Do you know Chucky Edge? I'm guessing you do. Chucky is one of those dudes that EVERY person knows. In fact, if you asked me how I met Chucky, I couldn't tell you definitely. It was like one day, this dude showed up to mosh and it was like he had always been there, like an integral part of the local scene. If you honestly don't know Chucky, it shouldn't be too hard to meet him. This guy is usually in your state at least 3 times a year, and probably has hit up your continent twice since last summer, touring with your favorite bands. Ask him about 'za or the shirt he is wearing. He'll be into it. No doubt.



1. Yo, how's your edge?

My edge is good man. Its one of those things where I am constantly learning more about myself. I am very happy that straight edge has been a big part of it. I've learned over the years you have to rely on yourself, when it comes to things like straight edge, the only person that can ruin it for yourself, is yourself.

2. How did it all begin for you? Straight into SXE hardcore, or jump started on skateboarding, metal or punk rock?

I never go into Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer or whatever was popular when I was a kid. My older brother got me into Metallica and Guns 'N Roses when i was 6 or 7. From there I got drawn into bmx biking, and got pretty serious into that. From watching bmx videos and hanging with my peers I got into Hot Water Music and The Misfits and other various punk acts. One of my idols and best friend's Ben Pritchard, got me into hardcore and straight edge through Side By Side. From this band I got into the early Revelation Records catalog. From there it was Minor Threat, and then I discovered the San Francisco Bay Area had/has a local music scene, and from there the rest is like everyone else did and its a great experience.

3. When did you learn about straight edge and when did it start making sense for you? When did you become "Chucky Edge" or Chedge? Who first called you that?

I learned about straight edge my freshmen year of high school when I was just drinking and doing whatever just out of curiosity and boredom. My friend Ben who was previously named, told me about straight edge, and was straight edge at the time. It made sense to me the first time I heard "You're only young once" & "Break down the walls". I just knew it was something that fit who I was, and where I wanted to be. The early Rev catalog, like I said before, was and is my bread and butter. Hell, the later on Rev stuff too had a huge impact on me.

Chucky Edge: I was going to a "troubled students" school and some crust punk peers of mine would see me at gilman st going to shows would call me "chucky straight edge" at school, and then later on "chucky edge". And from there the name stuck.

Chedge: If memory serves me correctly... Greg Willmott and Nicole Deathwish both started calling me it the same week. And they both have rights to the nickname.

4. Which is better? Inside Out NYC or the Inside Out from Cali? In a semi related note, which is better: Buried Alive or Terror? Raw Deal or Breakdown?

Hmmm... I'll go with my favorites on this one. I don't know much about musical notes and chords and whats innovative, I just know what I like. So here it goes.

Inside Out CA: Solely because the 7" is on the revelation catalog and I heard it first. Im not the biggest Inside Out fan tho. But they both are pretty cool tho.

Terror: Terror has put out more stuff, and I have seen them live. I never got to see Buried Alive. Lowest Of The Low is a really good record too. One With The Underdogs is more diverse tho, and has my favorite Terror songs on it. Always The Hard Way is rad too. There are some definite hits on that record. The new one is gonna be cool too.

Breakdown: This is really really really hard to choose. the Raw Deal Demo is retardedly good, and the Breakdown '87 Demo is next level. Im gonna go with Breakdown though cause I like the '87 Demo a little bit more. Merch wise... thats a whole other interview. Either side of the fence you sit on, your a winner tho.

5. You're life is touring. When was the last time you were "at home" for more than 2 weeks? What bands have you been touring with lately? What tours do you have upcoming?

The summer of 2006 was my tour-a-thon. I went on tour with Blacklisted, Shipwreck, Guns Up!, Have Heart, Down To Nothing, Bracewar, Have Heart, Ceremony, and back to Blacklisted. I was gone for the whole 3 months of summer. 2005 was a big one too, I did Verse tour with Bane, and then a Guns Up tour 3 days after. I took off a lot of down time in 2007 to fix my teeth and to try to do speech clinics in California. I still got to clock in a lot of time on the road. 2008 has been pretty busy doing a week with Trash Talk on a Bane/Outbreak tour. And doing the Earth Crisis tour with Down To Nothing, then having 3 days off at home and doing a Blacklisted tour for a month. Well see what comes up in the rest of 2008? who knows?

