Today we are thrilled to bring you the premiere of the new split EP from Hans Gruber and the Die Hards and Sgt. Scag! For the EP, Hans Gruber and the Die Hards contributed a re-recorded version of their song “We’re All Gonna Die” from their first album and Sgt. Scag contributed live recordings of their songs “Sideshow” and “Ives Manor”. Speaking about the split, Steve Lonergan from Sgt. Scag said,
We have now been at Sgt. Scag 2.0 since 2018, which means this iteration of the band has lasted twice as long as the iteration from the 1990s. That isn’t logical, nor is the idea of rereleasing 2 songs that are close to 30 years old. What I love about working with SPI and the Hans Grubers is that sense is not required. We are rebooting 2 old songs that have generally stayed in our live set even though we have new songs that could replace them. We were lucky enough to capture these when playing Supernova International Ska Fest back in 2023, the same week our newest record At Least More Than Halfway Dead was released on Ska Punk International. A big week, so it’s enjoyable to try and make some money off those lovely memories by selling people blue vinyl.”
The bands have also released videos for each of the tracks and we caught up with them to hear the stories behind them. Hans Gruber and the Die Hards and Sgt. Scag's new split, Reboot, will be out everywhere on April 22 via Ska Punk International. The art for the EP was done by Cam Lopez. You can pre-order it on vinyl here or pre-save it on streaming here. Watch the videos and read the track-by-track breakdown below!
Video directed by Kurt Armstrong. ”We’re All Gonna Die” - Hans Gruber and the Die Hards
”’We're All Gonna Die’ has been a staple in our set since our inception. It is a huge hit/favorite and has evolved in so many ways over the last 10 years, so it only felt right to re-boot it to make it more representative of the song's sound and vibe now. Plus, especially in the last 5 or 6 years working with producer Drew LeClair, we've gained a love for getting extra on studio recordings - in this case, having our friend Jeremy Carlson (Lion Heights) rail on the Hammond organ and Leslie cabinet took it to another level. There's certain stanky cords and arpeggios he put in there that I simultaneously anticipate and that surprise me every time I listen to it.”
”Sideshow” - Sgt. Scag
“These songs both harken back and were written when I lived in Danbury, CT going to college. ‘Sideshow’ was inspired by a guy who used to call the college radio station I worked at (91.7 WXCI) and request Sgt. Scag songs (which was awkward cause I didn’t want to be that guy on the air and play my own band). This guy claimed to be named Juan and also claimed to be so obese he was housebound, and that the college radio station was his only source of joy. None of this was true of course, it was just a young person who thought they were hilarious. It did lead to ‘Sideshow’ getting written, a song that eventually ended up on the 1997 Moon Ska compilation Skarmageddon 3: A New Beginning which was a big deal for us at the time.”
”Ives Manor” - Sgt. Scag
“As for the other song on this split, ‘Ives Manor’ was also inspired by my time in Danbury. I worked at a commercial radio station which was housed in a downtown Danbury building called Ives Manor. The radio station shared an elevator with a city run elderly housing complex. This building was consistently 95 degrees and the elevator smelled like vomit and feces. I would try and hold my breath in the elevator to the fifth floor and the whole thing would make me mad. I felt for the poor old people that had to live in these awful conditions. It doesn’t sound like it from the lyrics, but ‘Ives Manor’ is really me rooting for the old people. I swear.”