Tag: cbgb

Rebel Rebel

Post author By Deb Martin
Post date February 27, 2020

In John Varvatos’s world, music and fashion combine to create a lifestyle brand for those about to rock.

by Deborah L. Martin photography by Andrew Matusik

JOHN VARVATOS IS A ROCK AND ROLL guy, and he arrives at his Bowery flagship store
for our 8 am call time looking the part: skinny jeans, leather jacket, stone-cold stare. It’s clear that he hasn’t been in the store in a while and he busies himself with his team, doing some merchandising. “I don’t want these shirts like this. People don’t shop this way.” He’s walking around the store doing something that people who know retail understand. He is shaking things up. When we sit down to talk, I nd that this is a phrase he uses often, and it’s something he is proud of. “In my company, we hire a lot of young people, in the design studio, in sales, in the stores. It’s inspiring to be around. I’m someone who loves change and I’m so in there with them. I just want to shake shit up. I say it all the time, it’s in my DNA.”

As it turns out, the stone-cold stare is the public face, and behind that is a warm, funny guy who is a bit verklempt, and grateful, for the way his life has turned out.

John Varvatos the brand, and John Varvatos the man are both known for their rock and roll edge—from the musicians who have appeared in his ad campaigns to the New York flagship location in the former home of CBGBs, Varvatos has managed to weave his passions together in a way that eschews the normal ebb and ow of “fashion.” He says, “Music was my energy force as a young kid growing up in Detroit, in a 900-square-foot home with seven people. My escape was to put my headphones on—it transported me someplace else.” That love of music is the baseline for everything he does.

“I don’t really use the word fashion,” he says. “I talk about style. Our designs are inspired by my sense of rebelliousness and toughness, which is what rock and roll stands for.” He knows his customer. “Our guys range from Wall Street and business people to music artists, but they all have that creative bone.” He continues, “We don’t think about fashion of the moment. For me, style is more timeless. Our customer doesn’t need something obvious. They are the anti-obvious.”

And what about those musicians?

“They are probably the smallest part of our business, but thank goodness we have them, because they add a cool vibe.” Varvatos has called on some of those rockers to star in his ad campaigns. “All those people have become friends. They do it because they want to be associated with the brand. There’s no real money of any consequence attached to it, but they like the association, they like me, and we have a relationship. Like anything else, it has to be good for everyone. and it is good for them, as well.”

The list of names who have appeared reads like a list of inductees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ziggy Marley, Ringo Starr, Kiss, Iggy Pop, Chris Cornell, Alice Cooper, Dave Matthews, Questlove, ZZ Top, Jimmy Page—the star-studded roster goes on and on. Varvatos says, “The guys from Kiss invited me to their farewell tour, and it’s the friendship that’s important. The thing I’m proudest and most humble about is that they consider me one of their own, and not just some fashion guy that’s trying to get rock stars to be in his ads.”Varvatos isn’t just “some fashion guy.” He started in Midwest sales for Ralph Lauren in 1983, and moved his way up the ladder, eventually taking a design post in New York. In 1990, he joined Calvin Klein, where he launched the menswear collection, the cK brand, and the hugely successful underwear line, in the process gifting the world with Mark Wahlberg in boxer briefs (which he invented by cutting the legs o long johns). After a short stint at London Fog, he rejoined Ralph Lauren as vice president in charge of men’s design for all Polo Ralph Lauren brands. In 1998 he joined Nautica Enterprises, who agreed to back his own brand, which launched in 1999

“These were great learning places for me.

I’m still close with Ralph and Calvin, and they respect what I do. When your mentors give you cred, it’s a humbling thing.” He chokes up a little when he says, “My wife ran into Ralph in the park and he told her, ‘I’m so proud of John, he really did what he said he was going to do.’”

He views the brand as a culture, and the Bowery store—once the site of one of the most infamous clubs in music history, CBGB & OMFUG—is a big part of that culture. “We are really thrilled with the people who come to visit the store because of its history. They want to come in and hang out and it’s all about the culture. That’s why we do concerts in the space. We clear out all of the clothes and turn it into a club again.”

