Hardcore is Alive

So

it’s been awhile since i’ve messed around with this thing.  Here is a few reasons why.

1. Working crazy hours at work.

2. Planning my 5th anniversary with my wife, we are renewing our vows and are having an actual ceremony.

3. Writing and recording my demo (Hopefully due out June or July)

4. Dealing with doctors and all that stuff, long story short I have to have surgery on my hand.  It sucks but it will have to be done sooner or later.

I’m still alive and so is hardcore.

Go pre-order the following records if you love hardcore

Axis/Weight of the World split on on point records

http://onpointrecords.bigcartel.com/product/axis-weight-of-the-world-split

Expire “Sink With Me” 7” with a sick of it all cover it’s a teaser from their B9 debut “Pendulum Swings” due out 5/22/12.

http://www.b9store.com/expire

Bent Life “S/T”

http://hellfishfamily.com/products/details/bent-life-s-t-7-inch

All of these bands deserve your love and support.  Don’t be an idiot.

Rise and Fall - “Faith”

So about a decade (Little more, little less) has passed since the world was introduced to Rise and Fall, and they are still here.  With a new release right around the corner via the all mighty Deathwish inc. record label (Converge) shows that after a decade there is no end in sight.  The new album entitled “Faith” is due out March 17th 2012.  Gearing up for their record release show with Dead Swans, Sex Drive, Hessian, and Iron Age, I was able to actually talk with Bjorn from Rise and fall about the history of the band, and the recording process of “FAITH”. 

1. First who am I speaking with, what band are you in, and what do you do in this band?

This is Bjorn. I sing in Rise And Fall.

2. Rise and Fall has been a band for quite some time now, can you give us a brief history of the band and what you stand for as a band.

Our first show was in March 2003 so we have been a band for close to 9
years now. Pretty crazy when you think about it. Rise And Fall started
out the way a lot of bands do… A bunch of friends getting together
and jamming, putting out a demo and playing some shows. Somehow we
ended up releasing 3 full length albums (“Hellmouth”, “Into Oblivion”
and “Our Circle Is Vicious”, all available from Deathwish), a bunch of
EP’s and there’s a new album coming in March called “Faith”. We are a
band that tries to be no one but ourselves.

3. You guys have a new LP entitled “Faith” coming out on Deathwish records, can you tell us a little bit about the new record?

Sure. We are all super excited about it… “Faith” was recorded in May
2011 at God City in Salem, MA with Kurt Ballou at the helm. A bunch of
friends came over to participate and overall I really do think this is
our strongest and hardest album to date. There’s a focus on faster,
raging songs and there’s a few moments where we drop the tempo and get
a little weirder. Jake is finishing up the artwork for it as we speak
and the official release show will be on March 17th, in Kortrijk,
Belgium with our friends in Iron Age, Dead Swans, Hessian and Sex
Drive performing as well.

4. Most of your shows are set in Europe, can we expect more US dates this
year, is so when can we expect to have you here in the states again?

We have a bunch of European shows and touring planned for this year.
U.S. dates are a possibility but nothing’s been decided yet. Hopefully
though this will happen.

5. Apart from being members in a band you also run a webstore called soulslayer.net. Can you tell us about this store, do you guys print all of the merch yourselves who comes up with the ideas and how?

Actually Soul Slayer is run by our bassplayer Vince. I try to help out
here and there but it is mainly his operation. The idea behind the
store was to have a spot where we could sell Rise And Fall merch along
with records and merch by our friends’ bands (Amen Ra, Oathbreaker,
Hessian etc.). We do not print our own merch but go through various
local companies for this. Vince designs a lot of our merch, or reaches
out to people that are capable of delivering good designs.

6. If you could tour the US this summer who would you want to tour with and why?

Harm’s Way. For various reasons… “Isolation” is a great fuckin’
record for starters, plus we’ve been friends ever since we first
shared the stage and I just know it would be a great time. We blend
well.


7. You recorded the new album “Faith” at Godcity studios in Salem, Ma. just
like you did for “Our Circle is Vicious” how does working with Kurt Ballou help the over all outcome of your recording process? I’m assuming he’s an awesome dude to work with if you are recording with him again.

