From the moment Jawbox announced their three night residency in New York, I was beyond excited. The news came in January and was a great way to kick off 2022; I immediately marked the dates in my brand new datebook for the year. When the shows finally arrived, not even the blistering heat wave that had settled down on the city could stifle my excitement.
You see, there are bands I enjoy, even love, and then there’s bands like Jawbox, where it goes well beyond them having some songs I really like or relate to—it’s a much deeper love than that. I discovered this band in my late teens and really grew into my own as a young adult with their music as the soundtrack. I got through my first real heartbreak in 1999 listening to Jawbox on repeat (and Mission: Control! by Burning Airlines), the intensity of my emotions matched by the urgency of songs like “Livid” and “Desert Sea.” I then spent the summer of 2001 listening to almost nothing else but For Your Own Special Sweetheart, the last vestiges of my youth playing out to those songs, right before the final bit of innocence I had left was stripped away by 9/11. So yes, there are A LOT of memories for me with this band.
When Jawbox first reunited in 2019, it really was like a dream come true. They were one of those bands I just never thought I’d see because I was just a shade too young in the 90s to have seen them live. I also discovered them a hair too late, first listening to them in 1998, a year after they initially broke up. I received a dubbed copy of Novelty from a friend who made zines at the time; we traded zines and tapes often, and he was a few years older so had more access to shows and better taste than me, so I always took his recommendations seriously.
Novelty
When I heard the opening ring of the guitars on “Cutoff,” I immediately was intrigued and very quickly fell in love as the tape progressed through the album. I started grabbing up whatever copies of albums and 7 inches I could find in my travels, over time building up to having their entire discography in various formats. I still own all of the vinyl today, lovingly carted from one side of the country to the other and through various apartments in New Jersey and New York over the years (the CDs and tapes long ago got scratched/worn out/lost).
Jawbox
“Motorist” b/w “Jackpot Plus!” Dischord 77. This record came out in 1993 and features earlier recordings of these two songs that are different from what would ultimately be on the For Your Own Special Sweetheart LP. The music is almost the same but the vocal takes are much more raw. The cover photo was taken by Mark Waters and I used to stare at it and wish I’d taken something this cool.
J. Robbins also made specific reference to this record on night one when speaking about “Motorist,” and wrote a note to himself to remember which catalog number it was.
While my love for the band calcified early on, and I spent the next two decades loving them, I was still always more than a little bummed that I never got to see them. So I’m not exaggerating when I say that these reunion shows (see my 2019 pics from Boston) and particularly this residency, have really meant the world to me and many other fans around my age—in our early to mid 40s now but teenagers during the height of the band’s 90s career, many of us unable to see them back then.
Susie Ulrey, singer/guitarist of Pohgoh, is just a few years older than me and had a similar experience in the 90s. She flew to New York specially for the shows with her husband Keith (also a member of Pohgoh and proprietor of New Granada Records) and said “What an incredible opportunity to immerse myself in the Jawbox catalog for three nights in a row. I was too young to get to any of the shows for the first three records and I’m racking my brain to remember how I missed them in ‘96 at The Sapphire Supper Club in Orlando.” These shows clearly meant so much to the fans who came out for them, a chance for many of us to make up for what we missed as teenagers.
In structuring the three nights, the band focused on a different era of their career each night, saying at the time of the initial announcement “Jawbox formed in its first iteration in 1989. In the long history of this band, a 3-night residency is one thing we never imagined we might do. In our 2019 rededication, we were excited to play some much bigger venues than we ever had before, but smaller venues still feel best.” Indeed, LPR really lent itself to a very intimate feel for the fans and band alike, a low stage and no barriers making it easy for everyone to feel connected. Bassist Kim Coletta told me after the shows that LPR had been behind the idea and approached the band initially “The idea for all of this came from LPR, not us!”
Kim Coletta
She went on to say of the planning process: “We spent a lot of time discussing how to tackle the residency, as LPR let us decide how to best approach it. We had some initial thoughts but they just didn’t seem like us. We can’t pull off flashy or gimmicky at all! We didn’t want to play any of the records in their entirety, as some of those songs just don’t make the cut anymore. We finally hit upon the idea of approaching it in eras, while not being totally bound to playing just songs from that era. It was a surprising amount of prep and practice times to get ready for those shows, as we added about ten new-old songs to the set. Also, the songs from Grippe were written with just one guitar, so Brooks Harlan had some extra work with inventing additional guitar parts.”
