Burn Books - An interview with NYC's fledgling label, press, and encouragers of all things Punk

I had the pleasure of interviewing Maxim and Alex of New York City's Burn Books - one of the most challenging and artistic young labels in sight. This pairing are a serious inspiration; putting out records, publishing the written word, releasing art and helping to promote shows around the Brooklyn and Manhattan area. If you're not familiar, you should head on over to www.burnbooks.org to acquaint yourselves with everything they've been doing for the past two years 'cause they ain't gonna stop for you to catch up

How did this DIY venture into all things expressive and artistic come about?

Alex: Maxim and I have been buddies for a while...we’re both really into punk/music as well as other kinds of art. We initially conceived Burn Books as a way to help promote and sell our friends’ artwork...there is so much mediocre crap out there getting attention we wanted to help get the word out about things that are actually good.

Max: I think the two major things that really got Burn Books rolling for me where when it was time for Pregnant to put their LP out and talking to our friend Dennis McNett. We'd been friends with everyone in Pregnant for years and before we even heard that record we knew we had to put it out. Around the same time I was hanging out with Dennis and looking at all his awesome sculptures and prints and he was just talking about his philosophy of getting his art out there. It was not just DIY but it was punk too and it was really a breaking point for me where I knew there was no reason we couldn't use that same approach we also grew up with and apply it to all sorts of art.


Considering that you're both artists in your own right, though not musicians, how could you describe your link to the New York music scene? Is it something you've grown up appreciating?

Max: We both grew up in NJ and started coming in to NYC in the late nineties to go to shows at CBGB, ABC, or wherever else. I think we were both probably just as interested in punk/hc as we were with art. It's probably every 15 year old punk kid's dream to own a record store and Burn Books is similar in idea, it just goes beyond music.

Alex: Both of us moved to Brooklyn to attend college about 10 years ago and have always stayed active in the “scene.” Max booked shows as a part of Team Narc in NJ, and later had a punk house in Bushwick called Crewtonz that I think was one of the first sparks of the scene that’s going on now. It’s guess kind of a cliche, but it really is a loose knit family of people doing bands, putting out records, and booking shows.


The sheer volume of fresh young talent in the city and within the confines of Brooklyn is staggering. What do you think of acts such as Wet Witch, Brain Slug, Dawn of Humans etc?

Max: All those bands are great. I think the best thing about NYC punk right now is that it isn't like all the bands that are good are trying to sound a specific way. You know, it's not like there is one awesome band and then 10 others trying to sound like them. It's probably more diverse now than it has been since I started coming to shows here and as long as it's both diverse and good there is nothing to complain about.

Alex: All those bands rip! It’s nice to listen to heavy and aggressive music that is still original and coming from people with good taste that are actually thinking about things. It’s a shame that this is such a rare thing nowadays.


In my opinion, New York is the hub of all things original and exciting right now, specifically the Hardcore scene. Would you go as far as to say that New York holds the throne in 2011?

Alex: I don’t leave the city too often so for all I know there is a sick hardcore scene in some shitty town I’ve never heard of that blows NYC away...but there is something tangibly exciting going on here. All these people are maniacs. Toxic State Records is the best punk label around right now.

Max: I think people have a natural attachment to wherever they are from in terms of thinking of what is going on there is so great and interesting but I'm really trying to take a step back and think of it from an outsider perspective and the NY music scene is really great right now. Don't get me wrong, there are probably about 3000 shitty bands trying to make it, but I mean, come on: The Men, Crazy Spirit, Dawn of Humans, Hank Wood and the Hammerheads, Wet Witch, Perdition, Anasazi, White Suns, Population 1280, Rosenkopf, Night Birds, Pygmy Shrews, Dream Police, American Sun, Nomad, Bortgang, Brain Slug, Zatsuon.... I can keep going.


The New York Rules compilation was fantastic, how was that project birthed and how did it feel to put that out and become a sort of rallying point for an entire scene?

Alex: We felt it was important to document a little piece of what’s been going on here and help get the word out about all this great music.

Max: Thanks. We just thought there wasn't a really good NYC comp in a long time and wanted to have it be diverse but also make sense. I think the goal was for people to buy it only knowing some of the bands but not fast forward through any of it either. I dunno if we accomplished that with everyone but it's cool to read some review of a band's record that's from the tape saying something like ... I first heard this band when I bought NY Rules mostly cause this other band was on it....

What do you think it is, intrinsically, that allows the Brooklyn / New York scene to coalesce in the way that it does? I mean how does the out and out melody of Night Birds and Pregnant, the untethered wildness of The Men and the forceful scumfuck craziness of White Suns manage to live together so well?

Max: Part of it is just the sheer amount of people playing music. I mean, you can probably have a Friday with one show with The Men, another with White Suns, and then a third with Night Birds and all 3 would have good turnouts at them but it also wouldn't be as cool as if those 3 bands just played one sick show together. I also think a lot of it has to do with the attitude of the people in the bands just being fans of music and not concentrating on what sub-genre their band fits in.

Alex: All those bands might sound different, but they are coming from people that grew up going to the same shows and listening to the same records. Punk kids here seem to be more open to different styles of music and getting weird with things. Living in New York you are exposed to so many different kinds of cultures and people it kind of forces you to be open minded, but it’s also so hectic here it makes you insane.

Are you guys in this for the long haul? What can we expect next from the Burn Books collective?

Alex: I’d really like to cash out and buy property somewhere out in the midwest to prepare for the oncoming collapse of society, but until then we’ll keep putting cool stuff for people with outstanding taste.

Max: All of our upcoming releases will be $100 and come with autographed head shots of the two of us.

We have the Wet Witch 7", which will be out by the end of the year. NY Rules II which is in it's very beginning stages right now as we just started talking to the bands. We're doing 10 different commissioned silk screen prints from NY area artists which is kinda like the idea behind the NY Rules tape but in fine art form. We have the HC Gig Volume zine of fliers which is a bit delayed right now but we'll get back to it. We're doing a new section on our website of live recordings from NY shows we go to which should be a cool way to archive the scene right now. There's tons of stuff and not enough time to get it all done.

- Josh

An interview with C.S.B.

Amidst the hymns of hype that surround the resurfaced black metal and noise scenes, sits an island often overlooked for its musical endeavours. I'm talking of Great Britain, and if you have the patience to wade through the overplayed, overhyped, and overkilled shite that is endlessly spewed forth, given merch, and championed to no end - you'll find yourself sourcing out releases from labels such as Turgid Animal/Legion Blotan, and Casual Seizures. Bands, labels, and promoters associated with these styles of music have valiantly made a scene all their own, seperate from the ever increasingly laughable -core club. One band fully immersed in dirge, and churning out assault after assualt of blackend noise, is Manchester's very own Cryptic Salve Band. A few months back, I managed to get some words out of them. Here's what they had to say;

How did Cryptic Salve Band come about? What inspired the name and what inspired you to create such unique music?

Darren Adcock: My take on this was... we were both doing different projects, Barbarians, Insects in Sects, Axnaar.  If i remember right we played a couple of gigs together doing respective bands and eventually (I think when we shared a house) we decided to play a bit... and well it just worked.

Gareth Howlett: We came up with the name mucking about and shortened it to C.S.B to avoid having to say it all the time.

You have quite stark and intriguing artwork for each of your releases, there's a clear miasma and throwback to the harsher side of punk, how did this come about and who does most of your artwork?

GH: We've got a release called 'Slime Circle' that Poot in Hull put out. It's got a pencil drawing of a rock chick on the cover that his mum did. That's the sort of thing we like.

You've been featured quite predominantly on wellknown and prestigious internet blogs, is it weird for you to see yourself heralded online when perhaps you don't recieve the same response in the outside world?

DA: It is wierd yes. I guess for anyone in any scene doing any kind of project it would be the same. I guess it is easy to get frustrated by not getting praise or as many opportunities as you would like, however desire is also a pitfall that is easy to fall into. Sometimes I get frustrated, sometimes I am happy with anything I get. I'd rather be the last one, I try to be this.

What first interested you to such lo-fidelity and raw sounds? What do you personally use to record your music?

DA: Some of recordings are done on a 4 track. Alot are on a H4 mp3 recorder. Most of our recordings are done in our basement, so the frequencies kinda get mashed together, kind of becomes one entity at times. We won't be doing any more recordings down there as our house got given an A.S.B.O for loud music.

Is there anything that specifically attracts you to releasing on cassette? Can we expect a forray into other formats in the future from C.S.B?

DA: Vinyl and cassette first. Cassettes are cheap and accessible. 

GH: Ideally everything would be on vinyl, but we'd be homeless if we did that, so tapes are the second best format.

Within your staunch dirge of noise, are there any artists you see as directly impacting your sound? If so, who, how and why?

DA: The answer for this has too many options. I understand the desire to ask such a question. I'll answer with some of the bands from UK that I have and will continue to enjoy live, Drunk in Hell, Gruel, Foot Hair, Barbarians, Sump, Sex Wound, Vom, Klaus Kinski, No Womb, Rich Lexicon, Bong ... tons more... just off the top of my head. 

