The Hardknocks are not at all what I expected from an American Oi! Punk band. I was ready for some mean dudes, but I got happy, friendly dudes. It was in a quiet neighborhood, in the depths of Sylmar, CA. Just another house on the block, looking at it, you'd never guess deep inside lies the Lion's Den. Anthony let us in through the gate, I find the title "Lion's Den" to be appropriate, as a fierce, adorable, cat has made his home atop the porch. He was obviously in charge, he supervised the entire interview, he demanded some pizza from The Hardknocks! But I digress, after introductions, we wasted no time and got straight to the nitty-gritty:
How did you get the name Hardknocks?
Anthony (Singer): I started the
band as a side project in 2010, and that name was just perfect for the stuff we
were writing at the time and right now. So it fit the band and the style. In
2014 we started playing more seriously and started recording and putting out
records. This is the lineup since 2014.
A: Me and Dave were playing in
another band called C.I. at the time a few years back, and I decided
to start a side project with Raymond and we used to play in an old band
together back in like 2005 – 2006. So we started our own side project and we had
brought in our friend Jordan, he sings for Down
for Life. We wanted to play a different style. I mean, at the time the
bands that were playing, nobody was really playing Oi! Music. So we wanted to bring our own influence and like Geo
said, we kind of called it thug rock at that time. Yeah, so we just decided to
start an American Oi! Band, and that’s what it was.
[disembodied voice]: Oi!
How would you describe your sound?
A: We used to. Now-a-days we
play whatever we want. We’re not really an “Oi! Band”, we’re not really a “Hardcore
band” or a “Street Punk band” we’re a little mixture of everything.
What is the farthest you’ve toured?
A: The furthest we’ve gone is
the Midwest. We’ve played in Minneapolis; we’ve played the Midwest Live and Loud Festival with bands from all over the world,
from Europe, and all over the states, and that was our biggest trip yet, right?
We got a lot lined up.
What was it like playing in Minneapolis? Are the crowds
crazy there?
A: Everybody was super nice.
They’re all big-ass dudes out there. They’re all intimidating, but you know,
they were all nice dudes. There was really no drama. There was like one fight
out of the whole weekend, so it was really good.
Do you have any jobs outside the music?
A: I’m self-employed. I’m
Anthony, by the way.
Ray (Drummer): I’m the Forman
for a demolition company. That’s my job 24/7.
Dave (Lead Guitar): I work in
quality control. Gotta quality control all these assholes. [he gestures to his band
members]
[A hardy laugh all around]
Geo (Rhythm Guitar): I’m your
neighborhood Uber and Lyft and School Bus Driver. I take your babies to school,
and safely.
Myke Evol The One and Only
(Bass): I am a Male Prostitute, just kidding, no I’m not. No, I work in sheet
metal, for construction.
Any job stories? Any horror stories or anything?
A: I’ll give this one to
Raymond, he has the best one, I guess.
R: Well back in 2013 I fuckin
fell off a ladder almost the size of this house. It was maybe two stories. I
fell when the whole ladder slid off the roof. I fell and that shit landed on
top of me, and I ended up breaking my wrist. Which actually set me back two
years of playing drums.
D: My job’s boring so on to the
next.
G: Well exciting is if you ever
have a cerebral palsy little kid in a wheelchair just Exorcist-Throw-Up all
over you. And I mean every day for like two weeks straight. That is kick-ass!
M: I don’t have any horror
stories. I mean, just up high in the air on scaffolding. It’s scary. That’s
about it.
G: But you gotta tell them how
big your ass is!
M: I’m about 320lbs, on
scaffolding up seven stories. Ey, and when I say those planks bend, THEY BEND!
R: I’ve broken a ceiling or two.
M: Actually I DO have a story! I
do, since you said that. I did fall through a ceiling once. It was in Santa
Monica. This old church where they have these nice weddings. They were getting
ready for a wedding and we were doing the AC ducts, and this building is OLD
and I was in the attic. I stepped off one of the planks and I just hit the
dry-wall and my foot went through - BLAM! It was over the dance floor. They
were like “They’re having a wedding here tomorrow!” so we had to call in some
guys and fix the dry wall and they’re like “THIS BUILDING IS 200 YEARS OLD!”
and I was like “Why the FUCK do you have us up there then!? Why do you have ME
up there!? I barely fit in the damn attic!”
