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/
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