TAKEDOWN - Bringing Yesteryear Brutality into the Modern Day

I was impressed when first hearing your CD demo. However, I was even more absorbed when seeing you live. What is your mental approach when playing live?
Our overall approach when playing live is simple, have fun and entertain. Our perspective has been and will continue to be “we will play for 6 people or 60 people”. You can expect the same effort each time we show up. For the effort itself we have a band goal to not take ourselves too seriously, but there are two key elements we look for in our live shows, energy and tightness. We don’t always succeed but we will keep trying.

I see you have been gigging more frequently. So far, what has been your favorite show?

Our favorite show is the next one someone will let us play. Of the shows we’ve done it seems the next is always a little better.

Where did you record your demo? How was the process?

We recorded the two demos we have on FB in our practice space. It’s very rudimentary. We used my old MOTU 896 and didn’t spend much time on it. We just wanted to get something to hand out.

The music has a 90's metallic crossover sound with powerful vocals. Is that an accurate description? For those who have never heard Takedown, explain in your own words what they should expect.

As far as the overall sound, we try to take that late ‘80’s early 90’s hardcore punk rock style and make it relevant to today. There are definitely elements of metal there but the underlying element and foundation is straight up hardcore punk rock.

What are your long term goals and do you have any new recordings planned?

We don’t have any long term goals. We just take it as it comes. We have upgraded our recording gear and will hopefully have a legit full length by end of summer 2018.

All of your logos and t-shirt artwork have a military theme. Can you provide more details regarding that?

It’s not really a military theme at all, but we make no qualms about our beliefs. Yeah, we like guns. We believe in self help and being man enough to accept help when it’s needed. Hand up not hand out. Family and friends first. Do not fuck with my family or my friends and we’re cool.
https://www.facebook.com/TakedownHardcore/
https://takedownhardcore.bandcamp.com/

HRA - Fuck the Weak Shit

HRA has been around almost 10 years now. It seems that every 5 years the Houston music scene cycles in new people. How do you think the modern scene compares to shows of yesteryear?

I grew up going to shows at the Axiom, Vatican, etc so I've seen many shows. It's different nowadays for sure but not too different as some people may think. Not every show back then was packed as some may think. I went to plenty of shows with a minimal crowd in attendance. However there were many tour packages then that you don't really get now unless it's some big fest, which I don't care for fests. There are still some great shows these days. I don't try to compare times anymore. I book very few shows myself but when I do I try to make it a great time. That's how everyone should treat each show. A time to have fucking fun.

Besides HRA having a long history, the members have an impressive lineage of past musical ventures. For those who don’t know, can you give a history lesson?

We all have played in many bands dating back to mid 80's. Robert has been in THE IDIOT SOCIETY, DARK REIGN, GOAT, HASBEEN, OATH OF CRUELTY, KRULLUR, and others I 'm sure I forgot. Ed has been in VERBAL ABUSE, HUMUNGUS, UYUS, VATOS LOCOS, plus more. Billy has been in HYPO-CHRISTIANS, CHOCOLATE CRUCIFIX. I, Francisco, have been in KAKA, HYPO-CHRISTIANS, SACRELIGIOUS TORMENT, THY FEEBLE SAVIOUR, and have filled in live for LETHAL AGGRESSION, MORBOSIDAD, OATH OF CRUELTY.

You are recently returning from a year and a half break from playing live. What caused this absence?

Back in November 2014 we decided we were going to take a break for about 6 months since we all have very busy lives and responsibilities to take care of. Well, it turned into almost a 2 year break because of that reason. I still wrote lots of songs during that time period and would get together with Ed to arrange them. We just didn't play any shows. We have slowed down quite a bit even now but still are working on getting new stuff recorded plus a few shows a year.

It is fantastic that you are keeping that speeding 80s hardcore spirit alive. Can you elaborate on your life long love for this style?

I started writing songs for HRA after I filled in on guitar for Robert's band Hasbeen back in 07. I wanted to write fast shit like HERESY, UPS, A.F., SEPTIC DEATH, S.N.O.T. and more fast 80's hardcore stuff and have Robert sing on it. I remember watching some Heresy live videos and got on my guitar and started writing. The drummer is what inspired me the most. Steve from Heresy fucking rules!! We have all always liked the old hardcore sounds since we were kids.

So far you have put out some really solid releases. Of your two LPs, which is your personal favorite? Also, do you have anything planned for the future?

I like both of our LPs honestly. It's fun playing songs from both albums live as well. We are working on releasing a 7 inch entitled VIOLENT TIMES. Faster and more intense. Most bands get slower as they get older. We are going for faster, shorter songs. FUCK THE WEAK SHIT!!

