The new band with Chris, Derek and myself finally completed the painstaking processes of coming up with a band name (The Slaughterhouse Chorus) and sort of getting our shit together (May 18th Valentines).

We are playing punk rock under the influence of CCR, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits and The Band. More country, less ska, more guitars, less horns. It's quite possible you won't like it but so far we're having a great time. We've got some songs written that we'll record at some point this summer. Our first show is with our some of our favorite people (Stuck Lucky!) at our favorite venue (Valentines!) Maybe we'll see you there.

-Jay

Well hello everyone, it's been a while.
I just wanted to take a minute to let you know what's going on with the various musical projects we've all found our way into since our last show with Public Access almost a year ago:
Matt's new band, Island of Giants, is finishing an album up and making their Albany debut tomorrow at a house party of some nature. Drop them a line for more info.
Joe's band, Young and Divine, just kicked off another U.S. tour. Check them out if they're in your town. They actually put on a pretty rockin show.
Bob's metal band just recorded a demo and will soon be destroying a basement near you. They will tear your face off.
Chris, Derek and I managed to find ourselves a drummer and are playing what Chris calls "cowboy punk". No name yet, but I'm hoping to start playing shows this summer. It's great to be writing music again.

Our friends also seem to be doing really well. Stuck Lucky has an album coming out on Community Records in the very near future, as well as big tour lined up which will bring them up this way. Dudes from the The Fad are already doing awesome things with two new bands, Backtrack and Let Me Crazy, both of which will also be coming soon to the 518. And We Are the Union, now featuring TFT's Johnny Ryan, were just added to the Warped Tour and will be releasing their new album on a record label you may have actually heard of. Great news all around.

So now that we're done talking about new music, how about some old music? I am talking to Community Records about releasing a bunch of ancient, generally bad Public Access stuff for everyone's amusement. This would include our first self-titled EP from 2001, a couple live sets and demos from "Fleeced" and "Hindsight"- all for free download, since paying for music is for suckers. So keep an eye out if you happen to be a fan of awkward high school ska bands.

I guess that's about it. Go see Island of Giants tomorrow!

We love you all.
-Jay

Hello friends.

I'm happy to inform you that the good folks at Community Records are celebrating their dominance over yet another hurricane by offering you a whole bunch of free music downloads starting Thursday, September 11th. You can download our "Fleeced" EP, as well as the brand new Safety EP, Murphy's Kids' 3-song demo, and two of the best damn punk/ska/core/whatever albums you'll ever hear- Brunt of It's "Certain Uncertainty" and Stuck Lucky's "Hate the Light of Day." WWW.COMMUNITYRECORDS.ORG! Rock that shit and spread the word.

Also, while we're on the topic of awesome music, go check out great new jams from The Flaming Tsunamis, Brunt Of It, Stuck Lucky and Fatter Than Albert. New albums are reportedly on the way from everyone. Nice.

Since all our friends have been so busy, you're probably wondering what the hell we're all up to now. Bob is studying economics and getting spare-changed by rich white kids in Tompkins Square Park. Joe is touring the country with Young and Divine - he'll probably be in your town soon, so go buy him a drink (but leave your sister at home). Matt's playing indie rock with a new band called Where the Wild Things Are, also featuring our old buddy and former Axis of Evil member Joey Page. They just played their first show, so check them out. Derek, Chris and I just started a new project. Chris is playing piano. Seriously. We'll keep you posted. We need a drummer or a bass player, so how 'bout it?

So in short- download old music, check for new music soon. We love you all.

-Jay

Spooky!

A few points of interest to address:

1) Hindsight 7"s are now available at Interpunk. The album will also be available from Vinyl Collective and iTunes in the upcoming weeks. You can still buy it directly from us or Community Records as well.

2) Speaking of Community Records, the Community Records Compilation Vol. 1 is now available for pre-order HERE. Official release date is June 20. You'll find new and/or unreleased music from Public Access, Stuck Lucky, The Fad, Fatter Than Albert, Brunt of It, The Flaming Tsunamis and many more in a handsome, hand-screened package- all for the low, low price of $5! 22 tracks total. Get into it.

3) For you local folks- the Community Records Tour hits Albany on Monday, June 30 at Punk Rock Reptile on Central Ave, featuring Fatter Than Albert, Stuck Lucky and The Brunt of It, with local boys Hollywood Funeral and The Crowd. Note that Public Access is NOT playing (we broke up, remember?)- but I am putting the show on and I expect to see some familiar faces in attendance. Check out the flyer HERE and help spread the word.

