Okay, your name is Phil Hiotis, you live in Baltimore, what do you do and why should anyone care?
I contribute to a zine called New Noise Fanzine, I take pictures at shows so people can have nice new little display pics for their Facebooks and Myspaces, and I also do my best to book as many shows as I can financially do. Hopefully this sap story will make people care enough to give me money, cause I'm very very broke.
How did you find your way to booking shows and promoting? It seems that in a place like Baltimore, all bases would be covered and that would be a hard gig to get into, yet you seem to be one of the premiere booking agents in Maryland alongside Rob [Sullivan].
I really had to slow down since I'm back in school. I got into booking because my band was on its last legs and I wanted to significantly contribute to hardcore. Those people who get interviewed and asked how they contribute to hardcore, and the first thing they say is "Well, I'm in (some piece of shit band)" always drove me crazy and I figured it was time to actually contribute to hardcore. It's really weird when I think about it now. I was the last of my friends to get into hardcore and now I'm the deepest involved.
A lot of people throughout the years have seemed to use hardcore as a stepping stone to some other facet of life, whether it be another form of alternative music, running a label, or whatever else. Do you see yourself taking such a step, or "selling out" of what you are currently involved in?
It's funny you should ask, because I was just thinking to myself of how I felt the first time I heard WARZONE, GORILLA BISCUITS, TURNING POINT, or CHAIN OF STRENGTH and how I wish I could get that same feeling with a newer band. I don't consider myself jaded on hardcore. I'm not the biggest fan of the trends going on now as they don't really relate to the bands I really love when I was first getting in. I love MADBALL and STOUT; but i feel their 17-21 year old counterparts aren't capturing them to the same degree, excluding someone like TRAPPED UNDER ICE. I can't buy that hard living message from bands I know live with their parents in the suburbs.
In a battle of who is hardest, who would win: Baltimore or Cleveland? Be honest.
Baltimore. NEXT STEP UP, GUT INSTINCT and STOUT would fuck up ONE LIFE CREW and INTEGRITY.
This is going on record, just so you know.
I'm fully prepared for the consequences
Moving on, what current bands DO get you stoked on punk rock and hardcore right now?
Well, I'm pretty lucky locally. I have three of my favorite bands coming out locally in RUINER, PULLING TEETH, and TRAPPED UNDER ICE. I think all their new albums are amazing. I love the step RUINER took in Hell is Empty, I love the epic and weird songs in Paranoid Delusions/ Paradise Illusions, and I really dig the slow and emotional songs in Secrets of the World. I listen to From Birth and World I Hate constantly on repeat. Staying locally, MINDSET made me a fan with their REALPOWER. My old band played their first artspace show with them, and I remember thinking they were fucking terrible, minus the covers. I felt pretty much the same when they released their full length/demo, excluding the first track off it (Self Respect); but their seven inch was a giant, and I mean giant, step forward, and quickly made me a fan. Also, PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH and GIVE both continue to blow my mind every time I see them live. I just heard the newest HOPE CON, and it served as a constant reminder of why they are one of my favorite bands. LION OF JUDAH reissued themselves to me with Numberology. I was done with that band because I was left unimpressed with their live performance; however, seeing them being tight again and just listening to their new stuff sucked me back in. It's so fucking good. I really like HOSTAGE CALM. I think Lens is the rare kind of full length that my short attention span can easily conquer. Last Trap Them album was awesome. Always a fan of BLACKLISTED, especially their new stuff. It took a while for it to grow on me, but everytime I listen to Heavier than Heaven..., the more I see it as a great album. New IRON AGE slays.
Awesome to see other people actually LISTENING to bands; I will concur and say that Maryland has a very strong hardcore and punk scene currently, definitely something to be proud of. Outside of Baltimore and Maryland, what other scenes do you think have their shit together?
Well, I won't get ahead of myself with this "greatness" that comes with the Baltimore scene. It's true, we have a lot of venues, making for a lot of shows; however, a few of these new promising Baltimore bands everyone was talking about have broken up or are breaking up, so I think it's important to establish a strong local scene. I can't rightfully judge other scenes based on the couple of shows I've been on tour. I will say the shows I've played in the New Brunswick area of New Jersey had some of the nicest people I've met. I will also say that Virginia and Connecticut have the most ignorant moshers I have ever seen.
Why will the Yankees dynasty always be better than the Red Sox?
They're both full of dumb ass players and their stadiums are full of spoiled fans. Support a team that hasn't made the playoffs since '97 and has finished dead last the past couple of years, and then let me know if you're still a fan.
What kind of maintenance do you perform on your beard? Is it all natural? Have you considered a chinstrap?
I'm a naturally hairy person. I usually trim it down with an electric razor on the second setting. Chinstraps are fucking dumb for people my size. I can't understand overweight people getting them. It will only bring attention to the fat on my neck, which is why I have a beard in the first place - to cover it up.
Now photography: what got you into this? I know you don't consider yourself to be a "real" photographer, but you certainly do take some relatively high-quality pictures at shows. How did this come about?
Well, it all started when I wanted to do a zine. I think a crucial part of zines are the pictures, and I noticed that no one really was taking pictures at shows anymore. So, I figured it couldn't be all that difficult, especially since it was only going to be for my zine. I borrowed my friends camera and shot a LOJ/BAD SEED show. Looking back, those pictures were pretty terrible. I was really struggling with angles. Shots that I can do completely blindfolded were an unimaginable summit then. I always said and continue to say that I am not a real photographer. I have not taken any classes, although I am a bit more educated in the field than when I first started; but experience comes with anything you consistently do. I bought better equipment to make my pictures look better. I just can't ever see myself being in the same category as a Future Breed, Zak Wolf, Katie Dance, etc. It's really funny looking back on it now, all the promises I made to myself are now all out the window. I told myself I wasn't going to make a flickr or anything, but after shooting a few TITLE FIGHT shows, the barrage of 17 year old girls asking for pictures was a bit too much, so I made one and constantly update it now. I promised myself that I wouldn't edit my pictures, but than Rob asked me if he can use some shots of RUINER for a B9 email, and I couldn't with all conscience leave them untouched. Whenever anyone has anything nice to say about my pictures, I always feel so honored because it's something that I'm still learning.
Is photography something you would potentially pursue as a career-venture? If not, have you ever considered a career that would let you "stick to your roots" and stay involved in hardcore?
I would love to do something career wise with photography. Whether it's something that is realistically attainable is a whole other question. I just plan on dropping out of college, going to Rolling Stone, handing them my past issues of my zine, and keenly whispering "you know what to do." From there, I will exploit hardcore for my own career benefit.
LIFE OF AGONY is playing "River Runs Red" in its entirety November 28th in Jersey. On a scale of 1-10 how excited are you for this? Anything below an 8 will be met with punishment.
OK, I'm going to be very clear with this. It's about a negative 11. I am so fucking sick of RRR. LIFE OF AGONY made one decent album, decided they wanted to do something more than hardcore - which is fine- did not become as successful as whatever executive promised them, didn't score as much blow as some asshole promised them, and are now going back to familiar grounds for any bit idolism. I'm, of course, speculating. I'm just sick of this trend. Cold World has a lot to do with it. I will say that I really like COLD WORLD, especially their newest album, which was really inspired by LIFE OF AGONY, but they opened the River Runs Red window for every younger kid listening to them so they can go on eBay and score their records or score their shirts and try to cooly play off the time when they didn't know the band existed. I am not saying I have never liked the band, I'm not even admitting that I've never moshed to a cover of River Runs Red, I'm merely admitting my own frustration and just that I'm fucking tired about hearing of this one fucking album.
Okay fair enough, at least youre honest. Lets close this out with some word association, I'll say a word you tell me first thing that comes to your head. Hard:
You're bitch ass heart will get fucked in the street-ah.
Boston:
Clean air.
Hype:
A word that loses all meaning when used by the likes of jaded idiots.
Underrated:
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Mosh:
A dumb activity that I will happily partake in, if the mood is right.
http://www.myspace.com/philhaven
http://www.flickr.com/truthandpurpose
xoxo
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