PLUG’D IN Magazine
July 17, 2011
The Hard-Rock'n Bi-Weekly Magazine The kickass Local Edition
Inside This Issue Impact: Eric “Buddha” Medina of Blood For Blood, This Is: Colin Campbell of Colin of Arabia, On Tour: Liv Jagrell of Sister Sin, Impact: Joe None and Nick Sarro of Shattered Realm, From The Grave: Dear Dead Abby advises on Love, Sex, Money, Murder, and more!
We catch up with legendary Boston, MA Hardcore Titans Blood For Blood During 2011Tsunami Fest Check out our kick-ass full color version online
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This Is: Colin Campbell of Colin of Arabia Interview by Nicole Marie In a time when Hardcore is being completely downgraded by the new age “core” groups, Massachusetts Hardcore band Colin Of Arabia truly sticks to their punk roots. Raw lyrics, fast jams, and a “fuck the man” political attitude makes COA stand out from the rest. During this year‟s East Coast Tsunami Fest I was able to sit down with COA‟s lead vocalist Colin Campbell to learn more about the band‟s purpose, intentions, and future goals. NM
PI: Can you please explain the term "second string mosh"? COA: Oh I don‟t know, its just guys that quit after the 4 th measure, that‟s why band only has break downs that last 8 measures, Like I just don‟t like when the mosh part goes to long. I think it sucks when it takes too long. PI: When you first started your band, what did you want to do different than any of the other bands in your scene or genre? COA: We wanted to play faster! PI: If you could describe your music and the band in 3 words what would they be? COA: Men of science (PI) Could you elaborate on that? (COA) It‟s real, my band is real. Science is proven, science is real. We are fucking men of science, there‟s no fantasy about the shit that we‟re doing, and we‟re fuckin science men! (PI) Nice, awesome answer. PI: What influences your songs the most? COA: I write a lot about how I feel on the inside, how black and cold I am on the inside, and fucked up things I think, and I also try to write from the current situation at home, I feel America is lost in its greatness and is very underachieving; it‟s lost the potential of regular Americans. Average Americans don‟t work as hard as they used to. I write about depression both personal and in the public. I feel like a lot of hardcore bands don‟t address politics at all, and when hardcore started, when I first got into punk and stuff, the main things that I thought were really cool were distain for authority, and just saying “fuck the man”, and that was a big part of it back then for me. PI: What do you have to say to these “new-age” hardcore bands that say th‟y're hardcore but don‟t really know what hardcore is and where it came from? COA: Well you know, everybody gets into hardcore through something that is totally stupid, some people go from liking a band like Linkin Park to somebody like VOD, or getting into any New York hardcore band, and then become some fuckin cool skinhead or something. To say everyone here hasn‟t liked a band that I thought sucked at one point, and people probably still like bands that I think suck. All I‟m saying is that it takes all kinda bands to create a scene, and people just need to be exposed to the realness. I had to see a band like Slapshot to say like whoa, this is what I have been looking for. I‟ve been going to all these crazy shows and crazy gigs and seen bands playing, but when I saw that band it was a realization that this is what I have been looking for. So maybe those guys need to broaden their horizons.
PI: You guys stick to your roots and not change to be like others, will you always be like this? COA: Yes, I feel like in the beginning, the fury from my band and the rage that we had was like a broad sword, it came across as something hard, and we fit tighter and hone our skills together and now it‟s like a fucking scalpel. It still does crazy damage, but now it‟s more direct. PI: Can you explain what the name of your 2007 album “Snitch” means? Or why you chose that word? COA: It‟s the lowest of the low, we wanted to call the album loser, or something like that. You know what‟s the lowest dirtiest thing you can possibly be? A rat. And we had all these sketches of a rat for the cover art and then we teamed up with our friend Heather McGraff, who‟s a really talented artist and photographer, she had this idea to bury Mickey, underneath the skyline next to a gas can which is a traditional Boston Landmark, as the cover picture, and I thought it was pretty fun concept to bury Mickey. It came out really great and it looks like a movie poster which is really fucking cool. But yea, it just means the lowest, worst thing you can possibly be, which is a rat. PI: Was the song “Slow Dance” or “Sleeping With Someone I No Longer Love” written about a certain person? COA: Yea they were both written about the same chick. But they are from different stages, of the relationship. I was in the relationship first, and then we split up. That‟s when I wrote “Sleeping With Someone I No Longer Love”. The second time we broke up for good, this was around 2007, and that‟s when “Slow Dance” came out on Snitch. But yea, the same girl, 2 different times. PI: Are you guys together right now? COA: No. I don‟t fuck with that broad no more haha. But I‟ve had the same girlfriend for 4 years now and she‟s awesome, I can‟t even write songs about her because she‟s just so