Finally a interview after all this inactivity.
Interview with the homie Connor!
How did Abuse. get together?
Alex and I originally wanted to get together and do a Man Is The Bastard style project with me on drums and him doing bass/vocals, but one day he called me up and was like "fuck that, let's just do a Crossed Out/No Comment style band and I'll sing". We got the sickest Grinding dudes in the area to be the string section (Christophe on guitar and Ace on bass) and in December of 2011 Abuse. was born.
Who influences Abuse.?
Obviously the first wave of Powerviolence is big for us (Crossed Out, No Comment, Infest, Neanderthal, etc), but a lot of our songwriting takes from other stuff we like. Death Metal and Doom Metal are huge for us, as well as Swedish/Japanese Hardcore. We also all really like Queens of The Stone Age, and if you don't you're a fuckin' poser.
Swedish/Japanese hardcore all day! what happened to will from TLAL releasing the 7"?
Well we had the 7" all recorded and Will was going to release it, but when we told him we had an LP basically already written he seemed more into releasing that instead. TLAL has been doing a lot more LPs lately so I'm just assuming that's what Will's focus is on right now haha. Jordan from Hygiene Records released our 7" and we're stoked as fuck that we have 2 super cool labels/dudes who got behind us!
When do you guys start writing for the LP?
We're had some of these LP songs for forfuckingever. Christophe, Ace, and myself all contribute to songwriting so at any given point we'll have a bunch of new songs just ready to go that the bands hasn't learned yet. I'm sure we had a few of the LP songs before we even recorded the 7", but to be honest I don't remember haha.
Hygiene records has some dope releases coming up! How's the NC scene?
Yeah, Hygiene rules. Jordan is the best dude too so I'm glad his label is doing so well!
The NC scene is pretty vast. Raleigh, Greensboro, WIlmington, and Charlotte are the main places where shows happen, and all of those places are at least a couple hours apart (roughly). Speaking strictly about Raleigh (where Abuse. is from), I think the bands here are fucking awesome and there is a good amount of really dedicated people who always come to shows and help support the scene. The big problem with our city is venues. Raleigh is a "bars and banks" kind of place, and at this point it's incredible difficult to find a place that is willing to do an ALL AGES show (something that is SO FUCKING IMPORTANT to me). It's a real bummer because even shows that have the 18+ age limit restrict a certain demographic of kids from going to shows, but hopefully soon there will be more houses/DIY spaces that pop up so that shows can happen more frequently and everyone (regardless of age) can go!
Are you the only member in abuse that's straight edge?
Yup. My edge is strong enough for the 4 of us though. I listen to Side By Side every day and the saddest day of my life was when I lost my Judge hoodie... R.I.P. (sorry for the long answers haha)
It's all good! It makes the interview more interesting haha I think we should start a youth crew band Strictly 80s NYHC! Project X, straight ahead, bold, youth of today, wide awake(i know they're from Connecticut but, they're still tight) type shit!
yo all those bands are MY SHIT. The Straight Ahead-Breakaway 12" is definitely one of my favorite records ever.
Have you seen any sexism, homophobia and or racism in NC?
Being that NC is definitely in the "bible belt" (we even have a song with that very name haha), there's a lot of that kind of bullshit around here. I haven't really seen any in the Hardcore scene (thank fucking god), but I guess I try my best not to hang around sexist/racist/homophobic assholes haha. Nobody has time for that shit.
Did you see judge or are you going to see them at black in blue in Chicago?
You know, as much as I love Judge, I'm sick of fucking reunions man. I was honestly pretty bummed when they announced they were playing, especially when Mike Judge was quoted a few years back saying he'd never do a Judge set again. If Crossed Out or Last Rights ever do a reunion I might have to kill myself... Just let bands stay dead! I can't lie though, I'll be moshing during Infest at Chaos In Tejas and I saw 86 Mentality do a set a few weeks ago and it was the sickest shit ever. Ok, let's just say I'm GENERALLY very strongly against bands reuniting. I'm a poser anyway so don't listen to me.
