Seattle emo-prog act Gatsbys American Dream are reuniting for the first time in over a decade. The band originally existed from 2001 to 2006 before reuniting very briefly in the early 2010s. But now they’re back…again!
The band caused a massive stir on social media when they updated their profile picture and banner with a whole new band photo. People couldn’t believe that GAD were finally returning. They then began teasing big news coming Wednesday, with that being their first show since 2012. The show will take place Friday, April 28, at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 am PST/1 pm EST at teragramballroom.com.
Gatsbys Amreican Dream formed in 2001 in Seattle, Wash., creating four albums in total, two with Rocketstar Recordings and the last with Fearless Records (As It Is, Movements, Scotty Sire). Throughout their career, GAD have toured and performed with bands like Action Action, Portugal. The Man and Copeland, and played the Vans Warped Tour twice, in 2005 on the Smartpunk.com Stage with Armor For Sleep, Darkest Hour and Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and 2011 for one day only on the Nintendo 3DS Stage with Family Force 5, I Set My Friends On Fire and Relient K.
The band reunited back in 2010 with a secret performance during a show with Forgive Durden. They dropped two new tracks with Equal Vision Records (Anberlin, Hot Water Music, Shallow Pools) called “Modern Man” and “Born Dead” (later retitled as “Untitled” following the 2011 Yunnan earthquake) and that was it. Soon, the troupe vanished come early 2013 after frontman Nic Newsham tweeted that their reunion album was unfinished and would probably remain that way. Various members would go on to make several other projects, such as Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground, Places And Numbers, The Money Pit, Wild Orchid Children, and Marrakesh.
Wait, this year’s festival hasn’t started yet, and we’re already focusing on next year’s?
To everyone’s surprise, Live Nation shocked everyone when they dropped the entire lineup for next year’s When We Were Young festival, eleven days before WWWY 2022 starts. Taking place Saturday, October 21, 2023, at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds in Las Vegas, Nev., WWWY 2023 will feature a scene kid’s wet dream of a lineup, with Green Day and Blink-182 headlining. This news came after the shocking return of Blink’s guitarist/co-vocalist Tom DeLonge, who quit the band back in 2015 and was replaced by Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, Tuesday morning.
Co-headlining 2023’s festival include Good Charlotte, Rise Against, Yellowcard, Sum 41, and New Found Glory. Others performing include 5 Seconds Of Summer, All Time Low, Michelle Branch, Waterparks, Joyce Manor, The Movieline, Games We Play, Lit, The Academy Is…, Saves The Day, and many more. Check out the full lineup below.
You can register presale tickets right now on their website. All tickets start at $19.99 down. Presale starts this Friday at 10 am PST (1 pm EST).
When We Were Young 2022 takes place Saturday, October 22, Sunday, October 23, and Saturday, October 29. My Chemical Romance and Paramore are headlining. Others performing include Avril Lavigne, Car Seat Headrest, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Dance Gavin Dance, Bayside, Neck Deep, The Story So Far, 3OH!3, Bright Eyes, Dashboard Confessional, and more.
This is part three of four. If you haven’t read part two yet, check it out here.
2021 was the year many musicians showed us the works they created during the 2020 pandemic. And since the pandemic is still (somewhat) raging around the world, it’s giving musicians even more time to perfect their craft.
In 2022, we’re getting several great albums some several great bands and artists, but out of all the albums that are coming out this year, these are the ones you need to keep your eyes on. Here are the most anticipated albums of 2022, in no particular order.
Kendrick Lamar
Album: Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers(Aftermath/Interscope/PGLang/Top Dawg)
Release Date: 5/13
Holy shit it’s out! Quickly, stop reading and listen to Kendrick Lamar’s fist album since 2017’s DAMN. Last year I put this album on my most anticipated records of 2021 since there was some hope of a new Kendrick album that year. We were wrong. But this year, he did officially confirm that his long-awaited fifth album would be out by 2022. Get stoked and bump this one loud.
Dance Gavin Dance
Album: Jackpot Juicer (Rise)
Release Date: 7/29
Dance Gavin Dance’s upcoming tenth album Jackpot Juicer has a lot of hype surrounding it, but it now holds a special place in fans’ hearts. It is the last studio album to feature longtime bassist Tim Feerick who mysteriously passed away last month. So while you’re rocking out and jamming to these groovy post-hardcore tunes, keep Tim’s memory in your mind while you’re doing so. Rest easy, Count Bassy. We love you.
Flogging Molly
Album: TBA (Rise)
Release Date: TBA
Celtic Punk legends Flogging Molly are scheduled to drop a new album sometime this year. No one knows when it’ll drop, but from what we heard on their latest track “These Times Have Got Me Drinking”, which reminiscences their early sound (think Swagger era), it’s gonna be a blast. Check it out when it drops this year through Rise Records (Dance Gavin Dance, Polyphia, Tiger Army).
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Album: We Do Our Own Stunts (Self-Released)
Release Date: TBA
English dance-punks Does It Offend You, Yeah? haven’t been fully active since 2012, minus a one-off gig in 2015. But to everyone’s surprise, they’re back with a new album coming out sometime this year. It’s not sure yet if this is a short reunion like in 2015 or if they’re fully back permanently, but I’m hoping for the latter.
