Interview with Brendan Garrone of Incendiary



Photo Courtesy & All Rights Reserved: Becca Lader

We are living in tiring times. Times that have demanded more from humanity’s instinctive goodness and less of society’s inherent baneful disregard of its people. The good citizens of our county have been torn, misled, and hurt due to a government that claims to have the best interest of our vast and endlessly diverse nation. Our government continues to focus its interests towards selfish gains that only limit the freedom of our country. All while further empowering the so called great leaders of this seemingly tired and blue nation.

Oppression is a word that gets thrown out quite a bit within the subjective headlines of various media outlets. Now, some may simply be allegations or hearsay or a platform to stir the pot. However, peer closely into the socioeconomic and political ideologies that make up this “once great nation” and you will see that the apparent freedoms of our people is marked by both injustice and hypocrisy.

From police brutality to corrupt political figures that decide the betterment of our communities, we must not be blind to the travesties that are committed. The marginalized, the poor, and the weak have been continually subdued through fear and power from the high classed elite. In the recent weeks under the new administration, we as a country have seen nothing but uncertainty and left with nothing but fear. It is during this tiring times that a voice of reasoning towards justice must be prevalent. A voice of conviction fueled by anger in hopes that hope itself is not yet forgotten is what is needed during such tiring times.

Incendiary is just that voice of concern and its sound is the alarm.

Incendiary is a household name at this point in regards to those who frequent the hardcore, punk, and even metal scene throughout the world. I mean, why the fuck not though? Seeing as this Brooklyn based hardcore outfit has produced some of the most passionate and threatening sounds against life’s injustice.

Now, after nearly three years, this band has finally debuted what is nothing more than a well waited track that houses but maturity and musicianship. Perfection is a tall order to request but with this taste of Thousand Mile Stare, it is safe to say Incendiary has outdone itself once again. Give the track The Product Is You a quick listen while you continue to read.

Thousand Mile Stare is the junior full length release from New York’s decade old act. This is not a quiet group of musicians. They tend to know the best way to voice a thought of concern through viciously embracing lyrics while matching it with an equally pissed off sound of aggression. Arguably, this is the highly anticipated hardcore record of the year and is slated to drop on May 5th through none other than Closed Casket Activities. This promising record was recorded by the ever talented Will Putney, head of Graphic Nature recording and master of all that is heavy. Click here for pre orders.

For those fortunate to live within City of New York or its surrounding areas, we highly recommend you cop tickets now to see their record release performance. This gig will feature Crime In Stereo, King Nine, & Trail of Lies over at Brooklyn Bazaar for just $12 in advance so hop the hell on that guys and gals. Tickets at the door, if any, shall be severely limited. Don’t be a leach and resell those admittances at higher price either.

Until then enjoy a brief yet informative interview between Michael “Mort” Howard (Wastelands) and Incendiary’s very own, Brendan Garrone. What better conversation than two hardcore frontmen innant with fervent beliefs of humanity. Enjoy y’all…

Interview with Brendan Garrone

Michael: It has been quite a few years since Incendiary put out Cost of Living. Why the wait? Was this a deliberate move or did the band have to take a backseat from life for a while?

Brendan: I think it was a combination of being focused on playing as many places as we could on a limited time schedule combined with the fact that it sort of takes us a long time in general to write.

We had been slowly working on material for the better part of a year before we went in to record. More broadly, we don’t really feel much pressure to adhere to any kind of schedule. I think we all collectively felt we were overdue for new music.

M: What was different this time around with the writing and recording process versus your previous releases? Was this an effortless process or were there roadblocks in making Thousand Mile Stare?

B: Writing was a little more fluid this time around only because 4/5ths of us are all living in Brooklyn so it made practicing easier.

Working with Will Putney was probably the best recording experience we’ve had. It was a really collaborative environment in the studio and made things more fun and less stressful.

M: It’s no secret that Incendiary is a band of purpose that carries both a message and opinion on various social and ethical subjects. How has the current state of political affairs in our country affect your writing for this record?

B: Well there is no shortage of content, that’s for sure, but the current political client is so depressing that it’s almost overwhelming. There are still socio-politically driven songs like Front Toward Enemy and No Purity but they focus more on specific topics and less of a broad, general perspective like on Cost of Living.

Ironically enough, this is the most personal record lyrically for me. There is a theme of perspective on the past and future of my life now that I’m older and out of my 20’s. It’s a lot more inward looking than outward, if that makes sense.

M: Thousand Mile Stare comes out May 5th 2017 on Closed Casket Activities. Besides the few dates that are booked right now, do you have any plans to tour on the record this year?

B: We’ll be doing some shows this summer on the East Coast to support the new record as well as a really exciting tour in a new place we’ve never been to. All which will be announced soon. Besides that just playing as often as schedules allow, we will never tour heavily.

M: It seems that most people end up getting into hardcore through either punk or metal first. Should this statement be true, which genre for you was the one that got you into hardcore?

B: It was punk for me, specifically skate punk stuff like Pennywise, Nofx, etc. I grew up playing the drums and was obsessed with Byron’s drumming on those early Pennywise records so it got me really into fast stuff like them. After that I got really into going to see local bands at a young age and that, combined with hearing Strife, led to me getting into hardcore.

M: What are some newer bands in hardcore that you guys have been digging?

B: That band Vein rules, it reminds me of more straightforward As The Sun Sets. I also love all of the metal influenced hardcore coming out of Long Island now with bands like Separated , Jukai , and Sanction . They aren’t as new but I also dig Breakaway and Lost Souls from Richmond.

M: Hardcore has no definitive line of definition yet is concise with sharing similar attitudes, philosophies, and notions of morality among different scenes . It’s almost impossible to define at times since everyone has their own definition. As cliche the question may be, what does hardcore mean to you? How did you end up getting involved in all of this?

B: Two things that initially resonated with me in hardcore was the energy of the live shows and the focus on lyrical content and message. As I get older, the community and friendship that I’ve gained has become more and more important to myself. For people who have played and toured in bands or traveled to see shows, the fact that many of us have friends all over the world is really such a unique benefit and opportunity. I don’t know if people realize how lucky we are to have such a great network of people with a similar mindset and ethos, the vast majority of people don’t have anything like that.

M: Well, that just about wraps everything up. Is there anything you would like to say or plug before we wrap this up?

B: Thousand Mile Stare comes out May 5th on Closed Casket Activities. Pre order the record here.

This is the best record we’ve ever done and i’m so excited for people to hear it. Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with us and thanks Matt and Michael for the interview.