6. Suppose I let you borrow my time machine for two trips.
Trip 1: what show, any show, would you go back and see?

Hmmm... as cheesy as it is, I would love to be at one of those Cro-Mags gigs from the We Gotta Know video. Those look like a good time. And the ever-so-popular Breakdown Tompkins Sq show from the home video. But then again a lot of those Live CBGB recordings sound like really cool shows. To go back and see a show I already saw is kind of spoiling an already good memory...

Trip 2: what tour would you want to relive again?

Well every tour is different and special in its own way. So like going to a show I've already experienced, I already have good memories from those. So the next thing to do is go somewhere I have already been. I really want to go back to europe, and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The grand canyon is like nothing else I can explain, its soo scary at first. Then you cant stop looking at the vastness. Europe is cool cause its different than the US. Don't get me wrong the USA is cool. But different scenery is refreshing.



7. You're the author of pretty successful blog, http://whatchedgewears.blogspot.com. What compelled you to start this blog and how do find time to post EVERY day?

I was up at the Deathwish Inc. office back in November helping pack orders and hanging out. And Tre brought up "blogs". I had never read a hardcore blog (sports blogs mostly) and was curious as to what I could write about. I brought up that I have a lot of shirts, and tour stories, and both Jake and Tre kinda gave me the first nudge to doing the blog. Im pretty happy with how its shaping up. It sucks when i don't write a lot cause I feel like im letting people down or something? But my blog is like my life... sometimes I have bad days and I'll write a sentence... and then other days I will bear my soul.

if anyone has criticism about the blog please let me know. it helps me know what works and what doesnt. making it interesting and fresh is sometimes hard, life is full of challenges.

8. You've received a few amazing mosh injuries over your lifetime. Please recall some of your injury "highlights" for us. How many times have you proclaimed to be going into "mosh retirement" only to start moshing again during the next band?

I think I have only "muttered" those words 2 or 3 times, and yeah... it lasted a few shows and then I got back to routine. I have had a lot of concussions due to playing lacrosse for a large portion of my life. And at shows I am pretty accident prone. I think in 2006 after a bad concussion I was taken to the hospital and then told me to "NOT" get anymore concussions or else... And there has definetly been a couple incidents where I got close to getting KO'ed. I think im around 5 concussions at shows, but thats probably too little of a number. My elbow took 4 stitches in 2005 at a guns up show right before end of summer jam 1 in new england. uhh... a monitor fell on my head at sound & fury 2007 after a stagedive during Rise And Fall. I try to not remember the injuries, but its hard not to.

9. What's worse: kids who stage dive terribly or kids who mosh terribly? What are your thoughts on choreographed or synched moshing versus synched stage diving or head walking with perhaps a high five in the middle?

Kids who stage dive terribly is worse because your putting people more at risk of injury. When kids dive feet first and/or run super fast and just jump it can seriously hurt someone. Whereas some "pitboss" who is moshing terribly, though hard to look at, he poses little injury factor. Yeah he can try to mosh on the side of the pit, but usually those kids are pussies.

I think that "moshing" should definetly reflect the music or part of the song being played. So when there is a skank part, do what you gotta do. Its all about getting positive aggression out at the end of the day. I can definetly respect a good choreographed dive by 2 friends, and sometimes you gotta go for a high five to keep it alive. I'm definetly getting more and more into diving, its hard when your 6'4" and 195 pounds tho... you gotta try to be "graceful".

10. What jams are getting repeat listens on your iPod currently? When was the last time you toured with someone who still used a discman? Do girls jogging with a discman bum you out?

I have a very addictive personality so when I get "on a hit" with a record or band, I will usually play it on repeat till I can't stand it anymore or Ihave found something else. Lately I have been on: Red Hot Chili Peppers-Greatest Hits or Californication. The Loved Ones- Build & Burn. Chuck Ragan-Feast or Famine. Hot Water Music- Till The Wheels Fall Off. And Trapped Under Ice- Stay Cold.

Last time I toured with a band who used a discman had to have been 2005 maybe? soon the art of touring without a gps will be gone and out of hardcore. thats kinda wierd. girls who jog with discman's should be given an award for being stubborn when it comes to technology. Thats not very common in 2008.

