The Witzard

It was Winter 2013 and "Thrift Shop" was still rapidly rising through the ranks of Billboard 's Hot 100 chart. I'll never forget the first time I met Jason Brown , it was up in the Shop Rite break room and said, "what's up, Macklemore ?" I don't think it was in a particularly nice way, but regardless, we still became friends. I worked as a baker and Jason was checker at the front-end registers and eventually, worked his way back to frozen foods department. I soon learned about Jason 's rapping alter-ego, "Jason Brownies" and he, knowing I ran an online music publication, was constantly passing me CD-R mixtapes and hand-made cassette tapes of his musical musings. He eventually hung up his "2 turntables and a microphone" in exchange for fuzzed out Garage Rock guitars and lush Indie Rock -minded melodies and formed solo projects/bands Bear Faces and Sapwood , which both still appear to be active, in one form or another. ...

FLAG. Black Flag. FLAG. Black Flag . Flag Black. Flack Blag. It does get confusing, no? Well, not for me. Black Flag was a band that changed my life. It was like entering a portal and I would never be the same ever again afterwards. The band dominated over everything in my little universe. No matter how many line-up changes, no matter how many drummers, no matter whatever stylistic change the band went through, I liked ALL of it. And it wasn't until the very end of their career that I realized that something was wrong in my perceived Punk Rock paradise. Black Flag were the band that almost broke up in time. With a major emphasis on the word "almost." Also, I had decided that Black Flag founder Greg Ginn must have lost his marbles. And this was BEFORE he broke up his own band. Here is why: The month is January. The year is 1986. Black Flag are playing their first big show with yet another new line-up at The Stardust Ballroom in Los Angeles ... D. Boon of The Minut...

Forget about aging gracefully; Life-time Punk Rockers Greg Ginn, Ron Reyes, Gregory Moore , and Dale Nixon Dave Klein (Screeching Weasel) are still as angst-filled, rebellious, and aggressive as they were way back in 1979. Coincidentally and much to their dismay, another sect of former Black Flag members AKA FLAG fronted by Keith Morris are actively touring this summer, too. Greg Ginn & Black Flag are prepping a currently untitled 22-track "new Black Flag " album for release on SST Records later this summer; Track titles are rumored to include "Honey, I Shit My Pants (Again)," "Viagra Blues," "Hair Down The Drain," "A Little to The Left," etc. "Down In The Dirt" was quietly uploaded online late Friday afternoon, along with a tastefully honest note from the band: " SST Records is proud to announce a free download of the first new Black Flag song in many years, "Down In The Dirt" ... ***NOTE: ...

Re-assembling Black Flag without righteous frontman Henry Rollins (1981-86) is like if Ford just suddenly decided to release their 50th anniversary Mustang sans that iconic, silver-plated pony emblem. But I'm sure founding guitarist Greg Ginn thinks differently, which is probably why Rollins isn't being included in EITHER Black Flag reunion . Whether or not Ginn realizes it, Henry Rollins is basically the sheer genesis of Black Flag ! ... It was announced late Friday afternoon that 6 of Black Flag 's 16+ assorted members are planning to re-form and tour the nation/across the pond as part of 2 separate groups. Greg Ginn , Ron Reyes , "Dale Nixon," and drummer Gregory Moore are playing 3 summer festival dates @ the moment, supposedly putting the "finishing touches on a new album," and are plotting a " BLACK FLAG US Tour Fall 2013." FLAG , on the other hand, includes Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Bill Stevenson , and Stephen Egerton (...

I think I'd have to honestly say that Black Flag, Misfits, Minor Threat (Fugazi) , and Beastie Boys were the first 3-4 1980's Hardcore bands that I really got into @ the tender [aggressive] age of like 15-16. Always having a few "cool" older cousins, Hardcore Punk was the first type of music that I really discovered on my own! While they're all pretty great in the own ways, Black Flag still remains one of my favoutite bands, all these years later... particularly Rollins era Black Flag , of course. They were so much more than just another Punk band - Seamlessly mixing in bits & pieces of spoken word poetry, Blues-Jazz , Sludge/Doom Metal , Rhythm & Blues , Prog. Rock, Breakbeat , Contemporary Classical (1970's), and intricate guitar solos. Vice Records' music channel, noisey recently too a trip "across the pond" to play some tunes for a few young critics. My best guess is that most of these kids are roughly 6-12, all of whom have ...