Family life has gotten the very best of me in a good way, and I have not been able to dedicate a lot of time to the blog as I would like to, but here I am for now while I have a few moments.
Maybe rather than giving excuses, I should just talk about this new Needles//Pins release that Chris at Dirt Cult Records threw my way to check out.
Before digging in deep here I need to admit how much I am eating up this album with each listen. It is a start to finish jam that caught me by complete surprise.
Hailing from Vancouver, Needles//Pins is a three-piece punk band who have been around since 2009. Perhaps not a well-known band here in the states, they caught a good chunk of my attention with their last release Shamebirds. Needless to say, I was already excited to hear their new material.
Good Night, Tomorrow is Needle//Pins’s third release (Dirt Cult Records / Mint Records) and clearly their best to date if you ask me. The band showcases a much more mature sound with most of their tracks but without losing their edge resulting in a great listen.
Songs like “Violet” and “Back to the Bright” begged to be memorized upon first listen for sing along opportunities. Both of these songs impressed the hell out of me.
The mature sounding “Sleep” carried some great, catchy guitar playing, but it was the lyrics that won me over. Personal, poignant , and to the point.
“All the Same” really reminded of the Replacements at times. I am thinking due to the guitar playing and quick drumming mostly, but I am not complaining here at all. This song ruled.
As someone who is obsessed with 80s punk/alternative rock, “Pressure Points”, “Untitled (You’re Fine)”, and “Something New” all turned into my favorite tracks on this album once I heard them. Just check them out if you can, no explanation needed.
My appreciation for this band went out the roof after I heard “Tomorrow”. Sick riffs, great hooks, group vocals, and a certain organ playing further proved my earlier statement on how Needle//Pins matured. Folky, punky, and freaking amazing, this was the grand finale I was looking for.
For those of you who like the gritty sing along punk rock that has extreme replay opportunities, y’all need to check out what Needles//Pins have put together. Good Night, Tomorrow is one hell of a release that I plan on playing over and over again. Think Iron Chic, Lawrence Arms, and Leatherface all mixed up in perfect proportions. Trust me, you do not want to sit on this album.
For those who know the name Jason Molina, there is a certain unspoken agreement that his talents were plucked from his adoring fans far too soon.
As many know, he was a musical genius who succumbed to an addiction he could never overcome and in turn put down his guitar and great talent in order to hold on to a bottle.
I call myself a fan, but a Molina novice at best. I openly admit that I am one of those late fans who never got to see him play live and grew to appreciate his entire catalog after his passing. I can not say I have ever quite heard music like what Molina created.
I didn’t know the whole story of a man who got his start less than an hour from where I live. I knew he was with Secretly Canadian and knew how he passed, but I knew nothing in between.
It only seems fitting to have someone collect all the memories, both good and bad, and put them into a book for all inquiring minds like mine. This biography, to be released by Rowman & Littlefield on May 15th, was full of memories and folklore about a mysterious individual who took his music far past any boundaries ever set prior and in doing so did it his way.
Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost, written by Erin Osmon, pretty much answered questions about Molnia’s life that some of me never wanted to know. From tales of his youth in a trailer park Lorain, OH to memories in recording studios and overseas, this family-authorized book really covered it all.
Family, friends, bandmates, and even tourmates all provided insight to the life of Molina. Where most of the book spoke on Molina’s journeys from Songs: Ohia to Magnolia Electric Company and even his solo work and impromptu sessions, the book also brought to light family tensions, failed relationships, depression, and of course the demise of greatness.
Molina’s college days and the years shortly after were probably my favorite recollections to read. Obviously, the toughest parts to read were about his separation from his wife and an attempt at recovery through bandmates and the very label he helped get their start.
It was interesting to learn how Molina formulated his albums in homes and studios alone and with others. I was also fascinated learning about his life outside of the music including living conditions and places of employment.
Reading how Molina got material released by Secretly Canadian seemed like something that would have happened in a comedy movie, but it was all true. He was the stepping stone of a label that may not have gotten their start had they never connected.
Molina’s humor style as told by others made me laugh more than once. His approach with his bands though seemed rather repressed at times, especially when he would up and leave without communicating properly to those involved.
The book obviously was not all fun and games. Reading about uncomfortable obsessions and how they were put to song made me realize the inventiveness Molina’s mysterious mind carried. The self-sabotaging of a musical career as told in detail, really opened my eyes and held my interest to the point I couldn’t put down the book. The marriage that never ended in divorce was painful to absorb but the love that remained was inspiring.