11. Who is the best stage diver you know? In the history of stage diving, who do you think is the best?

Ryan Hudon of Have Heart / Step Forward had some good dives in his time. Maine crew has some of the best divers around in current hardcore. At the Suicide File reunion bane show thing at the ICC in 2005 I saw some great dives from some old boys, that was a treat. I'd have to say Rat Bones or some shit might be the best diver? I don't know he is an old dude from NYC so that kinda makes sense? Current hardcore is lacking a lot of good divers, they are few and far between.

12. Which would you prefer: 20 years of medicore at best pizza daily or one and only one slice of heavenly pizza once a year for 20 years? What state has the worst pizza? Cici's or pizza hut?

good question! I am going to go with 20 years or mediocre at best pizza daily. I eat at Little Steeve's in Boston so that shows that I have an iron stomach for 'za. Don't go to steeve's in the day unless your good for it. Pizza is pizza sometimes, I just really like it. I think it would be great everyday. Once a year would be too little. California has some bad pizza, when I am there I usually eat mexican food tons and pizza maybe 4 times a month maybe at most... I am going to go with Little Caesars for my favorite fast food pizza or TOUR PIZZA. you cant go wrong with a 5 dollar hot and ready large pizza on tour. cici's is cool but i feel obligated to eat too much and the worst people eat there. pizza hut is cool but not enough choices. ill just go plain jane.



13. Top 5s

a) Top 5 shirt designs (ill just go with my favorite, i know there are better, but this is my preference i guess?)

- Raw Deal (with the dealer on it.)

- Floorpunch smorgashboard rip off anything. (made the classic design even better. "the best")

- Warzone iron cross american flag dont forget the struggle dont forget the streets. plz sell me this!

- Guns Up! Crew Elk Shirt (hey i made these, i take pride in my work.)

- Stop And Think longsleeve (wore it for maybe 20 shows after i got it.)

b) Top 5 lead singers (dudes i've seen live, never got to see a lot of bands, IE: warzone or YOT)

- Freddy Cricien (set it off)

- Scott Vogel (lots of years on the mic, and still puts in 110%.)

- Pat Flynn (gets mauled by kids and still looks good doing it.)

- Greg Willmott (being a youngster in cali seeing mental was great. held it down until the last gig.)

- George Hirsch (seen him sing maybe more than any other band, ever.)

c) Top 5 sophomore LPs (hmmm... really good question.)

- Best Wishes (really got into this when i matured, and opened my mind.)

- Five Deadly Venoms (pokey from leeway on drums, find my way, final war, tons of hits.)

- Nothing To Hide (ime, without this band, i wouldnt be who i am today.)

- Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God (what blacklisted sounds like.)

- some hot water music record. (im bad with hwm timetables and that band does it for me.)

14. One time I saw a Champion (the band) tshirt that said "Drug Free" on it. When I asked Aram why it didn't say "Straight Edge," he told me that not all their shirts could say "straight edge as that gets old" Or something like that. Is that fucked up or what? How would you respond to his remark?

I constantly battle this argument in my head. I personally don't really think the "drug free" thing is something for me. I have always been a straight edge or no straight edge kinda dude. the shade of grey just isn't something that I thought would work for me. Drug free is shit that people can half ass so they can fit in with straight edge, and then not fully commit and then follow some trend of something else next thing. I don't know thats just been my experience with "drug free". Repetition and band merchandise is always a hard thing to deal with tho, its hard to get refreshing designs but still staying true to your band image or whatever. I don't know? haha.

15. Tank top or cut off sleeves?

Well, tank tops are great cause they are nice summer apparel. Cut off sleeves are also cool cause you can make an ill-fitting shirt happen. Shirts with bad sleeves will most of the time get the ol' cut. Im still trying to perfect the "deep cut" sleeveless. Tank tops are few and far between so its ok.

16. That about wraps it up. Any closing shout outs, words of wisdom?

Thanks for the interview. Its really cool to answer these, and sorry it took a little bit. I get in a good mood and I jump on this interview to try to come up with cool stuff. shout-outs to boston, san francisco, and nowhere usa. have fun, enjoy life, eat pizza, and listen to hot water music bands or whatever came out of that band.

xxx.

