Season to Risk, the long-running noise rock outfit from Kansas City, have released 1-800-Meltdown, a new LP compiled and pressed by Init Records for Record Store Day 2025. The album marks the band’s first new music in 25 years and includes a mix of fresh tracks and rare material, including the song “Undone,” originally recorded for a scene in the film Strange Days but left off the official soundtrack for being “too noisy.”
The band also hit the road once again for a tour in support of the new release and elow, we have a special new tour diary and feature from Steve Tulipana, reflecting on life on the road and what it’s like to return to the grind after decades in the game.
“This vinyl has our first new music in 25 years!” says vocalist Steve Tulipana. “1-800-Meltdown compiles this new music with rare and unreleased tracks, including our song ‘Undone’ from our scene in the film Strange Days which was considered too noisy for the soundtrack. This record is more experimental and includes performances by all of the main band members who have played with us over the years, including the guys from Shiner.”
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The new tracks were put together by guitarist Duane Trower at his own Weights and Measures Soundlab, stitched in with older, unearthed recordings to form something that feels both fresh and rooted. The packaging leans hard into VHS-era horror aesthetics—glow-in-the-dark and all—which fits the band’s long-standing love for unsettling textures and outsider moods. It’s not some neatly wrapped comeback; more like a messy, real-time collage of everything Season to Risk has been brewing across decades, pulling in players from across their orbit, including familiar faces from Shiner.
Back in the early ’90s, Season to Risk showed up on Columbia Records during that gold rush of major labels scooping up loud bands. Their debut had hooks, but they didn’t stick with the commercial playbook. Instead, they built their own studio and followed the noise—distorted bass, shrieking guitars, and unpredictable structures. The band kept at it live, even while members split off into projects like Roman Numerals, Violenteer, and others.
This spring’s US tour was a way to throw 1-800-Meltdown into the world, but Tulipana made it clear it’s just the beginning. “This is the start of a new wave of activity for us, with new releases coming every six months or so, both remasters and new music,” he says. “We have killer line ups in every city with great local openers, mostly focused on noise rock, which is having a resurgence right now.”
That road trip also gave Tulipana a chance to lay down some hard-earned tour wisdom. What came out is a brutally funny field guide to surviving van life after 50, touching on everything from the logistics of earplug etiquette and merch color choices to late-night gastrointestinal chaos and opening band etiquette. It’s full of sharp anecdotes and advice that only a lifer could deliver.
As he puts it: “Touring as an independent artist is grueling, gnarly, stinky, sweaty and empowering… Now, as an elder statesman of van rock, not so much. The main reason to do it now is camaraderie, expression and a dash of the challenge to see if the old body can hold up.”
Scroll down for the full unfiltered tour diary by Steve Tulipana—equal parts punk rock memoir, survival guide, and mid-life confession.
“Get in the van”!
I must’ve listened to Side 4 of Black Flag’s Everything Went Black one million times.
That desire to pile in and go, go, go started young. Touring as an independent artist is grueling, gnarly, stinky, sweaty and empowering. The freedom of the road and a different town every night is so liberating for a young person.
Now, as an elder statesman of van rock, not so much. The main reason to do it now is camaraderie, expression and a dash of the challenge to see if the old body can hold up. As a 50 plus-er there is a bit more planning going into the van tours, so here is some advice for all you aging rockers, late bloomers or even the young whipper-snappers that have much more sense than I did at your age.
1. Don’t use the house backline kit.
It won’t hold up.
2. Remember your ear plugs
Not just for hearing protection during the show but also for post show snoring competitions. The adenoidal chorus of slumber is a tricky one. The goal is to get to sleep first. Here we are in the band hostel at Melody Lounge in Pittsburgh. We had a super fun show with Microwaves that turned into a karaoke party that turned into a bunk bed slumber party. The family that runs this place are stellar and PAF!
3. Don’t print double XL shirts in white.
They won’t sell. Dudes know better. The merch went fast on this tour and towards the end we were down to only the big ones in white. A friendly fan informed me that he’d love to
buy it but he just knew it wouldn’t last a week without turning into a stained tie dye of sauces and condiments.
4. Do some research and suggest great opening bands to the promoter.
Remember music is community! Here we are at Kung Fu Necktie in Philly w/ Plaque Marks blowing our minds to psychedelicized freaked-out bits. Our old Unsane touring friend and noise rock legend Vinnie Signorelli was on the kit holding it down in lock
step with the bassist while the music fractalized in sonic mayhem around us.
5. Buy the opening bands merch! Or trade!
Here’s a selection of all the LPs I picked up on this tour. It was a sad day but also an honor to get to play with A Deer A Horse on their last show. They absolutely shredded.
6. Sign up for the gas rewards cards.
You can’t get away with stealing it like you did in the 90’s! I’m not saying names but back in the day there were quite a few, let’s say, creative ways to make the budget stretch. Payphones were a thing, and they made a funny little device that made the sounds of coins dropping that could trick the phone into letting you make free long distance calls. I used to do roadside interviews on the daily while everyone waited in the van just cracking jokes. In the late 90’s, one of us finally got one of them new fangled cell phones and it pert near bankrupted him!
7. Always, always be nice to the sound people! They are the conduit to your success!
The sound person is your friend. Even when they are grumpy, jaded, or hungover, always be nice to them. Suck it up, don’t let your ego get the best of you. This person can make the biggest difference between a good show and a shitty show.
Communicate in advance with them. Have printed stage plots and input lists to share if they “didn’t get the email.”
8. Eat as healthy as you can. It’s a challenge.
Have a cooler in the van. Buy fresh fruit. Gas stations are so much better stocked these days than in the 90’s. You will regret that 3am chili cheese dog from Casey’s on the third day of doing it. I recall one horrible stretch of highway with no rest stops or stations for miles and the rumble guts started calling. Again, not saying names, but it was me and I just couldn’t hold on any longer. The hot flashes, the sweating, then the screams of “pull over – pull over.” The driver hit the roundabout exit at about 40 mph over the suggested speed, slammed the brakes, luckily I was by the sliding door and had just enough time to drop trou and spray paint the gravel, to uproarious laughter. “Napkin!” was all I could muster in my shamed humility.
9. Stretch.
Pre-show, post-show, in the van, in the shower, in bed. Sitting in an overcrowded van for hours wrecks havoc on your joints and muscles more than the unending load ins and load outs. Duane, David and
Wade are the martial artists in our group. Ben brings the thera-gun and I just twist.
10. A touring merch person is always a better ROI than a touring sound person.
But bring both if you can fit them, afford them and they’ll help load gear and drive. Here’s a pic of our master merch-face, Darren Welch. You’ll see him out on tour with Shiner too. Or check out his amazing dulcet voice in his band The Hearers or In the Pines, wherever you purchase or stream music.
I could do this for hours. So lastly, just remember to communicate with your bandmates and crew. You’re all in the boat together. It’s not where you’re going, it’s how you get there.
– Steve Tulipana for Season to Risk
