http://www.myspace.com/peterjwoods

http://www.myspace.com/xallxforxthisx

CLOAK OF DIN: What are the issues, themes, images, or topics with which you are most consistently obsessed or possessed?

WOODS: The list is pretty long, hence the revolving door of 3-5 different bands and projects. One that sticks out with most of what I do is the idea of futility, how we face it and cope with it but also what it does to us. My solo stuff deals with this directly exploring both the effects of futility and its different manifestations, whereas something like xALLxFORxTHISx approaches it from one specific angle, specifically peoples purpose in life and how that can be effected by drug use.

CLOAK OF DIN: When did you first come up with the concept for ALLxFORxTHIS, and how long did it take you to begin writing and recording material for the project?

WOODS: The idea for the project started about two years ago. I have been seriously listening to hardcore for about 6 years and noise for about 4 or 5, three of which were focused heavily on power electronics. I saw this disconnect between the two. Hardcore kids HATED noise and the people in noise were a bit more forgiving, but not much. Despite this, I saw a certain similarity and connection between the two and I wanted to explore that.

After a year of thinking about it, Jason Linski of Blessed Sacrifist caught wind of the idea and offered to help out with the project and xALLxFORxTHISx was born. We took about a month to write and record our first set of demos, trying to get an initial sketch of what we wanted to do out there super quick, then sat back for a while to decide where we want to go next, only playing one show with the original material. We only finalized new material this past September, which is a pace I am definitely enjoying. Both of us have other projects that we are focused on, so it allows this one to grow very organically.

CLOAK OF DIN: As someone obviously rooted in the straightedge punk scene, what is your current relation to punk and hardcore culture? Do you feel noise is a part of or perhaps even a more modern form of this culture, or is ALLxFORxTHIS taking the form in a seperate direction from its contemporaries?
WOODS: I’m definitely very involved in the local scene around Milwaukee, but in this weird “respected outsider” role. I’ll book hardcore bands, they’ll book me, I’ve been on tour with hardcore bands before, I go to their shows, they come to mine, that sort of thing. It’s a nice back and forth and a lot of respect involved, which is great. I’ve also played in a number of hardcore bands, most recently the d-beat grind band Half Gorilla.

As for it being a more modern form of the culture, I think thats a pretty nuanced question, but ultimately I’d say no. Punk as a whole has always been a genre that does not want to change too far, so it builds in these mechanisms where it can reel the whole genre in. We start with punk in the 70s which eventually degenerates into New Wave in the 80s, so the kids that are still in the underground say “fuck this” and start hardcore. So then hardcore rolls around and eventually devolves into metalcore and the dancier, sassier hardcore stuff that was around, so recently kids started saying “fuck that” again and started power violence and also pushed a huge revival in crust. Thats what I love about hardcore- it can’t get away from its roots. It will always be about yelling shit over three chords. If you look at it, artistically, you can claim that noise is the next iteration of hardcore, just like its the next iteration of industrial, jazz, or classical, but hardcore will always be hardcore.

xALLxFORxTHISx definitely does not take the form in a separate direction from its contemporaries. In fact, it revels in the fact that it is firmly rooted in what its contemporaries are doing. The project is ultimately, on an aesthetic level, a play with genres. The goal is to take the precedents of both Hardcore and power electronics and mix them into something new. No new direction is taken, we just have a lot of contemporaries to steal from.

CLOAK OF DIN: Do you ever feel that some may find an aura of nostalgia, irony, or even satire in the blunt and hardline stance of your lyrics? Do you feel that current cultural trends towards almost nihilistic levels of nostalgia, irony, and ideological ambiguity create difficulties in communicating ideas in such a blunt and serious way?

WOODS: Oh god yes.

The whole thing really strikes me as pathetic really, this indulgence in irony that everyone has taken too. It fucking sucks. People build their entire lives around these ironic stances on everything to the point where they can’t even tell whats ironic anymore. This leads to people not having to engage with anything critically. Call someone out on liking something stupid, and they claim they just do it ironically. Call them out on liking something decent, and they laugh at you because you fell for it. Its the absolute worst. The nostalgia and satire stuff is annoying too, but generally unavoidable. I find it hard to compete with nostalgia, mainly because most of the things in my music people would be nostalgic for existed either before or right around the time I was born, so that doesn’t really apply. As for satire, thats an audience interpretation that I can’t control. Will some people think this is satire? Yeah, probably, and understandably so. The lyrics are very much over the top and definitely exaggerated (full disclosure- I don’t actually want to curb stomp junkies, I just don’t like them all that much), but it comes from a place of earnestness, which in my mind is a big staple of power electronics. I don’t think the majority of power electronics artists out there are condoning rape and murder, but they do have a fascination with ideas of power and control. Thats where my lyrcs reside.

All of these things create a wall for me to get through in terms of communication, but all forms of communication are imperfect. All I can do is approach the project with as much transparency as possible. Let people know what I’m trying to say, explain myself, answer questions, give out lyrics, all of that. Hopefully it can push through some of those problems, but then again, I really have no control over what the listener thinks.

CLOAK OF DIN: How do you apply straightedge ideology to aspects of your life outside of mind-altering substances? Are you a vegetarian or vegan, do you practice sexual restrictions, do you apply the ideology to over-indulgence in media or entertainment, and so on?

WOODS: Really the only place I apply it is in the world of drug use, and even that isn’t too hardlined for me. I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t buy meat, I’m pretty open and positive sexually as long as consent is involved and a certain amount of restraint is shown, and I guess I don’t really participate in most mainstream media or entertainment, but even then I’m not going to storm out of a room if a TV is on. As for the drug stuff, I still use medicinal drugs and drink waaaaaaaaaaay too much coffee.

I think this is what separates me from the classic image of a guy into straight edge. I don’t come at straight edge from a position of authority or neo-facism, I come at it from a position of purposefulness in personal choice. I’m a person who believes in a directness and decidedness in his actions. I don’t do anything just because its fun or because I feel like it or it feels good. I do things with as much awareness in the consequences of my actions and I act accordingly. I see drug use as a dead end: nothing more than a means to instant gratification with long lasting negative consequences. I have yet to hear any argument for drug use that I agree with and only see the problems it causes for so many people, adding to the constant degradation our society is going through. This is why I don’t do drugs and I’m straight edge because I want people to know it. Along with transparency in my music I want a transparency in my life. I want all of my choices to be laid bare.

