Life In A Bungalo

Koffin Kats, Speed Crazy, Hand Me Downs
Asbury Lanes, NJ
April 25, 2008

Click for full photolog of the show

The Koffin Kats returned to the Garden State last Friday night for a never ending evening of all things psycho. The band played just about every song in their repertoire during the nearly two hour set, pausing only for a few seconds to chug a beer.

First up were The Hand Me Downs, an adrenaline-fueled punk rock band in the vein of Rancid and equally as punchy. I would have loved these guys when I was 16. Sure, the sound is a bit dated and done many times over, but it was worth it just for the two Operation Ivy covers.

I haven’t seen Speed Crazy since they tore through Connections a few years back. At the time, I was put off by the bands’ mile-a-minute guitar licks and thrashy stylings. I now realize that the off-putting live show might have been due to the now defunct club’s miserable sound system. At the Asbury Lanes, Speed Crazy came off like a powerhouse rockabilly band with mean riffs, cool vocals, and a groove that just doesn’t stop. Erica Kozak and Greg Baby traded vocals sweeter than Exene and John Doe, while Snake pummeled the skins behind a floodlight lit bass drum. This set was well worth the second chance. Read more »

Brine + Bastards
“Set Sail For Sodomy”
Refugee Records

New Jersey punk veterans Brine + Bastards are set to plunder the world of rock with the release of their much anticipated debut record “Set Sail For Sodomy,” featuring 13-tracks teeming with blarney, swagger, and a heaping spoonful of awesome.

Yeah, B+B dress like pirates, and they’re best known for their drunken sea chanteys, but this record manages to eschew the corniness completely. Instead we are treated to track after track of meticulously produced rock classics. “Songs of the Siren” might be—hands down—the best punk song of 2008. Screaming, singalongs, and one catchy as all hell chorus—what more could you ask for? “Down, down, down,down/Into the water,” beckons singer Shawn Dillon. Read more »

Until about a year ago, I assumed Head broke up. Turns out they’ve been pretty busy over the past two years: new LP, new 7″, CD anthology, South by Southwest 2006 in Texas, Insubordination Fest 2007 in Maryland, Gonerfest 2007 in Tennessee… “Who the hell is Head?” some may ask. The greatest band from Seattle—ever. They never toured or put much effort into promoting themselves. Word of mouth, probably started by Ben Weasel (Screeching Weasel, the Riverdales) in his old Maximum RocknRoll column sometime in 1995, brought Head into my home in New Jersey. Imagine Metal Mike from the Angry Samoans fronting the Ramones. Hell, they were more Ramones-core than any other band that cited them as an influence. I got the chance to interview the band in early 2008. Read more »

Carbon/Silicone
April 2, 2008
Asbury Lanes, New Jersey

This is an open letter to anyone that is still bitching and moaning that they never got to see Joe Strummer or the Ramones. GO SEE MICK JONES BEFORE HE DIES. Not that he’s going anywhere soon, but at the rate that John Rotten keeps getting healthier and heroes like Johnny Cash die…Well, you get the picture.

And boy, does Mick Jones still kick ass. Life In A Bungalo caught his latest band, Carbon Silicone at the legendary Asbury Lanes last Wednesday and I was blown away. The man can shred like no ones business, and he has seemingly worked out all his B.A.D. dance hall crap and left it in the ’90s. Read more »

I don’t think this gets enough play. So I’m posting it here.

X / Skybombers
March 18, 2008
Vogue
Indianapolis, IN

I was initially going to skip seeing X in favor of staying in Bloomington for some local bands. I don’t know why–not too many bigger bands come this close to my adopted hometown (seems they generally choose Chicago, about a four hour drive)–and tickets were about half of what they cost when I passed on seeing them several years ago in New York.

It didn’t take much to convince me–a friend yelled at me, insulted my musical taste and offered me a ride. I think I saw at least 15 B-town folks at the show, so this was definitely an event (I even got to stand next to the singer of Sloppy Seconds for most of the show). Read more »

Tim Armstrong
Photo by GLK Photo

With their new record nearing completion, the punk rock veterans Rancid are turning their attention towards a new project—a summer tour that will mark their first live shows since 2006. Rancid—Tim Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Lars Frederiksen (vocals, guitar), Matt Freeman (bass, vocals) and Branden Steineckert (drums)—have spend the last few months working on their seventh studio album.

Working with Epitaph president Brett Gurewitz, who helmed the project as producer, and mixer Joe Barresi (Tool, Bad Religion), the album is slated for release later this year.

Rancid depart on April 5 for a week of shows in Japan, a mini-tour which includes headlining the Punkspring festival in Tokyo and Osaka, reuniting Rancid with 15,000 of their closest friends each night.

It has been two years since the last Rancid tour, and five years since the last Rancid record. Read more »

He tattoos, he paints, he paints portraits of tattooists–Shawn Barber’s business card must be a mile long, and I’m sure he’s handed out a ton of them judging by the vast amount of pieces collected in his “Forever & Ever.” The 256 tome, published by 9mm books, includes paintings of some of the greatest living tattoo artists–their faces, their hands, their tattoo machines. Barber even offers a ton of supplemental material, including sketches and associated photographs.

Barber has spent the last few years traveling around the country photographing tattoo artists and their tools of the trade. He then meticulously renders the photos into stunning works of art, often transposing different angles of the subject’s hands to better show off their body art.

Life In a Bungalo will have a review up as soon as we get our hands on a copy.