Photo credits to "some people." Sorry, I'm not sure who took what pics. If it was you, let me know. Zac Wolf should be an obvious one, though.

Back in October of 2006, I was lucky enough to get to hang in California with Bane. They were doing a US tour with 3 other excellent bands: A Global Threat, Strike Anywhere and This Is Hell. Personally, I had never really noticed This Is Hell. Sure, I had heard the name before, but I had never gone out of my way to check them out. After a few days, I got to know the dudes and then on the third day, I actively paid attention to them playing. At this point, I kicked myself for not paying attention earlier. This band was ill! All the dudes get into it, and Travis knows how to work the crowd. Over the next couple of days, I had the chance to hang with Travis more and realized, "yo, this dude knows what is up." From there, I knew an interview had to go down. After leaving tour, I told Travis I would set one up. And with my superhuman speed, it only took 4 months for me to write it up. Faster than a speeding bullet. Of course, he turned it around much faster. Before they head off to Europe on an amazing tour with Comeback Kid, The Warriors, ... Europe get psyched!

Without further ado, here's the interview. Get into it.



HYE? - yo dude, how's your edge?

see below...

HYE? - when did you fully realize what straight edge was? and what does it mean to you now?

hmm, probably when i first started going to shows... i remember hearing the term and never really knowing what it meant... i remember being asked by Daryl of Glassjaw and Vinnie of The Movielife who were both edge at the time if i was... and i think i replied with "i don't know" haha, because at the time i truly didn't know what it meant and felt to dumb to ask.... to answer the second part of your question, i don't claim that i'm sxe when people ask, i don't really feel the need for the label... i never did and still don't have the desire to drink or do drugs.. it was kind of one of those things where i was "straight edge" before i even knew what it really meant, i was always just scared that if i drank or something my mom was gonna catch me haha...so i guess to truly answer the second part of the question, i do what i feel is right for me.... there are some people who i think make straight edge look silly and others that make me very proud that i share a similar lifestyle....

HYE? - what is support? what's the deal with this little company?

it's a "clothing line" that my girlfriend and i started, it's still in the very early stages, we have a lot of friends who are great artists, we want to showcase their work and hook people up with some sweet gear in the process... we only have a few designs up at the moment.... the first design we did was the "i support same sex marriage" design... i got a shirt like that a few years ago on tour in atlanta, and i wore it so much on tour and everyone would ask me where i got it and how they could get one, so i asked around to friends in atlanta and they said the kid who made them isn't making them anymore, guess he dropped out of the scene or whatever... so we decided to make some so people could get a hold of them, because i think it's a great message, it blows my mind when someone gets bummed out on something that has zero affect on their life... but also because of that shirt people tend to think that we are a political or not for profit based kind of company, which isn't the case... you can check the designs out at www.supportshirts.net.

HYE? - who is the best stage diver you know? who is the worst? at what show did you execute your best stage dive?

hahah, great question... best stage diver, i don't personally know him but i've seen Ray Lemoine do some amazing stage dives, especially at Floorpunch's "final mosh" at cbgb's... i think you ask this question knowing that everyone is going to say that YOU are the worst stage diver (Editor's note: Would I do that? No ...) .... and i agree... although i think 95% of stage divers are bad at it.... it's a art form, everyone one tends to choose quantity over quality and i think thats a bad move..... my best stage dive... hmm, i've had a decent amount of solid dives in my 10 year career.... the ones that stick out to me are all Movielife shows, huge front flips over barriers... one was in wales at a show with Lost Prophets, like 5000 kids... i have it on video hahah



HYE? - you sing for this is hell. do you think people would be surprised to learn that you are straight edge? when i say people, i really mean "fans of the band," specifically. also, when are you going to start sporting camo pants and varsity jackets on stage?

haha yes, everyone thinks that i'm a smack head or something because of my raccoon like eyes... it runs in the family... as for the camo pants and varsity jacket i don't see that happening anytime soon... i don't need a core uniform to sing in a core band....

