Fit For Abuse
By admin on Nov. 2, 2005.
This interview was originally in Parade Brigade #3. Thanks to Scooter Kane for originally hooking me up with Matt Kelly to do this.
What is going on with Fit For Abuse? I heard you are doing a record with My War Records?
We’re starting the recording process on Wednesday March 7th, which will be released on My War Records, yeah. It’ll be a 12” 45 rpm type thing with about fourteen songs (none of which were on the 7”). We’ll probably end up finishing up in late April or early May when Pat and I get back from tour.
Could you give our readers a history of the band? I think, sadly, a lot of them probably have not heard Fit For Abuse before.
Well, before I moved to Germany in late 1994, the original guitarist (Led) and I were talking about forming a real hardcore band (as opposed to all the fucking garbage that was passing for hardcore at the time). We wanted to play the music we loved; inspired by the likes of: Negative Approach/FX, FU’s, Minor Threat, S.O.A., The Abused, Urban Waste, Jerry’s Kids, Slapshot, etc. So I decided not to live in Germany and moved back in February 1995… we quickly got started, but had a hard time finding a drummer… so it was Led on guitar, Muzzi on bass, me (Matt) on vocals, and Kevin (Dive, Get High) and myself filling in on drums now and then. We then got Mark from this grind band Entropy on drums, but he was too fast (blastbeats and shit)… Led ended up moving to Philadelphia for some shit, and Muzzi switched to guitar, and enter a one Pat “fuckin” Gerry on bass… some months later, Joe “the mad Russian” Shumsky comes in on drums… this was about January 1996… we were one of the only bands doing the fast hardcore stuff in MA besides Out Cold and Insult at the time. We recorded a 7” that fall which came out on Crust Records (kind of a misleading label!) the next spring (97). I then left the band for about a year and “Psycho Ray” joined the band on vocals… basically it didn’t work out… for awhile that is… later on, when I had more time we decided to start up again… Muzzi, Pat, Joe, and I all hung out anyway… we just had to do the band sort of part time from now on.
You are also in The Dropkick Murphy’s right now. How does that affect Fit For Abuse? Does Fit For Abuse get any sort of extra recognition because of them?
Yeah for awhile I only had time for DKM’s... for the Fit For Abuse guys were really cool with it (true friends I guess), and they were happy for me. As a matter of fact, Pat is the guitar tech guy for The Murphy’s; so Fit For Abuse only plays when the DKM’s aren’t on tour (for obvious reasons). I don’t know if the DKM thing lends recognition to Fit For Abuse… I think it’d probably work against it… In Boston it’s like “I love Fit For Abuse but I can’t stand DKM… why don’t you quit?” That sort of sucks, as I enjoy The Murphys quite a bit, and like the music. So I don’t know if I know the answer to that one, chief. I’m sure to some degree it’s like “oh yeah, the singer of that band is in Murph and The Murph-Tones. Let’s check it out.” But for the most part, in Boston, it’s mostly kids who have been seeing us for five years or straight up hardcore kids who’d go see a bill like Fit For Abuse, Shark Attack, Close Call, and Cops & Robbers anyway. Two pretty different ends of the punk spectrum to say the least.
What is Leech In My Side about?
Well, we’re from an area where heroin has been the prevalent drug of choice for about 9-10 years now. Leech is about how sometimes decent people turn into mooching pieces of shit who’ll do anything for $20 (the cost of a bag of dope)… we’ve known a lot of kids who have OD’d, died, or just turned into scum… for the most part, when somebody gets hooked on that garbage (in my experience) they’re not worth shit. Their need for human interaction and friendship is superseded by the need to get high… fuck them.
One Get High question… I have heard rumors of TWO albums worth of Get High stuff that never got released… is this true?
I don’t know; I only played drums on the demo.
What is the pressing info for the 7”? I don’t think I have ever seen anything but black…
I think there were 1,000 on black, then 2,000 on black with a glossy cover. I think there were only 3,000 pressed, but I could be wrong.
