Warn The Duke

Warn the Duke, the brainchild of former River City Rebel Dan McCool, which also features Derek Davis from Big D and the Kids Table on drums may not attempt to break any new musical thresholds with their debut LP Ghost Be Gone, but with a line-up rounded out with Sara Press on bass and sharing vocal duties and George Miata on guitar, their intensely catchy blend of 90’s emo and jangly melodic alt rock has a freshness that sets them apart from their peers today.

wtd press photoAlbum opener Coastline combines early Hot Water Music and harmonies reminiscent the Beach Boys in one 3 minute spell and it just works, the heavy riffs are offset by the soft melodies and it sets a pretty high bar for the rest of the record to live up to. Kids and Queens is a driving garage rock anthem whose chorus shouts: ‘might as well just leave it alone yeah’ almost dares you to hit that skip button. Cordelia starts with a slow, deliberate distortion heavy riff which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Dinosaur Jr or Superchunk album. Also worth mentioning that the female led vocal add a welcome new twist. Noreaster seems like it is going to lighten up the tone with its fuzzy jangly lead riff, before it rips into gear and wow, does it fucking deliver; the guitars have a dark tone, desperately reaching vocals spliced with earworm worthy pop sensibilities.

The Way We Live Now features an opening riff lifted straight from the Men Without Hats anthem Pop Goes The World, but a guitar slide later and we’re in noise-punk heaven. The melody takes on early post punk, but with a killer edge. The bridge following the first chorus is seriously impressive, were in hair on the neck standing up territory! Also have to mention the now standard instrument drop out in the middle, but this is one of the best uses of it I’ve heard in some time

wtd harry picStar goes a bit overkill on the long into, but if you persevere the rewards are worth it as this is the album’s highlight by a mile. Equal parts Cheap trick, The Wildhearts with a Clash-esque punk rock twist makes it one of the best things I’ve heard in a long time. Really can’t get enough of this, even better than Hot Water Music or The Tim Version at their best; there’s a real story being told and you really don’t want it to end. Really fucking impressive. If the whole album was this good this band would be a household name.

Chicago Lights, Reclamation and 2050 all have cool elements, a nice melody here, a cool riff there, but sound decidedly average compared the record’s high points. Lead single Harry O’Donnell closed out the record in some style with a great little opening riff reminiscent of mid 90’s shoegaze bands like Mystery Machine and a killer chorus which alone makes it worthy of its elevated status.

The band may cover well tread ground with their working class take on universal themes like love, loss and struggle, but the music stands up to great scrutiny and has a timeless feel to it, in the same way bands like The Replacements or The Supersuckers did (and still do). A really impressive debut, and I look forward to seeing what this band come up with next. But only after I give Star one more spin.

The album is out on 16.10.2015. Pre-Orders / Streams of Ghost Be Gone are available through Warn The Duke’s Bandcamp page. - Thepunksite

Warn The Duke describe the state of decay on their debut record ‘Ghost Be Gone’. The act power through with anger and repent bubbling in their stomachs and heads, sharpening their sound as they move forward. They’ve got the harshness covered too, cramming everything they have into a record that is melodic but will jolt a quiet heart into a frenzy. And that’s not a bad thing, having a big and bold sound tearing through the atmosphere. It’s appealing and justifiable, relentless and original.

Being original takes guts and hard work, but Warn The Duke seem to have it all tuned up. Their hearty and wholesome music isn’t for the faint hearted or the dramatists that yearn for subtlety, it’s brash, haunting and obscure. Obscure in a way that you have to dig deeply to find what you’re looking for in the tracks. Not to say that the tracks don’t have meaning, they do, so much meaning that you’ll fall profoundly into the lyrics.

The lyrics describe sorrow and desperation, they’re also coated and drenched in trauma. Blissfulness isn’t apparent on the record, it wouldn’t fit correctly anyway, it would ruin the whole starkness of what is a masterful product. A product of energy, sufficiency, and musical prowess.

