The Witzard

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, Live 2016 (SOURCE: Flea Market Funk) Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band (BRSB,) the mysterious steel pan outfit hailing from Hamburg, Germany, have amassed a cult following around the globe. With a slew of classic 7-inches and two critically-acclaimed full-length albums, they set a high bar for themselves, one they clearly intend on pushing even higher with this new offering. On their third album, aptly-titled Expansions, BRSB are back with more of the same, but more of the same with them is inherently different. Covering songs that span genres and range from mega-hits to deep album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago. Part of the allure of a new record from Bacao is finding out what covers they chose. However, die-hard fans are, also, waiting to hear the original numbers, like the stellar album opener "Tough Victory." Its air-tight rhythm section, brass arrangements, and...

Ryan Taylor Swinging (CREDIT: Mark Champion) Ryan Taylor is the frontman of both Liberty & Justice and Trash Magz. Taylor owns and operates his very own Houston, Texas-based business, East End Barber. He has previously made music with the likes of Black Coffee, The Burden, Clean Break, Grave Robbers, I Am Wolf, Ten Crowns, Thug Boots, Titan Blood, and Your Mistake. Since Liberty & Justice without a doubt hand-crafted one of our favorite releases of 2021 (we're not making a year-end list!) with PRESSURE, we figured we would ask Taylor about his top releases from this year. Scroll down to learn all about Ryan's Top 20 of 2021. Liberty & Justice's PRESSURE is now available on Contra Records/Death Exclamations! TRASH MAGZ's debut full-length, Give Me The Beat, is now available on streaming services with a physical release coming soon on Death Exclamations! "What can I say about 2021? Less hunkering down and more anxiety in crowds, I suppose. Did you kn...

Punchline have been sporadically sharing sonic stocking stuffers since about 2003-04. It all started with one of our personal favorite holiday tunes, "Icicles," from Immortal Records beloved 2003 Christmas comp. A Santa Cause: It's A Punk Rock Christmas. Punchline's track is a hidden gem on the back half of this sprawling 21-track compilation featuring the likes of Something Corporate, blink-182, Fall Out Boy, New Found Glory, and The Mighty Mighty BossToneS. Just a few years back, Punchline told The Story of "Icicles" within an exclusive behind-the-scenes/making-of music video uploaded by bass guitarist and founding member Christopher Fafalios during the 2019 holiday season. Through the years, Punchline have released yuletide Christmas offerings roughly every two to four years. Holiday EP by Punchline They've collectively been a bit hard to find, released on various hard-to-find comps. digital singles and EP's, or relatively rare depths of T...

GOONS! Live Scenario (CREDIT: Casandra Marie) When you are looking for trouble, who do you call? GOONS! Who's waiting in a dark alley looking for a fight? GOONS! Who's going to start a riot on the dance floor? GOONS! Guilty of Rock "N" Roll in the first degree? GOONS! At Christmas time, GOONS! hit the street, breaking toys, stealing treats. The fat man in the red and white, ain't gonna see another night this year. Following the recent release of both GOONS!' debut single, "Crime Spree (GOONS! Theme)" B/W "Junkie for Your Love," as well as their festive offering, "Christmas Crime," we reached out to our contact, Vincent Minervino, at Hi-Tide Recordings. Minervino got us in touch with one of the masked musicians behind GOONS! known only as GOON! #2. We sent a batch of questions to Minervino, who, then, got them over to our mystery man GOON! #2. His answers have been lightly edited for general clarity and can be viewed below. Both ...

A Winter-ready MC Lars (CREDIT: Nicole Mago) 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. For over 20 years, MC Lars has built a fanbase across The US, The UK and the rest of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. In addition to touring, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, at South By S...

Thirsty Curses is back with a new single and companion music video for "Nothing Really Matters," which dropped last week from the band's forthcoming album. The music video features a mash-up of two songs from their forthcoming album, which conveys the stylistic diversity of Thirsty Curses. Thirsty Curses is an eclectic Rock "N" Roll outfit based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. Thirsty Curses' material draws from numerous genres including Punk, Folk, Country, and Grunge and explores lyrical themes ranging from the existential to the absurd. Thirsty Curses' songs are both impassioned and sardonic, comical and foreboding. The two songs heard within Thirsty Curses' "Nothing Really Matters'" music video echoes something to the effect of Guns N' Roses meets Every Time I Die with a bit of Scissor Sisters-style "campy" piano bar cabaret mixed in, for good measure. As YES! Weekly wrote, "Thirsty Curses make Rock "...

