STEVE "BAGO" ADINOLFI: BASSIST, INDECISION

1. Pitmaster and owner of BAGOCUE barbecue provisions and catering.

2. I love working with food and I really love making people happy by serving them food that excites them, or comforts them, or just helps them have a better experience at a party or event.

3. Guidance counseling or something helpful like that.

4. I'm my own boss but sometimes I question my "during show" behavior.

5. When I was first starting out, I'll always remember my first smokes. Learning by trial and error, and just refining and changing little details every time. But, when it really started to become real, was the night I decided to launch the BAGOCUE Facebook page and started to cook regularly for others. It has grown because of friends and family. It would be nothing without them. They are my test audience and they have been my "Kickstarter". I can truly say this would be nothing without them.

http://bagocue.com

BRIAN “MITTS” DANIELS: GUITAR, MADBALL
 

1. Aside from the band, in between tours I work a variety of different freelance jobs. I work as a stage hand for events and concerts. I've also tour managed for other bands, and I've produced bands before as well. I worked as a stage hand from 1993 until I started getting busy with playing in bands (around 1997). Then I picked it back up again around 2008. I basically reached a point in life where I didn't want to be inactive between tours and recording. It's good to stay productive. The tour managing thing went from 2006 until about 2010. I used to go out with our friends H2O, and over the years I've produced some records for bands like Sub Zero, Darkside NYC, and a great hardcore band from Italy called Strength Approach.

2. I like what I do on the side. The thing that I'm really lucky with is how flexible it is. Freelance production work fits great with the schedule of the band. When we're coming home from the road I usually start reaching out to various companies to see what kind of work they have going. I could never do a full time job along with the band. The schedules would conflict. Depending on what events I work, being a stage hand can be anything from just loading and unloading equipment, setting up and breaking down events, up to actually mixing audio, or operating lights and video. I've worked on big arena concert events, all the way down to doing production for weddings and parties, and everything in between.

3. I would like to do some more producing with bands in the studio. It's really challenging, being part of the creative process of making records. Between all the bands I've been involved with in my career, I've worked on around 12 or so records as a musician, so I've learned a lot of things that I can apply to projects I'd work on as a producer.

4. Most of the bosses I work for as a stage hand are aware of my main gig playing in the band. I've also worked with a lot of people who are familiar with the NYHC genre and the NY hardcore scene. Scott Roberts from Biohazard is a union rigger in NYC. He's actually helped me get work in the past, which I'm really grateful for. So to answer your question, I don't think if bosses saw me playing with the band, that it would have any negative consequences.

5. I worked as a local stage hand on the Big Four show back in 2011 at Yankee Stadium in NYC. Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax. It was pretty cool to be able to be a part of it, to see it, and to get paid to be there. I ran into some people I knew from touring that were working for the band, like our brother Warren Lee who works for Slayer. Warren got his start going on the road with bands like Madball and Skarhead back in the day. It was cool seeing him, and working (somewhat) alongside each other.

MITTS AT YANKEESTADIUM BEFORE THE "BIG 4" SHOW IN 2011

EDDIE SUTTION: VOCALS, LEEWAY

1. I started doing home health aide work just after 9/11 when I was living in Pittsburgh, PA....I started doing it again about 2 years ago while taking care of my mom. It’s not like nursing, but it’s not for everyone.....yes, Eddie Leeway does bed pans and diapers for adults....haha....it's caring for a person's hygiene, running errands,  and whatever is needed to give a person comfort. I've cared for terminal men as well as a man with cerebral palsy who actually had a 9-5 job. I also help care for an incredible medical alert/response service dog who has the ability to sense when a grand mal seizure is coming on....up to 20 minutes before it actually happens! The fact that he's fully trained, and is just like a guide dog you would see with someone who is blind or vision impaired is a great experience for me and I love this dog a great deal....I'm hoping to adopt him after he retires

I also do volunteer work as a patient advocate...being a recovering addict I've seen and experienced a lot of bullshit flaws and issues that patients go through in some places so I try and help out where I can in this capacity using my experience when I was in treatment and I was in battle with a staff of nurses, counselors, and psych-shrinks who I felt had no compassion and/or were (what I felt) incompetent.  After a little investigating, let's just say there are a few less so-called professionals in that center now after learning how to go through walls and barriers keeping patients from having the right(s) to call-out the failures in treatment, rules, and regulations.