damn awesome. (Huge Smile) PI: What are the major challenges you have faced as a band? And do you feel they have gotten better over time? COA: Well for a band like ours, practice is a major obstacle, we can‟t seem to get together to practice ever. We can never ever show up to play on time, I don‟t know if it‟s the clock or the rotation of the earth or what, but it‟s very few and far between that we are on time. Oh and we don‟t have equipment either, everything‟s always broken, and gas too haha, that‟s a motherfucker. But you know, normal things, all the fucked up shit you can imagine when you put 4 fuckin losers in a car forever. All the fucked up shit you can think would happen, it definitely happens haha. Oh, and sometimes Nick stabs Mike, haha, sometimes that happens. PI: So talking about your logo, with the skull, I know you have yours, The Misfits, Blood for Blood, and,... COA: Yea, exactly, it‟s our skull, a Crimson Ghost skull, Kill Your Idols skull and a Slapshot skull. (PI) Ok, yea. Can you explain how you thought up this logo or concept? (COA) Yea sure, these are all bands I really like, and they all have skull logos so I thought it would be cool to put them on a t-shirt. They are also the bands that directly influenced our band. And down in the corner there‟s the names of who sings in the bands, and then there‟s my name, and I think it‟s so funny. Like have you ever seen those shirts where they have all the Chicago Bulls on them and who played on the team, you know I mean, like the 5 top players on the team, and I just think its funny to have these legendary bands on one spot and then have my name next to theirs, I mean I can‟t even compare myself to the greatest singers in hardcore. But I‟m the one who made the shirts, so therefore I can put my name on there, just for fun haha.
PI: So what‟s next for Colin Of Arabia? COA: We are recording a record at the end of July, called American Depression. We‟re doing 2,000 tons of TNT Fest, and Summer of Hate in July. And the record will be released in late September. PI: Can you tell your fans what to expect for the album? COA: Umm, it‟ll be about 20 songs of Hardcore music and its going to be pretty fast. (PI) Haha nice, can‟t wait for that. PI: Well thanks so much for sitting down with me and Plug‟d In. COA: Thanks for the interview, it‟s been fun.
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Impact: Eric “Buddha” Medina of Blood For Blood Interview by Nicole Marie When most people think of Hardcore, they think of Blood For Blood. Back in a time when life was hard, and in a city that can break most people, hardcore pioneers Blood For Blood were born. Not born with a silver spoon, but with a life of troubles and torment. If you want inspiration from real men who truly rose up to greatness through life‟s raw depression and darkness B4B is exactly the motivation you need. During East Coast Tsunami Fest‟s Saturday event, I was gratefully allowed to sit down and talk with B4B‟s lead vocalist Buddha for a down to earth, honest, real look into the lives of the band and it‟s diehard members. PI: Buddha, I know you were influenced by the hardcore scene in Boston and NYC, Do you think the hardcore scene in Boston and New York City has changed since you started the band in 1994? EBM: Oh absolutely, everything changes with time, you know honestly these days I know its not the same, the clubs we used to play at shut down now, and we‟ve been kinda banned in Boston for a bunch of years. (PI) Why is that? (EBM) Mainly because of the violence our shows produce many things, but a lot of different factors that contributed to Boston loosing all of its venues and shows. So here we are 2011 and there‟s really no places to play at all, the only places we can go are just small and out of town or just other cities out of Boston. That‟s all I can say for that. PI: Can you tell me what the meaning is behind your band‟s name? EBM: Yea sure. Our guitar player Rob (Rob “White Trash" Lind) and I were best friends for a long time, and basically we took the concept of “an eye for an eye” and it was like my blood for his blood, that type of idea. Because we were so close it was always like id do anything for you and you‟d do anything for me, and that‟s basically the meaning behind it. PI: I know its kinda obvious, haha, but what‟s the meaning behind your name, Buddha? EBD: Haha oh hell I look just like Buddha! One day as a joke somebody called me that and it just stuck. Haha I don‟t mind it, it‟s better than being called an asshole I guess. PI: Do you believe in blood for blood retribution? Would that make society better, do you think? EBM: Maybe in a younger mans shoes yes I felt like that. Nowadays you really have to analyze everything‟s that‟s going on with each situation, and see if it‟s required. So honestly take it case by case I would say. But it was something that I thought was needed, that I needed to kill somebody and it was worth it then yea I would. It really depends on the situation haha. PI: I know so many bands, as well as many bands on this tour say your band has greatly influenced them and their music. If you could, who would you say was the top three hardcore bands that have influenced your music? EBM: Well Sheer Terror was definitely one of them, Celtic Frost, and just bands we personally like such as Carnivore, Biohazard, Sick Of It All, there‟s really so many, its hard to name them all.
