Submit your news here

New album by Lyres LYRES On Fyre At The Rusty Nail 1985

Sapling has a cut on a benefit album being done by Sisters Weird for Science Club for Girls to be released November 28. They covered the song "Big Bang" by Cursive. The song tackles a primary existential problem dramatically and full on. On Sapling's Bluesky page they posted part of a video for the song which is very wacky.

Koto in Lowell is closing by the end of this month (November). The club made the announcement on Instagram and Facebook. On Facebook DJ posted that it was not the fault of the club in any way but, “it’s unfortunate that the city of Lowell … live entertainment has decreased in the past few years.” Koto opened in July 2024 which means it didn’t quite last a year and a half. Vanyaland has some more details.

In the movie Life On The Other Planet Vincent Straggas makes Boston part of the music story. It's true we were all basically city dwellers, if not living it the city then spending all free time there. That came to mind when we read that Hubba Hubba is closing. We always seem to be around that store in our wanderings back in the day.

It's closing on November 24th after being open since 1979. The store moved its location a few times. MSN had the goods on that: "The store was originally located at 932 Mass Ave., but moved to 960 Mass Ave in 1983. It moved again to 534 Mass Ave. in 1998 before landing at its current location at 2 Ellery St. in 2015." More info on Cambridge Day website. More info in the Boston Globe if you can get by the paywall.

The Fallout Cellar received some attention from WBZ TV. They tell the story of this unique club in Norwood. Video on WBZ.

BOOKS......

If we were going to recommend just one book about the Boston music scene it would be Brett Milano's Sound of Our Town. It has the whole story starting from Doo Wop days up to punk and alternative music up to its publication date of 2007. It covers the big massive bands like Boston and Aerosmith and covers the Bosstown Sound and digs in and runs through the punk years and doesn't seem to miss a band.

Brett's succent analysis flows along with the story. His writing can be humorus and insightful, often at the same time. For a few years now it has only been available on Ebay. Now the book has been republished in paperback form. You can get the book on Amazon.

VIDEOS......

The Peppermint Kicks glorify the sixties English Invasion hysteria. It makes all the sense in the world to put those images into their new video for "Number One Record". If they had a time machine they would be back in 1964 on Ed Sullivan's stage. They got a good write up in the Real Gone Rocks website

Rum Bar Records is getting right into Christmas early with the Christmas single: "What's So Bad About Christmas" by Hilken & Melissa (feat. Kay Hanley) and "I'm Not Getting Anything for Christmas" by The Other Girls.

"What's So Bad About Christmas" has a video (see above). It's like a Christmas card come to life. In the video Kay Hanley, Mellisa Gibbs and Hilken Mancini reassure us that even though our, "candles are burning low, it won't just blow away."

"I'm Not Getting Anything for Christmas" by The Other Girls is written by Evan Shore of Muck and the Mires and has the vocal expertise of Andrea Gillis. The band rocks this out like Muck would do! We have that below.

The Bags are back in action. The video for their song "Miserable Bastards" was released in October. The vid is the band playing live. There is a cool section starting at 1:11 where the camera zooms in on Crispin Wood's hands as he plays some tapping, then harmony tapping and then three part harmony tapping. Nice to see and hear how that is done.

Then there is new single released November 14 called "Back In My Dream". The song relates a frustrating situation that is presented as a dream. When the singer wakes up - there is a real nightmare waiting. We have the song below. Both songs were recorded at Woolly Mammoth with David Minehan.

RADIO......

Joanie Lindstrom opened her 11/20 Late Risers Club show with "Times of War" by Mala Vista. We talked about this NY group back in February of 2024. We're glad to see they have a new EP Snub Nosed 38. Mala Vista sound like a street punk group from the old days, that's why we love them.

The song Joanie played is not streaming now. What is streaming is the title song "Snub Nosed 38" which is nice slab of NYC punk attitude. There are other releases to hear on their Bandcamp page.

Joanie also played a new recording by the early hardcore Effigies from Chicago - who are going to be at the Middle East on 11/29. The song was "Johnny & Dan". Here it is on YouTube.

