Could you introduce yourself to anyone who doesn’t already know you?

I’m Chris. Grew up in Kent. Lived in Seattle most of my life, but now I’m down in San Luis Obispo, CA for just over a year. HC is my top hobby, but also love sports; diehard Seattle sports fan, but also playing whatever.. volleyball or baseball probably are my favorite to play. I just started Jiu Jitsu last year and been loving that so far. Comic books. Video games. Beach or jumping off stuff into water. Trail running. Hanging with my wife and dog. Eating good food.

What was your introduction to punk and hardcore?

My FIRST introduction was Suicidal Tendencies or Descendants when I was in 7th grade. I had a friend that listened to some of that, as well as some other stuff he got me into like NWA, The Cure, Stone Roses, Nine Inch Nails. I would listen to all that stuff all the time on my Walkman when I was skating in 7th grade. But he moved away and I didn’t really know there were other bands down that road, so I kinda meandered for a few years listening to anything from Bel Biv DeVoe to Guns n Roses to EMF..

I was kinda all over the place until Nirvana blew up and the whole grunge thing was what really brought me back to punk when I was in high school. Through that I found out about Seaweed and Fugazi and at that time a lot of the Epi-Fat bands were starting to blow up, so I listened to some of that; Rancid, Bad Religion and Pennywise and stuff like that until a friend’s friend was visiting from San Diego and he was like “oh you like Fugazi, check this out” and put in the Minor Threat tape. It was instantly game over when I heard that and MT was the gateway into more hardcore because I was chasing that rage and intensity. My first favorite hardcore bands that I gravitated to after Minor Threat were Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Judge, stuff like that.

My first two shows were Seaweed shows, and they were kinda adjacent to the hardcore scene similar to how a band like Title Fight was or maybe a band like Drug Church or Turnstile now. Definitely HC kids at their shows as well as a bunch of other types of people. But from going to Seaweed shows and stuff like that I learned about Undertow. They were a band that I heard a lot about from people around me and got all their CDs but never got to see them until reunions years later. This was way pre-internet, so it was next to impossible for a kid from Kent without any friends in the scene to learn about HC shows that were happening in basements and VFWs and even youth centers on the East Side. 

But there were some bigger HC and adjacent shows that I was able to catch like Sick of It All, Civ, Quicksand and sometimes a local like Botch would open for them and I’d start to figure out who some of the local bands were. That, and I picked up two local zines: Point Furthest From the Middle by Carrie Whitney and Excursion Fanzine by Dave Larson and those two zines were like this portal opening to all these new bands, including a lot more local bands. Once I knew the names it was easier to find flyers for HC shows because I’d see the names and actually know they were HC bands.

You've been the most consistent face in the Seattle/Tacoma scene for as long as ive been around and before that. What drew you to shows, and whats kept everything fresh for you to want to stay as active as you are?

At first it was the energy. The first more DIY/local show I saw was a show in Lakewood South Tacoma. Trial played, as well as Balance of the World. I actually saw Sunny from Hate5six post a pic of a VHS he got from that show, so hopefully the vid will be up on his site soon. Trial was the first local band that I really gravitated to. Undertow had broken up by the time I made my way into the scene and most bands were doing more noisy metal stuff than I preferred. I still supported them and liked them, but Trial was doing the fast energetic stuff that I loved. But what really grabbed me and pulled me in deeper, beyond the intensity was seeing bands like Trial talking about important things that I hadn’t really had to think about before, coming from a safe suburban upbringing. And that’s what really has kept me in love with this thing for so many years. Yes the music is the best music in the world and the live energy is un-matched, but my favorite shows are ones where I feel inspired by the things people are sharing, whether they are presenting ideas or just opening up their chest and pouring their hearts out in the most vulnerable of ways. That’s what is truly special about this thing.

What are some of your favorite memories and shows?

Honestly I could type for days and still feel like I haven’t scratched the surface of this. But my favorite memories are the shows where I was most inspired and/or where I felt community the strongest. A few specific sets:

Power’s last set to close down Rain Fest was maybe my favorite set ever. Just a blast. The community vibe was off the charts.

