Interview with vocalist Andy King
Andy King is one person who is living a dream. Through struggles and perseverance, Andy has been a supporter to the hardcore/ punk scene through his work with Relapse Records, Lumberjack Distribution, and his own label Thorp Records. Among his other ventures is as a vocalist. He can be heard on the new Two Minutes Hate compilation, Strong and On. Here are some insightful words from Andy himself.
Why did you feel now was the right time to release Strong and On?
Anytime would have been rad. It just took a while for me to gather all the material, get it all converted to digital, re-mixed, add more vocals, and get it mastered and what not. It just wasn't a priority for the label becasue it was just kind of my little project that I did pretty much just for mine and my old band mates satisfaction. If people dig it, cool, if not, no big deal.
Tell about the historical background of the band.
Two Minutes Hate existed for about three years before joined. It was just good, raw, early eighties style punk/ hardcore with a bit of NYHC influence. The abdn was mostly local nad just kind of a fun basement band. They released a seven inch on Fistfight Records, who is better known today as Crucial Blast, owned by Adam Wright from Maryland. The seven inch had Jason singing. He later played drums once I joined the band. Great seven inch, but the artwork was horrible. Cheesiest thing ever. I cringe when I see that insert. I use to work the door and hang out at this bar that I lived across the street at. It was like the 'alternative' bar in a college town full of frat boy bullshit. So, all the ugly, tattooed dudes and skaters hung out there. It was the only bar with bands playing original music in town. Some cool bands have played there like Murphy's Law, Clutch, Bad Luck 13, F.O.D., North Side Kings, and tons of indie rock bands and shit. Anyway, I met Bill, the guitarist there. He started telling me about their band and how they were looking for a singer. I was like "Dude, let me sing. I fucking rule." Hell if I knew whether I could do the job, I just really wanted to be in a band. It was an ordained thing. From there we wrote six songs in a month, I learned the old ones, and we just started playing throughout Philly, Jersey, and New York.
Why did you feel you needed to be in a band when you joined Two Minutes Hate?
I had just split up with a girlfriend who was a junkie and took me through a hell of an emotional rollercoaster- this left many issues to be purged via hardcore. I was struggling to find my way in the work world and had left my job at the steel plant to counsel juvenile delinquents. The combination of my blue collar pride and the direct conflict that pride had with the frustration of working such a montonous job, coupled with the devestation I witnessed in some of these kids and families, all served to fill me with plenty to reflect on and sing about.
How was the band a sense of catharsis for you?
Like I said, the experiences I was having- bad relationships, taxing jobs, and a yearning to fight my way through the awkward years of my early twenties.
You describe a study of "the correlation between ancient prophesy and current events", care to elaborate further?
Yeah, basically, all religions speak of the end times, and even secular sources that kind of take from different faiths and form their own predictions about the end of days. I studied all these. I saw direct correlations between ancient prophecys and current events, most accurately from the good book. Natural disasters have been clearly documented to have increased in frequency and intensity exponentially over this past century. Wars have increased in the same manner. There were more wars in the second half of the last century than there have been total for hundreds of years prior. The world has never been as mad as it is now. Have you heard the new Ramallah record? Same thing. He (Rob Lind/Blood For Blood) sees it, a bit differently, but he sees it too. It was those incomprehensible premonitions and convictions I'd get when studying and meditating on these correlation that pierced me and have even now kept me glued to the news, and watching it through the lense of prophecy. It was predicted that in the generation of the end, Israel would be the stumbling block of the entire world. Israel didn't exist sixty years ago, and this prophecy seemed impossible. It is clear as day now. Hardcore was the soundtrack to my apocalyptic obsession and burden. It still is.
You worked as a counsellor, in your experience do you feel there are some kids who just can't be helped no matter how hard you try?
Absolutely. There is only so much you can do. There were a few that I was instrumental in helping turn the corner, but most were left to their own self-destruction or that of their families. True change has to come from the individual, has to be a choice, and has to be deeply emotional, spiritual, and aggressive and practical.
What was the most horrifying thing you experienced?
You know there probably wasn't one horrifying thing. Just a general, heavy, pervasive malaise that was just depressing and sad as hell. "Little Nathan" is a song about this 13 year old kid who lived with his mean-as grandmother, his always-stoned white trash uncle and an equally white trash racist grandfather. This kid was the scapegoat for these miserable people. They blamed him for everything and constantly told him he was worthless and should have never been born. The kid was tough though and fought back. One night I had to go out there because he beat the shit out of his grandmother. Seriously. I got along with him though cause he was into metal and skating, and was truly a good kid who was abandoned by his parents and left with incompetent relatives who didn't care. He always wrote "RAGE" across his knuckles in black magic marker. I asked him what he did that for. He told me it kept him strong and stopped him from giving him. Hence, I wrote the song.
