INTERVIEW
NORTH SIDE KINGS
by Josh Hyatt, October 2006

Who are the North Side Kings? And how long has the band been around?

Danny: NSK is a bunch of buddies just having fun playing and writing music. We have been around since 1999 and have had a ton of different friends play in this band. I would say we are at the most solid line up to date at the moment.

Have the band members been in any other bands before this one?

Yeah, Ryan has in some killer grindcore bands like Unruh, Structure of Lies. Our drummer Jason was in N17 for a million years. Tom our bass player was in Hillbilly Devilspeak and in AZ - those guys were legends. I played guitar in Cause For Alarm, 187, All Time Low, and our guitarist Luke was in the notorious Mob 40's that brought terror to the west coast for a number of years. I was scared of the Mob 40's! Ha-ha

What bands or people have made a major impact on the members?

Each one of us is different - Tom is an old school skater who grew up listening to bands like JFA and Day-Glo Abortions. I was more a metal and old school hardcore kid - growing up in NJ the scene was way different than the west coast punk. Ryan is a death metal and grindcore guy - I can't read the band names on 95% of his T-shirts, crazy metal shit. Each one of us comes from a different but related background that makes NSK what it is. Our songs on the records switch a lot more than your average hardcore bands style. I don't know if it’s a good or a bad thing but I enjoy the diversity.  

What’s up with this Anton Levey curse thing I heard about?

Who knows, supposedly he put a curse on us because Danzig played his wedding and he asked him too. I think it’s hilarious. I bought the Passion of Christ on DVD so I am safe.

Got any political statements to make or any opinions to be heard?

I just wish the world wasn't so fucked up. It bums me out to watch the news and see so much violence, hunger, sickness, and anger that we all are carrying towards each other. Maybe I am getting more chilled out these days, but there isn't much I can do anyway.

You had mentioned you had a recipe for cooking a steak indoors, tell us about it.

It’s a basic restaurant recipe. Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Take a stovetop turn it up super hot. Put a little olive oil in a frying pan. Take a nice rib eye; rub kosher salt and pepper on it. When the pan is super hot put the steak in the pan - sear each side. When steak is seared take off stovetop and put a chunk of butter in side of pan and spoon on top of steak.
Then take the entire pan with steak and put in the oven. This cooks the inside. All you need is about 5 min for medium rare. When you take it out of the oven grab a Pabst Blue Ribbon and enjoy the steak. Mmmmmmm....

What are some of the more favorite foods the band likes to eat?

Fuck we can eat like champions. As we are getting older we are getting fatter. Hahaha

You guys are out in Arizona right?  What’s the scene like out there?

Its a weird scene - the hardcore scene is very P.C. and we are the farthest fucking guys from that. It’s very tight knit and everyone knows everybody. The punk scene here is much bigger - just check out www.azpunk.com. But we have a lot of good friends here, that's all that counts.

I love Cause For Alarm, what was it like being in that band?

I was the kid - all those guys were in their early thirties. I had just turned 20. They made me pay my dues, no doubt. But I made some good friends and learned a lot of what to do and not to do with North Side Kings. Scaglione took me under his wing and I owe him a debt for life.

Ever see any old mobsters that are in the witness protection program out there?  Ha! Ha!

Sammy the Bull - before he got locked up again you would see him and his kid around town. I've met a few others too - an old bookie I would bet on football here and there with was a retired guy. Lets leave that at that. But this is a music retirement community. Roger Miret from Agnostic Front lives here, Todd from Warzone, Rig from Madball, you would be surprised whom you run into around town at shows!

When the band is not in the studio or on the road, do they work or just hang out?

Shit everybody’s must work - no one makes money in music unless you’re on heavy rotation on MTV! You show me a hardcore band where the guys don't work outside of music and I'll show you some people who are dealing drugs for extra cash!

How come you guys never play Indiana? (I think I know the answer to that one)

Ha ha! We don't tour a lot. Fly us to Indiana, cover the expenses, let me grill some food in your backyard after the show, you got yourself NSK for an evening!

Wasn't one of the guys that was in the band a while ago also in sheer terror?

Tony Scagione was - after Cause For Alarm him and me started North Side Kings. He moved to GA though, got married had a kid. We talk a lot though, I love that guy.

Does the band have a new release on the way?

We just recorded a new record a few months ago, we are shopping. The record is called Suburban Royalty - we have the master copy already, cover artwork, the whole deal is done. Puerto Rican Myke of Skarhead sang on two tracks, Jason from Authority Zero did some vocals too. We are just shopping for a new home. Everything is ready to go otherwise. We put a track up on our myspace page.

Allied forces is fucking awesome, how did you hook up with Stampin' Ground?

That was all Thorp - I wish our recording was better. Ian who used to be in Stampin Ground is a hell of a guy. I was happy to do that - I love covers!

From what i have heard, Thorp Records is a great label, how did the band get hooked up with Andy?

Andy King is golden. Nicest guy you could ever meet. When we first started we had sent a demo to relapse. I knew it wasn't a label that put out hardcore, but there’s a few bands on there I really like so I said what the hell. Anyways, the owner liked it but since it was different than his normal releases, he gave it to Andy who was starting a label. Andy called me, a few months later our first record was out. I liked Andy from the start - real good friend.

Since you guys work, what kind of work are you in?

I own a business, Luke is in construction, Tom is a rape prevention teacher and goes to all the schools in the area, Butler owns a studio here in town called Arcane Digital Recording, and Jason is an electrician.

Why is everyone moving to Arizona?  I thought Roger would have preferred the east coast.

It’s beautiful here - the sun is always shinning, it’s clean, it’s a better way of life. Everything is more chill it’s like the whole state smokes weed. People are a lot calmer.

Tell us all about the new album. I think it’s great that Myke 9 is on there. District 9 was great and skarhead is legendary!

Myke is a real good friend of mine. He lives up in Colorado now and I broke his balls for a year to do a few tracks! Its like Organizing Our Neighborhood but heavier. We got a new drummer so he gave us a bit of a heavier touch. It’s pretty fast. There are 11 tracks. We recorded a cover of Joan Jett's Bad Reputation for it, some other tracks are titled This Means War, My Sins, and we wrote a song about the 80's classic horror flick Street Trash. I am a huge horror fan. We are making a video for that one - I have been in talks with the producer and writer Roy of that movie about licensing footage from the movie for the video! The two tracks Myke did are called Hustle Don't Stop (Blood Money Anthem) and Nice Girls Finish Last. Depending on which label picks it up is when I'll know more of when it comes out.
Are there any other Arizona HC or punk bands that we should be checking out?

George Moshington is something else - really funny hardcore band that dresses retarded and does all kids of fucked up shit at their shows. One Thousand Mornings.

Since you have been around for a while in the scene, how would you say it has changed over the years?

It’s become a bit more metal - which I can't say I can complain about since I grew up on more metal. I am bored of the chugga chugga hardcore, but then on the other hand all these bands that are super technical aren't too interesting either. When did having a chorus or a sing along become a bad thing? I try to stick to the Beatles format. Maybe I am getting old but it’s a bunch of noise.

Is there anything in the scene you would want to change or something you'd like to see get better?

Less fighting at shows is an issue. There is too much crew violence shutting down venues. When we play in our own hometown we have to pay extra for security. What the fuck happened to make hardcore more dangerous than going to a hip hop show? At least the hip hop guys committing violent acts at shows are gangsters, hustling to make money. You got crews going to shows starting trouble meanwhile these fools aren't hustling. They are not making money through their "crew". Seriously, what's the point? I am not saying I am not friends with any guys in different crews across the country - and in some cases where there is a strong Nazi Skin presence for example there is a point - there needs to be an army to stand against an army. But the victorious army ends up becoming the same thing. There are a few crews here in AZ and I made it my point to keep everyone getting along as one big family. That's what it should be. AZ - we all know each other and we have come to respect everyone too. Well - except bands that come through whom get shitty with AZ kids - there have been a few that have gotten fucked up recently. But that's another deal!

Links:

http://www.northsidekings.net

http://www.myspace.com/northsidekings