Chicago’s garage-pop brain trust CoCoComa have posted two new songs that will appear on their forthcoming second album, “Things Are Not All Right,” care of Memphis’s Goner Records, former home of Jay Reatard and currently of Box Elders, Ty Segall, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, and many others.

You can check out “Enemies” and “It Won’t Be Long” on their MySpace page.

“Things Are Not All Right” will be released on October 20th.

The band will be playing a string of shows to support the album’s release, including a performance at this year’s Scion Garage Fest in Portland, Oregon. You can click “more” below for the dates!

CoCoComa previously released their “S/T” album on Goner in 2007. Over the past two years, they’ve also delivered five different singles; two all on their own and a trio of splits, sharing wax with The Hipshakes, The Mans, and The Turpentine Brothers.

In their short lifetime, the band has garnered considerable admiration from critics:

“CoCoComa’s songs sound rowdy and loose—the band’s reckless, infectious enthusiasm makes them feel like they could run off the rails at any time, even on a recording.” – Chicago Reader

“If the carnival had a carousel that had vibrating rockets instead of bobbing ponies, Rumplemintz and PBR instead of Icees, and roller coasters that rattled more than the Cyclone in a hurricane, then the music wouldn’t just be a pipe organ wheezing calliope music—it’d be the fucked-up, off-the-rails, fast-as-you-can pumping of CoCoComa. Start with the guitar / drum spazzing of Bill and Lisa Roe, whirl in a mad dash of Mike Fitzpatrick’s organ anchor, coat with Bill’s shredding lead vocals, sprinkle with the “whoah-oh-oh”s and group shouting that only comes with the unabashed embracing of being sweaty and dirty for the sake of a good time, and you’ve got CoCoComa.” – RCRDLBL.COM

“Although the tempos often approach hardcore speed (a positive… ain’t knockin’ it!), the overall vibe is that of a modern take on the wildest ‘60s rave-ups. The fat has been trimmed offa each of these tunes, leaving an LP comprised solely of 2 minute stomp’n’shouters. Being loud and wild can take you a long way, but it’s clear that COCOCOMA is actually capable of crafting some catchy songs around the bombast, which is what elevates this LP frombeing merely decent to pretty goddamn good.” – Maximum Rock n’ Roll

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Chicago’s The Bomb has just launched a stream of their entire new album, “Speed is Everything,” over at Punknews.org. You can check out the stream here.

“Speed is Everything” is The Bomb’s follow up to their acclaimed album “Indecision,” released by Thick Records on CD (2006) and by No Idea Records on LP (2007).

To celebrate the release, the band is planning a handful of album release shows around the Chicago area in September, followed by a string of tour dates ending with an appearance at THE FEST 8 in Gainesville, FL.

The Bomb consists of Chicago punk legend Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun fame backed by a line-up that includes guitarist Jeff Dean (ex-The Story So Far, Tomorrow’s Gone), plus bassist Pete Mittler and drummer Mike Soucy (also know as the pummeling rhythm section of The Methadones).

The album was recorded and mixed by J.Robbins at Million Yen Studios in Chicago and The Magpie Cage in Baltimore throughout February and March of 2009 and features guest vocals by Dan Yemin (Paint It Black, Lifetime), Bob Nana (Braid, Hey Mercedes), and Katy Radek.

Var Thelin, owner of No Idea Records, had this to say about having The Bomb as a member of the family:

“Naked Raygun was a huge inspiration for me. Along with Fugazi and Leatherface, they helped create the bedrock that defines the “Gainesville sound”. As much as I discredit the root idea that such a sound even exists or is quantifiable to such a finite point, I will at least concede that there are certain key influences for many a young (at heart) local miscreant.

“I digress. The fact that twenty-one years after NR played a legion hall in Gainesville, we are putting out a record that not only stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the best NR album, but perhaps surpasses, well, this blows me away. I have a hard time finding words that express how much Pezzati’s voice shakes me to the core. So I’ll abandon words entirely and quote the man himself “Whoa Hey Ho”. Yes. This record means that much. Crafting the music and bringing the workhorse/powerhouse ethic are Jeff Dean, Mike Soucy, and Pete Mittler, who have truly risen to the occasion. They have been in countless Chicago bands, and continue to split their time with several noteworthy, exceptional bands, including The Methadones and Four Star Alarm. Energy. Focus. Intensity.

“As if it could get any better, the album was recorded by J. Robbins, who also makes appearances on various songs. He really brought out the best in the band and songs, amplifying and directing, especially in the vocal harmonies and melodies. Pezzati turned in vocals on the last Paint It Black album, and Dan Yemin returns the favor here. Bob Nanna also lends his inimitable pipes to the mix.”

