Recent features

Our series

We post a variety of features in recurring series – click below to browse them.

• Against Orthodoxy

  A regular series by Robert F.

• Beyond Casual Observation

  A wide-ranging guest column written by BJ from Ancient Shores, mainly covering film but extending into philosophy and aesthetics too. Check out BJ's work on the A389 podcast.

• Don't Quit Your Day Job

  How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music.

• era vulgaris

  Guest column by T of Vegas

• Feast with the Famine

  A cookery column by Nick, vocalist with metal band The Famine. Veggie/vegan friendly!

• Fest 11

  A roundup of coverage of the annual punk rock festival held in Gainesville, Florida

• Fest 12

  Our annual roundup from Gainesville, FL's famous Fest.

• Fest 13

  SPB's coverage of the annual festival in Gainesville, Florida.

• Fest 16

  Our coverage of the annual Fest extravaganza.

• Fest 19

  Our coverage of the 19th edition of the Fest – an independent multi-day, multiple-venue music festival held annually in Gainesville, Florida.

• Fest 20

  All our coverage from the long-running music festival

• Fest 21

  Articles about the Fest 21

• Fest 22

  Our coverage of the 22nd edition of the FEST.

• Fest 23

  Our coverage of the 23rd edition of the FEST.

• History 101

  We dive into the back catalog of a record label and ask them to nominate their most memorable releases from their label's history–with a few suggestions of our own.

• Jukebox Jury

  An interview format where we ask a band to rate and review a bunch of music

• New Kids On The Block

  A feature where we highlight 5 to 10 recent demos.

• On The Air

  A radio DJ profile series created by Christopher D & Matt Hutchison.

• Only Death Is Real

  There’s so much music released, whether physically or digitally, that keeping up with what’s going on becomes almost like a full time job. With Only Death Is Real, the aim is to bring you something new.

• Remember that one time...?

  A life lived and lessons learned by Eddie Spaghetti of Supersuckers.

• Running on Nothing

  Welcome to Running on Nothing, the latest addition to our stable of columns at Scene Point Blank. Running on Nothing offers a look at the world through the eyes of Kole, bassist of The Lippies, guitarist of The Bloody Lips, and gigposter artist.

• Scatenato Ma Non Troppo

  We survey some of the other music releases out there.  Results may vary...may get weird, but hopefully something covered here piques your interest.

• Scene Point Local

  A semi-regular column where we choose a specific area and give a local scene report.

• Table Talk

  Discussing the state of the music business at the kitchen table

• The Greatest Story Ever Told

  A brief but englightening chat with an artist who reveals an interesting or unexpected story from their career

• The Set List

  A collection of items grouped by topic, eg. "Top 5 Worst Beatles Songs" or "Top 10 best '77 punk releases".

• What's That Noise?

  One-question interviews with artists where we find out about the gear and equipment they use to achieve their sound.

• Year End 2012

  A collection of coverage rounding up the year 2012, covering our favorite albums, shows, bands, and more, as well as asking record labels and bands about their past twelve months in music

• Year End 2013

  It's the end of 2013, so here's our best-of roundup for the last twelve months.

• Year End 2014

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2014.

• Year End 2015

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2015.

• Year End 2016

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2016.

• Year End 2017

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2017.  

• Year End 2018

  Our summary of the best music (and more) of 2018.

• Year End 2019

  Our wrap-up of the best music and more from 2019

• Year End 2020

  Our wrap-up of the best music and more for the year we'll all want to otherwise forget, 2020.

• Year End 2021

  Our roundup of the best music from the worst year (since the previous one, anyway).

• Year End 2022

  Our favorite music and more from the year 2022

• Year End 2023

  Our roundup of the best music of the year 2023

• Year End 2024

  Our roundup of the best music—and more—of 2024.

• Year End 2025

  Our favorite music and more from 2025.

More recent features

Fest 23 – The Wrap

Music / Fest 23 • November 15, 2025

Pure Joy The 23rd FEST in Gainesville, Florida recently wrapped up. Scene Point Blank has been to the majority of them over the past two decades, beginning at FEST 5. I've personally attended roughly half of them. And at FEST 23, I saw 44 bands in 3 days (an even 50 if you count the pre-shows I attended). I took … Read more

The Saints

Interviews • November 14, 2025

As The Skids sang, The Saints are coming!.......Storming North America! The Saints ’73-’78 land on North American soil in early November and will feature original Saints members, guitarist Ed Kuepper and drummer Ivor Hay, and filling out this lineup is singer Mark Arm (Mudhoney), guitarist Mick Harvey (The Birthday Party / The Bad Seeds) and bassist Peter Oxley (Sunnyboys). The … Read more

