Keith Morris of Off! performs at the Culture Room. (Ari Justin Rothenberg for pbpulse.com)

The term supergroup gets thrown around carelessly when referring to bands consisting of musicians best known for their work in previous projects. Dubbing a group as “super” creates an image that is lofty and often times impossible to live up to. Applying that misnomer to a punk band is even more egregious because punk music at its core rejects egocentrism and concepts like deceptive marketing.

Sunday’s show at the Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale was the last stop on this most recent leg of a yearlong world tour by Off!, a punk band that can’t escape that label produced by the media hype machine.

Photos: Off! at the Culture Room

Off! features Keith Morris (Black Flag/Circle Jerks), one of the most recognizable voices from the early ’80′s punk movement, paired with Dimitri Coats (guitar), Steven McDonald (bass) and Mario Rubalcaba (drums) who all have their own overlapping storied pasts. More notable then the who’s who aspect of Off! is that the band is one of the most authentic offerings, as of late, to the world of punk music.
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Boca band Fallen From The Sky has songs available for download at its own site. (Courtesy Facebook.com)

There is a lot of science that governs human existence and definitions that explain why things break down. Newton’s laws of motion tell us that an object in motion will stay in motion until it is acted upon by equal or opposite force. Entropy illustrates how atomic matter loses electrons over time. But for all the scientific data in the world there isn’t much to support the will of man. In a lifetime we all see our share of ups and downs. Setbacks are inevitable but strength of character is best determined by actions chosen in response to hardship.

It’s been a turbulent ride for Boca Raton band Fallen From The Sky since they left Coral Springs-based label JMB Records to sign with local powerhouse Eulogy Recordings and released Tonight We Radiate in January of 2008. Coming off a high profile showcasing on MTV2′s Dew Circuit Breakout, they were touted as the band that would be matched with and follow in the path of labelmates Set Your Goals. However, just as Fallen From The Sky came onboard, Set Your Goals had a high-profile falling out with the label. When the dust settled and Set Your Goals moved on to greener pastures a little bit of the label’s allure may have left with them.

Fallen From The Sky toured extensively in the years to follow, sharing the stage with the biggest names in the punk music scene, including New Found Glory, Less Than Jake, A Day to Remember and Title Fight. Free from label obligations they began the process of recording a follow up to Tonight We Radiate by enlisting producer Shaun Lopez, whose credits include the Deftones, The X-Ecutioners and former Pennywise singer Jim Lindberg’s new band The Black Pacific. With completed tracks Fallen From The Sky began negotiations with prospective record labels.
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Troy Longhurst, member of Web Three and longtime Lake Worth resident, died on July 21 in a shooting in North Miami Beach. (Photo by Ari Justin Rothenberg)

“They say guns don’t kill people, people do. Well if people don’t have guns, they don’t kill you. You wouldn’t seek revenge. We keep it movin’. Kill them with kindness let the cameras do the shootin’.”

William E. Bachelor III directs those lyrics to his recently deceased best friend and business partner, Troy Longhurst, on the track “Back to Hollywood (A Tribute to Troy Longhurst)”.

The song recounts the duo’s recent business trip to Los Angeles but ultimately pays homage to a friend whose life was shockingly cut short. Penning the words to express a loss of such magnitude is difficult enough. When considering that the track by the South Florida band Web Three was written and recorded just days after the homicide that sent shockwaves through South Florida’s performance community, it stands as a testament to resilience and positivity.

On July 21, Longhurst went to comfort his friend and business associate Jonathan Woolfson at Woolfson’s North Miami condo. Longhurst, who had been in contact with both Bachelor and Woolfson’s mother, was trying to get help for Woolfson, who was dealing with personal problems and depression complicated by drug use. While the exact details of what transpired next will never be known, but the final outcome will always remain that Troy Longhurst was fatally shot by Jonathan Woolfson and was found by Woolfson’s mother upon her arrival at the home. After a standoff with police, Woolfson would also lose his life.

