A Wake in Providence Release new Single 'Psycho'

One of Staten Island's biggest hardcore/metal bands, A Wake Providence, released a lyric video for their new single,"Psycho," which is off their upcoming EP Insidious. The track features Davis Rider of Immortalist lending screams to the song.

To put it simply, the song is brutal. It kicks you in the face, and then curb stomps you as you get up. It has all the heavy guttural noise AWIP is known for as well as the insane chug chug of the guitars, china ridden double bass breakdowns.

Thematically, the song is very dark as the American Psycho inspired song talks about becoming the monstrous thing they hate. The song look inward to failure and life choices that essentially self inflict pain and torture...you know, light stuff.

Listen to the song below:

Download the song here.

https://www.facebook.com/AWAKEINPROVIDENCENYC

Staten Island Hardcore Documentary Showcases Music History (Interview with City Lights Films)

Why do you guys feel this was a movie that had to be made?
Sam and myself grew up in Staten Island, went to Staten Island shows, and  played in Staten Island bands. It is something that played a huge part  in our lives and continues to do so today. Memories fade, and we wanted to preserve the history and let people know what went on here, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.


How big would you say the punk scene was on the Island, and what was different for local music in it's heyday?
The hardcore punk scene "back in the day" was huge.  It was something to look forward to on your weekends after a long week of school. Flyers were passed around in school during the week, and on the weekends at the Staten Island Mall. Bands promoted, it wasn't just a social media Facebook event invite. You were almost certain you would have a decent crowd at a show where the crowd would stay for all of the bands playing, regardless of who was in the band or what type of musical genre they fell under, whether it be rock, metal, hardcore or punk.


What's something everyone will learn from watching the film?
Hopefully people get a good history lesson. We have learned, from filming this documentary that a large chunk of the current show goers and bands do not have an idea about any history or where their roots came from. They learned about their music from Facebook and Myspace. They found an underground mainstream band that their friend hit the like button on, and they decided to emulate it.




What surprised you the most about making this film?
We were surprised to get contacted from people out of the wood work. We have received our own history lesson just from digging up information on Staten Island and the music that was played out here, the beginning of punk and hardcore in this area. Little stories and urban legends, that made us realize we were dealing with something that was huge. For example, we had no idea that Metallica actually hung out on Staten Island for a few days, and that Kirk Hammet dated someone from here who went to shows and local concerts in the 80s. We didn't believe it until we received a photo showing the band with local Staten Islanders.


What are the pros and cons of making an indie film?
The pros of making a film is the rewarding experience, knowing you accomplished something great, and the excitement of knowing people will be watching something you created. The cons on the other hand, is the high cost of equipment, the time you put into the film and the lack of support because you aren't a "big time film maker."


Do you guys have a background in music yourselves, and tell me about it?
We have both played in many bands growing up, Sam since the age of 12, and myself since the age of 16 – some local bands, some non local bands. Sam has played in some well known S.I. bands such as Big Wheel, Indifference and Murdock, and I played in some local bands, my favorites being Dreams Forever Drowning, and my current band, Ruthless Dudes.


What's the difference between yesterday's punk and today's punk?
Yesterday's punk was all about hating authority, and doing things yourself. Today's punk is about going to Hot Topic, social media and how many Facebook friends you have.

Do you feel the music scene is lacking unity, or is it in a good place as far as people working together?
I try to get to as many shows as I can, but due to work, school and film projects, I really only get to go when my band is playing, or if I am on a special project related to a Staten Island band. I don't see the unity like I did when I was much younger, it seems like more of a popularity contest or who wants to fight who.  It is sad. Not saying that all is lost, I still see many young people that remind me of myself when I was going to shows as a teenager.


What other projects have you guys worked on, and/or hope to make?
We have done music videos for the Staten Island band's A Wake In Providence and Deception Theory, and we have some more music videos in the future that we are working on. We also will be starting another film when we complete this one, to which the script is in the works.