Click “more” below for track listing and tour dates!

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Richmond, VA’s The Riot Before are heading out on tour with A Wilhelm Scream to further support their critically acclaimed album “Fists Buried in Pockets.”

You can check out the tour dates by clicking the “more” button below!

The band is also announcing their plans to hit the studio this winter to record a new full length for their new label, Paper + Plastick.

The band had this to say about their new home and how the new material is shaping up.

“About the new record: The current plan is to call it Rebellion, and we’re all very excited to have the good folks at Paper + Plastick putting it out. Hopefully we’ll head into the studio in early December and get it recorded and pressed and ready to go by late winter/early spring (?). Other than that…well…you know how at the beginning of a football game reporters always ask the coach what his plan for the team is and he always says something really vague and obvious like, “We’re going to really focus on execution. Just driving the ball down the field on every play, avoiding turnovers, and capitalizing on red zone opportunities.” Part of me hopes the reporter would just slap the coach and say super sarcastically, “No shit! So you’re gonna try to outscore the other guys this time huh? Interesting.” But at the same time, this kind of empty banter is unavoidable. The coach can’t talk too much about specifics of a game that hasn’t been played yet. Well a band talking about a yet to be recorded album is often the same thing. So rather than spout off a bunch of trite stuff about maturing and blah blah blah, I’ll just say that on this record we’re really going to focus on execution. Just driving the ball down the field on every play, avoiding turnovers, and capitalizing on red zone opportunities. Also, if you play the record backwards, it’s going to give you a great burrito recipe.”

The Riot Before shot a video for their song “We Are Wild Stallions” with Dave O’Dell, which you can check out here. Singer/guitarist Brett also filmed an acoustic version of “5 to 9” for ifyoumakeit.com. You can check it out here.

If you missed hearing Fists Buried in Pockets the first time around, you can still stream the entire album on their Punknews.org band profile.

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Our brothers from across the northern border, PunkRadioCast and their new storefront ShopRadioCast, have just launched a contest to win a bunch of awesome schwag from No Friends, including a super-limited silk-screened print from Horsebites, custom artwork from Tony Waste, and bootleg pictures of four-legged creatures!

Click on over to the contest page to enter and win!

Gainesville, Florida’s Grabass Charlestons will be leaving for a West Coast tour with Michigan’s Cheap Girls. The tour is based around a performance at North Park Awesome Fast in San Diego and FYF FEST in Los Angeles.

Grabass Charlestons will also be playing two shows on the tour as an acoustic three-piece where drummer Will Thomas will come out from behind the kit to pick up the guitar. The three-piece has done this acoustic boogaloo several times around Gainesville at anniversaries, birthday parties, and benefit shows.

One such show was caught on video that you can see here. The audio of that set was also captured and will be released by the band on CD along with their live set from the FEST 5 at Common Grounds in 2006. The 18-song CD compiling both shows will be available only on these West Coast tour dates!

Grabass Charlestons will also be performing for the eighth year in a row at THE FEST 8 in Gainesville, FL over Halloween weekend. The band plans on releasing their split 12” with Toys That Kill at that show, courtesy of No Idea Records.

You can click “more” below for the dates!
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Chris Wollard and the Ship Thieves will be embarking on their first ever tour this December as they head overseas to Europe with Drag The River.

Chris Wollard (Hot Water Music/ The Draft/ Black Top Cadence/ Rumbleseat) actually began working on the songs that would comprise the first Ship Thieves LP prior to the demise of Hot Water Music. Writing and recording songs over the span of several years during breaks between Hot Water tours, Wollard started piecing the puzzle of the Ship Thieves together with the help of good friend and producer/songwriter Ben Lovett. The late night recording sessions grew into orchestrated ensembles, including players Addison Burns (Quit, The Enablers) , Derron Nuhfer (Gunmoll, Cutman, Less Than Jake), Ben Lovett (Heavens), Bill Clower (Radon) and George Rebelo (Hot Water Music, The Draft, Blacktop Cadence, Against Me!).

Now with their critically acclaimed album recently released on No Idea Records, Wollard has made the Ship Thieves a functional band consisting of Ben Lovett, Addison Burns, and Chad Darby (Averkiou), with Jeffery Haineault (Ninja Gun) replacing George Rebelo on drums. The new lineup will debut at THE FEST 8 in Gainesville, FL over Halloween weekend.

Drag the River will be performing the tour as a two-piece, consisting of Jon Snodgrass and Chad Price. This tour will be Drag’s first time in Europe as well.

The tour is still being booked and more dates will be announced soon! You can click “more” below for the dates!
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