So with these other aspects, I see the negative consequences of partaking in all of them, but I also benefits from each. There are ways to safely and consciously eat meat, be sexually active and engage in media. Do people go over board with this and are there ways to engage in all of these that are unjustifiable? Yes, obviously, but I can actually see a benefit all of these. People can argue against all three of these and do it well, but thats the point: there are definitely arguments on both sides. As for drug use, there’s none.
CLOAK OF DIN: Do you feel that straightedge ideology, seen from a certain angle, may have an almost ascetic or gnostic spiritual element to it? Do you find inspiration or common ground in the positive values of religious movements such as Buddhism or certain forms of Christianity (such as the radical anti-war Plowshares Movement) which may have some elements in common with your ideology?

WOODS: I see the connection between the two, but its a connection I don’t care about. All religions have this base level where there ideas make sense (be good to people, don’t ruin your life on purpose, etc.). Even something like Scientology starts with what basically amounts to a few months of psychiatric help for anyone joining the cult. Where I feel there is a distinct divide is in the reasons people into religions and certain overarching philosophies are drug free and why I am. Christians don’t do drugs because God told them not to, that is moral, and someone who is Buddhist can very easily not do drugs for the sole purpose that it is part of the philosophy. I don’t do it because I believe in it, not someone else, and even then I believe in it because I have rationally considered the choice of drinking or doing drugs and realized its a bad one. I feel like people are drug free because they are religious, where as I am straight because I am drug free (not drug free because of straight edge).

One of my biggest beliefs is in autonomy, in the idea that people should be able to choose for themselves what they do, to have freedom over their actions. This may sound hypocritical considering where I am coming from, but I don’t think it is. In order to have a freedom of will, you have to be clear headed, able to think. I think that drugs, alcohol, and religion all remove this freedom. With autonomy, are people allowed to make these choices? Yes, definitely, but I also have the right to tell them how I think they are stupid. Its also why I am fine with drinking caffeine and using medicinal drugs. In both cases (at least for the most part), the use of these drugs does not lead to an altered perception of reality or a dumbing down of the thought process. People who drink coffee may be a bit more irritated, but they can still think through problems and consider their own actions. This is what I strive for in life, and being drug free is what leads to that.

CLOAK OF DIN: Do you find a great focus on “purity” which may manifest itself in movements such as straightedge or even modern “consumer activism” may end up placing a greater emphasis on avoiding “negative influences” than putting forth positive effort as an activist?
WOODS: Yes, but its extremely important. The way capitalism and globalization have constructed out society, every action has consequences which reach beyond ourselves and into the world as a whole. Buying clothing can force slave labor and purchasing food can reinforce the degradation of the environment. So by removing these negative influences, we create a much wider, positive impact. Where our money goes has been the greatest form of both support and protest in recent years. The move towards direct action is a joke. Property damage does nothing more than make a statement and cause insurance companies to lose a buck or two. It does nothing, where as merely watching what you spend has an actual (although, considering grand scope of things, admittedly minimal) impact. The goal is to get enough people to think about what they are buying to have an actual impact.

Even with this being said, I think there is a general trend in society for people to pigeonhole people into one category. “Someone who protests the war ONLY protests the war.” That sort of thing. Really, this isn’t how it works. People are complex beings and activists take on a lot of different rolls. xALLxFORxTHISx lyrically is about being drug free, but the way I create music is an economic process as well, one that acts to counteract the current capitalistic mode of production. Its entirely DIY and works with DIY groups (labels, venues, etc.), therefore undermining the issue of labor injustice on a small scale. It talks about avoiding negative influences, but acts in a very positive way.

CLOAK OF DIN: Do you have any advice for young people reading this who may wish to alter their lives in positive ways, including adopting straightedge values? Do you favor an immediate radical change or gradual weaning off negative influences as a path to the “purity” you describe?
WOODS: All I can say is think about what you are doing and act in the best way you can. If you can justify what you are doing, even if it is drinking or using drugs, then do it. I don’t know how you can do it in a way that I see fit, but thats not your problem, its mine. The point of what I am doing is not to force everyone to think like me – its merely to make sure people actually think about their actions and make a conscious decision, as opposed to just doing whatever they feel like. Rationality in everything. I hope that this would lead people to drop the addictions, but even if it doesn’t, a world of people thinking about their daily lives is better than a sober world that doesn’t think about anything.

As for how that change can take place- whatever is effective, do it. I generally see more people actually accomplishing something with gradual weaning, but radical change can also be effective. All I can say is that 2 months of strict sobriety followed by the usual abuse is way less effective than a life time of slowly improving.

CLOAK OF DIN: Are there any upcoming events or releases about which you’d like readers to know? Any closing words?
WOODS: No events, but our debut release (a c25 entitled Chemical Death Rattle) will be coming out soon on Phage Tapes.
Act with purpose.

CLOAK OF DIN: What are the issues, themes, images, or topics with which you are most consistently obsessed or possessed?

TERENCE: I would say a major issue we use in our imagery, lyrics and overall tone is one of obsolescence and decay.  The failure of modern living, how we plan and write failure into all we make.  Our lives are full of detritus and waste.  So I guess that leads us to our obsessions with dead malls, environmental disaster, mass extinction, etc.  Personally I am obsessed with vintage amplifiers, analog synthesizers, krautrock on vinyl, Factory Records and Medieval altar constructions.

ANDRE: I’m more obsessed by the obsessive behavior of other people rather than myself.  Our music and themes deal with the linear scope of the world present in the culture that we’re part of. We tend to make choices in our lives maybe for our next generation or later in our generation rather than for the benefit of people generations from us.  There’s this idea that our society is out-of-sync, or perhaps even worse, in our themes and music. Each one of our releases deals with these ideas from a slightly different perspective, but there’s also this idea that we’re trying to find beauty in decay, failure, and waste.

CLOAK OF DIN: Your work often focuses on the themes of urban decay and suburban sprawl, especially as seen in the video work “Land of Decay,” which features long held shots of abandoned malls. Could you elaborate on what the audience should take from these images when combined with your music?

TERENCE: I shot those scenes in “Land of Decay” and what I was going for is to extend a period of time out and make you focus on this location of failure.  I think a lot of films could use the long shot more.  Throughout the world there are these spots left to rot by municipal shortcomings and real estate greed gone awry.

ANDRE: I think that the benefit of these long shots that Terence used in the “Land of Decay” video are that they force the viewer to deal with the imagery on the screen. Someone might watch that film hoping to see a Locrian live performance. That video does have live performances, but the viewer is going to have to sit through the abandoned mall scenes in order to get to them and there isn’t much, if any, music in these long scenes. It’s just the field recording of the dead mall, the Dixie Square Mall.

The benefit of having the film on VHS is that it gives us the element of control over the material in a way that DVDs are less effective. Even though the viewer can fast forward through the long scenes, it’s going to be more difficult so there’s no way that a viewer can easily just fast forward through these scenes in order to watch a Locrian performance.

CLOAK OF DIN: What do you see as the cause or causes of this decay?

ANDRE: The causes of the decay that we deal with in our work are multiple and we’d me oversimplifying if we were to give you a short answer to this question. I guess if we were to oversimplify, you could say that short-sightedness, or the failure of progress.

TERENCE: I am personally not very interested in the avoidance of these kinds of spaces and find myself continually drawn toward them.  I have no plan, no manifesto, to me it is just the real environment beneath the surface or on the periphery of success.

CLOAK OF DIN: How do you think these types of situations could be avoided, if possible?

ANDRE: A lot of our imagery might deal with decay, pollution, detritus, but we aren’t trying to provide a solution through our work. That’s how our work is different from a lot of the hardcore music that we grew up on that would promise the listener some kind of utopia if you did things like stop eating meat or cheese or whatever. There’s really no simple solution to the problems our music deals with. Hopefully it makes the listener think about these problems though.

CLOAK OF DIN: How long have you been doing your current project, and how did it start?

TERENCE: André and I started the project as a project from our band, Unlucky Atlas, that we are in with our wives which was more of a dark kind of droney pseudo-folk kind of thing.  There was a moment, a bar, two dudes on the floor prostrating before our amps. We made a CDR and a tape.  There were a constellation of other like minded people in various scenes who helped us out.

ANDRE: Locrian have been together since late 2005. We started because we wanted to create and we really didn’t think about it much past that. Really we didn’t make many recordings until relatively recently. Our older recordings were mostly just live recordings and we only made a few copies. It’s only recently that we decided to start getting some decent recordings.

CLOAK OF DIN: What was your first live performance like?

TERENCE: Our first live performance was us just figuring out a duo and it took a long time to get kind of what we wanted.

ANDRE: Our first live performance was documented on our CDR “Setting Your Jetta on Fire.” It was a crummy bar in Chicago and we played with some bands that were totally non sequitur with what we are and were doing. I think we pissed a lot of people off at that show, but it was pretty fun.

CLOAK OF DIN: How has your live performance evolved?

TERENCE: Maybe a year or two of playing anywhere with anyone just cranking the volume and trying different instruments.  We always kept it as two of us.  And really started to center around the guitar being played by André and my duties centering on keyboards, tapes and vocals. Now, live we still improvise a lot, but we’ve been playing much longer together in a variety of circumstances and it gives us much better maps to where a part is going or when it shifts or a piece of gear breaks.

ANDRE: Our approach is always different really. When we play live we improvise, sometimes entirely, sometimes on a shared theme(s). These improvisations always work best in a trance-like state. So when we play live, we prefer to play until we don’t feel like we need to anymore.

CLOAK OF DIN: How is your approach to recording different from your approach to performing live?

ANDRE: When we’re in the studio, we might just want to make a statement that only requires us to make noise for a few minutes rather than thirty.

CLOAK OF DIN: How do you think your current project reflects your implicit ideology, belief structure, or lack thereof? Does it reflect your own values or a reaction against the values of the dominant culture?

TERENCE: I think our project is a reflection of the world around us, and we actually intentionally try and avoid a lot of the explicit social or political polemicizing.  I think it comes a lot from our upbringing when we were younger in both scenes of metal and hardcore that had such extremes of political or even religious connotations that it got in the way of the what it was all for, the music as a form of art.  So few bands that aligned themselves with a politic could maintain the art at the same level.  So many bands trap themselves in this cage of ideology, for whatever side and at some point it is just about maintaining this structure rather then what we’re supposed to be listening to.  It all becomes stagnant.  I think every genre has those people that stay stationary and I am completely not interested in revisiting things.  I actually have a lot of disdain for nostalgia.  I mean, concerning us, certainly in the music, we hope the disappointment in what our society is, full of vacant consumption and building to what end, comes through.  Like there is this magnet of history just sucking in everything and leveling it, making this mass indistinguishable.  It is terror and dread, horror and completely monolithic.  Whether it is a vacant mall decaying in a once prosperous area or a natural disaster.  But, we’re not U2 or Crass.  Music can’t save the world.  I don’t know how we escape.

ANDRE: There’s a lot going on in our material. In a way it’s critical of our culture, but on another level, it’s finding beauty in decay and doom. Perhaps it’s dealing with a powerlessness to change the parts of the world that haunt us and finding peace in that. I’m not sure if we could say we’re a reaction against the dominant culture because I’m not sure what or who that is. Is the dominant culture like a few really rich people? I guess that’s why we have the doom element to our music, because there isn’t an easy way out of the problem that humanity has created. The solution isn’t buying a hybrid car, or using biodegradable disposable cups, it’s really much more complicated.  We offer no solution to any of these problems our music deals with.

CLOAK OF DIN: Are there any upcoming events or releases about which you’d like readers to know? Any closing words?

TERENCE: Thank you.

ANDRE: Shir, we have a bunch of new releases coming out. We just released our “Rain of Ashes” cd on Basses Frequences.  This is essentially a version our live set from our summer east coast U.S. tour.  We’re really happy with how the artwork and the music came out on this release.

We just finished mastering a big collaborative album which will be out next spring. It’s called “Territories” and we got help from a bunch of our friends on this one since 2009 has been a year of exploration for us. It’s more power-electronics, black metal, and direct than anything we’ve done yet, but I’m actually really happy with it.

This week, we’re releasing a split 7” with Harpoon on HeWhoCorrupts Inc. Our track on this release is really a hint of what “Territories” will sound like. The track features Andrew (drums) from Velnias who is one of the constant collaborators on “Territories.”

Thanks for talking with us!

CLOAK OF DIN: What are the issues, themes, images, or topics with which you are most consistently obsessed or possessed?

