Twenty years is a long time – much longer than many relationships last. So it’s an accomplishment when a band can stick together through life and social changes. DeeCracks, a poppy punk band from Austria, threw a two-day festival last year and released a 28-track retrospective to mark their anniversary in late 2023 (20 Years: A Frantic Effort, Pirates Press). But we wanted more, so we asked the band to share some insight about songs that are core to the band after all these years. We wanted to know about the songs that make every set list, but also some of the inspirational tunes that continue to shape the band today. Photo: Johannes Wartberger It might seem to be easy to pick 10 songs (5 DeeCracks and 5 by other artists) that mean something to me/us, one may guess, but looking back on 20 years with the band, and a life heavily influenced by music as well, makes this quite a challenge. Those familiar with DeeCracks probably know where we are coming from so maybe some songs won't surprise you. Anyway, I tried my best to make this list as interesting and maybe even as revealing as possible so here we go, in no particular order. “Beach 90” (DeeCracks) This is one of the earliest DeeCracks songs and has been included in our set ever since then. It's a love letter to New York. I wrote it there. It's one of those songs that pretty much write itself. It was … Read more
Acathexis – Immerse (Amor Fati/Extraconscious Records) Acathexis’ self-titled debut from 2018 is one that still bears repeated listens, personally, many years later. With some of the best known and hardest working musicians … Read more
I was a teenager in the early '90s when a single song from a little punk trio out of the Pacific Northwest single-handedly destroyed a whole genre of music on … Read more
Horrorpunk comes in many shapes and forms and I have been fortunate, doing this feature, to chat to many talented horrorpunk artists. All of these bands have horror as the … Read more
Angel Face features members of Teengenerate, American Soul Spiders, Raydios, Ruler, The Fadeways, and Firestarter. First coming together in 2021, Angel Face is gathering steam with their new single and … Read more
An in-depth discussion with a band or artist, generally in the form of a straight Q&A – no editorializing.
Album streams, our Set List "top five..." features, our year-end "best of" lists and other music-related miscellany.
Quite literally, a one question interview. Also known as 1QIs, we post these first to our social media on a near-daily basis, with the archival piece here. Check 'em out.
A melting pot of mixed content: movie, book and even video game reviews. Updated sporadically, but eclectically.
Contributions on a range of topics from a range of industry figures: musicians, filmmakers, editors and more.
A semi-regular column exploring new and rising local bands and artists deserving of attention.
Horrorpunk comes in many shapes and forms and I have been fortunate, doing this feature, to chat to many talented horrorpunk artists. All of these bands have horror as the deep-rooted core of their music and they bring this theme out in different styles. We have introduced you to the heavier side, the experimental and the punky side of horrorpunk. … Read more
We post a variety of features in recurring series – click below to browse them.
A regular series by Robert F.
A wide-ranging guest column written by BJ from Ancient Shores, mainly covering film but extending into philosophy and aesthetics too. Check out BJ's work on the A389 podcast.
How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music.
Guest column by T of Vegas
A cookery column by Nick, vocalist with metal band The Famine. Veggie/vegan friendly!
A roundup of coverage of the annual punk rock festival held in Gainesville, Florida
Our annual roundup from Gainesville, FL's famous Fest.
SPB's coverage of the annual festival in Gainesville, Florida.
Our coverage of the annual Fest extravaganza.
Our coverage of the 19th edition of the Fest – an independent multi-day, multiple-venue music festival held annually in Gainesville, Florida.
All our coverage from the long-running music festival
Articles about the Fest 21
We dive into the back catalog of a record label and ask them to nominate their most memorable releases from their label's history–with a few suggestions of our own.
An interview format where we ask a band to rate and review a bunch of music
A radio DJ profile series created by Christopher D & Matt Hutchison.
There’s so much music released, whether physically or digitally, that keeping up with what’s going on becomes almost like a full time job. With Only Death Is Real, the aim is to bring you something new.
A life lived and lessons learned by Eddie Spaghetti of Supersuckers.
Welcome to Running on Nothing, the latest addition to our stable of columns at Scene Point Blank. Running on Nothing offers a look at the world through the eyes of Kole, bassist of The Lippies, guitarist of The Bloody Lips, and gigposter artist.
We survey some of the other music releases out there. Results may vary...may get weird, but hopefully something covered here piques your interest.
A semi-regular column where we choose a specific area and give a local scene report.
Discussing the state of the music business at the kitchen table
A brief but englightening chat with an artist who reveals an interesting or unexpected story from their career
A collection of items grouped by topic, eg. "Top 5 Worst Beatles Songs" or "Top 10 best '77 punk releases".
One-question interviews with artists where we find out about the gear and equipment they use to achieve their sound.
A collection of coverage rounding up the year 2012, covering our favorite albums, shows, bands, and more, as well as asking record labels and bands about their past twelve months in music
It's the end of 2013, so here's our best-of roundup for the last twelve months.
Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2014.
Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2015.
Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2016.
Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2017.
Our summary of the best music (and more) of 2018.
Our wrap-up of the best music and more from 2019
Our wrap-up of the best music and more for the year we'll all want to otherwise forget, 2020.
Our roundup of the best music from the worst year (since the previous one, anyway).
Our favorite music and more from the year 2022
Our roundup of the best music of the year 2023
I first met Daryl from The Bollweevils during a post-Riot Fest brunch thing years ago. I was there for the weekend with the Mustard Plug guys and a few months before, Red Scare had signed The Lippies. I showed up to Cobra Lounge on a Sunday morning to hang with Toby from Red Scare and catch the show before I … Read more
There are a lot of misconceptions about life in the music biz. While late nights and travel are a big part of it, day jobs always influence the process and the product. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how careers influence the scene. In this edition, we chat with Kate Hiltz, she who is namedropped … Read more
Last year was a strange year. A lot happened in my private life which led to me not doing as much as I wanted to do. Some negative, but mostly positive. However, no matter how positive the events were, it cost me a lot of energy. With my energy and attention drained at other places, I did not have a … Read more
Ramona Jan has a storied career as a pioneer who established herself as an audio engineer in an industry largely dominated by men. With Ramona’s connection to Mediasound, she orchestrated her band at the time -- the Comateens (in 1979) -- to record their first single, “Cool Chick/Danger Zone” on Teenmaster Records. Ramona is also an esteemed author (Jon Bon … Read more
Hello, this is Kepi Ghoulie (formerly of the Groovie Ghoulies) and I have been asked to submit a number of Anti-Valentine songs, since I have been recording an annual audio Valentine for at least the last 15 years! With this year's Valentine release we come full circle with the first "new" Groovie Ghoulies recordins in years: a 7" featuring an … Read more
It's ok to like ska. I'm not kidding. It is perfectly acceptable to like ska. With the current explosion of young ska bands coming up and their growing popularity, I've heard some peers kind of dragging on ska. That's ridiculous. The original ska music was VERY rebellious music. It was working class. And it was damn good. Go back and … Read more
Earlier this year I reviewed The Leaves Of Autumn Symmetry. I really enjoyed the EP. So, when the band contacted us if I wanted to do an interview my first thought was it could be awesome to catch a glimpse behind the creative process of this band. You can read the end result of our short and pleasant exchange here. Scene … Read more
There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene … Read more
Arkhtinn – 三度目の災害 (Prava Collective) The mysterious Prava Collective release music by a handful of artists (who may or may not be in every band or at least more than one), each digital drop containing a plethora of music that encompasses the entire label’s roster while Amor Fati handle the physical side of things. Arkhtinn were the first to come out of … Read more
Another year is over. You yawn wearily as January beckons, trying to remember what your job is and clinging onto those hastily-made new year's resolutions. Maybe one of them was to listen to more new music this year? Better slow down there, buddy. Before you start diving into 2024, you need to catch up on what you missed last year. … Read more
As we've done every year since 2004 (except, for some reason, in 2017), SPB's hard-working staffers have beavered away around the clock to deliver you a set of lists to help you review the year just finished. Not a list of our favorite albums—you can peruse that here—but all kinds of other things we discovered in 2023. Read on to … Read more
Doctor Explosion first "exploded" (yes that was intentional) onto the scene in 1989 from a picturesque city along the coastal area of Northern Spain. Perhaps, not a household name in North America yet but these things take time much, like when you sip a fine Scotch and let it slowly wash over your palette and enter your bloodstream. I had … Read more
It's been a long year, right? You may well find yourself examining the last twelve months and trying to remember what music got released so you can include it on your "2023 best of" and still look cool. But—disaster! You can't remember anything! Thankfully, SPB has got you. We've reached out to our friends in the music community: bands, labels and … Read more
David Scott Schwartzman's "If It's Tuesday This Must Be Walla Walla": The Wacky History of Adrenalin O.D The Wacky Hi-Jinx of David Scott Schwartzman Often deemed the funniest band in hardcore, A.O.D. were a staple in the heart of hardcore: laughing their way out of New Jersey into nearby towns, cities and into many a filthy punks hearts. A.O.D. were … Read more
32 years. That's how long Mustard Plug has been a ska band. Just take a moment and let it sink in how impressive that is. These beloved Michigan natives have managed to survive the '90s as a ska band and lead singer Dave Kirchgessner chatted with Scene Point Blank about not only surviving that era but reliving it with us. … Read more
Looking for the SPB logo? You can download it in a range of styles and colours here: