MILWAUKEE’S VILE BEES DROP FIRST RELEASE IN FOUR YEARS – ‘JOY COUGHS’ EP. OUT NOW.
Following the tour-dates on the Midwest, the punk-rock/noise-rock trio is happy to present their newest work, the sophomore collection of songs available from now via Seismic Wave Entertainment.
Track-list: 1. Anime Bodies 2. Eyes Meet at the Liquor Store 3. Hot Probs 4. Marky Moon 5. Mascot Carries Own Head 6. Swirl The Numbers 7. No Blues 8. Salt Lick City 9. Fire to a Kid 10. Relaxo 11. Shapes 12. Use Yr Allusion
Milwaukee’s Vile Bees return with ‘Joy Coughs,’ their most dynamic and emotionally resonant work to date. Slated for release in June 4 via Seismic Wave Entertainment, ‘Joy Coughs’ finds the band at their sharpest—melding propulsive punk energy with introspective storytelling that navigates themes of intergenerational trauma, loss, and the echoes of addiction.
Formed in 2015 after the dissolution of Like Like the the the Death, Vile Bees—Michael Marchant (guitar, vocals), Kyle Scheuer (bass, vocals), and Dan Hanke (drums)—have spent years refining their sound, cutting their teeth in the Midwest’s DIY circuit. Their 2018 debut EP, ‘Come Here Young Man,’ introduced a lo-fi immediacy, while 2021’s ‘Dark Age Dad’ marked an evolution in both songwriting and production. But the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the band into a 15-month hiatus, leaving Dark Age Dad largely unheard.
Rather than let stagnation set in, Michael Marchant immersed himself in home recording, teaching himself the ropes of engineering while stockpiling demos in his basement. “I bought a laptop, a few microphones, and a recording interface and started writing with the intention of having something to work on once we could be in the same room again,” he recalls. The result? A raw, unfiltered collection of songs that would later take shape as ‘Joy Coughs’—a record as urgent as it is personal.
With ‘Joy Coughs,’ Vile Bees embrace the full weight of their experiences, delivering their most refined yet visceral collection of songs to date. “This album has a running theme of intergenerational trauma, loss, and empathy,” says Michael. “Witnessing parental drug and alcohol addiction through the eyes of a child. Being freaked out by the people who are supposed to keep you safe. Becoming a parent to your parents.” Despite the heavy subject matter, Michael insists the songs remain accessible: “I think I managed to avoid making them too dour or unapproachable. Some are even funny, and I’m very proud of that.”
Leading the charge is the album’s first single, ‘Anime Bodies’—a song that lyrically deals with a common theme of ‘Joy Coughs’—the loss of loved ones to drug and alcohol abuse. Michael explains: “It’s a reflection of a promising past and a reckoning with a dire present that could not be course-corrected. It’s confrontational empathy wrapped in the guise of hooky guitar pop.”
‘Joy Coughs’ marks the first Vile Bees release under the banner of Seismic Wave Entertainment, owned and operated by Conan Neutron. ‘Joy Coughs’ is a testament to resilience—born from isolation, sharpened on stage, and delivered with an unrelenting passion that defines the band’s sound.
Vile Bees are stepping forward, not just as punk stalwarts, but as storytellers unafraid to confront the past while charging headfirst into the future. ‘Joy Coughs’ EP is available from now on here here.
The Way of the Neutron – Mini-anthems for overwhelming and far too interesting times, defiant fight songs for those counted out or not counted at all. Still here. Still operating.
Spangle, and sass, small scale arena rock for smart alecks and malcontents. Big riffs, critical thinking, and big smart rock for freaks, nerds and weirdos. The latest work of the mighty Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends, Way of the Neutron (2025) is a mission statement of the most compelling order. Blending heavy riffs, huge hooks and harmony with relentless abandon. Telling the story of an ethos, a life of uncompromising music and the perseverance of the creative good fight in spite of overwhelming content and stimuli. It is not only the bands most accessible record, it stands alone as a case study for endurance. The very characteristic attitude is a part of Conan Neutron’s DNA. Talking about the first single off the upcoming long-play, Neutron states:
“Who Dares? Is a mission statement song. Most attributable to something a super villain would scream as a hero enters the room, this is a song about not just surviving but thriving often against insurmountable odds. One challenge at a time, one step at a time, one punch at time, one round at a time. Featuring a simple guitar hook and a relentless menacing main riff, it is a motivational soundtrack to dogged persistence. Who Dares? I’m the one who dares.”
About second single: “Sharks Keep Moving”:
“Ah, the shark terror of the deep. A little known fact about them is most sharks must keep moving to ensure water flows over their gills for respiration. Otherwise they will perish. What better metaphor for creative resilience, as an an artist changes and evolves? It is a central theme of the record and the song and the band. Sound wise the Jaws like main riff ties the whole thing together. The verses evokes Gang of Four more than most Neutron Friends songs, but has a pleasantly surprising Desert Rock(tm) style bridge with a few choice phrases that tie into the ‘not just survive, but thrive’ mindset of the record.”
The previous record is a split LP with the incredible LUNG called: Adult Prom on Learning Curve Records in 2023, This follows up 2022’s Dangerous Nomenclature. A three song concept ep and 2020’s Dark Passengers: their last dedicated full length release and 3rd full length album. After a relentless and creative 10 year run so far, with love from college radio, press and crowds alike. Neutron Friends show no sign of slowing down at all. Some people may be more familiar with the podcast, Conan Neutron’s Protonic Reversal , or the 4 Day Caterwaul music festival in Minneapolis but make no mistake about it. Neutron is a born rocker and very good at what he does and the Secret Friends in all iterations are a world class rock band.
Available now to pre-order, and to stream in full in bandcamp by March 20th. You can now find your way… to the Way of the Neutron. 1. Who Dares? 2. Sharks Keep Moving 3. A Villain of Circumstance 4. Exit Interview 5. Official Business 6. Relentless! 7. A Dream of Flight 8. Chekhov’s Grift 9. Integrity Wins Again 10. Bulletproof Tiger 11. The Burden of Dreams 12. The Way
BIO: Conan Neutron is a guy, Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends is a band. It is a band with a revolving cast of live players. It is a band whose recordings featuring Dale Crover of the mighty Melvins on drums, Tony Ash of Coliseum on bass and the production skills of the iconoclastic and enigmatic Toshi Kasai. The Secret Friends bring forth a wiry and adventurous rock ‘n roll that is equal parts Cheap Trick, fugazi, Queens of the Stone Age, the Cars, and DEVO with perhaps Mean Streets era Van Halen mixed in. Big rock, big riffs, heavy, hooky, a little strange. You get it. This is big rock music that has all the bombast and energy of the classic arena rock bands, but with punk rock attitude. With a bench deeper than a baseball team Conan Neutron, a rock ‘n roll lifer has spent the last 25 years making records and touring making uncompromising, sometimes challenging and daring rock music to anybody that is interested.
UPCOMING TOUR-DATES:
March 27th – Chicago, IL – Liar’s Club – w/Mr Phylzzz, Ghost Forest March 28th – Kenosha, WI – White Lilac – w/Mr Phylzzz March 29th – Madison, WI – Mickey’s – w/Mr Phylzzz, Dogsblood March 30th – WILD ANTICS – X-Ray Arcade, Milwaukee, WI
Japanese leg: April 1 – Nakano City, Tokyo – Moon Step April 2 – Shibuya, Tokyo – Cyclone April 3 – Shibuya, Tokyo – Ruby Room April 4 – Hachioji-shi, Tokyo – Hachioji RIPS April 5 – Fukuyama City, Hiroshima – 5 Cent April 6 – Nanamacho, Aoi Ward, Shizuoka City – Shizuoka live house Sogen April 8 – Amagasaki, Hyogo – Tora April 9 – Osaka – Hokage April 10 – Tokushima City, Ginza – Crowbar April 11 – Shibuya, Tokyo, Nishihara – Club Heavy Sick April 12 – Kawasaki, Tokyo – Live House YYYs
“Conan Neutron and his not so secret friends do a fantastic job of subverting the traditional Rock format with a multitude of musical touchpoints that keep the listener hooked throughout. Recommended.”
Sharks Keep Moving feature by Getting it Out Podcast: With new album The Way of the Neutron on the horizon, CONAN NEUTRON & THE SECRET FRIENDS, have released “Sharks Keep Moving,” the record’s second single. Not only will Seismic Wave Entertainment release the new twelve track effort on March 20th, the band will immediately go on tour, including an eleven date run in Japan. Check below for the song, pre-order information, and tour dates.…
It has been a lot of work, but the idea is to create something really cool and special that goes beyond clicking some “content” on the internet to be immediately consumed and moved on from.
Of the many songs included, there is a brand new Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends song called Chekov’s Grift. Anyway, buy link in the comments because that’s how the ZUCK likes it! Consider picking up a copy for this labor of love (accent on the labor… and the love… but mostly the labor!), on this… the most holy of days… bandcamp friday!
LUNG x CONAN NEUTRON & THE SECRET FRIENDS: cello-grunge powerhouse joins forces with Melvins-affiliated rockers on electrifying new split LP; West Coast tour announced
Learning Curve Recordsannounces the October 6th release of Adult Prom, the new split LP by Lung and Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends.Pre-order the album, here:
Adult Prom is an example of the magic that can happen when an unlikely pair of bands, bonded more by spirit than by sound, choose to join forces and make a thing together. Like a mouthful of sugar and salt, the contrast between the two reveals the power of each. Where Lung brings sheer intensity, executed with dark, neoclassical flair, Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends revel in an exuberant, noisy reimagining of classic rock. Despite the divergent energies, these bands are united by friendship and mutual respect and they give themselves, one hundred percent, to this project. On Adult Prom, not only do the two share space on a slab of vinyl; each also covers one song by the other, reinterpreting it in its own singular style, and members lend their talents to other tracks as guest vocalists and musicians.
Explaining how the collab came to be, Conan Neutron states, simply: “We are fans of each other’s music and enjoy each other’s company and it just seemed like a cool thing to do.”
From Cincinnati, Ohio, Lung consists of Kate Wakefield, a classically trained opera singer and cellist, and drummer Daisy Caplan, formerly of Foxy Shazam. Fierce, ethereal, and heavy as hell, Lung rocks with the intensity of early grunge, layered with sinister undertones. “Tony Iommi teaching a Nirvana class at Juilliard,” reads one review from Cincinnati paper CityBeat.
“PJ Harvey is absolutely brilliant,” states Wakefield. “I also am a huge fan of Tori Amos, Hole, Cibo Matto. I also love dramatic classical composers like Prokofiev, Sibelius and Barber – who are all pretty metal, in a way. Daisy has also introduced me to tons of bands that have influenced our style since we started playing, like Minutemen, Smart Went Crazy, and Death From Above. Our sound is intentionally genre-bending, but the consistent thread is that everything we do has an intensity to it. We mean every word and every note we play, and people can feel that.”People can feel that, indeed, as Wakefield runs her cello through distortion pedals and big amps, and Caplan pounds out earthquaking beats on cartoonishly bell-shaped, vintage North drums. A relentless touring machine, the duo has played over 700 shows across North America and Europe, on bills with Brainiac, Screaming Females, Fucked Up, and so many more.
With roots in Oakland, California, transplanted to Milwaukee, Conan Neutron is a wildly prolific musician, podcaster, and impresario. As a co-founder and curator of Caterwaul Festival, and as the founder and host of the Protonic Reversal podcast, Neutron is a self-built pillar of what he has termed “independent-minded, iconoclastic, noisy music.” With Caterwaul, he has helped create an annual fest that has quickly become a major new axis for this “noisy music” scene, putting the likes of Flipper and Chat Pile on one stage and serving to strengthen a community of diverse, yet connected, bands and fans. With Protonic Reversal, he has chatted for hours with an absolutely legendary list of artists – members of The Stooges, Devo, The Birthday Party, Black Flag, and Fugazi, to name but a few – amassing a huge library of conversations that exists as a resource for the world to enjoy.As a band leader, Neutron wields the same creative fire and the same knack for putting exceptional people under one roof. His rhythm section, The Secret Friends, consists of none other than Melvins drum-slayer Dale Crover and bassist Tony Ash, formerly of Coliseum. (When Neutron takes the show on the road, he and Ash are joined by a revolving cast of live players – “a bench deeper than a baseball team,” in Neutron’s words.)Contrary to what one might expect from these guys, the sound hits like a burlier version of power pop – more Cheap Trick than AmRep. Honed over four full-length albums and shows with Big Business, Torche, and more, the songwriting and execution are world-class. Crover’s iconic drumming lays the foundation for rich tones, sweet hooks, and Neutron’s croon.Given the underground cred of Neutron and his gang, their choice to rock unabashedly might come across like a subversive act. Neutron puts it like this: “What we do is BIG WEIRD ROCK MUSIC. I have to throw the WEIRD in, because when people think of rock music they tend to think of slavish imitators of bygone eras or a specific kind of very safe consonant guitar music for middle managers and wraparound shade dads.”
One press release from the recent past calls it: “small scale arena rock for smart alecks and malcontents.”Lung’s tracks on Adult Prom were recorded and mixed by John Hoffman at The Lodge in Dayton, KY; Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends’ trackswere engineered and mixed by Toshi Kasai. The album was mastered by Shellac’s Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service.
Adult Prom’s album artwork, created by Aaron Cross, comprises paintings of the two bands’ vans – two 2006 Ford Econolines, coincidentally. On October 6th, the day of the LP’s release, Lung and Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends will get in said vans and kick off a West Coast tour together. (See those dates, along with Lung’s other upcoming touring, below.)Adult Prom tracklist:1) Lung – Fucked Up Darling 2) Lung – Kingpin 3) Lung – Cash Machine (Two Ton Boa cover) 4) Lung – The Impossible Task (Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends cover) 5) Lung – Pastor 6) Lung – Anyone Else (feat. Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends) 7) Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends – Wild Antics 8) Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends – Crybullies 9) Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends – Fridging (feat. Kate Wakefield of Lung) 10) Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends – I’m Nervous (Lung cover) 11) Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends – Criminal Hypnosis 12) Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends – We Were WolvesLung w/ Screaming Females:Aug 16 – Morgantown, WV @ 123 Pleasant St Aug 17 – Cincinnati, OH @ Legends Aug 18 – Chattanooga, TN @ Songbirds Aug 19 – Asheville, NC @ Static Age Records Aug 20 – Washington, DC @ Songbyrd Lung: Sep 1 – Michigan City, IN @ Oktoberfest Sep 2 – Indianapolis, IN @ Romanus Fest Sep 7 – Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light Sep 8 – Athens, GA @ Flicker Theatre
Lung w/ Djunah:
Sep 9 – Savannah, GA @ It Takes Two fest Sep 10 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Sep 11 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
Lung w/ Thelma and the Sleaze: Sep 19 – Newport, KY @ Southgate House Revival Sep 20 – Louisville, KY @ Whirling Tiger Sep 21 – Athens, OH @ Union Sep 22 – Cincinnati OH @ Fountain Square Sep 23 – Lafayette, IN @ North End Pub Sep 24 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Lung: Sep 26 – St. Louis, MO @ CBGB Sep 28 – Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves Sep 29 – Austin, TX @ The Electric Church Sep 30 – San Angelo, TX @ The Deadhorse Oct 1 – El Paso TX @ Mona Oct 2 – Bisbee, AZ @ The Quarry Lung w/ Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends:
Oct 6 – Tempe, AZ @ Time Out Lounge Oct 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Redwood Bar and Grill Oct 8 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill Oct 9 – Sacramento, CA @ Old Ironsides Oct 10 – Reno, NV @ The Loving Cup Oct 11 – Eugene, OR @ Sam Bond’s Garage Oct 12 – Portland, OR @ High Water Mark Oct 13 – Bellingham, WA @ Make Shift Art Space Oct 14 – Seattle, WA @ Southgate Roller RinkLung:
Lung:
Oct 20 – Logansport, IN @ The Record Farm Oct 21 – Dayton, OH @ Dayton Music Fest
Photo of Lung, by Rachelle Caplan Photo of Conan Neutron, by Abbey Garside…
Now That We Are All Ghosts will be released on Seismic Wave Entertainment April 3rd, 2023 in LP, CD and Digital formats. Nine songs of Chamber Doom Americana. Frequently described as cinematic, the band will be releasing a video for all nine songs, an ambitious undertaking that rarely sees fruition. The album is self-engineered, recorded and produced, and mastered by Bob Weston of Chicago Mastering Service.
In the fall of 2019, Milwaukee’s Resurrectionists released an album they called What Comes In, a collection of everyman trouble tales delivered with enough wit and Midwestern twang that one could imagine Will Oldham settling into them.
