folk punk

Singer/songwriter Derek Archambault is no stranger to the spotlight; he has spent the last 4 years on tour with progressive hardcore/punk band Defeater, and has had a solo project called Alcoa going for even longer. After countless years of keeping Alcoa on the backburner, this project will finally have a debut full-length album see the light of day in 2012.

Alcoa on Last.fm.

One part roaring sea shanty, one part haunting Irish melody, and a solid chaser of gut-crunching street punk. This ragtag group of drunken misfits stays true to the ancient ballads and bawlers that once drove sailors around the world, all the while smashing out modern punk with a fury and intensity that is unmatched anywhere. Formed in 2006 over pints of cheap beer at East Vancouver’s notoriously violent Ivanhoe Hotel, The Dreadnoughts cut their teeth in the roughest dive bars in the city.

A lifelong drummer, Mark Ayling has now branched out into the world of acoustic music, playing his own brand of raw acoustic guitar combined with direct and uncompromising lyrics. Discarding the usual Folk/Acoustic influences such as Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, Mark finds his inspiration from bands as diverse as The Jam, The Specials, New Model
Army, The Clash, Motorhead and Joy Division, creating a sound that has the energy of Punk whilst retaining the melodic elements of the acoustic guitar.

Four bands use the name "The Astronauts": 1) Surf band from Colorado in the early 1960's. Their appeal was primarily regional, but their 1963 single "Baja" drew national attention and reached #94 on the Billboard pop charts.

2) A nostalgic surf rock band from Bielefeld, Germany. Their style is instrumental space-surf rock n' roll. The liner notes from their 10" EP "Lost in Space", released in 1993 by Pin Up Records, shed some light on their retro aesthetic: "Do you play your Pin Up Monaural long-play recordings on a Mono phonograph? Please do.