Ian Geiger of Overlooked Interview

I sat down with Ian Geiger who sings for North Carolina's Overlooked. You can listen to there new sevin inch single "Someday Never Came"  below, but if you want to hear more of their music, click here.

Overlooked - "Someday Never Comes" Seven Inch Single by WhereItEnds

If you like what you hear, order the record here!

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What's up Ian? How've you been as of late?

Not bad man, been working on getting 2012 lined up for us and working on some new stuff. This year was pretty rough so the past few months have kind of been our recovery period I guess you could say, and just getting ready to gear up and hit 2012 even harder.

Hell yeah, so how did Overlooked start up?

I played in a few bands and filled in for a few bands prior to this, but nothing ever seemed to work out or add up the way that I wanted it to. Starting Overlooked was a way to do things on my own terms with like-minded people. I pretty much wrote our demo by myself, and then recruited our old drummer and our guitarist. We’ve basically worked from there, and since then we’ve gone through a few member changes, had our share of good luck, bad luck, everything in between.

Well that’s almost bound to happen you know? What's the Overlooked lineup looking like as of now?

Well now we are probably at our most solid lineup, everything just makes sense now. But myself and parker, our guitarist, are the only original members at this point. Jared is our second drummer and Lenny used to be our roadie and he just kind of ended up playing bass for us after Tyler left. That makes him our third or fourth bassist, something like that. We’re really happy with how everything is working out though, we are all best friends so it just makes sense better than it ever did.

Can you tell me a little bit about your bands discography?

We’ve put out a 7" EP, an online EP, a 7" single that just came out, and were writing right now for our split with Another Mistake. Our first 7" we wrote within the first few months of being a band and recorded it right afterwards, but it took forever to come out. We had to wait almost like 8 months before we could really work off of that record and start touring in support of it, but once it did we started hitting the road as much as we could. We went through some lineup changes and kind of worked out some kinks, and then hit the studio and recorded our online EP and the single.

That split is going to be awesome, I love that 7" that they put out on Like Glue Records. That label and Nick who runs it, is awesome. Have you checked out any of their releases?

Yeah that is a really great label that is doing a lot for the southeast and the midwest, Nick puts a lot into that label and really loves hardcore. It seems like every band they work with end up moving onto even bigger things, and it’s really awesome to see something like that. That Written Off/Out Crowd split is a banger for sure, both of those bands are on point.

Yeah, both sides of that split are bangers. You guys are putting out a new seven inch on Brad's Gang records, who have put out some awesome records. How'd you guys get hooked up with Brad's Gang?

One of my old bands toured with the guys who run Brad’s Gang like 3 years ago, so when this label got started up it was inevitable that we would end up working together at some point. We had been kinda stagnant and were unsure of what we were doing release-wise, so I asked if they were into the idea of doing a really small run of 7" singles and it just went from there. It’s been super casual and great to work with them, I’m really pumped on how everything came out.

How's your new seven inch compare to your previous material?

 It’s every aspect of this band that we aim for, but better. It’s faster, it’s angrier, and it’s heavier. We sat on these songs for a while and were able to work out every little thing with these songs and make them the best we could, so they represent everything that Overlooked is as a band. I’m not ashamed of our first 7" at all, it just could’ve come out a lot better in retrospect, and this new stuff definitely represents us as a whole much better.

Are you guys planning on touring within the next year?

We have a weekend in February coming up, then planning on a two week run of the east coast/midwest at the end of February or the beginning of March. After that, is all up in the air, but we have every intention of being on the road this year. We would love to hit some fests, and are actively trying to make that happen. We have a lot in the works, so hopefully well be everywhere that we wanna be to this year.

Do you plan on releasing more material in the future, like an LP?

Like I said earlier, this upcoming spring we have a split coming out with Another Mistake from Kentucky. We are super lucky to have Twelve Gauge Records from San Francisco putting it out, and I think it will go over really well, at least I HOPE it does. As far as an LP goes, I don’t know if we are the type of band to ever really do an LP. We’ve talked about it, but I just don’t know to be honest. I love releasing 7 inches and smaller stuff like that. I have always thought that EP’s, singles, and splits were the coolest releases a band can do. But in a few months I’ll have knocked all three of those off of our band bucket-list, so maybe an LP will come..who knows!

So what do you think about the current hardcore scene? What are the pros/cons to you?

There are a lot of different types of bands doing big things right now..heavy bands, fast bands, whatever. Lots of mixed tours and different scenes working together, so that’s definitely a good thing. There definitely isn’t a shortage of bands, or of kids even. It’s just that for whatever reason, even in this internet age, its somehow still borderline impossible to get kids to come to shows. Either they claim to not know about them, or complain about price, or something. But to be honest, I feel like kids are too afraid to step out of their comfort zone when it comes to shows..which with these mixed tours is cool because some kid might be 15 years old and saw some kinda bigger hardcore band on the Warped Tour or some shit, and when some band they jock is on a tour with two or three other straight up hardcore bands that he’s never heard of before, he’s more likely to check them out. So I guess what I’m trying to say is the people that are coming out are cool, the bands that are playing are cool, it’s just a matter of getting MORE people to support what’s going on around them and take note of what’s up.

Yeah it's the same way everywhere almost, especially kids complaining about shows. Do you guys have any solid venues in your area?

North Carolina/South Carolina are kind of just one collective scene, so if a show can’t happen in one town, it can probably go down within a few hours of it and most of the same kids will attend. But as far as Wilmington, we have a great venue called The Soapbox, but they are starting to stray away from doing hardcore shows. It sucks, because I’ve seen and played some of my favorite shows there and would love to keep it that way, but things change I guess.