HYE? - suppose this is hell battled soldiers. you get to represent tih, rick gets to represent soldiers. who would win in the following competitions?

a) home run derby

ME

b) stage diving

I'd say TIE, he's little and has pulled some huge front flip type stage dives in his time....

c) psyching up a crowd

HIM, i hate talking, let alone begging a crowd to get into it, he's a fucking lightning rod...

d) stand up comedy

ME for sure, i'm convinced people enjoy our band way more during the breaks when i'm talking

e) cooking

ME



HYE? - if you had the power to cause one hardcore band to reunite for one show, what band would you chose? what venue would pick for this monumental event?

man, there is so many bands that i'd love to see play again or for the first time... a band that i always loved and would love to see is Battery... as for the venue, i wouldn't really care.. as long as it had a good stage to jump off of.... and i think in a close second would be CIV..... i would have rather seen a CIV reunion tour than the GB tour that happened.... crazy i know...

HYE? - what touring band pulls the best pranks? which band is the chillest to tour with?

the only band that pulled some pranks that we've toured with that i can remember is Most Precious Blood... last show of tour in med set they just start tossing cardboard boxes at us on stage and throwing cups of water on me from the balcony.. that was funny... they would fall under chill bands as well... along with Bane, Comeback Kid, Darkest Hour, I Am The Avalanche... i mean honestly we have toured with a lot of bands and i'd say 98% of them were awesome and easy going....

HYE? - speaking of touring, how do you flip a van in western canada and not miss a single show of your tour? what exactly happened there?

haha, well we were in the midst of a 12 hour drive from vancouver to edmonton.... the weather was amazing for the whole drive... we are about 2 hours from the show and we hit a bad patch of snow and ice... Rick is driving... and he's going slow... and all of a sudden i feel the van fish tailing and hear Rick yelling "shit shit shit shit" - we have hit our fair share of ice and had our fair share of close calls, but this just didn't feel like it was going to end good... i was laying on the second bench so i just braced myself, we wound up doing a 180 and going off the highway backwards into a ditch and rolling onto our side, the trailer flipped and busted out our back window... luckily everyone was totally fine, cops and tow trucks came... towed our van and trailer out of the ditch, brought it to a impound.. the cops drop us off at tim hortons like two blocks from the impound and go on their way haha... it was a sunday i think, so after many phone calls we finally got this cunt to come to the impound so we could recover our van and trailer.... they didn't think it was a good idea for us drive the van or trailer in the shape it was, we said thanks for the concern, paid the 800 bucks, hooked our trailer back onto the van and drove to edmonton and played the show, and finished the final week of tour.... when we got back home the insurance company deemed the van totaled and the trailer didn't last much longer after that tour either....



HYE? - another tour related question. tih is a non stop touring machine, but a lot of the tours don't really seem to be hardcore tours. how did you end up touring with bayside or i am the avalanche or glassjaw? was there a conscious decision to tour with non hardcore acts? how does that experience differ from touring with outbreak or bane? the crowd feeling it?

well all three of the "non core" tours you mention above we did were with friends band essentially... to me i don't view hardcore as a secret society, i WANT younger kids to get into hardcore because i think it's great, there are so many good bands with so many good things to say, it's not like anyone was born with a fucking Black Flag shirt on, you got into hardcore somehow, chances are it was through a punk band, or a metal band... or maybe a metal core screamo spazzy kind of band, regardless why try to shut people out? those tours we got asked to do and we were stoked, it's fun doing something that is outside the box you know? the Glassjaw stuff was especially cool because growing up on long island they're one of the first bands i saw, i never thought that 10 years later i'd be in a band touring with them... and honestly on long island Glassjaw was always considered a "hardcore" band... so i don't think that was really out there ya know? we don't make a conscious effort to do anything... if we get asked to tour with a band, we sit down as a band and discuss it... it's all music to me, i'm not going to rule out touring with a band because they're not a "hardcore" band... especially if they are buddies of ours, i go on tour to have fun and hang out with friends... and to answer the last part of your question, i think kids for the most part were stoked, because it was fresh to them, they aren't used to bands playing that style of music or the band walking around, hanging out at the merch table, it seems so wild to them, it's cool to show kids that there are plenty of bands out there that don't hide backstage, that we are grateful and we are just like them....

