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forceofneglect-blog1 · 8 years ago

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Bind - Florida Hardcore (yes, again!)

Let's start with something very cliché like introducing the band. Who is who, side projects any different bands with Bind members?

My name is Mike and I sing for Bind. Jake and Cory on guitars, Cheech on bass, and Austin plays drums. Me and our guitar players are in a band called Crisis Unit which we are currently writing a new release for sometime this year.

It's fair to say that 2016 was very successful year for you. Can you tell us a story of the way you went from recording demo to the place you are now.

Thanks! It was absolutely an awesome year and experience for us as a band and i have a feeling 2017 will be even better.

We started the band after putting to rest an older band of ours and using a couple songs we wrote for that band on the demo. We put out a song for people to get an understanding on the direction we were taking and just go from there. We got an awesome response to it and got asked by Plead Your Case records to put out the demo. Later that year, we released the demo on a tape, played some crazy shows and then in the winter of 2015 we toured the east coast with a band called Vatican. After returning home we started hashing out new material and recorded a two song promo that we released ourselves and then later was released as a tape by Plead Your Case for This is Hardcore fest. After we released this promo we then went to tour Texas and back with Truth's Last Horison which was an incredible experience through and through, some of the best kids in hardcore. Once we returned home, we got word from Plead Your Case that he wanted to put out a Bind 7". We already had new songs drawn out so we began preparing. In fall of 2016, we returned to Warhouse with John Howard, who had done all of our previous work, to record a four song 7". Once mastered, we had it sent off for pressing and Dillon Perino from Sanction drew us up some amazing artwork and we released the 7" by winter and got an incredible response from the release. To start off 2017, we played FYA fest and from there toured the east coast with Drawing Last Breath from SFL then played Midwest Blood fest and now we are back at home planning some very exciting tours.

Let's talk about inspirations. Can you name few bands that had biggest influence on you both personally and bandwise?

As inspirations go for our music, I think I'd say Strain, Crown of Thornz, Leeway, and early Earth Crisis and Strife would be the biggest. Personally my biggest influence is Maynard Keenan of Tool and Jody Taylor of Strain.

I love the sound of your EP. Who is standing behind mix and mastering?

Thanks! Love how the 7" came out soundwise. We've been going to the same guy, John Howard at Warhouse, for two years now and he's the man behind the curtain for everything, mixing mastering, tones, he's a madman. There's too many for me to even recollect, we've became really close with him over these years and I don't think any band I'll ever be in will ever not record with him.

Lyrically 2 songs are exceptionally interesting. I mean Absolution and See through. Can you extend your idea standing behind the first one and tell readers was there any particular situation that push you to wrote See through?

Absolution is my stance on Christianity and veganism. In every discussion I've ever made with someone who is against veganism, they're only reasoning is "the word of God". But as someone who believes in God, Absolution is my stance that whatever higher power above us watching is disappointed in what we've done to animals and we shall be judged in the end for what we've done. The lyrics of See Through are in reference to the Aiyana Jones/Joesph Weekly case where a white police officer murdered a 7 year old black girl in a drug raid in 2010 and went completely unpunished for his actions. There are no words for situations like these other than pure disgust for the judicial system and the men and women who unjustifiably murder innocent lives with no consequence simply because they are granted a gun and a badge.

I guess most of the bands from USA don't care that much about animal rights as it is in case of bands from Florida. You are vegan. How about the rest of the band? What makes you to go that way?

I would like to believe that's not entirely true but a good chunk of Florida kids are vegan and I've noticed more & more are becoming vegan/vegetarian as time goes on. I've been vegan a year come May! I did my research in early 2016 and I began to realize the damage i was conflicting on the lives of so many and it just became apparent that now was the time to make a change.

Going to even more political part of the interview: it is couple months since Trump became president. How would you judge his duty so far?

There's not words to describe the man and his election other than disappointment and psychotic. He is beginning to send this country back to the Stone Age with every racist, transphobic, sexist, and ignorant bill he plans to pass.

To chill after politics related issues: how funny was the situation with Oscars?

It was sort of unbelievable, not even in reference to how unprofessional it was to announce an award for a film and then, on television, revoke it in the middle of their speech.. the fact that they took away such a deserving reward from Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling is just beyond me.

What are your plans for the future? Lp? World tour?

A west coast tour in May/June that'll be announced within a month or two and talks of hitting Europe are undergoing as well. Currently, as music goes, we have some songs demo'd out but nothing official until after we return from these tours.

If you have any last words, final thoughts - please go ahead.

Thanks for having me. Listen to Ecostrike!

http://bindfl.bandcamp.com

#bind #sfhc #pleadyourcaserecords

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forceofneglect-blog1 · 9 years ago

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Richmond Hardcore.

One of the sickest new bands.

And great mystery as well.

#divisionofmind #richmond

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forceofneglect-blog1 · 9 years ago

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Len - Ecostrike/DLB/Blistered

Lennon is super busy guy standing behind such names as Blistered, Ecostrike or Drawing Last Breath. Humble, shy person living somewhere between hardcore scene and X-Man universum. Below you can read about his newest projects and predictions for 2017.

You have just released new record with your band Ecostrike called "Time is now". Does it mean Blistered is no more?

I'm not sure what the future is for Blistered, but I am no longer in the band. I quit because It just felt like the time was right for me to do so and that for me the band had run its course. I think they plan to continue with another singer.

When it comes to ES it's hard not to compare to Strife. One of my very favourite bands ever. What bands inspired you most doing this band?

That's awesome that you hear that comparison! They're one of my favorite bands too. I would say that we are heavily influenced by the following records:

Strife - One Truth

Earth Crisis - All Out War 7"

Spawn - Adrift

Judge - Bringin' It Down

Slugfest - Discography

Tension - Agent Of The People

Our sound is a culmination of all those influences!

How does it happen that band based in Florida is about to release their EP by UK based label?

We have a nice strong connection going on between South Florida and Carry The Weight. Patrick (CTW) was over in FL for FYA fest last year and we met there. He saw another band that I play in and asked to put out our 7", and the friendship blossomed from there. When Ecostrike became a band he took an interest in it, and the rest is history! Working with them has been awesome, they're the best label!

Your side project Drawing Last Breath will also be released by the same label. Please tell something more about this band.

DLB is another band that is 4/5 members of Ecostrike playing metal influenced by a wide variety of music from bands like Undying, Prayer For Cleansing, In Flames, State Craft, At The Gates, etc. We have an LP coming out on CTW and it's our first full length. We're really excited about it!

Recently Florida has become "the capital" of 90s and VSE bands. At the moment one solid name comes up to my mind and it is xElegyx. Is there any particular reason behind that such profiled bands are forming in your state?

Well, it's not just recently that South Florida has become a hotbed for bands of this style. South Florida Hardcore's legacy is heavily built upon VSXE bands... Culture, Tension, Morning Again... all classic south Florida bands! Now there are a new generation of South Florida hardcore kids who have a lot of love for these bands and are just trying to represent SFL and carry on their legacy!

Coming back to Ecostrike and clear message that the name brings: "Every year we dump a massive 2.12 billion tons of waste. If all this waste was put on trucks they would go around the world 24 times." Is ES answer to such terryfing statistic?

It's terribly frightening. The state of our Earth is definitely in serious peril. One thing that gives me hope is how normalized veganism is becoming, at least in America. It seems like more and more people are going vegan and more vegan products are becoming readily available at restaurants and supermarkets.

On the other hand USA still remains one of the most obese countries and consumption of meat per capita is one of the worlds highest...

USA definitely is horrible in that regard, all I am saying is that it finally seems to be moving in a good direction which is something we need!

Same story in Europe, vegetarianism and veganism are more acceptable, big markets are selling a lot of meatless / diary free options and it became a kind of fashion which is obviously great thing in that case. Recently i come up to idea that this "commercial" model of meatless lifestyle strongly promoted by many celebrities brought more positive effects then "revolutionary" model that we know from hardcore/punk lyrics and zines. Can you agree with that?

I would definitely agree that right now the "commercial" model seems to be having a more positive effect than the "revolutionary" model. It seems as a backlash that now people might seem to write veganism off as a trend for "normal" people or that it isn't punk, but I think if you bail on being vegan because it becomes accepted in the mainstream, you're definitely not vegan for the right reasons anyways. It shouldn't be about what's punk or whats subversive, it should be about what makes a difference for animal lives, the earth, and ourselves, and if celebrities promoting veganism and making it popular is what makes that difference, then thats fine with me.

