Seminal bay-area pop-punk band American Steel has signed to indie behemoth Fat Wreck Chords. The band had the following to say:

Hey gang, Five years after our last show, we played a house party together again as American Steel. We have also started recording a new studio record for our friends at Fat Wreck Chords. Five years ago, we were tired, listless and frankly not having as much fun as when we first started off. Our attitude has always been to do whatever, whenever, and most importantly to have a good time, so we called it a day. Gladly, this preserved our friendships and love for the music we had created. Basically, we missed playing the songs and still have something to say. It is often a farcical and self absorbed world that many rock groups find themselves in, and while we have always been concerned with expressing our views on ideas like equity and justice, we've also tried to not take ourselves or the music industry too seriously. So we're kinda playing things by ear, but we will be playing shows, doing tours, and putting out a new record, probably in September 2007. As for Communique , a band which some of us have been playing in for last few years, it is basically in a holding pattern for 2007 but is by no means dead. Thanks for all the support and radness over the years and we'll see y'all soon!

Love,
AmSteel

The band's last release was 2001's Jagged Thoughts. They will be playing their next show on June 16th in San Francisco at the Bottom of the Hill with labelmates Dead to Me.