Lins Cuscani Interview

I first met Lins back in the 90’s. He was a regular at shows and I used to see him usually at festivals which were held at the 1 in 12 Club in Bradford along with the rest of the Sunderland crew. He’s been in a bunch of bands and is still involved in the scene. He’s also a die hard record collector and does possess some very nice items. This is an interview from War against peace #2. Read on.

1) First up Lins, how the hell are you? What have you been up to today?

I’m good my man, Today I’ve been mostly answering this interview and listening to the new Integrity Lp – The Blackest Curse. I am now finishing this int off whilst watching Big Brother and plotting David Camerons untimely assassination!

2) How did you discover hardcore and what keeps you motivated?

I discovered hardcore properly around 1986 after years of being a metal head. It’s kinda weird how it happened. I was record shopping at Volume Records for the latest thrash metal Lp that I was interested (can’t recall which one) and came across a new releases 7” bin. After browsing through it I noticed an ep by a band called Neighbourhood Watch (Canadian) at a bargain price and that had a rad cover so decided to investigate further. Having asked a multitude of inane questions to the store staff I decided to buy it. I’d had brief flirtations through my thrash metal days with hardcore bands thanks to the likes of Metallica and others that used to sport t’shirts or stickers with these mystical hardcore bands logos on. Anyway that was pretty much my first official hardcore record buy and my first real experience of seeing a hardcore band live was seeing the Cro-Mags at Leeds Xmas on Earth festival in 1987. Funnily enough they weren’t meant to play but due to Voivod having difficulties getting into the country they were put on as last minute replacements. They totally blew my mind and perception of live music in general. I knew from that moment that hardcore music was where I wanted to be at.

3) Give us a list of all the bands that you’ve been in and break it down with each band and what they meant to you and any funny stories ?

From the start:

XDisciplineX – 1988 – 89 – really BAD, we had 2 songs and about 3 terrible covers including “You’re no friend of mine” by Slapshot. Trust me after we played we had NO friends! This band meant a lot because it was the start of my hardcore punk band experience!

Kickback – 1989 – 91 – We sounded like Warzone, recorded a demo which was recorded with guitars going straight thru the soundboard and making them sound like bloody trumpets! Played with the Jailcell Recipes and Sick Of It All’s very first UK gig! Basically I would have to travel to Sunderland every Saturday morning to practice and them come back through at midday so I could go to Newcastles match! Suffice to say I had a few hairy moments trying to hide my Newcastle shirt whilst walking through Sunderland City Centre! This was a fun band to do for a young Lins!

Last in Line – 1993 – 1994 – Basically Kickback with a different name and a couple of different band members. We had to change our name due to French Kickback threatening to sue our asses off! Played with SOIA again on their second UK tour! Recorded fuck all!!!

Vengeance of Gaia – 1995 – 1997 – Earth Crisis and Veganism where all the rage, and there was not a snowball in hells chance of me forming a Mouthpiece style band so I agreed to sing in this erm Vegan, SXE Metal core band. Recorded a demo and played with the MISFITS!!Bradford Rios!!! Where we got shit off the crowd for being sxe and vegan!!! Nice! I enjoyed our vegan kinship for a short while however I’m a flake and couldn’t keep it up!

Thirty Seconds Until Armageddon – 1997 – 2002 – Influenced allegedly by Converge and early Cave In. and played quite a few gigs up and down the country, with the likes of erm Converge, Botch, Dragbody, Poison The Well, Eyehategod and others. Played Twice at Goodlife Festivals in Belgium and once shared a van with a band that had Frank Turner in them before he turned into an acoustic superstar! Funny story would be me driving back to the UK after our second Euro jaunt with a speedometer that didn’t work and stopping in Leeds city centre so that Karl (Guitarist) could take a leak. He tried to jump through the open van side door, I put my foot down and he hit the side of the van!!! For about 10 secs we thought he was dead! We recorded a mcd, split ep with XcannaanX, and numerous other things for comps, tapes etc…
This band was my first foray into doing a band that had goals and was run more erm professionally than my others! It also provided me with my first overseas band experience and my first request for an autograph which I politely declined!

Break It Up – 2003 – 2006 – The band I should have done right after Last in Line! With mates out of Voorhees we recorded a demo that was eventually pressed on vinyl, an Lp with Dead and Gone Records and a couple of comp tracks. Played some of the best UKHC shows I’ve witnessed with a plethora of great bands. Champion, Mental, The First Step, Underdog, Sick Of It All, Insted,
7 Seconds, Annihilation Time, Municipal Waste……we even got our own back stage room when we supported SOIA ath Nottm Rock City and then preceded to steal all of SOIA’s fridge contents for the benefit of Sean! This band meant a lot because it was with friends and it was a band that I’d wanted to do for years! We had a blast doing the band, had some great memories and shows and finished at just the right time! Accomplishment wise this is the band that I had most out of and most fun with.

Sick Humour - 2008 – 2009 – Recorded a demo, played 4 shows, did a Jerrys Kids, Void, AF, Fartz covers. Our first show in Durham we managed to make at least 2 people walk out during our set. Our first Newcastle show we managed to piss off enough people to alienate us entirely from the soppy ncle hardcore scene that was around at that time! We did well! Basically this band served my pissed off emotions well and managed to alienate myself from a lot of cocks in the NE hardcore scene. Like I gave a fuck! ha

4) I know 30 seconds had a discography CD released a bit back. How did that come about and didn’t you do a reunion show?

Yes a Thirty Seconds discog cd was released due to TDON records wanting to put it out. I think initially Pete the bass player was going to compile all of the songs onto a ltd pressed cd and self release it but TDON stepped in and did it themselves. A show was organized last Dec in Leeds to celebrate and promote the cd release but I didn’t partake in it. Its kind of weird but at that moment in my musical life I just really wasn’t feeling the whole vibe around doing the show and the type of music TSUA were playing. I feel I’d moved on from that and trying to doing something that you’re not 100% into was proving too much for me. However I was replaced by Jameso (The Versus Project) who did an admirable job and the show apparently went well.

5) Are you still vegan or veggie and if so what does it mean to you? Do you think that it has become a lot less of an important issue in hardcore today? I’m saying this because at one time it was almost an unwritten rule to be veggie or vegan , at least it seemed so in the UK yet many of the people who were back then aren’t anymore.

I am Vegetarian and have been since about 91. I had a 3 year flirtation with being vegan but in all honesty I couldn’t cut out dairy products and the reverted back to being vege. I was a bad bad lazy vegan, eating junk food and generally my health suffered because of it. Saying that I hold a lot of admiration for Vegans and I wholeheartedly support a vegan or vege lifestyle. To me being vege was more important than being sxe as I felt like I was contributing to saving an animals life in my small way. I definitely think that for some people it was like a fashion statement and for others they just hung on to the words of peers and then moved on when it wasn’t cool or fashionable to be meat free. Saying that I’m a great believer that you should make your own life choices and I wouldn’t specifically preach to the unconverted however I do believe in educating people into a lifestyle that is cruelty free without trying to force their hand.




6) Like me you’re a public servant. We’ve already seen how much damage this coalition government has done in such a short amount of time and we’ve felt the wrath of the Tory twats with a pay freeze, office closures, redundancies and possible cuts to pensions and whatnot. What are your thoughts and what would be the best method of torture to carry out on David Cameron and his bitch Nick Clegg?

