After a well received debut LP (Modern Medicine) in late 2019, SCHOOL DRUGS had big touring plans for 2020 until all was cancelled due to the world pandemic. As heartbreaking as that was for the band, they tried to spend this off-time productively and put together the makings of another album. ‘Funeral Arrangements’, the band’s upcoming LP, will be released in four parts. The first part, ‘Visitation’, is out now, and today we’re pleased to give you the band’s special commentary about the inspirations behind this exciting new project.
Hardcore-punk mainstays School Drugs have announced that Funeral Arrangements, the band’s upcoming LP, will be released in four parts. The first record, set to drop via Indecision Records on July 23, 2021, is titled Visitation and includes 3 new tracks: “Dead Vine”, “Can’t Slow Down”, and “Plastic Promise”. This pressing is limited to 500 copies and will include a custom 45 adapter and a prayer card insert.
Visitation is an introduction to School Drugs at their absolute finest. A message of memento mori: it serves as a dark, vivid journey for new and unfamiliar listeners – building upon the more macabre themes that School Drugs have established with each previous release thus far.
“No matter how big or small your grave is, that memorial will exist long after you do,” says vocalist Josh Jurk. “So, pacing our next record over four releases gives us a chance to spend time crafting and refining each piece to this larger epitaph that should ultimately outlive us all.”
School Drugs are set to perform amongst such acts as Gorilla Biscuits and Modern Life Is War at the 2021 FEST 19 in Gainesville, FL. FEST 19 is currently sold out.
School Drugs released their latest studio album Modern Medicine on September 13th, 2019, via Indecision Records. The album was critically acclaimed and described by Razorcake as having “…interesting lead guitar parts that add some gloomy elements without distracting from the energy of the rest of the album.”. PunkNews said “Modern Medicine is a banger, and a breath of fresh air…”
Visitation is available for pre order now through Indecision Records here: PRE ORDER. Fans can follow School Drugs on Spotify here: SPOTIFY.
School Drugs are Josh Jurk (lead vocals), Edgar Bakhtiyarov (bass), Sam Maynard (guitar), Bobco (guitar), and Chris Pierce (drums).
Asked about the inspirations for this new release, the band says: “Aside from music there were a fair amount of books/comic books and non punk and hardcore music that ultimately led us to the project we’re currently on.”
Here’s their full rundown of top inspirations for “Funeral Arrangements”:
The Crow
I first discovered The Crow in High School and it seemed to exist for me at the perfect time. I’m reasonably sure I had seen the Brandon Lee film once or twice in passing before reading the book. Unfortunately, it never really resonated with me the same way the comic did. Up until the point that a friend had given me a copy of the book, I’d always viewed the movie as a bit cheesy and heavy handed. The most egregious of errors between the two is the fact that the protagonist shouldn’t be able to be harmed or killed. Eric’s only real enemy is his memories, grief, and loss. The Crow is at its heart a story of revenge and redemption. Part of the staying power of the franchise is the broad connection those themes have with just about everyone. We’ve all lost something or someone and felt the unending desire to exact justice for our own personal reasons. When digging deeper into the context of the lore, we face the reality of our own world. Strapping various guns to your person and excessive morphine injections isn’t really a viable coping mechanism. Luckily reading or writing a story like that does provide a great way to deal with your feelings. These next four records have that same catharsis for me. An outlet to manage complex situations and handle them in a healthy and safe way until they pass. After all, it can’t rain all the time.
Lee Hazelwood
Lee Hazelwood is best known as the guy that wrote “These Boots are Made for Walking” as well as producing a large portion of Nancy Sinatra’s work. That pedigree alone is a monumental achievement for anyone on it’s own, but there’s so much more. A quick dive into the man’s long storied history shows more than five feature length films, six collaborative records, twenty plus studio albums, and an almost incalculable number of producer/ writer credits. His outlook and approach to crafting songs is something I’ve tried to dissect and understand since the first time I heard “Some Velvet Morning”. The melancholic tone achieved by Lee on that track coupled with Nancy’s wistful chorus instantly grabbed me and extracted several dollars from my wallet to track down every album I could find. My obsession with everything Lee and LHI simply can’t be overstated. I can only hope that some of his influence rubbed off enough to make its way onto every track we write. Should you hear some long bellowed violin part or a vaguely country-esque chorus in a School Drugs song, don’t blame me, blame Lee.
American Movie
Perseverance is a virtue. A difficult, taxing, and often forgotten virtue. American Movie is the embodiment of pushing through and making the thing work by any means necessary. The endlessly quotable documentary can be viewed on the surface as an almost comedy of sorts. Mark Borchardt’s nuggets of wisdom told through a thick Wisconsin accent are certainly good for a chuckle, until you actually listen to what he’s saying. Here we have a guy that knows exactly what he wants to do, how to get it, and why. Faced with every obstruction life can throw at him, he never once loses sight of his goal. When watching the film, I can’t help but come away with a new sense of my own ambition. Today things aren’t working out, this song isn’t sounding right, I hate this part, it’s too long, whatever the issue is– and that’s fine. You can try again later, or tomorrow, but you still need to try. There have been several times with this record that I wasn’t sure if I could make something work either physically or sonically. Each time I tried my best to make it through and eventually work out the problem. If Mark can do it, so can you.
The 7th Seal
I’m always on the hunt for sound clips to use in songs. More often than not, they happen organically in every day viewing/ listening. Such was the case for the opening to the first track on Funeral Arrangements. “To remind people that one day they’re all going to die… that’s a cheerful thought”, seemed to provide the perfect thesis statement for the entire record. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of subtitles, I find it difficult to read and pay attention to what I’m also seeing. It could be the ADD, it could be something else, but I’m a dubbed over subbed kinda person. I suppose I could have used the original Swedish audio, but I’m not confident enough in our hold on the Scandinavian market to attempt such eccentricities. As a whole, the film deals with the inevitability of death in a unique and profound way. The trope of playing games with death originated with the movie and continues as a staple of pop culture. Wouldn’t we all like to stave off our inevitable demise with a board game?
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