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Posts By xbencrewx

0 New ROAC LP Fucking Destroys! (Interview.)

July 2, 2014
by xbencrewx
· Interviews · PE Records

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ROAC hail from Denver, Colorado and feature several contrubutors from Profane Existence magazine as well as members Denver’s longest running crust band, THE CLUSTERFUX. This is ROAC’s debut LP and they offer up a heavy dose of doom laden mid-tempo darkness with hints of early AMEBIX, CELTIC FROST and DEVIATED INSTINCT while creating a sound all their own. Lyrically they rail on the horrifying imapct humainty has imposed upon our environment and eachother through unjust laws, war, greed and trechery. The cover features killer artwork from “Bam Bam” and helps make this one solid epic split release by the band’s own LESS ART RECORD LABEL and PROFANE EXISTENCE!

PE: Who plays what and why?

Josh – Dean plays drums because he is a drummer and has some drums. I play bass because we needed a bass player and I wanted to be in the band and Justin plays guitar because we couldn’t find a guitar player that wasn’t already in several other bands. Justin also does the vocals because he wanted to try vocals.

PE : How did you guys get together? Two of you were in the Clusterfux, was this band started during the Clusterfux? How did it start?

Josh – The idea for the band was planted the night Justin and I decided to disband Clusterfux. We tossed around the names of some dudes that would be fun to jam with and Dean was on that list. It really started out with a much different vision musically. At one point we did have a guitar played and Justin only did vocals. We were called Apex for a while but as our sound developed we dropped that name.

Justin- I knew I wanted to keep jamming with my brother but was kind of over writing guitar riffs. After 16 years in the Clusterfux and writing 90 % of the music I was burnt out. I really wanted to be a singer but that only lasted so long before I had to fill guitar hot-seat again. Then when I did I couldn’t write the way I used to. It made me physically ill to even think about it.

PE: In a city of amazing Grind Core bands and Ska Punk bands, how did you guys find yourselves playing low and slow.

Josh – I like some Grind Core but I am not a grinder really. I listen to a lot of metal and crust. Actually in our early conversations about the band we talked about a two vocalist punk band somewhere between Aus-Rotten and MDC. Very political and aggressive hardcore. Probably more like what World Pain is. But once we started jamming we let our sound kind of go where it wanted and not force anything. We are all huge Black Sabbath and Amebix fans so it kind of just ended up going in that direction. Like you said this is Grind City, I don’t think some people get what we’re doing. More people are getting tuned in but Denver hasn’t really had a heavy crusty-metal band like this, that plays slower…But really that’s what I am into personally…Misery, Axegridner, War//Plague, Neurosis, Black Sabbath, Celtic Frost, Amebix, Deviated Instinct…You get the picture.
Justin- I even remember talk of doing a D.R.I. cover band for a sec., hahaha. When I became the guitar player and chief writer of Roac I just couldn’t play fast like the Clusterfux. I was always pretty good at writing thrashy punk riffs even helped write a Hirax album but I was done with it and was feeling something different. I sit around jamming Killing Joke, Amebix, Joy Division and Sabbath all day. What I was writing was what I wanted to be listening to. Our sound and music happened totally organically. We didn’t plan on being super crusty it was just the way the energy of the universe pulled our sound together. I am also a drummer and I play drums in some other bands like World Pain and the now defunct Dripfed. In those bands I play fast and hard for the most part but once Roac started playing I just knew it couldn’t be like those bands, I was feeling something different, I think we all were.

PE: In a time of extreme materialism, where consumerism is considered a virtue and plastic and pollution threaten to push the planet into extinction how do you cope and survive?

Josh – I ignore it. Commercials don’t work on me, its bullshit. I don’t relate to anyone in ads. They are the sheep. We are all consumers, you really can’t escape that but you can be smart about where and how you consume as well as what you do with the left overs. You vote with your dollar. You can eat at the locally owned establishment or some chain shit hole. Life is full of choices, anyone can buck the system and make better choices. Recycling is so easy these days, most cities have free recycling centers, its too easy to not toss shit into a landfill anymore. You make a choice, the trash or the recycling can. Make better decisions and pass that on to others. I have kids, this stuff will just be natural to them when they are older I hope. With that my son watches VHS tapes I get from the thrift store, sure I’ll cough up cash and by a new release if it’s something worthwhile like the LEGO movie (which by the way has a very strong anti-police state / New World Order message). We don’t succumb to every new product or advancement in technology. I finally got a new phone only because the old one died, not because I have to have the latest stuff. I pack up the kids’ old clothes and give them to friends or donate them. Again, that message is handed down to the kids. We help others as much as we can, we donate whenever we can and I explain to the kids why. They get it.