Kurt is definitely awesome. No doubt. I think recording with him helps
in a number of ways… He is someone that understands our music and
philosophy, he knows how to make shit sound awesome while retaining
that raw live feel plus he has great insight into what makes a song
work.

8. A lot of our readers over here at hardcoreisalive haven’t had the
pleasure of going to shows in Belgium or Europe for that matter, how does
the punk scene/hardcore scene over there compare to that of ours in the
states?

Hmm. Belgium is awesome. We have a ton of great bands, a lot of those
are well known internationally as well (Amen Ra, Oathbreaker,
Reproach, Blind To Faith etc.), there’s a lot of activity regarding
shows and tours passing through and all our main cities are pretty
close to one another. Europe as a whole is too varied and different to
really describe in a few lines. It’s an interestng mix for sure. my
impression has always been that the American scene is a little wilder
and enthousiastic, a little younger overall too but people over here
tend to stick around longer. I think.


9. If there was one thing that you wanted people to get out of your band,
anything at all what would you want it to be and why?

We want people to feel that we do is real. You can dislike our music
or hate us as individuals but that would be the most important thing
for me.

10. Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this
interview with me, this is the time where I let you give shout outs to
anyone. Any bands/zines/etc. that you guys at Rise and Fall think we should
be checking out. Here’s your chance…

Richie Dagger and Filler are two great new bands from Belgian/Dutch
scene consisting of people who’ve proven they know what it takes to
write a solid hardcore/punk song. Check them out. Thanks for the
interview my man. Hopefully we’ll see you next time we make it over
there.

No need to say anything else, support European hardcore, and not just European hardcore but hardcore in general.

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/riseandfall13

Merch company:

http://soulslayer.bigcartel.com/product/rise-and-fall-record-release-ticket

Deathwish inc.

http://www.deathwishinc.com/estore/category/RAF.html

Yo. We got a facebook……

Go “Like” us on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hardcoreisalive/136243446493726

Big interview coming your way…with a DW band.  Can you guess who it is?

Working on some cool stuff for the Losin’ It record release, which is set for March 14 2012, with Born Low, Hardside, Ironside, Lowpoint, and Hard x Pressed.  The event page is here:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/234556429955692/

Maybe a bigcartel in the works, with band merch, and maybe even some hardcoreisalive merch……

Stay Tuned…

With Increase - Signs of The Time

I recently went to a show to be specific it was a Weight of the World show, on the bill were a bunch of bands I had seen/heard but one I hadn’t With Increase.  Having never seen or heard this band I was psyched to check them out.  Boy did they impress.  Full of energy and emotion this band delivered.  Will the front man going nuts and the rest of the band going off behind him.  As I stood there watching this band I was blown away thinking “How have I never heard these guys and damn that one dude (Doug) is huge, would hate to be in a fight with him.”  Well after the show I talked to Will and asked to do this interview.  With a sound similar to Miles Away this band isn’t going anywhere.  After a month of working all the time I was actually able to sit down and focus on this interview.  Here you go:

1. First off who am I speaking to and what band are you in, and what do you do in this band?

Yo!  My name is Will Steinbrecher and I sing for With Increase.

2. What can you tell us about With Increase? Members, where you’re from, what you stand for?

Well we hail from the Tampa hardcore scene, specifically Travis and Justin live in Brandon, Doug and Paul live in Valrico, and I just relocated to Lakeland for school.  I’m still new to Florida as I recently moved from Nashville, TN in august to do the band full time, but so far the FLA is mad cool.

Were a Christian band cause that’s what all of us believe. We’re 5 dudes who want to grow closer to Christ and want to share where we’re at in our faith with everyone.  Some of us stand for the straight edge, some of us don’t.  I used to be vegetarian, Travis might be now?  I don’t know, he has a crazy diet.  Justin skates and chills, Paul records bands and drinks alot of coffee, and Doug lifts weights and hangs out with his girlfriend.

