Let’s face it…. bashing bands that are synth-pop crossovers into the punk scene has become cliche. In the months following Buddy Nielsen’s attack on fellow Saints and Sinners tour mates brokenCYDE and Breathe Carolina, his rallying cry has reverberated through the punk community. Quotes coming out of the early dates of the Vans Warped Tour reflected a growing dissident between bands that were performing on the summer long tour and set the stage for the South Florida stop at the Cruzan Theatre in West Palm Beach on July 25, 2009. So was there any punk left in this punk rock festival?

For those petty enough to search out the proponents of this drama, I’m sure they found exactly what they wanted. I on the other hand was so enthralled by everything good that was going on that I hardly had time to notice any of the bands whose presence may have been suspect. In between dodging rain storms, photographing bands and observing backstage behavior, there was little time to criticize.

Opinions will vary from person to person over the highlights of the day with so many bands playing over a wide spectrum of punk styled music. From my perspective the hands down best performance was served up by the British band Gallows.

It seems like they were they only band on the tour that get the idea that they should bring their music to the fans. I mean literally to descend from the raised stage and come down on the same level the way punk music, in their case hardcore, should be. Singer Frank Carter, his brother guitarist Steph Carter and bassist Stuart Gili-Ross breathed life back into the annual tour that has grown stale with bands pulling from the same bag of tricks, like the “wall of death” and the “this is the biggest circle pit I’ve ever seen”.

Otherwise the acts performing on the main stage dominated the day.

This year it seemed like the more popular acts were awarded longer set times. And why not? South Florida gets the shaft when it comes to national tours. Most tours don’t venture below Orlando and when it comes to a band like Chiodos, who haven’t been here since the 2007 release of Bone Palace Ballet, a shortened set would surely be upsetting.

Established punk bands like Less Than Jake, Bouncing Souls and Anti-Flag truly made the day less gray than the foreboding clouds appeared as they encroached on the fun through most of the afternoon.

There was no denying that 3oh!3 is better at being a festival band than playing small clubs. Their last South Florida performance on the AP tour was easily forgettable. Their appearance in front of the capacity crowd was amazing. As I watched their set from the back of the stage I couldn’t believe how well received their music was as a sea of hands formed their signature hand sign. I guess there are some exceptions for synth-pop crossovers.

South Florida’s punk scene has given rise to a handful of notable acts in recent years. In 2001, New Found Glory broke out, putting Coral Springs on the map while placing high on the Billboard Top 200. Boca Raton band Fallen From The Sky showed the MTV viewing audience the relevance of hardcore influenced punk as they competed on the MTV2 Dew Circuit Breakout, placing second in the competition in 2006. It is this circle of friends that passes the torch to Boca Raton band Protagonist as they release their full length album The Chronicle.

“Play Hard, Play Fast, and Play Together”, the intro track on the album and lyric from the final song “Charge (The Chronicle)” stands as the defining ethos of the band that has always been forward thinking despite the challenges they face.

In their earliest form Protagonist was conceived in 1999 but cite 2001 as their official inception. Since then the band has seen a rotating cast of members around the core group comprised of Peter Marullo (vocals), John Marullo (guitar, backing vocals) and Brian Forst (guitar, backing vocals). Most notably is Jeffy Scott, who has played drums on every Protagonist recording and is a member of the hardcore band Know The Score and Hazen Ziringer on bass, who recently committed to touring with Fallen From The Sky. Their current line-up is rounded off by Kyle MacDougall on drums and former Fallen From The Sky bassist Marcus Kora.

An unconventional approach to being a unit was adopted prior to the 2006 release of Reasoning With Time when founding member John Marullo moved to Washington DC to attend Georgetown University. Though unable to play regularly with Protagonist Marullo was never out of the overall picture as the band continued on with Forst as the sole guitarist. Than In 2008, Peter Marullo relocated to Salem, Massachusetts after graduating from Florida Atlantic University with a Communications Degree in “Film and Video” and Forst moved to Gainesville, FL to pursue a law degree at University of Florida.

