Stefan Beham is the punk mastermind behind all things Sbam. He is the artist behind all of the reimagined artworks, show posters, and more. He is the festival promoter and the record label owner of SBAM, a record label that has been churning out new releases throughout this pandemic. Contributing Editor Samantha Barrett sat down with Beham to get to know him and all he does for the punk scene in Austria.
Depending on the parts of the musical spectrum that you’re interested in, or even keep an eye on, you may or may not have noticed a significant increase in the amount of new bands, publicity, fans and general visibility surrounding the world of death metal of late. There seems to be a resurgence of sorts, but not in quite the same way as the myriad emo revivals have happened, for example. Monthly listeners to both the new crop of bands and their progenitors are up on and vintage merch has become even more de rigeur than it was before, if you can believe it. But what’s behind this explosion in a scene that has historically been hard to penetrate or market beyond a hardcore contingent of superfans…?
To find out, Sam Houlden dug a bit deeper, speaking to new era death metal bands Undeath and Sanguisugabogg about the state of the scene today, what has influenced it and where it’s headed.
Do you know The Cucumbers? If not, you should… and we've got a long lost, unreleased track!
The Cucumbers formed in the early '80s and kicked out a few records of perfectly pop new wave music. Their first big hit was "My Boyfriend," which led them to getting signed by Profile at the same time as Cro-Mags, Run-DMC, Motorhead, and a bunch of others. Over the next 15 years, the band cut four albums, starting out with a perfectly palstic new wave sound before morphing into art-rock and then finally into a more folk influenced unit. Memebers Deena Shoshkes and Jon Fried are married and they still cut cool tunes today! (A little while ago we debuted a cool new Deena tune).
Well, following the digital release of the early Cucumbers discography, which was called The Fake Doom Years after their first label, the band has now assembled a compilation of a bunch of long lost tunes! The tracks were literally pulled out from a drawer and represent recordings by the band from the earliest days through the present.
The Desk Drawer Tapes is out June 4 via Life Force Records and will be on all major streaming platforms. You can check out the band's other recording here. But, before that, check out the unreleased "Beauty from Afar." The tune continues the thread that was held by Joan Baez and Carly Simon, maintained by the Cucumbers, and followed through to bands like Laura Stevenson and the Cans and Cayetana. Check out the new song, and a short interview with the Cucumbers, below, right now!
Hunter Martinez, drummer for Decent Criminal and frequent Dwarves collaborator, has started a new project. The project is called Human Issue and it features Hunter and a revolving cast of compatriots. Influenced by 80s hardcore and deathrock, resulting in a sound that is dark and savage. Martinez created the tracks up by doing rough drum demos, and then building the song up with his long list of collaborators- and what a list!
Rikk Agnew of Adolescents is on guitar, Crow Jane of Prissy Whip handles vocals, Brian Lothian of A Global Threat also takes vocals, and Ricky Schmidt of western Settings works the bass. But, there's also Tristan Martinez on Bass (Violation, Decent Criminal), Brian Gellman on Backup Vocals (Snag, M Section, Decent Criminal), Jacque Mendez on Piano and Vocals (Hey Chels), and Riff Cuellar on Backup Vocals and production chair (Corrupted Youth). Meanwhile, Hunter directs the whole thing as a sort of doom 'n' gloom George Clinton.
The band is finishing up their debut release, an album called Faceless Nameless and it is dark, baby! To get a little bit more info, Punknews' John Gentile spoke to Hunter about the new project. You can read the interview below.
St. Louis, Missouri’s Time and Pressure released one of hardcore’s strongest LPs back in 2019 with The Gateway City Sound. The record mixed tightly woven and speedy guitars with screamed yet clear vocal cadences that created a sound that was at once aggressive, engaging, and well-written. And now they’re back with a new full-length LP due out this summer on Safe Inside Records. The new album, Halfway Down, is set for release this July but the band is also set to release a two-song flexi today via Wide Eyed Noise Records. Punknews' Mike Musilli sat down with Blake and James to talk the new record, the pandemic, and Midwest hardcore. You can pick up the new flexi here. Meanwhile, you can stream the two new songs and check out the interview below, right now.
Ted Leo has been a fixture of the punk community for over thirty years, first with bands like Citizen’s Arrest and Chisel, and later with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. In 2000, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists signed with seminal East Bay label Lookout Records and went on to release three critically acclaimed LPs and several EPs on the label. Ted Leo is performing this Sunday on the third installment of the Lookout Zoomout concert series. He chatted with Punknews staffer Tyler Barrett about the occasion and his time on the label.
Penelope Houston of The Avengers is a legend. In addition to recording some of the fiercest first wave punk tracks ever, she has recorded tons of solo tracks traversing from punk to folk to pop to punk again. On top of that, she's remained active in the local Bay Area scene and is playing Lookout Zoomout #3 with Dr. Frank and Ted Leo this Sunday.
To that end, Punknews' David Wilkins recently sat down with Houston to discuss the life of a Punk Rock Lifer, playing in the Avengers, and the Lookout Zoomout. You can check it out below.
Ahead of the third installment of the Lookout Zoomout 3 includes Penelope Houston, Ted Leo, Dr. Frank, more">Lookout! Records Zoomout series of livestreams on March 28th, Punknews' Steven Farkas spoke to Mr. T Experience frontman, novelist, solo artist and all round renaissance man Dr. Frank. They talked about about Dr. Frank finally saying yes to a livestream, unleashing his inner detective whilst working on the MTX his solo catalogue reissues, and his strange connection to the FC Dallas MLS soccer team. You can check it out below.
What is there really to say about Kill Your Idols that wouldn’t be derivative or obvious. They are, simply, one of the most important bands in hardcore and punk. Lucky for us, Chronic Death Record is reissuing the band’s first full-length. The aptly named 12-inch LP was first released way back in 1997 via the long-defunct None of the Above Records. Now, Chronic Death’s reissue treatment includes previously unreleased rehearsal tracks with Deathcycle’s Ron Grimaldi in drums, and three color variants. Punknews' Mike Musilli chatted with founding member Gary Bennett about the reissue, the tragic loss of Vinny Value, and being in a band in the age of COVID.
We all know that the music business has been decimated by the pandemic. 99.9% of bands rely on tours, merch and other physical sales to make any money whatsoever these days and it’s been extremely hard to keep that going for obvious reasons. The other thing that bands need to keep doing is making music to keep their fan base engaged. And for that, most bands or musicians will need a producer.
Simon Small plays in London-based punk band Apologies, I have None, but he’s also a successful producer in his own right, having worked with artists including MONO, The Front Bottoms, Black MIDI, Ithaca, John Illsley (founding member of Dire Straits) and more besides, even extending to Broadway and West End artists. Punknews' Sam Houlden spoke to him about working in the current situation and how things have changed.
Gainesville’s Dikembe want you to stand still in the muddy waters of our human experience. They also want you to wear a goddamn mask. Punknews contributor Ida V. Eskamani spoke with band members Steven Gray, Randy Reddell, and Andy Anaya on their 2020 album Muck and what’s ahead.