AFI Center Stage Atlanta, GA 1/18/14

When AFI comes to the southeast, it is always time for a road trip for me and my mother. AFI tickets were most definitely a Christmas present for me. I think that is the perfect gift ever.

This show happened to fall the day after I saw Against Me! in Birmingham, so hooray for a punk rock weekend! After a minor traffic delay and a pit stop at our favorite restaurant, The Flying Biscuit, Mom and I arrived at Center Stage. One of the things I was looking most forward to at this show was the fact that it was sold out and that it was the first time I had seen AFI since 2010 (which is too long, if you ask me). To make the night better, I was on the barricade. YES

The first band of the night was called Coming. The second band was called Youth Code. Both bands were, to put it bluntly, not good. I am terribly sorry, but when the entire crowd is looking at each other with the "what the hell is this" look on their face, and you hear the people in the back booing, something is just horribly wrong. Coming was a terrifying attempt at spoken-word punk music, while Youth Code, was a horrific attempt at screamo-dubstep. I give them props for following their dreams, but because we were all waiting ever so patiently for AFI, the bands sounded worse. That is basically it for the negativity.

When the lights went down, the crowd was insane and the "through our bleeding, we are one" and "AFI AFI AFI" chants began. The band ran on stage and Davey stood on the drum riser and did one of the prettiest pike jumps I have ever seen (I cheered for 9.5 years. There are not many people who can do pikes like that.) I love the energy of the band. They jump around and fly through the air like graceful fairies. It is beautiful. They played

The Leaving Song Pt. II

Girl's Not Grey

I Hope You Suffer

File 13 (WHAT!!! WE ARE HEARING SOMETHING FROM VERY PROUD OF YA?!?!?!? WHAT? CUE CROWD FREAKOUT)

Love Like Winter

Ever And A Day

17 Crimes

The Interview (OMG!!! CROWD FREAKOUT!!! DECEMBERUNDERGROUND)

Kill Caustic

The Leaving Song (Hunter and Adam left the stage.)

Heart Stops

Miss Murder

The Days Of The Phoenix

God Called In Sick Today

Encore:

Just Like Heaven (The Cure cover)

Dancing Through Sunday (Yay!)

Silver And Cold

This show definitely rivals my first AFI show, which I thought was the best until now. One thing I noticed was the absence of Crash Love songs, which pissed off the "uber fan" next to me who thought AFI was still promoting Crash Love. No, sweetheart, they are promoting Burials. Uber fan? No.

Check out AFI's new album Burials, available now!  

Against Me! Workplay Birmingham, AL 1/17/14

Against Me! is coming to Workplay on a Friday night. YES. The last time I saw them was at Warped Tour 2011, when White Crosses came out. (FYI, White Crosses is my favorite album) So much has changed since then. I will not go into the details because most of you reading this will already know (if not, read here.)

The first band of the night was The Shondes. They are from Brooklyn, New York. They have a very interesting way of infusing their Jewish heritage into their music. Certain songs had lyrics that pertained to it. They played

Sing For You

Dr. Manhattan

The Garden

On Your Side

Follow The Storm

The Promise

Give Me What You've Got

The Shondes are a good, feminine punk rock band at its finest.

After them were The Sidekicks. They were fairly decent. They were a little bit different than the other bands of the night. Their sound was little more hard rock than punk, but they definitely had some punk influence. Their singer looked a lot like my best friend too, and it freaked me out!

Against Me! was spot on. The best shows are always the ones where every person in the audience knows every word to every song and they are singing their hearts out with the band. That is exactly how this show was. I was in the front and I had to lay with my elbows on the stage the entire night because the crowd was so rambunctious. Beer was flying everywhere and crowd surfers were prominent. Their set consisted of

FUCKMYLIFE666

Pints Of Guinness Make Your Strong

New Wave (One of my favorites)

Walking Is Still Honest

True Trans Soul Rebel

Cliché Guevara

I Still Love You Julie

Transgender Dysphoria Blues

White People For Peace

I Was A Teenage Anarchist (YAY!)

Unconditional Love

Turn Those Clapping Hands Into Angry Balled Fists

Pretty Girls (The Mover)

Don't Lose Touch

Black Me Out

Miami

Thrash Unreal

The Ocean

Sink.Florida.Sink

Encore:

Bamboo Bones

Rapid Decompression

We Laugh At Danger (And Break All The Rules)

Against Me!'s new album Transgender Dysphoria Blues is out now!

Local experimental band to perform at Green Bar: My article from The Crimson White

Local experimental band to perform at Green Bar

BY KINSEY HAyNES / ON JANUARY 16, 2014

Green Bar is known to residents as one of Tuscaloosa’s best venues for unique, original and imaginative music — something Katie Manos, lead singer for Junkyard Kings, values.

The band’s style of music ranges from bluegrass, folk and blues to experimental depending on who is writing the songs.

“There are really great bars in Tuscaloosa for people who want to hear original, live music.” Manos said. “Unfortunately, those aren’t always the most crowded.”

All five band members work at Surin of Thailand on the Strip. Show days are hectic because they have class and work, members said. It can be difficult for them to find time to practice before shows.

“We usually have to practice before we pack up or when we get to the bar,” Manos said. “Our boss is really awesome. There are five people in our band. Any night we have a show, all five people request off, and that can be hard to schedule.”

The first time Junkyard Kings played Green Bar, it was under the name Shrapnel Petals, which included Johnny Bishop on guitar and vocals and Wren Thomley on drums. Later, they acquired Manos, Graham Roden on guitar and Reid Jackson on bass. The name Junkyard Kings came from a former member who wrote a song with the lyric “asphalt heroes and junkyard kings.”

Being from Tuscaloosa has helped Manos grow as an artist in numerous ways, she said. Her first semester of college was spent in New Orleans, La., but she found herself missing her hometown.

“I have a song called ‘Queen City’ that is about a road that I used to live on,” Manos said. “What inspires me about Tuscaloosa is being from here — wanting to leave, but also loving it.”

Bishop and Manos both said they feel that Tuscaloosa has the potential to be a great art scene.

“It’s not the biggest art scene or the biggest music scene, but it could get better if people tried to work on it,” Bishop said. “An artistic revolution of sorts could happen because it is a college town. It goes through phases.”

Manos said the art scene is important because of forward progress and its importance to the community.

The next steps for the band will include having a more expansive repertoire of songs, being able to play more out-of-town shows and putting out an official album.

“We basically recorded the album ourselves and are stalling on putting out a new album for no reason. That should come out soon,” said Bishop.

The band has several songs on its SoundCloud and Reverbnation pages that are available for download. Junkyard Kings will play at Green Bar Thursday at 10 p.m. There is no cover

Page 7

Anchors To Anchors Interview

Photo by Tai Lombardo 

Anchors To Anchors is from Central Pennsylvania.Their members include Brandon Esquivel on lead vocals, Kevin Dorko on rhythm guitar, Chris Fuller on bass, Danny Morgan on drums, Shayne McCraken on bass, and Nick Moist on lead guitar. You can find their debut EP, Clubhouse Cancer here.

1. - How did you know you wanted to be in a band and play music?

Brandon - I started learning as many instruments as I could when I was 8. I knew it was what I wanted to do since even before then.

Nick - It’s been something that has been going on throughout my family for a long time and it’s something that I can really relate to as well.

Kevin - I realized that I wanted to play in a band after I went to my first show, to me there’s nothing cooler than creating something that gets people moving.

Danny - I knew i wanted to be a musician when i realized how many girls they pull! I also really like playing music so that helps.

Shayne - I've wanted to make music for as long as I can remember. Used to sing a lot when I was younger then picked up a guitar when I was 13.

2. - How did the idea of the band come about?

The band was created when Nick and a few of the former members got together and started playing music for fun eventually we ran into Kevin and Brandon which really pushed the idea of starting something a little more serious. And after a while we picked up Danny and Shayne along the way.

3. - How long have you been together?

This marks about a year that we've been writing music together, maybe about 9 months since we really started taking as serious as we do.

4. - Who are some of your influences?

Brandon - I have a huge range of influences. I grew up with Green Day and Incubus, eventually getting into Norma Jean, August Burns Red, Rise Against. Now my major influences are bands like Chunk! [No, Captain Chunk!], A Day To Remember, and The Wonder Years. Soupy's [Dan Campbell] writing is incredibly influential. 

Nick - I’ve been listening to bands and seeing bands for most of my life. Most of the influential bands in my life are some of the local bands that I enjoy seeing because of the impact it had on me as a kid watching them play. If I had to pick some bigger bands I would say: Fall Out Boy, Blink-182, New Found Glory, Alkaline Trio and of course, The Wonder Years.

