Interview with Andrew McQuiston of Hydrogen Man Records and Dying

I'm always on the lookout for bands and labels that are doing things in a d.i.y. fashion, and a couple years ago I started hearing about this label Hydrogen Man Records from Philly, who seemed to have an affinity for 90's style straight edge bands. That's of course right up my alley, so when my band was getting ready to figure out how to release our last record, I sent the songs to Andrew, and to my great surprise, he was on board to help with the project. 

I had a chance to meet him last Spring when we did a weekend run to Philly and back, but as he booked the show, I didn't have all that much of a chance to chat it up with him, so I've been curious to pick his brain and get to know him a little better ever since. 

Anyway, his label has been on quite the hot streak, releasing or co-releasing stuff from Capacities, Jungbluth, Counter, Of Feather and Bone, and many more. For those unfamiliar, read on and learn about one of the best d.i.y. labels going.

I'm always curious to hear about people's background, so tell me a little bit about your family and where you grew up. Also, were art and music emphasized within your family as you were coming up, or did you start to gravitate towards that stuff on your own later in your life?

I grew up in Paoli, Pennsylvania, which is about 40 minutes west of Philadelphia.

Art and music were definitely always emphasized. My sisters and I all had to take piano lessons when we were little, and then encouraged to learn another instrument in elementary school (I learned trumpet and then started playing bass in middle school). I wouldn't describe either of my parents as very artistic, but my mom’s two brothers were both into painting and drawing when they were younger and my dad has a cousin who is a sculpture artist, so it was definitely something that they supported when I showed interest. But I think they also just raised us to be very well rounded people and growing up always encouraged my sisters and I to try new things. I ended up going to art school for graphic design and I can't say I would've done that had it been for their support. I remember peers of mine having their parents really be all about them going to a "good school" to get the best boring job they could and mine both knew I wanted to do something art related and just let that happen.

In terms of getting into punk and hardcore, what were some of the first bands you got into/shows you went to, and at what point would you say punk and hc started to become an important part of your life and identity?

I started getting interested in punk and hardcore when I was around 13. My best friend’s older sister introduced us to a lot of bands to check out. Minor Threat was probably the first and most influential on each of us. We both learned new instruments and started a band. Our demo tape was four songs, two of which were Minor Threat covers. I remember mostly only going to locals punk shows in the suburbs of Philadelphia until I was in high school and my parents would let me take the train into the city, so I don't really have any notable early shows besides some bands no one has ever heard that were from my area.

You did that band Bearings for quite a while who had more of an indie punk sound, and you guys released several records and toured quite a bit. What were the highlights and lowlights of that project and what would you say you learned from that band in terms of how you approach things?

Bearings was a really cool band for me. It started as a punk band with my friend John from college and a couple of friends he had done a straight edge hardcore band with. I think they wanted a break from hardcore so Bearings started out trying to sound like Jawbreaker/Small Brown Bike and just more straight forward punk. We ended up doing a lot of east coast and mid-west touring as well as a full US tour, a handful of shows in Canada, and a 10 day tour in the UK. I got to see a lot of places I hadn't been before, meet a lot of cool people, and eat vegan food at a bunch of the spots across the country I probably wouldn't have gone to before. Highest point - touring the UK. Lowest point - touring the UK (we lost a lot of money while over there - our van broke down on the first day, we mailed the majority of our merch over and it didn't show up until halfway through the tour, had a show fall through, etc.)

Your current musical project is called Dying, and you guys have done a tape or two, the split with Less Life and the split with Woodwork. Give us some background on the band....how did you go from doing Bearings to doing something much more aggressive like Dying? Also, what's up next for you when it comes to writing, recording, touring, etc.?

This band was a project I had thought about doing for a while but it just had never really come to fruition. It actually formed out of meeting a couple friends who had only recently moved to Philly and only one of the original three other members on the demo are still in the band with me. Our guitarist, Andreas, had just moved into town from Cincinnati and had asked me about starting a vegan straight edge band, influenced by Unbroken, Catharsis, and Undying. Unbroken is one of my favorite bands and I was looking to do a new band so it kind of just worked out in terms of timing I guess. We got a practice space, wrote a demo, and our first show ended up being the first night of a four day weekend tour with Cloud Rat.

As far as what's up next, I'm not really 100% sure. Our van died and we've had a lot of bad band luck over the past year. Our vocalist is about to move to New Haven, CT to attend Yale's MFA sculpture program, so at the moment we are kind of taking things slow and will likely take a break from it. It's a drag but when doing a band becomes too much of a chore I think everyone begins to lose interest very quickly. We released a four song EP called "Broken" on Hydrogen Man in March that I think is some of my favorite material we have. It's pretty different than the demo, but I feel like represents us as people and as a band much more accurately.

With Dying slowing down, do you have plans to start up anything new musically, and if so, what might that sound like? With your wide array of interests in music, visual arts, politics, etc. what artists, writers, etc. are inspiring you these days that people should check out?

There was brief talks of doing something that would be somewhat of a continuation of Dying, with almost the same line up, but I don't know if that will actually pan out. I've also been talking to a couple friends about doing some kind of post-punk band. To be honest though I'm not really too worried about starting another band right away. I love playing music but I'm actually looking forward to dedicating more of my time to the label and personal projects.

In terms of what's been inspiring me lately, I'm drawing a blank so I think it might be easier to just list the handful of books / magazines on my night stand. They are mostly design related, with the exception of Lefebvre, but you can definitely argue some of what he said influenced art/design/architecture.

“The Critique of Everyday Life” by Henri Lefebvre (http://www.amazon.com/Critique-Everyday-Life-Henri-Lefebvre/dp/1781683174/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1435168365&sr=1-1&keywords=critique+of+everyday+life)

“Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design” by Michael Bierut (http://www.amazon.com/Seventy-nine-Essays-Design-Michael-Bierut/dp/1616890614/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1435168231&sr=8-2&keywords=Michael+Bierut)

“Multiple Signatures: On Designers, Authors, Readers and Users” by Michael Rock (http://www.amazon.com/Multiple-Signatures-Designers-Authors-Readers/dp/0847839737/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&qid=1435168288&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+rock)

“DDDDoomed” by M.K. (http://drawdown.bigcartel.com/product/ddddoomed)

Printed Pages Magazine (http://printedpagesmagazine.com)

I'm curious to hear a little bit more of your take on the This is Hardcore Fest, which for a lot of more "mainstream" hardcore kids (for lack of a better word) has become sort of the defining fest in the country. When we played Philly back in May it kind of seemed like you had mixed feelings on what it does or does not contribute to the scene locally.

I actually think TIH is a pretty cool thing and it's something especially unique to Philadelphia (which might make me a little bias on my opinion on it versus other hardcore fest). I tend to only actually want to see a handful of the bands that play, but overall they always have a pretty wild line up with a wide range of bands, which I think makes it easy for people to get excited about.

Personally, I'm not really a big fan of fests, and this is mostly because of how crowded and overwhelming they can be. I would describe myself as more of an introvert and a huge show space like a fest can feel a lot less intimate. I prefer a regular 3-4 band show, but see the appeal of being able to come and see a ton of bands from all over the world at once. This is especially true for people from other countries who might not have a chance to see their favorite bands in their city.

Talk a little bit about your label Hydrogen Man Records. What was the impetus to start releasing records and what would you say is the central focus or main goal of the label?

I started Hydrogen Man Records in October, 2009 with a central focus on wanting to release material from punk and hardcore bands that were more socially conscious and politically motivated and who had a strong DIY work ethic. My first release was for a band called Bankrobber from Denver, Colorado, who I actually had met and played a show with the band I did prior to Bearings. Coincidentally, that same night I also met one of the guys in Of Feather and Bone, who I recently released a one sided LP for, when we got food after our show. I didn't realize he was in OFAB until I saw them play and recognized a tattoo of his, which I thought was kind of cool connection.

If you could release something for one current band you've never worked with, who would it be and why?

Ha, this is an interesting question. I'm not even really sure. There are a lot of really cool bands out there that I would be excited to work on a release with. I generally try to know someone in every band I work with personally, or at least know them through a friend, so that might limit me slightly.

You definitely embrace a very strong d.i.y. ethic and a lot of the bands you've worked with seem to have more of a socio-political slant. How important is that element to you and from your vantage point, are people in hardcore and punk receptive enough to social, political, and economic issues?