In addition to the clothing, there is also the punk documentary produced with Iggy Pop, a music label, the annual Love Rocks concert for Gods Love We Deliver, relationships with AMFAR and Stuart House in LA, and a brand new tequila launch with friend, Nick Jonas. “I started the music label about four years ago, with Universal and Republic records. We signed the Zac Brown Band, and we had a multi-platinum album right out of the gate.” After leaving Universal, Varvatos teamed up with Scott Borchetta and created Big Machine John Varvatos Records. The label’s first band is a young group called Bad ower. Varvatos says, “They are one of the most incredible bands I’ve heard over the last 10 years. I was in LA in the spring and the kids were lining up for four hours before the show because they wanted to get the best place in the theater. When I saw that I had goosebumps. For me, it’s about helping young artists and their voice.” The label has just added another band out of Wales called Pretty vicious.

Varvatos friendship with Nick Jonas goes back to a dinner party where they were seated together.

“We realized we had a lot in common, including a love of tequila. The next day he called me and said ‘I’m in the recording studio and I’d like to play you some of the new music.’ When I got to the studio, there was a bottle of tequila sitting on the soundboard. For the next few hours, we drank tequila and talked about life.” The friendship developed into a fashion and fragrance collaboration and just this summer, villa One tequila was born. Varvatos says, “I’m proud of it, and of my friendship with Nick. He’s half my age but he has the heart and soul of someone who is much older.”

The success of the brand, and his passion for music have taken him on a wild ride. “To quote the Grateful Dead, it’s been a long strange trip. It was never a plan.
I wanted to be a musician but I wasn’t a good musician, I didn’t have a great voice. But I lived through the music and organically this happened.” He continues, “We didn’t even talk about rock and roll when we started the brand. And then suddenly Jimmy Page is calling and telling me he’s coming to New York and says he loves my stuff and wants to meet up. These people become friends because we have a similar core ethos.”

Varvatos is at the top of his game, enjoying the adventure, challenging himself and his brand. “Success isn’t just about the product. It’s about what you do that’s different from the rest. If you don’t do something different, there’s no reason for being. I am so blessed. I get to do all of these cool things that I never could have dreamed of as a kid. I’m so blessed.”

https://www.dtm.wix2wp.site/easy-rider-celeb…-city-music-hall/

Culture Entertainment Events Movies News Uncategorized

New Basquiat doc by filmmaker Sara Driver opens at IFC

Post author By Deb Martin
Post date May 11, 2018

Jean-Michel Basquiat by Robert Carrithers

Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat opened tonight at IFC Center, in Greenwich Village. The documentary, by filmmaker Sara Driver, explores the artist’s early life on the streets of New York, and how the city, and the time, shaped his work. Driver, who was part of the Downtown scene, says, “I wanted Basquiat to be a touchstone throughout the film. I saw what Alexis Adler had saved from when she lived with him. After Hurricane Sandy I went to her house and she said, ‘Sara I just pulled all of this stuff out of storage and I have all this work of Jean-Michel’s, his writings, and his notebooks.'” Driver continues, “She had forgotten about it for 30 years. And then I remembered I had a box of clothes he painted. When I looked at all of it I saw it was an insight into him and his experimenting and finding his way as an young artist, but it was also about our city.”

The film is a visual time capsule of pre-gentrification New York in the 1970’s and early 1980’s when fires burned in barrels and on street corners, and buildings lay empty and gutted. The middle class had flown to the suburbs, and the streets were empty and silent. Punk rock, art, and performance coalesced and formed at places like CBGBs, Max’s Kansas City, the Mudd Club, and Club 57.

Through rare film clips, photos, and interviews with former and current denizens of Downtown such as Fab 5 Freddy, Jim Jarmusch, Alexis Adler, Diego Cortez, and Lee Quinones, among others, the film explores Basquiat’s beginnings through the lens of the scene in Lower Manhattan, where new ideas about art, music, performance, film, media were percolating and merging together to create a new type of artist. Says Driver, “Everyone was a musician. Everyone was into painting, everyone wanted to write poetry. All mediums feed each other. Basquiat wasn’t unique in that, we all did it.”

But, Driver says, this film is not meant to be a nostalgia trip.

It is, instead, a modern-day fable, with lessons for today’s gadget-driven world. “The city was dangerous so you had to have your antennae up all the time, to see where the danger was lurking. And you were always observing things on the street, which also gave you these incredible gifts. But I don’t think people are observing as much today. They are wrapped up in their phones.” She continues, “Basquiat spelled out his feelings through SAMO, and in his paintings and writings. He observed everything. It’s astounding how relevant he is. The work is still as fresh as it ever was. Great artists are always prophet-like.”