At present my wages have had a pay rise put on hold for 2 years which is highly unfair and also worrying with the threat of voluntary and compulsory redundancies also in the equation. I know that the govt had to do something to decrease the huge deficit that the country is currently in but by cutting jobs of ordinary folk isn’t really going to be that beneficial. They should cut the pay of the top bosses in most Government Departments and Agencies, and let these areas sort their own cost cutting out without having to resort to mass shedding employees. I think here in the North East it’s going to hit hard because the Tories were mainly responsible for getting rid of the areas core industries like coal mining and shipbuilding only for them to be replaced by the largest public sector areas in the country. Now it looks like we’ll be losing a lot of public sector work to so everything over the past 30 years has come around in one big vicious cycle. As for the best method of torture for Cameron…I’d make him watch Newcastle United in the Premier League this coming season. I want to go on record as saying I FUCKING HATE THE TORIES AND LIB DEMS! One party is evil and the other is a complete joke! I’m not saying that Labour did a great job but I’d prefer Labour over both of these blood sucking parastites!

7) Like me you’re a bit of a vinyl junkie, what Got you into collecting at such a serious level and what are your 5 main prized possessions (something tells me a couple of Misfits records may be included)?

Top 5 “prized” records –

1. Misfits – Legacy of Brutality – White/w pink streak
2. Samhain – November Coming Fire – Clear Orange
3. Gorilla Biscuits – Warzone b side
4. Negative Approach – S/t ep
5. The Fix - Jan’s Room

I’m not really sure how I started collecting at a serious level, but I guess because I didn’t have too many other vices I put my time and effort and spare cash into buying rare records I love. The whole concept of a 7 or 12” is awesome as they look far better than any digital formats. The artwork is more upfront and “alive” and nothing beats putting a record on and hearing the crackle from the vinyl as you crank the volume up. Also I think once you get the record buying bug then it’s hard to stop. I’m always on the lookout for deals or rarities or new releases that are ltd. Total consumerism but it’s something I enjoy and I look at it as an investment if need be, which hopefully it won’t but you never know. All of the records I own tell a different story whether it be about a period in my life that I can mark by a particular record or a record that have an important historical input into punk rock history.

Looking at that list I guess my Misfits and Samhain are my favourites just because of the way they look (artwork, vinyl colour etc), GB ep because I got it for £3 when it first came out not even realising how rare my version was and it brings back good memories of seeing them in 89. Negative Approach hands down is just hard! And seeing them 5 times since they reformed has been incredible. The Fix is again a hard record that rivals Neg App and also just as rare. I always look at a record as a piece of history or history about to happen whether it been on a large scale or just within my own life. Music to me is so emotive.

8) Speaking of the Misfits, explain your lifelong love of them. I got into them when I was 15 and am still a huge fan to this day. Although they weren’t the first hardcore band I ever discovered (but were among the first ones) so many people got into hardcore through them and still do today. It’s mind blowing.

My first experience of The Misfits was around 1985 and via Metallica, I managed to get a couple of songs taped by an older friend who was in the band Hellbastard but I didn’t really start collecting Misfits records until the 90’s although it would have saved me a shit load of cash if I had done it earlier! The thing is with the Misfits they were a mystical entity back in the day that not many people knew about. They have written some of the best anthemic punk tunes and some of the most raging hardcore ever. Couple that with their incredible image and lyrics and artwork and you’re onto a winner. I guess all of the above is something that kids today are still into and love. Their music alone should be good enough but with everything else added…YESSSSS!

9) What are your favourite 5 records of all time (a tough question I know) and why?

Ok my top 5 all time records:

1. Negative Approach ep – Hard, in your face, minimalist hardcore. Also the precursor to all hard bands that followed in their wake.
2. Minor Threat both eps – Fucking, the soundtrack to any straight edge beginnings. Something about Ian MacKaye that just bleeds charisma and it flies off this vinyl.
3. Poison Idea, Pick Your King ep – Fast and raw, no frills hardcore played by fatties! Looked like shit, played like gods!
4. Misfits, Earth ad – Before thrash there was the Misfits – Honestly everything about this record fucking rules. This record is raging!
5. Samhain, November Coming Fire Lp - Dark, Brooding and for about 2 months prior to Halloween, this is played on constant rotation.

I’d like to give honorable mentions to Danzig 1 – 4, Judge ep, Insted – What we believe, Slayer –Reign in Blood, Samhain – Initium, Misfits – all!!!!!!


10) Ok dude, thanks for doing this, here’s your chance to sign off and say whatever you like/)

Firstly thanks for the questions Mark, I’d only really like to say that I’ve made a number of friends through my involvement in hardcore and you being one it has been a pleasure answering the questions you sent. I’d also like to say that I wish more people were vegan or vege within the hardcore scene and not so much influenced by every other weak ass trends kicking around. Being a punk is about making powerful statements/actions and making a powerful statement like caring for other living things is one that more kids should try. If it’snot for you then so be it but at least GIVE IT A TRY!

Mark Boardman Interview

This interview was conducted in 2010 with my longtime buddy Mark Boardman who played bass for Rot in hell at the time and numerous previous bands. I first published it in 'War against peace' issue 2 but here it is again for you to see if you missed it (which you probably did as hardly any fucker read that zine).


1) First things first Mark, how was your recent trip to Vegas with your family? What did you get up to over there and what did you make of the place? I went in 2002. It’s fucking insane.

Went to So.Cal first for 5 days. it was amazing. did the tourist stuff..... Disney, universal and San Diego Zoo.....we only spent one day in SD but it was so cool. that zoo is awesome. went for mexican with San Diego native Rob Moran and Warrington finest export Dan Sant after.....i am never eating our shit mexican food again.....over priced and over here. its bullshit.
vegas......hmmmm.....not good with 3 kids.....couldn't gamble.......it was 110 degrees outside and our pool was 3 1/2 foot deep all over! had 1 "pool day" and we all got sun stroke! managed to go shoot a full auto MP5 and my oldest son, Connor, shot a Glock 17......if you know me that shit is better than sex.....well nearly! seriously it was cool to try to control a full auto sub machine gun and score decent shots. the range instructor was impressed with my two to the chest, 1 to the head drills i was trying when i shot the glock!
went to a bar called the hitching post that did a chillie cheese hotdog that has forever spoilt hotdogs for me it was so good.....while a band played country and western songs in a cage like in blues brothers!

2) How did you get into hardcore and what keeps you motivated?

i got into hardcore by total accident around 1994. i have never really been into metal.....i was always a hip hop head from when licence to ill came out then I got into the whole madchester thing when it kicked off.....about 1994 or so i got into biohazard. i met Gav Scose at the ritz in town cause he was wearing a biohazard shirt. we became good mates and i met Bollie and my future wife through him. after seeing Evan from biohazard wearing a sick of it all shirt we checked them out......then after reading their thanks list and my life changed. we all went to see them saw them play at rio's in january 1995. i remember the feedback to what I would latter know as through and through starting up and Rick Rodeney running across the stage and doing a back flip into the crowd and thinking "WHAT THE FUCK" i just lost my mind! some band called strife. all wearing shirts with X's on their hands. the next day i stopped drinking......i was on the verge of becoming a bit of a mess so it was defiently a life changing moment for me.

I think after that i just consumed as much hardcore as i could. as you remember it was pretty hard to even hear a band like side by side or the cro mags back then. you had to know someone older who had records they could tape for you. my main in was via live tapes and VHS videos from Mel Hughes over in Ireland when he was doing No Barcodes necessary. i remember getting a tape that had side by side live at WNYU and at the pyramid and maybe a few other shows on it. it was amazing. Not long after that I pciked up a copy of How We Rock that Nick Royles used to write and that opened my eyes to current bands that were knocking about and all those 1 in 12 festivals. i remember meeting you in rockworld with Trog and then again at the 1 in 12 and you taped me a load of stuff that was hard to get....chain, youth of today, straight ahead stuff like that.

I think I met Nate at some time around that point and he got me into all that heavier new stuff like earth crisis, blood runs black, gatekeeper, gehenna and integ!

I just snowballed from there. Every week i'd get something new or make a new friend in the mail. It was an amazing time. some of the people i met are my best friends in the world still today and there is no way we could have ever met without hardcore punk.