Justin- I have a hard time with it. The way people act is appalling. Greed runs amok through every single level, angle and facet of the planet and its resources. It’s easy to recognize the faults of others but soon you have to point the finger at yourself and realize those same truths are in your own existence. Then you have to discover how to overcome those and better yourself and help those around you instead of using honesty a means of hurting someone and making yourself falsely feel better. Instead of inanely bragging about ourselves we need try to reach out to others and better their lives.

PE: Over the years I have met people who have been “awakened to the big picture”. Meaning they thought, for the most part, what they learned in school was somewhat true just to have that idea shattered to its very core. Everything including Illuminati, Skull and Bones, Monoliths fling around our planet that Tesla tried to talk to, world banking systems hell bent on enslaving the human race, Anunnaki and Adamu , fake gods and their followers, 9/11 has been exposed. Was there a certain moment that awoke you guys?

Josh – My Dad was a hippy and raised us to question everything, don’t trust the police and don’t trust the government. We grew up listening to punk and metal and have always questioned authority but for me the defining moment really was 911. That was like putting on the glasses in ‘They Live’. I haven’t looked at the world the same since. It was from there that I did a lot of research on my own and starting reading books and hitting sites and getting as much info as I could. I have a much clearer understanding of the world now. Once you really wakeup it’s so liberating. The thing is that what used to be considered “conspiracy” is now main stream news. Drones for example, I first started reading about them on the conspiracy sites years ago, then it was on other media outlets like RT and finally they hit the mainstream. People from all walks of life are waking up and putting aside their petty differences to recognize that we’re all being lied to and mislead. Its too easy to go online and see that a presidential candidate is getting his financial backing from the same banks and corporations as his opponent. It’s too easy to research who the cabinet members are and see that they came from Monsanto. These are scary times, but exciting too. The revolution is fully under way and it’s all about information, exposing the phony wizard behind the curtain for all to see. Every meme your share or video clip is a shot fired.Like I said in the previous answer their tricks don’t faze me much anymore. I don’t have anything that I believe I have to measure up to except myself, there is no “keeping up with the Joneses” type bullshit to take from my happiness. I still have bills and I still work too much, I am still an economic slave in that sense but I have no debt and I live for furthering my cause. Not pay for crap that I can’t afford. My house is small but it’s affordable, I am not chained to an enormous mortgage and I am more free to spend my money on things that are more fun and fulfilling. I know people that put their entire vacations on plastic, they are 10, 20, 30 thousand dollars or more in debt. They live in McMansions that they cant afford and live way outside their means just to uphold an image. They will leave their children with debt when they die. I may not have a lot to leave my kids but there won’t be a pile of debt for temporary shit that isn’t even around anymore. I’ll be able to leave a house that is paid for. And a killer record collection!

Justin- A guy named Matt Easterly turned me onto it in the late 90’s. He introduced me to Alex Jones, David Icke and a bunch of other “conspiracy theorists”. That’s where I learned about Bohemian Grove, Trilateral Commission, Bilderberg Group, Carlyle Group and the Illuminati and New World Order in general.

PE: What do you guys sing about, partying or politics or is it a mix?

Josh – Social / Political stuff, awareness and being awake. Justin writes most of the lyrics and his style is more poetic than how I write. But we don’t write party songs, I don’t have time for empty messages. We were watching a band the other night and their lyrics were so empty and devoid of meaning. You have to ask if it was even rebellious or just an excuse to dye your hair. We saw SoCal punk legends D.I. the other night too. A guy actually said to me that he didn’t like D.I. because they were “too political”! Really? Well at least you look cool. For me punk was supposed to mean more. Our lyrics aren’t all doom and gloom either, there are moments of hoped weaved into them. Justin could probably elaborate more.

Justin- I write about the shit going on around me. I don’t write about partying and trying to get laid but I don’t try to bum myself out through all of it either. Like in the song Blast the Opportunists… “ my friends and family rejoice in their sense of community” I write a lot about trying to survive mentally and physically in this world amongst so much greed puked out by lost souls.