She continues, “I remember going to a Carlo McCormick show at Grey Gallery, about Downtown from 1974 to 1984. That was the first time I saw it all together: performance art, films, poetry. He had gathered everybody, and I realized how much we germinated each other.” She says, “We really fed each other and our love of ideas. Diego Cortez said it was like café culture in the 1920’s in Paris, or Berlin in the 1930’s. You had different generations. Burroughs, Ginsberg, Robert Frank, The Beats. The jazz musicians, Ornette Coleman and Thelonius Monk playing down the street. Our heroes were here.”

Although the city has changed dramatically, Driver is hopeful about the new generation of artists and activists. “History is cyclical. You have the March for Our Lives kids, and the kids that do the Spring Break Art Show, who last year took over the abandoned floors of the Conde Nast building. They had 150 curators and 400 artists of all ages and everyone was so thrilled to be in one space together. It’s the grandchild of the Times Square Show. I think there is hope and possibility. It won’t be the same, but it’s still happening. Kids are going to cause the change. We did it, and they will too.”

NOW PLAYING: See Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat at IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue; 212.924.7771; www.ifccenter.com

Tags 1970's, 1970's downtown music scene, art, Basquiat, cbgb, club 57, fab 5 freddy, Film, howl happening, ifc, Jean-Michel Basquiat, jim jarmusch, lower east side, mudd club, Music, sara driver

Culture Entertainment Music

Legendary photographer Bob Gruen talks downtown living

Post author By Downtown Magazine
Post date March 24, 2017

Bob Gruen is not only one of the most famous rock photographers, but one of its most prolific as well. If you’ve seen a photo of John Lennon wearing a “New York City” t-shirt, Bob took it. If you’ve seen a photo of Led Zeppelin standing in front of an airplane with their logo on it, Bob took that one, too. He has captured countless iconic images over the past five decades that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing on posters, shirts and the pages of books.

As a 50-year resident, Bob Gruen’s name is practically synonymous with downtown New York. Thanks to Carol Klenfner’s connection, I had the opportunity to conduct a Q&A with Gruen about his past, present and future, garnering a rare look at the man behind the lens. His work ethic is to be admired, and his “last words” are inspiring to all, not just to photographers. Much of Gruen’s classic work has recently been reissued, but there is a permanent display at Edition Hotel at 5 Madison Ave. [Editor Note: This article originally appeared in the Spring 2016 issue of Downtown Magazine.]

What was your first paying gig as a photographer?

Bob Gruen: I lived with a rock band [Glitterhouse] in the ’60s, and when they got a deal at Atlantic Records, they used my photos for their publicity. Atlantic then hired me to shoot Tommy James and the Shondells, when they were opening at a presidential rally for Hubert Humphrey.

What is it that you like most about living downtown?

BG: There is less traffic, and it’s quieter, because most of the streets are shorter and smaller than uptown, and the buildings are lower, so there’s more sky. But we’re close to everything going on in the city.

When did you first move downtown?

BG: I moved to Sullivan Street in June 1965, and I thought the Feast Of St. Anthony was a great welcome. I’ve lived in the West Village since 1970.

What is it that keeps you living in Manhattan, as opposed to moving to L.A.?

BG: I’m not moving to L.A., because I’d only last a few days there! The sun is nice, but it’s way too spread out, and there is so much traffic, it takes hours to get anywhere, and when you meet someone in L.A., they say, “How are you doing?” In New York they say, “What are you doing?” I like to be doing things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUM9pTkw1-E

Is your neighborhood on the verge of becoming another SoHo?

BG: I think the West Village is becoming another SoHo with high-priced shops and luxury condos, but I’m not ready to move.

Do you have a favorite venue in Manhattan for photo shoots? Or at least a favorite for concerts?

BG: I don’t really have favorite venues where I take photos, but I always like to see shows at the Beacon [Theatre], because it’s such a beautiful theater, and the sound is good. Past favorites were Max’s [Kansas City], The Bottom Line, CBGB’s and Don Hill’s, all now gone. But now, I think, for a club, I like Bowery Electric.

To you, is music good these days? Or are the best days of pop and rock behind us?

BG: I usually think the best day is today. You can’t go back, and I find good music all over town.

In October, your book on John Lennon was re-released. How does it compare to the original release?