PI: Out of all your songs, which ones would you say are your favorites to perform live? EBM: Well nowadays I‟d say “Mother Dearest”. “Ain‟t Like You” is actually my favorite, and I would definitely say “All Fucked Up”. PI: A song like “Hanging On The Corner” really shows that you guys understand life can be rough, and you can relate to others who have problems like your own, do you still stand behind these feelings? EBM: Oh absolutely. All those songs were written by Rob when he was in a real rough time in his life. I mean, every album has its own story behind it, it‟s basically a map of where we were at that particular time, just like a tattoo on your body, it tells its own story, you know, I was this old when I got this one, I was mad about this when I got this one, but, the same thing with the music. At that time Rob wrote that, he was really heavily into drugs and yea that‟s basically one of the dark places where he was at that time. He talks a lot about his home town Charlestown, which was a real rough neighborhood to grow up in, I‟m sure you saw that movie “The Town”, yea it‟s a rough town, but basically he talks about the hard times he had to deal with and the drug problems he had at the time. PI: Wasted Youth Brew is a very angry, deep album. What was going on in your lives that influenced the lyrics of that album? Has anything in your lives changed since then? EBM: Well Wasted Youth Brew was a mix of a lot of songs from different albums. It was a bunch of live stuff we had done over the years and some demos that we haven‟t even released. The only new songs on that were “When the Storm Comes” and,.. damn I can‟t remember. But all of our songs are all based on a particular time and how we feel, and yea, if you listen to “Spit My Last Breath” we were very suicidal at that time, and I can‟t say that I feel like that now, being a father and having to do the right thing for my kid and all, I can‟t honestly write a song like that at this point in time, not where I‟m at right now. PI: Talking about the title of your album, “Spit My Last Breath”, was that supposed to be your last album or the last thing the band intended to do? EBM: Yea that‟s what I‟m talking about; when we wrote that album we were pretty angry. I wasn‟t trying to make it a statement or anything like that, it was just like…this is it. It was basically like a suicide note. To mean something final, well yea we were sick of everything and we just hated everybody, and fortunately, a lot of people understood where we were coming from because of that, and they could relate, and people came out of the wood work and said “hey man this album really speaks to me and its almost like you‟re writing about my life, and thank you, because you helped me through some rough times”. And I was shocked, I was over here ready to kill myself and so was Rob, and you know, we were in such a deep depression and this kinda shocked us. (PI) Can you say why you were in such a deep depression? (EBM) Just life in general, a lot of different things, just where we grew up and just typical like teen angst. (PI) Do you think your life has changed since then, has it gotten better? (EBM) Yea right now I‟m in a completely different place. Rob, on the other hand would have to answer for himself but at that time he actually went into a deeper depression, but now he‟s on a different route, he‟s really pulled himself out of it, and I know he‟s better now than he was. PI: Can you tell me what do you believe contributed to the current “hiatus” you‟re on right now? EBM: That ones a tough one and it‟s arguable because again, it had a lot to do with Rob. He had some real hard issues
that he had to deal with and like I said, he really had to pull himself out of the friggin gutter to get back up. But now he‟s better, I can‟t really say what he‟s better from, but he‟s better. And now we are working on a new album as we speak. We just got together with him the other day, and also with Billy, which has been the first time we actually practiced together as a 6 piece, and it went well, we have been back with Rob for a while now and we are just getting back into the motion, you know, see how he‟s feeling, and be supportive. He‟s actually changed a lot because of all this stuff, but because of that, we can now get to be together as a group again and it‟s been great. PI: What do you have to say to your fans that really take your music to heart and can relate to everything your saying in your lyrics, and who have been fans since the beginning? EBM: I mean, I absolutely have to say thank you, I‟m glad I can make a difference as a human being, because I never thought I would amount to anything, I always thought I wouldn‟t be anything but just another number, another casualty of society, and here I am today, I‟m very happy, proud, and thankful that these fans that are here and can understand and relate to us. I also understand where they come from now, and wow, all I can really say is thank you, thank all of you very much.
PI: If any, what advice would you give to a new hardcore band that wants to follow in your footsteps? EBM: Do what you feel is right. We started for the fun of it. We never expected to go any further than playing like one show or two shows, and then it just happened. We got more serious, and really started playing on a regular basis. We just did what we liked. We emulated the bands that we liked and eventually we found our sound. So what I can say is do what you like, emulate who you like, and I‟m sure at some point you‟ll find your sound and then go from there. Stick with it. PI: If you could go back in time and talk to yourself back when all of this started, and you can give yourself some advice, what would you say? EBM: It‟s going to get better man, don‟t give up. PI: So tell me, what‟s next for Blood For Blood? EBM: New album! We‟re working on that right now. I‟m not sure when it will be out but it probably won‟t be out this year. I would assume sometime early next year. I think we‟ll be done touring in October, so after that we‟re going to dedicate our time to see what we can come up with. We already recorded some music but we still want to add some things. PI: Can you give us any hints on what to expect on the new album? EBM: Uhhh I dunno, I‟d rather let that be a surprise. It will definitely be Blood For Blood, the real deal, as soon as you hear it you‟ll know its us. I think it will be better than what we‟ve done last, that‟s all I‟m going to say. PI: Haha ok, we‟ll just have to wait. PI: But I‟d definitely like to say thank you so much Buddha for sitting down with me and Plug‟d In. EBM: No problem at all. Thank YOU very much!
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Dear Dead Abby Brought to you by It’s All The Hair Rage Designs
From The Grave Abby was born and raised in the coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The oldest of eight, she constantly had her younger brothers and sisters asking her questions about everything from how things work to why that boy threw dirt on her. She’d try to steer them straight with her advice, though sometimes she could be a bit sarcastic. Abby also had an uncanny ability to see the truth in people, despite what they tried to portray with their lies. Unfortunately, this led the locals to believe that she was with surrounded with dark forces. The summer before her final year of school, Abby was sentenced to death by hanging, without a proper trial, simply stating that she was a witch. Abby can’t recognize the faces of her family through death, but she answers questions, thinking it might be one of her siblings needing her guidance. Q. Republicans and Democrats. I don't understand any of it. All I know is this country is starting to suck. Everybody's poor, the good jobs are gone, and it doesn‟t seem to be getting any better. What do you think the problem is? Any ideas on how to fix it? L.G. A. I think one of the major problems is that the government is trying to have too much control over the people. We are falling from a democracy into something much worse. I think our "leaders" need to go back and do a lot of research on world history. "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." George Santayana I think the country needs to focus on being self-sufficient instead of relying on other countries. It needs to start finding alternative fuel sources, and reinvesting in our nations' farmers. Nothing is going to solve the problems right away. It will still be a long and tiresome process. Even decisions made by the presidents don't go into effect right away. It could be the next president's term before we see anything that was done in this one. I don't think it matters whether a democrat, republican, or third party candidate is elected, as long as they truly want to do what is best for the people of this county. So many people are caught up in the whole two party system, you're either this or that. We need to get past that before we can see any beneficial changes being made. Q. I have a business opportunity in another state, about 12 hrs away. My girlfriend and our son can‟t come with me because she has family here. I really want the job because it will advance my career and the $ is amazing! I would be able to come home 2xs a month, but that's not a whole lot. I'm 31 and I've worked my whole life for an opportunity like this. I could really provide for them, even though we wouldn't be together. Should I take the job? M.Y. A. This is really something that you should be discussing with your girlfriend. In my opinion, yes, I believe you should take the job. The economy is horrible, and you are extremely lucky to have this opportunity. People have literally killed over something like this. How old is your son? That's something people might have a problem with, not being able to see their child grow up. Is it a temporary move or would you be out there permanently? Would your girlfriend always be here or would she move out there eventually? Again, discuss all this with your girlfriend, not me, but yes, I think you should take it. Q. I'm not buying the whole dead girl giving advice thing. Give it up...who are you really? N.B. A. If you want to know who I really am, take a burlap sack filled with 11 dead cats, at 11 minutes past the 11th hour, to the oldest cemetery in Berks County. Find the tombstone with "Abigail" engraved. You will barely be able to read it. Then wait. Q. You're pretty hot in your picture. Are you still hot now that you're dead, or are you all decomposed and stuff? Anon A. At this point, there is nothing but bones left. All my flesh has been eaten by worms and maggots. Must have been a good meal. Q. Do angels really exist? C.C. A. Quite simply, angels exist if you believe they exist. Do you believe in ghosts and demons? You can't believe in good unless you believe in evil. Many cultures believe in angels, but they aren't always called angels. Guardians, spirits, fairies, and devas, just to name a few. Others believe angels walk among us. The unknown benefactor, an unexpected letter, "everyday miracles"… Going from personal experience, they exist.
