The Year in Review at Punknews

We laughed! We cried! We got involved in several fiascoes! What a year! What. A. Year... To cap off 2016, Punknews' Editors and Staff reflected on some of their favorite pieces from the year. Check out what we thought were the year's highlights below.

Clash Week!
John Gentile

I view Punknews as much a source for perspective on current events as a resource for people interested in the genre. Seeing that our Clash material was very hit or miss, I wanted to basically beef up the entire section all at once. I think we did at least a fair job on the band and the benefit to us was the idea of doing “band” weeks, which I plan to keep doing- probably two per year. When discussion the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on an unrelated discussion in the podcast, Adam White mentioned that a year long band celebration would be a better way to pay tribute to bands than exclusive “inductions.” That’s an insightful point and I think we’ll stay in line with that ethos. Punk is about inclusivity, not exclusivity. Check it out here!

Editorial: The Peculiar Reunions of Silent Majority
Mike Musilli

While it came under the shitty circumstances of Rob McAllister’s passing, this piece was by far my favorite because I got to tell, at least part of, the Silent Majority story. It’s hard to contextualize and adequately explain just what a band means to a group of people. And that was the most difficult part here. But the reception it got from the people who lived through their story, in one way or another, was tremendous. Long Island is a place I’m very proud to be from, musically speaking. And Silent Majority is foundational to that pride. I’m just happy this piece is out there. Check it out here.

Editorial: The Politics of Punk
Mike Musilli

I include this because it was a learning experience. The ideas behind the piece were swirling in my head for a while, and I wanted to get something down. As John G. said, “[the article] generated a lot of at least semi intelligent conversation.” I think that’s also important and pretty funny, honestly. It was a wild year in politics. Discussion seemed to be getting more and more confrontational. But I still think discussion is necessary. Check it out here.

How a Cancer Diagnosis Reunited in Sticks and Stones
John Gentile

These days, my true joy is writing full length features. Although this entire story was triggered by a pretty sad event, the end result was a happy one. In this piece, I really wanted to describe people from the perspective of others instead of just simply pegging people with questions. Plus, Jack Terricloth is always hilarious and delightfully obtuse. Check it out here!

Interview with Brendan Kelly
Ricky Frankel

Of the ten or so interviews that wrote for Punknews in 2016 I have to say that I think that I am most proud of is the one with Brendan Kelly. The fact that we got to talk about the first Falcon record in ten years and the band's first west coast tour was pretty huge for me. Not to mention I probably laughed the most out of all of the interviews I did this year. He’s a very funny guy. But I had always been curious about many other things other than the current things he was working on like being on The Daily Show, being friends with adult film star Lexi Belle and his Nihilist Arby’s Twitter account. And just as a fan of pretty much everything he does, interviewing Brendan Kelly was pretty huge for me. Check it out here.

Interview with Captain Sensible
John Gentile

I’ve made it my mission to interview at least one member of each of the first three English punk bands. Captain Sensible was the first entry in the series and what a joy he was! Boisterous, whimsical, and somewhat biting, the Captain was exactly who I’s hope he would be. Plus, he told some cool stories about hanging out with the Ramones, recording an EP on Crass records, and what “punk” means to him… and of course, the Captain’s definition should carry heavy weight indeed. I mean, he did help invent the thing. Check it out here!

Leftover Crack covers Men at Work
Ricky Frankel

I think most of us had the same reaction to this news story — “Leftover Crack covered what? How can that even sound good?” Then we all listened to it and had our minds changed immediately. Sure LoC are a very serious band, but sometimes some fun needs to be had. The fact that they changed a classic ‘80s pop tune into a super catchy ska punk song was completely random and out the blue. They kept a perfect balance of staying true to the original, while till making it their own. Keep in mind that this not the first time Sturgeon and co. covered an ’80s pop song. Choking Victim did in fact "> cover Cyndi Lauper’s “Money Changes Everything.” Still this was a very unexpected and pleasant surprise from Leftover Crack. Check it out here.

The Legacy of Thomas Fekete
Greg Simpson

While I am proud of this piece, it was not pleasant to write. I was interviewing Thomas Fekete of Surfer Blood, who had released his solo album, the diverse, experimental and extremely enjoyable Burner. We were interviewing back and forth via email, since he was suffering through treatments for a rare form of blood cancer and was not up for a lengthy phone call. I was waiting for a response to a couple final questions when I got the news that his body had finally surrendered to the disease, and he tragically passed away at the tender age of 27. Using his answers I had received to that point, I turned the interview into a feature on his legacy. Read about this relative unknown and you too can appreciate his contributions to the world of modern rock and roll. check it out here.

