http://www.myspace.com/lemuria

I know it’s been a bit quiet on here lately, but keep checking back for reviews of Teenage Bottlerocket, Nothington, Broadway Calls, Strung Out, All Or Nothing/Chaos Days, plus interviews with The Menzingers and Good Luck!

Firstly, introduce yourself please!

Nate: I’m Nate. I play bass guitar and lead guitar on the albums, and bass guitar live. 

You recently released your new album on Fat Wreck. How did that come about? Is it a label you have always wanted to work with?

Nate: It was pretty straight forward; we sent them some demos, they liked them, and that was that.

Definitely, Fat has always been the label we wanted to work with more than any other!

How was your time in Off With Their Heads? Why did you decide to leave?

Nate: It was awesome! I love that band. Super fun to play with those guys. The only thing was that I can’t tour 11 months out of the year or whatever it is they’ve been doing. I’m always down for playing with them again if they need a bass player for a stray show or something.

The US pop punk scene seems to be quite healthy at the moment. Would you agree with that? What bands within the genre are would you champion?

Nate: Absolutely. I think the first few years of this decade pretty much sucked (say, 2000-2003), then you started to have a few good bands crop up, and now the last 3-4 years have been excellent. So, presumably everything will start to suck soon and we’ll have to suffer through another cycle.

Bands I’m digging lately include RVIVR, Little Lungs, New Creases, The Measure (SA), The Dopamines, The Menzingers, etc etc. Definitely a lot of great bands right now. 

The Fest 8 is coming up, what does the festival mean to you? When you’re there, do you try and catch as many bands as you can, or do you just catch up with friends?

Nate: It’s always a highlight of the year for me; tons of awesome bands, friends from across the country all in one spot, excellent falafel sandwiches, things like that. I usually try to catch as many new bands as possible but yeah, catching up with friends is half the fun. 

You’ve covered ‘Ever Fallen In Love…’ by Buzzcocks. Is 70s/early 80s UK punk something you take a lot of influence from?

Nate: No, not at all. Sex Pistols were the first band I got into, when i was 12 or something, but that style of music hasn’t aged that well for me. I mean, I don’t mind it, but it’s not something I actively seek out or ever feel like putting on. I still like The Clash a lot but I put them in a different category I guess. 

I totally regret doing that cover. I don’t know what we were thinking. We yanked it off the record for all later pressings!

How do you feel about the current trend of (illegal) downloading? Do you think it’s detrimental to music or do you feel there are positives?

Nate: It’s good and bad, mostly bad I guess. The good thing is, tons more people can hear your music. The bad thing is, well, it’s pretty much decimated the industry! And I don’t mean ‘industry’ as in some dude in a suit who conducts market research on how eyeliner affects sales among the tween demographic. I just mean in general it’s become way, way harder to make a living off of music. Or even to break even. 

What do you think the future of pop punk is? Can you see the genre growing and growing?

Nate: Like I was saying before it goes in cycles so we’ll definitely have plenty of dry patches ahead, where the big band will be a terrible overproduced group called Morning Sunset or something, and we’ll all be bummed. But then some new shit will pop up. You’d think the well would eventually go dry, but I bet there’ll be lots of good bands in this genre of music for years and years to come. At least until 2014. After that, it’s probably done for.

You’ve yet to visit the UK [I think!]…is this something you’re hoping to change soon?

Nate: Yes! We will be there in March or April, it’s looking like.

Finally, let us know about one of the most embarrassing stories involving a band member on tour…

Nate: Probably the time in Kentucky we got loaded hours before the show and completely trainwrecked on stage; Mike literally forgot how to play guitar and walked off stage, and the rest of us fumbled awkwardly through a hastily thrown together set of Misfits and Lillingtons covers. Actually no, that wasn’t embarrassing, it was fucking awesome. We messed up the song “All” by the Descendents! It’s one second long!

A track off the album, Modern Muse, can be downloaded here.

Tracklisting:

1. X
2. Modern Muse
3. Nuthin Runnin Through My Brain
4. A Day Without a War
5. Bad Friends
6. Liebe Liese
7. Cruel World
8. Three Chord Strut
9. California Sun
10. Fell Right In
11. I Dare You
12. Tierra del Fuego
13. Blue

The Ponte trio’s debut album is an impressive mix of crashing drums, powerful vocals and intricate guitar lines played with a real sense of authenticity. For those new to the band, they bridge the gap between Gainesville punk rock and UK post hardcore. Like if Hundred Reasons and Gunmoll went on to form a super group. Sort of.

Putting sub-genres to one side though, the best way to sum up Blueprint For A Better Time, is that it’s an excellent rock album. It’s got all the ingredients – anthemic choruses, riffs that bring out the air guitars – even in the most reserved among us, and great sing-a-long lyrics. Front man Oli has a voice way beyond his years; such emotion and captivating qualities in a northern accent is quite the feat.

I really feel Above Them have a sound that could cross over into ‘the mainstream’, while still sounding very real and genuine. It may not be the bands’ goal to reach the dizzy heights of stardom, but if they keep writing tunes of this calibre, it would be a crime for them not to get more recognition.

The new record is out on October 6th on BYO Records. The band is also releasing their debut effort All In on vinyl in late October on Left Off The Dial Records.

We’ll also be seeing them in Europe in February; dates coming soon!

Chasing Hamburg is a giant of an album. It features PBC at their heaviest, their most vulnerable, and their most accessible; and at its best, it’s quite frankly stunning. Now, I made sure I gave this record a fair number of plays before metaphorically putting pen to paper, as I remembered how much Sometimes Things… grew on me after each listen, and this album has certainly followed in its predecessors footsteps.

To pick a highlight would be like picking a favourite child, but we all know parents can do that really, so I’ll continue. Living Saints sees the band move smoothly into ‘pop hit’ territory, but without losing any integrity at all. It’s catchy, intelligent and memorable; you’ll be singing it for hours on end. Drifting Thing is the surprise of the album. With drums and bass only playing a minor role, Jimmy Stadt’s vocals and lyrics really shine through. However, One Hit Back is where the band really excels. It’s got everything that’s brilliant about PBC and more: passion, great lyrics and stacks of melody. It’s the Our Ballads of Chasing Hamburg.

Unfortunately it’s not a perfect album. Opener See The Wind is good but not brilliant, and the chorus to Take Me To The Town really doesn’t sit right with me. Weirdly, it seems rushed, which makes it stand out as the rest of the album sounds like it’s been gone over with a fine tooth comb.

Just two minor gripes in an otherwise fantastic album really is a testament to the bands’ songwriting. They have really hit their stride with this release, and I honestly think they are still refreshingly unique. The band borrows all the best bits from gruff punk, adds their own technical flair and throws in a huge amount of pop melody; obviously a winning recipe.

The dynamic four piece are well known for their passionate posi hardcore anthems, and their two blistering albums S/T and Bright Grey.

A myspace blog from the band explains all:

Hey,
So we had our first practice in 8 months last Sunday and it went well,
the cobwebs were well and truly dusted off, the cogs were greased and
my hands were bleeding by the end… friday should be good fun. Also,
in between bouts of tea, coffee and discussing the finer points of
Dave’s magical prowess we decided that friday would be the last gig we
play as the Steal. We think it’s a nice end being at the Peel, where we
played our first gig 4 years ago. Also playing with Paint It Black,
whose member’s current and past exploits were a primary influence on us
playing the music we do, is a nice touch. We think the band has come to
it’s natural end and we wanted to give people a heads-up if they wanted
come see us one last time.
Thanks.
Keep Moving Forward.
x

* THE DAUNTLESS ELITE I Am Ninja, My Life Is Lonely…
* FASHANU Yoko Ono vs Bob Hoskins… Go!
* THE ARTERIES Major Threat
* ABOVE THEM Keep Smiling
* THE CUT UPS These Bones Were Built On Rice
* MILLOY Less Said
* OUR TIME DOWN HERE Four And Ghost
* COLT SEAVERS Out Of The Traps
* CALVINBALL Nobody Throws Me My Gun And Says Run…
* BREAK THE HABIT I’m Drinking Alone So I’m Drinking…
* HIT THE BEACH Stay Between The Flags
* THE ARTERIES Three Cats
* ATTACK! VIPERS! Atlantic Hearts
* BANGERS The Hard Way
* BIG CITY PLAN Paint The Town Rad
* MILLOY Propofol
* THE CUT UPS Last Night I Dreamt I Saw Fugazi
* THE 255S Booze Hound
* KELLY KEMP Song For Solidarity
* PINK/GLUE We Are Dadaists
* KEEPING SCORES Total Annihilation Of The Heart
* SERF COMBAT King Shit Of Fuck Mountain

Check it out at http://strikeachorduk.blogspot.com/

So, who am I talking to and what do you play?
-Nick, and I sing and play guitar.

