New Noise Magazine by New Noise

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new noise magazine

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-IN MEMORIAM-

The music world lost two incredible forces. Rest in Peace Chi and Jeff, your contributions won’t be forgotten.

CHI CHENG Jeff Hanneman

photo: Alan Ralph

ack in 1993, when Slayer was going into the studio to record a new album, Metallica had completely altered the course and perception of metal with their 1991 uber-smash hit “Enter Sandman.” The song had been and continued to be everywhere, and paved the way for hard rock/metal bands to enter the mainstream, commercial world. One of American Recordings’ higher-ups went to visit Slayer in the studio, and told the band that if they could “give me just one song I can get on the radio, JUST ONE RADIO-FRIENDLY SONG, and the rest of the album can be ‘Slayer music,’ I’ll guarantee that we’ll sell five-million copies of the new record.”

the radio, fine. If you can’t, then fuck it.” At his core, Jeff Hanneman was punk rock. He drew a line of integrity in the sand long before I met him 23 years ago, and he never crossed it. While being true to his principles, he did what most people don’t - he left an impression, he affected lives. Long live Jeff Hanneman. - Heidi Ellen Robinson- Fitzgerald

Jeff said to him, “Well, we’re going to make a Slayer record, and if you can get it on

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h c t i w n o t e Skel photo: Magdalena Wolinski

in the studio with written by: Ben Knudtson

Interview with vocalist Chance Garnette

thens, Ohio’s heavily bearded metal-as-fuck quintet is back in the studio for their fifth full-length studio album, with their fifth studio engineer, the one and only Kurt Ballou, in his legendary Massachusetts- based Godcity Studios. Skeletonwitch is one of those bands that gets better with every album, but in a way that sounds like they are becoming more and more themselves as opposed to experimenting with different ideas and genres, which means that Kurt Ballou’s massive organic production is going to be slapped onto the single most Skeletonwitch-y Skeletonwitch album to date. So far, every single one of your full-lengths has been recorded by someone new. Is there any reason in particular you guys haven’t stuck with one person? Yes, for sure. We don’t really want to “do it this way because that’s how it’s always been done.” By working with different engineers and producers I feel I can learn a lot more about the recording process as a whole. I get to experience different methods and approaches because each producer has their own skill set, what they’re known for. And by not sticking with the same studio or producer, I feel I

gain more knowledge about what can be done or what is possible while in the studio. Not to mention, by doing this, each release has its own sonic identity. Permafrost sounds like Permafrost, Breathing the Fire sounds like Breathing the Fire and so on, as opposed to every album having the same exact production and losing what I feel is unique about each. We don’t want to record “part two” of a previous release. This “new record/new producer” approach is just what works best for us so far. A lot of thought goes into who you’re going to go to next for production. What drew you to Kurt Ballou’s studio Godcity? Kurt has recorded a lot of bands that we are fans of, so we’ve heard a lot of his work. He’s getting big fat sounds and he’s able to capture that “energy” and sense of “realness” that we really want to achieve. I’m very excited to be here and recording with Kurt. We’re almost finished with guitars at this time so we don’t have a final mix or anything, but I can tell you things are sounding giant, a very thick, organic & “live” sound in a way, lots of energy. Stoked! It seems like in general he really knows how to bring out the heaviness in bands. Do you think that this album is heavier than past ones? What separates this album from the rest? There’s most definitely some serious weight in the riffs on this

record, some “riding a Harley straight into blizzard type stuff. I think the weight of these riffs, the duel guitar interplay between Nate and Scott, and this overall “epic” feeling combined with Kurt’s production absolutely separates this record from the other releases.

When you guys decide that your going to write a new album, how do you start? Does it start with riffs? Lyrics? Beer? Riffs absolutely! Nate gets a ton of riffs worked out on his own; Scott does the same. Our bass player Evan is an awesome guitar player too so he also adds to the riff bank. Usually Nate will decide which riffs go with each other to create a fluid song. But if a player is on a roll and inspiration is flowing they may create the entire song at one time. Then we all tweak the “frame work” of the song, decide where the solos will go, if any, and create and record a demo. We all get copies of the demos and listen to them and then tweak them again until we have the song down instrumentally. Then I create the lyrical pattern and then start plugging in the words. On occasion we need a little more or less of the riff here or there to fit the lyrics better and we’ll adjust yet again. As a band with a pretty uniform sound, do you guys find that you end up throwing out a lot of ideas that don’t really fit in the Skeletonwitch aesthetic? No not really. We don’t bring too many ideas to the table that are an extreme departure from what Skel-

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etonwitch “is.” We may shut down an idea that doesn’t work like we planned but I’m not going to do any clean singing, for example. We want to evolve as the band we are, not reinvent who we are. Despite how well you guys manage to sound like yourselves on every record, you also grow with every record in a noticeable way. How do you think you guys have grown musically (and personally) since you wrote and released Forever Abomination? First off, thanks for saying that. I mean, that’s the goal - to sound unmistakably Skeletonwitch and continue to grow musically with each release. We’ve played a lot of places and covered a lot of miles. Through those experiences I believe we each grow on a personal level as well as a band. Musically, we become better players and better performers by being out there and just doing it as much as we do. This band means a hell of a lot to all of us. We all want to do better, to play better with each show. I believe as a band we experience some level of growth every day we play together. I bet that expectations for how rad your album cover will be are pretty high after three consecutive jaw droppers (all from different artists, too). Do you know what this album cover will look like, or who’s doing it? Do you think it will live up to your past ones? We’re really early in the cover art process at this moment. We’ve chosen who will be doing the cover and we’ve had a couple calls with the artist to get a direction. So right now all of the visuals are in our heads, we haven’t started looking at sketches yet. But going by what we’ve talked about combined with who we’ve chosen to do this record, I’m very confident this one will be just as killer as the others.

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ELWAY

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written by: Damian Burford

Interview With Tim Brown

here are three things that should immediately spring to mind when thinking of Fort Collins, Colorado: The Blasting Room, Surfside 7, and Elway. Elway, or the band formerly known as 10-4 Eleanor, have taken their small town roots and have grown into a healthy body of excellence. After six years of growth in Colorado, a place that holds the band’s namesake as sacred as Jesus Christ himself, Elway have packed their bags and sailed the seas to the concrete ocean of Chicago. We join Guitarist/Singer Tim Brown just days after recording the follow up to their 2011 debut, Delusions to talk about the move to Chicago, recording with Matt Allison and their new album, Leavetaking. You’ve moved the week of recording from the snowy mountain town of Fort Collins, Colorado to the third largest city in the States. The name of the album, Leavetaking alludes to moving on. How much about it is leaving Colorado? Leavetaking does in part refer to my moving to Chicago and the experiences that lead up to my doing so, but the overall theme of the album is not so solipsistic. The album is about parting ways with the past, and the sort of ups and downs that that entails. Of course the lyrics reflect my personal experiences to a certain extent, but in writing them, I tried to focus on the emotions and thoughts that frame situations like my own rather than the unambiguous minutia about my life that may or may not be relatable. What do you hope to gain by living in Chicago vs. Colorado? I lived in Colorado for most of my life and I spent the last six years in Fort Collins. It’s a small college town. I graduated college and started touring a lot of the time. It seemed every time I was back in town more of my friends would have moved away. I just sort of receded into this pattern of drinking a ton to pass the time between tours. I don’t want to make it sound like I was at some rock bottom and I needed to get my shit together because that’s nowhere near the case. I still drink all the time; I just do it in a locale that is still exotic to me. I won’t hit rock bottom for years! I don’t resent

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the times I spent in Fort Collins, but after a certain point I felt like I needed to move on, you know? I moved to Chicago because I love this city and had the good fortune to meet a ton of great people here over the years. It’s always felt like a second home to me, and I’m currently quite happily exploring what it feels like to have it as my first. I suppose I am hoping to gain good times and meet different folks in a different part of the world- same reason why we forgo financial security to tour with a punk band.

have always been very supportive. I don’t know that we were ever big fish in a tiny pond there though. There is no real punk ‘scene’ to be on top of. We built a scene playing alongside our friends in indie bands and alt-country bands to whoever in the narrow demographic of ‘musicsavvy drinkers’ would listen. It was a great way to start out.

You guys seemed to benefit from being one of the few punk bands in the small Fort Collins scene. Will you miss the Big Fish/Tiny Pond aspect of the musical scene in Fort Collins? Because the town is so small, the music scene in Fort Collins has a real ebb and flow to it. The only music that is constantly popular and successful in that town is jam/ newgrass/dubstep or whatever is the college genre du jour. DIY punk and indie bands are a constant as well, but being able to consistently play great shows is tricky there. Our band is a byproduct of a high water mark for the DIY scene in Fort Collins.

With a new start there is an excitement of the life you can create in a new city. How did that excitement show itself in Atlas Studios? The prioritizing and taskmanagement that any move requires was something of a stress factor during our time recording at Atlas. Joe and I were frenetically searching for jobs during the day before our sessions would start. We ate microwaved spaghetti and shitty white bread because we were broke and had to be a little spendthrift. The upside was that it was incredibly liberating to know that after we finished the record we could crawl out of the windowless sound cave at Atlas and get to know a new city. I certainly hope that the urgency comes across on the record. Many of your favorite records

When we started playing in 2007, it seemed like there were tons of house show spots and everybody was really enthusiastic. We cut our teeth playing basement shows and Surfside 7 at a time when there was a lot of enthusiasm for what we were doing. Over the years, that feeling came and went and shows got worse and better and worse and better in infinite succession. The truly great thing about Fort Collins is that it is an easy place to have your home base. It wasn’t until we started touring really consistently that we started to garner momentum as a whole. Our friends in Fort Collins

have been recorded by Matt Allison at Atlas Studios. Is there something magical in the air of that room? Is there a residual vibe from the previous artists that have shared that room with you? Before we ever came to Atlas, the thought of doing a record there was extremely intoxicating. The stuff that has come out of there is almost universally awesome. When we started our first record [Delusions] there, there was a serious excitement that we got just from knowing all the amazing bands that have worked there. There isn’t anything magical about the room that makes for a

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good record. It’s the fact that Matt has such a good ear for recording and mixing bands like ours. This coupled with the fact that Matt and Justin Yates had become such good amigos was the motivation for us to record Leavetaking there. The thing about Matt is that he’s just a good dude, a good conversationalist, and a hardworking producer. It isn’t like he just breezes through any recording session and, using his infallibly tasteful recording prowess, makes great records. The fact that we can collaborate and even disagree about the direction of an album and Matt can be very responsive is a big part of why he is so good at what he does. The band has accomplished many great things since Delusions came out in 2011. You have toured the world and played some pretty big deal support slots on some rather large bills. How has the last few years factored into the new record? Are there expectations you fear to meet? It is still incredible to us that Delusions was so well-received and that we were privileged enough to take our band so many amazing places. All we can ask for with the new record is the opportunity to keep doing what we love. With that said, the new record is not a rehashing of the type of songs that were popular on Delusions. We very consciously tried to push ourselves to write something that feels different to us. The bulk of the stuff on this record is still four-chord punk, but the songs are advisedly less anthemic than our last go around. I think at some point in the past two years we became a little weary of the songs we would play every night. This record is sort of the logical progression from that wariness in that we tried to trim some of the fat that we feel bogged down our songs while trying a couple new tricks. We are certainly excited about the record. We think it sounds better than our last record and we can only hope that our fans are similarly stoked. Catch Elway nationwide on the RED SCARE ACROSS AMERICA tour with Masked Intruder and Sam Russo.

HRVRD

es, every other band proudly proclaims that their sound is “difficult to classify,” but for Charlotte, NC-Based HRVRD, that’s claim is actually pretty accurate. With dark lyrics and swirling, dramatic guitars, they can at times sound like Glassjaw and one song later bring up echoes of a band as different as Circa Survive or Minusthebear. HRVRD turned to Brian McTernan (Hot Water Music, Texas is the Reason) to help shape their debut and were so pleased with the results that they hooked up with him again for their just-released follow up From The Bird’s Cage. With the band about to undergo their first headlining tour, guitarist Jason Shaw spoke recently about the album, connecting with Equal Vision Records, and that difficultto- define sound.

written by: John B. Moore

You guys recorded with Brian McTernan again. What was it about Brian that made you want to work with him? We recorded our first full-length with Brian so doing the second with him made a lot of sense to us. Brian has worked with a number of bands that we have a great amount of respect for: Engine Down, Thrice, Hot Water Music, Cave In, etc. and that was what initially attracted us to working with him, so one day I sent him demos of The Inevitable and I and he was genuinely excited about what we were doing, which sealed the deal for all of us. After that first recording experience, we were all excited to work with Brian again. I could honestly write a book about

what it was like for us to record with Brian. Salad Days is a ridiculously comfortable recording space and Brian knows exactly how to push you to exceed your abilities. It’s hard to explain, but we all have strong ties to Baltimore and Brian is like family to us, so imagine spending a little over a month recording an album at your favorite cousin’s house, with your best friends, while you hang out and play video games and ride bikes in your down time. How did you guys connect with Equal Vision? We connected with Equal Vision in the best most organic way possible. We played the ORBS album release show in Greensboro, NC at my favorite venue (Legit Biz) and Dan Sandshaw from the label happened to be there. We spoke for a moment at the show and I got a phone call from him a few days later. Our first album had been out for about a year and Dan and Brian are old friends so it all just happened through the grapevine. You have a sound that’s not easy to categorize. Has that ever made it difficult to book shows or pitch yourselves to labels? Well...not really. We never pitched ourselves to labels so that was never an issue. We’ve always kept the mentality that if anyone wanted to work with us then they would step forward and do it and that’s still the case. As far as booking goes, I’ve been booking all of our shows for years and the only issue we ever had was people not knowing who we were. That’s honestly not a major issue anymore, simply because we’ve worked hard and made ourselves visible. Signing

with Equal Vision also did a great deal to make us more visible and their help with everything has been invaluable. I honestly believe our music can be adapted in any way to suit any show, so booking hasn’t been an issue for us for a long time. Presently when I book shows I feel that most promoters and venues are pretty excited to have us play for them. You guys are currently on tour with Letlive then heading out for your own headlining tour. Playing shows night after night, have you seen your songs evolve over time? Our live show is something that is constantly changing. We don’t like to play the same set for more than one tour and usually we prepare two or three different sets with different interludes between songs written specifically for those sets so that we don’t have any dead space between songs. We don’t like to pigeonhole ourselves into one idea and our songs are very open ended and constantly evolving, so we prepare multiple options that we can pick and choose from, based on the night and the crowd. You never really know what you’re going to get when you go to a HRVRD show and we like to create a certain amount of suspense in what we do. It keeps it more interesting for us, as well as the people who come to see us.

Interview With Jason Shaw

photo: Alex Gibbs

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ALLISON

WEISS written by: By Alex Del Campo

Eschewing the past years’ aggressiveness in the form of screamo, various cores, and metal, many indie-pop female fronted bands and solo artists such as Allison Weiss and Candy Hearts have been making headway in the music scene. Taking the spotlight from harder sounding bands, their light, eccentric sound has been causing a stir in the scene. With Allison Weiss recently being signed to No Sleep Records and Candy Hearts signing with Bridge 9 Records (predominantly associated with aggressive male dominated hardcore), a sweet sound is rising to the top of the heavy mix. Tell us a little about yourself, how did you get your start? I started playing music and writing songs in high school, and I guess I just never stopped! You just released a new record entitled Say What You Mean, which was released via No Sleep Records, did you happen to write this record before signing onto the label or was this developed after the fact? Say What You Mean was actually finished and ready to go before I ever started looking for a label. I was just about ready to put it out myself when No Sleep came along and offered to team up! What were some key differences on your new record that you hadn’t incorporated in your previous releases? In the past, all of the songs started out on acoustic guitar, and were recorded after I’d spent several months/years playing them live, solo. On this record, I thought about the songs from a band standpoint first, and wrote a lot during the recording process. As a result I think the arrangements are more dynamic and interesting than in the past.

photo: Raeanne Haro

How do you feel about your latest release and the amount of attention it has recently brought you? I’m really proud of Say What You Mean, so I’m beyond excited that it might get the recognition I think it deserves. I put out a lot of music in the past, but this still feels

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like my first record.

Being away from home for so long while on tour means spending lots of time on the road, what are some of the things you do to pass the time between shows? Usually I’m just working! Even though I have a label and a management team, I’m still very hands-on when it comes to the business side of things, so I use the time between shows to get shit done. What are your thoughts about the female-influence that is becoming more and more apparent in the scene today? I think it’s just a long time coming. I’m looking forward to a future where being a girl playing music isn’t really a talking point anymore. Women are 50% of the population so they should be 50% of the music world as well. We’re making progress, slowly but surely. Past releases as well as your newest has a very distinct sound, what were some of the artists that influenced you while growing up and writing? My love of music really started with a love for Top 40 when I was in 6th grade. In 8th grade I fell hard for country, which I still think is the catchiest of all genres. In early high school I got into melodic pop punk like MXPX, Brand New, Good Charlotte, easy stuff like that. Around age 16, someone gave me a mix tape of Dashboard Confessional songs and that’s when I really started playing and writing. After that I got into Rilo Kiley, Tegan & Sara, Bright Eyes, all of which are still some of my favorite bands to this day. During the making of Say What You Mean I was listening to a lot of old Weezer, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Paramore. A lot of stuff really. It’s hard to list it all. Did you have other passions that you wanted to pursue other than being a musician? I studied graphic design in school and I still work freelance as a day job, but music has really always been it for me.

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CANDY HEARTS written by: By Alex Del Campo

Interview with Candy Hearts singer/guitarist Mariel Loveland

ew York/New Jersey indie-quartet, Candy Hearts, have garnered some muchwarranted attention this past year. From being featured on MTV, recording with Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory, and being signed to Bridge 9 Records, Candy Hearts has been making a renaissance of sorts for less ‘tough sounding’ music to a more upbeat, femaleinfluenced sound. Candy Hearts has had a lot of things come together in a relatively short amount of time. Being played on MTV certainly helped gain some of that popularity. How does all of the attention feel, and has it all been a positive experience? I am thrilled that people are paying attention to our music more and more! I always wondered what it would feel like to watch myself on MTV and it was just like I imagined- pretty sweet, but also it was on DV-R, so kind of like YouTube. MTVU always played in my college’s dining hall and I always thought, “Hey, one day I want to be on there! It doesn’t seem impossible.” Of course all attention is never positive even if we get so many nice comments. Some people are all like “she can’t sing,” “she’s annoying,” or “if that band can get a record deal anyone can,” and to that I sayand I truly believe- if you are anyone and you work very hard at what you do and are honest and genuine with your work, you will succeed. I don’t consider myself as having succeeded by any means, because my definition of success always changes, but I feel like we are on our way. Considering the style of music you play, how did being signed to Bridge 9 Records come about? Was there something that attracted you to this specific label? Bridge 9 was a label we all grew up on. My brother used to be obsessed with Bridge 9 bands when he was a kid. We’ve always loved the label, but it really came about when we started working with Chad (Gilbert). We knew he was going to

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produce our record and we were looking for options about labels. He called me one day and said “Hey, I’m starting a label under Bridge 9. It doesn’t have a name or any artists, but do you want to be on it?” It was a no brainer! We wanted to work with Chad as closely as possible. He’s sort of like our pop punk mentor. That label became Violently Happy.

Chad produced your latest EP, The Best Way To Disappear. How was your experience working alongside him? Honestly it was a dream come true! He knows exactly what we’re going for and what our songs need. Chad is talented in so many ways and I’m proud to call him a friend/boss-man/coworker. I feel like when we started, I brought in all of these songs that were so pop punk. I was very worried about releasing some sort of mega pop punk record because our band has always drawn heavily from alternative and indie. He took the songs and made them a bit more alternative and a bit more pop. Being a female-fronted band in an industry dominated by males, has progressing in the scene and finding a home at B9 been a smoother ride than anticipated? I’d be lying if I said it was smoother than anticipated or smooth at all. Going into this years ago, I never thought of being a girl as really being anything other than just another kind of person that half of all people are. But it seems that in this community there is an unfortunate kind of way you are treated by some bands, and some fans, and some people. Sometimes it’s subtle and sometimes it’s something people don’t even know they’re doing, but sometimes it’s completely deliberate. People just look down on you sometimes or try to find excuses that you’re just a gimmick or standing around or dating someone in the band. You have to be perfect looking and more talented than any random guy singing with a guitar to get the same amount of credit. But at the same time there are a lot of positives like how I can wear cute clothes if I feel like it and makeup. Though, I suppose any guy could too.

