Interview with Jordan Cooper (Revelation Records)

Here's the beginning of a new batch of interviews. This one in particular is with Jordan Cooper. He and Ray Cappo started Revelation records in the 80's. To anyone in the know with hardcore and punk, Revelation in the pinnacle.



Can you give us a bit of a back story about Revelation? How it came about? How you and Ray met? Etc...

Ray and I met in high school in English class, but it was years later that we talked about putting out a record. After high school, Ray moved to New Haven where I lived at the time and started Youth Of Today. At some point we just talked about putting out a record for Warzone, and within a few months we got that to happen. Once that came out Ray had an idea for another and it continued from there.


What is your position in the hardcore scene currently? Do you still attend shows regularly?

I only occasionally go to shows at this point, but most of my friends came from my involvement with hardcore in one way or another and of course running Revelation keeps me in touch with a lot of people.

Who's idea was it to start up the distro? Did you ever imagine it would get as huge as it has?

It wasn't really an idea, but something that came from the fact that a lot of people into hardcore also have bands and labels and zines and the people that worked here had stuff they they needed to distribute the way Revelation's stuff did so it just made sense to ship everything together. We tried getting some Dischord and other labels' stuff in the mid 90s but that didn't really go anywhere. A couple of years after that, a guy named Brian Probart who worked at SST before, came in to do some sales and suggested we do some other distribution I think. By then we'd also started doing distribution for Indecision probably too. That is when the distribution really became a big part of what people here spent time on.

Do you yourself have a personal collection of all the classic/rare releases(Chung King, Warzone Lion attacking the horse, etc...)?

Of course. I think I have one copy of every pressing of almost everything we've put out.




Is there a Rev release that you are particularly proud of? Is there a single release that you would consider your favorite?

Every one of them has a certain memory attached to it and I'm proud of a lot of them for different reasons.

Greg told me to ask you about video games, so, what have you been playing lately?

I've actually not been playing video games as consistently as I used to. I used to have a pretty specific list of games that I would play every Saturday and Sunday: Missile Command, Centipede, Super Breakout, Star Castle, Pac-Man, Millipede, Stargate, Crazy Climber, Tempest and a few others. MAME is one of the best things that ever happened in the world of computers so for the past 12 years or so that I've known about it, it's been fun getting to play all the games I remember from my jr. high years. Steve Hertz (former co-owner of Ambassador Records and brother of Frosty from Chain Of Strength) runs a group of arcade game collectors called SC3. Last weekend I went to their semi-annual party and got to play some gems that I haven't seen in a long time and some that I'd never played. It's great.

Are there any upcoming games you are excited about?

I don't devote any time to looking into new games so I don't really know what's out or coming out, but any classic emulation is sort of interesting. ...although MAME seems to cover everything I care about.

What's in the pipeline now for Revelation? Any upcoming releases we should know about?

By A Thread is finally releasing a new record this year. We have a compilation coming out soon where newer bands cover some of the older Rev bands songs. Tony Rettman's book about Detroit hardcore "Why Be Something That You're Not" will be out in July. Popeye from Farside and Jeff from Gameface have a band called You're Favorite Trainwreck and I've been talking to them about putting out a record. Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything.

Lastly, any final words?

Thanks!

We are all revolutionaries.

And we are all capable of change. Whether it be world-wide or individually.

With that being said, new interviews coming very, very soon.

Interview with Aaron (Bane)

Let's start with the basics. Who are you? What band do you play in? What do you do?

I'm Aaron, I sing for the band Bane.


Can you give us a little bit of history on Bane?

We've been around for a lot of years. Started in the late 90's as a sort of side project for a couple members of the band Converge.. so in the beginning we really didn't do much, put out a few 7"s did local shows.. in '98 we were signed to Equal Vision Records and went on our first US tour..and that really put the bug in us.. and pretty much ever since we've been riding that same feeling of being in love with being away from home, playing hardcore shows, checking out cool bands and making friends all over the place. We've been very very lucky to be able to do that for as long as we've been. Dudes have gotten older, some are married, some have children, houses and responsibilities that we really didn't have to face back in our youth, but we still love this music and believe in this community, so we do what we can we can. Last year we recorded 2 7"s worth of new material as well as a couple songs for At Both Ends fanzine.. so it feels good to have some new songs out and a whole bunch of tours lined up this year to play them on. Hopefully we'll see some of you there.


What is new on the horizon for Bane? Any plans for an upcoming full length?

I don't think a full LP is very realistic for us right now..schedules are hard..one member is living in New Mexico i think and we really have a busy touring schedule ahead of us through 2010.. we were hoping to write 3 more songs this year and have EVR put those out along with all of the songs we released last year on a "Holding This Moment" like collection..but now its starting to feel like that might not even happen this year. Its hard, its hard getting everyone on the same page, in the same place, at the same time these days.




