The Witzard

Don't Sleep 2023 band photo (CREDIT: unknown) Whoever said "lightning only strikes once" clearly has not met Dave Smalley. From being right in the middle at the birth of US Hardcore Punk with D.Y.S. to creating the blueprint of Melodic Hardcore with Dag Nasty, from helping to invent Pop-punk as we know it with ALL to finding himself in the middle of the West Coast Punk explosion of the 90's with Down By Law: Smalley was always on the forefront every time Hardcore Punk stretched its envelope. While others may use a legacy like that as an excuse to take it a little slower, Dave Smalley has no intention to rest on his laurels and keeps writing new music and releasing records. When he founded Don't Sleep with fellow East Coast Punk Rockers Garrett Rothman, Tony Bavaria, Jim Bedorf, and Tom McGrath in 2017, the world was more than excited about seeing him front a fast yet melodic Hardcore band again. Being motivated by the immense positive feedback, Don't Slee...

BE WELL L-R: Aaron Dalbec, Brian McTernan, Shane Johnson, Peter Tsouras & Mike Schleibaum (CREDIT: J.C. Carey) Today, BE WELL have shared "I Will Leave You with This," the second single from their forthcoming EP, Hello Sun, out May 20th on Revelation Records. On the anthemic "I Will Leave You with This," frontman and life-long musician/producer Brian McTernan spends a rare moment taking stock of his career. The video for the song reflects on these memories through photos and video from his Salad Days Studio, showing footage not only from recording Hello Sun, but from working with bands like Circa Survive, TURNSTILE, Thrice, BANE, Fireworks, Strike Anywhere, and PRAISE just to name a few. It additionally showcases a quick super-exclusive glance at the infamous Salad Days Studio "singles ad book." McTernan states that his newly-found view has been healing and inspiring: "one of the most incredible things about putting out the first BE WELL re...

BE WELL L-R: Peter Tsouras, Aaron Dalbec, Shane Johnson, Brian McTernan & Mike Schleibaum (CREDIT: J.C. Carey) Melodic Hardcore super-group BE WELL are back to announce a new EP, Hello Sun, out in May on their new label home, Revelation Records. Serving as a follow-up to the band's critically-acclaimed Equal Vision Records debut, The Weight & The Cost (2020,) Hello Sun is full of high-energy, Melodic Hardcore-infused with raw emotion and lyrical depth. Across the six songs housed on said EP, frontman and producer Brian McTernan (Battery, The Movielife, Turnstile, Sesnses Fail)—who owns and operates renown Salad Days Studio —finds emotional catharsis through examination of childhood trauma, depression, and fatherhood while still providing a hopeful light. Today, the band shares the first song on Hello Sun, "Treadless." Clocking in at just over two-minutes, the fast-paced track showcases the impeccable musicianship of the band, additionally made up of guitar...