Punknews Podcast Episode #300!
Ricky Frankel

I have been a listener of the Punknews Podcast since it started in the summer of 2010. At the time listening to the earlier staff members and editors talk about the latest in punk rock was one of my only windows into the scene. I even wrote in from time to time. I wasn’t on episode 100, but I am somewhere in the live feed comments. When I became part of the staff in January 2014, it was an honor to join the whirlwind of a shitshow that we call the round table discussion. It was really fun to be a small part of episode 200 and a slightly bigger part of episode 250, but June 2, 2016 marked the 300th episode of the Punknews Podcast, which is pretty mind-blowing. Instead of just talking about that week’s news for this episode, we had members of bands such as PEARS, Hiccup, The Dwarves and even Mike Park and more call in and perform. It was a blast. If you missed it, take a listen. Here’s to 300 episodes more! Check it out here.

The Punknews Podcast Christmas Special
John Gentile

For me, the best Punknews projects are always the ones that start out as an asinine idea and snowball from there. I had the idea to do Dickens’ Christmas Carol and then had the idea to bring it musical guest stars and it just spiraled from there. Tricky Ricky, thinking I was joking, threw out the idea for CJ Ramone and I went with it! It could have, and should have been a disastrous mess… and it sort of is… and that’s exactly what a Punknews project should be, if you ask me- a wonderful, puzzling, goofy, unique mess. I realize that I’m complementing myself, but I do think we took a real step forward in our creativity with this episode. Also, there is a horribly off key sing-along. Check it out here!

Ramones Week!
Dan Donald

I have always respected and enjoyed the Ramones, but they were never my go to classic punk rock band. That was until after the very well delivered Ramones Week here at Punk News. Road to Ruin holds up in a huge way, it reminded me that our punk rock roots are more prominent than ever. While this record speaks for itself, it is always an awesome feeling to dive back into something you have not listened to for years and actually realize how much has been taken from this record. Nostalgia is fun. That being said – all of the reviews from Ramones Week are fantastic, some light reading about the Ramones back catalogue never hurt anyone! Check it out here.

Review: Belvedere - Revenge of the Fifth

Max Power

This review holds a special place in my heart. The Revenge of the Fifth fills me with Canadian punk rock pride. I loved Belvedere when I was young. I loved how fast they were, and how often then would come to my city and play. I loved their energy and their sound, and I also loved that they were waving the (western) Canadian flag loud and proud their entire existence. Belvedere broke up roughly 12 years ago, and while I loved their back catalogue, some of it definitely suffered from poor recording quality. When I learned that they were back together and doing another record, I was obviously stoked, and even more so when the record delivered and exceeded my expectations. Belvedere are doing punk rock dads proud everywhere. They are faster than ever, catchier than ever, and that drummer is out of control! Check it out here.

Review: DRI - But Wait… There's More

Tom Trauma

I grew up during the golden era of thrash and crossover. It almost blows my mind that 30 years later so many of my old favorites are still cranking out great records. This year I had the privilege of reviewing new LP's by Anthrax, Death Angel, Discharge, Megadeth, Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies and Testament. A new EP from DRI more than 20 years after their last studio album was a 2016 highlight. Check it out here.

Review: Expire - With Regret

Max Power

Reviewing Expire’s final release was a privilege and a pleasure. While the music is not for everyone, and far from redefining a musical genre, it is heavy, genuine and holds a special place in the current hardcore community. I have always respected the work ethic of Expire; they pushed a genre and a new generation of hardcore. They are one of the first bands I think of when discussing the surge in heavy hard style bands that emerged in the years following 2005. They sit in the ranks with bands like Trapped Under Ice, Backtrack, and many other hard working hardcore bands that started getting some attention. Expire never had an attitude, I’ve seen them play in both packed theatres, and empty disco bars and they have always delivered 100%. I was very impressed with their final output. With Regret will continue their legacy long after they have played their last show. They do the Midwest proud, and they did not ever compromise their riff heavy style. With Regret is definitely worth a listen for any current hardcore fans. Check it out here.

Review: The Lippies - The Lippies

Tom Trauma

In 2016 I was able to review a wide variety of the great stuff coming out of Grand Rapids. My local scene is home to diverse group of hardworking bands, from the folk punk of Bet on Rats and Thomas Gun to the classic punk of Antilogical to the modern punk of Bong Mountain to the horror punk of Murder Party! to the hardcore of SHAAAAARK. I also had a front row seat for the rise and fall of The Lippies. Check it out here.

Sonic Reducer: David Bowie
Greg Simpson

Thousands of pages have been written about David Bowie throughout his 50-year career, and since his passing in January there have been an innumerable amount of memorial articles written about the man, and he deserves every word of it. But I feel I contributed something unique in my Sonic Reducer feature about him, because I gave a summary of his entire career through the use of his songs and brief stories of each major milestone. I’d like to think it was a good starter course for a reader less familiar with the legend, but I’d also hope I offered something new to mega-fans, queuing up songs from his mid-60s rock bands before he went solo and became famous. It was sad to write as it always is when writing about the recently deceased, but I was happy that I could share my enjoyment of his career with others in the Punknews community. check it out here.