We also stress the importance of supporting your scene, coming out to any and every local show, making friends with bands, supporting and promoting people like Significant Tom who books the coolest shows and Transitions Art Gallery for being such a cool spot for shows. It sucks when bands never come out to local shows and claim to support the scene (not calling anyone out, just saying in general), it’s just so freaking important to do.

Me personally, and you’ll probably hear this at one of our shows, but I am huge on keeping racism and homophobia out of the core.  Almost every other core band says that which rules, because it’s seriously soooo important.  The words that come out of our mouths are permanent so we need to think before we speak and act, especially if it might damage someone. 

 3. You just signed to Blood and Ink records in 2011, how does it feel being on a label that’s going to help you put out your releases and help getting your name out there?

Blood and Ink is a rad label! This past year they’ve released banger after banger, and it also doesn’t hurt that the band as a whole and myself personally are close friends with a handful of people on the b&i roster.  Like I said before I lived in Nashville and for the past 3-4 years I’ve been best friends with Dependency and Friends, so it’s seriously the coolest feeling for everything to come full circle in such a way like this.  This summer we got to meet almost all the other bands on the roster as well as Sean, Daniel, and Intern (B&I dudes) and they all rule. They really help their bands out and were so blessed to be apart of the team.

All of us are really stoked about releasing our upcoming lp with b&i, the response so far has been such a dang blessing and we’ve made a ton of new friends through it so I can’t wait for what’s next.

4. Signs of The Time is amazing demo with a lot of different emotions, can you tell us what this album means to you as a band and what you want your fans to get out of it?

Thanks dude! I’m stoked your diggin the sound.  “Signs of the Time”, lyrically at least, was my own personal self evaluation when I penned it last spring.  I just got back in the country from doing missionary work in Thailand, so when I got home to Tennessee I started to realize the difference in who I was a year prior to the man I was now.  I started to see what in my faith I’ve grown and expanded, as well as saw a bunch of things I was scared about like falling into old sin, old comforts, basically living a life with no perseverance for my belief. I knew in the summer/fall I was to be moving to Florida and actually going to college, which for the longest time I had no desire or calling to do.  Just like in anybody’s life, there are moments where one chapter of life ends and a new one begins, so I wanted to document it through the lyrics. I have no idea if that makes any sense to anyone else ha, I’m really bad at explaining things.

The more and more I think about the ep as a whole, each song lyrically stems from the opening title track.  “Signs” is the beginning of self evaluation, “Unhealed” is the fear of losing faith or finding out what I believe isn’t true, “Give” is about changing old ways, “Dig Deeper” is about what happens, at least for me, when I’m not open about my struggles, thoughts, and fears. That probably sounds cheesy as balls or something to someone else, but what always drew me to hardcore was lyrical honesty, and hopefully people have and will see that regardless of different beliefs. 

5. If you could tour with any band in the world, past or present who would it be and why?

Turning Point / P.O.D. / With Increase world tour would be the life, man. If I ever win the lottery I’ll pay to get t.p. back together and for Sonny to grow his dreads back.  Also wouldn’t turn down a Strongarm / Avril Lavigne / With Increase gig too.

We just got off tour with south flhc band Losin’ It, and it was seriously so cool. That band is the coolest, and their new 7” comin out on Life to Live Records is a banger.  I’d love to hit the road with them for longer in the future! Shoutout to the Danger Zone and Dan from LTL, as well as Danny from A Hope For Tomorrow for driving of us all on tour!

6. So like we mentioned before you signed to Blood and Ink records last year. Can we expect a vinyl release if so are you going to be writing new material or just re-recording past material?

All of us in the band (well, not Doug, but he works out alot) are big into collecting vinyl, so we’re all crossing our fingers that we can get our upcoming full length on  some 12” wax. My Mom would seriously be stoked.

Regarding the upcoming lp, were almost halfway through writing it and so far it’s sounding sick!  This is the first time that all 5 of us will be together throughout the whole writing process as far as music and lyrics go and we’re mad excited about it.  As of right now we’re keeping 2 old songs pre -signs of the time - era and the rest will be new jams.  Were interested in working with cool new fast parts and funky timing, think strongarm/sleeping by the riverside era tunes. We’ve been playing one new song at some of our recent gigs and Evan “big rig” Miller hits the pit so i’d say it’s got a good groove to it!