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photo: Rachel Wass

photo: JordanOverturf

Pasadena

Napalm Division Ronny was already on board. Then I heard Kurt was in Houston working a day job. So I contacted him and asked Interview Withvocalist Kurt Brecht him to come and check out the 4 or 5 and guitarist Scott Sevall songs we had. He dug it, and joined the band.” asadena, TX. 1965. Chemical manufacturers Dupont Kurt corroborates, “[Scott, Gregg, produce napalm for the US and Ronny] heard I was in town so military. The majority is they contacted me. We got together used during Vietnam. A moral outcry and we really seemed to click. I had follows Dupont’s complicity in the never been in any other band but horrors of war. D.R.I. so it was very exciting for me to jam with some other people.” Fifty years later, a derma-melting mixture is once more concocted, Albeit a sluggish formation, it was refined, and exported. Only this nothing compared to the thesaurus time, replace the petroleum and jelly bumping challenge of ‘what should with thrash and hardcore, not by the we call ourselves?’ Originally adoptcorporate affiliations of Dupont, but ing ‘Crud Cutter’ for their first show, the awesome merger of Deadhorse’s ‘PND’ finally proved a suitable nom Scott Sevall and DRI’s Kurt Brecht: de guerre. Scott details the backstory: Pasadena Napalm Division. “We searched high and low for a name; between, Greg, Ronny, Kurt Scott Sevall, guitarist for PND and and I, we probably texted each other Deadhorse, begins, “When I left over a 1000 names. I came up with Deadhorse back in 1996, I stayed in the name Pasadena Napalm Division. touch with Greg and Ronny. I’d call In Pasadena there are several refinerGreg over the years and ask him to start a metal band with me, (and) he’d ies and chemical plants. I read a little history and found out that Dupont always say, ‘No, I don’t play metal developed and produced the napalm anymore, just blues.’ On his 40th that was used in the Vietnam War.” birthday I called and said, ‘let’s start a metal band, show everyone how to Described as “corrosive” and “so do it.’ To my surprise, he said yes. acidic it could melt steel,” PND

written by: Alasdair Bulmer

criss-crosses death metal brutality, thrash’s ADHD, and punk sensibilities. The familiarities of Deadhorse and DRI poke through on recordings, not least in their undying cause for humor. With song titles like, “100 Beers with a Zombie,” and “Okra” (“Hey, somebody had to do it!” – Kurt), who’s kidding? However, Kurt reminds us they’re equally capable of sincerity, “I try to balance the light hearted with the serious. Songs like “Terror Cell” and “Bleached Blonde Despair” are balanced by tunes like “Spell It Out” or “Dreamland.”” Steve likewise dispels any misgivings of a ‘goofy’ image, “What image? Politics have caused all of us to have a sense of humor. We touch on a lot of different subjects, some tongue-incheek and silly, some heavy. We write whatever fits the music... You have to have a sense of humor to be in the music business.” Scott’s words resonate considering their respected and influential careers, no doubt propagating the PND name. That said, Kurt emphasizes the help and hindrance of DRI’s globetrotting schedule alongside the recent Deadhorse reformation, “DRI is my bread and butter right now and keeps me really busy. Deadhorse has recently reformed with their original

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bass player and have been gigging around here in Texas. PND has great potential and world domination has always been the goal, of course. “ It seems, for now at least, that whatever they can take – and commit time to - is the aimed trajectory, “If we are offered festival slots or tours that make sense for us and our schedules then we are all over it!” replies Kurt, followed by an enthusiastic Scott, “Especially festivals, and of course any time Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Lamb Of God, Slipknot or Mastodon need an opening band, we’re available.” Fitting, especially in light of their new- school- meets- the- old ethos. It’s a potential winning formula for the younger generation, promoted further by Tony Foresta’s (Municipal Waste) guest appearance on the upcoming S/T LP. Here’s to a global assault for PND.

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HESSIAN

written by: hutch13 Interview with guitarist Levy How old are you? I’m 22 years old, but I guess a lot of the bands I’ve listened to during my youth were bands from before my time. I really started getting into music through seventies bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, as so many kids do. Over time, this just evolved into checking more aggressive bands from both the punk and metal scene. I know a lot of punks think it’s not dope to listen to metal and vice versa, but I don’t see what’s wrong with liking both Bad Brains and Entombed. I guess that’s why I always say “punkmetal” if people ask me what kind of music we play with Hessian.

you able to take any different approaches in recording or production? We recorded the album at Hearse Studios in Belgium where we also recorded all our previous releases. We wanted to record the album in a familiar atmosphere where we can really be at ease and take our time to get everything out of the songs that we could. For the mixing of the album we decided to up things up a notch and work with Tomas Skogsberg at Sunlight Studios in Sweden. And I believe this decision turned out to be a crucial one for the sound of the record. When we got the first mixes back, we were surprised at how it changed the sound and the feel of the album. I mean this in the most positive way possible.

What did you want to bring to this album for listeners? We never really write with the motive of evoking this or that in “the listeners.” It’s more a way of channeling stuff out of our own systems. But based on that, I guess the logical emotion the music would have to evoke in people is hatred and anger. How they choose to channel these feelings is up to them. We’re just the messenger.

Between the album name and the cover art, the theme of life’s cyclical nature is examined. Can you give some insight into your thought process of this subject? There will always be rotten figures or organization to dispose of. And when they are gone, there will always be other heathens ready to take their place. The same goes for the things and the people we hold dear. That’s how it’s always been, how it is right now, and how it will always be.

Now that you have the label backing of Southern Lord were

Your sound consists of Entombed death ‘n’ roll, sludge and a large

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black metal influence. Can you list some musical influences? I’ve always been a big fan of the Swedish death metal scene so you’re spot on about the Entombed influences. When we wrote the album I was also listening to a lot of stuff like Celestia, Peste Noire, Mortifera... so that definitely had its influence on the negativity felt on the album. These are however just influences on an atmospheric level. We like to let a lot of other stuff creep in the songs as well. Even if they are anything but logical for the kind of music we play. So, if you listen closely you might hear some stuff that doesn’t really belong in this kind of music.

What aspects of Belgium have shaped you personally and musically? As a 16- year old kid that was into heavy music, Belgium was and still is kind of a paradise. I don’t go as far back as the H8000 period that reigned Flanders at one point, like Tim, Bram, and Kenneth do, but I did have the privilege of getting to see bands like Rise And Fall, Amenra (long before I joined them), Reproach, and so on destroy everything in their path and mostly paving the way for bands like us. I think it is incredible how many great bands we have here, especially seeing how small the country is.

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This quote opens your press release: “When confronted with the imminent destruction of our world, do we turn our heads and go our ways? Or do we look for means to channel our rage, to give voice to that frustration and turn it into a weapon?” What can someone do to revolt against what they see in this world? Take action and don’t stop before you accomplished what you were aiming for. Whatever means necessary. To many people, living in the comfortable illusion that one person’s input isn’t going to make the difference (is their way of life). And those who do take action put their protest aside at the first barrier they come across. Can protest or music or art truly have an impact? Is it enough? This day and age I think it’s really hard to leave a mark on the world. Everything appears to be pre-determined. So there’s nothing to lose. All we can do is fight our fights until our teeth are red and our knuckles are raw.

HELL

FULL

photo: Adam DeGross

spend practicing when they are home in Ocean City, MD. When you’re doing vocals, how many times do you do the track, the vocals on your album sound so raw (in a good way) ? Thank you! I usually end up running through a track once or twice. I record a line or two at a time, and it generally doesn’t really take that long. I’ve always tried to demo the songs before going into the studio to try and develop a really clear rhythm for things so that I don’t get stuck when it counts. It’s been a big learning process each time we’ve gone into record since Roots…

written by: Adam DeGross Interview With Dylan Walker

go to many shows, see many bands, but one band I saw recently really stuck with me. That band was Full Of Hell. Their live show was raw, engaging, and honest, and I was happy to see a band really go all out while playing live. I picked up their debut full-length, Roots Of Earth Are Consuming My Home, put out on a label I have grown to trust, A389 Records. They did not let me down. The album didn’t leave my turntable for at least a week. I got in contact with their singer Dylan Walker for this interview, and we talked about their previous work, new album, touring with Integrity, and much more. How long as Full Of Hell been going? Full Of Hell began in mid-2009. Spencer started the band with some other people, but eventually was able to weed them out. Since Dave and I officially joined near the end of 2009, we have been touring and releasing music consistently.

How did you pick the name Full Of Hell?  Spencer chose the name Full Of Hell as a tribute to the early era of death metal that he so loves. How would you describe your band to someone who has never heard you?  If I’m being really specific and want to mull over stupid genre names, I would describe us a hardcore punk band that heavily utilizes the influences of grindcore, sludge, and noise. Your album, with a lengthy title, Roots Of Earth Are Consuming My Home, blew me away. How long did it take to record it, where did the name come from? We recorded our first record, Roots of Earth Are Consuming My Home in two days with our friend Kevin Bernsten in Baltimore. This was our first stab at creating a full-length record, so we were still very new to everything and did our best to learn and explore within the two days it took us to record. The other guys in my band are pretty fast in the studio, I think it has to do with the amount of time they

You have a big tour coming up. Did you ever think you’d be going out with Integrity? Basically, everything that FOH has been able to do since we started is something that I couldn’t have even hoped to do. We are extremely lucky to be supported by a network of sincere people, and they have all helped to put us where we are. So, to answer the question directly, no, I never thought we’d get to do shows with a band like Integrity! How is working with A389, and how did he become interested in you guys?  Dom A389 is the most genuine guy I know. I couldn’t see us anywhere else, and it’s an honor to work with him. We got in touch with Dom through our good friend, Dave Heck. Dave runs a label called Get This Right Records out of eastern PA, and he is good friends with Dom. When we were planning to work on an LP, we asked and he said he was into it. The relationship has continued from there. A389 is definitely one of the realest labels going.

of Mutilation. It’s an album that I am extremely proud of and I’m really anticipating revealing the entire thing. What will people take away from your live show? People will take away whatever they want to from our live show. The only thing that we are attempting to present is a wall of negative sound. What current bands should people be listening to? The Coltranes, Maruta, Dead in the Dirt, The Body, Amps For Christ, every A389 Records band. How do you feel about the current music scene?  I enjoy it. I think it’s funny when people say that it’s a shitty time to be involved in hardcore or metal. It is easy to focus on all of the shitty things going on in the “music scene,” but there is no doubting that there are a lot of great things happening. If you feel like you are too good to involve yourself in music, then kill yourself. Full Of Hell has almost a noise influence. Are you a fan of noise music, or did you just think it would be a good fit for the FOH concept ? Spencer and I are definitely fans of electronic music. Artists like Merzbow, E. Wood, and Throbbing Gristle have always provided inspiration to us. I think that the medium of harsh electronics definitely allows us to explore territory far beyond the limits of traditional punk and metal.

Tell me about your new album?  Our new album is called Rudiments

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Y O R T S DE

E C A L P S HI

written by: John B. Moore

udging by their sound, the guys in Destroy This Place have a record collection that would blow away even the biggest vinyl snob out there. Drawing on influences as disparate as Fugazi and Big Star, the Detroit indie band has managed to turn out a sound that’s begging to be your next obsession with the release of their self-titled full- length. Co-singer/guitarist Ryan Allen, formerly with Thunderbirds Are Now!, spoke recently about their influences, the new record, and managed to come up with the best descriptor imaginable for the band’s hard-to-classify sound. It seems like every review about you guys bring up the fuzzed- up punk rock sound and the catchy indie pop. What are the musical influences that you each brought to the band? The musical influences for this band are totally all over the map. I think generally our sound hovers around the louder side of 90s indie rock and grunge (Superchunk, the first Foo Fighters album, Polvo, Chavez), but I think there’s more to it than just that. I mean, our guitarist John (Nelson), who also sings half the songs, just went to see Anthrax the other night.

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You” and “Ghost Ride the Lightning”). We like 80s hardcore, we like 90s emo, we like Big Star, we like fuckin’ Fleet Foxes, you know? We like it all. Recently, I’ve been describing our sound as, “Like Swervedriver re-recording Bleach, produced by J Mascis, coming out on a split release between Dischord and SST.” Kinda wordy, but I think that nails it…

Like Swervedrier re-recording Bleach, produced by J Mascis, coming out on a split release between Dischord and SST.

”

John and Monday (Busque, bassist) first bonded over their shared love of 80s thrash and skate rock. But John also likes the Carter Family, and Monday digs dub like King Tubby. I have an affinity for 70s and 80s power pop bands, like 20/20, the Undertones, and Tommy Keene, as well as post-punk stuff like Wipers, Wire, and early XTC. Our drummer, Sean, loves classic rock like Zeppelin and the Who - which, I think, you can hear in his drumming, but he’s not “that guy”... no ZoSo tats or anything. On our new record, we started to let a lot of shoegaze elements sort of creep in, playing around with different guitar pedals and stuff, lots of wah, for example, so there’s some My Bloody Valentine and Ride-type guitar stuff going on for a few songs (“Absorb

This second album sounds a lot heavier than the last. Was that intentional? Yeah. It was. I wouldn’t say we all immersed ourselves in religiously listening to, like, Reign in Blood or anything (well, Monday might have), but I think we wanted the album to be less immediately catchy and more about heavy drums, more low-end in the bass, and focused more on riffs than simply following the versechorus-verse-over-in-two-minutes formula for every song. Some songs obviously tread those same waters still, but I think we allowed ourselves to be less tied to a certain “style” or formula like we were on the first record. The other thing is that the second album was a lot more collaborative than the first. The first one, we kinda just used whatever songs were sort of left over from the other bands we were in that broke up before starting Destroy This Place, and used a majority of those on our first album. Plus, Mike Bridavsky, who recorded it at Russian Recordings in Bloomington, IN, did some things differently this time around (he did our first one, too), and really nailed

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what we wanted to go for. He really knows what he’s doing, and gets us as a band, and he had a lot to do with getting that heavier sound. How did you get Bob Westin (Shellac) to master this one? Did you guys get a chance to talk with him? It was surprisingly easy. Once we finished the album, John suggested that we really go for it with the mastering, and we all agreed Weston would be the ideal guy to have do it. So I sent his studio an e-mail, they e-mailed me back pretty quickly, we set up a date, and that was pretty much it. He has an awesome studio assistant named Andrew who coordinates everything, and he made all the arrangements and stuff totally painless. Most of the correspondence was done over e-mail, and I did get to exchange a few with Bob, which was cool. I didn’t talk to him much, though I did call the studio one day and he picked up the phone, and we chatted for a bit. He said our stuff was “cool” and that was enough for me. It kinda reminded me of stories about how people would just call Dischord and Ian MacKaye would answer the phone, and though it would maybe initially surprise people, it dawns on you, like, “Yeah, why WOULDN’T he answer the phone? He OWNS the place!” So really, it wasn’t that surprising at all. Bob and his staff, though, are total gentlemen, and it was an incredibly easy process. Also, he did an amazing job (as if he wouldn’t).

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Pyrithion

written by: Ben Knudtson

yrithion is the side project of As I Lay Dying’s lion-esque frontman, Tim Lambesis. Created out of the need for a darker, heavier, and more menacing project. it consists of Tim and both guitarists and the drummer from the band Allegaeon. The first EP from this death metal collective is entitled The Burden of Sorrow, and

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lyrically and musically revolves around the concept of sorrow being a sickness of all walks of life. Says Lambesis, “The Burden of Sorrow represents a universal problem that all human beings have regardless of their individual beliefs. Whether someone views life entirely naturalistically or if they are very spiritual, we all experience sorrow at some point. Each song from the EP adopts

a different philosophical point of view yet deals with a similar problem.” Tim goes on to explain how this record is a lyrical first for him: “Metal bands often write lyrics about fiction characters or beliefs. An obvious example is bands with lyrics about Viking gods or evil quasi-satanic ghouls and goblin stuff. Pyrithion is the first band where I’ve written about other points of view in a more narrative sense, but I can’t say I have enough passion for my inner nerd to go totally fantasy. There is a relatable real world element to what I’ve written so far because the differing philosophies I discuss are current issues.” This project was no easy feat, considering how busy Tim is with As I Lay Dying, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, all parties involved were able to toss around ideas and concepts via email for about a month before they all got together over an extended weekend to fine tune and record the entire EP. This made it easier for Tim to sit down with the music that was already written and work out exactly what he wanted

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to do vocally. “This time around I didn’t write the lyrics until I had already heard the instrumentals. Part of the reasoning behind that is that I had a lot going on at the time we recorded and I was procrastinating a little bit. Overall though, I just try to write what naturally comes to mind and not force anything. My mind is rarely resting, so there’s plenty of material at any given time.” All members of Pyrithion, though they are preoccupied in their own projects, plan on following up the EP with a fulllength, and maybe some shows in the future if they find a full-time drummer. So for the time being, I guess we will just have to sit tight and enjoy the three songs we’ve been left with.

NIGHT B written by: hutch13

Interview with Brian

I know you like the dark macabre side of things subject-wise, but when I first heard you it was a joyous, bright, fresh feeling considering the world of punk today. Do you guys think of yourself as unique? Yeah, to a degree, I would say so. Mostly just because of the individual players. Our bass player, Joe, is one of the most well -rounded and talented musicians I have ever seen play. When we lived together he was up an hour before work every day running bass scales, and then an hour after work. The guy is a machine. He loves jazz, but he also loves the best of the best when it comes to classic punk rock bass playing. Zero Boys, Descendents, The Rezillosyou name it, Joe has sat in his room and studied their playing. And being a well rounded, obsessive, music nerd can result in making something pretty cool and unique. Same can be said for our drummer, Ryan, and guitar player, PJ. Those guys love, and draw influences from so much music, and it shows in the way that they play. We’re not breaking any new ground or anything. We like snotty, punchy punk rock with melody, but when you’re background comes from all over the map I think it all will seep into the song writing and help make something unique to

some degree. So, with a great sound like that – and the tendency of surf/garage dudes to be brand loyal, how much does gear matter ? We are one of those annoying bands who try and not use back line even if it’s conveniently already there. We have a pretty specific sound that we are comfortable with and have come to call our own. Ryan plays a 70s Ludwig Vistalite with two rack toms (that’s key!). PJ uses a Fender Twin Reverb, with a plethora of chorus, delay, and reverb pedals. Nerdy shit. What are your thoughts on a society that just watched bombings and were horrified coming from a sub-culture (horror movies comics, and serial killer fascination) that indulges in these and worse acts? It’s sick shit like that that makes me paranoid to leave my house every day. When watching a movie it’s fun to be scared. Fear and being grossed out, or weirded out, are human emotions that are fun to tamper with, but there is nothing intriguing about some fuck cowardly and randomly blowing up an 8- year old child.

You’ve been on some odd bills in today’s standards – but make perfect sense in my world. Like you did the Philly Cock Sparrer show?! With Cro-Mags and Wisdom In Chains. How did that

IRDS happen? How was it? That show was great. That Cock Sparrer set might have been the best set I have ever seen a band play. They just had so much fun on stage, and sounded so loud and powerful. At one point one of the guitar players broke a string mid song, and instead of pulling the old guy professional musician card and snapping his fingers for a roadie to come switch out guitars. He stood there singing back-ups on “Take ‘Em All” and changed the goddamned string himself! It was subtle, but brilliant. We got on the show because the booking agent and promoter suggested us to the band, and they listened to us, dug it, and approved it. I thought that was really cool. That they even care to hear the potential openers and hand select them out of a few choices. Tell me about the new EP, Maimed for the Masses. Are you more comfortable doing four songs at a time? I’m a huge fan of 7”s, especially in punk rock. It’s fucking hard to make an album and feel 100% confident with every song. Putting together four songs and feeling strongly about it comes way easier I think. This case worked out extra well, because we had been writing and stock piling songs for over a year, and when we finally had 17

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keepers and divided them up among the two new Night Birds records. We don’t consider any of the songs throwaways. Any B side on the Maimed EP could have just as easily been an album track, it just came down to which ones we thought fit best together, and what gave each record the best flow. The title track for the EP is called “Maimed For The Masses.” This song is a tribute of sorts to wrestling legend Mick Foley. It’s about giving something you love your all, even if it means bloodying and destroying yourself along the way. I think you can also draw a parallel from this song to punk rock, and the “play to destroy” mentality. We have all chipped plenty of teeth, gotten bruised up, sliced up, even a busted rib along the way. There is something about that 30- minutes when you’re playing where your well being just doesn’t seem to matter. The three B- sides songs are literally about sex, drugs, and rock n roll (as long as Xanax and Autoerotic Asphyxiation still fall into that category).

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photo: Jeremy Saffer

S I S AR

written by: hutch13

Interview with James Malone

How was working with Scion for Leper’s Caress EP? We have worked with Scion off and on for a few years now and every experience has been great. The first time we worked with them was in 2010 for a few ‘Scion Rock Shows’ with Death Angel and they really treated us like rock stars for a few days, so amazing. They first approached us about the EP literally right after we finished tracking Unwelcome and we were a bit skeptical if we could deliver the product on the schedule that they proposed. In the end, we all ‘buckled down’ and wrote and recorded the EP in three weeks. We surprised ourselves for sure. I remember Noah and I saying to each other ‘if we pull this off, we can do just about anything.’ Your new album will be on Nuclear Blast – 3rd time. How is that relationship? We love anyone at Nuclear Blast USA and they have always had our

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backs, so we have no complaints at all. They are all fans of the music they promote as well, which makes the experience that much more amazing.

Why does the technical side of death metal work so well as a vehicle for your aggression? That’s a good question. I don’t know why I have always gravitated towards that style of writing; I didn’t really listen to that much death metal growing up. Early on, I knew the songs I was composing lended themselves to this style so I just ran with it. It came naturally so I chose not to fight it. What was your personal journey into metal and extreme music, as a kid to now? Growing up, I was into 80’s metal and not much else. I went to high school in the 1990’s and I was the ONLY kid around listening to King Diamond, Racer X, and Candlemass. I couldn’t have cared less about The Deftones or Korn, which is what most people my age were into. When I was 17 I discovered Carcass and Dissection. The rest is history

really. I started writing the songs that became A Celebration of Guilt around this time and have more or less written in that style ever since.

Can you name some classic all time bands? Some impressive current peers? ‘Classic all time bands’ for me would be King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Dissection, Vain, Depeche Mode, and The Mission UK. I honestly don’t listen to too much ‘modern’ metal these days. It’s either so overly technical that songwriting takes a backseat to how many notes they try to cram into four minutes or it’s ‘retro.’ We all know that being ‘retro’ translates to the following: who can wear the tightest jeans, who can cram the most patches on their shitty jacket, who can neglect personal hygiene the most, and who can rip off riffs that Slayer/Sepultura did better 20 years ago the best. The albums that Ed Repka did the artwork for 25 years ago will ALWAYS be better than any album he is doing artwork now.

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Did you work with Zeus again? Is it just second nature at this point? If not – what was the search like? We had Zeus mix the Leper’s Caress EP and Mark Lewis produced, mixed, and mastered Unwelcome. Both are amazing, as humans and as producers of metal. I am sure every release we do from now on will be with of those two guys. I couldn’t imagine recording with anyone else. How was the recording of this LP compared to others? For We are the Nightmare and Starve for the Devil we recorded with Zeus and lived at the studio for a month tracking and mixing. With Unwelcome we had Mark Lewis travel to us to track in Virginia so Noah and I could work and record at the same time. Our hearts were in the right place, but I really feel we should’ve taken the month off from work and gone to Mark to focus completely on the recording. We will not be making that mistake again.

photo: Josh Curry

written by: Brandon Ringo Interview with guitarist/vocalist Jason Shi

he story of North Carolina’s ASG is, without question, one of perseverance. They have been together with the same lineup for over a decade and for most of their existence they’ve been signed to Volcom Records, an underground label that has had them included in countless extreme sports videos and even a video game [2010’s Splatterhouse]. They are also constantly on tour and have shared the stage with bands like Weedeater, Valient Thorr and Motörhead. After slugging it out in the underground for a decade, last year they signed to Relapse Records and on May 28th they’ll be releasing their Relapse debut, Blood Drive. Though they’ve had their fair share of ups and downs over the years, ASG’s story is also one of good luck and a substantial amount of hard work. At the time of their signing to Relapse, ASG had fulfilled their contract with Volcom Records

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and did not have a label home. Vocalist/guitarist Jason Shi describes how fate took over and connected them with Relapse, “We actually have a little online store that we run ourselves, just selling our cd’s and t-shirts, basically to try to accumulate gas money for the next tour and I noticed that someone had bought a t-shirt from the Relapse office in Philly.” He continued, “In the online store, you can leave a comment with the order and I wrote ‘Hey, thanks for the order, we appreciate the business.’ [The employee at Relapse] responded, ‘you’ve got a lot of fans in here.’ So I said, ‘hey, you should put out our next record,’ and they replied back, ‘is that an option?’ And it kind of went from there.” After hitting the studio with Matt Hyde (Monster Magnet, Slayer, Deftones), a producer they’ve worked with twice before, ASG recorded an album that will stand out as not only the best album of their career, but it will also be seen as one of the best albums of the year. One of the many reasons why Blood Drive is so solid is because of its seamless mix of hummable melodies and crushing riffs. Regarding his songwriting process, Jason said, “I have to say that nothing’s scripted

with us, it just kinda starts happening. It usually starts with a guitar riff and a melody in my head that I can’t shake and then I work on it at home, [and then] take it in to the band room and see what comes out; I’m willing to experiment and try new things with my boys. I think our strength is writing three to five minute pretty catchy, but heavy songs. That’s not intentional; it’s just how I write. I’m into melody, melodies are usually memorable, that’s just the music I was raised on. Like when it comes to The Melvins, I like the accessible Melvins songs, those are the ones that I’m into. My whole thing with writing is to write these memorable songs that are borderline poppy sometimes, but really heavy. Of course Torche and Floor are probably the founders of that recently, and that’s an influence, but really heavy with kind of a beautiful layering on top, like the juxtaposition of heaviness and melody. That’s the band’s direction,” said Jason. In the unfortunate state of the music industry, bands aren’t always able to survive on talent and hard work alone. Even those with a big label behind them have to fight to survive. “One thing you learn in 10 years of doing this is to have low expectations, because it’s easy to get crushed in this business. We

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learned that the hard way when we were younger, it’s like ‘oh, it’s gonna all happen for us’ and you learn real quick that...don’t lose that job at home, keep it on the backburner for sure.” He then added, “We’re not throwing all of our eggs in the basket yet. Whatever happens, happens. If our popularity increases, obviously that would be awesome, we’ll just kinda wait and see, and hopefully we’ll get some fun tours and just see where it goes.” For some bands, just signing to a label and getting their music heard is considered success; others define success as sold out arena tours and millions of records sold. Jason’s definition of success is simple, “If we could play to 50 or 75 kids a night in the United States on a tour, I think that would be success for me. I think the goal right now, if there is a goal for however much longer we can do this, it would just be to be able to [pauses] legitimize a little bit of almost 12 years of work. It would be insane to actually pay the mortgage with music, that would be awesome.”

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written by: hutch13 Interview With Dwid Hellion

ntegrity has a “classic lineup” from the early days in Cleveland scene. From the Jochams or Melnicks or help from Frankie 3 Guns, some steeped metalcore musicians comprised the band throughout the years through the late 90’s/2000 era Victory days. In 2003, a comeback album on Deathwish, To Die For, floored audiences. The Blackest Curse in 2010, on DW Inc again, established Integrity as an enraged, genre splitting carpet- bombing of noise and evil riffs. After that album, Integrity became Dwid’s soapbox for the world’s demise while Robert Orr became the sole instrumentalist when writing/recording. Suicide Black Snake will be put out on vinyl via long time friend and collaborator, Dom at A389 Recordings, and the CD on Magic Bullet.

it Integrity? What makes this a continuation of Integrity rather than a band/project with a new name? I started Integrity in 1988. The bands theme, sound and imagery has stayed close to my initial idea and now 25 years later, it continues. I do have other bands that I play in, with different band names to match the different bands theme and sound. Robert joined integrity six years ago, right after The Blackest Curse recording session was completed. He and I were in contact prior to his joining the band. We both enjoy similar music and we share a disdain for humanity. Robert grew up listening to Integrity and he

has always admired the guitar style of our original guitar player, Aaron Melnick. Aaron and Robert are friends and they recently worked together on a limited edition remix 12” of Integrity’s 2nd album, ‘Systems Overload’ for Organized Crime Records. Who tours with you? Robert Orr, Ransom, Mississippi Alex Henderson, and Jon Pearcy. You have a rather public life, from sxe to drug use, being revered in the hardcore world to being hated. Where do you feel you sit now in life and in hardcore? Any resolute balance? Did you

have to go through those trials to be who you are now? Our first album, Those Who Fear Tomorrow made it quite clear that we were not going to follow the rules. Each album we released in the 90s was considered by the hardcore scene as “too metal to fit in” and was quickly dismissed by that scene. I do not care about whatever popular labels people wish to throw at my band to attempt to pigeonhole the music and categorize it. I make the music that I like, and I will not apologize. Aggressive music is rooted hatred, if I am instigating hatred through my music, then I am a success. Do you think this new album will “instigate hatred”? It is not intended to be important. The album’s main intention is to express myself and, at the same time, to entertain myself. If it touches anyone else, that is purely coincidental. What feelings that you have toward humanity does Suicide Black Snake reflect? Suicide Black Snake reflects my feeling towards humanity and towards myself. The album is not that simply explained. Humanity is a disease. A pallet of inverted ideals and hypocrisy. However, I do not wish to change the patterns of humanity. I have no interest in saving humanity from itself and offer no advice how to better itself. Rather, I enjoy watching its destruction and applaud the corruption surrounding itself. I am interested in its duality; I am interested in watching this all unravel.

With it being Robert Orr and you – why is it appropriate to call

Do you dwell on specific, or honed in, targets of your hatred? If I had to target one group, I would choose the Catholic Church. This is not for the reasons that one would initially suspect. I am not blindly condemning them for being “good.” On the contrary, I find them to be

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the most pure form of evil. They reveal their own deceptive intention as this bible passage explains, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” The Catholic Church is the Devil’s greatest work, and I admire that greatly. But, I am still perturbed by their confiscation and destruction of human history during their rise to power. They have kept answers from all of us that would reveal who we are, what we are, and why we are. And for this, I would like to see Vatican suffer a bit more than the rest of the humans. A Vatican terrorist occupation to release the imprisoned documents of humanity’s origin would be my most desired act. Unfortunately, this would be a heroic and righteous ideal and conflicts with my voyeuristic passion to watch the human extinction unfold. Do you show your artwork in any

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venues other than CD inlays? Yes, on a few occasions I have had artwork shown in galleries. A toy manufacturer by the name of Monster Worship has recently made an articulated vinyl action figure from one of my drawings. The drawing originally appeared in the ‘Black Heksen Rise’ illustrated book and 7”record. Can you talk about the artwork’s process? It seems to be some engraving, some photo manipulation – various media. For the most part, this is collage work and manipulated photography. It is enhanced with a layer of raised clear ink that in some instances creates a three dimensional effect, and in others it allows an “invisible ink” effect to reveal an additional aspect to the images. I love food and beer. Favorite beer? To me, food is a direct reflection of a culture and could be a prime opportunity for you to expose some readers to the culture of Belgium. Leffe Blonde. Duvel is my second favorite Belgian beer. My friends

and I usually eat at Amadeus in Gent. This is an “all you can eat” rib place with a 1930s theme. Another one of my favorite local attractions is the Dr Guislain Museum. This is an art museum that is located inside an active mental asylum. The building itself looks like it would have appeared in an old Hammer Horror film. The museum started as a means to instill pride in its patients, through displaying their artwork to the public. Dr Guislain believed that the therapeutic effects of their art could help free them from their inner demons. There is also a section of the museum that displays archaic means of mental health therapy. Basically, torture devices. It’s really quite a wonderful museum to visit, and I highly recommend it. Living in Belgium has its own special quality. Being able to walk past old castles and being far enough away from the crowded cities is always inspirational for me. I enjoy my solitude.

that seem to always be necessary for our set to have the desired effect that we crave. What variations of vinyl will A389 do for this release? Knowing Dom and A389, there will be quite a variety of color variations. (laughs)

What does an Integrity set consist of in 2013? We play a mixture of old and new songs. There are some older songs

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BANQUETS

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written by: John B. Moore Interview With Travis Omilian

or a “part-time band,” New Jersey –based Banquets is doing a pretty amazing job at convincing the rest of the world they should be playing music full-time. The band’s debut Top Button, Bottom Shelf, melodic punk rock that brought to mind everyone from Gaslight Anthem to Samiam, was a pretty impressive calling card, but it’s their just released self-titled, fulllength that is destined to convince skeptics that New Jersey is still one of punk rock’s best proving grounds. In just ten tracks, the band has tightened their sound and offered the most personal lyrics to date. The songs vacillate between the intimate (“March 19th” and “Bums in the Breeze”) and straight up anthems (“The Flicker and the Flame” and “Daggers”). Singer and guitarist Travis Omilian spoke recently about the record, finding time to tour and having to choose between Vitamin Water and Bud.

When I last spoke with you guys Top Button, Bottom Shelf was just coming out. What have you guys been up to since then? \We’ve been on the move, especially for being a “part-time” band. We hit a great deal of the East Coast on a couple of occasions, finally

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got out to Chicago and a couple other cities in the Midwest, and did a quick jaunt to Europe last spring for a couple festival dates. Much of 2012 feels like a blur when I look back at it now - I know it was fun, though. We’ve been really fortunate to find a balance between our personal lives and Banquets. We went full-throttle, for us, from the release of Top Button ‘til June of last year. At that point we began writing the new record and went into the studio in September. I’d like to think we kept our lives just hectic enough with everything, in a good way of course. Sometimes you have to burn the candle at both ends because you still can. Did you work with Will Putney again on this new record? Yes, we went to Machine Shop in Belleville, NJ to work with him again. There is a comfort level there, but he still pushes us to perfect what needs to be perfected and try things that we would normally stray away from. We trust Will as a producer and he knows what we are going for. Recording at the Machine Shop was a little different though because they got a new vending machine. You had two choices of beverages: either Vitamin Water or Budweiser. I liked the last album, but really dig this new one even more. What were you guys listening to when you started working on this record? Thanks! I’m always listening to a wide array of current releases and

older stuff. I was on a big Bad Religion’s Recipe for Hate and Osker’s Idle Will Kill kick right before we began putting ideas together, but I’m not sure if that really rubbed off on the final product. For me, the record is more of a reflection of what was going on in our lives. Was this one easier to write than the last one or did you feel more pressure since you had already started to make a name for yourselves? This record came together a little more naturally than Top Button. We took time to demo a great deal of the songs and I had most of the lyrics ready by the time we went in to the studio. I still changed them all before I had to commit, but I usually do that. I’m always trying to tweak, or make things better with the lyrics. There was a little more pressure getting to the demos, because we set that goal for ourselves. There were times that life got in the way, but that’s what happens. One night, while I was driving to the studio from work, I got into a pretty bad accident. I got the guy towing me to drop me off at the studio though. That night was the worst, but we needed to get through it. Can you talk a little bit about the story behind the song “March 19”? “March 19th” is probably the most personal song I’ve ever written. The lyrics are written from the perspective of my grandfather who passed away last year on that date. The majority of the words are actual

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things that he said over the course of his last two months with us. I was very close with my grandfather and he was very matter-of-fact about death. He would always make jokes about it until he became sick last winter. He would still make jokes, but they were too real at that point to seem like jokes. It was very tough to hear the final product, but it helps me heal. Do you plan to tour much after this record comes out? We are hitting a few festivals including Pouzza, Stay Sweet, and Death to False Hope this spring and plan to do some weekends early in the summer. I’m getting married in July, but we will be touring in August. August will be a heavy month for us with touring. We will most likely have a split coming out in the fall and there will be some weekend dates planned around that as well. This is a really exciting time for us and we can’t wait for everyone to hear the new record and to get out and do some shows in new places further and further away. Is it difficult for you guys to take time off to tour? Taking time off isn’t difficult, provided it makes sense. We all work full-time, and since I’m a teacher, the school year isn’t the best time to take off. Between September and June, we focus on long weekends and really hustle to go out as far as possible and still make it back for work.

oySetsFire have ended their radio silence and returned to unleash While a Nation Sleeps. This is the band’s first release in seven years, although vocalist Nathan Gray is quick to mention that he has been busy with other projects during that downtime such as I Am Heresy (see sidebar) and The Casting Out. While not playing music, Nathan has formerly worked as an employment consultant for people with disabilities. At the moment he is an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) representative on a Coast Guard yard, “watching people work.” It was there on the Coast Guard yard on his lunch break that Nathan stopped to talk about the upcoming record.

this record, are you a conduit or does this come from another place within you? I’m not a big fan of hocus pocus. I don’t believe the universe is doing this to me. I believe that my own dysfunction does this to me. I believe that’s what it is for all musicians and artists is their own feeble dysfunctions, which others can see as very cool. [Laughter] I believe that a lot of musicians and artists were pushed by a dark force, to an extent, that is inside us. That’s why we do it. It’s to let out those demons. I feel that most artists and musicians, if they do not do that, they will end up killing themselves or somebody else in the process. That is our psychology couch. I go to music. I go to what we do with BoySetsFire and with my other bands, to get out what I need to get out and be a well- adjusted person. Or at least as well- adjusted as humanly possible. I think for us it is more desperation that being a conduit.

In a press release you spoke that, “We didn’t want to do this record, we had to do it. Something inside us still ached and we needed to share it with you.” Some writers describe themselves as conduits for the universe at large. So for

Listening to the new record, I’ve found that the new album is both angrier and mellower than the older albums. Does it feel that way to you? I do think it is mellow and angry all at once. That is just sort of who we

written by: Damian Burford Interview with Nathan Gray

are. We have a maturing process. I find that at the same time that as you mature and get older, you don’t always completely mellow out on some things. You almost get more pissed as you get older. “Really? It’s 2013 and this shit is still going on?!?” [Laughs] It’s bizarre how certain topics and things can be relevant for SO. FUCKING. LONG. You just look around and there is hysteria and stupidity everywhere. At the same time with a lot of things, there is a mellowing out, that I especially feel with our more melodic songs, that’s more of us fitting into our style. That’s what we became in a lot of ways with our more melodic sound. That IS BoySetsFire’s melodic sound. I don’t think we’ll ever refine our heavy style. With every album the heavier songs sound different from every album to album. As with the more melodic songs, (they) seem to follow a certain path. I’m not quite sure why that is. It does seem to be working that way. I guess we have found our way for the more melodic songs and it just comes naturally and our heavy songs come naturally, but in this weird schizophrenic way. They are always different, all the fucking time, and every fucking album.

NIGHTBIRDS written by: hutch13

I know you like the dark macabre side of things subject-wise, but when I first heard you it was a joyous, bright, fresh feeling considering the world of punk today. Do you guys think of yourself as unique? Yeah, to a degree, I would say so. Mostly just because of the individual players. Our bass player, Joe, is one of the most well -rounded and talented musicians I have ever seen play. When we lived together he was up an hour before work every day running bass scales, and then an hour after work. The guy is a machine. He loves jazz, but he also loves the best of the best when it comes to classic punk rock bass playing. Zero Boys, Descendents, The Rezillosyou name it, Joe has sat in his room and studied their playing. And being a well rounded, obsessive, music nerd can result in making something pretty cool and unique. Same can be said for our drummer, Ryan, and guitar player, PJ. Those guys love, photo: and draw influences from so much David Norbut music, and it shows in the way that

they play. We’re not breaking any new ground or anything. We like snotty, punchy punk rock with melody, but when you’re background comes from all over the map I think it all will seep into the song writing and help make something unique to some degree. So, with a great sound like that – and the tendency of surf/garage dudes to be brand loyal, how much does gear matter ? We are one of those annoying bands who try and not use back line even if it’s conveniently already there. We have a pretty specific sound that we are comfortable with and have come to call our own. Ryan plays a 70s Ludwig Vistalite with two rack toms (that’s key!). PJ uses a Fender Twin Reverb, with a plethora of chorus, delay, and reverb pedals. Nerdy shit. What are your thoughts on a society that just watched bombings and were horrified coming from a sub-culture (horror movies comics, and serial killer fascination) that indulges in these and worse acts? It’s sick shit like that that makes me paranoid to leave my house every day. When watching a movie it’s fun

to be scared. Fear and being grossed out, or weirded out, are human emotions that are fun to tamper with, but there is nothing intriguing about some fuck cowardly and randomly blowing up an 8- year old child. You’ve been on some odd bills in today’s standards – but make perfect sense in my world. Like you did the Philly Cock Sparrer show?! With Cro-Mags and Wisdom In Chains. How did that happen? How was it? That show was great. That Cock Sparrer set might have been the best set I have ever seen a band play. They just had so much fun on stage, and sounded so loud and powerful. At one point one of the guitar players broke a string mid song, and instead of pulling the old guy professional musician card and snapping his fingers for a roadie to come switch out guitars. He stood there singing back-ups on “Take ‘Em All” and changed the goddamned string himself! It was subtle, but brilliant. We got on the show because the booking agent and promoter suggested us to the band, and they listened to us, dug it, and approved it. I thought that was really

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Does the anger ever go away? It comes and goes, ebbs and flows. It is what it is. If it didn’t, I would be psychotic. [Laughter] If you’re always angry or always happy, there is always something wrong with you. [Laughter] I think that’s why BoySetsFire comes off so schizophrenic at times. It’s so up and down and up and down and happy and sad and angry and glad. That’s why it comes off that way. I really enjoyed the Charlie Chaplin quotes from the film The Great Dictator used in the album. In particular the quote: “You must speak.” “I Can’t.” “That is our only hope.” With BoySetsFire you have ultimately become a speaker cool.the That they evenYou’ve care tospoken hear the for speechless. potential openers and that BoySetsFire hashand savedselect your themthough out of the a few choices. life voice that it has given you. What attracts you to Tell me about the new EP, Maimed being that voice? the know Masses. you more Ifor don’t if IAre could even tell comfortable doing four songs you. It’s not natural. I think a lotat a time? of times self- preservation is a lot I’m a natural huge fan of 7”s, especially more than to speak out. At in punk the samerock. time,It’s youfucking have tohard think to make an album and feel 100% that in some ways, speaking out and confident for with everyissong. Putting speaking others in a way self together It four songs feeling serving. works forand some people strongly about it comes way easier and it doesn’t work for others. Some I think. This case worked outfeeling extra people, it gives them a good well, because we had been writing and makes them feel like they are and stock piling songs for over a year, and when we finally had 17 keepers and divided them up among the two new Night Birds records. We don’t consider any of the songs throwaways. Any B side on the Maimed EP could have just as easily been an album track, it just came down to which ones we thought fit best together, and what gave each record the best flow. The title track for the EP is called “Maimed For The Masses.” This song is a tribute of sorts to wrestling legend Mick Foley. It’s about giving something you love your all, even if it means bloodying and destroying yourself along the way. I think you can also draw a parallel from this song to punk rock, and the “play to destroy” mentality. We have all chipped plenty of teeth, gotten bruised up, sliced up, even a busted rib along the way. There is something about that 30- minutes when you’re playing where your well being just doesn’t seem to matter. The three B- sides songs are literally about sex, drugs, and rock n roll (as long as Xanax and Autoerotic Asphyxiation still fall into that category).

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accomplishing something. That in some way they are preserving their own freedoms by helping others with theirs. I feel like that is where my empathy comes from, to an extent. I do feel empathy for people. It’s a natural thing that comes about, while at the same time there is this knowledge that that empathy comes from a very natural place. It’s not some kind of artistic, fancy cosmic thing. It’s something that some people just have. You have it in you and it’s this driving force, just like self- preservation. They are connected. When you fight for other people’s freedoms, when you reach out and touch someone else’s life. Well, in a lot of ways that comes back for you and the society you live in. How does the gratitude of a listener who has been helped by your music affect you? Of course if affects me positively. It’s an honor. That’s why a lot of times BoySetsFire songs, although very outspoken, are also in a way very vague. We don’t go about telling you what to think about each song and what it is actually about. You could pick it out, but honestly what you are probably going to pick out is probably from your own head. You somehow connect to that

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song and you bring it from your surroundings that you know. I try to stay away from telling people what things are necessarily about unless I do it in a more vague manner. I want people to have that. I want people to be able to hear our songs and our music and say, “Hey, that speaks to me on this level. I don’t really care what that stupid monkey is screaming about.” [Laughter] That’s fine with me! How important is creating art to your own healing process? It’s all important. If I didn’t have music I would be dead. It is the most important thing in my life. It is medicine. It is psychotherapy. It’s life, who I am and what I do. There is no separation from it. Separation from that is like separation from oxygen. You die. It’s over. That’s not to be overly dramatic. That is absolutely honest and true.

DID YOU KNOW? I AM HERESY

athan Gray’s other project, I Am Heresy, which channels some black metal and a whole lot of cultish Satanism, got a lot of play on the long van rides of the most recent Off With Their Heads’ tour. Vocalist Ryan Young chats with Gray to see just how serious he is about all the Satan stuff. I Am Heresy is closely related to both BoySetsFire and The Casting Out. How so? I sing and/or sang for all of those bands. The Casting Out is no longer an active band, but BSF and I Am Heresy are. You have a full- length and an EP recorded so far. You have toured Europe at least once that I’m aware of. Any plans to take this donkey show out on the road in the US? Absolutely... If certain “friends,” who shall remain nameless, live up to their wild and drunken promises of taking us out… wink wink. Is this something that you and the other soldiers of the damned treat as a serious project, or is it looked at as something to light candles in

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the shape of a pentagram, jam, and gossip about what celebrities are wearing in a practice space? All of the above. It is a very serious project that will be treated as a fullscale working band... but the pageantry, baby’s blood, rituals, and secret handshakes are a huge bonus! I can’t stand when people kiss on TV or in movies. What’s your input on that? People are stupid... people have lips... therefore... kissing is stupid. You have a baby on the way. Are you taking this band so seriously as to fulfill a prophecy, and that’s the reason you decided to conceive a demon child? Once Lucifer Leviathan Crowley LaGray is born he will immediately be sacrificed unto Mammon... Next I think he gets a black dog of some sort that follows him around, and the maid hangs herself. The end.

ONEB CRUSHER written by: hutch

Interview with Mike Kanel

onecrusher has been a staple in the oi! and punk scene for years, decades. They’ve got full- lengths and EPs. They got miles in their boots. Now with Blvd. of Broken Bones, they are back, with their original singer Raybo to crush some new ears. They play unguarded stripped down punk rock. They call the OC their home. Their replies should reflect their attitude: short and to the point, unabashed and bold. So grab a beer, turn the friggin’ volume up, and let the Crush kick in the door. It’ll be quick. And may even hurt a little bit. But that’s how it is supposed to be. For all of us out of the loop – what got Raybo back in? Raybo just had to go do what he needed to do. As far as we were concerned, he was still in the band. We just switched it up for a bit until he got back. What is the vibe now? Recording just fall into old grooves? Oh yeah. Coming up with jams is never an issue, and if we are playing Raybo has plenty to say ALWAYS! What is about the formula of BC that works so well for the listener (the punk in the crowd)? And what makes it so damn right for you guys? I don’t know that there is a formula, and we always just blast out what feels right! As for the listeners… I guess they can just relate to the emotion involved in our music. I would challenge anyone to criticize you for having the same theme throughout all your years because the world still has the same plague of issues. What is the recipe for staying afloat? Well, times change, but the shit never does! It just gets worse, so it is easy to find subject matter. You have children. What do you tell them about the world they face? Nothing but to be good, and always do the best you can! This is what I teach my children. I never inform

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them of the struggles and troubles we deal with as adults. It’s not fair to put that worry on them. They are kids, and kids should have fun whether it is good fun or being bad. That’s how kids learn.

What should the disheartened and discarded do about our government? Well, folks should stop being pussies and take real action. They need to fight even if they know it’s a losing battle. The government always wins, but that doesn’t mean that the people should stop fighting. Is there any reason to have faith in voting/system? No, there’s no reason to have faith, but if it makes you feel better, vote! “Occupy”? That was the biggest bunch of bullshit I have ever witnessed. The movements of the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s were about taking action, not camping! Bricks through windows? Throw ‘em if you got ‘em! Tell me something to shatter my stereotype of what OC is about. Actually, I think I even have conflicting stereotypes. What is the OC about? In the 80’s? Now? For me, the 1970’s and 80’s were a blast. Not sure what the fuck is going on now. There seems to be a lot of confusion. What classic music still gets you riled? Every time I listen to “Better Life” by The Last Resort I want to smash something. That’s my life today in a song! Also, I can listen to Eddie and the Hot Rods “The Beginning of the End” any time, and it makes a lot of sense to me today! Current bands? I can find something good in most music, and all the new and current bands have their own thing going on. As long as they’re not racist hate songs it’s all good rock n roll. It soothes the soul, and at the same time makes you want to fucking smash shit! That is the beauty of it all.

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photo: Rebecca Josh Reed Sisk

written by: Alasdair Bulmer You might’ve known ‘em by their previous nom de guerre, but Baltimore’s deathrash sprites Necropsy recently rebranded themselves as Noisem. Suitable - they’re a noisy bunch - and rather more distinguishable among the reserve of bands entitled as the former, reflecting their violence and vivacity. What’s more, boasting ages between 15-20 years old, ‘if it’s too fast, you’re too old’ hasn’t resonated so well since the ugly birth of death metal, rightfully recognized by A389 Records. “We changed the name because we knew some day we would have to change it,” explains guitarist Sebastian Phillips, “Necropsy was such a used up name we figured [Noisem] would give us a sort of fresh start once we hooked up with A389 and started doing bigger stuff.” And as for their raison d’etre, “Basically to just write killer music that we would all want to listen to. There isn’t any other motive. I basically just wanted to

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write deathrash in a way that it hasn’t really been approached. Just super fast crossover-ish death metal with a slightly more traditional song oriented style.” A welcome philosophy, and all the more refreshing for those prone to bouts of Z’s at the first blast of tech death wankery. Skin-thumper Harley Phillips agrees, “We tend to stick to typical song structure rather than just write a bunch of over-technical garbage that doesn’t make sense.” Lumping youth and generic tech metal is an easy assumption, but it obfuscates the origins of classic, now canonistical leaders like Obituary, Possessed, Slayer, all of whom terrorized their parents and school chums. Fresh produce is better than a soggy lettuce, and like their ageing forebears once did, Noisem harness their youthful grasp with expertise. Presumably with tongue in cheek, vocalist Tyler Carnes claims, “I began using my voice around the time I was two or so,” offering a delightful image of a toddler finessing his deathgrunts. SP and HP were also introduced to music from an early

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age like numerous other metal siblings bonded by blood and thrash, “I’ve been playing my whole life basically, be it drums, guitar, whatever. I got serious about songwriting around 13 or so and I just kept writing until the stuff I was writing sounded good to me,” explains SP, followed by HP, “I started playing drums when I was about seven and I’ve been in multiple bands before we started getting serious with what is now Noisem.” SP even takes time to praise the utmost of parental backing, “In fact I was in my first legitimate band with my dad. How’s that for support?”

Nonchalant about the future, “I guess we’ll find out when we all decide to grow up,” replies SP when questioned if their teen angst contributes to their downright awesomeness, they’re rightfully “stoked” about upcoming summer appearances at MDF and Scion. Fingers crossed they’ll be traversing North America’s clubs and venues with no time to spare, Agony Defined will be released in June on CD and 12”. Rest assured, it fuckin’ slays.

With such confidence they’re already threatening to give the older generation a run for their money, but even this early on in their careers metal isn’t the be all and end all. “I really don’t listen to metal all that much anymore just because I hear it all the time and we play with so many killer bands,” says SP, supported by TC’s apparent eclectic tastes when asked about his favorite deathrash record, “Disintegration by The Cure. Last time I checked that was deathrash.”

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On the road with Providence, RI doom metallers, Howl

Baltimore, MD Venue was The Sidebar, an infamous punk rock bar in what looked like the downtown area. Baltimore is crusty! So many patches with dreads growing out of them! But the right kind of crusties- the kind that show you mad love, that treat their dogs right, and remind you of your warehouse buddies back home that aren’t on heroin. Opening bands were heavy as fuck, and loud! One guitarist was banging his head in a glittery skirt. You know a group of closet artfags like us from Providence appreciate that! We played a good set; I always love it when the stage is small enough I can get behind young Jesse on bass and feel his girlish locks slap my face when he headbangs. Rolled to a friend’s house after the show, partied with some good people, got handed the biggest bag of trees by a fan as a parting gift. A+ Baltimore. Only John Waters showing up at the party could have topped this shit.

Cleveland, OH What do you do when you’re a band and you got some time to kill in Cleveland? You bring a CD to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame and you go for free. Some pretty mind-blowing stuff: Jimi Hendrix’s Strat, the piece of paper with the lyrics for “Born In the USA,” Cliff Burton’s bass, John Lennon’s glasses, Janis Joplin’s stage outfit, Max Cavalera’s teenage notebook, one of Dime’s guitars. Oogled for a couple of

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hours, then took the van to Melt, the grilled cheese restaurant. All kinds of sandwiches bigger than your head. Then the venue, a lovely piece of Cleveland called Now That’s Class. Everyone’s played here, a big pair of drawers hang above the bar. Old English 40’s for $3. Mad Dog is $5. Openers All Dinosaurs rocked. Then us. Mysterious blue shots brought up on stage by the owner. A dude named Ghetto Dave buying us more shots after out set. Swing dancing in the basement. Everybody thoroughly wrecked. Heavy metal is the law.

SXSW, Austin, TX You know shit is gonna be good when you start things off with Skeletonwitch. We all watched them rip it at the Pitchfork/ Vans showcase at Mohawk with Pallbearer, Trash Talk, and Wet Lungs. Drinks with those dudes and so many other friends afterwards in the courtyard; all the rad folk coming together, like goddamn Voltron in the metal world. The next day it was our turn to get on stage. The MetalSucks showcase. With Gypsyhawk, Ken Mode, Royal Thunder, Norma Jean, and…. Goatwhore: our favorite New Orleans boys- on and off the court. We got up there and played a fucking great set, felt good. But never think you’re the shit when you’re playing with Goatwhore. They goddamn destroyed the place. And I don’t fucking mosh, and neither does Bob from Relapse. Yet somehow the two of us got got by The Whore. Banged up my knee so bad it got its own Instagram account. Day 3 was our show at a rad bar called the Yellow Jacket Social Club, on the east

side of Austin. They teamed up with the people at Rock Of Ages tattoo shop, and combined forces to host a fucking fantastic day of bands, and beers. And brothers with bratwursts. And babes. Black Tusk, True Widow, Fight Amp. We played in the afternoon’s waning sunlight, as someone flicked a cigarette and it landed on Josh’s vest, which was resting behind the stage. Evidently the fucker caught on fire, according to some dude who said he had to throw his bottled water on the thing to douse the flames. Wouldn’t have believed him, but the giant burned hole in the jacket didn’t lie. Then some real talk with John Baizely, who told me more about the crash in Europe, describing some of his injuries. A kind man for being so open, and a badass for persevering in the face of some really tough odds. Day 4. The Relapse showcase. More Tusk, more Thunder, Call Of The Void, Inter Arma; felt lucky to be on a label with these awesome bands. Just as our Tusk buds were closing out their set on the outside stage, the steady beat of some Big Easy bounce hip-hop started flowing in from the inside stage. Big Freedia!! Azz everywhere! Azz everywhere! Bootybootybootybooty. If you ain’t seen that, you ain’t seen nothing. A huge black tranny surrounded by bootyshaking dancers, tattooed metal heads going fucking nuts. Tell me the night isn’t complete when you see the dude from Royal Thunder climb up on stage and shake his ass. Goddamn. Azz everywhere.

famous Cains Ballroom, where the Sex Pistols played in the seventies. Small bar; big heart. Went out for food and ended up with a strange ol’ falafel. Mango chili sauce on it. Sometimes you just go with it. Opening band talked about cops in a non-flattering way. Josh set the high score on Ms. Pacman. We slowly adjusted to near-beer (in OK beer can only be between 0.5% and 3%). Played our set in people’s faces, lotsa fist pumping, particularly from a dude in a suit. Works at a bank, loves and knows his metal, came straight from the job. After our set we pulled up to the bar with a rad local kid who was just, well, real fucking stoked. So he bought us all double shots of Maker’s. Talk about being a standup dude. Then he had a party trick. Asked me my birthdate. So I told him. He thinks for about 5 seconds, says, “I think that was a Tuesday.” Goddamn!! Did the same with the other dudes, right on the fucking money every time! Said he was just really good with dates. Tulsa, Oklahoma!

Tulsa, OK Tulsa, Oklahoma? Tulsa, Oklahoma! Venue was the Sound Pony. Two doors down from the

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written by: Angela Linares

Interview With Ezra Arrow Kire

ith an amalgamated group of talent, Morning Glory has encountered its fair share of line-up changes. As the band has said goodbye to their former guitar player Lucky and hello to Shawn Gardnier who is dubbed as a “riff-meister,” Morning Glory has already begun to work on a follow up album to Poets Were My Heroes. Sharing so many members with other bands like Nausea, Leftover Crack, Sixgun Radio, and World Inferno Friendship Society, I couldn’t help but wonder what would make this line-up last. As Ezra admits that the chemistry of this band simply works this time around, he adds that “being in band is like being married to four people at once, I don’t take anything in music personally if I can help it. I see every record as simply a snap shot in a family album. [Like] a moment in time with whoever is present.” Later stating, “We’re a real band this time around and I want to capture that on tape.” Morning Glory was recently a featured band on BBC Radio (U.K.’s national radio) as a part of the legendary Peel Sessions with Mike Davis. Other musical icons

MORNING GLORY .................................. have graced the same sessions like Led Zeppelin, Queen, and punk gods like UK Subs and Crass. Ezra reflected on the studio session with almost a bit of nostalgia or wonder recalling that “they had a piano there in the Maida Vale Studio that sounded unbelievable. It was out of tune just enough to make it sound like a genuine chorus. All you had to was touch it and it would sing. Most of the day while the boys were setting up their gear and smoking cigarettes I was tinkering around on it, wondering who else had touched it and what I could do to contribute to its soul.” In light of their recent U.K. tour, I asked if there were any notable differences between the punk scene in the U.S. and in the U.K., Ezra noted, “Being an older punk here means you’re a burn out or that you failed in life somehow, or you’re just too stubborn or fucked up to grow up. In the U.K. it’s a real way of life. It means you’re not a wishywashy fucker who can be easily proselytized. [Being punk] doesn’t just go away. As an artist I find that motivating and as a lost soul I find it inspirational. In the States, faces in the crowd change every few years but the demographic always stays the same. In the UK I get to see the same kids when I go back.” It is the punk spirit that definitely keeps this band going. Though they are currently signed to Fat Wreck Chords, Ezra shares how they still have not lost their do-it-yourself

edge that has always kept the scene alive. He said, “Being on a label only really changes one thing from a band’s perspective – it means you have to work harder. They expect you to tour, sell records and produce music. Advances, video money and tour support are a thing of the distant past if you’re a baby band. My last band to get an advance was Choking Victim. [T]his idea that you’ve ‘made it’ once you’ve ‘signed’ a record contract is a total myth. I don’t think I’ve ever even signed a contract to be honest with you. It’s almost always a verbal agreement and with a well established label that I trust. Except for Gokart Records who never paid me a fucking dime.” Wanting to be an open book to fans, Ezra honestly opens up writing: “After our tour of the West coast at the end of last year, I started to lose my way pretty badly. I couldn’t see anything clearly anymore and the sounds of New York City were blocking out my own music completely. I was writing choruses that sounded like some Katy Perry shit or something. I’d write a tune and it would turn out to be some fucking Lana Del Rey or Barry Manilow song. I was falling into serious trouble. Christmas day of last December, I called my mom and pleaded with her for help. She bought me a plane ticket to the Rocky Mountains, the place of my birth, and I returned for the first time in 20 years. For more than two weeks, I rented a cabin on the property which I grew up on. There was no phone, no internet, no

television, no people, no distractions, and no entertainment of any kind. If I tweaked the dial just right, I think I could get a faint frequency of CBC radio. It was very quiet. You could hear the heavy snow falling 100 feet away. While I was alone way up on the mountainside, I had almost no human contact at all. I tried to decompress. I was depressed and without direction, completely confused about where I should go next. I wondered if this has all been a big mistake. I was totally lost. So I spent my time just taking these very long walks through the forests and up into snowy peaks, standing with deer in the fields from sun up until long after dusk, playing guitar, writing, singing out loud to the sky and praying to the universe for some kind of direction in my life. I had brought my guitar and a keyboard so I started writing tunes that would form the foundation for our upcoming record.”

For the meanwhile, fans like me can enjoy unreleased songs – “Jesus Christ Boogie” and “Sara Says” to be released on their 7” Born to December. Even though their first album could be considered a musical baby that Ezra birthed, he admits the “new material has been more of a group effort, as will be the next record – if the rest of the band hasn’t killed me by then.”

photo: Seth Olenick

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THE WELCH BOYS written by: Janelle Jones

Interview With TJ Welch In June, not only do the Boston-based Welch Boys unleash their third album, Bring Back The Fight (Sailor’s Grave), they’re also playing a rare gig with Swingin’ Utters on the 9th. In between discussing the horrors of the Boston Marathon bombing and, on a lighter note, hockey, guitarist TJ Welch talked about this latest record, which has somewhat of a sportsthemed bent. All this stuff that went on this past week, did that affect you? Yeah. One of my customers is the MBTA, the Mass Transit Authority in Boston. I went in there to visit some engineers I deal with on Wednesday and they were right down the street from Boylston St. where that happened. I bought some flowers and dropped them off at the memorial. For about a quarter-mile the whole street is shut down- a street that’s normally bustling on a spring day. It’s sad. I felt like crying, maybe I’ll write a song about it. I’m glad they caught the guy and I’m glad everyone is overjoyed and celebratory about it, but at the same time I’m a realist and there could be another guy right behind. You know being from NY; it doesn’t go away. This is a concerted effort by religious fanatics, for them it’s a thousand year war. I don’t think anything’s gonna stop it. I heard the new record. You do “Someone’s Gonna Die,” the Blitz cover, but then you have “Where Have All The Bootboys Gone.” I was expecting Slaughter And The Dogs, but then it’s not. That’s a great tune, we like those guys too, but me and the singer Ed [Lalli] picked that one to cover because we like obscure Oi!/punk music from all around the world and found that on YouTube one day, he sent me a link, and I sat down with my guitar and figured out the chords and harmonies. I love this tune and I love the way they do it, but I thought with The Welch Boys touch it’ll be even heavier. You write all the lyrics? I try to get everyone to contribute and Ed has written lyrics and Mark

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our bass player writes a good portion of the songs. If there’s a song and no word ideas, I usually can just take it for a day and then the next day deliver it. I’m pretty good with the melodies and the words, I guess. Sometimes it’ll be, “Hey, that doesn’t sound right, change it to this,” or the other guys’ll be like that with me. So there’s a lot of collaboration. But I’d say I write a good portion of the words. “I Feel Like Drinking,” that’s one I wrote. I’ve been known to have my battles with alcohol. I’m an Irishman; I get into that, that’s a pretty good well for me to tap into for subject matter. On the first one you had a song about that, and “Belly Of The Beast” here, about taking it too far… I guess we sing about the joys and perils of alcohol because we have a song called “Whiskey And Beer” and it’s about how sometimes you just need a drink. I tend to write the ones about the down-and-out characters. “Belly Of The Beast,” I got pulled over by cops and I had probably four or five beers. I didn’t get a DUI but it scared the fuck out of me. That was a couple years ago. And now I try to control it, but I think that song is neither pro-drinking or really anti-drinking, it’s more just about the humiliating experiences.

photo: Rebecca Sarah Reed J threw a lyric into that one. Damn if I can tell you what the song’s about. I wrote half of it. What else have we got? We got some sports songs. That’s a little different. Like “Bring Back The Fight.” And I saw the cover art, the ghoulish hockey player. That skull, when I started the band I had superimposed the skull on the four-leaf clover, that was on our first two album covers and on the new one he’s a hockey player. Hockey and punk rock have a lot of commonalities because it’s the punk rock out of all the sports. And we’ve got another sports-related song called “Hand

Grenade.” It’s got a little bit of a harmony guitar part similar to Thin Lizzy or bagpipes I was thinking when I wrote it. It’s about the Irish Hand Grenade who’s a friend of ours. He’s a professional UFC fighter, Marcus Davis. It’s kind of his theme song. [When he fights] he’ll come out to that song. “Somone’s Gonna Die” is a soccer song. This is maybe a sports-themed album. Three or four sports songs on there and the Blitz one fit right in.