I don't think I'm motivated any more. I don't really go to shows because I'm either looking after the kids, trying to spend time with the wife or we have band practice! I try and do my bit but it is a very small bit these days! I just wish that kids could feel what i felt back then. i mean shit is so accessable these days. nothing is hard to find. you wanna hear Negative Approach? down load it. The FU's....no worries google it. you want a judge chung king? got £2000 get on ebay.....its yours. Everything is at your fingertips and i think thats why we have some of the problems we have in the scene these days. Kids just turn up and think they know everything. iIm not saying that they have to pay their dues or anything but sometimes it is important to learn things gradually.

3) Area effect were a band that many cite as one of the important bands of the late 90’s UKHC scene mainly down to your enthusiasm and love of hardcore and lack of egos. What are your reflections on this? Tell us what the other guys are up to? Any chance of a reunion?

Area effect was one of the best times I have ever had. we weren't a great band and we were never gonna change the world but to us and our mates it felt like we fucking tried! We'd all pile in a van and drive to some show somewhere and go mental for 2 hours. jump back in and drive home then off to work the next day! it was amazing!

We always tried to be full of energy and just act like normal dudes. we'd take kids from manchester and even wigan and sheffield under or wing and take them to shows all over the country. when i look around and see what some of the kids went on to do its pretty fucking cool. ian did dead and gone records, marios booked shows for years and does sound at shows for a living, lou brown runs terrorizer mag....things like that blow my mind.

The rest of the dudes are no longer involved in hardcore. I haven't seen Graham since he moved to london about 10 years ago. i caught up with him on facebook and he is a camera man and recently filmed the new series of Jack Osborne's show where he takes people base jumping and all that. i saw Andi for the first time in years a few months back at a Sick of it All show. he's doing good working in graphic design and stuff. our kid has just had a baby girl. he runs his own MMA gym in manchester that is doing really well. he's got a great team of fighters and he recently went to Brasil and got his purple belt in BJJ at Brazillian Top Team.

I don't think anyone would be interested in seeing a reunion!

4) Still on an Area effect tip, tell us about your inclusion in Ian Glasper’s upcoming book on 90’s UKHC. That’s one book I’m really looking forward to. His book on 80’s hardcore (‘Trapped in a scene’) was awesome.

Yeah its gonna be a cracker that. i hope Nate bothers to answer Ian back though. i think his inclusion is pretty crucial as instigator, spoiler and general naysayer!!

I have slowly been working through ian's stuff. Andi originally asked if he could answer the questions and i had no problem with that but then he passed it over to me when his memory failed him! its cool to be asked to be included. they were great times for that whole new scene that i think we helped build. there was never really a place for bands like us, knuckledust, public disturbance and stampin ground within what was the existing hardcore scene in england at the time. We had no interest in sitting down and talking about the right of women to not be objectified and the recycling of paper pants. I always felt that those dudes in "the other scene" always looked down on us as stupid kids who liked american music and "moshed".....so we did what hardcore had taught us to do.....we did it ourselves. we set up our own shows at our own venues and booked our own tours with other like minded bands. we'd hire a van and pile in with a ton of kids. you'd see London klids at a show in Manchester and Manchester kids in Wales. it was cool. I think it kind of set the blue print for whats going on today. we set up our own distro's and sold the records we were listening too....labels like thrid party, in my blood and bridge 9.....stuff that no one else at the time sold.

I think the only band that ever managed to cross over into the other scene was imbalance. Man they were so fucking good. Andy is a great fella.

i remember years later reading an interview with Nick Royles where he gave us props for doing our own thing and doing it totally DIY. man that was fucking cool to read that by a dude who you totally look up to.

5) I know you were a wrestling fan in your youth, tell me your 5 top grapplers and why? What do you think of today’s WWE and overall wrestling product?

Wow. wrastlin'......man we used to sit up for hours talking about that!

Top 5 are probably
1) Jimmy Snuka......such a cool dude.....just hanging ten
2) The Heart Foundation......timeless match of brawn and grappling
3) The Stieners (WCW time)....rick and scott......high energy team
4) Big Van Vader....ITS TIME! ITS VADER TIME. dude was 300 plus pounds and would do moonsaults.....nobody ever did moonsaults back then!
5) Legion of Doom.....the fucking road warriors. so hard. so powerful.
honerably mention to KoKo beware because he had a massive arse and a fucking parrot......yeah a fucking parrot!

I always loved tag teams. they were my shit. some of the moves thought up were mind blowing at the time. i could never get into the slug fest 30 minute matches of Hogan, Andre et al. i wanted wam bam action. then when ECW came along.....oh wow. that shit was insane. but i was older by then and it didn't grab me the same.
then when you had the WWF/WCW shit where they started trying to up the ante with tits and rappers and all that i just lost interest. vince won out and bought everything up and it became something i couldn't watch anymore.

I think seeing UFC 1 for the first time kinda destroyed it all for me. that shit was so much more insane and intense beyond the thunder dome type shit.

Its weird because my kids never really got into WWE but they would watch my old wrasslin' tapes and loved them!

6) Do the same with UFC which I know that you follow now.
I think i saw the first 3 UFC's one night in early 1995 on a fifth generation vhs video dub! it was an immense night. i have been a fan ever since. its crazy to see how far it has come and changed into the sport of MMA that we see today.

Top 5 fighters:

1) Royce Gracie....the first who showed that with a good set of skills, tenacity and a brain you could pretty much beat anyone.....as long as his mates didn't stomp on your head!
2) BJ Penn - at his weight i think he is amazing. great jits.
3) Vitor Belfort - seeing him blast onto the scene at 19 back in UFC 12 and then destroy that cock end tank about at UFC 13 was mind blowing. he has had his problems since then but those early years will always stick with me.
4) Rickson Gracie - an animal. his choke documentary is amazing.
5) Clay Guida....guy just doesn't give a fuck and leaves everything in the cage.....plus he looks fucking cool!

I think my fave fight was the Diaz vs Sanches fight at The Ultimate Fighter 2 finale. that shit was insane......flips and rolls and all sorts of reversals.....blood everywhere.....so cool!


7) You now play bass in Rot in Hell. How did that come about and tell us what the band have been up to since you joined in late 2008. Any funny stories? Is Nate still a nutter?

Yeah i've been playing in Rot in hell for a few years now. its so cool to play in a band with your best mates but its hard work for me cause I'm not exactly flea on bass! some of the shit we play blows my mind! watching Sean just real off riff after riff and mike and Atko pick it up and craft it into a song is amazing. i'm kind of a third wheel really!! mainly their for the tshirts and jumps!
 I don't really know why but nate said that mike was leaving and they wondered if i fancied giving it a bash. i said I'd have a try and see how I got on and it worked out okay. we spent the first few months solid getting ready to record the LP thats coming out on deathwish. and we spent 2 days in a fog bound Huddersfield hiding out in a fall out shelter come studio located in the middle of what looked like Hamsterdam in the wire. we lived on pot noodles and peperamies. it was intense. Atko wasn't in the band at the time but RiH have always recorded with him so he was like a sixth member anyway.
As both me and Sean have kids and we all work full time we don't play out to often. We went to France to play with Integrity recently and that was amazing. we were treated like rock stars with a full meal at the venue and a hotel and shit. it was great. me and Nate had a set too in the night after me and frye (RiH's new 6th member who does stand in duties on guitar or bass as required) got back from seeing the effiel tower. he was alseep in his room when we came in and me and Frye were chatting. he lost his rag and told us to shut the fuck up. Frye said that i just went stone quiet, got up and switched of the light. i sat on my bed for 20 minutes thinking of all the ways i was gonna batter Nate in the morning if he said anything. when i woke him up he was cool and didn't say owt. he later asked me what i did when he shouted at me and i said "i was gonna come in a batter you to bits".......he went "oh......erm you would have proper battered me wouldn't you?"
"yes"
"oh......sorry"
i think like all bands we have a laugh but its not something that people could understand outside the band. its all pretty insular.
We've just moved into Atko's studio in an old mill in bradfuck and that place is haunted to shit. First time we practiced I went for a piss and i couldn't turn my back to the door because I knew someone was watching me.....out of the corner of my eye i could see an old fella looking at me. it was mad. then we were playing and i could feel him stood behind me looking over my shoulder. it was pretty weird.
Nate has chilled out a lot these days. he is married and has dogs and rabbits and lizards. his wild days are over! if i keep him out to late he has to sleep on the couch. is quite sweet really.

