Punk Music

Starting today, Enter Shikari is giving away a free five-song live EP.

The EP, Live In London NW5 is a recording from a special intimate show the band did for television broadcast. After its recording, low-quality bootlegs strarting roaming the net, so the band decided to release in the quality it deserves.

You can download it here:

Enter Shikari - Live In London NW5 EP

Enter Shikari has just finished a headlining US tour in support of A Flash Flood Of Colour.

More recent free punk MP3s:

Riverboat Gamblers - "Comedians"

Cover art courtesy of Enter Shikari

As we document the ukulele's infiltration of the punk scene, we'd be utterly remiss if we neglected the pUKEs.

A "ukulele anti-society," the pUKEs are a group of friends who came together to play punk covers on the ukulele. With a lineup that includes both first-time musicians and veterans of influential punk bands like UK Subs and Extreme Noise Terror, the band is revising punk history, presenting it in a new and fun way.

We connected with Clara, formerly of the UK Subs, who now professes to be the "slave driver" of the band, to talk about the pUKEs, the ukulele as a punk rock weapon and where to start when you're ready to join the uke revolution.

The interview is here.

The Denton, TX outfit known as the Riverboat Gamblers (or alternately as one of the greatest live bands of all time) is back with The Wolf You Feed, their first full-length release since since 2009's Underneath The Owl, and it's a record that was definitely worth the wait.

The album is due out on May 22, and we have the full review here.

And while you're waiting for the release date, you're invited to download a track from the record for free at the link below.

Riverboat Gamblers - "Comedians" MP3

Cover art courtesy of Volcom

Against Me! vocalist Tom Gabel has revealed in an interview in the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone that he plans to begin living as a woman. Gabel will soon begin the transition by taking hormones and getting electrolysis.

Gabel plans to eventually take the name Laura Jane Grace, and will remain married to his wife Heather. The two have a two-year-old daughter together.

Before revealing the news to Rolling Stone, Gabel had only told a handful of family and friends about his condition, gender dysphoria, but feels that, as a celebrity, it's important that he's open and honest about his condition. He told Rolling Stone:

I'm going to have embarrassing moments and that won't be fun. But that's part of what talking to you is about - is hoping people will understand, and hoping they'll be fairly kind.

Against Me! is getting ready to head out on the road with the Cult. The new issue of Rolling Stone, with the full interview with Gabel, hits newsstands on May 11.

Photo © Nicole Lucas

While the Sex Pistols may have refused to take part in the closing ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which coincides with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, at least one Sex Pistol will be taking part in Jubilee Celebrations, although it's not the kind that's exactly celebrating the Jubilee.

Former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock along with his band The Philistines will be appearing at The Last Jubilee, a festival celebrating the spirit of punk featuring a lineup of punk rock royalty and a connection to the royal family as well.

The festival, which will also feature such legends as Buzzcocks, The Damned, Eddie and the Hot Rods, UK Subs, 999, The Rezillos, The Vibrators, Goldblade, and tons more, will be raising money for charities, including Wooden Spoon, Princess Anne's charity for young children. The Princess has also been invited, although it's unsure as to whether she'll be seen in the pit or not.

Matlock was quoted in the Belfast Telegraph on the nature of the event and its charity as saying: "It shows you what goes around comes around. I won't be standing there as either a monarchist or anti-monarchist. This is just a good opportunity for a gig."

Matlock has also gone against John Lydon's dismissal of Facebook campaigns to elevate the Pistols' single "God Save The Queen" to the top of the charts this year, by supporting the campaign and standing by the power of the song, adding "Although the jury's out about whether he really wanted the end of the monarchy."

The Last Jubilee takes place at Bath Race Course in Somerset from June 2-4, and tickets, available here, come in a wide variety of packages, up to and including a £350 three-day family pass for those of us who consider the perfect place for a family vacation.

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

In Michael Essington's book Last One To Die, the grown up punk relates the story of his life, as he grew up through punk rock. It's a story many of us share, but not many of us could tell it so eloquently.

Essington tells his story like he's an old friend reminiscing about the old days is such a likable and honest way that you'd feel honored to call him a friend.

This one may be destined to be a classic punk memoir.