Anything else to add?
We just want people to take the time out to check out our trailer, pass it along and tell a friend. Making a film is hard work and a lot of time and effort goes into it. Our goal is to get our film to blu-ray or DVD, get it into film festivals and have a following.

Support City Lights Films in their quest to bring notice to hardcore!
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/staten-island-hardcore-a-history

Help Get S.I. Hardcore Indie Film Off the Ground

Staten Island Hardcore - A History

"Staten Island NY, also known as the forgotten borough, has a hardcore punk history that not many know about."

Indie filmmakers Anthony Clemente and Samuel Peralta are looking to gather some of the untold stories of Staten Island's booming punk and hardcore scene from the 80s into the late 90s as they document some of the former and still current rockers reliving their glory days. 

So if you are looking to learn some history, hear great music and stories of your favorite genre, and help contribute to the Staten island music scene, check out this film and help fund it!

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/staten-island-hardcore-a-history

More information at - https://www.facebook.com/citylightsfilms

Andrew Neufeld of COMEBACK KID Interview

 How has this year gone musically since the departure of Casey Hjelmberg, and what does Stu Ross bring to the table on guitar?
Casey was rad, but it's been pretty fluid actually. We have had a few people come and go over the span of our career and funny enough, the people who we get to fill the positions end up being close with the members prior to them. We've never really had an "bad blood" with departing members, we have just been a band for about 12 years and although there are 3 of us original members in the band who are psycho and want to tour forever, the touring lifestyle just isn’t for everyone. So when Casey left, we got our friend Stu Ross. He actually almost joined the band a few years back when our old bass player Kevin quit. Stu has played in Misery Signals, and most recently had a stint with Living With Lions. He claims CBK is one of his faves, but it’s great to have a new guitar player that is on the level with us personally and he brings a new excitement and fire to the band. As much as it was sad to see Casey leave, he wanted to do other things with his life and gave us like seven months notice so Stu pretty much jumped right in and we didn't lose any steam.

Stu, Casey, and Matt our current bassist also have a band called Lowtalker who just released an EP on No Sleep records this fall. Check it out!

How was the Symptoms & Cures World Tour, and how was the response to the band in other parts of the world?
It was great. When we started the album cycle we were really stoked to get out as much as possible and really bang out a lot of territories in the first year the album was out. It's interesting to see which songs go over better than others in certain cities/ countries. We always play songs from all four of our albums to date, so it’s encouraging to us when new songs from Symptoms + Cures go over just as well as songs from Wake The Dead or something when we are in far off places like Tokyo or Sao Paulo...


What was the best place to play and why?
Some highlights for me would be Hamburg, Sao Paulo ( Brazil ), Santiago ( Chile ), Tokyo, Southern California, and Portugal. The energy of some of these crowds is second to none. We are really lucky to be so welcomed in a lot of different cities.

Biggest rock-star moment/biggest fail as a band or while on tour?
We've played Groezrock festival in Belgium a couple times and that is by far our biggest festival reaction. It’s a crazy feeling playing to 8,000 people in a packed tent and they actually know our band's songs. Very different from an intimate club show, but really fun.

As far as failures, there are many, but I can't think of one big one off the top of my head. I choose to take the positive from bad decisions we've made, and try not to dwell on that kind of shit.

"Do Yourself a Favour" is a brutal way to kick off the album. Why was this song selected to do so, and why do you feel it is a strong single?
The song did well live and it’s the first from the album so we did a video for it. It was Jeremy's idea to have it as the first song. Track-listing an album is tricky…

'Symptoms & Cures' is a lot more musically dynamic and diverse than previous albums as far as experimenting with the "hardcore" sound. What was the reasoning for this and have the fans been receptive?
The layering of the album just came naturally. I wanted to do an album with a few more textures as opposed to just the left and right side panned guitars. I also really enjoy layering vocals and squeezing hints of melody in places that we want to keep aggressive. The album has been received well live, so I'm happy with it. We try our best to pull it off as best we can live.

