Quarantine: How Music Helps Me Keep My Sanity (Part 2)

RECORDS & SINGLES:

• Bad Cop/Bad Cop –

• On April 15th, Bad Cop/Bad Cop (San Pedro, CA) premiered their single for “Simple Girl” on all streaming platforms. The band’s upcoming record, The Ride, was listed for preorder on the Fat Wreck Chords website. This highly-anticipated album will be released on June 19th. Stacey Dee and Jennie Cotterill also did a live Q&A on the Bad Cop/Bad Cop Instagram Page. They answered submitted questions about their new record - including influences, current music favorites, favorite/least favorite bands, and how they pushed themselves in a new way to write this record.

• Linh Le performed for Rock the Sofa’s livestream (celebrating Hannah & Skippy’s anniversary) on Saturday, April 18th. This event was organized by Pirates Press. She also did a takeover of the Mable Syndrome Instagram page on Friday, April 24th. Linh performed various rad renditions (mostly covers), and some Bad Cop songs. Linh played songs by Bad Religion, Against Me!, The Venomous Pinks, Hot Water Music, Bar Stool Preachers, and Motörhead.

• On April 17th, Jennie Cotterill went live on the Punk Rock and Paintbrushes Instagram account. Jennie showed us her studio, her dog beds (Koozie is a spoiled pup!), and a bunch of projects she has created (including Bad Cop posters, Bombpops Can of Worms cover art, and NOFX's Hepatitis Bathtub book cover). Jennie is soon joined by photographer Eden Kittiver, who helped create the cover of Bad Cop/Bad Cop’s next record, The Ride (as well as their personal photographer for 2017's Vans Warped Tour).

• Bad Cop/Bad Cop merch can be purchased at Stupid Rad Merch.

• Who is Angela Baker! …?

• In April, Laura Jane Grace started talking about a mysterious band named Angela Baker. This band posted a few songs on their Soundcloud page, “Mia Bella California”, “Last High of the Evening”, “Professional” and “Merchandise.” Will we ever find out who the elusive Angela Baker is? I guess we’ll have to wait and find out…

• The Bar Stool Preachers –

• The Bar Stool Preachers (Brighton, England) released the Soundtrack to Your Apocalypse, a two-song digital EP. This EP was released for free, because BSP knows how important music is during these tense and fearful times. This release includes the songs “When This World Ends” and “State of Emergency.” BSP also premiered a music video for “When This World Ends”, which included small videos of many friends in the music community. The Bar Stool Preachers are kind enough to donate part of their profit to healthcare workers and their families (NHS).

• Purchase BSP prints, tee shirts and hoodies, as well as donate to the NHS here.

• The Lippies –

• The Lippies (Grand Rapids, MI) released the Pop ‘n’ Lockdown EP, which consists of three tracks, "On Your Mind", "Get out of Bed"and "I'm a Reactor." I am definitely excited about what this band will continue to create in the future, with obvious feminist themes, and 90's punk rock vibes.

• Purchase music and merch by The Lippes on their Bandcamp page.

• X –

• X (Los Angeles, CA), released Alphabetland on April 22nd. This record is a very special release, being the first time in 35 years that the original lineup has released an album together. I really enjoyed the new record, with the old-school X feel, yet, slightly experimental vibe. I gravitated toward the track "Goodbye Year, Goodbye." Stream the new record, as well as purchase merch on X's Bandcamp page.

• Meet me at the Altar –

• This pop-punk trio (consisting of Téa - guitar, Ada - drums, and Edith - vocals) have released a new single, entitled "May the Odds be in Your Favor." Described as "an energetic WOC pop-punk band", I thoroughly enjoyed this single. This upbeat track reminds me of summers spent at festivals, and takes me back to a more carefree point in life. I discovered this single on Spotify, but it is also available to stream on many streaming services.

• Check out MMATA's back catalog on their Bandcamp page.

LIVESTREAMS:

The Fest

SBÄM FEST 3

SBÄM FEST 4

• The Fest 19 Livestreams –

• Three Thursday's in a row - April 9th, 16th and 23rd, The Fest put on livestreams via their Facebook page. There is no way that someone cannot discover a new band/artist, or enjoy listening and watching their favorites perform. I caugh small snippets of most of these livestreams below, but I highly recommend looking up these bands and checking out their music.