The last few chapters were very difficult for me to read as I lost an uncle to alcoholism earlier this year. The stories of the support Molina received by loved ones and all of the chances given to him that were eventually passed upon just reminded me of what addiction can do to someone. Reading about the deterioration of a proud man who kept too many secrets just hit too close to home for me.
Overall, the book carried a life-spanning account of a musician from his young days on Lake Erie to his final days secluded in a room slowly drowning his life away. The emotions were really felt through this book from those who were stunned at his approach to making music to finding out their friend was no more.
My only small distress with this book is at times it seemed the author had a synonym book handy that was used frequently. Perhaps it was I, the reader, who needs to dip deeper in to a more prolific writing style, but in the first chapter alone, Molina’s father was referenced as a “patriarch” and the term “spinning platters” was used over playing records.
Eventually I was able to get in tune with Osmon’s style, but there were times I just felt some of the vocabulary used was just too much and interfered with the story-telling. One thing Osmon did well was put all of the memories and stories together in a chronological order making it easy to set down the book and pick it up again without losing your spot.
The copy that I read was not the final copy but one provided to me early on my the publisher, so there is a chance things will be changed. I will tell you this, the chapters at times were long, but they were read through quickly as the memories were so well put together.
Fans of Molina will appreciate this book due to all of the content Osmon was able to hunt down over the span of three years. There were so many angles of Molina’s life put down in this book and I am sure it was not easy for Osmon to capture it all, yet she did it well.
As an added bonus to die-hard Molina fans, Secretly Canadian is releasing a limited-edition bundle of the book with a LP pressing of a 1994 Jason Molina WOBC radio session at Oberlin College. Where I failed to pre-order my copy in time before it sold out, I did get to listen to the performance and I can tell you it is beautiful and will haunt you, but not in a scary way. Molina even back in 1994 was so laid back and happy to be sharing his songs with others. Personally speaking, I think had I heard that session live back then on the radio, I would have been a changed man.
It’s not every day that you hear a cover band sold out a venue on a Wednesday, but that is exactly what happened last night at the House of Blues in Cleveland.
This honestly wasn’t a fluke though seeing how said covers band was none other than punk rock supergroup Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.
If I am not mistaken, the last time the Gimmes even played Cleveland was back in 2003 at the Warped Tour, so this was a pretty big deal to all of the Gimmes fans out there. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked myself to see they were coming back to my hometown with special guests Pears and Masked Intruder.
The Gimmes roster consists of Spike Slawson (Uke Hunt / Swingin Utters), Joey Cape (Lagwagon), Fat Mike (NOFX), Chris Shiflett (No Use For A Name / Foo Fighters), and Dave Raun (Lagwagon). They have been covering various tunes for over 20 years now and do not take themselves very seriously at all. The result is an overdose of fun covers of songs with a punk edge that in incredibly addicting They have 8 covers albums out now featuring all sorts of genres of music and were bold enough to just release a “Greatestest Hits” album.
The one ever so slight downfall with this leg of the tour was that Fat Mike was not playing due to scheduling conflicts, but Jay Bentley from Bad Religion was filling in on bass duties, so there were no complaints from me. Chris Shiflett also was not playing this stretch of shows, but his brother and Face To Face guitarist, Scott Shiflett was filling in. If you notice the photo of the flier above, you’ll see that they even took the liberty of photoshopping Jay and Scott in appropriately.
The House of Blues slowly filled up before the show started with big thanks to the Cavs and Indians games both going on at the same time making for parking to be a pricey nightmare. People of all ages even including some kids with their punk rock folks were hanging about. I really liked seeing such a variety of fans.
New Orleans hardcore punkers Pears started the night off with a pretty insane set. Sadly, I think less than 10 people were really into them and the rest were just trying to get their place in the pit for the other bands on the bill. Those Pears fans did sing along to every single song and had a hell of a time. Vocalist Zach Quinn noticed this and at one time jumped out into the crowd to hang out with his fans.
I am not sure the crowd really was digging what Pears were playing as many seemed to just observe and take in their set, but when the band played a cover of “Judy is a Punk”, the place erupted. Playing a few songs off last year’s Green Star as well as some from their debut Go To Prison, I really dug what I heard and was reminded that I really need to listen to them more.
Masked Intruder took stage with Officer Bradford, but there was a noticeable inconsistency. Red was missing. Apparently Red was serving time for picking pockets, but Big Luke Ferguson from Lipstick Homicide was filling in on drumming duties. Jarret Nathen from Pears actually filled in for one song too.
