With six years of punk rock recklessness under its studded belt, Ashtray has officially emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the greater Bay Area and beyond. Not that it would take anyone too long to notice—the band makes an unremitting impression everywhere it plays. Whether on tour, steamrolling cities with an unbridled attack of gut-punching anthems and frenetic dual vocals, or in the studio, capturing a trademark unhinged abandon, Ashtray fervently lives the chaos with a shit-eating grin and middle finger hoisted high.
Davie and Sarah-Jane, at the forefront, tumbling over each other with gutteral eruptions and glass-shattering squeals; Bonnie on the guitar, unleashing piercing, nonstop downstrokes; all grounded by the rhythm section of Joe’s hard-hitting drums and a whirl of low end from bassist Shad Rock. This is the blue-ribbon recipe that has won Ashtray widespread acclaim opening shows for Blanks 77, the Stitches, and the Suicide Girls.
With a prior 7” and full-length album—both self-financed DIY releases—the motley crew that calls Santa Rosa, CA, home embraces the lost art of making a statement by not taking itself so goddamn seriously. Ashtray is far more likely to incite another round of drinks than a full-scale riot, but with titles like “Emo-liminate” and “Dirty Rotten Hippies,” the band’s songs nonetheless careen through roughshod trenches to the vulnerable heart of their unwitting subjects like a hypocrisy-guided x-wing fighter.
The key element in Ashtray’s impact is one generally lost in a post-millennial hardcore scene: a refreshing, finger-pointing sense of humor. While other bands rob the punk rock convenience store of all laughter, Ashtray hangs out in the beer aisle making fun of their friends for dropping the chips—and in certain instances, like “Joe Morato Bomb,” the skewering is done with such bite that the victims have no choice but to capitulate to Ashtray’s trademark sing-along choruses and scathing ferociousness. After all, what’s not to love about a band that updates a classic folk song, punkhouse-style, in “Punk Rock Candy Mountain”?
With an upcoming new album on Silver Sprocket and more relentless touring in the works, it won’t be long before the rest of the world catches up with Ashtray. Cue them up at www.ashtraypunks.com—or just wait in the parking lot long enough to shoulder-tap them into buying for your underage friends.