Ignoring every warning just to cast another stone.”
This summer, Boston punks Stray Bullets dropped a new single out of the blue. “Already Dead” delivers what fans know and love: a ripping guitar lick, skankable verse, and a chorus to scream at the top of your lungs. The lyrics are loaded with a laundry list of humanity’s problems capped with a brief plea for course correction at the end.
We caught up with frontman Jon Cauztik to talk about the song, it’s release, and what else was in store for the band. I saw Stray Bullets perform “Already Dead” at Thunder Road earlier in the summer and he revealed it was recorded quite some time ago. Why release it now?
We recorded it, along with five other tunes, in January 2015, two of the tunes were gonna go on a split 7-inch with The Warning Shots, which has since evolved into a 4 way split LP with Warning Shots, Duck and Cover, and Blood Stained Brindle, which, if my information is correct, is being pressed right now. We sat on most of the tunes for a while, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to drop this one now to drum up interest in the split.
So the good news is that there’s more music on the way! This is just to whet your appetite.
We asked for further explanation on the lyrics but the enigmatic Cauztik just redirected us to Bandcamp where the lyrics are posted in full. The interpretation is intentionally left up to you. Listen below.
Returning to the Studio
Later in the summer we learned that the band was headed into the new Converse Rubber Tracks Studio, located at Converse HQ near TD Garden.
What can fans expect from this amazing opportunity? Cauztik was kind enough to reveal their recording strategy.
We’re gonna be in Rubber Tracks for a day, so I wouldn’t expect a new record out of that. Our deal has always been to get a batch of like 3-6 tunes together, book studio time, and record them while they’re still fresh and nobody’s bored of playing them yet. Then do it all again with the next batch. Sometimes we put them all together and release a full length. The deal with Rubber Tracks is that you apply to record there and if they pick you you can go in there for a day for free. Which is cool.
I’ll be very curious to follow up with the band after the session and hear more about it. It was exciting to hear about the studio’s creation, but it became much more real to learn that a band I followed would be recording there.
If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and soak up the band’s 2014 full length release Ghost Town Rockers.
FURTHER READING: Vanyaland takes a look inside Converse Rubber Tracks Studio in Boston.
And h/t Vanyaland for the timelapse video below.