Saw infest twice and yall are in for a treat! Mosh hard for framtid! For the abuse lp, are you guys going to record where you had your previous recordings? How's demolish tapes going?
Being that NC is definitely in the "bible belt" (we even have a song with that very name haha), there's a lot of that kind of bullshit around here. I haven't really seen any in the Hardcore scene (thank fucking god), but I guess I try my best not to hang around sexist/racist/homophobic assholes haha. Nobody has time for that shit.
Did you see judge or are you going to see them at black in blue in Chicago?
You know, as much as I love Judge, I'm sick of fucking reunions man. I was honestly pretty bummed when they announced they were playing, especially when Mike Judge was quoted a few years back saying he'd never do a Judge set again. If Crossed Out or Last Rights ever do a reunion I might have to kill myself... Just let bands stay dead! I can't lie though, I'll be moshing during Infest at Chaos In Tejas and I saw 86 Mentality do a set a few weeks ago and it was the sickest shit ever. Ok, let's just say I'm GENERALLY very strongly against bands reuniting. I'm a poser anyway so don't listen to me.
Saw infest twice and yall are in for a treat! Mosh hard for framtid! For the abuse lp, are you guys going to record where you had your previous recordings? How's demolish tapes going?
fuuuuck yeah. I can't wait for Framtid. That's going to be insane!!!
We actually recorded the 7" in our practice space ghetto style with one of those little Zoom H2 recorder things. We originally had studio time booked, but then I got meningitis/pneumonia at the same time when we were supposed to record and then couldn't find another time to reschedule. We're doing the LP with Kris at Legit Biz in Greensboro, NC. He did that Torch Runner LP that To Live A Lie Put out (and it sounds badass as shit), and he also records lots of Abuse. members' other bands (Last Words, Future Binds, etc).
Demolish Tapes is run by Jeff from Stripmines/Last Words, who is essentially the honorary 5th member of Abuse. haha. He recorded our 7" and records demo tapes for lots of bands around here. He hasn't released anything in a while but hopefully soon there will be a newer band for him to record/release!
We actually recorded the 7" in our practice space ghetto style with one of those little Zoom H2 recorder things. We originally had studio time booked, but then I got meningitis/pneumonia at the same time when we were supposed to record and then couldn't find another time to reschedule. We're doing the LP with Kris at Legit Biz in Greensboro, NC. He did that Torch Runner LP that To Live A Lie Put out (and it sounds badass as shit), and he also records lots of Abuse. members' other bands (Last Words, Future Binds, etc).
Demolish Tapes is run by Jeff from Stripmines/Last Words, who is essentially the honorary 5th member of Abuse. haha. He recorded our 7" and records demo tapes for lots of bands around here. He hasn't released anything in a while but hopefully soon there will be a newer band for him to record/release!
Bands you Support?
No Tomorrow, Violent Reaction, Hounds of Hate, Coke Bust, Future Binds, Torch Runner, Altered Boys, Thick Skin, Misled Youth, Water Torture, Meth Lab, Barge, Gay Kiss, and all the DFJ bands (past and present)!
Last Words?
Thanks for the interview homie! Hopefully my long answers weren't too boring to read. Buy the Abuse. 7" @ abuse.storenvy.com and look for our LP coming out soon!
No Tomorrow, Violent Reaction, Hounds of Hate, Coke Bust, Future Binds, Torch Runner, Altered Boys, Thick Skin, Misled Youth, Water Torture, Meth Lab, Barge, Gay Kiss, and all the DFJ bands (past and present)!
Last Words?
Thanks for the interview homie! Hopefully my long answers weren't too boring to read. Buy the Abuse. 7" @ abuse.storenvy.com and look for our LP coming out soon!
DFJ till death.
Thanks Connor for the interview man. Shit dude I forgot to ask about west coast shows!
Thanks Connor for the interview man. Shit dude I forgot to ask about west coast shows!
dude anytime, thank YOU. i'm glad you got to listen to me rant about things haha
and unfortunately west coast shows wont be happening for any of my bands any time soon. maybe next summer for abuse
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