8) What releases have you coming up and what’s going on with the long awaited and anticipated album that’s due on Deathwish?

We have so much stuff coming out its crazy. a split with Integrity on thirty days of night that comes with a story book written by nate and illustrated by Dwid.....a split with Pale Creation.....a split with Horders.....a split with wayfayrer about Ragnorac and that......there is more too!

the deathwish record is called "....as pearls before swine" and is due for release on halloween. we're just waiting for Stephen Kasner to finish the artwork. i think people will like it. it has violins and piano and shit on it. its pretty mournful in places and has a bit more of a my dying bride vibe at times......i'd say its almost a concept album. i'm really proud to have been part of it.


9) Name your top 5 favourite records and why?

1) The Stone Roses - Self titled. the single greatest thing ever recorded. I have listened to it everyday since i was 14 and I don't think that will change any time soon. i think the best track changes every day but most of the time its either shoot you down or made of stone.
2) Side by Side - S/T. my favourite hardcore record. flawless from start to finish. seriously backfire.......i'm killing people.
3) De La Soul - Three Feet High....and rising. the LP that really got me properly into music. while these days i may well skip the skits i could listen to potholes in my lawn, buddy and tread water on loop for ever.
4) Youth Of Today - We're not in this alone. We're Back! I'm losing my shit. enough said.
5) Cro Mags - Before the quarrel. could be AOQ but i think the mix on this is maybe harder......more desperate....i dunno....maybe it is age of quarell?? arghh.......its a MAAAALFUNCTION!

10) Ok cheers for the interview. Here’s your chance to say the fuck whatever you like. Keep it unclean.

Cheers Mark for the support over the years. It’s the friendship of people like you that have kept me involved in hardcore for all these years.
Here's hoping that that little hobbit cunt Malcom Glazer fucking snuffs it and the red knights finally take the greatest football club in the world back to the people. FCUMUFC (sorry for football talk mate!)
I hope everyone gives the new Rot in hell stuff a listen.
Check out the following bands if they play near you:
Broken teeth, Hang the bastard, Cold snap, Neverxagain, Breakingxpoint, wayfayrer and Hammers.

Nick Lovaro (Cowabunga records)

Here's an interview with Nick who runs the awesome Cowabunga records label.  I conducted this last year with the intention of it entering War Against Peace issue 3 (which hasn't happened yet). I decided rather than it rotting in my harddrive to publish it. It's a good interview with a good dude. Check out his label at cowabungarecords.com.

Hi Nick, How the hell are you? What have you been up to today? Tell the girls and boys reading this about yourself.

Hey Mark, I am doing quite fine thank you. Long days at a manual labor job keeping me from getting fat leave a man feeling drained when you work for about 11 hours, at least I get a good weekend to rest up and cram as much label stuff into it as possible ie record cover folding, pack orders, answer emails, etc. My name is Nick Lovro aka Nick Sick aka Nicholas Sickolas, The Sickness amongst my numerous nicknames (no pun intended) I 'earned' over time! I would not say it aloud due to the cartoony nature of saying it about oneself but would consider myself a true punk and have been going to shows and into this music for 15 years of my life and see myself doing so until I drop dead or pass away in my sleep.

How did you get into hardcore and what keeps you involved?

I think I got into Hardcore and the dirtier side of punk the way a lot of people my age had during the 90's, through art class. I can recall many interviews with guys in my age bracket in bands who had an older student in art who'd have control of the stereo and play some at the time very 'mind blowing' music that wasn't like what the jocks and lame redneck guys and gals were into. I know as a freshman in high school my perception of punk was Lookout Records, Epitaph and major label stuff of that sort. The only old punk I knew well enough was Bollocks, London Calling and the 1st Specials LP which really wasn't punk. In art there were 2 students who got me introduced to better music- a senior named Kelly who had a Chelsea haircut and wore NOFX shirts who would ask me about bands I never heard of and then a friend of a friend Dan who was only a junior at the time but his role was most important. Shit to either of them I'd go on about something lame like Pantera or Janes Addiction. HA! But Kelly got me into bands that were on FAT since she was telling me about their cheap CD compilations which is where I then got into Good Riddance, who had covered 'Hall of Fame' as a hidden track on their 2nd album which then got me into Government Issue. But most importanly here the guy Dan played me the Ramones, the Damned, Big Black and the Meat Puppets. I enjoy it all now but at the age of 14 I was only into some of it. So Dan loaned me 'Wasted Again' by Black Flag saying that would be a band he think I'd be into and I had recalled reading in a book how Kurt Cobain started a band because of Flag so that alone intrigued my clueless mind. As soon as 'Wasted' played on my beat up discman on the bus ride home my jaw dropped sitting in the way back corner and I played that song over and over and over again to the point the CD was broken from overuse months later. Black Flag has remained my favorite old band to this day and I get a feeling I can't explain when I hear 'Wasted' still, but of course other songs too. What keeps me involved is too lengthy for me to put into words but basically my love of everything that real punk and hardcore stands for. I feel you get it or you don't, anyone can listen to it but do they get why some people have remained dedicated and so diehard to a style of music to where you arrange your life around all aspects to it? I say the number who truly gets it is quite small.

Why did you decide to do a label? What are the best and worse things about running it?

A funny thing no one knows is I actually many years ago wanted to start a label long before I actually did! My friend wanted me to release the Bronson 335/Life Set Struggle split 10'' which Four Tee Gee Records had super delayed putting out, but my friend Sikander who was the singer of LSS ended up declining me to do so right before I had enough money to do it saying the record would come out and to do it behind Tony's back would be a bad idea. And truthfully he was probably quite right esp on the latter part. So fast forward to 2005 when Weekend Nachos had played a show in a basement of a building in downtown Dekalb where most of the band was going to NIU our local university. I've known their singer John for a large number of years and after their set I had asked him to do a record for them and John had stated he'd like to record it 1st then shop it around. A few months later John asked me if I would like to try and run a label with him and after agreeing we started Tooth Decay Records. Enter early 2006, I had been talking with Josh of Reason of Insanity and asked if they had anything they'd be down to releasing and he had a live radio show recorded in 2004 from their east coast jaunt with Rattus and I asked John if we could release it on Tooth Decay. John liked them but wouldn't want to do a record so after hearing 'no', I decided to release it myself on a seperate label. I wanted to call it Go To Hell Records but didn't want people to maybe get the wrong idea from me and went with a more fun name. By the way, although I grew up with and loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, its actually a 50/50 reference to both surfer culture and a line Egon Spengler used in a Ghostbusters cartoon episode! The good part of doing a label is the excitement of putting out a record you truly enjoy, it to me is the ultimate high of satisfaction. There are other perks like seeing good reviews for a release you put out on your dime, the hard work that pays off, seeing your records in other record stores with 'high reccomendation' stickers on the polybags to getting to know bands and even becoming friends of theirs sometimes but of course you got to have the bad along with the good. The bad is sometimes greater and some things that frustrate me are how long it takes nowadays for distribution checks to come in, being branded a 'power violence' or 'thrashcore' record label when that is beyond being believable, bad record reviews where sheepish people will just not buy a record if someone cool in the zine world says 'I don't like it', working with bands filled with spoiled rich kids who think they're truly punk when they're a living joke who take everything for granted and complain about anything that they can with a record, people who steal from my distro boxes, constant email with little time, the loss of money is a big one (never expect to make any kids!) and the amount of stress, mental anguish, sleep loss and worry that goes into the process of hoping a record comes out on time for tour is maybe the biggest one of all.

