The Witzard

Guardrails 2022 promo, SOURCE: Caleb Good (@calebgoodphotos) Jesse "Jetski" Brinkley (@jetski_brinks) is the frontman of rising Richmond, Virginia/RVA Hardcore Punk band Guardrails. They've been on the RVA Hardcore scene since about November 2020 aligning with the release of their single "Flag of The Enemy." Guardrails' line-up has always included Jetski (awesome nickname, right!?) and a rotating cast of characters, including guitarists Cotie Brown & Jesse McDaries, bassist Corey Dodson, and drummer David Webster. Guardrails are still independent and don't seem to be currently signed with Fullerton, California-based Punk/Hardcore label powerhouse Irish Voodoo Records (yet!) but if nothing else, seem to be closely aligned with their camp. Irish Voodoo are doing some sort of unspecified 7-inch vinyl/CD/cassette tape re-release of Guardrails' proper debut EP, If You Please, which their Bandcamp page says is "COMING SOON." As recentl...

Anthony Newes is a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based musician, song-writer, multi-instrumentalist, and engineer. We've covered Newes' music here at The Witzard by way of his Wax Poetic Records-signed project, Bones & Beeker , with Brendan "BK-One" Kelly, but Newes has been actively making, recording, releasing, and playing live music since the age of 16. We, actually, got a chance to speak with Newes' partner in crime, BK-One , back in 2018 about the (re-)making-of Bones & Beeker's Bones & Beeker (2015) companion remix EP, Inside A Different Mind, with help from Cut Chemist, P.O.S. ZuluZuluu, Brother Ali, Open Mike Eagle, and J-Zone, Prince Paul (De La Soul, Gravediggaz) & Sacha Jenkins' SUPERBLACK. In the Dark of the Sea by Anthony Newes Across the genres of Folk, Punk, Pop, Melodic Rock, Indie Rock, Hip-Hop, and Synth-pop, Newes has released a sprawling back catalog of music with Bones & Beeker, Manifesto, Rosetta Rosetta , Superbal...

In honor of Pride Month, renowned Punk act Bayside has today shared their softer side with a sweetly moving take on Kacey Musgraves' "Rainbow." Fans can listen to their new heart-felt cover, out now on Hopeless Records, here . With the new release, the band will be donating all proceeds from streaming and downloads to The Trevor Project, the premier organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ+ teens and young adults. For more information, please, visit The Trevor Project . The band shares: "as Pride Month comes to a close, we want everyone in the LGBTQ+ community to know that you have our love and support, not only this month, but every month. To celebrate and show our support, we recently recorded one of our favorite songs, "Rainbow" by Kacey Musgraves." "We are donating all royalties from downloads and streaming to The Trevor Project, which assists in suicide prevention and crisis intervention for T...

Knelt Before L-R: Donald "Don" Rossington, Shannon Eoff, Mark Johnston & Derek Woodard (SOURCE: Mark Johnston) Knelt Before is a Hardcore/Pop-punk crew hailing from Oregon consisting of moms and dads making music their kids can enjoy. Knelt Before's Instagram page ( @kneltbefore ) fittingly proclaims, in the words of E. Town Concrete , "Curse words are the worst words." Featuring former members of LoveHateHero, Second Coming, What Lies Within, Divide The Day, Breakaway, Tall Dark Whimsy, and A Prize Worth Killing, Knelt Before's music is recommended for fans of IGNITE, Dag Nasty, FACT (Japan,) and Revelation Records' catalog. Just this past weekend, Knelt Before quietly released their first single, "Make Your Own," from their upcoming self-titled debut. Mark Johnston, singer and contributor, remarks: "this track showcases a good mix of who we are, musically, as well as what we're about." Make Your Own by Knelt Before Wh...

The Flatliners are set to release their highly-anticipated album, New Ruin, on August 5th. They've already released one single, "Performative Hours," and they've now shared the second, "Souvenir." Their latest drop brims with a slick chorus that will have you humming for days. Head to FLOOD or our YouTube channel to watch their new video now! Then, be sure to catch them on tour as they have a whirlwind of dates including Europe, and The US. Take a peek at what frontman Chris Cresswell (Hot Water Music, Scorpios) had to say below: "The mind is such a powerful thing—for better or for worse—and this song comes straight from the deep pit anxiety can dig with its help. When a moment's hesitation can send one spiraling, when the smallest task can stand in the way, when you find it in a place you least expect it, like a souvenir stuffed deep in your drawer, you can let it wash over you or try your best to will it away. "Souvenir" is about...

"New single for charity out now on Filthy Note Records Feat. Rake Yohn, Jess [Margera] on drums, Anthony Green (Circa Survive,) Mike & Jessica Cummings (Backwoods Payback,) Phillipa [Tank] from Roadkiller, Rick Tate (Mos Def, The Roots,) and Chris Weyh (A Life Once Lost.) Cover art by Juliette Margera," Bam Margera posted on his Facebook page last week. Bam and his brother, Jess Margera (CKY,) started their own Pennsylvania-based record label imprint, Filthy Note Records, in 2006. Filthy Note has issued releases from Vains of Jenna, Viking Skull, F**kface Unstoppable/FFU, Evesdroppers, Sovereign Eagle, Unkle Matt & The Sh*tbirdz, and various film soundtracks. WOO WOO (song #2) by Anthony Green, Rakeyohn, Chris Weyh, Phillipa Tank, Mike & Jessica Cummings, Rick Tate, Jess Margera It seems as though The Margeras have been hanging out with their famous and musically-talented friends as of late and just jammin' out for a handful of good causes. Like we men...

xIron Sharpens Ironx (CREDIT: Shauna Ingersoll) xIron Sharpens Ironx (xISIx) is a Blackened Hardcore/Metal band from Muskegon, Michigan formed from the remnants and pieces of multiple music endeavors. Its current line-up features lead vocalist/guitarist Larry Passenier, lead guitarist/vocalist Jason Ingersoll, bass player Jeff Hostetler, and drummer Adam Eklund. xISIx has morphed into a full-fledge band since the release of The Tragedy of Mankind EP (2020,) which was essentially a one-man band with Passenier playing every instrument himself. "Emotion Over Sincerity" is the first single to be released from their upcoming EP, The Aftermath of Tragedy, and was recorded right in Muskegon, via Exit Door Productions by guitarist and secondary vocalist Jason Ingersoll. Basslines were recorded by bassist Jeff Hostetler at Red Obsidian Media Productions. Ingersoll, then, mixed and mastered the project from start-to-finish. Strongly rooted in Hardcore Punk, xISIx's sound in...

Magnolia Park (CREDIT: Jessica Griffith) Magnolia Park consists of lead vocalist Joshua Roberts, guitarists Tristan Torres & Freddie Criales, bassist Jared Kay, drummer Joe "Steezy" Horsham, and keyboardist Vincent Ernst. Since forming in just 2019, Magnolia Park has consciously pioneered inclusivity in the Punk world. They are dedicated to spreading the message of #PopPunkInColor to ensure that the genre is one where people of all backgrounds are represented both on and off stage. The Heart Eater EP was recorded in LA in a "whirlwind week," according to the band, with the help of producers Matt Malpass, Andrew Wade, and Andy Karpovck. Rooted in Pop-punk sensibilities while staying true to their unique styles, Magnolia Park often effortlessly incorporate elements of Hip-Hop, Emo, and Alternative Pop into their eclectic mix of sounds. In their Heart Eater era, the band finds themselves favoring production bursting with alluring synths and Tik-Tok dance-wor...

Chris Coté shreddin' some gnarly waves (SOURCE: Chris Coté Facebook) 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 formed on the basis of making loud music for party-goers. In the last decade, the band has taken it's signature sound and refined it, adding melody, intricate guitar work, rotating vocals, pounding drums, all while keeping the loose attitude and high-volume rawness KUT-U-UP has become known for. KUT-U-UP were quite notorious back in the early 2000's as hard-partying self-described "Indie rejects." They toured with blink-182, Green Day, Jimmy Eat World & Saves The Day as part of the infamous Pop Disaster Tour 2002 and were prominently featured within the companion DVD, Riding In Vans with Boys . Chris Coté is the long-time bassist/vocalist for KUT-U-UP and has been since their inception and was once the ed...