 7. 2012 has already begun and you have already hit the road once, can we expect more touring this year?

Definentally! It’s a blessing and a curse cause all 5 of us are in school, cause we all want to learn different things yet be on the road. I actually just transferred to Southeastern University so all of us are 100% in school. This summer were shooting to do a full U.S. with Canada dates maybe? Coast to coast is the big goal! I know we got some spring stuff lined up, too. We’re gonna work on getting some fl weekends with a couple different bands so that should be tight. 

8. Last year you dudes played the FLHC video shoot (which I unfortunately had to miss due to conflicting work schedules) with a bunch of other rad Florida bands, was this a fun experience for you guys, did you get a good reaction, and when can people expect to see the DVD?

Dude the show ruled! Alot of out of towners came out, bunch of bands drove out of town, biiiig shout out to Cold Hearted for driving 7 hours to play!  It was a cool experience to make new friends and celebrate something we all love.  Hopefully this can happen every year and keep getting different bands to come out and play each time.  Our set was really sick, man.  I thought I was gonna pass out cause the only thing I ate that day was some pineapples that myself and Devon Mcbuttz were chompin on, but thankfully I didn’t.  

I know Danny from Rescuer is in charge of editing everything and last time I heard he’s done editing 2 bands allready? (Don’t quote me on that).  We’re trying to figure out how we wanna release it, maybe put together a 20 page zine about each band and some random interviews, recipes, etc.  and give it away with the dvd, but that should all be said and done sometime in the spring!

9. Alright Will, here’s your chance to give shout out’s to any bands/zines/blogs/random people etc. basically anything you feel people should be checking out or supporting. Will it was fun talking with you and look forward to seeing you dudes again

Yo Mike seriously thanks for hitting me up about doing this interview, I’ve always loved reading the blog and I’m stoked with what your doing with it!  You rule man, so cool to finally meet you last month! Support this blog.

Every FLHC band right now is so feaking on point, too many to name but get involved, cause florida is hot right now with so many cool bands. shoutout to jacksonville, pensacola, pembroke pines, and our town Tampa for being awesome scenes with amazing bands. 

I’m currently spinning Debtor, Friends, Losin’ It, Messengers, Rescuer, and Slow Burn, make sure to check all those bands out!

Shout out to Blood & Ink Records, Life to Live Records, FLHC, cheerwine soda pop, Hope for the Rejected Tampa, Strengthen What Remains, Evan Miller, Lenny, Danny Edge, Luke the real dude, Wesley Toledo, my twin brother Matt, stoop heads, war horses, and danger zone. 

Keep racism and homophobia away from the core. Go to shows, buy merch, stage dive, hit the pit, make zines. Be open minded to other beliefs and lifestyles.

There it is WITH INCREASE.  If you see them on a gig don’t hesitate to see them.  Tell Will I said hello, MOSH, buy merch, tell them how much you love them, by them food etc…. Don’t mess with Doug he lifts weights.  Support FLHC!

Support them here:

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/withincreasefl

Bandcamp:

http://bloodandink.bandcamp.com/album/signs-of-the-time

Twitter:

@withincreasefl

FLHC ON TOP!

LOSIN’ IT “Danger Zone” Pre-Orders up at Life to Live Records.

If you are into hardcore don’t pass this up.  Losin’ It on vinyl for the first time.  Songs rip.  Band is cool as fuck.  Label is cool too.  Shout out to the Losin’ It Party crew, Daniel Cantarero and Life to Live Records.  Go grab this shizzzzzz…

Buy it here: 

http://ltlrecs.storenvy.com/

Stream it here:

http://toxicbreedsfunhouse.blogspot.com/

Facebook:

Losin’ It

http://www.facebook.com/#!/LosinItFLHC

Life to Live records

http://www.facebook.com/#!/lifetoliverecords

2011 YEAR END LIST.

I’ve thought about this list long and hard for the past few days.  So here it is, Hardcoreisalive’s favorite 10 albums of 2010.

