Editor’s note: Whether you’ve noticed or not, punk rock is back in a big way—at least locally. So, I tasked two Free Time writers to document the resurgence and talk to some of the bands making waves on the local music scene. This is the first of a two-part series.
IF YOU GO
Kings of the Wild Things with special guests: The Ambulance Review and Alpha Jerk (18+). Friday, Aug 22, 8 pm,, Reclaim Arcade, 2324 Plank Rd, Fredericksburg; $15 admission includes unlimited arcade access. Alpha Jerk will also play PorchFest Aug. 16.
Reclaim Arcade at the Gateway shopping center near the intersection of I-95 and Route 3 is generally known for its retro and classic arcade games, pinball machines and karaoke nights. It’s also becoming a go-to venue for edgy rock and punk music in the Fredericksburg region.
For example, on Friday, Aug. 22 Reclaim hosts three bands—all with ties to the Fredericksburg area—that specialize in what can best be called a post-punk fusion of garage rock, alternative and classic guitar-heavy rock.
Kings of the Wild Things
Kings Of The Wild Things lead singer and guitarist Oscar Sobkowicz graduated from Courtland High School in 2019. He started his band there and played various shows hosted by Fredericksburg All Ages before moving to the Baltimore area where the band is currently based.
Kings Of The Wild Things play a cross between emo and punk music with lots of pop culture references. One of their most popular songs is based on a song from the animated franchise “Shrek” (“Welcome2Duloc”) but they also tackle serious topics including mental health issues.
“It’s something that means something to us, and is important to us,” said Sobkowicz. “There’s a lot of resources to help people. We’re not a super big band but if one person leaves one out of five shows feeling a little bit better about themselves or are open to talking to someone about something that they weren’t feeling super-great about then that’s a good day for me and makes me feel good that they feel better.”
Sobkowicz’s dad also plays in the band.
“We needed a drummer,” said Sobkowicz. “My dad’s a pretty cool dude. A lot of people say it’s weird but we have a lot of agents and promoters who know us. Playing with my dad has been super cool. I’ve gotten to play with some of my favorite bands of all time. I’ve gotten to tour with my dad. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter how old you are or what gender you are. If you can play drums and it’s a fun show, who cares?”
The Ambulance Review
The Ambulance Review began in 2003 with brothers Tom and Sam MacGregor, both graduates of Chancellor High School. In 2009, they added bassist Randy Morin who Tom MacGregor had met in a string music program in Spotsylvania middle school, where both played the violin.
The Ambulance Review is Tom MacGregor, Sam MacGregor, and Randy Morin. (Photo courtesy Randall Morin)
The band’s sound is fast and catchy, epitomized by their slogan “play as fast as you can”. Their influences include Green Day, Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms, and Captain Everything!. The band’s album “Alpacalypse Now” was released last August and delivers 17 songs in under 34 minutes.
“That’s probably one of my favorite things about punk rock music is sometimes the short attention span,” said Tom MacGregor. “You have a small, simple idea. Not everything needs a chorus but I think that we write some pretty good hooks.”
The band put together a video for its first single from the album “Crash Test Dummy”, including some interesting CGI effects and a scene shot at Happy Endings bar in Fredericksburg. Local punk queen Monster who fronts the band Trash Rocket makes an appearance in the video.
“There’s a handful of people who were extras in that scene who had been around our band or around the bar scene for a while,” said Tom MacGregor. “And then some people I had never met until we did the shooting in there. Monster is in that video. She plays the girl dummy. I love her to bits. She’s got such a good attitude about everything all the time. She writes really cool music.”
Alpha Jerk
Alpha Jerk started as a side project for guitarist Larry Hinkle over 35 years ago when he was playing in a punk band. Hinkle had some songs that didn’t fit with his band so he started recording them with friends. In 2005, he revived the project along with James Knoll and Mark D (Doran) and recorded the album “Year Of The Cock”, named for the 2005 Chinese zodiac sign of the rooster. He recruited bass player Missy Colombo for live shows.
Alpha Jerk performs. (Photo courtesy Michelle Pierson)
While the band members went on to play in other bands, Alpha Jerk was dormant for over a decade. It was Colombo who suggested they revive the project. To fill out the newest version of Alpha Jerk, Hinkle asked Mark Phelan to join on lead guitar, with Knoll on drums.
Around that time, local music promoter Donnie Smooth was setting up a performance space at 1111 Lafayette Boulevard, in the “dead man’s curve” in Fredericksburg. He fittingly named it Eleven Eleven.
“About the time of the pandemic, Missy brought it up about getting back together but we needed a place to actually do it,” said Hinkle. “Donnie was just starting Eleven Eleven so I asked him if we could try jamming there. He let us practice there and we’ve been practicing there ever since. Now we’re writing songs and putting out records and getting gigs.”
The band combines punk influences along with post-punk indie rock to create their own sound.
“Last year we had two major recording sessions where we were recording a pile of songs and we decided that all last year we were going to release a single a month on the digital platform,” said Hinkle. “I wanted to take all of the singles from the whole year and pile them into an album. So that’s what we’re doing right now and we’re putting it out on 12-inch vinyl. It’s all songs that we wrote last year.” The new album will be released later this year.
“If we have to define our genre I like to call us garage rock,” said Hinkle. “We play in a garage and the name of our album is ‘Garage Fever’. So that’s how I describe it to people. We definitely have some punk influences here and there. We’re not trying to be super deep.”
Alpha Jerk are already planning their next recording project.
Hinkle met famed DC-area music producer Don Zientara at a recent show at Strangeways Brewery. Zientara produced many legendary DC hardcore and indie bands such as Minor Threat, Fugazi, The Bad Brains and Mary Timony at his Inner Ear studio in Arlington. When Hinkle expressed his admiration for Zientara’s work, he offered to record two songs for Alpha Jerk free of charge.
“I’m trying to herd the band into a date everybody can commit to, but it looks like the end of August we’re going to go and record one or two songs with Don,” said Hinkle. “So I’m really super excited about that.”