Blowing through songs like “I Fought the Law”, “I Don’t Wanna Be Alone Tonight”, and “Saturday Night Alone”, the crowd was robbed of all of their attention by the masked musicians and were perfectly ok with it.
Blue at one point instructed the crowd put their hands up in the air and then the band proceeded to played “Stick Em Up”. There is nothing quite like a sing along with plenty of profanity.
Officer Bradford did his thing throughout the set and at the end pulled a Har Mar Superstar and shed his uniform to reveal a singlet that showed off all of his manly curves. His stage charisma is like Ben Carr from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones in a sense, but far crazier.
Between the dance party going on in the pit with fans and Green, Officer Bradford dancing with the kids who were lucky enough to stand on the backside of the crowd barriers, and even a “literal” gracious mention by Blue to some “Grilled Cheese Sandwiches” place, the band kept the Cleveland crowd wanting much, much more once they finished off their final song of the night, “I Don’t Want to Say Goodbye to You Tonight”.
As this was my first time seeing Masked Intruder after missing countless opportunities before, I was impressed. The Daft Punk of pop punk were hilarious throughout and sounded pretty great live.
The Gimmes took the stage just around 10pm to a packed house and started playing “Summertime” with Spike running onto the stage dressed to impress. From there, it was an all out party with the band dipping into their huge catalog of covers.
I was so stoked to hear “Jolene” and “Rocket Man” as well as “End of the Road” all in one night. The band looked comfortable playing on stage and were just having as much fun as possible.
The Gimmies rocked out their version of the Beach Boy’s “Sloop John B” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” with the crowd singing along loudly. They also gave Barry Manilow props for announcing to the world the truth before playing “Mandy”.
Cape and Shiflett basically manned the sides of the stage throughout the show. Cape at times would just vanish leaving Spike to ask if anyone had seen him while Shiflett was just rocking out and having a good ol’ time with Bentley.
At one point during the set, Spike started rambling off a story about another venue in Cleveland he played at with another one of his bands where a awfully friendly man offered to pleasure him out front. He was quick to admit it was Now That’s Class.
Bentley had me cracking up tons during the set. When it was not his turn to play, he would pretend to start playing, hesitate, make faces, and then jump into action. You could tell he really was enjoying the night. At one point when Spike was shamelessly putting in a plug for Rake It In: The Greatestest Hits album that just came out, a fan in the front row held up the LP and Bentley took it from him. The fan thought he was just going to hold it up for all to see, which he did, but then put it on the drum stage and left it there until after the set. He eventually gave it back, but not before Bentley told the fan he would have to buy another copy.
As a special treat, Spike performed a couple of times with a plugged-in ukulele including a song from his other band Uke-Hunt as well as an amazing, intimate cover of Madonna’s “Crazy For You” and also “I Believe I can Fly” with Shiflett playing a Hawaiian riff with eventually the rest of the band kicking in.
With plenty of comedic banter between the bunch, they interacted with the crowd frequently, cracked jokes, and bashed current events just making for just a fun set. It was like NOFX, but far less wasted.
After leaving the stage only to come back for a four song encore, the band called it a night, but not before thanking the crowd and handing off picks, drumsticks, and setlists to a few lucky fans.
I have to admit, I was kind of worried before the show after hearing that their Pittsburgh show had a shorter set the night before, but the Gimmes played for almost 2 hours. The full setlist is listed below.
It was a solid night for punk rock tunes with friends and fans alike thanks to a trio of Fat Wreck Chords bands. It was my first time seeing all three bands, and I was thoroughly entertained.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Set List:
“Summertime”
“Jet Plane”
“Julio”
“Who Put the Bomp”
“Science Fiction”
“Ghost Riders”
“Sloop John B”
“Danny’s Song”
“Country Roads”
“Jolene”
“Crazy For You”
“I Believe I Can Fly”
“Mandy”
“Isn’t She Lovely”
“Over the Rainbow”
“Rocket Man”
“Straight Up”
“Different Drum”
Spike playing the Uke
“All My Lovin'”
“I Will Survive”
“Sweet Caroline”
“End of the Road”
I consider myself a pretty big Flatliners fan and have been for most of their career.
The Toronto foursome caught my attention with their debut – even if it was just speedy, loud ska tunes. It was their followup, The Great Awake, however, that blew me away.
