Cold World is:
Dan - vocals
Alex - guitar/vocals
Josh - guitar
Scace - bass
Nick - drums/lyrics
Cold World are definitely one of the most polarizing bands in the hardcore scene today. Since forming in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania almost four years ago, they have released a pair of 7"s (S/T and Ice Grillz) as well as a split 7" with War Hungry, an appearance on the Fucked Up Mix Tape Volume 2 and a song on the infamous "Generations: Hardcore" compilation on Revelation Records (http://www.revhq.com/). Currently, Cold World are in the midst of working on their debut full length album for Deathwish Inc. (http://www.deathwishinc.com/) but Nick and Alex took some time out to answer some questions for me.
Neon Knights Zine: In the summer of 2005 at Posi Numbers Fest in Wilkes Barre, it was announced that it was going to be the last Cold World show ever. What caused you to break up in the first place and what caused you guys to later rethink this and keep going?
Nick: It's weird to think that was two years ago already. There were alot of things that made us decide to quit doing Cold World. One aspect was that we were frustrated with some of the things going on in the scene at the time, and some of us just didn't want to be as involved anymore. We also all lived two hours away from each other, and it was straining. I'm sure there was other stuff, but those are the two things that I remember the most. We wanted to get back together because we just wanted to make more music! Making "Ice Grillz" (Lockin' Out Records 2005) was such an accomplishment, and we knew we could do it again on another level so we felt like we had to give it a try.
Alex: We were all kind of sick of each other. I quit the band actually, and really didn't wanna deal with the bullshit involved with being in a band at the time. I regretted the decision a few months later, and when the opportunity to play again came up we decided to give it a shot. I'm glad we did, cause I really felt like CW didn't hit our full potential when we broke up. I still don't think we have.
Neon Knights Zine: I've noticed that a lot of your lyrics deal with a rejection of religion/God. Am I reading too far into this?
Nick: No, that's definitely in our lyrics. However, I don't necessarily speak for the whole band (word to Scace's Jesus piece). It's just that when I get into lyric-writing mode it's somewhere I naturally go. I seem to write about being uncertain about your future, and it's just a chain reaction until I eventually get to questioning why I'm here. I don't wanna be on some "god suxxx" shit, but I definitely am not down with Christian hardcore bands and all that weird shit.
Alex: Thats Nick's thing, since he writes the lyrics. Scace has Jesus tattooed on his arm.
Neon Knights Zine: The LP is going to be called "Dedicated To The Babies Who Came FeetFirst". What is the significance behind this title?
Nick: It's a line in a Raekwon song that always struck me. When I write lyrics, I'll take a line here or there that always stood out to me and go somewhere else with it. To me, babies who came feet first means people who had to stand on their own feet since childhood and maybe had it a little rougher then the average kid. Either that or kids that always had the new Jordans in grade school and shit. You can take it a lot of different places and it's a cool name for an LP. It's not some played out "what we are", "all this is", "all we are", "what we mean" shit.
Alex: I was born with my feet backwards....but I dont think thats why it got that title but it should be.
Neon Knights Zine: Speaking of the LP, what was it like recording with Billy from Biohazard? You have to have at least one cool story.
Nick: I can't really speak on the outcome of the recordings yet because we've only got to the point of really rough mixes. I feel like we got a lot of the tempos wrong so I'm bummed about that. It was definitely cool to work with a dude who wrote music that really influenced you and hardcore as a whole. When I was a kid I had a blank tape with "Urban Discipline" on one side and "Chaos A.D." on the other. Then when "State of the World Address" came out, it was all I listened to. He was really surprised at how nerdy we are about hardcore. I don't think he's recorded a band as deep into it as us yet, because he would be surprised about everything we'd ask him about. I don't think Full Blown Chaos or whoever asked him if he knew Youth Defense League or if he ever saw Krakdown. So, there's the side of him being in NYC at that time and knowing all the skinhead dudes but there's also the rocker side. This dude has toured with Metallica, Slayer, etc etc. He has stories about any band you can think of, man. So we'll just be like "what about Dave Mustaine?", and he'll go "Alright... you wanna hear my Dave Mustaine story?" One cool story is wherever they recorded the first Danzig LP (I think the first one) (ed. note - If it is the first album, it was recorded at Chung King in NYC) the studio either moved or shut down and he was able to rummage through some stuff and find lyric sheets and DAT's from the session!
