The Witzard

Fred Mascherino & Frank Zummo (photographer unknown / SOURCE: Night Owl Public Relations) Distinguished song-writer and guitarist Fred Mascherino (ex-Taking Back Sunday, Say Anything , The Color Fred) and prominent drummer Frank Zummo (SUM 41, Street Drum Corps, Mötley Crüe) have teamed up for a song collaboration. Their mesmerizing Indie Rock anthem, "Be Here Now," sees a world-wide release today, via Mascherino's very own Heading East Records. "'Be Here Now" is about the challenge of staying in the present moment," explains Fred Mascherino. "Something that's hard to do with today's technology. Our phones remind us of what's coming up and we re-live the past in our constant posting. But to unplug and appreciate where you are right now, by giving your full attention to the person in front of you or by giving yourself time to relax and process life, can be a really powerful action." In late 2020, after a year of confined ...

Little Low, L-R: Mike Assatly, Eric Pocock, Christine Atturio, and Kris Moya (SOURCE: Facebook) Little Low hails from The Bay Area, formed by guitarist and vocalist Christine Atturio (Save Ends,) drummer Mike Assatly (Spirits, BearTrap,) guitarist Eric Pocock ( Discourage ,) and bassist/vocalist Kris Moya (Jabber, Long Knives.) While we would attest Little Low sound something like a musical menagerie falling somewhere in-between Paramore, Weezer, and Cults, yes, their members have collectively played with Punk/Hardcore greats BearTrap, Discourage, and Long Knives. Originally started as a solo project in Boston by Atturio, Little Low released a self-titled EP of acoustic songs in 2020. After a move across the country in 2021 and missing the comradery of a full band, Atturio & Assatly asked Pocock & Moya to join and Little Low was born anew. With each member bringing their unique set of musical chops to the table, Little Low melds together driving Hardcore drums, sparkly Em...

"Just Us Two" video shoot, L-R: Steve Aoki with Taking Back Sunday's Shaun Cooper, Adam Lazzara, Mark O'Connell and John Nolan (SOURCE: Hai-Online.com) So, yesterday afternoon, we saw a post from former Taking Back Sunday (TBS) rhythm guitarist and founding member Eddie Reyes on Facebook , which explained, "Hey, guys, go check out the remix Steve Aoki did for this old jam; it's pretty cool. I was [a part] of something special that I still love, respect, and deeply miss very much. Proud of the dudes and thanks for the opportunity to be a part of something special." So, then, we did a little digging and digital sleuthing and soon, stumbled upon Taking Back Sunday's "Cute Wihtout The "E" (Ziri)" (Steve Aoki Remix.) Aoki has remixed Emo/Punk Rock mega-hit, "Cute Without The "E" (Cut from The Team)" from TBS' 2002 debut full-length, Tell All Your Friends . It appears as though "Cute Without The "E...

Now More Than Ever, L-R: Tyson Ritter, Scott Chesak & Izzy Fontaine (SOURCE: @nowmorethaneverband on Instagram) Now More Than Ever is a new musical group featuring Tyson Ritter, Scott Chesak & Isaac Bolivar AKA Izzy Fontaine. Ritter is, of course, the frontman of The All-American Rejects, as well as an esteemed actor, painter, song-writer, multi-instrumentalist, and model, also, functioning solo in recent years as Sharpton Mann. Chesak is producer, song-writer, session musician, and touring musician, who has worked with (in one capacity or another) The All-American Rejects, Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Direct Hit!, Red City Radio, Screeching Weasel, Gerard Way, Lykke Li, Big Red Machine, Bishop Briggs, Adam Lambert, Christina Perri, Lea Michele, and his own project, The Old Days. Fontaine is a self-described "guitarist, abletonist, and music directorist," who has worked with Seal, Taking Back Sunday, Glassjaw, Tegan & Sara, BANKS, No Machine, RARE FUTURES////,...

We've Got A Flyer On You will (hopefully!) be a new recurring column here at The Witzard. It's set to feature, examine, and re-visit mixed bill/genre, once-in-a-lifetime, iconic, and otherwise noteworthy Punk/Hardcore show flyers and their corresponding line-ups. As often as possible, we plan to speak directly with the promoters, bookers, flyer artists, soundmen/women, show attendees, and, most importantly, the artists themselves. If all goes well, we're even hoping to, eventually, cover a handful of shows we attended ourselves in years past, as well. For this slightly re-vamped edition of We've Got A Flyer On You , we'll be spotlighting a noteworthy musician, rather than a singular infamous show, for each installment. Fred Mascherino is the guitarist, frontman, and namesake of West Chester, Pennsylvania-based Indie Rock/Emo band The Color Fred (T.C.F.) Mascherino recently started his own label imprint, Heading East Records , whose first release was T.C.F....

