IE: So here we are in mid-February… working our way up to TIH 2013. Where are you in the process of setting up this year’s festival?

Joe: The offers are sent, and for better or worse it’s like putting together all the pieces at this point. Kinda bummed, I had a really sweet headliner pull out of their confirmation this morning. I'm upset but it’s nothing new in my 8th year doing this. I used to go crazy over things like this and get depressed but now I just say fuck it and move onto the next piece of business and rearrange some things to work in my favor. I'd say out of 50 approximate sets across 4 days, 20 are dead locked confirmed. I've got a nice pool of up and coming bands and a few older names to throw into the mix, but the budget is often decided by the big names up top so it’s a lot of playing around and waiting for people to make decisions that seem to be so easy yet take so long to do.

IE: When can we expect the lineups for this year’s fest to be announced?

Joe: March 15th we will come up with a short list of names and have them online along with 4 and 3 day tickets available for presales. This is the first time in 8 years we're doing something like this and it’s to benefit our long distance traveling friends with cheaper airfare for the whole festival.

IE: How long after last year’s fest was over did you start planning for 2013?

Joe: I never stop TIH at this point. After the 4th year, it became a full year thing. The real work is in phone calls and socializing and getting the scoop on who is and isn't playing. It doesn't guarantee that I get every band to make TIH their first, but it helps, also as we see many new “fests” come each year, it’s good to have your homework done and be on the ball so TIH doesn't miss out on something great.

IE: How did the idea for TIHC even start, can you take us back to its roots and give us the back story a little?

Joe: In 2005 Hellfest fell through in the 11th hour for Trenton, NJ. Shows were pulled together in Philadelphia at the Starlight Ballroom (Lifetime and 108) as well as 108 and others at the Church as a matinee. There was also a Lifetime show at the Troc and a metalcore thing as well. The shows did great and it showed me that Philadelphia could handle a fest. With the end of Posi #s and Hellfest , it seemed appropriate to step up and give it a shot. I wrote all the first year's names and many others in a notebook like I've done since I was a kid. I got some of the bands, and others were out of nowhere, but basically it was those two fests ending and me wanting to try to do it.

IE: Last year’s show was my first visit to TIH. What I noticed was a very “fan friendly” experience while keeping that DIY feel. What kind of things will be new this year? You were mentioning before last year’s show that you were considering having more interactive stuff.

Joe: Well with the way that the new generation of hardcore kids are “raised” so to speak, they are not happy with TIH and its new rules at the new venue that you can't leave the venue grounds so I am working with vendors, wrestling companies, the ACL (Armored Combat League) as well as other fun interactive things to keep these damn ADHD kids happy for the duration of the weekend. Expect more fun, more food and hopefully great weather.

IE: Last year you also switched venues over to The Electric Factory (Thursday’s show was at Union Transfer) to meet the growing demand to get into the show. What kind of numbers people wise did you have for all 4 days last year and what are you aiming for this year?

Joe: Sellout capacity at the old venue was 1,400. Last year at Union Transfer on Thursday we had that. Friday we had over 2,600, Saturday was sold out at 2,800 and Sunday we had over 2,600. I can't believe that’s even plausible and I'm indebted to everyone for making that a reality. As of now, the plan stays the same for this year and hopefully we'll have a packed solid house throughout the festival.

IE: Where can you see TIH going in the future? In true hardcore fashion I have no game plan in regards to In Effect the website. Is there a certain level you would like to see TIH get to? 

Joe: I've always been jealous of the way the European hardcore punk festivals manage to get so big and became these auspicious occasions. I can only hope that TIH continues to do what it has since day one while improving as we go along. I can dream about outside shows and tents and all sorts of silliness, but I am still humbled each year that kids wait all year for it and alone is enough to keep pushing each year.

IE: How many people do you have giving you hands on help and what exactly kind of things do they do?

Joe: I may or may not have gotten a rap for being over the edge during the fest, so with the move, I've added a lot of help from my friends to make things roll easier for me. It helps with the EFC that many of the small tasks relegated to R5 Productions staffers are now being taken care of by EFC guys and since we have such a cooler better relationship with the venue, valuable staffers are available for better suited jobs then taking tickets at the door. My close friend “Juicy” Joel Murphy of Memphis, TN (Clenched Fist) does much for me, from the website to our amazing graphics and flyers before the fest begins. He also brought with him some of the craziest awesome Southern boys to give a hand in everything from setting up tables and putting up tents to doing the small dirty work that makes my life easier. Joel is a Godsend for the peace of mind he gives each year at TIH. Joel's lil brother Andrew “Memphis” Murphy is a stage manager and deals with a lot of the gear and the bands and deals with some of the logistics of bands sharing/needing specific gear along with the backline that Mesa donates. He also coordinates a lot of simple logistics between bands and is vital in finding specific band people in a crowd of 1,000s. Though he gets flustered, he is really pro and makes things run so smooth.