I like how you have “Hit It And Quit It” and then go right into “Can’t Let Go,” the two superfast ones. “Hit It And Quit It” I was thinking let’s write a song that’s exactly 59 seconds long. It can’t be a minute-one [second], it can’t be 58 seconds. Just try to throw a quick beat to it like the old hardcore like DRI or MDC, those bands that used to just play mental fast. I wrote the guitar riff and then Sam the drummer goes, “That was great! Just hit it and quit it! It’s over before you know it.” And I said, “Fuck, that’s the title of the song.” “Hit it and quit it in less than a minute.” “You say my music’s too fast/You can stick your opinion up your ass.” And then a little bit of that Johnny Rotten brattiness, “I’m gonna play as fast as I can/‘Cause I got no attention span.” I’m screaming at someone. [Laughter] “Can’t Let Go” the same way, old-style hardcore song. I think every band member

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SUGAR STEMS

written by: Kurt Baker Milwaukee- based guitar pop band The Sugar Stems deliver their sophomore LP on Dirtnap Records, that’s definitely worth the wait.

n the Wisconsin shores of the great lake Michigan, noise is blasting out from the concrete cracks of a dusty dark basement. Situated in the bleak beer- soaked enclave of Milwaukee, to hear such bright pop sounds emitting from a tough blue-collar industrial zone is almost surreal. Yet, in fact, it is quite real. Upon further investigation, that noise is none other than a group of musicians, radiating energy and keeping warm while they hammer out some of their newest material at practice. That band and their noise is the sweet sound of the Sugar Stems. It’s amazing to put in

contrast the music of the Sugar Stems with their town of Milwaukee, famous for its rough neighborhoods, overly grey atmosphere, and neverending winters. “I remember trying to play guitar with no feeling in my fingers and seeing my breath at times when I sang,” recalls lead vocalist Betsy Heibler, reminiscing on the group’s former practice space conditions. Yet, perhaps it’s in the trials and tribulations of the band’s trying surroundings that actually makes their sound all the more sweeter, and enjoyable. The quintet’s latest offering, Can’t Wait, is a 10-song tourde-force of high fructuous- flavored hooks. Throughout their sophomore LP release, clean channel guitars with the proper sprinkling of dirt pack enough punch to leave any pop fan with a substantial sugar high. The Sugar Stems effortlessly echo the streamlined chops of the Kinks, while merging the classic rock n’ roll ethos of power pop legends,

take the likes of Dave Edmunds and Rockpile. Edmunds, a musician known for his strict influence of early roots rock and classic country music, has left a notable impression on the sound of the Sugar Stems, and their nod to the early days of rock n’ roll only makes their sound more unique and listenable. It’s honest, and it’s catchy. They are your everyday man’s (or woman’s) power pop group. Heibler states, “I like classic country, the way it could be so sad but so catchy at the same time.” Can’t Wait has a certain kind of Midwestern charm to it. Tracks like “Love You To Pieces” is a tart mid-tempo rocker, perfect for those long late night drives down the highway. Paired up with the choppy riff rave ups and smashing beat of “Like I Do” and the sublimely melancholic “Get To You” (sung by the group’s lead guitar player Drew Fredrichsen), Can’t Wait showcases a sense of focus and diversity not found on their previous efforts. It

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doesn’t hurt that all the members have spent many years playing in an assortment of well respected groups in and around Wisconsin, a region with a reputation for it’s hardworking, no bullshit approach to making music. “We pretty much all grew up going to shows and watching bands in different dive bars and basements. I think practicing, playing, and traveling to play shows in frigid temps is definitely part of the Midwestern band work ethic. Our band has definitely had our fair share of that and I think it’s made us a lot tougher,” says Heibler. With that said, it’s clear that Can’t Wait is a testament to the hard work they’ve put in. Even though the chorus of the opening track blares the vocal line “I’m Greatest Pretender,” within a few spins of Can’t Wait it is clear that the Sugar Stems aren’t pretending to be anything but themselves – an incredible pop group.

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ON THE ROAD with

By Ryan Michael Hackett

Tony Foresta HOB in Anaheim, CA 3/22

Dave Witte outside The Marquee in Tempe, AZ 3/24 42

Ryan Waste and Land Phil backstage just before going on/Irving Plaza, NYC 4/20 new noise magazine

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Dave Witte in a specialty craft beer isle/San Diego, CA 3/25

Municipal Waste at “Grill’Em All,”where they have a burger named after them called “The Waste’Em All” burger. With owners Ryan Harkins and Matt Chernus 3/26

Flipping off their booking agent/HOB on Sunset in LA 3/27

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PAINT IT

photo: Rachel Wass

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written by: hutch13

Interview With Dan Yemin

an Yemin: an elder now in the annals of modern hardcore. He got a bunch of angst dudes to revel in the melodic side with his band Lifetime, spawning bands like Reach The Sky, not afraid to preach about the heartbreak too. Then he resurfaced in a spastic, catchy, furious spitfire named Kid Dynamite. The dust settled and Yemin needed to keep moving with a band called Paint It Black. Noise and discord and big ideas in short tunes. Raw energy and tenacity propel Paint it Black. Paint It Black released three LPs and have found the most productive way to continue this band’s momentum is to release EPs on a different label each time. Bridge Nine and Fat Wreck Chords had the honor last time. No Idea steps up to deliver us another gem of six vicious and visceral outlets of enmity and confusion triggered by a backwards society. Dan Yemin doesn’t just vent. He breeds change. He enables others. He gives back. He gives back to society and to the punk world. Certainly that must feel good to know that he has helped cultivate an active organism based on ethos and motivation. In the 20 years I’ve called Philadelphia “home,” I’ve watched my peers and friends transform it from a city that was seen by many as nothing more than a place to stop for gas on the drive from D.C. to New York, to a thriving community that is a definitive stop for every touring band, and a place that has its own distinct personality that’s distinct from the better-known cities to our

immediate north and south. The corporate giants that own the music performance apparatus in a lot of cities (Clear Channel/Live Nation) have tried and failed time and time again to shut down the DIY process here. It’s always been an inspiration, and the subtext of any underground music that comes from here. Paint It Black, vocally and musically, is raw and harsh and blunt. This seems like the opposite approach compared to your ‘day job’ as a psychologist. What is your natural approach in life? I don’t see the two aspects of self as incompatible, though. Humans are complicated. Being aggressive and out of control in one context is a good balance for being reflective, patient, and soft-spoken in the others. Any of your bands can be (and are) described as “melodic” or at least “catchy.” What about the infusion of melody speaks to you as best suited for the delivery of your music? We tried to not be melodic, but we failed so hard. The original idea for this band was to sound like Los Crudos or Talk Is Poison or something like that, but the melody always creeps in. How do you feel about the dichotomy of the melodies with the raw spastic bursts of your music? In much the same way that I find balance in things that seem, on the surface, to be opposites, we feel like the melody and the raw aggression complement each other in a really organic way. We like to think that those two parts of the experience lend depth to the music rather than create a contradiction.

One of my favorite Paint It Black lyrics is from “White Kids Dying of Hunger” on New Lexicon: “I wish I had your faith. Maybe then I would feel safe.” I lament the same view; almost ignorance is bliss. Although there are times that I do legitimately envy the faithful for their certainty, I feel as if contentedness in the absence of awareness is bullshit. I always say that to people who call me a cynic. “I’d rather know the truth and have it make me miserable.” It’s not an earned happiness. The world is full of ugliness and great beauty, none of us are immune to that, and you can’t have one without the other. Thematically this relates to the last two questions in an interesting way. I notice we have more “older” people in hardcore than prior waves. I think that wave one were people looking for something new and different. And by the mid 80s, they wanted to be different from hardcore. But now, it’s common to see 30 and 40 year olds at shows. Are these people more into hardcore for its distilled values, “hardcore for hardcore’s sake” so to speak? I can’t speak for anyone else, but we always thought that one of the most exciting things about hardcore/ punk is how inherently democratic it is. If you don’t like the type of music that’s being made in your community, or the type of shows that are happening, you can create those things. We always experienced punk as something that you don’t grow out of, something that continues to enhance and inform your life as you continue to grow through your 20’s and 30’s and beyond. So we made this band something that represented

photo: Rachel Wass

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that. Maybe that’s paralleled other demographic changes in the scene, I don’t know. In this day in age of technology and gadgets, are you worried that children will grow up limiting tangible social interactions (wired to their gadgets)? I worry about that all the time. We keep that stuff pretty limited on the home front, but electronically mediated relationships are a constant out in the larger world. The way I see things is that kids learn from what they see as much as anything else, so we try to be engaged directly in ways that are really obvious to our kids. We’re trying to move to a neighborhood where almost everyone has a front porch and people spend a lot of time in contact with their neighbors. I worry about the long-term aspects of these technological trends, but I’m sure that my grandparents felt the same way about the telephone. Any thoughts on the paradigm shift of social communication compared to when we were teens? The thing I worry about is the absence of non-verbal communication, the more subtle and abstract elements of meaning: tone of voice, posture, eye contact. All of those things, and the rich meanings that they convey, are lost in text-based communication. It’ll be interesting to see how we as a species adapt to it. Humans have been altering the world via technology, and then having to adapt to those alterations, since the inventions for the first tools. Dan Yemin certainly personalizes and delivers that sentiment in his music and lyrics. I will never condemn a social media or a new technology. They are simply tools. It is often the user that warrants the condemnation, perversing an authentic instrument into a conveyor of the vapid and the futile and gossip. Technology is a tool. As is a hammer. You can build a shelter or a stage; or thump someone on head with it. Your choice. Dan chooses to build. And then scream a lot.

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symbolism? Alex: The cover artwork is dedicated to the story behind the song “Necromancy Divine” which tells the cruel tale of the ancient witch Erictho, a necromancer who lived in the times of the Roman civil war between Caesar and Pompeius around 50 AD. She took dead bodies into her tomb and brought them back to life with painful rituals, filling boiled blood into the corpses and whipping them with snakes. By bringing back the dead to life, she forced them to forecast the future. We actually used the original Latin lyrics of the rituals in the song but when we recorded it, our Dutch guitar player Sander joked that if we continue to record those ritual chants like that in the middle of the night we may risk a zombie attack at the studio! (laughs)

ATROCITY written by: Eric May

trocity not only perform death metal, but have experimented with industrial, classical, and gothic elements, as well as full on darkwave, akin to Dead Can Dance, making you one of the most versatile bands today. How do you decide exactly what kind of album you’re going to make? Alex: Yes, that’s right, this band is a very versatile group of crazy musicians, I guess (laughs). We were always looking for new challenges in our musical career and it was never our cup of tea to do the same album all over again. Okkult is a return to the classic death metal nature of the band and is the first part of a trilogy. You’ve described the music and subject matter to be very heavy in tone. Can you tell us a little bit about this first chapter to the trilogy? Tosso: We wrote and recorded all songs in our own studio and headquarters Mastersound. Alex produced the album, which enables us to be totally free and independent

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with our musical ideas. As one of the main songwriters, I prepared myself and drew inspiration from old horror movies. We really wanted to have a very dark and “okkult” sound to make the lyrics and the songs really fit together in a very tight way. Almost all sounds on the album are handmade which gives the album a very organic and dirty sound. Besides the super heavy drums, bass, guitars, and vocals you also have the Lingua Mortis orchestra on the album. The orchestra recordings were the only ones that didn’t happen at Mastersound, but in White Russia under the guidance of Victor Smolski. What I like about the production is that it’s very transparent and powerful and dynamic at the same time. The songs are brutal and sometimes very fast, but they also have choruses that you can shout along with which is something that I sometimes miss in extreme metal nowadays. I was able to take a glimpse at the album cover for the disc and have to say from being a studier of the occult, I’m certainly getting an esoteric feeling from the image of the painted woman holding the snake and having a large python wrapped around her. What is the

Most of Atrocity also doubles as Leaves’ Eyes. What is it that separates the sound of Leaves Eyes from the sound of Atrocity? Tosso: Atrocity existed long before Leaves’ Eyes was founded. If you just take a look at the last two releases from both bands you will realize that it’s two completely different bands, concerning sound, songs, and lyrics. The only exception is that some of the members play in both bands. Leaves’ Eyes is a band focused on Liv Kristine’s voice and lyrically inspired by nature, especially Norwegian nature. The music is dark, epic, romantic, and symphonic. Atrocity has its roots in the extreme metal scene and is more guitar oriented. Will Liv Kristine make an appearance on this new Atrocity album? Are there any bonus songs that might see her appearance? Tosso: Liv did some amazing background vocals on the album, but she is not doing any lead vocals on the album. This time there is only one very special bonus track, which is part of the super cool treasure hunt for the Okkult album.

it to themselves where it is lost to time and not even you will be able to hear it again. Where might one of these songs appear? Where can we find clues? Alex: We wanted to make something really special for our fans. There will be no conventional bonus tracks on the Okkult albums. In return, all fans can actively engage in a kind of treasure hunt. For the respective Okkult albums, we will hide one song on an “occult site,” which is the “missing” track to each album. For the first Okkult record that certain place will be in Europe. All original recording tracks and mixes of these songs will be destroyed, so that also means that we as a band will not be able to listen to these songs until they are found. They are in the truest sense of the word, unique. So you can be part of the first metal treasure hunt ever! The Digipak LTD version will have great artwork and also contains the hidden code and first evidence for the treasure hunt. You need to identify the code of the hidden numbers to get a password, which is actually the name of the hidden song. Once you find it, you will be able to enter the treasure hunt on our website, www.atrocity.de. You can login with the password and the treasure hunt can begin! What do the nature of these bonus songs entail? Some of the songs on the last album sounded like ritual sessions like “As The Sun Kissed The Sky” so I’m wondering if any of these hidden tracks might contain hidden knowledge of some sort. Tosso: Since it’s a hidden song, it’s TOP SECRET. I can only say that it’s a really great song and it’s a strange feeling to “lose” this song in a way. (laughs) Alex: And I’m the only guy who knows where it is! (laughs maniacally)

I certainly have to mention the scavenger hunt. According to what I’ve read, you’ve hidden some bonus tracks from the Okkult recording sessions in several places throughout the world and whoever finds one of them has the decision to either share the music, or keep

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written by: Joshua Bottomley

Interview with vocalist Greg Puciato

hen Calculating Infinity first incinerated eardrums back in 1999, most aggressive music heads were mesmerized. Many of the early metalcore bands dabbled in jazz-fusion, noise, and out-of-time groove, but the The Dillinger Escape Plan’s debut LP was by far the most violent and complex. A decade and a half later, Dillinger is still predictably unpredictable. This uncompromising artistic expression has fascinated fans across subgenres making DEP one of the premiere acts in extreme music today. New album One Of Us Is The Killer has everyone wondering, “What will they do next?” The throat of the animal, Greg Puciato, explains to New Noise that even he doesn’t know what Dillinger’s going to do, until they do it. Greg, do you feel a need to make each Dillinger album “better” than the one before, or do you just want to make it a unique experience for yourselves and the listener? We’ve gotten to the point where we don’t think of our albums chronologically anymore. We’ve had this artsy fartsy approach to our band the entire time where we think of it more like a weird art experiment. We never set out to make a better version of our previous album, like, “We’re gonna make sure that the heavy parts are heavier and the melodic parts are more melodic.” We don’t think about building on things, more like throwing things into a ring. I don’t hear our old records as sounding old and dated and that everything is a progression of what came before it. Every time we write, we always try to imagine that The Dillinger Escape Plan doesn’t exist, so that we’re not standing in our own shadow. We just write what comes organically. That’s what has kept us excited to play with one another, that we’re never looking over our own shoulder.

photo: Jeremy Saffer

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Many bands feel like they have

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to cater to fans, because they brought the band success. Do you ever take fans into account during the writing process? Absolutely not. I think that what actually got us an audience to begin with was that we didn’t care. Our first two full- lengths, Calculating Infinity and Miss Machine were so drastically different from not just what was going on [in extreme music] but from each other. We established pretty early on that we were doing this for selfish motivation. We look at things collectively not individually. The only thing that you can do is be completely honest. Over the long haul, that’s going to be artistically interesting. We never use terms like “marketing” or “target audience.” That shit’s insane to me. Go sell pizzas if that’s what you want to do. What are some of the biggest differences in your approach to Dillinger now than when you joined 12 years ago? When I joined I felt a lot of pressure. Coming after Calculating Infinity, which was like a fucking atom bomb in the scene, and right after Mike Patton had done his thing too, I definitely felt unsure of my role in the band. I felt like I was gonna be judged really harshly. With every album, we’ve thought less and less. It’s important to get rid of the thought process and make things from an instinctual standpoint. The longer we’ve gone, the less we’re thinking and that makes us better. We already know what our skill sets are. We know what we’re capable of from a technical standpoint. When I hear other people talk about music, they talk about time signatures, notes, and scales. Me and Ben [Weinman, guitars] talk about what a song should feel like. Most outsiders can’t make sense of Dillinger’s chaotic music. Do you ever get lost in new songs or have to resort to counting? I have no idea what the counts are on any of our songs. I just listen to them while we’re writing. I feel like Ben, Steve Evetts [engineer/ producer], and I have developed a language only we understand. It’s like we’re speaking Japanese or something. It’s really weird to me,

photo: Rebecca Reed

because I don’t understand what we sound like objectively anymore. When someone hears Dillinger for the first time and says, “This sounds like noise. How did you guys remember that?” Or, “this song is in some weird time signature, how did you even write that?” The truth is we didn’t know until you told us what the time signature was. It’s all reflex at this point. Something either feels good or it doesn’t. This is just how we think. It’s not that chaotic to us. It’s not that out there. It’s just the language we’ve learned to speak together. How planned out are your vocals going in to the studio? Do you know where you are going to sing or scream? I don’t demo anything. The first time I sing everything in the studio is literally the first time the words

ever come out of my mouth. I don’t want to sing it or scream it ahead of time and start to lose emotional connection to it. I don’t want it to become consonants and vowels or become too rehearsed. I’ve stopped thinking in terms of different vocal styles. I just hear my voice. That’s how I know that we’re growing; I’m not thinking anymore. If Ben sends me a song, I’ll put it on repeat throughout my day. I’ll listen to it in the car while I’m driving, at home, on headphones, on the stereo. Eventually parts will start to jump out at me. I’ll start to twitch at a certain part and realize that something needs to happen there. It starts to come out organically. I don’t think about what style of voice I’m gonna use until I get in the vocal booth. Then we’ll start looping it and I’ll just start running through it. The things that come

out of me, they don’t feel like clean and screams anymore. I don’t want to think of screaming as a distortion pedal. It just needs to be one person’s voice that’s going up and down in intensity throughout the song. What’s your lyrical process? I try not to force anything. I don’t like to sit down and make myself write. We’re not a band that thinks about the album cycle. Like, we’re done touring so we have to write an album, then we need to make more money so we gotta go back on tour. We just wait until something starts to happen. So when Ben starts to send me songs, I just listen to them. Sometimes phrasing comes first, and I have to plug lyrics in later. Sometimes the lyrics happen at the same time. Like the song “One of Us is The Killer”

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wrote itself straight through, from the couch to what you hear on the record, lyrics, phrasing, melody, everything unchanged in 45 minutes. If I have half of a song written and I can’t write the second half I’ll let it go. I’m not gonna beat my head into the wall trying to force something to come out. And it will always come. Even if it’s a few days before I have to record it, it’ll happen. So is One Of Us Is The Killer your most personal album so far? For sure. This album, to me, was the most honest. I’ve gotten better every time at writing something that matters to me, and being less selfish about what I’m feeling and what I’m writing. Not overthinking lyrics and not changing too much. One of the things that makes that

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happen is writing the lyrics as close to recording as possible and writing them as closely together as possible. That way, you’re not planning on writing a concept record, but the album ends up being everything subconscious that you were dealing with at that time. If I wrote lyrics three months ahead of time, by the time I got to the recording process, I would have resolved all of those things emotionally already. I probably wouldn’t even remember what I was talking about. Then I’d have to basically fake it, or try to remember and I’d be recreating a facsimile of an emotion that I already had three months ago. Writing lyrics really close to recording allows me to have the emotional relevance. Something that I can, not only record, but remember and relate to when I look back at the record. Do you ever look back and wish that you’d taken more time or revised the words a bit better? No. If you feed yourself the right tools, you’ll be able to instinctually do the right thing. I think the writing is a two-step process. It’s an inhale and an exhale. You’re writing the songs while you’re living your life. You’re not just writing when you’re sitting at the computer. You’re writing for the two or three years before that, learning new things, taking in new life experience, new art, fucking up your personal life. There’s a million things that happen. If you’re staying aware artistically, you can stow all that so when it comes time to write you can expel it in as honest a way as possible.

we get back together we are going to have something worthwhile to output. I can’t even imagine writing lyrics right now, because there’s nothing in me to get out. I got it out. Now I need to live for a couple years. What if the bottom fell out of the band tomorrow? Would you go back to playing VFW halls and touring in a van for the sake of the art? We’d still do it. We don’t do this because it’s our job. The second you start to rely on something for money it can corrupt your process. Once you start thinking like that, you’re fucking yourself in the long run. If you think of things long-term you know that there’s gonna be ebbs and flows. We chose to live our lives as artists, not just people who had a band in their 20’s. Sometimes it might take a couple years when no one gives a shit about what you’re doing and you’re playing VFW halls or not playing at all. Maybe a couple years later you’re gonna put out a record that people are gonna care about. Whatever you’re doing, once you commit yourself to it, that that’s what you are. You just deal with the fact that there’s ups and downs. If our record came out tomorrow and it wasn’t popular and all of a sudden overnight we were a quarter of the size we are now, if we still felt excited to play with one another and felt we still had something to say as The Dillinger Escape Plan, we would continue.

Is it more important to go on the road and reach people, playing the same songs over and over for the next year-plus rather than to continue to create new art? No, but you can’t create music without the time in-between. It goes back to the inhale/exhale thing. If we tried to write another album right now, we’d have nothing to write. We just expelled everything. We don’t sit down and think about writing a song like making a pizza or cutting the grass. It’s not something that you can sit down and do endlessly. We have no problem going four years between records because we know when

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photo: photo: Tyler Rebecca Gibson Reed

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written by: Tyler Gibson

Interview With Nuno Pereira

t’s been a while since A Wilhelm Scream put out their S/T EP. It’s been so long, in fact, that fans have started having wet dreams about the release date and are being driven to the breaking point of the forced abstinence that the band has put upon us. When will the shred nerds get to collectively blow their wads all over what will likely be at the top of many ‘Album of the Year’ lists? Nobody knows, not even the band itself. I recently spoke to Nuno about the upcoming album, going to Australia, being a dad and a whole lot of references to male genitalia.

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Let’s get down to the dirty shit people want to hear. What the hell is going on with the new record? Does it suck having to keep saying, “SOON!” whenever someone asks when it’s coming out? Or do you enjoy the whole cocktease aspect of it all? I enjoy a good cocktease as much as the next guy, but that’s beside the point. We are all very excited to release your new favorite record ASAP. It’s been a long process and I know it’s worth it. If it makes you feel better, I’ll leak you a copy tomorrow... or someday soon. Maybe.

Can you explain how and why you guys decided to produce the album yourselves as opposed to going back to the Blasting Room? Do you think the influence of Livermore/Stevenson had anything to do with the success of your prior releases? Doing this record ourselves was a no brainer. The amount of time that both Trevor and Mike have spent in the studio perfecting their craft has been invaluable. They’ve become two of the funniest, most knowledgeable guys any musician could hope to track with. Also, when you don’t have any real time constraints, I feel the recording process becomes a bit more organic and less strained. As far as Bill and Jason’s names on our old records are concerned, I don’t think that helps us sell any more records than we would without them. Those two dudes are at the fucking top of their game and can get the best outta anyone, that’s a fact. I loved working in The Blasting

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Room and hope to maybe get back in there someday, but our decision to do our record ourselves is part of a process that will allow A Wilhelm Scream to be a self sufficient entity. Look at Fugazi, for example, or The Descendants, for that matter. I was at both of the LA area shows in March and you mentioned that

Have I told you about my kid’s huge balls!?

