WHO: The Bombpops WHAT: Death in Venice Beach WHY: There probably hasn’t been a band more ready to be the new NOFX. They’re on FAT, their albums sound like they should, and they’ve even stood in for NOFX in their videos. But while it’s easy to write off such a band as being a derivative of a derivative, they quickly showed that they’ve got the genre figured out well enough to make a great record in their debut Fear of...
Yes! It’s the End! The end of the year! The end of the decade! The end of our current layer of epidermis! Everyone is making lists, but now, more than ever, we can proudly say we have the ONLY list worth looking at if you want the best recommendations for music, movies, and TV shows of 2019. Holy cow, did we NAIL it! We’ve thought about you, dear reader, all year long, and how you can enrich your life by...
Hoooo boy! It’s that time of year again! We just spent a grueling weekend with our families for Thanksgiving, seeing people we would rather avoid, commuting in a hellscape, and realizing that the pit of small talk is bottomless. But now it’s time to reorient ourselves and get ready for the Holiday season that actually matters. As always, we are featuring some old favorites, revisiting some previous companies, featuring new ones, and coming out of left field on one or...
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”arrrrrrgghh, wouldn’t you now it be international talk like a pirate day when me + my missingmen be shoving off for moe’s alley in santa cruz, ca to kick this ‘dick watt tour 2019’ off w/a gig there tonight? aye, it be.” Thus begins and ends Mike Watt’s announcement on his Instagram page that they’re going on tour. Grammatical mistake and all. This is good news… the part about them being on tour. I’ve been doing band interviews on and off since 2008, without...
WHO: SNUFF WHAT: There’s a Lot of it About WHY: Snuff will always be one of the underappreciated bands in punk rock. A shame, because they’re the band that made Fat Wreck more than just a punk label. There was a debt and silliness to them that made them both approachable and underrated, and whenever I listened to their albums I could expect something familiar, completely different, and still find something new to discover every time. Their new album is...
WHO: Mannequin Pussy WHAT: Patience WHY: It doesn’t happen often that a band comes out of left field to completely blow us away. As a first exposure, Patience absolutely demands the listener’s attention. In a turbulent 25 minutes, it manages to be funny, sad, emotional, desperate, furious, gentle, elaborate, and sharp. It gives you its heart of a platter and leaves you hungry for more trying to decipher how exactly did all the parts fit. The bar has been set...
Hey, it’s the Ground Control Magazine Back to School guide 2019 edition! What a time to be alive. As always we’ll be bringing you some of the best stuff you’ll want to have this coming school year: some old, some new, all essential. Sure all of this stuff will make your school year much better but they’ll also help you live your best life. You might come to us for music, movies, TV shows, and media, and we know we...
WHO: The Fleshies WHAT: Introducing The Fleshies WHY: It’s hard to believe that the Fleshies have been gone for 10 years, but 10 seconds into this album and it’s clear why this band is as vital now as ever. Introducing the Fleshies is quite a misnomer for a band who’s been around for almost 20 years but it’s just as gripping as anything I’ve heard from them. It’s fiery, melodic, intense, and raw, and will have you in disbelief at...
WHO: Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi WHAT: What We Do in the Shadows WHY: I think most people were equal parts surprised and excited when it was announced that the cult movie was going to be turned into a TV show. But it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the outcome was so great considering it’s such a comedic powerhouse. In addition to Clement and Waititi, What We Do in the Shadows features such talented writers as Tom Scharpling and Stefani Robinson....