Darkside NYC Interview With Rich

http://www.darksidenyc.com/ http://www.myspace.com/darksidenyc

First off i would like to thank Rich and Darkside NYC for taking the time out to do this interview

1. How long has the band been together? WE'VE BEEN BROKEN UP LONGER THAN WE'VE EVER BEEN TOGETHER. THE BLAKE ERA WAS FROM AROUND FROM ABOUT 1991-1995. HE QUIT - WE REPLACED HIM AND DID A HANDFUL OF SHOWS IN LATE 1995 / EARLY 1996 AND THEN IT WAS KAPUT. WE GOT BACK TOGETHER TO PLAY THE FRANK COLLINS TRIBUTE SHOW IN JAN 2003. THAT WAS IT – JUST ONE SHOW. THEN IN 2006 WE DECIDED TO DO IT AGAIN FOR A SOB TRIBUTE SHOW – WHICH IS STILL IN THE WORKS. IN THE MEANTIME, THE SUPERBOWL CAME UP SO I WAS LIKE YEAH FUCK IT. "YOU'RE GETTING NEGATIVE APPROACH? WE'LL DO THAT!!" HAHA

2. How many line up changes have there been and are any of the original members left? BLAKE STARTED THE BAND "DARKSIDE" WITH ALL EX-SHEER TERROR DUDES. THAT LINEUP FIZZLED IN 1991 AND HE STARTED A WHOLE NEW LINEUP IN 1992. THAT'S WHEN I ENTERED THE PICTURE AND WE SOON CHANGED THE NAME OF THE BAND TO "DARKSIDE NYC" SO THE SINGER AND THE DRUMMER GO BACK AS FAR AS 1992 AND THE BASS PLAYER GOES TO BACK TO 1995. THE GUITARIST IS NEW BUT HE'S OLD AND CRUSTY LIKE THE REST OF US.

3. How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard you music? I AVOID THE SUBJECT

4. Where did the inspiration come from your lyrics? MENTAL PROBLEMS AND NEGATIVE SOCIALIZATION ISSUES

5. Will there ever be a "we'd like to thank" section if any further releases are made? VERY DOUBTFUL. CAN'T BE BOTHERED.

6. How many CDs, demos and 7 inches do you currently have released? AT THE MOMENT EVERYTHING IS LONG OUT OF PRINT. WE RELEASED 2 DEMOS: "SUFFER IN SILENCE" IN 1992 AND " AMBITIONS MAKE WAY FOR DREAD" IN 1994. THERE WAS A GERMAN IMPORT CD IN THE LATE 90'S WITH A HANDFUL OF "AMBITIONS…" TRACKS. THERE WAS ALSO A 7" WHICH WAS JUST 4 "SUFFER…" TRACKS. I STARTED MY OWN LABEL – SATAN WEARS SUSPENDERS – AND WE'LL BE PUTTING OUT A COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY IN 2007. AS AN ARTIST, THERE'S NO CHANCE I WOULD WANT TO SUBJECT MYSELF TO ANY OTHER LABELS' BULLSHIT. IN FACT, I FAIL TO SEE THE BENEFIT TO ANY SMALL BAND NOT HANDLING THEIR OWN BUSINESS.

7. How did the band get its name? BLAKE MUST'VE THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ON THAT ONE

8. What have been some of the bands musical influences? CELTIC FROST BLACK SABBATH EARLY HARDCORE AND PUNK CLASSIC METAL DEATH/BLACK METAL CARNIVORE

9. What drove the band to play the type of hardcore that you guys play? A LACK OF DESIRE TO ACHIEVE ANY COMMERICAL SUCCESS

10. Who are some of the bands you have enjoyed sharing the stage with? BREAKDOWN, WARZONE, ALL OUT WAR, STARKWEATHER, MERAUDER, CONFUSION, NEXT STEP UP, SUBZERO, MADBALL, REJUVENATE, DISASSOCIATE, SHEER TERROR, KILLING TIME, ICEMEN, FUNCTIONAL IDIOTS, CANDIRIA, ETC ETC ETC

11. What is the most memorable show that stands out most and why? SUPERBOWL OF HARDCORE AT THE GRAND (NYC) JAN 1994 – MOST INSANE REACTION WE EVER GOT. FROM THE STAGE I WAS WATCHING 900 PEOPLE PRACTICALLY MURDER EACH OTHER. IT WAS PRETTY INSPIRING. HARDCORE BBQ AT THE BLUE MOUNTAIN RESERVATION IN PEEKSKILL – ALSO 1994. YOU JUST HAD TO BE THERE.