BG: The new edition of John Lennon: The New York Years has a new cover and 16 new pages with 24 photos not published before.

Do you feel that there are any misconceptions about John? Or is there something you wish more people knew about him?

BG: John was very open about his life; I don’t think there are misconceptions. If people really want to know about John Lennon, they should read the last two interviews he gave — the BBC interview by Andy Peebles and the Playboy interview by David Sheff — both available as books. John expressed himself very clearly and had learned a lot from his five years of raising Sean [Lennon].

Do you have any exhibits in the works? Or any other books?

BG: There is a new permanent installation of 45 of my photos in the Billiard Room [in the Clocktower Restaurant] at the new Edition Hotel on 24th Street. This year, I released a new book of photos of Yoko Ono, See Hear Yoko, and there was a reissue of…The Clash. Photographs by Bob Gruen….My large 500-photo monograph, Rock Seen, is now in its 4th printing. I’m currently working on an autobiography.

Is there anyone you haven’t yet photographed but still hope to?

BG: I’ve met many very interesting people, and I can’t say there is anyone special I can think of I’d like to photograph. But I go out all the time, and I’m always happy to meet new people.

If a person were thinking of getting into photography as a proper hobby, is there a particular camera you’d recommend to start with?

BG: The camera doesn’t matter as long as you’re comfortable with it; they all do mostly the same things. It’s what you do with it that matters.

Is there a photograph or a particular shoot that you’re most proud of? Or see as your biggest accomplishment?

BG: I don’t like to list “favorites,” but certainly my photo of Tina Turner. Catching multiple images in one shot is a good one, and the world’s favorites — my John Lennon in the New York t-shirt or Led Zeppelin in front of the airplane — are pretty good, too.

When you’re not busy with your career, how do you like to spend your free time?

BG: I’m busy with my career most of the time, but I like to travel and visit with my family and grandchildren now.

Finally, Bob, any last words for the kids?

BG: I always tell people that if you take a lot of pictures, you’re bound to get a good one, and if you only show the good ones, people will think you’re good. Other than that, learn from the past, look to the future, but live in the present.

Culture Entertainment Music

Guitar hero Steve Stevens on his Dec. gigs with Kings Of Chaos, New York City, Billy Idol & more

Post author By Downtown Magazine
Post date December 12, 2016

As a successful musician for decades, Steve Stevens has a lot of claims to fame. As Billy Idol’s long-time guitarist, he co-wrote most of the Idol anthems still regularly heard around the world. He won a Grammy for his work on the “Top Gun Anthem” from the hit Tom Cruise movie. He has played on recordings by Michael Jackson, P!nk, Diana Ross, Joni Mitchell and Robert Palmer, to name a few key artists. Steve was also featured on the E! reality show Married To Rock as his wife Josie was one of its stars. In turn, it is not surprising that Steve has his own signature guitar via Knaggs Guitars, a signature amplifier via Friedman Amps, and signature guitar pickups via Bare Knuckles.

In 2016, Steve is still at it with Billy Idol; a new album, Kings & Queens On The Underground was released in October 2014. Notably, Steve also hits the road often as a guitarist in Kings Of Chaos. An all-star band featuring members of Guns N’ Roses, ZZ Top, Linkin Park, Slipknot and Stone Temple Pilots, Kings Of Chaos has gigs in the area this month. KOC can be seen at Montclair’s Wellmont Theater on Dec. 17, the following night at Long Island’s The Paramount, and a few days later at Irving Plaza on Dec. 21. In addition, Steve has a new solo album in the works.

Downtown caught up with Steve — a native New Yorker who lived downtown for years — for an interview via phone. More info on Steve and his upcoming shows with Kings Of Chaos can be found at www.kingsofchaosband.com.

I know that you were born in Brooklyn. Where in Brooklyn did you grow up?

Steve Stevens: I was born in Brooklyn, but my parents moved just to Far Rockaway by the time I was one and a half, two, so I grew up in Rockaway.

And you lived there until you moved to Manhattan?

SS: Yeah, pretty much so. By the time I was 16…I was in a cover band so I kind of moved out…The band was based in Ozone Park, Queens, so I’ve kind of lived in every borough of New York.

You and Billy first met in Manhattan?

SS: The band I was in before Billy Idol was managed by Bill Aucoin, who was the manager of KISS. And he had just brought Billy over from London. So I was still living actually, by then I was living in Kew Gardens, where my parents had moved to, so when I met Billy I was living there.

