It’s the next edition of our series of interviews where some of our favourite contemporary punk musicians talk about the artists that have inspired them, and we think this week’s is a great choice! We’ve got Stoke Signals’ very own Giuliano Messina talking about a band from the fertile Chicago punk scene and how they have impressed him with their consistency…who could it be? Only one way to find out! Read on…
Giuliano joined Punk Rock Philosophy for a chat on a crisp Saturday morning whilst out and about getting his morning coffee. It was just before the Stoke Signal’s new track ‘Rockville Winters build Character’ dropped and with some further fun announcements coming in the ensuing weeks, we were lucky to catch him during some rare down time. It’s a momentum that seems to be relentless, something Giuliano is happy about and signals (no pun intended) a moment to get excited about:
“Before now, we had all been in bands and I don’t know if anyone had a crazy long-lived band but we had never put out a record. And so, with this band not only did we put out a record, but the momentum didn’t stop- we have an EP slated to come out this month! It has been a whirlwind but we are not touring all the time so it has not been too overwhelming. It is definitely a good feeling to be like ‘we did this’ and it wasn’t just to prove we existed for a while. Stoke Signals doesn’t feel like a stepping stone it feels like so much more and I am really enjoying it!“
The EP Giuliano referenced is ‘Making Enemies’ – a 4-track tour de force that gives fans a chance to hear the band continue to grow whilst maintaining their punk rock spirit and energy. The EP provides fans with some well anticipated new material following their full length release ‘Make Dying Fun‘ which was released last year- perhaps keeping us all satisfied before more projects kick off in 2026?
Stoke Signals may be where Giuliano is at now, but his musical journey did not start with a guitar and a cool punk band … it actually started with a saxophone…yes Giuliano was a high school band geek!
“I started playing sax as a kid- so I had a musical introduction early on but that was from the perspective of a child’s hobby that you do to develop a skill. I was in the marching band- I spent a summer marching around a high school football field! Then around the tail end of that and beginning of high school, I got a Fender Strat (they were a lot cheaper back then) and within like a year, me and a couple of friends were playing stuff and straight away I was like ‘I like this, I wanna do band things!’
And do band things he did! Once he picked up that guitar, he was both playing and writing his own stuff, and ditched the sax and ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ for a more topical teenage sound of 90s skate punk. But it was after college that Giuliano discovered the right band at the right time for him- a Chicago punk rock band called Lawrence Arms, a band with an already devoted following. It’s not always the case we find a fave band as fully grown adults but that’s exactly what happened when he discovered this brand of punk known as ‘org core’:
“So I would say, it was probably around 2010 ish that I first heard Lawrence Arms- they were already 10-12 years and a few albums in at that point. I really got into a load of ‘org core’ bands and I think it was the right type of music and band at the right time for me. When you get into a band later on in their career, you can go backwards and listen to their previous stuff and discover it all for yourself which is what I did!”
And for the uninitiated, what exactly is org core? Giuliano has a handy guide:
“It is bands like Red City Radio, Hot Water Music, maybe Wilhelm Scream… it’s more of a shredd-y style and a lot of it has grittier vocals, maybe a more complicated music structure. So instead of power chords you get a lot of major and minor, suspended chords etc. From a musical perspective you notice those layers and how they are used in a way that doesn’t detract from a punk energy but it is still melodic and layered in a way that 90s skate punk wasn’t always”.
Don’t say we never teach you anything at Punk Rock Philosophy! At the time of writing, The Lawrence Arms have released seven albums across the holy trinity of punk rock record labels- Asian Man, Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph. And part of the band’s appeal is the consistency of their output- from their classic three-run album ‘Apathy and Exhaustion’, ‘Greatest Story Ever Told’ and ‘Oh Calcutta!’ – right up to ‘Skeleton Coast’ in 2020, they have retained some close variation on their specific formula. Whilst some bands draw criticism for staying true to their sound, for many fans (including Giuliano) it is a familiar comfort and an embodiment of the old saying ‘if it aint broke, why fix it?’:
“I think it is a combo of them being one of my fave bands and also they have influenced me as a musician. 15 years back now there are very few bands that have stayed at the top for me all that time, very few have had that longevity with me so they have undoubtedly influenced me for that amount of time. They are- if not my favourite- certainly in my top 2 or 3 for the whole time. I have always come back to them no matter what else I have listened to.
Another thing that has always amazed me about them is, a lot of other bands have had a bigger evolution over time and bigger sound changes. So for example the Menzingers have had a huge swing in my opinion from where they started around 2010 ish to where they are now. Their latest album was a lot calmer, and I don’t blame any band for changing over 15 years but it Is hard to overcome the feeling of association with what a band’s identity is. So when I hear the Lawrence Arms ‘Skeleton Coast. [their 2020 album] I still hear them in it, so it creates this baseline for me.
To me they are consistent. For me the essence of them is the direction they use and the way they build songs sounds pretty consistent”.
Giuliano may have had a dabble at playing the odd Lawrence Arms song himself in his time, but he’s always had more of a drive to write his own stuff. And for him, keeping the listening and writing of music as two separate things is important- they are two separate processes that require a different approach:
“I have never been someone who learns a whole discography to play through. Here and there I learn songs to play with other people but for my own self, I have never learned other people’s songs to play them, if I wanna hear the song I can just put it on! In general, for any band I just kind of listen and absorb music that is happening and when I am playing or writing it is a different mentality. For me, when I am playing vs when I am listening is different- if I am listening to enjoy I don’t wanna play it. They are two different processes. I can sit down with a piece of music and go ‘how are they doing that? Can I do that?’ but you have to be able to switch that off when listening because the emotional connection is itself an important part of listening. It is different mentality I can switch it off. I can listen to something more accurately and analyse it but then I feel like I am at work!”
Having found a combination of personalities, abilities and punk rock passion that works, Stoke Signals are not wasting any time. Their new EP is out on 31/10/25 and you know that 2026 is going to bring even bigger things- how could it not? Every track you listen to from this band is practically BURSTING with energy and commitment. Their hard work and musical chops combine to make a band and a sound you can really get behind, embodying all the aspects of punk rock that remind you why it is such a vital force. Friendship, determination and creativity- the Stoke Signals guarantee!
And Giuliano is clearly loving it and has some advice for anyone thinking of picking up an instrument and getting on the rollercoaster that is being in a band:
“I have been playing in groups for over 20 years, and there was never a point in life where I played guitar and I was just by myself. From the beginning I always wanted to do this with other people… I love writing and playing music with others.
Anyone starting out I say… it doesn’t matter how good you are, you get better and have more fun and hear differently when you experience music with other people. Find a friend and play music together and do not forget it is supposed to be fun… and then everything else will follow”.
‘Making Enemies‘ is released on 31/10/2025. Pre order HERE.
Stream/buy all Stoke Signals music on their Bandcamp HERE
