Interview February 3, 2020

Joe Songco (Outburst)

If you’ve ever read our Hardest Song Of All Time feature, then you know that Outburst is a very special band to me. As I explain in this article, their song The Hard Way is, to me, one of the hardest of all time and one of my go to’s when I need a boost of energy or confidence. Beyond that, though, those feelings can be extended to pretty much every song they have released, on both the 1987 Demo and the 1989 Miles To Go ep. Walking the streets listening to these songs can make you feel invincible: they are filled with groove and some of the angriest vocals and heaviest riffs to come out of the late 80’s NYHC scene. It’s timeless music that, over 30 years later, still holds up and whose influence can be heard in countless modern Hardcore bands. Don’t miss out on the Miles To Go reissue and Hot Shit Attitude: The Outburst Covers Record on Blackout Records which includes such heavy hitters as Power Trip, Wild Side, Fury, Krimewatch, Mizery and more!

Name five songs that you consider “perfect songs” and explain why or what they mean to you.
Scenes From An Italian Restaurant – BILLY JOEL
Far and away my favorite song by him. The way it’s framed, the mood and tempo swings…it’s a Rock ‘N’ Roll suite that tells a story. And who hasn’t caught up with an old friend and filled them in on what they’ve missed after high school? It takes you from your table near the street back to the old days at the Village Green, then to the glory days at the Parkway Diner where the king and the queen of the prom would hang out. Then, after high school graduation, it becomes the ballad of Brenda and Eddie. And everybody knows a “BrenderenEddie” in real life, don’t we? And the song ends the same way it started, with an invitation to meet anytime you want. Brilliant stuff.

Right Now – VAN HALEN
An incredible piano tune written by a guitar god, who manages to throw an awesome guitar solo into it anyway. When it was released, even though Van Hagar had been a thing for a few albums already, it was unlike any song Eddie had ever written. There’s such a carpe diem, DIY vibe to Sammy’s lyrics. “Catch your magic moment and do it right here and now. It means everything.” So inspiring. And it’s accompanied by a perfect music video.

One Moment In Time – WHITNEY HOUSTON
Even though it was written for the Olympics, the message can inspire anybody. I love how the song starts out with just Whitney and a piano and then the gradual crescendo builds to this amazing orchestral finish. The chord change combined with Whitney’s “when I’m racing with destiny” is one of my favorite sections of any song ever. And my spine still tingles to this day whenever I hear her final “DESTINY”. Just beautiful. Rest in peace, Whitney.

America – SIMON & GARFUNKEL
The mellow, innocent and somewhat haunting acoustic guitar is the perfect accompaniment to the story of the narrator and “Cathy”. There’s just something so romantic about the idea of taking a road trip with someone you’re sweet on. Where have they been? Where are they going? We don’t really know. It sounds like they don’t even know. The story is so amazingly descriptive. Riding a Greyhound bus, smoking cigarettes, eating pies, looking out the window watching the moon rise over an open field. Confessing your shortcomings to yourself because you know your traveling partner is asleep. Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike is something I’ve done many times and every time, I’ve got America playing in my head.

Master Of Puppets – METALLICA
I’ve ridden with Metallica since the No Life Til Leather demo with Mustaine and “Hit The Lights” on the Metal Massacre compilation so when they released the Master Of Puppets album, I was floored by their musical growth, both musically and lyrically. The title track being a song about addiction, the opening riff is played with such frantic intensity while Hetfield’s lyrics taunt the hopeless addict endlessly. Then comes the slowdown interlude, which is a really beautiful section, before the build up back into the heaviness. The crescendo section coming out of the interlude sounds like the addict is struggling, thinking about making the long climb back to being clean, questioning his master, angry that all he hears or sees is laughter. By the time the song nears its close and the tempo returns to form, the addict is back to being told it’s hopeless, that he’s in a never ending maze with no other choice but to obey his master, MASTER! Then, master invokes one final burst of laughter. The perfect Metallica song.

