BAD PLANNING DROP FIRST TRACK FROM ET FORTES

Chicago’s Bad Planning just dropped the first single from their upcoming debut LP, Et Fortes, available now on your favorite streaming platform and the fine folks over at PunkRockTheory were kind enough to feature a premiere and write up of the band so just smash the link below.

We’ve also launched a PRE-ORDER for Et Fortes that features some of the slickest vinyl we’ve ever had pressed. Slated for a May 6th release, Et Fortes is available on Randomly Mixed color vinyl, Translucent Gold with Black Splatter (Subscription Club only), and audiophile Black and showcases the band’s love of riff heavy hardcore, skate punk, and pop punk; a young band with one foot in the past and one foot in the future. Are these sick or what?

GRAB SOME BAD PLANNING VINYL RIGHT HERE

The newest Jump Start recruits have been writing together since they were freshmen in high school, and now all these years later, the band is still booking their own shows, playing gigs with some of their favorite bands, and making a name for themselves in the Midwest.

The band writes with a sound that will draw comparisons to bands like Neck Deep, but with an obvious heavy slant towards East Coast melodic hardcore like Lifetime or former label contemporaries Crucial Dudes who themselves were heavily influenced by bands like Latterman or early Saves the Day. In 2019 Bad Planning released the split Splitting Hairs alongside Chicago’s A Semester Abroad, bringing a heavier side with singles “Be Brave” and “Actors”.

The four-piece outfit will be keeping busy over the coming weeks and months in support of Et Fortes. Look for a video drop in the coming weeks and more live dates in support of the release.

PRETEND I DON’T EXIST OUT TODAY

Today’s the day! Head on over to your favorite digital service like Bandcamp, iTunes, or Spotify and grab a copy or stream the band’s brand new LP Pretend I Don’t Exist. If you haven’t grabbed a copy of the vinyl, what are you waiting for? Limited White with Evergreen splatter vinyl now shipping as well!

Limited White with Evergreen splatter vinyl is also shipping now as well! Grab a copy over on our Bandcamp or Limited Run webstores! You Vandal takes the best parts of punk and pop-rock and delivers the antithesis; songs full of melodies, and well polished vocals begging you to sing-a-long but with a gruffness and enough riffage to keep them grounded in a scene like Gainesville, Florida’s. This band has more in common with New Found Glory than Hot Water Music, but also manage to stay clear of any cringe-inducing clichés that come along with the pop-punk genre. Their sophomore release I Just Want to Go Back to Hell helped put the band on the map and Pretend I Don’t Exist delivers even more riffage and melody with earnest lyrics and honest delivery.

 

YOU VANDAL VIDEO PREMIERE AND VINYL PRE-ORDER

We’ve been holding our breath on this one for a while, but we’re finally ready and super excited to announce that Gainesville, Florida’s You Vandal is premiering their brand new video for the track “Sink Back to Me” today over on Punkrocktheory.com! To celebrate, we’re launching a vinyl pre-order for their new LP, Pretend I Don’t Exist, on our Limited Run webstore and Bandcamp page right now. Click on the image below to check out the video premiere and some serious Office Space vibes, You Vandal Lumbergh-style.

Pretend I Don’t Exist is available on White with Evergreen Splatter colored vinyl and our Subscription Club exclusive variant was pressed on Clear and Evergreen Split Color vinyl. Check out the pics below and see how beautiful this pressing came out.

You Vandal takes the best parts of punk and pop-rock and delivers the antithesis; songs full of melodies, and well polished vocals begging you to sing-a-long but with a gruffness and enough riffage to keep them grounded in a scene like Gainesville, Florida’s. This band has more in common with New Found Glory than Hot Water Music, but also manage to stay clear of any cringe-inducing clichés that come along with the pop-punk genre. Their sophomore release I Just Want to Go Back to Hell helped put the band on the map and Pretend I Don’t Exist delivers even more riffage and melody with earnest lyrics and honest delivery.

YOU VANDAL SINGLE PREMIERE ON NEW NOISE

The fine folks over at New Noise Magazine are now premiering the first single from You Vandal’s upcoming LP release Pretend I Don’t Exist. “Hold for Applause” is the first single and drops tomorrow on all your favorite digital services while Pretend I Don’t Exist is slated for a February 11, 2022 release.

Pretend I Don’t Exist is the follow up to 2017’s I Just Want to Go Back to Hell and features more of the band’s signature infectious pop punk that’s familar just as much in their hometown of Gainesville (think No Idea Records and Fest, duh) as it would be in a Midwest VFW hall show. Super catchy harmonies layered with the right amount riffage and grit that’s sometimes lost in what passes for pop punk these days.

In the coming weeks we’ll be dropping a new video from the LP as well as announcing some super fun release shows and tour dates. In the meantime, check out the track over on New Noise and cop the single when it drops tomorrow!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HOW ABOUT SOME FREE MUSIC?

