Oh HELL YES!!

Crowd's active partecipation is what makes hardcore different from most of other shit outta here! No barriers between the bands & the kids,stand AS ONE!!

ZERO PROGRESS interview.

Ok it been quite a while since the last post.My apologies to Z.P. guys,i was pretty much occupied between school & work in the last couple of weeks...shit life is boring if you haven't band!
Anyway,back to the interview.ZERO PROGRESS hails from Denville,California.Just for that in my eyes the band should get "extra points" ...you kow wadda mean uh?? C'mon.CALIFORNIA...the homebase of most of the greatest hardcore & punk bands back then...and NOW if you ask me...

ANYWAY anyway anyway : ZERO PROGRESS have got a demo out there which R-I-P-S,and is also downlodable in their own blog.Fast,aggressive hardcore,the way it should be done.Thugs will roll in their beds wonderig what the hell is going on listen to this.Crusties probably will shower themselves and cut their hair after listening to this , old and young punks will have a grin on their faces ...and probably even a boner in their pants.I hope they'll put out something else.QUICKLY.Damn i cant stop listening to this demo....

And here's the interview!!


Give a short introduction of the band.. past & present mambers!

Ed: ZERO PROGRESS is me on bass, Josh on drums, Matt on vocals and Collin on guitar. We formed in the summer of 2009 after Skull Stomp and Negative Choice broke up. All members besides me were in N.C. . Myself, Collin and Matt were in Skull Stomp.

1) The first thing i thought after listening to your demo was : Hell,they got THAT nihilistic attitude that have made hardcore a force to recon even back then...So,what makes you guys so pissed at the world and life in general?

Ed: We’re from an upper middle class California town. For myself personally, there are very few people I can relate to here. The culture of this little “bubble” that we live in is pitiful. Never fit in at school, blah blah blah. These are some of the reasons I was attracted to punk rock, playing in fast angry bands is very cathartic for me.

Matt: I'm not that pissed off, im generally a happy guy. My music is a way for me to fight back against the the hipsters.

2) What about politics ? Do you think that hardcore punk shol deal with everyday problems but avoid the political aspects of it? (personally,i though its just impossible to keep divided the twos, by the way...)

Ed: If you can find four or five people that all our passionate about the same politics, then that’s great, go for it and sing about it. In our case we all have differing opinions on political matters, although I think we’re all left leaning, I know Collin is a socialist. For this band we keep it on a day to day level. Our lyrics, all written by Matt, are reactions to the immediate world that we live in.

Matt: Fuck politics, whatever rules are in place im gunna break em!

3) Up to yours,its more about the message behind it or its just hardcore music that keeps the kids of today away from it? Most of em seems unable or unwilling to listen to the words and just go nuts with the music whic is kinda sad compared to what was back then.

Ed: Music is a subjective thing, if you don’t get it you don’t get it.

Matt: I dunno man. I think its cause they are busy listening to rap music, smoking weed, pretending to be gangsters, working out, being insecure, crying alone at night, treating women poorly, beating their chests, pretending like they are tough, talking shit on the internet, and a whole bunch of other crap.

4) What keeps the band alive?

Ed: Well, we just started like five months ago so that hasn’t been an issue yet. But, I know that the last band I was in died because a person changed. I think ZERO PROGRESS has the right group of people to stick together for the long haul. Matt, Collin and I have been doing this for a long time now, and none of us are quitting anytime soon. And, Josh is Collins little brother and cut from the same mold that the rest us are.

Matt: Courage. Dedication. Pride. (Rick Ta Life is nodding ...until NOW) No, i dunno, boredom and us sucking at life?

5) Why do you consider yourselves as punks?

Ed: What else would I be? I listen to punk music, I play in a punk band, I go to punk shows, read punk magazines. Punk is something that I’ve been attracted to since a young age, and has affected my life greatly, it’s going to be a part of me until I die.

Matt: Funny story. I was eating in SF the other day and a really awkward kid came up to me and said "hey man, hey, i dont wanna be like, you know like, stereotypical or anything [holds his hands out in a "im innocent" type of way] but like, i see you and your friends, i dunno, always wearing these punk, uh um, punk rocker shirts. So i was wondering like, i dunno, are you guys punk rockers?" I said in return. "Yeah man! Im a punk rocker, and Im not going to be a part of THIS system!" True story.