PE: What the hell is a Roac and how do you say it?

Josh – Look it up!

Justin-Rowuck with two syllables

PE: Now that the LP is out what is next for the band?

Josh – More releases. We have several songs already written and would like to get in and record them by the fall. I’d like to get a cassette out or even a 7” or split in the not too distant future. We’ve got several out of town weekend shows in mind. We were just down in Colorado Springs last weekend and hope to go back soon and a few weeks ago we were at OC Cruststock. Then maybe we’ll get up to Cheyenne, Rapid City, and beyond. Now that we have a record out a tour in the fall would make sense too.

PE: Closing comments?

Josh – Thanks to Dan, Ben and Profane Existence and to Bam Sickos for the killer artwork. He really did some cool stuff for us. Here is his FB link > http://www.facebook.com/BamSickosArt

0 NEW: AHNA / CETASCEAN – Imperial Decline split LP

April 18, 2014
by xbencrewx
· PE Records

AHNA (van.) and CETASCEAN (wpg.) meet minds with the release of their split LP Imperial Decline. This record serves up 7 tracks of brutalizing anti-oppressive crust punk: distorted, mincing, noisy. At its core, this is a crust record, but it is at times as contorted as the world that hatched it. AHNA continues their foray into a death metal influence that is as blown out as it is disgusting. The added guitar player only adds another layer to the injury. CETASCEAN achieves a new level of brutality, incorporating elements of stenchcore, swedish hardcore, sludge, and blackened raw punk. The record delivers thought provoking themes critiquing imperial war mongering, weapons manufacturing, vivisection, environmental annihilation, neo-colonialism, and systemic oppression within and outside the DIY punk community.

Labels: Profane Existence, Phobia, Neanderthal-Stench, Doomed Society, What is Making us Sick, Mercy of Slumber

AVAILABLE HERE!

http://www.profaneexistence.com/#!/~/product/category=327054&id=35945500

0 INDOCTRINATE Release New 7″ on PE

February 3, 2014
by xbencrewx
· PE Records

INDOCTRINATE hail from Austria and are a political (anti-fascist, anti-sexist, anti-authoritarian and animal friendly) DIY crust punk band who play a catchy, abrasive and diversified blend of hardcore punk and d-beat/crust. Their music also incorporates elements from grindcore, post-hardcore, doom/sludge and other sub-genres of metal.

The rather dark and at times gloomy lyrics deal with political, environmental and social matters influenced by ideas that are best described as anarchist. At the same time they are conveying hopes for the creation of a better, freer and more just world devoid of the current restraints and shackles that enslave human as well as non-human beings today.

This 7” is INDOCTRINATE’s second release after their demo tape and includes two brand new tracks from these dissenting, angry, thrashing kids. Profane Existence was proud to help out with this release along with several other fine DIY punk labels from around the globe! This record comes with a screen printed patch!

CLICK HERE

0 WAR//PLAGUE Make PE Band of 2013!

January 13, 2014
by xbencrewx
· PE Records · Store Specials

WAR//PLAGUE earned the title of “PROFANE EXISTENCE BAND OF 2013” by landing one of the most scathing reviews any PE band has ever received… at least this year. And that is saying something because we put out a lot of records. So I want to officially say congratulations to WAR//PLAGUE. Keep up the good work! You must be doing something right to get a reviewer that pissed off. In celebration of their receiving this prestigious award PE is offering you the “WAR//PLAGUE MEGA//PACK!”

So for only $22 (plus Free Postage in the U.S.) you will get:
* WAR//PLAGUE – On A Darker Dawn LP
* WAR//PLAGUE / POLICE BASTARD – Attrition Split LP
* WAR//PLAGUE – Primal 7″
* WAR//PLAGUE – Attrition T-Shirt (w/ PE – Making Punk A Threat Again! on the back)
* PROFANE EXISTENCE ZINE (issue of our choice)

The t-shirt sizes are limited but if we are out of your size I encourage you to get a Youth Large t-shirt and cut it up… making two patches that you can sew on a shirt or jacket of your choice.

