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The most important member of any rock ‘n’ roll band is the drummer. Seriously, you can have Jimi Hendrix on lead guitar in your band. But if Mitch Mitchell isn’t in the back, holding it all together on drums? You just have noise.  Rhythm is king in rock ‘n’ roll. Naturally, rhythm also rules in […]

Taylor Hawkins, acclaimed drummer of Foo Fighters, has passed away at the age of 50. Musicians joined his fans and family in celebrating his life and legacy, especially his immense contributions to drumming. Unsurprisingly, many drummers led the conversation. They recognized one of their own and honored someone who advanced the art form with his […]

Green Day have shared another snippet of possible new music from the band. They began teasing new music in December, sharing a short video of themselves in London’s RAK Studios. Now, their latest Instagram post reveals a bit more information about the upcoming project. Read more: 10 bands that prove why Misfits endure, from Metallica […]

Misfits are the very model of an influential punk band. Which was most likely not Glenn Danzig’s goal when he formed them in 1977 in his native Lodi, New Jersey, naming them for Marilyn Monroe’s final film from 1961. After initially being driven by Danzig’s distorted electric piano, Misfits became known for sludgy power chords […]

The ‘90s was the moment when the experiments wrestled control of the laboratory away from the scientists. Suddenly, punk rock — the ragged step-sibling of rock and pop — was squarely in the mainstream of culture, after years of ruling the underground. It spawned alternative music and the latter’s most successful subthread, grunge. Grunge was […]

Technically, my first exposure to punk was through Green Day’s Dookie. At the time, I was young—probably too young. As kids so often do, I followed a friend’s older brother to check out his collection of older brother music. Dookie immediately jumped out from the pack. To be honest, what actually captivated me most was […]

It’s nearly impossible to overstate the influence Green Day have on the rock scene these days. Ever since breaking into the mainstream in the mid-‘90s, everyone from blink-182 to Lady Gaga have cited their music as an inspiration at some point in their career. If you’re newer to the group, the band’s collection of 13 […]

Whether due to personal reasons, creative differences or non-music-related conflicts, it’s pretty common for a band’s lineup to shift over time. And in that same vein, it’s noteworthy when a core group of original members are able to stick it out through all the ups and downs that the music industry brings. In a world […]

1997: All media is declaring the alternative–rock explosion—for which Nirvana lit the fuse—over. This means the commercial pop-punk wave Green Day touched off was over in their eyes, too. That selfsame media could not have been more wrong. Green Day had just issued their fifth album, Nimrod. The Offspring, the band who made the catchphrase […]

Some promo copywriter at the Clash’s American label, Epic Records, came up with the questionable slogan “19 songs by the only band that matters” for the sticker that appeared on the face of 1980’s U.S. release of London Calling. While singer/guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Topper Headon didn’t […]

In 1996, Your Punk Professor interviewed the Clash’s distinguished lead guitarist Mick Jones for a proposed Alternative Press piece on punk’s original guitar heroes. Though it remains unpublished, I asked in the course of it what he thought of Rancid. Jones waxed effusive, noting he’d met the Berkeley punk traditionalists in the course of a […]

To consider Alternative Press’ list of 1994’s top 15 punk albums, one has to bear in mind two factors: Green Day’s Dookie was released Feb. 1. Kurt Cobain died by his own hand April 5. The alternative nation’s voice was suddenly, shockingly stilled. After three years of the most popular music being an agonized scream […]

If there’s one indisputable truth in this world, it’s that alternative music has no shortage of iconic drummers. Quite literally setting the beat for the genre, these artists put the power behind some of our favorite tracks. And boy, do we love getting a taste for it right from the top with some badass drum […]

Last year, Green Day‘s music rivals the Network resurface after almost 15 years to release a brand new full-length album. Now, the mysterious group are back and just delivered their first live performance in nearly two decades on the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. Read more: Chadwick Boseman and Trent Reznor among 2021 Golden Globes […]

While some bands have miraculously played for decades without a lineup change, most have had to replace a member or two throughout their tenure. We see it all the time, though it’s not always as staggering as, say, Matt Skiba stepping into a Tom DeLonge-shaped void. Often, it marks a natural progression for people who had […]

If you’ve been a pop-punk fan for quite some time now, we’re willing to bet it was a fast, upbeat song that first made you fall in love with the genre. You probably still remember the jolt of energy you felt when your now-favorite songs blasted through your speakers for the first time, and you […]