To hear Joanie's Late Risers Show go to the WMBR archive page . Hit the LRC show for 11/20.

PODCASTS......

Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico hooked Garret Vandermolen for an interview. Garret just put out a album with Speedfossil and he's running an active record label with Sound Cove.

Garret was born in raised in West Orange, NJ and played music from an early age. He played a gig with the Neats and the band told him to go to Boston for the music scene. so in 1989 he moved to Allston. He worked for Rounder Records. His first Boston band was The Vouts. Later he was in What About George. The new Speedfossil album Time Flies: 10 years of Speedfossil is a compilation of older material that was remixed.

He was signed on Red on Red and spoke of his time working with her as inspiring. That informed the way he runs his label Sound Cove. The label's latest release are by Cold Expectations and The Chelsea Curve.

Al Quint had some good punk mixed in with his hardcore on Sonic Overload this week 11/17. He played DMZ's "Busy Man" followed by Thee Headcoats with the subtle "I Wanna Get Fucked".

It's been a long time since we heard the Suicide Commandos from Minneapolis. "Burn It Down" was off their first album in 1977. That was followed by the much played "Urban Cowboy" by the Vandals. I nice local set was Gang Green ("Sold Out"), Stranglehold, Flies and Neats. Another set had the Dangerous Birds with "Alpha Romeo".

We have Thee Headcoats, Suicide Commandos and Vandals embedded below.

You can hear the Sonic Overload shows on their web blog. . Al has logged all the shows since 2009.

Nancy Barille was on the Hardlore podcast. Nancy has stories about Al Barille and even more of her life stories that resonate. She's a good story teller. She lets out that she loves disco - still. She also reveals that she is retired from teaching. Her next book will be about her teaching experiences and how what she learned from punk informed her teaching style.

Nancy says she gets male posters on Facebook that try to explain hardcore to her…to HER! How clueless do you have to be to do that? She talks about meeting Al. She has great stories of seeing the Bad Brains. There's so much in this must listen interview!!

We reviewed the new album by Starrs and the Czars which has Peter Greenberg from DMZ/Lyres as a member. The C86 podcast has an interview with Peter.

Peter says that seeing the MC5 in 1970 when he was 14 was a big influence to him. Peter grew up on Boston's North Shore but the family moved to Cincinnati and he's been going back and forth since. He took a long break after the early punk years and came back to music in 2010. He was with Barrence Whitfield for five albums. He thinks that Danny Fields helped DMZ get its Sire contract.

He reveals that Crypt Records is going to release an album of a DMZ rehearsals for their Sire album. Greenberg talks a lot about his time with Barrence Whitfield and the Savages and you get a lot of insights in there. He then talks up the new project Starr and the Czars.

Bradley Jay filled in for Dan Rea a few days this month. We love that Bradley gets to control such a big platform as WBZ radio. A long way from WZBC. On November 12 he had long time local rock critic Jim Sullivan.

Jim says one of his first rock critic moments was interviewing Slade in NH in 1975. One of his latest jobs was interviewing Pete Townsend for AARP. Now, that's a career right there. Brad and Jim talked about the drug problem with rock stars and they had some real life reasons.

Jim talks Clash, Who, Sex Pistols, Alice Cooper, Bowie, Warren Zevon and the last interview Roy Orbison every gave. All with inside stories you haven't heard before. Bradley draws a few interviewing tips from expert Jim. The show is in two half hour parts. We have part one above and part two below.

NEW MUSIC/CD's ......

Hey, a new Lyres album - LYRES On Fyre At The Rusty Nail 1985. The Rusty Nail was a club in Sundertown, near UMass Amherst. The album has thirteen cuts. It's a live recording and they have done a very fine job cleaning it up. You can hear all the instruments and nothing is boomy. There's plenty of organ!

The lineup for this date was: Jeff Conolly, Rick Coraccio, Danny McCormack and Paul Murphy. It's got the classics you want to hear: "Don't Give It Up Now", "Help You Ann", "I Really Want You Right Now" and "What A Girl Can't Do". There are two covers one would know, "Diddy Wah Diddy" and "Hi Heel Sneakers". There's "Getting' Plenty Lovin'" ( original by Esquerita), "I Can Tell" (original by Bo Diddley").