Alex: When I was tracking guitar at one point he stopped me and just looked down and goes, "Bro.. that's Biohazard" and I was like.. "uhhhh well... i mean.." and then he blessed me and told me it's cool and I could use whatever I wanted. There was also a part on the record where I couldn't figure out what to do to thicken it up, and he took the guitar and does this little diddy, and I said, "That's perfect!" and he says..."Yeah.. its Punishment" (from Biohazard's "Urban Discipline"). I said "Keep it." Nick was there and he said, "Well, if you only play one note instead of two, it will be harder." Billy said, "Harder than Punishment??" Alas, we kept it as two notes, cause not many things are harder than "Punishment". (ed. note - He's right)
Neon Knights Zine: I know you guys aren't necessarily a full time band, but from watching the "No Omega" DVD I notice you've been to Europe. It'sdefinitely a played out question, but what is different from touring in Europe as opposed to playing in the U.S.?
Nick: One of the best things about touring Europe is that they make you food at every show and there's back rooms for the bands a lot of times. The promoters treat you a little better. The thing that stands out about Europe to me is there's a clear division between two types of kids at shows there. There's the group who really know what's up with hardcore and act like kids do at shows in the States. They know English a little better (not that I care about that, it's just an observation), they know how to mosh and really know their hardcore.Then there's the other group who are like locals and they have their own mannerisms and mosh weird and shit like that. It also seems like the first group is always embarassed of the second group, and they know the difference too. It's a weird thing because although hardcore has been around in Europe almost as long as it's been around here, it's still always a little bit behind there. Not as a diss, because I love Europe and I love meeting kids there, I'm just sayin'.
Alex: In Europe kids are so amped on hardcore. They aren't jaded at age 18 and they don't think they know it all. They are still willing to drive to shows. If something isn't going the way they want it too, they don't sit on their ass and complain, they do something about it and change it. It's so different there. They feed you at every show, there are plenty of places to stay, every show is well promoted.. its basically an ideal world. Also.. TONS OF ZINES!!!! WE NEED MORE ZINES!!!!
Neon Knights Zine: This question is just for Nick. Obviously Cold World draws a lot of influence from genres outside of hardcore, mainly hip hop. Tell me a little bit about your history with hip hop as well as your experience with being a D.J.
Nick: Hip-hop was the first music that I really got into. My mom got me a boombox and "Licensed To Ill" when I was really young and I just went from there. I would get these compilation tapes like Fresh Rap, KoolRap, Rap the Beat, Rapmasters, etc cause they were only 4 or 5 bucks. When you're that young it's hard to get your parents to buy you a 10 dollar tape. Anyways, it just stuck with me throughout life and became an obsession. DJing was something I always dreamed of doing since I was a kid. I was into drawing as a kid so I would draw my favorite rap groups but I didn't really know about where the music came from so I would draw Run DMC but they'd be playing guitars and drums. When I figured out the whole DJ/producing thing I thought they were just as cool as the rappers. Fast forward to puberty-era and Bobb Mac steals me a Numark mixer from a club at a show in Wilkes-Barre (Option's last show, they covered "Injustice System") and I went from there. I got better and better and eventually got into all kinds of music like drum n bass, uk garage, techno, house....any music that you can DJ. My friend Steve Bush (shout out to Bushy) hooked me up with some weeklies in Philly and I did that for a couple years. DJing is really cool because I would be making regular people have a good time. Yuppies, normie college students, hip-hop heads, etc. My job was to make them dance. I just kind of gave it up because DJing isn't what it used to be. For some reason, people have just as much respect for some chump sitting there with an iPod or laptop hitting "Play" as someone who can play a totally mixed, flawless four hour DJ set. This is crazy to me because it takes years of practice to be able to do that. So, I don't do it anymore. I still have my turntables and collect records,but I don't have to buy every Dirty South club banger that comes out so I just dig for rare hip-hop stuff that I like. I also really got into dubstep, but Philly seems to have zero interest in that, so I just play sets for myself in my room.
Neon Knights Zine: Alex, one thing I’ve noticed ever since I first saw you playing in bands was that you’re a really solid guitar player. How long have you been playing? Do you have any musical training?
Alex: I've been playing guitar since I was 12. I took lessons until I was out of high school, and was actually trained in jazz. I think that really influences my style. I learned hardcore songs on my own free time, but when I was going to lessons, I wanted to learn more about being a jazz guitarist, so I could get a different approach. I also watch Guns n' Roses and Metallica DVD's three or four times a week just to watch Hetfield and Slash play guitar. I'm not sure if that counts as training, but it definitely helps me a lot.
Neon Knights Zine: Nick, you are professional valet at a fancy hotel. Tell me some coolstuff that's happened because of that.