Fest 23: Artist Interviews

Interviews / Fest 23 • October 18, 2025

FEST 23 takes place later this month, from Oct. 24-26 in Gainesville, FL. Something like a billion bands are driving, flying, canoeing, and snowshoeing to the festival from across the country -- many of them for the first time and many come back to play nearly every year. Scene Point Blank has traveled to “over half” of them (we’ve lost … Read more

FEST LIBS 23 & Fest Moments

Music / Fest 23 • October 18, 2025

Are you ready for The Fest!? While we’re pretty sure you’re already counting down days until your trek to Gainesville, FL, we’ve got some Fest games for you to play, including a few samples from this year’s performers. Click here to play FEST LIBS -- like a fill-in-the-blanks word game about all things Fest! We have 8 different options to … Read more

Guest List: ADD Records Picks 5 Favorite Leatherface Songs

Music / The Set List • October 18, 2025

This summer Little Rocket Records announced Leatherface: The Peel Sessions, a collection of live studio recordings with Leatherface from the 1990s with the late John Peel. While Little Rocket handled the release, ADD Records took on US distribution for a limited release. Available from ADD records here As Leatherface means so much to so many, we figured they'd be a … Read more

Bo Diddley Plaza: Behind the Scenes at Fest

Music / Fest 23 • October 6, 2025

For close to a quarter-century punk fans have flocked to Florida for The Fest. Boasting a lineup of 300+ bands and roughly a dozen venues these days, the festival has grown, shifted and evolved. For several years the main stage has been in a large downtown park called Bo Diddley Plaza, named for the influential musician and one-time Gainesville resident. … Read more

Demos You Want To Check #1

Music / New Kids On The Block • September 14, 2025

The musical landscape is ever changing. New genres are popping up, new hypes burst out of nowhere and die out and new bands present themselves to the world. How on earth are you expected to keep up, right? Well, it never hurts to help! So here we are, your humble servants, ready to sift through those filters for you, presenting … Read more

Sell The Heart Records – History 101

Music / History 101 • August 3, 2025

Like most independent labels, Sell The Heart started to document a scene without really asking themselves “Where do you see yourself in 15 years?” In 2010, founder Andy Pohl was barely even thinking about vinyl. In “History 101” tradition, Scene Point Blank picked out some of the label's notable releases to get a reflection at 15 years. SPB picked out … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: The Year So Far (July 2025)

Music • July 6, 2025

We're halfway through the year: when did that happen?! Luckily for you, SPB is on hand to share the music we've enjoyed most in 2025 thus far. Read on to hear about the records that have made our top list for this year as it stands, and also some bonus fun about hypothetical band reunions we've been inspired by thanks … Read more

Shane Herrell: A Tribute

Music • July 6, 2025

Shane Herrell: Rest In Power(pop) (1980-2025) The Rocker I try to live my life with as few regrets as possible. Sadly I never got the chance to hear my friend Shane Herrell karaoke Thin Lizzy’s "The Rocker." As a singing bass player we don’t have enough heroes. It might just be my alcohol addled memory but right now as I … Read more

Arms Aloft

Interviews • June 23, 2025

Remember Election Day 2024? Maybe you shouldn't. Maybe you've blocked it out. That's fair, but there was one pleasant surprise that day: a new EP from Wisconsin's Arms Aloft. It took a while to claw out of the darkness in November, then Year End 2024 coverage took over the Scene Point Blank editorial calendar but now we caught up with … Read more

Caterwaul 2025

Music • May 13, 2025

Each year in late May, the 4-day party and noise-rock festival Caterwaul takes over multiple venues in Minneapolis. It’s a stacked lineup this year, to put it mildly, with each night’s headliners FACS, Young Widows, Naw, Pissed Jeans, and Uniform -- and that’s leaving a ton of other great bands off the list in the name of keeping our intro … Read more

Ilya Arbatman (Rotary Club)

Book store co-owner

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • May 13, 2025

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene … Read more

Guest List: Steven Fairweather (Gob) – The Gateway And The Getaway

Music / The Set List • May 13, 2025

Steven Fairweather is a Canadian musician, radio show host, and comic book writer. He is best known as the bassist of the punk band Gob and the founder of Stranger Radio, an independent online radio station. -- Before the internet, before streaming, before Shazam could tell you what was playing in my local dive bar jukebox in five seconds flat … Read more

Chuck Ragan

Fly fishing tour guide

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • April 14, 2025

How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music (or how their music provides escape). In this edition, we caught up with Chuck Ragan, known as the gruffest voice of Hot … Read more