It’s Alive Fanzine

I did this one with Fred Hammer over email sometime in the late 90’s. Originally, this was for some issue of the one pager fanzine I did at the time Broken Behind This Wall.

***

  1. How long have you been doing It’s Alive?

I have been doing It’s Alive Fanzine for about eleven years. My first few issues didn’t have much in the way of content, they were only a few pages. As time went on I started interviewing bands I enjoyed: Scared Straight, Born Against, Outspoken, Gray Matter, No For An Answer, Half Off, Youth of Today, In My Eyes, Final Conflict, Bl’ast!, Uniform Choice, Rollins Band, Youth Brigade, Life Sentence, Dr. Know, etc. I was one of the first fanzines to ever interview NOFX. In my current issues, I try to include as many pictures as I can. I just try to present a fanzine that I would enjoy reading myself.

***

  1. Have you begun work on the new issue?

I’m starting to stockpile things for It’s Alive #17. I want to do something a little different for this issue, but nothing is set in concrete yet. I’d like to include a 7″ if I could afford it. Of course, it will have the usual photo and flyer sections.

**

  1. What bands would you like to get for the record?

Any bands that would be willing to do it with me!

***

  1. How is the Oxnard scene right now?

At the moment, the Oxnard scene is doing really well. Lots of new people getting involved, most of the new people being interested in the new breed of hardcore bands. Of course, every person here loves and preaches Nardcore. Oxnard bands include Stand Your Ground, Voice of Defiance, Ill Repute, No Motiv, Burning Dog, etc. Something Beyond is a new zine out of Oxnard that is doing very well. A local laser tag arcade is putting on local shows. It’s all ages and usually under $6. There are a lot of things I could complain about, but it is the only scene we have so I try to stay focused on the positive and not the negative. Nardcore for life.

***

  1. I read in the Youth of Today interview in the newest issue that Schism said some shit about you. What happened?

I was good friends with the band Half Off. Billy Rubin, who sang for Half Off, would tell me all these stories about Ray Cappo. How Ray would use girls, run into parked cars and drive off, etc. All of those stories bummed me out so I gave Youth of Today and Judge a couple bad record reviews. Then I saw a Bold/Youth of Today interview and they were talking shit about my zine! So I call Ray Cappo and ask if he wants to do an interview. He agrees and everything goes pretty well. After I edit the interview, I was thinking to myself “some of his answers don’t make sense. I’m going to mail him some comments I have and see if he wants to answer them.” So I send him my comments and I never hear back from him. A few months later, I pick up the new Schism and they are calling me a dick. So I write Schism a letter and never hear back from them. Then I hear that Mike Judge wants to beat me up. My friends and I had all the NYC youth crew addresses and phone numbers so my friends and I would always crank call them and send them these really stupid packages in the mail. It was all in fun and I never hated anyone from any of those bands. I just thought a lot of those bands were full of hot air.

***

  1. Who is going to be in the next issue?

I honestly have no idea.

***

  1. What do you do with your time outside hardcore?

My number one love is surfing. I also enjoy watching No Holds Barred Fighting tournaments (UFC, Vale Tudo, etc). Hanging out with my friends is always fun. I surf almost everyday of my life. Go to school, work, reading is always fun. I usually end up at the local bookstore once or twice a week. I just try to enjoy myself at whatever I am doing!

***

  1. For those who don’t know, what is Nardcore?

Nardcore is hardcore punk music coming out of the Oxnard, California area. oxNARD hardcore=NARDCORE. The story goes that the bass player from Dr. Know made up the term around 1982. Since then the word Nardcore has been used to describe bands, surfboards, styles of music, gangs, etc. Some great bands have been bred out of Oxnard: Aggression, Ill Repute, Stalag 13, Dr. Know, No Motiv, Stand Your Ground, Scared Straight, Habeas Corpus, etc. In my opinion, Nardcore is a bunch of friends hanging out and being involved with the hardcore punk scene. Nardcore for life!

***

  1. What do you like to read?

I really enjoy reading true crime books. I’ve read every book on The Unabomber. Very interesting stuff. I like books dealing on gangs. I also read every mainstream music, surf, and martial arts magazine at my local corporate bookstore. I would never buy any of those magazines, except the surfing related ones. I’m also a newspaper junkie. I read our local paper from front to back everyday. Some people call me an information freak. Of course, I read every zine I can get my hands on! I love zines!

***

  1. What do you think of the Unabomber?

I was always interested in The Unabomber, even years before he was caught. It was amazing to me that a lone person with obviously a genius IQ and minimal contact to the outside world could elude a multi-million dollar manhunt. I didn’t agree with him killing people, but I’m always up for individuals trying to shake up corporate America.

***

  1. Did you read the manifesto?

The Unabomber Manifesto has some really cool ideas if you read deep into it. But, most of it is rambling and the whole thing ends up reading like a boring term paper.

***

  1. What comes first, hardcore or work?

In my life, hardcore comes first in spirit, but work comes first psychically.

***

  1. What are some of your favorite interviews?

Some of my favorite interviews were Bl’ast!, Downcast, Half Off, Uniform Choice, Youth of Today, Ill Repute, Scared Straight, and NOFX. Each and every interview is always exciting for me.

***

  1. Will you ever reprint any other interviews?

No, I don’t think I’m going to reprint any more old interviews, but you never know!

***

  1. Closing comments?

Thanks for the interview, much appreciated.