Song Of The Week: 2/5/17

Song: "Heads Up!"

Artist: OC45

Album: "Burn It" EP

Year: 2015

Place Of Origin: Boston, Massachusetts

Years Active: 2011 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Heads Up!" appears to be a song about struggle. The struggle to survive in a world or environment that does everything to keep you down. The struggle to sift through the bullshit and lies that cloud your vision as you try to move forward in life. The everyday struggle to survive and make ends meet just to live. If you don't let all of these things bring you down and you believe in yourself and your ideals, then you should be ok in whatever you do.

OC45 DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2012 - Class & Cruelty (Birdseye Records)
2017 - Happy Accidents (self-released)

CURRENT STATUS OF OC45:

OC45 formed as a band back in 2011, hailing from Boston, MA. Joining a long line of Boston punk bands to represent that scene, OC45 now joins the ranks of Dropkick Murphys, Street Dogs, The Ducky Boys and Far From Finished to name a few. The band's debut album emerged in 2012 called "Class & Cruelty". The band also has two EP releases, 2013's "When It Hits" and 2015's "Burn It". OC45 has just recently released their sophmore full length effort in January of 2017 called "Happy Accidents". This album was self-released by the band and can be found on their own Bandcamp page and Itunes as well. During their career, OC45 has shared the stage with some punk stalwarts such as Swingin' Utters, Street Dogs, Far From Finished, The Scandals, Youth Brigade and The Casualties. As for style? OC45 is a street punk band with a Boston street punk sound. If you are a fan of bands such as Stray Bullets, Have Nots, Far From Finished, Burning Streets or Saturday's Heroes then you will most certainly enjoy OC45.

TEN OC45 SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Far Away
2. 8,900
3. Robbery
4. Heads Up!
5. New Regulations
6. New War
7. Is This Tomorrow
8. Slow It Down
9. Robbery
10. Class & Cruelty

Song Of The Week: 1/29/17

Song: "Weathered"

Artist: The Dangerous Summer

Album: "Live In Baltimore"

Year: 2010

Place Of Origin: Elliot City, Maryland

Years Active: 2006 - 2014



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Weathered" is a song that appears to be about The Dangerous Summer vocalist AJ Perdomo trying to cope with the loss of his mother. It finds him running away on a trip of self-discovery to face his demons. You can tell he is trying to find some sort of acceptance in the world because he no longer has the one person in his life that he can lean on. This version of "Weathered" is the live one from the band's 2010 album "Live In Baltimore". The original studio cut appears on the band's 2009 album "Reach For The Sun".

THE DANGEROUS SUMMER DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2009 - Reach For The Sun (Hopeless Records)
2010 - Live In Baltimore (Hopeless Records)
2011 - An Acoustic Performance Of "Reach For The Sun" (Hopeless Records)
2011 - War Paint (Hopeless Records)
2013 - Golden Record (Hopeless Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF THE DANGEROUS SUMMER:

The Dangerous Summer formed as a band back in 2006, hailing from Elliott City, Maryland. The band's first release was a 2006 EP called "There Is No Such Thing As Science". That EP caught the ear of Hopeless Records and the band and label forged a career spanning partnership which began in 2007. Under Hopeless, the band re-released their debut EP under the new name "If You Could Only Keep Me Alive". This EP contained a few new songs and in 2009, the band released their full length debut album, "Reach For The Sun". This album would reach #42 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Their second album, 2011's "War Paint", spent one week on the Billboard 200 charts at #149. The band's last release would be 2013's "Golden Record". After touring in support of "Golden Record", The Dangerous Summer vocalist AJ Perdomo told the band that he would be taking an indefinite hiatus from music to focus on being a father. In 2014, the rest of the band made it official by stating that The Dangerous Summer had officially called it quits. The Dangerous Summer's style is basically a melodic rock/alternative rock outfit with hints of pop punk elements. If you're a fan of bands like The Swellers, The Starting Line, Transit, The Early November and Acceptance then you would probably enjoy the sound of The Dangerous Summer. While their style of music isn't my favorite genre, I do enjoy a melodic, pop song every now and then and The Dangerous Summer wrote really good songs, often very personal lyrics and strong musicianship. I think they are one of the better alternative rock/pop punk bands out there. It's a shame it didn't work out for them to keep working together and making music.