And where in Manhattan did you live over the years?

SS: My first place was on Jane Street over between West and Washington, so I was like right in the middle of Greenwich Village. And then I moved to Bleecker and Broadway, and I lived there until I moved to Los Angeles.

And when was it in your career that you moved to Los Angeles?

SS: I came out to do reunite with Billy, he had moved to L.A. And this is 1992, I believe…Different plan, let’s get together and do a record and I came out. Originally I was in a hotel, and I went into a residential hotel and got my first apartment, but I decided to live in L.A. officially like 20 years ago.

What was it that made you move out there? Was it just work or had you gotten tired of the weather here?

SS: Weather was never a factor, but a lot of musicians had moved out to L.A. and had started to…People would call to work with them, let’s say like Duff McKagan or someone, and everyone had a home studio and I thought, “Well that’s really cool, I want an environment at home that I could work in.” It seemed like a really hard thing to do in Manhattan, you always had to put money in the pockets of somebody else who had a recording studio, and I thought, “Well, I’d rather invest in it myself.”

And the environment, there just seemed to be a lot of musicians that I knew from New York that moved out here by then. New York is such a night city and stuff, and I’d made the decision to get sober as well, and I thought, “Well this is probably going to be so much easier, I can get In too much trouble in New York.” (laughs)

Sure. Do you remember the first venue that you ever played in Manhattan.

SS: Here in Manhattan we played Great Gildersleeve, which was the club right down the street from CBGB.

And then what was the first New York venue that you played with Billy?

SS: Max’s Kansas City. We played unannounced. We had found out it was closing and Billy had some friends who were [playing]…and we arranged to play unannounced. Because it was really important to us to play Max’s before it closed, so that was the very first Billy Idol gig.

So you have these East Coast dates with Kings Of Chaos. I understand that Billy Idol and you have some dates coming up in Vegas. What’s the next like six to twelve months looking like for you?

SS: Idol and I, we did our Vegas residency this year at the House Of Blues, which was just fantastic…We pulled out a lot of more obscure tunes off our records and when you’re in one venue for that long, you really gets to hone your show down. You get your lights exactly the way you want them. So we return to Vegas in March next year and I’m going to start recording another solo record…That kind of got put on the backburner for 2016, so that’s one of my priorities and I’m planning on doing a solo tour in Europe in April, and we’re just getting the dates together for that.

Do you have any hobbies when you’re not doing music?

SS: Hobbies…I don’t know, I do all the kind of same things that people like to do, I love films and all that kind of stuff, and my wife and I are a year overdue on a vacation, so we’re just now trying to find out where we’re going to go on vacation and kind of recharge our batteries.

Well, thinking about that for a second. You know a lot of people would go to Vegas for a vacation but that’s more of a working city for you and then you’re from New York and you live in Los Angeles. So you’re the kinds of people that would look to go somewhere remote?

SS: Yeah, absolutely. We try to get off the grid as much as possible.

Is there anything that you miss about New York and not having lived there for 20-something years?

SS: Yeah, I mean, the energy of the city is amazing and when I go to New York now I do all the things I used to make fun of tourists for doing, like going to Broadway plays. I guess growing up in New York, I went to High School Of The Performing Arts in Manhattan. So I kind of overlooked a lot of the things that Manhattan has to offer. So now when I go back, I make it a point to like hit up new restaurants and catch plays and things like that.

I think what I miss most is New Yorkers’ personalities because people will tell you exactly how they feel, and there’s not as much backstabbing. If somebody is pissed off at you, they’re going to tell you and you’ll either work it out or part ways or whatever. But I like the directness of New Yorkers…There’s an energy about New York that nowhere else has.

So finally, Steve, any last words for the kids?

SS: For the kids, yeah. People, come out and see Kings Of Chaos…Primarily we do it for the fun and just the catalog is just incredible and some of the players. And come on, just seeing Billy Gibbons and myself onstage, trading off solos and stuff. It’s a once-in-a lifetime experience.