True to what you say. Hopefully meatless diets wont become a cheap trend but as long as less animals are suffering the better it is.

To change subject - 2017 is on, trump soon will be sworn as a president, 35 Russian diplomats will be force to leave States due to this hacking issue... What are your predictions about nearest future? Any comments to the current political situation?

As far as the current political situation, it's terrifying. As far as the Trump presidency, All I can really do at this point is remain positive and do what I can to support marginalized groups of people who's rights are in danger.

Your final words. Any new years resolution?

Final words: LISTEN TO BIND!

Go vegan!

New Years Resolution: read more!!!

Both pictures used comes from:

http://daveyxburns.tumblr.com/

#ecostrike #blistered #vegan #straightedge #sfl

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forceofneglect-blog1 · 9 years ago

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Jukai - Long Island, NY.

This interview was conducted too long ago, maybe at the beginning of this year or even the end of 2015. Kyle who was answering my questions was super nice, responsive person. Since that time Jukai released 7″ep by MassMovement Records and now they are about to release split with Recycled Earth from Hudson Valley, NY by Reconsider Records.

Introduce yourself guys. Can Euro hardcore kids can know you from different bands than Jukai?

I’m Kyle B, I play guitar in jukai. Our other guitarist is Kyle F, on bass we have Ian, drums we have Steve, and our vocalist is named Zach. Jukai is based out of Long Island, NY. All of us have been in a ton of other projects. Zach was the bassist and backup vocalist in the final form of Cipher, and Ian played bass in Bottom Out. Both bands are hardcore/metalcore bands based out of Long Island, and both are sick so check them out if you haven’t already.

You grabbed my attention after guys from Backtrack or different band mentioned you on their facebook. I checked the demo and thought ‘yeah, this is pretty good band. Raw, metallic, I like it’, then I slept over your second release which is simply named MMXXIV. Can you tell couple words about this record? What influenced you during writing music and lyrics?

Wow MMXIV feels like such a long time ago, it’s crazy how focusing on a new release and playing shows can do that. The lyrics were actually written and performed by our friend and former band mate Matt. He has since left the band for personal reasons. The lyrics are pretty straight forward but I couldn’t get into detail on the underlying meaning of them. As for the music on that release, we wanted to make every song have its own identity while still being Jukai. It actually took us a long time to write for that release because of the way we did it. We all have so many similar and different influences as individuals, and we bring them to the table in different ways so it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what was going through our heads for that release.

You mentioned Ian is playing in Bottom out. This is a great band. I like one of their latest records: Letters from earth. Generally I love when music is connected to wider context as it was here, where it was anchored in Mark Twain’s literature (correct me if I’m wrong) Is there any kind of connections like this in Jukai?

Zach’s writing process for the new stuff is very personal. For the most part its very straight forward, I’m not sure if he has any examples of that in his lyrics, but I can tell you that each song is based on a specific event in his life. It’s not all “wah I’m angry at the world” generalized. Funny we get back to Bottom Out, we actually have a new song that will not be in the ep, but is instead coming out on a flexi 1vs1 split with Bottom Out. As far as our old stuff goes, Matt sometimes wrote about personal events as well as generalized distaste for the world. Faith is a perfect example of the flatter.

So, if we are close to the subject of faith and spirituality let me ask about bands name. Jukai is a name of ritual taken from Buddhism. Are you any close to this philosophy?

I was actually not aware of that. The name is actually shortened for Kuroi Jukai which translates to black sea of trees. Kuroi Jukai is the name of a book, and also a name used for a specific region in the Aokigahara Mountains of Japan. The actual region is a place where an extremely high number of suicides take place. Some members of the band didn’t like the name at first, but at this point there is no other name that could ever fit the way our music sounds and feels, at least in my opinion. As far as religion goes, we all retain our own identity as far as our beliefs and religions.

The thing which I really like about you guys is the way you sound. It is perfectly imperfect. As I said - it is raw, but still selective and reminds ‘90’s, somehow, however it may be funny it reminds me the way black metal bands sounds. Is there any story behind it?