Is there anything else you'd like to say my man?

Thanks Jim for doing this interview and to anyone that read this and has checked us out. Shout outs to the NCHC, Jihad and Twelve Gauge Records, Brad’s Gang Records, Life to Live Records. Listen to Another Mistake. Hardcore rules, hopefully we see everybody soon.

"Hardcore Merch" by Brian Murphy(How's Your Edge, TeeTillDeath.com)

"Hardcore Merch" by Brian Murphy(How's Your Edge, TeeTillDeath.com) was featured in Where It Ends Zine #3. Enjoy. (That's Brian in the red shirt, diving during the In My Eyes set at Edge Day 2009.)

As styles in hardcore music go in cycles so does taste in hardcore merchandise. What is king shit today can be just shit tomorrow. But that’s the name of the game, I suppose. Just like one style of hardcore can't stay at the top forever, one bands merch can rule the roost forever. People will always love generic youth crew and Uniform Choice 4 sided tees, but other flavors burn hot for months or years. 

Running TeeTillDeath.com over the past few years, means I have seen some trend come and go.  Here’s a break down of some of the cycles I've seen over the last few years.For those with short memories, fear not. I plan on keeping all my examples relevant to the last 3 years. 

Let’s start in 2009 with Have Heart. As you may recall, Have Heart broke up in 2009 which made ALL of their merch worth its weight in gold. Final show shirts were selling for outrageous prices on ebay, despite not selling out at the gig. Of course, these prices dropped once the band put up the numerous leftovers on their online store. But for roughly 3 months surrounding the last gig, Have Heart merch was the merch to have (to sell). These days the prices are much more reasonable. Shirts can be had for $15-20, which is way better than the $60-65 some were going for previously, but not all of the shirt prices fell off. Certain fest tshirts still command high prices. But that last show tanktop? Don't spend your whole paycheck on it. You can probably get it for the cost of a slightly expensive lunch. Cha-ching.

More recently, say late spring 2010 into early winter 2011, Trapped Under Ice was KILLING it merch wise. They were selling a ton of great merch, and flipping was off the chain. The secondary market TUI windbreaker sales could have fueled a tour van for a few states, big ones at that. There were days where two or three windbreakers would all end at once, each of them cracking that $100 mark. I feel like one even went to $120. Crazy. Fast forward and the prices are again reasonable. I imagine the jackets sold new for anywhere between $35 and $45. You could probably get one on ebay for $50-$60 now. That's not terrible, right?

That brings us to today -- the beginning of fest season. Fests are amazing. I frequently refer to them as Merch Bloodbaths. It's inevitable. Every band, every label, every outlet (ttd included) will have something for sale. It's intense. And one thing I've learned about fest season, wait it out. If you you couldn't make it to the fest, wait 8 months, then buy on ebay. Just wait. The day after the fest, ebay will light up with "fest only" merch. People will go buck and bid like maniacs. However, if it's something incredible, sit back a few months. Wait for the fires to cool, then pounce on a deal. It almost never fails (think about the Smoke With Cali Have Heart tee. They've come WAY down in the years following that fest). Trust me on this one. Just wait it out.

Of course, some classic hardcore merch has never gone out of style. A Youth Crew 88 shirt will always look crucial. A Smorgasboard Records tshirt will always be classic. And you'll never be able to purchase a judge schism longsleeve with miller tags on ebay for a bargain. Actually, I shouldn't say never. You may luck into one: a misspelling, a bad listing, an eager to sell ebayer. It can happen, and it does happen. But chances are, you're going to have to fight tooth and nail for it. That's just the way it is lately. 

Classic items never go out of style, while trends come and go. And the most important thing to remember, buy what you like. I know it sounds low and stupid, but seriously, why are you buying some limited merch from a band that you don't even like? Support the bands you love, and give high fives to the rest. Let the next kid in line who loves that band buy the merch.

Justin Ogden(Let Down/Wrong Answer) Interview

About a month ago, I interviewed Justin Ogden, who sings for Wrong Answer from Pennsylvania. He also used to play bass in a band called Let Down. Enjoy.

What's up Justin? How are you doing?

I am doing pretty good right now! I am writing this from a kid's kitchen, somewhere in Indiana at like 3 AM. Everyone else is asleep and I am up computing.

Now I just wanted to start out by saying that your set at This Is Hardcore was rad as hell. There was a stupid amount of kids pitting when you opened up with "The World Is Empty". What was that like for you, especially since you were playing the same day as Youth of Today and H2O?

Well for us (I think I can speak for the whole band on this one) it was cooler because of YOT and Ringworm, I haven't really given H2O a second thought since I was 15. But yeah man it was fucking awesome, it was cool to be one of the local bands that people actually go off for, not like one of the ones in years past who just got a slot out of pity, or as a hand out to see what we'd do with it. We’ve been really lucky over the last year or so and also put in a lot of work and it's always nice to see people appreciate your efforts and stuff like that. It was a really special moment for sure - I considered trying to get my parents to come out because they've never seen this band (they saw let down twice though) but I was kinda nervous, didn't know how the set would turn out, and just didn't want to deal with any potential headaches from the situation. But now I wish I had. But yeah, Ringworm and Youth of today... Man. In an ideal situation that's what I’d like our band to sound like, in a blender.

What other bands did you enjoyed/excited to see at the Fest?

Beware, Face Reality, Underdog, Mother of Mercy, Title Fight, Dead End Path, Nails, All Else Failed, Stick Together, Damnation A.D, and many more. I would have enjoyed Agitator if I had arrived early enough but I’m a dummy.

I remember during Agitator's set Marty said something about you not being at the Fest or something so you couldn't sing your part in "Force Fed Lies"! hahaha, But what's your opinion on Force Fed and everything that surrounded that band?

Oh jeez. Well whatever, first of all I showed up to the fest way late because I’m a dumb idiot but yeah, my opinion on Force Fed? This is a long one. I mean I’ll go so far as to say that my opinion on force fed probably differs greatly from Marty's opinion on them. See for Marty, Force Fed was a band that was around as he was starting to transition more from metalcore to actual hardcore, and since he was always into being straight edge that was a band whose message he really got into and like, believed in or whatever. So for him it was like a slight, like he put his faith in them and they disappointed him, or whatever. At least that's what I’ve gathered from conversations I’ve had with Marty on the subject.

Now obviously my thoughts on force fed come from an entirely different perspective. Force Fed was a band that myself and a lot of other older hardcore kids kinda helped out because they were the only band playing actual hardcore that seemed "legit" or like they "had a chance" that had new people in it (not some combination of the people from let down/mother of mercy and war pigs). The fact that they were straight edge was a big bonus, so my friends and I went out of our way to push them, help them out, whatever. Right away I pretty much knew that they weren't exactly what we were all pushing them to be. Their singer seemed legit, their bass player was a nice guy but everyone knew that he was just being straight edge to go along with the crowd, as he would talk openly about how much he missed smoking weed and how cool it was (despite singing in another short-lived straight edge side project - by the way, there's rumors this dude broke way before FF ever ended) and their drummer was a late-bloomer 'know it all' type who figured he had mastered hardcore after he had been playing in such an illustrious and well-respected band for all of six months. He was already over everything hardcore and especially Force Fed related long before the band ended, I remember over-hearing many whiny conversations with this dude on the subject of how annoying it was to go on tour. Well, not even go on tour. Like drive somewhere and play a show. Justin, the guitar player who now plays in Stick Together, was and remains to be a stand-up dude, and is still straight edge.

In fact that's the part that sucks about the whole thing, is that when you criticize Force Fed the only person who ends up hearing about it is Justin, because the singer and bass player have literally nothing to do with hardcore anymore and apparently just spend most of their time high/drunk or whatever, and the drummer is now in a frat or something and has applied his ego and know-it-all attitude to his future career in risk management or whatever (see the Dead Kennedy song "terminal preppie"). So like, when you dis force fed, it flies under the radar of the people you're actually targeting and ends up just annoying the one dude in the band who didn't do anything worth being dissed about.

But anyway, I have no epic feelings about force fed. They did their thing, they tried REALLY hard to be some craaazy straight edge outfit (would start shit over people drinking near them, constantly dis other local edge breakers, have ingenious stage banter that at one time consisted of 'fuck all the edge breaking faggots', and other stuff like that) - basically they were like a shit that let down took that wouldn't flush down the toilet. Then, after all of that, they turned into everything they made fun of. I think that's worthy of ridicule but it's not like I find it personally offensive. If those dudes would have taken the shots people gave them when they turned out to be hypocrites and just kept doing what they were doing (being into HC, playing in bands, booking shows in the singer's case) then nobody would have much of a leg to stand on when it came to making fun of them. But of course, their entire personalities and set of interests changed when they weren't claiming edge anymore. Go figure.

A lot of people think I have beef with those dudes just because they broke edge or something, and the truth is I don't have any beef with any of them and I don't wish anything bad to happen to them, but... How do I put this? It's kind of like swinging a big chain around, when you talk to the talk and can't back it up. Be prepared for that chain to come back and hit you in the face, kind of like when Keith Gallagher was moshing to Mother of Mercy playing 'Swinging the Chain' at their record release show and hit himself in the face with a chain. Like if I stood by your side and laughed with you at the people who were exactly like what you turned out to be, why wouldn't I laugh at you too? Straight edge means the same thing it did to me in 2002, 2006 or 2010. I'm not the one who changed. And it's bigger than just 'dropping a label' or something, when it coincides with your entire personality and set of interests changing. And obviously that would affect a friendship.

So Wrong Answer was so supposed to tour out to Sound and Fury this year, but you guys had to cancel because of money problems if I'm correct?

Yeah we don't have a car, between us as a band. Like I don't mean we don't have a band van, I mean that none of us even has our own car. For short trips we can usually borrow Kevin’s dad's car, and for longer ones we've been lucky enough lately to be helped out by Marty from Agitator (he played bass for us on our five day Canadian jaunt last month, and this time around he just let his us borrow his car while he rides in the van with the rest of his band). So I would have had to rent a car, and upon looking at the tour we ended up with I realized that it wouldn't have been worth the extra cost of a car rental. Because it was around Sound and Fury time, a lot of bands were touring, so a lot of the shows would have been with shitty bands like Doubledealer and other smaller touring bands trying to do their thing, so I figured instead of turning those shows into two or three tour packages we'd just sit it out because honestly it probably means a lot more to all of those kids to be able to go out and play that fest than it does to me (and I damn sure wasn't going to fly out to California for $150 hahaha)

Also kind of right before we were going to leave I found out that my girlfriend had been cheating on me for several months with a good friend of mine and we broke up, I lived with her and the plan was to really bust my ass at work and come up with enough money to move the fuck out, asap. Well, here we are a couple of months later and I still live with her. The idiotic escapes of a desperate man. 

You still did the Canadian dares of that tour with Revenge right? Was it your first time being up there, well at least with Wrong Answer?

