Punks gone the way of twang at Winterland, Mos back in Manette Friday and hardcore music for a hardcore place Sunday at the junk yard.
THURSDAY
DRAG THE RIVER w/ Neutralboy, Tumbledown, Mike D. and the Loyal Bastards at 8 p.m., Aug. 7 at Winterland, 1220 Sylvan Way in Bremerton. 21+, $7 cover.
More than a decade ago, Jon Snodgrass (the guy with glasses from Armchair Martian) and Chad Price (lead singer of the band All) were hanging out with time to kill in the early days of the illustrious Blasting Room recording studio in Colorado.
In that free and laid-back atmosphere, the dudes recorded a batch of songs just for fun with whomever else happened to be in the studio that day. And with that, almost unknowingly, they’d planted the seed for what would become their next project — the alt/country outfit Drag the River.
“We were just kind of messin’ around,” Snodgrass said of the early days at the Blasting Room. “They hadn’t recorded many bands yet … there was a lot of just time, like it takes for any business to get off the ground.”
A little bit later down the road, Snodgrass was on tour with Armchair Martian when someone put in a mixtape that caught his ear, playing at a low volume. He dug it and wondered what was playing.
“And they said, ‘That’s you, dude,’ ” Snodgrass said, with a laugh.
With that, he and Price decided to put out an album rather than suffice with the bootlegs floating around. And, at the turn of the millennium, they released the seminal and coveted Drag the River record “Hobo’s Demo,” becoming one of the original alt country outfits and one of the many that have risen from the ashes of punk rock bands.
“It’s all rock and roll,” Snodgrass said.
Check he and Price, in a rare full band Drag the River show, with another band of punks gone the way of twang — Tumbledown with Mike Herrera of MxPx — and another one of the originals — Michael Dean Damron and the Loyal Bastards.
As if that weren’t reason enough to pay the $7 cover at Winterland, local punk rock four-piece Neutralboy will releasing their latest record, a 7-inch split with 9 lb. Beaver called “Your Friends Suck,” at this show.
Info: www.myspace.com/winterlandrocks or call the bar at (360) 479-5686.
FRIDAY
MOS GENERATOR w/ the Herbert Friendly Trio at 9 p.m., Aug. 8 at the Manette Saloon, 2113 E. 11th St. in Bremerton. 21+, $5 cover.
Fresh off a European tour and opening for Rush at the Gorge earlier this spring, Kitsap three-piece Mos Generator is a band in high demand.
On the records side of things, Revolution Recordings a vinyl-centric label out of Olympia, which released a new jamroom 7-inch from Mos in April, is readying a double LP and CD collection of Mos.
On the live side of things, the Generator will be rocking out the Seattle Tattoo Expo during the afternoon Aug. 8 before coming back to Kitsap that night, to kick it out at some stomping grounds, the Manette Saloon.
Then next week, they play the main stage at Hempfest.
Info: www.mosgenerator.com
SUNDAY
THE BONEYARD BASH w/ Vs. the World, Glob, The Assasinators, Artimus Maximus, Y.I.A, South 11th, Cyanide Destruct, 7.Y.O.B.G., Deathlist 5, (a)symmetric warefar(e) and Dingbatz, hosted by Sir Mark Bruback at noon Aug. 10.
All ages, $10 cover.
You’re going to need to take Saturday off if you’re planning a trip to Belfair for the Boneyard Bash Sunday.
A day full of hardcore music in the most hardcore of places — Belfair Auto Wrecking Yard, famed for its annual haunted house. Take Highway 3 South out of Bremerton, past the mechanic shops and 24-hour waffle and steakhouse in Gorst, on past the Rodeo Drive In and Bremerton National Airport, about as far south in Kitsap County as you can go and there on the Mason County line, marked by a bright green A-frame building painted with an enormous black spade.
Once inside the gates, brace yourself for all things abrasive.
The lineup features some of Kitsap’s best hardcore matched with that of Seattle and Tacoma and a band called Glob, coming up from California.
Info: www.myspace.com/boneyardbash.
