High Reach (Vocals) Defilade (Vocals) Top of the world (guitar) Pushback (guitar)
Years active: 2021-present
How did you first get into music, and which band became your first real obsession? Being the son of a single mother. I was left to my own devices. Spending long hours in front of a CRT TV I would find myself playing games on my PlayStation 2. Games like SmackDown Vs Raw, Guitar Hero, Spiderman 2, Madden 07 just to name a few. The games I would play (especially Madden 07) had the most killer soundtracks. Sometimes I wouldn’t even play the games. I would just sit on the main menu screen just to listen to these soundtracks. The band that was my first real obsession was Three Days Grace. I was 6 or 7 years old and too poor to buy any WWE paper view events, so I would watch the highlights on YouTube 4 or 5 days after it they would happen. The music that these videos would use was always a Three Days Grace song. They showed me that music did not have to sound like KidzBop, all happy and uplifting and what not. Their music resonated with me. Powerful, Dark and Emotional. Songs about starting riots and being in pain. They opened up a whole new world of alternative music.
How did you discover HC, what pulled you in, and which band served as your gateway? At the peak of the golden era of Side One Dummy and Run for Cover, I noticed that many of the bands had a slight edge to them that no warped tour band could replicate. They were all hardcore kids. These Melodic Hardcore bands ( Daylight, Basement, Title Fight, Seahaven, Citizen) would be the gateway to Hardcore punk and heavier music. The rawness and truthfulness of hardcore is what pulled me in.
Biggest musical influence? King Nine, Agent, GlassJaw, Title Fight, Basement, Trapped Under Ice, Crown of Thronz, Have Heart
Top LIHC / NYHC bands of all time? Agent, King Nine, GlassJaw, Inside, Backtrack, Gorilla Biscuits
Top 3 non-HC bands of all time? Índigo la end, The Smiths, Oasis
Current LIHC / NYHC bands worth checking out? If none, list from other places. Field of Vision, NYC SHOOT OUT, Lions Den, Last Laugh, Evil Ways, Of Temperament, Fermented Mess, Liberate, Running Hot, Shits Creek, Pound for Pound, Heavy Hex, No Unity, Grael.
“Love yourself and don’t try to be anything that you’re not. Stay true. Real recognize real.”—Chris Shiraishi
Photo by @quickchangehxcphotography