Sunday, November 26, 2006

In remembrance of the Ristorante Retina

The post from the other day made me think about the show Total Fury played at our house on Joyce Kilmer Street in New Brunswick, where we (the Bad Form) lived, rehearsed, and threw some parties. Lo and behold, by some cool coincidence I found this video on youtube of the Oath's set from the same show.



A few minutes after this was shot, the mattress that blocked the back down was throw into the middle of the floor and people dove onto it 3 at a time from a radiator

The video is not the clearest quality, and the sound definitely sucks, but you get the idea of some of the usual hi-jinx that went on at the shows there. There was always food a-plenty, drinks flowing freely, and zombie movies playing in the living room...
Other incidents I remember: Catharsis being hi-jacked at the end of their set which turned into a big drum-circle, Charm City Suicides playing well after midnight to a crowd of 7 which ended in holes in the sheetrock and blood on the walls, firecrackers going off during the 9 Shocks Terror and Amdi Petersens Arme shows...

If anyone has any other pictures, videos, flyers, or stories from the shows at this place, get in touch!

Friday, November 24, 2006

INTERVIEW: Total Fury



I can't remember when or how it was (an MRR review perhaps?), but some way or other I discovered this label from Japan called Dan Doh Records. Back then, I was co-running a label called Special Forces Records and I made sure to trade some records with Dan-Doh to get their stuff, which I would often bring to shows in NJ to sell. This must have been late '97 or early '98, and the youth crew thing was still the prevalent taste. It's amazing how many records I was able to sell by nameless bands that bit the youth crew sound, and how many blank looks I got when I tried to give the Dan-Doh stuff the hard sell. Because, really, ALL of that shit was so good. There was hardly a bad release in their whole catalog, which was mostly a slew of excellently done, and somehow elegant-looking 7"s. For the most part, the folks that bought some of the crazier foreign stuff I got were my friends (Jesse from No Contest often helped me out by unloading some good records off me) and strangely enough, kids from Mass. who came down for shows. In this case history was on my side, because the Dan-Doh stuff is on plenty of people's want lists nowadays.

One of those bands was Total Fury, whose Spring Thrash 7" is damn great. (One Size Fits All were another favorite off the Dan-Doh roster, but was never able to get in touch with those cats.) When Mad at the World became a zine and I made sure to get some folks in there that was real curious about myself, I sent some questions for an interview to Total Fury which they graciously returned with some additional treats. This interview, done sometime in 1999, I suppose, was to appear in Mad at the World #3 which never came out. I've toyed with the idea of releasing it now and re-collecting all the work for it, if only so I could use the awesome cover art Gary Gilmore from Wrongway Flyers drew for it, but more on that some other time.

I had the chance to meet these guys a few years later. Mark McCoy took a liking to these guys, and they put out a record on Youth Attack Records (and maybe Gloom Records as well??). On a US tour they did with the Oath, they played at my house (anyone remember the Ristorante Restina (aka 153 Joyke Kilmer-- anyone remember the place?). Their english was very limited (it's amazing they were able to do this interview!) and my japanese is non-existent, so we didn't chat much, but they were super friendly guys. Their enthusiasm was totally refreshing, especially since I was getting pretty burnt on hardcore at the time. They were constantly smiling and seemed to be having the greatest time playing.

TOTAL FURY PICTURES STOLEN FROM THE HAVOC RECORDS WEBSITE. Taken by Laura Pleasants and Jason Penner at Thrash Fest 3. My scanner was acting up and I didn't have the patience to figure it out so I tracked these down....

MATW: How long has Total Fury been together? What is the band history? How hard is it for a band to get shows in your city in Japan? Does Total Fury have much contact with bands in other cities in Japan?

Kenji: Total Fury was formed in the summer of 1994. Members have changed since then. As of now, we have one EP, one split EP, and 4 compilation CDs out. Our shows are almost all held in Sendai, but we also travel to Tokyo, Yokohama, Urawa, Kyoto, Sapporo, Nigata, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Kochi.

MATW: When I heard your "Spring Thrash" EP, it reminded me a lot of early 7 Seconds, as well as early Dischord Records bands. Even your lyrics remind me a bit of these bands. Is this intentional? Why do you choose these bands as your influences?

Kenji: I found out about punk music when I was 12 years old. I listened to so many bands, but the bands that inspired me most were 7 Seconds and the DC bands. We are very thankful to hear that our style is like theirs. I would have liked to see the Teen Idles at least once.

MATW: The titles of your 7" is "Spring Thrash." What does "Spring Thrash" mean? Do the flowers on the front of your 7" represent anything? Or were they just a cool design?

Kenji: "Spring" and "thrash" represent the band Total Fury perfectly. I drew flowers on the front of the EP because people grow just as plants do, and flowers on the front of the EP show my feelings fittingly. Punk music is a means of self expression and tell of human frailty.

MATW: Do you have any songs that are in Japanese, or are all the lyrics in English? Why?

Kenji: We're like all the people in the world to be able to listen to (and understand) Total Fury's music even though we are Japanese. Also, it would be expensive for people to buy a Japanese dictionary.

MATW: Does Total Fury play many shows? What are Total Fury's shows like? What do you and other kids do after shows? In many scenes, punks hang out together, not only at shows, but also when there are no shows. Does this happen in your scene? Are there any problems between police and punks?

Kenji: When we are having live shows, some people just sit back and watch, some do the slam dance, and some dive into the stage, but we always try to make for a good and friendly live show. We don't have any problems with the police at the moment. On our days off, we go snowboarding, drink, and chat, but we don't do drugs. Drugs have nothing to do with us.

MATW: How did you first get into punk and hardcore? In Japan, the culture is very different from over here in the USA, so I am curious to know how Japanese kids get into hardcore punk and how it is different from over here in America. How does Japanese society view punks.

Kenji: The first punk music I heard was the band Laughin Nose. I began to read magazines of punk from Japan, and also the whole world, too. I'm turning 27, but when I was in high school, I played Laughin Nose and Blue Hearts at our school festival. Now the boom in Japan is Green Day, the Offspring, Rancid, etc. I call this the second wave.

MATW: In America, with certain bands, punk and hardcore is quite popular. In some cases, in some high schools for example, punk and hardcore is so popular that the "popular kids" are into hardcore, not just the rejects and the outcasts. Is this the case where you are from?

Kenji: We have hardcore fashion book as you have in America. Punk/ hardcore is becoming popular among the young ones in Japan, but let me tell you something. These young kids like punk and they go crazy when Hi-Standard is playing the clubs, but they don't come to our live shows. Punk and hardcore is a boom in Japan, but we won't let it be just a fad. We'll positively lead many people into it.

MATW: What is Total Fury doing in the future? Any plans or new records coming out?

Kenji: Total Fury is going to be on another two compilation CDs this year. We'll also make our second EP on Dan-Doh Records. We want to play live shows where we haven't played yet, and we wish to have a live how in American one day.

The interview reads a bit like a questionnaire, but I didn't really know anything about them when I wrote them and was genuinely curious. It might come across in my questions, but at the time I was particularly interested in how punk and hardcore scenes were able to establish themselves in so many different cultures around the globe. Even when folks didn't give such a detailed answer, I found the input revealing...

Friday, November 17, 2006

REVIEW: Koro- Speed Kills LP



Koro- Speed Kills LP
Sorry State Records

This is a hardcore afficionado’s dream. Early 80’s band releases amazing 7” that becomes renowned because of it’s obscurity… 20+ years later, the guitar player (?) surfaces on the internet and a pristine, LP’s worth of unreleased material surfaces. The 700 Club 7” by Koro is one of those records that will catch the big bucks nowadays, and was given the reissue treatment by the Reagen Era Hardcore bootleg series. Some criticized the bootleg, which included artwork that didn’t seem to come from any place relevant to the record at all, but I probably wouldn’t have heard it until now were it not for that record.
Daniel from Sorry State Records and Deep Fry Bonanza blog did a legit re-issue of the 700 Club 7” and this new disc, which seems to be 11 songs a different session (including a few of the 7” tracks). He was the right man for the job—I think the first time I came across his blog he was championing the likes of Koro, and he put together a fine reissue, including extensive liner notes where he interviews Carl Snow. The music, if it even needs to be said, are great hardcore. These guys were a very tight band (interesting explanation on the subject in the liner notes) that can keep it up even through some off-time beats and some weird guitar-work… all of which work in their favor since they rival Jerry’s Kids in the way they manage to stay dead-on, even when the songs sound like some “let’s see who can get there first” 80’s thrash. Thanks, in part to the RE bootleg, and in even larger part to the folks like Daniel who made sure to keep Koro in the back of people minds the past few years, enough people are buzzing about this to catch your attention. In this case, the hype is to be believed, since this is a special release.

REVIEW: Formaldehyde Junkies- Are a Total Wreck 7"



Formaldehyde Junkies- Are a Total Wreck 7”
Firestarter Records

This one really took me by surprise. I realize I’m a little bit late on a lot of the good hardcore bands of the past few years. These guys already have a previous EP under their belts on Fashionable Idiots, which I have to get my hands on. But this here EP, which I got by way of Firestarter, is an absolute gem. It’s absolutely timless hardcore punk. If I had to pin a particular “sound” down to it, I would say early DC hardcore, simply because it’s so damn tight and has such a great production. The guitar sound is very clean, but blown out, and dominates the recording. Far from being annoying, it adds to the record because you can actually hear the downstroke on the guitar. The rhythm section locks right into it, and so while the guitar will go off into a noodling lead for a bar, they start the next thrashy verse at the drop of a dime. Hearing this gives me a feeling similar to when I heard Out Cold for the first time over 10 years ago. Like I said, this is their second 7”, which is already into its third press. If they can keep this up over the course of an LP, it would vie for classic status.

Formaldehyde Junkies on myspace

Saturday, November 11, 2006

REVIEW: New Faith demo



In spite of what some people might tell ya about the 90's, the very middle of the 1990's was a exciting for me when it came to NYHC (NJ was, by and large, a different story, at least for another year or so). A lot of the bands that came up in the Bond Street Cafe days seemed to be getting it together more, Striving For Togetherness Records started putting out a bunch of 7"s (as far as I'm concerned, NYHC 's perfect format is the 7", and totally apart from the endless debate about vinyl becoming "obsolete", I still think any resurgence of NYHC HAS to include a resurgence of the NYHC 7"--- no fucking joke!), a lot of the older bands seemed actively interested in staying fully functional, and even some of the north jersey hardcore bands were pretty good (I'm thinking here of early One 4 One and the like). Unfortunately, I guess I typically route for the underdog and the bands I was most partial to weren't the ones that made it to the top of the hardcore scene...).

But at that time if you would have asked me who I thought the two best, new NYHC bands were, I would have told you the Down Low and New Faith. Both had a fast, heavy NYHC sound that took a lot of cues from the past, kept it raw and short. They had a bit of a metal crunch (which is typical of NYHC), but live, by and large they kept the metal to a minimum. The bands were related, but faced different fates. The Down Low kept it going on and off for a number of years (Guillotine did a nice split with the Down Low and Against the Grain, and Tommy Rat reissued their great demo on his Free Spirit Records some years later). New Faith was basically the same band, from what I remember, albeit with Rat Bones replacing Joey Down Low on vocals. Both bands played some slamming sets back to back at that big NYHC "benefit show" early September '95 at Coney Island High the same day as the infamous Beer Olympics riots.



New Faith put out a very promising demo, with Rat Bones credited in the liner notes, although the vocal duties were actually shared by Joe V and the bass player, since Rat Bones was locked up on Rykers Island (the prison off the shore of the Bronx for you non-New Yorkers) when they recorded the demo. It got a great review in the pages of In Effect after it was released, but they were virtually unheard from afterwards. It was only a few years later when I interviewed Joe V and Joey Down Low in Tompkin's Square Park (the night before Joey had to go in to serve his own stint at Ryker's for some indiscretion or other) that I got the scoop on what happened with New Faith. That was a trip in itself-- a lot of shit happening in the park that night. I'll try to post it up sometime. Seems that the band had actually been in existence in one form or another since 1988, and after the demo, they continued without Rat Bones and went on to record an LP in 1998 at Joe's own home studio, Bullet Broof Studios. That is, until some untrustworthy buddy took off with the studio's equipment and the New Faith tapes, leaving only some rough mixes behind.

Recently Joe V moved to LA and is carrying on New Faith and made the ill-fated, unreleased LP available as a demo version, which is what we've got here, and it's a shame they never got to finish it. It's a much fuller recording, with loud, blown out guitars a la Rest in Pieces, but with some faster, two-step punk riffs like early Cause For Alarm. As far as I'm concerned, songs like "Urge," "Real Trick," "American Trash," and "Visualize" which are re-recorded from the demo, are some great NYHC. Some of the tracks I wasn't familiar with like "Wuz" and "One Way Street" are pretty decent as well. All in all, these sessions sound like they were pretty close to completion and could definitely stand alone as a really good demo. It's definitely got a better sound quality than the original demo, even though the raw sound of that tape had its charm. The vocals typically come off real gruff in a style a bit like Kevin Crowley of the Abused, but in a couple places it's just a bit too gutteral-- the opportunity to fix some of those spots would have rounded out the songs nicely. If they would have had the chance to work on this some more, fixed up some of the tracking here and there, mixed it properly, and mastered it so that the drums and bass would have come out in the recording a bit, they might have indeed come up with a truly great NYHC record.



The good news is that they're continuing in LA, so perhaps Joe V will have the opportunity get the New Faith stuff a proper release. Hopefully they'll stay close to the sound they took off with and today's recording technology won't overproduce these tracks 'cause it would be some good vindication if New Faith is rescued from obscurity.

New Faith on myspace

Monday, November 06, 2006

REVIEW: Crumbsuckers- Life of Dreams reissue


I was anxiously awaiting this one to show up in the mailbox. For sure, NYHC has an international rep as having had a very metal-tinged hardcore sound that for better or for worse it'll never live down, and mid 80's crossover bands like the Crumbsuckers are responsible for that. For the most part, the more metal a hardcore band injects into their sound, the less I tend to like them, but the Crumbsuckers (and, I gotta mention as well, Leeway!) kick it just right. John Franco's Dead City Records recently reissued the classic "Life of Dreams" that was originally released on Combat Core--the same label that brought you Ludichrist and Agnostic Front records in that era.

The Crumbsuckers, like the aforementioned Ludichrist, hailed from Long Island in the early 80's, with a big Nihilistics influence. (The Nihilistics must have been an imposing bunch of mean motherfuckers in the early 80's so I can't imagine other Long Island bands of that era not being influenced by them.) As the 80's progressed, Ludichrist got more and more metal, and this record captures them right between the early thrashy hardcore days and the almost solely metal days of the follow up record "Beast on My Back" which I won't vouch for, but between the 2 LPs they wound up influencing a lot of heavy hitters. Sure, some of the leads and guitar effects sound a bit dated in an 80's thrash-metal kind of way, but they manage to wrap up their songs in a taut hardcore exterior complete with some great breakdowns and mid paced skank parts.



This is a record that really deserves to be in print, and Dead City did a great job with this release, going through pains to do justice to the amazing Sean Taggert artwork. It would be cool to get to hear the pre-Life of Dreams demos. (Hint, hint, John!) Look out for the upcoming Norman Bates and the Showerheads reissue on Dead City as well.

http://www.deadcityny.com/
buy it here

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

New stuff on Mad at the World: MISGUIDED CD & URBAN WASTE REPRESS



We've got a couple new ones coming out on Mad at the World Records. First up, another NYHC reissue; this time from NY Thrash era band the Misguided. Almost 2 years in the making, this sucker is done; we're taking pre-orders for it now! It includes unreleased demos, live tracks from Max's and CB's, some tracks from the unreleased DC session with Brian Baker, and remastered versions of the both 7"s. Pre-order now from our webstore, it'll ship in two weeks (November 14th). If you've never heard the Misguided before, check out a sample we threw up on Mad at the World's myspace page.



Also, the Urban Waste 12" has been out of print for a while, but we're finally in the middle of getting it re-pressed right now, in a limited pressing of 500 on red vinyl. The covers have been re-done as well. (Folks outside North America, please note, there's a minimum order of $35 when ordering 12" vinyl, since that shit is so expensive to ship.

Next up will be the brand new Arsons record "Too True to Be Good", and some new Battletorn record in the new year.

Interview: Billy Philips of URBAN WASTE & MAJOR CONFLICT



Major Conflict on stage at CBGB. Photo by Vinny Lotito

It's a damn shame Urban Waste never got to release anything beyond that sole 7"; it's unfortunate that for so many people, those 8 songs are the only things they know; and it's a downright crime that a lot of folks don't know that Billy Philips was the original singer for Urban Waste. I'm not gonna front-- I had to be schooled on this fact by Wendy Eager of Guillotine zine fame, but do a little research and you'll find out how vital a member of the early NYHC scene this character was-- first in Urban Waste, then in Major Conflict, before disappearing from the NY scene. We planned the Major Conflict reissue with Dito, andI wound up getting in touch with Billy after that came out. He lives in Florida now and has a family, but he kindly agreed to do this interview after he found out how much people are still interesting in his bands and the history he helped create. I still get emails from people asking about Urban Waste and Major Conflict, and while I've found out a lot about their history, I'm not able to give any first hand accounts. Hopefully this interview can start shedding some light on the elusive history of those bands.


We all know how rare Urban Waste interviews are, even though they've played two reunion shows and Johnny Waste communicates with fans of the band via the internet from time to time. About a year prior to the one-off reunion at CBGB's, Matt Smyth did an interview with Johnny Waste that later appeared on Barebones Hardcore which you can think of as a companion piece to this one.

MATW: You were one of the original group of kids that came out of Queens to start what was pretty much a renaissance of hardcore punk with groups like Urban Waste, Major Conflict, Kraut, Murphy's Law, Armed Citizens, Gilligan's Revenge, the Mob, etc etc. Please explain how you found out about hardcore punk and how you got involved in the scene.

Billy: You forgot Reagan Youth! We owe Doug from Kraut a lot of thanks for his Queens Hardcore involvement. He was my life long neighbor and took me to his rehearsals and then to my first show at A-7 Club. I was probably 14 or so. He also helped write Urban Waste's first song “Airborn Ranger.” I started going to A7 and Max's Kansas City with Doug and Jimmy G. I would miss school to hang out downtown and go to the Rat Cage to hang with HR from the Bad Brains. I’d seen Harley in his first band when he played drums and still have old pictures of him playing drums. He was 13 years old. There weren't too many people involved in hardcore back then.

MATW: How did you get hooked up with Urban Waste? The lore has it that early Urban Waste and Major Conflict practices occurred in Johnny Waste's bedroom in the Ravenswood projects. How did that go down? What was it like?


Billy and Johnny Waste in Urban Waste at A7

Billy: Me and John [Dancy, Urban Waste drummer] were in the same class and he invited me over to Johnny's house. We started playing songs; John was bangin on just a snare drum and a cymbal and Johnny had a cheap guitar. I screamed out of my old JVC radio with the microphone hooked up to it! Johnny got his first amp from my school teacher. He took me and John over to his house to pick it up.and dropped it off for us. He was cool. We drove the ghetto crazy!! They hated us at first and even smashed the window a few times. Once with a tree trunk! We continued to play and even louder! Eventually the Hated Ones (a Queens Gang) started to hang out with us. Johnny’s home became the meeting ground for everyone who wanted to hang out... Johnny was a good guy and a friend to everyone. John had a gift for drumming and was the best that I ever heard. When he played with his first drum-set, it was like he played them his whole life!! He had a gift and no one could replace him. Ya know, one thing that the kids need to know is that Major Conflict was Urban Waste in my eyes. It was like an allstar band; you combine the two and you have Major Waste!

MATW: How did Major Conflict come about, and how did Johnny Waste and John Dancy wind up getting involved with Major Conflict as well?

Billy: I started Major Conflict with Dito. Me and Dito first practiced in his bedroom.Ray was our first drummer. I can’t remember what happened to him, but he was a great guy and always funny to be around. [Ray Parada went on to play in Abombanation in the mid to late 80’s. –DS] Later John and Johnny wanted to join the band. They just loved to play. It was just meant to be. I first met Dito at an Urban Waste concert in the Ravenswood projects in Queens. Jonhnny had his mom get us the projects meeting hall. They had no idea what they were in store for! I started singing “SKANK,” skanked my way into the crowd and bumped into Dito. He made a fist! I said, “Shit, man, your alright!” After the show I went up to him and asked if he and his friend wanted to go downtown with us. After that we started to hang. I went over to Dito’s house and he had a Gibson. I asked if he could play that guitar, he replied, “somewhat.” I said, “Hey I'll be over tomorrow and well see what we can put together.” We decided to do tha band and got some words and music together. I then asked him if he wanted to be in my new band. Major Conflict formed after that. We tried different drummers but no one was like John. We all hung out together already and we just realized that Dito was the missing link.


Major Conflict in the studio. Phot by Karen O'Sullivan

MATW: What were some of the other bands or people that you ran with back then? Are there any particular bands from that time you'd want to make sure people now knew about?

Billy: The people I ran with? We were too many to mention! Bands like Kraut Murpys Law, Bad Brains, Reagan Youth. Jimmy G, Harley, HR, Doug [Holland of Kraut], Roger, Vinny [of AF], Baramore, Greg, Kenny, Oscar, Hugene, John x 4, Tim, Ray, Nick, Louie, Harry, Tim James, Guzi from Armed Citizens, and lets not forget Dito. When the boys from Queens went out to a show we filled a whole train car or two! In my eyes, Astoria was responsible for keeping hardcore going. Back in the days it was falling apart. I hear that I had an influence on Dito getting his start in art. [Dito mentions it in an interview here.--DS] He’s great! I also hear that Roger got started in Hardcore because of Urban Waste! I remember Roger hanging out on stage and screaming in the mic. Jimmy G must have been at every concert. I dedicated a song to Roger as you can hear on the [Major Conflict reissue] CD. You can also hear Jimmy letting everyone know about an upcoming Major Conflict and Murphys Law concert. Greg Ramone also had an early impact on everyone’s involvement from Queens. He had 1,000 records-- no shit!! He followed the Ramones and was cool as shit. Trust me he can tell you some stories, and he’s writing a book too. Greg loved punk and listrened to it from the 1st Ramones record on.

