Authority Zero’s new single is out, and the Mesa, Arizona punk veterans are treating it less like a finished product and more like a starting point.
“Apocalyptic Summer” arrived September 4 as a three-track release: the original, plus two official dub remixes from longtime friends Ted Bowne of Passafire and Wayne Lothian of The English Beat. The package is out through Operation Records. Now the band is going further. Through ApocalypticSummer.com, musicians, producers, and artists can download the individual stems and make their own versions.
Apocalyptic Summer
Listen to Apocalyptic Summer on Spotify · single · Authority Zero · 2026 · 3 songs
This is not a contest. There is no deadline, no judging panel, no prize, and no ranking. Authority Zero is calling it a just-for-fun, human-made community project. The ask is straightforward: use your own ideas, your own playing, and conventional non-AI production tools. When a version is done, upload it to SoundCloud and submit it through the site. Public links are preferred; private “secret” SoundCloud links are accepted too. The band says it will periodically listen and may add selected cuts to an official playlist, repost tracks, or spotlight independent artists. Submission is not a guarantee of placement.
That open-door approach matches how the official remixes were built. Authority Zero gave Bowne and Lothian the same recording and asked each man to speak the song in his own language. Both turned the punk-rock original into distinct dub versions instead of polishing the same mix twice.
Bowne called it “super fun reimagining this rocker of a tune in a dubby way” and said he can’t wait to hear what other people do with it. Lothian said the work felt honest: “There’s an honesty and energy in their music that’s been there from the beginning, and my goal was to respect that while bringing something fresh to the track. I’m really proud of how it came together and grateful to have been part of it.”
The song underneath those remixes is a darkly comic end-times beach day. Frontman Jason DeVore describes “Apocalyptic Summer” as a satirical, fictional storyline threaded with present-day political and social tension. An ordinary man heads to the beach at the end of a long, unhinged summer. There’s a knock at the door. The world starts coming apart — riots, fire, chaos on a biblical scale — and he decides fear doesn’t get the last word. If the clock is running out, he is going out fighting, drink in hand, riding the apocalyptic surf for every last second.
That mix of dread and refusal is familiar Authority Zero ground: skate-punk snap, reggae weight, and a live-band pulse the group has carried since 1994. The dubs stretch the same scene. The stems invite everyone else to change the weather.
The band will take the song on the road this fall on the Apocalyptour 2026. October dates feature Counterpunch. The Raging Nathans join the November run. Stops include Albuquerque (Oct. 21, The Launchpad), Tulsa (Oct. 22, The Vanguard), St. Louis (Oct. 23, Golden Record), Chicago (Oct. 24, Reggies), Hamtramck (Oct. 25, Small’s Bar), Rochester (Oct. 26, Photo City Music Hall), Providence (Oct. 27, Alchemy), Westfield, Mass. (Oct. 28, The Nook), Clifton, N.J. (Oct. 29, Dingbatz), and Brooklyn (Oct. 30, Wood Shop). November hits Newport, Ky. (Nov. 1, Southgate House Revival), Grand Rapids (Nov. 2, The Pyramid Scheme), Milwaukee (Nov. 3, Cactus Club), Iowa City (Nov. 4, Gabe’s), and Omaha (Nov. 5, The Waiting Room). December dates return west: Prescott and Tucson, then Fresno, Oakland, Roseville, Palmdale, Pomona’s Skanksmas at The Cathedral, and San Diego.
The official mixes are streaming now. The stems are at ApocalypticSummer.com. Download them. Rebuild the song. Keep it human.