2Minute Minor (2MM) is a old school-style American Hardcore Punk band heavily influenced by 80's Hardcore and the working class Oi! sound. They typically mix in a message of positivity and unity into their music. 2Minute Minor's members are advocates for human rights and formed the band in Chicago, Illinois. 2MM have released a number of albums, EP's, and singles since their initial formation around 2017. Their most recent release being 8-bit Remixes, which was remixed and orchestrated by now-departed drummer Zach Bridier. Bridier has moved on from 2Minute Minor to create his own music and explore other opportunities, as explained within our comprehensive emailed interview conducted earlier this year. 2Minute Minor has now recruited Larry Passenier as their drummer, who, also, drums in 2MM side-project XRedlineX. Snoopy's Christmas by 2Minute Minor Although, while 8-bit Remixes marked his official send-off/parting gift to the band upon his exit, Bridier has appe...

Dead Best's Brian Sokel, 2021 (SOURCE: Brian Sokel) Brian Sokel is a Philadelphia native. Sokel played guitar in the influential Punk/Dub band Franklin (sometimes, ! franklin) from 1992 until the band's demise in 1999. They released numerous albums and singles on various labels. Sokel on to play in AM/FM with fellow Philadelphian Michael "Mike" Parsell (Frail) and was the primary song-writer. AM/FM released numerous albums on Polyvinyl Records in the early 2000's. They toured numerous times, but, ultimately, disbanded in 2004. Sokel has, also, spent time throughout his career playing music with Atom & His Package, short-lived Misfits-covering super-group T.V. Casualty , Fracture, The Jai-Alai Savant with his one-time Franklin bandmate Ralph Darden, Aspera Ad Astra, and Gonner. Sokel took a 10-year period off from making his own music between about 2003-13 after which he briefly formed a new project, Gonner, with Parsell and one-time Franklin bassist Roy Binn...

Directly following his own Son Raw Vs. The Psychotic Hippies and stints producing The Council of The Gods' Trilogy and The Council member Nomad Carlos' "At Will," Son Raw is back with Fantasy RapBall. Son Raw's latest has been described as a re-imagining of classic Rap verses from the 90's and beyond and the answer to a question that has confounded humanity for ages: "what if we made a beat tape... but with raps?" Initially conceived over the course of 2020, Fantasy RapBall was developed as a form of wish fulfillment during the thick of The Pandemic, when proper studio collaborations were impossible and "free time" mostly meant yet another episode of The Last Dance . Fantasy RapBall by Son Raw Amidst watching clips of Michael Jordan both literally and figuratively dunking on the competition, Son Raw decided that if sports fans could cosplay as NBA & NFL coaches, he could probably grab a few Rap acapellas and mold them into new ...

You can do it, if you put your back into it: The Allergies and frequent collaborator Andy Cooper are back at it once again with yet another prime slice of funky Hip-Hop, topping off a fine 2021 with a final chance to get "stoopid fresh" from their recent 6 Music Album of The Day, Promised Land. Riding a super-slick double-bass groove and neck-snapping drums, LA Hip-Hop legend Cooper flips fearsome Rap styles, pitching his case as the ultimate go-to gun-for-hire emcee. It clinches B-side banger status as the flipside to "Going to The Party" featuring Lyrics Born, available as a 7-inch sureshot purchase in early 2022. On their latest full-length, producers Rackabeat & DJ Moneyshot dig deep into their souls, as well as their record collections. Promised Land by The Allergies Today, The Allergies are serving up a Day-Glo blast of super-positive sampledelia that'll have you smiling from ear-to-ear. Built from scratch during Lockdown, each song offers up a...

KUT-U-UP Promo Image - SOURCE: Chris Coté (@chriscoteshow) 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. KUT-U-UP is an Indie/Punk Rock band hailing from San Diego , California. This four-piece has been together since sometime in the middle of 1996. If memory serves correctly, the band was for...