Ghost Be Gone starts with ‘Coastline’. It blares out with a rush of harshness. There’s some great guitar notes that compliment the grittiness of the vocals. Lyrically we’re given a story of desolation and destruction. ‘2050’ begins with a scream and loud guitar strokes. Innocence gets its heart ripped out, and the lyrics are bonded well together, featuring words that convey feelings of repent. ‘Chicago Lights’ is fierce and memorable, showcasing the true energy of Warn The Duke.

Warn The Duke don’t follow the latest trends. Their sound isn’t covered in roses and it’s certainly not for the plastic pop generation. That’s what make them unique.

‘Ghost Be Gone’ will be released on October 16. - Punkanormal Activity

Warn the Duke have quite the pedigree. River City Rebels frontman Dan McCool leads a group consisting of Big D & the Kids Table and The Shorebirds members. Defeater’s Jay Maas produced their debut album. Supergroup might be too ambitious, but on Ghost Be Gone, it’s clear that everyone involved is a seasoned veteran.

Warn the Duke’s sound isn’t anything new, but not in a bad way. The collective has embraced a number of bands, genres, and sounds to create an album reminiscent of early 2000s alternative punk. A blending of influences like this usually feels disjointed, but Ghost Be Gone is a fully formed statement. A post punk track like “Cordelia” sits comfortably next to the faster “2050” without missing a beat. McCool's delivery is very similar to that of Sugarcult’s Tim Pagnotta. While it’s hard to imagine Sugarcult effecting the music directly, the lower register they embraced on their last (final?) album Lights Out is all over Ghost's best songs. Sometimes it’s almost distracting, but luckily, McCool knows how to mix it up. Various degrees of Smoke or Fire and even Rancid appear, depending on the track. The strongest song, single "Harry O'Donnell", shows what Warn the Duke can do when everything is filtered into one punk rock amalgamation.

Beach Slang comes to mind as a comparison. Not aurally, but in that a cult figure like McCool can find a wider audience many years after first hitting the scene. There is a demand for bands like this. Ones that wear their hearts on their sleeves but not in a way that feels corny or pretentiously cool.

Ghost Be Gone isn’t a great record, but it does demand that you pay a little more attention. Something exists deeper than the surface. Warn the Duke are a band of experienced players quickly finding their footing with each other. They put together an album that is fun to listen and sing along to, something getting rarer these days. There’s no doubt that the right idea could inspire an excellent sophomore release. - Punknews

Warn The Duke are a four piece punk band from Brooklyn, New York made of members of River City Rebels and Big D & the Kids Table. Already making some serious waves ahead of the release of their debut album, Ghost Be Gone.

The most notable thing about Warn the Duke is despite recruiting Big D’s drummer Derek Davis, this is far from any ska/stroll band. Packing a strong punk sound from the opening track Coastlines. Ghost Be Gone is a well-crafted 10 track album of punk and alternative belters.

For a debut album, this release features a good level of complexity and depth, no doubt the past musical exploits of the bands members has a big part to play in that. Rather than stay firmly planted to one sound, Ghost Be Gone dances around a fair few showing influence from grunge bands like the Pixies in tracks like Reclamation with the effects driven sound.

The lead single from the album is Harry O’Donnell, with no doubt one of the strongest tracks on the record. Bringing back that 2000s alternative rock sound in a similar vein to Sugarcult and New Found Glory. The low level distortion with the high energy choruses will no doubt feel like a throwback to some listeners.

The other particularly strong song from the record is Noreaster. With a gritty driving riff mixed in with melodic and strong vocals, it stands slightly apart from the rest of the album as one of the better written songs. Having the catchy quality that some other tracks just miss like Chicago Lights which is sounds a bit unpredictable and chaotic.

All in all, Ghost Be Gone is a pretty solid album, reaching back to those alternative rock heights of the 2000s. Bringing that back for a new audience and to remind old is never a bad thing. With a few strong tracks, it would be a safe bet to say this will not be the last we will see of Warn The Duke and it will only get stronger from here on out.

