Four bands. All killer no filler. RuDeGiRL is a fiery female tribute to The Clash. Garage rockers Mary Strand & The Garage celebrate the release of her new album I Don’t Need Your Permission (Hygh Tension Records (TLG)/Virgin Music Group). Neil Young’s Vapor Records alumni The Customers return with a vengeance of their own. And The Silent Treatment delivers fast, loud punk sounds as subtle as a car accident.
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Mary Strand & The Garage

Rising garage rocker Mary Strand’s second album, I Don’t Need Your Permission, explores themes of empowerment, especially from a woman’s perspective. Mary’s music has been variously described as alternative rock, punk, post-punk, power pop, and/or plain old indie rock, but her mix of sounds is no accident. Mary simply loves rock and roll. All of it.

 

Mary will be celebrating the release of her new album and her recent #1 worldwide RIA single “Least of All Her” (Hygh Tension Records (TLG)/Virgin Music Group) with her band The Garage, featuring members of Soul Asylum, The Melismatics, Ultrabomb, The Mood Swings, and Outta Coentro.
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The Customers are a rock band formed in Los Angeles, CA in 1995 by Ryan Sexton. A demo of Sexton’s songs found its way onto the desk of Neil Young’s manager, Elliot Roberts, who was then in the process of launching Young’s fledgling label, Vapor Records. Roberts enquired as to whether a band might be formed to support the songs, and The Customers were born.

 

After moving back to Minneapolis (Sexton’s hometown) in 2000, The Customers released the five song EP Severybuddyappy which included the college-friendly “Until Now.” A bunch of years passed while Sexton pursued other interests, but writing songs nevertheless. In 2022, he teamed up with renowned Minneapolis producer, Kevin Bowe, to make the post-punk/Americana LP, Sweet Fatality. The album features appearances by Daniel Murphy (Soul Asylum/The Scarlet Goodbye), Terrance J. Fisher (Run Westy Run), Ivan Julian (Richard Hell and the Voidoids), Patricia Lacy (Luther Vandross), and Minneapolis phenoms John Eller, Terry Isachsen, Peter Anderson, Pat Frederick, Ian Prince, and Noah Levy.

 

The band is set to go back into the studio to record a new EP tentatively titled “Living Like Gods.” The record will be produced by Daniel Murphy (Soul Asylum/The Scarlet Goodbye).

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The Silent Treatment

Get ready to dive into the raw, high energy punk rock of The Silent Treatment. It’s Minneapolis rock and roll at its finest writing music that draws from the seedy underbelly. And with a band full of scene vets that sustain full-throttle energy for some complicated fun, it’s not to be missed. After playing numerous local venues and festivals, they are taking their recklessly fun live show regionally and nationally.

 

The band recently released their first full-length album, Suplex in 10! (2024). Recorded at The Terrarium Studio, it features unapologetic provocative lyrics with a stripped-down sound and an intensity as subtle as a car crash.

 

The group has shared stages with Agent Orange, Henry Cluney of Stiff Little Fingers, International punk supergroup Ultrabomb (Greg Norton -Hüsker Dü,  Finny McConnell -The Mahones, and Jamie Oliver -UK Subs), Dion Lunadon of The D4, The dB’s, Venus DeMars and All the Pretty Horses, and many more. They receive regular airplay on The Current 89.3 FM, KFAI 90.3 FM, KVSC 88.1 FM, and WITR 89.7 FM and have been featured on Racket’s “10 Best Songs of 2024,” with their track, “Hulk Hogan is a Dick” as well as being featured on The Current’s Scouting Report.