As everyone knows, very little outside of the natural world remained the same after the year 2020, and so it was with Resurrectionists as well. Hardy was replaced by multi-instrumentalist Gian Pogliano, trading Hardy’s mournful swells for Pogliano’s spin-the-wheel-of-sonic-atmospheric sensibilities. The change is evident on the new Resurrectionists long-player Now That We Are All Ghosts. The twang remains in Cannon’s banjo pluck, and the band hasn’t lost their goth-country-as-fuck Appalachia via Milwaukee aesthetic, all of which perfectly supports Cannon’s words and vocals which, if we’re being totally honest, are the real show. Not only is Cannon a ridiculously skilled lyricist; he can sing the hell out of his songs with a tent preacher’s conviction and a working class punk’s urgency. Think D. Boon with the life experience of a forty-something man fronting The Bad Seeds in a Wisconsin log cabin in the dead of winter. You get the idea. Now That We Are All Ghosts is a collection of life-or-death songs that are that haunting, that primal. It’s an album made for these weird times.
Frequently described as: “The Best Live Band in Milwaukee” When WORK drummer Kavi Laud moved to Austin, TX a few years ago, Joe Cannon pressed pause on that outfit and fired up something entirely new with WORK bassist Jeff Brueggeman, drummer Josh Barto and a stellar pedal steel guitar player named Gavin Hardy and thus, Resurrectionists were born.
Now That We Are All Ghosts – SW031: Seismic Wave Entertainment
This is a “new” band, long time coming. I (Conan) just play guitar in this. Which has been a super cool challenge/constraint for me. I really love what we came up with, and I think Mike Lust did an amazing job recording it, a bit different than anything in any other band i’ve been in.
My stated goal was to try “just shred” in this one, a thing i’ve never done before in any band, largely because my guitar playing existed somewhere in the “evolved caveman” category of skill for most of my life. Joseph Cannon capably and defty write the lyrics and sings (Resurrectionists, WORK, Check Engine, etc.) in this collaboration we started 4 1/2 years or so ago. We’re now joined by noted rhythm section badasses Tony Ash and Jonathan Brown on bass and drums, who absolutely killed it.
There have been more than a few false starts over the years, but we liked the songs so much we wanted to make them live and laid hands on this weirdness during this whole *gestures around* thing going on. We really dig how this weird little record turned out. Whole thing on bandcamp now if you’d like to check it out, and if you want to buy a cd, download or art print you can do that too. Album art by Aesthetic Apparatus. Who you may recognize from the many different awesome christian fitness records. Link to the record in the comments.
“What’s in a name? Would ‘Kiss From a Rose’ by any other name sound so sweet?” Easy concept, kids. Two bands that are idiosyncratic and unique and are frequently related to the cultural dead end of “project” team up for a wild concept.
THE MISSION: pick 3 song titles Each band writes a song to the song title, without hearing or knowing anything about the other band’s work.
The title inspires the music, the lyrics, the entire approach. Certainly things have a chance of getting interesting, yes?
Anyway, what transpires is the results of this collaboration/challenge. Feast your ears upon it… if you dare! DANGEROUS NOMENCLATURE.
— VINYL PRE-ORDER COMING SOON THROUGH LEARNING CURVE RECORDS, when we have a more realistic idea of the timeline when it might actually arrive. Thank all the Adele and Taylor Swift collector’s records for that.
credits
released February 4, 2022
The Erratic Retaliator Strategy Mike – guitar, vocals Ron – bass, vocals
Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends – Dark Passengers. An 11 song record about depression and mental health. On Learning Curve Records. CDs on seismic wave.
Household Gods is a band. David Pajo (Slint, Papa M), Vern Rumsey (Unwound), Lauren K. Newman (LKN Band, Palo Verde) and Conan Neutron (Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends, Replicator). It was recorded at Rancho De la Luna studios in Joshua Tree by Dave Catching.
The record, Palace Intrigue, was revealed to the world on May 1st for Bandcamp’s Covid-19 day of action. Listeners can check it out on bandcamp. $10 pre-order for the digital on Bandcamp, and $20 for a copy on vinyl.
Released by Greyday Records Household Gods: David Pajo, Vern Rumsey, Conan Neutron, LKN All of the songs were written and recorded on-site at Rancho De La Luna studio in Joshua Tree, California.
No expectations, no rules, no problem.
The samples within this song are from various interviews and are utilized in their modified form with nothing but respect for the source material.
This song, along with the whole record is dedicated to the memory of Lauren K. Newman (LKN) 1978-2019, a bright and shining star. We love her and miss her very much and we speak her name. Rest In Power.
Music is a Gift, Rock and Roll For Life credits releases June 5, 2020
Recorded at Rancho De La Luna January 15th-19th, 2019 Engineered by Jonathan Russo Produced by David Catching Songs Mixed by Steve Fisk, J. Robbins and Scott Evans Mastered by Bob Weston
