NEWS | The Traditionals in Youngstown, OH on March 12th, 2011!

GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! I recently started working on a little side project since leaving DCD. I am now, in my free time, a novice live show promoter. My first event will be in Youngstown, OH at University Pizzeria, a.k.a. The U-Pie, on March 12, 2011. The lineup is The Traditionals (Pittsburgh), Mala Sangre (Erie), and Tighten Up! Pittsburgh's deejay Jeffrey The Boss, who will be spinning the best in ska, rocksteady, reggae, punk, and Oi! between sets and after the show.

Divine Tragedy

Attempted interview with Krist of the band Divine Tragedy, originally conducted via MySpace for Artless Nonculture Webzine, August, 2009.

One sunny summer's day, I posted a bulletin online asking our very nice readers who they think I should interview. One suggestion was provided by Brokencyde enthusiast Edilberto in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Well, Berto, I took your advice, and got in touch with Krist, singer for Pittsburgh's Divine Tragedy. I says to him, I says, "Would you wanna do an interview with an online punk fanzine?"

"Sure, sounds cool."

Good, I thought to myself, now's my chance to make my readers proud!! I cleared my throat. "Ahem. Uh, this guy Edilberto suggested it. I gotta admit, I never heard of you until today. You've been around since '99?"

Alex W. Kellar (Basement Boys, Mad Minds, Boss)

Conducted via Facebook, over the course of 2½ days, while Alex was on the west coast with one of his many punk rock bands, August 4 - August 6, 2010.

How many bands are you in, anyway!?

There are 3 legitimately active bands right now: Mad Minds (bass), Boss (bass) and Basement Boys (vocals), so two hardcore bands and a punk band. I also play bass and sing in a black metal band called Dagmar which I'm 98.76% sure is broken up. I'm in the practice phase of another band playing bass, and that's all I can say about that. Oh yeah, there's also the acoustic Basement Boys side project (Basement Boi) where I play Basement Boys songs, 80s anime soundtrack songs and of course the LUMBERJAKK cover. I look like an asshole and people laugh, so I have fun.

Fullmoon Renegades

Interview with vocalist/guitarist Elliot Rosen. Conducted via Facebook, August 2, 2010.

Me: What's up man?

Elliot: Not much, workin'.

Ah.

How's it goin?

Not bad. You have an office job or something?

I wish. I work at a restaurant, I'm sitting on my friend's laptop while there is downtime.

Oh okay. Don't suppose you'd have time for an interview?

The Dumpster Babies

Originally conducted via MySpace for Artless Nonculture Webzine, November, 2009.

For the record, please state who you are, and what you do in what band.

Dirty Dan, and I play bass in the Dumpster Babies.


Who else is in the band?

Jason Setliff (lead vocals), Dan Frey (drums), and Carlos Mendez (guitar).

Hostile Omish

Interview with drummer Skwid. Originally conducted via MySpace for Artless Nonculture Webzine, August, 2009.

Who am I talking to exactly?

I'm Skwid - drummer for Hostile Omish.

How long have you guys been a band?

We started out as a "family thing" - Me, my 2 brothers, and a cousin - back in 1986.

Who else is in the band?

There's me (Skwid) on drums, Filth on guitar and vocals, Davey-Do-Right-Don't-Do-Me-Dirty on the bass, and Aimlet on guitar... Oh yeah - and Buggylump & Malachi on churns!

Jeff Magnum

Originally conducted via email for Artless Nonculture Webzine, June, 2009.

Let's take a little trip back in time here... Frankenstein forms in Cleveland in 1975, from members of Rocket From The Tombs (Cheetah Chrome and Johnny Blitz), Stiv Bators from Youngstown/Girard, Jimmy Zero, and this guy Jeff Magnum on bass. The band is kinda short-lived, then everyone (except Jeff) moves to NYC, changes the band's name to The Dead Boys, and plays gigs without a bass player for a while, until they convince Mr. Magnum to relocate from Cleveland to New York. This was around 1977.


1) Were you a fan of RFTT before you joined up with those guys? How did you meet?

Hub City Stompers

Interview with vocalist Reverend T. Sinister. Originally conducted via email for Artless Nonculture Webzine, May, 2009.

Image by Otto Yamamoto via Flickr

This is a Penn-Ohio punk zine, so most readers will be wondering what the hell I'm doing interviewing "the guy from Hub City Stompers", since you guys hail from New Brunswick, NJ. Let's clarify: Rev, where are you originally from?

My birthplace, and where I spent the first 6 years of my life, is the glorious steel city of Pittsburgh, PA. Aside from clarifying my relevance to this zine, it also explains why I walk around Jersey in Steelers gear.

Horriblefest, er, Romantic Getaway 2009

Interview with Erin of the Hot Trash radio show and Romantic Getaway 2009 (formerly Horriblefest) at Now That's Class! Interview originally conducted via AIM for Artless Nonculture Webzine, April, 2009.

EHT: I can't believe I'm talking on AIM, it's been like ten years.

(A few minutes go by)

Saaaaaaaaaam?

ANC: I'm here, sorry 'bout that.

Hey.

It didn't play a sound or anything for me...

Maybe I broke it 'cause I forgot what I'm doing.

(Laughs) So should we get right to the interrogation?

Summer Of Hate 2009

Interview with Steve Assault of the bands Crowd Deterrent, The Struggle, and Race Riot, and organizer of Summer of Hate, an annual hardcore festival in Cleveland, Ohio. Conducted originally via AIM for Artless Nonculture Webzine, April, 2009.

ANC: I know you're pressed for time, so we'll try to make this quick. How long do we got before Summer Of Hate '09?

SA: The show is Saturday, July 11th... it is about 2 and 1/2 months away from this date.

How many years in the running has SOH been going?

Hollywood Blondes

Originally conducted via MySpace for Artless Nonculture Webzine, March, 2009.

I recently sent a series of questions to Mr. Stiv Reynolds, singer and guitarist of Youngstown, Ohio pop punk trio Hollywood Blondes. Here's what he had to say...


Obligatory:

ANC: For the record, please state your name and purpose.

Stiv Reynolds. Doing whatever the fuck I want.


Give a brief or not-so-brief history of the band, if you would be so kind.

Bagger used to play in Johnie 3. I wanted to start a band. He brought Billy into the mix. Here we are.

Turbo Lovers

Conducted originally via AIM for Artless Nonculture Webzine, September, 2008.

Interview with BJ Lisko of TURBO LOVERS

by Sam Sinister (well, okay, mostly by BJ Lisko...)

SS: So, where do we start?

BJL: Whereever you want man.

Alright, sir. So, I hear tell of a new album in the works. Wanna tell us a little about that?

The new record is called Outstanding, keeping in line with the title of the previous record, Cock of the Walk. If you notice, there's a theme going on here with Turbo Lovers - "I Am The Swagger", "I Want It All", "Rock 'n' Roll Son of a Bitch", "On My Way" - It's all about that swagger and all about having that ego, plain and simple. Some call it cocky, I would call it cocky even, but you have to be that way when it comes to rock 'n' roll anymore. We're not pompous about it, we're approachable and as nice and talkative as anyone, but I do feel that we put on one of the best live shows in the area. I didn't tattoo "I Am The Swagger" on my arm for nothing. It's a mindset, whether we're playing for a ton of people or just a handful, we are committed to putting on the best show possible. No one wants to see a group of nervous guys standing entirely still fumbling through a set list all awkwardly. We are the furthest thing from that on the planet, and basically that little bit of ego is us telling you that ahead of time.

Spike Slawson

Originally conducted via email for Artless Nonculture Webzine, circa 2008.

I recently had the chance to exchange correspondence with a very cool and gracious Spike Slawson (Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Swingin' Utters, Re-Volts, Filthy Thieving Bastards). If you're unfamiliar with any of these name-drops, you've been living under a very nailed-down rock for a very, very long time. Spike's a yinzer, believe it or not, so if you're thinking, Hey! I thought Artless Nonculture was strictly Cleveland to Pittsburgh area bands(?!), fear not. We ain't sellin' out just yet.


What was it like growing up in the Pittsburgh area?

My parents moved me there in the early '70s, so you can probably imagine what it was like (I guess they didn't notice all of the people headed in the other direction). I got beat up a lot.

Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival

Interview conducted via email for Artless Nonculture Webzine, and edited into a 4-page photo comic. Click here to view the photo album.