You release a variety of different stuff-do you have a specific agenda or do you just go for things that you like? Were you already friends with a lot of the bands before you did releases with them?

I am actually releasing more 'specific' things after 2011 is over and putting a more certain focus on what I would put out. I used to enjoy the variety part and still will remain a very broad and different record label in the punk/HC spectrum but the 3rd worst thing I've hated about doing a label is when I get called a 'blank' label. Don't label my label, when you release a fast and also a mid tempo record but for example get called 'thrash' is stupid. I would say as far as thrashcore goes I've put out 2 records that fall under that category at best, so to just toss around 'thrashcore label' is kind of offensive to me. Would you call Stymie a thrash band? No. Would Ladies fall into that category? Of course not! So bottom line to what you asked me, no I have no set agenda what so ever. I release music by bands I love, I have never sought a band out for the sole sake of making money on it and that be the main reason as to why. How labels that consider themself a part of Hardcore or punk that do this are a disgrace. As a sidenote here to my gripe before, I am doing some records for Tenement and trust me that is the polar opposite of thrash!

Which are your favourite releases on the label? I guess mine is the Bloodtype 7” that you put out last year along with the Dark ages 7”. Have any releases been difficult to do or have you have any problems with them?

Favorite releases of mine? Its easier now to have records I would call legit favorites now I suppose seeing I got a fair amount under my belt. If you were to ask if I had 6 faves (5 is too typical a number so I'll go one extra)  in no order I would say they'd be the Insubordinates LP, Weekend Nachos-Punish and Destroy LP which most likely got my label name out there to begin with but I honestly fucking love that record, School Jerks-Control EP, my upcoming Tenement-Blind Wink LP, Cold Shoulder-Patriot EP and then a tie between the Ladies and SLOBS 7'' for the final spot. My pick for the most underrated one to me that's still a favorite is the Rhythm Syndrom EP and if I ever had to say I had an overrated record to where people raved about something I put out when I didn't agree at all with the general consensus would be the Migraine record.  Good picks Mark, Dark Ages still sounds really good today as it did 2 years ago the 1st time I heard it and Bloodtype is a fantastic straight edge band with a stand up HC record. Seems most Europeans really get that band where only a few parts of the USA ever took to them which is a shame really. I have had difficulties with 3 records in all but I had a nightmare situation with a band too. I discussed it enough over time and am beyond over it now but we'll just say that this band takes the cake as the biggest trend jumping band of poseur, commie asshole scum and they complained when they shouldn't have but all blame despite the faults not being my own personally they go to the label none the less. I almost quit doing my label because of this band, but eventually said screw it and sucked it up and moved on. Incase you wondered, the 3 records I lost the most money on would be the Timebombs-Mumbling 10'', Catburglars- You May Be Dumb EP and my 1st 7'' by ROI. All 3 of those sadly were basically pressed and nothing made, money sunk.

You do limited colour stuff on your releases-are you a fellow record collector geek yourself? Do you agree a lot of labels depend on record collectors these days to sell their stuff, for example some labels pressing about 4 different colours of one record knowing that some people will buy them all? I can see the point but putting lots of different colours out kinda dilutes the fun and exclusivity compared to just having one normal release on black and one limited pressing on colour like most labels used to do would you agree?

Yes Mark I do sometimes press colored vinyl in a small number to not have too much, but I do it for sheer fun or if the band requests it. I sort of enjoy the fact I am not a hyped label where guys will strictly buy my records and flip them on eBay a week later for 8 times what the guy paid for it. That to me ruins records and makes it more like stock trading or baseball cards then music and I have friends that do this and it sickens me. I agree, to do numerous versions on color vinyl cheapens the fun factor too which is why Istarted my answer to your question that I do color vinyl only for FUN! Fun being truly key here, I mean if someone really wants color wax from me I tend to have it for a month or 2 after a record is released giving a casual fan a very good chance of getting the record on color vinyl. I would never do 3 versions of a record on color wax,, what a waste and it saddens me people will spend so much money on 3 copies of a record when you can only hope they'd even play 1 of those copies. Also, yes I am definitely a collector nerd and my collection very much proves this theory but its also not like those guys on Bridge Nine who own 3 copies each of something with 6 diff versions either. Those few that have seen my stuff are aware of how extensive my collections of Die Kreuzen, Zero Boys, COC, AOD and many other classic bands are. Its absurd and its not even just records I am talking about!

Which are your most limited releases (apart from the test pressings)?

My most limited releases off the top of my head would be some crazy Chainsaw to the Face variants that I got by total accident such as 1 on Black with a Purplish Red puddle in the middle of the record, 4 on RED and 1 Clear/Green mix. The 2nd press of the School Jerks' 'Decline' EP had 9 copies on clear ORANGE come in I never asked for with 2 transition copies. The best example for this to me would be the Cold Shoulder record which had around 60 copies on a few different kinds of disgusting color vinyl which were 'experiments' on mixing Orange and Black and then the one I get asked about the most because people want it is the Weekend Nachos Punish/Destroy LP transition record which was of 13-16 copies which was a mixture of Red, Purple and Black and it looks like a see through red/brown mix. I'd know it if I saw it. Also some records I hand drew covers, write on dust sleeves, etc. Not meant to be limited but just to be more fun. Records with the smallest pressings would be the Critical Picnic, Deconditioned and ROI 7''es which are kind of limited I guess?

Any advice to anyone thinking of starting up a label? Tips on what to do or not what to do, that sort of thing.

The only advice I can give at the time being is for a person to do a label with all of the right intentions. Don't go into this thinking you're going to be making a lot of money from this because you probably won't. The amount of labels that actually make any amount of profit worth noting is so small, so don't go into it with delusions of grandeur, okay? I don't know if there is really any other standout advice outside of only do a record if you're willing to put 100% into it and be fair and honest to the band/s, never give less than 15% for the initial band pressing either I say. It seems 10% is becoming way more common and that's a scary trend. What not to do is more to say than what to do, so basically if you want to try your hand at putting out a record expect the worst and if something good comes from it consider yourself extremely lucky!

Ok Nick tell us about your local scene-the best and worse things about it.

