada would be awesome though. As soon as we put this ep out we're ready to tour anywhere we can. Every day that I wake up and see our van parked out in my yard instead of out on the road, it's just more incentive to get out there.
What can your fans expect from Neighborhoods in the 2012
New songs, Tours, a lot of empty beer cans in our van, and possibly putting out a split with some friends. But we'll touch on that more later.
Any final comments for your fans?
Honestly, we couldn't thank everyone who has listened to our album enough, whether you bought it or downloaded it, thank you a thousand times. Also to everyone who comes out to shows and sing our songs with us. The most amazing feeling is writing something and having kids scream it back to you in your face. So to anyone that supports this band, we appreciate you more than you know. Like I said, this is our escape from all of the bullshit in life, so you're what keep us sane. Thank you.
http://neighborhoods.bandcamp.com/
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Tomahawk Chop- Another Summer Lost (2011)
http://ncjtrecords.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-tomahawk-chop-another-summer-lost
Sabertooth- Making Light of a Shitty Situation (2011)
http://ncjtrecords.bigcartel.com/product/sabertooth-making-light-of-a-shitty-situation-pre-order
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Toronto Tonight!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Seaway- EP (2011)
Brand new debut EP from my friends in Seaway. Oakville, Ontario Pop Punk. Please check them out!
http://www.mediafire.com/?s7m6x0o8byvei4x
Live The Story- A Place I Want To Be (2011)
http://www.paywithatweet.com/pay/?id=38f9c115744c32e90f206b3833176e79
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Dividing The Skyline (Rochester Pop Punk)
www.facebook.com/DividingTheSkylineOnline
http://www.purevolume.com/dividingtheskyline
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Ages- Sleep On It (2011)
http://agescleveland.bandcamp.com/
http://www.mediafire.com/?6qjonuv9v5bubqz
http://www.facebook.com/AgesCleveland
Monday, November 7, 2011
Wringer- Cool Story (2011)
http://www.mediafire.com/?dp5d351ccd2a2qb
http://www.facebook.com/wwwringer
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Shit, Cops! Interview (New Jersey Pop Punk)
How/When did you first get involved in music?
I first got involved in music when I was about thirteen or fourteen. I had been singing for my entire life, but it was at that age that I decided to start playing guitar and writing my own songs. I went to go see Projekt Revolution that year (Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance, and Saosin were on it that year) and it was there that I realized i wanted to do THAT, and nothing else. This was also the year that "Big Momma's House 2" came out in theaters. That movie was a huge influence on my early work.
What does your family think about your music?
My parents have been really supportive of my music since the beginning. They came to all of my shows when I first started out, and they were cool enough not to do that parent-y thing that most parents do; where they're WAY too involved with your band and everything. But yeah, they've been awesome about it. My brother hates my music and laughed at me when he found Shit,Cops! online...nuff said.
What artists would you say are your biggest influences?
My BIGGEST influences--as far as writing goes--would probably be Brand New, Fall Out Boy, The Starting Line, Envy on the Coast, and, sadly, All Time Low (Put Up or Shut Up was a fucking awesome EP and I don't care what you say).
This summer you released an EP entitled “Rebirth”. How did that come together? Did you record it by yourself?
Basically, at the beginning of this past summer, I told myself that I would do something productive with all the free time I usually spend sitting around watching Arrested Development. So I just started writing. A lot. Every day. And the music I was writing all seemed to orbit around this central idea that the past year of my life was not the best by any means. Everything I was comfortable with just seemed to fall apart completely. So I took the 5 songs that captured this notion most vividly, and arranged them into an EP that kind of chronicled this past year. And yeah, I recorded it alone, in my basement, while everyone was out at the beach being all tan and beautiful. I don't like the beach. I found a diaper in the water one time. A used diaper. Come on.
Are you currently writing any new material?
Yeah I'm currently working on a few different projects, Shit,Cops! being one of them. But yeah I'm just trying to write as much as I possibly can.
You’ve played shows with your other band Here and Now. Do you plan on playing any shows as Shit, Cops!?
The idea has entered my brain a few times, but I haven't really acted on it yet. I would love to make Shit,Cops! a full band project and play shows, and hopefully that will come around soon enough. But, for now, Shit,Cops! is just me. Me in my rawest form...naked.
What has been your favourite show that you’ve played?
My favorite show I played was in like November last year. I played with Here and Now at this cafe in Freehold, NJ with some other local bands. We added our friend, Bruce, from Victory In Numbers on guitar to fill out our sound. The show wasn't anything remarkable at all. Neither was the crowd. We all just really FELT the songs. Like that was the first night I really got lost in the music. Plus, I got free pizza. That was cool too.
What’s Allentown, New Jersey like?
Allentown is a pretty small town nestled in the rural outskirts of Central NJ. I guess "quaint" would be the best way to describe it. Everyone knows everyone. All that kind of old-timey stuff. Don't get the wrong idea, there's a Wal-Mart like ten minutes down the road, but it's been an awesome town to grow up in.
How would you describe the Pop Punk scene in Jersey?
Pretty much ANY music scene around my area is dying. There's hardly anywhere for local bands to play in Jersey anymore unless you're willing to do a considerable amount of pre-sale. This may not be true for farther south or north Jersey. I know it's not true for Philly. The scene in Philly is alive and quite well. But for where I'm at, currently, things are looking pretty bleak.
Are there any local bands that you would recommend?
Local bands that I would strongly recommend include: The Engine Atlantic, Save Your Strength, The Cretins, The Long Shore Drive, Bright and Early, and A Love Like Pi (I'm not sure if they're still together but they put out one of the greatest albums of all time. OF ALL TIME).
What do have planned for the future, musically or other wise?
My future, as it stands, could go in a million different directions. With music, I'm working on a bunch of different projects. So hopefully, one of those projects gains enough momentum so I can drop out of college, quit my job, tour full-time, and be cripplingly poor. That would be the best-case scenario.
Thanks for your time, any final comments?
All I really have to say is, thank you so much for being so awesome. I've been following this blog for a while and I'm so stoked to actually be doing an interview for it. So thanks for posting my music, and thanks for asking me questions about it. I really enjoyed this.
Canadian Pop Punk's Not Dead!
Attention all Canadian Pop Punk bands, I'm planning on making a digital compilation entitled "Canadian Pop Punk's Not Dead". If you'd like to be on it please send one of your songs as a compressed WAV file to poppunksnotdead@hotmail.com. Thanks!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Live The Story- Webisode 2 "Diamond in the Rough"
A build up to the release of LTS' Everything I Am EP due on November 15th 2011.
Apart From This- Another Day, Another Fight (2011)
http://takedownrecords.bandcamp.com/album/another-day-another-fight
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