"Dorkrockcorkrod offers introspection while still cracking a smile, serving as a distillation of pop-punk’s range and scope. The three-song suite of “Most Violent Rap Group,” “Pray For Rain,” and “Saturday Night Crap-O-Rama” may be one of the best triple plays in all of rock music, let alone pop-punk." – The A.V. Club (David Anthony)
To celebrate 20 years since the release of dorkrockcorkrod, the first full length on Don Giovanni, we are thrilled to announce a definitive deluxe edition of the album. A 2xLP set includes new artwork, unreleased photos, an exhaustive oral history compiled by Mike Faloon, the original album remastered by Justin Perkins, and a remix by Steve Albini overseen by Mike Yannich.
The Ergs! are also going on tour to celebrate the release with support from fellow pop-punkers Egghead and Boris The Sprinkler. More shows will be announced.
Dorkrockcorkrod 20th Anniversary Shows:
July 18 - Somerville, MA | Tickets July 19 - TBA July 20 - Baltimore, MD | Tickets July 21 - Philadelphia, PA | Tickets
"Vocalist/guitarist Kerry Alexander's pure voice might be called "sweet" or "childlike," but her innocence is belied by her apt songwriting, which translates her experiences into poignant, universal stories." – Pitchfork
"boasting an abundance of both ear-catching guitar parts and vocal hooks that are so
infectious you’d be hard pressed not to sing along." - Guitar World
" ... the perfect, dreamy-pop summer soundtrack." – PAPER
"A gritty two-and-a-half minutes of wobbly bass, wailing guitar, and front woman Kerry Alexander's slinky vocals, it is a blast—and there is more like this to come." – FADER
Minneapolis’ indie rock heroes Bad Bad Hats have announced their brand new self-titled album due out April 12 on Don Giovanni Records. The new collection packs the band’s ebullient sweet-and-sour indie pop chops, playful lyricism and signature sense of humor into every bite – this time taking their creativity to a new level with a little help from their mighty fanbase. In the Fall of 2020, songwriter Kerry Alexander (guitar/vocals) and Chris Hoge (guitar/bass) collected prompts from their active Patreon fanbase, writing one-off songs based on the requests. The untraditional process challenged the band to write songs of country, pop punk, surf rock, disco, and countless other genres and provided a joyful freedom to collaborate on new music during an otherwise very hard time. It also set the blueprint for Bad Bad Hats’ new album and planted the seeds for several new album tracks such as lead single “TPA” released today alongside an official video featuring cameos by Kerry’s mom and stepdad playing older versions of Kerry and Chris.
Kerry shares, “This song began with a guitar line I wrote, which I referred to as “the sauce”. “The sauce” sat languishing in my voice memos until we heard “Wake Up” by XTC and knew my guitar line could fit perfectly in an intertwining guitar part. From there, we ran to buy bongos from the Music Go Round down the street and, before long, we had our sideways, dance-y track, “TPA”. Lyrically, I was inspired by the summer my family moved to Tampa, FL. I was in between my freshman and sophomore years of high school, very surly, very sweaty, and very self-conscious amidst the tan, glamorous, and bikini-clad locals.”
Self-producing for the first time, Bad Bad Hats is a freewheeling and fully authentic expression of the band’s classic sound. Masters of simplicity, the band pairs unshakeable pop hooks with classic indie sounds and several unexpectedly funky turns. Their unique combination of up-beat and heartfelt songwriting has earned Bad Bad Hats acclaim from fans, critics and fellow artists. The latter of which have earned invitations to tour with peers like The Beths and Hippo Campus as well as storied acts like The Front Bottoms, Third Eye Blind and Michelle Branch, who picked them up for her 2022 headlining world tour. Bad Bad Hats will hit the road once again this Spring including several appearances at SXSW!
Bad Bad Hats tracklist:
1. Let Me In
2. TPA
3. Bored In The Summer
4. Back To My Body
5. The New Stuff
6. Lay Low
7. My Heart Your Heart
8. Meter Run
9. Lime Green
10. Happy
Bad Bad Hats Tour Dates:
SXSW
3/13: Women That Rock showcase @ Austin Garden & Studio, 5:35pm
(1209 E 6th St. | No badge Required)
3/13: SXSW Showcase @ Mohawk, 9pm
(912 Red River St.)
3/14: Don Giovanni Showcase @ The 13th Floor, 11pm
(711 Red River St.)
3/15: Music For Listeners showcase @ Lazarus Brewing Co, 1pm
(1902 E 6th St. | No badge required)
3/15: PASTE showcase @ High Noon indoors, 4:40pm
(2000 E Cesar Chavez St. | No badge required)
US
4/26: Superior, WI @ Earth Rider Brewery
4/27: Chatfield, MN @ Chatfield Center for the Arts
We're excited to announce that we are working with Brooklyn alt-country songwriter Emily Frembgen starting with a brand new
single titled “Fentanyl” across all digital platforms. The single arrives accompanied by a
music video, which can be seen HERE. The video was directed by Clare O’Kane of
Saturday Night Live, Shrill, The Best Show and SpongeBob SquarePants. It is O’Kane’s
music video directorial debut.
“Fentanyl” is the lead single from Frembgen’s forthcoming Don Giovanni debut album, to be
released in 2024. The single is streaming across all platforms now.
“Fentanyl” opens with the lyric “Two years of doing nothing makes everybody crazy,” and is
a song about the kind of alienation that can render a person motionless and self-medicated,
but it also has an infectious melody and catchy guitar licks. Written after a particularly
frustrating bout of writer's block, the song was recorded at Excello Studio in Greenpoint,
Brooklyn with Hugh Pool. Emily laments the loss of who she was before the world shift of
2020 when it felt easier to connect with people. The single is streaming across all platforms
now.
Emily found her footing in the New York music scene largely by way of the comedy scene,
producing comedy & music shows at the doughnut shop where she worked. This led to
co-writing and performing the theme song to Kate Willett’s popular podcast “Reply Guys,”
touring with Ben Kronberg (Last Comic Standing), and having Clare O’Kane (Saturday
Night Live, Shrill, the Best Show) direct the music video for “Fentanyl.”
Frembgen also has become a mainstay of the Antifolk community that originated at the
Sidewalk Cafe on the Lower East Side. There, she starred alongside Jason Trachtenburg
(Trachtenburg Family Slideshow) in his musical
Me & Lee. She often performs with Jeffrey
Lewis, and was featured on “Songs By Turner Cody: A Tribute Album” alongside Adam
Green, Diane Cluck, and Toby Goodshank. She also became a mainstay at Knitting
Factory where she has ran a weekly Americana series for several years, at which she has
performed with Wayne Hancock, John Craigie, Daniel Rodriguez, and Paisley Fields.
Don Giovanni Records will release Frembgen’s forthcoming album in 2024.
I Won't Cry Alone is available for pre-order now HERE.
I Won’t Cry Alone is the seventh full-length release from Roadside Graves. In 2011, the band released We Can Take Care of Ourselves, based on S.E. Hinton’s classic novel The Outsiders. During the heart of the pandemic, the band collaborated remotely and again returned to Hinton’s writing for inspiration, this time drawing from her more painful and surreal book Rumblefish. I Won’t Cry Alone mashes up narrative features of the book with morbid and almost-triumphant personal experiences. The song “Closure” introduces a third element, intertwining these threads with bits from the tragic lives of songwriters Jackson C. Frank and Sandy Denny (a third verse on Kirsty MacColl was written but ultimately left out). The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Derril Sellers (Lowlight, Last Legs) and Rob Lombardo (Mon Goose) at Cako Studios – a mighty and beautiful studio located in a repurposed church – and features contributions from Dana Sellers (piano, vocals) and Eric Haugen (pedal steel). Cover art drawn by Joe Galuppo. Roadside Graves are educators and an environmental scientist and a tech guru who hail from all over New Jersey with one stray up in Providence, RI. They’ve been a band for 25 years and have no intention of ever stopping because why not.