All my projects have always been very DIY and I think it's made a lot of what I've done much more rewarding. I've done the majority of booking for the bands I've been in that toured, I've screen printed and hand assembled most of my labels releases, I've printed a bunch of shirts and duplicated cassettes. Basically, every release I've done has had my direct involvement in its production and I find that to be a really great aspect of this label.

I think DIY an important element, but primarily just because I think it grounds people. When you work towards a project rather than just have it be handed to you, it really makes you more appreciative of the end result. And I think that's important in punk and hardcore. It's important for people to realize the amount of work that goes into a band or booking a show or putting out a record.

In terms of people being receptive to politics and social / economic issues, I really don't have a clear answer for this. I like to think most of my peers are relatively on the same level as me, meaning they oppose things like sexism, racism, homophobia, etc. But then I always get bleak reminders that we're all human and we are all capable of really terrible things, and those things are not excluded from the punk and hardcore scenes. This isn't a bubble and it would be naive to think people are always going to be on the same page as you.

The label and its artists seem to be getting some cool opportunities lately; Of Feather played the A389 bash and have been hitting the road hard, Falter seems to be getting out there a good bit, I know Counter is doing a run this summer....what's next for Hydrogen Man and where do you hope to see things moving going forward?

A lot of cool stuff is happening with various bands I've worked with and I think it's great. Of Feather and Bone is doing a ton of touring and has a new LP coming out relatively soon. I can't really speak to the new record yet since it hasn't been officially announced, but the label doing it is definitely a perfect fit for them and I'm really looking forward to it. Falter is working on a new EP that will be coming out on Hydrogen Man in the Fall most likely - I actually just saw some ideas for the art for this today and it looks great. I'm excited to be doing another release for them and I know they have plans to do some more touring in the near future as well.

Other stuff coming up includes a split for +HIRS+ from Philadelphia. It's still in the early stages, but I think there will be a cassette and 7" version available on both Hydrogen Man and another label. I'm also working on putting together a benefit compilation for this Fall that will hopefully raise some money for an animal rights organization. I did a similar comp in 2012 for Chenoa Manor Animal Sanctuary outside Philadelphia. I am hoping this one will have a lot of unreleased and new material from a collection of really cool bands, both on the label and friends of the label.

Hydrogen Man HQ: http://www.hydrogenmanrecords.com/

Jams: http://listen.hydrogenmanrecords.com/

Interview with Christina Stijy from Gouge Away

It's always awesome to get knocked right on your ass by a new band that you had never even heard of. Such was the case for me with Gouge Away. I had befriended their guitarist Pete online a year or two ago after hearing his previous project Aversion, a band that had completely dialed in that classic Florida hardcore sound; you know, Strongarm, old Hulud, Sleeping By the Riverside, etc.   

A month or so ago Pete posted a link for his new band Gouge Away, who apparently had a new LP in the works and would be touring soon. I'd not seen him post anything about this band until that very moment, so I excitedly clicked the link and was immediately blown away. 5 songs of explosive, caustic hardcore punk in the vein of Fucking Invincible, Punch, etc. 

I had to find out more, and after a little bit of poking around saw that lyrically they were heavily focused on animal rights, gender equality, poking fun at overzealous straight edge kids, etc. Not only that, but their singer Christina is a school teacher. 

I was sold. A few emails were sent, and here we are, a discussion with vocalist Christina Stijy. Gouge Away will be headed up the East Coast and back for the next couple weeks and have an LP coming out later this year. Introducing your new favorite band. 

I always like to get a feel for people's background and everything, so in introducing yourself, talk a little bit about yourself; your family/childhood/adolescence, and the factors that led to your involvement in music generally, and hardcore/punk specifically.

I grew up listening to punk and metal. I always think I’m lucky to have been born at the start of 1990 because my parents had me listening to bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tesla when I was in diapers. When we had baby sitters over, I would ask them to play The Offspring while we played freeze dance. Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom” were two albums that followed me throughout my life. My dad has played guitar pretty much since he was in diapers himself and my mom loves loud music, so it's a passion that my parents understand.

