I started the band in late 2016. I’m always writing songs… I had a handful of songs that were more Youth Crew inspired, and a bit of a different style than either of my other bands. I got together with Adam (our drummer) and we spent a day in the studio working on the songs and tracking the drums for the demo. I played bass and all the guitars on the recording, and then went back a few months later started tracking the vocals.
Once the songs were finished I started putting the lineup together for the band. I have known Dennis McDonald for years since he played with one of my best friends, Corey Williams, in Internal Affairs. I have always been a fan of his energy and stage presence, and he was the first person I had in mind to join the band. Dennis knew John from his old band Allegiance and brought him into the mix… John brought in Devin.
Memorable shows?
Our first show was at Programme in Fullerton with Decline, Drug Control, and Dare… Programme has done so much for the Southern California hardcore scene in the last few years, so I feel like it was a perfect place to play our first show. I am singing for the first time with Berthold City, so it was a pretty unique experience.
We did a short run with Terror and Regulate at the end of December and that was a great run as well. We play San Francisco this weekend with Judge, and I am really looking forward to that.
Plans for 2018?
Our debut 7” comes out in April on WAR Records. We are playing United Blood fest in Richmond, and we are doing a short East Coast run with Kill Your Idols and Fireburn to support the release. We have already started recording some new material, so hopefully we will have another release out by the end of the year. Aside from that, we just want to play as much as we can.
I see 3/6 songs are from the demo. Were they re-recorded for this EP?
We recorded all 6 songs from the EP in the same recording session. We wanted to release a demo before we did a record, and we really wanted to let the word of mouth about the band spread organically. We sold a few hundred cassettes, and the demo is the top seller in a few categories on Bandcamp including “Straight Edge” and “Youth Crew.” The response has been amazing, and I thank everyone for their support.
Side A will feature the three songs from the demo and side B will feature 3 new songs!
Recording: Producer? Duration? Process?
We recorded with my friend Aaron Jamili (Alpha Omega) at Wormhole Studio in Santa Clarita. He is a really good friend of mine and he was easy to work with and made the recording process painless.
We had the record mastered by the legendary Don Fury as his studio in upstate New York.
I always wanted to record with Don Fury as he is responsible for recording some of the most classic hardcore records of all time. I knew that he was doing a lot of mastering, so I reached out to him. He did a great job, and added that extra little bit of energy into the tracks. We could have mastered the record elsewhere, but I really wanted to work with Don Fury as a little nod to some of the classic bands that inspired us.
New songs are killer.
How does the vinyl look? WAR always does a sensational job. Plans of colors?
The record looks awesome! Our good friend, Jeremy Dean, who happens to be one of my favorite graphic designers, did the layout and design. He designed our logo and our first shirts, and I jokingly told him he was our Raymond Pettibon. I really want to keep the aesthetic of the band uniform, so I am really glad to be working with him again.
The first pressing will be on clear and translucent blue with a very limited hand stamped version available for preorders.
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