FR: LIBBY HENRY/KRISTINE ASHTON-MAGNUSON
THE GOD AWFULS
SET TO RELEASE ‘NEXT STOP, ARMAGEDDON’
DEBUT ALBUM FEBRUARY 24;
BAND WILL JOIN MEST AND FALL OUT BOY FOR A U.K. TOUR
SET TO LAUNCH MARCH 11;
‘WATCH IT FALL’ SINGLE AND VIDEO PRIMED TO HIT AIRWAVES THIS MONTH:
BAND TO APPEAR ON FIRST 16 DATES OF THE VANS WARPED TOUR 2004
“Spirited punk rock can be so bad these days and The God Awfuls know this. They fuck with it and they twist and bring it youthful energy while not making a mockery of bands like Social Distortion and the Buzzcocks who did the damn thing with dignity. These 13 songs zip by like a traffic-free expressway but leave you feeling as if the world can be yours if you just do your thing.”
–Adrian Glover, Aquarian Weekly, December 17, 2003
THE GOD AWFULS–hailed by Paste magazine for their “rocket-powered vitriol” (June 03)–are primed to hit the airwaves in mid-February via the song and video “Watch It Fall,” the first blast from their February 24 debut album NEXT STOP, ARMAGEDDON on Los Angeles indie Kung Fu Records. This summer, the Southern California band–armed with string-splitting guitar chords, explosive melodies and go-for-the-throat lyrics–will join the Vans Warped Tour for the first 16 dates from (June 25-July 13). They’ll also mark the album’s release with a live performance on the KUCI (University of CA-Irvine) punk radio show February 21 before heading overseas for a U.K. tour with Mest and Fall Out Boy beginning March 11 in London.
“Watch It Fall” throws down the gauntlet with lyrics that challenge people to make a difference in uncertain times: “Complacent working class, get up and off your ass, You say you’d die for freedom but the riot never comes.” THE GOD AWFULS punctuate the song’s intensity with a riveting performance video, shot by newcomer Bobby Eras with a stylized stark red and black mod feel.
THE GOD AWFULS–KEVIN DE FRANCO (vocals, guitar), CHRIS LA FAVE (guitar, vocals), KYLE LUMSDEN (bass, vocals) and JOHN SKELLY (drums)–incorporate their wide range of influences on NEXT STOP, ARMAGEDDON by combining revved-up late 70’s UK punk and West Coast 80’s hardcore to construct a distinct sound all their own. Standout tracks include, the blazing youth anthem “Disconnected Youth,” the politically-fired “Power Animal” and the anti-racist tirade “Orion.” They recorded NEXT STOP ARMAGEDDON in Los Angeles with producers The Greedy Brothers: Blag Dahila, the infamous frontman of The Dwarves, and renowned engineer Brad Cook (The Distillers’Coral Fang, Queens of The Stone Age’s R, Foo Fighters’ The Color and the Shape). Frontman KEVIN DE FRANCO says, “We shared a similar idea of how the record was supposed to sound, so the vibe remained pretty true and organic. We did a tiny amount of pre-production and didn’t alter the songs–we streamlined them. Blag is as pop as he is punk–he gave us great ideas on how to trim the excess fat off the songs without butchering them completely. He also helped add an element of melody that was always there but was never nurtured by us. Brad got us a lot of great guitar sounds among other things and is just an engineer extraordinaire.”
The current tour dates for THE GOD AWFULS are as follows:
DATE CITY VENUE
Sat 2/21 Irvine, CA KUCI 88.9 FM
Thu 2/26 San Francisco, CA 111 Minna Gallery
U.K. tour with MEST
Thu 3/11 London, U.K. Mean Fiddler
Fri 3/12 Birmingham, U.K. Birmingham Academy
Sat 3/13 Manchester, U.K. Hop & Grape
Sun 3/14 Glasgow, U.K. Cathouse
Mon 3/15 Leeds, U.K. Cockpit
Wed 3/17 Portsmouth, U.K. Wedgewood Rooms
Thu 3/18 Wales, U.K. Newport TJ’s
Fri 3/19 Leicester, U.K. Charlotte
Sat 3/20 Nottingham, U.K. Rock City
Vans Warped Tour 2004
Fri 6/25 Houston, TX Reliant Center
Sat 6/26 Dallas, TX Smirnoff Music Center Lot
Sun 6/27 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless
Amphitheatre Lot
Tue 6/29 Las Cruces, NM N.M.S.U. Practice Field
Wed 6/30 Phoenix, AZ Peoria Sports Complex
Thu 7/1 Fullerton, CA Cal State Fullerton
Fri 7/2 Fullerton, CA Cal State Fullerton
Sat 7/3 San Francisco, CA Pier 30/32
Sun 7/4 Las Vegas, NV Desert Breeze Skate Park
Tue 7/6 San Diego, CA Coors Amphitheatre
Wed 7/7 Ventura, CA Seaside Park
Thu 7/8 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
Fri 7/9 Boise, ID Idaho Center Amphitheatre
Sat 7/10 Seattle, WA Gorge Amphitheatre Lot
Sun 7/11 Portland, OR Columbia Meadows
Tue 7/13 Vancouver, BC Thunderbird Stadium
Stay tuned for more dates to be announced soon and check out: www.kungfurecords.com and www.kungfurecords.com/html/godawfuls.shtml for more information.
To arrange an interview, request an album for review or photos/cover art, please contact:
MSO 818-380-0400
Libby Henry/MSO 818-380-0400 ext. 224 Lhenry@msopr.com
Kristine Ashton-Maguson/MSO 818-380-0400 ext. 233 Kashton@msopr.com
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