The Flatliners have a punk rock style that is so addictive to me. They have been playing for almost 15 years now without a single change up in members. I have seen them live on multiple occasions, including in 2011 at SXSW just before the Ben Weasel blowout. To this day, Cavalcade remains one of my top albums.
Last week, the band dropped their fifth full-length release on Rise Records. Having heard a couple songs beforehand, I was pretty damn excited to get my hands on a copy. Since then, I have listened to it dozens of times and each listen just gets better for me.
Inviting Light has Cresswell singing way more than screaming throughout, and it is extremely likable. I was set back a little as I was expecting the band to unleash just like some of their older material, but the more I absorbed this release, the more I appreciated how much the band has matured.
Opening track “Mammals” slowly emerged into a pretty catchy track. Cresswell and crew took it easy but had no problem creating a song that begged to be sung along with. “Hang My Head” followed sounding more like a well-defined rock tune with a punk edge. This song in particular got stuck in my head the moment I heard it and I was totally ok with that.
“Indoors” was another track that was more drawn-out without the band’s style jumping ship completely. The Flatliners if anything, showcased their musical talent to the fullest on this track that seemed to revolve around insecurities and support. I especially loved Ramirez’s drumming throughout.
I adored “Unconditional Love” as it was to me a spaghetti-western punk rock song. It moseyed along, but was so impactful especially with Cresswell’s bellowing voice at times.
I found myself getting into “Infinite Wisdom” immediately with Cresswell’s singing style hitting lows and highs in a single breath. The energy in this song alone had me nodding my head to the beat instantly.
“Chameleon Skin” had Cresswell singing and wailing about adapting to surroundings through others. The song slowly built up into a great tune that clearly was far-fetched from a traditional Flatliners song, and honestly, I loved it.
Inviting Light is not quite like previous Flatliners albums, but that is not really anything that should be concerning at all given the talent that fills this tenured act.
A couple years back, Cresswell teamed up with Joey Cape for a One Week Records album and I seriously think he took to heart what he learned about himself playing with Cape and propelled that in the creation of Inviting Light. If you call yourself a Flatliners fan and have not heard that One Week Records album, prepared to be pleasantly shocked, it is outstanding.
Back to this album – If you are sitting there questioning yourself whether or not to listen to Inviting Light, recall what happened to Rise Against over time. I am not making any immediate comparisons between the two bands by the way, but styles change by decision and not force, and sometimes there is nothing at all wrong with that.
The Flatliners have not sold out, they found a new niche and are going with it. Think about it, they could still be pushing out ska jams, right?
There were so many good releases in 2016, but if I had to choose my top favorite, it would easily be MakeWar‘s Developing a Theory of Integrity.
Toby from Red Scare sent that album my way to check out and after listening to it at my paying gig about six times in a row, I learned that they were playing the Dag House’s final show the next night. I pretty much freaked out like a kid with excitement and was sure to see them play a quick set in the basement of a true punk house. I was so excited that I missed the last step into that basement and ate it into the wall.
After their set, I wanted to support the band and buy some merch off and ran into Jose asking him where their goods were. He told me that all the merch was packed up and the band was about to leave for Omaha, but stopped dead in his tracks, walked out to his tour van, and got me a LP. I felt stupid holding the band up, but was more impressed that Jose postponed leaving.
Jose and the rest of the guys chatted it up with me for a few and I cracked up when they told me they did not realize Omaha was so far from Cleveland and that they probably should not have booked a show that far.
I decided I wanted to do a little interview with Jose and just learn more about him and the band. He was totally down for it and the little interview I intended to do turned into quite a big one. I refuse to cut a lot of it out as I loved chatting with him so much. It’s seriously a great read.
Check out the interview I did with Jose Prieto
of MakeWar:
What’s up Jose? Thanks for taking a few moments to talk. I know MakeWar used to be Sad and French, but I don’t know the whole story.
Can you just start from the beginning and tell me how Sad and French eventually turned into MakeWar?
Well, Sad and French used to be the name I went by when playing the open mic at this great dive in Miami called Churchill’s. Churchill’s had an open mic every Wednesday and and a great welcoming group of people. It transformed me from doing silly covers to drunkenly showing them some super personal sad songs I was writing at the time about that one that got away.
After I moved to New York, I had a good handful of songs under that name and finally started playing “real” solo shows and made a couple of super low budget home recording EPs. Then my best friend from college, Edwin Santacruz, who I first met back in Florida on our first semester of school, moved to New York, crashed on my couch, and that’s how the real Sad and French began.