There's a section that is amazing in the recording that must have been even more amazing live. There's two songs, one is "Love Me Till The Sun Shines" that the band works up to almost four minutes. Then they go into a medley of songs listed on the sleeve as "Medley: How Can I Make Her Mine/Money/Nobody But Me" but has a few more songs stuck in there (like "Baby, Please Don't Go" and "Suzie Q"). The band goes from song to song for eight and half minutes and driving full bore, all the time. You can imagine being there and jealous that you weren't. Wow.

You can get it on vinyl on the Bandcamp page. There are only 300 pressed. So you better be quick about it. Already we are in line ahead of you.

Actor|Observer put you through the emotional wringer once again in their new single "An Exercise In Futility". The lyrics, singing and music are all working in sync for maximum impact. It comes across as bigger than life. To us it even makes us feel for the people they are singing about as if they are real. We get involved.

The stakes always seem big in a A|O song. Things seem hopeless as they say, "We weren't designed to carry / So much despair in a day" and "Everything just feels so crushing all the time". There's a lot of lyrics in this song and they are dense with analysis searching to describe the emotional landscape.

There's a moment that jolted us when the lyrics say, "And I know I'm not / The only one who's languishing / I see it in your faces at the shows". That's directly including their audience as sympathetic to their turmoil.

We guess "Merry Christmas I Fucked Your Snowman" by Showcase Showdown is a punk holiday classic by this time. Geoff Palmer has put out his version. It is true to the original. Listening to them side by side you can hear that Palmer's is clearer and has more punch because it's recorded better. Palmer adds a few Christmas presents he is wishing for, including a Merle Allin Songbook!

Locals Rawstrum have a 5 song EP titled Cold Dreams out that is a live set recorded at the Midway this year. The live recording is short on fidelity but the group makes a big impression live. The singer is a focus when he digs deep and brings up some primal screams. The group here gives structure to some noisescapes.

The last two songs worked for us. "Devil's Honey" is a dark grunge that displays the atmosphere that they can generate. "Burned Eyes" is another dark journey that ends on an apocalyptic note. They would make a good fit with Miracle Blood for a gig.

We haven't heard from Hammered Saint in a while. And we are thrilled they have finally released two songs on Bandcamp!! They are two songs left over from their last lineup. The new lineup will play the Middle East on December 27. The new lineup "has been diligently preparing to stomp your balls off"!

There are so many punk songs that angrily yell "Shut the fuck up" that it's a relief to hear the lyrics to "Murmurer". Here the other party won't speak up. Vocalist Emily Doran begs, "Talk to me/ Bother me/ Burden me/ I say ten words for every one of yours, honey talk to me" and she's "waiting for an earful". The other song is a cover of the Adolescents' "Amoeba". Hammered Saints do great punk covers.

Captain Easychord has a new single out titled "Happy Times". His last single was two years ago. Easychord plays keyboards for a few groups around town. On this song he has a fine lineup of musicians that made a smooth recording. There's Shel Pierce: guitars, Todd Erickson: bass, Tim Betts: drums and Lynda Mandolyn, Larry Newman, Todd Erickson on background vocals.

The song is light and cheery. It's poppy and we can hear some bubblegum influences which is a welcome element to hear these days. On Bandcamp the Captain said this is meant to be a sing-a-long and you can indeed be carried away as the chorus goes "Happy Times, Happy Times".

And how did Captain Easychord get his name? He tells the story and more in the interview on Skybar's WMFO Rising show 11/16. We have that below.

The Beta Voids from Oregon have a raw punk sound and on top of that they add a sax. That makes them sound like the No Wave bands. Vocalist Mandy Grant and Carrie Beveridge sing with attitude and just the right amount of melody. They have a freeform out of control aura but they never go off the tracks. All this is right in our wheelhouse.

Scrape It Off is a new seven song EP. All the songs are punky good. The song "M-O-T-H-E-R" is an acrostic that sings the praise of motherhood. No irony here, they love their mother. They have a video for their song "Nothing To Me" where you can get a look at the group onstage.

Attached to the end of the video is a very short song "Alan" which is an appreciation of all people named Alan. G.G. Allin gets mentioned. You can hear the whole EP on the Beta Voids' Bandcamp page. We have the 54 second song "Baby's In Detox" embedded below. That song has all the band's tricks in short form.

We've been following the releases of German skate punk band Mellonball. Their songs have been hard punk screeds "Garbage Day" and "128". They've been teasers in advance of their album Take Care out on Thousand Islands records to be released on February 27.

The third single is out now. "Silence = Compliance" strikes a chord with our political situation these days. Mellonball is an example of a group that has elected to be forthcoming in their political stance. Vocalist Oli Barth-Jurca sings loud, clear and with her own style. The band is raging behind her.

Here's some good shows coming up .....

November 25, 2025 (Tuesday)Isles, Adulting, Lovewell, Blame It On Whitman, Dear Maryanne at O'Brien's

November 26, 2025 (Wednesday) Massive Nightmares, Cape Crush, Little Low, Lipsmear at The Silhouette Lounge

November 29, 2025 (Saturday) Larry Newman Acoustic, Scott Damgaard The Bubbs Band, Dave Herlihy Band at Underbones (at RedBones)

November 29, 2025 (Saturday) In the Meantime, Taken by Vultures, Bad Idea USA 1-5PM matinee at Moon Base One in Salem

November 29, 2025 (Saturday) Oh the Humanity, Deprogrammer Cult, Billy, Karate Steve at Koto, Salem

November 30, 2025 (Sunday) Spectacle, Oddball, Mile 57, Mad Jupiter at The Jungle

November 30, 2025 (Sunday) Ghostwaves, Black Cheers, Silver Screams, Gossip Collar at Moonbase One in Salem - this is a 2-5PM matinee. ALL AGES TIX

December 4, 2025 (Thursday) Agnostic Front, Raw Brigade, Violent Way at The Middle East Down

December 5, 2025 (Friday) The Downhauls, One Fall, Skytigers at Koto, Salem

December 5, 2025 (Friday) The Burning Paris, Land of Fires, I Was Awake at Moon Base One - Salem

December 6, 2025 (Saturday) Tunes For Tots with Loser's Circle, Hell Beach, Static Friction, Mass Spy - **Please bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to Toys For Tots!** 3PM ALL AGES

December 6, 2025 (Saturday) Radio Silence / A Selected Visual History of American Hardcore Music - Co-authors Nathan Nedorostek and Anthony Pappalardo will be joined by legendary music photographer JJ Gonson for a slideshow presentation and panel discussion about Boston’s historical punk and indie scenes, and how that torch can stay lit for future generations. Books will be available at the show, plus some extra special goodies to celebrate the event!6 - 9 PM - FREE and ALL AGES At The Orchard Skate Shop Allston - FB page

December 6, 2025 (Saturday) Glowbox, Stop Calling Me Frank, American Ocelot, Emily Grogan Band - The Midway

December 6, 2025 (Saturday) Cinema Stare, Cape Crush, Have Fun, Megan from Work at O'Briens

December 6, 2025 (Saturday) Rattle Bones, The Stigmatics, Black Souls at Underbones at Redbones this is a 7:30PM show!

December 7, 2025 (Sunday) O'BRIEN'S Allston Live Makers Market —" local artists, printmakers, indie designers, vintage hunters, and small-batch makers who actually care about what they make. No mass-produced crap. No personality-free presents. Come hang. Grab a beer or a cocktail.".. also Dec 14, and Dec 21 12–4pm each day And check it out: Vendors keep 100% of what they make. It's all at O'Brien's Allston

December 8, 2025 (Monday) Jean Paul Jean Paul, and Big Rav at The Silhouette

December 11, 2025 (Thursday) AN EVENING OF MUSICAL CELEBRATION with Girl with a Hawk, MARS, The Weisstronauts at The Burren 7PM show!