While I was present for all three shows, and thus got to take it all in, I did really appreciate the idea of “eras” and that they kept it fluid, putting in the favorites and heavy hitters each night so that those who could only be at one show could still get to hear songs like “Savory,” (which was actually written and first recorded at the end of the Dischord era before they were signed to Atlantic Records) and their iconic cover of Tori Amos’ “Cornflake Girl”; it shows their level of care for their fans and dedication to their experience. When I asked Coletta if she had a favorite era she told me “I’m not sure I have a favorite era, although I do like that we evolved as songwriters.” The path through their growth was mapped very well as the three nights played out, moving from one period to the next, showing how different things emerged in their songwriting as they progressed as a band.
Jawbox at LPR
For its part, the band looked and played like they were absolutely thrilled to be there each night; their genuine joy at performing these songs for the fans was obvious and radiant. Coletta was in the center of the stage, bouncing and bopping around gleefully for each set, often coming to the edge of the stage to play right to the crowd. She was flanked on either side by singer/guitarist J. Robbins and guitarist/singer Brooks Harlan (also of War On Women), who joined the band in 2021, replacing longtime guitarist Bill Barbot after he moved to Vermont. Harlan had some big shoes to fill, but he fit in seamlessly and even quipped at one point that he felt like Mark Wahlberg’s character in Rock Star because he got to join his favorite band. He and Robbins have been frequent collaborators in projects like Office of Future Plans and in Robbins’ solo work, so their interplay was natural and effortless. And of course Robbins’ signature tenor anchored the complexity of the guitar work and shone throughout the night, hitting every high and low and snarl and yell.
“Cornflake Girl” live in London 6/9/22, Brooks Harlan nailing the falsetto perfectly
Zach Barocas is a commanding presence behind the kit and he is hands down one of the most creative drummers of the post hardcore 90s, with a technical prowess that few others have come close to achieving, even today. And let me tell you, being able to see a drummer of that caliber play up close was a joy and incredible to watch for a fellow drummer (and a realization I need to practice more). It’s something I think I was too overwhelmed to do the first time I saw them in 2019 but this time I was able to hone in more on his playing and picked specific songs to zero in on each night.
Barocas’ drumming really is in a class by itself, there’s no denying that, and he deftly hit all of the early songs (which were performed by original drummer Adam Wade on Grippe and Novelty) and attacked the more complex songs from his work on Sweetheart and Jawbox with ease, hitting fill and odd time with precision. The rhythmic give and take between Barocas and Coletta is remarkable as well, a truly interconnected rhythm section that plays perfectly off one another—at times locked together with booming staccato effect and at others playing counter rhythms off each other, truly the heart that holds the band together while the guitars and vocals soar brightly above them.
Zach Barocas
Over the course of three nights, there were so many highlights, it’s hard to pick just a few. Even with omitting songs from each album, they still played so many I wanted to hear. Several had not been performed since the 90s, tracks like “Send Down,” “Cruel Swing,” “Ones & Zeros” and “U Trau,” which were all received enthusiastically by the audience. Other absolute standout moments definitely include the fervent vocal plea of “I don’t believe!” in “Mirrorful,” which also features some of my favorite Jawbox lyrics “Righteousness, Blazes back, Twist the past, And reward the arrogance” ; to the wild 16th note controlled chaos of Baracos’ drumming on “Won’t Come Off” (I stared at his hands the entire song, trying to decode the masterful way he seemed to be everywhere all at once). “Chicago Piano,” and “Reel,” also both feature some of my favorite drum parts on Sweatheart and I loved getting to see these played again.
I went in happy to hear whatever they chose to play, and I was just continually wowed, song after song. And while I knew they weren’t going to play full albums, there were definitely songs I hoped for, getting to hear many of them. I had very much hoped to hear “Spit Bite” which is my favorite track on Novelty but this was one of the songs they unfortunately passed on. “Static,” and “Cutoff” certainly made up for some of that mild disappointment though.
“Reel” live in Washington DC 7/23/22, one day after the residency
I was perhaps most thrilled that they played “Motorist” each night as it is my favorite song on Sweetheart. Chills shot down my spine at the declaration/question “I know you never grasped the possibilities, What would you risk to rescue me?” And of course hearing them close with their best known song, the well loved “Savory,” every night was the cherry on top of each setlist. Aside from the music, I also loved getting to hear the stories about some of the songs and of past shows/tours with the members of the opening acts, either from their time in earlier bands or their current ones.
