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​INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST / VOCALIST CHRIS SPENCER BY THOMAS PIZZOLA
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he genesis of Human Im- issues that are important to Spencer. let it be out there and get absorbed where he is right now in his creative pact - which features guiby people. Then we plan to do as life. The future is wide open. tarist and vocalist Chris “The world is changing, don’t you much touring as we possibly can.â€? “These are guys I’ve known forever Spencer (Unsane), keyboardist Jim know?â€? he says. “I’m sure you’re aware Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop), bassist of it. I walk down the street in New York It might have taken a long time to get and that I’ve always wanted to play Chris Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu) and City and see so many phone zombies, to this point, but Spencer is content with,â€? he says. đ&#x;’Ł drummer Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cop, it’s ridiculous. A bunch of the stuff I’m Swans) - goes back almost three de- writing about is painfully obvious. This cades. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, is stuff that means something to me. each member of the band was try- I’m not going to write about how I’m ing to make a name for themselves love with some girl or anything like in the Lower East Side’s grimy noise that. I’ve traveled quite a bit, and I’ve seen how overpopulation affects the and noise rock scene. planet. So, I write about stuff like that.â€? ​ “[Jim and I] always talked about  Human Impact’s live debut took making some music,â€? says Chris ​ Spencer. “We’ve always wanted to place last year in the band’s homework together. I wanted to bring Jim town of New York City. The gig went in to do samples for Unsane in the down as a major success, though ’90s when Cop Shoot Cop broke up. Spencer had a little trepidation going into it. Now we’re really doing it.â€? ​ he impetus to finally get together “Did I feel any nerves? Yes and no,â€? he T and create some music occurred says. “It was a no pressure situation. I after an Unsane show a few years say that sarcastically. These days evago, Spencer says. With that simple erybody has their phones recording encounter, he decided to make stuff. What if an amp blows up? Or Human Impact his main endeavor. somebody dies? That’s the only show Soon, they brought in Pravdica and we have on record for three months. Puleo, and they were a full band, I think we did alright.â€? ready to get down to the business of Expect more live action from the ​ making some new noise. band in the near future. They have ​The fruit of their labors is a self-ti- a record release show scheduled tled debut album, which comes for March 14, 2020, at Saint Vitus in out on Ipecac, on March 13, 2020. Brooklyn, and then plan to hit the Human Impact’s sound is layered road for some touring. and dense, and contains plenty of the grime and feedback you would “We’re looking at July for the States, expect from a band of its pedigree, and then in the fall, we’ll hit Europe but also has a slight melodic side, es- and the States again,â€? Spencer says. pecially in the vocal lines, that makes “We are deciding to lay low for a little it memorable. T ​he lyrics deal with bit after the record comes out and
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