Which music genre do you listen to the most? List your five favorite albums in that genre. (feel free to answer for multiple genres if you want)
This is pretty tough to answer so I’ll just reel off the four genres I listen to the most when I’m either in the car or commuting to and from work and some of my go-to albums:

Thrash:

Reign In Blood – Slayer
Ride The Lightning – Metallica
Rust In Peace – Megadeth
Among The Living – Anthrax
Bonded By Blood – Exodus

Hip Hop:

All For One – Brand Nubian
The Cactus Album – 3rd Bass
People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm – A Tribe Called Quest
2 Hype – Kid N’Play
Fear Of A Black Planet – Public Enemy

Grunge:

Nevermind – Nirvana
Ten – Pearl Jam
One By One – Foo Fighters
Bad Motorfinger – Soundgarden
Core – Stone Temple Pilots

Quiet Storm: Not albums but here are 20 heavyweight R&B slow jams that, when turned into a playlist, it’s game over (ask anybody that knows about it)

Rock Witcha (remix) – Bobby Brown
Please Don’t Go – Boyz II Men
Forever My Lady – Jodeci
Save The Best For Last – Vanessa Williams
Sensitivity – Ralph Tresvant
Ready Or Not – After 7
Can We Talk – Tevin Campbell
Weak – SWV
Let’s Chill – Guy
Aint Nobody Like You – Miki Howard
Share My World – Mary J. Blige
It Never Rains In Southern California – Tony Toni Tone
Love Makes Things Happen – Pebbles & Babyface
Sunshine – Alexander O’ Neal
Til The Cops Come Knockin’ – Maxwell
Can’t Let Go – Mariah Carey
Breakin’ My Heart – Mint Condition
Baby Come To Me – Regina Belle
My, My, My – Johnny Gill
At Your Best – Aaliyah

Five greatest hardcore EP’s or demos of all time?
There’s a great line from a BRAND NUBIAN song called Dedication where Grand Puba says “just coz I’m a rapper doesn’t mean I’m not a fan, my favorite Rakim, Big Daddy, Kool G and LL” and he proceeds to shout out all their contemporaries. Being from NYC, I’m obviously biased, but we came up with all these bands and I call many of these people friends today. So, here goes:

Underdog – 7”
Straight Ahead – Breakaway
Breakdown – demo
Raw Deal – demo
Gorilla Biscuits – 7”

Your five favorite rappers of all time? Name one song that best exemplifies what makes them great.

Notorious B.I.G. – Warning
Never mind that Biggie starts the song off by rhyming a conversation between him and his boy, but his flow as he describes how he’s going to fuck up these people who plan on robbing him is such classic Big. “There’s gonna be a lotta slow singin’ and flower bringin’ if my burg-a-lar alarm starts ringin’”
Rakim – Follow The Leader
As if Ra didn’t blow everyone’s minds on the whole Paid In Full record with his flow, he showed his evolutionary skill by developing a new, faster, more lyrically dense style. Has anyone ever done a word count for Follow The Leader? “So follow me and while you’re thinkin’ you were first, let’s travel at magnificent speeds around the universe”
Big Daddy Kane – The Wrath Of Kane
There was so much good NYC hip hop in 1988 but Rakim and Kane were the undisputed 1-2 punch for me. Like Ra, Kane could rhyme with that laid back flow but then switch into mile-a-minute mode and reel off some amazing wordplay alliteration. Plus, he could dance like a motherfucker with Scoob and Scrap, so he brought that extra versatility, entertainment-wise. “I slay my prey and they decay. I blow away and throw away so go away, coz I don’t play. Attacking like a psychopath, breaking rappers in half, so feel the wrath of Kane”
Eminem – Stan
A lot of cool things going on in this one. Like Biggie in Warning, Shady is rhyming for two characters. He’s also storytelling Stan’s progression from an excited fan to a psychotic killer. Then, the perspective shifts to Slim answering Stan’s letters and finding out that Stan was the person who did that murder-suicide he’d heard about on the news at the end. Brilliant. “I can relate to what you’re saying in your songs so when I have a shitty day, I drift away and put em on coz I don’t really got shit else so that shit helps when I’m depressed. I even got a tattoo of your name across the chest”
LL Cool J – Rock The Bells
First of all, Queens. Second of all, he had the best scene in Krush Groove. Third, he was the best lyricist of that mid 80’s explosion that I was all about when I discovered Hip Hop. (RUN DMC, BEASTIE BOYS, WHODINI, DOUG E FRESH). Fourth, he was a nasty battle rapper who loved to mix it up with anyone who stepped to him. (KOOL MOE DEE, MC HAMMER, ICE T, CANIBUS). Anyway, there are actually two Rock The Bells tracks – both feature L at his braggadocious best and they are equally excellent. The first one is an insane 7 minute freestyle and the second one that most everyone will know is the track that appears on Radio and begins “LL Cool J is hard as hell” “All you gonna be, wannabes,when will you learn? Wanna be like Cool J, you gotta wait your turn. Some suckers don’t like me but I’m not concerned. Six G’s for twenty minutes is the pay I earn”

Five hardest riffs of all time?