How did your experience with Two Minutes Hate help in forming Thorp Records?
The band came to an end for various reasons and I had met my wife. We got married and I found my way into the music industry after many horrible jobs. I was unemployed and started the label as a means to immerse myself back into the music and use my time wisely, then I got a job at Relapse Records. I worked there for two years and then moved my family here to Ohio to work for Lumberjack Distribution. Thorp has grown and been supported separately, yet undeniably as a result of, all the things i have learned working for Relapse and Lumberjack. I don't stop working. I think about the label in the gym, in bed, when I'm driving- constantly. Yet, I still manage time with my family, and occasionally get more than five hours sleep. To answer your question in the short, I was no longer in a band so I had to do something music-related, which ended up being the label.
Tell me about your vision for Thorp Records. Do you feel your on your way to fulfilling it? What are your goals and dreams for the label?
That's a loaded question. I don't have strict vision. The catalog is an extension of my tastes. It's like my c.d. collection that I am able to share with the world. I love finding a band and knowing that because I choose to take a chance, other people will end up listening. I don't take a salary from the label, and can't as of now. I hope that within the next few years that I will be able to at least take a part time, supplementary salary. I think that is most realistic. I want to work at Lumberjack for a long time. Great palce and great people. They have totally embraced me and I have totally committed myself to them. I can't say enough great things about Lumberjack. I love going to work every day, which in and of itself is my dream come true. As for the label's aesthetic, I pretty much have a few directions that I plan to continue to persue. I want to build up more of the street punk/oi side of the label, which is somewhat connected to the Irish folk thing as well. I really love those styles. There are less abdns doing it, and doing it well, hence there are only a few bands on the label like that. But I definitely am seeking out such bands. I also have been listening to tons of Clutch, C.O.C., Down, Hank Williams III, Mike Ness, Zack Wylde, so that might give an indication of some different styles I might choose to support in the future. One of which is a southern-styled metal/ rock project I am doing with members of Premonitions Of War and Blue Skies Burning. The band is called Elizabeth Reid and we plan on recording this fall with a record to be out in ealry 2004. Obviously, old school hardcore and metalcore will continue as well, since that stuff is my central roots, especially NYHC stuff. So, as far as that goes, the main thrust of the label will continue to be hardcore and metalcore, while I also seek out good street punk/oi, metal/rock, and Celtic folk/punk. I am not gonna limit myself, but I doubt you'll ever see a pop punk band or a straight up emo band. It just ain't my thing. I don't mind hardcore/metal with some emo-ish parts, but that's about it. I'm a guy who has to listen to Cro-Mags at least once a week. I can't indentify with Thursday, Coheed And Cambria, or whatever else. To each his own, but I don't get it.
Tell me what the word perserverance means to you personally.
Off the top of my head, it means driving nine hours twice a week to start a job a state a way so I can support my family. It means staring at a balance you owe of thousands of dollars and staying up all night crunching numbers and finding a plan to pay it back no matter what. It means living off a modest salary and supporting a wife and two kids and a mortage and knwoing that it's not what you make but how you spend it. It means resisting cultural notions of success. It means not giving a fuck about current musical trends. It means going to the gym before work regardless of not getting any sleep. It means not giving up, not giving in, and not givng the naysayers the satisfaction.
Would you consider singing in a band again?
Hell yeah. Elizabeth Reid will be a studio band because of my family/label committments and Premonitions Of War's first committment being that band. But I also have other projects I am persuing, probably a straight up hardcore band, and then a oi/rock n roll band as well. One at a time though.
Do you feel you are living and experiencing your dreams at this point in your life?
Absolutely. That's why no matter how broke I get, or how tough it gets, I am totally satisfied and not only have no regrets, but feel 100% blessed all the time.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a label?
Expect difficulty. Expect to become a businessman no matter what your punk ethics might say. Be ethical, but be a businessman. Expect no sleep. Plan on becomng more disciplined and detailed oriented than you ever imagined yourself. Don't let bands push you around and don't push bands around.
Final comments?
Buy the Two Minutes Hate records, check out www.thorprecords. and look out for Elizabeth Reid.
Discography:
Strong And On (Thorp)
Current line-up:
Andy King... vocals
Bill Cox... guitars
Greg Daley... bass
Jason Cox... drums
| TTM reviews of albums by Two Minutes Hate : | |
 | 2002 - 'Strong and On' |