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leaving your kid at home was one of the hardest things you’ve ever had to do. The speech you made had pretty much the entire audience in tears, myself included. Considering the new addition to your family, do you see AWS slowing down a bit and focusing on recording albums as opposed to

the rigorous touring that you guys are known for? The band will continue to tour as much as we can. Being in this band is like being part of a family in and of itself. The addition of my son Brixton to said family will mean that maybe instead of the 2-3 month long tours we’ve done in the past, we’ll probably be doing 3-4 weeks. Anyone out there who has a child will understand and I think even those without kids will, too. I’ve had very few things in my life that I can say are my own and that I’m proud beyond words of: Brixton and A Wilhelm Scream, and that’s about it. I will continue to do what’s best for both, and will try to keep a balance the best I can. Have I told you about my kid’s huge balls!? Another time maybe. How was Australia? Any cool stories to tell? That fucking continent is full of criminals, cricket bats, and beet root! Naw, I kid, it was amazing. We’ve been lucky enough to play there four times now and this last time on the Hits and Pits tour was one of my favorites. I was lucky enough to not room with any of our more stinky/drunky crew so it was quite enjoyable. Also, some crazy girl grabbed my nuts while I was singing with some peeps on the barricade and used ‘em like those Chinese hand massage ball things. Awful. Yet sexy. Anyway, I don’t think Nick peed on anything so, success!

What was the thought process behind releasing the new album on No Idea records? Was it pretty much a no brainer or did they have to coax you into a long shitty contract full of loopholes that will eventually fuck you and the rest of your band over (just kidding)? Working with Var and the No Idea family has been amazing. It’s my belief that No Idea is one of the last remaining labels that truly gives a fuck about music and on a broader scale the people, i.e. us, that listen to it. There are no “bullshit contracts” or any of the nonsense sign your life/ rights away crap that I’m sure still exists elsewhere, just a solid core of music lovers doing their best to put out records they like and want to share with the world. Any idea when The Guys Downstairs are going to release an album? Have you guys actually met the REAL Dave Mustaine and if so, what’s his deal? Good question. I’ll go downstairs and ask them. Hold on a sec, okay? ................ Fuck Dave Mustaine.

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SHARKS written by: John B. Moore

Interview with guitarist Andrew Bayliss

eeping up an impressive gap of roughly twelve months between albums, the British punks known as Sharks are set to debut their latest full- length, Selfhood, this month. And while that album-a-year pace may have been pretty routine in the 70’s thanks to fistfuls of Quaaludes, a lot of cocaine, and easy to impress fandom, that momentum is pretty damn impressive nowadays, especially when the songs on Selfhood manage to be some of the best in the band’s already impressive musical cannon. This record is coming out not that long after No Gods was released here. Were you guys particularly prolific or did it

just take a while for No Gods to come out in the U.S.? We didn’t have a gigantic touring schedule after No Gods came out, so we just decided to dive straight back into the writing process. There’s been a yearly gap between each record, which we want to try and maintain. We’d like to release the next record in 2014! You were quoted as saying that you gave yourselves no more than three months to write this record, with no songs written going into the studio. Did you ever regret setting up those parameters? I actually think three months is a good amount of time to write a record in. Why spend any longer? We’re not Axl Rose! This time we decided to record everything completely live in a room together. This album was all about capturing the natural sound of us playing as a band.

There’s a special kind of energy you get which you can’t recreate by tracking everything separately. When you listen to Joys of Living and Selfhood, what strikes you the most about how the band has changed? I just think Selfhood is a lot more self-assured. There’s nothing drastically different to my ears between our records. We’ve always made guitar records and it’s always been the four of us making all the noise! It’s hardly Kid A is all I’m saying! It seems like you just got through with touring on that last record. Do you plan on taking much time off before touring behind this one? We plan to keep really busy this year. If we’re not touring, we’ll be writing!

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Vocalist James Mattocks talks about writing this album while living above a morgue. “It was more like a mattress on the floor of an art studio rather than an apartment. It really wasn’t habitable, so yeah, it was pretty interesting. The situation made its way into the lyrics of “22”, which was the building number.”

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photo: Curran Farris

written by: Brandon Ringo

KENMODE

Interview With Jesse Matthewson

o far, 2013 has been a pretty eventful year for the members of KEN Mode, the post-hardcore road warriors from Winnipeg, Manitoba. In March they released Entrench, their debut album for Season of Mist Records. They then landed a spot on tour with Today Is The Day, Black Tusk and Fight Amp and they recently announced that they’ll also be supporting Orange Goblin and ASG on a run of dates. I caught up with guitarist/vocalist Jesse Matthewson to find out how things have been going on the road, what the process was like working on Entrench and how it felt to be labeled “hipster metal.” How have things been going for you guys since the release of your new album Entrench? I think things are going well? Since the album has come out we had a European tour fall apart on us, then a last minute US tour replace it, a whole ton of awesome press, some great shows, some not so great shows; it’s really been a pretty standard North American tour process for us. It does seem like a

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fair number of people are talking about us, which always feels nice. Hopefully it means we’ll be busy this year!

Have you been playing a lot of new material live? If so, how have fans been reacting to it? Our current set is about 4/7ths new material (laughs). So far it seems like it’s been going over pretty well. Some songs people are even ‘moshing’ to, which we’re not used to. “The Terror Pulse” seems to bringing the house down! Your last album, Venerable, got a great response from fans and media. Did that affect the band’s mindset going into the writing process for Entrench? I don’t feel it affected the way we approached writing the album, but it did affect how we approached the business side of the album- who would release it, when, what promo we’d do behind it, who we’d record with, how, etc. We wanted to take advantage of the avenues that had opened to us, as we felt it would be irresponsible to do otherwise. When writing a new album, do you have a particular sound you’re going for, or do you just embrace what comes out during the process? We definitely were just embracing what came out at first. After we’ve

written the first chunk we start to fine tune what sorts of ideas are needed to create a well rounded album, and at that point we’re acting strategically and seeking out particular sounds. So to answer your question, our writing process draws from both approaches.

Do you avoid listening to music that might influence your sound or do you embrace new influences? We embrace any new influences, though I honestly don’t think many ‘new’ bands really creep into our subconscious as much. Maybe aesthetically, but riff for riff, we’re all a lot more influenced by older bands that we grew up listening to. What was it like getting to work with an amazing producer like Matt Bayles on the new album? It was really cool, which goes without saying. He’s an intense personality that I felt we meshed very well with. The guy is a pro, knows what he wants out of sessions, and expects the best out of the bands he works with; precisely why we wanted to work with him.

as “hipster metal”? I’m neither flattered nor offended, as we were strangely looped into that whole article...oh well, press is better than no press, I suppose. I guess if the guy thinks we’re a safe form of “metal” to sell to indie rockers, let’s hope he’s right! I’d love to sell more records. Since “hipster metal” isn’t really a thing, what genre or adjective would you use to best describe KEN Mode’s sound? I usually go with something along the lines of metallic noise rock influenced hardcore. Or metallic hardcore influenced noise rock. Or metallicdoomhardcorenoiseindierockpostcore. What are some of your goals for the rest of 2013 and beyond that you’d like to achieve with KEN Mode? I want to tour all year, hit Europe several times, get over to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, start getting bigger and bigger tours, and PAY RENT. That’d be awesome!

Recently, you guys were specifically mentioned in an article about the “Brooklynization of metal.” Are you flattered that they thought to cover you guys specifically, or do you get offended by being classified

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photo: Rebecca Reed

UNCLE ACID

photo: Rebecca Reed Ester Segarra

&the deadbeats written by: Hutch13 Interview With Kevin

nspired by Charles Manson, Hammer Horror, andby: Black written Sabbath, Cambridge psych band Maria Correonero Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats Interview With Alex Rosamilia invites you to drink their Kool Aid. Does Uncle Acid do all the work while he gets no help from those Deadbeats? Well, although it’s one person writing the songs, the recordings couldn’t be done without the whole band. And what kind of musical experience should a trusting mother expect for the young impressionable child for whom she is buying Mind Control? Exploitation garbage. Can you tell me about recording process/production experience? We would just run through the songs a couple of times until we got what we wanted. It was pretty straightforward: no fucking around and with no fancy production gloss applied. How do you feel about the sound of the album? It’s pretty raw, which is how we like it. We stripped everything away and just went for the live sound. This kind of music shouldn’t be polished. Is equipment important to you, brand specific? Yeah it’s important to get good

sounds. To me, those early Fender amps have yet to be beaten. Me and Yotam (rhythm guitar) used little tweeds and brownfaces for the whole album. Classic amps. I’d much rather play with a little 20w fender tweed deluxe that’s about to explode, than those ridiculous 150w amps that can’t be turned up past 3. You got to have a good fuzz too! Tonebenders and Basic Audio stuff. Thoughts on the recording technology; need vs able to? I think the new technology is great for convenience. I sit at home and record demos on my laptop and then send them to each band member. However, if you want something that sounds good, you still have to pay a bit of money. Computers will only get you so far. For the sound that we want it is not really good enough. Is this a concept album about a cult? Why are people so susceptible to cults? There’s too many idiots out there. People that don’t want to think for themselves. If someone comes a long with all the answers, then they jump on. We’re all getting brainwashed every day, but I suppose some people can handle it better than others. You made a big impact with your prior album. Was that a tensioninducing burden as you went to write this? Do you have something to prove? Nope. I never set out to prove anything to anybody. I just write songs for my own enjoyment. You can’t start thinking about what other

people might like or what ridiculous expectations they might have. It really doesn’t matter. I mean – it has not even been two years? How far apart were the songs written? I think “Poison Apple” was the first one that I wrote and that was just after Blood Lust had been released. You just have to wait and the songs come to you eventually. The writing was probably spread out over the space of a year. Can you walk me through your evolution of music listening since you were a kid? How did end up with the UA&TDB sound? I’ve always been into classic rock stuff and the Beatles. I always liked the melodies and harmonies in their songs. Then I got into metal. It was really Black Sabbath that changed everything though. I always thought it would be a good idea to mix melody and harmony with something darker.

new bands out there like Blood Ceremony and Danava. The Devil’s Blood were excellent as well, probably my favorite band of the last five years, now that I think about it. Any special vinyl plans to cause shockwaves of gossip and dissent for this album? We let the label take care of all that! You said, “Movements are dangerous and should be avoided at all cost.” Was that strictly related to music or is this a philosophy one should adhere to in all manners of life? It relates to both. If you attach yourself to anything suddenly your options become less. We don’t associate with any scene or bandwagon that way be passing. Tell me about evil; evil in people. How do we stop someone that is just evil? It will never be stopped.

What bands do not influence your writing, but you love listening to? I like some Irish folk music like the Dubliners and the Wolfetones. Also stuff like Van Halen every now and then. I could never write anything like that though. “Valley of the Dolls” has some Melvins in there. Will you admit some love for bands not of 60’s and 70’s? Well, Electric Wizard is one of my favorite bands ever. I think some of that crept into “Valley Of The Dolls.” There are some really great

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A PALE HORSE written by: Ryan ogle

Interview With Sal Abruscato

n 2011, Life Of Agony/ex-Type O Negative drummer Sal Abruscato stepped out from behind his kit and grabbed the horse, A Pale Horse Named Death to be precise, by the reigns. Boasting an impressive set of singing, songwriting and guitar playing chops, Abruscato dropped many a jaw with his emotionally and sonically heavy missing link between Type O Negative and Alice In Chains: And Hell Will Follow Me. Flash-forward two years and Brooklyn native Abruscato, along with longtime friend and collaborator Matt Brown [Seventh Void], proves that lightning can strike twice with Lay My Soul to Waste. Building from the foundation set by its predecessor, Lay My Soul to Waste doesn’t deliver a note of disappointment, and that’s exactly what Abruscato was shooting for. As was the case with the debut, you handled the bulk of the writing and recording for Lay My Soul To Waste. Is that a role something you’re feeling more comfortable with?

Yeah, I guess. I just have all these different ideas and, like everything else, experience is always a good thing and you learn from trial and error the best way to approach it. I had a particular direction and vision in my head of how I wanted to approach this record and I didn’t want to stray away from the vibe or style of the first album. I just wanted to take that vibe to the next level, make it better and refine it. I was much more confident in my vocals and songwriting this time. The only pressure I had, in my own mind, was it had to be better than the first record. I didn’t want to fall into that rut that a lot of bands do when they write their second record. It usually shits the bed. You have your whole life to write your first record and maybe a year-and-a-half for the second. You mentioned putting pressure on yourself to make this record better than the last. Did the success of that album factor into that pressure? I don’t know if I understand what that really means. That first record was great and I’m really proud of

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everything I accomplished there. I busted my ass off to make that record, but it didn’t really make any money so I don’t know if that’s a success... Critically speaking, I mean. People loved the album. Oh well that, yeah! In that respect it was successful as hell. I’ll always put the fans over the money. One magazine ranked us in the top ten best albums of 2011, right up there with the Foo Fighters and fuckin’ Megadeth [laughs]. I read things like that and I’m surprised and flattered, but I did that feel that pressure because of the critical aspect. All the reviews I read, there were more positive than negative, and I wanted to make sure I lived up to that expectation. It goes back to what I said earlier- you put that second record out and the reviewers go, “Well the debut was great, but they lost it with the second one. They went off in some different direction and now they suck.” I wanted to make sure I avoided that road. I think it’s important to hold onto that initial sound you gravitated towards. That’s why we did this record pretty much the same way we did the first one. We took all the same techniques that we used last time, and experimented with things a little bit, but stuck with what worked. We did a few things differently, like sending the tracks to someone like Ted Jensen for mastering. I knew that was one of the ingredients needed to take this to the next level, sonically. I wanted make this a respectable second record. I know from my own experience and by watching other bands that you can put that second record out and it’s not what the fans were hoping for. Is that why Matt Brown is the only other guy involved with the writing and recording process? Did you think additional input could take away from that consistency? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. When I was in Life Of Agony, it was a very complicated band to write or record or anything like that. When you’ve got four of five guys in the room and that room happens to be a recording studio, forget it about it! Take four or five guys and tell them to write, you ain’t gonna get anything done. What happens is the song is going to be sacrificed in order to appease someone or spare their feelings instead

named death of turning down a piece of music because it fuckin’ sucked and it ruined the song. A lot of times, people will put something in a song just to keep the band running smooth and you end up with a piece of shit song. If it’s nothing more than a bunch of different ideas from different people, that’s not a song. A song is a birth, and it comes simultaneously with the melodies, plot and ideas. They don’t necessarily have to come at the same time, but at least from the same source; same storyline and vision. When you’ve got all these cooks in the kitchen, they just stink up the soup and it’s not about glory or egos, but experience has taught me that if you want to see your vision fulfilled then you have to do it your way. That’s really why I created this band. As Life Of Agony was deteriorating, I knew it was time to

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do music the way I wanted it done. I couldn’t worry about making things too complicated because if you can’t sit in the rehearsal room and play it the way I put it down in the studio, then it was time to get someone else. I’m in my 40s now and I don’t know where things are going from here. If I were to leave off on any kind of note, I wanted to leave with my own vision of music at the end.

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EVERY WORD HANDWRITTEN: the original score

written by: Maria Correonero

Interview With Alex Rosamilia

ollowing the premiere of The Gaslight Anthem’s short film Every Word Handwritten, the complete original score has been released digitally. Written and performed by the band’s guitarist Alex Rosamilia and friend Wes Kleinknecht, the compositions unravel as a clear departure from the band’s musical endeavors. We asked Alex about his approach to scoring and its creative implications. How did the idea for this project come about? It evolved from the video for [Gaslight Anthem song] “Handwritten.” It was written by Benny [Horowitz, of Gaslight Anthem] and our friend Kevin Slack- who’s directed some of our other videos in the past. They discussed the treatment together and decided that it was too complex for a music video, so they decided to shoot the bulk of the music video first, and then the movie parts. They actually had a score for it, Benny showed it to me and asked what I thought and I said it was very cool, but then we got talking about having me do the score. It was something I had always been interested in doing, not for a specific film, but in general, so I went to my friend Wes [Kleinknecht]’s studio in New York City,

Treehouse, just to have him help me record it. The experience turned out to be like movie scoring college and he ended up helping me write the whole thing instead. I was actually going to ask you whether you had been working on this music independently from the video, but the tracks flow so seamlessly and are so perfectly intertwined with the film that I can see how they were specifically made for it. Yes, the score was created with the film in mind. Wes went to school for scoring movies, which is why it sounds so seamless. He nailed all the stuff that I didn’t know how to do, such as incorporating the same sound throughout all the songs, since they are all in the same movie, after all. Every Word Handwritten evokes a romantic idea of what it means to own a physical record, a feeling that is lost with the MP3 era; are you planning on releasing the original score on vinyl too? Yes – kind of. I do have a very tiny label and have been talking about trying to release it on my own. The friend that I work with for the label tried to do some really colorful vinyl. We have a very ornate idea of what we want and are considering doing a limited run so that there is an actual physical copy of it, but it’s not going to be reminiscent of the artwork on the album in the video.

Speaking of which, the album artwork in the video seems to fit in with the overall concept quite nicely – could you elaborate on the meaning behind it? That was all Benny and Kevin’s idea, but it was supposed to be reminiscent of a record that is timeless, that doesn’t look like it’s from a certain era. Wes and I did decide to use it as the cover art for the score, though.

So how much was Wes actually involved in the creative process? You guys are in Something About Death Or Dying together, so I take it the collaboration happened naturally. Yes, Wes is the drummer in the band, so I’ve written with him in that kind of setting before. We’d never worked together without him on drums, so it was a lot of fun. My cousin Frank also helped us a lot with the engineering and coming up with parts. Basically, what happened was that Wes and I we were told how the music was supposed to fit in with the scenes, in terms of whether it needed to be subdued or more in-your-face,

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so we watched the film and took it from there. I would play something and then he would build on it. We used just a guitar and a piano and went back and forth with each other, for the most part. This score, structurally, falls more along the lines of your band Spiro Agnew than Gaslight Anthem. Do you have any other side projects going on right now? I have things going around. Ian [Perkins, of Gaslight Anthem] and I have actually been talking about starting something with our tour manager and our bass and drum tech doing a discord kind of thing. I think that will be a lot of fun. As far as the other bands, Something About Death Or Dying may have some stuff coming up, but half of the band is in law school right now, which makes it really hard to get anything done. And you’re going to continue to experiment with scoring? I would like to, I really would. It was something I’d been interested in prior to this project. I’m not sure how I would go about doing that, but it was definitely a lot of fun to write in this sort of secondary capacity. Whenever I’m writing with Gaslight Anthem, or any other band for that matter, the music is the focal point. When scoring though, the music isn’t the focal point, it’s just there to emphasize certain things and toy with your emotions so the writing approach is entirely different.

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MAN OVERBOARD photo: photo: Rebecca Raeanne Reed Haro

written by: John B. Moore

In the five years they’ve been a band, the pop punks in Man Overboard have gone above and beyond promoting their music. They’ve been flag bearers for the whole pop punk music scene, hosting the web site DefendPopPunk.com, forming their own label (Lost Tape Collective) and launching a weekly podcast to showcase bands and music they like. Always prolific, they have a handful of EPs under their belt, splits, a live album, and are just about to release their third full- length (again, they have only been a band for five years!). With a summer of Warped Tour dates already lined up, guitarist and former drummer Justin Collier spoke recently about the band’s ethos, their lineup changes and the suddenly popular Jersey/Philly music scene. So you guys are from the Mt. Laurel, NJ area. Are you surprised by how much attention the whole Jersey/Philly music scene has been getting lately – between you guys, Restorations, Luther, The Menzingers, Wonder Years, and a slew of others? I’m not necessarily surprised because all of the bands are really hard

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working, but it’s cool that there have been that many bands coming up recently that are getting noticed. We actually recorded this record in Conshohocken (PA). And the producer, Will Yip, did the last Circa Survive record there, he did the last two Title Fight records there, and None More Black. He’s done a bunch of stuff lately, so we did our record there. It was pretty close, so we got to commute there and go back home every day, so it was awesome. So do you have a good theory at all for why this region is such fertile ground for this type of music? For sure; most bands that hear about come out of this area, or New England, New York, California or the Pacific Northwest, but you don’t hear of too many coming out of Kansas or smaller places and I think the reason is there are so many bands in our area that you have to be better or no one is going to care. That competition raises the bar. That’s part of the reason, I think. You initially started out on drums, right? Yeah, we’ve had like five or so different drummers over the years, so when I first started with the band I played drums and then I switched to guitars. Then our guitar player came back so now we have three guitar

players. Did you start out as a drummer first or a guitar player when you were learning to play? Are you going to pull a Dave Grohl and start showing up on drums on other people’s album? Nah, I don’t think so. I started playing guitar as a little kid, so that was always my main thing. Was it odd at all switching over to guitars? Not really because me, Wayne (Wildrick) and Zak (Eisenstein) had a band called Front Page before Man Overboard and I played guitar in that. So I was pretty used to that. It was a lot weirder going from guitar to drums, than drums to guitar. So Heart Attack is your third fulllength and you guys have already put out a ton of EPs, splits and others. Do you want to talk a little but about the songs behind this one? As far as the songs go, we had been on the road for about two years, but a lot of the themes are the same: feelings, girls, coming of age, all those types of things. There have just been some changes with all of us, some people got married, got into relationships, and some are still single. Obviously you guys have had some lineup changes over the years. With new members, have you changed the way you go about writing the songs? I think the process is generally the same, Zac and Nik (Bruzzese) usually start writing the songs and then we take it to the studio and demo it and then start pulling it apart. We have a new drummer, Joe (Talarico) and he’s an amazing drummer and plays a little different style than we’ve had before, so that has changed things a bit. But overall, the process of doing the record is pretty much the same as it has been. We had talked before about the various EPs and comps. Do you sit down with the thought in mind that they song will be for a specific album or are you guys always recording? Zac is always writing songs. For every one that’s on the record he’s got five more that you’ve never heard and five more on top of those that I’ve never heard before. We had over 25 songs for this record and in going through the demos we decide “we can’t have both of these songs, because they’re both slow,” so we pick a variety. Who knows what will

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happen to those that didn’t make it? Maybe we’ll do some EP or some singles and some might end up on the next record. Unlike Guns N’ Roses, you’re fans never have to wait too long for new music. (Laughs) yeah, it was no Chinese Democracy, but this really was the longest that we’ve ever put our fans through without new music - over a year. But this record is 14 songs, so hopefully people will think it was worth the wait. You guys are almost a brand on your own, with the band, your own label (The Lost Tape Collective) the Defend Pop Punk web site. Yeah and we do a radio show called Mano Radio every week. What we try to do, besides just being a band that just puts out music, we try and build a whole culture around the group. The whole Defend Pop Punk thing wasn’t always intentional, it just kind of became something people attached themselves to, but we do Lost Tape Collective and we do the radio show so kids will discover some of the other bands we are really into. I think it’s worked out pretty good. You can be just a little more than just a fan of the band. And do you tape the radio show even when you’re on the road?Yeah, we tape it in the van, or in the hotel or backstage. We’ve even done some interviews in the bathroom, when that was the only room available. And is this something you guys are going to be pretty consistent about putting out? Yeah, we’re going to do it every week at least until the end of summer.