ROBERT INHUMAN: Mainly I have just been focused on making a career and art project outta making a band that is as much what I want to hear more of as possible, within the arena of hardcore music I mean, and to find more ways to do this in ways other bands will not consider. I am sometimes obsessed with being a counterexample in most situations, often with constructive or optimistic intentions, but it can feel like I’m just naturally a very argumentive person. After our last Realicide album was finished and the long tour happened afterwards, I’ve been interested in moving away from overtly critical and disagreeable themes for the next body of work. I don’t want to go through my life just known as somebody who bitches about shit in some band. I would like to rather focus more on how fortunate I am to meet so many interesting people, and survive the kamikaze missions I set up for us year by year, and to have friends like Swill who will be there when I am losing my mind during it all – and I’ll be there for them too. I have been interested in celebrating basically. It is really cool to feel happy but also not cos of some kinda whacked out escapism. I’m happy cos life has been straight dark but me and my friends are alive together to see better days.

CLOAK OF DIN: Your song “Prove Me Wrong” specifically deals with your falling-out with members of the older and more established avant-garde scene in your area. Do you think the problems you list – hobbyism, “sound for sound’s sake,” careful ambiguity and vagueness – are problems inherent in the noise scene, or do you see a younger generation of kids coming up today who view noise, underground drone, etc. as a new kind of punk music?

ROBERT INHUMAN: The things you’ve listed from that song are definitely some of the exact things preventing contemporary noise, the newer generations and anybody else, from reaching a higher social relevance and substantial lasting effect on culture. I feel like it’s a reflection of the total plague of indifference and narcissism in the world today; especially in subcultures privileged enough to have the years to whittle away crafting beeping and scraping sounds. I am not sure if hobby, ambiguity, and alienation are outright inherent in noise, but I’d say they are some of the genre’s primary social pitfalls. As for being “the new punk” – fuck yeah it has been the new punk in many ways, but punk was never immune to these pitfalls either. For instance, how many punk rock songs about hating cops or “anarchy” truthfully resonate or have a lasting effect in our day-to-day? Most are pretty fucking impotent, right? Noise has the same situation – there are the soulful gems that resonate strong, then there are the rest that are basically pitiful. Most genres, aesthetic paths, and livelihoods seem to share this predicament. Trying and conviction are hard whether you’re making noise, playing hardcore, or running an infoshop…

Mostly though, “Prove Me Wrong” was written in 2006 about a fairly specific circumstance. I just sprung into broader griping in the second half of the song I think.’

CLOAK OF DIN: You have stated that you intend to end your involvement in Realicide as a band in 2012, when you turn 30 years old. At what point in Realicide’s history did you make this decision? Do you plan on becoming involved in other endeavors after this point, such as more direct political activism or organizing, in addition to running the RYR label?

ROBERT INHUMAN: I decided that pretty much when we started the band. Ten years is enough for any band usually, right? This reunion trend is wrenching. It should be called something besides Throbbing Gristle, the Germs aren’t supposed to be fronted by some young actor, and everybody knows the Misfits don’t do shit besides fit the fuck in. So hopefully I won’t fall for that trend later in life. But continuing a growing record and zine label will be a way to encourage new energy every year I hope. And my friends are welcome to continue the band without me if they feel like it should continue. I figure I will be involved with other art projects, other bands, make zines… So far in my life I think my “activism” has been a modest effort to just treat people how I would like to be treated. That is one of the main ideas we have been deciding to endorse with our more recent music these past few years – that you cannot force other people to live your way; you only have authority over your own life and you should focus on setting a constructive example with it. Amidst all the good intentions of many activist organizations, I am worried that they can too often lose sight of this basic idea. In the strange world of organized anarchism, people let themselves become cold and callous to eachother. What fucking good is a world without genuine compassion and affection? Fuck it if it only exists in theory; on paper… My activism is asking people to just listen and relate to eachother – no imperialism; no xenophobia. Maybe someday I’ll get involved in organizations. I admire the missions of many… But I am very distrusting of human capacity and tendencies to scapegoat strangers rather than face personal problems, my own limits not exempt at all. I think as my patience and ability to relate to more people improve, my chances of being a team player in different groups will improve too. It’s been going in that direction already the more I explore this whole “adulthood” thing.

CLOAK OF DIN: Continuing on that theme, with Realicide’s extreme focus on its social message and youth culture, why did you choose to pursue these activities in a band format rather than becoming involved in organizing, youth counseling, activism, etc.?

ROBERT INHUMAN: It’s a propaganda project, or like a “Trojan Horse” in some instances. I know that music is primarily tied to recreation and escape in most peoples’ minds. Even within “political” music like hardcore crust, this is often just a Halloween game people play in between submission to the same dogmatic systems as anybody with more conventions aesthetic interests. The more seriously we’ve taken this project as a social message, the more it has in fact become like youth counseling. I won’t go into detail due to obvious confidentialities, but more and more the past few years we do get contacted by kids struggling with problems related to drugs, alcohol, sex, families, schools, social situations, depression, feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness… It’s not our job to have solutions to these problems, but I think we’ve decided as a group that it is our job to be friends to anybody who is asking for our friendship – not out of being a “fan” or wanting to be affiliated with some stupid band, but just out of needing something to lean on during times of vulnerability and uncertainty. I want to be in a band that influences a kid to resist drinking every day and night, to treat their partner with kindness and respect, to put the gun down instead of picking it up. Maybe people who want to be “hard” will not be interested in this, but I couldn’t give a fuck less what those people think. They project their own lust for violence and abuse onto our music which is certainly very abrasive – but there is a big difference between violence and urgency. I know the core members of this group like Swill, Evolve, Mavis, etc. fully agree and have been with me these past few years taking steps towards making Realicide something very confrontational but also positive and outreaching. We’re doing this as a band cos it’s an effective vehicle for propaganda; for influence in the youth. That’s always been the case, it’s just been a matter of figuring out what’s the best array of things to discuss and deliver within this. Kind of trial and error; kind of social experimenting.

CLOAK OF DIN: There is a currently growing scene of “crunk-core” bands, like Brokencyde, Dot Dot Curve, or Hollywood Undead, that combine screamo-style “harsh” vocalizations and hedonistic lyrics with party-rap beats. In some ways Realicide is almost the mirror image of this style, combining urgent screaming and slam-poetry style spoken word with hardcore techno and social messages, and of course predating it by many years. What do you feel is the connection here? Do you think bands operating on this kind of model, whatever their specific style and intent, are going to get bigger and perhaps infiltrate the larger mainstream radio markets in some time?