Our sound was actually something we actually did by mistake, when we first started the band and jamming in 2012, we were playing around with more mainstream hardcore guitar riffs. Kyle F actually wrote the beginning riff to Jihad, which was our first song. That’s actually how we defined our sound, through that song. Like I said before we all have so many influences, and the way we bring them together to make music can sometimes be tough, it sometimes takes a long time for us to write. I think everyone in the band has great ideas and the best intentions but sometimes we try to make something because of an individual desire to have something sound the way we want. Like sometimes as individuals we take the music for granted and when we try to write it just ends up coming out like shit. Everyone in the band has done that before including me haha. I think Jukai kind of just writes itself. I feel like when we all stop trying so hard it becomes easy for us to just play the damn music and stop thinking about what would be a cool breakdown or fast part. And as far as black metal, the only black metal band I ever got into is Dusk, but I know Kyle F listens to more black metal than I do. Zach is now doing vocals since Matt left the band. Zach originally played bass. His lyrics are incredible, and now we have Steve and Kyle F both doing backup vocals both live and on record. So our “new” sound is a little more dynamic when it comes to the vocals.

Couple weeks ago MassMovement Records announce they will release your ep. What does it mean to you?

It means the absolute world to us that MassMovement is putting our newest ep on vinyl. The title to it is Devoid Of Hope, and like I said before Zach’s lyrics are incredible. We did the same style song writing for MMXIV where we wanted to have every song retain it’s own identity. We will be putting out a digital version pretty soon so keep on the look out for that. Everyone in the band is beyond excited to have a vinyl out. We got some help from our friends getting to this point as well so shout out to everyone who had a hand in this, specifically Scanlon and the boys in King Nine.

I want to ask you very general question about hardcore scene in NYC/USA in general. How do you feel about the place where hardcore is in your country now?

So Long Island is a relatively small island east of NYC, we are lucky enough to have our own scene here which is for the most part independent of NYC and the rest of NY. We have so many good people and bands based out of Long Island, and its not just hardcore, it’s also pop punk, alternative rock, hip hop, and even some shoegaze just to name a few. We also have a bunch of guys and girls who do visual art, as well for things like tattoos, show flyers, band artwork, graffiti, and such. The people involved really care because it’s what they love. The only thing that kind of sucks is that, we have a lack of venues, it’s largely due to the fact that property here is so expensive so no one wants to risk a bunch of crazy kids hurting each other in their establishment. That’s also why it’s so hard to get DIY venues here. The actual NYC scene is a little different, the face of Brooklyn has changed drastically. A lot of places have been shut down and it’s not as common to see hardcore shows there anymore. We have a couple of friends upstate and in the northeast area who kick some serious ass. Recycled Earth just dropped their new release called Act Of Devotion and it’s sick. They’re from the Hudson Valley area just upstate from us. Vein is another great band from Boston. Floods from Massachusetts, and Jagged Visions from Connecticut. I could go on for hours about bands coming up and this new era of sound that they’re all bringing. We have been lucky enough to play out at places upstate NY, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Everyone has been so nice and receptive to us. I think the music in general is changing but that’s what music does, it evolves and moves forward as people try new things and also go back to their roots. I can really only speak for the places I’ve been but the people involved in the music, and the people who go to shows make hardcore great. I’m sure it’s also like that in Europe, Asia, Canada, all over really. Especially now when people from all over can communicate, like how we are right now. We are both from very different places on the other side of the planet, and yet we both have hardcore in common, and the distance between us doesn’t even matter.

Fact, the thing we are able to communicate and change our minds despite we are so far away is great thing, but on the other hand the connections between people are getting shallow and simple, but lets stay on Long Island. Does growing up in a place from bands like VOD, Kill Your Idols or Neglect was has an impact on you? Do the streets ‘live’ with the legend of these bands?

Growing up on Long Island, there is that constant reminder of these bands that came before us, and we’re grateful for that. Our friend’s practice space is where Kill Your Idols had their infamous last parking lot show. Perhaps the band that had the greatest influence on us is Cipher. I’m not sure if you’re aware of them but Zach played with them for a bit towards the end, and they really embody what we try to not only sound like but present ourselves as unfortunately though, things change and move on. The venue where Neglect had their last show is now a restaurant. Many of the legendary venues are now closed, or not doing hardcore shows anymore. So while it’s important to respect the past and those who came before, we’re also putting focus on today.

While Jukai is still more local-widely known band, there are couple bands from Long Island known worldwide like for example already mentioned Backtrack or Incendiary. Do you know each other, hang around or is the scene that big that you have nothing in common? I know this could sound cliché, but contrary, here in Poland, or in Europe generally speaking most of people who are into hardcore knows each other.