Kevin - A Day to Remember and Four Year Strong are some of my biggest influences.

Danny - Too many to count. FOB, FYS, ADTR, Blink, Parkway Drive, As I Lay Dying, ATL, I See Stars, the list just keeps going.

Shayne - Blink 182, The Used, AFI, NFG [New Found Glory], ADTR [A Day To Remember].

5. - What does the name represent?

There’s no hidden meaning behind the name, the name is just something we came up with one day and decided to stick with it.

6. - What is your favorite song that you have written?

That's hard to place, we all have our personal favorites from the EP but we’re also really excited to release the new songs we’ve been working on.

7. - How has the response to Clubhouse Cancer been?

The response to Clubhouse Cancer has been overwhelmingly positive especially considering this is the first most people have heard of us at all, it’s really exciting to read when people mention how much they like our music.

8. - What writing process do you have?

Brandon - Generally I write a song out myself, instrumentals and lyrics, and then bring it to the guys. Nick and Kevin go over the guitars and mess with it to add their personal styles on it and Danny does the same. I normally leave Bass to Shayne because I'm not the best with bass lines. I may start the songs but its a collaborative effort in the end.

9. - Do you have any plans for a new album?

We actually do. We're hoping to get back to the studio in the next month or two. We have a few songs finished that we're really proud of and a couple more started out. We also are finishing up a cover that we're pumped to start adding to our live set.

10. - What do you enjoy outside of music?

Brandon - I'm pretty much an introvert. I like to stay in and watch TV or play video games or just work on new music. Sometimes when I'm bored I like to try writing in styles we don't play just to see what it sounds like. I'm a generally boring person.

Nick - Outside of playing music I enjoy playing video games with my friends and mostly just wasting time.

Kevin - I play a lot of golf.

Danny - Besides music, I like to be at home chillin on the couch with my puppy

and Xbox. You can also find me outside with either a snowboard or skateboard.

Shayne - Reading, movies, and occasional gaming.

11. - How do you want to progress from where you are now?

2014 will be a huge year for us. We're taking that big step from being a local band to a band that lives on the road. We expect things to be really shaken up by summer and I can't wait to see what happens.

12. - What is the best compliment you have received about your music?

Nothing makes me happier than kids who come out to our shows and singing every word so often that I recognize them. Seriously, that makes all the hard work worth it. We love nothing more than a crowd who is there to have fun with us. 

13. -  What is touring like for you?

Brandon - Touring is the best job in the world. It's not easy and it can get stressful, but going on stage in a new city with new faces everyday is really rewarding, which is why we're dedicating this year to do it full time.

Nick - Touring is one of the best things I’ve ever done. The experience of going to new places and playing music every night is the one thing that has ever made me truly happy. It’s also fun because Kevin is my personal chauffer for about a week long, what’s better than that?

Kevin - Touring has a lot of ups and downs. It’s a lot of living out of a suitcase and mastering the fine art of eating Taco Bell while driving a van full of people and equipment.

Danny - Touring is a blast. Being stuck in a van with 4 sweaty dudes isn't as bad as you think. These kids are a blast and I can't wait to do it again.

Shayne - Touring is amazing. I've done it once and it made me realize 100x more that I want to do it for a living.

14. - What do you enjoy and hate most about touring?

Brandon - Cliché answer but I enjoy meeting new people the most. You get to be introduced to some awesome kids who are there to have fun just like you are. The worst thing is its impossible not to become homesick at some point. 

Nick - Honestly the best part of touring is being able to see new bands every night, also I have a giant fear of driving so being able to go to these places without having to drive is a plus. The worst parts of touring are the extended periods without showering and also sleeping arrangements are pretty shitty.

Kevin - Playing shows and joking around with everyone is probably the most fun you’ll ever have in your entire life. Entering the fifth hour of driving at 4 am is the closest thing to hell that I’ve ever experienced.

Danny - What do i enjoy about touring? I love seeing the different people get into our music as much as we are. What do i hate about touring? Missing the people back at home. Its great being out on the road, but these dudes aren't the same to cuddle with.

Shayne - Enjoy most is going to places I've never been and meeting new people from all over. Worst is the times when there is a very long drive from one place to the next cause it can get very boring on the road after a certain point.

15. - What is next for you as a band?

We have a big year ahead of us. We've got a lot of work to do but in the end it'll pay off. Every day kids ask us to play in their city, and now we're going to make that happen.