HYE? - as a show attendee, what was your favorite show, and why? what was your favorite tih show?

another very hard question, where do you come up with these brain busters mr murphy..... favorite TIH show would probably be our first London show... it was pretty surreal, like 300 kids going insane, we've played some amazing shows on Long Island of course and a handful in Syracuse stick out in my mind... as for a show i went to see... fuck man, i've been to hundreds of shows, i guess a few that stick out in my mind would be of course my first show ever... 96/97 on long island.. VOD, H20, Silent Majority.... i'm kinda bad with years but another awesome show i saw on long island was Saves The Day, Farside, Fastbreak, The Movielife, Kid Dynamite... i saw a handful of sweet shows in the boston/worcester area... 420 fest with Bane, AN, Panic, Right Brigade.... Bane at the met cafe, anytime i saw Bane at the palladium, Suicide File twilight release show at the ICC was a wild one.... i could go on and on....



HYE? - what bands get you amped up these days? psyched on the edge and psyched on the core?

umm when i'm checking out a band i don't really care if they're edge or whatever, if they are cool, if not whatever... i've never liked a band just because they were edge... but two current straight edge bands that come to mind that i think are sweet are Down To Nothing & Let Down...

HYE? - who is cooler: pike or merrick?

look at the time, let me get to the next question..

HYE? - what music have you been giving a lot of play lately? how does your playlist change when you are chilling with a special lady?

lately i've been listening to a lot of Seaweed, Down To Nothing, Nightmare Of You, Leeway, Crime In Stereo.... my girlfriend grew up in NYC going to shows and probably saw a ton of bands that i would have loved to seen.. but we listen to a lot of the same stuff.... i would say a few bands we can jam together would be... Jawbreaker, Lifetime, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Head Automatica, I Am The Avalanche....



HYE? - any closing thoughts, shout outs or words of encouragement?

in 10 days we start recording our second LP... it should be coming out in jan/feb of 2008... keep an eye out for that, murphy please practice your stage dives for Bedards well being..... keep the faith!

What can be said about Matt Wilson that you do NOT know? A lot, I'm sure. And this interview aims to answer some of those questions. Unfortunately, his association with the venerable Pete Lynch is never brought up. Sad but true. The next time you see Matt out and about, or on tour with Set Your Goals, make sure to ask him some deeply disturbing questions. Until then, read these and enjoy.



Yo, how's your edge?

Ten years and still going strong!

How did it all begin for you? How did you get into Hardcore?

I started going to punk shows when I was 11 or 12. My friend and I would go to 924 Gilman St. and through mixed bill shows, got to see a lot of great (and some not so great) hardcore/punk shows. Things just sort of snowballed from there and I feel that getting into it that way helped me to keep an open mind when approaching all kinds of new music.

When did you fully realize what straight edge was? And what does it mean to you now?

Once I got over the initial stage that every straight edger goes through where you're like, "alright man I gotta X up at every show and buy as much sxe gear as possible and rep it all day every day!" I realized that it is a part of me and I don't need to prove it to anyone or even advertise it because I learned that doing that only serves to separate me from the rest of the world even more. I already feel isolated on the inside, but I don't see a point in building a wall outside myself for people who don't understand me to attack. Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of the fact that I can survive reality without the many self-destructive devices that exist to escape it, but at the same time I know that anyone can find some facet of their life to relate to anyone else's life if they try hard enough and life is too short to go around hating other people because you choose not to relate to them anyway. Basically for me it comes down to my outlook on life and drug free is the way I've chosen to live that works best for me.

Ok, let's get a few formal questions out of the way.



You sing for a band called Set Your Goals. For people who have been living in caves for the last couple of years, can you break it down for them?

Basically, it's like this: we like to have fun. Whether you like our music or not, I'm sure anyone can find something in our lyrics that relates to their life to sing along with at a show. If you haven't seen us live and you still go to shows to have fun (and some people don't) I recommend checking us out because if you're watching a Set Your Goals set and nobody is having fun, something is very wrong. Oooohhhh yeahhhhhh brotherrrrrr!

Set Your Goals style is not typical youth crew or metal hardcore. In your mind, is Set Your Goals a hardcore band? Do you think most of your fans (anti-fans too) view you as a "hardcore band?"

