The Prozacs – I Buy Records

It’s Wednesday and that means it’s time for another band announcement for the upcoming HEAD tribute album. This time we’re gonna keep it local and talk about the Massachusetts legends “The Prozacs” They’ve been around for a long while now and have recorded tons of full lengths, Eps and splits over the years and show no signs of slowing down.

He enlisted some help from a young punk rocker in training to start off their awesome version of “Taking a Peek” They kept it true to form for their cover and that’s a great thing bc HEAD is one of the best bands ever right? Right. Here is what Jay had to say about the legends from Seattle “I first heard Head in 2005 from a CD discography given to me by Craig Lebowski (Now of The Suck) while staying in his apartment on a tour date. Fun, unabashed and raw Ramones influenced punk. I chose to do Taking A Peek, because I just think it’s a hilarious song!”

You can hear the Prozacs and many more of the best punk rock bands on the upcoming HEAD tribute album which will be out towards the end of the summer!

CLICK HERE FOR ENGLISH VERSION

The final feature of this special leads us to interview the last batch of bands, those ones because of the physical limit represented by the vinyl are present in the tribute only as bonus tracks for digital download. This obviously doesn’t mean that they are less important than the other bands and it’s only right to do a feature on them too.

Honey, from Rimini, Italy are in with an acoustic cover of Blame Game made by the singer Luca, who tells us “Since we met the Manges something has changed for us. We were not so much “into their scene” but suddenly we feel part of a great “new family” from day one and we feel very fortunate to have had this awesome opportunity”.

Let’s jump to the United States, precisely in Westfield, Massachusetts and let’s hear what Jay of The Prozacs has to tells us “The Manges felt like a dirty little secret when I first heard them in the year 2000. It was like a 1, 2, 3 bang! Heard the Mandy 7” – which is the song I chose to cover -followed by the debut album “Manges R Good Enough”. The Manges were very influential in my songwriting with the Prozacs, they seemed honest, fun and catchy, in the spirit of Ramones and The Queers… and I was floored seeing they had guest appearances from Joe Queer and Kitty Kowalski…both who are friends and musicians I respect. In 2018, they have cemented all these things… along with a great heart and integrity in the world of Pop Punk/Ramonescore underground”.

Still in the United States, but all the way to Nashville, Tennessee, we chatted with Patrick from Parasite Diet, who have decided to cover Dunkin Donna defined as “pure catchiness wrapped in bubblegum bliss, the way a good “girl song” should be”, the boys also tell us that “The Manges were our introduction to the world of European Pop Punk. The amount of new music this opened us up to will forever put us in The Manges‘ debt”.

We also talked to Cary from Hateful Julie who is from Colorado, he tell us that “we discovered the Manges through bands like Queers, Screeching Weasel and Ramones, of course.We have always admired bands like them that refuse any compromise. We chose Now or Never because it’s on their first full album and it’s a deeper cut. You always go with the older stuff out of respect for the band and how long they’ve been crankin’ out the tunes”.

Now, we head to California, and hear what The Rinds have to say, Matt tells us that “The Manges were one of the first pop punk bands that I got into. I first got to see The Manges in 2007 in San Francisco with The Methadones and The Queers. Great show. It’s awesome that they’re still putting out records after all these years. We chose In The Van because has sing-a-long verses, and a punchy chorus. The “Judy Is A Punk” type songs like this are always a little underrated, I feel”.

Finally for the last band, we head back to Europe, more precisely we go to Hønefoss in Norway to give the floor to Rocky of The Skullingtons who tells us “When the Ramones called it quits back in the nineties, The Manges were there to pick up the torch and keep the fire lit for everyone else to follow. And they’ve kept it going ever since. I don’t think the European pop punk scene would even exists had it not been for the amigos from Las Pezia. Together with Johnny we chose My Rifle because it is our favourite song, We tried it out with the rest of the band and it felt very natural to us, we recorded also a part of it in Norwegian”.

With this final post, we have concluded the presentations of the bonus bands but we still have some small surprises … stay tuned for more Rock n Roll!