HRA has been on some great gig line-ups. Which are your most memorable?

We've played so many damn shows and have been lucky to play with some of our favorites such as Raw Power, Lethal Aggression, Social Decay, Final Conflict, Dr. Know, The Accused, DRI, Negative Approach, Wehrmacht, and many more I can't even remember right now.

Would you like to add anything?

Thanks for the interview. Our two LP's are still available from the label, Torture Garden, so go buy them if you like the fast hardcore. We don't play often anymore but if you want to see a band fucking shit up and giving 666% on stage then come out to see us.
https://www.facebook.com/HRA-138553769537193/

IDIOT CITY - Street Rock'n'Roll Throwing Haymakers

Your band is a great mix of Oi/Street rock and punk. I am reminded of all the great releases on Vulture Rock Records. Is that the sound you originally aimed for?

Richard: Well, yes and no. Yes in that, admittedly, I love that stuff. My absolute favorite music in the world is all that early Oi and street rock that still had a heavy rock n roll influence, as well as the proto-punk stuff from the 60s and 70s that fed into it. And then, of course, we tried to throw in some early American hardcore, too. I love stuff like Rollins-era Black Flag, the Adolescents, and Flipper, but wanted a more overdriven guitar tone like the Stooges, Radio Birdman, or even the tone on All Skrewed Up.

Your lyrics seem to be a combination of sarcasm and nihilism. Please explain.

Richard: Sometimes I look at the civil unrest in the US right now, and think, "I'm not really encouraged to have an opinion on this unless it falls into this really narrow spectrum of thought." So my response at that point is to kind of throw my hands in the air and take a step back. It's not the most enlightened approach, but I think it allows me to write more freely. On top of that, sarcasm and satire are great artistic tools. To me, in wanting to start a punk band, I thought repeating the same talking points over and over would be boring and accomplish nothing.

Your logo and band name work perfectly together in creating a visual of what you are about. What triggered using that band name and who created the logo?

Richard: I harbor quite a bit of ire for both the "right" and the "left", especially the more extreme versions of both. I figured poking fun at both would get under people's skin enough to make playing this music more interesting, and to be honest it's worked. Gabe came up with the name Idiot City and it fit perfectly. *NOTE from GABE; Actually, I borrowed the name from Matt and Stu (Folsom/Spirit World) love you boys!

Your first release was the Identity cassette. Please give us some insight of the tape. Is Low Hanging Fruit your own label? Also, what is the meaning behind the outrageous Abbey Road cover?

Gabe: Low Hanging Fruit is my own label, the tape was my first release. We made 50 copies on green and then made 50 more on blue, copies are available at Vinyl Edge records and Deep End Records. These songs were some of the first songs written by Idiot City and have a pretty rough feel to them. We were trying to come up with the silliest thing we could think of for the cover and Richard doing cartwheels across Abby Road took the cake. Far too often Oi and punk bands take themselves too seriously; this is just a reminder that we are supposed to be having fun with all of this.

You recently re-released those songs on a 7”. Was it self released? Once again, here is a cover art question. Can you tell the story about how you had trouble pressing this record due to the cover concept?

Caleb: The cover was originally supposed to be Donald Trump riding a cockroach and waving an idiot city flag, but I couldn't get the sitting proportions right on Trump's weird, dumpy body, so I had to make him standing... for the most part the cover reflected on him in a really negative light and I didn't feel that was fair so I added a mustache so he could look cooler. The kids love mustaches these days, so I felt it was a good compromise.

Gabe: This was the second release for low hanging froot records. The issue was not with the cover art; it was with us using a screwed and chopped trump sample. United Pressing waited 3 months to make a test pressing and then let me know that they could not press the record, would not give me the test pressings, and would not refund my money for the test pressings or the making the mothers and masters, because they interpreted our use of trumps voice as a copyright violation. The lady explained that if could obtain permission from Trump to use his voice that they would proceed. I told her I would call him that evening and I'm sure that he'd be cool with it. She replied with, "Well I doubt that, he is a very busy man." Thats when I knew I was dealing was a grade A cunt from Appalachia. I told them to send me the metal parts and flipped them over to Mortimer Weiner and Rainbo Pressing; recieved prompt service with no issues. Moral of the story is this: Fuck United Pressing first and foremost. Secondly, there are two circles within the music world that overlap in the middle (think Venn Diagram). In the left circle you have people who love music and understand that live performances are a conduit between the band and the audience for ideas and emotion. In the right circle you have suits that use phrases like, "1 standard deviation", "fluid assets", and "synergy". Most successful artists can maintain within the overlapping area of the circles. I'm proud to stay in the far left wearing a barbie mask and a wig with two fingers jammed up my ass. You feel me?

