Happy Summer, comrades. Hopefully whoever you serve (taskmaster, kommandant, sweatshop overlord, etc.) has permitted you to take furlough so you can get out and enjoy The People’s Beach. But not us. No fucking way. Like good proletarians we are tirelessly toiling away, ever under the lash. And why do we do it? WE DO IT FOR YOU. And we have two new releases from two trusted allies of the Red Scare bloc: Elway and Direct Hit!. Two bands, we should mention, that have pushed our strict “No Jorts” policy to the limit.

Coming first is Elway’s Better Whenever, out July 24th. Order that thing from Interpunk and get yourself a free (and hilarious) patch. The vinyl won’t be done until late August, but we wanted you guys to get stoked on the new stuff in time for their Riot Fest shows. Ain’t no fun to spray beer on your homeboys/homegirls unless you KNOW the new shit. Ya know?!? So get that noise on CD or iTunes on 7/24, or go stream this first track brought to you by the folks at Noisey/Vice.

Next is a Direct Hit! collection called More of The Same (Satanic Singles 2010-2014). Epic name, epic songs. Punknews posted a big scoop about the album and those cats at Interpunk are giving away freebies with purchase of that too. These are some of their very best songs, re-recorded, and it came out great, so do not miss out on this or else DH! will make you pay for your insolence. They always do. Look for this to be out on August 14th and look for the band at Riot Fest in Denver and Chicago. FUGP, right?

While we’re here, we should mention that there’s new records coming from Sam Russo and Nothington. Hell, even The Falcon has started tracking a new one. WHOA. We’ve added a couple new bands too (hint: one is from Michigan and one is from Santa Barbara), but more on that stuff later. For now, stay updated with us on Fartbook and Twitter. Enjoy the Summer, fellow plebs. Hang ten in East Berlin, etc etc.

Red Scare has some neat 7″s comin’ at ya for RSD. YES, Record Store Day is silly, but in the spirit of “more hustlin’ and less hatin'”, we’re gonna be team players and take part in the festivities. Basically, it’s like this: it’s up to us to save the music industry and we have the three fuckin’ bands that are gonna do it. There’s The Menzingers I Was Born, Cobra Skulls Live At The BBC, and Masked Intruder Incriminating Evidence: 2011 Demos. Pretty great, right?

Here’s the funny part… so, long story short, the music industry have always been about a buncha dicks bullying the little guys. Record stores and chains have historically tried to strong-arm labels into giving them free shit and money in exchange for carrying their records, etc etc. Those were the days, right?!? Well, the mean record stores all went outta business and their shitty practices died with them. Except now the same assholes run Record Store Day! Cool story… where was I? Oh yeah, we made all these great 7″s for you guys but Trey Anastasio and Jethro Tull took up all the “official” RSD release slots, so TECHNICALLY the Zingers and ‘Truders 7″s come out April 14th, but they will be in stores the same time as the sacred Record Store Day stuff. I don’t fucking know, man, but these 7″s are pretty limited and pretty great, so get on it. As a special dealie for those who can’t get out to stores, we’re doing a bundle for all three releases with Interpunk. There’s only like 40 bundles though, so good luck with that.

As always, this stuff will be available in digital formats, so hit iTunes and whatnot. You can also visit our webstore too.

David Jones was my best friend when I lived in San Francisco. He was the singer in Enemy You and he passed away recently in his home. I’m told David took his own life.

I can already see the outpouring of support and good will from his friends and co-workers, and everyone seems to agree that David was a thoughtful, conscientious human being. That will be his legacy, and it should be.

If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to share some thoughts and personal anecdotes about him. See, my father passed away right after I graduated from Cal and I was in a weird, lonely place. I knew David Jones at that point, but it was only when I was at his house and saw his truly righteous collection of D&D stuff that I knew he was on the team and we’d be fast friends. From that day on I hung out with him more than anyone and Dave’s house was a real “port in a storm” for a parentless kid who liked nerdy gaming and punk rock. What’s weird is that amidst this grim news, we’ve come to learn that there’s a lot of people that referred to David as their best friend. Again, that’s his legacy.

One of the many sad perspectives here is that people like us need David Jones. He was like me and some of you: he didn’t identify with the overculture and didn’t necessarily feel accepted. But as old and happy and stable and independent as I think am now, I still feel like I need David Jones and it really hurts to think that we lost such a benevolent and helpful soul. We can’t afford to lose any more like him. So if you’re out there, and you’re hurting, please reach out to someone. We need you too.

I had a really peaceful conversation with David’s high school friend, Adam. He said a few things that might help make sense of this. It was basically, “No one should feel guilty about this because David told me in 10th grade that he was going to inevitably kill himself. As clichéd as it sounds, he’s in a better place now. David was always in a lot of pain.” And I suppose that’s true. It makes me really sad to think that David didn’t always feel the joy that life can bring you. It’s unfair that he brought so much joy to others, but we couldn’t do the same in return.

This record label wouldn’t exist without David Jones and his music will live on for a long time. Such is his legacy.

See you at the big Gen-Con in the sky, David…

– Tobias Jeg