Share your thoughts in our online guestbook | Visit to help distraught friend ends in death (July 27)

“I received a call from Troy’s mom that something was going on down at Jonathan’s house. I went there and the entire neighborhood was evacuated,” Bachelor said. ”There were police, ambulances, fire trucks, a SWAT team and riot control. I felt a drop in my stomach and knew something terrible had happened. I wanted to stay positive but it was hard to. Troy’s girlfriend Nicole was in tears begging the detectives to tell her what happened. I just tried to be strong and be there for her. They finally told us that Troy had died just after midnight.”
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Authority Zero plays Dubfest in Hollywood on Saturday. (Courtesy myspace.com/authorityzero)

Parking, more info about Dubfest

“We’re super pumped man. I love it out there.” exclaimed Jason DeVore, lead singer of the band Authority Zero.

Unlike many South Florida residents, who’ll likely be pretty tired of yet another hot late-summer day despite it being Labor Day weekend, DeVore is ready to bring his band in to play Saturday’s Dubfest in Hollywood.

The festival brings together 14 reggae-flavored acts to the new ArtsPark at Hollywood’s Young Circle. Dubfest will mark its debut with a line-up of artists that embody the past, present and future of the genre.
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Web Three and its cast for its “No One Knows” video at the house in Tamarac. (Ari Justin Rothenberg / anti-fascion.com) | More photos | Watch the video (Note: Contains vulgar language and sexual themes)

Pulling up to the house in Tamarac, every square foot of the lawn had been utilized for parking. The location for the Web Three video shoot was the definition of a suburban nightmare. Past the walkway with a ripped screen in its exterior window, the front door of decaying wood in need of a fresh coat of paint concealed the chaotic hustle that was playing out on the other side. Whatever the neighbors might have imagined was going on most likely didn’t even come close.

The living room straight ahead was littered with balloons, horror movie posters, and a children’s rocking horse. In a room beyond that a white casket standing upright demanded attention. In the kitchen to the right, a group of people were set up at a table with four laptop computers leaching off a nearby unsecured wireless network. The generally low chatter of female conversation was unassuming for the most part as people stirred about. Working at his computer where he was designing a South Park character from an online design generator Web site, Web Three guitarist Kris Gravez looked up to facetiously interject “Do you like fish sticks?”

In a back bedroom that had one wall completely tagged with graffiti and another painted pink with song lyrics scrawled in black, a five-man crew was hard at work setting up a shot. While a camera man on the ground was hand holding a Panasonic DV Cam, a grip adjusted an umbrella light while he was being directed by Andrew Colton, who was functioning as the video producer. From a small contiguous closet with clothing on hangers draped above her the video director, Cassandra Baihan, analyzed the lighting through a small monitor and gave feedback.

The video being shot for the song “No One Knows”, from the Web Three album Paindemonium, takes aim at the fabricated lifestyles that most hip-hop artists portray.

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Boca Raton's next hopeful music stars, Protagonist.

South Florida’s punk scene has given rise to a handful of notable acts in recent years. In 2001, New Found Glory broke out, putting Coral Springs on the map while placing high on the Billboard Top 200. Boca Raton band Fallen From The Sky showed the MTV viewing audience the relevance of hardcore-influenced punk as they competed on the MTV2 Dew Circuit Breakout, placing second in the competition in 2006. It is this circle of friends that passes the torch to Boca Raton band Protagonist as they release their full-length album The Chronicle.

Listen to “Charge (The Chronicle)”:

[audio:http://pbpulse.com/audio/protagonist.mp3]

“Play Hard, Play Fast, and Play Together”, the intro track on the album and lyric from the final song “Charge (The Chronicle)” stands as the defining ethos of the band that has always been forward thinking despite the challenges they face.

Special contributor Ari Justin Rothenberg is the editor/photographer of anti-fascion.com

In their earliest form Protagonist was conceived in 1999 but cite 2001 as their official inception. Since then the band has seen a rotating cast of members around the core group comprised of Peter Marullo (vocals), John Marullo (guitar, backing vocals) and Brian Forst (guitar, backing vocals). Most notable is Jeffy Scott, who has played drums on every Protagonist recording and is a member of the hardcore band Know The Score and Hazen Ziringer on bass, who recently committed to touring with Fallen From The Sky. Protagonist’s current line-up is rounded off by Kyle MacDougall on drums and former Fallen From The Sky bassist Marcus Kora.

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