This has always been a tough question because it's hard for me to categorize us and I don't feel its terribly important to either. Slapping a band with a genre only gives close-minded people an excuse not to check them out in my opinion. We're all hardcore kids and ex-hardcore kids and we definitely take influence from hardcore bands but when I started this band with Jordan, we never set out to do a hardcore band or play hardcore music. I know that a lot of hardcore kids are quick to call us a hardcore band which in my opinion is open to one's interpretation of what hardcore is. I've said this before but musically we're as hardcore as lifetime, new found glory, kid dynamite, etc. Take that statement however you like. I remember when At The Drive-In got really popular people were calling them hardcore which never really made sense to me. I think some people just can't justify liking something unless they have a name for it that suits their tastes. I guarantee that your friend's 13 year old sister who listens to us in her room and the bro push-moshing to our songs with his friends in the back of the show pissing off all the core kids don't consider us hardcore. We set out to write something more pop-influenced musically, but to keep the intensity of the live shows and the lyrical integrity that hardcore has to offer and I feel like we've accomplished that at least in some small way. I think that a lot of the reason some "hardcore kids" don't like us anymore is because they expected us to play basement tours forever which is something we've planned on progressing past since the day we decided we were going to tour full-time.

Another reason many "hardcore kids" who were all about us a year ago don't like us anymore is because many of them are sheep. I use quotations around the term because I believe that when one takes on the ideals of hardcore music, part of the mentality there is thinking for yourself and anyone who doesn't do that is not a hardcore kid in my eyes. At the risk of sounding like a huge nerd, allow me to illustrate the following example: we are both frequent readers of the B9 board and anyone who has been reading that board for the past year cannot deny that a year ago there wasn't a day that went by that you wouldn't see a thread about Set Your Goals. If anyone spoke ill of us they were torn apart by other posters. Today if a thread is made that even mentions SYG there are more than enough posters standing by to put in their two cents about how lame we are. Nothing has really changed in the past year except for the fact that we've toured nonstop and reached a larger audience. Maybe I missed something but that's the way I see it. Trends come and go in hardcore and we were one of them and that era has now ended which is fine with me because I never cared about impressing anyone, the only thing that bothers me is when rumors are spread and an entire band's reputation can be damaged by what a 15 year old kid may or may not have heard from a friend, and message boards are the best/worst venues for that sort of behavior. There are a lot of fakes in this scene that prides itself in being "the one honest music scene" and it sucks but at the same time there are a lot of people who keep it real and that's what keeps it going. Surprisingly, some of the older guys I've met who play in bigger bands that tour arenas have more integrity in their pinky finger than some of the people I've met within the underground hardcore scene. I will never stop loving and supporting hardcore and I will never abandon its ideals but when I go to a show these days, I can't help but feel isolated in a place that was once the only environment I could relate to. I think that is the case with a lot of the people I've met through touring as well. They still have the same ideals they started with, they've just progressed beyond the high school nonsense that comes with "the scene."



Someone once said to me, "Here's the deal with bands with two singers. Everyone in the band is friends and want to start a band. However, two dudes can't play an instrument. One guy can obviously be the singer, but the other can't be left out so they make him a singer too." I didn't buy it (haha), but what's your take? Is two singers a key factor to the success of Set Your Goals, or are you just trying to be the next Path Of Resistance?

Honestly, we didn't plan it out like this. We didn't really plan it out at all hahaha. We started with myself on vox and Jordan on guitar, just jamming and writing songs for a demo. We never thought anyone would give a shit about us, much less want us to tour and play their town, but that's the way it turned out. As we built up a full line-up Jordan wrote the guitar parts and wanted to sing as well but we all felt that if he played while singing that it would be boring live so we found a guitarist so that we could have 2 singers. I think that it works to our benefit live because it makes for a much more intense show. I don't know that it's a key factor or even a factor to our success at all, but it does set us apart from the rest which makes us unique.

Who's cooler: Pike or Merrick?

Next question please! hahahaha Oh man you're trying to get me into trouble here!

Well I've only met Merrick a couple of times so I'm gonna have to say Pike but Merrick gets bonus points for being a much more mellow dude to deal with. There are pros and cons to each approach I guess hahaha

What bands have been getting a lot of play from you lately? What current bands are you most excited to play with?