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On Tour: Liv Jagrell of Sister Sin Interview by Vikki Sin Rock vixen Liv Jagrell is quite possibly the sweetest rocker I‟ve had the pleasure to interview, which made me like her band Sister Sin all that more. The heavy metal purists came through Allentown this June in the middle of their tour with fellow Victory Records label mates Otep, Blackguard, and Destrophy. Before we got to sit down together, I had seen Liv casually walking around the restaurant admiring the pictures on the wall of various rock stars and rappers making silly faces while eating Croc Rock‟s famous pizza. Without her makeup and skintight leather clothing, this petite siren is kind of unassuming, with a warm demeanor and a tiny Swedish voice. But get her on stage and she transforms into a powerhouse worthy of dropping whatever you‟re doing to take notice. That VOICE, the music, the whole old school metal vibe…it‟s just a damn good time when a band bleeds rock and roll and enjoy every second of being on stage. Drawing influence from the likes of Skid Row and Judas Priest, Sister Sin is finally coming into their own with their new album „True Sound of the Underground‟. Here Liv tells us all about her passion for performance and how she convinced her band and the rest of the industry that girls kick ass. PI: Tell us a little bit about your band and how it came into formation. LJ: It‟s me and the drummer Dave that started the band like 6, 7 years ago. Actually they started before him with other band members than we have now, and they wanted to play this 80‟s kind of Motley Crue type of metal, or hard rock. They didn‟t want a female singer, they wanted a Vince Neil. So, I had put an ad in a magazine and the guitarist, he was the only one who was like “Oh, we could try girls” and the others were like “no, no girls!” but he was like “Ah, give her a try. I think she‟s good.” So he called me and I was like “ok, I can audition” and I went and did an audition and they had tried like 20 guys before and they were like “You kick ass! You got the job”. I must have been pretty good. (Laughs) I got them to change their whole opinion in one audition. Then it was me and Dave and the two others it wasn‟t a band anymore. But me and Dave we formed a band we took the name Sister Sin and Jimmy got into the band I think a year after that, the guitar player. (PI) That worked out. (LJ) Yea it did! PI: So who would you say are some of your personal influences, musically? LJ: For my singing from the beginning it‟s very much Sebastian Bach. Both his singing and I love the way in he uses his voice and the screaming and the high tones and his performance. To me it‟s very important that if you‟re a lead singer, you should be a performer. You should be an entertainer. You should entertain your audience and he does that very well, snd Dee Snider also very good at that. And so as an entertainer, Dee Snider is my absolute favorite; I‟m so inspired by him. And then of course we have Halford for the vocals. I love Halford, he‟s very good vocals. PI: So are you guys having a good time on this tour? LJ: We‟re having a splendid time! It‟s very nice people, very nice bands to hang out with. We have a lot of fun like we were all friends, it feels like we‟ve been friends forever and we just met so it‟s been a good tour, very nice. PI: What are some of the things you like to do when you‟re not touring? LJ: Whenever I‟m not touring or have a little bit of time off, I work out. I‟m a trainer, always. That‟s my drug. So that‟s what I do. I try to find a gym, or I just go out running. I think it clears the mind, and if I have something in me that needs to get out, I‟ll do that on stage too, but sometimes when I go running or I just hit the gym, it feels so much better. That‟s what I try to do. Otherwise, when you are on tour and have time off, I like to go to the mall because it‟s so much more fun to go shopping here then it is in Sweden because it‟s another country, you have other stuff, it‟s cheaper. So, I like to do that but I know that my boys don‟t. (Laughs)
PI: Like you said, you guys are from Sweden. What are some of the places you‟ve been in the world that maybe you always wanted to go to and you really enjoyed? LJ: Well, America‟s one of them. We‟ve been here 4 times and we‟ve been to Las Vegas, we‟ve seen all the bigger cities and so, we get to see so much that other people don‟t. This tour we got to go to Cleveland and see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, stuff like that. That‟s very, very nice. And we did a tour with Lordi in November last year and we got to see the Czech Republic, and maybe I wouldn‟t go there if we‟re not touring. It‟s not the main tourist thing to do. Then it‟s nice to see those places where you might not go on vacation, so it was very, very nice to go and visit those countries too. But I really want to go to Japan and South America. That would be awesome. (PI) You guys got to get on that. They‟d love you there! LJ: Yea we should! We have an album release, the last album released in Japan so we hope that soon we‟ll be able to go. PI: Tell us a little bit about your latest album: the thought process behind it, what you did differently, what you‟re proud of with it. LJ: Since we changed band members from „Switchblade Serenade‟, one of the main writers was the bass player who left the band and so, of course we were a little bit “oh, we got to do this without him‟ but Jimmy and Dave are very good songwriters and finally they got to show what they had. I think they did it even better because I like both the songs and the sound better on “True Sound of the Underground”, the new CD. It feels like we