Greg Daly who tour manages only the craziest bands in the world and is an R5 staffer was our artist rep, who handled much of the backstage passes, checking bands in and just being the first face to greet our bands.

Chris x who works with me on PhillyHC shows and been a friend for 20 years was responsible for delegating table space in the outside area and helped in other areas as well.

Jamie Getz of many infamous bands and an R5 staffer handled everything from stage managing to hosting the extra shows each night at Phila Moca. He dealt with a lot of bullshit and is as graceful under pressure as they come.

Timmy Hefner who puts on Chaos in Texas did a lot of back stage running around and really gave an extra hand it seemed whenever it was due.

Liam O who works for Broad St Ministry (a venue here in Philly) and for us with our local shows, was the man who coordinated, scouted and dealt with the food trucks. He did a standout job and took a lot on for his first year.

Donny Mutt did a lot with the logistics of the fest and was the man behind our coat/bag check.

Sunny Singh and Hate5six does a great job each year with promoting the fest through his site: www.hate5six.com

I even had a lot of good help with picking some of the up and coming bands from Bob Wilson who is my part time apprentice, part time minion and full time good friend. He did a lot of chasing band people around during the festival as well. What made the fest different for me was having official roles for these guys and also not having so much weight on me as each of them as well as the incredible EFC staff really just outshined anything I could have imagined. Jerry Market the venue production manager is my all time hero. He listened to the intro for Gorilla Biscuits once, told me it was the start of the Kentucky Derby and called a guy that minute to come and play the trumpet for their intro. He is a phenomenal guy and the fest was his success. Michael who manages the place has his own guys at the top of their game and really despite anything that ever happened at the old venue was just thrilled to have us at EFC and never complained or bitched once. It was a cool breeze to deal with him. 

IE: When the fest kicks off and gets started what is going through your head? Is it possible to relax and enjoy the shows or are you constantly getting involved with running the show?

Joe: I love the adrenaline rush of it. The build up, the momentum that swings in come the opening of doors and the sound of the first band. The first band on Friday has become a Philly only tradition and each one I try to watch all the way through. It sets the tone and pace of the weekend. I have tried to learn to enjoy things as they are happening but during TIH it’s my job to do my damn job so everyone else has fun. It usually hits me at 2am that it was awesome and I can rest and smile then.

IE: What is your dream band past or present that you would love to get to play?

Joe: I received a Judge “Rev Can Suck It 10” from Mike last year for turning down TIH. So to not include Judge would be wrong. I think for me, I've always wanted to recreate the NYHC bills that I saw on flyers growing up looking over the old ‘zines and such. I am left with a few bands that I still haven't had like Burn, Sick Of It All, Ignite, Slapshot that would make me happy along with some age old favorites like SSD, Leeway etc. I don't think I'd want the responsibility as something like Minor Threat as it’s something that is so monumental that I feel should either not happen or be its own show entirely.

IE: The band or bands that have been the easiest to deal with over the years is…?

Joe: Blacklisted, Cold World, Wisdom in Chains, Maximum Penalty, Bane, Ringworm, Terror. I'd have them play every year. Not just as good friends and incredible performers but they are just so happy and cool that it makes things easy. I loved having Madball and H20 and other super professional hardcore bands come because it made the headlining process very orderly and simple to follow that I couldn't complain. God RIP John Hughes for making dealing with any band of that caliber so easy. Shout outs to Mitts for being a great TM to deal with for H20.

IE: What is the band that gave you the most satisfaction of booking to play the previous years?

Joe: I've booked a lot of my favorite bands and honestly having Sheer Terror's reunion along with Ink & Dagger and Kid Dynamite was so overwhelming. Sheer Terror means so much to me and I am blessed to have helped bring them back to the stage. Ink & Dagger and Kid Dynamite are 2 completely different but important parts of Philadelphia hardcore and my own hardcore timeline and to have them come together on the same night is just a dream to be able to deliver to my home town.