If there is any distinct philosophy or ethos that drives the band, what would you describe it as?

DA: Plug in play. All improvised. 

GH: Don't get bogged down thinking about it, just get on with it. No compromise.

Are there any current bands, labels, or general artists that you enjoy right now? Do any of these have an influence on your own work?

DA: Everyone I see has an influence. I respect anyone for getting out there and having a go.  

If you had to select one band to save from the inevetible decline of punk, and cement them in history, who would you choose?

DA: Drunk in Hell. The decline has been positive though. I get to see great bands. 

Lastly, what can expect for the future of C.S.B?

DA: Incubate 2011. Thanks to Kevin Jansen (svartvit). Maybe a wee tour in europe or netherlands.

GH: We have a couple of recordings waiting, either our selves to self release or interest off a label.

 C.S.B. still have a few records available from themsleves, harass them here. Or download their releases here.

- Thom

An interview with Perennial Death

Does your locality of Olympia have any bearing on the kind of records that you guys put out?

yes. for the most part we put out olympia music. or at least music that has to do with olympia


Considering Olympia's rich musical history, pertaining particularly to punk rock, do you feel a certain inclination towards putting out music which honours the bastions of the past?

as for the past, whether having to do with olympia or not, it's important to me to not act like it didnt happen and to not repeat it. Olympia has a tradition of forgetting and rebuilding. as for putting out music that honours the past...you can't move forward without dealin with your past, otherwise you get stuck in rehash. we put out music that moves forward


Do you feel that Perennial's output somewhat balances the afforementioned stylistic reflections of past artists with the current tastes of those working behind the scenes at the label?

In some ways perennial's output is just the medium of all the current that's going on here
We're just feeling that.


Considering the diversity between artists such as Milk Music, Broken Water, Weird TV etc, would you say there is, if any, a theme or style which unifies the records that Perennial have put out so far?

the future.


Many of our highlights from 2010 were records that you guys helped to put out. Those of particular note would have to be Milk Music's 'Beyond Living,' the Son Skull releases and the debut LP by White Boss. What can you tell us about working with such an impressive roster of refreshing punk talent?

all those bands are insane. they hold the insanities of the world that's why people like them. but it makes them trying to work with.


Are the operations of fellow Olympian labels such as K Records and Kill Rock Stars sources of inspiration for what Perennial are doing?

No.
No disrespect though. just not the same game.


Not that I am seeking to easily classify Perrenial with other labels, but I consider projects such as Fashionable Idiots, Drugged Conscience and yourselves as the forerunners of today's raw, challenging, punk rock scene as a whole. Do you see a kinship between yourselves and any other burgeoning hardcore labels across America?

I don't know about burgeoning, but DOM AMERICA. all those other guys are nice though.


Looking forward, can you tell us anything about what Perennial has planned for the future?

New sonskull, wooden kimono, catatonic youth, cairo pythian, dead head. new weird tv.

- Josh

An interview with Slices

GREG: vocals
JOHN: guitar
MIKE K: bass
MIKE O: drums

Firstly,
Your new record is soon to be released, what can the snot nosed collective of Slices fans expect from it?

John: We try our best to do something new with every song we write so there is some branching out, but it still sounds like a Slices record.

Mike O: We’ve been playing some of these songs in our live show for a while, so some of them might sound familiar.

Greg: More songs like Medusa, less songs like Red Raft. Nothing against the latter, but the crop of songs we ended up writing sound like the former.

Mike O: Otherwise, fans can expect thought provoking lyrics, fanciful cover art work, and the Slices sound.


Also, what can you tell us about your relationship with Iron Lung Records, have they been an important factor in the progression of the band to date?

John: They are the best dudes, easy to work with and fun to tour with.

Greg: Jon and Jensen have treated us better than we probably deserve. We're kind of spoiled working with them because they're really patient and considerate. We're somewhat slow due to a lot of reasons. Also, I don't think a lot of people doing record labels, if they received a record cover like the one we sent them, would have been OK with releasing something like that.

Mike O: They’ve put out some really great stuff and some pretty eclectic stuff. It’s great to be included with the other bands on the label.


Perhaps it's just me as a listener but, I often think I can hear a great deal of Steve Albini influence in much of Slices' output, particularly Rapeman. Am I way off the mark here or is Albini a genuine influence?

John: I listened to Big Black in high school but not so much these days. I wouldn’t consider him to be a strong influence personally.

Greg: I just try to form words. I think Albini is better at this than me.