ROBERT INHUMAN: I am hesitant to even entertain this question because I don’t think these bands are a “scene” at all. They are just a pathetic yet lucrative business. They have absolutely nothing to do with hardcore. They are like smooth jazz or like a muzak rendition of rock and roll. These whores are fucking flaccid and their only relevance is in accurate reflection of a world totally addicted to shit hedonistic jokes and consumerism. Lots of bands have combined styles and techniques. We have nothing to do with the bands mentioned in your question. The only time I have ever heard about them is when I am on tour and talking to someone who clearly spends a lot of time on Myspace, reading the Fox-sponsored advertisements of all things. People have tried to show me the music, but I tend to have a “Are you fucking kidding? Don’t we have something better to listen to?” reaction. Jokes are just as much of a fucked addiction as most things. I like listening to bands that aren’t stupid. “Irony is a dead scene.” Swill isn’t a slam poet. He is always ripping on those readings – says they usually be ranting about getting their shitty book published or something. All we are is punks that say stuff. That’s all I see it as anyway…

CLOAK OF DIN: Are there any upcoming events or releases about which you’d like readers to know? Any closing words?

ROBERT INHUMAN: Right now we are in Cincinnati recording Birth’s first studio album before he goes back to Los Angeles. Raw minimal synthpunk… Jim Swill will have a couple new books being printed soon. Most releases for this year have happened successfully by now – Realicide’s “Resisting The Viral Self” album and the new “The Choice Is Yours” 12″ EP, the Evolve “Breaking Down The Barriers” LP/CD which they are touring for right now, and a few others. Our next 7″ will be from Hirntrust in Austria I think. Most of our crew has actually reunited in Cincinnati at this point, to rally around the Bunk venue and all the hopeful energy it has inspired this year. Mavis moved back from Boston a few days ago. Things have been really great in the old hometown, and I really did not expect it to come back around this way. Main travel plans for 2010 are to get to as many places outside of America as possible, since I’ve done like 120+ gigs in the US this year. I gotta go see some different places before touring gets too comfortable here.

TRISTAN: My life. I pretty much only really deal with my own personal politics when it comes to what I’ll write about. Sometimes I’ll jump into things like the state of “art” or punk rock or you know just underground subculture and why things suck or why they are good and how to make things more creative, free and powerful. But as a whole some issues, themes, images and topics I tend to touch on are depression, suicide, loneliness, drugs and I don’t know just emotion. I tend to focus on the negative because how often does someone think “I feel so happy right now I must write a song”. A lot of the early freak-folk / experimental Acheronian releases were really just written after break-ups I couldn’t handle… that, among other things lead to heavy drug use so I wrote about that.

TRISTAN: Yes it does seem that way doesn’t it.

This does apply to me. To answer this question I feel I should just explain what I was into before noise and then how I discovered it. I’m a punk kid at heart. Growing up I was very into classic punk bands like The Ramones, The Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine & Sonic Youth. I explored every nook and cranny I could of punk music, I wanted to hear fucking everything I could and that eventually lead into some metal… mostly black metal or crossover kinda stuff like grind & power violence. I got very into local music as well… I feel I connect very much to artists that write about places where I spend most of my time. So I got way into some DC/NOVA & RVA bands like Pg.99, Majority Rule, Crestfallen, Triac & City of Caterpillar. Right after a lot of those started to die out and I got a little older I started getting really into just plain experimental music whether it be freak-folk, out jazz or noise rock thats what I started to feel close too… which would explain some of the early Acheronian recordings. Then right around then I got in touch with this guy Scott Nussman who played in a local doom/sludge band called Vog and also in the only real Northern Virginia / Washington DC ‘harsh noise group’ that I think we ever really had called Piasa. But yeah, I got in touch with him about giving a track to him for a comp he was getting together and said to meet him at a show with ended up being a Piasa show booked with Rosetta. But I talked to him and gave him a CD then I saw his band play… there were pedals all over the floor, huge amps, broken glass and pieces of metal mic’d up and being thrown around… it all made the most ugly, horrible, dark and depressing sounds I had ever heard and at that point I thought “this is what punk music is!!!!”. I joined Piasa a few weeks later. And what I find strange really is… is that it was noise, harsh noise, that got me into sludge/doom/heavy drone which I got SUPER into and kinda left harsh noise alone for awhile. But yeah so I guess it was then that I learned noise was for me… and I’m one of those kids that was under the impression that noise “was the new punk rock”.

TRISTAN: Oh yeah. Everything is inter-related for better or worse. But I don’t know if it’s really more now than in the past… I just think more people realize it now or are paying more attention now. But recently I have been noticing bands on like late night shows or at punk shows that have huge pedal boards and making their guitars make insane textures, using synths in non traditional ways, going all out with their stage shows in a non rock n roll way. In the area I live in and play around things are pretty inter-grated to an extent… not enough in my opinion… but they are. Acheronian & Piasa played every kind of bill there was really, we played with indie rock bands, noise rock bands, doom/sludge bands, punk rock bands, screamo bands, metal bands, noise acts… you name it and we always managed to somehow fit in well enough. Oddly enough though it was the noise shows I think people really could of cared less about us. A lot of the time the noise crowd is as stuck up as crowd eating cheese and drinking wine. A lot of times noise shows are booked at those kind of gallery’s though haha. But I don’t know man, In DC and Northern Virginia all underground music goes hand in hand… but the support for it is whole other thing. In Richmond Virginia things are inter-related and segregated all at the same time but in a cool way. There’s always noise/experimental shows going on… with just those kind of acts but at the same time there are punk shows with noise rock bands or psych rock groups that will cater to a noise artist. The same can really be said with Baltimore. It’s something I have grown to enjoy about the area and have been trying to make it a place where a noise artist can come through town, hop on a bill with a grind band, a punk band, a psych pop outfit then have the noise act play and have everyone be happy. I do have some fellow music and sound lovers on my side with this carrying their weight which is awesome.

TRISTAN: I think noise & drone music is punk rock. I also believe punk rock is a personal thing… it may be punk as shit to me and it may just be noise for the sake of noise to somebody else and i’m totally into both. I’ve noticed so many younger and younger kids getting into this kind of music and scene and I think that’s great. When I was 17/18 doing this shit I was always considered so young to be doing such a thing and now a days it’s a little more normal. You’re starting to see fucking 16 year old kids play harsh noise sets! That’s crazy they were born in like 92 or 93!!! I think the meaning this shit has for youth is excitement, a place to truly express themselves and I fucking mean that. They can be gay, transgender, homeless junkies, nerds what the fuck ever and you can get into noise and everyone knows that we are all in the same boat. We are all a bunch of fucking weirdo’s who want to make some noise and be ourselves and have that be okay. I think noise music really is just another branch of punk rock. One that has had to stay DIY & underground for the most part so yes I do think it holds a similar place. I often relate to how Masonna says that noise is his version of Rock and Roll.