In no particular order, these are the albums that had the most plays for us.  All these bands rule and deserve to be recognized for the hard work they put in on their amazing albums.

Title Fight - Shed

Expire - Suffer The Cycle

Deafheaven - Roads to Judah

Foundation - When the Smoke Clears

Pianos Become the Teeth - The Lack Long After

Balance and Composure - Seperation

Touche Amore - Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me

New Lows - Harvest of the Carcass

Defeater - Empty Days, Sleepless Nights

Basement - Wish I could Stay Here

Top Demos: Once again in no particular order.

Weight of The World - No Promised Land

http://weightoftheworld.bandcamp.com/

Ghost Cat - Haunted Houses

http://ghostcat.bandcamp.com/album/haunted-houses

Losin’ It - Demo

http://losinit.bandcamp.com/

With Increase - Signs of Time

http://bloodandink.bandcamp.com/album/signs-of-the-time

Frameworks - Everyday is The Same

http://frameworks.bandcamp.com/

Iron Cages - Demo (says 2012 but I’ve been listening to it for a week now and it’s amazing.)

http://ironcages.bandcamp.com/

Suitcase City - Demo

http://www.facebook.com/#!/suitcasecityfl?sk=app_2405167945

Centuries/Homestretch Split

http://centuriesfl.bandcamp.com/

Von Wolfe - Life’s a Beach

http://vonwolfe.bandcamp.com/

Last but not least Florida hardcore.  I’m very proud of our state and the music that is coming out.  Whether it be emo, screamo, hardcore, mosh, hardstyle, pop punk what ever you are doing for this scene we at hardcoreisalive appreciate everything you’re doing for us.  Let’s hope for an even better year.  2012 the year Florida takes over.

Von Wolfe-Take your shirt off and jump off my kick drum.

Well this dude took forever to get back to me so I wasn’t able to get 3 interviews done in one day, just know I tried.  Von Wolfe….what can I say about this band.  Nothing really…I have no words for them….wait, AMAZING.  Band kills it live and in your car.  With a sound quite similar to Every Time I die (the “Hot Damn” years) they are destroying one venue at a time.  They sound better than your home town band, but not as good as dubstep (JK) I was able to meet up with Jesse and talk about their band and their plans for the up coming year and  Enrique Iglesias, taking off their shirts. ETC.

1. First off who am I speaking with, what band are you in and what do you do in this band?

            - Jesse. I hit stuff, spit a lot, and take my shirt off for von Wolfe.

2. What can you tell me about Von Wolfe who are the other members, how long have you been a band etc.

            - We are a four-piece band, based out of Daytona Beach Florida. We consist of Max Von Briel, guitarist, Dominick Fox, vocals, Joseph Fox, bass, and Me, the drummer. von Wolfe has been a band for about two and a half years now, but this current line up, and final line up, has been going strong for about a year and a half. We rock hard, and play fast. That’s all there is to know.

3. You have an Ep out entitled “Life’s a Beach” what can you tell us about this record? Who recorded it? How long did it take?

            - Yes we do. It was recorded and mixed but the lovely Matt McClellan at Glow In The Dark Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Well it’s our first EP, and we are so glad we chose to go there with Matt and chose the songs we did. We are so proud of it and are glad kids dig it. The recording process only took like 5 days or so, but the whole EP took about 3 or 4 months to be made.

4. Can we expect a vinyl release anytime soon? Maybe a full US Tour? Something new perhaps?

            - We were thinking of doing a vinyl release, but I don’t know how serious that is as of late. Maybe, maybe not. We are trying to do a full US tour this upcoming summer. It may just be like 4 or 5 tours that are 2 weeks each, spaced randomly throughout the whole summer. On the topic of new stuff…. we are writing new music. Right now we have 2 songs done… sorta. And hopefully by next winter or spring we’ll be back in the studio recording it. We have no idea if it’ll be an EP or a full length, but it’s gonna rock your Dad’s socks off.

5. If you were able to put out a split release with one of the following who would it be and why? Taylor Swift/Justin Bieber/or ?

