Longtime Reno musician Dave Masud is set to release his second solo album, Three Quarter Life Crisis, online on Friday, May 1, with a release show on Friday, May 8, at The Alpine.
With a loaded title like that, listeners may be surprised to learn that it’s not all about the 42-year-old singer/songwriter’s own dread at getting older.
“There are certain songs that are true to my experience, but there are other songs where I’m writing more of a narrative,” Masud said. “I’ve never really written songs in that fashion before—taking influence from the people in my life and kind of extrapolating stories from that. So there’s some truth and some fiction.”
That title does refer to important aspects of Masud’s current state of mind, though.
“I think a big part of (the title) is having lost so many people in my life already, people who unexpectedly died really young,” Masud said. “You always kind of question your mortality when you lose a friend.
“I also feel like music’s always been in my life. I’ve made it since I was a kid, but I never feel like I’ve put enough out. So, in the last few years, I’ve really had more of a fire under my ass to get stuff out, because you don’t know if you’re next in line. You might be gone tomorrow.”
Masud has been a fixture in the Reno music scene since debuting as a teenager in the late ’90s band 2 Corporate. Apart from his solo work, he is currently the drummer in Vampirates and Voted Best Band, and the new bassist for The Scattering. Masud’s previous bands include (deep breath): Squalid, Propaganda Machine, Sucka Punch, Twice, Painting Gala, Melvin Makes Machineguns and Me Time.
For his new solo album, Masud wrote the songs in his home studio before going to Pus Cavern Recording in Sacramento and tracking all the instruments and most of the vocals over three different weekends in 2025. He also had his wife, Jenni, sing backup on a few songs.
Even though it’s mostly solo, Life Crisis sounds remarkably like a band recording, cohesive with its sound, tempos and singing styles. It has all the hallmarks of well-written modern punk, from the more melodic variety on songs like “After The Storm” to discordant and heavy songs like “Firebird.”
The biggest curveball on the new record is “DU(M)B,” which, as the title wittily implies, has a dub-reggae feel, but with ultra-loud instrumentation, including a distorted acoustic harp.
“When my friends found out I was learning harp, everybody was sending me videos of people with harps running through different effect pedals,” he said. “At first, I just wanted to learn it straight. But on this (record), I finally added distortion to the harp, which made it sound like a really gristle-y guitar.”
The album cover is gnarly in its own right, as it features a drawing of Masud dangling by one hand from a tree over a cliff. San Diego artist Mark deSalvo created it; he’s the illustrator behind classic punk albums like NOFX’s Heavy Petting Zoo and Lagwagon’s Let’s Talk About Feelings, among others. Masud sent a shot-in-the-dark social media message to deSalvo, who liked his cover idea.
“I gave him an inspiration piece, like an old comic book illustration, and he just went off that and really made it his own,” Masud said. “It was really fun to collaborate with him.”
Masud will play songs from his whole solo catalog during the Alpine show, which features a band well known to punk fans: Chris Fox on guitar and Pat Mayfield on bass (both from Vampirates), Zack Ryan from Donkey Jaw on guitar, and Brian Boydstun from The Scattering on drums. For most of the show, Masud said he’ll be sticking to vocals only.
“The vocals on this new record are much more demanding, so it’s a lot harder for me to play and sing at the same time,” he said. “I’ll still play some guitar, but I’ll mostly be focusing on the vocals and adding some percussion.”
As for the future, Masud and Vampirates are plotting a Japanese tour for January 2027, his first visit to that country, and he’ll be playing locally with The Scattering when they have a full set of new music sometime later this year. For now, though, he’s in solo mode, a spot Masud enjoys very much.
“It’s just something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Masud said. “And now, being able to write and record at home changes everything, where I can actually put down all of these ideas so much easier.”
You can listen to Three Quarter Life Crisis when it’s released on May 1 on his Bandcamp page. The show at The Alpine is at 8 p.m. on May 8.
DeWolfe member leaves to start new project
DeWolfe, an emerging Reno band that mixes melodic punk with alternative rock, is down a guitarist.
The band announced Noah Petersen’s departure with a surprisingly fun video on deWolfe’s Instagram site. Petersen played his last show with the band on April 3.
