THE BRIGGS, who just launched a new website, are streaming their new single “Panic”, which you can check out below.
Here’s the official word from the band:
The perennial road warriors of punk rock, The Briggs, have spent the last six years on the road with little respite. This doesn’t really bother them though. Considering the momentum the band has gained in the last few years, they welcome it. And though, the ride hasn’t been the easiest, The Briggs are ready to break out with their most honest and compelling album to date, Come All You Madmen.
Formed by brothers Jason (Guitar, Vocals) and Joey LaRocca (Guitar, Vocals), The Briggs made their debut in 2001 with Is This What You Believe and have been on a roll ever since. Joined by Chris Arredondo (Drums) and Ryan Roberts (Bass), the band quickly caught fire in 2004 when they signed with LA’s notorious punk label SideOneDummy Records. Later that year the band released the critically acclaimed EP, Leaving The Ways, which Alternative Press called “snotty, fist-pumping street punk with a message,” and 2006′s tour de force Back To Higher Ground.
After spending the last several years burning up the road with bands like Bad Religion, Flogging Molly, Anti-Flag, Tiger Army and The Living End, The Briggs recently settled in to record a new album. While on tour with Dropkick Murphys in 2007, Jason and Joey found time to write most of the group’s next effort, Come All You Madmen, on acoustic guitar.
We would get home from a tour and go into our rehearsal space and started playing our ideas with the band “plugged in” and it would be pretty immediately clear what songs worked and which ones definitely did not, says Jason. Over the course of the next few months the band narrowed down the songs and brought in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones bassist Joe Gittleman to produce.
Spending massive amounts of time on the road gave the band ample time to absorb a range of influences from the band’s they toured with, the music they were listening to as well as their surroundings. We were heavily influenced about the idea of writing a record with live feel and really there was no limit to what we allowed to influence us, explains Jason. We let our personal feelings and experiences inspire us. Because there is nothing more boring than a band trying to appeal to an audience and not writing how they really feel because it might not be the most popular opinion. It’s transparent.
While influences do spark change, The Briggs have stayed true to their signature sound, but by no means are they predictable. It’s more aggressive, more melodic and folky at the same time than anything else we have done up to this point, states Jason. We figured there was no point in fucking around in making a boring, safe record so we turned it up a notch, pushed our own limits out of the comfort zone. We went more extreme in both directions at the same time. Featuring guest appearances from punk rock legends Brian Baker (Bad Religion, Minor Threat), Ken Casey (Dropkick Murphys) and Dicky Barrett (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones), Come All You Madmen erupts with explosive anthemic working class street punk. From the soaring guitars on the fist pumping tune Charge Into The Sun and the marching beats of the Irish inspired sing-along Mad Men to the raw melodic sincerity of Not Alone and the acoustic folk offering of Oblivion, The Briggs continue to prove themselves as one of punk’s most respectable and memorable acts.
