D Generation, the iconic NYC punk band led by one Jesse Malin, has reunited and will hit the road this fall ahead of a brand new studio album.

The band’s first U.S. tour since breaking up in 1999, the nine-date trek includes a hometown show, three dates in California, and appearances at Chicago’s Riot Fest and Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest. Check out the band’s entire itinerary below, along with video of their three-song reunion at the John Varvatos Store Opening back in 2008.

Speaking on the upcoming shows in an issued statement, guitarist Danny Sage explained: “We all still talk and have stayed in touch over the years. I’ve worked on all of [Malin]’s solo albums. Over the years we have gotten a lot of offers to play but just were busy working on our own things. This year we decided to do two shows together and the offers began to fly in from all over the world and it just grew from there.”

We’ll update you when more details become available regarding the new LP, the band’s first release since 1999′s Through The Darkness.

D Generation 2011 Tour Dates:
09/02 – Benidorm, ES @ Turborock Fest
09/03 – Santander, ES @ Turborock Fest
09/05 – London, UK @ Borderline
09/17 – New York @ Irving Plaza
09/23 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
09/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
09/25 – Oakland, CA @ The Uptown
10/08 – Chicago, IL @ Double Door (Riot Fest)
11/05-06 – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest

The name Rodeo Queens might not ring a bell, but surely its members do. Back in March 2009, Green Day and New York punk stalwart Jesse Malin hit NYC’s Stratosphere Studios and recorded the song “Depression Times” under the moniker. Now some 21 months later, New York radio station 101.9 RXP has given the song its first spin and per Rock It Out! Blog, you can check out a recording of today’s debut in the YouTube video embedded above.

In listening to all the songs that Lala had to offer of both D Generation and Heart Attack, and liking just about everything, it is remarkable how different each project stands from each other. Heart Attack sound like authentic hardcore a la Black Flag (I am sure there are some scary gentlemen out there have an opinion of how “punk” they are), while D Generation seems to fill the gap between The Replacements and The Gaslight Anthem perfectly. Anything you read about Malin screams about a man who knows the right things to say: Joe Strummer, Tom Waits, and The Hold Steady. He wants you to know he had punk roots but that he also has sophisticated taste of music that was punk in a past life.

The other thing to know before diving into Love It To Life (and apparently before reading Love It To Life reviews) is that this album was recorded with a lineup that changed daily, basically consisting of who was around the Bowery. These included the good (The Gaslight Anthem main-man Brian Fallon), the bad (former teen sensation Mandy Moore), and the ugly (part-time cheeseball, part-time reputable songwriter Ryan Adams). Along with a full backing band, this is what he is calling The St. Marks Social. Particularly significant are Adams, a contemporary, friend and collaborator of Malin since the early 90’s and Fallon, who shows obvious influence from Malin in his own work. Ironically, it is the work of these two artists that seems to be informing Malin now, to mixed results.

Malin has crafted rock songs for decades, but working with Fallon brushes throughout the rockers on Love It To Life. “All The Way From Moscow” burns with the fever of a younger man, with a shout-along chorus and Hold Steady-ish woo-woo backing vocals. “St. Mark’s Sunset” also packs the same great forward momentum, and while not quite the same barnburner, it moves along without feeling forced or worn, though similar songs have been written since Malin was in Heart Attack. Unfortunately, the other tracks from what I’ll call the Fallon School fall flat. “Disco Ghetto” is a complete “what the fuck” moment, and while I’m sure “his baby” appreciates the rocking she gets at the disco ghetto, the rest of us are all of suddenly less curious about this Bowery neighborhood. “Burn The Bridge” is less of failure, but seems an exercise in proving that Bruce Springsteen can go Mellancamp easier than you think. Finally, there’s “Black Boombox”, which I am seriously listening to right now somewhat loudly and embarrassed at the thought of someone else hearing.

The Adams school also offers a rocking piece but mostly consists of the album’s mellower tunes. These never get any strong as the album’s finer moments (“Moscow”,”St.Marks”) but also never really get that bad. Paradigm for the career of Adams? You be the judge, but “The Archer” is somewhat of a grower, but doesn’t pack the immediacy of Malin’s early, country-influenced solo work. But album closer “Lonely At Heart” shows Malin to be a lyrical crackhead in the opening line, apparently willing to suck a stranger’s dick for a rhyme, sensical or not. “Once upon/A broken blonde/A lexicon got exiled out of Babylon.” Gold Malin, absolute gold.