Everyone seems to be doing pretty well. Bob just moved into a sweet apartment in NYC. You nerds may have caught Matt on Jinx.com as the official punk rock spokesman for the World of Warcraft. Joe's probably on tour with Scary Kids Scaring Kids or some such shit. Chris is contracting up a storm and moving out of the college ghetto. Derek is selling trailers and buying rare first-press limited-edition colored vinyl on eBay. I'm trying not to get beat up at Alive at Five this summer. Life is actually pretty good.

I'm slowly but surely getting some new song ideas together. I couldn't tell you what will come out of it, but I can tell you that I'm already getting anxious to play in a band again. It may be the real thing. It may be a cover band (as long as the songlist involves Lagwagon, Creedence Clearwater Revival, or some combination of the two). It may wind up being Derek and I recording surf jams into a 4-track. Time will tell, but hopefully you will be hearing more from at least a few of us sometime in the future.

Hope you're all well. Come by and say hello on the 30th, it's been a while.

-Jay

"A certain perfection can only be achieved by the endless accumulation of the imperfect."

I happened across this line in a book a few days before our final show, and it turned out to be a fitting epitaph for our dearly departed punk rock band.  If Public Access ever amounted to anything, it was "the endless accumulation of the imperfect." We weren't master instrumentalists, or even good ones for that matter. We played plenty of bad shows; fuck-ups, false starts and faked enthusiasm were common themes. We broke strings and drumsticks and amplifiers and drum heads and saxophones and laws, nearly every weekend, for seven years straight.  Showed up late to almost every show we played. Changed out members every year or so. Talked shit about everything. Didn't always get along.

However, over the course of those same years, we managed to build something, to evolve into an entity that was much greater than the sum of its parts. We recorded the kind of album we always wanted to make, we played with bands we never thought we'd meet, we travelled to places we never thought we'd see. We met the kind of people that only ever seemed to exist in theory, that kind that are inherently good and unfailingly compassionate. The kind of folks that take you in as one of their own and cook you eggs and pancakes, even though they just met you and don't owe you a thing.

For all its faults and shortcomings, this band provided me with at least a hundred brief glimpses of perfection over the years. Memories I wouldn't trade for the world. Drinking High Life out of McDonald's cups at 2 in the afternoon under the Washington Monument with the Flamingos. Bourbon Street and jambalaya and Steamboat Willie on trumpet. 4 days stranded at the Stuck Lucky compound with no shows to play, but a seemingly never-ending supply of Pabst Blue Ribbon and good people. One massively triumphant feast at the Wallingford, Connecticut Chili's a few weeks ago.

And while we were never consummate professionals on stage, there were moments at shows here and there that seemed bigger and better than anything I'd ever been a part of- from the first applause we ever received as we walked out in front of the RCS High School bleachers as awkward 15-year-olds to the bewildering din of a hundred people screaming the words to our songs at our last show in Connecticut. Perfection was reached, at least at that second, in that grimy, sweaty club or basement or community center. It fades as quickly as you recognize it, but it's there all the same. It was in seconds like these at our last three shows that I realized we made it, in our own way. We accomplished more than we could ever have hoped to- and right down to the way we bowed out, we did it all our own way and on our own terms. I have honestly never been more proud of anything.

But let me tell you- it's pretty strange to eulogize a major chapter of your life.

We put the band to rest almost a month ago, and it still hasn't completely hit me that we're done. I put all the nails in the coffin-  closed the band bank account, cleaned out the old practice place and threw away a bunch of random tour-acquired stuff accumulated in merch boxes... but here I am, checking the Myspace and filling mailorders on my lunchbreak. The band has been around in the background for so long that it seems strange to have it completely out of the picture. At the same time, it's exciting in a way to have some extra free time to ourselves and no musical agenda to report to. I doubt you'll see the last of any of us in the musical realm- whether it ever makes it back to a stage remains to be seen. Bob's playing brutal metal in a basement near you in Day of Attrition until he goes away to school in the fall. Joe's on tour with Young and Divine playing shows for fourteen year olds and record execs. Chris, Derek and I will inevitably start a 90s skatepunk or Weezer cover project (Blue and Pinkerton albums only. Duh). Matt will be wailing in some Newburgh jazz quartet soon enough, I'm sure. In any regard, it's sort of refreshing to have the musical world wide open again.

I can confidently say that I learned much more from my seven years in the band than in twelve years in school and four in college; our last show seemed vastly more important in my mind than graduating from either institution. The band outlasted friends, relationships, homes, musical influences and entire phases of life- when we started playing in early 2001, none of us even had our drivers' licenses. Public Access taught me many things, but the greatest lesson I learned was that even in a world that may seem greedy and callous, generosity and kindness are everywhere. Strangers took us in as friends, and friends gave us the encouragement to keep moving. It would be absurd to even try to acknowledge all of the amazing people we met and the great times we had. I won't even bother. All I can say is that we truly appreciate everything. It's been a great ride, and none of us will ever forget it.