Any hobbies outside the music?
A: I used to be big on graphic
design, but I’m starting to get back into it… Probably the last 15 years or so
I did flyers for many shows out here.
D: For me, I’m David, my biggest
hobby is guitar. Even if I wasn’t playing in a band, I’d just always be
playing; and recently I got into repairing guitars and anything to do with
guitars. I recently got into photography. So that’s a lot of fun and it also
comes in handy with us doing videos or taking band photos.
A: BACK TO ME! I’m actually
interested in video editing and I just did our first video which is called
Lion’s Den on YouTube. So I actually did that myself. Don’t ask me how I did
it. I don’t know. It took me a few days, but I figured it out.
D: A lot of trial-and-error,
while sitting there. Also, if I were to choose a career path, I’d choose Audio
Engineering cos I’ve been recording all our stuff since day one. It’s been fun.
There’s been, you know, painful times with these guys. Sometimes 30 – 40 takes.
Cos [we’re] pretty much learning the songs on the spot. Over the years I’ve
gotten better and better. I think our next album is definitely one of our best.
G: Yes, on that note, our album
is definitely gonna be a banger. Besides being a full time kid and dad at the
same time, I mean, shit, all kinds of shit. Like right now I coach my son’s
soccer team, so we’re kickin’ ass on that. I mean four year olds kickin ass?
That’s bad ass. Avid stoner. Shit. I like to lift heavy things and women.
M: Heavy women.
G: That’s right, baby!
D: Everyone’s gonna [read] that.
G: Go ahead, bring your friends.
A: Bring your friends.
M: I don’t have any! … I like
to, well I haven’t done it much in a while, but I like to spray paint. Not
illegally anymore. I’m too fat to be running around. I have a board in the
backyard and I just spray paint. It’s like my own relaxation. [Mike’s phone dings] And I like to Snap.
R: Oh, shit!
M: I like to go skiing. Hitting
the slopes.
R: No go back to snap. You’re a
snapchat fuckin advocate. Explain!
M: I like to snap!
R: you should work for snapchat.
He’s better than our own fuckin publicist.
M: Well I snapped already,
[Paco] was in the video. I just have a lot of people interested in my life,
that’s it.
Can you elaborate on the album?
A: The new album is halfway
done. We just finished recording all the music. I have not finished writing all
the lyrics for it. Basically it will be a continuing of our new EP that just
came out, which is titled Angels and
Demons. So it will be around the same route as that. This new album is
definitely gonna be harder, heavier, also melodic. We have a couple “Sing-Alongs”
that will be there for everybody… to fuckin sing along.
D: As a recording engineer… I
gotta give everyone credit cos they really stepped it up. Along with the new
techniques I’ve been using and the way everyone’s been practicing and stepping
it up, I think everything sounds super tight and on-point. I’m pretty proud of
everybody. Especially Ray when he had to lay down like twelve drum tracks
within a week or two; and he had to juggle it with work too. That’s really
tough. Coming out of work tired and still have to play the drums. We do what he
have to do. Like we were saying, all of us have day jobs, so we’re exhausted by
the time we get out of here but we love to do it and that’s what keeps us
going.
G: Oi! Doesn’t pay the bills,
but this album might. That’s how good it is.
M: I’m excited for it to come
out! It sounds good! Sounds awesome! It’s supposed to be out this summer.
How do you feel about the scene in the San Fernando
Valley as it stands today?
A: I could talk a lot of shit
right now. The scene from back then to now, it’s changed a lot. Back when I was
going to shows, it was at it’s prime. We had bands from Ventura County coming
out. This was like early 2000s. 2001, 2002. We had bands like The Last
Priority, Ragtime Revolutionaries… Angel City Outcast, The Brigs, that was when
they were making it. We had a lot of bands that we were fortunate to see a lot
of. Good bands and good shows. From then till the last ten years, maybe five,
ten years it’s changed a lot. Now the scene is divided. There’s crews, there’s
neighborhoods, and it’s just divided. It’s all over LA, and to be honest, I don’t
go to shows in the valley anymore. It’s just too different. The last time I did
go it was nothing but kids. It’s just not the same.
