Why is the Gaslight Anthem lableled a "punk" band?

I have turned many friends onto TGA. I start out by telling them that TGA is a punk band from Jersey.

They all listen and come back with "Sink or Swim" sounds like punk but The 59 Sound and American Slang are straight up rock n roll. Then they say that they think TGA sounds like Springsteen.

This article sats that TGA is a "Punk Springsteen" and says that "The 59' Sound is a punk rock record, but like Against Me! they combine traces of rockabilly and Americana with in their songs."

http://mog.com/Rawkkiddoh/blog/175354


Then again, I guess they called Springsteen a "punk" in the early 70s.

I think that they're "punk" just because they are in a D.I.Y. label and have some punks influences, but really the only album that sounds "punk" is sink or swim...

It's the tattoos man, that's all you need to be "punk." Just ask Good Charlotte.

I think that they still retain a "punk" vibe on the newer albums, with songs like "Orphans" and "The Patient Ferris Wheel". To be honest I think The '59 Sound would seem a lot more "punk" if it didn't have the vintage sounding production.

Here are two relevant quotes from my TGA quotes page at http://www.gaslightanthem.org/quotes.htm


"The root of our ethics, the core values of our band, are still rooted in a punk rock ethos. There's a consciousness to what we do. We're doing this for a bigger reason. If you grew up in punk or around punk you carry that into being a lawyer or a doctor or a teacher or even into a band. I think there are some basic principles that always go along with it, like for the most part, especially these days, anti-racist, anti-homophobic, tolerance. It's supposed to be the place where everyone who gets made fun of in their high school is allowed to go."
(Benny Horowitz - andPOP, 21 August 2010)

"Being punk rock is nowadays more of an ethic or a sense of morals than it is a genre."
(Alex Rosamilia - WFXN, April 2009)

Thanks everyone

Great quotes and site, steady

Speaking of quotes, somewhere I heard this joke:
Q: How many punks does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: No one knows. They're all on YouTube comments arguing about what "punk" is.

it could be cause they have toured with bands/people associated with Punk music

Frank Turner, Tim Barry, Chuck Ragan, Sharks, The Loved Ones, The Menzingers, Against Me, Alkaline Trio and the list goes on.

Also SideOne is considered a Punk label.

The band started out as a punk band in New Jersey. All members were involved in punk bands before.
When Sink or Swim came out they got big via sites like punknews.org and absolutepunk.
After that they got big with the '59 Sound and got a broader audience.
With the '59 Sound the punk influence was diminished and there were some blues, rock and roll and soul influences, but the sound still remained. Same with American Slong and songs like Orphans.

Thanks oldgospelchoir and prisoner. I see it now.

I was speaking to Benny the day before they played Glastonbury and he compared TGA to other punk bands such as Bouncing Souls and Alkaline Trio.

Probably based on the heavier riffs and rougher voice from Sink or Swim; sometimes it's tough to shake a label.

Yozzy wrote:

Probably based on the heavier riffs and rougher voice from Sink or Swim; sometimes it's tough to shake a label.

yep. and SOS fucking rocked.

I think alot of people call them Punk because of the vibe Sink or Swim had, even though they've changed alot since then

Prisoner wrote:

. Same with American Slong...

haha, Freudian slip with your keyboard...

anyway, i think that the "punk" label has a lot to do with the energy in their faster-paced songs... no one could reasonably call "Miles Davis and the Cool" a punk song, but the basic riffs of most of their more upbeat songs are pretty basic... and lest we all forget, most punk musicians, when the scene was burgeoning, didn't really know how to play intricate music... was mostly play fast and loud, and fuck the establishment.

i think they are considered a punk band because of the look but essentialy because some riff and sounds remind with punk elements, just like the fact the usually the play only three chords of the guitar! When I first listen TGA i thought they was a punk band but after listen to more songs you can understand that they are more than a simply punk band!

cause of how much arse SOS kicked. the end.

Shrewsbury_Stars wrote:

It's the tattoos man, that's all you need to be "punk." Just ask Good Charlotte.

"punk" vs. punk is a vast difference.

I think it depends on who you ask if they're a punk band or not. Punk rock means whatever the hell you want it to mean. It's an endless debate. I really think of punk as more of a feeling than a sound or sight, or whatever the fuck else. For instance, Good Charlotte makes me lose all faith in modern music, Gaslight restores it completely. At the risk of sounding cheesey, I listen to Gaslight and it touches something in me that few other bands have.

steph wrote:

Shrewsbury_Stars wrote:

It's the tattoos man, that's all you need to be "punk." Just ask Good Charlotte.

"punk" vs. punk is a vast difference.

No way. The only thing that captures the essence of punk more than tattoos is properly accessorizing. For example, if you have a spiked leather jacket with band patches on the back (like The Exploited or The Germs) then you're punk. If you wear a cool metal studded belt that you bought at Hot Topic, you're punk. Same thing if you spike your hair into a mohawk.

Some people think that punk is about the music or subscribing to a particlar ethos but they're totally wrong. It's only about image. If this isn't true then the 15-year-old kids at the mall totally lied to me.

steph wrote:

Yozzy wrote:

Probably based on the heavier riffs and rougher voice from Sink or Swim; sometimes it's tough to shake a label.

yep. and SOS fucking rocked.

Indeed. Hands down their best record in my opinion. I can't think of many other bands that achieved such greatness right out of the gate.

thanks you,good post +1)

This article got a Gaslight Anthem Facebook group talking

Punk rock outfit the Gaslight Anthem has been around for half a decade, and in that time, they've churned out three full-length records, earning them a cult following and some pretty big-name fans (you can count Bruce Springsteen), but not a whole lot of radio air. Now, with the band's fourth LP, Handwritten, the tides seem to be changing, and Gaslight Anthem is positioned on the forefront of what seems like an imminent wave in the comeback of punk.

http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2012/07/gaslight_anthem_interview.php

O hyeah--the Gaslight FB group I'm talking about can be found here

https://www.facebook.com/groups/106142239461029/

For me, it largely has to do with the fact that I'da Called You Woody, Joe, was the first Gaslight song I ever heard. If you write an ode to Joe Strummer, calling him (at the time) a major influence on their band's music, then it's real hard to not be associated with punk. Then again, Gaslight sounds far more like post-Clash Strummer, and that music really wasn't punk either.