“Motorist” and “Jackpot Plus!” live in Washington DC 7/23/22, one day after the residency
And speaking of the openers, each night was different and all had long history with Jawbox. Night one saw SAVAK, which features Sohrab Habibion on guitar and vocals. He was once a member of Edsel and J. Robbins had much praise for and many stories about him, sharing that when they lived together in the late 80s “Sohrab had all the cool records and always did his dishes.” James Canty, younger brother of Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, was behind the kit and has plenty of his own history with Jawbox. Night two was Versus, who I always appreciate getting a chance to see (and who I really should spend more individual time with their records). Ted Leo was up on night three, and he played a wonderful solo set delighting some fans up front who seemingly came just for him. All were wonderful pairings and made for a great extra bonus to each show.
“Savory” by Jawbox, “Penaluna” by Edsel split 7″ J. Robbins joked on night one that they could play “Savory” that night because it had actually been first released on this 7″ in 1993 when they were still in the Dischord era, a year prior to it being included on Sweetheart. This is a different recording that what was on the later album.
A career spanning residency truly is a unique thing for a band to do, a lot of work and commitment and certainly not easy. Which is why you don’t see them happen all the time and why it’s all the more special when a band can so seamlessly pull it off. Coletta said they aren’t sure that they will repeat this again in other cities, so this may have been the one shot to have seen it; I am so very glad I was able to be there. When I asked her how she and the band felt about the shows afterwards she said “We feel like the shows went really well. The audience was great, and they had a wonderful and positive energy. Everyone at LPR was great and treated us really well.”
“Savory” and “Cut Off” live in Baltimore 3/12/2022
From the audience perspective, it truly was just an incredible way to dig deep into a band that has meant so much to me and so many others, and it was emotional to just lose myself a bit as the songs radiated through me. Keith Ulrey, who first saw the band play in 1990, said “As a long time fan of all things Jawbox, seeing them celebrate their entire legacy in one fell swoop was mind blowing. There was almost a sense of honor being humbly present for the three night residency. I don’t know when I’ll have that feeling again.” Dave Diem, bassist of LAPÊCHE, echoed this saying “It is always so great to see them live. They bring sincere joy to what they do. It makes me feel part of something, interconnected.” I couldn’t agree more with both of these sentiments.
These shows were each individually amazing to witness. Collectively, the residency taken as a whole was such an exceptional thing to witness and be a part of. I couldn’t ask for a better band to have experienced something like this with.
Scroll down for pics of the shows, setlists, and more video from Washington DC (photos by Kate Hoos)
Setlist night one “Dischord Era”: Cutoff, Tracking, Dreamless, Consolation Prize, Grip, Ones and Zeros, Sent Down, Lowdown (Wire cover), Static, Motorist, Tongues, Bullet Park, Tools, Jackpot Plus!, FF=66, Green Glass, Mirrorful, Cooling Card, Nickel Nickel Millionaire, Savory Encore: 68, Cornflake Girl (Tori Amos cover)
Setlist night two “Sweetheart Era”: FF=66, 68, U Trau, Reel, Cooling Card, Static, Cutoff, Grip, Consolation Prize, Lowdown (Wire cover), Iodine, Cruel Swing, Jackpot Plus!, Motorist, Livid, Desert Sea, Spoiler, Green Glass, Chicago Piano, Send Down, Savory Encore: Absenter, Cornflake Girl
Setlist night three “Self-titled Era” Mirrorful, Nickel Nickel Millionaire, Desert Sea, Chinese Fork Tie, Spoiler, Iodine, Tongues, Livid, Absenter, Under Glass, Won’t Come Off, Cornflake Girl (Tori Amos cover), Ones and Zeros, Grip, Consolation Prize, Lowdown (Wire cover), Reel, U-Trau, Static, Savory Encore: Motorist, Jackpot Plus!
Punk Island is back! After two long years away (no) thanks to the pandemic, the free, all ages, DIY festival made its triumphant return in 2022 with a theme of Memorial and Revival. To say this fest is near and dear to my heart would be an understatement: I have a deeply personal connection to it because I poured thousands of hours into it along with (a little bit of) my blood, my tears (once or twice), A LOT of sweat and even more love. I spent nearly six years as an organizer on the festival from 2016 onward, first running the Hoosatron stage, later taking on many of the behind the scenes logistics and serving as the lead organizer before my retirement earlier this year. I also played in five different bands over the years and always photographed to document each year.
So yes, my love and commitment to this fest runs very deep. This was my first year not playing since 2015 and my first year going back as purely a fan. While I do miss many of the aspects of the moving parts of making an event like this happen, it was nice to enjoy my retirement and just take the day in. I was thrilled to be there to support the many friends I have made over the years at the fest, see my fellow organizers (as well as some new ones) carry the torch, and to get to talk to more people and make new friends. Erica Camponeschi, a longtime fan and supporter who was sidelined with Covid this year, said on Facebook that she was disappointed to miss the fest but added “know that I have been thinking of y’all today, and of all of the ways we met, set by set, stage by stage, year by year.” I can’t think of a more apt way to describe how I feel about all of the memories and friendships this festival has brought to my own life too; Punk Island has always been about family and community to me first and foremost.
The fest looked different this year from past years, a smaller affair held in Brooklyn’s Maria Hernandez Park rather than on Randall’s Island which had hosted the fest from 2017-2019. In the past the fest had included up to nine stages led by different organizers, simultaneously going with close to 100 bands throughout the day. This year saw two alternating stages—Memorial and Revival—and a much smaller lineup with the organizers saying on Facebook “we wanted to come back at a smaller scale and work our way up to what we once had pre-pandemic.” Several zine vendors and local community organizations were also onsite, North Brooklyn Mutual Aid and FentCheck offering harm reduction information along with Narcan and Fentanyl test strips, with workshops on sex worker advocacy from Sex Workers Outreach Project among others. These resources and organizations have become an important part of the programming in recent years and have made it much more than just a music festival.
And while much more than music does happen at Punk Island, it does remain at its heart a music focused event built around an eclectic lineup of artists. Every year fans from near and far come for the wide range of bands that play, touching on everything under the punk umbrella you can imagine—hardcore, pop punk, ska, folk punk, queercore, crust, grunge, noise—it’s all there to be enjoyed by everyone. This year I got to see so much more of the fest than I used to, since I didn’t have a stage to manage or a set to play. I was able to catch almost every band and I absolutely loved reveling in the unbridled joy as everyone moshed, danced, skanked and shouted along together. Winter Wolf drummer Nate Harris stated on Facebook after the fest: “Punk Island was amazing and needed,” and I couldn’t agree more.
In a day full of heavy hitters, highlights for me were acoustic Mariachi folk punks Pancho Villa’s Skull, who made the trip from Pontiac, MI special for the fest; NJ grunge rockers Shut Up, who really let that early 90s Seattle influence fly; surf punks Depresión Tropical who brought summer at the beach vibes; hyper punks Motel Portrait who were totally new to me and had a very entertaining and exciting drummer; and the always super fun Ratas En Zelo, who got the entire crowd bopping along to their infectious accordion fueled jams. Kartel was also another big one for me as they had long been on my list to see but I kept missing them. I was thrilled to finally catch their set which closed out the day, whipping the crowd into a final frenzied crescendo with their potent dbeat hardcore.
I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention my friends and fellow organizers who I always delight in seeing: Twee punk greats The Loneliers who, along with their DIY collective The Pigeon Pack, were instrumental in making my stage run in 2018 and 2019 and who are now full organizers themselves. Winter Wolf never ceases to amaze me with the level of intensity they put into their performances and they dialed it up to 1000% playing an explosive set. The Dilators, featuring Brooklyn Transcore organizer Sawyer Season, was the band I was perhaps most excited about, having recently made their live debut, taking the fest and the Brooklyn scene by storm. Suffice it to say that I am so lucky to have such incredibly talented and passionate friends who are doing such vital work as musicians and organizers. I can’t wait to see what they all do next.