The patients are forced to follow so many rules/regulations because let's be honest, a lot of addicts are manipulative and full of shit.....but there are just as many who are doing the right thing and aren't being heard. When you want to file a complaint or have a particular professional investigated there really isn't anyone doing that job.....or they just really don't try to investigate (this is the real truth that I found)....it's as if THEY know everything and the addict is just a lying idiot who doesn't know better. This all was a key turn-off to me and is why I didn't pursue a career as a counselor. Sadly, most counselors, I found, are just there to have a job with benefits and are playing a role and it's sad.....they just shuffle a mountain of paperwork and lose compassion for the field in a short amount of time.....this jadedness actually kills patients.

2. I like what I do because it's part of my thing to give back to humanity if you will....this is not a field for people with no compassion or for people who are easily jaded by their surroundings....I don't believe in that "if you can't beat them, join them" mentality. You're responsible for a human being and that person needs you in order to get through the day and live their life. I have no interest in being in some office setting and I don't know what else I could really do....for most of my life I've been pretty much a 'starving artist' because no one wants to hire somebody who plans on going on tour or has any life goals other than "the job" or "career".

3. I guess I'm dumb for being true to my music and going all or nothing for it....but I saw a lot of bands/artists who had potential, but because they put their time and energy into a job to fall back on they became the job......for many years it was either be a success in music or be a brokester......when I was younger I was into hustling and doing this or that but that's not who I am now.

4. It depends on the boss......I think my superiors respect me for my commitment today but when I was in service work (years ago) the managers were so materialistic and such shits that I didn't respect what they were and I saw what they worshipped in life.....and over time that friction caused static. I don't care whether I was hired, or kept on.....luckily I was always able to move on and not sweat that shit of losing my job...at the time it wasn't a career so I didn't have that anxiety. In music.....my fans are my bosses, and I work hard at that and I'm certain the majority of them see and respect that.

5. The day I'll never forget in my volunteer career is when I helped get a shrink fired because not only was he smirking and laughing at a patient who was literally pouring his heart out to this so-called professional.....after the other patients realized someone was standing up for them (because I became friends with the director who is an incredible human being....one of a kind) they started opening up and we found out he was also trying to control his patients by holding out on meds....we couldn't find proof of this, but the dumb fuck shrink admitted to it privately. 

BACK IN THE DAY WITH LEEWAY. PHOTO BY: KEN SALERNO

PORCELL: GUITAR, YOUTH OF TODAY, JUDGE, SHELTER, PROJECT X + MORE

1. I'm a yoga teacher and I run my own yoga studio in upstate NY called Govinda Yoga. I opened it about 3 years ago and never looked back.

2. I absolutely love what I do. I wake up every morning excited to go to "work", although it doesn't feel like work to me. My commute to the studio is a two minute walk. No gridlock or traffic. No boss hanging over my head. No watching the clock hoping the day will end. I could've chosen a career where I make more money, but quality of life is just so much more important. Plus I keep people healthy for a living, and I really feel like I contribute to my community and that what I do matters.

3. Hardcore punk rock guitar player. There's really not much else I'm qualified for.

4. I don't have a boss and don't want one. The only person I answer to is Krishna.

5. (The one day I will never forget at my job was the time when...) I turned the key on the first day and opened my own business.

www.Govindayogastudio.com 

 Facebook.com/govindayogastudio

TOM CORRIGAN: VOCALS, CAPITAL, BLOOD RED &SILENT MAJORITY

1. Graphic design and screen printing. 23 years. 

2. I do like what i do. I design artwork for use on t-shirts. I also run the embroidery department.

3. Doing my fishing magazine full time instead of part time.

www.surfcastersjournal.com  

4. I work for ex-hardcore people so that’s not a problem.

5. One day at my job I won a dance contest against some dude who was popping off like he was the shit. So we had a dance off in front of the entire factory and I crushed him. I was dressed up like flash dance with leg warmers.

ANDREW WEST: VOCALS

KILL YOUR IDOLS

1. I'm a school custodian. I've been doing it about 15 years.

2. I do happen to like my job to a degree. I mean if I hit Lotto I'd most likely not work at all but as far as having to work I'm cool with it. My responsibilities are all over the place. To keep it short I/we maintain and clean the school and grounds. Literally everything from emptying garbage and mopping floors, to painting, to fixing sprinkler heads, weed wacking, mowing the lawn, smaller plumbing and electronic work, fixing and maintaining the boilers, stripping floors, patching roofs. I mean we do a ton of work. That's one of the good points…you never know what each day brings. I'm also our union local president. It's a non-paying position but also keeps me busy.

3. I'm not sure. I was a printer by trade for years. That sadly is a dead trade. Computers came along and destroyed a trade that many, many guys had done for years. My father was a printer (proud Local 1 Lithographers). Several other custodians in my district were printers too. But that doesn't answer your question. You know, I'm not really sure. I might like to try my hand at being a tour manager for bands or something like that.