It was just Edwin and I, upright bass and an acoustic guitar. We knew we wanted a drummer, but we tried a couple and they just didn’t click with us. So we went ahead and recorded our first LP as a duo. Simple, raw, acoustic. The songs were written that way so why not memorize them in time and space that way. Black Numbers from [New] Jersey helped us put that LP and boom, we were a real band!
The thing is, right after that LP was recorded, I went out on Valentine’s Day trying to find someone or forget about someone and not be alone that night, and thats the night I met Greg Taylor. He was flirting with the girl I was talking to right before I had to go to the bathroom. And it was friendship at first sight!. Greg, who turned out to be another fellow Floridian, also loved Against Me! – which it was the sound Edwin and I were trying to go for with SNF – and also played the drums. After I showed Greg the acoustic LP, he loved it and we tried really hard to keep it that way, You know minimal drums, acoustic instruments, old school Against Me! style, but something was changing. I kept on turning the the acoustic guitar louder to a point of overdriven feedback madness and kept on playing every song faster and faster and it just sounded better. It was way more fun to play. So we switch to electric guitar and bass, and collectively decided that this band was not a solo act named Sad and French anymore. This was a completely different beast. So we changed our name to MakeWar and the rest is history… Well till now at least… haha
Damn dude, I think you answered pretty much everything I needed to know about the history of MakeWar. Thanks! Sounds like you followed suit with Laura Jane Grace in that you started solo and how have a band that pretty much is a powerhouse. How stoked are you about what MakeWar has turned into?
Its truly a dream come true man. I finally have the band I always wanted to have. Who is down to tour?
So why did you initially name yourself Sad and French? Hell, how did you guys come up with the name MakeWar?
hahaha. Sad and French comes from a drunken conversation with a good friend of mine. She used to say that I always look sad. Then she said I look like that French singer Herman Dune. We joked about me being sad and French.
MakeWar comes from a million other names we had when we decided to change our name. I knew it sounded intense. But I also knew it was a great way to describe the “wars” that were going inside my head.
So where do you all originally hail from? I know y’all live in NYC currently and lived in Miami as just previously stated.
So Greg is straight up from Florida, born and raised. Edwin is from Colombia, born and raised, but moved to the states when he was 17. I was born in Miami, but raised in Venezuela. I lived there with my parents and siblings until I graduated from high school. That’s when I decided I wanted to move to the states. The land of opportunities, shit was easy here right? I was hoping for college to be like an American Pie movie. I was gonna get my Venezuelan band called The Go Go Punkers sign to Epitaph or Fat or something, get the rest of the band to move to Florida, and we were gonna live that punk lifestyle we always dreamed of or saw on VHS tapes like Ten Years of Fucking Up or any of the Kung Fu Records silly movies, or SLC Punk.
But shit wasn’t easy man. I didn’t speak any English, the internet wasn’t really there yet, and the record labels weren’t writing offers back…probably cuz who the fuck names their band The Go Go Punkers? Probably the same guy that came up with Sad and French am I right? haha
Dude, even I thought college was going to be like American Pie. Growing up outside of the states, how were you introduced to punk rock music?
I hated school man. I was an outcast that never, ever had good grades and always failed all his classes. But I had a great handful group of friends I grew up with and all we wanted to do was skateboard and go surfing.
I was probably introduced to punk rock that way. Skateboarding and surfing VHSs. But I remember the day a friend from high school showed me Blink 182 Dude Ranch. That shit blew my mind. But then an older friend introduced me to what he called real punk. Lagwagon, NOFX, Pennywise, Bad Religion, I was hooked man.
We all probably owned 2 or 3 CDs back then, so we used to get together at someone’s house, bring all the CDs, and make mix tapes with them. There was no internet back then, or maybe there was, Napster was a thing, but downloading 1 song took hours. We were the weird kids who didn’t listen to reggaeton, and only went to parties to drink free beers and hit on girls, but hated the popular music down there. Techno and reggaeton was the music everyone used to listen to in Venezuela in the late 90s.
I need to look up Reggaeton, something tells me I am not going to dig it… Kids these days have no idea how good they got it. I remember the days of Napster and remember when CDs were released. I make mixes off of cassettes, I feel old now.
Reggaeton is the worst. I remember having a Walkman that only had a play button. I had to use a pen with tape to rewind the cassettes.
Kids will never know that struggle. Outside of the band, what do you do for a living?
