Diesel Boy have released a 7-Inch record with two brand-new songs ‘Tapes’ and ‘Punk Rock Minivan.’
Frontman of the band Dave Lake said about the two songs: “‘Tapes’ – the song is a love letter to cassettes, my first musical love. What they lacked in fidelity, they made up for in portability and affordability. The Walkman was the iPhone of its day and there was nothing cooler than being able to grab a pair of headphones and take your Duran Duran tape anywhere you wanted. And mixtapes will always be infinitely more romantic than a playlist.”
“‘Punk Rock Minivan’ is me imagining a road trip with my kids to see all the important punk rock sights across the country. But I don’t own a minivan and my kids don’t care about punk rock. I wish the song had more verses so we could have made a pitstop in Chicago to see the Fireside Bowl and Steve Albini’s ‘Electrical Audio’. The song is loosely inspired by Chuck Klosterman’s book ‘Killing Yourself to Live’.”
2023 was a banner year for Diesel Boy. After twenty something years away from the spotlight, the California skate punk quartet brushed off the dust, chipped away the rust, and released a new album, ‘Gets Old’, which found the band receiving the best reviews of its career.
The band also hit the road for the first time in decades, playing shows in both Europe and the US, closing out the year with a sold out show in their now-hometown of Seattle with their old pals in MxPx. Though their backs may hurt after a gig more than they used to, the live show is as energetic as ever.
“Is it a reunion if no one cared we were gone or that we’re back,” singer/guitarist Diesel Dave quips on ‘Lost Decade’, the leadoff track from ‘Gets Old’. It turns out that some people, at least, ARE glad the band has returned. And the excitement has reinvigorated the band’s members, which include founders Diesel Dave and Greg Hensley (bass), along with Jack Miller (guitar) and Christopher Thomas (drums), the former of whom moonlights as The Punk Historian on YouTube, and the latter of whom also drums for indie rock vets Mansions.
Though the band splits its time between grown-up jobs, raising families, and the rigors of middle age (except for Jack!), they’ve got plenty to crow about in 2024. Diesel Boy will be playing dates across North America, including a handful of summer festivals like Pouzza, Red Bridge, and Camp Punskylvania.
They’ll also be releasing a seven inch on SBAM with a pair of new songs, one about falling in love with music via cassettes (‘Tapes’), and the other about a family road trip to see punk rock landmarks (‘Punk Rock Minivan’).
Diesel Boy is firmly focused on the future these days, but they have plenty of history. The band formed in California’s wine country in 1993, made four records for Fat Wreck Chords imprint Honest Dons in the ‘90s and 2000s, and crisscrossed the globe endless times before taking a decades-long break. While on hiatus, their songs continued to rack up millions of streams on the various streaming services, as offers for festivals and new music persisted, prompting the band to relaunch their career. Humbled by enthusiastic fan response and grateful to still have an opportunity to play music together, Diesel Boy is hoping to stick around for good this time.