Formed in 2000, this band of Canadian natives was quintessential in transforming Victory Records from an underground straightedge hardcore label to an emo-core giant. Silverstein’s music eschews traditional power-punk and screamo by blending melodic vocals with monster guitar tones that recall Texas Is The Reason and early Ignite.  Life In A Bungalo caught up with singer Shane Told in the midst of a massive tour with melodic hardcore mainstays Rise Against. The band will be hitting New York’s Nokia Theater this Wednesday, June 27, with labelmates Comeback Kid in tow. Read the rest of this entry »

Glenn Barr will be in Australia next week, attending the opening reception of his new show “No Means Yes.” The Outre Gallery in Melbourne will be hosting the event on June 23, and will be releasing these two prints in conjunction with the event. Also, Barr will be signing his books “Lowlife Paradise” and “Haunted Paradise” on Saturday 23 June at Outre Melbourne, and Saturday 30 June at Outre Darlinghurst. Read the rest of this entry »

The third-annual South Orange Peel Out stormed into New Jersey this past weekend, and it was the biggest event yet. Dozens of pre-60s rat rods mingled with shiny classics, as their owners passed a beer with fellow gearheads. This year’s stage (thankfully located in the shade) featured tunes from The Crimson Ghosts, Sasquatch and the Sickabillies, and handful of other rockers. We got there as The Tombstone Brawlers were getting the engines revved and singer Lord Zacher was crooning along to new hits and some psychobilly favorites (including their swinging rendition of Maiden’s “Number of the Beast”). Sadly, soon afterwards the skies opened up, drenching everyone in one hell of a storm. Doesn’t matter, the afternoon was still awesome. Read the rest of this entry »

Scott “Deluxe” Drake has been in many bands in his almost 25 year career, most notably Los Angeles’ the Humpers, who released six albums and a slew of EPs over the course of 10 years. He’s showing no sign of slowing down either, as he’s just released his second solo album, Grand Mal (Rankoutsider Records) and the Humpers are set to play (at least!) two gigs in their native home at the end of June. Drake, a life long rock and roll fan, came of age during the Los Angeles punk boom and his own bands were the contemporaries of some of the notorious Sunset Strip’s schlock cock rockers of the 1980s. Drake has remained steadfastly independent these many years; there’s a reason the aforementioned LA cock rockers are relegated to bargain “best of” compilations while Drake is still writing and recording new, great music. I had the chance to interview “the World’s Strongest Man” over e-mail in June 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Pelican
“City of Echoes”
Hydrahead

This is one of the best metal albums of the year. This instrumental band is poised to get HUGE after this record. Take all the hype you heard about Mastadon and transfer it over to these guys. City of Echoes is a brilliant, epic record that exceeds expectations on all levels and puts Pelican at the top of the heavy metal food chain.

City of Echoes is more accessible then Pelican’s previous works, but you wouldn’t know it from the album’s opener, “Bliss in Concrete.” Sludgy and Heavy riffs kick your ass and then the boys shift gears and lay down one of the best tracks they’ve ever written in the atmospheric and quiet title track. “City of Echoes” is a beautiful song with some heavy moments and not once will you be bothered by the lack of a singer. Read the rest of this entry »

From Autumn to Ashes
“Holding a Wolf By the Ears”
Vagrant

More like From My Hands to the Garbage. FATA have been doing this for too long and keep releasing the same record. This time they recorded with the drummer singing everything. Unfortunately the monotonous yell sounds the same in every uninspired song.

It’s time to hang it up FATA. You missed the boat by a couple years. I wish I knew what the chick from One True Thing is up to now though.

Doesn’t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks

A year ago, I came across a toy customizer who was selling off blind custom toys for $25. Having grown tired of Dunnys, but still to poor to commission custom art, I took him up on the offer. What I got was a 3″ Qee that looked like it was plastered with asphalt. Simple yet effective, the Qee is still one of the highlights of my custom collection. Soon after, Brandon “Manimal” Usher began offering mystery boxes for sale—surprise packages teeming with vinyl goodness. The boxes sold out instantly on the local toy boards, and established Manimal’s name as an all around cool dude in the vinyl scene. Recently, Manimal has stepped up his game, taking on customizing Kaiju (a platform I have long despised), and redesigning classic and modern pieces with an airbrush and an artistic imagination. Life In A Bungalo caught up with Manimal as he was gearing up for another round of Kaiju customs. Read the rest of this entry »

Hot Cross
“Risk Revival”
Equal Vision

Hot Cross has been around for about six years and was born from the ashes of Off Minor, You & I, and Saetia. The band while finally abandoning its DIY roots have created an album that well, sounds like it should have been released in 1999. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I would have preferred the brutality and intricacies of You and I. Read the rest of this entry »