Here’s a short chat with Life To Live Records‘ Long Island, NY hardcore band PROVIDER. We conducted this lost interview on May 28th, 2012. Press the play button and go for it.
Hey! What’s up guys? How are you doin’ guys?
Nothing much just finished barbequing and hanging with the band. They all went to sleep so it’s just me [laughs].
Emerging from the legendary area, how close have you been with the local scene? Are you originally from New York City?
We’re actually from a suburb on Long Island about 30 minutes from the city itself but yeah we’re all originally from here and are pretty close with the local scene here. It’s such a solid place to be especially in the last couple years things have been real cool for the scene.
How’s modern NYC hardcore scene holding up? Is there a certain line between the old school stuff and the new wave of punk bands in Big Apple?
We’re not to familiar with the NYC scene since the Long Island scene and the NYC are pretty separate in the sense of bands and people. Around here the line between old stuff and new stuff doesn’t really exist. We all just dig hardcore whether it be brand new or 10 years old.
Fair enough [smiles]. Mixing metal with hardcore was done back a few decades ago and got so popular in your area. I’m not talking about modern metalcore, of course [laughs], but metal elements in hardcore punk. Do you feel this drive to make your hardcore more metallic while writing music? What’s your opinion on a certain approach to keeping the genre as pure as possible?
I don’t think that where we’re from drives us to have a more metallic sound but I do think that being from NY and being influenced by a lot of bands from the area with a more metallic sound does. It isn’t like we feel forced to be more metallic haha I guess it just seems more natural to us.
What other musical projects did you take part in before the PROVIDER era?
I was in a heavy band with our guitar player Andrew before this band. Before that I was in a band with our drummer. We played a lot of breakdowns and never really made a real record.
How did you decided to switch from WarTapes (a split with PUNISHMENT DUE) to Life To Live Records? Are you good right now? What about next releases? Will you be looking for a bigger label?
A really good friend of mine helps run WarTapes so putting out a split with Punishment Due on that was really a no brainer. It wasn’t a switch from one label to another because both the split and our EP came out around the same time. It was just us wanting to put something out with our friends [smiles]. Life to Live Records is really fantastic. They have done so much for us and for every band they work with. We’re very happy to be working with them. As for future releases, who knows? We’re constantly writing so maybe we’ll do another EP or maybe we’ll do an LP. I guess it comes down to where we are by the time we’re done writing. Maybe we’ll put out another record on LTL or maybe Def Jam will ask us to put out a record for them. We don’t really plan that far ahead. We’ll do whatever makes the most sense when the time comes.
Def Jam [smiles]. I wish you the best of luck, guys [smiles].
What pisses you off? What are your lyrics about?
My lyrics are about my feelings and stuff [laughs] It’s therapeutic.
[laughs] Ok, let’s leave it for you, then [smiles].
How many shows have you been playing so far? Any plans to hit the Old Continent soon?
We’ve played a whole bunch of shows so far. We would love to head on over but as of now we don’t have any plans for that. Maybe next year sometime.
Sounds like you are about to call it quits [laughs].
Only five sings on your “Wasteland” EP leave us hungry and wanting more. How is writing your full length going?
Like I said before we are constantly writing so it’s going well. We’re not sure if an LP would be the right choice for us right now but we really haven’t decided yet. We have almost an EP’s worth of new material now, which is pretty crazy considering we just released our first EP.
I see. So tell me, how did music distribution methods changed in the past years? What does it mean for hardcore bands a.d. 2012? Do you plan to use today’s online, non-conventional ways of reaching to listener?
People find more music quicker than ever before because of the internet and I think that rules. We definitely use the internet to promote our band and to get our music out there. You can go to our Facebook page right now and find a link to where you can download our demo, split and EP for free. I think especially as a smaller and relatively newer band the internet really helps.
Did you attend this year’s Black N Blue Bowl?
Yeah I was there and it was fantastic. Every year the B’n’B guys outdo themselves. Outburst is a band that I’ve wanted to see for so long and I’m so glad I finally got a chance. King Nine opened the show and killed it. They kill it every time. Seeing RANCID without a barricade was solid.
Are there any bands and zines coming from your area you’d like to recommend?
Yeah everyone should try to get there hands on Bullshit Society. One of the people who runs WarTapes puts it out and it’s one of the best zines I’ve ever read. Also check out Fixed Frequencies our friend from Christian Beale and Genna Howard put that out and it’s really something else. As for bands I got a whole bunch [laughs].
Check out all these bands or you’re missing out – PUNISHMENT DUE (metal) – BOTTOM OUT (I hope you like ALL OUT WAR) – MISS MY CHANCE (Don’t miss your chance by not listening to them) – LOSIN’ IT (Party Crew) – TRUTH INSIDE (Positive Vibes) – COLD HEARTED (NYHC but from Florida) – STREETSWEEPER (Massachusetts’ most illegible bachelors) – ANTI-VENOM (Makes you wanna break stuff).
Cool. Great bands, indeed.
What’s there to hate about NYC and your neighborhood?
It’s kinda boring and everyone does a ton of drugs around here but it’s not so bad I guess. I wish the public transportation was more efficient though.
Thanks so much. Add anything you want!
No thank you. Shouts out to our manager TrashxMan aka YungTom aka WarTom aka Ya Boi, Punishment Pete (who hates spiders), BNB Productions, Dan the main man Can, LTL Wreckordz, and my dog Marley