Culture Music

Vanishing Life to play Studio at Webster Hall on Nov. 13 in support of new “Surveillance” album

Post author By Downtown Magazine
Post date November 4, 2016

Vanishing Life / Photo: Cecilia Alejandra

Vanishing Life is a new band, but its members are hardly new to music or to playing out in New York City. Walter Schreifels has been involved with a lot of influential New York City bands over the past 30-something years, including Rival Schools, Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth Of Today, CIV and Walking Concert; he is also a co-owner of Some Records. Autry Fulbright is a member of …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Jamie Miller plays alongside Autry in …Trail Of Dead, besides drumming in Bad Religion and being the guitarist and co-founder of theSTART. Zach Blair, meanwhile, plays in Rise Against.

Surveillance, the debut full-length album from Vanishing Life, will be released through Dine Alone Records on Nov. 11. In support of Surveillance, Vanishing Life will be hitting the road for a week and a half of touring, including a Nov. 13 stop at The Studio at Webster Hall. Downtown caught up with Walter, Autry and Zach for some Q&A, and in the process got some great restaurant picks.

Vanishing Life can be followed via Twitter and Facebook.

I’ve heard that Walter lives in Germany, I know some of you live in Los Angeles although you’re frequently on tour with your other bands. How many times have all four of you been in the same room?

Zach Blair: Actually, quite a lot considering. We’ve all been really excited to do this and made time for it — although I won’t be taking part in the November tour, dangit.

Walter Schreifels: I lived in Berlin for a few years, I love that city and still have tons of friends there. I kept my apartment there and go back for summers, sublet otherwise. I’m living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn — hipster capital, gentrification ground zero of New York City. Still has a vibe though, lots of great people here, tons of new venues too, lots popping off in Bushwick, Brooklyn too, just a few stops away. We have been in the same room at least 15 to 20 times, maybe more. Each time is very productive and significant, quality over quantity, VERY modern.

Prior to this album being made, had you played with any of the other Vanishing Life members on another project?

Autry Fulbright: Jamie and I have played together ever since he joined …Trail Of Dead nearly six years ago, and have worked on music outside of the band often. I made a short film several years ago following a Trail Of Dead tour with Rival Schools, one of Walter’s bands. I asked him to star in the film and our collaborative relationship began. Touring with Trail was collaborative as we shared the same bus, which is a real world situation, you become family quick. Being in Autry’s movie was a blast, showed me what a creative and prolific artist he is. I like to be around people like that, brings the best out of me.

WS: I’ve been seeing Zack around for years, all over the world. He’s famously nice and a great guitar player, having him join the band was a no-brainer, I looked forward to getting know him better, we got closer fast.

ZB: Nope, and I was so flattered that they asked!

What do you remember about the first gig you ever played live in New York? Where was it?

ZB: CBGB! It was 1995 and I was with my band Hagfish, it was a surreal experience. It was pre-Giuliani and it was amazing!

WS: Mine was CBGB, too! Gorilla Biscuits opened for JFA in ’86. I could barely sleep the night before

When playing at Webster Hall, what’s to be expected? Any songs from your other projects besides Vanishing Life?

WS: We’ll most likely do the album, the album is really strong in my view but is meant to be played live, very psyched to let it rip. Vanishing Life is its own free-standing structure it doesn’t need the support of our past resumes. I think people will figure that out soon enough, which might sound cocky. but just a subjective opinion.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in New York?

AF: New York has too many amazing restaurants but among them I am fond of Diner and Marlow & Sons in Williamsburg, where I actually used to work in another life. Great French and New American-style food

WS: My fave for Italian is Adelina’s in Greenpoint, lot of vegan options and amazing wine curation, affordable. My favorite Japanese is Skyway in Bushwick, okonomiyaki done authentic Osaka-style – not a sushi spot, love it.

ZB: Every vegetarian loves VP2!

What’s coming up for you after this tour wraps?

WS: We’ll be touring in Europe in February on Together Fest with American Nightmare, The Bronx, Trash Talk and I’ll be doing double duty with Youth Of Today, gonna be sick. We’re also looking for more touring in 2017 in the U.S. once we can sync our schedules up.

When not busy with music, how do you like to spend your free time?

WS: I want to be spending my non-touring time with my family, I’m married with an eight-year old daughter, the only activity I find more interesting then music is spending time with them.

ZB: Normal junk. Wife, dog, house. I still play a lot of guitar, though. Actually, I’m never not busy with music, which is a good thing.

AF: I really don’t have any free time as I work for a music managing company when I’m not playing music, handling tour logistics for artists like Flying Lotus and Thundercat.

Finally, any last words for the kids?

