The Hardcore Archive Podcast

Episode 57 features my conversation with Mario and Kim Cangemi from Upstate Records. When I first started getting ready to do this podcast in March of 2020, I noticed that Upstate was a pretty good up and coming label out of Albany. Formed in 2017, the label has new or upcoming releases from bands like Brick By Brick, Bushido Code, Gloves Off, Smash Your Enemies, and tons of other bands. We talk a...

On episode 56 I am joined by Patrick Loiacono. He has played in a few bands with Jim Callahan so there's some overlap with bands and stories from Jim's episodes. It's always good to hear another perspective though. Listeners of this podcast will most likely be familiar with the bands Moment of Truth and Fallguy that Pat has played in. We also discuss some other projects he did in the 80s and 90s....

For Episode 55 I'm joined by Grant Johnson. I've talked on previous episodes about how strong the connection between Rochester and Syracuse has been over the years. Grant has played in a lot of bands in Syracuse over the last 25 years and we discuss those bands as well as their connection to the Rochester scene. We also talk about a lot of fast hardcore bands from the Slap A Ham/625 Records era. S...

Episode 53 features my conversation with Chris Vandeviver. We talk about all of the bands Chris has played in over the years. A few of these bands are: Against The Odds, American Murder Story, Verona, and Sakes Alive. We also discuss Chris's recent activities with recording and logic pro. Chris has a website that I'm attaching with the show notes. You will find more information on Chris's recordin...

On episode 51 I am joined by one of the funniest people I have met through punk and hardcore. I first met Justin Kern in the late 90s through Pat Dent, another one of the funnier people I have met through this subculture. He grew up in Dunkirk, NY and he ended up going to school in Buffalo with Pat. The idea of living in a small town is discussed quite a bit during our conversation. While in Buffa...

After I initially interviewed Jim Byrne on episode 18 we talked about doing an episode dedicated to our favorite breakdowns. I think in the beginning we were thinking about maybe talking about 10 or 20 breakdowns. As I got closer to episode 50, I suggested we make it 50 breakdowns. We have spent the better part or the last three months going back and forth on tracks, ranking and reranking them. Ju...

Catching up with old friends has been a constant theme with this podcast since the first episode. I first became friends with Michael Bendlin in the summer of 1999. Later that year, he and I were a part of a crew of people that traveled down to Boston for the last Ten Yard Fight show. Mike grew up in Bath, about an hour south of Rochester in the Southern Tier. We spend a good amount of time discus...

As we get closer to 2022, we are nearing twenty years since the formation of the band One Up. On this episode I got a chance to chat with their vocalist Greg Polard and guitarist Donny Mutt. We go pretty deep on the history of One Up. The band was primarily active from 2002-2005 so there's a lot of memories from that era discussed on this episode. We talk about all of their records, including thei...

On this episode I had the opportunity to chat with my old friend Ian Courtney. Even though he is from Detroit, I used to run into Ian frequently in the early 2000s. We first met in Toronto and I would see him in many other places after that, all because of hardcore of course. We talk about a lot of these experiences, as well as the bands Ian played in. The main bands are Through Thick and Thin, Ha...

I talk a lot on the podcast about the connection between Buffalo and Rochester, especially in the late 90s and early 00s. My guest on episode 44 is someone who lived in both cities during his college years. This episode also presented another opportunity for me to reconnect with yet another old friend. I'm starting to sense a theme here. Anyway, Vincent Garguilo has a strong connection to both Buf...

For Episode 43 I had yet another opportunity to reconnect with an old friend that I hadn't spoken to in a long time. Dan Butson played guitar for a handful of Rochester area bands from 1995-2002 before moving to New Orleans. We talk about the bands Dan played guitar in (Initial Doubt, Something Sacred, and a few other locals).  He also talks about his experiences living in New Orleans for most of...

One of the main reasons I started this podcast was to document how great the Rochester Harcore scene was in the early 2000s. Many great bands have come since then, but a lot of the foundation was built for those bands 20-25 years ago. In addition to all of the diverse bands that were being created in Rochester, there were also quite a few out of town bands that built a following here and helped in...