CLICK HERE or CLICK THE IMAGE

0 INDOCTRINATE Release A New 7″ on PE

January 8, 2014
by xbencrewx
· PE Records · Uncategorized

We should be getting their 7″ here to the Profane warehouse early 2014. Stay tuned.

0 In these times… WE MUST DISMANTLE ALL THIS!

November 8, 2013
by xbencrewx
· Interviews · PE Web Zine

In times like these we need a band that takes all that is good about punk and metal and combines it into something amazing! Something that is raw and tight and dark and energetic and destructive all at the same time then combining that with lyrics that matter. Lyrics that speak to both the personal and political nature to this world in which we live. That band is called WE MUST DISMANTLE ALL THIS! and they just released an incredible new LP called “Decathect”. It’s been on heavy rotation here at the PE warehouse. We took a moment to sit down with the band and do an interview with them so that everyone else can see what they are all about.

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW LP…

PE: Lets start with the old standard: how did WMDAT! come about? All of you were doing separate bands before Justin moved to Champaign-Urbana from Milwaukee.

WMDAT: In 2007, Justin, who played in Avoided, was set to play second guitar for Sali and Greg’s drunken, depraved street-punk band Carbomb Lottery. Carbomb broke up before Justin could join and we started Dismantle afterward. Our first practice space was Austin’s tiny, unfurnished room in the basement of a punk house – he had nothing in there but beer cans and a blanket. We kicked his shit out of the way, set up, and then realized he should probably join and play lead guitar – even at 18, he was a sick metal guitarist. Chris’ crappy metalcore band at the time played that house and we recruited him after watching him bolt out black-metal, tortured screams. Chris ended up singing and cutting off 7 years of his life to debauchery and sleepless nights thanks to our collective insanity – Chris loves us for it.

PE: What do you think has been the impetus for the band’s evolution over the years? Early on you had much more of a street punk mixed with thrash metal feel, and nowadays you guys are pretty much an “epic crust” band (though I hate putting labels on a group with so many different influences).

WMDAT: Everyone’s self-evolution has contributed to the bands evolution, be it expanding musical tastes or different aspects of everyone’s personal lives. The D-beat style we now play came out of deepening our appreciation for Scandinavian crust and battling demons – the loss of close friends, addiction, hopelessness, and capitalist culture. The dark melodic style we play now is a better voice for our fears, angers, and frustrations.

PE: Though you guys are all punks, metal clearly has a huge influence on your sound – and Austin is a dyed-in-the-wool metalhead. Who do you think has influenced you the most from the genre, and what are some of your favorite bands? Does it ever feel like you’re cheating on your wife punk with your mistress metal, playing some of these riffs?

WMDAT: Austin is certainly the metalhead in the band. He grew up obsessed with Metallica’s first 4 albums and it was all downhill from there. Justin’s love of punk and thrash challenged Austin as a guitar player and they ended up feeding off each other very well. Justin will write something and Austin can almost immediately find something that sounds cool over it. Our genre mashing results in some pretty sick riffs. We are all influenced by different styles (e.g. Justin: Tragedy, Martrydod, Passiv Dodshjalp, Krum Bums; Sali: Disfear, Anti-Cimex, Iron Maiden, Nausea, World Burns To Death; Chris: Darkest Hour, Tragedy, Total Abuse, Raw Nerve, Tenement, Grave Babies; Greg: Mariah Carrey, N SYNC, and, in general, Puruvian dance hall pop-disco unlimited).

PE: Your lyrics are pretty personal yet also fairly political in nature. They’re also fucking depressing as shit. What goes into the creation of such tormented writing? Chris, being a carnivore, how do you feel about singing some stanchly vegan lyrics at times?

WMDAT: We write about what seems to be destroying people and ourselves, in particular, the consequences of internalizing values esteemed by a capitalist system (selfishness, greed, inequality, murder, and so on), which infect our ability to be autonomous and develop truly loving relations with people and our environment. Sometimes this translates into expressing pure hatred and depression, and sometimes it helps us fight and find possible solutions. The system’s disgusting nature lives in all of us – mostly, it shapes what we find valuable and justifies actions we do but sometimes can’t fucking stand – and so we tend to write personal songs about our experiences that illuminate the killing fields of the system. Chris sings our songs about militant veganism because he’s flexible enough to hate himself – we should all thank him for this. He understands why we disagree with the commodification of slaughter and cruelty towards living creatures, but since he’s a pretty sexy dude so we’re not gonna give him too much shit.