What is going to be discussed lyrically on the new record?
Mindless violence, serial killers, being so obsessed with something that you can’t function without it (be it drugs or an ideology), exploring dumb shit and “becoming” punk/alternative/skinhead in college and when school’s over, your “lifestyle” becomes old hat; hatred for those who cross you; people who complain about being picked on when they should expect it; political correctness; having a negative mental attitude; an ode to the punks and skins in our area from before Lollapolloza made punk a commodity; being torn between pummeling somebody and talking it out with them; wondering what we’re shouting and fighting over; kids who squat who could be warm in their parent’s houses; blind consumerism. Just to get it out there, about 2/5 of the songs on this album as are old as the 7” songs… we’ve just never put them on anything… Mindless Violence, Thought Patrol, Kill, Obsession, and maybe one or two more have been in our live set for about 4-5 years.
Do you think the world is doomed and why?
Nah… it’d be nice to think, but I think people will just be put down more and more until they as a mass snap… that’s how it’s always been since the dawning of history… the world will cleanse itself somehow… there are theories of Astral Celestion and a wobble on the earth’s axis which will eventually lead to a changing of the poles… causing flooding and magnetic upheaval… civilization will end and man can start fresh again. A nice thought isn’t it?
What is the Fit For Abuse discography?
There’s the 7” on Crust Records and the song Four More Years (with Psycho Ray on vocals) on the Suburban Voice compilation with The Trouble and Pinkerton Thugs… as far as anything else, there’s that god awful demo from late 1995… bad shit.
How does it feel to have kids not only say the 7” is the best record of the 90′s but possibly one of the best records ever?
What!? Who says that? That’s incredibly flattering, but there are about one million better seven inches and lp’s out there from the last decade, never mind all of hardcore! Try The Fu’s, Forced Reality, Negative FX, Negative Approach, Straw Dogs (US & UK), Cro-Mags, Killing Time, Jerry’s Kids, etc… that shit blows us out of the fucking water!
Anything else to say?
Yeah: Fuck Real TV, fuck wrestling, fuck the XFL, and go read a fucking book… don’t just listen to hardcore… check out the shit that got it all started: New York Dolls, Ramones, The Saints, Dead Boys, Damned, Pistols, Radio Birdman, etc. Oh yeah, thanks for the interview and my apologies for my long windedness! Cheers!
Ten Yard Fight
By admin on Sep. 13, 2005.
I did this one with John Lacroix in the fall of 1996. This was while Anthony was still around; in fact, I believe it may have been a week or two after the Hardcore Pride 7” came out. Originally in What Was Said #1
Who is in the band, and what do they play?
Wrench-Vocals
John-Bass
Chris-Guitar
Anthony-Guitar
Ryan-Drums
What do you have out and coming out?
We did a demo, which we made 700 of and now it’s being repressed on vinyl by SOA Records. We did a 7” called Hardcore Pride on Big Wheel which will now be repressed on Equal Vision Records. We have a split 7” with Fastbreak coming out on Big Wheel and a bunch of compilations.
How did you hook up with Fastbreak to do the 7”?
We are always looking to find bands that play a style like ours and it seems that they were doing the same. I think they are an amazing band. I even interviewed them for my zine, Extent. We played some shows with them and became good friends with them and everybody’s always asking us to do a split 7” and a long time ago we talked about doing one with them.
What do you think of the boycott of Equal Vision because of their Krishna affiliation?
I think it’s outrageous. I’ve known Steve Reddy for awhile now and he’s one of the most sincere people I know. He’s over thirty years old now, he’s still involved and he’s still straight edge and he still loves all the bands he puts out. His business is good, he takes care of all his bands, and he runs a smooth operation. If somebody wants to boycott the label because of his religion that’s as fascist as it comes. If the kids knew everybody’s personal lives in hardcore everybody would be boycotted for some reason. Hardcore kids today seem to want to set the rules for how people in the scene should live and that’s bullshit. Support everybody who’s proven they are sincere by their actions. Steve Reddy and Equal Vision are deserving of as much support as anybody can give.
