The Witzard

Fishbone 2023 press shot (CREDIT: Pablo Mathiason) We told you yesterday afternoon that Fat Wreck Chords' new imprint Bottles to The Ground released a label compilation called Bottle Music for Broken People featuring songs from Codefendants, Fishbone, The Meffs, Melvinator, The Skints, and more. We wrote about Fat Mike's contribution with his new project, Fat Mike Gets Strung Out, featuring frequent collaborator Baz The Frenchman on comp. closer "Total Bummer." Bottle Music for Broken People is now available digitally, as well as on limited edition 12-inch vinyl . The majority of the tracks featured are previously unreleased and many will, eventually, appear on upcoming Bottles to The Ground physical releases on either 10-inch or 12-inch vinyl. Bottle Music for Broken People gives fans the first cross-sectional look at what they can expect from the new label moving forward. Speaking on Bottles to The Ground's first compilation release, Fat Mike shares, ...

Fat Mike Gets Strung Out and signed show flyer (SOURCE: FatMikeGetsStrungOut.com & Facebook) Let's just start this off by saying that we really aren't fans of Michael "Fat Mike" Burkett, his long-standing band, NOFX, or his opinions. It may be that he's always kinda just rubbed us the wrong way and, although, we've heard plenty enough of NOFX's music over the years, it just never really clicked with us. However, we will admit we've always dug Fat Mike's label imprint and pseudo-namesake, Fat Wereck Chords, and a handful of the bands they've signed and albums they've dropped; a couple mildly enjoyable points that stand out are the Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1-2 compilations (with Less Than Jake & Billy Bragg's version of "The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out," ) NOFX's "Eat The Meek (Dub Mix) from Floyd's 2002 Squawk Among Us promo CD sampler, which I either picked up at the X Games or Tony Hawk's Boom Bo...

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...

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...

Face to Face (CREDIT: Derek Bahn) Face to Face have remained a Punk mainstay since initially forming in 1991. They've gone through numerous line-up changes over the years and even broke up for a brief period between 2004-08. Face to Face's remaining founding member is vocalist/lead guitarist Trever Keith with Scott Shiflett providing bass and vocals since 1995. I vaguely recall either seeing Face to Face on a Warped Tour or Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam action sports/music tour in the early 2000's. Somewhere around that same period of time, I picked up a mysteriously "blank" Minimax CD EP called Nothing Succeeds Like Success attributed to Face to Face, I believe, at one of two X-Games held in Philly between 2001-02. Copies of said Bonus EP were included along with Face to Face's then-break-up album, How to Ruin Everything. Opening tracks "Nothing Succeeds Like Success" & "Anybody Listening?" were both included on the Japanes...

Long-time Descendents frontman and pseudo-mascot Milo Aukerman has re-emerged with the announcement his first-ever proper solo project, RebUke. Aukerman has been the primary vocalist for Descendents since 1980 (three years post-formation) and sporadically, yet consistently, ever since. Through the years, all the while, functioning as Descendents' frontman, Milo Aukerman conducted post-doctoral research in Molecular Biology at The Universities of Wisconsin–Madison & Pennsylvania, as well as working as a plant researcher at DuPont and an adjunct professor at The University of Delaware. However, it appears as though Aukerman has decided to forgo his aforementioned careers, as of 2016, in an effort to focus on music and Descendents and music full-time. It appears as though Milo has since amassed quite a passion for ukuleles, as his freshly-announced solo project, RebUke—emphasis on "uke"—is, of course, primarily ukelele-based. Earlier this year, Descendents (or, ...

"I've always been a huge fan of Bracket. I love their unique sound and their catchy melodies. It all started with the idea to have them play my festival in Austria, SBÄM Fest. Every year I tried to fly them in just for the show. Without any luck so far—I still bother them and I won't give up until they play 😉 And since I'm a big fan of their music, I asked Angelo [Celli] if they have any unreleased stuff they wanna put out. The Rare Cuts songs are killer and they needed a proper release. So, Best of Würst (BOW) was born. [By the way,] Angelo came up with the title—I really love it. And here's a little spoiler... it doesn't end with BOW; we have some other plans for 2021. More news soon!" - SBÄM (@sbamrocks) Best Of Würst (2020) by Bracket 01. "[Do You Remember] Rock "N" Roll Radio" "We did this for an all-Ramones covers comp. album called Ramones Maniacs released in 2001 and played it pretty much in-line with the original,...