I think what you’re doing is quite unique at the moment. You take 90′s EpiFat skate punk and give it a bit of a modern twist. Is that the kind of direction you were after?
-We grew up on music from the 90′s basically, whether it be bands like NOFX, Millencolin, and Bouncing Souls, or The Wallflowers, Foo Fighters, and Weezer. We’re still kind of stuck in that “skate punk” rut, but our next album is going to round us out a little bit better. We’re just a pop/rock band with punk roots, honestly.

You seem to a have played shows with a strikingly wide variety of bands – from Mustard Plug to A Wilhelm Scream. Who have been your favourite bands to play with? Any tour stories you fancy sharing?
-I’m really proud of the fact that we can play with such a variety of bands. This year we’ve toured with A Wilhelm Scream and Less Than Jake, and soon to tour with Streetlight Manifesto and then Polar Bear Club. Wilhelm is definitely our favourite band to tour with just because we’re so close. When we tour together, we always follow each other on the highway, stay at the same places together every night, and have a great time. There are too many tour stories to remember, but there is some cool stuff in our Tour Videos on YouTube and MySpace, haha.

On the subject of touring, you have yet to grace the UK with your presence, can we expect you here any time soon?
-Coming to the UK and the rest of Europe is pretty expensive, so we want to make sure that when we DO come, it’s with a band that is experienced over there and does well. We’re still waiting on word if we’re coming over there this winter.. so we’re hoping! If not, we’ll just book our own UK/Euro tour and say “fuck it”. I just want to play out there!

Are there any upcoming bands on the US scene that you think deserve a mention?
-Definitely. A band called 2*Sweet is blowing me away right now. Really weird pop/punk mixed with like, Danzig and HIM influenced. Their name is really misleading, but the band rules. Also, Fireworks, our buddies from Detroit, just signed to Triple Crown Records, so I think they’re gonna blow up soon.

How much do you know about the UK ‘punk’ scene? Are there any bands you’ve heard recently that you’ve been impressed with?

-I haven’t heard much from the UK lately as far as underground music goes, but All Or Nothing and a band called Fastlane (don’t even know if they’re around anymore, we played with them in Japan) are pretty rad.

A lot of the lyrical content on your album ‘My Everest’ is quite dark – dealing with failed relationships and suicide. Do you find that putting these emotions to paper helps to deal with these issues? Or does it make singing these songs a bit of an emotional struggle?
-The lyrics are quite dark, for sure, but nothing about suicide yet (wait for the next record!). The darkest songs on “My Everest” are about a horrible car crash.. a friend’s accidental overdose and the following funeral.. Our home base of Flint, MI pretty much becoming a ghost town.. and there are a lot of biblical references that are pretty blasphemous. We aren’t a satanic band, but it’s fun to throw in creepy little things I learned when I was a catholic growing up. I never thought we’d perform “Skoots” or “Keep Looking” live, because they hit so close to home, but it actually makes performing them a lot more intense.

You were rumoured to be joining Nitro Records a while back; what happened with that? Would Nitro be a label you’d be interested to join?

-We were going to sign to Nitro, for sure. Had the contract in our hands.. Wilhelm, Much The Same, No Trigger, and Hit The Switch were all stoked we were gonna be part of the family.. but then Nitro told us they were out of money and can’t sign anymore bands. So we’re LUCKY we didn’t sign. Nitro hasn’t signed any bands since, and probably won’t. They put out that last Wilhelm record, and I think they’re done.

1) The Flatliners – The Great Awake – Excellent mix of super fast drumming, gruff vocals and upstrokes, sometimes all within the same song. Saw them play two great sets recently, new songs sound very good.

2) Good Luck – Into Lake Griffy – Another “why didn’t I check these out before?” moment with these. Brilliant musicianship from Matty Pop Chart and co. Just great intricate, guitar-driven pop punk.

3) The Arteries – Blood, Sweat and Booze – Not sure if I’ll ever get bored of this album. Purely sublime punk rock from the UK’s best band.

4) American Steel – Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts – Still not sure what I think of this release. It’s good, but seems to be lacking something.

5) PJ & Gaby – Alarm Clocks Kill Dreams – Lovely acoustic duo from the capital with great male/female vocals.