The JAG before I moved was really special. Just the outpouring of love that I felt from my friends as well as people I barely know or don’t know at all, was really touching.

Seeing Faim three times last year and just listening to Kat share her ideas for three days in a row was super inspirational. Seeing Inclination is always inspiring -- Tyler is someone that has some incredible things to share as well.

Any shows I’ve seen in Oxnard CA lately. It’s one of the scenes that’s closest to me and there’s an incredible young energy in that scene right now and it’s awesome to witness. Specifically, In Time’s set at Rapid Fest was so special. They had to take some time off while their singer was in Chemo and they played this set towards the end of his treatments. He wasn’t actually done yet even. And the outpouring of love and support from the kids here and the energy of their set, it was really special.

Ego Death’s set at the latest JAG – there’s something so special about seeing an up and coming band kinda have a coming out party style of reaction. Their set was my favorite of the weekend.

You've toured probably more than anyone else i know and have seen way more scenes than i can imagine. How do you think bands from the NW are perceived elsewhere? 

The PNW is soooo far from everywhere else so it’s really hard for bands to break out of the NW. One of my favorite aspects of Rain Fest was it was kinda a showcase for everyone to see all the killer bands from up here. I think bands from up in the NW definitely get slept on a lot. But I also think that when people from outside of the PNW do get attached to a band they really ride for them and recognize there’s something special about them and about the NW vibe specifically. I think about all the people that traveled to Rain Fest and kept coming back every year, or eventually just moved to the NW because they needed to be closer to it. That’s pretty awesome when you think about the individual impact.

I hope youre liking California, i miss seeing you at shows all the time, hitting up a sports bar to watch the draft or a hawks game and hitting Marvel movies on opening nights haha. How are you liking it down there so far? What parallels do you see between the northwest scene and the scene down there? 

So there’s really not a scene (that I’m aware of) where I live.. YET! It’s a little college town in the middle of California on the coast. So I feel like a lot of younger HC kids are here for a few years for school then leave, or maybe they grew up here and then moved to SF or LA as soon as they could. But There are a handful of people kinda in my boat. Lovers of HC who are a bit older and will travel north 3 hours to the Bay or south 3 hours to LA. Fresno is also about 2.5 hours east. So each of those scenes are a bit different. The South Bay is popping right now. A ton of big bands from the area (Drain, Sunami, Scowl, etc). Or you go down to the 805 (Oxnard/Ventura area) and it’s not as big, but there are a ton of young kids who just are so pumped to be there. It has the best young vibrant energy, it’s amazin. I’ve only been to one show in Fresno so far, but it was a blast. I would say Oxnard is probably the closest in vibes to the PNW. It’s just close enough to LA that most of the big tours skip them over. But it’s far enough that it’s definitely NOT the same scene. But I think that also breeds that locals-only – ride hard for your bands and your city thing and rep hard for the bands that DO take the time to stop there. I would say that vibe is certainly something I see at times in the PNW.

But as far as where I live, me and some friends are trying to get some shows happening in Arroyo Grande, which is about 15 mins south of SLO. My friends Krista and Matt have a children’s clothing store called Hello Village, and along with another friend Dennis, who plays in Berthold City and was in Internal Affairs and some others, we’re going to do some shows after hours in the clothing store. It’s a cool spot. Perfect size for small town HC. So we just have to try and spread the word and hopefully kids will show up. I would love to cultivate an Oxnard style vibe where it’s just all the skater freaks and weirdos and they come to get down and have fun. If you’re reading this and you live in the area, follow @village_HC_shows on Instagram to see what’s coming up. First three shows are lined up for May. If you’re in a band looking for something to break up the 6 hours between the Bay and So Cal hit us up! Would love to get some PWN bands in the spot.

You recently started the NWHC Radio pod, which rules. What influenced you to want to start that up? Im assuming it had something to do with being on 185 Miles South a bunch?

Thanks man! The impetus for that was really just the realization that there are some incredible historical bands from the PNW who don’t have music on streaming and how I wish more people could hear those bands that I loved growing up like Balance of the World and Everything Went Black. But also, because the NW is so far away from everywhere and there are a ton of killer current bands that I wish more people got exposure to. I listen to a lot of podcasts and podcasted radio shows when I’m running or driving. And I’ve gotten the opportunity to join a few of those HC shows and it’s awesome being on 185 Miles South fairly regularly; I have a blast talking HC with those friends. And there are podcasted radio shows like Dead Air (out of Tacoma), Your Life in America (Santa Barbara), Marked For Life (Philly/NYC) Northern Scene (Victoria I believe) and more that I love listening to and those were the heavy inspiration for NWHC Radio. And Zack from 185 Miles South helped me out with all the logistics stuff and how to get things going, and I watched some YouTubes on how to use Audacity haha. But the idea is I just play songs I like. 13 songs every episode, and I try to mix up the eras and cities and sounds to get a good mix of what the NW has to offer. I talk a bit throughout, mostly to share some history on the bands I’m playing. The idea isn’t to be a completionist. There’s no way I could get to even a sliver of all the great bands over the years. It’s just playing stuff I like and I hope that people enjoy hearing stuff they dig already and can discover some stuff they haven’t heard before and dig. I gotta say Denial of Life has to be the band I’ve gotten the most messages from people saying “yo this band is amazing! Thanks for turning me onto them” and that’s so sick.

Who are some of your all time favorite nwhc bands?

Oh man, I could spend wayyy to much time on that here. Brotherhood, Undertow, Trial – that’s the trio from Seattle that really means the most to me foundationally. SNFU and Sparkmarker from Vancouver BC. Poison Idea and Wipers from Portland. Seaweed isn’t really HC, but like I said, adjacent. They’ve been one of my absolute favorite bands for 30 years. Go check out @NWHCRadio on Instagram and see the playlists to see a ton more.  

Who are your favorite current locals or bands you think people are sleeping on?

Odd Man Out and Punitive Damage are probably my two favorites right now. That Long Knife record from last year was great. Alberta is HOT right now – Home Front LP is in my top two records of 2023 so far and World of Pleasure and The Enforcers new stuff also banging, plus the Delinquent demo is so hot. Ego Death, I can’t wait to see what those kids do next. I hope they tour. I feel like kids down in CA would love them. The new Cujo songs are so sick. Wretch from Spokane. Electric Chair from Portland. There’s a ton of great stuff, I could go on and on and forget a ton.

What would you like to see from the scene currently?

I don’t want this to come off as negative, because there’s so much good young energy in HC right now and I love it. But one thing I wish I saw a bit more of recently was people talking about important stuff between songs. I’ve heard people say things like how they don’t think they’re well spoken or smart enough to talk between songs. But you don’t need to be Greg Bennick or Greg Graffin. I don’t care if what you’re saying “sounds smart” I just want to see hardcore bands be a bit more raw. Because I think that’s what makes hardcore truly special, is that the things people are screaming about on stage mean something, whether it’s political, or social, or personal.  

Is there anything you’d like to leave people with?

I haven’t heard the specifics of what happened, but I saw that Hammerhead House had to cancel some shows and that’s a huge bummer. Hannah is obviously the sweetest and does so much for NWHC and her and friends opened their house for the scene and for anyone to be disrespectful of that is ultra lame. So, if there’s one thing I would leave with anyone that is still reading this, it’s that Hardcore scenes are a really fragile thing. Sometimes it’s hard to see that when things are popping and there’s a ton of energy and everything feels invulnerable. But it always goes in waves. The two biggest reasons I’ve seen why things fizzle out and die is because either A) there aren’t spaces to have shows because people ruin them with fighting or graffiti or drugs or litter or other selfish behavior, or B) because people stop feeling like they are part of a community, usually because of the actions of others, whether it be violence or cliques or predatory behavior or petty grudges. The root cause of both of these things is often rooted in selfishness. I don’t say this to call anyone out. It’s something that everyone has to learn, myself included. But from my years in hardcore, the times that things have been the most special are the times where it felt like the community was the strongest. I think one thing that people tend to get wrong in hardcore is that there’s a notion that you need to stand by your friends no matter what and always have their backs. But I’d like to propose the idea that if you can’t put your friends in check when they’re being idiots, you’re a shitty friend.