Photograph by Chris Woo

Bobby Bray

Bobby Bray (INUS) recently contributed to Fender’s Technique of the Week series. “They had me do a technique for beginners…muted pick tapping on multiple strings at once, in a percussive manner. It’s actually a thing Gabe Serbian and I did on the entire first half of ‘Gluing Carpet To Your Genitals Does Not Make You A Cantaloupe,’ off of Flight of the Wounded Locust, the last record by The Locust that Gabe played guitar on.”

Flogging Molly

Celtic rockers Flogging Molly released a lyric video for “The Road Of Mine” in advance of their first new album in five years, Anthem. Singer-guitar player Dave King says, “At the time I was writing these lyrics, I was wondering if we were going to be able to continue to tour and make music again. Whether you’re a plumber or a carpenter or a musician, we all had the rug pulled out from underneath us, and there are certainly elements of that on the album.” The band plays North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre on September 23.

Mike Pope

On October 7, genre-fluid folk singer Mike Pope (Tin Can Country Club) is releasing two debut albums at the same time via local Blind Owl Records. He calls Songs For People (High & Low) “a reflective collection of confessions,” while describing the second, Ripening, as “poetic punk vision.” Each tune on the latter release was tracked live in a single performance.

Diamanda Galas

On August 26, vocalist, pianist, composer, and poet Diamanda Galás will release her album Broken Gargoyles via Intravenal Sound Operations. The first incarnation of the work, inspired by disfigured soldiers (“broken gargoyles”), was first staged at the Kapellen Leprosarium (Leper’s Sanctuary) in Hanover, Germany, built around 1250 and used in the Middle Ages to quarantine those who suffered from the plague and leprosy.

Lexington Field

“Big news for my book The Lumberjack,” reports Beau Gray of Americana fiddle rockers Lexington Field. “Morgan Wagner, the illustrator for the book, is flying in to join me and Lexington Field to do a reading, acoustic performance of the song, and book signing.” The free event at the New Children’s Museum takes place August 27 and includes free museum admission and a family art kit inspired by the book.

Beach Punx returns to Winstons in OB on Sunday, August 21, with a full day of punk rock. Scheduled to appear are the Touchies (“slang for cuddling with your special someone”), a beat pop/punk band founded by Stanze Touchie (formerly of Happy Endings, Of Worlds Long Dead, and the Esthas) on lead vocals and guitar, and Mishey Touchie (formerly of Happy Endings, the Esthas, and Starcrossed) on bass and backing vocals. The bill also includes Midnight Track with Moe Pasin and Ricky Scapini, along with Moe and the Failure, Strychnine Ninety Nine, The Calvins, Upper Downer, and War Fever.