The Witzard

Not entirely unlike Wrestle/Wrassle Rap or Basketball Rap, there's, apparently, a whole sub-genre of hockey-themed Punk/Hardcore—oftentimes, referred to as "Puck" Rock or Hockey-core. Yes, I've been a die-hard fan of Punk/Hardcore for 15+ years and I, too, only first heard about Puck Rock within the last few weeks. Although, once I started diggin' around, I discovered about 10-15 bands at the forefront; this was, then, gradually narrowed down to 10 "front-line" bands, which will be chronicled here over the course of coming weeks. The "top-scoring" bands we selected include: Crippled Youth, SLAPSHOT, The Hanson Brothers/Nomeansno, Two Man Advantage, The Boils, D.O.A. THE ZAMBONIS, Pansy Division, The Hextalls, and THE RAMOMS' "Gritty Is A Punk" flexi-disc. We sent out a short 6-question interview form to all of the aforementioned bands, received some back, heard a few choice words, and still have yet to hear from a few more. We...

NO MOTIV were an Oxnard, California-based Punk/Post-Hardcore band originally active from 1995-2014. NO MOTIV were early pioneers of the sub-genres of 9second generation) Nardcore, Sadcore, and Emocore with five full-length releases issued on Vagrant Records/The Edge Recordz between 1996-2004. The band's primary line-up included guitarist/lead vocalist Jeremy Palaszewski, guitarist/vocalist Max McDonald, bassist Roger Camero, and drummer Patrick "Pat" Pedraza. Camero shifted from bass to drums, when Pedraza parted ways with the band to form his own group, From Satellite, around 2004. Jeff Hershey joined as bassist/vocalist at the time of the Pedraza/Camero shift with Dave Brandon contributing bass duties at one point or another, as well. Since releasing their "last" proper release, a 2011 EP entitled, Winterlong, NO MOTIV's members have been largely inactive ans assumed to be on an indefinite hiatus; their solo/side-projects include Monster Hand, Sea Greens,...

I guess, at this point in my life, on the verge of 32, I would deem myself an "aging Punk" (I know, it's an extremely un-Punk thing to do!) but I feel, as though, before labeling someone else an "aging Punk," I should, at least, own up to my own dwindling status in the community/sub-culture. I've been listening to Punk/Hardcore music for about 17 years now; so, that would mean I first discovered the genres around 15-16, which sounds about right. I guess, if my memory serves me correctly, I discovered a bunch of formative 80's punk bands like Black Flag, Fugazi, Minor Threat, The Misfits, Samhain, Bad Religion, etc. through listening to Pop Punk bands, such as blink-182, Sum 41, and Green Day, during the early 2000's. I've always felt a special attachment to the worlds of Punk/Hardcore—attending amany sweaty shows dimly-lit shows long before I was even old enough to drink!—and oddly enough, the older I get, the more of an attachment I feel toward...

"I went to Las Vegas to perform with Liberace and went [with] him to see Elvis' show. I had never seen someone boldly standing on a stage–supposedly, a heterosexual male–wearing turquoise eye shadow and grinding his hips like that. The orchestra, one-by-one, put down their instruments. They crossed their arms and refused to play. The audience started booing and they booed him off the stage. Then, a voice said to me–and I wasn’t on any drugs–"go around the side of the hotel. There's a swimming pool and you'll find someone in a canary yellow jacket." I went around and in the dark Moonless night, far away, I could see the double-doors of the casino, golden with light. They opened and a figure came into the doorway. It was Elvis, wearing a canary yellow jacket. He looked confusedly into the darkness, so I said, "I'm over here." We walked towards each other, sat down, and talked. I told him that I was a performer and that what happened was absolu...

Dad Brains by Dad Brains Oxnard/Ventura, California -based Punk/Hardcore band Dad Brains are, without a doubt, the epitomy of "Dad Rock" or, as they're calling it, "Dadcore." Drummer-turned vocalist Patrick Pedraza , guitarist Matt Kash , drummer John Crerar , and bassist Craig Kasamis formed Dad Brains —a tongue-in-cheek homage to Bad Brains —in the fall of 2017 around the sheer ideology of playing kid-friendly music for Punk dads and, of course, their families. Dad Brains' members previously spent time playing with No Motiv , The Missing 23rd, Creep Division (members of Sick of It All, Good Riddance & No Motiv ,) Night Demon, and The F***ing Wrath . While it appears as though Dad Brains have been playing the local Oxnard Punk circuit for a while now, they quietly released their debut 5-track self-titled EP digitally on, of all days, Father's Day 2018. Now, just three short months later, Dad Brains have effectively re-released their EP...