RIVAL SCHOOLS written by: Ryan Bray

Interview with Sammy Siegler

ife is better with Rival Schools, which is shame seeing as fans were left to contend with the band’s absence for much of the last decade. But the band has been plenty busy since reemerging from its lengthy hiatus in 2008. First came Pedals, which upon its 2011 release found the ambient post-hardcore act applying its wellhoned punk instincts to a more pop-savvy sound. Now comes Found, which while released just a few weeks ago is comprised of a slate of songs that have been in the can for close to a decade. Designed as the official follow up to 2001’s United By Fate, the record was ready to go until lineup changes, major label bullshit and touring fatigue caught up with the band, forcing the record to the shelf to collect dust. “We made United By Fate

and we toured a lot, and we got a little burnt out,” drummer Sammy Siegler said. “[Guitarist] Ian [Love] got a little burnt out and wanted to take some time off, so he left the band right after that touring cycle, which is unfortunate.” The band brought in Orange 9mm guitarist Chris Traynor to lay down tracks in 2002, but the record was met with resistance from the band’s label. Exhausted by the process, Siegler recalled, band members went their separate ways to pursue other endeavors. Frontman Walter Schriefels went the acoustic route under the moniker Walking Concert, while Siegler logged some time behind the kit with Limp Bizkit, who was then operating without the services of longtime drummer John Otto. “Back then labels were passing a lot of money around for demos, and we made some really good demos and spent a lot of time writing songs,” Siegler said. “But the label said, ‘Well, we don’t hear a single’ and ‘We don’t hear a hit, keep writing.’ Walter wanted to do some acoustic solo stuff,

so we went on this hiatus that ended up going longer than we thought.” Now five years into its second coming, the band circled back to those lost recordings. The newly-released version of Found is compiled from the same demos the band recorded in 2003, and the record’s untethered nature gives it a rougher edge that stands in contrast to its more fully-produced predecessors. “Yeah, it could be more polished, but when I listen to it, I think there’s something cool about how raw it is,” Seigler said. “A lot of the vocal takes were just first and second takes. We didn’t overthink things too much the way you can sometimes when you make a big record.” “It was hard,” he added. “It took a while to get us all on the same page, because there are a lot of imperfections. I think there are things we’d all like to do over, but it was cool that we all agreed to just put it out.” The reasons for revisiting Found now are many, Seigler said, stemming in part from a need to counter unofficial

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copies of the record that leaked online years ago and also from concerns about returning after a long absence with an album of old material. The band decided instead to return with a batch of fresh songs that eventually found their way onto Pedals. “One of our thoughts when we got back together was ‘We’ve got to put Found out,’ he said. “But when you’ve been gone for six, seven, eight years, you need to come back with something new and fresh versus something old. I think it would have been kind of lame to have been on this hiatus for six or seven years and come back with an old release. It was important for us to come out with something that was just recorded and feel really good about.” Found’s raw, guitar-driven nature falls much more on United By Fate’s side of the musical fence than it does Pedals. But while the songs on Found are a closer reflection of what Rival Schools was in 2003 than 2013, the quality of the songs can’t be denied, deftly applying a melodic touch without sacrificing the band’s purebred hardcore roots. “I do think they stand the test of time,” Siegler said of the old-new songs. “They feel and sound like Rival School songs, and I think that we can still relate to them. We might approach it differently now, but for the most part its still us. When we go on tour again, we could play those songs and it wouldn’t feel forced or anything. Siegler said the band will tour in short spurts around Found, including upcoming dates along the coasts as well as oversees. Beyond that, the band is turning its attention toward a new record, which they’re in the process of writing and demoing. “We spent some time,” he said of the new songs. “We had a couple of sessions where we blocked out a week of time and went to a friend’s house and played all day and wrote. I think we did that three times and wrote close to 20 songs. In that sense we’re in really good shape, now it’s just a matter of getting the time together to record them.” “I feel really good about the material. It still sounds like Rival Schools, but different in maybe a couple of ways.”

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written by: Ryan Ogle

Interview With Laura Pleasants and

Phillip Cope

here are these intangible objects and ideas that we can’t reach or see,” says Kylesa guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants. “We were kind of dealing with a lot of these philosophies while writing this album. The idea of Ultraviolet light is a nice visual metaphor for the whole thing.” The whole thing, of course, is Ultraviolet, the band’s sixth full-length album since forming right after the turn of the century. Drawing from the hazy, yet heavy-handed soundscapes from previous efforts, while simultaneously following the band’s tradition of pushing their own envelope, Ultraviolet sees Kylesa reach new heights, both sonically and cerebrally. Among the most notable aspects of Ultraviolet is the album’s dark and often chilling vibe. As if it wasn’t obvious from the swirl of anger and confusion permeating from Pleasant’s voice throughout the album, the pain and emotional tumult that went into Ultraviolet is as real as anything set to tape. Laura’s co-pilot and fellow guitarist/vocalist Phillip Cope explains why the band’s newest album is also their darkest. “Rough times, man,” laughs Cope. “During that period of time after Spiral Shadows, things got a little rough here and there. Because we were writing on and off during that time period, I would say this album came across as significantly darker. Some of what went on, we talk about and some is better kept to ourselves. I had some health problems and Laura was dealing with death in the family. Everything that went on effected how the album came out, but we weren’t writing to say, ‘Oh

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KYLESA

woe is us.’ We approached it with the idea that everyone goes through these things and we all deal with it at some point.”

As darkness always does eventually give way to light, the creative minds behind Ultraviolet used the album as beacon to guide them ashore from rough waters. “The writing process was really hard for me, says Pleasants. “When I write, I allow myself to open up that part of brain and psyche, which leaves me vulnerable and emotional. The writing process for Ultraviolet was a difficult and emotional process.” Once the demons had been exorcised, Pleasants and Co. were able to put the rubber to the road and etch their emotionally-charged sonic masterpiece in stone. And doing so was a much healthier process. “Recording the album felt really good,” adds Pleasants. “I was confident about the material and it felt good to sing and play everything.” The writing process for Ultraviolet wasn’t all doom and gloom, and crafting the album also gave Cope, who has donned a producer’s hat almost every time Kylesa has entered the studio, plenty of room to play with a new box full of toys. One of those toys, the Theremin, which was a cornerstone of the psychedelic rock sounds from the 60s and 70s, quickly became one of Cope’s favorites. “When Corey [Barhorst, ex-bassist/keyboardist] decided to leave the band, that left the keyboard spot open, which I happily took over. I had a lot of free reign over that. It was really awesome to pick up something new like that. I had already been playing Theremin for a while so I had some tricks up my sleeve. Carl [McGinley, drums] had been experimenting with electronic drums at the same time, which we also had a lot fun with.” The Hawkwind-ish space-prog vibe spawned from the Theremin is only

one of the many ways that Ultraviolet is Kylesa’s most expansive record to date. The band’s ability to grow is something that Cope accredits to several different factors, one of which being his dual role as songwriter and in-house producer. “There’s no set rule in the band that says I have to be the guy to do it and I certainly wouldn’t mind working with other people. It’s really just that no one understands what we want more than I do. I’m around everyone in the band all the time. When I’m at practice or we’re writing I can hear an idea as it’s coming out and say, ‘that’s totally possible,’ or ‘that’s going to be a complete nightmare.’ So there are certain advantages with me being around all the time versus someone else who isn’t. That’s not to say we won’t ever roll the idea out and the time may come when we do bring someone else in for an album. If I ever feel like I’m not learning or figuring new stuff out where producing is concerned, that would be a good time to go with someone else. Fortunately I keep learning new things with each album and have been able to pull new tricks out of my sleeve.” Balance, Cope contends, is key to keeping things moving forward both in the studio and in the jam room. “The main thing is that I have to keep in mind that everyone in the band needs to be able to express themselves in the way they want. As a songwriting, I have to step back a little bit and make sure they have the room they need to get their ideas out. As a producer, I need to make sure those ideas sound as good as they can.” As songwriters, Cope and Pleasants have formed a bond over the years that allow the pair to evolve as one without putting so much as a thought behind the actual growth process. The end result is an organic cultivation of ideas that eliminate any

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need to force things in one direction or another. “Phillip and I will have discussions about creative process or what we’ve jamming on or listening to, but there general ideas and we give each other complete creative freedom to try thing,” says Pleasants. “We have this chemistry together after working so closely over several years which allow us to be comfortable with giving each other that space.” “We always push ourselves to grow each time,” adds Cope. “We never try to settle into a normal way of doing things. This album is just us staying true to how we’ve always been. I want to try new things and so does Laura. We just go for it and stick with what works. “ Though Kyelsa was born in the trenches of the underground/indie scene and proudly remains there to this day, there’s no arguing that since the release of 2009’s Static Tensions and subsequent tour with Mastodon, the band’s stock has been steadily rising. Fortunately, succumbing to the pressure of success has left the band’s approach to their music unaffected. In fact, they’re probably clinging to their indie-bred values now more than ever. And it only takes a single spin of Ultraviolet to hear the band’s integrity full intact. “It’s easy to stick to your formula or your comfort zone, just out of habit, but we’ve never really liked doing that,” says Pleasants. “It gets boring after a while. Plus, it becomes a challenge to think of new things that you’re into and how to incorporate them into the context of Kylesa. That’s what we’re interested in doing and that’s what we’ve always been interested in doing, but without alienating ourselves from our fan base or who we are as a band. I think that Ultraviolet is very much a Kylesa record.”

f o s r Yea

written by: William Jones Interview With Kate Hiltz

hunksaah Records started in 1993 as a vehicle for The Bouncing Souls to release their records and turned into a platform for their Jersey friends to find an identity in the ever-changing music industry. And despite a downturn in the industry at large, Chunksaah has endured the same way it started, with the help of good friends. Kate Hiltz, The Souls’ longtime friend and manager, chatted with New Noise Magazine to reflect upon 20 years of DIY success. How did Chunksaah begin in 1993? [The Bouncing Souls] wanted to record and release their first batch of

s d r o h Rec

a a s k Chun

songs and couldn’t find an interested label, so in the spirit of the day, they figured out how to do it themselves. How did you get involved? I became friends with the Souls guys around the fall of 1993 and went on tour with them a handful of times in 1994-1995. When they were on tour without me, I would get the key to the PO Box in New Brunswick, [N.J.], and be the person who filled the mail orders and answered the letters and sent out flyers and such. The world was a very different place back then. Eventually, I was the most interested of everyone, and they just sort of gave me the label. Where did the name come from? As part of the Souls’ DIY tradition, all of their friends also get involved. They borrowed the money for pressing the Green Ball Crew EP — Chunksaah 001 — from Timmy Chunks, who has a very distinctivaah

queensaah accentaah, whereaah everyaah wordaah endsaah in “aah,” including his name, Chunksaah. The original logo was a cartoon of his head. What was the first non-Souls album released by the label? Chunksaah 005, Sticks & Stones’ Cynical 7-inch. How did it come about? Sticks & Stones started off in New

Brunswick around the same time — as did Lifetime and Lucy Brown and NY Loose and many, many others — so these bands were the crux of the punk scene there at the time. I suppose they figured it was easier to just do it under the same label than pay for another PO Box. Any particular enduring memories or stories from the early years? It was just such a different thing, the little label scene back then. In some ways it was more united, because there were only so many bands/ labels/houses/punk clubs, and zines

photo: 2007 with Zak Kaplan, K8, Bryan Kienlen, and Pete Steinkopf

By Autumn Spadaro

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and actual pen pals were the best way to book tours and get people to support the shows and records. There were mostly mom-and-pop record stores (and distros at shows) and you could actually go into them on tour, and they would buy a couple 7-inches or records. Kids would buy records at shows or mailorder them — this entailed paper and stamps and money orders or well-concealed cash and quite a bit of faith and patience. So it was pretty hard to become known, but somehow easier to be a part of something that was really cool and different than what most people were doing. If you saw someone with “punk band shirt,” chances are you knew someone they knew. Today, anyone with a little bandwidth and a web store can have a label, but it sure is crowded and hard to stand out or be noticed. What has changed over the course of 20 years for Chunksaah? Everything and nothing. Chunksaah has always been a labor of love to support the Bouncing Souls, their projects and their extended family. With little exception, the releases are all folks from the Jersey scene or with ties to the band or bands we know from tour. The way in which the actual music is recorded and reproduced and put out in the world is drastically different, but it’s been so gradual and in keeping with the big industry changes that it’s hard to remember or compare. Everyone is aware of the major decline the music industry has faced. How does a small label like Chunksaah stay alive in today’s market? Zak [Kaplan] and I pretty much took over the label when the Souls were deep in the Epitaph years. We focused on things other than the Souls and tried to keep up with the changing times. In a way, we have come full circle. We built a good framework on the Souls foundation and figured out how to do things with other bands in a world that is so much bigger and more accessible, yet so much more complicated and hard to monetize. We eked out ways

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photo: Back cover of the Bouncing Souls’ Greenball Crew, Chunksaah 001 Taken at 174 commercial Ave. New Brunswick, NJ By Linda Covello of doing things and projects that could survive in a new DIY world. Of course, any smart person would have given up several years and many, many thousands of dollars ago. But we love the kids. What’s next for the label? We’re focusing mainly on bands that want to do expensive projects that are impossible to recoup. So, more of the same. Anything else you’d like add? Find what’s good and make it last.

The Bouncing Souls share early memories of

Chunksaah

“One funny memory from the early days of Chunksaah is when I picked a vinyl color for the Neurotic 7-inch. It ended up being this ugly-ass seethrough yellowish color that looked like the Amber Vision sunglasses that you used to see on infomercials all the time back then. They got shipped to us on tour, and when we opened them in the van, I got bombarded with Amber Vision jokes, in typical Souls style. I can’t look at that 7-inch without thinking about those fuckin’ sunglasses. [Laughs]” —Pete Steinkopf “The moment we decided to use our buddy Wig’s high school transcript for the inside sleeve of our first 7-inch. It still makes me smile.” — Greg Attonito

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“As hard as it may have been in the early days of Chunksaah, we shared the work evenly among four best friends, and anyone who lived in our house with us. It seemed as though every day there were new discoveries. The label was founded on a utopian vision of living our lives truly independently. It could have never happened without that spark of inspiration and the efforts of all involved. A perfect example of the sacrifices made, our boy Timmy Chunks lent us his life savings to press our first release. Inspiration and sacrifice continue to be the driving force behind Chunksaah’s great leaders. Kate, Zak, and Mike [Pesonen], you rock.” —Bryan Kienlen

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SPY ROCK MEMORIES was Lookout magazine. It might sound strange to think of a magazine in the same terms as a personal journal, but at many times it did function like one. Not just because I tended to cover news and cultural events from a very subjective point of view, but also because I seldom hesitated – sometimes even to the point of embarrassment – to express my innermost thoughts and feelings, good or bad, for all my readers to see. But I don’t think that’s the main reason I’m able to recall what might seem like trivial details to some readers – whether the sun was shining on a given day, for example, or what someone was wearing during a crucial confrontation. That’s more likely a result of living in a place where most of the distractions of

”

written by: Tom Haugen

big city life were absent, where the weather, the trees, and various animal sounds were often all there was to see or hear. Combine that with the fact that being aware of such things can become extremely important – when you’re about to get hit by a blizzard, for example, or step on a rattlesnake or walk into a bear’s lair – and you tend to learn to pay attention.   At one point in the book you remark that your departure from Lookout Records was the beginning of the downfall for the label. However, when you did exit, there were over a dozen employees at Lookout. Is it safe to say that your presence there was essentially the only way the label could operate successfully? Could the digital age also be a factor in the label’s demise? I wouldn’t say that at all! Any

Interview with author Larry Livermore

ookout Records cofounder, longtime musician (The Lookouts, The Potatomen) and highly influential journalist/writer (MRR, Punk Planet, Lookout Magazine), Larry Livermore’s new book Spy Rock Memories hits streets on June 4th via Don Giovanni Records. One thing I’ve always wondered with your writing is how you’re able to recall such vast detail about events that happened decades prior. Were you keeping extensive journals during these times? The closest thing to a journal I was keeping during those days

It might sound strange to think of a magazine in the same terms as a personal journal, but at many times it did function like one. magazine in the same terms

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number of people could have made a success or failure of Lookout Records after my departure. In one sense, I was just another employee, with strengths and weaknesses of my own. My strength was being able to pick, with a pretty good rate of success, bands who would be successful, or who at least wouldn’t lose money for the label. My weakness was probably organizational: I didn’t keep pace with the restructuring and delegation of authority that was made necessary by the company’s transformation into a multi-million dollar company. That being said, my biggest failure was probably to leave too hastily, without putting into place sufficient mechanisms to ensure that Lookout would continue operating along the same lines and principles that originally led to its success. I doubt that the arrival of the digital age had much to do with the label’s failure. Every label has had to contend with that challenge, and most of our contemporaries from that era are still in business.

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From what I’ve gathered from your current writing you spend your time in Brooklyn now. Has London become what Spy Rock was to you in the ‘80s and ‘90s, a sanctuary to flee to on occasion? I lived in London pretty much full time for 10 years after leaving Lookout, and I still like to visit whenever possible, but Brooklyn has been my home (and sanctuary) since 2007. Spy Rock was my hideaway during the most hectic Lookout years of the early to mid90s, but during the 80s, including Lookout’s foundational years, I lived there nearly all the time.   Though your contributions in the underground/punk culture have been countless, mainstream media seems very insistent about your position as the guy who ‘discovered’ Green Day. Has this become a source of irritation, seeing as they rarely if ever discuss your own musical history? You know, at this point it’s gratifying that people have an interest in me at all, so I can’t

see getting grumpy about what particular aspects of my life they find interesting. Anyway, it’s not as though there’s no connection between Green Day and my own “musical history,” as you put it; I did after all give Tre Cool his first drum lesson (and his name), and we played together in a halfway decent band for over five years. So there will always be that little bit of me in Green Day. Not that they couldn’t have done everything they’ve done without the benefit of any contribution from me, but the fact remains that I did contribute in some small way, and I’m pleased to be able to acknowledge that. As far as the bands I played in, well, we put out records, and some people liked them, but a lot more people liked Green Day and Op Ivy and Screeching Weasel and the The Queers and Avail and Pansy Division and the Mr. T Experience and a whole host of other bands that we put out. What can I say? Not every musician or band gets to be popular. I did my best, just as I did with my writing, and people can take it or leave it,

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as they please. That’s the position that any person working in the creative arts finds him or herself in. If anything, I should probably thank Green Day (and the many other successful Lookout bands) for helping my own bands gain more attention than they probably would have on their own. Besides, who knows? My band, the Potatomen, is putting out a split 7” this year with the Marshmallows from Brooklyn, the first thing we’ve recorded in about 15 years. Maybe it’ll finally be our turn to get discovered!

photo: Rebecca Reed

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written by Maria Correonero Interview with Hugo Mudie, founder of Pouzza Fest

he frontman of the now-defunct Montréal band The Sainte Catherines fills us in on the challenges of organizing a festival in an urban setting, his love for his hometown, and the local delicacies. What are some of the major changes have you made to the festival since the last one? I think the most important change is that we added the Metropolis, which is one of the biggest venues in the area. We tried to book it for both the first and second years, but it wasn’t available. We figured it out and added it for this year, so we’re having Me First And The Gimme Gimmes and New Found Glory there, it’s really cool. So this allowed you to book bigger bands? I don’t know if they’re necessarily bigger, since we still have bands like Lagwagon and Less Than Jake. Maybe just slightly bigger than last year.

at the small shows, because that’s what these festivals are all about; if everyone goes to the same place at the same time, there will be a wait. This year at The Fest in Gainesville, I missed about a third of the bands I wanted to go see, but at the same time it made me feel a little better about my festival. Speaking of The Fest, Pouzza has blown up to the point that it’s been called “The Fest of the North.” Have you received so many requests to play Pouzza that you’ve had to turn away bands you would have loved to have? Yes, for sure. Every year I’ve had to say no to bands that I wanted to have because I didn’t want to risk taking on too much. You’ve also been running Pouzza Records since 2011. Now that the festival is getting so big, do you have any releases coming up on the label? We’re releasing Laureate’s first album. They’re a local band who sound kind of like Samiam and The Get Up Kids. It’s coming out in April on vinyl only, we’re really stoked on it. They’re a really cool band; we were actually just working on this today. They’re playing the show with Grade at Foufounes.