Slayer – Angel Of Death
The song itself is flawless, but the riff to open the mid tempo section is just insane. What was Jeff Hanneman thinking ? PUBLIC ENEMY blew 2 groups of people’s heads apart when they sampled the riff for She Watch Channel Zero.
Rest In Pieces – Old Grey Mare Stomp
I mean, if there was ever a riff you should play while getting ready to fight someone you couldn’t stand, this would be it.
Nirvana – Milk It
The entire song is basically one riff at two different intensity levels – low key creepy and full-blast fuck shit up. During the full blast parts, Cobain is screaming his head off and Grohl is playing this really off-time beat to the lyrics “Doll steak! Test meat!” It’s the complete antithesis of “MTV Nirvana” and it’s brilliant.
Megadeth – Architecture Of Aggression
We were just on tour in Europe and during the bus ride and dressing room conversations, I quickly formed a Megadeth appreciation alliance with Martin from TERROR and Colin from DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR. We all agreed that this was one of Dave Mustaine’s sickest riffs.
Killing Time – Backtrack
Carl’s riff during the “It’s every man for himself so leave them all behind” mid tempo break is so good but it doesn’t last long enough and it leaves you wanting more…and that’s the best part about that goddamn riff.

What’s the album you’ve listened to the most in your life? Do you still listen to it?
That would probably have to be Abbey Road by The BEATLES. My uncle was in the Navy and he visited us one time, I must’ve been 8 or 9 years old and he gave me Abbey Road on cassette. So, my Beatles education began with their last album. I remember buying the vinyl at Tower Records when I was in high school. When I got a car with a cd player in it, I picked up the cd and it stayed (along with Magical Mystery Tour and Sgt Pepper’s) in my car until my car just decided to drop dead just this past June. It’s the perfect Beatles album to me. They literally saved the best for last. And that ridiculous suite beginning with Because and concluding with The End just shows you the brilliance of George Martin and how he strung all those bits and pieces together with the guys. I could talk about Abbey Road for hours. Basically because I’ve been listening to Abbey Road most of my life.

What are some of your favorite song lyrics? Lyrics that have been important to you or that had an impact on you?

Don Henley – The Heart Of The Matter
“There are people in your life who’ll come and go. They’ll let you down. You know they’ll hurt your pride. You better put it all behind you coz’ life goes on. You keep carrying that anger, it’ll eat you up inside,”
Public Enemy – Fight The Power
“Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamp.”
Megadeth – Holy Wars
“Brother will kill brother, spilling blood across the land. Killing for religion, something I don’t understand.”
Bob Marley – War
“Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, well, everywhere is war.”
The Beatles – The End
“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
The Police – Synchronicity II
“Another working day has ended. Only the rush hour hell to face. Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes. Contestants in a suicidal race.”
Tears For Fears – Shout
“They gave you life and in return you gave them hell. As cold as ice, I hope we live to tell the tale.”
Van Halen – Mine All Mine
“We see a man speaking the word of God, proven to be a fraud but his whole church applauds. Stop looking out, start looking in. Be your own best friend. Stand up and say ‘Hey! This is mine all mine.”
Ozzy Osbourne – I Don’t Know
“Nobody ever showed me, I found out for myself. You gotta believe in foolish miracles. It’s not how you play the game, it’s if you win or lose. You can’t choose, win or lose. It’s up to you,”
The Who – Won’t Get Fooled Again
“Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.”
One Direction – The Story Of My Life
“She told me in the morning she don’t feel the same about us in her bones.”
U2 – One
“You say love is a temple, love the higher law. You ask me to enter but then you make me crawl and I can’t be holding on to what you got when all you got is hurt.”
Green Day – American Idiot
“Welcome to a new kind of tension. All across the alienation, everything isn’t meant to be okay.”
Rush – Freewill
“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”
Pearl Jam – Black
“I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be the sun in somebody else’s sky but why can’t it be mine?.”
The Fray – Cable Car (Over My Head)
“Eight seconds left in overtime, she’s on your mind. She’s on your mind.”
Lizzo – Truth Hurts
“I’ma hit you back in a minute. I don’t play tag, bitch, I been it.”
Foo Fighters – Everlong
“And I wonder when I sing along with you, if everything could ever feel this real forever. If anything could be this good again.”
Simon & Garfunkel – Kathy’s Song
“And as I watch the drops of rain weave their weary paths and die, I know that I am like the rain. There but for the grace of you go I.”
Panic At The Disco – I Write Sins Not Tragedies
“It’s much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality”