As the video shows, this is not a bitter parting. He said that playing with deWolfe since they started in 2022 “has been some of the most fun I’ve had playing music.”
Petersen said the amicable split came down to a change in musical direction for him.
“I have always loved and written heavier music, and a lot of the stuff I would write isn’t really suitable for deWolfe, especially when it comes to politics,” Petersen said. “One of my favorite bands is Propagandhi (the longtime socially aware Canadian punk band), and in this day and age, I have a lot of thoughts and feelings I would also like to write about.”
Petersen said he is writing new material to record and release on his own.
“There are no concrete plans to form another band for me right now,” he said. “If I ever do form another band, I’d really want to limit performances to only a handful a year, and only for benefit shows for nonprofits I support like Family Soup Mutual Aid, Women and Children’s Center (of the Sierra) or RAINN.”
The remaining deWolfe members—singer, guitarist and songwriter Jesse Green; bassist Collin Logan; and drummer Robby Davis—put out a call for a new guitarist on their band’s Instagram. They are also writing and recording as a trio, with singles and a forthcoming album sometime within the next few months.
Green said Petersen was pivotal in turning deWolfe into the band it is today.
“He brought a lot of energy and life into everything that the band came up with,” Green said. “He was always driving us forward, helping us get to the point where we are now. I could not be more grateful and proud of him for all that he has contributed to our project, and we all wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
Introducing: a Reno band with Chicken
Well, at least a dude named Chicken.
The band CHX Collective features bassist and singer Rob Sulzmann, a recent transplant to Reno from Chicago. And his nickname is Chicken, or CHX.
Chicken’s odyssey to cross the road into the Reno music scene begins with his punk band She Likes Todd, which met and befriended Reno band Beercan in the early 2000s while it was on tour. Chicken stayed friends with Beercan and eventually started visiting the Biggest Little City often. He had formed an earlier version of CHX Collective, which has several releases on Bandcamp.
“Jamie (Locks) from Beercan had been playing drums in his (other) band, Boss’ Daughter, and as soon as I met Chris Fox (also in Boss’ Daughter), we all started playing music together any chance we had,” Chicken said. “First, it was just parties and at festivals, but eventually I started coming out to Burning Man annually, where we would play music together every year.”
Chicken committed to moving to Reno part-time last year. He goes back to Chicago during the summer to “set up festivals and events, doing stagehand and rigging work,” he said. In the meantime, CHX Collective is planning its official Reno debut, taking place this Saturday, April 18, at Sierra Tap House. The show will feature both new and old CHX songs.
Chicken said this version of CHX features a bass-driven melodic punk sound.
“While we sometimes play fast-paced, complicated songs, most of the time, the overall structure remains simple with strong hooks that will get stuck in your head,” Chicken said.
Where to get your Record Store Day releases
Record Store Day is almost here. Saturday, April 18, is when independent stores sell exclusive albums, as well as new releases and oldies, all in celebration of this great musical institution.
You can buy records at several area stores on this day—or really any day you wish. I think record store shopping should be mandatory for living, but that’s just me.
Here’s the most up-to-date list of independent record stores in the area:
- Discology, 50 S. Virginia St., Suite 114, 775-323-2121, www.instagram.com/discologyreno
- Finetooth Records inside The Radical Cat, 1500 S. Virginia St., 775-409-3152, www.instagram.com/finetoothrecords
- 180 Gram Record Store inside EP Listening Lounge, 1300 S. Wells Ave., 775-338-8361, www.180gramrecordstore.com
- Recycled Records, 4048 Kietzke Lane, 775-826-4119, recrecreno.com
- Rock Cellar Records inside Word After Word Books, 10052 Donner Pass Road, Truckee, Calif., 530-536-5099, rockcellarrecords.com
- Tiger Rose Vintage and Vinyl, 1802 N. Carson St., Suite 122, 775-297-3172, www.tigerrosevintage.com
Coverage for you and your band
Send me ideas for music to feature as part of this twice-a-month column. You can write me directly at markearnestwriter@gmail.com, or follow me on my Instagram page.