We really like playing with Bangarang from Lansdale, PA. Great dudes and their music is really good. I hope at some point we can put out a split or put together a tour with them or something because we love their music. We met them through our friends in CDC who are always fun to tour with as well. We just finished a tour with Daggermouth, No Trigger and Hostage Life which was a lot of fun, all great bands and great people. Really looking forward to doing a tour with our friends in Fireworks in about a week as well, though I'm afraid we're all going to be arrested at one point or another for inciting a riot in a restaurant somewhere hahaha

When you aren't listening to hardcore, what are you usually listening to? Has that new Avril Lavigne song, Girlfriend ever been stuck in your head for hours?

We don't really listen to hardcore in the van any more than we do any other style of music. We like to mix it up a lot. That new Avril song gets stuck in everyone's head I think. Jordan is all about that record but usually just listens to it with headphones hahaha.

It's a huge list but I'll try to summarize: I think Brand New's latest record is incredible and I've listened to it at least a couple times a week for the past few months. That Memorial (ex-Renee Heartfelt) EP has been on heavy rotation in the van on the past couple tours as well. We would all love to tour with them. On the metal tip, the Decrepit Birth promo songs are unreal and as soon as we get our paws on the new Animosity record that will be getting some heavy play as well. Dave and I listen to a lot of Katatonia while driving.



Two shows: What was your favorite show to attend and favorite show to play? Explain why.

Honestly the Gorilla Biscuits shows were some of the best shows of my life, both playing and attending. Truly a dream come true for me. They are my fav hawdcore band of all time.

When was the last time you were urinated on? And the reason for that was ...?

On the Less Than Jake tour, Junior offered me $25 to let Jordan pee on my leg and I accepted. LTJ's stage manager Rhino saw the whole thing and told us we all need to start doing drugs hahaha

Last year, your band was in car accident during the middle of tour. Do you think that negatively affected your tour perspective or does it make you want to get out more, play harder, tour harder? "Twelve hour drives are nothing when I'm with all of you ..."

It definitely made us all sit back and put things into perspective a little bit. Joe was driving and hit a deer. Luckily we were all fine but we were stuck in Nebraska for a while. More recently we hit ice in Idaho and again we were stuck for a week after the wreck and sort of forced to reflect on what happened. It was a test of our fortitude but we're going stronger than ever now, we will just think twice before booking a winter tour next time.

Let's say I had a hardcore time machine. You have one shot to use it. What specific event in the past would you go see?

I'd probably go to around the time I was born when all the greats were coming up in DC and NYC. I'd want to see Minor Threat, Bad Brains, GB, Agnostic Front, and Cro-Mags. I'd also love to see the thrash metal acts of that era in their prime: Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, Exodus, Testament, etc.

I've heard rumors of you appearing in a Teen People feature. Can you clear up these rumors?

Guilty as charged. It was a few years back and there were about 8 of us in the picture. Sarah Plante was interviewed by Teen People and they wanted a picture of her hanging out with her edge friends so we came over and ate all her chips and salsa and played with her pets during the interview and posed for some pics. I bought it when it came out and still have the issue in a box somewhere. I think maybe 3 of the 8 or so people in that picture are still edge haha



If you could tour the world with any band, like 180 days straight, who would it be?

It's a toss-up between Led Zep and The Beatles. The Beatles were larger than life and I think that would be so surreal to fly to some foreign country on their jet with them to watch them play to a sold out crowd of thousands upon thousands of people who absolutely worship them. It would truly be a life changing experience. Then again Led Zeppelin were way big too and probably much more exciting live. Plus they were complete ragers.

What one question do you wish interviewers would ask you but never do? What's the most off the wall question you have been asked?

Pretty much anything out of the ordinary is more fun than the average "state your name and what you do in the band" type of stuf; the more creative and intimate the question, the more fun it is to read. Some of the best interviews I've read have had nothing to do with music. Once I was asked what my favorite porn movie was by my friend Kirby for AMP Magazine, that was kind of strange haha

Any closing thoughts, shout outs or well wishings?

We recorded an acoustic version of "Echoes" for Punk Goes Acoustic 2 which is out now, check it out! Thanks Brian!!

Images courtesy of those who took them (yeah, real specific) and Matt Wilson.