            - Probably Enrique Iglesias. Because “Hero” is a great song.

6. You’ve been compared to Every Time I Die and Maylene and the sons of Disaster. How does that make you feel, and have they influenced you at all in writing? What are your main influences?

            - Uhm that’s pretty sweet to hear. ETID influences us, and Maylene probably influences Max but not so much me or the other dudes. We are influenced by so many bands, but mostly ETID, Converge, Chasing Victory, The Chariot, Pantera, Blink 182, MCR, The Used, TBS and Nirvana.

7. You’re shows are pretty crazy, even if everyone is just standing there looking at you, you still find a way to get the crowd involved. Does it bum you out when no one is moving around for you and people are just at the bar getting “Drunk”? What do you like the most about playing live?

            - I personally think it’s hilarious when people just stand there, gives us more reason to go out to them and make them uncomfortable. It’s hilarious. We all love when kids sing a long. It’s so sweet to see kids pile up in front or steal the microphone or jump off my kick drum and scream the words, or not scream the words at all, just the correct amount of syllables. I guess it’s more of just, we like when people jump on other people off of random stuff. Yeah.

8. 2012 is approaching. What can we expect from the dudes in Von Wolfe? Will you guys be printing Von Wolfe underwear? Maybe Bra’s? Playing any birthday parties? Touring with any bands better than you?

            - Well were going to tour a lot this upcoming summer. I am trying to get personalized chap stick made, how sick would that be? Well, the last time we played a birthday party is was awkward as heck, BUT we are down to play any party whether it is a funeral, or a baby shower, or a bat mitzvah… anything. Hopefully we can tour with Taking Back Sunday this upcoming year. Ya never know…

9. Here is your chance to say what you want. Go for it.

            - Well… … … … … … … … … … … … . .

                                    Jesus loves you

                                    We love you

                                    ‘Maury’ is a great television show

 There you go VON WOLFE!  Buy a shirt.  Buy a sticker.  Check them out live.  Take your shirts off.  Jump around or just stand there.  But don’t sleep on this incredible band.  That’s it,  I’ll see everyone soon.

Like them here.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/vonwolfefl

Download the EP here

http://vonwolfe.bandcamp.com/

Ghost Cat “Nothing’s the matter with me”

Here it is 2/3 today.  I know right 3 interviews in one day after not doing one for awhile.  This one is with one of my best friends from the band Ghost Cat.  Ghost cat is a new up and coming band from South Florida.  Straying away from the typical hardcore/post hardcore sound to create something their own, something not heard before.  Ghost cat is a force to be reckoned with.  Playing mainly local shows at the moment developing their fan base, which is increasing faster and faster every time they play show.  I recently caught up with Jose front man of Ghost cat to talk to him about the band/the future of the band/ and the current state of music.

1. First off who am I speaking with? What do you do?
Hey dude, I’m Jose Perez, I sing, write the lyrics, and dance for Ghost Cat.

2. Ghost Cat hasn’t been around long at all and already you are developing a solid fan base, what can you tell me about Ghost Cat?
Ghost Cat has actually been in the works for a while by both our guitarists John and Shane, the rest of us came in over the summer.  I was singing for a band called “Play it purple” for half the year before that and met John through a few friends; he asked me to do guest vocals for a song and ended up asking me to do vocals for Ghost Cat.  I couldn’t be happier about this band, artistically speaking, it’s one of my favorite projects since my old band from Maryland “Montpellier”.

3. You have an EP entitled “Haunted Houses” What can you tell us about it? Who recorded it? What does it mean to you?
Basically, we all got together and within two weeks of being a full lineup decided to record this demo in John’s garage; all the songs were tracked in a week, it’s got a really d.i.y. sound to it.  Personally to me it means everything, everything I’ve ever written has had a personal feel to it while hiding it under whatever imagery I decide to layer it with.  With “Ghost Cat”, I’ve been able to release all the emotion I had contrived over the last year, from things like my father dealing with cancer, to a relationship that I feel like I may have just imagined and completely romanticised about.  I mean, it’s all up for interpretation and you can analyze the words to whatever meaning you’d like, that’s what’s great about it.  I’m sure the guys feel the same, it’s just our artistic way of releasing this emotion, from the music, from the words, ya know…