You (and Bane) seem to be one of the bands that are looked up to in the hardcore scene? Do you have a particular person/band who was like that to you?

God there are so many..pretty much everything Ian Mckaye has been involved in has been a huge influence to me. Those early American Nightmare shows and releases had me feeling as excited about HC as I'd ever been. Have Heart and the way they handled their explosive impact on the scene, the way never lost track of why they started that band or who they were as people..was also very inspiring to me..classic bands who still all these years later get my blood racing, give me that feeling that I can take on the world.. Unbroken, Burn, Swiz, Y-Di, Chain of Strength, Straight Ahead.


After many years being involves in hardcore and straight edge, have any of your stances/beliefs changed?

Sure, I'd say most of my believes, stances, opinions, ethics have changed drastically throughout the many yeas that Bane has been a band..you can't help but grow and evolve and learn from your mistakes, realize how petty certain things really turn out to be and also learn how important certain things are that you may have overlooked when you wee naive and young and so sure you had everything figured out.. being in a band is like being in a relationship..it forces you to really learn about compromise, and sacrifice and patience.. the importance of listening to what others think and putting yourself into their shoes from time to time.. you really rely on each other when your on the other side of the world and there's just not a lot of room for selfishness
I feel like we've all matured so much thanks to the many places we've been and things we've seen..the love and support and unbelievable generosity that we've been shown because of this music, this scene that stuff really shapes you..shows you whats really important and what is beneath you.


What's good in 2010 hardcore?

The Rival fucking Mob.


What is your preferred site for online poker? I am thinking of joining a site and I know you're a card guy.

I play on Full Tilt.. know plenty of people who play on Poker Stars and have heard no complaints about the integrity or trustworthiness of either site. it's the playing well part that's up to you.


What are the requirements for the most supreme burrito?

Cheese, mad cheese and spicy sauce.


Big thanks for the interview! Any last words?
we have a very busy year ahead.. you can keep up with us on twitter or facebook.. I don't really know if anyone fucks with myspace anymore..but I did just post some tour dates over there.

Oh and see the movie, Un Prophete.

I couldn't say it any better if I tried

I am incomplete damaged and imperfect
This world is not divided between saints and sinners
Forgive me for being human...

Less money on records

More money on record players.







ALSO, there will be more interviews soon, I promise. I also promise to keep up to date with this a little better than I have the past few weeks.

ALSO, I highly recommend people check out ZIP. It's like the Canadian version of Netflix. Super rad.

Greg

Over the past few weeks I have had the honor a privilege to be able to talk to Greg Bennick over the all-powerful facebook. He is one of the most interesting human beings I have ever come in contact with, and despite only knowing him through his words on a keyboard, and a record in my collection, he is one of the most inspiring and touching figures I have in my life.

Here is an interview I did with him recently

Are you able to talk in detail about the current existence/non-existence of Trial?
GREG: Trial is on an indefinite break due to the the sad and sudden death last fall of our bassist Brian Redman. We had been talking extensively about playing more shows but the idea of playing without Brian is still something that we can't come to terms with at this time. I can barely even think about him without my brain just shutting down and my heart feeling likes its going to explode. It was like, and it is like, losing a brother. Its just too sad. I love Trial and always will, but now is a time of looking forward to new projects, and new inspirations.


Did you political and dietary views grow from being involved with Trial and hardcore, or were they something that you were involved in previously?
GREG: Both happened as a result of being involved in hardcore and punk music. I first started listening to hardcore music around 1984. My friend Chris had climbed up onto his parents rooftop in Connecticut where we lived and had put an antenna up there so he could get radio signals from New York City of all the punk and rap stations there. He started recording what he was picking up onto cassettes and bringing those tapes over to my place. This was my introduction to punk rock. I was amazed by what I heard. I had been listening to heavy metal (Ratt, Motley Crue, etc – the best music basically ever) and while I thought they were intense, I had no idea what was being played out in the world by people in the punk community. It really inspired me and turned my brain inside out in a really good and creative way. In high school I had gotten interested in Native American rights after taking a class taught by a Native teacher who offered his own personal experiences as part of the class curriculum. But it wasn’t until the early 1990’s when I toured with Inside Out in 1993 and the Western Shoshone Defense Project that I became deeply interested in social justice issues when I learned about the Shoshone’s land rights struggles (check www.wsdp.org for more information). Trial formed in 1995 and I started speaking about ideas and getting involved then, and that’s continued until today.



