Loren

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

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 chat with Kevin Purcell (guitar/vocals) of Retirement about running Portland bike shop … Read more

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

It's a SPB tradition to formally "pass the mic" to our artist and label friends to tell us about their year in music. What albums did they enjoy? What shows did they see? What are they looking forward to for the new year? We're joined this year by a host of folks: Frank Turner, Justin Pearson, Tobias Jeg, Body Stuff, … Read more

Sometimes I get all introspective and ask myself why I do this. Not very often, but the answer is always because I like music. It's that simple. I like to discover new stuff and I like to share it. Every year, the staff at Scene Point Blank sink a ton … Read more

Vices, outlets, escapes... I'm not sure where things are at here in November of 2024. But as we battle our demons and look for meaning, or escape, music is a blessing. Here's a new playlist. Many of these artists have been covered at Scene Point Blank, mixed in with tracks … Read more

I think I've lamented on this in the past, but one thing I really miss about the tape/cdr era is mixtapes. Playlists offer something similar, fortunately, so I can keep it going when I want to mix things up from writing reviews. This list collects a bunch of stuff I've … Read more

Spanish Love Songs, Oso Oso, Sydney Sprague, Worry Club Varsity Theater Minneapolis, MN April 17, 2024 Spanish Love Songs, photo by Loren Green Wednesday’s show at Varsity Theater began with a band dressed like it was the 1990s, followed by a band dressed like the 2000s, another dressed like the … Read more

Jangle pop Manchester band Autocamper just premiered "Again," the lead single from their debut album, out this summer. The band will release What Do You Do All Day? on July via Slumberland (USA) Safe Suburban Home (UK). Listen to the song now: Read more Track List: 1 Again 2 Red … Read more

Punk musician Walt Hamburger just shared the single "Insolence," a pop-punk number with contributions from Neil Hennessy (Lawrence Arms), Asher Simon (Joey Cape's Bad Loud), Mikey Erg (Ergs, Unlovables), and Jon Snodgrass (Drag the River, Scorpios). The single will appear on Hamburger's upcoming album, ...And Louie!, out June 20 (Thousand … Read more

Powerplant just released a new 2-song 7", Crashing Cars, out on Arcane Dynamics. The synth-punk band formed by Theo Zhykharyev drew attention with People in the Sun in 2019, a one-man project that recruited bassist Karim Newble (Hitmen, Island of Love), drummer Lloyd Clipston (Arms Race, Tramadol), and synth player … Read more

Members of Shot Baker, 88 Fingers Louie, and No Enemy have come together to form Pretty Atomic, a new Chicago, IL rooted punk band who will release a 4-song EP called Idle Age on June 6. The band features Tony Kovacs (vocals), Andy Maggio (guitar/vocals), Nat Wright (bass/vocals), and Chris … Read more