6) How do you guys found out about hardcore and its lifestyle? First record ever listen to? Any favorites?

Ed: The first hardcore bands I heard were Minor Threat and DRI when I was about 12 or 13. I just knew I liked punk and tried to get my hands on as much of it as I could. I had a Minor Threat “Out of Step” tape and DRI “Dealing With It” cd. As far as favorite bands, I have a lot; Poison Idea,Infest, The Repos, Failures, Cheeta Chrome Motherfuckers , Wasted Time you get the idea.

Matt: Ed showed me hardcore. Then in turn I became more hardcore than he could ever be. This my friends, is the circle of life.

7) What hardcore should be more (or less) about up to you?

Ed: Young kids playing fast angry music. I think everyone should be invited to hardcore, too many people want to make it something elite. ZERO PROGRESS welcomes you into the international hardcore punk scene, let’s do it!

Matt: More about the music, fun, people. Less about fashion, drama, and whats hip.

8) Hows the writing process of your songs? Its like a "spun of the moment" or do you plan everything before/after writing the lyrics? who writes em?

Ed: Collin and I both write music. Usually we write the riffs at home, maybe think up some structure, then we put it all together at practice. Matt writes the lyrics before or at practice and fits them into whatever song we happen to be writing at the time.

Matt: My lyrics come to me throughout the day. Sometimes i'll be sitting in class and all of a sudden some angry phrase comes into my head, then i make it rhyme, then i change it so that it is less straight edge, then I bring it to practice.

9) Name you influences! I would bet my old mom ass MDC...am i right?

Ed: The bands I just listed as my favorites. We all listen to a lot of music and are influenced by it all in one way or another. I think a lot of Poison Idea and The F.U.s comes out in our songs, I don’t know, that’s just my perspective on it. And actually MDC is one band I never got in. Howlin'Wolf.

Matt: I listen to hella fucking Oi!, Hardcore, some rock n roll, and some ska. Also some soul.

10) Time for...THE RANDOM QUESTION!! - If Chuck Norris plays into Agnostic Front,Charles Bronson plays in.....??

Ed: I guess the easy answer is Charles Bronson would play in Charles Bronson.

Matt: Newsense....dont look them up, its a joke cause hella punks kicked their ass one time, ha!




11) PUT OUT A 7"!!! ever heard about TankCrimes Records?? check em and maybe you'll find out a deal !

Ed: We’re going to be self releasing a 7inch on our own PILEDRIVER RECORDS. Scotty from TANKCRIMES traded with me for Skull Stomp 7inches and never sent me my records, what’s up with that?

Matt: thanks for the inspiration. We're on it! We will get one out too you as soon as possible!

12) Explain to the younger punkers out there the DIY ethic!

Ed: DIY is when you wish you could have someone do everything for your band, but no one will because no one cares about your stupid little punk rock band so you have to do all the work yourself. See: PILEDRIVER RECORDS.

Matt: See son, when a bird likes a bee, but doesn't want to support the Bees capitalist death machine, he makes the honey himself. Sure maybe his home made honey comes out of his ass and tastes like shit, but its DIY, and that my little punk rockers, is a good thing.

13)Anything you want to share? Crazy stage divings gone bad or sorts? Delirium Tremends moments?

Ed: Matt is a mad man when we play. People will be spit on, mikes will be slammed into heads, bass drums will have heads slammed into them, mike chords will double their duty as nooses, and if he says, ‘Come on move up closer, it’s safe” he is lying, and you be immediately stage dove on. It’s all really stupid and uncalled for, I love hardcore.

Matt: Ed is lying. Trust whatever I say into the mic. And also its not uncalled for, its necessary!

14)Shout outs?

Ed: Everyone listen to Cocksnot. But, before you do throw all your records away because they will instantly be made obsolete. Cocksnot is the second coming of whatever you think was the most awesome thing that ever was. Stop reading this garbage and listen to Cocksnot right now. Also, the singer from Prmal Minds stole my girlfriend, fuck you! And a big what’s up to Sugu Hull !

Matt: I would like to shout out to the following bands t. 1) Choys Sonic Water Closet, 2) Choys, 3) The Dismay, 4) I Am Spite, 5) Dark Days, 6) Empire Legs.




END!