We had done a weekend in Canada before, when we played London and New market Ontario with agitator (and then did buffalo NY). I had been to Toronto a couple of times with Let Down, and had accompanied Force Fed on some trips up there too (LOL). I tried to go to Canada with mother of mercy once but they got rejected at the border, plus I’d been there on my own plenty. I actually grew up in Whitby, Ontario which is a suburb about a half an hour outside of Toronto (shout out to all Durham hardcore kids, especially my homies in head check). So yeah it was kind of familiar territory but I really love going out there and playing. Four of the five days were with Revenge, it was the end of their full US tour. I'd never met those guys and was only familiar with their music in passing but they were nice dudes and were fun to play with, the shows went well and I feel like our bands complimented each other nicely. The Kemptville, Ontario show was probably the coolest show we have ever played.

So since you've been posting tour updates of your Midwest tour with Agitator, I won't ask anything about it really other than, Marty got shingles before tour?

Yeah man Marty’s disgusting right now, I think the blister-y part of his shingles went away so now he just looks like someone was whipping him with a belt or something. He said that it's not contagious if you had chicken pox when you were younger and I had that shit in kindergarten so I’m not scared of him or anything, but yeah pretty gross. Apparently he's in pain from it too so if you see Marty, be nice to him.

Your debut 7' "The World Is Empty" came out on Harvcore Records last year and you guys made a music video for the title track. It turned out awesome, and it was one of the few hardcore bands who did videos like that in the last year. The only two I can think of would be Terror and Xibalba. What made you guys want to do a video in the first place anyways?

I kinda forget what our original motivation for doing that music video was, I didn't really think much of it at the time, and I just thought it'd be something dumb and funny. My friend Dan was going to school for a/v shit and had a really nice camera, he agreed to do it for free and I came up with some half-baked idea for a plot, so we go ahead and did it at the Halloween show last year. I think that if I had any intention at all, it was to kind of get that song more out there because I didn't think it would be any fun to play live if people didn't know the words (there are a lot of words in it and I have to sing them really quickly, if I don't have any help I’ll usually be on the ground wheezing by the end). So yeah it really wasn't something that a lot of thought went into, I had this beat ass script that we didn't even use, all the 'acting' parts were done in one take I think, and the performance is from an actual show. I didn't script any mosh or choreograph shit or have the band play to a track or anything like some other joke ass music videos, I think that shit is so corny and lame and is really visible in the real product. We played the song twice and even that was a mistake because the second time everyone just kinda stared at us like we were idiots. Everyone in the video is a friend of mine and mostly just went off to be nice, I think if people knew the video was going to be as big as it was, it would have been even crazier. But at the time we were like a second or third rate local band and nobody thought much of it haha. 

Wrong Answer "The World Is Empty" Music Video

While on the topic of music videos, I read something that during one of Agitators sets on that tour you just did, there was a rap music video shot?

Yes that was actually this past evening, these dudes were filming a rap video and wanted some crazy shit going on in the background so the shot parts of it during our sets, in particular during agitator's people started going wild and throwing all this shit around, while these dudes were rapping with their backs to them. It was pretty goddamn crazy and I really hope I get to see this video someday to witness the outcome. Also noteworthy - these dudes filming this video were vice lords, so Agitator, the band that brought you the record 'Enter Vice Lords', finally got to cross paths with some real vice lords hahaha.

So at This Is Hardcore you guys played a new song off you're new seven inch that's going to be coming out on Six Feet Under Records. What are the details on that record?

It's going to be a four or five song EP called "Cross a Black Cat's Path", we have like four songs right now and we're just writing as much as we can right now, then we'll pick the best shit and go in and record it. We really didn't restrict ourselves musically with this, the deal with WA has always been that we write whatever music and lyrics we want and it is what it is, no "in the vein of" or "for fans of" shit. I don't know what songs are actually going to end up on the record but I do know that out of the songs we have so far, we have like straight forward moshy shit, then we have a song with an Ink and Dagger part, and a song that straight up sounds like embrace. I'm pretty excited to fiddle around with these songs some more and come up with the best EP we can, and also to put in serious work on the lyrical side of things. Luckily, I’ve had plenty to say lately.

So everyone asks you and your band this question, but for the people that really don't know about it, but what is your or the "Wrong Answer" definition of what naughty youth crew is?

I think it started off as something totally different than what it is now. I started saying it just to try to define what we were doing, because in old reviews of early Integrity stuff (say like the off the bat demo or something) people would refer to them as 'dark youth crew' and there was something about that term that always struck me as being cool. So Integrity/Ringworm are huge influences on us but instead of pulling from that perspective that a lot of bands do where they're like 'oh well here's some downtuned hardcore with metal leads and some totally evil lyrics about how messed up and crazy I am, we're kind of approaching it more along the lines of 'let's play shit that's fast and kinda dark, with a punk edge to it'. Just going for a different set of influences than most bands influenced by integrity, reaching back a little farther I guess.

The other influence behind it is that like, for me personally, and also a lot of other kids I know, like we're dudes that were very into youth crew hardcore, from the inception of that style in the 80s with all those rev bands to the 90s revival to even bands like count me out in the 2000s, I just love that style, but I’m not like a youth crew revivalist dweeb with a pos top haircut and a bold shirt on, trying to fit the mold of some dude on the back of a record from 23 years ago. I'm just myself, I was a bad kid growing up, I didn't fit in at school, fucked up things happened to me and I’ve done fucked up things to other people. I'm not some clean cut person - I’m not a misanthropic, apathetic dickhead either and I’d like to think that I do more good than harm in the long run, but yeah. So naughty youth crew also evoked that for me in the beginning, just being into a wide range of hardcore including youth crew shit but not being restricted or trying to play some role. It also coincides with our vibe in general - I tackle serious topics in our lyrics but try to have fun with it in a live environment, we're not one of those 'roll around on the floor and watch me act crazy' bands. I want people to go off and have a good time when we play, it's honestly important to me.

