Loren

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 (or how their music provides escape). In this edition, we chat with Kevin Purcell (guitar/vocals) of Retirement about running Portland bike shop … 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

It's a SPB tradition to formally "pass the mic" to our artist and label friends to tell us about their year in music. What albums did they enjoy? What shows did they see? What are they looking forward to for the new year? We're joined this year by a host of folks: Frank Turner, Justin Pearson, Tobias Jeg, Body Stuff, … Read more

How do you sum up a 3-day weekend where you’ve spent approximately 36 hours watching live music and seen nearly 50 bands -- and also missed another 300? The Fest is a wonderful beast where you venue hop to catch up-and-comers, watch headliners outside on the big stage, and stumble onto one-off side projects with some of your favorite musicians … Read more

Sometimes I get all introspective and ask myself why I do this. Not very often, but the answer is always because I like music. It's that simple. I like to discover new stuff and I like to share it. Every year, the staff at Scene Point Blank sink a ton … Read more

Vices, outlets, escapes... I'm not sure where things are at here in November of 2024. But as we battle our demons and look for meaning, or escape, music is a blessing. Here's a new playlist. Many of these artists have been covered at Scene Point Blank, mixed in with tracks … Read more

I think I've lamented on this in the past, but one thing I really miss about the tape/cdr era is mixtapes. Playlists offer something similar, fortunately, so I can keep it going when I want to mix things up from writing reviews. This list collects a bunch of stuff I've … Read more

Spanish Love Songs, Oso Oso, Sydney Sprague, Worry Club Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN April 17, 2024 Spanish Love Songs, photo by Loren Green Wednesday’s show at Varsity Theater began with a band dressed like it was the 1990s, followed by a band dressed like the 2000s, another dressed like the … Read more

Four Chord Music Festival 11 has been announced for Sept. 13-14, taking place in Washington, PA (Pittsburgh). This year's headliners include Blink-182, AFI, Jawbreaker, Jimmy Eat World, Alkaline Trio, Say Anything, Hot Mulligan, Face To Face, Sincere Engineer, and more, with tickets on sale tomorrow. The first festival took place … Read more

Pacing, a trio led by Katie McTigue, who is joined by Ben Krock (guitar) and Vonnie Whatever (drums/vocals), just shared "Pl*ne *tness, the title track from a new LP that comes out this summer on Asian Man Records. The single is on streamers now and it's the first new material … Read more

Revelation Records is preparing a set of EP reissues from The Nerve Agents. Specifically, the label will issue deluxe editions of The Nerve Agents EP (1998), Days of the White Owl (2000), and The Butterfly Collection (2001), each released with extra new packaging and merch options. The band featured Eric … Read more

On April 25, Sentient Ruin Laboratories will release the debut EP from Samiarus, Reign Destroyer. Formed in the San Francisco, CA Bay Area, the band merges American black metal and death metal on the new EP, debuting “New Iron Age” today. Per the label, "Samiarus (or Samyaza as more widely … Read more