Ghost Be Gone is out October 16th and watch the video for Harry O’Donnell below. - The Daily Slice

Warn The Duke - 'Coastline'

The sounds of garage rock and melodic punk collide on 'Coastline', the debut track from Warn The Duke. The Brooklyn, NY band, featuring members of Big D And The Kids Table and River City Rebels, take cues from bands like The Replacements and Kid Dynamite to create a melodic, riff-heavy, sound, that has always seems destined to produce anthems. 'Coastline' is the kind of track that just oozes positivity and, with a healthy dose of whiskey soaked vocals to scream along with, Warn The Duke are off to a good start with this one. - The Ruckus

Brooklyn punk group Warn The Duke have just released a new music video for their track “Harry O’Donnell”. The video depicts a semi-functional family, with each character played by a member of the band. Check it out below.

“Harry O’Donnell” comes off the bands upcoming debut LP, “Ghost Be Gone”, which is set for release this coming October. - Dying Scene

About The Video: The video for Harry O'Donnell tells the tale of a washed-up, nostalgic dad-rocker who can't seem to get out of his own head and enjoy the fruits of family life. Think Married With Children for the 21st century. The video was filmed in one day (Mother's Day 2015) on a shoestring budget with nothing more than a mysterious bag of wigs found in the basement, a few props lying around the apartment, a whole bunch of beer, and some lighter fluid for the grill. - See more at: http://www.blanktv.com/index.php/videos/video-premieres/461#sthash.Ay7igItv.dpuf - Blank TV

Warn The Duke, the Brooklyn based new project of former River City Rebel Dan McCool and also featuring members of Big D And The Kids Table have posted a new video for their track Harry O’Donnell. The song features on their upcoming debut LP, Ghost be Gone, tentatively due for release in October. - The Punk Site

This week’s guest dj is someone who played a pivotal role in our host’s formative years. In the mid-to-late 90’s, Dan McCool was in a band called the Skullys, and started booking music shows in the Stoughton/Easton/Randolph area. These shows were mainly all-ages, and included a group of people who were very welcoming to all aspects of people (even if they were a number of years younger than them). It was because of the welcoming vibe of that music “scene”, Adam submerged himself in to music from the New England area and has been obsessed ever since.

Fast forward a few years, and Warn The Duke, Dan’s new band, are on the map, playing this year’s Boston’s Burning series, and preparing to release their debut album, Ghost Be Gone. We invited Dan to come on and premiere a few tracks off the upcoming record, play a few tunes from bands that have had a musical influence on him, and a few acts that are catching his ear today. Its a special episode in this week’s podcast, tune in or lose out! - Mutiny on the Microphone

Warn the Duke is the new project of former River City Rebels member, Dan McCool. On a much less “official” note, Dan is also roommates with Jeremy Sampson (drummer for pretty much every band in Brooklyn). I could sit here and write a few hundred words about how Warn the Duke is this “new awesome punk band reminiscent of early Social Distortion and Rancid,” but the real story here is that Dan is roommates with Jeremy. I’ve hung out at their house many times, and from that I’ve deduced that Dan is a pretty awesome guy, combine that with making some pretty awesome music and we have a formula for success.

The band sounds like that vintage Warped Tour sound from before Warped Tour started to suck. Like I mentioned before, Warn the Duke’s sound is similar to that of early Social Distortion, Rancid, Bad Religion, etc. Basically what bands like Chumped and Jeff Rosenstock are doing for Pop Punk/Emo right now, Warn the Duke is doing for that late 80s/90s alt/punk sound. They’re making the kind of music that so many of us loved long ago, but seems to have gotten shittier with time. We all have our classic albums and bands of our youth and hold those near and dear to our hearts even as the bands that made them grow old and the quality of their modern recorded output declines. If you’ve got a craving for Punk rock like it used to be 15 years ago, then Warn the Duke can probably help you get your fix.

Promo time… Warn the Duke plays Gigawatts Festival on July 25th with Anamanaguchi, Potty Mouth, Slonk Donkerson and many others. Grab your tickets here. - Gigawatts Magazine

Stream the video for Warn The Duke’s latest single ‘Harry O’Donnell’ below. The track is from their upcoming album ‘Ghost Be Gone’ which will be released in October.

Who are you and what are you doing here? (what is your name, what is the band and what is your role in the band?)

