IE: So what’s up Rich? First off congrats on the new album which is really good and I hope people appreciate it. We haven’t seen a new CIAT recording since “Rats Get Fat” came out way back in 2007… why was there such a long wait between albums?

Rich: Thanks Chris, we really appreciate that a lot of cats seem to be as into this recording as we are. We really worked hard to make this more than just a bunch of tunes thrown together for the fuck of it, and make it a cohesive album that had the same vibe from track to track. It's by no means a concept record, but it also isn't just a collection of songs.....the whole record is about loss. The reason there was such a long wait is we wanted to do it right, we were proud of “Rats Get Fat”. About 3 or so years ago (maybe even longer) we went back to Don Fury who recorded “Rats” and recorded another album, some of the songs on this record were also on that recording. To be honest it just wasn’t as good as “RGF”. It broke no new ground, it was NYHC 101, it was really ordinary. Don did a great job, we played well but the songs had zero soul. So we put it on a shelf and never put it out. So after spending thousands of dollars on that recording, we were a bit gun shy to record something else. We waited till we had the album we wanted to get back into a studio setting.

IE: So tell us about the new album…

Rich: The new album is titled “Goodnight New York” and it will be out on January 28th on Dead City Records. It is 12 songs of good old fashioned fast hardcore punk rock. It was recorded and produced by Glen Lorieo (drummer of Billy Club Sandwich and No Redeeming Social Value). Glen was clutch during this recording and we love the job he did. Glen thinks outside the box like I do but he is, at his roots, a hardcore kid. So I believe we were able to do some things, different things, with this recording. We could get out of the NYHC “comfort zone” a few times while never losing the integrity of real hardcore music. Anyone who's recording a record should definitely check Glen out!!!

IE: The new album’s title and lyrics have a message that is echoed by many people who have grown up in NYC over the last 30 plus years. Can you tell us the meaning behind it and for people who may live outside of the NYC area what exactly has happened to NYC in your opinion?

Rich: NYC was bought and sold. NYC is being gentrified at an alarming rate. I am, at my essence, a New Yorker. I don't identify with being an American as much as I identify with being a New Yorker. So to see all these artsy kids from the Midwest taking over places like Brooklyn and Harlem makes me sick to my stomach. All the great old mom and pop stores in NY are quickly being replaced by souless chain stores. It's really a sad state of affairs. So that was the reasoning behind writing this record. To tell people, “Hey, there are still real native NYers here, the knockaround guys from the neighborhood are still here and we ain’t happy about this shit!!!” 

IE: Can you play NYC tour guide a little and tell our readers where people can still find glimpses of the NYC you remember?

Rich: If you wanna see REAL NYC, I got one word of advice for you....take a BUS or car. The hipsters, transplants, and other assorted scumbags only gentrify neighborhoods on the subway line. If you still go into deep Queens, deep Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island...you still can find true outer borough NYC. You can still find the Italian delis, the Greek diners, the Irish bars and so on. I don't wanna give too much information or the hipsters will find out about what real native New Yorkers enjoy and will come and try to take it over!!!! My favorite delis will stop serving prosciutto sandwiches and change the menu to vegan sausage and kale!!! hahaha. But the best Pizza in NYC is L&B in Brooklyn and New Park in Queens!!!!

IE: A bunch of the new songs have lyrics that caught my attention and I wanted to ask you about “The Daily Grind” and “It’s Over” in particular… can you tell us what these 2 are about and who are you talking about in “It’s Over”?

Rich: “The Daily Grind” I wrote about the time my dad passed away. My dad was the prototypical working class guy. He was hurt on the job in a terrible accident (he fell 40 feet). He survived but was left in terrible shape for almost 20 years. The injuries he sustained caused damage in his internal organs and eventually contributed greatly to his death. I watched this man in severe pain for years, Fighting with workman compensation boards, social security disability boards, lawsuits....just to get what he deserved. It never broke his spirit, but it pissed me off. A man, who always went to work and did the right thing for his family, has to fight with bureaucratic imbeciles to get what's coming to him....the song comes from my love for my pops but my hatred for “the system” and how it is built to fuck the working class.

“It's Over” isn't about a person....it's about the death of art. I see a lot of old hardcore bands cashing in, a lot of tattooers cashing in (the business I am in), a lot of street artists cashing in... these were all outlaw art forms that had soul, ....now it's all conformist bullshit....so when the last “ICONS” and “IDOLS” finally fall I'll be happy that it's over.