IE: How do you go about picking the vendors?

Joe: Some of the labels have been here from the first year and they are still my biggest supporters. Others came a year or two in and have been equally supportive. Since I've given the responsibility to Chris, I just ask that he not bring in too many douchy “clothing lines” that are just basically selling T-shirts. I want bands to sell merch and make money and kids to get cool merch. I could probably “profit” from the weird clothing lines, but I want the bands to sell out of shirts and walk out happy.

IE: You also book other shows throughout the year as well. What do you do for regular work and where do you find the time to do so much for the hardcore scene?

Joe: I am a union cement mason. I am also a freemason and a swordfighter from time to time. All of which somehow connects me back from hardcore. I do this out of love and want to see things done as I would hope they would be done. The days of me not doing shows aren't here yet, but I've opened a lot of opportunity up for Bob Wilson, Chris and Donny who all work together to make the shows good and bring their own shows forward as well. I put hardcore and what I do with it as a high priority. It isn't easy and sometimes the schedule can break me down physically/mentally but I don't know how to live with nothing to do or nothing going on. The commotion and jammed up schedule and the having to be at 2 places on the same day somehow helps me get through life. Otherwise it would get boring.

IE: TIH is obviously rooted in Philadelphia and has a ton of PA bands and attendees. What would you guess is the amount of people traveling in from outside of PA?

Joe: Weblogistics have taught us that the four biggest states aside from PA for TIH is NY, Michigan, Florida and Massachusetts. I would say that we would have about a 30% local to PA/NJ/DE/Baltimore area (which is all drivable in under 2 hours) and then the rest is elsewhere.

IE: Hardcore music is on an upswing the past few years and has seen itself grow in popularity at times in the past but never seems to get past a certain level as far as being known outside of the underground music world. Could you see a day where this changes?

Joe: No. Unlike heavy metal, here in the United States there aren't as much musical outlets that give the media attention in terms of web radio, TV shows and regular radio time to subcultures. With companies like Clear Channel dominating so much of modern day music in the US, I think that although we are seeing more people involved in hardcore, it’s still too small of a market for Clear Channel to ever put their hands into and that will ultimately keep it from every growing bigger then how it is. Also be mindful that if it got bigger, then the small DIY venues and house shows would still exist and it would just become a layered effect, where as the smaller and more punk the music gets, the closer to the core of what the scene would be. Sometimes I like that idea, other times I am just happy to be alive and to see cool things happening for hardcore 20 years after I found it.

IE: And before we go I just gotta ask who gave you the name Joe Hardcore?

Joe: Who is less important than how. Also it may be lost to time. But the origin of the name comes from a local band who this past Saturday night I had the honor of booking their 20 year anniversary show with The Casualties . Tribe Thirteen has a song “Joe Hardcore” and it is basically a very lyrically fast hardcore punk song with an OiOiOiOiOi chorus. We used to hang in this sewer outlet in our neighborhood. It looked like a concrete ravine. Graffiti, everyone drinking or breaking shit. Well at the time I had long hair, talked even faster than I do now and it was said in jest to me “Oh Joe Hardcore over there”. Mockingly of course but…Somehow over the next few months as I hung more with that group the name stuck and being that it was our first big group of friends that met so many of the people that are still involved or around in some shape or form so the name just caught on. I never expected it to last 20 years and I never cared about if I had a cool hardcore name, but I guess I had a cool one so it wasn't worth thinking much about. Somehow it follows me everywhere, past the shows and into work and even into the SCA where I do my sword fighting stuff. Not terribly amusing of a tale, but it comes from a joke and a soft diss to my appearance then. Needless to say, last Saturday I heard it played for the first time in 16 years and was very happy to hear it live again.

IE: That’s it my man, good luck this year, anything else you would like to add?

Joe: In Effect is the crown jewel of hardcore ‘zines for me, so I am humbled to be interviewed for it, sincerely this interview is making the 16 year old in me so happy. Thanks again. Find us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook as well as our website. 

www.thisishardcorefest.com

WATCH the Gorilla Biscuits set from the This Is Hardcore Fest 2012 at the link below courtesy of Hate5Six.com who also has tons of video from the 2012 fest as well as a shitload of hardcore bands from all over. Footage taken August 11, 2012 at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia.

http://hate5six.com/player.php?album=2070886