My mom would be just as excited as I was to go to Warped Tour and even bailed on me once when I was being a brat and told her I didn’t want her to go anymore. She just went and left me without a ride. That’s something that I HATED back then but it’s something that I see myself doing if I’m ever a mom, haha. My dad always tried to teach me guitar but it just wasn’t something that I was good at. I had this thing for drums and no one really believed me until I saved up my money and bought myself a kit. My parents went out to eat and by the time they came home, I had it set up in the living room. That’s when my dad started driving me to get drum lessons every weekend.

I played drums for a few years in middle and high school and started a few garage bands. We just played at each other’s houses and at parties. When I was 15 or 16 I was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which caused me to get blood clots in my arm. I went to the hospital and took care of that, and then continued to play drums (I was also a competitive dancer at the time), but then I kept getting blood clots, over and over, until I had to quit everything.

Booking shows was something that started to fill that void. I couldn’t be in a band anymore so why not book them? I started The Florida Scene 9 years ago, where I would spend my free time booking local and DIY touring bands and making compilations. I can’t keep up with it as much anymore with my career and band but it definitely helped get me where I am today and I have a huge appreciation for promoters.

Holy crap, that sounds so awesome, haha. At the time did you realize how unique your situation was with your parents being so encouraging about music and into it themselves, or did that come with age?                 
                             
It’s definitely something I was aware of.  My mom was basically a taxi, taking my friends and me to shows before we could drive.  I had a harder time understanding parents who were afraid of shows. My parents would also let my bands practice in the garage all day until the sun went down. I’m not sure my neighbors were stoked on that, though.

Gouge Away has been playing together for a couple years now, and there definitely seems to be a lot of social and political issues that are at the forefront of things. When you first came together was there a strong and clear sense that you wanted to be an issue-oriented band, or has that focus come with time?

It was definitely intended!  Gouge Away was pretty much born when I was driving around with Victor, complaining about politics, social issues, our hardcore scene and shows, and it ended with… “and that’s why I need to start a band!” Victor said, “Okay, let’s do it.” We knew who to ask right away. Some of the lyrics that were recorded are songs that I wrote years prior because I guess I was just waiting for this to happen.

I was psyched to read you are a kindergarten teacher, it's always awesome to see fellow educators within the punk and hardcore realm! I know for me a lot of my motivation to work with young people came from my involvement in hardcore and punk; specifically wanting to encourage people to think critically and more deeply which has probably been the most enduring thing I've taken from my involvement over the years, as well as wanting to pass on the sense of empowerment through self-expression that I've found. I'm curious if your experiences have been similar, or if your draw to the classroom came from somewhere altogether different.

I feel like it came from a mix of things. I’ve worked with children since I was very young and it just came naturally to me. There’s something really special about the kids who are often labeled “bad” and I've always liked figuring them out and seeing how I can get them to trust me, or find out what works for them. Adults let children down a lot of the time and I wanted to be one person in their lives that had their best interest in mind 100% of the time. Punk definitely had an influence on me as a teacher as well because when I was in school, I loved to learn but I also loved to rebel. I respected my teachers if they showed respect for their students, but I still loved to push their buttons. While being a rebellious pre-teen, starting to learn about the world around me through bands like Thought Riot, and having an eager need to learn, I had a lot of skepticism about education. When I decided that I wanted to teach, I knew that I wanted to do so in order to change the world 20 children at a time, to instill compassion and a desire to think critically beyond my class and for the rest of their lives. 

The question of female representation/participation in the hardcore and punk scene seems to be an ever-present issue that we are constantly grappling with. While some would argue fewer women seem drawn to and have an interest in this type of music, others would argue that there are various barriers to entry for women, ranging from tough-guy bro posturing to sexual harassment, assault, etc. From your perspective as a women who is and has been very active for a long time, how do we create a space that encourages all people to participate?

I think one of the first steps to any kind of progress is listening.  Marginalized people will never be heard if people are constantly talking over them and dismissing them.      

                    
Years ago, before calling people out and seeking accountability was prominent, a guy in a popular band in my state sexually assaulted me a number of times. I told a few people who were close to me or friends with him and I mostly got excuses. “He’s a nice guy.” “Are you sure it was assault or was he just confused?” “He’s creepy but would never do that.” That really instilled a rage in me that I carry with me to this day, and I never came forward about it because not being believed adds an additional element of fear than what I started with. We need to encourage an environment which supports people who come forward about harassment and assault to be taken seriously. Luckily, there are a number of people in my scene who are making this their priority.

