As we drag ourselves through the final stretch of shopping for the holidays, we have the perfect way to take a break! The 10th annual Slabby Holidaze show from Slabratory is happening this Friday at Brick by Brick in San Diego.
Headlining this year’s holiday punk rock event is Santa Cruz’s own Good Riddance. They were propelled into the punk scene in the mid ‘90s with their album “For God and Country.” Their melodic sound born out of the surf and skate cultures knocked fans off their feet in the best way. After disbanding in 2007, they reformed in 2012 and got back to work releasing albums, including 2019’s “Thoughts and Prayers.”
Good Riddance of today includes Russ Rankin (vocals), Luke Pabich (guitar), Chuck Platt (bass), and Sean Sellers (drums).
Supporting GR is Pulley, the Simi Valley punk band that has been ripping it up since ‘94. Fronted by former Dodgers, White Sox, Indians relief pitcher Scott Radinsky (he’s never let baseball get in the way of his love for punk), they released “The Golden Life” earlier this year. It’s their first EP since 2016, so fans have been really excited to see them perform these new songs live. Joining Radinsky in Pulley are Mike Harder and Trey Clinesmith (guitars), Tyler Rebbe (bass), and, hey, doing double duty for this show, Sean Sellers (drums).
Also playing is Orange County’s own Ignite, who had a front-man change exactly one year ago. Longtime front-man Zoli Teglas left in 2020, but in 2021, former Holy Grail vocalist Eli Santana took over and they have been touring hard and blowing fans away since. Santana has the moxie to help keep the energy flowing from the stage to the crowd effortlessly. Ignite also released a new EP, and the fresh material shows the band hasn’t lost any aspect of their deep, meaningful lyrics and hardcore sound. In addition to Santana, Ignite includes Kevin Kilkenny and Nik Hill (guitars), Brett Rasmussen (bass), and Craig Anderson (drums).
OC hardcore band Fourth in Line has been rocking since the mid ‘90s (if you don’t count the long-term hiatus throughout the 2000s). These high school friends got the proverbial band back together a few years ago, and meshed like no time had passed. They are currently recording new music, so we might just get to hear some of those at this show. Fourth in Line features Chris Griffith (vocals), Eric Bootow (bass), Eric Lopez (drums), and Jimmy Joyce (guitar).
This winter show proves to be a rocking combination of the new and not-so-new coming together for a perfect punk “holidaze” celebration.