TRISTAN: Drugs are the reason why Acheronian is sleeping at the moment. I have pawned off so much of my shit because of drugs. I have lost almost all my best friends because of drugs. At this very moment i’m struggling. I hate them but I love the feeling they give. Drugs helped me make some great music when they were still fun. But they aren’t fun in the same way anymore. I don’t know what my music or life would be like if I never gave in to drugs like I have/had. I don’t regret much of it so you know I guess my use was somewhat essential. The recordings always turned out great but when it comes to live shows i’ve fucked up a lot. But I don’t want to turn this question into a pity party or a don’t do drugs speech. I honestly avoid these questions in interviews normally or will just not really go in depth into my shit. I try to let the music speak for itself. It’s just a tough thing for me. I’ve publicly made my legal situations known… my junkie shit known. I’m about to go into an in patient treatment center for possibly over a year to not only avoid a 5 year felony sentence but also to get my life together. When I was younger I thought of myself as a noise artist for drug addicts. One that others with the same issues could relate too. Which I did I just underestimated the audience I guess.

TRISTAN: My current project called Ulalume is just a glance of where I am at right now in my life. Which is me being confused, not knowing who or where I want to be, not knowing if life is good or horrible. I have a love/hate relationship with popular culture. I think noise and DIY can be popular culture if we want it to be.

TRISTAN: I’m at a crossroads right now in life which reflects on my musical output but yeah here’s some shit.

I’m still trying to get the last Acheronian material released somehow which is a track called “This Whole Town Is One Vast Hospital” which can be heard on the Myspace if anyone wants to get in touch. There are some others too but that’s something that should not be left buried.

Thanks so much for the interview. It was a good one.

www.myspace.com/blackblocpe has a great deal of lyrical material available, as well as samples of recordings.

BLACK BLOC: First off, thank you so much for wanting to ask me some questions and giving me an opportunity to speak outside of a performance. Thank you too for asking some interesting questions! With that said, I hope both the person asking the questions, and the people reading these replies are doing well and involved with some wonderful things wherever they may be located at.

CLOAK OF DIN: What are the issues, themes, images, or topics with which you are
most consistently obsessed or possessed?

BLACK BLOC: A good question right off the bat.  The short answer for me is that struggle is my obsession…and I suppose love. I understand that is very, very broad and I will break it down into not so vague terms.

For me personally, everything I do is motivated by the struggle for a better world…a struggle taken out of love for people despite our obvious short-comings. Struggle for a better world I feel requires struggling to be better ourselves. So every personal struggle I have such as my emotional issues, to just relaxing with my friends, is all related to the broad struggle. This is not to say I cannot relax and have a fun time, laugh at things, laugh at myself…I do not take myself overly serious, but I think for people who see Black Bloc play, or who see the page, or anything to do with this project, that they get this idea I am some ultra-militant, super serious person that can never be relaxed and such. It is true that I look really stern and serious…I do not smile much outside of my social circle but that is more my own personal social awkwardness which admittedly I need to combat…and I work on that….but you combine that, with a larger male bodied figure of about 6 feet, 200 pounds, black boots, fatigues, spikes and patches, ratty hair, lots of scars….and intense images, performances and sounds…it is understandable why that impression could be had.

So for me, the struggle is life, a life long attempt at bettering my own self, to be able to be that world I wish to see, to be able to treat other people, as well as myself better…I think we all have a ton of shit to work on in ourselves. None of us are perfect nor will we ever be…but we certainly can treat each other better, unlearn a lot of this horrible shit we have been instilled with, and those of us who have faced extreme abuse of some form be it racial violence, sexual assault/rape/gender violence, emotional trauma…we often need to and can constantly be working on ourselves to not lose our humanity, to not become that monster, to still believe in and work for a better group of societies that is not instilling that horrible shit, not systematically churning out 10 year old rape victims, or mass producing self-hatred or  disharmony.

I have had a very intense personal struggle to overcome a lot of severe emotional issues that stem from numerous kinds of abuse that spanned well over two-thirds of my lifetime, and I am beginning to use those more personal experiences as topics for lyrics since it connects to the bigger picture. Going through that shit helped a lot to be able to see the patterns and help connect the dots of how fucked up we are, but more importantly helped me see first hand how fucked up things are here, and have a reference point of that to be able to speak from experience and say “hey, this should not be happening, how can we let this be happening??”

I guess it could be summed up that the issues and themes I deal with are ideas around the personal being political, how we all tie into the oppression, how we are all being victimized but all being aggressors too….I try to challenge this in myself for sure, but I also try to promote that ideal to other people as well. I also apply this to other
dynamics such as patriarchy, racism, sexism, equality, animal rights, primitivism, hierarchy…and they all fall under a broad classification of anarchism. Some other topics of great interest to me which have been touched on by Black Bloc are psychology obviously, armed struggle and nonviolence, waste culture and software piracy.

CLOAK OF DIN: It seems as if most people come to “noise music” indirectly, through other “extreme” genres or subcultures. Do you think this applies to you, and how did you realize that noise was the form for you?

BLACK BLOC: I would agree overall that people come to noise from other more extreme forms of music. That or I think they stumble upon it randomly. That is what happened to me really.

The first noise based thing I saw was when I was 18 in my little college town I live in. I saw a guy named Aaron Davis, who goes by Lost Earth Lock, playing these live sound collages using probably 15-20 pedals on the floor, and a guitar and a sampler. He was doing this type of dance with all the switching of pedals he was doing. It was absolutely incredible and I never had seen, nor heard anything like that ever. I got a tape from him that day called “The Greatest Artist Ever” which became one of my all time favorite recordings. I still listen to it regularly. At that point I knew I
wanted to do music and sound and a couple of years later that would start happening.

At the time I was not into anything too extreme…not in the sense I am today. Back then I was listening to the emerging trendy Norwegian black metal of Dimmu Borgir…Cradle of Filth…Moonspell, Type O Negative…Faith and the Muse and Dead Can Dance…it was not quite like today where I listen to 80 minute drone albums made of one solitary note…or listen to Knurl, or Phobia, or any funeral doom metal or depressive black metal….though I guess back in the late 90′s, that stuff was not trendy and was seen as extreme to some…

Anyway…I kind of found this stuff randomly by chance. Lost earth Lock was by no means anything like say Napalmed, Survival Unit, Merzbow, Masonna or anything extreme…but it was sure as fuck unique and unlike anything I have heard before or since.

