IE: You’ve been into punk and hardcore for a long time now. When and how did you get into it?

Jim: I first remember hearing The Ramones, The Clash, and the Sex Pistols around 1978 when I was 13 years old. I heard everything else punk after that. Luckily I grew up in a house where my parents were into rock ‘n roll. My folks got divorced when I was 10. I guess I had some anger that I was acting out and punk rock came to me at the right time. I would say I was a full-blown hardcore punk around 1980-81. My pops did hate my first mohawk haircut but I guess he wasn’t supposed to like it! Ha ha! I used to go down to Greenwich Village with my mom in the late 1970’s. I saw many of the early punks milling about. All the great old record stores. Sigh!! Nowadays Manhattan is practically a sterile shopping mall. The hardcore punk scene of the early 1980’s welcomed me with open arms. The brotherhood was real. Before I was in a band I was doing artwork for bands and helping to organize gigs. None of the older kids shunned you away…you were encouraged to participate in making the fun happen. I really ran with it. Yeah, there was also some violence and death, and real scary ugly shit but the way I see it…it was all part of growing up. Hardcore punk has opened doors for me all over the world.

IE: How has the scene changed since you’ve been involved? Do you think there have been good or bad changes? For the most part…

Jim: Well the D.I.Y. movement within the hardcore punk scene is really empowering. Anything was possible as long as you stayed true to your visions and goals. I remember all the telephone calls that you had to make to organize tours and gigs. Nowadays computers have replaced that element which is good. But computers are a mixed blessing. So much passive aggressive shit talking and drama on the computer, well there has always been drama in the scene I guess ha ha! All the downloading does make it difficult for a band to sustain. Vinyl is left to the purists. So pressing quantities are way down. Also with computers you don’t see that many cool gig flyers around town anymore. I am a visual person... art is very important to me. I never liked Nazi skins but I guess some people get a thrill out of the negative attention. I grew up in a multi-racial city. I have friends of all races. I never got any of the religious crossover into the punk scene. I have always felt that punk rock was the empowerment of the individual not buying into an archaic power scheme. “No Gods, No Masters”. I have always respected the individual choices of being straight edge and vegetarianism. It should be a personal choice. 

IE: Has being involved in the punk scene helped to shape your views on the world?

Jim: Yes it has. Without a doubt! I question everything. No matter what the situation is at hand somebody has to call bullshit when it rears its ugly head! There should always be a balance to make everyone inclusive. Seekers of the truth will never find all of the answers but should never stop searching for those answers. You never know what you might find! When I travel overseas I am always honored when a friend or family lets me in to their environment and shows me how they live. I find it exciting to have them share what is most important to them and to learn from them. It is refreshing to get out of the U.S.A. to take a break from the climate of fear and stress that exists here.

IE: You toured with Nausea in the late 80’s early 90’s. How did that come about? What was that experience like?

Jim: I have been hanging around the New York City tri-state metro area for decades. I met members of Nausea back in the 80’s hanging around the Lower East Side hardcore scene. I remember meeting Victor when he was in Reagan Youth. Drinking beers with John Guzman (AKA: John John Jesse) in Tompkins Square Park. I used to see all of them at various gigs over the years. In 1990 I met up with Nausea in Ottawa, Ontario at a gig with Oi Polloi from Scotland. It was a wild weekend and I guess I was pretty clutch for helping them to pull off the gig. I am pretty good thinking on my feet. That night they asked me to roadie for them. Several years back I wrote an article about my time with Nausea in Profane Existence (issue # 50/51). I have received much praise for that article over the years. I believe you can still get copies from Profane Existence. I will always be grateful to Nausea taking me along for the ride. Most of us still remain great friends and remain in contact with each other.

IE: You were in a band previous to Broken called Malachi Krunch. When did that band start and how long did it last? Did you play often?

Jim: Malachi Krunch was my first band. We started in 1987. One of the original members was Justin Gunn. His father was the famous actor Moses Gunn. Moses was in many great films, look him up. When we started Moses was kind enough to let us practice in his barn in Connecticut. He hated our music and was always after us to clean up our beer cans. He was a funny guy. Malachi Krunch broke up in 1994. We released a split LP and a hand full of 7” EP’s. We mostly played only in the tri-state area. Our original bassist Johnny was way ahead of the grunge scene in the late 80’s. He made me go see Nirvana at a small club in New Haven several months before they hit it big. We smoked pot with Nirvana. I guess that is noteworthy ha ha ha!! I also remember meeting members of Oasis at one of our gigs at a squat in Manhattan. It was their first time in the States before they got really big. We partied really hard with those Oasis guys!!