This is something that I am still trying to figure out myself and I don’t think that we can ever stop learning about it. My experience as a woman in the hardcore scene and in society is a life I have to live with but then there are women of color and trans women who have it even harder than I do.

It was actually put into perspective for me a few years ago. I always wanted to be a roadie and merch girl on tour with bands but was hardly ever taken seriously. Guys would fear that their good times would be compromised because they would have to be mindful of their behaviors around me. I always wished I could have been born a man so I could easily do what I wanted to. I finally found a band, The Strikeouts, who would take me. I booked their tours and they took me out a few times. On the road I met my friend, Madison Turner. When she came out as trans she did an interview and mentioned that when she would see me on tour she would sit in the back of the van of her old band, Paranoia Dance Party, and look at her physique, and wish she was feminine like me. It was quite unreal to find that although things were hard for me at the time, I had a situation someone dreamed of.

So the new LP will be the third release so to speak, and certainly the most substantial in terms of the amount of content. What, if anything, were you trying to do differently this time around in terms of song-writing, lyrics, production, etc.?

Before the album was written we talked about making it community-oriented. We know a lot of local activists and otherwise influential people and we wanted to highlight as many as we could. We have 5 or so voices on this record and I wish we could fit more, but there’s always next time. I gave them pre-written lyrics and asked them to edit it as they please. Two people, Madison Turner and Maru Lopez, wrote their own parts completely. It’s really exciting to have such badass people included and I hope to keep this idea going.

Another idea was to keep the lyrics somewhat straight-forward and blunt. I really appreciate bands who have good writers and it takes some thinking to understand the message, but we tend to have this problem where people like us because we’re labeled as a hardcore band but then they get surprised when they realize that we mean what we say. I hope people can hear each song once and know what they’re about.

Other than that, unlike the old recordings, we wanted this one to sound good! Haha. Peter Allen joined us on second guitar a few months back and he definitely added an element we were looking for. We also couldn’t be happier recording with Daniel Colombo at Iceman Studios.

Florida seems to be such a hotbed right now for punk and hardcore, and Eighty-Sixed Records seems to be a manifestation of that. How did you hook up with Eighty-Sixed, and what's in the damn water down there?

Eighty-Sixed Records is comprised of John Mchale and Andre Hopman. We’ve all known John for years because he books the best shows in South Florida and then I met Dre through his band with John, Guilty Conscience. Our relationship is pretty standard: we played each other’s shows, we liked each other’s bands, and then they started a label and asked if we would like to be a part of it. It has been love ever since. 

So tour starts today I think....who are you most excited to play with and what places are you most looking forward to seeing/exploring? 

It started yesterday and has been great so far! I'm really excited to see Buffalo Buffalo, Swim Team, Soul Glo, Lipschitz, Ex-Breathers, and I've been told that WarXGames is tight. But I'm always exited to watch every band on tour. I'm pretty open minded about exploring new places, especially to try vegan spots. But my favorite part of tour is seeing friends! We know the most hospitable people.

The LP will be dropping later this year, what else do you have in store in terms of tours, releases, etc.

My dream is just to tour as much as possible until we're 90.

But as far as concrete plans, we'll be playing The Fest in Gainesville this October.

Lastly, for people just getting their feet wet with hardcore, DIY, radical politics, etc. what sort of advice or words of wisdom would you have for them? Conversely, for old jaded folks, why has this community continued to inspire you and keep you engaged?

My advice with everything is to not give up. Going vegan is hard. You will fuck up. Make it a learning experience and move forward. If someone says you don't support the scene because you don't go to every single show, tell them to fuck off. You have nothing to prove to anybody. Sometimes finding the right activist group takes a few tries. If you live in South Florida I strongly suggest trying out Food Not Bombs Ft. Lauderdale. They're hard-working, always eager to learn and help each other grow, and they understand if you need a break.

And to the jaded people, honestly, what keeps me engaged is the young people. The scene has changed a lot since I started going to shows over 10 years ago and I think it's for the better. It proves that if you put the work into it and stay true to yourself, you will see results.  If we keep pushing forward and continue to make the scene the way we want, it will only get better.

Gouge Away HQ: http://gougeawayfl.tumblr.com/

The Jams:  https://gougeawayfl.bandcamp.com/