Hello Racket readers! We’ve got a special interview for you! I was able to sit down with Steven Struble, the creator and writer of Li’l Depressed Boy. Li’l Depressed Boy is a comic put out by Image Comics that details the misadventures of the Li’l Depressed Boy and his love of music. Issue 7 is now out in stores this week and features the one and only Andrew Jackson Jihad!
How long have you been writing Li’l Depressed Boy
I did the first Li’l Depressed Boy webcomic in May of 1998. So, …
Racket’s interviewed Tom Gabel numerous times, and each time there’s been amazing quotes and lots of stirring the punk rock pot. This time I bowed to let Mondo interview him. Now that they’re done being mainstream sell-outs on a soul-sucking major label and back on indie Sabot Productions, Against Me! are…still being Against Me!
Hey Tom, I’m Armando and I’m going to be interviewing you for Racket Magazine.
How are you Armando?
I’m doing great, it’s a warm California day and I can’t complain.
Whereabouts in California are you at?
At the moment, Los …
The Measure (SA)
Notes
The Measure (SA)’s new album Notes has easily been one of my most anticipated releases of 2010 and quite honestly it was everything I expected it to be. A fun, energetic punk album fueled by sincere and powerful lyrics.
Lauren has easily become one of my favorite lyricists over the past few years and on Notes she doesn’t disappoint. Present is her brand of powerfully descriptive lyrics that place the listener in her own shoes to the point you can almost feel the social awkwardness first hand. …
Gatorface
Wasted Monuments
No Idea Records
7/10
Orlando Florida’s Gatorface has created a very solid album with their recent release, Wasted Monuments. While not the strongest release of the year so far, it is one that definitely packs a punch in comparison to some of the competition out there.
I will say this right now, as far as musicianship goes Gatorface’s performance on this album is very tight and aggressive, second only to perhaps the Flatliners. They continuously deliver furious punk rock on each track that at times I kind of want to stage dive …
Recently I was able to sit down with Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music and Rumbleseat. During this short interview I was able to ask Chuck about his plans for the next couple of months, what his home life is like and the epic-ness of his beard.
You didn’t do the Revival Tour this year; the past two years you did it in the fall. Rumor has it that it isn’t being cancelled, just pushed to next spring. Can you shed more light on what’s going on with the Revival Tour?
We …
Dead to Me
Wait for It
Shield Recordings
10/10
Dead to Me’s latest 7-inch, “Wait for It”, was a rather pleasant surprise for 2010. There was no formal talk about the band releasing said 7-inch, as far as anyone knew Dead to Me wasn’t releasing any material this year, then out of nowhere a twitter update was posted about recording some new songs. Give or take a few weeks and there was an update about how it was going to be released in Europe in September and in America in October (just in time …
The Black Pacific
The Black Pacific
SideOneDummy Records
7.5/10
Black Pacific’s self-titled debut album has reminded me why I grew to dislike Pennywise so much over the years despite them being one of my favorite bands growing up. Now before you think that I hate this album I want to let you know that my feelings are quite the opposite. I actually really enjoyed it a great deal. However I do have to make somewhat of a comparison to Jim Lindberg’s old band in order to help people understand where I am coming from.
After …
Fake Problems
Real Ghosts Caught On Tape
SideOneDummy Records
9/10
Fake Problems upcoming 3rd album, Real Ghosts Caught on Tape is perhaps their best release to date. Ghosts is able to take the best attributes from each of their previous releases and put them together in such a way that this album has already made my top 10 list for year despite there being a solid 3 months left of releases to look forward to. It has the musical simplicity of Spurs and Spokes/ Bull >Matador, the energy of It’s Great to Be Alive …
This marks the 24th time I had seen Streetlight Manifesto. To be honest I was a little apathetic going into the show considering the last few times I had seen the band they were somewhat lackluster. However, this night would prove to be perhaps the best performance I had ever seen the band put on in the past 5 years.
After waiting for my photographer/best friend, we entered the House of Blues only to find out we missed Dan Potthast, which was a bummer. After realizing this sadness, we headed down …