PE: WMDAT! are confirmed road-dogs. What were some of your best shows/venues/cities? Any crazy stories that you can reveal without getting arrested?

PE: Tour has been kind to us over the years. We’ve been to most states numerous times, and we’ve met some unbelievably inspiring, loving, and supportive people, which has really helped us understand ourselves, our music, our collective problems, and our collective advances. The show, the people, and the interactions after the show and the next day all make a huge impact on us – after all, tour is 23 ½ hours a day developing relations with others. Some of our favorite places have been Appleton, WI; Amarillo and Dallas, TX; Binghamton, NY; Providence, RI; and East Bay and Sacramento, CA. A few insane shows stick out. One is our second show in Las Vegas in a little taco joint on the east side. We were two songs into the set and the pit erupted and a group of kids smashed someone’s head open. The taco joint pulled the plug on the show and we were left loading out dodging pools of blood on the floor. Another show that comes to mind is last year in Binghamton, NY. A small living room show packed to the brim with redneck crusties begging for some heavy music. The crowd went insane – people hanging from the ceiling, jumping from this little makeshift bar head first into a crowd of people. We then proceeded to get into fights (nothing serious, just some fools who were being assholes in the pit), break into an abandoned masonic temple, get lost in said temple for almost 3 hours, booty dance, Depth Charge (if you don’t know, you don’t know), and general craziness.

WMDAT: Many of the band have lived in Champaign-Urbana for a good deal of time and have differing perspectives on the punk scene in town. Having lived here myself for over a decade, it has certainly been cyclical and at times disappointing, other times fantastic. What are your thoughts about it?

PE: The first few years we were together, there were sick houses to play, shows every weekend, strong support for local and touring punk bands, and a powerful sense of community. In the last few years, there has been a general disappearance of a crowd that is passionate about hardcore punk. There are many kinds of bands and strong local support as a whole, but only a handful of people into punk. Nonetheless, the punk scene ain’t dead, and we’re far from letting C-U live without some nice, dirty crust.

PE: Justin/Prof. Remhof just got a teaching job in Santa Clara, CA. What’s the future for the band now that he’s gone long-distance?

WMDAT: Mostly the band tells Justin to fuck off, leave his career, and live in a shitty 1999 F250 Ford Cargo Van with the band until everyone’s health deteriorates to the point of welcome, creative despair … or we plan to continue playing and touring in summers, and we’re working on filling the spot for shows during the school year. Until then, Austin will continue to cry himself to sleep each night with a broken heart.

PE: What are all of you up to in your spare time away from WMDAT!? I know all of you have different bands and projects you’re working on.

WMDAT: Sali lives in Indianapolis and spends most of her time running Dead Rodent Records, a screen printing business, and playing in This Is The Enemy. Justin lives in San Jose, teaches philosophy full-time, and has recently joined the grind/powerviolence band Buried at Birth on Give Praise Records. Chris is in Gnargoyle, repping 80’s skate punk/hardcore – recordings coming soon. He is also busy working towards a computer science degree and so has very little time to do anything but the nerdiest of homework. Austin has taken over Justin’s vocal duties for the band Unnerve that he sang for here in Champaign. He loves playing guitar but nothing helps with stress like screaming in peoples faces. Greg drums for Unnerve, and, since he wasn’t able to get his replies for this interview to us on time, we will say that he spends most of his time eating the heads of rare birds, studying locust migration patterns in the South Pacific, and drinking gallons of Four Loko (one of those is not a lie).

PE: That’s about it. Shout-outs and fuck-offs?

WMDAT: Shout out to Ben from Profane for being an ugly helper of a beast. Shout out to all of you who have let us play your house (ripped it apart and put it together again), cuddle your animals (more people need goats), throw up on your floor (and buy us a 30 pack), talk about the universe (especially Pluto), and inspire us to keep writing, touring, and fighting to live well. Shout out to ice beers, cheap whiskey, broken hearts and the people that broke them, without which we may not have come up with some of the shit we’ve written. A huge fuck off to bar shows, sex and gender inequality, income disparity, and materialism.

0 THIS IS THE ENEMY. What are they about?

November 4, 2013
by xbencrewx
· PE Records

Melissa Varuker, vocalist of the anarcho-political band THIS IS THE ENEMY, sat down to talk about what it is that they care about and what they despise about this world we live in. You can pick up a copy of their new 7″, Desensitized To Death, by CLICKING HERE.

Here we are decades later, bitching about the same thing. Us who crave change in the world aren’t going to disappear, we will never be outlived. There is power within words that allows others to listen, proceeded to ask themselves, “What the fuck?”, and try their best to make a difference in some way. I hope those who read the lyrics will reflect them into their everyday lifestyle or be relieved another understands the way of life they already live. Music has changed my way of life and thinking throughout the years and I hope that others will truly analyze our songs.

Our songs are about animal rights and human rights. They go hand in hand and one cannot be ignored. There are many people who care about other human beings as they hack away at a piece of steak and are passionately drooling over bloody bites of another’s insides. And I’ve witnessed those who are vegan due to animal cruelty, yet have absolutely no consideration for other human being. Respect every species, even your own.

We are an all vegan band so that idea is strongly vocalized through our music. I didn’t know many vegan people when Usman asked me to join the band in September 2012 and it was inspiring to find a small vegan army in the middle of Indianapolis. To be able to share this aspect of life with them, playing shows, touring, making/eating vegan food was something that made us grow together and as individuals over the past year.

I wrote the lyrics to Tusks, Malaise, Daterape, Mindfuct, Carnivore Progression, and half of Defaced. Usman had started writing the lyrics to Defaced and I finished them. He also wrote Diamonds. My personal favorite of our songs is Tusks. Recently the demand for ivory has gone up and already endangered elephants are being poached for this material that only has the function of being a statue on a desk. It’s nothing more but a pretty sight to their eye, which leaves a disgusting view in mine. They will go extinct within a couple decades at the rates they’re now being poached.

Thank you for listening to our music.

– Melisaa Varuker / THIS IS THE ENEMY

0 WARTORN TOUR DATES

November 4, 2013
by xbencrewx
· Events · On Tour

Nov 20th “the Maritime “ Appleton WI/ gouger, Deathwish, Atalla
Nov 21st “East Wing “ Kansas City MO / with vomit assault
Nov 22nd “Rabb Ranch” NO THANKS FEST 7 Emory TX just hanging out .
Nov 23 “Rabb Ranch” NO THANKS FEST 7 Emory TX This is the day we play with THOU
Haggz /Kallohonka /Colonia /Doom Siren /Communion /Scaphe /Dethrone
Steel Bearing Hand /Dead to a Dying World /Barghest /Recreant/Sabbath Assembly
The Causalities / Negative Approach Destruction campaign tour
Nov 25” The Fubar” St. Louis, MO/ with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Nov 26 “Hoosier Dome” Indianapolis, IN/with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Nov 27 “Reggies” Chicago, IL / with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Nov 29 “Mac’s Bar” Lansing, MI /with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Nov 30 “Waiting Room” Buffalo, NY/ with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Dec 01 “The Foundry” Lakewood, OH/ with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Dec 03 “123 Pleasant Street “ Morgantown, WV/ with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Dec 04 “Voltage” Philadelphia, PA /with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Dec 05 “The Church” Boston, MA /with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Dec 06 “Europa” Brooklyn, NY Ti / with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Dec 07 “Cherry St. Station” Wallingford, CT / with Negative Approach , The Casualties
Dec 08 “TBA” Pittsburg PA
Dec09 “Elimination chamber” Huntington WV /with Appalachian Terror Unit
Dec 10th “the unholy hole” Ann Arobor MI with Snafu,Girth ,scum,p.a.w.n.

1 SICK/TIRED (Interview)

September 26, 2013
by xbencrewx
· PE Records

Profane Existence just released SICK/TIRED’s new 7″ – Manufractured – as part of our 2013 Limited Edition Singles Series. We figured they should have an interview on the PE blog. Unfortunately we were all too busy to do it ourselves so the fine folks at Grind and Punishment zine did it for us. Enjoy! and Destroy! – Sick/Tired interview with Adam Jennings & Kirk Syrek / Interview by Derek Navardauskas / Intro paragraph by Grind and Punishment / Photos by Adam Degross

PICK UP A COPY OF THE 7″ BY CLICKING HERE!