The Loneliers (photo by Kate Hoos)
Winter Wolf (photo by Kate Hoos)
The Dilators (photo by Kate Hoos)
Another big highlight was the memorial wall which was included to honor those who passed away over the last few years. Some opted for tributes to musicians like longtime Punk Island fan, supporter and performer, James “Lunchbox” Giunta (Exit 17) who passed away in 2017, and Alec Ballie (Choking Victim, Leftover Crack) and Jack Terricloth (World Inferno Friendship Society), who both played the fest in 2019, and who both passed away during the pandemic. Others chose to memorialize friends, family, or beloved pets. PI organizer Sawyer Season said she wanted to include the memorial wall because she “wanted to give people a chance to express that sense of loss together, and I wanted us to be able to lift those names up as our ancestors who are watching over us and protecting us punks.” This was one of my favorite things from the fest and I was quite emotional seeing it progress throughout the day as names were added and lives remembered.
James “Lunchbox” Giunta
Punk Island is truly such a wonderful and essential event for the New York music community. I will never not love it or feel an indescribable high after heading home; this year felt perhaps even more potent after everything it took to get us here. Lead organizer Antonio Rodriguez was jubilant after the event saying “This year Punk Island was perfect! After two years of absolute bullshit, it was amazing to get everyone in the community back together for a day of revival. I kept running into people that I hadn’t seen in years and reconnecting.” He went on to add “The absolute high point of the day for me was The Dilators set led by Punk Island organizer Sawyer Season, their whole set was vital and electric. And they absolutely killed a cover of System of a Down’s “Deer Dance” who’s chorus: “Pushing little children with their fully automatics,They like to push the weak around,” has never felt more relevant. The second I heard them playing I ran straight into the pit, my first in five years, and sang along. They ended their set by saying that “Punks not dead, it’s just a girl now.” Rodriguez also made mention of the memorial wall stating “The theme of this year’s Punk Island was Memorial and Revival and I think that it really came through.”
Punk will never be dead when the community comes together and thrives through events like Punk Island. The organizers, the bands and the fans pour their hearts and souls into it each and every year. And though the world is fucked up and hard, sometimes almost unbearable on many days, at least we can find an oasis like this together to hold each other up and find the joy we all so deserve.
Scroll down for pics of the fest (photos by Kate Hoos)
I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying! Grief manifests itself in different ways, and the loss of our beloved Brooklyn DIY space, Pet Rescue, which just closed its doors after a legendary 10 year run has me oozing all the feels. DIY spaces come and go. Often, many shutter before we get a chance to check them out, and if one lasts more than a few years even it’s a miracle. How Pet Rescue managed to last a full decade without even the cops being called once is beyond comprehension. The place may as well be a thousand year old goddamn unicorn.
If you’ve ever been to Pet Rescue’s loft space—tucked behind 2 large truck beds on the loading docks at 346 Morgan Ave— you understand. And if you haven’t, I’m truly sorry. Brian LaRue (Safe Houses FKA Shelter Dogs) found the place on Craigslist in 2012, and over the next 10 years, hundreds upon hundreds of the best local musicians, as well as countless bands touring thru NYC, would find a safe, friendly, and inclusive place to connect (and sometimes crash) with the other weirdos in the Brooklyn community. Barely held together by found lumber, duct tape, and old windows from Brian’s parents’ house—and definitely not legally zoned for residential use—it felt like home every single night and I fucking loved it.
But LaRue actually lived there for the first 6 years and change, as did PJ Levine (La Di Das, Significant Others) who took over the place and moved in from 2019 until he was evicted last week. It was nothing short of a very carefully calculated decision by LaRue as to who would take over Pet Rescue upon his departure, as the integrity of stewardship of the space was paramount in passing the torch. PJ didn’t miss a beat fostering and continuing the ethos of Pet Rescue as his own, navigating through the darkest times of the pandemic which befell him shortly after being handed the keys.
So obviously Pet Rescue wasn’t all sunshine, bubblegum, candy and roses. Running a DIY venue—especially in Brooklyn—is HARD. There was the constant and looming threat of being shut down, the poorly ventilated sweltering summers and freezing winters. Not to mention hosting shows in your single room not-exactly-legal apartment in itself can be a huge pain in the ass. So it’s really not at all surprising that LaRue never intended to start a venue. He just wanted to throw parties and have a place that his and his friends’ bands could play. Steve Perry (The Planes) recently said in the final weeks “It’s not a cultural landmark, and was never trying to be. It’s just a good fucking house party, with loud fucking bands, and cheap fucking beer. And that’s why I think I love it so much.”