We reviewed the book, and interviewed the author:

Review: Michael Essington - Last One To Die

Interview: Michael Essington

Punk rock is about DIY. It's about finding a need and meeting that need on your own, especially if nothing else exists to fill the space.

It's the guiding force behind the movement to make punk rock kids' music. As the punk generation gets older and has kids of its own, punk rock parents are looking for music that's fun for their children, and won't make mom and dad want to hang themselves.

It's filling this gap that lead Asian Man Records founder Mike Park to release Smile, and it's the same force that made former Stretch Marks guitarist Billy Jackfish put out his self-titled album. From the uproar of "Stinky Poo Song," to the mildly irreverent "Punk Rock Kid," to the nursery rhyme revisions of songs like "Poor Little Humpty" and "Twinkle Earth," he has taken his stretch as a punk rock musician and translated it with a bit of twang into a pile of hilariously fun songs.

We connected with Billy to talk about his background in punk rock, how he transitioned into parenthood, and where his musical direction is headed now.

An interview with Billy Jackfish

And here's a story about a band whose actions landed them in jail, after which they were let back out again as cultural heroes in good standing.

New Delhi, India's ska/rocksteady outfit the Ska Vengers played a show for inmates in Tihar Prison, after which they presented inmates with instruments including five guitars, two base guitars, two harmoniums, three dholaks and a microphone and two keyboards. The concert came after the band had played a benefit to raise money to buy the instruments for inmates in the prison, where Ska Vengers keyboardist Stefan Kaye teaches music classes to inmates.

Kaye made this statement:

Prisoners should not be punished but be reformed when inside the jail. We believe music is the best instrument to help them in this act.

The Ska Vengers have already been making waves throughout India with their blend of rocksteady and punk, and have a debut album slated for release this summer. For the moment, you can hear their music on the band's Facebook page.

Of any album you buy this year, this might be the most important one.

While we're all familiar with the situation in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, where 64 punks in the Sharia-controlled province were arrested and sent to "re-education camps" after a punk show, where they had their heads forcibly shaved, their clothes destroyed, and they were subjected to religious indoctrination that, to date, local authorities are still defending. And while many of us were disturbed by the acts, we did feel quite helpless about what could actually be done about it.

In the wake of this human rights violation, Michael "Mike Virus" Rothstein, former frontman for The Virus, Cheap Sex and currently of Evacuate started a discussion on his Facebook page, and within three months it turned into Aceh Calling, a 72-band compilation to benefit the punks in Aceh.

Purchasing this comp (which is available for $6) does so much. To begin with, it's an incredible comp, with bands from literally all over the world, but there's so much more to it. All of the proceeds go to Movement Records in Indonesia, to distribute to the punks in Aceh. The compilation, available worldwide as a download, is being distributed a 3-disc set in Aceh, where the punks will be able to get their hands on not only the music, but the awareness of the fact that they're not alone, and worldwide there is a scene that cares about them.

We reviewed the album recently, and also spoke with Michael "Mike Virus" Rothstein about how the comp came about, and the response he's received worldwide. Check out our full review, and learn where you can get the download.

It's all here:

Review - Aceh Calling
An Interview with Michael "Mike Virus" Rothstein

It's always refreshing when a story about punk and politics doesn't end with a bunch of punks being sent to a "re-education camp", being thrown in prison or even killed with the consent of their government, and this story out of the Great White North is one of those refreshing ones.

D.O.A. frontman Joey S**thead Keithley has announced that he's seeking a nomination for the New Democratic Party in British Columbia.

On his decision to run, Keithley issued this statement:

Obviously the aim is to get as many candidates elected and try to win the election. So that's why I'm getting into this. I want to change this world into a better place and it ain't happening with the B.C. Liberals, if you ask me.

It's not the first time Keithley has been involved in politics. In addition to D.O.A.'s political stance, most recently displayed on 2010's Talk - Action = 0, over the years he has run for the Green Party three times (finishing fifth in the 1996 election and third in 2001) and was named one of British Columbia's all time most influential people by readers of the Vancouver Sun. So it's not surprising that he would continue to forge forward with what he believes in, in more and more prominent political ways.

Photo Courtesy of Sudden Death Records