So, how's the summer been treating you guys?

The Summer has been great. We've taken on plans to release a split 7" with out good friends from home, In Times of War on Eternal Hope Records. Chris Eternal Hope has been an awesome guy, and is working really quickly. We should see this out sometime in October / November.

So how do you guys make ends meet when you're not jamming with the band?

Some of us don't, haha. I do mostly website design and other various things for a friends father. Still learning. Kevin does party rentals, Anthony makes ice cream, Jon. goes to school in Albany, and Mike lives with his parents.

What do you think the US will do with the Israel and Lebanon situation? And do you think the WWIII scenario is getting blown out of proportion or do you have your gas masks ready?

We'll probably blindly support this war like we always do. I think the WW3 scenario is definitely being blown out of proportion, but that's not to downplay how serious these things are. Our government never has our best interests at heart. Will it cause a WW3? Probably not. But it will probably significantly increase the hostilities of other peoples towards us and end up increasing the amount of guerilla warfare (or terrorism for those who want to feel scared all the time) that happens against us and our allies.

You guys embody the DIY spirit to the fullest, making your own CD's, shirts, pins, etc., and then you either give away the materials for free or damn near close, while I see supposed DIY bands selling shit for 15-18 bucks. What made you guys want to take this approach, and who really busts their ass the most?

Well, I'll be honest, I work a day job and I sit around after work putting together / sending out cd's, and I love it. But I'm not going to stand on a high horse, because we aren't out there touring our asses off only to work dead end jobs when we get home. Lets face it, most bands don't make money off of hardcore, be it $5 or $15 shirts. Usually they're trying to just break even, so I won't judge anyone based on price. I have no problem paying $15 for a great CD by a hardworking band / label. $10 isn't making or breaking anybody's pocket, and we shouldn't be so quick to judge people based on such superficial aspects of their band. Usually it's pretty easy to tell when a band is trying to make money or not.

Hardcore is known for having the perfect one word band name, and INVADE is perfect for your sound and what you guys sing about. Who came up with the name and how?

Well, funny story, there was a first incarnation of this band with my friend Bill and some close friends who play in Last Conviction. Bill came up with the name and I loved it, so when we stopped practicing / never made it out of the basement, he let me keep it. haha and I thank him greatly for it.

In the next year where do you see yourselves? Hopefully on tour as much as possible. There are some small hurtles to be dealt with at home first, but we'd love to get out there and play for the people who have been asking us to come out. Also, we'll be releasing a full length early next year, which we're really excited about writing for right now.

For the last year, how would you grade the overall hardcore scene?

This has been a phenomenal year for hardcore. I can't even name all of the bands that have emerged / released amazing albums. I feel like there's a real resurgence going on right now, at home on Long Island and across the country. Locally, bands like In Times of War, Host & Parasite (Jon's other band) Take My Chances, Thieves and Assassins, Up the Fury, DIVIDER, In the company of Heroes, In Unrest, Another Day, Solidarity Pact, Disnihil, Crime in Stereo, and Capital have been getting me excited. Nationally, there have been some amazing releases this year. I'm currently really psyched on Ambitions, End of a Year, How We Are, Verse, Another Breath, Have Heart, Wait in Vain, Hollywood, Merkit, Where It Ends, Forced Forward, Movement, Mother Night, and many more I can't think of off the top of my head.

Do you feel the rest of the world have good reason to think Americans are spoiled and over privileged?

Well, I think the rest of the world has a great reason to hate our government. We take what we are given, and unless you're running out into the wilderness to fend for yourself, you have to live in the society you live in. We have no choice but to use gas, waste energy, and generally fuck up the world based on our current situation. But that's not to say that we can't work to improve things from the inside, and I'd like to think that educated people everywhere won't see things so black and white as to generalize Americans that way, anymore than you can stereotype any type of people. That's just wrong, we're all individuals, and we have to remember that more often. European, Arab, Asian, Hispanic, African, we're all just people. Most of us are taken advantage of and played against each other by those in control, everywhere. Most governments don't have their peoples best interests at heart. Hatred and fear are the tools through which these people maintain power. If we all woke up and saw things how they really are, we wouldn't support their bullshit.Does the human race deserve to be saved or should we all be executed?Saved? I don't think I'd say saved, but I think we can work towards constant improvement. There is no magical answer and things will never be perfect, but fighting for what's right is always worth it. There have been far worse periods in the human history, and far better, so to say we're so far gone now to lift ourselves out of our problems is shortsighted. The world will go on and hopefully things will continue to improve. The past hundred years have witnessed the fall of slavery, racism, and sexism in this country. Granted, some of these have been replaced with nicer versions, like 'immigration policy' and wage slavery. But there is improvement, and it's a constant battle that we can never give up.

Who was worse, Reagan or Bush?

I'm going to have to say Bush. I honestly think he will go down as the worst president in US history. He clearly has his and his cohorts interest at heart at all times, blatantly and flagrantly. If you read anything outside of major corporate newspapers, you know that he is very clear about who he serves. However, he doesn't even serve them right, and ends up hurting the people, the world, other countries, and even those business' whose interests he attempts to serve. About the only people that are probably happy with him are radical religious right leaders that are willing to sacrifice their followers best interests for a moral pedestal.

Many can't stand the political hardcore bands, and the speeches they give in between songs, while others argue they'd rather hear something different than what crews they roll with, or how much life sucks etc,. Where do you guys stand?

If people don't want to hear speeches, they shouldn't listen to hardcore. There's nothing wrong with songs about hanging out and your friends, that's been involved all the time, even Minor Threat sings about that kind of stuff. But to completely rid hardcore of any sense of morals or beliefs is to rob hardcore of what's at its heart. This isn't MTV, these aren't pop hits, this is a rebellion and a movement. If you want to be part of a movement, get ready to hear what it has to say. If not, go listen to nu metal, you can mosh just as much and nobody will ever try to get you to think. (Edit: Jeff: I couldn't have said it better myself man)

How is the scene in Long Island? What are some bands that people should keep an ear out for?

I already answered this up a few questions I think. It's great, and all of those bands are writing great music. There are also great punk bands around right now like latterman and small arms dealer that remind me that melodic punk doesn't have to mean corporate rock. (Edit: haha I'm an idiot sometimes)

Over the course of the adolescence, teenage years and now your 20's (adulthood), how has your musical taste changed?

Well, personally, I grew up on a lot of pop punk and emo. I started getting into hardcore towards the end of high school, but then again, pop punk and emo weren't such dirty words as they are now at that time. Kevin came out of a crustier punk background, while Mike grew up on NYHC of the likes of madball and sick of it all. Anthony is the youngest, being 20, and he listened to bands like Strife and Burn as far back as I am aware. Jon has floated between thrash and hardcore, and has been in pretty much every band ever.

What song would you say describes you the most as a person?

Well, right now I'd have to say I identify a lot with the song Early Nineties by Capital. It has a line that goes like this " "Never Not I" is what I cried when asked to lead a normal life. 9 to 5 was something that I simply could not even justify. but rent and bills bend the truth, inside I stay restless with or without youth" Now being out of college and paying rent, this is how I feel. I think for all of us this band is our only best bet for postponing the "normal life" as long as possible, and that's something we want to grab ahold of and never let go.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to do this guys. If you have anything you want to say, please do.

There are surprisingly quite a few punk/hardcore publications that won't interview bands until they have a nationally distributed label, for advertising or whatever reasons, and that is sad to me, from a DIY community. So we really appreciate you taking the time to do this for us. thank you so much.
-=Invade
http://www.myspace.com/invade