So we're not playing shows anymore, but not all that much has changed. Everyone in this band will always be like family to me. Maybe we won't see each other all that often, but we'll always have great stories to laugh about when we do. We still have records for sale here and at Community Records. Buy one so Greg can keep his great little label going. I'll still be checking this page, updating here and there as I see fit, hopefully getting some photos and video from the last few shows up soon. I'll still be putting on shows for our friends when they come through town on tour. Maybe we'll play an awkward, middle-aged reunion show someday. Til then, I'm pretty happy with how this all turned out.

Tonight’s show in CT will be your first chance to get your hands on a copy of "Hindsight" in beautiful colored vinyl or compact disc.

Since the numbers are pretty limited and we know that at least some of you out there are smart enough to not live in the Northeast, we are opening up a small pre-order at www.communityrecords.org at midnight on Friday, April 10th! 10 copies of each color record and 20 CDs will be available for order and will come with posters, stickers and maybe some other stuff. Any copies leftover after the final shows will also be available for order beginning April 13th.

Pre-order prices (shipping included):
CD or 7": $7
7" set: $10
7" + CD: $10
7" set+CD: $12
Please drop us a line if you are outside the U.S. to figure out extra shipping costs.

Repent! The end is near!

This is the last giveaway Thursday, and this is one of the last "blogs" I will write. It almost brings a tear to the eye, huh?

Congratulations to:
Christian Eggers for winning free admission to our final Connecticut next Friday.
Molly English for winning free admission to our final Syracuse show on April 11.
Aaron Hibbert (he’s in Marx Revolution!) for winning free admission to our farewell show in Albany.

aaaaaaaaaaand....

Glenn Mate from Connecticut for winning a Hindsight test pressing! You better hang on to that shit dude, we’re talking serious eBay gold in a few years (in some terrifying alternate dimension).

Our last shows are coming up quick! See you jerks in Connecticut!

Kyle Howlett wins the Public Access 7" record set!

Next week we give away a copy of the 7" test pressing and one ticket to each of our final three shows! Go to www.communityrecords.org and donate $4 or more for the download of the new EP and you’ll be entered to win stuff.

Joseph Stonerock from California wins a limited-edition copy of "Hindsight" on CD, a full 3 weeks before it "hits the streets". Joseph Stonerock also has an awesome fucking name.

Thanks again to everyone who has donated for the EP! There are still a bunch of chances to win, so if you want any of the following stuff, visit WWW.COMMUNITYRECORDS.ORG, donate at least $4, and get your name in the drawing!

Next week, March 20, someone will win a "Hindsight" 7" set- that’s two records, on red and coke-bottle clear vinyl. Only 100 copies made of each.
On March 27, we’ll give away the one and only copy of the 7" test pressing! If we were Hot Water Music or something, that shit would go for hundreds on Ebay. As an added bonus, we’ll be giving away one ticket to each of three final shows.

And everyone who donates will also get a free poster, stickers and a lyrics sheet in the mail! But you probably already know that.

Hello everyone, and a happy Tuesday to you all.

We are switching things up a little bit to reward those of you that are awesome enough to throw us a few bucks for the album. We're now rolling raffle-style. Here's how it's going to work.

Instead of giving away stuff to the 50th, 100th and 150th paid downloaders, we will be drawing a name at random each week to win a different prize. Every person that donates $4 or more for the album will be entered into the drawing. If you already donated, your name is already in the drawing.

Drawings will happen every Thursday during the last three weeks in March. We will pick a winner at 8 PM each week (New York time), so if your donation is received by that time you're eligible to win.
The prizes:
March 13- Hindsight CD(limited to 200, not available until our final shows).
March 20- Hindsight 7" vinyl set (1 clear record, 1 red record, each hand-numbered and limited to 100, not available until our final shows).
March 27- Hindsight test pressing (only 5 copies made, this is the only one in existance outside the band).

We will also be giving away a ticket to each of our last shows on March 27. We will pick one name for each show based on your location. If you live outside the CT, Syracuse or Albany areas but plan on attending the last shows, please drop us a line and we will add you to these drawings.

Again, you have to donate at least $4 for the EP to be eligible to win anything. Click the link below to download, donate and get your name in the contest!


And keep in mind, even if you don't win anything, you'll still get a free limited edition poster, stickers and a lyrics sheet in the mail. That's not too shabby, either.

We've had almost 600 downloads to date, which is totally ridiculous. More people have heard this EP in 3 weeks than heard our last album in 3 years. Thank you all for your support.