You played your record release party with Earth Crisis. What do you think of the militant stance a lot of people are taking on things like straight edge and animal liberation. Is anyone in the band vegan or vegetarian?
All of us are vegetarians in the band; some of us are vegan. We haven’t really considered ourselves an animal or vegan band. I, myself, agree with a lot of the things bands like Earth Crisis are saying now and what bands like Vegan Reich said awhile back. But I don’t want people to think that the rest of the band thinks the same as me. I think they generally don’t. I just understand the stance and I don’t always think it’s the best stance, but I let people accomplish things the way they feel is necessary. Some people have accused us of being militant straight edge or being alienating; the truth is that we are understanding and mostly open-minded people and I think a lot of times lyrics can be misinterpreted and twisted around. Basically, I let people think the way they want to think and do things the way they want to do them. If someone’s lyrics or just the way they speak seems harsh, that doesn’t mean they are stupid or violent or anything.
Have you ever played with Slapshot?
Slapshot haven’t played around here in years. We’ve never played with them but we’ve asked and never got a straight answer.
What do you think of the current resurgence of youth crew style hardcore in bands like Cornerstone, Floorpunch, Ten Yard Fight, Hands Tied, Fastbreak, Rancor, etc?
I think it’s great. For a while, you couldn’t see bands like that and people looked down on a band for playing that style. A lot of people forgot what the point was to hardcore in the good ole days. I don’t think it’s really coming back, but now it’s easier for a band to get respected for doing their own thing and that’s awesome.
What do you listen to when you’re not listening to hardcore?
I listen to almost everything; with my zine, I get all kinds of indie stuff. I mostly listen to The Smiths, Morrissey, Lush, Echobelly, and a lot of pop punk and old punk. I even like a little Wu-Tang here and there. I like a lot of stuff that I guess people call emo or even metal. I like The Promise Ring and Earth Crisis and will listen to both interchangeably.
How did you get Ryan from Undertow on drums?
He flew out to go on tour with Shift at the time and Ben was supposed to be leaving for tour with Battery (he played bass for them at the time). But then, he got arrested and was put on house arrest for six months. After the Shift tour Ryan decided he wanted to spend some time in Boston. He lived with Ben and our friend Pete cause their roommate ran off to the Midwest to get married or something. Ben was on house arrest and Ryan really liked the band and we hit it off pretty good so it was just natural. I don’t even remember thinking about it or asking him. We would fuck around a lot and just play at my house and he just started playing and he decided to stay in Boston for a little longer. He ended up going on tour with us and recording twice, so he was pretty much just another member.
What was it like working with Brian at his studio?
It was good. Brian does a good job. We would get pissed off at us a lot for being loud or whatever. I guess it’s hard to work with somebody that you know really well and are friends with. We got into a lot of debates and our views seem to be a lot different than his. There was actually one problem that we had where a stupid argument went way too far, but we all let it go pretty much.
How are your views different from Brian’s?
He just has a different opinion of hardcore.
What compilations are you guys gonna be on?
Right now, we have songs coming out on a Boston compilation by Big Wheel, a compilation that’s coming out with the new issue of Tension Building, and one being put out by Crucial Response in Europe. We are also talking over a few other offers from Supersoul and Blackout. We aren’t doing anymore comps because we are trying to save up songs for our LP.
Any good stories from shows?
We’ve had a couple of fights and that sucks. One time Josh and Tony from Commodity Fanzine brought a bunch of pink footballs and started throwing them at us. It was pretty funny, except I tried to catch one and missed the bass break in Proud to Be Straight.
When did you get into hardcore?
I got into hardcore and actually punk more specifically when I started skating and that was about nine or ten years ago. A few years later, I actually started traveling and going to shows in the city and in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and places like that. I’ve been straight edge for about seven years.
When will the LP be out?
Hopefully just after the new year.
Category: Uncategorized
No Comments