Name: Adam Vass
Band: La Dispute
Important Links:
La Dispute
No sleep records









who is the biggest influence in your musical career?

For me personally, and this is sort of goofy because we are friends now, but Thursday is probably my biggest influence. I remember trying to learn their songs on bass as soon as I got one when I was like 13 (damn, has it really been that long?), and I probably would never have bothered learning how to play without them. They also were one of the bands that eased me through the transition from listening to the radio to finding music in other sources, getting into punk and hardcore and screamo and all these sub genres that mainstream society neglected.

what is your favorite part of playing shows?

My favorite part is just having fun and being involved in something collaboratively with other people. Getting together with like minded kids and just having fun, stage diving and singing along. Obviously I have some responsibility to also play my instrument, haha, but just having a good time with the kids in my band and the kids at the show is a very rewarding and cathartic experience.

do you any plan to be going on any tours besides your Austrillian?

Right now, we don't have a ton of plans. After our Australian tour, we have some time off to write and record the rest of the new full length. We're going to play SXSW in March, but I don't know yet if we plan to tour around it. In April, we're planning a headlining East Coast tour, but I don't know how much I can talk about it. We haven't been to that region in almost a year so we're really excited, and we'll be bringing some very good friends with us.

do you plan on releasing any new 7" or 12" within this new year?

Yes, we have a one-sided 12" split with Koji due out sometime soon. We recorded our songs last April and its just been a scheduling game trying to get it out, but I imagine it'll happen early spring ideally. We'll also be releasing our 2nd full length this summer, but I'll say autumn just to be safe. We recorded 6 songs for it so far but we plan to have it be pretty long and the rest of it is slowly coming together. The tracklist and album art are all pretty much in place, its just filling in the puzzle pieces now.

what was your inspiration to write Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair album?

Somewhere was the first thing we did after I joined the band so to me, it was trying to make something memorable, but not necessarily intending it to be our breakthrough record. My band before this was still burning cds in the basement and playing for 5 people on tour, so I had no idea what would come of this band and how far it'd take me. Hell, I'm writing this interview from Australia, and four years ago I never could've expected to be here. The interesting thing with our band is that everyone is so different and we all find inspiration in different places, but personally mine was just to held create something that meant something to someone.

what was your inspiration for writing the song Castle builders?

the record was getting kind of dark in the early stages and we wanted there to be some light at the end of the tunnel, so there are songs like this and last lost continent that are supposed to bring in some more hopeful themes to the record. what do we have to complain about, after all? life isn't so bad if you step back and realize whats really important, and that's what these songs were more about. i can't really say the same about the new record though, this time its pretty dark thematically but we're leaving out the hopeful parts.

Name: Brandon Wells and Jaramia Bond
Band: Havenside
Important links:
Havenside







Who is the biggest influence in your musical career?

Brandon: Madball, The Ghost Inside, Hoods, Terror, and many more.
Jaramia: Bury Your Dead, Acacia Strain, and many more.

What is the new year hopefully bringing you guys?

We hope to be touring throughout most of new year in support of our current release "Recognition" as well as start writing new material for our next album.

What is your favorite part of playing shows?

We love the crowd interaction and meeting new friends as well as other musicians. And eating at random taquerias, haha.

Do you any plan to be going on any tours?

We have some tours in the works for 2011. We will keep everyone updated on our facebook/myspace/twitter ect.

What was you inspiration for writing the album Recognition?

We're inspired by life. We've all been through hardships and trials. The passion and aggression shown through our lyrics and music is all derived from personal experiences. We have worked to get where we are now and plan to continue working hard to get as far as possible. We feel like this album has been a step in the right direction and has proven to everyone and even ourselves, that we can keep progressing. It seemed so fitting that it was called "Recognition."

Full name: Neil Patel & Ned Russin
Record Company: Back To Back Records
Important links:
Back To Back
Back to Back store






Can you give us some background information about Back To Back records?

Back to Back was Ned's idea. We talked about it when we first hung out. I always wanted to do a label as well and we were on the same page on everything we wanted to do so we rolled with it.

What is your biggest influence in your career with owning a record company?

We both just want to put out records because we love hardcore and want to set music in stone. Me and Ned have both into hardcore since we were young and we both figured eventually that we would something more than to just go to shows. So I'd say the main influence is hardcore, as cheesy as it sounds. Going to shows, listening to 30 years worth of music, making friends and everything else in the community just made us want to do more than go to shows.

what is your plans for the future months with the bands?

Not much as of now. We're planning on doing a split release with Lockin Out Records for the United Youth 7". You can hear some United Youth songs at http://www.myspace.com/unitedyouthwb

Can you tell us more about some of the upcoming tours and releases on the label?

Stick Together just started a tour with Dead End Path that lasts for about 3 weeks. We just released their "No More Games" EP and they will have that on this tour. Check them out! If you can't see them on tour and want the record you can get it at www.backtoback.bigcartel.com

Name: Spyderdog
Band: Out For Revenge
Important Links:
outforrevenge.net
out for revenge







who is the biggest influence in your musical career?