WS: Don’t worry about staying in school so much, it’s overrated, overpriced and you’re actually being just indoctrinated most of the time. Educate yourself, believe in yourself, do what you say you’re gonna do, build trust, take care of your friends, your family, don’t believe the hype.

Culture Events Music

No Halloween Plans Yet? Q&A with 2 Great Bands: The Interrupters & Every Time I Die

Post author By Downtown Magazine
Post date October 20, 2016

Every Time I Die / Photo: Joshua Halling

If you ask five people what they are doing on Halloween, you are likely to get five different sorts of answers. One person may be staying in give out candy to the local trick-or-treaters. Another person may be hosting or attending a costume party. Another person may be going to a traditional annual event like a movie marathon. Another person may be concert-bound to see an electrifying live show. And maybe that fifth person wants nothing to do with the holiday, staying away from Halloween at all costs.

For music fans looking for something to do on Oct. 31 in Manhattan, there are plenty of options. The Interrupters, a Los Angeles-based ska-punk band on Hellcat Records, will be at The Highline Ballroom. The band — as comprised of vocalist Aimee Interrupter, guitarist Kevin Bivona, bassist Justin Bivona and drummer Jesse Bivona — formed in 2012 and is currently touring in support of this year’s Say It Out Loud. Every Time I Die, a metalcore quintet that is on Epitaph Records, will be headlining at Irving Plaza on the 31st. EITD formed in 1998 — vocalist Keith Buckley and guitarists Andy Williams and Jordan Buckley have been in the band since formation — with bassist Stephen Micciche and drummer Daniel Davison joining up in recent years.

Downtown asked the same set of questions to The Interrupters’ Justin Bivona and Every Time I Die’s Andy Williams about their upcoming New York City appearances, Halloween and more. The Interrupters can be visited online at www.wearetheinterrupters.com, while Every Time I Die is online at www.everytimeidie.net.

Where was the last gig you played on Halloween?

Justin Bivona of The Interrupters: In 2014, we played a pool party for Fest 13 at the Holiday Inn in Gainesville, FL. It was a lot of fun!

Andy Williams of Every Time I Die: Chicago, like four years ago at House Of Blues.

Any plans for a Halloween costume this year?

JB: We’ve been tossing some ideas around, but we don’t want to give too much away. You’ll have to come to the show to find out if we pull it off.

AW: We haven’t talked about it. It’s in New York City this year. Maybe I’ll just dress up as me from 2001.

Do you have a favorite Halloween costume from your childhood?

JB: I was a ninja for like four years in a row when I was little. I have no idea what the inspiration for that was, but it was always the go to costume.

AW: I was a clown for the first five years of my life. That was cool.

What do you remember about the first show you ever played in New York City?

JB: The first show we ever played in New York City was at Webster Hall in July 2015 with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Street Dogs. It was an amazing night! It had taken us so long to play a show in New York, to finally be on-stage playing for the people of this great city was kind of a dream come true.

AW: It was a super long time ago. I think it wasn’t even with ETID. It was Dec. 12t, 2000 and I played at CBGB, on second guitar for Blood Has Been Shed

Do you have a favorite restaurant in New York?

JB: I know it’s not the type of restaurant you can sit down for a nice meal at, and it’s probably cliché to pick a pizza place, but Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn is the best I’ve ever had. Or if you can consider the Comedy Cellar a restaurant, we’ve had a couple great nights there laughing and eating mozzarella sticks.

AW: I like Red Bamboo a lot.

Is playing in New York City any different for you than it is in other cities?

JB: Of course! Obviously there’s no other city like New York City. The atmosphere, the energy, the people, and the overall vibe is always something we look forward to.

AW: Just a lot more hassle ’cause there’s really no place to park. The shows are great, but the city is just complicated.

What’s coming up for you after this tour wraps?

JB: In January and February, we’ll be supporting Green Day on their Revolution Radio Tour in the U.K. and Europe.

AW: I wrestle a few matches in Toronto and then we head over to Europe for a tour with ’68 and Drug Church.

When not busy with your band, how do you like to spend your free time?

JB: What is free time?

AW: I love training for wrestling and wrestling. Working out. That type of stuff. I’m old, so I’m also getting my bucket list stuff out of the way.

Finally, any last words for the kids?

JB: Don’t take candy from strangers, unless it’s Halloween.

AW: Always do what you do, like you mean it. Be you.