The interview started with us talking about the legitimacy of AN zip-ups and how easy it would be for Brian, their roadie, to pick up girls on Richmond St. on a Saturday night. We basically ended up joking around for the whole thing. This entire interview is not serious at all
SITC: Okay, so let’s do this for real.
Brian: Let’s do this.
SITC: So who are you, what do you do, why do you do it?
Brian: I’m Brian. I play guitar because…uh… I’m a gigger. I love to gig.
Tom: I’m Tom and I play bass in Forfeit.
Ben: Hey. My name’s Ben and I play drums because I like to bang. (Everyone chuckles)
SITC: Alright, so how did Forfeit start and how long have you guys been a band?
Ben: Forfeit’s been a band for about two years. It all started with me and this guy Tom Damiano, right here, jammin out. We used to be in a more fast paced… I wouldn’t say Youth-type, but just more punk based hardcore band. And we wanted to go back to the roots, put a little New York style and our own style into it and here we are.
Brian: And I saved the band. No big deal. When it was falling apart, I brought it together. I saved it. I brought it back together.
Tom: For the record, the band was fine before.
SITC: How’d you save it?
Brian: Well, two members happened to quit and they were about to break… they were about to stop the band. So I was like, “You shouldn’t do that. I’m gonna save the band.” And we went on tour with Attitude last winter and it was awesome.
Tom: I was ready to keep the band going just me, Ben and Steve.
Brian: Power Trio, but um…
Tom: Bass, Drum, Vocal, no guitar.
SITC: (to Ben) Any input?
Ben: All I have to say is Tom originally started playing guitar and then when he (Brian) came in, Tom played bass and he saved it.
SITC: What are your goals with the band then? Where do you want to take this thing?
Ben: I just wanna see the world, go on tour. I don’t give two shits about making any money. I mean, I’ve spent so much money out of my pocket. And we’re gonna continue to do this until we die. Tom knows what’s up.
Tom: My goals are play as much as we can, tour the world cause I’d like to see place and I like… I love hardcore.
Brian: I wanna gig as much as possible.
SITC: Just gigging?
Brian: Yeah. I love gigging, so I’m gonna try and do that for awhile.
Tom: Can we get some fun stuff?
SITC: What’s that?
Tom: Can we get some fun stuff? (Everyone laughs, speaks over each other.)
SITC: Fun questions? Someone told me to ask you this and I don’t know if it pertains to you guys but what is your involvement with the Mental Mosh Camp video on YouTube?
Tom: No association at all.
Ben: We have no association with that. There was this kid that went to Oswego who has a mullet. It’s his fault.
Brian: I have no association with the uh…Mental Mosh Camp video. But I do fully support Mental…
Ben: And moshing.
Tom: And camp.
Brian: And mosh at camp but I was not in that video. But Lockin’ Out Records is the best label in hardcore.
SITC: Next to Reaper Records or?
Brian: Second only to Reaper Records.
Tom: Reaper Records is the best label in hardcore.
Brian: Better than Def Jam. Better than Island.
Ben: Better than Death Row.
SITC: Alright, so, um what sort of ideas does Forfeit’s message touch on? Do you guys… Where do the lyrics come from… all that?
Ben: I know… Ask our singer that question. (Everybody laughs.)
SITC: Where’s your singer? Where’s your singer?
Brian: I think he’s drinking Duff energy drink right now, and uh, lying down. He’s bleeding a lot…
Ben: I think uh… our message and lyrics and stuff… basically… not just Steve himself but he’s the one who writes the lyrics but… we’re pretty much a pissed off band and we’ll things out that piss us off…
Brian: Self-frustration.
Ben: Self-frustration and things that piss us off. Not only people. Animals, objects, nouns…
Brian: Countries.
Ben: Adjectives, verbs.
Brian: Cities.
Ben: Lisps, speech impediments. (Everyone starts laughing.) Mentally handicapped. No you can’t… (Ben walks away, everyone laughs.) I shouldn’t be talking! You won’t put that in. I’ll kill you. You won’t. You won’t…
SITC: So, I guess, because you’re not singing, what do you want… like kids are watching you guys play and they’re like, “whoa, these guys are…”
Ben: …going crazy. I know when I drum everyone… I can already tell that I’m goin’ crazy cause I can’t see a thing around me.
Brian: And he pukes every gig.
Ben: Not every gig. Just about every gig. I puke while I play drums.
SITC: Why didn’t you puke tonight?
Ben: I had a fan blowing on me. It was actually blowing on everybody but before we played I stole it and put it behind, on myself. I’m selfish like that.
SITC: Keep the hair out of your eyes?
Ben: I don’t have long hair. I ain’t no Euro. Whoa! Alright, that was bad… I ain’t no 80s hair-metal Poison, Motley Crue band. Jesus. We are the wrong people to talk to.
Brian: We are alienating our fans.
SITC: What’d you guys think of the show tonight though?
Ben: Show tonight was awesome. Thought that the show in Toronto was gonna be awesome and I expected it to be awesome and that’s what I got.
Tom: Awesome show and met a lot of cool people and I support the barbecue.
Ben: And uh… that dude Greg, who put on the show, fuckin’ fed me and was barbecuin’ for everyone and then made me do all the bitch work. (Everyone laughs.) Fuck that dude.
SITC: How many hot dogs or hamburgers did you eat before you played though?
Ben: I had three hamburgers and a veggie dog.
Brian: I had three veggie dogs and they were awesome.
Tom: I didn’t know we could have that much. I had two hamburgers and a veggie dog.
SITC: So, alright, back to the serious stuff. Less of the fun stuff.
Brian: That wasn’t serious? Because I really did eat three hot dogs.
Ben: I had three hamburgers and a hot dog!
Tom: I seriously did it!
SITC: So when it comes to the hardcore community and all the bullshit and all the good shit, what’s important to the band?
Ben: That everybody’s just havin’ a good time. You know, I always hate how people always gotta hate on each other for the stupidest reasons. You know what, we’re all people, we’re all angry at the world, we don’t have to be angry at each other.
SITC: Positive message.
Brian: Positive Ben, he loves stickin’ to the PMA. Moose Jerky.
SITC: Yeah what’s Moose Jerky about?
Ben: I was about to say somethin that I probably shouldn’t have said.
Tom: Yeah you’re causin a lot (trails off)…
All: No comment.
Ben: Internet 2009, that’s all I’ve gotta say. (unclear)
SITC: So I guess… You guys are from Syracuse… it’s a pretty, I guess, epic hardcore community. What’s it like being from there?
Ben: Karl Buechner… No, just kidding. (guys start laughing). We didn’t say anything!
Tom: Nah, we get a lot of support from a lot of the older guys which is awesome cause it means a lot to us cause it’s like all the bands that we really listen to a lot and look up to.
Ben: And uh, the scene as a whole and its, you know, any scene has its hit or miss shows but you get’em all together and usually it’s always a blast. There’s… you know… over the years bullshit’s died down and hopefully it stays that way.
Tom: Syracuse Straight Edge.
[PART OF TAPE DAMAGED]
SITC: Got it. Did you guys ever go to the Path of Resistance reunion?
Ben: Well we were actually… I’ve been to one of’em but this past one that happened on New Years Day we were actually on tour. We were playing a show in Pensacola, FL at the time but that show was and people tore down a door while we played. Mosh pits.
Brian: Yup. Mosh pits.
SITC: So I guess, what’s next for Forfeit? Now that the 7″ is out…
Ben: Now, Canada. Next, the world. Right?
Tom: We’ve got a full U.S. coming up and we’re hitting Europe in the Winter.
Brian: Yeah check out Atlanta, from… uh, haha, check out Foundation from Atlanta. Uh we’re goin out with them this summer. Atlanta Straight Edge. They’re awesome. They sound like Trial.
Tom: Can we do a shoutout?
SITC: Yeah sure, you can do a shoutout.
Tom: I wanna say thank you to Pauly from Meltdown, he’s done a lot of work for this band.
Brian: Patrick Kitzul, Forfeit Crew, Trapped Under Ice.
Ben: Anton (unclear) son!
Tom: Attitude.
Ben: Attitude. Tom Ranger no stranger.
Brian: Everybody go to their last shows.
Tom: MikexZero.
SITC: Anything else you guys wanna say?
Ben: Eat chicken wings til you puke and after you puke, mosh.
Tom: Brotherhood, Forfeit Crew, Attitude, Meltdown, Trapped Under Ice, Terror, One Man Mosh Crew.
Ben: Merauder. Life is Pain. Master Killer. Ugh. Straight Up! Scott Vogel!
Tom: Mike X cut his hair.
Ben: Ghostface! Wu-Tang! O.D.B.R.I.P.!
SITC: Do you expect big things from the new Merauder record?
Ben: The Gangster?
SITC: Yeah.
Ben: I heard a few of the new tracks. It will tear someone a new asshole.
Brian: Yo, big ups to the best drink I’ve ever had tonight, which is Orangina? (Chuckles) Big ups!
Ben: Can we start this interview over?
Tom: That was our warm up right?
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