Hey! I’m Dan McCool, singer and guitarist for Warn The Duke.



How did the band start?

I’ve been in school for many years, out of the punk scene (playing anyways…I used to sing for River City Rebels many moons ago), but I had an inkling last summer to start messing around with garageband and recording some songs I had in my head. I started playing the songs with a friend who used to play in the LES Stitches. He introduced me to a friend of his, Sara, who plays bass and sings backups. We then got in touch with the drummer from Big D and The Kids table, Derek, he was game, we got a new guitarist George who is a music composer here in Brooklyn. The rest is history!



How would you describe your band?

Ferocious punk rock with some indie and garage rock overtones. My biggest songwriting and stylistic influences are Social D, Rancid, Japandroids, Pixies, Husker Du…maybe even a little hardcore in there, a la Sick of It All.



If you had to choose one song you’ve written that best defines your band which one would it be?

That’s a tough one, but probably Harry O”Donnell (the one we did the music video for)…energetic punk rock with a fist-in-the-air, catchy-as-fuck choruses, with a little dark humor mixed in.



In this day and age where anyone is pretty much able to pick up an instrument, what would you say sets your band apart from the rest?

I’d like to think we try to bridge the gap between indie rock and punk rock. We’ve found that the two different camps often don’t like each other too much these days, especially in NYC…the LES punkers find the Bushwick shoegaze crowd to be pretty alien, and vice versa. Our band members kinda come from both scenes. At the end of the day though, we just wanna play loud energetic music that gets the blood-a-pumpin’, the toes-a-tappin’, and the fists-a-flyin’, regardless of what type of rock you’re into.



Where are people able to hear your songs?

You can check out our new music video from our debut album “Ghost Be Gone” here – http://bit.ly/1KXVp8c

And you can hear the opening track “Coastline” from the album, and the song “Noreaster” from our last EP, both on our band camp page – http://warntheduke.bandcamp.com/. We’ll be announcing some album presale news very soon, so the best way to keep a lookout for it is by liking us on Facebook – facebook.com/warntheduke1 and/or following us on twitter – twitter.com/warntheduke



Are you playing any shows anytime soon (if you live outside of Australia, do you have any plans for a trip down under)?

We’re in the process of setting up a record release show for mid Oct somewhere in NYC, we’re playing at the Midway Cafe in Boston Sat, Sept 19 with the Drax, Warning Shots and Duck and Cover, and Thurs, Oct 2 in Bayshore, NY at Evenflow with the Vibrators. A couple more potentially big shows are currently in the works.

And fuck yeah, Australia would rule! I’ve never been, but would love to make it over someday.



What is your proudest moment/greatest achievement as a band?

Probably finishing recording, mixing and mastering the record in late May on a shoestring budget and about 2 hours of sleep a night that week. Jay Maas of Defeater mixed and mastered it over Skype with us 4 nights in a row, from 11PM-5AM, each pumping our guts full of coffee, every night (coincidently, he left for Australia with Defeater to tour with Bane like 2 hours after we finished!



Tell us 3 bands that we should be listening to/be keeping an eye out for?

Right now, my top 3 are probably Cymbals Eat Guitars from NY, The Drax from Boston, and Defeater from Boston. All 3 different styles of music, all 3 have new records out, all 3 friends of ours who love to party. (Honorable mentions: Roll The Tanks from Boston, Dead Stars from NYC).


Anything Else you’d like to add?

Yeah! Can we crash on your all your couches in Australia and make pasta in your kitchens? If so, we’re totally touring there. - Cool Try Bro

Brooklyn punk band Warn the Duke (ft. members of Big D and the Kids Table and River City Rebels) are streaming three tracks off of their upcoming debut album which is set to drop sometime in October. Honestly, I’m a huge fan, but click here to listen for yourself.

The album is called “Ghost Be Gone”, and it was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jay Maas of Defeater. - Dying Scene

Dan McCool is the lead singer and guitarist of Warn The Duke. Dan chats about his time playing with River City Rebels, growing up in the late 90’s Boston punk/ska scene, being signed to Victory Records, how much has changed since the early 00’s in music, Warn The Dukes formation, influences and much more. - Let's Chat! (The Misfits Network)

The collective resumés of the Brooklyn-based four-piece, Warn the Duke includes stints in River City Rebels, Big D and The Kids Table, but just a couple of tracks into the band’s latest record and it’s clear they are channeling more classic punk bands like The Clash and The Replacements.

