Life In A Bungalo

Click here for a full photolog of Gogol Bordello 

With his striking mustachioed looks and a sound that can make just about anyone break into a circle dance, Eugene Hutz has taken his troupe of gypsy punks from obscurity to stardom. The band: Gogol Bordello. The sound: Like nothing you’ve ever heard before. They straddle the line between Th’ Legendary Shackshakers and traditional gypsy flamenco, blending accordians, strings, and distorted guitars with tales of hope, defeat, and triumph.

This year, Gogol Bordello have released their best record to date, and hands down the record of the year at Life In A Bungalo. We gave frontman Eugene Hutz a call before his upcoming New Year’s Eve show at New York’s Terminal 5 to learn more about the band’s rise to stardom, and what it’s like being a punk in the Ukraine. This is a podcast interview. Please click on the player below to listen or drop the feed into your favorite podcast player.

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 Gogol Bordello Interview [14:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Pennywise is giving back to the fans. The Hermosa Beach punk band will be distributing its latest CD free of charge to fans for two weeks through MySpace. Beginning March 25, 2008, fans around the world will be able to obtain a high quality, DRM-free download from MySpace for a period of two weeks. Longtime Pennywise fan and seasoned producer Cameron Webb (Social Distortion, Motorhead, Sum 41) has signed on to produce and mix the upcoming CD.

Sure, Radiohead can make fans pay what they wish, but this is the first time a band is just giving away a major release for nothing. On the same day, Pennywise and MySpace Records will also release an enhanced CD/DVD version of the as-yet-untitled disc to retail outlets for sale, with the CD containing the same songs as the downloadable version. There will also be a vinyl version available with two extra exclusive tracks. Read more »

The Joneses
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Full Breach Kicks

Chicago, IL label Full Breach Kicks has been quite busy re-releasing the individual EPs and LPs (along with other current RnR/glam punk) the Joneses put out in the 1980s. Last year they gave us the Tits and Champagne 12″ EP and next spring they’ll be putting out the Criminals 12″ EP. FBK put in tons of work with original pics, extensive liner notes and remastering. I’ve been a Joneses fan for a long time, probably around when Sympathy for the Record Industry put out the Criminal History anthology CD.

The Joneses were an LA-based glam/punk/rocknroll/rockabilly/oldies mash (carrying the New York Dolls’ torch more so than any other band claiming to be influenced by them) that wasn’t too common in the early 1980s. They’ve been credited with influencing the style (both look and sound) of the LA Sunset Strip (I’m sure members of Motley Crue and Guns n’ Roses have some Joneses records somewhere in their collections) but themselves avoided the excessive metal wankery many of the more noted Sunset Strip bands went for. I’m not sure how I feel about Keeping Up with the Joneses.

As a positive, it has five songs that weren’t on the SFTRI anthology CD, liner notes detailing the problems the band faced in putting out this album and lots of pics. As a negative, the sound is very muddy (which I would attribute to recording techniques and budget back in 1986) and the five extra songs aren’t necessarily their best. I would say pick it up if you have the chance and are a die-hard Joneses fan but I probably won’t be giving it as many spins as I did the SFTRI disc from a few years back.

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