MATW: You left New York in 1983; what were the circumstances under which you left town? Any regrets you weren’t able to keep up with Major Conflict?

Billy: My Dad passed away and things were prenty hard around the home. Dito offerred me to stay with him, but I just needed to get away so I moved to Florida. Hearing about it now, I guess I had an influence on a lot of people back then. I even recently got calls from old friends telling me thank you for getting them into Hardcore. Only, back then, I didn't have an influence in my own life. I never did tell friends how bad I was having it in Florida, being so far from family and friends. The one true friend is Dito. He was the only one that kept in touch with me in 20 years. If he didn't hear from me he made it a point to find me. He’d call my sister Dawn in New York and locate my ass! When my dad died he was the first one that I called and he came right over. When I left for Florida he came over and made sure he said goodbye. He even helped carry my luggage and I remember him putting it in the cab. We both were saying goodbye forever!! I remember telling him then, “If they were only more dedicated, man…” To have a band you have to be loyal, dedicated, and honest. If you break any of these codes you’re finished; me and Dito were both. Missed practices and constantly starting late, sometimes by hours, made me give up with the bands.

MATW: Did you keep up with music after you left? What did you get involved in after moving out of NY?

Billy: I worked hard back then and devoted a lot of time to hardcore. I’ve always been hardheaded and had a bad attitude. I spent most of my time trying to be different, staying away from most people unless they were into what I was into, or did what I did. When I got to high school, they put me in a special conduct class. My homeroom was the library with 4 other kids. My homeroom teacher was the guidance counsellor. We used to have to pick books to read, and I always picked the same books about dogs. She asked “Why do you keep getting on the same subject?” and I answered, “Because they’re not people and I trust them, and one day I will have the rarest and noblest dogs.” That’s my second love besides music and I started working with dogs after I left New York.



Major Conflict: photo by Karen S'Sullivan

MATW: What were some of your favorite places to play in Urban Waste and Major Conflict? Are there any particular shows that stick in your memory?

Billy: My favorite show had to be the show at the Ravenswood Projects with Urban Waste because all of the rap lovers were pissed off!! We gave them something they’d never forget. The Rock Hotel show (where Major Conflict played with the UK Subs) was my second favorite. The people were going nuts to us, jumping off of the baconies and rushing the stage. I was leaping into the crowd and the boys from the neighborhood started a fire. Can't remember how. Damn we were nuts!! I remember me and John had an early joke song we wrote called “Show Me Your Tits.” I felt that the girls would pull their shirts up hearing us scream “Show me your tits!” We played it once at CB's and instead, a girl threw birth control pills all over stage. Some of the crowd starting taking them they didn't know what they were until the women screamed, “They’re just fucking birth control, man!” and everyone started laughing. I can't believe I almost forgot about that. At that show I was so trashed, I whispered in Dito's ear, “Yo Dito, I need help; I can't remember the words to Time is Now” and he laughed. I also remember playing at A7 with Urban Waste and someone tossed a drink at me. I stopped the music and demanded to know who it was. Someone pointed the guy out and I jumped off the stage at him. I jumped off of Nick’s amp into the crowd and landed on a bar table that normally weren't there. I thought that busted my ribs!

MATW: Some of the recent summaries of early American hardcore (like the recent American Hardcore book and documentary) are rather dismissive about New York's contribution to the hardcore scene. What's your take on the early 80's NYHC scene? Any ideas why some of these people might not want to give the NYHC scene more credit?

Billy: Everyone is jealous of NEW YORK. They’ve got to take “the apple” out to be on top! Look at what happened with 9/11! Hardcore is no different, nor is anything else. New York is the apple of the world and some think that in order to be on top they have to eat the Apple!! What about someone like Harley [Flanagan]? He gave his damn life to punk and hardcore. If anyone deserves stardom it’s him! But you’ve got to remember what motivates people; “M&M’S”—like the candy! They only care about Me, Money and Sex and wll go to extremes to cut competition out. Let me put it this way; New York is their DADDY and Queens is the heart of the Apple!