These were originally published at The Pop Break.
Tsunami Bomb’s Oobliette Sparks Talks About the Band’s Triumphant Return
Tsunami Bomb is back.
The band, which was founded in 1998, first became well-known in the early 2000s during the height of pop punk’s mainstream popularity. After 10 years of not playing together, the band reformed in 2015 to support the release of Trust No One, a collection of out of print songs. Originally, the band was only supposed to play a few shows together. However, after the reception the band received at those shows, bassist Dominic Davi, keyboardist/vocalist Oobliette Sparks, and drummer Gabe Lindeman decided to continue the band with two new members: vocalist Kate Jacobi and guitarist Andy Pohl. Oobliette was nice enough to answer a few questions about the band and its history.
For full interview, see The Pop Break.
The Sounds Celebrate 10 Years of “Dying to Say This” to Stone Pony
Pop-Break Live: The Sounds, My Jerusalem and Zipper Club at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ
On December 2nd, The Sounds brought along their friends from My Jerusalem and Zipper Club to Asbury Park for a kickass rock show. All three bands brought something different to the show and took advantage of the intimate nature of The Stone Pony.
My Jerusalem performed first. Lead singer Jeff Klein won the crowd over with his formidable vocals as bassist Kyle Robarge, drummer Grant Van Amburgh, and guitarist Jon Merz held down the fort with their steady rhythm. Hard rocking songs like “It’s Torture” and “Rabbit Rabbit,” were interspersed with banter about the story behind the songs. The highlight of My Jerusalem’s set was the band’s last song of the night, “Domino,” during which Klein jumped into the pit and got up close and personal with audience members as he sang the song.
The next band to perform was Zipper Club, who energized the crowd with their electropunk and new wave inspired sound. The trio of singer/guitarist Lissy Trullie, backup vocalist/guitarist Mason James, and drummer Damar Davis create music that is a blend of Joan Jett and Le Tigre. Their single “Going the Distance” has a sunny beat and a feel like a punk version of Hoku’s bubblegum pop “Perfect Day.” In case the crowd forgot underneath Zipper Club’s synthesizers is a punk band, Trullie and company closed their set with a raucous punk song.
Once Zipper Club ended their set, it was time for The Sounds, which is made up of singer Maja Ivarsson, guitarist Félix Rodríguez, multi-instrumentalist Jesper Anderberg, basses Johan Bengtsson, and Fredrik Blond, to perform their US breakthrough album Dying to Say This to You in its entirety. Fans cheered as the band’s energetic and charismatic frontwoman Ivarsson worked the crowd from the stage, singing songs her fans have held dear for ten years.
From the way she interacts with the audience, it’s obvious Ivarsson loves her fans. In between songs, she would comment about how the band loves small venues and that playing The Stone Pony felt like coming home. While that sounds like standard stage banter, it wasn’t because Iversson felt a real connection to these fans. She remembered not just their face, but their stories as well. One audience member in the front row was told the story of how Iversson watched him grow from a 15-year-old boy at his first The Sounds show to a man throughout the years.
The Sounds have been touring in support of the 10th anniversary of Dying to Say This to You; however, this isn’t a nostalgia trip. Not only does the album still resonates with fans, who know every word of the album from “Song with a Mission” to “Running Out of Turbo,” it’s also timeless. The new wave and punk influences make the album feel like a throwback and very modern at the same time. “Night After Night,” which serves as The Sounds’ torch song, could be from any post-80s era, while “Hurt You” and the eponymous track could easily be singles today with their electronic flair and rock attitude.
After Dying to Say This to You was complete, The Sounds performed songs from their other albums Living in America and Crossing the Rubicon as well their new single, “Thrill.” The set list was so cohesive that those unfamiliar with The Sounds discography would not have known the songs were from albums. The Sounds are that good at what they do, which is why fans love them and their electrifying, yet personal concerts.
Save Ferris Bring Ska-tastic Nostalgia to The Stone Pony
Pop Break Live: Save Ferris, Backyard Superheroes, and Baby Baby at The Stone Pony
Baby Baby started the night off with a raucous set of hardcore punk. The Atlanta-based band, made up of drummer Grant Wallace, percussionist Colin Boddy, bassist Hsiang-Ming Wen, and guitarist/singer Fontez Brookes, has a “Fuck the world. Let’s party attitude.” This is the kind of music that makes you want to tell Katy Perry to take her “purposeful pop” and shove it.
When Brooks isn’t singing about his anger at the state of the world, he wants “To Teach You How to Dance” and tell you to “Keep Dancing ,” which is advice some audience members took to heart with a wrecking pit.
In more ways than one, Dancing is to Baby Baby what partying is to Andrew W.K, which isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes the most important thing to do is put out the “just do you vibe” Baby Baby strives for and achieves.
The next band was Central Jersey- based Backyard Superheroes, who would be at home sharing a bill with “Hello Rockview”-era Less Than Jake. However, this isn’t ’90s ska as the lighting fast singing reminiscent of Streetlight Manifesto’s Tomas Kalnoky and modern references to Tinder’s “swipe right, swipe right” demonstrate.
Unfortunately, Backyard Superheroes may be more enjoyable on CD. Saxophonist Gary Mastriano’s goofy lanky guy in a ska band act stole the show away from vocalist/guitarist Josh Hershkovitz, guitarist Matt Angarone, bassist Greg Gecik Jr., drummer Ryan Weil, and trombonist Brian Rechter. While Gary clearly had the time of his life, the rest of the band faded into the background. Occasionally, trumpeter Bruce Krywinski Jr. would join Gary in using his brass instrument as an air guitar prop.
During their set Backyard Superheroes performed the original song “Tangerine Drive,” The Bouncing Souls “True Believers,” and Blink 182’s “The Rock Show” to start the crowd pogoing for the night.
Once, Backyard Superheroes finished. It was time for the main event: Save Ferris. It’s been 15 years since played The Stone Pony. A lot has changed in that time. Brian Mashburn and company are long gone. In their place are bassist and vocalist Gordon Bash, guitarist Patrick Ferguson, trombonist Erik Hughes, keyboards Alex Burke, drummer Brandon Dickert, trumpeter Conner McElwain, and saxophonist Alexander Mathias.
As for frontwoman Monique Powell, she is more confident, sexier, and energetic than before. She’s gone from perky fun Orange County girl to a vixen out for the kill. One gets the feeling that classic Save Ferris songs like “You’re Friend” and “Mistaken” take on a new meaning for Powell in the aftermath of the intra-band drama. During “Turn It Up,” Powell teased the audience with a striptease, revealing a more revealing dress underneath one that had sleeves. For the performance of “I Know” from 10 Things I Hate About You, Powell played up her sexier image when she held a male fans head between her breasts. Later, she put the microphone there and then licked it.
The dynamics of Save Ferris have changed. The men are comfortable letting Monique’s infectious personality dominate, whereas the original lineup had seven different people looking for the spotlight. One also gets the feeling that the horn players and drummer may not want the attention. Bassist Bash was the only band member to purposely draw attention to himself by playing upright bass behind his neck for part of “Superspy.”
Most of the audience wasn’t old enough to see Save Ferris with the original lineup and probably learned about the band through the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. Powell joked that some of the original fans died of old age.
For the encore, Powell returned to the stage and informed the audience that they should have left already. She planned to sleep in the tour bus, but everyone was making so much noise. Of course, Powell was joking. She returned to the stage to sing Save Ferris’ new single “New Sound” and their cover of “Come On Eileen,” which is the band’s most well-known song.
During “Come On Eileen,” the crowd went wild. The audience knew every word and sang along as it danced the end of the night away. The crowd stopped everything to pay extra attention to Powell closing the show with the line “You mean everything.” At that moment, Save Ferris did mean everything to the audience at the Stone Pony.
8 Essential Songs for Your Hanukkah Playlist (Yes, You Need One)
Adam Sandler made sure you didn’t feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree, but his Chanukah songs are the only mainstream song Jewish kids hear. We’ve compiled a list of Hanukkah songs. Some are just for the adults. Others the whole family can enjoy together.
See original article for more.
The Essential Psychobilly Halloween Playlist
Do you need something more than The Misfits, “The Time Warp,” and “The Monster Mash” to get you in the Halloween spirit? Then, I’d like to introduce you to the genre of psychobilly, which will liven up your Halloween party. Psychobilly is best described as music for those who pimp out their hot rods and go to the drive-in for horror B-movies.