Terminal 5

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Bouncing Souls

Sick Of It All / Greyarea

Fri 9/19

Tickets

All Ages

7 PM Doors / 8 PM Show

$18 advance / $20 day of show

Bouncing Souls

http://www.myspace.com/bouncingsouls
http://www.bouncingsouls.com/
Asbury Park, NJ is Bruce Springsteen’s town. There’s no two ways about it. So when The Bouncing Souls moved there to write what would become The Gold Record, Bruce’s old ghosts, spirits which permeate the area, were almost sure to appear. It happens to anyone who’s ever been to a rock show at The Stone Pony, Asbury’s most famous jaunt. I’ve seen it time and time again. Shit, I’ve even seen the Souls cover Springsteen at the Pony. Anyway, in 1999 Springsteen made it into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame for the songwriting abilities he honed on the Jersey Shore. In 2006 it’s fitting that the Souls create their latest album on the same hallowed streets. The result is undoubtedly the Bouncing Souls greatest achievement in songwriting and what will be one of the best albums of the year.

Sure, the Bouncing Souls have written some great tunes, but never have so many been put onto one cohesive disc. All the energy of their first few albums are evident as well as the youthful melody of their latter ones. The difference here is an obvious maturity in their ability to craft a multi-layered song that isn’t overly complicated and still accessible to old school fans.

The first track, “The Gold Song” serves as a proper introduction. You can picture it as a fist-pumping, show-opener for years to come. When the chorus comes around and singer Greg Attonito boasts “I heard someone say that nothing gold can stay, but there’s a love in all our souls and it shines like gold,” you realize the Bouncing Souls wear their souls on their sleeves and yes… you can feel the love.

The second track is where I mostly draw the Springsteen parallel. It’s called, oddly enough, “So Jersey” and it’s a love song about risking it all, growing up and the music that provides the soundtrack of hope. The ever-so faint backdrop of piano provides a touch of straight up rock n roll, right out of “Born to Run.” It works beautifully and takes the song to a whole new level, a level only a punk band with the integrity of the Bouncing Souls could pull off without sounding manufactured. The E-Street Band would be proud.

While most of the songs are about love, life, music, and the unspoken for, the lyrics to one of the most heartfelt songs weren’t even written by the band. They were written by a soldier with the U.S. military. “Letters From Iraq” stems from a page on bouncingsouls.com featuring soul baring insight into the thoughts and feelings of soldiers overseas. To hear the words from the pen of someone living in a warzone can be downright chilling. “Underneath the palms, there’s improvised bombs. Because, Jihad Johnny knows Yankee is a liar.” Back that up with a thumping beat and you’ve got yourself the protest song Anti-Flag wish they wrote.

There’s been plenty of positive words written about the Bouncing Souls over the years. I asked a friend not too long ago if he liked them and his response was ‘who doesn’t like the Bouncing Souls?’ They’ve cemented themselves as a group a lot of bands want to be and you know something? They just get better as time goes on. To hear them do what they do is pure love and when you’re that passionate about something, the love does indeed shine like gold.

-Ed Erlenmeyer

Sick of it All

http://www.myspace.com/sickofitallny
http://www.sickofitall.com
As one of the longest standing bands still proudly waving the flag of New York Hardcore, Sick Of It All have made their mark as one of the cornerstones of NYHC, proving that heart, hard work and dedication to hardcore is about more than just the music and an image, it’s a way of life.

The four-piece will be celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2006 and coinciding with that monumental event is the release of the bands 9th full-length record (not including several EPs, singles and live recordings). The upcoming record, entitled Death To Tyrants, will be released early 2006 and shows the band is nowhere near slowing down.

“This is a landmark album for us, so it's important for it to be strong and heavy,” says drummer Armand Majidi. “Although the songs growl in a new way, they're SOIA through and through, with something to offer all our fans from every era. There's a political slant to a number of songs, because of the more desperate world view we have nowadays, but we still share personal experiences, philosophies and moods that we hope everyone can relate to.”

This socially driven attitude and message is something that’s always kept the band close with their fanbase from the very beginning. Originally formed by brothers Lou and Pete Koller in the mid-'80s, Sick Of It All set the tone of their music and ideology by offering a no-frills view of the world around them. Often revolving around politics, social injustices and life on streets in New York, the band wore their views on their sleeve and made no apologies, often times attempting to turn the tables to include thread of positivity, a hope for change and improvement.

Not long after forming, the band released their first self-titled EP on Revelation Records and began to accumulate a strong local following after playing infamous clubs like CBGBs. Their first full-length record, Blood Sweat And No Tears (Combat Records), took the band on their first national tour, after which there was no stopping them. When their second album Just Look Around was released in 1992, it was a benchmark for the band and the New York hardcore scene. The band recruited bass player Craig Ahead during this time who joined them on international tours to both Europe and Japan, while the record helped revitalized the scene and bolster NYHC pride among their contemporaries. The mid-90s saw the band go the majors as they released their breakthrough-album Scratch The Surface in 1994 on Atlantic, followed by a live album and a collection of rarities before they released their seminal record Built To Last in 1997. During this time the band continued to tour relentlessly, even hitting South and Central America.

Releasing three albums on Fat Wreck Chords, as well as a live album and a collection of rarities, the band kept spreading the hardcore reality all over the world, proving to be an institution of hardcore while different trends came and went. It’s this longevity and conviction that has kept the band’s reputation untarnished and legendary.

“We're lucky enough to have [a fanbase] that accepts us as we are, and who prefer their music gimmick-free and without all the pop culture bullshit,” Majidi says. “Our motivation is helped by the fact that in twenty years, we never rested on our laurels because of mainstream success. We're just as hungry as we've ever been and still have a lot to prove.”

Taking the challenge on to prove their sincerity, the band have crafted an album to prove the tired listeners and the naysayers dead wrong. Set to be recorded with Dean Baltulonis (Bouncing Souls, Give Up The Ghost, Most Precious Blood) at Atomic Studios this winter with mixing being handled by Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Heaven Shall Burn), Sick Of It All are firing on all cylinders. The band’s real life dogma and hunger for excellence as a hardcore band have truly been ideals that fans from all corners of the globe passionately admire and identify with. On Death To Tyrants, the band pulls no punches and shows clearly why they are the definition of “hardcore.”