That's a tough question. Id say the generic life answer is probably the most accurate answer, but nobody likes that (hahaha). We all come from a lot of different places musically. Im personally really influenced by bands like Agnostic Front, Cromags, Madball, Earth Crisis, Snapcase, Sick of it All, Hoods, etc. Lately theres been a ton of really good new bands that im really enjoying. especially european bands. i love cutdown from Finland, danforth from France, stuff like that. As a singer Id say Dre from Donnybrook is a pretty major influence. Terror is probably my favorite band. North Side Kings is way up on that list too

what is your favorite part of playing shows?

my favorite thing honestly is to see people walk in all pissed off, and leave happy. I really enjoy kinda making people scratch their heads right before they go off too. that sort of second of "huh?" followed by chaos is a lot of fun. mainly im just glad i get to do this. hardcore has done a lot of great shit for my life over the years, and hopefully someday i can inspire somebody else to keep things going and really get involved in a positive way. the informative nature of hardcore shows i think is something really special as well. kids at shows are involved and informed about whats going on in their communities and in their scenes, and that's something you really don't see at other types of shows, and i think that's one of the most important things about hardcore, and that's certainly one of the reasons i love this shit so much

do you any plan to be going on any tours?

for sure! we've been to Cali a few times, next month were hitting new Mexico, and Vegas, and what not. were big fans of the 3-4 day mini tour and try and do at least one a month. were hoping to hit the east coast for a week - ten days this summer

what was your inspiration to write your album " Black Market Status"

basically in addition to the national problems we as a country have right now, shit is really fucked up here in AZ locally. our three main sources of revenue in this state were basically construction/manufacturing, tourism and banking, and when those three things crashed it pretty much destroyed everything. we have the worst education system in the united states, second worst mortgage crisis, and unemployment is something like 40% if you are under the age of 35. further more, we have a state government that is basically completely fused by social agenda, is totally irresponsible, and totally insane. the racist nature of our governor and our state legislature is something that has no place existing in the modern world. bottom line is people are really frustrated here, and don't have a lot of options. i think black market status is kind of a red flag to the world, saying that not everybody is ok with watching our hopes and dreams get destroyed, and people are getting awfully tired of taking said situation. especially considering the people up the street are getting rich taking advantage of the mistakes they totally created. people are only gonna stand there for so long as their houses go foreclosure and get bought out only to be rented back to them. the worlds a fucking mess man, and its all gonna get passed back on to us again down the line if we don't do something about it

what was your inspiration for writing the song Machine?

i really wrote that song about myself. i basically never sleep. id say in the last year ive gotten maybe like 15 hours of sleep a week. in addition i have a lot of health problems that i have to deal with. basically the way i see it is that that shit doesn't really matter. you put your nose down and just smash through shit and you can do anything you put your mind to. the only thing really standing in your way is yourself. if you are willing to put in the work and not give up ever nothing that really happens can slow you down. i guess what that song is really about is giving a fuck about yourself by totally not giving a fuck about yourself.....if that makes any sense

Now through March 20th Postmortem zine will be raising money for One Hundred For Haiti.

One Hundred For Haiti mission statement:

One Hundred For Haiti is a collective of one hundred individuals, corporations, and organizations worldwide who are providing direct action, non-profit, humanitarian aid through the delivery of food, water, and medical supplies to help in the rebuilding process of post-earthquake Haiti. The One Hundred are devoted to ongoing development in Haiti and have already, in the few months since their inception, been directly responsible for sending over fifteen tons of food to Haiti, as well as coordinating logistics for the delivery and disctribution of an additional ten tons of medical and other supplies. The group has supported development projects for a rural community in need of fresh water and has also provided funding for emergency health care for Haitian citizens as well as evacuation to the USA for stranded Haitian Americans after the earthquake.

Go to onehundredforhaiti.blogspot.com for additional information.

Any amount can help from 25 cent to 25 bucks. Make your donation today!

Thank you for your donations, time and support.

sincerely, 
Postmortem Zine & One Hundred For Haiti.

Name: Rick & Josh
Company: Redscroll Records
Important links:
Redscroll.com












How did Redscroll get started?

Redscroll was started as a label to release 7"s by my friends bands when I was 15. Through trading those releases, I built a distro, eventually making orders from distributors. This was just a hobby until I dropped out of college decided to go for it full time. I partnered up with my friend Rick and we opened the physical store. We still release things from time to time as well.

What is your main inspiration for owning a record shop?'

Turning people on to new music. Helping the local music scene.

What is your favorite part of owning a record company?

Getting records at cost.

How was your "Blackout At Sunrise Sale" this past Friday?

The sale is always a great time & has always gone over really well. It actually lasts all weekend. Usually we have some sort of show inside the store to close out the Friday night. This years show was Iron Hand, Stab you, & Brass Caskets.
Check out Brass Caskets, their new demo is awesome!

Other than selling records and other merchandise out of Redscroll records physical location will there be web store in the future?

Yeah, coming 2011.

Homemade Latkes For Hanukkah


Ingredients

* 2 cups peeled and grated potatoes
* 1 tablespoon grated onion
* 3 eggs, beaten
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 cup vegetable or grapseed oil for frying

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a cheesecloth and wring, extracting as much moisture as possible.
2. In a medium bowl stir the potatoes, onion, eggs, flour and salt together.
3. In a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot. Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil, pressing down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. Brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Let drain on paper towels. Serve hot!