“The Finnish Line” is a rare instance of a song starting with a title, which is usually one of the last things to come together. In this case, the simple pun of adding an extra “N” to a common phrase immediately revealed what the song should be about: the band taking its first trip to Finland, with title becoming a reference to the Finnish border. We’ve been to Europe several times, but we’ve never played there. Some internet searching provided plenty of cultural exports to include in the lyrics: Angry Birds, Nokia, director Renny Harlin, the band Hanoi Rocks. This lyrical approach is one of Diesel Boy’s tropes. See “A Literary Love Song,” “Stroking My Cat,” “Cock Rock.” There are a few other songs on the new record that follow a similar mold of including lots of pop culture references in the lyrics as well.
Diesel Boy formed in 1993 on the campus of Sonoma State University in California’s wine country, where several members went to school. By 1996, they had generated enough of a buzz locally to become the first band signed to Fat Wreck Chords’ imprint Honest Don’s, releasing four albums for the label and logging tens of thousands of miles in their Ford Econoline van alongside a who’s who of the era’s notable punk acts.
Burned out after heavy touring, the band decided to catch their collective breath and returned to civilian life in the early 2000s, trading punk clubs and van life for marriages and mortgages. Life remained busy, but with a different set of responsibilities.
Fast forward two decades, and Diesel Boy’s members have settled comfortably into middle age. But over the pandemic, the band realized how much they missed playing together, missed connecting with their fans, who still tallied over a million streams on Spotify each year alone. Not wanting to just be a legacy act, the band decided to focus on making a new record as the vehicle for their return. Now based in Seattle, returning members Diesel Dave (vocals and guitar) and Greg Hensley (bass) are joined by Chad Philipps (guitar) and Christopher Thomas (drums), two rad dudes whose musical chops add new layers to the band’s skate punk sound.
The quartet holed up in Christopher’s basement and began assembling the dozen songs that make up their fifth album, “Gets Old,” their first since 2001. Though the band’s lineup has changed, the songs are classic Diesel Boy. “Gets Old” manages a delicate high wire act, balancing the snarky and the sincere, the melodic and the muscular. The album is littered with the band’s trademark pop culture references and features songs about music festival bros (“Festival Summer”), sad black metal fans (“Corpse Paint Blues”), chess-playing automatons (“The Turk”), and fellow songwriters who died too soon (“Two Stones”). It was produced by Matt Bayles, known for his work with Pearl Jam, Mastodon, and Botch, who leans equally into the guitar-heavy sound he is known for while flexing his pop sensibilities. The album is a whole lot of fun, showcasing a musical evolution that simultaneously picks up right where Diesel Boy left off. The first single “Bismarck,” is a pop-punk banger featuring a guest appearance by Kim Warnick of legendary Seattle band The Fastbacks.
To support the album, Diesel Boy will hit Europe this summer, playing the Brakrock, Punk Rock Holiday, and Tells Bells festivals, as well as several headlining shows. The band will also play stateside before they depart, with dates in their now-home of the Pacific Northwest to follow.
Tour Dates:
07.07.23 Portland, OR @ Dante’s with Versus the World, Dead Bars
08.07.23 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon with Versus the World, Dead Bars
04.08.23 Duffel, B – Brakrock
05.08.23 Neunkirchen, D – Rock Your Holidays w/ Urethane & more
06.08.23 Düsseldorf, D – Pitcher w/ Versus The World
07.08.23 Berlin, D – SO36 w/ Good Riddance
08.08.23 München, D – Unter Deck w/ Shöck
09.08.23 Wien, A – Rhiz w/ Versus The World
10.08.23 Tolmin, SLO – Punkrock Holiday
11.08.23 Villmar, D – Tells Bells Festival
12.08.23 Stuttgart, D – Goldmarks w/ Urethane
Thoughts Words Action 