Do you have an absolute all time favorite band or musical artist? What makes them so special to you?
VAN HALEN. Whenever I’m asked which era I like better, Roth or Hagar, I respond that it’s like having two children that you love equally (To all the “DLR ONLY” people in my life who’ve ever given me shit about not being like them and wanting to eat Roth’s asshole forever, you still embarrass me.) The first VH song I ever heard was Runnin’ With The Devil and it had me at hello. Throughout the Dave era I had the posters, the VH patches on my denim jacket, the Creem & Hit Parader magazines, you name it. By the time Dave quit the band, sure, I was bummed out but it was all about Eddie for me at that point anyway, so I was cautiously excited about what the future would bring. And I loved Van Hagar immediately. Sammy’s vocal ability opened up Eddie’s songwriting where it was like a brand new band. I guess as my life evolved from grade school to high school to college to young adulthood, VH evolved right along with me. I even went to a couple of the Gary Cherone Mach III shows in the late 90’s. My wife Annie took both of our children to VH concerts “in the womb” – she was pregnant with our son in 2004 we went to the last VH tour with Sammy and she was carrying our daughter in 2007 when we went to the first Diamond Dave reunion tour. She was also cool enough to go along with naming our daughter Halen. So there’s that.

What are your ten favourite albums of all time (all genres)? Name a standout track on each of these albums.
This is virtually impossible for me to attempt, so I’m just going to list 10 of my many favorite albums from artists I haven’t previously mentioned and try to spread out the genres:

Cracked Rear View (Hootie & The Blowfish) – Hold My Hand
Bonded By Blood (Exodus) – A Lesson In Violence
Wide Awake In America (U2) – Bad
Raising Hell (Run DMC) – Hit It Run
Thriller (Michael Jackson) – The Lady In My Life
Introducing The Hardline According To (Terence Trent D’Arby) – If You Let Me Stay
Like A Prayer (Madonna) – Cherish
Destroyer (Kiss) – Detroit Rock City
Vivid (Living Colour) – Glamour Boys
Reckless (Bryan Adams) – Summer Of ‘69

Do you remember the first time you really appreciated an album or a song?
When I was a little kid, my mom taught me the chorus to Don McLean’s American Pie and even though I had no idea what I was singing, I became fascinated with all of the lyrics. Who was this jester? Is there a high school football game going on? Why were dirges sung in the dark? Why was Satan laughing with delight? I imagined what the song would look like as a concept video in my head. I eventually learned the story of “the day the music died” but to this day, my childhood imaginary video still plays whenever I hear the song.

What were you listening to in elementary school? then in high school? How much of that music is still a part of your playlists today? How have your musical tastes evolved since?
My favorite bands in elementary school were Kiss, Bay City Rollers, The Beatles and Van Halen. Because I went to an Irish Catholic school in Queens, I also learned a lot of what would be called classic rock today. The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Kinks. Throw in a healthy dose of Billy Joel and anything on Top 40 radio and that was pretty much elementary school me.

My musical palate really expanded in high school thanks to a more diverse group of friends. It was where I discovered rap, thrash, hardcore and punk rock. Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, S.O.D., Nuclear Assault, Overkill, D.R.I., Corrosion Of Conformity, Cro-Mags, Ludichrist, Murphy’s Law, Kraut, Beastie Boys (before they were rappers), Bad Brains, Run DMC, LL Cool J, Whodini, UTFO, Boogie Down Productions and EPMD were all part of my mixtapes for the Sony Walkman.

By the time the early 90’s and college rolled around, hip hop was evolving in all sorts of directions, grunge had exploded, new jack swing was a huge thing and the quality of R&B slow jams (the quiet storm) was untouchable. Let’s add De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, 3rd Bass, Brand Nubian, Black Sheep, Heavy D & The Boyz, Ice Cube, Wu Tang Clan, Public Enemy, New Edition, Bell Biv Devoe, Boyz II Men, TLC, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and so many more to what was in rotation for college me.

