The thing about Misfits covers is picking one. As in, how the hell could you possibly? Granted, if you’re not a Misfits fan, well, fine, you probably don’t care — and you’re probably not going to cover them anytime soon so it’s moot anyway. But if you like the Misfits at all, how on earth could you ever narrow it down to just one song to play? What, you’re gonna do “Halloween” and not “We are 138?” You’re gonna leave out “Hybrid Moments?” Of course not.

Louisville’s The Glasspack have the right idea. Grab a bunch of Misfits songs and record ’em all, then put them up for free so Danzig doesn’t sue your ass. Thus, Candy Apples & Razor Blades was issued in time for Halloween this year and is serving as something of a precursor for Moon Patrol, the awaited next LP from The Glasspack that will be their first album since two-thousand-frickin’-seven. Man I’m old.

Good fun:

THE GLASSPACK: Louisville Psychedelic Punk Unit Releases Free Misfits/Samhain Covers EP; New Full-Length Set For 2021 Unveiling Via Small Stone

Louisville, Kentucky-based psychedelic punk unit, THE GLASSPACK, has unleashed their first recorded material in over a decade in the form of their Candy Apples And Razor Blades EP. Featuring various Misfits and Samhain covers, the eight-track offering is available for free via Bandcamp and serves as a teaser to the band’s forthcoming new full-length, Moon Patrol, set for release in 2021 via Small Stone Records.

Comments vocalist “Dirty” Dave Johnson, “I asked the guys if we could record something special this year to give away for free. So, we quickly recorded some punk rock and metal favorites with a dash of GLASSPACK flavor at DeadBird Recording Studios in Louisville. As a punk rock kid in Louisville, I fell in love with these songs immediately and still carry them with me as an adult. I never outgrew them, or maybe I just didn’t grow up. It doesn’t matter. I will likely sing some of them ’til I am ashes. This is the first actual studio recording THE GLASSPACK has released for many years. It is also the first GLASSPACK record of which I do not play guitar. I only did the vocals.

“I am also in the process of finishing up the lyrics and vocals for our upcoming Moon Patrol album,” he continues, “which is a full-length record of all original GLASSPACK material. The music is finished. Once I finish the lyrics and vocals, we will go into the studio and knock it out. COVID-19 has derailed some of our plans but this album will still be released at some point next year.”

Stream Candy Apples And Razor Blades at THIS LOCATION.

Candy Apples And Razor Blades Track Listing:
1. 20 Eyes
2. Hybrid Moments
3. Devilock
4. In The Doorway
5. We Are 138
6. Halloween
7. Mother Of Mercy
8. The Howl

THE GLASSPACK:
“Dirty” Dave Johnson – vocals, guitars
Brett “Cap’n” Holsclaw – drums
Nicholas Hall – guitars, keys
Billy Lease – bass
Dave Chale – drums

https://www.facebook.com/theGlasspack/
https://theglasspack.bandcamp.com/
http://www.smallstone.com
http://www.facebook.com/smallstonerecords
http://www.instagram.com/smallstonerecords
http://www.smallstone.bandcamp.com

The Glasspack, Candy Apples and Razor Blades EP (2020)

They’ve been on hiatus since releasing a split 7″ with Trophy Wives (review here), but Louisville heavy rockers The Glasspack have announced a return from hiatus to be marked by the release of their fifth album, Moon Patrol. Frontman “Dirty” Dave Johnson has spent the last couple years tearing it up with poli-punkers The Decline Effect, who released their self-titled debut last year (review here), and while The Glasspack have always had more than a dash of punk to their sound, Johnson says they’re moving more toward the open psychedelia of cuts like “Louisiana Strawberry” (video here) from 2007’s Dirty Women.

Seven years have passed since that album came out on Small Stone, so if nothing else, The Glasspack are definitely due. The plan is reportedly for Moon Patrol to be entirely instrumental. They’re eyeing a 2015 release, and don’t seem to be in any rush, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the plans changed somewhat along the way. But the good news is The Glasspack are back and looking to wreak havoc once more.

Get the full story below:

THE GLASSPACK V: “MOON PATROL”

After nearly three years of hiatus, the Glasspack (formed 1999 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA) is active once again and finishing up writing their 5th full-length record.