December 13, 2025 (Saturday) Tj Welch & The Wasted, The Strikeout Boys, Spectacle, Psycho Prophet - The Midway

December 13, 2025 (Saturday) The Stress Balls, Quick To Judge, Dead In The Water, Sue, and STD, at the Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St, Cambridge, MA 6:30pm, $10 All Ages TIX.

December 14, 2025 (Sunday) O'BRIEN'S Allston Live Makers Market —" local artists, printmakers, indie designers, vintage hunters, and small-batch makers who actually care about what they make. No mass-produced crap. No personality-free presents. Come hang. Grab a beer or a cocktail.".. also on Dec 21 12–4pm each day And check it out: Vendors keep 100% of what they make. It's all at O'Brien's Allston

December 14, 2025 (Sunday) Worcester Punk Rock Flea Market at The White Eagle, 118 Green Street, Worcester, MA. Free, 21+ LOADS of awesome vendors (check out the FB link!!) With Jonee Earthquake Band, Take Warning, Good Judgement, and Joey Ramone's Fireside Rocker Facebook page.

December 17, 2025 (Wednesday) Mollusk. Ingrate, Guppy, Infecticide Machine at The Midway - This is a Community food drive! Bring $10 cash or (at least) 2 canned food items. ALL AGES 8PM show

December 18, 2025 (Thursday) Cheat Death, Far Too Late, Car Girlfriend, Funnybone, Convoluted at The Parlor in Provi, RI - TIX

December 19, 2025 (Friday) 13TH Annual Gift Drive for DCF WONDERFUND with Gene Dante & The Future Starlets and Lovinia Falls at The Burren TIX HOW TO GIVE -bring New, unwrapped gifts for children of all ages to include toys, books, games, coats, hats, mittens, hoodies, personal care items, sporting goods, art supplies, instruments, electronics, and gift cards. . SATELLITE DROP BOX LOCATION ��For anyone who would like to donate but may not be able to attend, new, unwrapped gifts can be left at Petsi Pies at 285 Beacon St, Somerville, from Friday, December 5 through Friday, December 19.

December 19, 2025 (Friday) Holiday music party with Amanda Palmer and Friends at The Magic Room TIX

December 20, 2025 (Saturday) Thigh Scrapers, The Idolizers, Hotel Saturn at Underbones (at RedBones)

December 20, 2025 (Saturday) The Del Fuegos at City Winery - TWO shows - 3PM TIX and 7:30PM TIX

December 20, 2025 (Saturday) Jittery Jack, Deke Dickerson at The Burren - 5:30 EARLY show

December 21, 2025 (Sunday) O'BRIEN'S Allston Live Makers Market —" local artists, printmakers, indie designers, vintage hunters, and small-batch makers who actually care about what they make. No mass-produced crap. No personality-free presents. Come hang. Grab a beer or a cocktail.".. 12–4pm each day And check it out: Vendors keep 100% of what they make. It's all at O'Brien's Allston

December 21, 2025 (Sunday) A Very FUNdraising Xmas! to raise funds for the local chapter of the ACLU - 4:30 PM With DJ Angie C, raffles, prizes, giveaways, and sets from Fuzzy, The Handymen, Muck and The Mires, Jen Trynin, Merrie Amsterburg, plus members of Buffalo Tom, Scruffy the Cat, and more! This show always sells out — get your tickets now!

December 21, 2025 (Sunday) Kids Like You & Me Holiday Party with Johnnie & The Foodmasters, Adult Learners, Noah Britton, Kremlin Bats - The Midway matinee

December 31, 2025 (Wednesday) New Year's Eve!! with The Legion Basement Band, The Manglers, Gimmick, Spectacle - The Midway TIX

January 17, 2026 (Saturday) The Park Hill Romance, Late Night Idle, The Sleds, blindspot - The Midway

January 24, 2026 (Saturday) Hooligan Holiday Boston with The Oppressed - ALL AGES show at The Middle EAST 7PM doors. FB page

January 24, 2026 (Saturday) Sapling, John Hovorka Band, Crow Follow at The Square Root

March 26, 2026 (Saturday) - The Bags and Trinary System are at The Crystal Ballroom.

CONTACT US AT....misslynbgn@yahoo.com