IE: Now we’ll get to the Broken questions. Who’s in Broken now? How long has this line up been together?

Jim: Well the current lineup is me (Jim Martin) on vocals, Gerry Stopper (The Pist, Brutally Familiar) on guitar, Jason Gorman (Boiling Man) guitar, Ken Cushen (East Coast Panic), and Hoss Austin (Deformed Conscience, React) on bass. This current lineup has existed since 2008. There have been quite a few past members of Broken since we started in 1994. Other members have included Bill Chamberlin of The Pist, Aus Rotten, Behind Enemy Lines, Caustic Christ, and a million other bands! Also Matt Sachs of Behind Enemy Lines and Parasytic. Back in the 1990’s Connecticut bands shared a lot members. There was also a strong connection with the Pittsburgh punk scene.

IE: When Broken started in 1994 did you have a vision of what you wanted to do with the band? Have you done what you’ve set out to do?

Jim: We wanted what all bands want…to record, tour, have a great time and meet awesome people. I guess we have accomplished all of that, but there are more songs to write and more people to meet. The hardcore punk scene has always been accessible. All you have to do is believe in yourself and make it happen.

IE: If someone asked me to describe what Broken sounds like I’m not sure what to say besides great. How would you describe your sound? What do you think influences the song writing?

Jim: Thanks for the compliment! When we first started in 1994 our sound was leaning towards the street punk scene but over time we did progress. With each lineup change came our next step in our evolution of sound. Whenever someone joined they would have to learn the current set list but I also would encourage them to write and contribute to the set. I always felt it would give them investment in the band, to be part of the family not to just fill in for a past member. As a project we have always had a spectrum of influences. We listen to all kinds of punk rock. We also like heavy metal, classic rock, reggae, country, we like things that are pure and great of any musical genre. Besides the obvious international, classic Boston and New York hardcore punk influences we enjoy Rose Tattoo, AC/DC, The Stranglers, ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy, Motorhead, etc., etc. We are a hardcore punk band and we try to be really good at it. When we write we put our own brand on our songs. We want people to say, hey that sounds like Broken.

IE: Broken has a bunch of releases. Which ones are still in print? It’s been a few years since your last release. Any plans for a new CD or 7”?

Jim: We have released quite a bit since 1994. “At the Border” 7” EP (2007) and “Active Denial” CD (2010) are still available. We are planning on doing a split with Rhuckuss from Mexico City which will hopefully be released by the end of the summer of 2013.

IE: The last few years Broken hasn’t seemed to be playing very much. Why is that and do you guys have plans to play more often in 2013?

Jim: We toured the West Coast in 2011. 2012 there were a hand full of gigs. We haven’t played yet in 2013. We had a gig in February but we had to cancel due to a blizzard.  We are currently planning another Mexican tour for later this year. Truth be told we aren’t young men anymore. Some of us have kids and our own businesses. We have to prioritize. Broken is nearing our 20 year anniversary as a band. We have toured overseas, released many records, and met lots of fantastic people. We are extremely fortunate to have done so much as a band. Nothing is forever. I never really thought that this band would go on this long. There have been highs and lows. We have been close to breaking up more than a few times over the years then we collectively take a deep breath and march forward. It really has been quite an adventure so far.

IE: You have a new side band now called Chemtrails. How did this come about? Who’s in it and what do you sound like?

Jim: How does any band come about? Like minded people that have interests in the same type of music. My great friend Eric Coffin was the guitarist from the Boston area crust punk outfit Man The Conveyors moved down to Connecticut after they broke up a few years ago. We have been talking about putting together a band project for a few years. We brought in our great friend in Shane from Oiltanker to play the drums. Our great friend Lou Mange from the goth scene expressed interest in joining the  project. Lou likes punk but coming from the goth scene we thought might make things interesting. In recent weeks we have added our lead guitarist Ryan Hull who comes in from the heavy metal scene. Three punk rockers, a goth, and a metalhead walk into a bar…I think we will write some interesting material together. We are still forming and writing songs. We are about a half a set into it. I can tell you our chemistry is working. There is a great range of influences working together. Right now we are planning a trip to Canada to see Doom from the UK next month. I have a lot of friends up there. We hope to gig up there. There is a huge punk scene in Montreal. It will be fun!

