Interview with Nic Woj. "Here’s a brand new COLD WORLD interview. Pretty in-depth w/info on our new LP and all other types of ill shit." -CW, SEX PRISONER up next.
How did CW start?
Dan, Alex and I were in a band together called Magnus years ago and
after that Alex was in Frostbite for a little. Since then, none of use have
done a real band so we had the itch. We recruited Dave Foster, who also was
in Frostbite towards the end, and figured out how we wanted to sound and
went from there. At the time, Alex and I lived in Philly while Dave and Dan
lived in Wilkes-Barre. We'd practice pretty much every week, usually in Philly.
What influenced you guys?
While the hardcore scene was definitely fun at the time, there certainly
wasn't anything that really sounded like what we wanted to do. I think that void inspired us mostly. We loved bands like Life of Agony, Leeway and Biohazard and no one was really doing that at the time. Not that we wanted to sound exactly like those bands but we liked the crossover vibe. We wanted to appeal to all the different walks of life within the scene. In the end I'm not sure it worked out that way but it was definitely a goal of ours. I remember Alex only wanted to make XL and XXL shirts at first! But less specifically, I'd say coming up in the Wilkes-Barre hardcore scene was the biggest influence on CW. It was the kind of scene where people were always trying to do something different (for better or worse) and that probably has a lot to do with why we thought nothing of incorporating hip-hop elements into our sound.
Whats the background on the ice grillz 7"?
Ice Grillz was our second 7". Our first was a self-titled on Walk All Night Records. I think it was a solid release but I don't think we really discovered our whole sound until Ice Grillz. I remember writing a lot of Ice Grillz in Alex's basement and being really psyched on what we were coming up with. I specifically remember writing "Copernicus" one day. At the time, we thought that intro was so long and ignorant. It doesn't really seem that way now. Anyways, Greg asked us to do the record on Lockin Out and it was a no-brainer. We recorded the first 7" with Don Fury and we were pretty much happy with how it came out so we went back to do "Ice Grillz" with him. He said he wasn't happy with how the first record came out so he went harder and paid more attention to things on this go round and I think it really shows when you play the records back to back.
What got you into hc and hip hop?
Hip-hop was my first musical love and that was very early on. Like 6-7 years old. I stuck with it even through getting into metal, punk and other kinds of music. I didn't really get into hardcore until probably 94-95. My first punk show was when I was in 6th grade and lived in FL. A friend took me to see Ill Repute. Soon after, there was a death in my family and I had to move back to Wilkes-Barre so that stunted my getting into going to shows. Where I lived wasn't very cultured. There were no skaters, punkers or anything of the sort in my high school. I've never realized it until right now but my friend Jarrod and I were literally the first kids in our high school to get into punk and skateboarding. Bobb Mac from Walk All Night Records was the first wagger of our high school, but that was a couple grades ahead of us and he had transferred to a Catholic School uptown by the time we were there. He was there for my first year actually and I remember him handing me down a really ill Tommy Hilfiger lumberjack coat and his sketchy friend Gary Moore showing me the "weed plant" he had growing in his locker (it was literally one tiny sprout in a dixie cup). Anyways, after becoming full-fledged "skaters", Jarrod and I got into going to local punk/hc shows soon after. We would get dropped off in Wilkes-Barre on weekends and skate with our friends, hang out at the mall and go to shows. One of the first good shows I remember going to was Both Worlds at Sea Seas. I also remember seeing local bands like Burial Ground and Bedford at various fire halls and places like the Mantis Green and Cafe Metropolis. Northwest High School's notorious first wigger soon found his way into hardcore and we started rolling with him. Bobb was older and drove, so we were partaking in all the 90s hardcore/wigger activities like writing graffiti, skating all night and other mischief. There was also an older dude from my high school named Len who drove us to shows a lot but he wasn't that into hardcore, he was more into punk stuff like Bad Religion and Propaghandi. He was pretty into the Wilkes-Barre political straight-edge scene stuff though so he'd take us to any of those shows. i remember him giving me a SOIA tape and an Insted cd saying he tried to get into them but he couldn't get past the cheesy lyrics. I played drums from an early age so I ended up starting a band with my friends Gary, Nate and Eric from high school. We were mostly influenced by 90s Victory stuff but I was into "old school" stuff and Nate was really into death metal so we put those influences in as well.
How did you enjoy your tour with backtrack, dead end path and expire?
It was chill I guess. I dunno.
What did you guys think of your west coast shows?
They were really slammin. I specifically remember the show at Alladdin Jr's because it was packed with tons of kids and people really went ham and the show in Oakland cause of this cute chick with half red and half black hair in a Giants tee. I used to not really fuck with Cali but I've recently made some friends out there (shouts to Soul Seach & Julian) and have been seeing it in a different light.
When can we expect you guys back in cali/los angeles?