Edwin and I do freelance graphic design. He focuses more on the animation industry and I work mostly on the advertising industry. Greg is a bartender, he makes people happy and drunk, and they give him money. What a great job. I sit in front of a computer all day coming up with ideas that your ad blocker is probably going to erase, or your Hulu account is going to skip, or our XM Radio host is going to talk over. But hey, I can’t complain, [it] pays the bills.
What other projects have you been involved in, or has it only been Sad and French and MakeWar?
So when I was a teen, The Go Go Punkers. It sounded like Lagwagon meets NOFX meets Millencolin. I used to write the lyrics in Spanish down into my Windows 95 shitty computer and translate them into English using probably the first translator ever use on a machine called Power Translator. We didn’t want to sing in Spanish cuz our big plan was to move to the states and get signed. We were so naive.
Then in college, I had a cool post hardcore project called Forthwith. We wanted to sound just like Thrice and I think we did. The thing was, our priorities were kind of shifted then.
After that, Edwin and I joined a new local Miami hardcore band called Zamora Bleeds. This was back in the day when screaming and singing pretty were super cool. We only played two shows. Somehow I got kicked out of the band, and after hearing this, Edwin quit. Edwin forever MVP.
Greg’s repertoire is more impressive. He was part of many Florida bands. To name a few, From First to Last, The Holy Mountain, Party Time. Then in New York he joined Mischief Brew, for a couple of tours and albums before getting hit by a cop car on his bike, He used to be a bike messenger.
Man, I kind of want to hear some Go Go Punkers now. Sounds rad and I absolutely love your plan as a teen. I gotta ask, do you pick on Greg ever for being in a band with Skrillex?
He was in FFTL pre-Skrillex era. Funny thing is that the newest FFTL single in years just came out a couple of months ago and what does Skrillex decides to call it? MAKE WAR. I think Skrillex is fucking with Greg now. Maybe not. But surely was weird. All I know is whatever ownership we had of that MakeWar hashtag we lost it after that song dropped down. #makewar is now about emo kids that love Skrillex and Jesus now.
Skrillex even ripped off the cover of that album from another band. Now, how did you get hooked up with Toby at Red Scare? Did you have to bribe him like I do just to get him to notice me?
Hahaha. I actually knew little about Toby then, I heard he was a mysterious man. Red Scare had and has some of my favorite bands, but we weren’t really ready or even looking for a new label the day I met Brendan Kelly. He had an acoustic show cancelled at The Knitting Factory because of a massive snowstorm that hit New York [in] January of 2016, I had 2 shows cancelled too. Our mutual friend Seth just opened up a bar that terrible icy weekend here in Bushwick and asked Brendan to come play the opening party. Then he asked me last minute if I wanted to open acoustically for Brendan Kelly at his newly opened bar. He promised free drinks all night long.
I liked Brendan, I liked the Lawrence Arms, I even liked that acoustic cover he did of “Kiss the Bottle”, I just never met him before. After I played my set he came up to me and said something like “dude, holy shit, I have to go after you now? fuck! That was awesome!”
After he was done with his set, we got real drunk and he said he wanted to sign my band. I really thought it was just drunk talk because he’s never seen us play., but I guess he really liked me and believed in me. So he texts Toby on the spot and somehow convinced him we were real good. I’m so happy our shows got cancelled and we got to play acoustic together. I’m so happy him and Toby were into the new record, and happy we didn’t suck when Toby saw us for the first time opening for The Falcon 2 months later. The rest is history.
It was destiny for you guys apparently. I think it worked out just fine. Your band is a melodic punk rock favorite of mine. MakeWar’s debut really seemed to have lots and lots of feelings in it whereas the latest MakeWar release, Developing a Theory of Integrity, was about growing up and just taking life as it comes. Was there a certain moment in life that just had you realize life is what you make of it and have fun?
Well I think that “moment” you are talking about was the moment when I had my first panic attack, thinking it was a heart attack, that sent me straight to the ER and a bunch of million dollars later, I learned that I couldn’t keep hiding those feelings with just booze and random hookups. I needed to do something about it. Thats when I wrote Developing a Theory of Integrity. I needed to say goodbye to the old Sad and French memory. I needed to say goodbye to my late grandfather. I needed to focus and cure this new mental illness I was randomly introduced by because I didn’t want to depend on a depressing looking little pill every fucking day. I think Developing a Theory of Integrity is definitely about friendship and growing, not necessarily up but forward, How true friends, family, and babes help you see the party at the end of the tunnel.
