UltraBomb is the new-ish punk band with Hüsker Dü’s Greg Norton on bass, The Mahones’ Finny McConnell on lead vocals and guitar, and drummer Jamie Oliver of UK Subs, SNFU, and more. They released their debut album Time To Burn last year, and it’s got some Dü-ish vibes plus some classic ’70s punk influences like The Clash and the Dead Boys, the latter of whom’s “Sonic Reducer” they cover on the album. Speaking to us over email, Greg gave us some background on the band and the making of this album, in what he calls his punk manifesto:

My punk manifesto

It was just a crazy idea. Three guys, in three different countries, each from iconic punk bands. Getting together through Messenger.

We thought let’s get together, play the hits, have a laugh. We could do festivals, it will be wild.

But then it just took off. Finny was going to be in Berlin, he had been writing a ton of riffs for our new band. Jamie was also going to be in Berlin, Finny had some days booked with a studio.

That’s when I had an even crazier idea and booked a flight to Berlin. We had been a virtual band for about a month. I landed in Berlin and Jamie met me at the airport, the first time we had met in person.

The next morning we went to the studio, and when Finny got there (the first time I had met him in person), UltraBomb was now an official band.

We started working on songs. Finny would play a riff, we hammered it into an arrangement, and after a couple run throughs we would record it.

We wrote four songs the first day, another six the next day. It felt like we had been playing together forever. The studio engineer couldn’t believe we were writing the songs on the spot. It was so in the moment.

The third day, Jamie was out gigging. That’s when I brought out my folder of lyrics I had been writing and collecting for the last few years.

Finny put the whole thing together, he said, Bruv, I’ve got the whole album figured out.

The last day in the studio, he went in and sang my lyrics to our music. He made them match so well, I couldn’t believe it. At the end of the day, we still had some time. We had talked about covering something, and we laid down the punk classic, Sonic Reducer.

Those eleven songs make up our debut album, Time To Burn.

This new single, “Bang Punk,” hits right from the start. It’s me thinking of where we all came from, what we do with those experiences, and how we carry on for the future. We channeled bit of the Clash, it’s a nod to Joe Strummer. I like to think he’d agree with my punk manifesto, be your best.

This month, the band will begin their first US tour, with support from UK punk/ska band The Bar Stool Preachers on most dates, leading up to their appearance at Punk Rock Bowling. All dates are listed, alongside a stream of the full album, below.

–

UltraBomb / The Bar Stool Preachers — 2023 Tour Dates
May 11th St. Paul, MN Turf Club
May 12th Winona, MN No Name Bar
May 13th Chicago, IL Reggies
May 15th Indianapolis, IN Melody Inn
May 16th St. Louis, MO Old Rock House
May 17th Memphis, TN Hi Tone
May 18th New Orleans, LA The Parish at House of Blues
May 19th Houston TX, The Secret Group
May 20th Austin, TX Kick Butt Coffee
May 21st San Antonio, TX Paper Tiger
May 22nd Dallas, TX Three Links – Deep Ellum, TX
May 24th Tucson, AZ 191 Toole
May 25th Tempe, AZ Yucca Tap Room
May 26th San Diego, CA Corazon Del Barriorio
May 27th Long Beach, CA Alex’s Bar
May 28th Las Vegas, NV Backstage Bar & Billiards
May 29th Las Vegas, NV Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival
May 31st Denver, CO HQ (without Barstool Preachers)