4. I have so many bosses that's a hard question to answer. Any of the direct supervisors I've had (the head custodians) have all known about the band, I mean after I worked with them. You know obviously I talk about it and have showed them our CD's and videos of us playing. They're usually just other blue collar guys who are not into hardcore but open minded for the most part. As for the bigger bosses I can't see it holding me back. Let’s face it… other than the cursing its nothing all that offensive. So I don't think it would be a problem.

5. The one day I'll never forget at my job? That's a tough one. The time a kid shit all the way down a hallway maybe? I didn't know what the fuck to do. I was gagging and embarrassed that I had to clean it. Totally overwhelmed. Luckily my co-worker jumped right in and kind of let me just mop up behind him as he did the dirty work.

Another time was when I was new on day shift and we got a call that a toilet was clogged so my boss took me up there and put on a glove and just pulled this giant log of shit out of the toilet. I was madly gagging and he was cracking up to the point tears were rolling down his cheeks.

Another one was one time at work I was telling my boss how over the weekend a younger band I had gone to see were calling us legends (meaning Kill Your Idols) so I was telling my boss about it. A little while later he called me on the walkie talkie and said "hey legend you need to go to room 8 and clean up puke" 

KILL YOUR IDOLS @ TIHC 2013. PHOTO BY: KEN PENN

GEORGE D’ERRICO: GUITARIST, OUTBURST

1. I now work for Universal Music Group Distribution. I've been working for labels and distribution for 20 years now. I started at UMGD in 1996 and worked there for 6 years, then worked in sales for Hollywood/Disney for 6 years and I've been back at UMG Sales for 7 years.

2. I really love what I do. I am the Senior Director of Marketing covering our East Coast labels. We help develop artists by running events, setting up digital and physical promotions, and I've been a big part of Record Store Day the past few years. We usually come up with over 50 pieces a year.

3. I wouldn't mind starting a small business. I think that would be challenging, and would offer some freedoms that you don't have in the corporate world. Hopefully, I would have the means to do it.

4. I think that I would still have gotten hired regardless, as it is the music business. I think it makes me more well rounded for my position. Being in a band gave me an A&R and developing artist and touring perspective that some of my counterparts don't have. I've done radio promo, publishing, sales, and marketing in this industry.

5. The coolest thing that happened to me was this encounter with Ryan Adams. He had a listening event in Hollywood at a studio, and John Silva was there. It was this cool old LA studio, and we got to hear his new album. He told us a story that he played in some North Carolina hardcore band back in the day. I got a minute to talk to him afterwards, and I asked him if he had heard of Outburst. He looked away and then said, "Yeah, I think you guys lead of that comp “Where The Wild Things Are". Pretty cool, and I also got to meet the Master of Metal Rob Halford!!

GEORGE (ON LEFT) WITH OUTBURST AT THE 2012 BLACK 'N BLUE BOWL IN NYC  

KEN “KWE” WAGNER: VOCALS, POINT BLANK

1. I am a union plumber. I've been doing it for 27 years.

2. Yes I love what I’m doing ...Responsibilities , well I was a foreman for over 10 years so I had a lot of responsibilities running the work with crews up to 12 men. The last 3 years I've been a journeyman plumber installing a lot of high end plumbing fixtures.

3. Unless I could have played in a band full time and was able to support my family doing it, this is all I know.

4. Maybe, maybe not… I'm not sure most of the people I work with even know I'm in a hardcore punk band.

5. The one day I'll never forget working at my job was when I was a foreman running a job in Coney Island , I was working on a new Home Depot and heard on the radio about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. One of those things you "Never Forget".....

GAVIN VAN VLACK, GUITARIST, BURN, ABSOLUTION, DIE 116 & MORE

1. Strength and conditioning/martial arts coach for about 20 years now.

2. Love what I do. My responsibilities are to help people rediscover movement and health and do no harm in the process.

3. (Answer 3 was left out)

4. I am my own boss.

5. Honestly I see so many awesome things at my job I couldn't list the best thing. I've seen people go from ill health to high level competitors. I've seen people who were told by doctors that they would never lead active lives again go out and have amazing active lives of high quality. Every day I see some kind of miracle.

http://www.gavinvanvlack.com

CHRIS WILLIAMS: GUITAR, THE CREW, CHAMPION... VOCALS, DEAD WEIGHT

1. I work for a PR agency called Waggener Edstrom. I do PR for Microsoft’s reactive team, which basically means I do damage control when something bad happens. Most of the things we deal with are related to security; so a vulnerability in code is publically posted somewhere, or a new malware is targeting Microsoft customers, or someone gets hacked, etc...

2. I love it. The company I work for is really cool and the work I do is pretty interesting (to me at least). It’s really fast paced. Never a dull moment. My responsibilities really depend on what is happening in the news that day. I do a lot of reading; mostly tech and security publications. I work with reporters to answer any questions they may have about an issue or incident. I work with Microsoft to identify what questions reporters will have and what answers we need to prepare. A lot of times that includes confirmation of an issue, what Microsoft is doing to address it and customer guidance. Security is really interesting. It was something that I never really cared about before, but it’s pretty fascinating with all the high profile stuff going on; large stores getting their credit card reader systems hacked, nation-state cyber-espionage, celebrity phone hacks, hactivists… there’s a lot of really interesting stuff going on.

3. Maybe marketing or advertising. Those are both pretty similar to PR, but approach it from a different angle. If I had to totally switch it up, I always thought it would be cool to be a history or literature teacher. History is so fascinating and I really like to read.

4. Definitely. In fact, I used my band experience on resumes and cover letters and also for my college application. I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a better learning experience than being in a DIY band traveling the world, jammed in a van with the same four dudes for 10 months out of the year. I learned a lot about communication, compromise, teamwork, building something from scratch… not to mention inter-cultural experiences and social media networking stuff that is directly applicable to jobs in the communications field.

5. So, this isn’t really one day, but last year I got to go to Vegas for “Black Hat,” which is one of the biggest hacker conferences in the U.S. It was a lot of fun. I mean, all-expenses paid trip to Vegas was cool, but it was really interesting being at this conference with all these brilliant world class hackers presenting on super technical stuff that I didn’t even really fully understand (to be honest). I also got to meet a lot of the security reporters that I’ve been working with almost daily in some cases.

I’m going to South Africa for work next month, so I’m really hyped about that. My company has a global exchange program where you get to work out of one of the global offices for two weeks (all expenses paid). I applied and was accepted and so I’m going to work in Johannesburg for a couple of weeks. (Chris answered a few weeks back and is already back from his trip to Africa). 

A THROWBACK SHOT OF CHRIS WITH CHAMPION. PHOTO BY: TODD POLLOCK

JAMIE “HAMMA” VOCALS, CLOSE TO THE EDGE, ABJECT! & MORE

1. I am currently working as a driver for a car service in an upscale Westchester town, I've been doing this on and off for the last 11 years.

2. Wouldn't say I like it. It pays the bills and has its advantages for someone in a band. For example it’s not a regular clock in job so I can leave and come back whenever. I can say, “going on a road trip this weekend, may be back on Tuesday", and its acceptable. But, it doesn't have benefits or anything. As far as responsibilities, I take pride in knowing how to get around obstacles and getting people where they need to go on time.

3. I started doing this when I was in my 20’s at the time, I was a fuck up. No sugarcoating my situation back then. I had a series of really shitty jobs. Mostly retail, then, I got a hack license and started making grown up money but after a year of working 12 plus hour days 6 days a week I realized I needed to think about making a move. I went to school for heating and air. I did that for a couple years then the economic crash and a health scare in ‘09 kept me out of that field. I went back to driving then, got hired by a friend in the market research field and worked for 4 years before taking a night job for the cab company I currently work for. I ended up parting ways with the market research place and started doing this again full time. I have used my days off since leaving the last job (I drive at night) to make moves toward getting a more stable career. I've applied with various trade unions (including waiting outside for 12 hours in the rain for a plumbers union application), as well as obtaining a commercial drivers license. I’ve got some irons in the fire. Just waiting for what we in the taxi business call a "real job". When I get a real job I still intend to drive a cab part time for extra money.

4. Haha, yeah I think so. I could see my boss hiring me after seeing me play as a novelty alone. He could tell friends at the country club about it.

5. I picked up a guy who wanted to go to Atlantic City from Yonkers which was $250.00. He was on a 5 day binge and was talking about what a disaster his life was and how he missed his dads funeral that week because he was in the motel getting fucked up the whole time. He ended up wanting to be dropped off in Seaside Heights at which time, he offered me all the cash he had (he said is was $10,000) to kill him.. I then offered to bring him back to Yonkers free of charge and take him to the detox but, he responded with "you think I’m gonna let some nurse tell ME what to do???" And then he walked off.

JAMIE BACK IN THE ABJECT! DAYS

JOE “HARDCORE” MCKAY: THIS IS HARDCORE FESTIVAL FOUNDER

1. I am a Union Cement Mason with OPCMIA Local #592. The Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons have been one of the oldest unions in the country, celebrating 150 years this year. I got into this union in 2011. Before that I was a union laborer for 5 years.

2.  My first experience working with concrete was with a stucco company back in 1998. From the time I started touring in ‘99 till 2005, I would come home from tour and either work at a cabinet shop, building kitchens, countertops and store fixtures or I'd work for construction companies doing drywall, sidewalks etc. In 2006 I was given the opportunity to jump into a union company and began learning concrete restoration. Since that time working with the company I started with, I was given the opportunity to join the Cement Masons. Since then I've worked with other companies and learned a lot more.

3. Despite my show booking and fest work which is another line of work itself, I really should have focused on computers in school or became an engineer. Now that I'm getting older I'm looking into project management classes. My personal skills in organization, time tables and such lend to this and I would transition well to construction management if given the opportunity.

4. Construction is a great field for guys like us. Tattooed, criminal records -no problem. I'm referred to as Hardcore by most of the guys in the company I work with the most. A lot of the guys I work with come to TIHC and have a blast just watching stuff and getting to see what I do. When I first got hired I went to Europe 4 weeks later and got injured on a barricade. I came home and missed a few days. They were completely okay once they saw my leg and heard the story.

5. The one day I will never forget at my job was the time when Bill Greg my foreman started making fun of hardcore after his son pulled up You Tube videos. Finishing concrete while Bill Greg was pretending to windmill and screaming all right you motherfuckers was one of the funniest things I've ever saw on a job.

JOE GRABBING THE MIC TO SING-A-LONG WITH HORROR SHOW. PHOTO BY: WASS PHOTOGRAPHY

DION DENARDO: BASSIST, THE LAST STAND & SHUTDOWN

1. I am a high school social studies teacher and dean of students in the Department of Education of the City of New York. I have been a teacher for ten years and this is my first year as a dean. I currently work on the Lower East Side since 2013 but before that I worked in Coney Island, Brooklyn for 8 years.   

2. Great question… Well there are times I absolutely love what I do and there are times when I hate it. For the most part I do enjoy being a teacher. As a teacher my primary responsibility is to make sure ALL students learn. Students come in all shapes and sizes from all different backgrounds and with different abilities and issues. It is my responsibility to reach all the students everyday, every lesson no matter what. I teach U.S. history and of course you want students to learn the material. I feel that my job is also to help students develop socially, emotionally and academically. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  As a dean my primary responsibility is to keep people safe. I make sure the halls are clear and that students are in class. I make sure the cafeteria is safe. Find stolen property and I try and investigate drug dealing, drug use. I mainly deal with altercations, physical, verbal, bullying…etc. (Break up fights, arguments). As a dean I deal with students, teachers, parents, administrators. I try to make sure people learn from their mistakes. The best part about being a dean is when you have kids make mistakes, (that in the real world would probably get them locked up) and you help them learn and grow from them, when you see them moving in the right direction and doing the right thing. The worst is when a kid is in trouble and continues to make the same mistakes day in and day out and learns nothing. No matter what you do or say.

3. Assistant principal, physical trainer, pilot, car salesman, restaurant owner. 

4. It depends on which one; I’ve had quite a few in ten years. I did mention in the interview for my first position that I was a musician and that I toured all over the world. It definitely helped because he liked that. I think most of my bosses especially the ones now would definitely hire me if they saw the band. The reason why is hardcore is a music that connects with youth and in education your always trying to make that connection.

5. The one day I will never forget at my job was, years ago when the principal got beat down by 5 girls! I’ll never forget that!    

DION WITH THE LAST STAND. PHOTO BY: JAMIE HEIM

RICH FIE: VOCALS, CAUGHT IN A TRAP

1. I am a tattooer. I had been interested and was a "hang around" at a tattoo joint since about 1992. I didn't start tattooing as my profession though until 2002.

2. I truly love my job. Tattoos have been a passion of mine since I was old enough to recognize and understand what they were.

3. I've had quite a few jobs in my youth, from blue collar to bouncer to working in an office.  None have given me more joy than tattooing. I don't think I could ever have another job!

4. Through the grace of God I've been able to be my own boss for over a decade. But my co-workers have come to see Caught In A Trap on numerous occasions.  My stage persona is just pretty much how I am at work, so it definitely don't freak them out.

5. The one day I'll never forget at my job was when I had to shave a woman's foot that was so hairy I could have used a barbers clipper. Tattooing will teach you one thing.....people are gross!

https://www.facebook.com/rdtattooing/timeline