The Bastard Offspring of Ska & Punk Resides In Essex County
They’re called Joker’s Republic. Their single, “Panic Panic Panic,” is but one of 12 tracks due this fall on their Punkerton Records debut, The Hand You’ve Been Dealt, produced by Roger Lima of Less Than Jake. Singer Austen Gray says “Panic Panic Panic” came from his 2020 anxiety. “Over time,” he explains, “the song took on a different narrative—being less about literal panic and more about mental health. It became a pep talk to myself and anyone listening. Don’t let the panic win!”
Politics, identity and grief, sugar-coated with humor, are this Essex County band’s parameters, made all the more dramatic as their sonic blast spirals upwards with punchy guitars, shouted hooks and a high-octane ambiance hitting that ska-punk sweet spot. They’ve been punching audiences regularly without horns since the release of 2023’s Necessary Evil. To that end, you can get punched in the gut August 14 at The Bookclub in Chicago, August 15 at the High Noon Saloon in Wisconsin (opening for Space Monkey Mafia), August 16 and 17 in the Green Room of Minneapolis before they return home to Jersey in Sayreville September 12 at the Starland Ballroom. October means shows in Connecticut (18), Brooklyn (19), Pennsylvania (20), Maryland (21), North Carolina (22), Georgia (23) and Florida (25 & 26).