Graphics by: Bas Spierings
There ain’t a whole lot to say to start off this April 2015 interview with Ken Wagner of NY’s Point Blank. They have a unique lineup with some real old-schoolers joining forces with some already established younger kids and have already popped out a pretty damn good debut demo along the way this past January. In Effect Hardcore FULLY backs hard working bands that go out and handle their own shit and with Ken leading the way for Point Blank they definitely fall into that category. Make sure to give their demo a listen at the end of the interview as well!
IE: Hey, what's up Ken, thanks for taking the time out to do this. You have been involved with the NYHC scene for years but it wasn’t till just a few years back that you actually were the singer for a band. What happened in your 40's that made that light bulb light up and make you want to start a band and be the singer?
Ken: Funny... I always wanted to…had an opportunity in 1983 with the band Armed Citizens but after learning the lyrics and numerous practices it just fell apart so I moved on..... Flash forward to 2010… after being asked to sing "Rise Above" for some Antidote reunion shows the "fire" was lit!! And in return there's been no looking back.....
IE: Give us some background into where you grew up and how you got drawn into the hardcore scene as a kid.
Ken: I grew up in Astoria, Queens. I’m from a blue collar family... I lived next door to Doug Holland-Kraut/M.O.I./Cro-Mags, Billy Phillips… the original singer for Urban Waste/Major Conflict and diagonally across the street from Eric Cassanova who sang for the Cro-Mags. My brother James played roller hockey with Jimmy G (Murphy's Law). So I was surrounded by what would become my life… hardcore punk.
IE: Queens had no shortage of hardcore bands back then with Astoria almost being a hardcore band factory of sorts. I have heard the stories where members of multiple bands all grew up either on the same block or within a couple of blocks of each other. Please tell us more about what your situation was like back then and who were your boys that you would hang out with who were in bands?
Ken: Well like I said being that I lived next door to Doug from Kraut he got Billy into it who then started Urban Waste… they practiced at John Kelly's apartment in the Ravenswood Projects where Armed Citizens practiced. The boys from Gilligan’s Revenge practiced there a handful of times. Guzy the drummer from Armed Citizens joined Murphy's Law with Adam Mucci bass player from Agnostic Front and they practiced a few times there. Boys from The Mob would hang out at Johnny's too. After meeting the Gilligan’s Revenge crew I hung out at The Pyramids down by the Con Ed plant in Astoria… met up with Eddie Sutton when he was in The Unruled… later they changed their name to Leeway...incidentally bought my 1st real skateboard off him (a walker board). Later on when Billy left Urban Waste and started Major Conflict I then hung out with the Hoyt Boys- Dito guitarist for Major Conflict (later Gutterboy and now movie director), Big Robb, John Groody, Mike O'Shea, Eugene…that's just a few of the cast of characters I ran with.
IE: For someone who doesn't know the name Point Blank yet they may be thinking, ok this guy has been around awhile but is his band any good? For the record I think your demo was a pretty damn good debut. With that said can you tell the people out there who is in Point Blank and what kind of style do you guys play?
Ken: Thanks I appreciate that. The band is myself on vocals, Dan Derella the original guitarist and one of the founding members of the NYHC band Underdog on bass, Matt Achstatter on guitar and Shuffles on drums. We have been told we have that old NYHC sound.....
IE: Like yourself, Danny is in his 40's and then you have 2 relatively young guys on guitar and drums. How did this "young meets old" union come to be and when I say old I mean it in a hardcore sense considering I'm only a couple of years younger than you! Haha.
Ken: We met on Facebook. I answered a comment put out by Bryan Livov who was looking to start a new band. I put out the word and Dan answered asking to play bass, Shuffles was down too and Bryan brought in Matt as a 2nd guitarist... So we were a 5 piece to start, but after progressing quickly and Bryan working long hours he had to bow out. We took the ball and ran with it never looking back.
IE: I've noticed that in regards to you booking your own shows that you like to branch out and play with different bands who may play different styles than yours. You also have done your share of networking from what I can tell yet I don't think you are playing as much as you'd like to or the kinds of shows you'd like to play. Has putting in the work and not necessarily seeing the results yet been frustrating for you and the other members?
Ken: Yes and no. The music is fun, the shows are fun… so that trumps everything. We know we gotta pay our dues and work our way up the ladder… growing pains are going to be a part of it and we understand that so in the end it's all good!
IE: Your demo is being pressed onto vinyl soon. Can you tell us about that release and what do you plan to follow that up with?
Ken: We don't have a hard date on the release but it's on Not Like You Records (Editors note: Not Like You also runs a great zine out of New Mexico). 500 will be pressed. It’s something that I always imagined but never thought would happen. So many of my friends in the early days got to record and put out records. I have a large amount of records I have bought over the years and now I'm gonna be on one. It's a little surreal. As far as a follow up to the EP who knows......
IE: There is another hardcore band called Point Blank down in Tallahassee Florida. Were you aware of this and will unity prevail in regards to there being two of you with the same name?
Ken: Honestly there have been a few bands called Point Blank through the years. We are POINT BLANK REPPIN NYHC and have no issues with the Florida band. We definitely don't sound like ‘em.
IE: How many shows would you guess Point Blank has played so far and how far out have you guys traveled to play?
Ken: We have 13 shows under our belt all in the NYC area. We are going up to Massachusetts in May, Connecticut in June with other out of state dates on the horizon.
IE: How deep into playing shows would you want to take Point Blank? Is this more of a thing where you will drive to do weekend dates or can you see some touring?
Ken: Ha! I'd love to have play every week, tours, weekend-ers shit yeah but the reality is we all have jobs and families so that's gonna be hard to do.
IE: Ok, we get that you are a lifelong New Yorker from Queens and now living out on Long Island. I myself get the "what is the best pizza in NY" question from out of towners often. With that said give us your Ken Wagner Point Blank top 3 pizza joints in NY if you will...
Ken: Well when I lived in Astoria it was Dino's Pizza on Broadway (it's still there). I can't remember the name of the place on 36th Ave and 30th Street… I used to get a slice after school from Junior HS 204. St. Marks Pizza on the L.E.S. by the Continental… I used to pick up a slice sometimes before or after a matinee at CBGB's.
IE: That's all I got. Thanks for your time. Keep up the hard work!
Ken: Thanks for giving me the opportunity to chat and thanks for the support.
Click photo for Point Blank page
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