It's come to mean something different I guess, like now I think of that term, "naughty youth crew" as just a name for everyone that gets what we're doing. We're not an easy band to pin down, I don't think. It's pretty easy to deduce our influences but I don't think we sound like a rip of any band, past or present. Nor can you put an easy label or attach a gimmick to us, which seems like a popular thing in today's internet-based hardcore world. A lot of the time I feel like people expect/want WA to be a straight edge band and are disappointed to learn I’m the only one, like that somehow makes our band less worthwhile than some other band whose members aren't going to be straight edge the year after their band breaks up. If you feel that way, fuck off, we don't want you to like us anyway. You are a mindless pissant. But yeah for everyone who gets what we do, who doesn't need a convenient label or a gimmick to appreciate a band and can just appreciate music for what it is, everyone who can catch our vibe and of course all my friends, we baptize you the naughty youth crew, worldwide.

Alright, so tell me what is so great about tumblr? You seem to get a crazy amount of odd questions all the time.

I guess if you just type out long responses to most of the questions you get asked on tumblr, people will keep asking you more and more of them because they like the idea of being personally responsible for someone investing a lot of time and effort into typing words on a computer. Well just to warn all of you, I’m an extremely fast typist and writing a bunch of words on a computer screen is my idea of a good time, so it's no sweat off my back! Haha. But yeah I mean tumblr is just a tool to express yourself like any other one available. Some people just use it to re-post a bunch of stuff and take glamor shots and stuff like that, and that's cool if it's what you're into. For me, I think it's a cool way to share a part of my life with people through words and pictures, and because there's a community aspect to it (somewhat like Facebook) it comes in with a built-in audience - which motivates me to keep doing it. I didn't get a lot of attention as a child.

What's the weirdest question someone’s asked you?

People say a lot of weird stuff to me about 'my potential' or something like that, I’d say something along those lines because it's so awkward to hear and I don't know what the hell people expect me to do with myself hahaha. Other than that, most of the weirder ones are probably my friends fucking with me.

So how many times have you been asked in let's say, the last two years "When is Let Down going to play again?" or "Will Let Down ever play again?". I'm sure at some point it gets tiring hearing that.

A good number of times I guess, I mean especially in our area. I mean I get tired of hearing it only because I always have the same answer, which is like "I don't know" to both of those. There was a time when three of us were dead set about playing again and just drew didn't want to do it. As time goes on the idea of a reunion seems less and less likely, but under certain specific circumstances it could be pretty cool. I think most of us are on the same page that we want it to happen as like a sudden surprise/not as a main draw on a show or anything. That way we wouldn't be trying to cling to any fading popularity, and it would be in the spirit of everything let down did. But yeah I’m proud of Let Down and what we did, those were the best times of my life and I’m still as straight edge as ever, and as long as everyone else is, I’ll always be down to play again under the right circumstances.

Also your bet with Sausage is still good? Correct? The one about everyone still being edge?

Yeah both he and Robby were pretty sure I’d be the first to break out of Let Down, jackasses. We are all still straight edge and the band has been over for more than two years, pretty good so far! Hopefully that continues forever.

Anything else you'd like to say?

Boy, I’ve said a lot! If you read all of that, thanks! And thanks for the interview! Check out my tumblr: http://glaciersofice.tumblr.com/. 

Shout out to my true friends who have had my back and put up with my bullshit through a year that has taken a serious toll on me, you know who you are and although I don't always show it, I love you and I wouldn't be here without you, seriously.

Check out Beware and Black Feathers, two great up and coming bands from my area. 

Listen to Never Healed. 

Philadelphia Straight Edge XXX

Dwid Hellion(Integrity, Holy Terror Records) Interview

Back in the spring, I got the oppurtunity to do a small interview with the great Dwid Hellion of Integrity. It was featured in Where It Ends Zine #3 which is now basically out of print. Enjoy.

Going to jump right into this, So here we go. Humans are filth; although this is a blanket statment, history has shown this to be true. Though altruism still exists, whether through the acts of individuals or groups, I see these acts as insignificant gestures; to me, the greatest act of love, and mercy, would be to eviscerate those we love in one fell swoop. Do you believe that one human's terrorist is another's hero? Or is it our human duty to spill the blood of those who contaminate our presence with squalor (genocide, religious desecration of human rights, etc; I believe heroes do not exist, nor have they ever; only inspirations.

Yes, "Terrorism" is almost always viewed as a heroic act by the "terrorist".  The terrorist sees himself as a revolutionary, a hero or a martyr and rarely as something negative.  My interest in annihilation is not for random carnage, but to free our imprisoned souls.  This can only be achieved with the total extermination of all human flesh.  

So moving on, now in the past you've said in the past  that you make, is the music that has been playing inside your head. Has that music inside your head changed over the years?

All of my recordings vary in style and sound.  For the most part, my influences have not altered much since I began recording.  I would say that my current music is more extreme and aggressive than that of my past records.  And hopefully less accessible to the mainstream public who have polluted and contaminated our audience.

So as of late, Integrity has been very busy release wise, with The Blackest Curse LP, the We Are The End 7', and the split with Rot In Hell. What's next for Integrity? Are you going to focus on your other projects?

The Blackest Curse was recorded in 2008, so that is actually an old release.  VVe Are The End, Love Is The Only VVeapon, split with RIH are more recent.  Last week Integrity released a new LP, 'Detonate VVorlds Plague' and a CD collection of that LP along with several 7" recordings and compilation tracks from 2009-2011. The CD collection is titled, 'Thee DestroyOrr' 

While speaking of other projects, you've been working with the dudes in Pulling Teeth in the form of what you guys are calling Integriteeth.