Let's just get a few things out of the way here first and foremost: Yes, KŌYŌ is a Long Island Hardcore (LIHC) band. Yes, they're soemtimes referred to as "Melodic Hardcore,' as well. Yes, KŌYŌ has six members. Yes, their frontman is as ripped as The Incredible Hulk. Yes, their bassist is a semi-professional wrestler. Yes, one of their EP covers is a allusion to Taking Back Sunday's Tell All Your Friends. Yes, KŌYŌ's music is often compared to Taking Back Sunday & The Movielife. To any effect, KŌYŌ is back with their second single for their new label home, Pure Noise Records. Earlier this week, KŌYŌ dropped their new single, "Straight North," whicj features Joey Chiaramonte, T.J. Rotolico, Harold Griffin, Mike Marazzo, Sal Argento, and Steve Spanos. "We just put out a brand new single, "Straight North," with an accompanying video. Thank you all to have already listened. if you haven't, check it out here . Like a lot of the ba...

Neil Rubenstein's "headshots" (CREDIT: Ryan Brook) Neil Rubenstein has worn many hats throughout his career: musician, frontman, talent manager, pick-up baseball player, label co-owner, tour manager, podcaster, reviewer/critic, and stand-up comedian. Rubenstein was once a member of Punk/Hardcore bands Irony of Lightfoot, Sons of Abraham, Tetsuo, These Enzymes, and thisyearsmodel. He acted as tour manager for Motion City Soundtrack, Kittie, and RIVAL SCHOOLS and briefly operated his own artist management agency, Sons Modern. Neil Rubenstein co-owned, operated, and revived Fadeaway Records along with fellow Long Islander, scene photographer, and long-time friend Michael Dubin. Fadeaway issued note-worthy releases from The Movielife, Brand New / Safety In Numbers, a split from Rubenstein's own thisyearsmodel & Hot Rod Circuit, Kevin Devine's The Miracle of '86, and a 2017 compilation EP entitled Between The Bars (The Songs of Elliott Smith.) Neil Ruben...

Fontana, California-based artist Clark Domae was a driving force behind the success of early 2000's Pop-punk/Emo pioneers Rufio. Domae played lead guitar and sang back-up vocals across Rufio's four critically-acclaimed albums, as well as a handful of singles and EP's, released between 2001-10. Domae was part of Rufio's initial run between 2000-07 and reunion stints held in 2010-12 and 2015. During their heyday, Rufio toured alongside of bands like Alkaline Trio, Brand New, Less Than Jake, Relient K, Senses Fail, and Taking Back Sunday. Since Rufio's 2007 disbandment, Clark Domae has started a family, gone back to school, maintains a "normal" job, and still plays guitar from time to time after his kids go to bed. Clark played guitar on "Drugs" from his one-time bandmate Scott Sellers' 2018 solo EP The Judge and most recently, revitalized an old band with Sellers and Aaron Fernandez. BigCity's awesomely-titled The Quest for Power EP con...

Fred Mascherino & Eddie Reyes are both former members of beloved Long Island, New York-based Emo Pop/Post-hardcore band, Taking Back Sunday (TBS.) Mascherino was in TBS from 2003-07 and played on their seminal albums, Where You Want to Be (2004) and Louder Now (2007,) while Reyes was a founding member of TBS and played on nearly every release from 1999-2018. Eddie Reyes & Fred Mascherino played together on the aforementioned albums, Where You Want to Be & Louder Now , as well as 2007's The Louder Now DVD: PartTwo CD/DVD set. Since parting ways with Taking Back Sunday , Fred formed his own bands, The Color Fred & Terrible Things , and briefly played with both The Lemonheads & Say Anything . The Color Fred released their first album, Bend to Break , in 2007 and a follow-up EP, The Intervention , soon after in 2009. The Color Fred side-project, Terrible Things , released a self-titled album of their own in 2010 on Universal Motown Records, which include...