Written by: John Tierney
Old school punk rock. You know, the kind of loud, fast, fun music you grew up on.
If you were there, you miss it, the kind of music that blows your hair back, LOUD ENOUGH TO KNOCK YOU DOWN, with a sing along chorus from the lifted voices of your sweaty comrades full of cheap beer pogoing in the pit. The real deal. If you weren’t there, well you missed out buddy. But thankfully there are still bands around from that great era when rock n’ roll was reinvented.
Syracuse’s legendary punk band S.F.B. was there when it started, from the long left burnt embers of rehearsal spaces turned into one night only punk rock showcases, to university owned basement rathskellers S.F.B. was there for it all and still march on with no intention of waving the white flag.
Their new 3 song EP, End of an Era, recorded at the LEGENDARY Moletrax studios, storms out of your speakers (or ear buds if you will) with the title track “The End of An Era” a song that’s kind of a grown up punk’s wistful and sometimes regretful look back on life. Guitar slinger Bob Cat’s vocals (he sings on all three tracks) comes at you like a cross between Stiv Bators and Johnny Thunders with a touch of Johnny Rotten snarl thrown in for good measure.
“Sucker for a Psycho” is one of those great fun punk rock instant classics that you can sing along to. A song about finding yourself hooked up with a shall we say, challenging woman. Great fun and features drummer Paul Doherty (The Trend) on backing vocals.
Closing out the set is a perfectly offered cover of The Sex Pistols “Pretty Thing” which absolutely rocks with guitar work that Jonesy ‘imself would be proud of.
You know what? Jonesy would be proud of the whole EP. Don’t think of it as a throwback, that would imply that the punk rock spirt has gone dormant or declined over time, nothing could be further from the truth, maybe you just haven’t stood up and taken notice. S.F.B. makes you stand up and take notice. Rock n roll played the way it’s meant to be played. Loud, fast and FUN.
Along with Bob Cat, the EP features Neno on guitars and David Lee Mau on bass. Special guest Fred Mann from Buffalo’s The Enemies adds backing vocals on Pretty Thing.
Look, even if you weren’t there back when punk rock bands were playing seven nights a week in this town, you can get up to speed by grabbing a copy of End of Era when it’s released on Halloween. You can get it at https://sfbny.bandcamp.com and don’t let the EP title fool you, S.F.B. has 2 other releases planned for 2022. S.F.B isn’t going anywhere. Thank the punk rock god for it too.
You’ll have to excuse me now, I’m going to pogo all over my house. 1234!
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