Well I mean when you’ve been to shows for years with pretty much the same people, you’re eventually going to have to communicate with them and be friendly. Both Backtrack and Incendiary are friends of ours, and have helped us out in one way or another. We don’t really hang out outside of shows, but they have been our supporters since day one. The biggest band that has helped us out in terms of what we’re doing now, specifically the record is King Nine.

Let me ask you couple quick hardcore and pop culture related questions. Can you name your top 3 NYHC bands all time?

Agnostic Front has been doing it the longest, I don’t know if they’re the first band but they still have been going strong year after.The first band I think about with NYHC is the Cro Mags. Age of quarrel is a perfect record start to finish, and even today, with their current lineup, they are so much fun to see live and I enjoy them.When I first started checking out hardcore in general, Gorilla Biscuits was up there with bands like Black Flag and Bad Brains, their music is fast, and more importantly has a strong message attached to it, and they were probably one of the first bands to have an earnest message about things like vegetarianism, gender equality, and straight edge. While I’m neither vegetarian nor straight edge, I can’t deny Gorilla Biscuits determination and overall positive message.Sheer Terror to me is the polar opposite of Gorilla Biscuits. A lot of people might look at me funny for picking Sheer Terror over bands like Judge or Youth Of Today, but Sheer Terror to me is reality. They’re not a band about concepts, or ideals, as much as they are about the bitterness of everyday life. The best word to describe their lyrical content is ugly, and I think based on that, they would get my vote. They are a real band singing about real things.Indecision helped shape the sound of 90’s hardcore and are one of Jukai’s biggest influences. Without their sound, we wouldn’t even be close to the band we are today. Based on that fact, Indecision is so vital to NYHC in the sense that they popularized that style in New York.

Top NYHC albums.

Albums I’d say:

Cro mags “Age of quarrel”

Leeway “Born to expire"

Merauder “Master killer"

Everybody Gets Hurt “The dark seeds of man"

Antidote “Thou shalt not kill” 7 inch

Ian (bass):

Meruader “Master killer”

Biohazard “Urban Discipline”

Crown of Thornz “Mentally Vexed”

Cro Mags “Alpha Omega”

Irate “1134”

Let’s go to pop culture, because it is hard to speak about any pop culture without mentioning NY. I just want to throw 2 or 3 quick questions:Batman or Spiderman? Haha

Neither? I guess between the two would be Spider-Man by a small margin, I’m an X-men geek to be honest. Batman has the better movies though but as far as the Batman movies, I prefer the new ones. I liked the Frank Miller series so to see them adapted was cool.

Movies based in NYC. Can you name your top of all time?

Tie between “Escape from New York” and “The Warriors”.I’m glad you asked that question, I have a funny story about movies based in New York. Have you ever seen Men In Black with Will Smith?

Obviously. Go ahead!

When that movie came out I was maybe 8 or 9, I was living in Queens, New York, about 10 minutes from the real version of that Globe Statue they blow up with the little gun and I started crying and I demanded that my mom drive me to the Globe because I thought it was really blown up.

Before digging hardcore and punk I used to listen to a lot of hiphop. Are you into? If so, name your favorite, or maybe you have some fresh names uncommon to wider bunch of people.

Not fresh names really, but I like a lot of the classics. Gang Starr, Geto Boys, EPDM, Eric B & Rakim, De La Soul, stuff like that.

Your recommendations for any other kinds of music?

I like a lot of different stuff so it’s tough to narrow it down. This morning I’ll probably listen to the Aphex Twin that came out last year called “Syro”. There’s also this female fronted band called Sheer Mag I’ve been listening to a lot lately, they kind of sound like Thin Lizzy a bit, real classic rock and roll sound. My friends finally convinced me to listen to Turnover which is cool, I like them. I’m a HUGE Kate bush fan, so they kind of go hand in hand. ‘Hounds of Love” to me is up there as one of my favorite records ever. Let me give you some sick recommendations on some new stuff then: Dame is a band kind of in the vein of like Kate Bush/New Order sounding music, they’re from Maryland maybe and Firewalker, they are just mean sounding female fronted hardcore from Boston.

youtube

Pics:

https://jukai.bandcamp.com/

and

http://darthlader.tumblr.com/tagged/jukai

#hardcore #nyhc #longisland #jukai

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