Eric Foster and Adam Whistler have been friends playing music together for over two decades now. Even though they have also played in several bands separately, I thought it would be fun to profile them together here. Some of the bands they have played in include Arch Rivals, The Crimson Guard, Robot Has Werewolf Hand, Beardage, and Total Fucking Bummer. We talk about these bands and many more as w...

I've known Chris Nguyen for 15 years or so. I'd say probably 75% of the times I have run into him has been at a show Borrowed Time was playing. When I first heard he was their new vocalist, I thought that there is really no better person to join that band. As you will learn from the interview, Chris had been a vocalist in a handful of local bands in the early to mid 2000s. He was always a big supp...

One thing I have always loved about punk and hardcore is all of the combinations of different characters you will find. Will Carroll is definitely one of the more unique individuals I have come across in this scene. To say that Will is involved in a lot of projects currently would be an understatement. Everything all started with his National Teenset Outsider Zine and 45 Kid Comic. From there, he...

When I first started this podcast, I made a pretty big list of people I wanted to interview eventually. Aidan Monahan was one of the first names I wrote down. Originally born in Ireland and having lived on both the east and west coast, Aidan has definitely lived a nomadic lifestyle. We touch on all of the different places he has lived as well as the bands he has been in. Because Aidan mentioned ha...

If you have listened to at least a few episodes of this podcast, you have probably heard more than a few references to a Standfast/Building on Fire tour I helped book and tried go on as a roadie in the Summer of 2001. Due to a lot of bad luck, Building on Fire ended up completing that tour separately. While the tour clearly isn't looked at as a success by any means there are still plenty of intere...

Anyone who has listened to a few episodes of this podcast is probably already aware that I love hardcore, punk, and hip hop. I'll jump at any chance I get to discuss all of these topics in one conversation. Benny Beyond got his start in the Rochester music scene performing in bands like Destrux and I object. Fast forward a few years and Benny was then singing for Like Wolves, one of the more belov...

Back on episode 7 I did a feature on local small business owners. I didn't talk politics or social issues with the guests on that episode. Immediately after it aired, Black Lives Matter started receiving a lot of attention intentionally again. For a few weeks late last Summer, if felt like Rochester was one of the hubs for activism. Matt and I were both present for many of these protests so I felt...

Derek Dole has been a part of Buffalo Hardcore bands for over two decades. When I first started doing this podcast I knew he was someone I'd want to chat with about Buffalo and Rochester Hardcore. On this episode we also discuss his bands (Can I Say, Dead Hearts, Old Ghosts), the record label he co-owns (Press Gang Records), as well as The Nickel City Scene Podcast that he is a part of. You can fi...

On episode 33 we are joined by my old friend Eric aka EMS. I have known him for most of the years I have been active in hardcore. When I first met him, he was the bassist of Brother's Keeper. He also ran Surprise Attack Records and Distro (SA Mob) at that time. Since then, he has played bass in Stretch Armstrong, Empty Promises, and Smoke and Mirrors. Currently, Eric is the vocalist of Human Anima...

One of my favorite aspects of hardcore and punk is all of the different elements of DIY you can become immersed in. My guest on this episode has been in bands, books shows, toured with bands, and he also currently runs a pretty cool record label. I'm talking about Jared Johnson from Sore Ear Collective. Throughout our conversation we discussed his many adventures in our subculture as well as what'...

On this episode I had the pleasure of catching up with Paul and Dean from The Weight We Carry. They have both been active members of the Rochester Hardcore scene for 20 years and have played in a few other bands. I talked with Dean about Dawn of War and Paul about Home Pharmacy, Japanese Kombat Car, and Neon King Kong. We also discuss Hatebreed covers, mushrooms, touring with Psyopus and Tony Danz...

One of the fun things about doing this podcast is getting to know people a little bit better. On this episode, I got a chance to get to know Joel Staniszewski. During our conversation, I realized I booked one of his bands almost 20 years ago and saw another several times. Joel is currently the vocalist of Las Vegas based hardcore band The End of Everything. Most people from Western New York are pr...

I have been friends with Nick Lemesis for 20 years. On this episode we discuss bands he played drums in (The Triumph, Thieves Auction, Borderline). We also share funny stories involving Rochester Hardcore, crazy things we have both seen over the years, and current events. Nick also shares an interesting story of meeting Wu-Tang Clan. We had a constant theme of DIY business discussion throughout th...