The Traditionals

Interview with (then) guitarist (now vocalist/guitarist) Dave Harris. Originally conducted via email for Artless Nonculture Webzine, January, 2008.

For those who don't know, give a brief little history of the band. 

We started playing in the late summer of 1997. The original lineup was Dave and Joe Harris, Donovan, Craig and Matt. That lineup produced an unreleased demo, then in 1998 Matt left the band and was replaced by Rick. This line up released the “No Choice” LP on an independent label in Pittsburgh that folded shortly after our release.

We were in dealings with GMM Records and played the Beer Olympics in 1999 and 2000. Rob Faulkner replaced Donovan on vocals in 2001. We played the Holidays in the Sun Festival in 2002, in New Jersey. This lineup released the "Dead Society" LP in 2004 on Impact Records in Germany.

Viking Jim (The Homegrown Show)

(This interview was done during Artless Nonculture's first run, back in December of '07, I believe. Vike's no longer at The Wolf as a regular jock, but he's still the fuckin' dude behind The Homegrown Show. He now also runs something called The Youngstown Rock and Groove Company. Here's the original chat we had almost 3 years ago...)

VIKING JIM is your friend. Better recognize. He and his buddy JT host an all-Valley bands radio show on WNCD (93.3 FM on your radio tuner), every Sunday night from 9:00 to 10:00 pm. You need to listen to this show! And don't forget to send your CD's in for a chance to get played on the fuckin' airwaves!! They've already played tracks from The Hollywood Blondes, The Kellys, Hellvis, and the Dead Boys. So get in on this before the "Powers That Be" shut it down or something...

Oatmeal

Hilarious mock-interview I did in 2004. Both the interviewer and interviewee are me. This was meant to promote a studio side-project I did with my brother a couple of years prior. I didn't bother to re-proofread it, so it's probably a little rough-around-the-edges, but take it for what it is-- comedy gold.

Talking Over OATMEAL
An Interview with Stink Fingers
Conducted by Rick Candem, Liquid Paper Press

It's been a few years since the band Oatmeal recorded their one and only EP independently, not even a year since they got it distributed by punk rock/antifolk label I/E Records. I recently came into contact with singer Stink Fingers at my son's little league game. Having never heard of the New Jersey outfit before (and understandably so), I had no clue I was talking to an up-and-coming celebrity (Fingers' claim). As I talked more with him, I KNEW I had to get an exclusive interview with him. After all, I DO work for an independent music mag. And this was paydirt.

The Donnas

Interview with bassist Maya Ford, a.k.a. Donna F., conducted originally for OUTSIDER Webzine, some time in 2003. Questions were answered via email while on the way to the first gig of the Spend the Night tour.

1. What's up with the Electrocutes?

The Electrocutes was our band before we were the Donnas. It's all the same people, but we played faster, more complex music and we wore weirder clothes. The Electrocutes thought the Donnas were "goody-two-shoes". Near the end of hiskool we merged the two bands cuz more people were going to Donnas shows cuz the Donnas were catchier and the Electrocutes were just noisy and a little scary.


2. Would you describe your music as "punk rock"?

Not really. I think we're just rock 'n roll.

John Holmstrom (PUNK Magazine)

Originally conducted via email for OUTSIDER Webzine, circa 2002.

So the legend goes that you, Ged Dunn and Legs McNeil started PUNK magazine in... what was it, 1975? Basically, the whole thing was just something to do, a way to cure boredom. You were the editor, Ged was the "financial backer", and Legs was the "resident punk". You decided to make the mag about all of the things you all liked: fast food, comics, cartoons, and these weird rock 'n roll bands that, to your knowledge, no one but you had ever heard of (the Dictators, the Stooges, the Dolls, Modern Lovers

Peter Don't Care

Interview with Peter Don't Care, vocalist for bands Torcha Shed and Stench, creator of fanzine The Suffragette, and webzines Nihilism on the Prowl! and Punk Rocker. Originally conducted via AIM for the website PunkFix.net, and then republished on OUTSIDER webzine.

So you got into punk in '77 right? How old were you, and how did that come about? 

Peter: I was 15. I got into punk about the time the Stranglers debut hit the street, which was around March '77.

So you got introduced through records first and then shows?

Peter: Yeah. My mates who were a few years older were going to shows, and my one mate's big sister seen the Stranglers in February or March so she told us about 'em.