I didn’t start getting into the more extreme stuff until Clint who was one of the guys in the doom metal act Long Winters Stare sent me some cd’s from his new dark ambient/experimental label. He sent me stuff from Vedisni, Monstrare, LS-TTL, and Necrophorous. Vedisni resonated as did Monstrare, though all the discs were really awesome. Vedisni was so brutal and haunting and vicious. I still love that album, some of the best dark ambient/black noise stuff I have ever heard to date, just some amazing sounds coming from 4 guys who knew how to bring it.

After those I started learning more about other projects like Whitehouse which did very little for me honestly. It was shock bullshit, high end abrasion for the sake of being shocking and different in my opinion. I was always more into the low end, filthy sounding material. Once I started doing music…I actually started a project called Romance In Tragedy which was me teaching myself piano and synth but I wanted to start experimenting rather quickly and ended up starting another project called Deconstructive Screwdriver Criticism, which allowed me to do material that was not written, not scripted etc. That project spawned every other project I did or do, including Black Bloc.

And as I began playing live I started getting exposed to more stuff through trades and such. Eventually found my way to stuff like Mourmansk 150 and Survival Unit which became some of my favorites along with Steel Hook Prostheses,  Napalmed, Knurl, Ex Order.

In all honesty, I do not think noise is for me, at least not totally. I enjoy it, I play it, some people think I do it good, but I am a person that needs variety and not constant routine. Black Bloc only started because I could not get a grind or crust punk band started, or any type of band started that could be a political outlet for me and allow me to
explore these things.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy playing very much. I enjoy listening to new stuff and classics at times but I am always shifting. Noise is probably the genre I listen to least in my collection. There is almost always a punk band, or post rock or ambient artist playing on my speakers, and occasionally I will get in that mood where I have to hear some vicious
and demonic walls of distortion.  And just as I shift a lot what I am listening to, I shift on what project I am focusing on…there usually anywhere from 2-4 active projects I am working on, including Black Bloc.

CLOAK OF DIN: Could you quickly sum up your non-musical connections to activist and radical circles? How do you feel your career as a noise artist fits in with your lifestyle and goals as an activist?

BLACK BLOC: I have very few connections to any activist circles but honestly, that is more a symptom in my opinion, of a shitty radical base in the US. I find that radical politics are in no way a movement here in the states, but a scene and clique no different than the punk scene and just as cliquey despite all the rhetoric of mutual aid, community and all that.

Before I get into what I am doing, and further developing thoughts on this subject, I want to mention something that happened to me that is relevant to this topic, and reflects on my first thoughts to this question. Back in September I was at a performance of a political play called Ulysses Crewmen in Buffalo. The play is a two person piece which was amazing and highly recommended if you get a chance to see it! I know they performed down in Pittsburgh on the day of the G20! It is some amazing writing that raises some really poignant questions we must be asking ourselves in the movement I think.

To top the night off there was a group discussion with the two who performed, and all audience members, where we sat around and asked questions and talked and debated about issues and such. It was really an amazing thing to be a part of.

So, as I got at a bit earlier in the interview, I deal with some emotional issues which make it hard to branch right out and be a social butterfly. I am not even close to the only person like this…I have found in my personal experience, that so many people are much more scared to get involved, to ask questions, to make their opinions heard…I think this is the effect of a type of psychological warfare that has us all so fucked up and beaten down and self-hating….much like the old SPK in Germany back in the 70′s and 80′s, I believe this system is sick and the resulting “mental illnesses” such as depression, and the like, stem from this systemic disease, it is bred.

So I raised the issue of psychology in this group talk, and more precisely how we can bridge this gap to get people who are scared and timid and shy, and make them feel welcomed in our spaces and projects? It is intimidating for new people to hear about grand juries, the green scare, and see how paranoid activist circles are, it is intimidating to me and though I am sure a lot of individuals wont admit it, they are just as terrified, if they were not I do not think the paranoia would be as bad as it is…of course nobody wants to be in prison or face huge fines and fees, none of us are in a great position to pay monetarily, and prison is something that is brutal one way or another, so it is understandable a bit why this paranoia exists, and I am not saying we shouldn’t be thinking about security and such, but it is to the point, I feel, that the radical “movement” has closed itself off, and it is not making it easy for new blood to get involved, despite knowing it needs popular support to survive.

Back to the discussion…the response I got was so disheartening and contradictory. Now, I know that every person is a paradox in many ways…and I believe in very, very few absolute things. But in my opinion, for the “movement” to say
things like “we all have our own battles we have to fight” in response to my point/question is lazy and naive…I find it a copout because not everybody is at a point where they can make that leap and be self-determined or self-assured or comfortable with certain things. I think that response takes out  the personal contexts of people like myself, who deal with social phobias, isolation, and self-worth issues. I find that approach very contradictory to the ideas of community, mutual aid, and the ideas that anarchism holds, and broader revolutionary theory that values the
individual experience and context as a base. As Malcolm said about whites during the black struggle…there is a place for them in the struggle against racism, they just cannot lead it. The same holds true for any oppressed group…they must be the leaders of their liberation, not the followers, and sometimes to be a leader one has to be a follower and learn to listen, understand, and step away from their bullshit ego.

So when I look back on that, I see how compromised the radical “movement” seems to be. The culture of society, the capital mainstream society of me now vs. totality later, has permeated even the radical circle, and it is displaying those very traits it fucking despises. And I think that is a huge, huge problem that needs to start being addressed instead of being brushed aside like we always have a tendency to do.

Now, as to what I personally do beyond this project, I started and run a portable infoshop here in western NY that tables at shows and events, selling books, zines, videos, patches, and also has a dedicated free section with papers, pamphlets, stickers etc. That project was started in hopes of bridging some gaps, getting some networking going and building some community strength. It has had a lot more personal success than movement success, but that is just as important because I have come away with some more solid ideas, critiques, and made some great advances in my personal struggle with my own issues.

I was involved with doing the Really Really Free Market in Buffalo over the summer but that is on hiatus currently.

As far as being in some group or anything, at this point I am not and honestly, I think people put way too much stock in that. I was putting all of my energy into that, trying to get it going, trying to start projects such as a reading group to build towards an affinity group, wanting to summit hop etc. I got burned out trying and got myself into a bad place emotionally.

I am working now at getting more into mental health activism, and have been an active participant in the Icarus Project forums recently. The wonderful people there have a lot to teach me, and everybody really, not just about mental health issues, but about the human experience, coping, and being a better person. It is without a doubt the most respectful place I have been involved with on the internet and I am proud to be a part of that community, learning, and maybe helping too.