Putting on Sick/Tired’s new LP “King of Dirt” is like boldly striding face first into a tornado of glass shards. It’s a maelstrom of whirling slivers intent on rending your flesh, a vortex of unremitting insanity. Sick/Tired will leave you panting and breathless after all 19 minutes of vertiginous noise lurch to a halt with the groaning lumber of the title track, a five minute mutant that’s not quite grind, not quite sludge and one of the rarest examples of successfully pulling off a slow song at the end in all of grind’s history. But that’s probably to be expected considering it was penned by Adam Jennings who also wrangles sublime noise with electronic neuromancers Winters in Osaka. I can’t say enough about how Sick/Tired have turned in one of the noisiest, most hostile grind albums I’ve heard since Blood I Bleed’s “Gods Out of Monsters”. This Chicago mob hits somewhere between Threatener’s serrated fastcore and Anodyne gone full grind. “King of Dirt” snarls away from that precariously balanced perch between unlistenable chaos and production sharp enough to open your veins with the copious amounts of guitar feedback that get unlimbered like audio nooses on a gibbet of blasting death. Every song manages to surprise as the band bashes and hammers away at fragments of grind, beating each splinter of song into a twisted wreck distinct from the others. You won’t be humming along to Sick/Tired’s onslaught, but every song prickles the skin in a different way, giving “King of Dirt” a constantly evolving personality that staves off boredom even after compulsive re-listens. This is simply one of the best records I’ve heard in years. It’s absolutely everything you can ask for in a grind album. Even after days spent listening on endless repeat, Sick/Tired’s twisted hulks of songs have ways of refracting into new and more interesting shapes. Come get your tickets to the car crash.

PE: Who does what in Sick/Tired?

Adam: I do vocals.

Kirk: I really hate this question, but I realize it is a necessity. I play bass. Ben Gonzales is guitar, Adam Tomlinson on drums, and Adam Jennings is vocals.

PE: S/T has been a band for five years now with only one lineup change. Since the ‘core’ of the band has remained unchanged for a relatively long time, there must be some chemistry between you three. How has playing in S/T changed over the years? Has the writing process gotten easier over time?

Kirk: I really love playing with these guys and over the years we have really meshed well. So much so that I think if one of us decided to quit, we would probably have to end the band. A couple years ago we almost asked our friend Omar to fill in on drums for a tour, but we decided it just wouldn’t be the same. We also recently played the Obscene Extreme festival in Mexico City and we were going to have to bring a different guitar player, but luckily Gonzo was able to make it. We couldn’t be a band without him and it would’ve been a total disaster. Since Jennings joined we have really changed for the better. We all now actively participate in the song writing and if you have the King of Dirt LP you can hear how much better we are now.

PE: There has been an evident evolution to the band’s sound from one record to the next; where is S/T headed after King of Dirt LP and what, if any, releases are planned?

Kirk: King of Dirt is the rebirth. I sometimes wish we changed the band’s name at that point because it’s so much more devastating than anything we have ever done and I think a lot of people have written us off from the old days. We are a whole new band. The production and song writing are way more oppressive, dirty, and punishing. Moving forward, we have recently recorded for a new 7” that will be released on Profane Existence and it should be released September 2013. We are also kicking around the idea of a split with Water Torture on Diseased Audio and possible a new LP on A389.

Adam: The guys have a really unique approach to song writing, and that was evident before I joined the band. KOD was just an example of us refining the songs, making them both more focused and pissed off sounding. I brought a few riffs and ideas to the table too which was really fun. The newest release is “Manufractured” 7”on Profane Existence, which was done during the same recording session as the “Lowlife” tape on To Live a Lie. The “Lowlife” tape is a re-recording of older songs with me on vocals, and sort of closes the chapter on the old era and “King of Dirt” LP began the next. I am really excited for what the next recording session is going to be like.

PE: Adam, most of your musical output has been in the realm of noise. How does playing in S/T differ from working with Winters in Osaka in both the live and recording sense?

Adam: S/T and Winters are two totally different beasts. Winters in Osaka is a 5 piece noise/drone band. The shows consist of us playing for about 30-40 minutes with very minimal movement on stage. Lots of pedal knob twisting ya know? WIO is meant to be enjoyed in a dark room with a massive PA system. We are not meant to be seen really. S/T on the other hand comes blazing out of the gates. Adam T is blasting while the rest of us are jumping and abusing our equipment. I love both projects equally, but yes very different.