Happy New Year! Thanks again for taking the time to support this lil’ old label. I can’t express in words how crazy it is and how much I have appreciated everyone’s support for last 25 years. The last two years in particular were pretty crazy. The new found interest in what the label has released over the past 25 years in addition to some new releases from the likes of Attic Salt, Broadcaster, Off With Their Heads, Mind Power, and The Readymen has really recharged the batteries here. Can’t thank everyone enough. It’s very much appreciated. There’s still a lot of work to do to get things to a consistent level, but how much I’ll be able to do that, who knows? Lots of potential changes in the future, but regardless, a lot of great releases coming down the pipe in 2022. We can’t wait to announce them!

To celebrate the New Year as well as continuing to celebrate 25 years of making bad decisions, here’s a little something from the ol’ Jump Start way back machine…

Back in 2001 I was living in State College, Pennsylvania, 3 years removed from graduating college and living the dream playing in a notoriously fun punk-ska band called No On 15. Jump Start was only five years removed from it’s first release, but I’d like to think I was finally getting my sea legs under me when I decided to reach out to other Pennsylvania punk bands about participating in a PA band only comp. At the time Pittsburgh and Philadelphia had well established scenes, but there were also a lot of great bands playing throughout the state. No On 15 was lucky enough to have played with almost all the bands that eventually ended up on this comp. The only problem was that by the time I had the artwork and all the audio ready, a half dozen bands on the comp had broken up.

Bummer.

Fast forward two more years and I’ve now updated the comp with new bands to replace the ones that had broken up. But again, same as before, by the time all the tracks were compiled and the artwork was updated several of the bands again broke up putting me back at square one.

Well, it’s 2022. The last two years have been a total shitshow. Let’s get weird.

Here’s this long, lost compilation of 24 Pennsylvania punk/emo/whatever bands from over 20 years ago. It’s not a complete picture by any means, as you’ll notice an apparent lack of bands from the Philly scene at the time, but that makes sense considering this was a snapshot of the Pennsylvania scene at large in 2001 as seen by and through me and my travels playing every and each corner of the state.

GRAB SOME FREE MUSIC RIGHT HERE

FUCK THE EAST BAY… WE’RE FROM PA!

I want to point out that I have nothing but love for East Bay punk. If it weren’t for Lookout! Records and bands like Op Ivy, Dance Hall Crashers, and Green Day there’s a chance this label would never exist.

The name of the comp was merely a tongue in cheek way of saying “Hey, that stuff is cool, but we’re doing cool shit too.” So much attention was being directed at bands from the East Bay scene, and California at large at the time as well I just felt like people should know about all the fun and crazy shit going down in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. I think this original tracking of the compilation does a great job of showing you what the scene across the state was like. Standouts include Wormbath (my personal favorite track on the comp), Wonderdog, Dutchland Diesel, The Overdrives, Fire in the Radio, The Peabodys, Digger, The Commercials, One Up on Lucy, and The Mad Cows, but honestly, I love all the bands on this compilation for one reason or another. Ken Adams, or better know as K3N from the Victory Records Victory Style comps, delivered some equally awesome yet ridiculous artwork.

Head on over to our Bandcamp page and download a copy of this 2001 audio snapshot for FREE. Nodda. Zilch. Name your price… how about FREE dollars? Sounds good if you ask as me.

Thanks again for your continued support! Take care and have a Happy New Year!

THE READYMEN ‘RESTLESS’ VINYL RELEASE ON JUMP START

Originally slated to be re-released by Jump Start in the early 2000s after the band’s original label, Kingpin Records, went under, we’re stoked to finally bring this ‘masterpiece’ of Pacific Northwest ska-punk back to life!

Mastered to the band’s original track sequencing with reworked LP artwork from the original art pieces created and assembled by the band, Restless sounds as urgent today as when it was released over 20 years ago.

The kind folks over at Brooklyn Vegan premiered the track “Justified” last week but you can also check out the video on our YouTube channel and below. We think this release one of the most crucial yet overlooked ska-punk releases of the late 90s!

We’ve launched a PRE-ORDER for Restless over on our Limited Run webstore of the limited pressing of 300 that includes 100 each on Black, Translucent Emerald Green, and the Subscription Club exclusive variant of Opaque Emerald Green with White Swirl that brings this band to a new generation of fans that will be quick to see the link between Op Ivy and today’s crop of current bands. Former members went on to play in notable bands like Leftover Crack, MDC, and The Stockyard Stoics.

NEW YOU VANDAL TRACK, 7″ OUT OCT. 29TH

We’re excited to announce a brand new release from our favorite punks outta Gainesville, You Vandal!