I'm not sure man. Unfortunately not soon enough. Dan lives in England now so it's hard for us to do shows unless it's a big tour or fest, which kills us because we used to love just doing our own thing. Fests are cool I guess but you lose that sense of intimacy that comes with regular-sized hc shows. We have a new album coming out early next year so hopefully we'll be able to do a tour to support it and we'd definitely come out for that.
Did you spit your game at that cute girl?
Man, I have no game to spit.
Speaking of the new lp when is it coming out and what label is releasing it?
Hopefully it's coming out early 2013 and Deathwish is putting it out. I really like how it's coming out and I think it may end up being the Cold World record that I'm most proud of. We did a decent amount of exploring how far we can take our sound and we have guest spots from Kool G Rap and Meyhem Lauren.
Any more chelsea girl jams coming out soon?
Parts Unknown is putting out a tape of the material I have so far. I think it's 7 songs and it's getting made in the next month or so. I'm not sure what I'm doing next with the project but there will definitely be more material in the future because I really enjoy making those songs. It's cool doing something that's all you and the material reflects my feelings and personality way more than and hardcore band could. I'm a major creative contributor in Cold World but when it comes down to it I'm just the drummer. Even though I write all the lyrics, I write them to be delivered through Dan so the material has to be something that makes sense and something he's comfortable with.
How do you get into DJ mode? and how did you come up with the reign supreme DJ song for their DEFIANT single?
i was in dj mode since high school. My friend Jeff and I just got into
it and would spin records and learn scratches, mixing and different
techniques every day after school. We eventually got into making beats
and just kind of learned together. I already knew how to spin and make
beats a
little so I taught him what I
knew and we both learned from there on. Robby Redcheeks is a friend of
mine and he put that RS record out. He wanted to make it look like a DJ
12" single and have a hip-hop intro so he hit me up. It was a beat I had
laying around and i threw some cuts that said "Reign Supreme" on it.
whats "can it be so simple" about?
It's basically just about living and dying and looking at what you did
in your life. It's pretty basic lyrically and definitely has an
existential side to it as far as questioning if there's a spiritual side
to life and if you're going to get judged for what you've done.
Personally, I don't think so but that's something everyone thinks about.
favorite hip hop artist?
That's really tough! My favorite rapper is probably Kool G Rap, but as far as records go, Eric B & Rakim have probably had the most impact on me from a young age. I'd have to mention Mobb Deep and Raekwon as well. I don't really have a straight-up favorite anything besides The Smiths/Morrissey.
It's pretty good. Khrysis is a name I know for sure. I think he's connected to the whole Little Brother/NC scene right? He's cool but the whole 9th wonder style gets a little repetitive for me. That drum pattern they always use gets kind of boring. But yeah, it's alright haha
What about big L and ghost face killa? hahaha (i mentioned GFK cause of Raekwon and big L cause hes fucking tight)
I obviously love Ghost and Big L and that's why I said it's so hard to pick a "favorite". I also try to seperate best from favorite. Certain rappers can "outrap" other rappers but that doesn't mean I enjoy their music more. East coast 90's hip-hop is the illest. Nothing can touch it and there's so many artists with classic albums that it gets rough to put them against one another.
Hows was your japan tour?
Japan is amazing and I can't wait to go back. I think about it all the time. It was cool to go record shopping and be able to get GISM and Death Side records and stuff like that. I got some Robotech and Gundam shit as well as some ill sneakers. It's the mecca of cool shit. We made a lot of great friends there as well. Tome from Bowlhead Records, Senta, everyone in Numb, Fight It Out, Sand, Creepout & my homie Katsu who does a great clothing company called Winiche & CO.
What current hardcore bands do you support?
Honestly hardcore is pretty wack to me right now but I think it's just because I'm getting older. My favorite bands now are Soul Search and Stick Together. I support all my friends bands like Beware, Build and Destroy, Free Spirit, Dead End Path, World War 4 etc. There's not too much getting me excited though. I can't really relate to much of the lyrics. Every other band has lyrics like "be yourself!" or whatever and that's cool but how many times can bands say that shit and why the fuck do I wanna be myself? I hate myself. The last thing people want me to be is myself, believe me. I've been myself for a while and it still hasn't done much for me. It seems like the only bands that have interesting lyrics and stuff aren't included in the regular hardcore scene, it's always some left field shit which is cool for them but that's not really what I'm into. Regular hardcore is going to suck probably forever now because kids get into it through either pop punk or Alternative Press shit. With that said, my opinion means nothing. The shit I thought was so great when I was young was probably shitty too, it's just that hardcore is such a time and a place thing. It's also extremely subjective considering in the grand scheme of music there's not much difference between one hardcore band and the next. So don't take my criticism (or anyone else's) too serious.
Ok nic last words?
Thanks for the interview, Alex. Our new album will be out sooner or later and in the mean time please check out the stuff we're doing on the side. Build and Destroy, Gypsy, Pegasus, RZL DZL etc. Also check www.coldworldhardcore.tumblr and the CW myspace for all the dj mixes I put up. I put them up frequently and I do a range of different mixes from hip-hop to grime to house to uk garage. Hopefully something for everyone.
