Features / Series: Running on Nothing

Our series

We post a variety of features in recurring series – click below to browse them.

• Against Orthodoxy

  A regular series by Robert F.

• Beyond Casual Observation

  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.

• Don't Quit Your Day Job

  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.

• era vulgaris

  Guest column by T of Vegas

• Feast with the Famine

  A cookery column by Nick, vocalist with metal band The Famine. Veggie/vegan friendly!

• Fest 11

  A roundup of coverage of the annual punk rock festival held in Gainesville, Florida

• Fest 12

  Our annual roundup from Gainesville, FL's famous Fest.

• Fest 13

  SPB's coverage of the annual festival in Gainesville, Florida.

• Fest 16

  Our coverage of the annual Fest extravaganza.

• Fest 19

  Our coverage of the 19th edition of the Fest – an independent multi-day, multiple-venue music festival held annually in Gainesville, Florida.

• Fest 20

  All our coverage from the long-running music festival

• Fest 21

  Articles about the Fest 21

• Fest 22

  Our coverage of the 22nd edition of the FEST.

• History 101

  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.

• Jukebox Jury

  An interview format where we ask a band to rate and review a bunch of music

• On The Air

  A radio DJ profile series created by Christopher D & Matt Hutchison.

• Only Death Is Real

  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.

• Remember that one time...?

  A life lived and lessons learned by Eddie Spaghetti of Supersuckers.

• Running on Nothing

  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.

• Scatenato Ma Non Troppo

  We survey some of the other music releases out there.  Results may vary...may get weird, but hopefully something covered here piques your interest.

• Scene Point Local

  A semi-regular column where we choose a specific area and give a local scene report.

• Table Talk

  Discussing the state of the music business at the kitchen table

• The Greatest Story Ever Told

  A brief but englightening chat with an artist who reveals an interesting or unexpected story from their career

• The Set List

  A collection of items grouped by topic, eg. "Top 5 Worst Beatles Songs" or "Top 10 best '77 punk releases".

• What's That Noise?

  One-question interviews with artists where we find out about the gear and equipment they use to achieve their sound.

• Year End 2012

  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

• Year End 2013

  It's the end of 2013, so here's our best-of roundup for the last twelve months.

• Year End 2014

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2014.

• Year End 2015

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2015.

• Year End 2016

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2016.

• Year End 2017

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2017.  

• Year End 2018

  Our summary of the best music (and more) of 2018.

• Year End 2019

  Our wrap-up of the best music and more from 2019

• Year End 2020

  Our wrap-up of the best music and more for the year we'll all want to otherwise forget, 2020.

• Year End 2021

  Our roundup of the best music from the worst year (since the previous one, anyway).

• Year End 2022

  Our favorite music and more from the year 2022

• Year End 2023

  Our roundup of the best music of the year 2023

More recent features — Series: Running on Nothing

Walk Idiot Walk

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • December 19, 2022

A couple of years ago I drew up a gigposter for a show I was putting on and used one of my friends as the model for it. It was a cartoony number with her on a couch drinking and playing video games. When I finished it she had mentioned how cool it would be to have a copy that … Read more

The Emperor Is A Broke Bastard

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • November 21, 2022

Back in the early '90s, I found my people. My punk rock family. My own personal group of weirdos and misfits. Some of us wore the uniform of leather jacket, shocked out hair, big black boots. Some of us had long hair, flannel shirts and sneakers. Some wore Fred Perry shirts, blue jeans and Docs. I myself was trying to … Read more

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • September 5, 2022

I went out on tour with my buds in Norcos y Horchata as their bass player a few weeks back. I haven't been on an actual tour since before the pandemic, so this was going to be an adventure. The routing brought us from Michigan to New Jersey and back. It was a solid 10 days out there with one … Read more

Yep. We're definitely in the darkest timeline.

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • June 22, 2022

I hate this place. I really hate this place. I have three half-Korean adult children. Two of them currently call Chicago home. One builds beautiful violins and the other is an amazing cartoon artist. My youngest still resides here in Grand Rapids. MI. He is a fantastic chef and he is learning three Asian languages fluently. These kids are amazing … Read more

Thirsty and Miserable

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • May 3, 2022

I think about music all the time. Always have since I was a kid. One of the many ideas I've pondered and debated with my peers is the recurring trend of bands putting out an amazing first record, gaining some form of notoriety or fame, and then completely bombing their follow-up record. I've read interviews with bands where they cite … Read more

TAPTAPTAP Is this thing on?

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • February 7, 2022

Let's have a chat about preaching to the choir. It's that thing where the message you are putting out there with your music isn't really getting past the people who may already know the message. I'm getting up there in my years and experience. By the time we started The Lippies, I had already placed a lot of thought into … Read more

There's a Glitch in the Matrix

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • November 30, 2021

A handful of years ago, my friend Jay sent me the demo of his new band. Jay had spent years fronting the legendary Detroit punk/ska band, The Suicide Machines. A few years had passed since they released War Profiteering and broke up. Jay was fronting a new band now. That band was Hellmouth. This was the most pissed off record … Read more

I went on tour for 2 days and all I got was a panic attack (and sand in my butt)

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • September 19, 2021

I've been the main merch guy for Mustard Plug for the past 10 years. My schedule is pretty loose, so it allows me to do tours with them. I love the job. It's a lot of fun meeting new people, traveling to various states, and hanging out with my buds in the band. The other weekend I did two local … Read more

Get In The Van Dummy, We're Going Surfing!

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • June 7, 2021

I was in a band called The Lippies. I say "was" because we just broke up. Again. Hahahahaha! When we formed, we never had any intention of truly being anything more than a local or regional band. Then we caught the attention of Toby from Red Scare Industries and things changed. After it was announced that we had been signed … Read more

It's Only Illegal if You Get Caught

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • April 18, 2021

About a year ago, we found ourselves in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. Out of boredom, I did a livestream on my social media where I did a joke tutorial about how to draw penises. It was a joke that backfired on me. I ended up making a few hundred dollars off that few minutes I was live. The … Read more

Guest Column: The Lippies - Uncanny Indeed

Regular Columns / Running on Nothing • February 21, 2021

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, who have been working on a new LP for Red Scare Industries. -- I just finished watching a documentary on Amazon about Chris Claremont while … Read more