What projects are you currently working on? I know that Philosopher Kings was recently released, and I also heard you were doing trips to Haiti. What is going on with these projects?
GREG: The trip to Haiti came out of nowhere, much like the earthquake itself. I'd been to Haiti a year and a half ago while filming The Philosopher Kings. The film is about wisdom seen through the eyes of custodians at pretigious American universities. One of the custodians is from Princeton University and he was born and raised in Haiti. His name is Josue Lajeunesse. His dream is to make sure his village has access to clean water. We flew to Haiti and filmed him there and captured his passion for that dream on film. We’d planned on going back in January to film more for our new project, which specifically focuses on that dream, but of course the earthquake pre-empted that. I needed to do something for Haiti. I sailed to Haiti on a sailboat with nine other people along with ten thousand pounds of medical supplies and food. We were one of the first independent boats to reach the southern coast of Haiti. It was an all-volunteer crew. You can read more about my perspectives on this trip on my blog at http://gregbennick.com/blog/ and especially be sure to check out the ship’s blog at http://www.libertyschooner.com. After that trip, I wanted to do something more. When the Liberty Schooner decided to return to Haiti with more supplies, I helped to arrange for thirty thousand pounds of rice to be onboard. About eighty people worldwide helped donate money to this cause. Soon I will be starting an initiative called One Hundred For Haiti (http://www.onehundredforhaiti.com), and the mission of the group will be to find “The One Hundred”: one hundred people, business, corporations, and associations worldwide who are willing to donate $1000 each to Haiti relief efforts. I already have two organizations willing to each be one of The One Hundred. Sage V Foods who are a food distributor from Arkansas, and dept. Z which is a high end hair salon from Spokane WA. Haiti was decimated by the earthquake, and rebuilding the country is something everyone can help with whether we contribute money, time, creativity, or even if we put out efforts elsewhere. The key is to get involved and to stay involved.



How long have you been vegan and straight edge and have your ideas and/or beliefs changed over the years?
GREG: I quit drinking and drugs on September 30th, 1988. I became vegetarian that same day too. I was 17 and after a night at a party where people trashed an outside space which had been beautiful hours before but ended up destroyed and covered in garbage, I realized that drinking for me was not only destructive internally but externally as well. I cleaned that park up by myself at 6 AM the next morning and never looked back. I didn’t go vegan until 1991, but since then, no my beliefs have remained the same. No exceptions and no compromise. I am true til 95. People in the hardcore community like saying “true til death” but that sounds like a long time to me. I have always said that I am true til age 95. I figure if I make it that long, that I deserve to have a huge party and get seriously loaded. Yes, in the song “This is Not a Trend” I said “its for life that I embrace the edge”, but that’s only because it would have sounded weird to sing “Its until age 95 that I embrace the edge and then I am going to drink more than you ever have”.


Are there any current bands in hardcore/punk that have been striking your attention as of late?
GREG: I like To Kill. They are from Rome and they are dedicated to sharing a message about political and social awareness. They asked me to do spoken word on their record last year and this was a benefit for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Sea Shepherd has been getting a lot of criticism lately because of their fame on the Whale Wars show. But I really have to ask: who else is policing those who break the law in the oceans? No one. I love Sea Shepherd and think they are worthy of everyone’s support and attention. To Kill are an awesome band with a powerful approach to their music. And they are really nice people. Listening to them you would think they are mean and huge, but they are not huge, or mean. I also really like Anchor from Stockholm. They, in my humble opinion, are Europe’s #1 party band. I have also been listening to a lot of Behemoth’s new full length “Evangelion”, but this is arguably not very punk.


Are there any new projects in production with you right now? Whether it be musically, a new film, or anything else?
GREG: We just finished recording, mixing, and mastering the six song Between Earth and Sky EP for Refuse Records from Berlin/Warsaw. I can’t wait for it to be out. We have been thinking about, planning, and hoping to do this record for ten years. We will be starting to work on an LP soon too. Expect that LP be to be out sometime in the year 2043. The EP however will be out this summer. I am also just starting production on a film called “La Source” about a village in Haiti who desperately need a permanent water system and the dream of one man (Josue Lajeunesse who I mentioned earlier when I was talking about Haiti) to make that water system a reality. You can check out more about the film at http://www.lasourcemovie.com. I am also working on a few book projects, one with Brian Peterson who wrote Burning Fight, and another that I am just getting started on inspired by the Trial “Are These Our Lives?” record and the ideas in it. I am hoping too to do a lot of speaking this year and in 2011. People who have interest in putting together a show should get in touch anytime.

Any last words?
GREG: Yes! Thank you for the interview. Its always good to meet new people, so anyone who has questions about any of the things I talked about here or who just wants to say hi should get in touch on Facebook and we’ll connect. My facebook is http://www.facebook.com/gregbennick and I will love to hear from you anytime.

Total Badass

Really stoked to see this.