That was a promotional recording to promote the Mighty Sphincter release of 'Resurrection' on A389 Records. It was just a one time occasion.

So you're in your forties now if I'm correct, how has life and your outlooks changed since say when you first started Integrity? Or even since you released "In Contrast Of Sin?"

The humans will always betray and disappoint.  That will never change.  Rats in a flesh prison.  In Contrast Of Sin ep was my 1st record, but I would say that Those Who Fear Tomorrow was where i was able to properly convey my feelings through music.  

So recently you've indulged yourself in film making. How have you been able to express your visions through filmmaking that you couldn't express say through your music?

I started making videos in 2001 and continue to experiment within that media.  I think video with music can be a rewarding experience, but it can also be detrimental to the way I create music.  You can lose the interpretive aspect of music if you reveal too much.

So a few years ago you started releasing music through Holy Terror Records. Has releasing records on your own label opened up your eyes to another side of the music industry that you wouldn't necessarily see as an artist?

Holy Terror records began in 1997 we released a few records and went dormant for more than a decade. Before that I had a small record label called, Dark Empire records.  I have always known the music industry is not complimentary toward the musician, and self releasing is the only way to be fully satisfied with the record.

You had the opportunity to release Charles Manson's music, which is quite interesting stuff. How did such an opportunity arise?

ATWA contacted us.  They said Charlie was very interested in working with Holy Terror.  We were very honored to be approached with this offer and we are very proud to have released the ep.

Are there any upcoming releases on Holy Terror you are excited for? Or even any other releases throughout music industry that you are looking forward too?

Holy Terror has a split 7" with PARASITE (japan) and VERMAPYRE that is now available as well as the before mentioned new Integrity cd and 12" lp. These are available at our website, www.HolyTerror.com Also on our website is a free music download section which contains a rather large amount of Holy Terror music

Thank you Dwid for taking the time to answer these questions!

All the beast,

DH

Mike Vickers (Abomination) Interview

What's going on Mike?

The usual. Yourself?

Doing good man, keeping busy. So how did Abomination start in the first place?

Abomination crawled out from hells womb and took beastly form under the floorboards of a Mission Hill apartment back in 2009. Four-piece at that time, it was, Jesse (scholar/criminal*/bass), Zach (engineer/bike-enthusiast/guitar), B-Mac (automotive technician/uninhibited bluntness/drums) and me (graphic designer/Satanist/vocals). We all lived there together and pissed off every neighbor within a mile radius, and not just with the electric hell we were oozing out from the basement. Gathered in a dusty haze of asbestos, lead paint and rat excrement, we practiced long and hard with the goal of creating sonic evil in the most primal form. Metal riffing. Hardcore mentality. Doucey (endless party/bearded menace/guitar) wasn’t their for the bands inception, but since he has joined, anybody in the band will tell you, Abomination didn’t truly begin until he plugged in at his first practice with us.

* Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

So you described my brother as an endless party, that's a great description for him! What did he bring to the band when he plugged in at that first practice? 

Doucey not only made us heavier, but he really matured our sound. He writes amazing riffs and does it almost in an instant. He has a distinct style that really helped define our sound. We wanted to take the band in a blacker, doom-ier direction and that is the shit he knows how to write. He also works really well with Zach. They each play their own style but the way they compliment each other is a big reason why we sound the way we do.

Band aside, Doucey has become one of my best friends and he is a great drinking partner (as long as you can pick up his tab)

He sure is a gentleman! haha So, You recorded a four song demo back on 2009, in which you recorded vocals in a bathroom?

Released in the clutches of the Swine Flu hysteria, it was mockingly titled “Swine Fool”. The four songs were later re-recorded and released on the EP, “Dark Corner of the Mind”.  Basically, we were really anxious to show people what we were doing, and we wanted to play more shows. We didn’t have the money for studio time so we did it DIY the best we could. That consisted of a weekend, swearing in front of a broken computer, fumbling with scotch-taped mics, screaming in a shower stall, and consuming enough energy drinks to kill a large predatory animal. It will forever be one of my fondest moments with the band.

Then in early 2010 you released a new EP entitled "Dark Corner of The Mind", what are your lyrics based off of on the record? Maybe sort of a song-by-song breakdown?

My lyrics are to be viewed as short stories where I aim to make the listener part of the plot. I strive for them to hear, see, smell and feel what I am saying. Songs like “Soulless Creatures” and “Parasite Paradis” for example, are simply buffets of repulsing, fear-laden imagery, with no other purpose then to drag the listener through the depths of inner terror. Songs about the Christian feared apocalypse (“Pale Fate”), A demon escaping hell to torture humanity (“Godless Monstrosity”), and the power to take life from those who don’t deserve it (“Bringer of Death”), all serve this similar purpose. When writing I tediously piece together lines and carefully weave in words that I feel will evoke strong imagery. The lyrics are based off the horrors that lurk in the dark corners of my mind (see what I did there). I take great interest in this darkness because when brought to the surface, it reminds me I am alive. These blackened thoughts are something we all have, but most want to dismiss as insanity.  Rather then suppress them, I let them fester into words and we make music to accompany them. As humans we are all instinctively attracted to the rush of fear. I happen to be a junkie.

What would you describe a fear junkie like yourself as?