• Fest #1 - Kali Masi (Chicago, IL), Jose from MakeWar (Brooklyn, NY), Telethon (Wisconsin), Dollar Signs (Charlotte, NC), and Reed Wolcott from We are the Union (Ann Arbor, MI).

• Fest #2 - Slingshot Dakota (Allentown PA), Juan Richardo Yilo from Zeta (South Florida, by way of Venezuela), Typesetter (Chicago, IL), Woolbright (Davie, FL), and Answering Machine (Brooklyn NY).

• Fest #3 - Virginity (Florida), I Like Allie (Milan, Italy), Cold Wrecks (Brooklyn, NY), Taking Meds (New York) and After the Fall/Postage (Albany, NY).

• SBÄM Fest 3 (April 18th) –

• Upper/Downer (Los Angeles, CA) performed first on this stacked lineup. Chris and Joe (sans rad bassist Bert) played a few songs, including "Dog Food" and "Disarm the Police", both off of their S/T EP. Check out Upper/Downer's Bandcamp page.

• The Venomous Pinks (Gaby Kaos and Drea Doll) performed from their hometown, Mesa, Arizona. They played a few songs such as "Todos Unidos" and their fun cover of Joan Jett and The Blackhearts' "I Want you!" Check out VP music and merch here.

• The Homeless Gospel Choir (Pittsburgh, PA), aka Derek Zanetti, was thoroughly entertaining, playing songs from The Homeless Gospel choir catalog, including "Crazy" and "Blindfaith", and then busted out a fantastic rendition of "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Derek told us to imagine him as Lady Gaga, which surprisingly, was not very difficult. Derek had also mentioned that The Homeless Gospel Choir was going to have a new record out, on April 24th, entitled This Land is Your Landfill. Purchase THGC merch and music here.

• Linh, Stacey and Jennie (from Bad Cop/Bad Cop) performed various songs, from covers to their own songs. Linh played by herself, while Stacey and Jennie played together. Linh played a couple cover songs, from bands such as Face to Face, No Use for a Name, and MakeWar, as well as one Bad Cop song: "Warriors" (Warriors). Jennie and Stacey played a Beatles and Fleetwood Mac cover, but mostly played songs from Bad Cop. They finished the set with their new single "Simple Girl" (The Ride), which was exciting for everyone!

• SBÄM Fest 4 (April 24th) –

• Chris Creswell (The Flatliners; Ontario, Canada)

• With Wet Hot American Summer playing on the TV in the background, Chris Cresswell had some tough competition. Luckily, Cresswell has the talent and the charisma to keep all eyes and ears focused on him. Cresswell mentioned that this year is the 10 year anniversary of the release of Cavalcade by The Flatliners. He mentioned the 10 year anniversary, as well as the postponed tour, but at least there are livestreams to keep us afloat. Cresswell played a couple songs off of Cavalcade, such as "Count Your Bruises" and "Liver Alone", a couple solo singles, and a song by the supergroup Scorpios, entitled "The Doorman's Final Call" (One Week Record). Check out merch, music and updates by The Flatliners here. Check out Joey Cape's One Week Records here.

• Russ Rankin (Good Riddance; Santa Cruz, CA)

• Russ Rankin played a few songs from his couch, including "Pushing Daisies" and "This is What we Get", both off of his solo record, Farewell Catalonia. He also played a heartwarming rendition of "Via Munich" by the late Tony Sly (originally off of 12 Song Program, Rankin recorded it for Fat Wreck's The Songs of Tony Sly, a Tribute). Check out Good Riddance and all they have to offer here.

• Hanny J (Clowns; Melbourne, Australia)

• I adore Hanny J’s music. Whether she’s playing in Australian band Clowns, or doing solo work, she’s always captivating. Hanny always performs with such passion, and she played songs like "Pulse is Beating" (Perceptions), "Just Nice" (Perceptions), and "We had a Good Thing" (Perceptions). Check out Hanny J's Bandcamp page here. Check out Clown's here.

• Takeover Fest 2 (April 25th) –

• An A-F Records Live Stay-at-Home Event.

• Noelle Stolp & Chris Hembrough (Rational Anthem; Iowa City, IA) played on Sunday afternoon for the A-F Records livestream. Rational Anthem is a band that I have just recently discovered, and I cannot stress how amazing they are. I can't help but smile when I hear their songs, and I hope that many more people discover them too. They played six songs, a large portion of songs being off of their most recent record, It's Only Permanent, including "Better Get Better" and "Through Being Punk." They also did a rad rendition of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Purchase their music and merch here.

