Punk band’s singer honors late father with semi-illegal release for new song
A pop-punk band is set to release its first new album in 18 years, starting with a morbid and semi-illegal tribute.
Kristopher Roe, the frontman The Ataris, is honoring his late father with the release of the band's new single, "Car Song."
The song is from the band's upcoming album, which will be The Ataris' first full-length release since 2007's "Welcome to the Night."
In honor of the May 2 release of "Car Song," Roe had some of his father's ashes pressed into a limited-edition 7-inch vinyl single of the song. The vinyl is on sale for $50 at hellomerch.com .
"While it is perfectly legal to sell human remains in the United States in 42 states, it is illegal in exactly 8 of them," according to the website.
These eight states are Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Therefore, fans of The Ataris who live in those states are advised not to order the limited-edition vinyl. The manufacturer can also cancel orders to any of those states.
"We apologize that The Ataris fans in these 8 states can't have the William Charles Roe Memorial Ashes Variant delivered to them, but the laws of those states govern what we can and cannot do," the website reads.
William Charles Roe died in 2014 of complications due to alcoholism. His body was cremated shortly thereafter.
"My dad was always the biggest supporter of The Ataris," Kristopher Roe said in a statement, according to Parade .
"He was a regular on our original website's message board, sending out VHS bootlegs of live sets he would film and interacting with everyone — everyone knew him," the frontman said. "He truly lived and breathed our music."
After discovering a place that would "press a loved one's ashes into vinyl," the singer decided that would be how he'd honor his late father.
"What better way to celebrate my father's life than to make him an actual physical part of the music he always supported and encouraged me to create?" Roe said.
The singer shared a photo of "Car Song" vinyl on the band's on social media Sunday.
"Dad, you are now LITERALLY forever a part of the music I have created. And we get to hopefully help a few people in the process as well," Roe wrote in a Facebook post. "Thanks to all of you for listening and for the amazing and overwhelming positive feedback about the new single 'Car Song' so far."
Double Helix Records will donate a portion of the proceeds from the vinyl sales to a nonprofit organization to help those who are struggling with or have been affected by alcoholism and addiction.
The Ataris, named after the popular video game console, are best known for their 2003 album "So Long, Astoria," featuring "In This Diary" and a cover of Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer." The Warped Tour favorites released five albums between 1997 and 2007, also featuring songs like "Your Boyfriend Sucks," "Make It Last" and "San Dimas High School Football Rules."
The band has gone through multiple lineup changes over the years, but Roe has continued to lead The Ataris. He released EPs in 2010 and 2016, plus a live album in 2020; the upcoming album will be The Ataris' first full-length studio release since 2007.
A release date and title have not been announced for the new album, but the vinyl is scheduled to ship on June 12.
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Read the original article on MassLive .