Peter Marullo touched on the topic, “We all have a history of knowing each other for quite some time. Friendship and camaraderie is the foundation of our band. With members living in different areas, being in a band can be tough. We all communicate on regular basis and with tools like video chat and phone conferencing, were able to figure out and schedule everything accordingly”.

Though together in spirit, the release of the songs that would eventually become The Chronicle proved to be a daunting task. The initial sessions began in 2007 at Daedor Studios in Boca Raton, FL but needed refinement. By mid-January 2008 an optimistic post on the bands Myspace page suggested the band had been “looking for a label to release it”. It took until July of 2008 for mastered versions of the songs “Light The Fuse” and “1095 Days” to appear online. Fans of the band had begun to question the pace of the release as a punknews.org comment by user theblock reflected, suggesting that this album was Protagonist’s very own Chinese Democracy

Than everything fell into place.

A chance encounter between Forst and Less Than Jake drummer/Fueled By Ramen record label founder, Vinnie Fiorello occurred in Gainesville, FL where the two both live. They became familiar with each other over a period of time. Behind the scenes friend of Protagonist, Ian Grushka, the bassist of New Found Glory, had been in contact with Fiorello advocating the band to him for his new label, Paper + Plastick. The Chronicle than found a big name home when Fiorello brought Protagonist onboard.

“What we found intriguing about Protagonist was their untiring work ethic and solid, catchy, raging, melodic hardcore songs” said Fiorello. “These guys would be going out and busting their asses with or without a label’s backing, which is inspiring to us and other musicians. They are a band with dedication and unlimited potential because of their talent as artists and their will to persevere through years of grueling tours. As a label it is always good to have bands that are willing to put in the effort besides writing songs and recording them, because we can only put in as much work as they do. On top of all of that, they have grown and matured into great songwriters that can inspire tons of fist pumps, circle pits and singalongs.”

The twelve tracked The Chronicle does just that. The layers of guitar are a perfect mix of fast chords and apt melody lines. The bass guitar has lots of high and low tones that grab your attention when the guitar thins out, as on the tracks “Stargazer” and “We Move Ahead”. The lyrical content is hardcore at its best. Backed by a constant barrage of gang vocals, heightening the emotional effect, a majority of the songs feel like anthems or battle hymns.

As the album’s namesake suggests, the songs reflect on the past addressing it in terms of being forward thinking. A perfect example is a lyric from the song “Light the Fuse” that boldly points out “it’s not the places that you go but the people that you meet”. In paying homage to friendships made the album features a multitude of backing vocals by those dear to the band.

Olympic Heights High School friend and bassist of Cobra Starship, Alex Suarez, contributes to the tracks “1095 Days” and “Vampires Only Come Out At Night”. Fallen From The Sky singer Ryan Loughney’s distinctively rough tone stands out in the middle section of “We Move Ahead”. The song “From Florida to Philadelphia” regales in the memory of a past tour with The Boils as underground icon Greg Boil trades off lines with Marullo.

Protagonist will be kicking off their North American tour on May 15, 2009 at Backbone Records in Delray Beach. FL. The Chronicle can be downloaded or purchased on vinyl from Paper + Plastick at www.paperandplastick.com.

Interesting facts:

- Jamie Woolford who has produced tracks for Hit The Lights and Punchline, mastered The Chronicle.

- “From Florida to Philadelphia” was written on tour in 2005.

- Protagonist did a ten stop tour of Japan in June of 2008 with Jeffy Scott on drums and Jeff Berman, formerly of The Boils, playing bass.

Prior Releases:

Hope and Rage (2003, Blackout! Records), Reasoning With Time (2006 Stake Out Records)

You should attend this show if:

- You are tired of all the crap that is passed off as punk by Alternative Press Magazine

- You’ve never seen a pile-on when the crowd converges on open mics to sing gang vocals.

Sometimes photographing a show is more a battle of wills than an assignment. Many times there are communication gaps that throw the editorial process into a freefall. When Less Than Jake played the Culture Room, with Catch 22 in 2006, I had been in contact with a representative from their former record label. He was suppose to take care of putting me on a media list enabling me to go through the front door with my camera. When I got to the show the guy at the door did not have my name. After asking around I found someone onsite that was with the bands management. After producing the email in which I was confirmed to shoot the show I was permitted inside.

I took a mental note and adopted a new found mantra that day. “Never let anything get in the way of my shot“. It’s an aphorism that can be applied to all facets of life.

Showing up at the March 7, 2009, Less Than Jake show at Club Revolution I ran out of options of trying to get in the show. No one was onsite from the shows promoter and the manager of the club was out of town for the weekend. As a last ditch effort I stopped Roger from LTJ and talked to him. Within 5 minutes I had the photo pass on my chest and I walked through the front door ready to shoot.

This explanation isn’t about braggart but about opportunities and the one chance you have to capitalize on them. This show was a couple hours of my life that are irreplaceable. The pictures taken are memories that will last a lifetime.

I was totally taken off guard by the band The Flatliners. They are a punk band that has elements of third-wave ska that puts them in a category with bands like The Suicide Machines, NOFX or Against All Authority. It’s been a while since I took to a band so quickly and I have to confess that I bought a shirt and their cd almost immediately after they stopped playing. When I saw the Fat Wreck Chords logo on the back of the shirt it all started to make sense.

I had never heard of The Expendables before this show. This might be because in recent years I have been apprehensive about following the Long Beach sound that was created in the wake of Sublime. To me it was good for a bit but seems like a step backward, as I prefer to be forward thinking.

The past caught up to the future two weeks ago when the surviving members of Sublime played an impromptu set in Denver,  Colorado with a new singer playing a Sublime set list and one new song. Having my Sublime spark re-ignited I went and saw Badfish (a Sublime tribute band) earlier in the week. The timing of seeing The Expendables may be why I appreciated them as much as I did. Their sound was amazingly full. I might even venture to say that they trumped Less Than Jake in sound quality.

Less Than Jake is the biggest a local band can become in my eyes. Sure they are international but they started out right here in Florida. The combination of catchy ska-punk music mixed with outrageous onstage antics and a strict touring schedule has allowed them longevity when most of the top tier bands of the late 90’s ska movement have fallen off.

There was a point in the show when LTJ singer Chris Demakes asked, “Are their any old school Less Than Jake fans here?“. He pointed out a kid that had his hand up and informed him “I have wrinkles that are older than you“. I was too busy running around to weigh in my opinion but I would like to offer this.

I’ve been paying attention to Less Than Jake since Roger worked at Knuckleheads. I remember when LTJ had a female horn player. I can recall the days where a LTJ show wasn’t complete until you heard the call “Free Shit” in which garbage bags full of zap guns, stickers and trading cards were dumped into the crowd. I’ve seen a complete crowd throwing thousands of chopsticks at each other and I can remember when the song “Three Quarts Drunk” was in the setlist (and I am patiently waiting for them to bring it back).

The show was a good mix of old songs and new songs. In between songs Chris pointed out people in the crowd by celebrities that they looked like. Chris Brown was on a hand (a member of the clubs staff that was the only black person visibly in attendance) and a kid wearing a white cotton suit jacket was either or both Don Johnson or Philip Michael Thomas from Miami Vice.

The most laughable portion of the evening involved a discussion on the chimpanzee attack that occured a few weeks ago in which Chris referred to the animal as a “little fucking bastard monkey son of a bitch“. The statement was followed up by the question, “Who thinks the monkey should be euthanized?” to which the audience was almost silent. Chris than asked “Who thinks Michael Jackson should be euthanized?” to which the crowd erupted in cheering.