TEN THE DANGEROUS SUMMER SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Where I Want To Be
2. Catholic Girls
3. War Paint
4. Siren (acoustic version)
5. The Permanent Rain
6. Sins
7. No One's Gonna Need You More
8. Of Confidence
9. Good Things
10. Weathered

Song Of The Week: 1/22/17

Song: "A Portrait Of The Artist As A Drunk Man"

Artist: Rum Runner

Album: "What's The Music Mean To You"

Year: 2009

Place Of Origin: Calgary, Canada

Years Active: 2001 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

Can't find the lyrics for "A Portrait Of The Artist As A Drunk Man" but, after listening to the song, I get the sense that the vocalist has found what he thinks is the love of his life. Perhaps, through his drunken eyes, he misread this because, though he waits for her and though she said she would come back, she never does. He's left with his broken heart and his thirst for alcohol.

RUM RUNNER DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2003 - Association (Longshot Music)
2005 - In Guns At Cyrano's (Stumble Records)
2009 - What's The Music Mean To You (Stumble Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF RUM RUNNER:

Rum Runner formed as a band back in 2001, hailing from Calgary, Alberta. There is not a whole lot out there on the internet when it comes to news about this Canadian punk and roll band, what is known is that their debut album, "Association" came out in 2003. The band forged a relationship with Stumble Records for their next two releases, 2005's "In Guns At Cyrano's" and 2009's "What's The Music Mean To You". Also, besides their three full length albums, the band also put out two 7" singles and one split 7" single. The band's most recent release was the 2011, two song 7" single, "Sings...Tonight! Tonight! Tonight! & Icewagon". Rum Runner considers their sound to be melodic punk and roll. Their style is reminiscent of bands like The Ducky Boys, The Go Set, Knucklehead, My Life In Black And White and Bastards On Parade. There are elements of street punk, folk punk, celtic punk and even some rock-a-billy punk in their music. As I said earlier, there isn't much out there on the net about Rum Runner. No Facebook page. No Bandcamp page. They haven't released anything since 2011 so for all I know, they may have broken up. Your guess is as good as mine.

TEN RUM RUNNER SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. The Leaving Of Liverpool
2. My Rifle, My Pony And Me
3. Tobacco Eyes
4. A Portrait Of The Artist As A Drunk Man
5. The Punks Are Due On Maple Street
6. Torn Ten Dollar Bill
7. You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond
8. So Long Outsider
9. Sugar Sweet
10. Streams Of Whiskey

Song Of The Week: 1/15/17

Song: "Miscommunication"

Artist: The Dangerous Summer

Album: "War Paint"

Year: 2011

Place Of Origin: Elliott City, Maryland

Years Active: 2006 - 2014



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Miscommunication" appears to be a song about a dissolving relationship. It's clear that one person wants a commitment while the other is perhaps moving away from that and, in turn, there is a distance that has grown between them. It appears the rift may be un-repairable and this relationship may come to an end sooner rather than later.

THE DANGEROUS SUMMER DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2009 - Reach For The Sun (Hopeless Records)
2010 - Live In Baltimore (Hopeless Records)
2011 - An Acoustic Performance Of "Reach For The Sun" (Hopeless Records)
2011 - War Paint (Hopeless Records)
2013 - Golden Record (Hopeless Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF THE DANGEROUS SUMMER:

The Dangerous Summer formed as a band back in 2006, hailing from Elliott City, Maryland. The band's first release was a 2006 EP called "There Is No Such Thing As Science". That EP caught the ear of Hopeless Records and the band and label forged a career spanning partnership which began in 2007. Under Hopeless, the band re-released their debut EP under the new name "If You Could Only Keep Me Alive". This EP contained a few new songs and in 2009, the band released their full length debut album, "Reach For The Sun". This album would reach #42 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Their second album, 2011's "War Paint", spent one week on the Billboard 200 charts at #149. The band's last release would be 2013's "Golden Record". After touring in support of "Golden Record", The Dangerous Summer vocalist AJ Perdomo told the band that he would be taking an indefinite hiatus from music to focus on being a father. In 2014, the rest of the band made it official by stating that The Dangerous Summer had officially called it quits. The Dangerous Summer's style is basically a melodic rock/alternative rock outfit with hints of pop punk elements. If you're a fan of bands like The Swellers, The Starting Line, Transit, The Early November and Acceptance then you would probably enjoy the sound of The Dangerous Summer. While their style of music isn't my favorite genre, I do enjoy a melodic, pop song every now and then and The Dangerous Summer wrote really good songs, often very personal lyrics and strong musicianship. I think they are one of the better alternative rock/pop punk bands out there. It's a shame it didn't work out for them to keep working together and making music.

TEN THE DANGEROUS SUMMER SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Where I Want To Be
2. Catholic Girls
3. War Paint
4. Siren (acoustic version)
5. The Permanent Rain
6. Sins
7. No One's Gonna Need You More
8. Of Confidence
9. Good Things
10. Weathered

Song Of The Week: 1/8/17

Song: "Machocide"

Artist: Lungs

Album: "An Anatomical Guide"

Year: 2007

Place Of Origin: Sydney, Australia

Years Active: 2006 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Machocide" is a song that appears to show the vocalist's disdain for some men who think their masculinity is some sort of privilege or right to disrespect women and/or gays. There are certain types of men out there, misogynists and homophobes, that see fit to disrespect, intimidate and bully women or gays and the vocalist feels that the only good place for these type of idiots is being dead!!

LUNGS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2006 - Breathe, Bastard, Breathe (Poison City Records)
2007 - An Anatomical Guide (Poison City Records)
2010 - The Two Chief World Systems (Poison City Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF LUNGS:

Lungs formed as a band back in 2006, hailing from Australia. Early on this punk rock trio forged a relationship with Aussie record label, Poison City Records and have released three full length albums and one EP through that very label. The band's debut album was 2006's "Breathe, Bastard, Breathe" in 2006. Their most recent release was in 2010, "The Two Chief World Systems". Though the band has not released any new material as of 2010, I'm not so sure that they have officially broken up or not. Their Facebook page still posts quite frequently though I haven't seen any official break up statement so who knows? Lungs is a hard band to label genre wise. Yeah, you can just call them a punk band, but they mix elements of skate punk, thrash, post-hardcore rock, melodic punk, technical punk and some pop punk. When I first listened to the band, the first similarity that popped up to me was Face To Face. But you can also see, that they have some similarities with other bands such as A Wilhelm Scream, Asado, Laughing In The Face Of and DC Fallout. Lungs is a pretty solid band even though they do tend to bounce around from style to style. There's not a whole lot of information about them here in the States besides their Facebook page. But, like I said earlier, they haven't released any music since 2010 and there is no word if they intend to release anything in the future.

TEN LUNGS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. The Making Of Phineas Gage
2. I Lost My Legs
3. Huxley
4. Vessels
5. Machocide
6. The Rosenberg's Piece Of Jell-O Box Code
7. Ghost/Robots (Robots Win)
8. Villain Of The Week
9. The Spider That Ate Itself
10. Disqualified From The Knowledge Game

Song Of The Week: 1/1/17

Song: "Swan Song"

Artist: North Lincoln

Album: "Final Recordings" EP

Year: 2011

Place Of Origin: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Years Active: 1999 - 2010



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Swan Song" is the last song that North Lincoln ever finished writing. According to the band, the song is about the band being in the process of breaking up or knowing that they needed to.

NORTH LINCOLN DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2000 - North Lincoln (Offsite Records)
2004 - Truth Is A Menace (No Idea Records)
2009 - Midwestern Blood (No Idea Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF NORTH LINCOLN:

North Lincoln is a band from Grand Rapids, Michigan that got it's start back in 1999. All the members were in high school when the band started. The trio's self-titled debut album came out in 2000 through Offsite Records. The band's sound caught the ear of well known punk label No Idea Records whom the band would share a relationship with for the rest of their career. In 2004, the band's first album through No Idea was released called "Truth Is A Menace" and five years later, the band dropped their last full length studio album together, "Midwestern Blood". The band also sprinkled in a few EP's, split singles and 7" singles around their three major releases. The long time between releases was mostly due to all of the bandmembers being active in other bands as well as North Lincoln. One year after the release of "Midwestern Blood", North Lincoln decided to call it quits as a band. They played their last official show on January 16, 2010 at Mulligan's Pub in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The band recorded this show and put it up for sale on it's bandcamp page in 2012, in what would be the final recording that the band would release. You can clearly tell that North Lincoln is a band that is highly influenced by the band Hot Water Music. Gritty vocals, melodic songs but with a heavy feel to them. North Lincoln became a pretty big deal in their home state and surrounding midwest areas. If you enjoy bands like The Tim Version, Samiam, The Arrivals, A Death In The Family and obviously Hot Water Music, then you should definitely check out North Lincoln. A very solid gritty punk band! It's a shame they couldn't keep it together to provide us fans with more solid music!

TEN NORTH LINCOLN SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Bridge Jumpers
2. Truth Is A Menace
3. This Is Gonna Hurt
4. Seasons
5. Satellite
6. Sick Of Sorrys
7. In Your Hands
8. Weight Of The World
9. Jeane
10. Swan Song

Song Of The Week: 12/25/16

Song: "First Step To Recovery"

Artist: Castoff

Album: "First Step To Recovery"

Year: 2016

Place Of Origin: San Diego, California

Years Active: 2012 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"First Step To Recovery" is a song that appears to be about how you have to do some soul searching and come to grips with the person who you are. In order to change, you have to own your past mistakes and be honest with yourself. If you accept excuses for your past acts, then you will never really cleanse yourself of the very problems you want to eliminate in your life.

CASTOFF DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2013 - The Dividing Line (self-released)
2015 - First Step To Recovery (Morning Wood Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF CASTOFF:

Castoff formed as a band back in 2012, hailing from San Diego, California. Drawing on the influence of bands like Minor Threat and Bad Religion, Castoff joined the ranks of Southern California melodic hardcore bands that preceeded them. The band's first album was the self-released "The Dividing Line" back in 2013. A few years later, the band signed on with Morning Wood Records for the release of their sophmore effort, 2015's "First Step To Recovery". The band released a music video for the song "Certain As The Sun" from that album. Along with their two full length releases, the band has also dropped three EP's, 2014's "Acquisition", 2015's "Lines And Passages" and their most recent release, 2016's "Castoff". Castoff themselves claim that their music is written for the people who have been discarded, written off, overlooked or ignored. And, their sound can be compared to other melodic hardcore punk bands like Bad Religion, Pennywise, Propagandhi, Strung Out and This Is A Standoff. If a band like Pennywise is considered a top tier hardcore punk band, I'd put Castoff a few tiers lower, perhaps in the same class as a 98 Mute. While the lyrical content is similar to PW, the writing isn't as perfected and the vocals aren't as crisp but that being said, Pennywise is a legendary punk band, Castoff still is in it's relative infancy as a band. Perhaps with more years on the road and in the studio, Castoff can really refine and harness their sound.

TEN CASTOFF SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Certain As The Sun
2. Epilogue
3. Resources
4. Revocation
5. True Wealth
6. Promote Irrational Thought
7. All Is Right
8. The Trite And Trivial
9. Perception And Honesty
10. Selective Memory