Punk rockers Overstand are set to take over Phoenix

Someday there will be a term for the children conceived between March 2020 and December 2021. It won’t be the greatest moniker ever, but these COVID-babies or worse, CO-vers, are going to be part of the long tradition of generational nicknames. Boomers and Gen-Xers beware.

During the quiet times, though, in the East Valley, there was another type of birth taking place. Overstand, composed of several veterans of the local (and national) punk and hardcore scene, were also a COVID baby. The four-piece band throw down some top-notch, heavy-duty punk rock with a strong East Coast hardcore vibe. If you dig on bands like Agnostic Front, Bad Brains and a dash of Adrenalin O.D., then you’ll love Overstand.

On Tuesday, they share a bill at Tempe’s Yucca Tap Room that is not for the faint of heart: Overstand, Skullcrack (Southern California) and Sheer Terror (New York City) are the supporting acts for Boston hardcore legends Slapshot. It would be difficult to build a more perfect bill for Overstand, who have been gigging around town for the last 18 months or so.

Each of the members of Overstand are former members of local wiseacres Bro-Loaf. Bassist Roy Valencia, guitarist Todd Hamilton, singer Ben Barnes and drummer Ren Cullen are either part of or have been part of what seems like dozens of Valley bands. Valencia and Barnes were also bandmates in Casket Life, which was a popular punk band for well over a decade. Hamilton is a member of North Side Kings (and, in full disclosure, so is the author of this piece) and, prior to moving to Arizona, Hamilton was also a member of New York City's Warzone. Cullen is part of the excellent local band The Dark Hearts as well, where he drums and handles lead vocal duty.

"(The band) feels new, but because we are kind of a COVID band, we've had some of these songs forever," Valencia says over the phone last week.

Even though the music is hard-hitting, fast and aggressive, you couldn't ask for a nicer group of guys. The band recently played an absolutely crushing set at TT Roadhouse on a Sunday afternoon in September and the powerful three-singer attack was noticeable. Once they get Cullen singing backups, too, the four-part harmonies will be ridiculously good.

"We are having a lot of fun. Ben writes great lyrics and we work together to fill things out. Todd has a cool, beefy voice that's different than any of ours and it's cool how it all works out," Valencia says.

In March of this year, the band released their first, eponymous EP and are currently working on a follow-up LP to be released in 2024. Tracks like "Crack in the Mirror" and "Reaction" stand out as both killer and fresh additions to the Phoenix area musical landscape. There is no filler in the seven songs currently available for streaming online. You can find them here.

"We had all the years of Bro-Loaf to get the 'get to know you' part of the band out of the way and this is probably, honestly, the most fun I've had in a band in a long time. We all work together and get along really well," says Valencia, who also played with Roger Miret and the Disasters.

Valencia is excited for Tuesday's show as he has friends in two of the three bands Overstand (named for a word from a Bad Brains lyric) shares the bill with in Tempe. It's a no-brainer that if his band wasn't playing, he'd be at the show either way.

"It's going to be great. The guitar player from Skullcrack, Eddie [Oropeza], is a really good guitar player ... just a shredder," Valencia says.

Skullcrack better bring the goods, though, as Overstand is a tough act to follow. If you go to the show, prepare for a little pushing and shoving. These four bands are going to shake Danelle Plaza to the core.

Overstand. With Sheer Terror and Skullcrack, in support of Slapshot. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, Yucca Tap Room, 29 W. Southern Ave., Tempe. Tickets are available here.