Check out Street Dogs very own Mike McColgan as he guest blogs on AMP Magazine.com!

http://www.ampmagazine.com/3348/mike-mccolgan-gratitude-blog/

Check out their performance of “Unique” after the break!

Thanks Mateus Mondini for this shot.

Classic punks GBH back for more

May 11, 8:35 AMPhiladelphia Punk Music ExaminerJohn Moore

It’s funny to think that 30 years ago, when the guys in legendary British punk band GBH were putting together their first demo, Pete Wentz was still in diapers and Taking Back Sunday’s Adam Lazzara was little more than a dirty thought in his parents’ minds.

Three decades later, GBH is still loading up the van to spread the gospel of hardcore and still churning out fist-in-the air, politically-tinged punk anthems. Their latest record is actually one of their best albums… well ever.

Originally christened Charged GBH in 1978, before dropping the word “charged” in the early 80’s, the band is among the founding fathers of street punk, a gritty, working class version of the genre. They have been cited by everyone from Rancid to Metallica as influences.

Though the music is light years away from what passes for mainstream punk rock today, the band is still highly influential. Recently signed to Hellcat Records, after years of lobbying by Rancid co-founder, and long-time fan Lars Frederiksen, GBH is more relevant than they have ever been, with a dedicated following in Europe, Japan and here in the U.S.

Singer Colin Abrahall – a genuinely nice guy – spoke recently about the band’s longevity, their decades in the making relationship with Frederiksen and the current state of punk rock.

Check out the entire interview after the jump…..

Congratulations on the new record. As a fan since the mid 80’s, it is by far one of my favorites. When you first started playing together, did you have any idea you would still be playing punk rock together in 2010?

Well thanks. A satisfied customer. When we first started we only thought about the next day, or the next show, so never dreamed it would last for 30 years. It sounds worse when you say it out loud. Everything we did was a little victory against the world; the first show we played, the first song we write, etc.

This is your first record for Hell Cat and I know the guys in Rancid are fan of your band. How did you end up on the label?

Yeah we’ve known Lars since he was 11 years old and he used to come to our shows in San Francisco and I think Lars and Tim (Armstrong) actually met at one of our shows. Lars has been on about producing an album for us for ages, but we never seemed to have all the ducks in a row for it. We demoed a few of the new songs and I sent Lars a copy and he played it to Tim. Tim loved it and now we are label mates.

What can you tell me about the new record?

Well, we’re very pleased with it. It sounds exactly as we imagined it would. When writing it we tended to do a bunch – 3 or 4 songs at a time. We never planned it like that; it’s just the way it happened. We recorded it in our hometown of Birmingham. The engineer we were using, Miguel, works two weeks in Birmingham then two weeks in Portugal, so when Miguel was away we just carried on playing shows. It was good as it gave us time to listen to what we had recorded so far.

You took some time off between the last record and this one. What do you do during the time off?

We’ve never taken any time off! It’s not like it was in the good old days of write/record/tour/write/record/tour with a non-caring record company breathing down your neck. We may be a bit older now so we do what we want, when we want… kind of.

I’m assuming “San Jose Wind” is about Joe Strummer. What do you remember most about him?

I got the chance to meet him when he played in Birmingham a couple of months before his death, but chickened out at the last minute. People say you should never meet your hero – or sleep with your dream girl or drive your dream car… well two out of three ain’t bad. A friend did go and meet him and said he was utterly charming; just a nice bloke. My mate has the “Know Your Rights” logo tattooed on his leg and Joe signed it for him. The next day he got the signature tattooed over. What I remember most about Joe was the sheer passion he had when performing and also a great sense of humor.

So what are your thoughts on the current punk rock scene?

It’s good. It’s always been good. The trendy bands may come and go, but there has always been a hardcore of good honest bands who care about the music and the scene more than being number one or appearing on front covers.

Did you think punk rock would still be around decades later?

Like I said earlier, we never used to think about the future much, but punk rock I a part of rock n’ roll and we all know that will never die!

At any point over the past 30 years, did you guys ever think about calling it quits?

No! Well maybe a little. If you’re having a bad day or something, but we have always used those time to write songs about what was getting us down. Turn a negative into a positive. Only death can stop us now.

This is certainly not the easiest job in the world… what has kept you going for so long?

What we are doing, meeting new people, going to new places, etc. We were all friends before we were in a band together. I have known Ross (Lomas) since we were 10 years old and used to play on the same football team. We are more than friends. We are family (isn’t that a song?).

Do you have plans to tour during 2010?

Oh yes indeed sir. We start our U.S. tour in May. We are also doing the first four Warped Tour shows in California on the Legends Stage. In October, we are going to Japan, Australia and New Zealand and in all the time in between we are playing in the U.K. and Europe. No rest for the wicked, eh?

Anything else you want to add?

Just be nice to each other. Oh, and check out the new record!

Poppy punk rockers ORANGE have teamed up with Cartoon Network to feature the single “Revolution”  off their 2008 release Phoenix as the theme song for the new animated series Generator Rex premiering April 23rd!

Head on over to iTunes this week to get the music video for free by clicking HERE

Check out Generator Rex !

After their successful tour last Fall with label mates Street Dogs, the femme fatales of Civet are bound back for Europe this summer, rocking a string of dates across the continent.

“We can’t wait to get back to Europe this summer to bring you guys a serious dose of rock n’ roll and debut some new songs! “

With their Hellcat debut album “Hell Hath No Fury” out now, “sounding like a drunken slam in the filthiest bar in the worst part of town in a warzone. What’s not to love?” (Kerrang), the gutsy girls have been hard at work on the follow up record.

“We’re gunna be releasing a new record this fall and can’t wait for you guys to hear it!!! See ya at all the European festivals this summer!!!” says miss Liza Graves.

Catch Civet live this Summer at:

16.07. Tabor @ Mighty Sounds Festival Czech Rep
21.07. München @ Sunny Red Germany
23.07. Centovalli/Ticino @ Palagnedra Open Air Switzerland
24.07. Lindau @ U & D Festival Germany
25.07. Genzano di Roma @ Palarockness Club Italy
26.07. Legnano @ Land of Live Italy
27.07. Marina di Ravenna @ Hana-Bi Beach Club O.A. Italy
29.07. Rennes @ Mondo Bizarro France
31.07. Selestat @ Lez’Arts Sceniques France
01.08. Dortmund @ Spirit Germany
06.08. Milton Keynes @ Underpass @ The Craufurd Arms Great Britain
07.08. Blackpool @ Rebellion Festival Great Britain
09.08. London @ Underworld Great Britain + AGENT ORANGE
12.08. Eindhoven @ Rambler Netherlands
13.08. Torgau @ Endless Summer Germany
14.08. Heerhugowaard @ Waardse Tempel Netherlands
18.08. Oslo @ Elmstreet Norway
19.08. Copenhagen @ The Rock Denmark
20.08. Rostock @ Mau Club Germany
21.08. Moravska @ Pod Parou Festival Czech Republic
22.08. Lodz @ Dekompressia Poland + THE ADDICTS
24.08. Berlin @ Wild At Heart Germany
25.08. Chemnitz @ Subway To Peter Germany
26.08. Alsfeld @ Hessenhalle / E&L Rocknacht Germany
27.08. Basel @ Sommercasino Switzerland
28.08. Oberwolfach @ Rock Im Wald Open Air Germany
more dates to be announced soon

Left Alone is: Elvis Cortez (guitar/vox), Nick Danger (bass/vox), Kiel Gesicki (drums).
Their latest, self titled, disc “Left Alone” is out now via Hellcat Records.

Live dates:
Date Tour Venue City Country

27.apr.2010 Spain Tour Kezka @ Zaragoza ESP
28.apr.2010 Spain Tour Iguana @ Club Vigo ESP
29.apr.2010 Spain Tour Music Box @ Lisbon PT
30.apr.2010 Spain Tour Barracuda @ Madrid ESP
01.may.2010 Spain Tour Hiro Aretua @ Arresate ESP
02.may.2010 Spain Tour Estraperlo @ Barcelona ESP
07.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour H.O.T/Alte Bude @ Magdeburg Germany
08.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Matrix @ Bochum Germany
09.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Trix @ Antwerpen Belgium
10.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Markthalle @ Hamburg Germany
11.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Kulturhaus @ Stuttgart Germany
12.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Musikbunker @ Aachen Germany
13.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Astra Berlin @ Germany
14.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Viva Los Tioiz @ Lichtenfels Germany
16.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Futurm @ Prague Czech Rep
17.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour PPC @ Graz Austria
18.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Backstage/Werk @ Munchen Germany
19.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Kofmehl @ Solothun Switzerland
20.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Club Vaudeville @ Lindau Germany
21.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Posthalle @ Wurzburg Germany
22.may.2010 Bad Boys For Life Tour Club Sudstadt @ Cottbus Germany

In support of the tour, Orange will release the single “Each Other”, available through all digital outlets March 29th . The digital single will feature the title track “Each Other” and “Revolution” for a b-side. Available as iTunes exclusive will be the track ”She’s 17”.

This is the first time that the band has appeared live in the UK, and front man Joe Dexter can’t wait to get playing to the crowds. Talking of the tour, he said;
“We’ve been dying to tour England ever since we started the band and to come play for all the fantastic fans we have there. It’s my home land and my favorite place on earth, well second to Disney Land. We’re the best we have ever been live and we’re ready to MELT SOME FACES! Dads – lock up your daughters ‘cus we’re coming. ”

The full UK tour is as follows:
16th March – Talking Heads, Southampton
17th March – Islington Academy, London
18th March – Orange Box, Yeovil
19th March – Club Revolution, Peterborough
20th March – Chords, Poole
21st March – Furnace, Swindon
22nd March – Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd
23rd March – Academy 2, Birmingham
24th March – Waterfront, Norwich
25th March – Roadmender, Northampton
26th March – Academy 3, Manchester
27th March – Academy 2, Newcastle
28th March – Rock City, Nottingham
29th March – Cathouse, Glasgow
30th March – Cockpit, Leeds

Photo by Fernando Guerrero

The Aggrolites will help to ring in the New Year with Flogging Molly! Check out the info below and get your tickets today!

Flog In The New Year Dates:

12/31/09 – Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theatre – Buy Tickets

1/1/2010 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues – Buy Tickets

1/2/2010 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues at Mandalay Bay – Buy Tickets

The Aggrolites IV in stores now! Get it on iTunes!

Find out how your favorite ghoulish rockers are doing on the road with the Rob Zombie Hellbilly Deluxe 2 Tour!

Read it here: http://www.noisecreep.com/2009/11/27/nekormantix-rob-zombie-tour/