Well dude, it sounds like you are on the right track. Thanks for sharing that. Who are some of your inspirations that have more or less built up your style?
Mmmmm, I guess the same as when I was young, Lagwagon is still to this date my favorite band. Anything on the first 3 or 4 Punkoramas or Fat Music for Fat People comps. Or that 90s sound Superdrag, Nada Surf, Built to spill, Appleseed Cast.
That Fat Music For Fat People Volume 2 changed my life. I still listen to it today. What is it about Lagwagon that you dig so much?
You have to understand I didn’t speak any english back then. Punk rock to me was about the feeling I felt when I listened to it. It was about those guitar octaves and solos, the fast drum beats, the vocal melodies. Joey Cape, to me, was so inventive and creative in the way he came up with his vocal melodies in Lagwagon. I didn’t know what he was saying, but I felt that he meant what he was saying and that had some sort of meaning to me. I remember kissing a girl for the first time with “Want” from Let’s Talk About Leftovers was playing in her room. I remember listening to Let’s Talk About Feeling for the first time while watching the waves get better and better from our beach house.
I remember the first time I saw them live at the Warped Tour in Florida back in 2003. I ran really fast from stage to stage because I really didn’t want to miss them. But on the way to their stage somehow lost my wallet, and I had to make a big decision then. Do I miss Lagwagon and go look for my wallet with all the money I had, my student ID, my dad’s credit card for emergencies only or do I stay here first row and watch my favorite band? I decided to stay and watch them. Tears of joy and anger were falling down my stupid teenage face and I was so fucking happy. Never found the wallet but someone mailed all my documents to my dorm a couple of weeks later. No money though.
That is the ultimate Warped story. Seriously, I could imagine that happening to myself. I did not event think of the language barrier for you growing up. So upon hearing the music, you probably liked what you heard without understanding what they were singing about, right?
Yeah man, I dont know how to explain it. Like I felt the music and vocal melodies before knowing what they were about.
You should really look into working with Cape in the future with his One Week project. With your Sad and French past, I could totally see you doing something that route, plus the dude is your fracking hero. That would be bad ass.
I know man. Joey and I actually played some shows together back in the Sad and French days. He doesn’t really know how much I admire him because I just don’t wanna be that weird fan boy. I rather be his friend. All I hope is that One week project happens and happens naturally. Then maybe I can tell him about all my Lagwagon tattoos. hahaha.
Well maybe he will read this. I have featured him on a site a few times now. Aside from Cape, who are some of your favorite artists out there today?
I’ve been listening to that new Menzingers record non stop. Before that it was Pup The Dream is Over. I really like that new Meat Wave record too! The new Nothington is perfect. I got big hopes on that new Flats record. Red City Radio is a great looking band with great catchy songs. Oh let’s not forget about Arms Aloft and Good Friend from Red Scare. We triple signed with the label at the same time. Their records are incredible. I really hope to do something with those boys soon.
Both Arms Aloft and Good Friend rule! So does pretty much everyone else you just mentioned. You are hitting the road with my pals Worship This! for a quick tour. How did you hook up with these guys?
Our friend Rob ‘Good Time” Peters introduced me to them by asking me to book them a show here in New York. I booked the back room of Legion in Brooklyn and had a great time. We hung out and drank a ton of whiskey. We bonded. Also I liked Aaron’s beard.
Only because I know of his excellence, I need to ask, how did you meet Rob? Also, Aaron’s beard is a glorious.
Rob saw me at one of my highest moments in life. I was on tour with Sad and French (pre Greg) in Fort Collins, Colorado. We played the famous Surfside 7. After the show, Jon Snodgrass, who is one of my favorite humans of all time, asked me if I wanted to stick around an extra day and maybe sing a song with the Descendents at the annual Descendents Live Karaoke they do there. I was speechless.
If I ever have kids or dogs one day, I’ll be so proud of telling them I got to sing “Cheer” with the Descendents at Surfside 7 one day, and in Rob’s words, I killed it! He posted the video of me doing that and sent me the link. So fucking glad someone taped that! Somehow in the next year or so he moved to New York and hit me up and we’ve been friends since. We both have a really good appreciation of hot wings. We like go out of our way to find the best wings. Im so happy he is coming with us on this tour. Rob knows how to have a good time.
So I’ve heard. So, what has the response been like to anyone who as not seen/heard of you while on tour?