While it was a high honor that my band, Nihiloceros, got to return and play the penultimate show a week before the doors closed for good, it was LaRue’s band (now Safe Houses) who fittingly played the final bash along with The Rizzos, The Burning Sun (from Burlington VT), Significant Others (Levine’s band), and Reclining Nude. Brian beautifully and quite perfectly summed up the spirit of the place in a spontaneous off the cuff toast mid-set that commanded the complete attention of every soul in the room. “It was you guys that saw more in this place,” LaRue said. “And you taught each other how to treat each other.” That’s really always been the heart of Pet Rescue; people gathering and making space and working together to help one another out and have a good time.
Interior of Pet Rescue (photo by Sam Sumpter)
Pet Rescue was really a testament to embracing the weird curves life puts in your path; the joyful surprises and happy accidents. Jon Daily (The Black Black, Kissed by an Animal, bandNada) added “Brian nailed it in his toast. Pet Rescue is about saying yes to things slightly outside of your comfort zone and following the opportunities that arise…and rock and roll. It’s also about rock and roll.”
Pet Rescue was really a special place, built and run by special people who put in a lot of thankless work and lived the unseen stresses and hassles for years just to give us this place to exist and play. And we all breathed life into that old cozy loft week after week, month after month, year after year for 10 fucking years. That’s nothing short of amazing. And that’s also why it’s not really ever gone. It’s the people who make up Pet Rescue and while it’ll be sad to know the wood and the plaster has all been torn down and gutted, its soul will never die.
It lives on in places like East Williamsburg Econolodge, Catfarm and Rubulad. Jon Daily (who runs Econolodge) called the final show “a perfect finale for Pet Rescue—a celebration, not a funeral.” The very final set at Pet Rescue fittingly began well after midnight technically into the next morning of the next day. Justin Ferraro, bassist of The Rizzos, leaning into the microphone saying (now years after their infamous show there where someone literally tore out all the plumbing) “We are the Rizzos and we’re here to kill Pet Rescue…again.”
Official Punk Island 2022 artwork (art by Kaitlyn Chen)
Punk Island is a free, all ages punk fest in NYC that has traditionally happened every June. The pandemic unfortunately kept the fest from happening since 2019, but this year the fest is back and slated for Saturday 7/23, in a new location, Maria Hernandez Park in Brooklyn. This will be the first year the fest will be held in Brooklyn—having previously been held on Staten Island, Governors Island, and most recently, Randall’s Island. The fest will be scaled down from previous years, with the organizers telling fans on their Facebook page “As a collective, we decided that we wanted to come back at a smaller scale and work our way up to what we once had pre-pandemic. We hope you understand and hope to see you in Brooklyn this summer.”
Lead organizer Antonio Rodriguez further elaborated saying “After the last two years, we are happy to announce that Punk Island is back!” going on to say “In an effort to renew and regrow our community, we are turning our focus over to a more streamlined music and zine festival. The day fest will feature two stages as well as a variety of zine vendors and workshops. This will be followed by a robust after party at nearby venue, Rubulad”
While the fest is smaller than in past years, there is still a wide variety of artists performing, with 31 acts on the bill. We have your very first look at the full lineup which will feature:
Punk Island will take place on Saturday July 23, 2022 from Noon til 7pm; it is all ages and free to all. An after party will take place at Rubulad (details still forthcoming).
Scroll down for pics from past years (photos by Kate Hoos)
Pop punk greats and Brooklyn faves, Thick, have announced a new album, Happy Now, and along with it released the first single, “Loser.” The song is a catchy romp with crunchy guitars and sugar sweet harmonies, seeming at first to lament the woes of being a loser, but digging a little deeper, it’s more a song saying that it’s okay to be less than perfect and that you can find your strengths to shine no matter who you are or what other people say: “Do you think that I’m a loser? I love when people tell me I should quit,” summing it up perfectly.
The song comes with a hilarious new sports themed video that was directed by FTA contributor Jeanette D. Moses (who also directed the video for “Mansplain”) and features the band training hard for a softball game, pushing themselves to the limit while being egged on by their over zealous coach, played by Gillian Visco (of shadow monster) complete with a “There’s no crying in baseball” t shirt. If you squint behind the plate, you’ll also see more FTA crew talking smack (aka yours truly).
The full album is set for release on August 19 via Epitaph Records. The band will embark on a fall tour with Skating Polly to support the album starting September 7. Watch the video below.