Last year you had some really cool events, such as Bambino for the little kids or the BBQ at Foufounes with acoustic performances. Do you have any other special events of the sort planned for this year? Maybe some secret shows? We’re doing all of those again. We also have two great movies that we’re going to present and a skateboarding event. We’re definitely trying to add more and there will be secret shows happening for sure, but they’re all probably going to be very last minute, like last year. We were basically convincing bands backstage to do extra sets. Are you going to be doing Pouzza tattoos this year as well? (laughs) I mean, people get those without any involvement on our part… Wait, so the ones I saw last year weren’t “official”? No, we haven’t done that yet, but I’d like to get there eventually.

So what are some things to do in the area when not seeing shows? Personally, I would just walk around [Rues] Sainte Catherine, Saint Denis and Saint Laurent. It’s a super cool neighborhood, the real downtown of Montréal. There’s a lot of cool stores, restaurants and bars. It’s a beautiful city to walk around in, there’s even museums in the area for those who want to go, but if you really want to enjoy the festival there’s always something to do that’s part of the festival from the morning until late at night. If you want to take a break, just walk around Sainte Catherine. Finally, could you explain to the readers what Pouzza is? Are we going to be able to eat it at the festival this year? It’s a combo of poutine and pizza. Basically, it’s throwing poutine on a pizza, and not the opposite. It’s great!

With so many new festivals popping up everywhere, what do you think sets yours apart from the rest? I think the fact that we’re in Montréal actually does it. It’s a city that people enjoy visiting; it’s a different culture and reality from

Last year Pouzza Fest was criticized, particularly by attendees that traveled from the US and Europe, because the major venues reached capacity very early in the day and a lot of the people that bought three day passes couldn’t get into the bigger shows. What have you done to improve organization this year? We actually didn’t receive too many complaints; we got around twenty, compared to the 5,000 passes sold. Anyway, last year every venue had 30% of its capacity reserved for tickets sold at the door and the remaining 70% went to pass holders. This year, we’re accepting passes only at the small venues and tickets only at the two main venues, Metropolis and Club Soda. This way, there will be no more waiting in line or getting turned away at the door at the main shows. That being said, there’s still a chance that there will be lines

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American cities.

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photo: Rebecca Reed

ZZ ZZ OU UZ ST A A Z Z P FE FE ZA A F OU ST ST FE ES ZZ PO PO ST TP UZ U PO OU ZA ZZA UZ FE FE Z ST ST PO PO UZ Z photo: Samantha Laine

MASKED INTRUDER written by Maria Correonero Interview with Blue (guitar, vocals)

lue tells New Noise Magazine, nervously but humorously, about the band’s love woes, their love of poutine and how they escape the cops. He does not, however, give any clues as to their identities. Hi Blue! So you’re playing one of the major shows at Pouzza on Friday night and no one really knew you guys just a year ago. What is the secret to your success? Oh, I don’t know, I wish I knew! I have no idea. I guess people like us because we have different colored masks and they like our songs or whatever, probably. People like love songs too, so maybe that’s what it is. It’s refreshing to hear a band do straight up love songs and pop music just the way everybody likes it. Are you sticking around for the weekend, or at least long enough

to check out the ladies of Montréal? Yeah, we’re going to do our best, because one thing that we’ve learned from being there before is that the girls are SO beautiful. That’s one of the things we’re looking forward to the most, so hopefully we’ll stick around and someone will let us make out with them or whatever. There were a couple incidents with the cops at last year’s Pouzza Fest because of the student riots. Although things are back to normal now, as crafty as you guys are, do you have tips for this year’s attendees so they stay out of trouble? The number one thing to remember is that if the cops come, you gotta get out of there. You could just run, that’s one option, or you could drive too, or skateboard or whatever. I don’t know how the cops are in Canada, they’re probably very fit. In America, as you know, a lot of them are overweight so it’s easy to outrun them. But yes, the number one tip is to stay alert and listen for weak sirens, and just run when that happens. That’s basically what we do. You guys are playing the Bambino

show, which is for little kids. Don’t you think singing songs about stalking and knifing girls might be slightly traumatizing for the children seeing you? I don’t know, maybe. They asked us to do that show and we were like, “okay!” so I guess that’s cool! A lot of kids like our band a lot too, but I don’t know if we’re a bad influence or whatever. We don’t want to be a bad influence for kids, but we gotta do what we gotta do. I don’t think we’re a worse influence than any of the other stuff that kids listen to nowadays anyway. Oh, for sure. So can you guys actually eat in your masks? Have you considered how you’re going to stuff your faces with pouzza? Because you haven’t really lived until you’ve tried it. What’s that?

pairs that we can change into while we’re washing them, or whatever. We have run into trouble before, eating, like, ice cream, and stuff, ‘cause that stuff gets all in your mask and it’s hard to get that smell out, but we always try to eat poutine when we’re in Canada, we’ve just never had it on a pizza. Now I’m even more excited than I was before! Which one of you is the most successful with the ladies? None of us really very much, but I have to say that the ladies probably like Yellow a lot because he’s the quiet type, like, he doesn’t say nothing or whatever. But none of us really do very good…

Oh! It’s the food that the festival is named after. It’s basically poutine on a slice of pizza. It’s glorious. Poutine on a slice of pizza?! That sounds amazing. Well, it might be difficult. We might get some on our masks or whatever, but we can wash them too. We have, like, different

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written by Morgan Y. Evans

artistspotlight

the art of H T I M S S I R H C

Chris Smith is a very busy guy, cranking out heavy rock music in the Pittsburgh based hardcore band Meth Quarry as well as doing design and poster work for many locals and nationals. I saw his work online awhile ago for the band Vulture and was blown away, befriending him when I hired him to do a piece for my indie rock band Black & White Universe. Getting to know Chris has been cool. It is great to every once in awhile meet someone who really incorpo-

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rates art, music and their scene into their lifestyle, all while putting their own creative spin on things. Check out some of his work and I have to say, the dude has great prices and an amazing turnaround time for bands in need of sick stuff. Even though he goes by the name Burzum, he doesn’t burn down stuff and is a really chill person. Who would you say your influences are as an artist? You have a fresh style with memorable looking figures and characters.

How did your feel for what you do develop? Some of my influences and inspiration include Salvador Dali, Aubrey Beardsley, (the obvious one - at least nowadays with artists) Alfonse Mucha, Laura Wilder, Bruegel The Elder, Yoshiko Yamamoto, Bugatti, Dan Seagrave, (my father) Philip M. Smith, (my father’s teacher) Frank Eckmair, Dave McKean and Andrew Wyeth, to name a few. I’m also heavily influenced by 90’s design and craftsmen/bungalow homes and the Roycroftian and Revivalist

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styles. As for my style - I have a few that I work with to keep things fresh and varied. I used to do super detailed work - but over time, the designer in me has somewhat taken over and transformed my style a bit. I like using pockets of stylized detail along with graphic shapes and lots of positive/negative space. Layout and typography also play a key role when applicable. You and I have talked before

about the role of artists and musicians in society. In ancient days, the arts had patrons! I remember being super encouraged as a musician growing up and thinking, “Great! This is me! I am awesome at this.” But past a certain age people think you are unrealistic or suddenly crazy! Why encourage art and music in the first place, then?! How do you manage to keep your creative lifestyle going in a stupid fucking world? We all have our share of problems with the stupidity of our world in general today - don’t get me started (laughs). However, for all the bad things around us, there are good things too. I feed off both - both musically and visually. Many people are creative in nature in one way or another and expressing that creativity may have changed in form over many ages but the general drive is the same. I think it’s important to support artists and musicians (even though they are a dime a dozen these days). You can always find something that speaks to you on a

personal and emotional level. And if you don’t like something - just simply ignore it. Your city of Pittsburgh seems to have a great punk and metal tradition. From befriending you and Scott Massie of the band Storm King and the very busy Innervenus Collective (label), I keep learning about great new bands. Can you talk about your city a little bit? When I came to Pittsburgh from Buffalo in 1998 - I hated it here. But I stuck around and now it’s a part of me - the music, the sports, the architecture, the friends and family I’ve made... I love it. As for the music scene - It’s a bit cliquey and separated, but I’d like to see that change. It’s extremely fertile - and that’s just judging by the scenes I know about. So many amazing bands here. My band, Meth Quarry has started playing shows here and are super excited to play with many of the locals along with touring acts. Some great bands in Pittsburgh to check out

are: Complete Failure, Storm King, Vulture, Grisly Amputation, Moths, Heartless, Purge, Breach, Vega, Invader, Torrential Bleeding, Liquified Guts, Pray For Teeth, Old Accusers, Unstitched, Killer of Sheep, Enemy Mind, & Wrought Iron. I could go on for a bit name dropping bands, but I’ll stop! (Laughs) All in all, the metal, punk/crust, hard rock, and hardcore scenes are blowing up and getting better and better everyday! There’s almost too many shows all week if you can believe it! I have to give the band Vulture credit for giving me a chance a few years ago and getting me started with art for music. Awesome band, great dues and dudette. Also The Innervenus Music Collective - Scott and Kimee Massie are really great, very devoted and inspired by music and art and it shows with what they put together. Yeah, Vulture are sick! What have been some of the more rewarding projects you have done or your favorite pieces? Let’s see. I’d say doing some of the

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pieces for my art show “Stuff To Look At” two years ago was pretty cool. I got to frame up some of my larger-format cardboard pieces in which I cut away design elements and/or Victorian & graffiti type from the cardboard while using some of my figures. The designer in me had lots of fun doing the hand-silkscreened Vulture “Oblivious To Ruin” layout - which was printed on a cardboard digipak by our local printing heroes, Commonwealth Press. I got to use some old 70’s photos and just be really straightforward with it. Many people don’t realize I’m a designer at heart too - and always want illustrations from me rather than design work! I’d like to do more of it. I always love doing posters for shows where I have creative liberty as well. So...hockey. PENS & SABRES. Period. What was the first concert or artistic event or even a book that made an impact on you and helped make

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you who you are? For me visually, my house and my father - I’ve always been surrounded by art of all kinds. It’s a huge inspiration to me. My father was a sensational, detail- oriented printmaker. We have a 1- ton press for doing block prints in our basement in Buffalo. He also does water colors and now carves and crafts walking sticks. They have to be seen to be believed. As I stated before - 90’s art and design played a huge role - specifically cd art etc. Musically - I’d have to say getting into the Buffalo Hardcore/Punk scene in the early 90’s and on was huge. I saw what a functioning scene was - the audience participation - the mic grabs - the pile-ons - the “dancing” / moshing. It was and is always so fun to me. It made you feel part of something bigger that lots of people from all age groups could enjoy. Great bands were abundant - Scott Vogel, now of Terror fame, was in Buried Alive, Despair, and Slugfest - all great bands. Other bands like Snapcase, Halfmast, Lockjaw, Zero Tolerance, Threshold (before Everytime I Die) to name a few, as well as amazing touring bands from all over, made the hxc scene great! I also had a band in that scene when I was in high school. Lastly, I collect sneakers - I’ve loved them since I was a kid - the aesthetics and culture around them are inspiring to me. I was gonna say, I bet you got

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to see some old school Snapcase shows! You perform in a band called... Meth Quarry. This is amazing. It reminds me every time of the Dozers from Fraggle Rock and how even as I kid I felt they were doing some weird illicit undertaking under the noses of those oblivious Fraggles. What’s the story with your band? Oh dear - it’s such a weird and awesome story. I don’t have time to tell it all. But I have 4 other amazing, inspired people I play with that just want to rage and write creative hardcore with many influences. I met my guitarist Kevin Hogue and (later) bassist, Aaron Kaczynski (the idea man) moshing at an Innervenus show early last year. Me and Kev started writing in January 2012 when we formed the band with Moths mastermind genius guitarist, Joe Maccarone. Joe isn’t in the band now, but we technically formed and should probably be sponsored by Taco Bell. The name came about when we were talking (outside Taco Bell) about Pennsylvania suburb towns mining meth. After Joe left we couldn’t find a drummer to save our life - our music kept changing form and eventually came full circle back to fast d-beat hardcore with other elements. We tried many drummers that just weren’t right - the stories are hilarious and legendary! We had some vocalists try out and ask, but we didn’t need some boring Pittsburgh metal guy on vocals - we

needed an active, energetic person for our stuff. That where Adam Bailey comes in - we convinced him to try out and he fucking nailed it! He also runs Mosh Pittsburgh which is sort of an event calendar for area shows etc. He has a completely vicious voice. We finally found a drummer - Brandon “Fluffy” Baker - he also came in and just synced right up. He’s a talented dude! We have so many different influences and they all come out in the music, as we can’t seem to stop writing! We have like four albums worth of stuff! Adam always yells at us for it. Right now the MQ plays heavy, dark hardcore. We are expanding into different realms though. Influences include Tragedy, From Ashes Rise, Converge, Helmet, Unsane, Defeated Sanity, Nasum, Nails, Integrity, Harm’s Way, Buried Alive, Napalm Death, Deadguy, Bloodlet, Discordance Axis/Gridlink, Nostromo, etc. I also have a digital rock solo project called Crust Requiem - I have been doing it for over ten years and have over 80+ songs and growing. You can find all the FREE, fully-downloadable albums on BandCamp.

supports me.  We almost combined our names into “Smackson” - which would have been hilarious. Peeves (in no particular order):  1. Boring crowds at shows.  2. Those damn square size stickers stuck on the insoles of Nikes and Jordans.  3. The Philadelphia Flyers (love the city, hate the team...)  4. Not being able to hear the TV while eating crunchy snacks.  5. That moment in winter when you forget your gloves and realize you have to scrape off your car while it’s so cold it hurts to be alive. Likes: (in no particular order)  1. My amazing wife, family, and friends  2. My cat, Louis (Tully)  3. Art & Music  4. Sneakers  5. Traveling - namely to the Adirondacks in NY, and any beach ever. www.burzum.deviantart.com www.facebook.com/methquarry www.crustrequiem.bandcamp.com

Please list, in closing, five pet peeves and five things you think make life worth living. Also, if you don’t mind answering this, is your wife really named Janet Jackson? cuz that’s awesome. Yes - my wife is indeed JANET JACKSON - she’s awesome and

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o, for a second, suspend your knowledge of science and logic and enter a world of a “what if” mentality with me. Imagine if artists, or even entire bands, could mate and create love child bands, made up of equal mommy and daddy parts or even a bunch of parents’ parts that like to get down. Now picture the midnineties, a cramped green room of some shitty, stale beer and cigarette infested club, Nirvana, The Pixies, and Sonic Youth all in a post show drunken stoney haze creating a grungy yet beautiful child and leaving it behind to die or thrive. That bastard child is Foreign Tongues. So let’s get the boring details out of the way: Foreign Tongues is a 5 sometimes 6- piece indie/grunge band hailing from parts all over Massachusetts and New Hampshire. These early 20 somethings have been playing and touring since a young age. Most of this band made up the writing force of a metal band (Armor for the Broken from Tragic Hero Records) that did some of their first touring with their fathers driving them in the van. Point is, though still young, these boys have been at it for quite some time. As they grew, so did their musical taste, putting away the down-tuned guitars and picking up some chorus pedals. Guitarist James Scuderi demoed for the good part of a year, bouncing riffs with vocalist Cam Moretti before making a complete band and entering the studio with producer Jay Maas (Defeater, Title Fight, Verse) in 2012, and with help from Paper + Plastick, they released self titled tape and digital download. I loved this little EP banger- 5 tracks that I personally think boasts their range of sound and solidarity of musicianship. Also, they became my stoney drive jams, always a plus. The band steamed on in 2012 playing regional one offs and spreading their seed with bands like Moving Mountains, Tigers Jaw, and Sainthood Reps becoming a very pleasing band to put on your New England tour stop. Jump to early 2013, FT teams up with Boston buds, Ghost Thrower, to release a split on Mr. Scott Heisel’s outfit, Youth Conspiracy Records. I loved this little number, I feel like Cam had to travel into a weird personal hallway of emotion to put out such dark lyrical content over the otherwise hooky riffs and driving bass tone. But that’s just it, that’s what I love about this band. Bass up loud, guitar licks catchy as shit with those drum patterns that beat into your skull all while the

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vocals wrap your brain around itself and make your eyes smile. There’s something you will always hear me say, “If you can’t do it live as good or better, what’s the point?” FT is a true testament of that. Whether it’s slowing down a song so it basically becomes a different jam completely or whaling pedals till the cabs shake, these dudes thrive live. The boys took the ruckus down to the Lone Star State this spring, hitting the streets and clubs of Austin for SXSW. Filling their time with free beer and pick up shows they ended it all with their spot on the AP’s 100 bands you need to know of 2013 showcase sharing the well deserved stage with Frank Turner, Andrew W.K., HRVRD, and Single Mothers, to name a few. After returning home, the band teams up once again with Youth Con to release a follow up EP entitled Glue, available now for download. These dudes, being such rad guys and having such a great attitude, will be donating any and all download proceeds to the 2013 Boston Marathon tragedy via One Fund. Vocalist Cam expresses that it’s their “tiny way of helping and letting people know that the world sometimes sucks but we are all in it together.” As far as these songs go, for me, this release is my favorite to date. It’s all there, the riffs that get stuck in your whistles, drums and bass so thick that they could build walls, and those vocals that drive you to keep those 5 songs on repeat until you roll the window back up, pull in your drive way and breathe a little easier knowing someone else is fucked up too. I guess that’s the spirit of these guys though. A handful of friends getting through their shitty week to be able to, even for a little while, go grab some beers and burgers around a fire and jam tunes. The whole point of rock and roll is to be free; to forget that job, school or relationship and just be free. Whether it’s starting a musical revolution in a Seattle club in the 90s’ or burning that passed torch down in a cold bar in New England, as long as it speaks to you, moves you and you move back, you’re doing it right. These guys are doing it. Put an ear to the ground and some eyes to a computer screen, find an FT gig near you, and get off your ass and go. Foreign Tongues, I way dig.

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YOU

DON'T KNOW

SHTICK INTERVIEW WITH OLGA OF SVETLANAS

This is correct. In one word I can say “espionage” was our job. We all were KGB and our mission was to extort as many military information as possible all over the world. Our devotion to Mother Russia was absolute and the punk rock band thing was perfect cover. We had some minor issues with authorities because they thought we were punk rock trash and were more worried about drugs than state secrets.

BY BRIAN SHEA

er their press release, the story of the Svetlanas goes like this: They were a punk band active in 1977 with a secret. The band was a cover for their real job as Russian KGB agents. During a show a flawed amplifier triggered an electric discharge putting the band members into a coma. The KGB cryogenically froze them to preserve the secrecy of their mission. This is one of the more interesting interviews I have conducted, getting together with Olga of the Russian punk band Svetlanas to discuss being a punk band in Russia, her former service in the KGB and their new record, Tales From The Alpha Brigade. It didn’t go quite as I had expected, She was rather secretive, evasive, and a little scary… So let me get this right Olga... All the members of the band are ex-KGB agents from Russia. Am I to believe this to be correct?

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That’s a pretty incredible story. So with all of this intense military training why are you still traveling the world playing punk rock? I’m sure there are better jobs available for people with your qualifications. Incredible, NO! Very credible, Yes! Give me computer and I could fight a cyber-war against any nation, that which means I will have to keep my ass in chair ten hours a day in some Kremlin branch office. That’s no for me Brian, I do love the action. Next time we play in your city do a favor to yourself and get your ass to show so you will understand what I mean. I love punk rock and I love to do touring. Got it? Yes I got it, and rock and roll is a tempting mistress. Now we are also to believe that you were playing and touring in the seventies, and were cryogenically frozen then re animated what five or ten years ago, right? I am thinking you doubt my accuracy of our story? Seven years ago we woke up after 29 years spent in cryogenic room. During the 1977 mission in the US we have been hit by a violent electric shock while on stage. I still don’t know if it was a CIA attempt to kill us or mere accident. Anyway the KGB top brass thought it was time to “freeze” the

mission forever... and get sarcastic tone off of your voice OK?!

lanas and you no have worry about any such thing.

No it’s just a really great story and I want to get it right... So punk rock is your life now, no more mysterious intrigue for the Svetlanas? Maybe punk rock is only life of Svetlanas now, but it good to have many skills of persuasion from old Iron Curtain days to use when we have to.

Well thank you for the interview Olga, and good luck with the record. It really rocks! Glad you like record, but no need luck. Svetlanas make things happen. Good luck to you Brian, we will be watching you.

Skills of persuasion? You make nice write up for Svet-

A QUICK LOOK AT THEATRICS IN ROCK N ROLL

BY JIM KAZ NEW SHTICK

SNOW WHITE'S POISON BITE

At the onset, these Finnish malcontents took a beating in the music forums for their trite screamo style and predictable comb-over coifs. They’ve since rebranded themselves as more like the Misfits, with a slight emphasis on organ-driven garage rock. It’s all been done before, and done better. But, new album Featuring: Dr. Gruesome and The Gruesome Gory Horror Show does show a spark of personality and a few choice pop-punk nuggets, like “Will You Meet Me In The Graveyard?”

OLD SHTICK HANOI ROCKS

As Finland’s most influential export to this day, Hanoi Rocks’ reach on rock ‘n’ roll is immeasurable. Mixing heroin-era Rolling Stones with the traditional punk sounds of Generation X and the imagery of the New York Dolls was not only different, it was years ahead of its time. Singer Michael Monroe was more depraved on stage, and guitarist Andy McCoy had more authentic swagger in his coke finger than the multitudes of ‘80s guitar heroes combined. The band was poised for a breakthrough in 1984, when a drunk-driving accident— courtesy of Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil—ended it all by killing Hanoi drummer Razzle. To add insult to injury, the band then proceeded to pilfer bits of Hanoi’s image for its own uses. Check out Hanoi Rocks at its peak in the DVD, The Nottingham Tapes.

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