John Gleason explains:
"The majority of the record I Won’t Cry Alone was inspired by S.E. Hinton’s novel Rumblefish and the song We’re Not Here is an answer to themes (memory, attachment to others, abandonment) and characters contained within. The hope is the song works beyond the novel, and taps into a few universal truths.
How well can we accept what/who we truly are? Can we recognize strengths and attributes in others we don’t seem to have obtained ourselves and still move forward without giving up? I think so. The repetition of “I won’t cry alone” is pure defiance regardless."
I Won't Cry Alone Track List:
1. Closure 2. We're Not Here 3. Fight Clean 4. Steve's Song 5. Feel Everything 6. Here For The Lights 7. Patty's House 8. Long Death 9. If You Know Where To Look 10. Nothing Happened
Teenage Halloween has announced their brand new sophomore studio album Till You Return due out on October 20 via Don Giovanni. The band, fronted by non-binary guitarist / songwriter Luk Henderiks, unveil their one-two punch double A-side single “Supertrans / Takeaway” alongside an official video. Announcing their return with reckless abandon, Henderiks’ voice comes in with an immediate urgency about gender identity and perception, at first backed by a lone distorted guitar, but quickly followed with the intense melodic and driving fullness that anyone that has seen the band live has come to expect. The double-single is streaming everywhere now.
Stand by your friends that are hurting. That’s what Teenage Halloween do through soaring arrangements of melodic angst, wracked vocals that insist “I love you so much I would die for you,” and passion-packed two-minute dispatches tackling topics from gender euphoria, to state abuses, and an eternal quest for mental well-being. The results are potent punk vistas that document young queer life at the edge of America.
“Supertrans / Takeaway” is accompanied by a tripped-out night terror visual directed by band buddy Jordan Serrano of CALICUZNS. In reference to the singles’ lyrics, Luk battles some of their deepest anxieties brought to life in the demonic form of their bandmates.
At the heart of vocalist and guitarist Luk Henderiks’ lyrics is an urgent longing for community. Despite their often striking personal vulnerability, these songs reach out to the wider world, striving to hold themselves and those around them accountable for their actions and to make space for those that need to be heard. In 2020, the band released their self-titled debut album via storied Garden State label Don Giovanni and swiftly won over a host of tastemakers. BrooklynVegan placed it at #10 on their Best New Punk Albums Of 2020, while Stereogum hailed them on their 40 Best New Bands Of 2020 list. American Songwriter, Paste, and KEXP brought further kind words to the table.
Having been unable to tour the album on its release in pre-vaccine times, the band hit the road with abandon in late 2021 and beyond, notching nearly 150 shows on their belts; including their first national US tour, an invitation to showcase at SXSW, and dates with Algernon Cadwallader, Chris Farren, Good Riddance, Say Anything and many more. These shows invariably deliver a calling card of unrelenting energy, wry wit, and warmth.
In February 2023, the group headed into Headroom Studios in Philadelphia, PA, under the guiding hand of producer Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Beach Bunny, Joyce Manor), and tracked the 13 dispatches on isolation, uncertainty, and hope for better days, that make up Till You Return. This second full-length outing finds the band, which operated as a ‘rotating cast’ in it’s early years, now firmly entrenched as an essential four-piece comprised of Henderiks alongside Eli Frank (guitar, vocals), Tricia Marshall (bass, vocals) and Peter Gargano (drums). The quartet maintains the vital energy of their previous incarnations but brings an even more focused punch to the arrangements that leaves greater room for Henderiks’ lyrics. Fans of the band will also have noticed the creative assent of Marshall who takes the vocal lead on multiple songs that have become defining features of the band’s recent live shows and which bring a fresh new viewpoint to the band’s ongoing sonic mission for a more equal and just world.