• Falyn Walsh and Lalo Gonzalez Deetz (Grumpster; Oakland, CA) played "Tunnel Vision", "Bad Seed", and "Put me to Sleep" all off of their amazing debut full-length, Underwhelmed. I was looking forward to seeing Grumpster open for Anti-Flag and Bad Cop/Bad Cop in May, but this set further solidified my excitement of seeing them in the future.

• Jennie Cotterill (Bad Cop/Bad Cop) did a little solo set, which included a Bob Dylan cover, as well as "Books About UFO's by Hüsker Dü (New Day Rising). She ended the set with an unreleased Bad Cop track, which unfortunately did not make the record, entitled "Are You Happy?" And shoutout to Jennie for playing "Dead Letters",which made my friend Kevin cry from excitement.

• Chris #2 (Anti-Flag; Pittsburgh, PA) played last, and prefaced his set by saying that he would be playing some of his favorite songs from the A-F catalog. Check out all things A-F Records at their website. Some of the songs that Chris played were "Neighborhood" by Lee Corey Oswald (Darkness, Together), "No Apology" by Anti-Flag (A New Kind of Army), and "Goodbye America" by The Unseen (Lower Class Crucifixion).

• Riot Fest at Home –

• I was fortunate enough to catch a livestream of Brendan Kelly (Lawrence Arms, Brendan Kelly and the Wandering Birds, and the supergroup The Falcon; Chicago, IL) on Thursday, April 23rd, on the Riot Fest Instagram page. Kelly sat in a dimly-lit room, drink and acoustic guitar in hand. Kelly performed a few songs, including “Black Cat” and “Huggz” by The Wandering Birds, as well as a Propagandhi cover. Check out all-things Riot Fest here, including merch and lineups. Purchase Wandering Birds merch at Anxious and Angry, as well as their music on their Bandcamp page.

• Boatless Booze Cruise III (April 18th) –

• The bands I caught for this livestream were:

• Dead Bars (Seattle, WA) - John, with a tiny guitar, played a few songs, including "Earplug Girl" (Dream Gig), "D Line to the Streamline" (Dream Gig), and "No Tattoos"(Regulars). Support Dead Bars through their Bandcamp page here.

• Devon Kay (Chicago, IL) - Devon played a few Solutions songs, including"Yes, I Can't" (Yes I Can't) , the single"Anything at All" and a new track, "Keep Dreaming." He also played one of my favorite Direct Hit! tracks, "Forced to Sleep" (Wasted Mind). Show support for Devon Kay and the Solutions on their Bandcamp page here.

• Mobina Galore (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) - Jenna and Marcia played a few requests, such as "Partner in Crime" (Feeling Disconnected), "You're not 23 Anymore"(Cities Away), Going Out Alone" (Feeling Disconnected) and "Just Went Away" (Don't Worry). Check out Mobina Galore's music and merch here.

• Direct Hit! (Milwaukee, WI) - Nick Woods played a few songs from his basement, including a new track entitled "110", "Artificial Confidence" (Wasted Mind), "Welcome to Heaven" (Crown of Nothing), and "Something We Won't Talk About" (Crown of Nothing). Check out music and merch by Direct Hit! here.

• Elway (Fort Collins, CO) - Tim Browne played a couple songs from the Elway catalog, such as "Take me Stabler" (Hence my Optimism) and "Salton Sea" (Leavetaking). Browne also played a cover, "Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes" by Propagandhi (Today's Empire, Tomorrow's Ashes).

• Punk Rock Bowling –

• The Las Vegas punk rock festival, which has postponed this year’s festival to 2021, has made a few band announcements. As of April 26th, Madness, Circle Jerks, Municipal Waste, The Adicts, Anti-Flag, Propagandhi, Lunachicks, the Bronx, Jaya the Cat, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones , H09909, and Avail have all been confirmed for next year’s festival. Check out the Punk Rock Bowling website, where you can find all information about next year's lineup, hotels/flights and merch!

• Live from the Rock Room –

• Live From the Rock Room's YouTube page hosts many incredible bands. These recordings take place in Mike Felumlee's (Smoking Popes) basement. I would highly recommend checking out the channel, as everyone will discover a band that they will love.

