Beer and hardcore is the main influence for Reason To Fight. They're from Providence, Rhode Island and bring anthems of working class life, Saturday brawls and ups and downs of life to the sound that pays homage to the roots of hardcore and punk but is more than capable of standing on its own terms. Their split with Chesty Malone And The Slice'em Ups has been released just recently so make sure you check it out!
Beer and hardcore is the main influence for Reason To Fight. They're from Providence, Rhode Island and bring anthems of working class life, Saturday brawls and ups and downs of life to the sound that pays homage to the roots of hardcore and punk but is more than capable of standing on its own terms. Their split with Chesty Malone And The Slice'em Ups has been released just recently so make sure you check it out!Would you like to introduce yourselves to the readers who may not have heard of you, as well as a brief history?
We are Reason To Fight from Providence, Rhode Island USA. We play a mix of OI/Punk/Hardcore, which is what we grew up on. We have been playing up and down the East Coast for almost 10 years. Our current line up is Fuzzy on Vocals, Dylan on drums, Josh on Guitar, and my name is Greg and I play bass.
So the split with Chesty Malone And The Slice'em Ups has been out recently. How do the new track compare to what you did at your debut album?The first CD was written over the first five years. We had only done a few Comps and a split EP with our friends the 86'ed until then. So we took the best of the rest of the songs we had recorded and put them on BLOOD & GLORY. The 2 songs on the new EP are from our next full length BLUE COLLAR PRIDE, which will be released in early 2011. We just kind of wrote what came to mind, trying out some different style riffs and beats. They were all recorded at the same time in the same studio, so the overall quality is better.
How did you guys hook up with Chesty Malone And The Slice'em Ups for the split?
We play in NYC any chance we get and we have been working with Dennis from UNITED RIOT RECORDS for years. So when he mentioned a split with these guys we were definitely down. We are planning to do some shows together in the near future.
Can you tell a bit about the lyrics and which themes you have touched this time?
Dying Breed is about the living your life by your rules and hold on to your roots. If you really believe in something, that feeling should last for ever. We got to teach about pride and not getting caught up in trends. Don't let anyone tell you what you should believe. Follow your heart, no one can take that away.
Hard Workin, Hard Drinkin, Hardcore is just what it says. It goes out to everyone who does everything they can to make the lives of those who depend on them better. And when you work hard you usually play hard, I know we do.
You describe yourself as a working class hardcore. Can you expand on that further?
We all grew up in working class families and met each other going to Hardcore shows. I am a Plumber, Fuzzy works in a rubber and plastics plant, Dylan installs overhead doors and is part of the stage crew at one of the bigger clubs in RI, and Josh is an electrician. We all work hard to play hardcore. But Hardcore doesn't pay the bills. We do this because we love it!
And how do you feel about hardcore bands who are more about fancy haircuts and heartaches then everyday struggles?
To me the whole emo scene is kinda like the glam rock scene in the 80's. All these guys wearing skin tight clothes, make up and taking an hour to do their hair before shows. I don't get it. And luckily we don't play too many shows with bands like that. I guess if mom and dad are paying the bills, there is no struggle to sing about.
Could you tell me about what or who got you interested in hardcore/punk?I got into this through skateboarding. I used to hang out at this Ramp when I was like 12. This guy down the street had a sick spine ramp in his yard. On a good day there would be like 30 kids there, They'd be blasting bands like Minor Threat, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, DRI, Misfits and Dead Kennedys. Some of the older guys were in local bands. So we would go see them play at The old Living room and The Skate Hut. My first few shows were Suicidal, The Ramones, Fugazi, Exodus and Murphy's Law. That was it. I was hooked. I would wash dishes on the weekend and spend all the money on music and skate stuff. By 14 I played my first show in a band called Big Mistake. I'm 35 now and I'm still doing it. I used to go to Club Baby Head like 3 times a week. Providence is between Boston and NY, So every band would play there. Sick Of It All, Judge, Cromags, Burn, Slapshot, Sheer Terror, Burn, Madball, 7 seconds, Slapshot, Fear, The Meatmen, Murphy's Law would play about 10 times a Year. One of my favorite shows was The Bruisers opening up for Agnostic Front on Tuesday night.
Everyone in the band used to hang out there. So we all kinda knew each other before we started the band.
Your music is mostly influenced by good old hardcore bands, but what are your favorite current bands?I'm loving Wisdom in Chains, we just played with them and DRI a few months ago. Bullet Treatment, The Bronx, Fed Up, Olde York, Cheech, Death Before Dishonor. Rival Mob. The new Madball is sick.
What is hardcore scene in Rhode Island like?
Our scene comes is going strong lately. Right now we got a good Hardcore/Punk scene going with bands like The Usual Suspects, The Doosh bags, The Paraplegics, The McGunks, Soul Control and a bunch more i'm probably forgetting. Last night we played with H2O at Club Hell with a great RIHC band Unsung. That show was packed. H2O tore it up. Club Hell and a couple other clubs will still let us do Hardcore shows without a big headliner, which is rare these days. But as long as people keep coming out for the local shows, it can only get better.
Tattoos are important part of hardcore. What's your favorite tattoo style?
I'm into boats and fishing, So I'm all about Sailor Jerry and traditional with a little new school shading and color. Fuzzy's got a sick Bio-Mech sleeve. Josh has a couple sleeves, Some old school and black and gray work. We all have alot of different style work. And always wanting more. One more addiction to add to the list.
If you were on death row what would be your last meal?
I make a nasty Chicken stuffed chicken Parm. I split a chicken breast thin, pound it out. Then take Prociutto, Spinach, Ricotta cheese mixed with about 4 other cheeses then wrap the whole thing in a huge piece of breaded eggplan. Bake it, Throw some Mozzarella cheese on top. Serve it with some pasta and red sauce. Yeah, that's want I'd want. But, hopefully I'll never be in that situation.
Ok, thanks for the interview. Anything you’d like to add? Any plans for the rest of 2010 we should be aware of?
We got a Christmas show on Dec. 17th at the Hour Bar in RI. We'll be playing Brooklyn on January 29th, and we should have our full length CD out by March. We have a big Record Release show planned for that. And if all goes as planned we should be hitting the road for a weeks in Late summer/fall of 2011. For booking or merch or any questions about the band, you can check us out on Myspace or facebook.