Honey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/honeypunkstuff/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HoneyPunkRawk

The Prozacs
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheProzacs/
Bandcamp: https://theprozacs.bandcamp.com/

Parasite Diet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parasitediet
Bandcamp: https://parasitediet.bandcamp.com

Hateful Julie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hatefuljulie/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hauntedrobotltd/

The Rinds
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therinds1/

Skullingtons
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theskullingtons

< PREVIOUS INTERVIEWS >

Le battute conclusive di questo speciale ci portano ad intervistare l’ultimo lotto di band, ossia quelle che per il limite fisico rappresentato dal vinile sono presenti nel tributo solo come bonus tracks per il download digitale. Questo ovviamente non significa che sono meno importanti delle altre band ed è giusto dare un po’ di spazio anche a loro. Andiamo subito al sodo.
Gli Honey, da Rimini sono presenti con una cover acustica, eseguita dal cantante Luca, di Blame Game che ci dice “Da quando abbiamo incontrato i Manges qualcosa è cambiato per noi. Non eravamo molto “dentro la scena” ma improvvisamente ci siamo sentiti parte di una grande “nuova famiglia” sin dal primo giorno e ci sentiamo molto fortunati per aver avuto questa enorme opportunità“.

Facciamo un bel salto negli Stati Uniti, e sentiamo cosa ha da dire Jay dei Prozacs direttamente da Westfield, Massachusetts “Ho scoperto i Manges nel 2000 e fu subito amore dopo aver ascoltato il 7″ di Mandy, canzone che ho scelto di coverizzare di cui mi sento molto onorato. I Manges sono stati molto influenti nel mio songwriting con i Prozacs, mi sembravano onesti, divertenti e catchy, nello spirito di Ramones e The Queers… ero gasato dalle loro collaborazioni con Joe Queer e Kitty Kowalski entrambi miei amici e musicisti che rispetto. Nel 2018, hanno cementato tutte queste cose… insieme ad un grande cuore e un’integrità unica nel mondo pop punk/ramonescore”.

Restiamo ancora negli Stati Uniti, ma in direzione Nashwille per chiacchierare con i Parasite Diet, che hanno deciso di coverizzare Dunkin Donna definita come “l’esempio di come una girl-song dovrebbe essere”, i ragazzi ci dicono anche che “I Manges ci hanno introdotto al mondo del Pop Punk Europeo. La quantità di nuova musica che abbiamo ascoltato grazie a loro ci mette in condizione di essere in debito con loro per sempre“.

Gli Hateful Julie dal Colorado invece ci dicono che “abbiamo scoperto i Manges tramite band come Queers, Screeching Weasel e i Ramones, ovviamente. Abbiamo sempre ammirato band come loro che rifiutano ogni tipo di compromesso. Abbiamo scelto Now or Never perchè è nel loro primo album ed è proprio una piccola gemma nascosta. C’è sempre molto sentimento nel primo album di una band e ciò mi affascina molto!“.

Ci dirigiamo verso la California, e sentiamo cosa hanno da dirci i Rinds “I Manges sono stati tra le prime band pop punk che ho ascoltato. Li ho visti per la prima volta nel 2007 a San Francisco con i Methadones e i Queers. Grande show. E’ fantastico che ancora pubblicano dischi dopo tutti questi anni. Abbiamo scelto In The Van per le strofe da sing-a-long e per il ritornello super-incisivo, mi vengono in mente quel tipo di canzoni come “Judy is a Punk” che sono sempre un poco sottovalutate“.

Infine per l’ ultima band, torniamo in Europa, più precisamente andiamo a Hønefoss in Norvegia per cedere la parola a Rocky degli Skullingtons che ci dice “Quando i Ramones si sciolsero i Manges erano lì per prendere in mano la torcia e mantenere il fuoco vivo ed essere seguiti dagli altri, da allora non hanno smesso di farlo. Credo che senza gli amigos di Las Pezia la scena europea neanche sarebbe esistita. Insieme con Johnny abbiamo scelto My Rifle perchè è la nostra canzone preferita, l’abbiamo provata con il resto della band e ci è venuta bene, aggiungendo anche una parte in Norvegese“.