In using that term, I am referring to my constant purist of knowledge. I am very interested in the concept of fear, and what it means to fear something. How do we manifest fears? What are the things that drive us into cold sweats, make our heart beat wildly, or cause us to loose control? Where do these fears lurk within us, and what does it take for me to rattle them awake? I think its fascinating how the mind works, and how we react to fear. It is amazing what lengths we will go to fight our fears and yet how longingly we strive to bring them to life, however dramatic they may or may not be. Anyone can comprehend threats of violence, that’s not the fear I’m talking about. I don’t look for danger; there is no question why there is fear in physical harm. I am fixated on the fear I don’t yet understand because it is in searching for these fears, you learn a great deal about yourself.

On that note, what would you say your greatest fears would be?

If I told you, I would be exposing a weakness. This world is survival of the fittest.

I personally think Abomination is the perfect blend of darker metal and hardcore, but how would you describe your sound?

This is a very interesting question to ask me, based on the current state of the band. I am going answer carefully and the best way I can.

Abomination is like an unsuspecting idiot who bought a baby snake that turned out to be an Anaconda. And recently, we were awoken in this reptile’s coils, gasping for air, as its hinged jaws swallowed us alive. Originally we created something we weren’t ready to handle. Only in recent months have we tamed this serpent into a weapon we are wielding with acute precision. Fully describing our sound is tough, because what you hear on “Dark Corner of the Mind” is not the full realm of Abomination. “Dark Corner of The Mind” was our absolute best efforts for the time, we put a lot of hard work into that record, but it actually hasn’t nearly sustained our appetites. Since that record we started practicing very hard to write the style of music we want to play, instead of only making a close attempt at it. We’ve started crafting a sound that has gradually transformed like the stages of a Recluse Spider bite. Uglier. Blacker. More Pain. It’s rearing a gruesome face with a smile of pure evil. I’m talking about music that scrapes across your skull, tears at your moral fiber, leaving you intoxicated with sin. We sound like we mean it, because we do.

You guys are doing a split with Villain that will be out soon, are the new songs more metallic compared to the songs on "Dark Corner Of The Mind"?

Metallic is an interesting word that is up for interpretation. So to be fair, I will say “yes”. But I will also tell you what that means to me. The two songs coming out on that split are best described as stepping-stones from “Dark Corner of the Mind” to a sneek peek into our future. Since writing the songs for the split, we have continued to plunge even deeper into darkness, bathing in the blood of our old stuff. It’s no question that you will hear Abomination on this split, but the more metallic you will be hearing, is a stronger influence from Black Metal and Doom.

So in meaning of more metallic, you have more of a Doom influence in the veins of Electric Wizard, who I believed if my memory serves me right you covered? And how good is the new EW? I can't stop listening to it!

We covered “Return Trip”, one of my all time favorites. We will have more great covers of this nature to come.

Recently we have taken a much heavier influence from Electric Wizard, and many other similar bands.  I have always been a Doom-monger but it is finally seeping into the music because the rest of the band is starting to get it.  Electric Wizard, in my eyes, epitomizes the ideals of heavy music. It is much more dynamic than simply what you hear. Electric Wizard is an experience into a dimension where gravity is non-existent and you can feel sound as it pummels you deeper and deeper into the black caverns of you consciousness. They make reality move slower, time melts off their guitar strings. You can feel their riffs shaking your mind free from the grips of this world. Electric Wizard is a powerful drug, and in simply listening you catch a contact high that will have you tripping harder than anything you can buy on the street. The epic saga only continues with the latest release of “Black Masses”. The wizard has yet to disappoint.

From my understandings, you wrote a song about Richard Ramirez, what about him made you want to write a song about him?

We did. The song is called “The Night Stalker”. My interest in his story started back with a gift from my sister, a cheesy paperback book called, "The Killer Book of Serial Killers". The book basically gives you an abridged version of the lives and crimes of America’s most infamous serial killers. After reading the portion on Ramirez, I was for obvious reasons, extremely fascinated. A Satanic serial killer known for listening to heavy metal, if he wasn’t already real, it’s likely I would have just made him up. I have always taken strong interest in the occult, and songs about serial killers/murderers have been written by some of my favorite bands, “Dead Skin Mask” by Slayer was about Ed Gein, "33 Something" by Bathory was about John Wayne Gacy, and Church of Misery, well, they have songs about them all. After reading an amazing biography by Philip Carlo, I knew Ramirez was the perfect subject for Abomination’s own murderer’s anthem.  The lyrics detail, a disturbed individuals un-quenchable thirst for violence and a insatiable lust for Satan. It serves as a reminder, “Lucifer dwells with all of us.”

So you are a Satanist, what drew you to being a Satanist and how does it play into your daily life?

Simple question, big answer.

I was raised into Roman Catholicism. I was baptized, received the communion and confirmed Catholic. For 17 years I attended church regularly and completed all the CCD schooling. I have read much from the Bible, the Gospels, and the Sacred Scriptures. I am not embarrassed by this past, I have no regrets but rather I am very thankful for it. Everyone is different and for me, I had to be blind before I could see. My distain for Christianity is a direct response to years of actually being apart of the Catholic community, years of unanswered questions and years of unanswered prayers. My opinions are backed by actual experiences and knowledgeable perception. I tell many people, I have "seen the light", and that is, there is no light. I broke free from the church when I was old enough to make my own choices and smart enough to confidently begin thinking for myself. I have a first-hand understanding of what it is to live the Christian lie and feel the lambs wool blind my vision. I can confidently tell people how important it is to seek their own truth, because I have found my own, and I have never felt more liberated. I never claim to be right, but I will always do what’s right for me. Christianity is fueled by misconception and greed, its doctrine is contradictory and misguided and the majority of its practices are outdated and ignore logic and more importantly science. It's agenda falsely claims freedom but it actually enslaves, debases and strikes fear into its followers. It is no more than a crutch for those who live in hypocrisy. I normally sum up my opinions on how I feel about Christianity with one quote: I will always do what's right, no matter what anyone tells me, I don’t subscribe to Christianity where I’m expected to do what I’m told, regardless of weather its right.