IE: Do any of the other guys in Broken have side bands? Do you think this takes away from Broken?

Jim: We have always had an open relationship as a band. It’s cool to see other people, ha ha!! There have always been side bands around Broken since we began. Connecticut has always had a small scene and many bands have shared members. Gerry was in 100 Demons, and The Pist. Gerry and Ken also currently play in Hymen Holocaust and M-13 (with Al from The Pist also with Mike and Rich from Brutally Familiar). Besides Chemtrails I was in Scarred (with Bill Chamberlain from The Pist) and the Baltimore Foot Stompers (with Al from The Pist and Bill Collins from Millions Of Dead Cops). Jason was in Boiling Man. Hoss and Ken are trying to start a country band.  We really try to keep each other aware of gig schedules. As far as scheduling gigs it is first come first serve. Communication has been the key to making it work.

IE: In 2002 the New Haven club The Tune Inn closed its doors. How important was that club to the CT scene? Was it a big blow when it closed down? Do you know why it closed?

Jim: Well after the demise of The Anthrax Club in Norwalk in the early 1990’s The Tune Inn in New Haven was the spot for all ages hardcore punk gigs. Nothing lasts forever. The city of New Haven was never a big fan of The Tune Inn. The city was trying to gentrify the downtown area where the club was located. Having punk rockers hanging around the neighborhood didn’t help their real estate values. Developers were moving in. The rent had gotten way too high for The Tune Inn to operate. After they closed in the same building there was a cowboy bar then a restaurant. A few years ago the building burnt to the ground. The fire nearly destroyed the whole block. It was a ferocious fire. The scene still exists but it mostly bar shows in New Haven now. There are some young punks having gigs in old factory spaces in New Haven. We have played some of these gigs.

IE: You mentioned doing artwork for bands in the early 80's and beyond. What were some of the bands you did artwork for?

Jim: Fearless Iranians From Hell, Seizure, Warzone (first 7”), Zombie Squad, Christ On A Crutch, The Exploited, Hip Cops, Young Republicans (pre-Youth of Today), The Wankys, The Truncheons, The “Connecticut Fun” compilation LP, “Better Yet Connecticut” compilation 7”, and many more. I did many hand drawn flyers back in the 1980’s for the Anthrax Club. You can see a lot of my work in a book about The Anthrax club in Connecticut called “Everybody’s Scene” by Chris Daily. I also did a lot fanzine work back in the 80’s and the 90’s.  

Especially if I was into the band. Video cameras got small enough to get right up into a bands shit! I wanted blood, sweat, and flying beers! In those times video cameras were also coming down in price. If I was real close to the action and some spastic punk rocker stage diving crashed into my camera and it got booted across the dance floor and stomped to pieces I would be bummed a little about the camera but the videotape inside was gold! As long as the videotape didn’t get trashed, it was all good. Then it was a time to save up for another camera. I still have a bone yard of video cameras in my office closet. I did take a lot of inspiration from the Target Video series from California of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, they videotaped many hardcore punk bands in those days. You can tell that the people from Target really appreciated the bands that they videotaped. I felt the same way, from a punk rocker’s perspective. I wanted to try and make the bands look as best as I could. Where as Target were very professional and had a crew, I learned as I was going and it was only me with one camera. Some of the bands that were included on those videos are Public Nuisance, Blanks 77, The Casualties, Distraught, Aus Rotten, Defiance, Suicidal Supermarket Trolleys, Battalion of Saints, The Unseen, Broken, The Pist, Submachine, Oxymoron, Mankind?, and many, many more. I videotaped the gigs mostly in New York City and New Haven, Connecticut. But I also did get some footage from Boston, Pittsburgh, and London. At the time most of the videos that I made I mainly showed just to friends or the bands. One of my friends that I shared these videos with was Neil Robinson former front man of Nausea who at the time had a record label called Tribal War Records in New York City. Neil was the one who asked me to compile the video clips for a videotape release. I don’t know how many Neil did make but what I do know is that copies of the East Coast Pogo Attack videos went to all corners of the world. Like I mentioned before this was before the internet and YouTube. It was pretty amazing. I was getting letters from Germany, Malaysia, Japan, Brazil, and every other country that had a dirty little punk scene. It really had gone everywhere. To this day someone will come up to me and ask me if I made those videotapes and then they tell me how it inspired them to get into punk rock and start bands. That it is the reward for me, to pass the torch, to enrich others. I still do videotape bands from time to time. You can see my recent work on YouTube.