If you’re looking for some of the hottest young hardcore bands in Houston, Texas, look no further than our today’s guests, DWNKILL. This wild pack has built a loyal following with their rocking shows and killer, gritty sound. I recently had the opportunity to check ou their latest single, “Dark Times,” and am excited to share that the band has three more singles ready to drop before their debut album release. With an official music video already released for “Dark Times,” DWNKILL is sure to continue making waves in the music scene, so to give you a closer look at the band, I sat down with them for a quick Q&A below.
Check out DWNKILL and their label Street Noise Productions for more details.
“I first started going to shows at a bit later of an age at 19 back in 2019.” – says Josh. “It all started because I wanted to do more adolescent things because I was fresh out of high school working a white collar job while all my friends were in college still doing fun “kid” things. So I went to a show at a local place called the White Swan and it was such a change of scenery that I had been around the past few months. It was very enlightening.”
Speaking about his first hardcore show as an attendee, Dylan commented: “This one isn’t a local band but it was here in Houston but I think the first show I remember is seeing Show Me The Body open for Code Orange at White Oak Music Hall. That shit was crazy. Almost got paralyzed in the pit by some crazy kid doing spinning back elbows.”
Their local hardcore scene has been going on since before they were born. “Music has and always will be big.” – admits Connor. “You always hear older folks talking about shows in the past at places that dont even exist anymore. One of the iconic places I always hear about is Fitzgerald. I hear that place was legendary. Unfortunately it got shut down and made into a parking lot when I was 15.” – he laughs.
Josh admits that there are many subdivons in the scene, but there’s alot of mixing as well. “For example there’s a good indie pop-punk scene here in Houston but they always throw heavy bands on their shows which you might think would be a weird mix but all works out because the people just wanna hear good music.” – he says.
“There’s also a very good shoegaze scene here in Houston that is doing very well. For the most part I would say the people here in Houston are very inclusive with each other.”
Speaking about the past COVID era and how impacted them personally and as a band, Jesse is sure that the pandemic made everyone feel a bit crazy being stuck inside for a while to the point where people just wanted to go to do literally anything. ” I believe that brought many more people into the music scene who may have not traditionally would have been a part of it.
It also gave musicians so much time to practice their craft, I know we all did a lot of practicing during that time.”
There’s many bands to check out in Houston and a new favorite of DWNKILL that they barely saw for the first time recently is The Poserz.
“We also like EL, Eyes Wide Shut, The Half Pipes, Orion224, DAZE, Pinkie Promise, IJDM and so many more.” – says the band.
“As for local labels the 2 that come to mind our Street Noise Productions and No Empathy Records” – adds Connor.
“Houston is a big DIY city meaning we play anywhere that has enough space.” – concludes Dylan. “Doesn’t even need to have power connections cause we bring a generator. But as for venues our favorite has to be The End. Shouts out the sound lady Jessica”
