Punk tour features trio of bands, styles
By Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 14, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 Drive-Thru Records New Found Glory headlines a nationwide
tour for the first time, stopping at the Hollywood Palladium this
Friday.
By Shana Dines
Daily Bruin Contributor
Despite the common misconception that all punk sounds the same,
there are many varieties of the multi-faceted genre of music.
Three of the major styles into which punk can be subdivided are
emo/pop, hardcore and ska.
Friday night at the Hollywood Palladium punk fans across the
board will get an opportunity to see an amazing show that has been
selling out across the country. New Found Glory is, for the first
time ever, headlining a tour, with opening groups H2O and the Rx
Bandits.
“All three bands have been bringing in their own fans, so
kids who wouldn’t normally see the other two end up staying
for the whole show and really liking it,” said Cyrus Bolooki,
drummer for New Found Glory.
 MCA The band H2O will be performing with New Found Glory
and Rx Bandits this Friday at the Hollywood Palladium. New Found
Glory represents the emo/pop style within the trio of bands, which
is the sound of most punk bands that can be found on MTV lately.
The group did, in fact, just finish a tour of arena shows with
Blink 182. Bolooki classifies the band’s sound as poppy punk
rock that isn’t old school, but does not sound like Green
Day. Every member contributes his own musical background to the
writing process, so that the band’s influences range from
hardcore to indie to pop to ’80s.
Although New Found Glory’s last release, a self-titled
album from MCA records, has been out for about a year, the members
plan on going to the studio as soon as the tour is over to work on
their third full length album.
There won’t be any new songs in the set during this tour,
but New Found Glory do have a new stage set-up featuring a 50-foot
backdrop and amp covers.
The covers for which New Found Glory have become known will not
be missing from this tour. Singing a theme song from a movie,
whether it be “Titanic” or the “Karate Kid
2″ or “Goonies,” the band will present music
everyone in the club is sure to know the words to.
Fans should also not be alarmed when drummer Cyrus Bolooki does
not join his fellow band members on stage. He broke his arm at a
New York show and has not been able to finish the tour, but Rx
Bandits’ drummer Chris Tsagakis has been filling in for
him.
“He learned about fifteen songs in one day. I saw a show
with him playing and it was awesome,” said Bolooki, while
resting at his home in Coral Springs, Fla.
H2O, a band known on the East Coast as a driving force in the
New York hardcore scene, has been opening the shows. Playing cuts
from their six month old album, “Go,” the members have
been excited about the exposure they are getting from fans who
would not usually hear their music.
“There has been an amazing reaction,” said Todd
Morse, guitarist for H20. “Kids have been standing and
cheering at the empty stage waiting for us to come out. They are a
really diverse crowd, but very open-minded.”
A special part of H2O’s set is its song, “Underneath
the Flame.” Written before Sept. 11, it is about running into
a burning building and making the choice to stay or jump. It has
taken on a new meaning in the past two months, so the band now
dedicates it to the New York Fire Department and asks for a moment
of silence before the song.
“It’s so chilling to see everyone get quiet and
serious in the middle of the concert,” Morse said.
Morse described the most important aspect of H2O’s shows
as the connection the band makes with the audience. The members
like to reach out to the fans and encourage participation. They
also watch the crowd and make sure no one is getting beaten up.
Taking the idea a step further, the men of H2O can be found at
their merchandise booth after every show, meeting and talking to
fans, and especially signing autographs.
“It’s a simple thing that many bands have forgotten,
but one of the morals of the punk hardcore scene is that we are all
equal and the bands are on the same level as the fans,” Morse
said. “We realize that we would be nowhere without
them.”
Preceding H2O and New Found Glory at every show is the Rx
Bandits, which is touring in promotion of its new release,
“Progress.”
In addition to the traditional guitar, bass and drums, Rx
Bandits includes a trombone, making its sounds unique and
representing the ska side of punk.
“Our first two CDs were very ska-oriented, so instead of
abandoning that sound, we combined it with everything else that we
like,” said trombonist Rich Balling. “Ska is our roots,
and we wanted to stay in touch with that ““ it is still a good
thing.”
Talking from a poorly connected cell phone in the middle of
Montana, Balling also expressed regret that the band had to miss a
few Northwestern shows, as their van broke down somewhere in
Omaha.
Without all three bands and the different aspects they each
bring to the concert, the show would be missing its unique blend of
styles and energy from the fans that transcend the divisions of the
punk sub-genres.
A follower of either emo/pop, hardcore or ska will no doubt find
something they enjoy in the show, in addition to being exposed to
something else they may have never realized they like.
MUSIC: New Found Glory, H20 and Rx Bandits will
perform at the Hollywood Palladium on Friday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