I’ve known Mossy Ross for a long time, first as the drummer for the Brooklyn-based psychedelic rock band, Lord Classic. But after a long pandemic (like, really long and it’s not even over), I wanted to catch up with her and chat about her band Nuclear Family Fantasy which she fronts on bass. They just released a new, mostly electronic album Leavin’ This Place, a departure from the power trio’s usual straight-ahead rock sound. What remains the same, however, are the scathing lyrics delivered in Ross’s defiant alto voice.
Ross started writing the songs on Leavin’ This Place in 2018 and had planned to record it live in the studio in 2020, but the pandemic threw a wrench into that plan. So she started exploring how to produce and record at home, and laid down some tracks.
“I got bored one day,” Ross says, “and I’d always wanted to add more texture and dynamics to the songs because I wanted them to have a pretty quality instead of just being straight-up rock. I figured I would try some melodies, and then I ended up doing the whole thing.”
She experimented with synth, drum machines, and keyboards and then passed the tracks to producer and musician Kelsey Warren of Blak Emoji. Ross credits him with sticking with the theme she wanted, while helping to smooth out her rookie mistakes.
Nuclear Family Fantasy performing in 2021 (photo by Kate Hoos)
“He produced the hell out of it,” Ross laughs. “We got all these other sounds. And that was unthinkable to me to do anything electronic because when I first started playing in bands in 2006, everybody was using GarageBand, everybody was using laptops for their shows, and my bandmates at the time were super analog and that influenced me. And now I have such a great appreciation for being able to be inventive with sounds and things like that. But that being said, the next album is going to be a three-piece with my new bandmates.”
Ross says her new bandmates, guitarist Roni Corcos and drummer Chayse Schutter, have done a fantastic job interpreting the electronic album for a live show.
“If I had recorded the album with them and have them do what they do, I would have given them songwriting credit,” Ross says. “Chayse has written some great beats and Roni does a really cool job of adding texture but also doing some of the things that were done on keyboards on the album. So she knows when to do what. It’s really cool. It’s a really cool sound.”
Even though the sound of the album is different from the live show, Ross hopes that fans will like both. She says she enjoyed playing with dynamics and layering simple melodies which you can hear on the album.
“I really like dynamics because my songs are really simple when it comes to melody and the structure,” Ross says. “Or not the structure so much, but sometimes I play the same notes, or the same bar, the whole way through. Adding pauses or adding bigger sounds is what keeps it interesting, which is what I think I’ve taken from classical music. One of the things I love about classical is there’s a theme. Like Chopin starts with a simple theme and then just goes crazy with it.”
Nuclear Family Fantasy performing in 2022 (photo by Caroline Schutter)
I asked her what it was like to switch from being behind a drum kit in Lord Classic to fronting her own band on bass and vocals, as well as being the principal songwriter.
“I never thought about it, but I guess the transition was pretty embarrassing in many ways!” She laughs. “I learned a lot, and I think as long as you learn, it has to be a good decision. It’s definitely been empowering in many ways. It was a great outlet for me, you know. Bass is hard, because I love to dance and move when I play, but I can’t—I gotta be in front of the mic. I chipped my tooth many times on the microphone. There was a lot of learning that goes along with it, like plugging things in; I never had to do that, and that’s a learning process. What hole does the cable go into? What amp am I plugging into? Especially being a woman, you don’t want to look stupid. You want to know what you’re talking about when it comes to tech stuff.”
One of the reasons Ross named her band Nuclear Family Fantasy is because she chafed at “traditional” gender roles when she was growing up in the South where she was raised as a Baptist. She says she’s been working on changing the mindset that was deeply ingrained in her at a young age.
“I think when you’re conditioned since childhood to believe a certain thing, you don’t even know how much you’re being conditioned until you realize it,” Ross muses. “Then you’re like ‘oh’ and you realize you have to do all this de-conditioning.”
You can definitely see how she’s working through it in the lyrics in “Storm Before the Calm” and “Too Good For Me.”
“There’s so much shit that’s wrong with the world and I like to write stuff that draws attention to it,” Ross says. “My main thing with music, or any art form for that matter, is I think that it’s meant to connect people and it’s meant to hopefully share some sort of message.”
See Ross with Nuclear Family Fantasy this summer in and around Brooklyn so we can all work through our shit together.