New fans really like the energy we have. And they are all in love with Edwin, he is the best looking member. That’s until they smell Greg. Then they are in love with Greg. Greg has this weird after-drumming-never-shower pheromones that I don’t really understand.
Personal question: Are you still cool with me since i shorted you a dollar at the Dag House last Fall? I promise I will pay it back one day. I seriously felt like a jackass for that one.
You did? I don’t remember… that is the problem about the dag house. it’s a black hole. You should buy me a dollar scratcher instead. if I win, we’ll split it.
Deal. If you win it’ll be like that Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda movie from the 90s.
You know Greg hates Nic Cage… Who hates Nic Cage?!? He is such a great actor. That was It Could Happen To You. Great movie. Raising Arizona, Amazing movie. Face Off... speechless… Adaptation is perfect.
What about Con-Air or The Rock? Both are guilty pleasures of mine. That is though, hilarious Greg hates Nic.
I havent seen those two in yeeeeearrrrrs… I’ll have to re-watch those!
What is next for MakeWar? I hope there is new material out there.
We are writing non stop. There’s definitely new music coming. Maybe next year. We are playing Pouzza Fest in Montreal. That should be tons of fun! We are planning a super cool tour in June that I don’t think I can talk about? Maybe ask me this question again in May, yeah?
Sounds like a plan dude, thanks for chatting it up! Good luck on your upcoming tour.
MakeWar is heading out on tour with Worship This! next week. If they are playing your town, make sure you check them out.
Family life has gotten the very best of me in a good way, and I have not been able to dedicate a lot of time to the blog as I would like to, but here I am for now while I have a few moments.
Reading how Molina got material released by Secretly Canadian seemed like something that would have happened in a comedy movie, but it was all true. He was the stepping stone of a label that may not have gotten their start had they never connected.
It’s not every day that you hear a cover band sold out a venue on a Wednesday, but that is exactly what happened last night at the House of Blues in Cleveland.
New Orleans hardcore punkers Pears started the night off with a pretty insane set. Sadly, I think less than 10 people were really into them and the rest were just trying to get their place in the pit for the other bands on the bill. Those Pears fans did sing along to every single song and had a hell of a time. Vocalist Zach Quinn noticed this and at one time jumped out into the crowd to hang out with his fans.
Masked Intruder took stage with Officer Bradford, but there was a noticeable inconsistency. Red was missing. Apparently Red was serving time for picking pockets, but Big Luke Ferguson from Lipstick Homicide was filling in on drumming duties. Jarret Nathen from Pears actually filled in for one song too.
Officer Bradford did his thing throughout the set and at the end pulled a Har Mar Superstar and shed his uniform to reveal a singlet that showed off all of his manly curves. His stage charisma is like Ben Carr from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones in a sense, but far crazier.
The Gimmes took the stage just around 10pm to a packed house and started playing “Summertime” with Spike running onto the stage dressed to impress. From there, it was an all out party with the band dipping into their huge catalog of covers.
Bentley had me cracking up tons during the set. When it was not his turn to play, he would pretend to start playing, hesitate, make faces, and then jump into action. You could tell he really was enjoying the night. At one point when Spike was shamelessly putting in a plug for Rake It In: The Greatestest Hits album that just came out, a fan in the front row held up the LP and Bentley took it from him. The fan thought he was just going to hold it up for all to see, which he did, but then put it on the drum stage and left it there until after the set. He eventually gave it back, but not before Bentley told the fan he would have to buy another copy.
As a special treat, Spike performed a couple of times with a plugged-in ukulele including a song from his other band Uke-Hunt as well as an amazing, intimate cover of Madonna’s “Crazy For You” and also “I Believe I can Fly” with Shiflett playing a Hawaiian riff with eventually the rest of the band kicking in.
I consider myself a pretty big 
There were so many good releases in 2016, but if I had to choose my top favorite, it would easily be 
What’s up Jose? Thanks for taking a few moments to talk. I know MakeWar used to be Sad and French, but I don’t know the whole story. 
So why did you initially name yourself Sad and French? Hell, how did you guys come up with the name MakeWar?
I was probably introduced to punk rock that way. Skateboarding and surfing VHSs. But I remember the day a friend from high school showed me Blink 182 Dude Ranch. That shit blew my mind. But then an older friend introduced me to what he called real punk. Lagwagon, NOFX, Pennywise, Bad Religion, I was hooked man.
Both Arms Aloft and Good Friend rule! So does pretty much everyone else you just mentioned. You are hitting the road with my pals Worship This! for a quick tour. How did you hook up with these guys?