Joyce Manor
Album: 40 oz. To Fresno (Epitaph)
Release Date: 6/10
In early April, Californian indie punk trio Joyce Manor announced their sixth album called 40 oz. To Fresno. If you love their short, punky songs, you won’t be disappointed with this record. These nine songs are sure to get you through this summer, and the rest of the year. Frontman Barry Johnson said in a press release, “This album makes me think of our early tours, drinking a 40 in the van on a night drive blasting Guided By Voices and smoking cigarettes the whole way to Fresno.” Get it when it drops June 10.
Alexisonfire
Album: Otherness (Dine Alone)
Release Date: 6/24
Finally. After 13 years, we are getting a new Alexisonfire album. The Canadian post-hardcore gods are back. Alexisonfire have been back since 2015 doing shows, but 2019 had the band drop a new song. Fast forward three years and now we’re getting that fifth album. Otherness was self-produced by the band in the span of a week, writing it at the Dine Alone Records clubhouse. “The biggest difference is the space we are all in. We were all really thrilled to make a record, and it was such a respite from what was going on in the world. It felt like life could be beautiful,” guitarist Wade MacNeil told NME. Welcome back, Alexisonfire. We missed you greatly.
Counterparts
Album: TBA (Pure Noise)
Release Date: TBA
While no word yet has come out on Canadian hardcore troupe Counterparts’s next record, we do know that it is done. Theprp.com reported back in January that their seventh album is “done”, with the band saying so on Twitter with “our record is done eat shit u fucking losers.” So far the only thing we’ve heard off this record is a song called “Bound To The Burn” which the band premiered during Four Year Strong’s Christmas show last December. Check the live version (which is the only version as of publishing) below.
Senses Fail
Album: Hell Is In Your Head (Pure Noise)
Release Date: 7/15
So…what happened to those two albums we were promised back in 2021, Senses Fail? Eh, that’s water under the bridge, because Hell Is In Your Head, the post-hardcore group’s eighth album is coming out mid July on Pure Noise Records (The Bouncing Souls, Koyo, Prince Daddy & The Hyena). It will be the band’s first album with new drummer Steve Carey, who replaced Chris Hornbrook in 2018. And so far from what we’ve heard, it’s gonna be a banger.
Pierce The Veil
Album: TBA (Fearless)
Release Date: TBA
Pierce The Veil have been inactive for a long time. The once beloved post-hardcore quartet were riding high, until accusations were made against drummer Mike Fuentes in 2017. It was then in 2020 that the band confirmed that Mike left the group in 2017 and would not be drumming on their next album, whenever that comes out. Better question is, is there a fifth album coming? The answer is yes. Back in October 2021, the band were hitting the studio with Mutemath frontman Paul Meany as producer to work on LP5, which is coming out on PTV’s longtime label Fearless Records (Chase Atlantic, The Pretty Reckless, Windwaker).
Watashi Wa
Album: People Like People (Tooth & Nail)
Release Date: 5/20
Call it a comeback. Underrated Christian pop/rock band Watashi Wa have returned with a brand new record, their first album in 16 years titled People Like You. It will be coming out next week through Tooth & Nail Records (Emery, Off Road Minivan, Slick Shoes). “It was the right time,” frontman/producer Seth Roberts affirmed in a press release. “I felt called to do Watashi Wa again — as if this was what I was supposed to be doing. In the past, it was often difficult. Now, the songs came out easily. When I was writing, it just was Watashi Wa. These days, my perspective on music is similar to the freedom I had when I was younger and first started the band. Things in the world pushed me towards it even more. I thought, ‘Why not just do Watashi Wa again?'” He then stated, “When we broke up, we were in our early twenties, but we’d been together for almost ten years. I was young, immature, and jaded. My ideas were naïve, because I thought I couldn’t do this if I was the only original member. I never thought the first Eager Seas album was a Watashi Wa album even though we put it out under that name. Fast forward, I’m at a different place. My kids are older. I have more life experience. Once I began writing, I asked myself, ‘Why wouldn’t this be a Watashi Wa album?’ All of those old roadblocks in my mind aren’t there anymore. I tried to focus the vision on what Watashi Wa to me. It was always a bigger vision of how we’re all connected. It was based on positivity. This body of work is rooted in faith and optimism.” The album is packed full of collaborations, featuring acts like Relient K, Noise Ratchet, Anberlin, Gasoline Heart, and Dogwood. Get ready for the return of Watashi Wa.
Northwestern experimental rock group Gatsbys American Dream might be up to something again. On their social medias, the band updated their cover photo on Facebook and their Twitter icon. Could this mean a second reunion is going down?
Gatsbys American Dream formed in 2001 in Seattle, creating four albums in total, two with Rocketstar Recordings and the last with Fearless Records (Locket, My Kid Brother, The Plot In You.) Throughout their career, GAD have toured and performed with bands like Armor For Sleep, Emery, and The Starting Line, and played the Vans Warped Tour twice in 2005 (Boys Night Out, Greeley Estates, Scary Kids Scaring Kids) and for a day in 2011 (Dance Gavin Dance, I Set My Friends On Fire, Relient K.) They pulled out of the festival in 2006.
The band reunited back in 2010 with a secret performance during a show with Forgive Durden. They dropped two new tracks with Equal Vision Records (Glacier Veins, Kaonashi, Sleep On It) called “Modern Man” and “Born Dead” (later retitled as “Untitled” following the 2011 Yunnan earthquake) and that was it. Soon, the troupe vanished come early 2013 after frontman Nic Newsham tweeted that their reunion album was unfinished and would probably remain that way.
While no official word has come out yet, all we can do is wait. Come back to us, Gatsby.
Punk Goes Prenatt 