Burning Sons sail into the Mystic

For a guy who stays in constant motion—whether he’s running one of few remaining independent record stores left in Milwaukee or playing in several well-regarded hardcore bands—Dan DuChaine is surprisingly easy to get a hold of. We recently contacted DuChaine at Bay View’s Rush-Mor Records to talk about the slamming new 7-inch from his latest band Burning Sons, which includes his Speedfreaks cohort Carl Steinhagen on guitar, Test-Site’s Matt Budda on bass, and Cry Coyote’s Dillon Hallen on vocals.

Burning Sons came together earlier this year “during a long winter” when the members’ other bands were on hiatus, DuChaine says. The guys would get together, drink beer, and quickly bash out blistering, metal-tinged punk songs inspired by their shared loved of 45s put out by ’80s indie labels like Mystic Records, which specialized in SoCal hardcore acts like NOFX, Ill Repute, and Battalion Of Saints. As a kid, DuChaine remembers being particularly enamored with Mystic’s pioneering “Super Sevens,” which was the size of a 45 but packed with seven songs. “It was a little record,” he says. “But because you’re young, and you have a short attention span, it was perfect.”

While Mystic hasn’t put out any new music for 20 years, DuChaine continues to sell the label’s back catalog at Rush-Mor, where it still sells well. It was through DuChaine’s connections at the store that he ended up on the phone one day with Mystic’s legendary founder Doug Moody, who invited DuChaine to send him some Burning Sons demos. A few months later, Moody inquired about the song “Armies”—which clocks in at a relatively lengthy 4:09 on the 4-song, 11-minute 7-inch—and expressed interest in reviving the label just to put out a Burning Sons record.

DuChaine still sounds gobsmacked that he’s putting out a record on a label he grew up on. “I was oblivious as to why he picked it, but it is reminiscent of the classic UK punk-rock sound, which was probably a template for all those Mystic Records,” he says. “For us, it’s really romantic. We were feeding ourselves this stuff when we were younger. It’s a full-circle thing for us.”

Burning Sons will celebrate the release of their debut 7-inch show with a show Friday at Monkey Bar, though the band has already moved on to plotting another record by the end of the year. “In this moment, this is our focus, because collectively we’re on the same page,” DuChaine says. “We’re all taking a break from our regular stuff to do this goofy thing. It’s all about having fun.”