Billed like an old school boxing "fight night" poster, the cover image for NOFX/Frank Turner's upcoming split album explicitly boasts, "FAT WRECK BOXING CLUB, WEST COAST VS. WESSEX, 10 ROUNDS OF MEDIO-CORE, NOFX CHAMPIONS VS. FRANK TURNER CHALLENGER." It features NOFX frontman "Fat" Mike Burkett & Frank Turner (Möngöl Hörde, Million Dead) posing in boxing gloves and gear akin to Andy Warhol & Jean-Michel Basquiat's iconic black-and-white boxing photographs. Announced earlier this week, Fat Wreck Chords announced said split 10-song album; West Coast vs. Wessex will feature NOFX covering five Frank Turner songs on "Side A" and vice versa on "Side B." Along with said split's announcement, Fat Wreck Chords released NOFX's cover of Frank Turner's "Thatcher F**ked The Kids" accompanied by Turner's cover of NOFX's "Bob." Both tracks are currently featured on Bandcamp , along with pre-ord...

CHIXDIGGIT! at Edmonton Oilers/Rogers Place (SOURCE: K.J. Jansen) Not entirely unlike Wrestle/Wrassle Rap or Basketball Rap, there's, apparently, a whole sub-genre of hockey-themed Punk/Hardcore—oftentimes, referred to as "Puck" Rock or Hockey-core. Yes, I've been a die-hard fan of Punk/Hardcore for 15+ years and I, too, only first heard about Puck Rock within the last few weeks. Although, once I started diggin' around, I discovered about 10-15 bands at the forefront; this was, then, gradually narrowed down to 10 "front-line" bands, which will be chronicled here over the course of coming weeks. The "top-scoring" bands we selected include: Crippled Youth, SLAPSHOT, The Hanson Brothers/Nomeansno, Two Man Advantage, The Boils, D.O.A. THE ZAMBONIS, Pansy Division, The Hextalls, and THE RAMOMS' "Gritty Is A Punk" flexi-disc. We sent out a short 6-question interview form to all of the aforementioned bands, received some back, heard a ...

CREDIT: Mark Marfa Capodanno (Fat Wreck Chords) Detroit-based Ska Punks The Suicide Machines were initially active for 15 years from 1991-2006 and remained disbanded for about three years before reuniting in 2009. They've been actively playing "reunion" shows ever since and at a gig with The Code in May 2018, announced they were currently working on a new record. "In December 2019, Fat Mike dropped a list of albums that were coming out in 2020. One of them was The Suicide Machines and today, we finally get to unveil the details!" read an exclamatory press release from Fat Wreck Chords . Said Suicide Machines album, Revolution Spring , has a street date of Friday, March 27, 2020 and yesterday, we were unexpectedly treated to its lead-off single, "Awkward Always." Revolution Spring was recorded in "about 12 days" at Recordo Rancho , a studio run by Marc Jacob Hudson , who currently plays bass for Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mo...

"After years of depriving all of us adoring fans of a live performance, Bracket are finally embarking on a World Tour !!! They are set to hit exotic locales, such as Santa Rosa & San Francisco ... well, that's it, really... but beggars can't be choosers," explained a recent post on Fat Wreck Chords' Facebook page. "For all you disappointed non-Bay Area residents, we've got a little something for you, too. We're rolling out the brand new video for "Forget" from Bracket 's latest full-length, Too Old to Die Young ," their tongue-in-cheek statement continued. Bracket 's first shows in FOUR years will take place on Friday, February 14th and Saturday, February 15th in Santa Rosa, California at Shady Oak Barrell House (A FREE SHOW!) and in San Francisco, California at Thee Parkside , respectively. Bracket 's aforementioned 2019 album, Too Old to Die Young , was their first album issued by NOFX frontman "Fat" M...

"Too Old to Die Young finds Bracket still indulging their love of Brian Wilson [The Beach Boys] harmonies, but taking a more straight-forward song-writing approach—or, as "straight-forward" as Bracket gets. "Cloud Ate" opens the album with a riff straight out of the late 80's DC Post-Hardcore scene. The classic Power-Pop of "Going Out of Style In Style" boasts [The Beatles] "Yellow Submarine"-esque back-up vocals. But Too Old to Die Young distills the Bracket sound that stretches back to when "2RAK005" hooked listeners on FAT MUSIC FOR FAT PEOPLE in 1994: propulsive, hooky songs that build on Punk's framework. Self-recorded over the period of a couple of years, Too Old to Die Young, also, finds Bracket at their most collaborative. Angelo Celli, Zack Charlos & Marty Gregori wrote everything together, including lyrics, with drummer Ray Castro working out parts at his home in Denver. For the first time, Charlos sings le...