On May 28th, 2012 we had a change to chit-chat with RISK from Billerica, MA, representing Merrimack Valley hardcore at its finest.
Hey, glad to have you here. What’s up guys?
Hey guys, glad to be chatting with you. Not too much, enjoying the weekend. yourselves?
Great, thanks. Kind of busy at work, but I’m rolling somehow. [smiles]
There’s so many great bands from your area and the Boston/Haverhill/Merrimack Valley scene are just pumping. How do you see your musical neighborhood? How do you feel it from there? Tell us more about your scene, other scenes around you, crews and people building it.
I feel so lucky to be from where I am. The Massachusetts hardcore scene is amazing, there’s millions of good dudes and so many bands out there killing it. Anchor’s Up in Haverhill, Ma is probably the best venue I’ve ever been inside. There’s an unspoken sense of friendship, and I can’t count how many awesome friends I’ve made since I’ve gotten into hardcore. Us as hardcore kids get spoiled with some of the shows that come through our neighborhood.
Ok, it’s been a while since a release caught my attention so much. I love the vibe of your “Sleepwalkers” album and, to be honest, can’t wait to put my hands on a physical copy. When can we expect the outing and how will you be distributing it?
Thanks alot! That means the world to us, seriously. Physical copies will be out around mid June, and we will be distributing it ourselves and through our friends at Behind the Door records. Sales for them will be up soon!
What bands are you tight with the most?
[laughs] man, definitly DRY HEAVE, CERCE, MONARCH, HARD ROAD, NOTHING LEFT. Alot of our friends are in bands, but most special shout outs to ROADRUNNER, RUDE AWAKENING, and DOWN & OUT from reset and house arrest to let it go and lowest, we’ve had the chance to play and become friends with people from all over who’re involved in hardcore.
Are you a zine enthusiast? Any good reads out there?
Mass has two really cool zine sites, ‘Where It Ends‘ and ‘That’s What She Said‘. Both zine’s are really cool, definitly worth the pick up!
You decided to start a band “for fun”, but there’s obviously more behind it. What message do you try to communicate in your work? What artists inspire you the most?
Fun is aboslutley the pulsing factor behind it, I can say without a doubt that through RISK I’ve had more fun than doing anything I can think of. I never once thought that my band would play shows with acts as COA, PALEHORSE, and MERAUDER, nevermind leave our basements. Aside from the overall enjoyment of making music and meeting people, all of us in risk use hardcore and making hardcore music as an outlet. We never try to preach or shove our ideas and morals down our listener’s throat. Seeing people enjoy what you like doing is hands down the raddest thing of all time and there is not one thing I’d rather do than be involved in my local hardcore scene and making music with my best friends. we’re inspired by all corners of hardcore, from hammer bros to black flag, to the misfits to code orange kids and featherweight.
Have you traveled a lot as a band? Do you have a comparison between venues in your area and those in other states / countries?
We haven’t traveled as much as most bands, the only states we’ve been to aside from our own of mass is Maine, New Hampshire, and CT. We played the Kave in Maine and that place is legit the illest place of all time. it’s like the hardcore hall of fame, tons of sweet tags from bands like INTEGRITY and BLOOD FOR BLOOD, place was so awesome and all the kids were wicked cool. Playing anchors up will always be the best for us, and the Kave in Maine is definitely a close second.
What about your future touring plans? Any chance to see you live in Europe some time soon?
Oh man we would LOVE to come to Europe and play, that would be so sweet. Unfortunately touring for us is a little out of the cards as of now due to our working/financial situations. we’re all working full time 9 – 5 as of now and once we get a chance we’re definitely going to start with an east coast tour. maybe one day we’ll be able to come to your neck of the woods.
Any festivals you’d like to spread the word about?
My band and i as well as a few other kids from my area set up the yearly Billerica Skatefest. it’s a benefit fest that helps raise money for a skatepark in Billerica, MA. there’s always bands playing, food’s grilling, tons of kid skating. Bands like reckless, dry heave, risk, nothing left play every year and it’s always a blast. So far we’ve raises about 7 grand and were able to secure a spot of land, a fence, and 3 ramps back. not too shabby
How about merch? Who’s standing behind your artwork? Shall we expect some stylish apparel for the kids out there?
we can’t afford merch yet [laughs], we’re still working on it. adam luca from DRY HEAVE has done a design for us and so has mike graciale from THIN ICE / SOB STORY. hopefully with the money we get from this cd we’ll be able to whip up a batch of cool shirts!
Missing HAVE HEART? [smiles]
[laughs] I got lucky to see their last show a few years ago, and it was definitely a blast. so many bands have broken up within the past 4 years that i’ve held close to me, but yet so many bands are coming out of the scene and doing it big, from HOSTAGE to RUDE AWAKENING to DRY HEAVE to the fake boys and so many more. a thing i love about ma hardcore is there is always kids starting bands and doing shows. for those of you who say ‘hardcore is dead’ i say your wrong and you probably only liked hardcore because your a jock. hardcore will never die. kotf
Thanks so much. Feel free to add anything you like. Cheers!
Yo thanks alot for interviewing us, shout outs to the 97h8, pinehurst, mvhc, sn76, and everyone who ever listened or booked us. STREETWALKERS DROPPING JUNE 15TH!
Photo by Angela Diliberto.