Now that the tour is over, is the band getting back in the studio, or is just a little down time before the next project?
We've started writing a new album, but we all live in different cities now so it's tougher to get together and hash out the ideas. I'm currently in the studio with my other band Sights & Sounds working on new material and a couple of the other guys are out on tour with Lowtalker ( who I mentioned before ), so we're about to figure out a timeline for when we can jam and hopefully record in the first half of 2013. I’m really looking forward to getting some new material down with the guys.

Aside from a few member changes, how has Comeback Kid evolved as a band, and what do you see the band becoming in the future?
It’s been over 12 years since we started so we've grown to appreciate each other and the band that we get to be a part of. It's a relaxed group most of the time and we seem to work well together. All of our records have been different and I'm into that. We still see quite a future with CBK and we will be touring and making records for a decent while longer I’m sure. We’ve been writing some songs lately and they are sounding really cool. I look up to Sick Of It All, Madball, Propagandhi, etc and see how they have made their bands last 20+ years. It's inspiring to see them still rip it up on stage.

The popularity of hardcore has really risen over the last few years, why do you think this is so, and are you afraid it may be become too "mainstream?"
I don't know if the popularity of "hardcore" has really risen in the past few years, but I think there are a lot of heavy bands taking influence from hardcore that are getting insanely popular. Doesn't particularly make them a hardcore band. But yes, it definitely goes in waves.

I think that there will always be bands getting huge and there will always be really small punk/ hardcore bands and shows going on. Bands will always get dismissed when they move out of their original scene and break a little more into the mainstream for whatever reason. It’s the balance that needs to be there.
We've been fortunate enough to run our band our own way since we started. We do the tours we want to do, we make the records we want to make. Sure we get people at the labels and booking agencies give us advice but we do what we feel comfortable with and we've been able still really enjoy it after all this time. I feel pretty lucky.

Verbatim Album Review on 'What We're Made For'

Verbatim is a Staten Island band that I have had the pleasure of working with and playing shows with. They are a fantastic hardcore/metalcore band that blew me away the first time I saw them live. Comprised of vocalists, Keenan WIlliams and Peter Martingano, guitarists, Joe Bushman and David Lefcort, bassist, Marcin Hamielec, and drummer, Mike Giglia; these guys are doing exactly what they said they were on their Tumblr: "…We're here to take the world by storm."

Last week they released their first EP, What We're Made For, and as expected, it did not disappoint. 

The opening track of the EP, "Desire & I" is a strong foray into everything Verbatim has. It alternates between soft melodic parts with echoing vocals into transitions of heavy guitars and drum driven breakdowns through deep growls. The song is a plea to a girl name "Desire," before we learn of unfaithfulness and letdown spiraling the song into a frantic thrash breakdown with the singer whispering under the screams matching the themes perfectly.

"The Untamed Animoid Pt. 2" opens up much punkier than the rest of the album. However, the term punky is used loosely here as the song quickly changes into their metal core roots for the chorus. Throughout the track the dynamic of the vocals switch back and fourth nicely between the clean vocals and screams.

While this first track was almost seven minutes long, this song takes the listener further on a musical journey in shorter time making for one of the most unique musical experiences I've heard. Three minutes and on in this song is one of my favorite parts of a song ever.

Just when the song starts picking up, it cuts into a small dub step part, which then jumps into a quick breakdown followed by a slower one. Clean vocals come back in spoken word style while the music thrashes in the background. A bluesy interlude leads the song into perfect chaos, as it closes out melodically. 

The EP closes out with, "Deliverance." A monologue fits nicely over good guitar and bass work in the intro before erupting into screaming over wailing guitars. 

Toward the middle of the song, everything drops out and the song seems to end. Then a softer musical part enters in almost like a hidden track. At the end of this little interlude we are introduced to vocals going back and fourth along with a pulsing breakdown ending the song aggressively.

Overall this EP is a great dive into the local music scene and a great contribution to the metalcore genre. The production and quality is great as well as the skill and talent from the band. 