With the activity going on in East LA, South LA pretty
active, like every weekend. How do you feel about out here.
A: With East LA; East LA is
where it’s at. We actually played our first show in East LA like two months
ago. Our buddy Nacho from Corrupted Youth, he’s the man to go to for all the
shows. He hit us up and he was like “Come play one of my shows” so we went, and
we played in front of about 400 + kids. That was the most kids I’ve ever seen
in a fuckin backyard. We’re playing there again July 14th, and we do
have a couple more shows in the works. The scene is definitely alive and
kicking in LA.
If you had 24 hours to live, what would you do?
M: Probably do a lot of drugs.
[Laughter, all around]
M: (continued) Go out with a
bang! Probably spend it with my family. Spend time with my friends and family
drugged out. Try to get everybody drugged out so we could have a good time.
G: I’d probably hit up all those
casinos. Go to those nice, single, divorcees, just out there, spending that
money.
[Inaudible]
G: (continued) Oh… But I’d want
my dick to stay on, but then again, we’re dying already so what the fuck’s the
matter? I gotta come back on that.
D: Drugs.
R: I don’t know, I’d probably
smoke weed. Just smoke weed and stay in bed till I die.
A: That’s a tough question for
me, cos there’s so many things that I would do if I had 24 hours. I would
probably rob a Guitar Center, and take all their fucking Gibsons.
Follow up: Why?
M: I’M BROKE!
A: Cos I can’t afford Gibsons,
well, I have two, but the one I want is about five grand and I can’t afford it.
D: Ditto.
R: I don’t have any other plans.
It’s short notice.
D: I suppose if I had a week I’d
do as much traveling as possible, but 24 hours you can’t really do that.
G: Well it’s because I have a
gambling problem, and fucking why not?
M: I just really like drugs. But
yeah, I would just spend it with my family, cos we always have a lot of
parties. It’s always good to be around family. [whispers] Not invite these
guys.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done on tour?
M: Craziest thing I’ve done?
Craziest thing you’ve done or craziest thing that’s
happened.
M: This was my other band but I
fell off the stage.
How did you do that?
M: Well cos the stage was an
awkward size. It was like 3 ½ ft., so I misjudged it and I rolled my ankle.
Luckily it was when we were loading in. There were people in there, but there
wasn’t that many. And we went to Minnesota… Should I tell that one? We just
partied all night in Minnesota, me and the drummer, Ray.
G: Played on mushrooms with this
thrash band I got [Merciless Death]. It was actually an important show. It was
in London. We played Open Air Metal Assault and it was right before Sodom, and
I took mushrooms about two hours before. By the time we were playing, third
song mid in, I don’t know what I was playing. Imagine that, in front of 18,000
kids. There’s video of it, I’m pretty sure if you look it up. We were three
songs in and It was like an hour set.
M: Quick one, I don’t know if
you guys remember this one. We played in San Jose, and I got TRASHED before we even played. I got
hammered. I remember Anthony and my brother were trying to make me throw up in
the bathroom before we played. It was too late, we were on and I THOUGHT I sounded good, but according
to everybody else, I don’t know. They said I was screaming out random lyrics,
wasn’t singing the right song.
D: I wouldn’t say it’s the
craziest thing, but one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen was Anthony super
shit-faced and in the same exact spot twice he slipped and ate shit. Just
slipped on his ass. One was a stage dive and the second he was trying to go in
the pit. I think it was the same show where Jill was taunting me. We’re
bandmates and we’re friends, he’s over there acting like I’m a stranger, like
I’m nobody and he keeps pushing me and pushing me. I socked him in his face,
and he just laughs… That was definitely one of the funniest shows.
Shameless Plugs:
Myke Evol does some acoustic
shit, but we have yet to find an internet presence. (Mike, if you have a site
or anything that you want here, contact us!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment