Avery is a pop-punk band that started in the NJ music scene in 1999. What started as just Nina on bass and Janet singing while playing drums, evolved over the years, with Jess coming on as guitarist, Janet moving up to vocals and keys, and Mike joining on drums. Over the next 10+ years, Avery played hundreds of shows including multiple festivals, toured nationally, and released two records. Avery songs were also featured on multiple television shows on Nickelodeon, Disney, and MTV. The band also wrote the theme song for a commercial for Rebelle Friendship Bags. After a 10 year hiatus, Avery reunited in the summer of 2019 for a series of reunion shows with fellow bands from the NJ pop punk music scene. Though the members are split between the east and west coast, Avery will continue playing occasional shows throughout the year (it was way too fun not to do it again).

I got Janet and Nina on the Zoom and this is what we chat about:

• Growing up together
• Pillow changing their minds about starting a band
• How they felt at shows
• The origins of the name Avery
• Recording at Portrait Studios
• Their connection to Black Flag and the Misfits
• Breaking Marky Ramone's drumset
• Nina's sparkle bass
• Getting songs played on Nickelodeon and Disney
• How did the band end
• Playing the 2019 show after one practice the night before
• And a ton more

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Click here to Check out Janet's DJ night Sun, Dec 14 at 2:30 PM at Wonderville on 1186 Broadway, Brooklyn, New York.

Chooch were a 5 piece power punk group from Pittsburgh. Debut ep recorded in 1997, group disbanded a couple years later with a brief reunion in 2002

• Alice Cooper
• Having 2 bass players
• The Electric Banana
• Pollen
• The Rockin A Tard Place Compilation
• My Pal Trigger
• The Kevin Seconds show
• Ryan Greene
• Cleaning up the album that they still haven't put out
• And a ton more

Click here for Ace Enders/Chris Barker's Dec 19 show

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Rye Coalition came out of Jersey City in the early nineties and quickly built a reputation as one of the most fearless and inventive bands in the post-hardcore world. They toured with heavyweights like Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, and The (International) Noise Conspiracy, earned praise from outlets including Spin, Pitchfork, and The Village Voice, and worked with legendary producers Steve Albini and Dave Grohl. Their documentary "Rye Coalition: The Story of the Hard Luck 5" became a cult favorite, cementing their status as one of the most underrated but widely respected bands of their era. Loud, chaotic, swagger-filled, and always a little dangerous, they were the group other musicians whispered about as a secret influence. If you know, you know.

I got Ralph on the Zoom and this is what we chatted about:

• John Hiltz
• Gern Blandsten Records
• What bands inspired their live show
• Did their music stand for anything?
• Recording with Steve Albini
• recording with Dave Grohl
• What did signing to Dreamworks do for the band
• And a ton more

Be on the lookout for some old music of theirs to release in 2026 and follow their instagram.

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