The Glasspack’s last release was the “If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say…” single of 2010. This release was a one-off product for Noise Pollution Records of Louisville, split with Louisville band the Trophy Wives, and produced on orange 7-inch vinyl. Along with the vinyl came a free download card for unreleased Glasspack material which included part of the Glasspack’s sold-out headlining performance at the 2008 Roadburn Festival Afterburner in Tilburg, Holland in support of the Glasspack’s 2007 full-length release, “Dirty Women,” on Small Stone Records of Detroit.

The new Glasspack full-length record will likely be entitled “Moon Patrol.” It is also very likely to be all instrumental tracks with no vocals. Instead, the band wishes to focus on and emphasis sonic psychedelic exploration in heavy Glasspack fashion. It is no surprise looking back at prior Glasspack releases that bands such as Hawkwind, Chrome, Monster Magnet, and even Pink Floyd have played parts of inspiration for the band. Have a listen to Glasspack tracks “Jim Beam and Good Green,” “Louisiana Strawberry,” and “If You Don’t have Anything Nice to Say…” to get a feel of the possible direction the band is heading into now.

Johnson has stated that the record “will be less punk and a little slower than usual, but just as brutal and fuzzy. What will be different mostly is the complexity of the songs. We are looking to humble ourselves, the band, and others who listen with the sublime fear of psychedelia, not that happy hippy shit.”

The band has stated that the release will take some time, will be done right, and with 100% artistic direction in every way by the band members. The band has no potential record label in mind yet and is prepared to release the record itself if need be. There is even talk of it possibly being free. The bands believe release will be sometime in 2015. Most of the writing work is already finished.

In spring of this year while relocating in Louisville, Johnson retrieved his guitar equipment from storage, as well as the Glasspack’s extensive library (which has recently become part of the University of Louisville archives department). Johnson has stated, “I was moving all my stuff for the first time in a decade or two to under one roof. There was the Glasspack’s library and there was the old red bastard of an American Telecaster that a few years ago I sort of considered cursed. One day I was bored, picked up the Tele, and told myself ‘no Glasspack riffs,’ but that is exactly what came out. Only this time, the riffs were new and different. Most importantly, they were fun, powerful, and ‘Glasspack worthy.’ I told a couple friends that I would jam and all of a sudden, it seemed like everyone close to me wanted to do the Glasspack or hear new Glasspack. So, I started thinking.”

“Then, Nick Hall came over. He was the lead guitarist for the Glasspack before hiatus in 2010. He played lead guitar and synth keys on ‘If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say…” We jammed at my home and it was amazing. Nick is a trained musician and words cannot describe just how great he is. I had once tried to describe him as Frank Zappa, Robert Fripp, and Eddie Hazel rolled into one and though this is true in a sense, he is even more than that. He makes the Glasspack fun, complex, and fresh, and ten times more powerful. Just see the Noise Pollution single from 2010. After jamming, we decided it was time to act.”

“Before hiatus Nick and I had discussed my desire to one day make an instrumental space-rock record for the Glasspack. Nick had not forgotten and was all for bringing this idea to back to life. This idea had stemmed from the beginning of the Glasspack. I initially in 1999 had two ideas and band names: ‘the Glasspack’ and “Moon Patrol.” The Glasspack is the Glasspack, but the other was intended to be mutually exclusive from the idea of the Glasspack. It was to be a space rock band. I obviously went with the Glasspack. However, I now know that the only constant in this universe is change and that which is will one day become that which it is not, if it is to survive at all. It is inevitable. Therefore, the Glasspack is back, it will change, and change for the better because I will let it now. Moreover, there was always a hint of space-rock in the Glasspack anyway.”

The Glasspack will release more information on the upcoming album soon. The full band for the release is as follows:

“Dirty” Dave Johnson – vox, guitars (Decline Effect, Muddy Nasty River, and Dirty Bird)
Nicolas Hall – lead guitars, synth keys (Graffiti, Zach Longoria Project)
Rodney Roads – guitars, bass (The Hookers, Brothers of Conquest, Blade of the Ripper, and Purple Jesus)
Billy Lease – guitars, bass (Graffiti, Zach Longoria Project, and The Broken Spurs)
Mark Campbell – drums, percussions (Muddy Nasty River, Purple Jesus, Opposable Thumbs, and Strike City)

https://www.facebook.com/theGlasspack
http://www.youtube.com/user/theglasspack
http://theglasspackkentucky.blogspot.com/

The Glasspack, “If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say…”