IE: Just about all of the lyrics have this real angry/pissed off vibe about them and it seems like many of these topics you sing about are things that just grind your gears. What are some of the things that you like to do in your personal time when you want to forget about all of the BS life may throw at you?

Rich: I'm actually a very happy guy nowadays. I use the music/writing as therapy to get all that poison out of me. My beautiful wife has one of the biggest hearts around so she is always saving some sort of furry creature's life....so my house can be a bit of a zoo sometimes.....so honestly I am happiest kicking back watching a Mets game with my bulldog Shea!!!

IE: When you first decided to pick up the microphone and be a singer for a hardcore band who were some of the people out there that influenced you?

Rich: I actually am kinda rare that I didn't get into hardcore by first being a metalhead. I’ve never listened to metal and don't particularly like it..I come from hip hop. I did a lot of work in my early days in that genre. So bands like RUN DMC, the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy are really what made me wanna have a mic in my hand. As far as hardcore goes, HR from the Bad Brains, Jimmy G from Murphy’s Law and Paul Bearer from Sheer Terror are my favorite frontmen. They all bring great live shows to the table. Lou from Sick Of It All has my favorite voice. And Raybeez of course!!!

IE: I saw you guys out in Queens this past summer and I noticed you worked in some cover songs by the The Ramones (“Rockaway Beach”, and Warzone’s “In The Mirror”). You also took a part from an old hip hop classic “The Message” by Grand Master Flash and worked it in perfectly into the end of one of your songs. I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I didn’t see this pop up on the new album so I want to ask does this little sample of sorts have a future in your set list or was it just a one time thing?

Rich: Nah we do that all the time!! “The Message” is one of the greatest NYC records of all time....we have a song “Look Inside” off of “RGF” that has a long “breakdown” at the end and I started doing that hook from the message at the end just to pay homage.

We started doing “Rockaway Beach” after Hurricane Sandy. I live fairly close to the Rockaways and a lot of my good friends were affected greatly by the storm.

I am trying to talk the fellas into covering “My Adidas” (Run DMC) just so we can cover another band from Queens!!!

IE: I remember when I first started going to hardcore shows in the late 80’s that there were so many kids in the scene that also loved the hip-hop style from back then. Today however I can’t seem to find any hip-hop at all that I can wrap my head around. What is your take on current day hip-hop… are you a fan or are you one of those maybe like myself that just listens to the older stuff you grew up with?

Rich: I hate modern hip hop....its electronic pop at best. Hip hop used to be like black punk rock...street music.....now its bullshit...sadly a lot of hardcore and punk is the same shit. Death metal bands disguised as NYHC. 

IE: You were mentioning that you are a tattoo artist and have your own shop. Where is your shop located? How long have you been doing tattoos and how did you get into this business? 

Rich: I have been tattooing at my shop R&D Tattooing (62-01 Myrtle Ave Ridgewood NY 11385). I have been there about 12 years. I always loved getting tattoos and could always draw well. I got myself a corporate job with Bell Atlantic in my early 20’s...I fucking hated it.....so I quit my great job after a few years and decided I’d draw silly pictures on people for money instead!!! Pretty punk rock huh?? But in all honesty tattooing has been great to me. I love it. I never thought I'd have a job I wanted to go to!!!!

IE: What do the other guys in the band do for work?

Rich: Jay is a union floor technician, Paulie is a union HVAC guy and Jon teaches at a security school.

IE: You guys made a video off of your last album for the track "Driven" which featured your brother who is a pro boxer. Can you tell us about him and how he is doing with his boxing career up till now and if you have any plans for making a video from one of these new songs and if so what song would it be for?

Rich: Will "Power " Rosinsky is my youngest brother. There are three of us...my middle brother is a corrections officer and Will is a firefighter for the FDNY. He's also the light heavyweight boxing champ of New York State. He's 17-2 with 10 KO’s as a pro and has fought on HBO and Showtime.  So needless to say...me and my brothers really weren't the family you wanted to pick a fight with in the neighborhood. haha.

As far as videos for the new record....we have drawn up some ideas for videos for “STFU” and “Goodnight NY”. I would suspect both of these videos will be made sooner than later!!!

IE: So now that the new album is just about to come out what is next for CIAT? 2013 didn’t see as many shows for you guys as in previous years… do you plan on changing that trend and do you have any touring plans as of right now?

Rich: We will definitely be out and about more in 2014, we are working on going to Europe this year, and we will definitely be doing some long weekend trips up and down the East Coast!!