Ultimately, the album can be summed up by the tune “Revelations”: after a solid couple minutes of forced rhymes and cheesy instrumentation that recalls contemporary Christian church, you get a badass bridge/final verse and realize that somehow, the melody kind of grew on you. The drumming in the final verse is one of the only times after many listens that I ever even thought about The St. Marks Social as a band, probably because Malin’s voice is recorded so far in the front that it is all anyone  can pay attention to. If he had more to say, better melodies to sing or the taste-level to know when he was blowing it, it would be the formula for career resurgence. As is, Love It To Life has enough good to keep him from hiding out in the Bowery for the rest of his days. And hey, at least Rob Thomas wasn’t living in the Bowery last year, right?

On that day, the Bowery Ballroom will celebrate Bob Dylan’s 69th birthday by hosting the awesomely titled “Dylan Fest 2010 – a Night To Get Drunk and Celebrate Bob Dylan.” The evening’s scheduled entertainment will be The Cabin Down Below Band, a collective led by New York punk icon Jesse Malin (he owns a bar of the same name) and which has a history of playing all-star events. (See: Petty Fest 2009).

For this particular performance, The Cabin Down Below Band will feature Malin teamed up with the likes of — take a deep breath now! — Fab Moretti and Nikolai Fraiture of The Strokes, Patrick Carney of The Black Keys, Adam Green, Norah Jones, Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl of Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger, The Pierces, Binki Shapiro from Little Joy, Nicole Atkins, Tracy Bonham, Antony Ellis of 5 O’Clock Heroes, Sammy James Jr. of the Mooney Suzuki, Josh Lattanzi of The Candles, Jody Porter from Fountains Of Wayne, Tyson Ritter of the All American Rejects, Steve Schiltz of Longwave, Hurricane Bells, and “many many more”! Greatest birthday ever? Duh.

Tickets for the show, which are priced at just $13.00, are available here.

Titled Love It To Life — titled after a statement signed to him by Joe Strummer on a ticket stub — Malin’s fourth solo album of originals features a backing band of Don DiLego, drummer Randy Schrager, guitarist Matt Hogan, and bassist/DJ Tommy USA, together now known as St. Marks Social. According to his press release, the song-writing sessions and recording process featured a revolving door of friends to collaborate with, including the aforementioned Ryan Adams, The Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon, and Mrs. Ryan Adams, Mandy Moore. The album features production from Ted Hutt (Lucero, Flogging Molly, The Gaslight Anthem) and a fair share of “messengers and misanthropes, hipsters and hypocrites, and as always, his constant themes of redemption, nightlife, heartbreak, and survival.”

In support of his Side One Dummy Records debut, Malin and St. Marks Social will accompany Gogol Bordello for a string of dates. Before that, the band will enjoy a residency at Malin’s own Bowery Electric. Love It To Life will be released on April 27th.

For the complete scoop on the album, check out one of the better press releases I’ve read. (The detailed account describes how Malin avoided stand-up comedy, attemped a book about J.D. Salinger, and wound up with this record).

Jesse Malin and St. Marks Social 2010 Tour Dates:
02/20 – Ridgewood, NJ @ Live at Drew’s
02/25 – New York, NY @ Bowery Electric
03/04 – New York, NY @ Bowery Electric
03/11 – New York, NY @ Bowery Electric
04/18 - Montreal, QC @ Metropolis *
04/20 - Toronto, ON @ The Sound Academy *
04/21 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre *
04/23 - Chicago, IL @ Congress Theatre *
04/24 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
04/25 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
04/28 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues *
04/29 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head *
04/30 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head *
05/01 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory

* = w/ Gogol Bordello

On a side note, now seems like a good opportunity to remind you of our SXSW Day Party with Sled Island Music Festival. Click here for more details!

According to an issued press release, the yet-to-be-titled effort was written after a personality crisis and brief hiatus during which Malin attempted-among other things-stints as a charity auctioneer; a Las Vegas wedding DJ; and a documentarian of Rastafarian culture. But none of that, as Malin explains, has taken away from his one-of-a-kind intensity: “I wanted to mix the raw, loose energy that I got from playing in my early hardcore bands and the lonely feeling I get from traveling with an acoustic guitar.”

Expect to hear the album in early 2010, with many tour dates to follow.

The former D Generation frontman, who has recently collaborated with the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Ryan Adams, played nearly two-hours after taking the stage a little after 11. Playing a set composed mostly of songs off his latest album Glitter in the Gutter, Malin also busted out a covers of The Clash’s “Death or Glory” (in the crowd) and The Holdy Steady’s “You Can Make Him Like You”. Among particular highlights were the performances of “Bastards of Young” and “In The Modern World”.

Another high point was the intensity of The Dresden Doll’s Brian Viglione appearing in support of Malin on drums.

I’m doing a full review for Forham University’s paper so I’m not going to write too much…Instead, I’ll post the review once it’s published. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures…