Keith is a cool dude. I met him and all the Alert dudes at This Is Hardcore 2009 and we've bumped into each other at shows I trek to ever since. When i started this thing he was one of the first people I wanted to interview, so here it is. Enjoy.
interview done over AIM November 2010.
Karl St-Pierre: ok imma make questions up as we go. you ready!?
throwingxbricks: yeah
Karl St-Pierre: ok state your name, age, place of living and the band/bands you play in.
throwingxbricks: I'm Keith, 22 years old. I live in Springfield, Mass and I play in Alert, and another band I'd rather not mention haha
Karl St-Pierre: word. what do you play in alert and that mysterious band you won't talk about
throwingxbricks: Bass in both bands. I also play guitar in a band called Use Your Head! but I'm not really sure on the status of that band
Karl St-Pierre: aight so how exactly did it begin? what was your first show and first record?
throwingxbricks: For hardcore? First show was kind of mixed but this band from New Hampshire called Mercury Switch played here and that was pretty cool I guess. Not really into them now but it was all new to me so I got hooked on going to many local shows after that. First record? It's hard for me to remember it was either Bane - The Note or the first Suicidal Tendencies record which my friend's mom gave me
Karl St-Pierre: thats cool. so as far as i know alert is a straight edge band, how long have you been straight edge for exactly?
throwingxbricks: Going on 5 years I think. Once I found out what it was I was all about it. I've never really done any drugs or anything before stumbling upon hardcore.
Karl St-Pierre: what's the status of alert right now? who's in the band at the moment and are you guys playing any shows? what's in the future?
throwingxbricks: Puffer on vocals, Kyle on guitar and Brendan on drums. We're basically in the process of writing a couple more songs for a 7" that should be out this winter on Six Feet Under Records. Once we do that I'm not really sure what the future has in store but I know we're all really excited to be doing this record.
Karl St-Pierre: what should we expect for the new record?
throwingxbricks: Definitely expect a similar sound. We didn't do anything groundbreaking or very different that our usual stuff, but I think these songs are more solid and I definitely think this record will be better than the demo. For sure
Karl St-Pierre: word. i dig the demo alot so i'm stoked to hear the 7". how did Alert start and how many OG members are left in the line up?
throwingxbricks: We started summer 08. I had met out original drummer Will earlier that year as well as Kyle and found out they were interested in starting a band influenced by that whole Youth Of Today era sound. Wide Awake, Judge, Side By Side, all that stuff, so everyone got together though at the time no one knew each other except through me. The rest is history. Last winter Will left us to pursue other things and we picked up Brendan.
Karl St-Pierre: you guys were supposed to play This Is Hardcore this year, what happened to that?
throwingxbricks: Hahahaha yeah we were supposed to play a couple songs but it was supposed to be a surprise I guess and some friends found out and posted it on a message board. No more surprise so we didn't play. Not that big of a deal, though.
Karl St-Pierre: is anyone in the band vegetarian/vegan?
throwingxbricks: I'm vegetarian and Mike is vegan. Kyle and Brendan aren't but when we had Will he was also vegetarian
Karl St-Pierre: word. staying on this topic what would be your favorite vegetarian song
throwingxbricks: No More. Awesome song and music video
Karl St-Pierre: definately. that video is also the epitome of style, no doubt. in a normal week, approximately how many hours do you lurk ebay for gear?
throwingxbricks:Honestly I haven't lurked ebay for a while. I just don't have the funds for that anymore, though I once in a while glance to see if I can find that Wide Awake red Schism shirt I've still be trying to track down
Karl St-Pierre: who's your favorite band in 2010 so far?
throwingxbricks: Does Sick Of It All count?
Karl St-Pierre: no.
throwingxbricks: It's really hard then because so many current bands I like a lot. I'd probably have to go with Waste Management or Step Forward
Karl St-Pierre: 1982 or 1988?
throwingxbricks: 1988. most of the bands i like are a lot are from that era, and if i could grow up in any era in hardcore it'd be in nyc between 1987-1991
Karl St-Pierre: nikes or vans?
throwingxbricks: nikes. grew up with nikes all my life and only owned like 2 pairs of vans ever
Karl St-Pierre: Stop And Think demo 1 or 2?
throwingxbricks: 1st
Karl St-Pierre: the way it is or new breed
throwingxbricks: fuuuuuuuck. the way it is. but it's close.
Karl St-Pierre: i think that about wraps it up. anything else you wanna add?
throwingxbricks: Keep an eye out for that new record and for all the youngins reading start bands, make zines, and keep on supporting hardcore bands. Keep this shit alive! XXX
http://www.myspace.com/alertstraightedge
throwingxbricks: yeah
Karl St-Pierre: ok state your name, age, place of living and the band/bands you play in.
throwingxbricks: I'm Keith, 22 years old. I live in Springfield, Mass and I play in Alert, and another band I'd rather not mention haha
Karl St-Pierre: word. what do you play in alert and that mysterious band you won't talk about
throwingxbricks: Bass in both bands. I also play guitar in a band called Use Your Head! but I'm not really sure on the status of that band
Karl St-Pierre: aight so how exactly did it begin? what was your first show and first record?
throwingxbricks: For hardcore? First show was kind of mixed but this band from New Hampshire called Mercury Switch played here and that was pretty cool I guess. Not really into them now but it was all new to me so I got hooked on going to many local shows after that. First record? It's hard for me to remember it was either Bane - The Note or the first Suicidal Tendencies record which my friend's mom gave me
Karl St-Pierre: thats cool. so as far as i know alert is a straight edge band, how long have you been straight edge for exactly?
throwingxbricks: Going on 5 years I think. Once I found out what it was I was all about it. I've never really done any drugs or anything before stumbling upon hardcore.
Karl St-Pierre: what's the status of alert right now? who's in the band at the moment and are you guys playing any shows? what's in the future?
throwingxbricks: Puffer on vocals, Kyle on guitar and Brendan on drums. We're basically in the process of writing a couple more songs for a 7" that should be out this winter on Six Feet Under Records. Once we do that I'm not really sure what the future has in store but I know we're all really excited to be doing this record.
Karl St-Pierre: what should we expect for the new record?
throwingxbricks: Definitely expect a similar sound. We didn't do anything groundbreaking or very different that our usual stuff, but I think these songs are more solid and I definitely think this record will be better than the demo. For sure
Karl St-Pierre: word. i dig the demo alot so i'm stoked to hear the 7". how did Alert start and how many OG members are left in the line up?
throwingxbricks: We started summer 08. I had met out original drummer Will earlier that year as well as Kyle and found out they were interested in starting a band influenced by that whole Youth Of Today era sound. Wide Awake, Judge, Side By Side, all that stuff, so everyone got together though at the time no one knew each other except through me. The rest is history. Last winter Will left us to pursue other things and we picked up Brendan.
Karl St-Pierre: you guys were supposed to play This Is Hardcore this year, what happened to that?
throwingxbricks: Hahahaha yeah we were supposed to play a couple songs but it was supposed to be a surprise I guess and some friends found out and posted it on a message board. No more surprise so we didn't play. Not that big of a deal, though.
Karl St-Pierre: is anyone in the band vegetarian/vegan?
throwingxbricks: I'm vegetarian and Mike is vegan. Kyle and Brendan aren't but when we had Will he was also vegetarian
Karl St-Pierre: word. staying on this topic what would be your favorite vegetarian song
throwingxbricks: No More. Awesome song and music video
Karl St-Pierre: definately. that video is also the epitome of style, no doubt. in a normal week, approximately how many hours do you lurk ebay for gear?
throwingxbricks:Honestly I haven't lurked ebay for a while. I just don't have the funds for that anymore, though I once in a while glance to see if I can find that Wide Awake red Schism shirt I've still be trying to track down
Karl St-Pierre: who's your favorite band in 2010 so far?
throwingxbricks: Does Sick Of It All count?
Karl St-Pierre: no.
throwingxbricks: It's really hard then because so many current bands I like a lot. I'd probably have to go with Waste Management or Step Forward
Karl St-Pierre: 1982 or 1988?
throwingxbricks: 1988. most of the bands i like are a lot are from that era, and if i could grow up in any era in hardcore it'd be in nyc between 1987-1991
Karl St-Pierre: nikes or vans?
throwingxbricks: nikes. grew up with nikes all my life and only owned like 2 pairs of vans ever
Karl St-Pierre: Stop And Think demo 1 or 2?
throwingxbricks: 1st
Karl St-Pierre: the way it is or new breed
throwingxbricks: fuuuuuuuck. the way it is. but it's close.
Karl St-Pierre: i think that about wraps it up. anything else you wanna add?
throwingxbricks: Keep an eye out for that new record and for all the youngins reading start bands, make zines, and keep on supporting hardcore bands. Keep this shit alive! XXX
http://www.myspace.com/alertstraightedge
i would totally choose 88 too
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