Joyce Manor, Militarie Gun, Teen Mortgage, Combat

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Dan Monick

The three members of Joyce Manor.

Joyce Manor

media release:  Punk rockers Joyce Manor announce a 2026 headline tour which includes a stop at The Sylvee in Madison, on April 26, 2026. On-sale info available at joyce-manor.com/tour. 

Additionally, the band announce their anticipated new album, I Used To Go To This Bar, due January 30, 2026 via Epitaph Records. Alongside the announcement the band shares a Lance Bangs-directed video for lead single “Well, Whatever It Was” that parodies The Great British Bake Off featuring a cast of comedians and musicians playing UK rockstars.

“‘Well, Whatever It Was’ has got to be one of the most Southern California sounding songs ever recorded. I hear Jane’s Addiction in the verses, Beach Boys / Weezer in the chorus, and RHCP in the outro. It was LITERALLY produced by the guy from Bad Religion FFS. Everyone was just firing on all cylinders for this one. Joey Warnoker’s drumming, TLA’s mix, and Lenny Castro’s percussion all just sent it to the end-zone. This song would go insanely hard in a Shrek film,” says Barry Johnson.

I Used To Go To This Bar, produced by SoCal punk legend Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion, Epitaph Records CEO), finds the epochal band operating at the top of their game. The Torrance, CA trio of Barry Johnson, Chase Knobbe, and Matt Ebert continue to find rich new veins to tap in their short-and-sweet songcraft without losing an ounce of bite that gained them such repute in the first place. I Used To Go To This Bar further situates Joyce Manor in the lineage of their influences and inspirations. Think AFI’s rapid-fire burn, Weezer’s indelible power-pop acumen, and the dusky emotionalism of the Smiths while further establishing them as leading lights in the current rock landscape.

I Used To Go To This Bar follows the release of 2023’s 40 oz. to Fresno, a record that the New York Times praised as “a relentlessly tuneful 17-minute collection of all-killer, no-filler power-pop,” and Pitchfork called “a loving, uncynical refinement of the band’s best.” The band has been staying busy since its release, touring and collaborating with Weezer, making their television debut on Everybody's Live with John Mulaney with their classic “Constant Headache,” a song that was also featured in Season 3 of FX’s The Bear, and celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Never Hungover Again, which Stereogum recently said “masterfully achieves what most artists spend their lives trying to accomplish.”

Work on the record began in early 2023, with a creative dream team assembled after Johnson brought an early mix of first single “All My Friends Are So Depressed” to Bad Religion legend and Epitaph owner Brett Gurewitz. “I’ve been extremely proud of Joyce Manor since we signed them, and Barry and I have always had an excellent working relationship together,” Gurewitz says while discussing how he eventually took on the role of I Used To Go To This Bar’s producer. “I loved the song, but I could hear it done in a totally different way. He said, ‘Well, would you ever consider producing a single for us?’ And I was like, ‘Dude, I would love to.’” 

“Working with Brett was amazing,” Johnson beams. “When it comes to our musical DNA, he’s one of the architects of everything we grew up on. Having him guide our record helped us make something that we could put next to those classic records that shaped us,” Johnson adds. “I really feel like we were behind the wheel, and I'm really proud of it.”  “He likes to keep the excitement up,” Knobbe adds, “and he's amazing at coaching performances and knowing what not to sweat. Brett legitimized all our early influences in a way that gave us a lot of confidence to execute what we were going for.” “When you're a musician in the studio, you want to be creative,” Gurewitz explains while discussing his immediacy-first production approach that resulted in the nonstop fireballs on I Used To Go To This Bar. “You don't want to wait around and feel frustration because people are taking a long time to plug something in. I always try to work fast and keep things creative and fun.”

I Used To Go To This Bar feels like a true culmination of everything Joyce Manor’s achieved thus far, further cementing their current legacy as California pop-punk royalty as well as a truly generational punk band at large. “Joyce Manor are a quintessential South Bay punk band,” Gurewitz says while talking about the band’s importance to the landscape as large. “But unlike their peers they're writing timeless songs for the American Songbook. If Barry was a novelist, he'd be Ernest Hemingway. To me, they’re among the most important bands of the last two decades.” And the fresh burst of inspiration that fuels I Used To Go To This Bar proves that Joyce Manor are far from content to rest on such laurels, moving forward with their sound and style in a way that reminds you of how they got to this point in the first place.

Ahead of the release of their anticipated new album God Save The Gun, arriving Oct. 17 via Loma Vista Recordings, Los Angeles-based Militarie Gun shares the new single “God Owes Me Money,” which is BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record In The World today and was described by Rolling Stone as “tragically catchy.” “God Owes Me Money” is a focal point of the new album, showcasing a new dimension of Militarie Gun’s catalog with its earworm of a hook, synth melodies and an arena-ready chorus. Last week, Militarie Gun was unveiled as the digital cover star for Highsnobiety, where in the story the band discussed the making of God Save The Gun, vocalist Ian Shelton’s role as bandleader, and the ways in which substance abuse and relationships to addiction serve as narrative throughlines across the forthcoming album. 

God Save The Gun will include the aforementioned “God Owes Me Money,” along with the previously shared singles “B A D I D E A” and “Throw Me Away,” both of which arrived alongside videos directed by Shelton. God Save The Gun is a very human document of being at your worst when you should be on top of the world – an absurdist guide to the intersection of self-destruction and self-belief. "I’m well aware that being this vulnerable turns my personal trauma into a marketing hook for this album,” Shelton says. “But I’m fine with it, if not provoking it. Over the past couple years, as I spoke about addiction from the perspective of someone affected by it, I became the one struggling with it. There’s a farcical logic to entering a situation, fully knowing the consequences, and doing it anyway – but that’s where my head was when I started leaning on drinking.” 

Militarie Gun’s 2023 debut album, Life Under The Gun was centered around lifelong cycles of hurt, with the singer looking back at growing up with family members struggling with addiction, and while God Save The Gun is still tethered to that history, this time, he’s not the witness—he’s the protagonist. It wasn’t until the band was scheduled to enter the studio in early 2025 that Shelton realized he was the one who needed to hear God Save The Gun’s message.

Despite all of the inner turmoil leading to God Save The Gun, Shelton and his bandmates – guitarists William Acuña and Kevin Kiley, bassist Waylon Trim, and drummer David Stalsworth – more than rose to the challenge of following up Militarie Gun’s acclaimed debut. Stalsworth, Trim, and Kiley all joined during Life Under The Gun’s extensive touring cycle after a series of member shakeups that would hobble most bands, but only made Militarie Gun stronger. 

Along with the honed in line up, God Save The Gun was created with a village of new and old collaborators. Shelton continued his creative relationship with songsmith Phillip Odom, co-wrote with longtime conspirator and frequent harmonizer James Goodson of Dazy, and newly tapped Nick Panella of MSPAINT, among others. Militarie Gun also worked with producer / engineer Riley MacIntyre (Adele, Arlo Parks, The Kills), who was chosen not only to make the songs sound huge, but also to access the sentiments behind them.

To celebrate the release of God Save The Gun, Militarie Gun will embark on The BAD IDEA tour this month with support from Liquid Mike and Public Opinion. The 21-date kicks off in Palm Springs, California on October 25th with stops in Louisville, Worcester, Baltimore, Richmond, New Orleans, Houston and more before wrapping up in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 22nd. Top of next year, Militarie Gun will head across the pond for their headline Europe and UK tour with support from White Reaper and Spite House. Also in 2026, Militarie Gun will join Joyce Manor across their North American spring tour. 

Militarie Gun’s debut album Life Under The Gun was one of 2023's most celebrated albums, released to praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NME, Revolver, Stereogum, SPIN, Paste, The FADER, and more. Last year, Militarie Gun released the Life Under The Sun EP, which saw tracks from their debut album reimagined by friends and collaborators including Bully, Manchester Orchestra, and Mannequin Pussy. Militarie Gun also released the Life Under The Sun mini-documentary which sees the band and a host of their Life Under The Sun EP collaborators reunite at Manchester Orchestra’s Atlanta studio to further reimagine the tracks featured on their aforementioned EP, with guest performances from Manchester Orchestra, Marisa Dabice of Mannequin Pussy, and Christine Goodwyne of Pool Kids, who steps in for Alicia Bognanno of Bully for a performance of “Never Fucked Up Twice.” Also last year, Militarie Gun shared “Gun Under The Gun (MFG),” which was created for the new WWE 2K24 video game as the walk-in music for Post Malone’s wrestling character. Post Malone also included “Do It Faster” on his curated playlist for the WWE 2K24 soundtrack. 

Check out “God Owes Me Money” and pre-order / save God Save The Gun above, see full live dates and album details below and stay tuned for more from Militarie Gun.

Washington, DC punk duo TEEN MORTGAGE — guitarist/vocalist James Guile and drummer Ed Barakauskas — are getting festive with their new holiday track "Below the Christmas Tree."

Of course, in typical Teen Mortgage fashion, it's ANYTHING but a typical holiday track.

"We wanted to give people a new Christmas song to throw in their rotation because the usual Christmas hits get tedious to listen to," states Guile. "The song is a satire of people's tendency to ignore the world and embrace consumerism during Christmas and the way they would continue the tradition in the face of a nuclear holocaust. But the flip side of that is that Christmas is a call for peace."

Teen Mortgage are also partnering with Super Skate Posse and the Boys and Girls Club of Baltimore to provide 50 pre-selected, area youths with new skateboards, helmets, and Converse sneakers, along with a skate demo and music performance in Baltimore.

Guile says, "We're insanely proud to offer kids a chance to be part of the skate community in Baltimore and maybe get inspired to be in a band too."

The event will take place at the Skatepark Of Baltimore, locate at 1201 W 36th Street, Baltimore, MD on Saturday, November 22 from 2 to 3pm, and will include demos from professional skaters Brian Anderson, Darren Harper, Spencer Brown, and Tony Massey, as well as a full performance from the band. 

The Super Skate Posse Givebacks partner with local organizations across America to remove the cost barrier of access to the mental health benefits of skateboarding through a one of a kind experience to underserved youth. This is the first time the event will take place in Baltimore and is sponsored by The Boys And Girls Club Of Baltimore, Converse, Good360, Lingraphica, No Expectations, Team Bonding, Vu Skateshop, JBL Audio, Polio Treading, and Primary Wave.

"It's an honor to work with Teen Mortgage to uplift the youth of Baltimore. It may not be common knowledge but lead singer, James Guile, is a lifelong skateboarder. I commend James and Edward Barakauskas for identifying a need for resources in their community and taking action," says Chris Nieratko, Executive Director, Super Skate Posse.

In addition to this special performance, the band will perform at two holiday-themed shows. The will appear at the Jingle Bell Roxy LA on December 10. Jingle Bell Rox is a 13-night concert series in partnership with Union Rescue Mission. There will be a donation drive at each show to support those in need this season.

The band will also perform at Blissmas 25 with Better Lovers, Glassjaw, Saves the Day, Terror, Onyx, Haywire 617, Koyo, and Johnny Booth on December 13.

Teen Mortgage recently teamed up with Revolver to premiere the lyric video for gloriously discordant, grimy punk new single "DISAPPEAR." The band's debut album DEVIL ULTRASONIC DREAM is out now via Roadrunner Records. Teen Mortgage also recently remixed the DEVO classic "Whip It" for the 45th anniversary of DEVO's  Freedom Of Choice album, which is available exclusively as a KiTAlbum.