Well, where I spend most of my HC time in Chicago, I do not live there yet and techincally I live in Dekalb so I'll give a run down on both. Dekalb was where the infamous 90's HC band Charles Bronson had their start and there was a small scene during their time here but it wasn't too substantial either I'd say at the same time since it was basically those guys and their small circle of friends. Actually my 1st HC show was seeing Asshole Parade in Dekalb in 1997 and I absolutely hated that style of HC then. I would come around a few years later but I guess I wasn't ready for the extreme and ultra fast nature to that Gainesville band. The scene has had ups and downs since then, mainly bands while some guys were still at NIU would sprout up such as Plan Of Attack, Food Fight, Attention Span, Weekend Nachos, Inverted and others. Some made a small name for themself, some existed to no acclaim or some just were a band during a semester of school. The scene now in Dekalb is more grindcore and death metal oriented and not really my thing so I can't really say even who some of the bands are outside of Gonzo Violence but some of those guys come out to hardcore shows in the big city, some of the band Harpoon also hail from here but they're not hardcore at all but fall under the umbrella of underground punk I guess. The best local band hands down would be Sick/Tired who has an LP out on To Live a Lie and they have a slew of new records also coming out shortly, if people care about the 'members of' thing they contain guys from MK Ultra and Weekend Nachos. There's also Stations Creation which is really sloppy B9 style HC who may or may not be a band anymore,, one of those bands you know are into HC like its a phase in life. Although I live here, I wouldn't count my band Birth Deformities as a Dekalb band since 1 guy lives in Elgin, 1 in Chicago and 1 in Aurora so we're fairly spread out! Chicago is the USA's 3rd largest city and although our scene gets hardly the respect and credit it deserves, I could care less because I am fine with people being stupid and ignoring us over the overhyped coast cities. I think we take some pride in the less attention factor a lot too. Chicago has had a lot of good bands exist in the last 10 years- Punch In The Face, the Repos, Chronic Seizure to the recent times of more variety in the Catburglars (broken up now), Harms Way, Weekend Nachos, Ropes, Manipulation, Poison Planet, Narrow Mind, etc and then Culo, Cold Shoulder, Duress, RN, Scabs, Pukeoid,  Rat Patrol and Guinea Kid who came or come from the varying outer IL/IN suburbs of Chicago. I am missing a lot but its meant to be a brief list. The scene here changes with the times as all scenes do, but the scene now is young which is nice seeing we basically were just mid 20's guys for the longest time alongside 30 something's but now its a nice blend of all that plus a lot of kids. If only the kids bought records and didn't just download stuff I'd have nothing to complain about! Only 2 bad things to note outside of my annoyances of people is the general late starting time for shows and sheer lack of solid venues right now,,, because everything else is just great!

Finally, thanks for the interview and thanks for giving us a bunch of cool releases (may it long continue), any last words before signing off.?

Thanks for doing the interview Mark, I hope I didn't get too long winded, damn the fact I ramble in too much detail! My last words to this should be funny, short and sweet but I am getting tired so I am going to end this by saying 5 statements. 1.The later Ramones records are just as good as the 1st 3 records, I think the world is nuts. 2. I honestly prefer 'How We Rock' over 'Kids Will Have Their Say', yup! 3. This always bothered me then and still does now but so called mysterious hardcore bands couldn't even sound like Black Flag's 'My War' even if those dorks blatantly tried to rip it off because they're mainly straight edge guys that don't get it (no offense to those who claim edge, this is just a theory of mine). 4.Raw Nerve does not sound like VOID, so quit saying they do and 5.People need to quit acting like pussies and listen to other music. Hardcore rules but come on, what's wrong with solid real 80's metal, 70's hard rock and 80's alt rock? And fuck the Chicago cops who arrested me July 1st pulling me over for no reason threatening me to get out of my car and putting me in the hole $2300. Those should have been my last words!

REVIEWS

Off!-Off! LP (Vice)
I’ve been a massive Circle Jerks fan for going on 25 years and I still reckon Keith Morris has one of the best and most distinctive vocals in hardcore so hearing him with any band is a pleasure to these ears but Off!! Deliver on all fronts. Great lyrics, great sounds-this is timeless stuff and instantly classic. This could have been released at any point in the last 30 years or so. This is the first ‘full length’ to speak of (and I use that term loosely). I don’t know what it’s doing on a hipster label but when records are this good I don’t really care. From start to finish this knocks you over. Add great cover art by a certain Raymond Pettibon and you have a genuine winner on your turntable.

Provider-Wasteland 7” (Life to live)
Moshy and metallic (but not over metallic) hardcore that would be at home on say, Bridge nine records. This is solid stuff. Normally a picture of someone wearing a Madball shirt on the back of a record would put me off but this is worth a nosey if bands like Backtrack or Foundation are your thing. Life to live is a great little label which deserves more recognition. This is one of many things worth checking out on that label.

Rise and fall-Faith-Faith LP (Deathwish)
For some reason Rise and fall have never done it for me either of the two times that I’ve seen them live but there’s no denying that on record they are simply pulverising. If you’re expecting anything crushing in the vein of the band’s previous releases then this is no let down. From start to finish this just dominates. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes brutally heavy metallic tinged hardcore.There’s no lyrics and even song titles on the LP release but it comes housed in some majestic packaging. You need to check the sleeve out for yourself seriously. A contender for one of the best of 2012 no doubt

Kev Walsh interview

It seems strange that I’ve only got to know Kev last year despite the fact that his band the Down & outs have been doing the rounds for years (and I’ve seen them a few times). He decided to sell his record collection and Boardy hooked me up with him. We met up in Liverpool to exchange goods and cash and we hit it off straight away. He’s a good dude. That’s reason enough to ask him for an interview. Read on. (this is from October 2011).

 Hi Kev, how you’re doing today? How’s Liverpool after the riots the other
week, you were nearby weren’t you? Must have been worrying.
I'm good mate. The riots came past my house but Liverpool was real lucky to
be honest, we weren't hit as badly as Birmingham, Manchester, and of course
London. It seemed worse at the time because I could see it out of my window,
but then when you read the next days paper you realise it wasn't as bad at
all as what some people had to deal with. Where I live is between two of the
main areas of rioting, so they just kind of passed by my house on their way
from one place to another. Its also right between two big police stations so
there were always sirens buzzing and stuff.

How’s your new band doing Chris and the Zip codes , also when is the next
Down and outs album coming out?
Chris & The Zipcodes is going well, we're having a lot of fun doing it. It
came about when we were recording the new Down And Outs record. We had all
of the drums recorded and mixed, and then we foolishly managed to ruin the
hard drive we had it all recorded on which was really frustrating. Down And
Outs, when we are at our most productive, are still one of the laziest bands
in the UK. We practice most weeks, but spend most of our practicing time
either going to the shop for snacks, or playing ska versions of Enter
Sandman and Smells Like Teen Spirit. We do get things done, but we always
move at our own pace. I think thats just the way it goes when you only do
something because you enjoy it y'know? We'll finish the album, but when we
can be arsed. We've done most of the guitars, so at this point its just bass
and vocals left. But anyway, Zipcodes came about when we first lost the data
for the record, we wanted to keep practicing but were a little bit burnt out
on D&O's. Marko and me had been talking about how good it would be if Chris
was the frontman in a band, and I think we had a couple of riffs knocking
about that weren't quite Down & Outs songs, so one night we swapped
instruments and started playing a few songs, and thats how it started
really. We actually intended to just play one gig then never go near it
again, but its turned out to be a right laugh, so we've carried on. I
sometimes think that its just a big injoke that only we're in on, but people
seem to be into it so hopefully thats not the case.

You’ve been in a few bands haven’t you? Give us a list and a bit about each
band, in chronological order if you could.
Yeah, not as many as some, but I've done a couple over the years like. When
I was 13, me and my mate at the time started a band called Snakes And
Ladders. It was just the two of us and we wrote one song, called Death
Doesn't Hurt which we worded as Deth Doezn't Hert. You could argue that we
we're pioneers of the text message generation, since this was in 1992. There
were only two of us, both guitarists. But we used to practice the song sat
on my mates wheelie bins. I also remember the discussion we had about how we
would lay out the stage when (yes, WHEN) we we're headlining Donington. We
decided it would be good if we had the drummer playing on top of a big
massive toilet, and when we finished, we would pull a chain, and the drummer
would get flushed down the toilet. If I remember rightly, we even did a set
design for it. I say a set design, there was nothing by way of technical
information regarding how the set would work, it was just a drawing of a
drummer playing drums on a massive bog, with an arrow pointing to him saying
"Drummer gets flushed down bog". Thats as technical as you need to be when
you're 12 I think.

As for punk and hardcore bands, I did The Last Chance for a few years. I
left before the second "7 came out though. I was starting uni and didn't
want to commit to an out of town band that demanded so much of my time.
Especially because I had to take a new job where I was working most nights.
We started Seconds Out and Down And Outs at the same roughly. I remember
because I did my vocals for the Seconds Out demo and the Down And Outs demo
at the same time as they were both being recorded by Marko from D&O's.
Seconds Out was a Straight Edge band. We only recorded a demo, which people
weirdly still email me about today. I have no idea why. I loved Seconds Out
only for the fact that the band comprised of some of my best mates at the
time. I enjoyed meeting up and hanging out as we would go for curry after
every practice and every gig we played. Musically I think the problem with
SxO was that we all had such different influences, and that came through in
the music. Simon was really into the Deranged/My War records stuff at the
time. POI was into more metallic stuff, I just wanted to sound like Right
Brigade. Because of that clash of influences the music was always really
patchy, some people see that as a good thing maybe, I don't really. I'm not
slagging off the music anyone wrote by any stretch. The stuff POI comes up
with for Rot In Hell is fuckin mind blowing. I just think Seconds Out never
really had much by way of discipline or direction. There is a Seconds Out "7
recorded but without vocals. I can't see it ever surfacing. In the end, it
just pissed me off. I'd be writing stuff about council estates and the way I
grew up, and I'd be seeing people singing along and being really glad that I
was involved in something with people who had a similar upbringing to me,
but then I would get some glimpse of the reality of it, and seeing that most
of these people singing along to Seconds Out songs came from well nice
backgrounds and stuff, and it just turned me off to the whole thing. I've
never understood this culture of people trying to downplay a good
upbringing. It makes no sense to me. But not a lot does, I'm not the
cleverest of men. That was only part of it though. I was a little burnt out
on playing so much in different bands and all that, it wasn't really a laugh
anymore. So I fucked it off.

Down And Outs started at the same time and is still going today. Boss
Tuneage are going to be putting out the third album when we finally get
round to finishing it. It's a little more difficult for us to play gigs
these days as a few of us work long hours, one of us had a kid and stuff
like that. I keep getting asked at the few gigs I go to if we've split up.
We haven't, we just move at our own pace now we're all in our 30's and have
other stuff going on.

I do loads of other bands, but they only exist in my head. Some of them have
a few riffs recorded on GarageBand but thats the furthest I've ventured into
the real world with them. I am currently involved in the following imaginary
bands:

 - Skavenblight. This is my D-Beat band with songs about World Of Warcraft
and Warhammer.
 - A Black Metal band that has about 5 riffs.

How did you get into hardcore punk and what still keeps you involved?
I got into hardcore as many mid/late nineties recruits did. BIOHAZARD! I
still think that the breakdown in Business by Biohazard can hold its own
against any modern hardcore mosh part. I had Urban Discipline for a year or
two, then started getting into Downset and stuff, then moved on to Sick Of
It All, Madball etc. When I became aware of that kind of stuff as "Hardcore"
and not just metal, I noticed a few flyers around Liverpool for gigs in
Guinnans (which I'm sure you remember Mark) that were listed as Hardcore.
The first one I went to was Withdrawn, Assert, Violent World and Stampin
Ground. It was ok, a bit quiet. I remember Mark Boardman was there moshing
to Stampin Ground wearing this t-shirt that just said "Straight Edge" in the
shittest bubble writing ever. I only remember it because I remember thinking
he looked like the Pilsbury Dough Boy. I also talked to Gav Beckley at that
gig. He was the first person I ever talked to at a Hardcore gig. This all
happened at the height of "UKHC". And although I went to gigs for a year or
so before I actually started socialising with people other than people I
already knew from Liverpool, I kind of got swept along by it all. I
travelled to a few gigs in Sheffield and stuff seeing Earth Crisis with a
mate, and there I bought some of the Household Name stuff like the Imbalance
record which had just come out, and also managed to get hold of London
Hardcore by Knuckledust that Bri Sayle put out on Days Of Fury. I think at
the time that CD was close to selling out because I had a bit of a hard time
getting hold of it. From there it was all about reading thanks lists, sine
interviews and reviews to find out about new bands. I was hanging round with
a lad at the time who was way more on the ball than me called Dec, and he
got me into a lot of stuff as well. When I started travelling I started
knocking about with different people and staying with them. Before then, I
had been part of a group of mates in Kirkby which is where I'm from, and had
met a lot of people from being into metal and going to Rock Clubs even
though I was underage. (I think underage drinkers form the vast majority of
rock club goers. Imagine being a grown man and still getting Down With The
Sickness in the Krazy House every Saturday… No ta.)

After this it just kind of ticked along. I met Ian who did Dead And Gone
because I loved his band In The Clear, thats also how I met Steve Meader and
Simon Phillips. After a few years I did my first band The Last Chance.

As for staying involved. I'm not sure that I am involved in hardcore anymore
really. How do you gauge involvement? I post on the CTW messageboard from
time to time. But I don't actively contribute to "Hardcore" in whatever
incarnation it is in these days. I don't really know any one who is really.
I go to the odd gig in Liverpool, its VERY rare I will travel to see a band.
I don't really get anything out of it. If I were to travel, it would only be
on the premise that a lot of my friends were going to and I could get to see
them all at once and maybe go for a bite. If I am still involved, which I'm
not sure I am, I guess it would be the few friends I have managed to
maintain contact with and don't think I'm a prick that keep me tied to it.

Tell us a bit about yourself outside of the punk world. I believe you’re a
dab hand at painting warcraft models.
I used to play World Of Warcraft a lot. Its a good game. My account is
inactive at the moment as the guild I was playing in all stopped playing at
the beginning of the last expansion. I didn't want to go through the hassle
of trying to find a new guild comprised of grown ups who were all sound to
spend my time with, so I decided to knock it on the head for a bit. I'm
feeling the pull again now though. It's been a while since I've played and I
miss it a fair bit. I had some great times playing it, but towards the end
it was more about trying to recapture that feeling of discovering something
new, much like it was with hardcore. My last few years being actively
involved in hardcore were more about trying to get that feeling back of
something being new and fresh and exiting than they were about trying to
contribute or enjoy what was going on at that particular time. I speak about
it like I'm some old timer. But thats not the case. I got into it in the
late nineties (Hardcore this is, not Warcraft), skirted around the edges for
a few years, did a few years in semi-popular bands, got frustrated, threw my
dummy out of my pram like a little kid, did some stupid things, then walked
away. I don't think its any coincidence that I discovered playing World Of
Warcraft not long after it. It will probably come across as very, very
pathetic to talk about a computer game in such grand terms, but thats ok. It
was boss. I've never been into sports, so I've never really had that feeling
of being part of a team and overcoming a certain obstacle. So when I was at
the maximum level in Warcraft, we would do 25 man raids, and it was cool,
because everyone had a specific role and was pulling together to overcome an
encounter that was often pretty tough. It was a good euphoric feeling of
belonging and I met some great people while playing, including my
girlfriend. I've always been a fan of fantasy books and role-play games,
ever since I was a kid. I'd never been a big computer game guy though. I
bought Warcraft on a whim, after putting it off for a long time. Maybe its
because I had never really played computer games that I was so blown away by
the enormity of the the game and the world in which its set. But when I
first strolled through the Valley of Heroes into Stormwind City, and saw all
those Level 70 players decked out in their Teir 6 Gear, I was absolutely
sold. Although I did defect to the Horde soon after reading about Thrall.

As for Warhammer, I've been into that since I was a little kid. I repressed
it when I got into hardcore, as I was trying very hard to be cool. But you
meet people, and you get to know them, and at some point, many of them will
confess to having had a Space Wolves army or an Emperors Children army or
one of the Craftworld Eldar armies when they were young. And then you can
say "Well… I was obsessed with World Eaters back before the first Chaos
Codex even existed!" and you open up that discourse then. You do that for a
few years and you start to realise that all these people… they might talk
about how they want to collect X-Claim 1-6, but really, they're just massive
fuckin losers like you are, painting their little men and getting exited by
rolling 6's on Rending Weapons. I started getting back into painting and
playing Tabletop games about 6 years ago maybe? It was about 1 year before
that 4th edition Dark Angels codex came out anyway. It was after I had
stopped playing in Seconds Out and Boardman who played bass in Seconds Out
started getting interested again. We ended up amassing a massive collection
of scenery and armies. I think Boardie has about three full 2k point armies
himself, and a few of our mates also have armies. We'd play in our mates
flat every Friday night. Nothing I have ever done in Hardcore Punk has ever
been, or will ever be as fun as those Friday night gaming nights.

Recently though my mates have all slowed down their tabletop gaming so I
tend to just stick to painting miniatures now. I got a game in a few weeks
back and it was excellent. I beat my mates Ork army in an Annihilation game.
I'm trying to get into other gaming systems now, that game Hordes that
Privateer Press make looks cool, and some of the miniatures are really well
sculpted and I'd love to have a crack at painting some of them. I'd also
like to try getting back into Roleplaying. I did a fair bit of that as a
teenager, and would love to have a go of Runequest of D&D again.

You used to be into record collecting until you sold your stuff recently.
Any regrets? Do you miss the thrill of the chase? What were your most prized/valuable items?
I collected for a few years yeah. I was really exited by it at the time and
managed to get some really nice pieces. It was more about just being in the
right place at the right time though. Just prior to starting to collect
seriously I was going to America a bit and was getting some of the
contemporary presses from the bigger feasts and once I got a few, the bug
kind of bit me and I thought "Fuck it, I'm going to carry on with this".
I'm a perpetual hobbyist. I always have to have something to occupy myself.

And being obsessed with lists and things, record collecting worked for me at
the time. There was never the competitive angle for me, and I'm tempted to
suggest that its almost nothing to do with the music, even though I only
ever collected bands I was a fan of. It was more just about completing a
collection from a certain band. I did a lot of trading back then too and got
to know some real good people from it. Marcus Andrews being one of them. I
only ever collected for a few years though, and wouldn't ever have
considered myself a 'serious' collector like Marcus or yourself. Part of it
was having these physical reminders of my travels and experiences, part of
it was my love of making lists and ticking boxes. It was always more about
the lists than the physical product for me I think. Once I had something, it
was put in its place on the shelf and never touched and I would move on to
the next piece I was after. So once I stopped travelling to gigs, and my
interest in the bands of the time started to wane, my desire to collect
records started to fade away. I did have some old bits like the copy of
Brotherhood that you got, and I had a lot of old Rev stuff that Adam Malik
down in London grabbed, but they were anomalies on my list, as I only really
tended to collect bands from the era of Hardcore I was actively involved in.
To this end, my most prized records were always my Count Me Out ones, most
of which I think went to Marcus.

Regarding selling them all, I have no regrets. I was looking for a new place
with my girl and I wanted to clear some debt before I could do it. The
records were just a burden at that point. A bunch of heavy bits of plastic I
didn't want to drag all over Liverpool when I moved, so the decision was
pretty clear. I could clear a lot of debt by selling them, and would have
less to carry. Thats why I did it. I don't regret it either. I was fairly
scrupulous about who I sold to and wanted to make sure they went to a good
home. I didn't know you before you got in touch with me about them, and I
asked a few people about you to make sure all that stuff you bought would be
going to a decent home. Then there was Adam Malik who bought a lot, I know
him and he said some of them were for friends who really wanted them so
thats cool, then this other lad from London called Raf bought every single
record I owned. That hadn't been sold or reserved already. Usually that’s the
kind of transaction I would avoid, but he was very clear with his intentions
from the get go. He wanted to keep the bits that he was after, and the rest
he was going to sell on to find his record label. I thought that was
awesome, so was happy to deal with him. Then there were a few new lads from
Liverpool that we're pretty new to collecting, so I tried to give them a
good deal on some bits. All in all it worked out well. Everyone got some
good records at what I hope was a fair price, and I got to pay off some
debts and put a bit towards moving.

How’s Liverpool these days hardcore punk wise? There always seems to be
something happening with some of the old faces still about.
Yeah, I don't know how that compares to other cities but there are plenty of
old faces knocking about in Liverpool that were around when Planet X and the
likes were still standing. A few of them are involved in this collective
called Behind The Wall Of Sleep and are putting some good stuff on here. I
always liked the Thrashgig's that Foxy did. Those early Down And Outs gigs
with Walk The Plank etc were so chaotic. I had some good nights at those.
Theres younger lads as well. I don't know any of them, but I see them about.
Theres this one lad called Tom, he plays in the Zipcodes and he's fuckin
unreal. His enthusiasm and sincerity is almost infectious. He has done this
one man straight edge band called Violent Reaction, and I say this without
hyperbole,  its the best hardcore I've heard in years. Its so violent and
aggressive. Its like 86 Mentality but a little faster. He's in about 20
bands though. I hope he does something with Violent Reaction though, as I
would love to see those songs played live.
>
What do you think are the best and worst things about hardcore punk in 2011?

I think the best things in 2011 are probably what are the best things about
2001, and 1991 and 1981 were. I appreciate that I come across as jaded, but
I'm not at all, hardcore hasn't changed, I have. People are still getting
out there and putting on gigs and doing what they do. People are still
collecting and people are still writing zines and contributing in whatever
way they see fit. I'm of a personality type that is always looking for
something new. I love to learn new things and discover things. So while
(what I consider to be) 'my era' of hardcore has moved on, that doesn't mean
to say that its any better or worse… it just 'is'. I talked to these newer
lads from Liverpool when I was selling my records, and they seem really
exited about all that stuff down south, CTW and all that. I like a bit of
that myself. That band Wayfarer are fuckin brilliant. People always say
things like "hardcore has really changed since I got involved" then go on to
list a bunch of things that we're there in their era, but they either
weren't privy to or ignored. Thats not the way it is man. Nothing's changed.
Its evolved sure, but what hasn't? People just say shit like that to justify
their lack of interest or enthusiasm. As though its everyone else's fault
they can't be bothered travelling down the road to watch a band, not their
own. Its an attitude I've never understood. People being so scared to admit
that they've moved on that they have to invent a bunch of excuses that
justify it and make it ok. I stopped going to hardcore and punk gigs because
I was balls deep in World Of Warcraft and having a fucking blast. Then I
carried on not going because painting miniatures is far more interesting to
me. Now I don't really go cos I just don't want to. And thats ok. Its still
all good in the hood when it comes to hardcore. People are just as
enthusiastic and sincere as they were a few years back, its just not what
blows my dick off anymore y'know?

What’s next on the cards for Chris and the zip codes & Down and outs?

Down And Outs album is kind of the priority. September looks busy for us. We
have a lot of gigs (well, I think we have two, but we rarely play, so thats
a lot for us.) And I'm hoping we can make a bit more progress on recording.
I want the Zipcodes to record some stuff as well. We have no fixed plan for
The Zipcodes, so I would like to at least have the songs just in case at any
point we decide that its gone far enough. I guess we'll just keep on, I
dunno. I always wanted Down And Outs to go to Europe and maybe America, I
can't really see that happening now, but that’s cool. If we did it 5 years
ago then it would have been the right time, now I don't think any of us can
be arsed. So we'll just keep practicing and doing what we do.

Okay my man, here’s your cue to say owt you like, thanks for the interview
dude.
All I have to say is listen to Violent Reaction. They're fucking mind
blowing. Ta for the interview mate. I'm not really sure what I've done to
warrant being interviewed, but I enjoyed responding!
             www.lifeless-loser.blogspot.com

INTRO!!!!!!!!

Okay so I do a real life paper zine of this title but since it's been out of my hands for a while I have decided to go cyber to stop this stuff getting any longer out of date. Also I will publish other interviews and stuff from older issues. Just to let you know that the paper zine isn't dead but just on hold for a bit but will back at some point.
Cheers for looking and enjoy-any feedback, good or bad would be useful.
Mark.