10. Marky Ramone Whips Up a Mean Sauce and Stirs Up Controversy
Marky Ramone made the move from the studio to the kitchen with the announcement that he was putting out his own pasta sauce - Marky Ramone's Brooklyn's Own. According to his commercial, he did it because "I watched people on TV cook, I watch my friends and relatives cook, I decided to put something together." Currently, the sauce is only available through his website at $88 a case, but I'm watching for it on my grocer's shelves to see if I can do a taste test.
In the wake of this news, Marky grabbed more headlines with an uproar about lineup changes within the Bitzkrieg. When the news generated some controversy, we spoke with former Blitzkrieg guitarist Alex Kane. Even after the interview, we're still not sure what happened.More »
9. John Lydon Releases Products, Grabs Headlines and is Generally The Same As Ever
It seems like every year we see headlines relating to the endeavors and exploits of John Lydon, and 2010 is no exception.
He first grabbed our eye in February with the announcement of U.S. dates for the PiL reunion, when he revealed that he actually didn't hate Pink Floyd, destroying some of the mythos surrounding the early days of the Sex Pistols. At the Detroit date for the PiL show, he declared his intention to become a U.S. citizen.
The reunion caught criticism with the announcement that PiL would be play in Israel, and got more from former PiL drummer Martin Atkins who, when I interviewed him, said that "PiL was never John."
The merchandising also continued with the anouncements of a Sex Pistols perfume and John Lydon's Scrapbook.
8. Election 2010 Had Some Punk Rock Results
The governor's election in California had some decidedly punk rock results with the election of Jerry Brown - making him the oldest Governor in California's history.But back in 1974 and 1978, he was also Governor - at that time making him the youngest.
It was during those first terms that Dead Kennedys penned their classic "California Uber Alles" about him. I'm just hoping that this term will also spawn a classic Brown-inspired punk tune that will carry us through the next 30 years.More »
7. Amanda Palmer's Evelyn Evelyn Causes Drama Drama
The discovery of punk cabaret singer Amanda Palmer and punk accordion troubadour Jason Webley, Evelyn Evelyn is the stage name of Lyn and Eva Neville, cojoined twin sisters who traveled with a circus for years, until deciding to launch a musical career. That was the official story anyway.
In truth, Evelyn Evelyn were alter egos of Palmer and Webley with a decidedly dark backstory that included human trafficking and an abused elephant. It was so over the top that it was unbelievable, but that didn't stop an army of outraged individuals from railing against the story.
Eventually the furor died down, and Palmer moved on to other projects, like her collection of Radiohead covers played on ukelele.More »
6. Hardcore Returns to Saturday Night Live
Ever since Fear played Saturday Night Live back in 1981 to awesomely disastrous results, hardcore has been noticeably absent from the late night show. Two events took place this year that show signs that maybe Lorne Michaels is getting ready to welcome it back.
In February, (who was there as a musical guest with Them Crooked Vultures)got on stage with host Aston Kutcher and members of the SNL cast to perform as the band Crisis of Conformity, an '80s hardcore band reuniting for one of the band member's daughter's wedding.
It got even better in May though, when Betty White hosted and performed her preferred version of the theme from Golden Girls.More »
5. Green Day Makes It Big on Broadway... and Everywhere Else, Too
Like it has been in many recent years, 2010 was a good one for Green Day, as they expanded their chokehold on American culture to include the stage and video games.
First, Green Day took the Grammy for Best Rock Album with 21st Century Breakdown. But they weren't happy with that. They wanted it all.
So they moved on to the Tony Awards, where they performed some songs from their album-become-musical American Idiot. Not only did they perform there, but they also walked away with two Tony Awards (or their musical did anyway).
This boded well for their video game, which also came out this year, allowing both aspiring rock stars and aspiring Broadway singers to find a creative outlet for playing along at home.More »
4. Punk Rock Goes on Trial
In 2010, punk rock had its day in court, with the announcement of two lawsuits in one week. First, it was 3OH!3, who found themselves the target of litigation from a former professional wrestler who claimed ownership of a hand gesture. It wasn't the first time the wrestler had taken musicians to court over his personal gesture, either.
Next up, it was the Vandals, who found themselves in a similar situation, after a magazine claimed ownership of a type treatment. Fortunately, the Vandals have a pretty good lawyer - their bassist Joe Escalante.More »
3. Pennywise Makes Multiple Headlines
It was an up-and-down year for Pennywise, who first grabbed headlines with the announcement that they were officially naming Zoli Teglas to be their new singer. The former Ignite frontman had been filling in since the departure of former frontman Jim Lindberg. Lindberg had announced his departure last August.
Under the guidance of Teglas, the band found themselves making headlines again during the 2010 Vans Warped Tour, when the band got into an altercation with the members Alesana. Even though police were initially involved it was all revealed to be a misunderstanding, and Pennywise apologized to warm fuzzy feelings all around.More »
2. RIP - Reatard, Flesher, Burgess, McClaren, Scratch, Hecker, Up
The year was plagued by sadness as well, with the deaths of some of punks most beautiful faces and vibrant voices:
Jay Reatard - Garage punk rocker, passed away in January from cocaine toxicity
Dannie Flesher - Co-founder of Wax Trax Records, passed away in January from pneumonia
Iain Burgess - Legendary music producer, passed away in February from pancreatic cancer
Malcolm McLaren - Inventor of the Sex Pistols, passed away in April from cancer
Derf Scratch - Founding member FEAR, passed away in July from illness
Julie Hecker - Detroit scenemaker, passed away in July from a heart attack
Ari Up - Vocalist for the Slits, passed away in October from an illness
We would once again like to extend our condolences to their friends and familiesMore »
1. Cokie the Clown at SXSW 2010
At a Fat Wreck Chords showcase at SXSW 2010, NOFX frontman Fat Mike delivered a set as his alter ego, Cokie the Clown. The set was somewhat unsettling, with Cokie relating disturbing events from his life in pretty graphic detail. At the end of his set, he left the stage after pressing play on a video. The video depicted him urinating in a bottle of tequila before bringing it on stage and giving it to his fans. - Or did it?
We were there, and have photos and coverage of the Cokie the Clown incident,compiled with some background on the man and his music.More »