I've seen the band live before and they put on a great show, as well as show off their knack for dabbling into other styles of music. Live, I've seen them play some hip-hop/jazz instrumentals for Kenan to rap on, and they also used to have synth in their music which added so much to the sound. Overall my biggest complaint is that it was only three songs, but averaging around six minutes a song will have to do for now. So look out for Verbatim, and support them as they try to get on Warped Tour! 

http://warped.battleofthebands.com/u/Verbatim

Listen to the album on Soundcloud - http://soundcloud.com/verbatimtheband

https://www.facebook.com/Verbatimproject

https://twitter.com/#!/VerbatimBand

http://verbatimproject.tumblr.com/

Q&A With Everyone Dies in Utah

Everyone Dies in Utah is making headway with their newest release Seeing Clearly, recently dropping on March 1st. This six piece hardcore/electronica band getting noticed for their unique twist on the post hardcore genre by fluidly adding digital sounds and computer generated beats and rhythms and vocals. The following interview was conducted with drummer, Justin Morgan and bass/vocalist, Justin Yost. 
The following interview will be in the next issue of Broken Records.

You guys were one of the winning bands for the Ernie Ball Warped Tour challenge. Was winning that competition a key component on your success? 
We actually won the challenge two years in a row. It was an amazing experience and opportunity that we all feel gave us much needed promotion as well as a great time with fans and friends.


Where do you draw your influences from?
Musically, we all listen to bands from all over the musical spectrum such as: Enter Shikari, The Dangerous Summer, Enigma, and pretty much anything in between. We all have our tastes in music and we bring them all to the table in every song that we write.


Does adding the electronica/techno infused beats throughout the music change what people would typically classify a "hardcore band?"
Some would say yes, others would say no but we don't really use the electronic sound to be "genre defining." We use it more as a instrument to help create the feel and emotion that we try to give off in our songs.


Why did you go that route, and are there other dimensions of music you guys will be exploring in the future?
Originally, we didn't use electronics. But as we progressed, we realized that it can be marketable if used the right way; it was potentially a great addition to our music.


On your Myspace, you talk about wanting your music to be inspirational. Have any fans openly spoken to the band about the impact EDIU has had on their lives from a musical standpoint?
Yes! We have had fans claim to feel many different emotions after listening to our debut album, "Seeing Clearly," such as sad, happy and every emotions in between. We had a particular fan tell us she cried when she listened to the last song on the album, "Simply Me," for the first time which is actually a great thing to hear for us. It makes us feel as though our message is being heard.


What was it like finally dropping this debut record and how has the response to it been so far?
The anticipation was almost too great but now that it has finally dropped, we've had great reviews and responses and we couldn't be happier about it.


What do you think is uniquely different about your album compared to some of your peers?
We're not going to sit here and say that you're going to love our album more than our peers album but we will say that we wrote it from our hearts. We wrote it out of experiences that we've had that can relate to one another and the strongest messages we had to give, we actually repeated a few times throughout the album so our fans, and friends would truly understand our meaning.

Bed, Bath, & Beyonce...please explain. 
The name doesn't relate to anything in all honesty. We try to be positive people but that doesn't mean that we don't like to have fun and enjoy life. We like to joke around and have a lighthearted time with our fans. The name just goes to show that we really don't need to be serious all the time to write meaningful music.


Why do so many people die in Utah?
Honestly, we have no idea. None of us have ever even been to Utah so we're not entirely sure. The band name actually just came from a statistic saying that Utah had the highest death rate of all of the states at one point, henceforth, Everyone Dies In Utah.


What is in the near future for EDIU?
We have a few tours coming up during the summer stretching from the west coast to the east coast and almost everywhere in between. We're excited to get out there and play with some awesome bands, meet tons of awesome new people, and ultimately, share our love for music with the world. We also have a music video for our single, "Bed, Bath, & Beyonce," that is scheduled to release on AP's website April 21st and we're super stoked for that.


Anything else you want to add?
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to give us a chance. It truly does mean the world to us. Come out to a show, pick up a record, and come give us high fives! And of course, don't put twinkies on your pizza!


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