For those who don’t know, every Saturday Gabe hosts the Hardcore Hour radio show. Please give a plug of what your show is all about.

Gabe: The show is called the Rock & Soul review, Chris Conflict and I host the hardcore hour which is on from 10-11 p.m. CST. We play a wide range of punk and hardcore and throw in other stuff for fun. I've interviewed Rob Lind of Blood for Blood, John Tole of OLC and Pitboss 2000, Aaron Bedard of Bane, and others. We facebook live most episodes. It's on the HD3 channel, so you can stream live from KPFT.com or from our webpage at www.radrichrocknsoulrevue.com . The website also has archives of our past shows. GET INTO IT.

https://www.facebook.com/idiotcitytx/
https://idiotcity.bandcamp.com/

FEELS LIKE MURDER - Hardcore Punk played with a bloody knife from the 80s.

What we have is a fairly new band filled with veteran musicians. What brought everyone
together for this group? If my memory is correct, this band originally was an offshoot of the Bloody Von Erichs.
Well our drummer Jake and guitarist Dutch both came from Bloody Von Erichs. But me and Jake we're in a band Shopping for Death years back . We got together first to begin a band that also would remind me of being 17. We wanted it to be reminiscent of bad brains, DRI, and yes even some Dischord in there. Basically what we grew up on and quite frankly wasn't hearing from many bands of recent. Rounded out the sound with bassist Edwin Carson who comes from his own hardcore roots in the Phillipines with a gnarly tone and our newest edition on 2nd guitar Chris LaForge of 30footFall lore and many others.

With an aggressive band name, are your lyrics inspired by your love of horror movies?

Yes my lyrics usually do reflect my love for horror movies, but not in a direct Misfits way. I just seem to write about killing, disease and shit that intrigues me. It's what a band would be if it was fronted by Ted Bundy.

You have a really great sound. I find your music reminiscent to early Dischord releases. Your show from last Halloween really brought back my memories of being a teenager. Give us your take on the FLM sound.

Our sound originally like I said was to be an old school early 80s hardcore feel. But we really don't think about it when writing, it's just what we're most influenced by, so naturally it comes out in the music. I mean, you're not gonna hear Stryper in our stuff.

You had a really cool, raw demo being circulated. Now I cannot find it online. Is it still available?

That demo was poorly done and not meant to be out there long, just a teaser. It's not available anymore but believe me, when you hear our record we've been working on, you'll forget about that demo.

We’ve been seeing studio video reports being posted online. How’s the recording coming along?  What can we expect?

Recording for the record is going great, all the music is finished. I go in on Feb 18th to do vocals, so it won't be much longer til we have it out. You can expect the Meatmen mixed with Fugazi mixed with SNFU mixed with etc etc etc...........it'll be fun!

Last words.

Last words...."We're just getting started. "
https://www.facebook.com/Feelslike187/

SUBSTANCE - Punk that'll make you wanna sniff glue

I really like your raw, unpolished, punk rock approach. Although raw, it definitely works. Upon first seeing you live, my first thought was that of The Germs. Tell us a little bit about your background and how Substance came about.

Derek: We used to be a hip hop group called D-money And The Pawnz

Nathan: We actually came out of a way shittier punk band called Ebola Goats. I was on drums and Derek was on vocals just like Substance. Our original bass player was also in that band but he quit Substance to jerk off full time. The gig he skipped actually is when we got Alex to play bass that night and from then on he was in the band.

Ethan: I just joined the band.

Alex: I played bass in punk and metal bands throughout high school but stopped
playing for the most part when I began college. Early spring semester I decided to go check out Derek and the new punk band he was in and apparently their bassist pulled a dick move and quit before this show I went to see them at. With no other options Derek asked if I wanted to play in Substance and if I wanted to play that night despite not knowing any of the songs as well as my refusal to learn them before hand. However that became a moot point because the shitty bass that Super Happy Funland graciously allowed me to borrow (after none of the bourgeois punks from the other bands would help me out) didn't have an input jack so I just spazzed out and flailed around for our set that I actually didn’t play.

I’ve been seeing your name routinely on gig flyers. How is the live circuit treating you?

Derek: Really good. We always get a pretty good reaction even though it's 98% gimmicks. We've been playing in front of both punks and hardcore kids and get the occasional head nod or foot tap which is tight. One time I took my pants off during our set and this drunk ass dad told me to put them back on and threatened to fight me. That's probably a good representation of our shows.

Nathan: As long as we don't fuck up, pretty good.

Alex: The shows have been great, we have a tight knit punk and hardcore community as all of us know which really makes it fun. We pretty much play a show every two weeks since I’ve joined the band and we recently played in San Antonio. It's no doubt the dirtiest Derek has ever gotten at a show with a nice lil dirt and green slime combo.

So far you’ve released the 2016 Demo. As I mentioned earlier with The Germs, your debut release totally reminds me of something some the late 70s LA scene. The answer is obvious, but is that era where you draw most of your influences from? Derek: Haha not at all for most of us believe it or not. I'm probably the only one in the band who listens to stuff from that era. I dig Germs, The Screamers, Black Flag and stuff like that. I guess we have that sound because we take from band like Gag and Glue and they seem to be influenced by that NYHC sound so maybe that's it.

Nathan: Yeah I listen to mostly rap and modern hardcore bands. The only punk bands I was listening to when we wrote that were Glue and Bad Brains.

Alex: I listened to a lot of hardcore punk when I was a teenager and really got back into it once I've joined Substance but for me my biggest inspiration is bands that lose their minds on stage.

Besides the demo, do you have any new recordings planned?

Derek: We have two coming out in the future. We've got a promo/live tape coming out in a bit on Murder On Ponce which is out of Atlanta. Then we're making a 7 inch that we're probably gonna self-release and go broke doing. It's going to be way better than the demo. It's nastier and totally hateful.

Your lyrics are rebellious in nature. Can you give insight of what’s in your mind?

Derek: It's a lot of what happens around me that influences the lyrics. You see people every day getting stuck in jobs they hate or people trying to point fingers and say someone is wrong for believing something that hasn't been presented to them. A lot of people my age are just taking what’s being handed to them by social media or by their parents and I think it's utter bull shit. It may be cliche for me to write about not wanting to conform but that's how I feel daily. I don't want to be like you.

You are also a photographer and videographer. You did a great job on Supremacy’s Southpaw video. Can you tell us more about your digital media arts?

Derek: Thank you. My work so far consists mainly of documenting shows and it's really fulfilling because I love to look back on the photos and remember the whole experience of it. This year though, I'm going to continue documenting but also try and move into a more artful space. I haven't found out how exactly I want to express myself through my photography and videos but I'm going to experiment and try to capture that attitude of resisting the norm and remaining positive.

We will finish up with anything you would like to add.

We love Halston, John Baldwin, everyone in Wild Thing, Darby Crash, Manda, Josh Borsarge, Bucky, Jacob V, Kevin, Martin, Aria, Kaylin, Miri, Alex's dad's truck, and a bunch of other people. I wanna be a--baller, shot caller. Twenty inch blades--on the impala.

http://substancetx.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2016

JESSICA GARCIA - Band Photographer, Sound Engineer, Renaissance Lady...

First off, how long have you been shooting pictures? Also what initially attracted you to this art form?
I got into I got into photography by accident, it started when I would go to the shows I would always take pictures of my friend's bands. They took notice and said hey start taking pictures. What attracted me to this was music. I love music and the local scene. Growing up I had all my favorite band pictures and posters on the wall. That's were I get all my ideas.

Are you self taught or did you have any schooling?

I'm completely self-taught. Looking at other people's great work, reading books and going to the shows gives me all the ideas. I'm originally an audio engineer so I kind of took what I've learned in the studio and applied it to my photography

A great photograph tells a story, but what do you look for in an image?
What I look for in an image would be the art form and catching the moment at the shows. It's the people, the bands and the crowd is what I like capturing, you know having a great time. I love black and white photography also that's my favorite.

What kind of camera and lens do you use?

My camera that I use is an Nikon d3200 and my favorite lens are 35mm, 50mm, and Rokinon 8mm fisheye. Fisheye is what I love to shoot in.

Are their any photographers who influence you?

I don't have all the names of my favorite photographers but my favorite era of photography is the 90's. I grew up with viny records and cassettes. When I was a kid I would stare at the pictures on the album covers. All the band's photo shoots were in different places. That's where I would get all my ideas at. Also over the years my friends have been a big influence in my photography. They’re always supportive.

In looking over your online portfolio, you have a wide variety images ranging from live action to staged group shots. Who are your favorite bands to shoot?

I try to attend all the metal and hardcore shows that I can. So far my favoirte photo shoots have been with Die young, Agamemnon, K.T.C.M., Some Nerve, Supremacytx, BLUNT, Mastema, Counterblast, Will to Live and many more.

