The Witzard

Say Anything's SA/2023 line-up (SOURCE: Dine Alone Records) Say Anything have returned to release their first new music together as a band since 2019's would-be swansong, Oliver Appropriate. "Psyche!" reunites Say Anything's mouthpiece and mastermind, Max Bemis, with the band's original drummer, Coby Linder, former bandmates, Alexander "Alex" Kent on bass [and] Parker Case on synths and programming, and adding into the fold Brian Warren (Weatherbox) and Fred Mascherino (The Color Fred, Taking Back Sunday,) who, actually, briefly toured with Say Anything through 2014, offered additional production on the track, alongside Case. With his signature snarl, Bemis proclaims in the opening lines of the song, "we are born again. We've died and sprung to life, so wet and fresh." "Psyche!," replete with lyrical nods to the band's contemporaries in the Pop-punk scene—"I will sing the requiem" (Saves The Day,) "blink a...

William Ryan Key (CREDIT: Acacia Evans) Sometimes, those steps sideways are the most impactful. Former Yellowcard vocalist and rhythm guitarist William Ryan Key continues to challenge, not only his fans, but, also, himself with a slight right turn for his third solo EP, Everything Except Desire. Propelling him further into uncharted musical territory with a more Experimental sound, this EP, also, marks a new beginning for the multi-instrumentalist: he has inked a new record deal with seminal Indie label Equal Vision Records. "Ever since I started making my own music, I think, I've been searching for what became Everything Except Desire," says Key about his new EP. Textured with multi-layered soundscapes incorporating lush pastoral washes of piano, strings, and synths, the music heard across Everything Except Desire evokes emotions through complex song structures that show Key's passion for experimentation. A sonic exploration of emotions and the journey to fin...

So, as many of you may well know by now, my wife and I are first-time parents of a now 4-month-old(!) baby and while I'm still trying to find a healthy balance between writing here on The Witzard, as well as a handful of other sites, and hanging out with my growing family, it admittedly isn't always easy. So, while I ran a bunch of Halloween-centric features over the course of the past two weeks or so, I didn't exactly have time to cover everything that came out on or around Friday for Halloween after our last post before the weekend. However, with that said, there were a bunch of ghoulishly great Halloween jams—both originals and covers—released this year. Now, with all that said, I'm proud to present to you A Pumpkin-punchin' Post-Halloween Punk/Hardcore Playlist. I've included Bandcamp links for most of these, as that's my preferred steaming platform (in addition to Spotify) and some of these picks selected are available as Bandcamp-only exclusives and ...

Pretending I'm A Superman Producer Ralph D'Amato (Left) & Director Ludvig Gür (Right) "Friends, I know it's been a little quiet on my side this past week, but, I assure you, everything is fine. Two weeks ago, my feature-length directorial debut, @thpsfilm, was released to a fantastic reception from critics and fans alike. It has remained in the Top 100 list of most-streamed films on @itunes for almost two weeks and still retains a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes . However, today is a very special day for another reason: 21 years ago, the game that the documentary is all about, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, was released. It took the world by storm and changed the lives of so many people throughout the years. I cannot overstate how much of an impact this low-budget video game made by a team of 12 people had on my life. It changed everything! So, here I am, holding up my first copy of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for the PS1 (which was released as "Tony Hawk's...