What beloved music do you share with your parents (or children ? Any specific memories?
Whenever my mom, rest in peace, would hear something I would be listening to that she didn’t consider awful-sounding, she would inquire. “Who is that? That’s not bad.” I will always remember that she liked the slowdown part in VAN HALEN’s Panama (“I can barely see the road from the heat coming off it”). She also liked Van Hagar’s Runaround and Top Of The World from their 1991 album F.U.C.K. She also liked Save The Best For Last by VANESSA WILLIAMS, which is one of my all time favorite ballads. I got my dad into AIR SUPPLY when they were the biggest thing around during my elementary school days. He has a bunch of their tunes on his phone today in 2019.

When my son was an infant, I made a bedtime playlist that started off with OZZY OSBOURNE’s Goodbye To Romance. When the lights were down and he was in bed, I would use that playlist as his lullabies. It also had Wishlist by PEARL JAM, Blackbird by The BEATLES, On The Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe by HARRY CONNICK, JR., Streets Of Philadelphia by BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN. Just a couple of days ago, he pulled up Goodbye To Romance on his phone’s Spotify and asked me “Remember when I used to fall asleep to this song?” He’s 14 now so that really warmed my heart.

My daughter knows who she’s named after and her favorite VH songs are Dance The Night Away, Jump, Dreams, Runaround (just like her grandma) and Can’t Stop Lovin’ You.

Most memorable show you’ve ever seen? What makes it stand out?
I saw The Big Four play Yankee Stadium in 2011 and that was amazing because it was all of my high school thrash metal heroes that I grew up with on the same bill, one right after the other! METALLICA was already a huge draw that could sell out stadiums by themselves. They really didn’t need to do a show with ANTHRAX, MEGADETH and SLAYER but I loved that they wanted to pay homage to their roots and the bands they came up with…that was really great fan service.

Is there any band that you’ve always wanted to see live but never had the chance to catch them?
The BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA. I’ve got friends who’ve caught his show and they’ve said nothing but good things.

Any classic show that you wish you could have experienced?
The POLICE at Shea Stadium during the summer of ‘83 on their Synchronicity tour. JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS and R.E.M. were the opening acts. Sting made the crowd pop by saying “We’d like to thank The BEATLES for lending us their stadium.” My parents couldn’t get tickets to that sold out show and they weren’t about to stand outside of Shea and negotiate with scalpers.

What is the most impressive band you’ve toured with? The one that you just had to watch every night? Did you learn anything from them/by watching them?
We just did a short run with JESUS PIECE, DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR and TERROR in Europe and all the bands were amazing every night. It was so awesome to see all of us supporting each other whether it was watching onstage or getting in the pit. As headliners, Terror were just insane. Scott (Vogel) is one hell of a frontman. He just has that sense of what to say to get the crowd going nuts. Musically, they’re tight as a drum, nothing more can be said about their chops. And backstage and on the bus, they’re really good dudes. Shout out to Chris Linkovich, Terror bassist, for calling out my ethnicity on the bus like, an hour into the tour. “You’re Filipino, right?” “Yes sir. What gave it away?” “I can tell. I’m half Filipino myself” That was great!

Is there any classic / universally acclaimed artist that you missed out on when they first came out and discovered way later?
The best answer for the first question would be BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS. Growing up, my introduction to (what I thought was) reggae was Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The POLICE and The Tide Is High by BLONDIE. When I found out that ERIC CLAPTON’s I Shot The Sheriff was a Marley cover, I remembered the name and sought to learn his music but the radio didn’t really play reggae. In high school, I bought Legend on cassette and thankfully began my Bob Marley education.

Is there any artist that you didn’t like at first and learned to appreciate over time?
For the second question, I’d go with The DOORS. Growing up, all I really was exposed to was Light My Fire a million times. They were like one of those bands that all I knew about them was the one played out song and the cool logo. Plus, they were already a retired band so I didn’t really pay them much attention. But in the 7th grade, I won the LA Woman album in a raffle at school and you could say “the doors were opened” from there. I bought that red and white Best Of collection on record and cassette and filled in the rest after that. I loved Jim Morrison’s trippy poetic vibe and Ray Manzarek was just an insane player.

Do you have an artist that you love in a genre that you don’t usually listen to? What makes them stand out?
I don’t really listen to much Salsa but I really admire MARC ANTHONY. He broke onto mainstream radio with his first English album around the same time I met my soon-to-be wife, who loved everything he did. We caught his live show at Madison Square Garden a few years ago. His band was super tight, his voice was on point and man, does that guy know how to engage an audience.