The Houston independent music scene seems to be stronger than ever as far as quality bands. Over your years of being involved, what changes, for better or worse, have your witnessed?

For the better, I like the fact that more bands are coming back, and that everyone is helping each other out. The Houston music scene has become more vibrant. As far as for the worse, I can't really say.

As for your audio engineering, how long have you been doing that? Tell us more about your studio and what bands you have worked with.

I have been a professional audio engineer for 5 years. Graduated from Houston Community college audio program in 2012. My friend and business partner and I are co-owners of 360 recording studios. We're happy to record all genres of music, we specialize in Metal and hardcore. We're passionate about our work, and music is our way of life. We have work with a lot of local Houston bands and bands from other parts of Texas. Some bands we work with are Mastema, BLUNT, Supremacytx, Mirror the Humans, CALACAS, Aguila Black, Piss Poor and many more.

Thanks for your time. Are there any final comments you would like to add?
I love Houston and I hope the scene keeps growing. Thank you so much for the opportunity on this interview.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/garciaj108112/

http://www.360recordingstudio.com/
https://www.facebook.com/360RecordingStudio/

WIRED UP - Vinyl Records, CDs and Books are Dead? Wrong!

Wired Up is new boutique in Houston specializing in music, books and novelties. It is the brainchild of three knowledgeable, enthusiastic veterans of the music scene. With that being said, please tell how this venture all came together?
Ryan- the beautiful thing about this partnership is Wired Up, in some way, shape or form, has been a dream for all of us in different ways. So we had signed the lease on cutthroat eastside, and were in the build out phase when the wired up space became available. I initially thought it was possibly too small but perfect for a new/first venture. I always had a dream of owning a record/culture store that was sort of a hub/hangout for other fellow weirdos but I had 0 experience with this kind of business other than being a consumer. Every time I ran into Bucky around town he was talking about opening his own shop but never had a location down. He was the first person I thought about hitting up. All the while I had been hanging out with Toby and him and I would sort of bullshit about eventually doing our own shop. I just never knew how serious he was. After Bucky was on board I hit up Toby and he was 100% down.

What’s your take on the so called digital takeover of traditional music and book pressing? 

Ryan- I think we're in this sort of beautiful period where people are finally realizing a fucking download or words on a nook isn’t going to cut it. People are wanting the physical packaging, the full experience again and don’t want to cheat themselves of this anymore. It’s definitely still not for everyone, but there is undeniably a movement of people who appreciate the experience of the needle hitting the record and sitting on the floor looking at the liner notes and packaging. The same with books, people like us want to hold it, smell the pages, actually flip through it, bend it, check out the art works, etc...

I know you recently opened and are growing, but already you have a great selection of vinyl. What do you currently stock and what do you plan to add?

Ryan- Shit that the 3 of us like. All 3 of us have had a hand in ordering to make sure we have a diverse enough selection that best represent us. We definitely plan on expanding; we're in the stage where all our money is going back into ordering.

Houston has a great independent music scene and some great record stores such as long standing entities Sound Exchange and Vinal Edge. However, I feel the time is ripe for a new record store bringing in fresh ideas. It will bring even more credibility to Houston. Your thoughts?

Ryan- On average, there are 300 people moving to the Houston area a day. This is allowing places like Wired Up and Deep End to not only open in the same city as Vinal Edge, Sound Exchange, Heights Vinyl, etc... but to be able to thrive, which we all have the opportunity to

Keeping with the tradition of the late Domy Books, you stock a plethora of unusual books covering many subjects. What can a customer expect when looking through your printed matter section?
Ryan- titties

Also I cannot forget all the independent and B-film Blue-Rays and DVDs you have. What criteria do you look for in whether or not to carry a film? Also give some personal details of some of your favorite films.
Ryan- I love our selection so far. People can expect a lot (titties) but the one thing that we'll always sort of build and stock up on are music/sub/art culture documentaries and b-movie/horror classics with some gore in there as well.

Besides the store, a coffee shop will soon reside in the front area, which will create a great atmosphere for coffee, music and art. When will that be complete?
Ryan- January 2016 all 3 businesses will be running. Until then we will actually be serving complimentary Greenway Coffee in Wired Up

Is there anything you would like to add?

Ryan- We plan on throwing a lot more events in our community. Follow @houstononthemap and @wireduprecordsandbooks for more info.
https://www.facebook.com/WIRED-UP-modern-conveniences-641813199289667/?fref=ts
https://www.instagram.com/wireduprecordsandbooks/