Reno Divorce * The Despots * Shadow Creeps

*** RENO DIVORCE ***

With equal parts Orange County punk, honky tonk country, and a tip-jar full of rockabilly swagger, Reno Divorce strikes a unique chord of their own with their brand of punk rock and roll. The band’s longevity is no accident. Their fans simply won’t allow them to quit and pursue real careers. The fact that they’ve been voted the best punk band in Denver by The Westword Magazine in 2011, 2012, and 2013 can attest to their stalwart status in their home state. A successful Kickstarter campaign and a growing number of their faithful willing to have the band’s name tattooed on their bodies keeps them climbing back into the van for tour after tour. They’ve never been ones to rest on their laurels, though. To the contrary, Reno Divorce has 7 European tours and several US jaunts under their belt, supporting Reverend Horton Heat, The Queers, and US Bombs, among others.
Their well-crafted and skillfully executed songs call to mind Smithereens and Social Distortion, but a more aggressive tone lurks in-between the lines. A good hook is the bread and butter for these guys, and one listen is all it takes to realize you’ve got a band that truly stands out amongst the herd. Ten years strong and having graced some of the most legendary bars and stages around the world, they’ve played with almost all their punk heroes (ALL, Social Distortion, TSOL, Adolescents, Agent Orange, The Queers, X, The Blasters, Motorhead), and shared a tour bus with more contemporary heavy hitters like U.S. Bombs, The Bones, and Street Dogs. They’ve worked with the best behind the scenes, as well. Their latest record, “Lover’s Leap, was recorded by Blasting Room alumnus Felipe Patino and mixed and mastered at the legendary studio by Jason Livermore (Rise Against, ALL, Descendents). Their record before that, “Tears Before Breakfast,” received similar treatment, too. When you delve into their catalog, a strange feeling sets in…there’s no filler…no rehashing or redressing from the album before…no déjà vu or forced delievery. Instead, they find a way to up the ante with every record, growing musically with each outing and subversively injecting their will into whatever 3 chord progression it is you think you’ve heard before. The result is something familiar, yet foreign. And then there’s the lyrics…that’s what sets Reno Divorce apart. This is storytelling at its finest, with uncanny, almost pathological insight. From prince to pauper, sinner to saint, you always feel like you’re riding shotgun with the protagonist or anti-hero as their story unfolds.