Mike O: I really like Big Black and Shellac in particular, but I think as a band we are more influenced by Albini’s recordings than the actual music he’s made. We spent a little time trying to mimic some guitar sounds from In Utero (I’ll admit it) while mixing down “Still Cruising.” Personally, my approach to poker is very Albini-based, however.


Which other artists would you class as having inspired the band from a foundational level?

John: Wolf Eyes had a huge impact on Mike K and I. When Dead Hills came out it pretty much fried our brains and soon enough we were making sounds with weird electronic junk in our basement, which was the beginning of Slices. As a teenage guitarist I was really into Matthew Bower of Skullflower, Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers, Seiichi Yamamoto of the Boredoms, and I could keep on going…

Greg: I really love the way the vocals on the first two Meat Puppets records sound, but I'm not sure if they really translate into the way I sing. Lyrically, I don't really think about it in terms of other bands. It's always a mish-mash of a lot of different shit. A lot of times a song will start off about one thing, but then over time I've changed it so much just to fit with the song so it tends to end up weirder than originally intended.

Mike K: Bands like Wolf Eyes and Hair Police are probably the reason why Slices started in the first place. I can't speak for the others, but my biggest musical influences are probably Neil Young, Brian Wilson, Michael Nyman, and Henry Barnes. They, however, don't really come through in Slices' music. John writes almost all of the songs and then me and Ovens do what we can to fill out the sound. Some of our songs come from straight improv sessions that we think sound funny or cool and it just evolves naturally from there. I think Fushitsusha has a major influence on the way me and John play together, but in the end I think we are really just trying to play engaging rock songs.

Mike O: Yeah, Mike and I spend a lot of time trying to keep pace with John. I started out playing bass in bands but moved to drums to be more in demand. Whenever I see a band live I spend a lot of time watching the drummer and try and steal tricks when I can, especially from guys like Chris Strunk (from a million bands from Boston) or Brandon Farrell (Government Warning, Wasted Time, too many to list). As far as foundational bands, when I first started getting into weird/intense music I was a metal guy and spent a lot of time in high school listening to Megadeth etc and branching out from there. After a whole mess of over the top riffs and thrash poetry I developed a taste for bands that were subtle or restrained, especially bands that are heavy and build tension but aren’t beating you over the head the whole time. Harvey Milk I guess would be an example. Burning Witch to a lesser extent. I think we try and build tension in Slices.


Did last month’s R A P T U R E treat you well?

John: No comment.

Mike O: Yes.


The inception of the term 'stingerpunk' seems to be somewhat enigmatic, and according to various sites it's an acute genre which lumps Slices in with H100s, Formaldehyde Junkies and others. Do you identify at all with this terminology or is it just the culture of internet classification gone mad?

Mike O: Stingerpunk is a natural and understandable reaction to our world around us.

John: We are the first stingerpunk band. Those other bands may be stingerpunk in hindsight but we were the first. Stingerpunk will sting you right in the face.

Greg: Fucking sting you in the fucking nose. Sting kings.


Do you guys have any immediate or future plans to tour?

John: Nope.

Greg: We're busy guys.

Mike O: I will be going to California in August, but not in any musical capacity.


Finally, it's always cool to know what other people are listening to at the minute, could you mention a few records that you're into right now?

John: Home Blitz are my favorite band going right now. Everything they’ve done is good and I’m sure everything they'll do in the future will be good, but their last LP “Out of Phase” is my favorite for sure. Great summertime jams too, so I’ve been blasting it in the whip a lot recently. I filled in on bass with them for a tour last summer and it was fun because I could talk about how awesome my band was without feeling like an asshole. Daniel Dimaggio, the man behind it all, plays piano on our new 7 inch, which is out now on Kemado Records.

Greg: Kevin Drumm when I'm at work and trying to drown out the rest of the office. Applehead when I'm at home studying. Usually Slayer "show no mercy" in between all that.

Mike K: Recently been listening to a lot of Total Control(can't wait for the LP), Cheater Slicks, The Dictators, and various 70s soft/classic rock. I am really into that Iceage record and the Waka Flocka Flame album, as well. Home Blitz is probably my favorite contemporary band, can't wait for the new EP.

Mike O: So far this has been the summer of Steely Dan. A lot of Autopsy, Obituary, Entombed, too. I’m looking forward to new records by Rational Animals and The Men and Pollution (I don’t know if Pollution has something coming out soon but I’m hoping). I’m lamenting the end of Wasted Time (hoping it’s not the end). I spent the last year listening to Earth “2” everyday and I think that has noticeably affected me. Also really into Broken Water.


Slices' "Modern Bride" b/w "Chump Change" 7"is out now on Kemado records, go and buy it and let it sting you in the face

- Josh