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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: We are on a short holiday
“It’s tough, kid, but it’s life / Don’t forget to pack a wife”
Dear readers,
What an unexpected year it’s been since this magazine had a rebirth of sorts in October of 2018. I had originally started this zine back in 2001 after a successful initial run, it lay dormant from 2014 (its last iteration under the name The Marshalltown). The idea was only to restore the archives and re-upload all the content that disappeared from the web, and that arduous process that began in earnest in August of last year. It was a painstaking process of cutting and pasting from archive.org but I felt that the work that all the writers did from 2001-2005 were not only too good to leave to the oblivion of dead web pages, but were also great memories.
I didn’t however, expect to start writing again. But I did, and I wrote and wrote and wrote… and best of all perhaps, some of the old writers who had been part of the magazine’s early run came back to write again. Trent Moore came back to write some great pieces, Becky McKendry came back to write some great pieces, David Nagle came back to write some great pieces, Timothy Cootes came back to write some great pieces. We are also lucky to have new work from new writers like Danny Anderson, Karla Smith, Josh Hockey, and Mark McConville. Truth is, I didn’t think all these years later, with all that has changed on the internet that there’d be room for another magazine (there isn’t), but this past year has proven that it’s still a blast sharing your opinions, discovering new bands, and talking to some old ones.
I’ve come across some great new bands and have had the opportunity to talk to and write about some of my all time favorites. Bands I never got the chance to talk to during the magazine’s initial run, like Good Riddance and Strung Out. Connecting with some great PR people both old and new has been a blast too.
For the next few weeks things will slow down a little bit as I’ll be overseas taking a break, taking in some new sights and exploring a little bit of this world. But there will still be updates- maybe once a week- until I’m back. We were born in the age before social media so we’re still not very good at that, but we’ll keep sharing content via our Facebook and Twitter channels (so please follow).
Much gratitude to all the new readers who came by and read us this year, and to all the writers who have been part of this new chapter, thank you. We’ll see you in a few weeks.
Billy
Editor-in-Chief
Sound the Sirens Magazine
Not too long ago we had a short chat with Canadian pop-punk band Hangtime about their new EP and the video for the track “One Nine Nine Five”. The aptly titled song is a throwback to a pop punk thought long gone but as this Toronto band will attest, is by no means dead. Now the band have debuted their new music video for the track “Can I Take You Out”; a sweetly romantic, melodic pop punk ode.
The track is a cut from their 2019 EP Invasion, which you can pick up via Bandcamp. Hangtime have a couple of upcoming Canadian shows on the horizon; with all the details available on their Facebook page.
When we spoke to the band and where their sound comes from, guitarist/vocalist Warren Gregson explained their influences;
“There’s no escaping the 90s sound I’m afraid, that’s just who we are. Actually, our biggest influences go back further than that. Most of us were first listening to bands like ALL, Misfits, Dag Nasty, Big Drill Car, Bad Religion, Doughboys, Nils… etc, back in the 80’s. I suppose that’s where the 90s sound for many other bands originated as well.”
Check out the new video and let’s reminisce about some good old school pop punk.
New York indie rockers Longwave are returning with their first album in a decade. Titled If We Ever Live Forever, the album is the follow-up to 2008’s Secrets Are Sinister. The band have recently been releasing new music over the last year, with the single “Stay With Me” hitting airwaves in October of last year. Longwave have now revealed the music video for the new song “If We Ever Live Forever”, which you can view above.
If We Ever Live Forever is due for release October 25th via Bodan Kuma Recordings and will be followed by a short run of dates through the eastern side of North America. You can pre-order the new Longwave album from the band’s webstore.
Longwave first burst on to the scene with 2000’s Endsongs, but really started making waves with their 2003 release The Strangest Things (which included the hit single “Tidal Wave”). The latter was the band’s major label debut for RCA Records. We last covered Longwave in 2005, reviewing their terrific album There’s A Fire.
Book Review: My Father Left Me Ireland – An American Son’s Search For Home
Malleable memories and transcending time: An interview with Joanna Howard
Willie Nelson’s “Sad Songs and Waltzes” and the Art of Alienation
Election still wins by a landslide
A Night with Northlane
Hangtime share “Can I Take You Out” video
Longwave return with “If We Ever Live Forever”
Premiere: Cathedral of Tears – “Black Emotion”
Jimmy Eat World announce new album, “All the Way (Stay)” video
