Lou Reed once asked, “What becomes a legend most?” No doubt the unfailingly modest Lou Barlow would blanch at being called a “legend.” And yet when you take the long-view, few artists have been as prolific, productive, and influential over the last 20 years. Barlow burst onto the scene as the bass-player in the seminal [...]

In 1978 the Descendents formed under their common credo of fishing, girls, and velocity. Existing briefly as a power trio, the LA-based group released the 7″ single Ride The Wild before recruiting a certain crop-haired honors class geek cum heartthrob (enter Milo Aukerman, he of the ubiquitous album illustrations) on vocals. They released the [...]

If you could put together a fantasy league band the same way you can a baseball team, who would you choose bring the noise? In a sense, that was the question confronting poet/vocalist/saxophonist Dan McGuire when he floated the idea for Unknown Instructors to his friend, the eternally-touring Mike Watt. McGuire wanted to combine his [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #19
Some of the best bass players I’ve seen have been quiet men in the background, crafting a spinal column for the rest of the band and grooving with the drummer. Often expressionless and motionless, they are the mysterious figures that thump out rhythmic notes and push songs along towards their [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #12
Beyond the laughable fashion, the corporate pop, and the buttons and canvas patches, punk rock embodies an ideology — and I’m not talking about the new wave of liberalism, or tired anarchism, or social cynicism. What I am referring to is the blue collar, nose-to-the-grindstone DIY ethic. “Do It Yourself.” [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #11
Fans of the Descendents never know what to expect from the off-and-on punk band. Since frontman Milo Aukerman went looking for a day job as a research scientist years ago, the band has been rejuvenated for several albums, and missing in action for years at a time. Don’t expect a [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #6
During my time spent living in Budapest, I had a select few albums that were essential for long, overnight train rides. These trains were loud, bouncing over tracks a hundred years old, and stuffy, but they were captivating and nostalgic as experiences, tapping into the very human wanderlust that any [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #6
I’d been a fan of Henry’s work for many years, namely of his music and his hilariously ironic role as a cop in 1993’s The Chase with Charlie Sheen (who incidentally played the lead role of an escaped convict named Jackson). Yet it wasn’t until I was about 18 when [...]