The Final Zlam

Bands come and bands go, and it seems that the closer you get to the local level the greater that churn becomes. Making a livable career out of making music is a huge undertaking and one that even for full-time touring bands doesn't pay much. There comes a point in the life of many bands where a decision has to be made as to whether people want to continue putting the effort into making music or pursue other options. While some bands may linger around and play a show from time to time without putting out any new music, others often feel it's better to just call it quits and hang up the guitars. The latter is a decision that Austin's Zlam Dunk has made and they'll be playing their final show along with Equals and The Couch at Red 7 tonight.

If you've read any of my articles here and on OVRLD this year, then you've likely seen me write about Zlam Dunk before. Back sometime in April I realized that after living here for three years I hadn't really been exposed to much local punk music outside the burgeoning garage scene. I took to bandcamp.com in order to search for the kind of punk and hardcore I was into and among my first crop of finds was this energetic, danceable, but totally hard group called Zlam Dunk. I immediately took a liking to their 2010 LP "Nobel Ancestry" and as luck would have it, they were going to be playing a show just a couple weeks later at the Beauty Ballroom. Zlam Dunk played last that night on a bill with Searcher, Goldspine, and Boyfrndz and by virtue of the fact that the Beauty Ballroom is not a venue with much walk-in potential and that the show was on a Thursday night, there were maybe 15-20 people tops milling about by the time they played. Despite this fact, the guys played their balls off and I knew then that I would need to catch them again.

Following the early May release of their "Balcones" EP I saw Zlam Dunk several more times over the summer, sometimes playing to small crowds and other times to big. No matter who or what size the audience was, Zlam Dunk always left it all on the stage or in the case of lead singer Charlie Day (especially during the cowbell breakdown in "Ghostwoman") out in the audience as well. During every show I was up front getting my dance on, pointing my fingers, and singing along. Yeah I liked the music, but the energy of the show was what drove me. It's one of the things I love about punk music. When I'm out in a crowd and it's sweaty and loud and there's adrenaline in the air, I feel alive and to have that experience with a local band all summer long was a great time indeed.

Am I sad that Zlam Dunk are calling it quits? Of course I am, but these guys need to follow their dreams and if that means something other than entertaining my 34-year-old punk ass, well then I respect that. At the end of the day I still live in the music capital of the world and while bands may come and go, I've got my pick of the litter. For now I'm going to keep spinning my Zlam Dunk albums and make sure I enjoy the hell out of their final show and remember that sometimes it's better to burn out than to fade away. If you dig danceable punk music or just want to see what these kids are all about, come on down to Red 7 tonight. I’ll be the guy in front, having a great time.