found what we‟re looking for, what we‟ve been searching for all the years. We didn‟t find that with „Switchblade Serenade‟, not the whole way and now it feels like we found that toughness, the rawness, and the aggression in the music, but the melody‟s still there. We feel like we found our spot in the music. We have found what we have been looking for. It‟s just very good with this album we‟re going to continue with probably even more heavier because now we have all the band is very inspired by Motorhead, Pantera, and Judas Priest, heavier stuff. So we‟re probably going to even more step away from the thing we did before. PI: If you weren‟t doing this, being a singer, what would you be doing with your life? LJ: That‟s such a hard question because I can‟t imagine doing anything else. I mean, I work back home as a personal trainer and I like the fitness business too, of course, but I can‟t see myself doing that forever. But I can see myself doing the music forever. So, I don‟t know, but I know that something else that‟s special to my heart is, I love animals and if I could I would volunteer, have shelters, or go to Africa and help with saving animals because it‟s very warm to my heart. So maybe I would educate myself to be a veterinary tech or something so I can be working with animals. (PI) That‟s so nice. Do you have pets of your own? (LJ) Yea, I have a cat. I miss my cat. PI: So what can we expect from Sister Sin in the future” LJ: We‟re going to tour, tour, tour. That‟s our goal, to tour as much as possible just to win over a lot of people and be out there because you need to be out there. Today is such a fasteverything has to happen fast, fast, now, now. There‟s always new bands, so you have to be out there all the time. We love touring, so it‟s not a problem for us to be touring. We are like that. We‟re going to try to record a new album late this year and hopefully we‟ll release it early next year.
PI: Do you have any music videos in the works. I enjoy your music videos. LJ: Oh, thank you! We are thinking about it when we get home, then we might do one because we have another single coming up, actually. I can‟t tell you so much more about it right now. Maybe we can do a video of that because we love doing videos. PI: So what do you want to say to all of the Sister Sin fans out there and people reading the magazine? LJ: If they like live bands and the entertaining energy, they should come out. We really do it every night. That‟s our goal, to just be one of the best live bands you can see. PI: Thanks for giving us a chance to get Plug‟d In! LJ: Thank you!
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Impact: Joe None and Nick Sarro of Shattered Realm Interview by Nicole Marie Photos by Michael Demos Hardcore is not dead, and the band Shattered Realm truly makes that an understatement. With one of the craziest pits I saw during East Coast Tsunami Fest, Shattered Realm walked out of the building leaving behind nothing but blood, broken bodies, and confetti. No matter what you paid to get into the show, SR made sure you got your money‟s worth. Thankfully, before the debauchery I was able to sit down with Joe None and Nick Sarro for a pre-game chat. NM PI: Do you really think the New Jersey hardcore scene is dead? JN: Yes and no. No because there are still a lot of new bands coming up, and yes because there are no venues left. I‟d say in the last 10 years every venue has closed. Everything is gone. There are a couple halls and bars where they have shows, but nothing like this place (Club Reverb) anywhere by us. (PI) I was going to ask, what do you think is the reason for this? (JN) The lack of venues, insurance, and definitely the fighting. PI: What does your name “Shattered Realm” mean? JN: One of the original dudes in the band thought up that name, and we all decided that we really, really hated it but then we started having a lot of people follow us, so we really couldn‟t change it. But now we‟re like its whatever, roll with the punches haha. PI: Can you tell me briefly, how did the band come together? JN: The guys were actually playing before me; it was Nick, Al our original drummer and Chris. I just got out of my old band and I went to one of their shows to check them out, and after the show they were like “Yo man you, need to produce us” or get us going or whatever, so I was like “I‟ll do you one better, I‟ll join the band” and we just straight out started rocking from there. We switched a couple members since then just considering everybody says the want to tour, but they really don‟t want to. And then once we found our new guys we got signed, and then in about 6 months we put out our first record, and we just kept going from there. PI: So who in the band contributes to the writing and music process? JN: The whole first album was written by Chris (Chris Rafalowich – Lead Vocalist). The second album, Dead End Blocks, me and Joe Hardcore wrote that. I did the lyrics, and he also contributed. But most of the music is written by me, Danny also writes a lot of shit, pretty much everyone contributes. Usually bands only have one dude that does everything, but we all have a part in every process. PI: What would you say influences your music the most? NS: Overkill! (JN) Haha yea definitely Overkill, and beer, and umm Testament, Marijuana… Haha no, I‟m into a lot of 90‟s metal, stuff like Cold as Life and All Out War, and we also listen to a lot of thrash metal, like we‟ll take some parts out of a 7 minute thrash metal song, and put our touch on it so comes out as both thrash and hardcore. It really makes the crowd just stand there and head bang until their heads fall off haha. That style of music we really like.
PI: How did you come to the 2005 album title “From the Dead End Blocks Where Life Means Nothing”? JN: Well that year we had a lot of bad shit going on with our friends around us and in different cities. We were just sitting around one night and were just talking about how a lot of our friends that used to come to our shows when we really didn‟t have a band or anything and now they are off doing their own thing and are all just in a lot of trouble, and into a lot of serious bad things. Like they would come to shows with us and but that wasn‟t their outlet, they still went out and chose to get into serious trouble, so we were just sitting there one night and said “From the Dead End Blocks Where Life Means Nothing”. Because where we went, and where our dudes went, were separate ways. It stands for a time when a lot of our boys were going through some really hard shit, and it was also the time when the young guys were getting older and becoming men, and a lot of them straightened out and started getting jobs, and then the other ones kept getting in trouble. The title was really Joe Hardcore‟s thing, but as soon as he said it I was like dude we have to roll with that. So all that is behind the reason we came up with that title. PI: The lyrics handle with personal, dark and aggressive topics; can you explain why this is? JN: Umm because Chris was a depressed motherfucker in the first record and Joe Hardcore is one angry motherfucker. Seriously, they were just angry and depressed dudes. (PI) Angry at what? (JN) Just everything, Joe has had a hard life, Chris has had a hard life, but he obviously works hard at a fortune 500 company and is happier now, haha. But when he was young his family wanted to leave Jersey, and he really didn‟t want to, so he was pretty much homeless for a couple months. Something like that would make anyone miserable. He really busted his ass to get where he wanted to be and it was really rough for him. And as for Joe, anyone who knows him, know he‟s had it tough and has been through the gamut. He had a hard life and he wrote all about that in his songs, so it‟s because of stuff like that. PI: Can you tell me, who is the “Devil In Disguise”? JN: Well actually Chris wrote that song, so you would have to ask him… Chris Rafalowich: The premise of the songs is that most females are two faced, lying deceivers, and most men are too stupid to comprehend that. PI: Referencing from your song, “All That Matters”, violence and tattoos seem to be a new staple of the hardcore scene, what do you have to say about this? JN: Back in the day, it used to be bad, a lot of shit was going on at shows, and I guess I‟m a dinosaur but, shit was more real back then. It just seems like dudes are fighting now and doing stupid shit for no reason. I mean I understand the music is heavy, and shits going to happen, but some people just get carried away. I‟m not one to tell other people how to handle themselves but these days there‟s just so much unnecessary violence, and at this day and age, it‟s not really needed. You see these kids that are like 19 or 20 and they are just wilding out and beating each other up for no reason. And again, I‟m not one to tell anytime what to do but they just go a little crazy and act stupid with it. There‟s no reason for stupid violence, there‟s definitely better shit to fight about.
PI: What‟s next for Shattered Realm? JN: We‟re going to do this show, then we are going have some shows in Europe and then we‟re going to end it in Jersey in about September. Then we‟re going to write a new record, “Broken Ties”, then do something around the lines of “Broken Ties II”, and then see what happens at the end of the year. We‟ll probably tour Europe in the fall then come back to America and hopefully we can do more northeast shows. Kinda keeping it mad desolate for this year. (PI) Any videos or anything like that? (JN) Yea actually we have about 10 years worth of shows that we had put together and just transferred to HD, we‟re definitely going to do something with that, what exactly, we‟re not sure yet. PI: Alright, well thank you so much for talking to us and giving us a chance to get Plug‟d In! JN: You‟re very welcome, anytime.