Though less than two years old, Warn the Duke—comprised of Dan McCool (vocals/guitar), Sara Press (bass/vocals), George Miata (guitar), and Derek Davis (drums)—has already turned in an EP and full length. They play a brand of stripped-down, pretention-free punk rock that seemed to go away around the time the boys in Husker Du called it quits (the album closer “Star” sounds like a long lost Replacements’ gem, as well).

The band has just self-released their full length ‘Ghost Be Gone,’ but are looking at pairing up with a label for a proper vinyl release toward the beginning of the year, around this time the band plans to tour the Midwest.

McCool spoke recently about starting the band, their album-a-year goal, and what else is ahead.

Innocent Words: So most, if not all of you, have been involved with some pretty well-known bands. Is this a one-off project or do you see Warn the Duke as a full-fledged band with more albums in you?

Dan McCool: I’d say it’s a pretty long-term thing, if for no other reason than I think we’ve got a lot of songs we can pump out right now. Personally, I’m in one of those times in my life when the creative juices are flowing for whatever reason. I definitely want to get more stuff recorded in the not-too-distant future and then go from there.

Innocent Words: How did you all come together?

Dan McCool: It was a mixture of knowing each other from going to shows in Brooklyn, having mutual friends, and reaching out to people I knew had been in other bands I liked.

Innocent Words: Most bands take years to pull together enough material for an EP. Why do you think you were able to write enough for two albums in such a short amount of time?

Dan McCool: I hadn’t been playing or writing music for many years. Once I got started last year, I couldn’t stop. It helped that it was one of the worst winters ever in New York City so I just stayed inside and recorded demos. Songs were just tumbling out of me the first couple months and eventually we had 10, and said “fuck it, let’s make an album.”

Innocent Words: Warn the Duke sounds a lot different from the music of your previous bands. Was that a conscious decision? When the band first got together did you talk about the kind of music you wanted to make?

Dan McCool: There wasn’t much of a discussion, since I had been recording demos before I got the other guys on board. It’s been so long since I played in River City Rebels or been the main songwriter for a band, and I’ve gone through a ton of music phases and obsessions since then, from ambient stuff to jazz to hipstery indie stuff and then back to punk rock. Just so happens that last year I was listening to a lot of screamy indie rock stuff with a punk edge from my middle school days (The Pixies, Nirvana, Husker Du, Catherine Wheel). And no matter how hard I try, I’ll always be influenced by punk stuff (Social D, Against Me, The Clash). So I think—and hope?—our music is just a mixture of all that. As far as Derek goes, he loves playing in Big D and also grew up listening to hardcore…so somehow this thing appealed to him, go figure!

Innocent Words: Is this new album self-released? Is there a need for record labels in 2015 like there was a decade ago?

Dan McCool: We self-released it and it is available on our bandcamp, but we are discussing re-releasing it, both digitally and on vinyl with a punk label in LA that just started and is putting out some great releases, so that will probably happen. I think we’re considering the label to get a little boost with distribution and to have some allies on board in general. So that’s our own reason for a label.

By and large though, it’s definitely not needed the same way it was years ago when labels did artist development, giving middling bands $10,000 to record an album and tour support. Making music has become much easier with the Internet, but that means the field is much more crowded. Double-edged sword I guess.

Innocent Words: What’s next for the band?

Dan McCool: We’re thinking about releasing this record on vinyl with that label in the spring. Either way, I’m anxious to get to work on the next record. I want to push it and try to do one record a year… it’s the only way to keep it flowing. In the meantime, we’re putting together a tour of the eastern U.S. for January, and would like to get out to the Midwest in the spring…something more extensive next summer…so if anyone out there wants us to play your town, hit us up!

http://www.warntheduke.com/
https://warntheduke.bandcamp.com/ - Innocent Words