One of the things that initially drew me to punk rock music was earnestness. I guess you can say it's the main ingredient that continues to bring me back to that particular cookie jar over and over. Do you have something to say? And more importantly do I believe in you enough for me to buy what you're selling? I can't recall the exact moment I first heard Home Front or even the first song, but I can tell you how it made me feel. I know this because it's the same way listening to this, the band's second LP. It makes me sit up straight, pay attention, clench my fists, and decide whole heartedly that the struggle is worth carrying on. From this, you can conclude that I indeed opened up my old Boba Fett wallet and bought what Home Front was selling me.  I have been eagerly awaiting this release since the very first announcements were made. After listening to Watch It Die  a few times, swishing it around my head and really taking it in, I decided that it did not disapp...

   Photo Credit: Jack Baikoff The Bloodtypes extract the best elements from ’77 punk and ‘80’s new wave and combine it into a form of music that’s as catchy as an airborne illness. Guitars that are straight from the Johnny Ramone cook book: fast and loud with hooks that don’t stop coming. A rhythm section that does more than keep a tempo, but constructs a sturdy frame work in which to deliver this volatile and explosive music to the listener with ease. A front woman with a voice that has the glam and urgency of Missing Person’s Dale Bozzio fused with the bounce and pop of The Go Go’s Belinda Carlisle. What you feel when listening to the Bloodtypes is a fully oxygenated, nutrient filled substance being delivered through your neurotransmitters straight into the sensory parts of your brain that will immediately form a physical and psychological dependence. You’ve been warned! This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on February 19th, 2015 Interview by J Ca...

Phoenix’s own rock n’ roll soul shakers Freaks of Nature sweat and bleed on stage as if it was 1966 all over again. Their music is as raw as a side of ground chuck and sounds like it could fit right between One Way Streets and The Swamp Rats on a Back from the Grave compilation. Freaks of Nature’s music is by four guys that “get it.” They immerse themselves in this kind of music and culture from a certain time period not because it’s a trend, not to get girls, or to get rich but because they found kindred spirits in the type of music young people made in the mid to late 1960’s in their parents garage, it spoke to them and awakened a sleeping giant in their creative souls. This music won’t dazzle you with technical skill or bore you with metaphysical lyrics and metaphors, but if you can smell what these cats are cookin’, it’s going to exorcize your demons right where you stand! Interview by Jay Castro Shock Treatment: Please tell me who’s all in Freaks of Nature and what does every...

In 2008, The Jolts released their debut full length and titled it Haute Voltage. That name pretty much sums it up right there. Four guys from the town of Vancouver all in leather jackets and I’m pretty sure they all smell like dust and gasoline. These long running canucks have been doing this for ten years now and are in a similar school with bands like Jersey boys Electric Frankenstein or Swedish heroes The Hellacopters type of punk rock, heavy emphasis on the ROCK. Word on the street has it The Jolts put on quite a live performance too. It makes sense judging by the kind of force their music emits. Guys like this aren’t usually the types that pride themselves on studio recording mastery. The Jolts are ready to release their third long player later this year and I’m pretty sure it’s going to set off Mount St. Helens again and if not then the seismic effects will be similar none the less. This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on February 19th, 2025 Interview by Jay Ca...

Labor Party is a trio of veteran hard rock n’ rollers influenced by bands like The Stooges, MC5 and the Dead Boys that reside in the Phoenix metro area. Their music is fast, loud, guitar fueled rock n’ roll with enough power in the backbeat to run the city they’re playing that night. Their experience really comes into play when you see this band live. They seem very much at ease on stage allowing them to put on a highly energized, highly entertaining show as they hurl their music at their audience like boulders on catapults. They have a look in their eyes like all they do is start the engine and where the music is going to take them is anybody’s guess. And that’s what makes Labor Party so undeniably great at what they do. This interview originally appeared in Audio Ammunition on January 14th, 2015 Interview by J Castro Shock Treatment: Who’s all in the band and what do they do to keep the Labor Party rolling? Buck Ellis - Drums, backing vocals. Sharon Labor – Bass guitar, ba...