Author/journalist Joel Gausten talks with former music industry executive Alec Byrn (EG Records/Phonogram/Polydor) about his experiences with Killing Joke, Roxy Music, The Ramones, The Boomtown Rats, The Orb, and other legendary acts.
How the hell did David Thomas, a.k.a. Crocus Behemoth, end up fronting two of the greatest bands in history?
Author/journalist Joel Gausten talks with legendary songwriter Russ Ballard (KISS/Argent/Rainbow/Ace Frehley/Peter Criss/America/Santana/Hot Chocolate/Frida/Roger Daltrey/The Shadows) about his forthcoming album, Songs from the Warehouse / The Hits Rewired, and highlights from his decades-long career.
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Author/journalist Joel Gausten talks with the reunited members of seminal early-'80s Chicago/NYC band Bag People – Algis Kizys (SWANS/Of Cabbages and Kings/Pigface/Foetus), Carolyn Master (Of Cabbages and Kings/Glenn Branca), Diane Wlezien (Of Cabbages and Kings), Gaylene Goudreau (DA!/Bloodsister/Revolt-Chix), and Pete Elwyn (Plebroom Theatre Group) – about their history and the recent vinyl release of archival recordings from 1983 on Drag City. Jordan Mamone (Alger Hiss), who played a major role in coordinating the Drag City LP, later joins them in the conversation.
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Author/journalist Joel Gausten talks with veteran musician Knox Chandler (Psychedelic Furs/Siouxsie and the Banshees/Cyndi Lauper/The Golden Palominos/R.E.M.) about the creative process behind his forthcoming solo release, The Sound (out May 30 on the Blue Elastic label).
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Author/journalist Joel Gausten talks with Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris of Charming Disaster about their brilliant forthcoming album, The Double, and the esoteric influences behind their sound and aesthetics.
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Hands down, the best NYC Noise band in 2025 is… from fucking Tampa?
Florida has always been an unlikely source of dark and heavy shit. How can such a sunny part of the country, best known for families vacationing and old folks retiring, produce the likes of Nasty Ronnie and the Tardy Brothers? I mean, all you need to do is look at photos of Birmingham, England from the late '60s to know it would eventually spit out a Sabbath. But the Sunshine State? Damned if I know. Yet, the place has never ceased to unleash musical menace upon the world.
Author/journalist Joel Gausten talks with New Jersey Oi!/Punk veteran Andy Skovran (Pleased Youth/Scrooge/Niblick Henbane/Those Unknown/Broken Heroes) about his long history in the scene.
Broken Heroes
Author/journalist Joel Gausten talks with musician/author/journalist/promoter/radio show host Peter Aaron (The Chrome Cranks/Sand in the Face/Sluggo/Peter Aaron-Brian Chase Duo/Young Skulls/The Stabbing Jabs) about his decades-long history in the music industry and his experiences writing books on The Ramones, The Band, and Ric Ocasek and co-writing a book with Richie Ramone.
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It’s absolutely appropriate that Dave Allen’s bass is the first sound you hear on Entertainment!
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more welcoming space than the Boston Hardcore scene.
Right, so Martin’s announced a special live performance of Killing Joke’s Extremities, Dirt, and Various Repressed Emotions at Reggies this November, thus delivering a social media shocker and, for many of us, prompting all the feels.
Author/journalist Joel Gausten talks with legendary Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch about his first band in more the 30 years, The Speaker Wars. Lynch also offers his perspectives on the current state of the music industry, his philosophy as a timekeeper, and the chemistry that drove the creation of The Heartbreakers' classic songs.
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By writing and posting this review, I’m fully aware that I’m potentially painting my dear friend and frequent collaborator into a corner. Yes, EBNR is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard the guy create, but by no means do I want to give the impression that his search for the thing all creative types strive to embrace is over. Yes, the EP is a musical masterstroke and the best most mortal musicians can even hope to achieve, but my heart tells me this sixtysomething on the sax is still just getting started.
Light of Eternity is the perfect name for a band born to deliver catharsis in the darkest of times.
Launched in the fall of 2023 by Killing Joke drummer Big Paul Ferguson as a side project in collaboration with ace singer/bassist Fred Schreck and stunningly inventive guitarist Paul Williams, Light of Eternity unexpectedly became a much-needed soundtrack for many as they faced uncertainty in an increasingly perplexing world — and, for Ferguson, the first step in navigating the prospect of a musical future following the loss of an iconic bandmate and friend — when the trio released its first EP, the four-song Edge of Fate, in June of the following year. (Read my review here.)
Author/journalist Joel Gausten talks with veteran NJ musician Keith Hartel (Pleased Youth/Adrenalin O.D./The Nymphs/Motor Shootout/True Love/Richard Lloyd) about his decades-long history in the scene.
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Not all “supergroups” are created equal.
As intriguing as they may look on paper, most of them end up sounding like disparate puzzle pieces jammed together in ways that either completely fail to meet expectations or drive listeners to hit their record collections to dig out reminders of the participants’ brighter moments from past endeavors. With First Thought, the members of Astral Jets — whose respective résumés include time spent in Black Flag, The Screamers, 45 Grave, Claw Hammer, Backbiter, and The Angry Samoans, among other heavyweight acts — have excelled at the rarely achieved task of creating a collaborative effort that stands on its own while adding new colors to five already accomplished music careers.
So, what does this quintet of well-traveled punk elites sound like? Think Hawkwind meets the Jayhawks — more of a Roots Rock bar band from Mars than a group ready to hit the stage at Gilman. With a soulful delivery that falls somewhere between Neil Young and Roky Erickson, singer/guitarist Jonathan Hall elevates the gorgeous ballad “Unite and Transcend” and a simultaneously soul-crushing and life-affirming rendition of Backbiter’s “Red Sun” to instant-classic status. Collectively, the musicians demonstrate the level of natural talent, discipline, and decades of hard-earned experience necessary to understand the value of putting spotlight-seeking histrionics aside in favor of best serving the song at hand. In his additional role as producer, keyboardist Paul Roessler brings a magic touch that provides each member the space to shine without overshadowing anyone else.
The album concludes with a triple shot of covers: The Screamers’ “Punish or Be Damned,” Flipper’s “Way of the World,” and The Small Faces’ “Afterglow” (with drummer Bob Lee taking over lead vocals on the first two). The band’s interpretation of the Screamers’ track is the least conventional of the three, with guitars taking center stage over the original's keyboard-drenched dissonance.
While “featuring members of …” will always catch the attention of fans and music writers, Astral Jets is one of the very few outfits of this nature that has what it takes to stand and deliver on its own merits. This isn’t Black Flag meets The Screamers meets The Angry Samoans meets Claw Hammer. This is Astral Jets — and that’s more than enough to blow people’s minds.
A perfect debut from a perfect band.
Check out Joel Gausten's interview with Dez, Bob, and Heath from Astral Jets below — and be sure to catch Bob and Dez on the New York Hardcore Chronicles Live! on April 30! (Info. posted below the video.)
