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.

Words by guest blogger Anthony Ambrose of  inTuneMusic

View full photolog on Flickr

Since forming nearly twenty years ago, AFI has seen a wide variety of lineup, label, and stylistic changes. Beginning in 1991 as a California skate-punk act, the band routinely covered The Misfits and touched on topics such as mohawks. In 2009, AFI finds themselves long removed from their days of adolescent rebellion with more in common with Morrissey and David Bowie than Dag Nasty and Danzig.

Still, the band has their roots. In support of their most radio-ready album to date, the band brought emerging UK punk quintet Gallows as the band’s lone support. Selling out Sayreville’s 2200-capacity Starland Ballroom, AFI offered brief glimpses into their past throughout the evening but were clearly more interested in their latest material, most specifically 2009’s Crash Love and 2003’s Sing the Sorrow. Read the rest of this entry »

The Misfits, Zombie Mafia, A Midnight Tragedy
Starland Ballroom, NJ
November 1, 2008

The Misfits hit their home state of New Jersey on Dia De Los Muertos, Saturday night, and treated the fans with a set heavy with hits from every era of The Misfits mythos.

I got there in time to catch the last few songs of A Midnight Tragedy. A tragedy indeed – this band of post apocalyptic refugees sound like a desperate attempt to grab the attention of the My Chemical Romance crowd while appealing to Avenged Sevenfold fans. They failed in both regards, coming off more like a band pleading to get signed to a major than anything that could be confused with the terms edgy, innovative, or good. Read the rest of this entry »