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Weston {Live at Highline Ballroom}

Weston
Highline Ballroom
July 6, 2011

Weston was one of those bands that should have been huge. They had the sound of Blink 182, the lyrics of Green Day, and the look of Sugar Ray. Sadly, the band fell apart after taking a more mature direction, and a whole generation of punk rockers missed out on this awesome pop-punk quartet.

Luckily, the band saw fit to reunite for a few sold-out shows over the past few years, culminating in an opening slot for the Bouncing Souls during the Jersey band’s “We Will Play a Different Album Every Night” Tour. Weston’s set was sadly plagued with technical difficulties, and most kids under 30 didn’t have a clue who they were, but the band played on with a fun set consisting of all of our favorite songs.

On a fun note, this was a nice reunion for two bands that more than a decade and a half ago united for a killer set at William Patterson University. That show was plagued by security that refused to let fans touch one another, let alone mosh or crowd surf. The Highline Ballroom had no such rules and kids bounced off each other’s heads like bunny rabbits on crack.

Here’s a selection of photos from the evening.

Aug 31, 2011 | Categories: Photography, Rotating Feature, Show Reviews | Tags: Bouncing Souls, Highline Ballroom, New York, punk rock, Weston | Leave A Comment »

Pennywise at The Starland Ballroom

Pennywise is one of those bands that will never change. They are like the Iron Maiden of the punk rock industry: You know what you’re going to get–be it at their live show or on wax–these guys basically defined the South California hardcore sound and they aren’t about to add keyboards to their line-up or start mellowing out.

So when the band’s singer, Jim Lindberg, threw in the towel last year and left the band for poppier lands (see Black Pacific) it was safe to assume that Pennywise’s bulletproof style might get switched up a bit.

Wrong. Enter Zoli Teglas. The guy sounds like an opera singer fronting the pseudo underground, post-hardcore band Ignite, and looks absolutely nothing like Lindberg. Live, the guy dives around like a bat out of hell and lights up the audience with his vocal prowess. Would the Pennywise fanbase adapt? Well yes and no. Donned in the Pennywise uniform (baggy jeans, baseball hat, scowl), Zoli to the stage at the Starland Ballroom and plowed through a dozen or so classic Pennywise tunes doing a pitch perfect Lindberg impression. Sure, his pipes stretched a bit on singalongs like “Aliens” and “BroHymn,” but for the most part, Teglas just did his job and carried the torch established decades ago by the rest of Pennywise.

The rest of the group were tight as ever. Fletcher creates a wall of power chords as big and powerful as his frame. Byron is a spitfire on the drums, pounding out some of the fiercest punk beats this side of the Mississippi, and Randy Bradbury carries the low end of the rhythm section with driving bass lines on tunes like “Perfect Day.”

Haters can complain that Pennywise should have changed their name or called it quits after Lindberg left the team, but they wouldn’t know the difference between Zoli and Jim if they closed their eyes during the live set. I guess it’s a testament to Zoli’s range and the tightness of the band, but Pennywise isn’t going anywhere and the songs remain the same. I’m just looking forward to the new record to see if Zoli brings a bit of his style to the table.

Dec 23, 2010 | Categories: Photography, Rotating Feature, Show Reviews | Tags: Hardcore punk, Ignite, Jim Lindberg, Pennywise, punk rock, Starland Ballroom, Zoli Teglas | Leave A Comment »

Blag Dahlia: Live at Generation Records

Blag Dahlia: Live at Generation Records from George Koroneos on Vimeo.

Dwarves singer Blag Dahlia stopped by Generation Records in NYC to preform a few songs unplugged in celebration of the release of Eric Davidson’s new book “We Never Learn: The Gunk Punk Undergut, 1988-2001.” Davidson, frontman of the legendary New Bomb Turks, was on hand to sign books and MC the event. Here’s Dahlia’s set in its entirety.

Aug 24, 2010 | Categories: Rotating Feature, Videos | Tags: Blag Dahlia, book launch, Garage Punk, Generation Records, nyc, The Dwarves, Video, We Never Learn | Leave A Comment »

Zoli Teglas: A Pennywise Interview

Zoli Teglas circa 1998, Tramps NYC

When word dropped a few months back that Ignite front man Zoli Teglas would be picking the vocal reigns for Pennywise I got a excited. I was weened on both Pennywise and Ignite during my formative years (1994-98) and to call them two of my favorite bands is a bit of an understatement. While it is sad to see Jim Lindberg leave Pennywise, Zoli is hands down the best real singer in punk rock today. I don’t think anyone can match his pipes–he’s like the Bruce Dickinson of hardcore.

I got the chance to chat with Zoli while he was in the studio with Pennywise finishing up demo vocals for a new record. The first thing I did was mark out because I thought I’d have to pry hard to find out any news of a new record. Instead he was very forthright and excited to talk about his new day job fronting one of the biggest punk bands in the world.

So what does it feel like to be the singer of Pennywise? I assume you were a fan of theirs too back in the day.
It’s kinda surreal. I was at my house in Budapest, Hungary and I was trying to call a friend of mine in Australia, and I accidentally called Fletcher. So I talked to him and he told me that they were having some problems and Jim was quitting the band. He told me that they were going to be looking for singers and I should come back to America. A couple months later I’m on stage with them.

It just seems like it fits. It’s not like one of those things where you jump for joy, but it seems like it was meant to be. We have the same background musically. The only difference is that my voice is a lot higher and I write in a different style. The cool thing is that the new songs we’re writing are a mix of my voice and the Pennywise style of songwriting. (more…)

Feb 18, 2010 | Categories: Interviews, Rotating Feature | Tags: Byron, Fletcher, Ignite, Pennywise, punk rock, Singer, Zoli Teglas | 13 Comments »

Horribly Wrong “C’mon and Bleed With”

Horribly Wrong
C’mon and Bleed With
Eradicator Records/Shit in Can Records

The Horribly Wrong is a band almost lost to the annals of obscure midwestern punk history. They were active for maybe three years (2002-05), played maybe 20 shows and barely strayed from their home base of Bloomington, IN. They put out a 7” EP and sold through two pressings (the first in three days, the second in five). Every time I would visit friends in Bloomington, I would just miss a Horribly Wrong show by a day, hearing how crazy and drunk and out of control both the band and the crowd were (mind you, this was a time when Plan-It-X Records ruled Bloomington’s scene with their posi-core folk-punk blah.) Then, in the summer of 2005, the Horribly Wrong called it quits. Band members moved on, guess we all do. I was fortunate enough to get one of the 70 or so CDR copies made of the album but I never thought it would get an official release.

For the longest time, I described C’mon and Bleed With to friends as “the best goddamn album you’ll never hear.” Eighteen tracks of lo-fi garage punk that, if recorded in 1994 instead of 2004, could easily have been on Crypt or Rip Off Records. Think the Misfits meets the Mummies. There’s barely a break between songs and the energy stays high throughout. Favorites, in no particular order: “Blood All Over My Body,” “Rogers Street,” “When I Say Evil” and “Attack of the Human Eating Robots.”

Bloomington-based Eradicator Records teamed up with French label Shit in Can Records to finally release C’mon and Bleed With. Don’t miss your chance this time, kids. It’s super limited – 500 copies on 180-gram vinyl (100 on blood red vinyl and 400 on black) – with beautiful silk-screened covers. For the technologically advanced, there is a digital download card included with the LP.