Thursday, March 11, 2010

Naked Raygun To Enter Studio March 19-24 To Record

I'm going to post the entire press release for the latest Naked Raygun news. Their albums Basement Screams and Throb Throb are two of my favorites. They stand the test of time as classic albums, nevermind the punk rock gold standard.

Unedited press release:
Naked Raygun To Enter Studio March 19-24 To Record
Material for Their Latest 7” Series on Riot Fest Records;
Music Video On The Way; European Tour This Summer

“Chicago has never produced a better rock band than Naked Raygun…” Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

Legendary Chicago punk rockers Naked Raygun are going into Transient Sound Studios March 19th to record a slew of songs for release on their 7” Series in 2010. The first 7” (their first recordings in 20 years) sold out in record time and the 2nd in the series will be released on vinyl and digitally on June 15th. They’ll also be filming a video for one of the new songs – look for it to arrive later this year. In late summer, Raygun descends on Europe and the UK -- details will be announced shortly.

Easily the most influential band bursting forth from the initial Chicago punk rock explosion, Naked Raygun also holds the distinction of being the longest running. When many of their peers were either breaking up or going metal in the mid-to-late 1980s, Naked Raygun soldiered on with their trademark sound, combining infectious vocal melodies with muscular guitar and a precision rhythm section. Echoes of the golden era of Raygun sound can be heard in punk rock circles worldwide.

The band broke up in 1992 and save for a one-off reunion in 1997 to celebrate the release of the Last of the Demohicans collection, stayed inactive while band members tended to family business and occasionally other musical projects such as The Bomb and Pegboy.

In the fall of 2006 drummer Eric Spicer began to get the itch to play the old songs again and gathered the guys together again to reunite for Riot Fest in Chicago. The overwhelming response from the sold out crowd of four thousand prompted Naked Raygun to re-form permanently with their final lineup of Spicer, Bill Stephens on guitar, Pierre Kezdy on bass and Jeff Pezzati on vocals.

Naked Raygun returned to action by playing shows across the Midwest and embarking on their first West Coast tour in over a decade with Bay Area legends the Swingin' Utters. The band also released their first DVD via Riot Fest Records, entitled "What Poor Gods We Do Make." The CD/DVD package combined a documentary covering the lifespan of the band with performances from their sold out performance at Riot Fest 2006.

During a recent two night stand at the House of Blues in Chicago, Naked Raygun debuted their first new songs in seventeen years. Met with a reaction of surprise and elation from the slam dancing crowd, both songs embody the classic "Chicago Sound" that Naked Raygun first defined more than twenty years ago.

For more information on Naked Raygun visit http://www.nakedraygun.org/ or RiotFest.org.

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