• Lights Over Bridgeport (Chicago, IL)

• Mikey Erg (New Jersey)

• Red City Radio (Oklahoma City, OK)

• Limbeck (Laguna Niguel, CA)

• Rational Anthem (Iowa City, IA)

• Loose Behaviour (UK & Different parts of the country)

• Church Girls (Philadelphia, PA)

• Doc Hopper (New Jersey)

• In addition to their YouTube Channel, check out Live from the Rock Room's website here.

• Chris Demakes/Less Than Jake –

• Chris Demakes (Gainesville, FL) and We are the Road Crew premiered a single entitled “They are the Road Crew”, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Less Than Jake touring crew. Purchase the single at Tempo Merch. Chris also performed for a livestream on the Less Than Jake Instagram page on April 25th. Chris performed a slew of Less Than Jake songs that span a wide range of their catalog. Some of the songs played were "History of a Boring Town" (Hello Rockview),"That's Why They Call it a Union" (Anthem), "Don't Fall Asleep on the Subway" (In With the Out Crowd), "The Rest of My Life" (In With the Out Crowd), and "Last Train" (Birthday Cake - pretty sure everyone fainted when he started to play this song). Purchase Less Than Jake merch here, where fans can also pre-order a Less Than Jake tour crew tee shirt and/or hoodie. All proceeds from the sale of the tee shirts and hoodies will go directly to the Less Than Jake crew.

• Frank Turner –

• Frank Turner (London, UK) did a livestream on Facebook on Thursday, April 23rd. He performed England Keep my Bones in its entirety. I had almost forgotten how much I loved that record. I had to get up and dance when he started to play “I Still Believe.” Watching Frank Turner really reminded me of my friend and fellow Mable, Kim, and I am really happy that she got to experience this moment as well. Purchase Frank Turner's merch here.

• Sittin’ Round at Home with Brian Fallon (Episode 5) –

• Brian Fallon (The Gaslight Anthem, The Horrible Crowes; New Brunswick, NJ), sits down and interviews guests via his Instagram live. This week’s guest? Lauren Denitzio of the band Worriers (Brooklyn, NY). The two discussed technical challenges of livestreaming during quarantine, songwriting, and "hiding the broccoli in the mac and cheese" (my new favorite expression). Brian and Lauren both played songs, including "Have Mercy", off of The Gaslight Anthem's record Get Hurt, and "Big Feelings", off of You or Someone you Know by Worriers. Purchase Brian Fallon's merch and new record, Local Honey here. Find music and merch from The Gaslight Anthem here. Purchase You or Someone you Know by Worriers, and their merch here.

PODCASTS:

• 3 Gigs Podcast –

• Episode 67: Dominic Davi (Tsunami Bomb) talks to Brenna Red, from The Last Gang (Orange County, CA). What I really like about this podcast is that it has a simple, concise format - describe your first show, your best show and your worst show. Host Dominic Davi does a fantastic job at using his past and present experiences (especially being in a touring band) to engage in some similarities between him and his guest. Check out 3 Gigs Podcast here.

• That One Time on Tour Podcast –

• Episode 101: Chris Swinney (formerly of The Ataris) chats with Poli van Dam and Jen Razavi of The Bombpops (San Diego, CA). What I really like about this podcast is the ability, like Dominic Davi, to establish familiarity with guests through their similar lifestyle. Swinney seems to have a nice rapport with guests, and really allows them to speak, while intermittently asking questions in a harmonious manner. Check out That One Time on Tour Podcast here.

• The Intruder Green Podcast –

• Episode 31: Intruder Green (Masked Intruder) spoke with Jennie Cotterill, Stacey Dee, Myra Gallarza and Linh Le of Bad Cop/Bad Cop (April 17th). What I really like about this podcast is that Intruder Green manages to make me laugh, while still talking about hard-hitting issues. On the surface, Green's accent and endearingly crass vocabulary makes me smile, while still layered with important questions for his guests. Check out The Intruder Green Podcast here.

• The Zombieteeth Podcast -

• So, in addition to his impressive art work, Paul (Zombieteeth), decided to launch a podcast. On episode one (April 10th), he interviewed Sarah and Dustin from the Oakland-based band Pity Party. Episode two, (April 20th), he chatted with T.J. McFaull of the Bar Stool Preachers. What I really like about the Zombieteeth Podcast is Paul's ability to just chat, and have a free-flowing conversation with his guests. Listeners can tell that he and his guests feel comfortable, and the back-and-forth dynamic makes listeners feel at ease. Listen to The Zombieteeth Podcast here.