Do you have any controversial/unpopular music related opinions that you would like to defend?
It’s not like I didn’t try, but JETHRO TULL, BOB DYLAN and The GRATEFUL DEAD never did a thing for me.

I love BRYAN ADAMS, AIR SUPPLY and BARRY MANILOW. No shame in my game about it either. I’ve taken heat from my music snob friends forever about it, too. But, fuck them, y’know?

Do you enjoy live albums? What are some of your favorites? Can you think of a few examples where the live version of a song is better than the studio version?
When I was a kid, I loved live albums. I would spin those records and imagine what it would be like to be in the audience. It wasn’t like it is now where you can see almost anyone’s live performance on YouTube.

Some of my favorites: The BEATLES At The Hollywood Bowl, Alive and Alive II by KISS, One For The Road by The KINKS, The Song Remains The Same by LED ZEPPELIN, Speak Of The Devil by OZZY OSBOURNE, Under A Blood Red Sky by U2

PAUL MCCARTNEY’s live versions of Maybe I’m Amazed & Coming Up both have a little more feel in their performances. The studio versions are great but they come off a little sterile compared to the live versions.
ROD STEWART’s live version of Maggie May from his MTV Unplugged with Ronnie Wood sitting in on guitar has this great low key intro before the rest of the band joins in.
U2’s live version of I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For from Rattle & Hum is amazing because of The New Voices Of Freedom gospel choir. I hardly listen to the Joshua Tree version anymore.

Name one or several cover songs where the cover is better than the original? What makes them superior?

99 Red Balloons by 7 SECONDS – It’s just a great punk rock take on NENA’s early 80’s synthesizer driven, new wave sounding pop song.
All Along The Watchtower by JIMI HENDRIX – BOB DYLAN’s makes you feel like you’re learning how to play the harmonica on the porch of a log cabin in the woods. Jimi’s version makes you feel like you’re an American soldier in Vietnam, trying not to get killed.
I Only Want To Be With You by BAY CITY ROLLERS – Nothing against DUSTY SPRINGFIELD’s original, which conjures up a definite 60’s feel, but the Rollers’ version has a little more rock n’ roll to it. Plus it has a string section interlude and it makes me feel like I’m a kid again.
Pretty Woman by VAN HALEN – David Lee Roth era VH recorded a lot of covers and of course everyone cites You Really Got Me as their signature cover but I just love the feel of Eddie’s playing on this tune.

What albums have been on heavy rotation lately?

Nightmare Logic – POWER TRIP
She – HARRY CONNICK, JR.
The Dream Of The Blue Turtles – STING
Hamilton – Original Broadway Cast Recording
Couldn’t Stand The Weather – STEVIE RAY VAUGHN

What are some up and coming artists that you would recommend?

Power Trip
Fury
Krimewatch
Initiate
Outskirts
Higher Power
Wild Side
Mizery
Jesus Piece
Locked Inside
End Of Hope
Ice Cold Killers
Born Sinner

Is there a band that you’ve discovered live recently that blew you away?
Over the summer, there were two great new bands that I got to see live for the first time at Niagara, formerly the A7 club at the great “Back To The NYHC Roots” free Sunday matinees. Both bands put on incredible live sets and if you have the chance to see either of them live, don’t blow it.

BORN SINNER is a sick blend of aggressive hardcore and headbanging thrash, featuring groovy mosh parts and ripping guitar solos. Their EP is available on Spotify.

END OF HOPE is the new band fronted by KRAUT’s Davy Gunner and their new material is also available to stream on Spotify.

What are you listening to right now, while answering these questions?The last few songs as I finished this up were:

Eastside – Benny Blanco, Khalid, Halsey
Wish You Were Here – Incubus
Still Into You – Paramore
I’m Feeling You – Santana, Michelle Branch
Peruvian Skies – Dream Theater
Manteca – Quincy Jones

Is there anything (new album, tour) you would like to promote?
Blackout Records will be putting out a Miles To Go vinyl reissue featuring the remastered 7” and the remastered demo. There will also be a new limited edition Outburst t-shirt designed by the great Sean Taggart. Also, as part of the reissue, there will be really cool compilation album called Hot Shit Attitude which features a reputable roster of today’s hottest hardcore bands, contributing incredible covers of their favorite Outburst songs. All of this will be out in early 2020 and Blackout Records’ social media will be providing details on how to get your hands on these goodies.

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