PE: So how did you end up joining S/T after Belo left the band? What were your feelings coming into an already established band?

Adam: Winters had played with Sick/Tired a few times over the years when Belo was the front man, so I got to know them pretty well. I would also come out to see them when they played Chicago. One day I saw that Belo had decided to quit the band right before a tour and decided to give it a shot. They asked me to join and less than a month later I was on the road with them. At first it was very intimidating since Belo’s vocal delivery was nowhere near what I was doing in Paucities. Some of the songs I tried my best to mimic the original, but some songs were completely redone. It was kind of scary, since S/T had already made a name for themselves with their first LP on To Live a Lie, but they was my motivation to step up my game and try to make the band better.

PE: Kirk, you’ve been playing in bands for about 20 years now. Is the present landscape of punk much different than back in the day?

Kirk: Yes. I like to blame the internet somewhat. Nothing is rare. Everyone is an expert on every band ever, because they Googled it 2 weeks ago. It has made Punk, Metal, etc very lazy. A lot of Kids don’t flier shows anymore or buy records because they feel like they don’t need too. The vinyl record has become obsolete to the younger generation unless it has some kind of collectible value to it. There is no mystery. Fortunately, there will always be the diehards working behind the scenes. The thing is no matter how old you get, you are either into it or not. You can’t fake it for too long.

PE: S/T operates with a minimum of internet presence, the band only has an obsolete MySpace page and a Bandcamp. Do you think this has adversely affected the band’s popularity, or do you even care?

Kirk: That fucking MySpace! I tried to delete it 3 years ago and it won’t let me! Now I don’t even know the password so there it sits out there on the web like a fucking thorn in my side. I like the Bandcamp site because it provides a simplistic way for someone to hear or download music. There is no need for a Facebook page as it’s so easy to look something up. I really am no fun at all to be honest.

PE: Before Adam J joined S/T, the band refrained from printing lyrics in any of the records, even going so far as to print “No Lyrics Alienate Everyone Fuck Off” on the Cowabunga 7”, yet King of Dirt has a lyric sheet. Why did this policy change?

Kirk: The “alienate everyone” comes from the idea that we are not a sing along fun band. We are not satisfied. We are depressed. We are pissed and we don’t care if you know what we are singing about because we don’t care about what you think. King of Dirt was a milestone for the band. It caused a huge change for us. We are a whole different band now. With that change we decided to include the lyrics because we do what we want.

PE: Every member of S/T is involved in other projects, take a moment to mention some of these, if you would.

Kirk: I am in a band called Pillage with some of my old friends from Los Crudos and Charles Bronson. We just released a 10 song demo. Gonzo & Adam T are in a noise thrash band called MZR.

Adam: Gonzo also plays in Minimum Wage Assassins. Adam T and I play together in a Mincecore band called Paucities. I also make noise in Winters in Osaka and Urine Cop, which also features Eric King from Column of Heaven. Those are just some of the projects we do that I’ll mention, but there’s more. Like Gonzo playing in a bluegrass band, and me playing drums in a black metal band.

PE: Up until recently, at least to me, S/T has seemed to always fall under the shadow of having ex-members of MK-Ultra and Weekend Nachos. Do you think this has been a help or a hindrance to the band?

Kirk: Ehhh… We are nothing like those bands. However, it is unavoidable that people will always bring that up. It’s the easiest way to reference who people are I guess. The fingerprint. To answer the question, no help and no hindrance. It makes no difference. That being said if I were Danzig, I would write “Danzig” on everything I possibly could.

PE: Compared to many of your contemporaries, S/T doesn’t play shows too often. Is there any reason for being selective? What are some of your favorite bands to play with, be they local or bands you’ve played with on tour?

Adam: We are all busy, school, work, etc. Adam T has an overnight job which prevents us from really playing on weekdays. This is fine with me though, because when we do play in Chicago it seems more special. The energy especially at our last few shows have been fucking awesome.

Kirk: We don’t play a lot because we don’t feel the need to over saturate the audience. We also have a limited schedule because of work, being in multiple bands, and our drummer has a daughter. Sea of Shit are our sister band, I guess. We play with them a lot and they are our friends. We are about to head out on an East coast tour with them.