Tag: California

Fresno, Cali nu-metal band Gryp (fronted by educator Curtis Shamlin) is epic imho. First heard this band’s firt release Indecision while checking out demos at a defunct Christian bookstore in Bloomington, IL & I was immediately hooked. It was different than what was out in 1997 in the Christian realm with staples Ungrateful, Heal Me Back & You Were There.… Continued →

I had this song on my mind the other day as I was thinking about what song I was going to choose for this week. The modus operandi: Ruminate on a song and make a choice. Find it on YouTube. Listen while I’m writing.… Continued →

Ted Bond (Lead Vocalist/Guitarist/songwriter for the band Craig’s Brother), his wife, and their children, have been displaced by the recent wildfires in Northern California and are unable to return home. They’ve had to evacuate and will not be allowed to return for some time.… Continued →

Mad at the World has had a very interesting and diverse career as a band. They started out doing somewhat dark synth-pop on their self-titled debut (in the vein of Depeche Mode, New Order, Clan of Xymox), then added guitars to their new wave sound for Flowers in the Rain.… Continued →

Public Unrest was a Christian punk band from Vallejo, CA. FFO: UntilWeDie!, Officer Negative, and Every Man's Hero.

SoCal hardcore band Point of Recognition (or Point of Wreckinthangs as they were affectionately known by fans) released 3 full-lengths, an EP and a pair of split releases before disbanding in the mid-2000s. Members popped up elsewhere in the scene, but the band’s existence was sadly short.… Continued →

Loose End were a Christian skate punk band from Chula Vista, CA. FFO: Slick Shoes, Sick of Change, Broken Cedars, Average Joe Aspiring, and MxPx.

Along with L.S.U. and the Altar Boys, another band that was really influential in getting me into alternative music (as opposed to straight metal and thrash of my teenage years) was Breakfast with Amy. Their debut album had enough punk rock influence to appeal to that side of me that wanted noise and aggression, but there was more to their sound than just loud, fast, and angry.… Continued →

In the late 80s/early 90s I was a straight-up metalhead. Thrash was my favorite variety, but I dipped into other stuff as well. But I had started developing a taste for punk too. The pace and beat of hardcore punk was actually very similar to thrash, but with different guitar tones.… Continued →

I’m a sucker for this style of hardcore–really fast, short songs, with equal parts melody and anger thrown in for good measure. For some reason, this subgenre didn’t have nearly as much of a following in Christian circles as their secular counterparts, making Hit the Deck stand out even more.… Continued →

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is one of the greatest songs our scene has ever produced! It gets straight to the heart of what it’s all about: “Hey I’m talkin’ to you/Yeah, I’m trying to get through/God cares about you more than think .… Continued →

  Amazingly, this song is now 23 years old, and I still feel the same way about it as I did back then.  It’s a fantastic song, and one of the highlights of the Christian alternative rock scene!  Plankeye’s first album (“Spill”) was raw and unrefined, showing hints of Orange County punk. … Continued →

Starflyer 59 are back. But, what does even mean when they never went away? Christian indie rock’s most prolific band have just released their 15th full-length album (not counting their 9 EPs, 4 live releases, 3 box sets/collections, numerous vinyl singles and LP variants or compilation appearances—I didn’t even mention the side projects: Pony Express, Bon Voyage, Dance House Children, The Brothers Martin, White Lighter, Neon Horse and Lo-Tom) making them probably the second most prolific band in all of indie rock (second only to Guided by Voices, who are at something like 100 releases).… Continued →

Well, not really, but this late 90's Ska/Melodic/Skate/Punk band have just made their entire catalog available for a name your price on bandcamp. These gents will appeal to fans of Must Build Jacuzzi, Five Iron Frenzy, May Weather, Face Value, Shop 11 Phoenix, and MxPx.

As you might have heard California has been struck by a series of destructive fires that have torn through towns with such force that people are left feeling broken. It’s terrible and unfortunately someone we have talked quite a bit about here on IVM, has lost his home and belongings as a result of these fires.… Continued →

Pax217 have announced that they will be playing one more show in California. More details to come.   … Continued →