4. There has been rumor that you have a split release in the works with Frameworks, is this true or just rumored? If it is true can we expect a vinyl release or just digital?
There was talks about this for a while, I would LOVE to do a split with Frameworks, I should ask John about this; the last time I asked John about it, there was plans for it, I think two songs each of us.  If we do it, it’ll probably two of the new songs we recently wrote which we’re really proud of.  It would def be on vinyl, John and I love vinyl, you got me into vinyl, thank you.

5. Skrillex is nominated for 5 Grammy Awards….how does this make you feel about the current state of music? If he asked to remix one of your songs would you let him do it? hahaha
Hahaha, I would laugh if he asked me to remix one of our songs, I wouldn’t do it.  I think it’s preposterous that he got nominated for a grammy, let alone 5 grammy’s.  From what I remembered Grammy’s were a prestige award, only given to a select few who were artsy, intelligent, and groundbreaking.  I know that in the last ten years the mainstream music industry hasn’t been any of that but at least the nominees haven’t been this nauseating.  The current state of music is sad, kids think they have to replicate a sound, overproduce a sound, water out their lyrics to get somewhere in the music industry and I personally feel that soul is lost, art is lost when conveying your music in that way, it’s something I’d never want to be a part of. 

6. There has been talk that you are going on tour all the way to the West Coast, and that you will be staying there for awhile to record? What can you tell us about this, and can we expect anything new from the band?
This is the most exciting thing ever, after spring classes are over, we are touring to California, meaning, we’re playing every city we can on our way there.  My very close friend Johnny Wolfe is producing and recording our full length with one of his close friends in LA.  We’re currently writing the songs and will be demoing them over the spring, we may or may not release a song or two during that time, I’m not exactly sure.  I think you can expect a more solid sound, we’ve been together for three months now and know what we want to do; every song we’ve written has been stronger and is more “our” sound.

7. You have a style very different from most bands but still have a lot of influences? What drives you to write the music you do, and what are some of your main influences?

8. The New Year is approaching….What can we expect from the dudes in Ghost Cat?
A lot of shows, I think a video for “Marshmallow Teeth”, a lot of merch, hopefully a split with the dudes in “Frameworks”, a Florida tour, Shane to grow out his beard, and hopefully a nice Spring tour along the east coast!

9. Here is your chance to give your “shout outs” What bands should we be checking out? Blogs we should be reading? Anything in general. Now is your chance!
I’m proud to be living in a state that has a growing hardcore, post hardcore, pop punk scene and glad to know that the dudes in these bands are some of the nicest people we’ve met! FL bands: Sleep Patterns, Von Wolfe, Frameworks, Rescuer, Weight of the World, What we’re afraid of, and Fero Lux.  All the other bands you should check out: Montpellier(MD), Pianos Become the Teeth, In Vertigo, and if I missed anyone, I’m truly sorry I couldn’t think of your bands name!

Ghost Cat.  Learn it.  Love it!  Spread it!  They are all talented hardworking dudes that basically let you hear their “Art” for nothing.  Check them out at a show near you or check them out via the links I leave below, download their ep and tell your friends about it.

“Like” them here.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002572636542#!/ghostcatfl

Download their Ep here for free or for a dollar or two or ten.

http://ghostcat.bandcamp.com/

Skool’d

So I know it’s been awhile since my last interview.  I want to thank you all for being patient me to return.  I know I usually do an indie band or a metal band or a punk band or a hardcore band, but this time I thought I’d try something a little different.  I decided to tell you guys about my boy Ben Hagarty. Video filmer/Photographer/and lyricist in the group “Skool’d Life.”  Ben is one of the busiest dudes around.  When he’s not in the studio dropping the next line of his catchy hooks, his on tour with friends and hardcore kings Expire filming a documentary soon to be released on DVD.  When he isn’t doing that he’s taking bomb ass photos of everything he encounters.  I was actually able to tear Ben away from work do a short interview with him so you guys can meet the dude behind the scenes.