Just in time for their appearance at The Fest we bring you two new tasty You Vandal jams served up on some hot, and we mean HOT, lathe cut ‘wax’. Limited to a pressing of 50, we’ve got 30 Clear lathe cuts that will be exclusive to the band and available for the first time at The Fest, and 20 Black versions that we’ll be launching for sale on our Limited Run webstore very shortly.

In the meantime, the fine folks from The Bad Copy are premiering the A-side track “Running in Place”. Check it out right here.

While Gainesville is typically known for its brand of gruff punk associated with No Idea Records, You Vandal combines those influences with punk and pop-rock influences, delivering songs full of well-polished melodies begging you to sing along. This band may have more in common with New Found Glory than Hot Water Music, but they still manage to stay clear of any cringe-inducing clichés that come along with genre. Their upcoming releases are the long-awaited follow-up to 2017’s I Just Want to Go Back to Hell. Be sure to keep an eye out for shows across the US throughout the next year in support of their upcoming full-length release due out in early 2022.

If you haven’t given I Just Want to Go Back to Hell a listen, head on over to our Bandcamp page and check it out and maybe even pick up a copy of the vinyl while you’re at it.

BELVEDERE ‘ANGELS LIVE IN MY TOWN’ LIMITED PRESSING

If you’re on our mailing list than you already know that we’ve got a super limited pressing available of Belvedere’s seminal skate punk classic Angels Live in My Town. If you’re not on our mailing list, well, you’d best hurry up and grab one because we’ve already gone through more than half of the 100 copies of this release that are available.

Back in 2012 we released a sick double LP with our favorite Canadian skate punks, Belvedere. The Self-Titled double LP featured the band’s sophomore release Angels Live in My Town and third full length release ‘Twas Hell Said Former Child. We pressed 1000 on Opaque Red and Coke Bottle Clear respectively.

Well, pressing plants being all jacked up and on 10 month turns is nothing new, nor is over pressing a record, and that’s what we have here.

118 copies of Angels Live in My Town were ‘over pressed’. A bunch were double labeled, or had labels partially adhered, and unsellable. No copies of ‘Twas Hell were over pressed. So, what to do with the 100 good copies of Angels?

Well, here we are nine years later and we’ve got the answer.

We went back to our good friend JP Flexner, the man behind the original double LP artwork and asked him to come up with a new design for a limited release cover taking inspiration from the original Angels Live in My Town artwork and the double LP artwork that he created.

The result is a very limited, first time ever available as an individual release ‘pressing’ of Angels Live in My Town. 100 copies only with hand numbered jackets. That’s it. That’s all she wrote. We can’t say for certain that this record will never be released again as a stand alone version, but for now, if you’re a die hard Belvedere fan or a must have vinyl collector, you don’t want to miss out on this limited release.

Grab a copy today over on our Limited Run webstore.

BROADCASTER JOYRIDE +3 OUT OCT 8TH

It’s been a minute since we last heard from Broadcaster, Long Island’s favorite pop-rock sons, but they’re back with a brand new release that features for the first time on vinyl their 2011 digital only EP Joyride along with the three tracks from 2012’s seven inch release Tightrope Walker and previously unreleased acoustic versions of the tracks off of Joyride. Pressed on limited Coke Bottle Clear, Black, and Spring Green/Light Blue color in a color vinyl and reworked artwork, this limited pressing will remind you how much fun this band is!

We’ve also launched a preorder for the Coke Bottle Clear and Black vinyl now up on our Limited Run and Bandcamp page. Both come with immediate digital downloads of the entire record with your purchase. If that weren’t enough, we’ve got a few copies of the Tightrope Walker 7″ hanging around that office that we’re going to include with preorders until we run out, so pick up an LP today and we’ll include a copy with your order while supplies last!

Big shout out to Chorus.fm for premiering ‘Vacation Days’ last week. In case you missed it check out the video below…

MIND POWER RELEASES LYRIC VIDEO FOR ‘GROUNDED’

Earlier this year Mind Power released one of the heaviest records of 2021, aptly named Self Torture.

We’re stoked to work with the fine folks over at No Echo to bring you a brand new lyric video for the track “Grounded”.

Originally released as quarterly digital only releases by the band, the 11 tracks off of Self Torture read like a book that’s woven from those releases with a cathartic, brutally honest, and at times self deprecating voice.

Featuring vocals from ex-A Life Once Lost frontman Robert Meadows and a lineup that includes former members of Ligeia, Dead End Path, and Bring the Heat, Self Torture features guest appearances from notable metal standouts like Norma Jean’s Cory Brandan, Darkest Hour’s John Henry and Michael Schleibaum, The Red Chord’s Mike McKenzie, and Most Precious Blood’s Rob Fusco just to name a few. Remastered by heavy music heavyweight Alan Douches, Mind Power’s first physical release is as heavy and earnest as the vinyl is beautiful.

You can still grab a copy of the limited Red & Black Splatter vinyl as well as the Opaque White on our new Limited Run webstore and Bandcamp page.