I was also not satisfied with simply being an Atheist, Atheism is not a religion. Religion when not used interchangeably with Christianity and stripped of the subsequent counterparts that follow, is truly a beautiful thing. The basic ideas of religion, I find almost an instinctual need as a human being. People void of education on the meaning of "religion" still manifest their own belief systems. I believe using the word religion to describe these beliefs, just means they are derived from an established doctrine. My issues have never been with religion in the broad sense of the word but rather only in Christian religion, because I have personally been affected by it. This is where I found Satanism. Satanism is a religion by nature because it has its own dogmas and ceremony. It is still important for me to have more than just an intellectual understanding of my life and that is why I seek "Satan" for guidance towards a Left-hand path.

I am neither a humanist nor an atheist. I am a Satanist. I do not "worship the Devil". Any belief in supernatural deities is ridiculous. I am my own "God". My heaven and hell are of my own creation here on the only real plain of existence, Earth. Being a Satanist means I have recognized Satan as my symbol of rebellion to the Christian Church. Satanism is the code in which I live by, I question. I do not view my carnal and mundane desires as "sins", but rather I embrace them. Indulgence over abstinence without compulsion.

That is an extremely abridged version of my personal philosophies. I have many issues going public with the full magnitude of my beliefs because quite frankly not everyone can understand, and I don't wish to make them. I do however, strongly encourage people to seek me out (after a show or what have you) if they really want to talk more in depth about actual Satanism and not reverse-Christianity.

In the hardcore scene today, where there are so many bands who are doing exactly "evil hardcore", not trying to bash anybody but you know what I mean. But how do you compare your band to these other so called "evil" bands?

Abomination is not a gimmick. When I make references on stage or in lyrics to Christianity or Satanism, it is complete sincerity, it is not for shock value, and it is certainly not following any trends. I see and hear a lot of new bands using Satanic imagery, pictures of LaVey, The Sabbatic Goat, Pentagrams, so on and so fourth, and truly it just makes me laugh. I am certain most of them couldn’t tell me the meaning behind the pentagram, or the origins of the Goat of Mendes, or even where 666 originates from. I make these assumptions based on how the bands carry themselves, their lyrics, and how they choose to use this imagery. A Satanist knows these symbols very well, for they distinguish who we are. It is easy to see who is sincere and who is trying to push buttons. In the same breath let me add, I am only defending Abomination’s legitimacy, because we sincerely claim to be. I have no problem with these bands unless it is discrediting my own agenda. I am well aware there are an innumerable amount of bands using Satanic imagery, that aren’t Satanists, i.e. my favorite band of all time, Slayer. So again, let me reiterate, I am only answering the question of comparing Abomination to many other “evil hardcore” bands, many of which I am a huge fan.

For the most part you play shows with mostly hardcore bands, so how would you say you fit in with those types of bands, and what kind of reaction do you get?

Recently we have been getting great reactions. We have been playing higher on the bill, and I see more kids coming out and singing along. It is truly a great feeling, we work really hard on this stuff, so to see kids enjoying it just as much as us, is a feeling that is hard to describe.

We do play a lot of hardcore shows, and actually we have been trying to get out their more with some local metal/doom gigs in the area. We live near some great venues that have shows of that nature weekly (Great Scott, O’briens/Midway Café). We want to share this stuff with those crowds because we write music with them in mind just as much we do the punks. Nothing will ever beat a hardcore show, kids flipping of each other’s heads, PFC dance crew, and everyone punching their friends, but I’m always down for the metal heads and the drunken head-bang to. Basically we’re trying to get more Doucey’s into us.

So speaking of O'briens, you guys are playing their soon along with playing a few other gigs close by in the next month or so. Are you excited to play shows with bands that don't necessary come from the same background that you do?

I am fucking psyched and so is everyone in the band. We are really hoping these gigs open doors to similar gigs for the future. Sean from intheshit, is a great guy and frequently lends a hand to booking us out here, so we owe a lot to him.

                  

So you guys have played some pretty crazy shows, so lets talk about that show that you had at Bentley and the madness that went down!

That Bentley show was one for the books. I think Future-breed captured some of the madness but unless you were there and caught a pizza crust to the dome, you can’t really understand the chaos. To sum it up, If it wasn’t bolted to the ground it got thrown. Steel chairs were swinging, barrels were tossed (and ran across), and it was raining trash, all the while I was wearing a homemade crown of thorns. It was all in good fun, and the promoter loved us, as for the rest of the university…well we won’t be playing there again.

So you mentioned earlier that you are a graphic designer, what do you do specifically? Do you have a piece that you've worked on that you especially like?

I am. I work at an advertising agency in downtown Boston, as a Junior Computer Artist. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say who our clients our because I just spent the last questions talking about Satan. So to cover my ass, I will simply say, I get to work for some amazing high-profile clients, and it is a one in a life-time opportunity.

I have 2 lives as an artist, my career and my personal. At work I do all that I can to meet the clients needs, and completely separate my personal life from the work. At home I work for myself, and that is the work I especially like. I get to do a lot of cool stuff for bands, shirts, flyers, album art, etc. I recently did the artwork for Villain’s “Trouble At Home” 7” and it was an honor.


And that about wraps it up, thanks to Mike for doing this, and make sure you check out Abomination!