1.  First off who am I speaking to and what do you do?

My name is Ben Hagarty, I’m 23 years old, and I’m a filmmaker/musician based out of Iowa. I attend the University of Northern Iowa and will be graduating with my bachelors in Communications/Electronic Media this coming December. I enjoy touring, making music, and fine lookin’ women. 

2. You are currently working on the Expire documentary, what can you tell us about it? 

Well, the documentary covers an entire US tour with the band Expire. I road along with them over this past summer to capture the two month tour and now i’m in the editing process. We just dropped, ‘Part One’ which is the beginning of the tour and is also the beginning of the documentary. It has gotten a lot of rad feedback and i’m excited to drop ‘Part Two’ soon. For now, I will be posting sections of the documentary on Youtube, but we might plan to release it as a DVD later down the road. It’s up in the air.

3. What was the best part of filming with those dudes?

The entire trip was awesome, all of those dudes are fucking great and are some of my best friends. We never had problems with each other, we never got arrested, we never got caught stealing, we never had crazy van problems, we never got arrested… Did I say that already?… But seriously, Expire has awesome chemistry within the group and made great subjects to film, keeping things interesting at all times. That is the best thing any filmmaker could ever ask for. 

4. How did you get into filming, and what inspires you to do the stuff you do?

As a kid in the summers, I always spent my time on a skateboard and in the winters, a snowboard. My friends and I would work hard to progress in those sports, which generally lead us into filming each other. I think I just got sick of how shitty my friends were at filming me, so I just took over the camera to get the job done correctly. I got caught in the motions of knowing exactly how I wanted a shot to look and that interest grew on me. I think the number one thing that inspires me would be when people compliment my work, whether it’s about one of the joke videos I threw together or a serious project I spent a lot of time on, that is always the best feeling and it makes me want to continue this career. 

5.  You have a hip-hop project called “skool’d Life”  what can you tell us about?

Skool’d has been together for almost a year now. We’re a full time hip-hop group based out of Cedar Falls, Iowa and are currently beginning to write/record a new record. We’ve played about thirty shows since we’ve started and they have been with some cool national acts, so it’s been fucking exciting to watch my team grow. If you like anything ranging from Notorious B.I.G/Tribe Called Quest to Jay-Z and Kid Cudi, this shit’s for you.

6. You’re a busy man, when it comes to school, and your hip-hop project, anything new we can look forward to hearing?

Yeah, i’m always busy as fuck, but I graduate soon so I won’t have to deal with that shit and I just plan to work on my hip-hop group 100%. But, on the side, I am going to continue working on video projects and possibly tour with some more bands down the road. If i’m not rapping, you can always count on me having a camera in my hands, no doubt.

7.  What’s your favorite Indian Jones movie, and why?

I never got into that shit, sue me.

8. This is your chance to give shout outs to who ever you want, plug in what you think people should be checking out/watching/or listening to.  

YO YO I JUST WANNA SHOUT OUT TO MY BOYS IN EXPIRE, YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS. But for real, follow me on twitter @BenHagarty- I’m trying to have a billion followers by the new year- this shit is real. More videos coming soon on my youtube page (youtube.com/benhagarty1032) my music (facebook.com/skooldlife) and my website is: www.benhagarty.com so feel free to contact me if you have questions about my life story, my flavor of women, or the kind of dream I had last night. I <3 you all.

There it is first interview today, expect 2 more.  Ben is a hardworking dude with a monumental amount of talent.  Check out his videos on You tube, follow him on Twitter, “Like” him and Skool’d on Facebook.  Hardworking people deserve your attention.  Be on the look out for the Expire DVD he filmed.  Tell him you love him and that he’s one sexy ass white boy.  Word.

www.youtube.com/benhagarty1032

http://www.facebook.com/#!/benhagartyhatemehere

http://skooldlife.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/skooldlife

http://twitter.com/benhagarty

http://twitter.com/skooldlife

Download “All That Matters” “EP” here

http://skooldlife.com/FreeDownload