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1402 N. 9th Street Reading, PA 19604 Fri. July 22nd: HELL WITHIN and more. Sat. July 23rd: SCARY MONSTER – 3 Hour Tour – Pull My Finger – Guitar Mark – and more Fri, July 29th- Fifth-L, Che & More! Sun. July 31st: THE RIOT + ATLANTIC AVENUE – Stoked On Being Pumped – and more. Sat. August 6th: Special OUTDOOR SHOW – THE REVERE – JOHNNY ACTION FIGURE and more Sun. August 7th: STRENGTH FOR A REASON – ANIMALHAUS – Bottom Feeder – Unlearn – Unite.Resist. Fri. Aug. 12th – Faith In Exile, Nu World Disorder, Demilitia( Jenn City of Kittie), Curse Of Sorrow & more! Sat. August 13th- Farruko, Miguel Mixx & More Sun. Aug 14th- Pocket Aces Skate Rock Fest w/ Common Enemy, Groundscore & More! Fri. August 19th – An Evening With THE WALLACE BROTHERS! Outdoor Stage! Sat. August 20th: HALF DRAWN – United We Fall – and more. Tues. August 23rd: BLACK GUARD + IN RUINS – and more
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Award-winning work in a clean environment
From The Throne of The Rock God Rants, Raves, Reviews, and News for the Minions I‟m going to keep this short and simple this week. We have another super cool issue this for all you Hardcore fans. I mean c‟mon, Blood For Blood, Colin of Arabia, and Shattered Realm all in the same issue! That‟s awesome if you ask me! We love to bring you different styles of music, and as most of you know, Hardcore is my favorite. For those of you with other tastes don‟t forget to check us out online and see all the different bands we‟ve dealt with. Here at Plug‟d In we are undergoing some Major changes. I‟m not going to discuss them just yet, but be prepared. You are going to see some really cool things happening in the next couple of months. Until next time…
www.centralpapluggedin.com www.facebook.com/centralpa.plugdin Special thanks to all the following for making this issue happen: Without you...well, we just would have had to work a little harder.
The Reading Tattoo Co, Shoo, American Heroes, Belly Busters, 1Up Collectibles, Its All The rage Hair Designs, Vertical Pole Fitness, Pottstown Tattoo Co, Gotham City Tattoo, The Last Level, Pocket Aces Skate Shop, Crocodile Rock Café, Michael Demos, Liana Marie, Nicole Marie, Nicolle Stella, Vikki Sin, Tyler Heckard, Bandi Budwash, David Barber, Justin Ernst, Estrella Torres, Designs By Your Arsonist, Roadrunner Records, Century Media, W.M.G., Victory Records, Facedown Records, Fearless Records, Metal Blade records, E1, Hollywood Records, Disney, Adrenaline P.R., Solid State Records, DRP Records, Strike First, Rise Records, Tech Basement, The Children's Home of Reading, Bimbo Bakery, Pepsi, Smaltz‟s Harley Davidson and all the amazing National and Local bands we‟ve had the privilege to work with.
Upcoming Shows July 22nd - DREAMLAND PARK, GARMONIA, INVARIANCE, FOR THE PERILOUS AND HAVE FAITH WITHIN!! ALL AGES!! $10 AT THE DOOR! DOORS AT 6:30! July 29th - UNITED WE FALL, SEVENTH CORVUS, CALL ME CRAZY, 4TWELVE AND ALL I'VE EVER KNOWN!!! ALL AGES!! $10 AT THE DOOR!! DOORS AT 5:30!! July 30th - DEAR SUBMARINE, SIX PENNY, QUENTEL THE CRYPTIC, DAD FIGHT AND FORGER!! ZOMBIE THEME PARTY!! DRESS AS A ZOMBIE!! ALL AGES! $10 AT THE DOOR! Aug. . 5th - 5 HOUR SHOWER, IT'S A TRAP, EVAN RUSSELL SAFFER, QUENTEL THE CRYPTIC AND MORE! DOORS AT 7, ALL AGES! $10 AT THE DOOR! Aug. 6th - MR. CHEEKS FROM THE LOST BOYZ, CHAZ MONEY, VOICE & BARZ, KAHNVICT!! PRE SALE $12, $15 AT THE DOOR! ALL AGES! TSHIRT AND CD GIVEAWAYS ALL NIGHT LONG!! LIVE VIDEO SHOOT FOR BET! Aug. 12th - HIDDEN LIGHTS, THE DIRTY LOW FREQUENCIES, YOU, YOU DARK FOREST AND UMAMI!! ALL AGES! $10 AT THE DOOR! DOORS AT 7:30!! Aug. 13th - ROCK -N- RAP SHOW WITH 20Til8!, K4AC, NO REMORSE FOR THE FALLEN, STACC DECC,FROM THIS WE RISE, BIG EAZY AND LIVING THE DREAM!! ALL AGES! $10 AT THE DOOR, DOORS AT 7!! Aug. 26th - Sept. 9th - THRODL, DAWN OF APOLLYON, MEET AT SUNDOWN, FATES DIVIDE, SAVE THE ZOMBIES AND SCREAM OF THE INSANE!! ALL AGES!! $10 AT THE DOOR
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