Don't Panic at the movies in "Woe I" video still (SOURCE: YouTube) Don't Panic is a Rock "N" Roll band through and through. Formed by vocalist/guitarist Ted Felicetti, bassist Keith Slader, guitarist A.J. Larsen, and drummer Anthony Paesano and drawing heavily on influences like Bayside, Foo Fighters, Lit, Millencolin, Motion City Soundtrack, No Use for A Name, White Reaper, and many others. Don't Panic were initially active from 2009-11 released a few EP's, played some shows, and, eventually, parted ways. However, after eight years apart, Ted, Keith, A.J. & Anthony reunited in 2019 to unleash their long-shelved debut full-length, See Through It All . Don't Panic's second full-length album, Dark Horse, was released in Septemeber 2021 and is available everywhere now! Don't Panic's official music video for single "Woe I" from their album Dark Horse sees a release today, Friday, June 10th, on Youtube and Facebook . The vi...

DO YOU LIKE WAFFLES? Is it raining tacos? Do you wish you went on tour with Weezer as Nerf Herder did? The career of these affable Pop-punk titans is enough to make your head spin. Did you know they wrote the G*ddamn theme song to Buffy The Vampire Slayer?!? Honestly, Nerf Herder is a band that just keeps on giving and today is no different. With a world burning at the stake, we are lucky that Nerf Herder has created the perfect distraction with their brand new single, "We All Got COVID! (Except for Linus)." You can STREAM 240 seconds of pure Pop-punk perfection on all digital platforms right NOW! Check out what frontman Parry Gripp had to say about the song below: "This is a song where we recorded the music a few years ago before The Pandemic and has been sitting around waiting for lyrics," reveals chief Herder Gripp. "And, then, COVID happened and we got COVID. And I'm like, "Boom! Let me just make this song really fast." "I recorde...

Renowned Punk band Bayside returned just a couple weeks ago to release their haunting new single, "Strangest Faces." The song premiered last month on SiriusXM Octane and is out now, via Hopeless Records. Bayside will be on tour starting next month with Thrice, along with dates supported by ANXIOUS, Can't Swim, Action/Adventure, Catalyst, pinkshift, and save face. Tickets and V.I.P. packages are now available right here . "Writing riffs and making heavy music is fun," shares frontman Anthony Raneri. "We've always had that kind of influence and we leaned into it a lot more with Interrobang‽. We wanted to see how far we could take injecting heaviness and riffs into Melodic Punk music. He continues, "I saw Thrice on a day off from tour in 2002 and I've loved them [ever] since. Can't wait to be on this tour and have a great band, like Thrice making us up our game every night." "Strangest Faces" marks the band's first new mus...

Brackish Live Scenario Photography (CREDIT: Jared Wood) I first heard anout Brackish from either my older cousin, Josh (who, actually, knows frontman/guitarist Connor Byrne) or Darko The Super (a self-procliamed super-fan of now-defunct band YJY .) I'm pretty sure that would have been right around the same time as the release of Coming Down (2017) when Byrne and the band were in the midst of a period of great transition. Brackish's next release, Worlds (2018,) showcased Byrne with a more fully-formed revitalized band featuring guitarist Tim Fitzpatrick, bassist Nick Rosica. and drummer Zach Miller. Fitzpatrick was, actually, part of YJY until their dissolution a few years back and amongst them, Brackish's memebrs are/were affiliated with Dot Square, Five Hundred Bucks, GEL, The Great Explainer, mt.ida, Not Yer Baby, Scarier Area, and SICK SH*T. In recent months, Brackish have been sharing singles—two, produced, mixed, and recorded by Arthur "Ace" Enders (Th...