These days my stance is that there is a lot all of us can do alone, or in groups. I hone my beliefs in interacting with my friends, lovers, families. I hone them by forcing myself to discipline myself and practice what I believe, learning to be self-motivated and work toward living as freely as possible and undermining static routines and oppressive structures how I can at this point as one person…and there is a lot we can do like this. We can distribute information so many ways which can build our creativity and also our courage…for instance..I try to come up with new ways to get info to people…so I stole some rubber bands, wrap up catalogs, nor’easter issues, or whatever, and I become a paperboy…I fill my shoulder bag, walk around my town and put them on door steps or in mailboxes. In the realm of building courage and honing your mind, wheat pasting posters, putting up incendiary stickers, or tagging things works wonders, as does dumpster diving and learning to steal as much as you can.

None of this alone will even come close to collapsing this fucked up system, but it does hone us and put ourselves in a position that is more ready to fight in whatever manner is needed. For me personally, since I started getting involved I learned to make paste, got back into pretty good physical condition, worked on a lot of my personal issues and confronted them head on, learned to solder, and just became more equipped as a person, be it radical critique or just supporting a friend. It all ties together in my opinion. And if the time comes where I meet like minded people who are committed, I will be ready and able to work with them.

CLOAK OF DIN: How long have you been doing your current project, and how did it start?

BLACK BLOC: Black Bloc started back in late March/April 2007, playing its first show in the first week of April that year.

It evolved, as I said from my first experimental project DSC. I wanted to do stuff in a more dedicated power electronics style…more harsh and brutal. The other aspect that factored in was failing to get a crust band going, which is something I have wanted to do for years. I love that style but it just happened or happens here…so I applied my politics to this project, as well as an influence from crust punk. I figured it may be even better because then it is not “preaching to the choir” (even though I was told that I was in my lyrics.) I found, and still find very few dedicated, outspoken, explicitly anarchist positions in noise and power electronics. There are some I came across after starting, but I dont think any put their politics as the basis for the project, that is fine, and I am saying nothing bad about them, just an observation. There are a couple radical based projects though which deserve mention…far more mention than this one I think…Suburbia Melting I find amazing, same with Shallow Waters their lyrics are so good! I also greatly enjoy Mourmansk 150.

CLOAK OF DIN: What do you feel are noise’s connections to punk rock or hardcore? Would you like to see these connections grow?

BLACK BLOC: Interesting question again! I think they share a lot in the clique-based scenes, the elitism, lack of introspection, and fucked up social values. This is not to say every punk, or every noise kid is an arrogant asshole. There are amazing people in every scene you could go to be it rap or noise or goth or metal or punk. I find though that no matter which scene you’re in, the building of walls is so fast over arbitrary shit…the punk kids bicker about whats punk, shit talk emo, and then scream “equality.” Then you have hardcore kids saying “fuck street punk, its all fashion” and blah blah blah. I hate that shit, and I believe that anybody that would tell me I am incapable of revolutionary activism, or that I am a shitty anarchist because I have had mohawks, because I wear spiked and patched vests and clothing, is fucking ignorant. That stuff has NO bearing on what I can or cannot do in those movements. None.

I would like to see any connections grow. I am all about cross pollination of scenes. Why are noise people not playing rap shows and vice versa? There is room for all of this stuff, none is better or worse, its all subjective. Like what you like, but respect anybody doing something creative or meaningful or something to better themselves as a person, even if it is in a style or scene you don’t enjoy personally.

CLOAK OF DIN: Do you feel that the inherent harshness or dissonance of noise makes it a genre particularly resistant to recuperation into pop culture? Do you think noise will ever go mainstream in the sense punk has?

BLACK BLOC: Theres already shades of this I think, with post rock becoming pretty damn popular, but even more so groups like Flaming Lips etc who use weird sounds and the like. No its not power electronics by any means, but regardless, I do not believe anything is immune to being co-opted. I also think that is more individual based…if a movement is strong it will not be co-opted, even when individual bands or people are.

Punk is still very much alive and well, even the underground shit. Crust punk is full of great bands, as is hardcore and even street punk. Despite bands that have went on to make decent money or get decent exposure. Punk is by no means a social threat like it was back in the 70′s when it exploded…then again maybe that was only shock value and no real threat…I would be more inclined to say punk was never a threat, just shock. Same as noise. Those things only become threats when they build awareness to power and challenge it…and lets face it, there are not many, if any bands out here now doing the things Crass did…shit like the Thatchergate tape and direct actions. I may be completely disconnected, but it seems like a lot of the bands going let their activism end with their band, or low risk, low level liberal shit…not many are involved with say the ELF or ALF, or in the Zapatista struggle, or any more risky activities…and I think until they/we are doing more serious actions or activism or whatever …our scenes are no threat. I think a good place to start for making punk/noise/insert name here a threat, is to start eliminating scenes as we know them, bridging gaps, becoming informed, learning and teaching each other, and building a welcoming and legitimate community.

Though these scenes may be no threat, they can however, be money making sometimes…but being money making does not mean you were/are a threat, and because something was bought out does not mean it was co-opted to diffuse it.

Then again, what the hell do I know?

CLOAK OF DIN: Are there any upcoming events or releases about which you’d like
readers to know? Any closing words?

BLACK BLOC: Don’t wait for events to happen, make them happen right now. We can die in a moment, if you don’t think that I hope you do not face what I faced…having a good friend die unexpectedly fucks with you, and it hurts a lot when you eat the words “next time, I promise.”

I encourage anybody to get in touch with any questions or general hellos. I like interacting with people and making new contacts and friends, or engaging in dialogues on issues. black.bloc(at)riseup.net

To anybody dealing with emotional or mental health issues, get involved at the Icarus Project. www.theicarusproject.net

I am not one for plugging releases much…Black Bloc was on recording hiatus for about a year…did a track for the anti-nazi noise comp put out by RJ Myato down there in Pittsburgh. The only other thing that will be recorded is a split with the Buffalo grind-crust band called Ancients of Earth. They were formerly Brain Pollution and they are brutal stuff. One of the best in Buffalo and so fucking overlooked here. We played down there at Roboto together actually, and we hope to come back in the future, with maybe more than 10 people showing up haha. But yeah we will be doing a split soon. My track is about earth liberation…will be “studio” version of Ecocide which I played a couple of times  over the summer. Thanks so much for the good questions and opportunity to speak out a bit. Please take care of one another and be well.