12. How has the closing of the infamous CBGB's affected the New York scene? THE CITY REALLY DROPPED THE BALL ON THAT ONE. HORRIBLE MOVE. A LEGENDARY CLUB DISLACED FOR A FUCKING HOMELESS SHELTER???? MAYOR BLOOMBERG, WITH ALL HIS MILLIONS AND BILLIONS CLAIMED TO WANT TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP. ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS PUT ROSENBLATT'S GROUP UP IN A BIGGER BUILDING AND GIVE THEM A SWEETHEART DEAL ON A LEASE IN EXCHANGE FOR THEM RELEASING THEIR CLAIM ON 313 BOWERY. BUT THE CLUB HAD BEEN SERIOUSLY MISMANAGED BIG TIME. OVER THE YEARS THERE WERE SUPPOSEDLY VARIOUS OPPORTUNITIES TO BUY THE BUILDING OUTRIGHT WHEN THE REAL ESTATE WAS CHEAP. NEXT ON THE SOON-TO-BE-EXTINCT LIST IS CONEY ISLAND . THEY'RE GETTING READY TO KNOCK IT ALL DOWN. IN ABOUT 5 YEARS WHY AM I EVEN GONNA WANNA LIVE HERE ANYMORE?? FOR WHAT??

13. On the original flyer for the All Out War/ Merauder show in Boston you were listed to play what happened with that? WE WERE ADDED TO THE FLYER WITHOUT ANYONE IN THE BAND CONFIRMING THE SHOW. SIMPLE MISUNDERSTANDING PERHAPS BUT IT DRAGGED OUT A LITTLE BIT.

14. Overall what do you see as far as hardcore's future is concerned? A BUNCH OF BITTER OLD FUCKERS DISTANCING THEMSELVES FROM THEIR MUCH YOUNGER MORE POPULAR OFFSPRING WHOSE SHOWS ARE ALL CRAZY PACKED AND ILL LIKE MINOR THREAT AT THE 9:30 CLUB. (WHICH IS FUNNY CAUSE NONE OF EM WILL HAVE A CLUE). MEANWHILE THE OLD BANDS ARE TOILING IN OBSCURITY DOING "NYHC OLDIES REVIEW" PACKAGE DEALS AND ACCEPTING MONEY TO DO MEET AND GREETS THAT HARDLY ANYONE COMES TO.

15. The term hardcore is so overrated that any band that puts a breakdown in their song is considered hardcore what does this mean to you? ABUSE OF THE WORD HARDCORE IS A PUNISHABLE OFFENSE. BREAKDOWN WAS A BAND

16. What advice can you give to some of the newer bands starting out that might have a difficult time and are thinking of throwin in the towel? THROW IT IN. THERE'S ALREADY WAY TOO MANY SHITTY FUCKING BANDS.

17. How can readers around the world contact you about getting merchandise? WE JUST PRINTED UP A BUNCH OF SHIT: http://www.darksidenyc.com/ http://www.satanwearssuspenders.com/ SNATCH IT UP WHILE YOU CAN. WHO KNOWS? WE MIGHT VERY WELL CALL IT QUITS AGAIN AND IT'LL BE ANOTHER DECADE BEFORE WE MAKE MORE.

18. Do you have any upcoming tours or shows you would like to tell the readers about? SHOWS WITH US ON THE BILL ARE HISTORICALLY AND INEVITABLY SUBJECT TO CHANGE. BEST THING TO DO IS CHECK THE SITES FOR CURRENT INFO. THERE'S SUPPOSED TO BE A HUGE HARDCORE BBQ SHOW IN PEEKSKILL ON JULY 14TH. LOOK OUT FOR THAT.

19. Do any of the members of the band have side projects? THIS BAND IS THE SIDE PROJECT

20. Besides myspace where else can the readers go to hear new music and find out about other band related information? GO DOWN TO SOME RECORDS AND PICK UP BULLSHIT MONTHLY. OR LISTEN TO CRUCIAL CHAOS – JOHNNY STIFF AND SPERMICIDE.

21. Who are some of the upcoming bands that we should be on the look out for? BETTER IDEA: START BY GETTING SCHOOLED ON ALL THE CLASSIC OLD HARDCORE AND PUNK AND WORK YOUR WAY FORWARD. I'M IN MY DAMN MID-30'S AND I'M STILL DISCOVERING AWESOME BANDS I SLEPT ON FROM 20-30 YEARS AGO.

22. Do you have anything else to add that I may have forgotten to ask that the readers should know about? OTHER DOPE RELEASES COMING OUT ON SATAN WEARS SUSPENDERS: EVERYDAY DOLLARS THE UPRISE CONFUSION ÐEVILS FOR ÎSLAM http://www.myspace.com/darksidenyc
http://www.darksidenyc.com/
http://www.myspace.com/satanwearssuspenders

THIS WAS BY FAR THE BEST INTERVIEW I EVER DID WITH WORLDWIDE TAKEOVER QUESTION 21 IS THE BEST ADVICE OUT THERE.