The Witzard

Don't Sleep 2023 band photo (CREDIT: unknown) Whoever said "lightning only strikes once" clearly has not met Dave Smalley. From being right in the middle at the birth of US Hardcore Punk with D.Y.S. to creating the blueprint of Melodic Hardcore with Dag Nasty, from helping to invent Pop-punk as we know it with ALL to finding himself in the middle of the West Coast Punk explosion of the 90's with Down By Law: Smalley was always on the forefront every time Hardcore Punk stretched its envelope. While others may use a legacy like that as an excuse to take it a little slower, Dave Smalley has no intention to rest on his laurels and keeps writing new music and releasing records. When he founded Don't Sleep with fellow East Coast Punk Rockers Garrett Rothman, Tony Bavaria, Jim Bedorf, and Tom McGrath in 2017, the world was more than excited about seeing him front a fast yet melodic Hardcore band again. Being motivated by the immense positive feedback, Don't Slee...

Josh Alvarez outside of The Trocadero and "disintegrating" live with Crossed Keys (SOURCE: Facebook / CREDIT: @lightloved) Just this past weekend, a buddy and I trekked into Philly from South Jersey for a... "Sunday Matinee" Punk/Hardcore show in a church basement! It was all organized by Joe "Hardcore" McKay and featured a stellar line-up of Gorilla Biscuits, KILL YOUR IDOLS, Raw Brigade, Combust, DEAD LAST, and HARD TURF all performing at the legendary First Unitarian Church . We were most excited to see DEAD LAST (Jon Gusman & Jon Scanlon's new band,) Philly's own HARD TURF, KILL YOUR IDOLS, and, of course, Gorilla Biscuits, but we thoroughly enjoyed the two middle bands, as well. Now, mid-day openers HARD TURF is made up of Philly's finest, Joshua "Josh" Alvarez, Scott Emhoff, Jason "J." Shigeru Swisher, and ever-elusive members known only as "Wardog" & "P.M.S." Amongst them, HARD TURF...

BE WELL L-R: Aaron Dalbec, Brian McTernan, Shane Johnson, Peter Tsouras & Mike Schleibaum (CREDIT: J.C. Carey) Today, BE WELL have shared "I Will Leave You with This," the second single from their forthcoming EP, Hello Sun, out May 20th on Revelation Records. On the anthemic "I Will Leave You with This," frontman and life-long musician/producer Brian McTernan spends a rare moment taking stock of his career. The video for the song reflects on these memories through photos and video from his Salad Days Studio, showing footage not only from recording Hello Sun, but from working with bands like Circa Survive, TURNSTILE, Thrice, BANE, Fireworks, Strike Anywhere, and PRAISE just to name a few. It additionally showcases a quick super-exclusive glance at the infamous Salad Days Studio "singles ad book." McTernan states that his newly-found view has been healing and inspiring: "one of the most incredible things about putting out the first BE WELL re...

Beneath every blast of feral Hardcore is a sense of melody—not a three-part harmony or earworm hook, but the right mix of pace, phrasing, and a heap of intangible passion. Formed as a five-piece unit in the Greater D.C. area, Praise's mission statement has been to work within the box of traditional Hardcore while exploring the bounds of melody in every possible sense. This means more than splicing power-chords with catchy accents, but rather, mining the work of the masters inside and outside of the genre and immersing themselves in the roots of those who changed Hardcore's sound and boundaries; but it doesn't just stop there. Along with their love of the rich history of Washington, D.C. Hardcore Punk, Praise's sound darts and dashes through scenes, decades, and genres, united by the core tenets of a catchy song and the impulse to deliver a message. From 80's Minneapolis Power Pop and Dag Nasty to The Cure & Leatherface, along with sprinkles and nods to t...

BE WELL L-R: Peter Tsouras, Aaron Dalbec, Shane Johnson, Brian McTernan & Mike Schleibaum (CREDIT: J.C. Carey) Melodic Hardcore super-group BE WELL are back to announce a new EP, Hello Sun, out in May on their new label home, Revelation Records. Serving as a follow-up to the band's critically-acclaimed Equal Vision Records debut, The Weight & The Cost (2020,) Hello Sun is full of high-energy, Melodic Hardcore-infused with raw emotion and lyrical depth. Across the six songs housed on said EP, frontman and producer Brian McTernan (Battery, The Movielife, Turnstile, Sesnses Fail)—who owns and operates renown Salad Days Studio —finds emotional catharsis through examination of childhood trauma, depression, and fatherhood while still providing a hopeful light. Today, the band shares the first song on Hello Sun, "Treadless." Clocking in at just over two-minutes, the fast-paced track showcases the impeccable musicianship of the band, additionally made up of guitar...

Sean Farlow of Sunstroke - CREDIT: Daniella Heminghaus (@dhphoto9) Sunstroke is a Hardcore Punk band hailing from New Jersey/Philadelphia and surrounding areas drawing a heavy influence from Revolution Summer -era bands, such as Dag Nasty, Embrace, Rain, and Rites of Spring, as well as a larger range of influences from 80's Brit-Pop, Shoegaze, and Minnesota Pop-punk greats Hüsker Dü and The Replacements. While keeping a strong handle on the ethos and social justice elements of Hardcore/Punk, Sunstroke looks to offer a sound and content for audiences to resonate with. Sunstroke have thus far released music on CoinTossRecords & New Mortality 'zine , including multiple increasingly sought-after variants and limited edition vinyl colorways for each corresponding release. Sunstroke's primary line-up consists of Sean Farlow & Ian Strang, as well as an ever-evolving rotating line-up including part-time members Brandon, Mikey, Christian, John K., Justin, Dave, Joey, To...

"BE WELL is a new band with deep roots. Musically, it's emotionally gripping with an expertly-executed blend of Melodic Hardcore with notes of 90's Post-hardcore influence," explains their newly-minted Discogs page. BE WELL were, seemingly, formed at the top of 2020 and are signed to Equal Vision Records and released a self-titled 7-inch EP earlier this year. BE WELL's line-up consists of frontman Brian McTernan, bassist Aaron Dalbec, drummer Shane Johnson, and guitarists Mike Schleibaum & Peter Tsouras. Collectively, BE WELL's players either are or were members of Ashes, Bane, Battery, Beasts of No Nation, Biology, Converge, Daltonic, Darkest Hour, Fairweather, Mancake, Miltown, Only Crime, Ten Yard Fight, and Velocity Engine. Brian "Fury" McTernan, additionally, owns and operates his own DC/Baltimore-based recording studio, Salad Days Studio, as well as off-site locations Salad Days 2-4. Brian Fury has produced, mixed, recorded, engineered...