Amoeba Records

Rock-‘n’-roll sightseeing in San Francisco

With specialty coffee shops, artisanal cocktail bars, and the highest number of restaurants per capita in the USA — not to mention a great music scene — San Francisco practices a refined hedonism for fun-loving foodies. Make sure to hit these places by the Bay.

Contest: Win tickets to Riot Fest 2010 at the Congress

ALARM has two pairs of tickets to give away for the Congress Theater dates (Oct. 8 & 9) of Riot Fest 2010, Chicago’s annual punk/hardcore festival.  The entire shindig takes place October 6 – 10, 2010, and this year it expands to the Metro, Double Door, Subterranean, House of Blues, Cobra Lounge, and AAA.

To enter to win, enter your E-mail below for the biweekly ALARM newsletter, the Alarmist.

We’ll contact the winner via E-mail on September 27.

Update: Contest has ended.

On top of another reunion show from Snapcase and dozens of other performances, Riot Fest 2010 features bands such as Bad Religion, Anti-Flag, Propagandhi, Jello Biafra, Smoking Popes, Negative Approach, High on Fire, Torche, Kylesa, Circle Jerks, The Bronx, Corrosion of Conformity, Agnostic Front, and Cap’n Jazz.

Bad Religion’s Greg Graffin pens book on evolution

Singer Greg Graffin of punk stalwarts Bad Religion has co-authored a new book called Anarchy Evolution: Faith, Science and Bad Religion in a World Without God with National Academy of Sciences journalist Steve Olson.  You may be familiar with Graffin’s thoughts on evolution and other matters via Bad Religion lyrics, but many are unaware that he teaches the subject at UCLA and holds a PhD.

The book and Bad Religion’s new album, The Dissent of Man, will be released on September 28.  Get to know him on a personal and intellectual level with his new offerings.

Tim Barry: Manchester

With the growing list of punk-turned-roots acts (see Greg Graffin of Bad Religion’s excellent 2006 effort, Cold as the Clay, or anything John Doe of X and Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees have been up to for many years for further evidence…) one could assume that an acoustic singer/songwriter project is the going retirement plan for punks seeking solace from the hustle and bustle of crusty noise and leather.