Nick: Man, there's so many stories. I'm sure everybody knows the Jim Jones story because of Ice Grillz, so I won't tell that one. (ed. note - see the liner notes for "No Omega" to read about this story if you don't know already) I met so many rappers besides him, though. Black Thought, Ghostface, Cassidy, FatJoe, Peedi Crakk, Giz from Audio Two, and more. A good story is that I really got into finding pictures in cars. I had a really good collection going on and I lent them to this dude for his online magazine years ago and never got them back. One pic I found was just a polaroid of a dude holding his boner. Some of the pics are so bizzarre that I can't even explain them. I wanna get them back and see if VICE wants to do something with them maybe. Also, one time I found this girl's portfolio of gagged and bound pics!
Neon Knights Zine: Alex, you also play guitar for War Hungry. How serious is that for you? How do you manage to divide up your time with both bands?
Alex: I only play with War Hungry if they need someone to play, but for the most part I don't play with them. Not because I don't like them, but because I want them to have their own identity rather than just Cold World's little brother band. I love that band, and I love the songs that Mook and I write. It's a totally different style than CW and it's a style I love. I feel like as far as guitar is concerned in that band, I have a lot more freedom to be creative with things like pedals and solos.
Neon Knights Zine: Alex, speaking of dividing up your time, you go to school for special education. What is that like?
Alex: It's cool. I went to college thinking I wanted to go into law school, but that's just not for me. I can't bring myself to be in an office all day long, and deal with people whose main goal is to do whatever it takes to make money. I love the field I'm in now. It's very fulfilling, which is great. At the end of the day my bank account might not be what some office guys is, but I know I go to sleep looking forward to the next day of work.
Neon Knights Zine: If you had to pick one Cold World song, to play for someone who has never heard you guys, what would it be and why?
Nick: Either "Gods and Earths" (from the War Hungry split 7" on Six Feet Under Records) or one of the new songs that we haven't played out yet. There's one song that I'm really proud of and I hope people recognize it. But I think "Gods and Earths" represents CW pretty well. I'm proud of the lyrics and it has a great mosh part, even though people never really mosh to it. I forget what NYHC band it is (I wanna say Outburst), but in some live set the dude goes "Nobody ever dances when we play this song, I don't know why. I really like that song", and I always wanna grab the mic and say that before we play it.
Alex: Probably "Low Places." (from the "Ice Grillz" record). It's got a little bit of everything, and it's got a mosh part that I love at the end. You yust kinda wanna bang your head to it. Plus, its a song that even if you don't like hardcore, you might be able to enjoy. Or maybe not.... I'd probably actually just play a song off the new Daughtry and say it was us.
Neon Knights Zine: You've been doing bands/going to shows for a long time. At what point did you realise that you were in this for the long haul?
Nick: Right from the beginning, man. Hardcore is something where you can take your destiny in your own hands (No Bishop-from-Juice-O). In real life, if you weren't dealt the best hand it's really hard to be what you wanna be, but in hardcore if you wanna be that guy on stage, you can. That's something that I realized very early on and it connected with me. I never really thought that deep into it, though. I'm not one of those dudes who is proud of being into hardcore for ten or more years. I'm sort of ashamed of it haha. Believe me, if I could trade it in for being successful in life I would do it in a second. I'm not down with people judging kids for getting less involved with hardcore. Especially when there's these bands wearing makeup and Bif Naked and all this other shit. If you say that it's as cool as it used to be, you're straight up lying. Same thing with Straight-edge. I've been edge for a long time and I'm not going to change ("TRU tattooed across my stom-ach"), but I can see why kids nowadays think it's a joke. Now there's gonna be a TV show about straight-edge made by nu-metal Jada Smith?! Fuckouttahere with that shit. Straight-edge, to me, is dead.
Alex: Honestly, I never really thought about it. I never understood why people would just drop out. It's just a part of my life thats been there for a long time. It's given me a chance to see the world, fall in love, make some of the best friends I could've ever asked for, see some of the coolest bands in the world up close, and learn a lot about myself. After being involved pretty heavily for ten years, you kind of just know that this is a huge part of your life. I'm not saying I'm going to be going to every show until I'm dead, but I will have the friends I met and the love for the music until I kick the bucket.
Neon Knights Zine: If Cold World ended tomorrow, would you say you've accomplished all you set out to do as a band or would their be some "unfinished business"?
Nick: There's definitely unfinished business (shout out to Parrish Smith). We still haven't made the record that I really want to make. Maybe I'm shooting too high and I'm too much of a perfectionist, but I don't feel like any producer/engineer we worked with really saw what we're trying to do, captured it and took it to the next level. Don't get me wrong, I like playing shows and travelling and all that, but I'm a music nerd. I'm in a band to make records. That's what I love and that's something that I feel like I care about way more than the rest of the band. I really wish someone would put some money behind us so we can make a crazy record. I know that it's hard because music doesn't generate as much money as it used to, so I'm not blaming any labels or whatever, I'm just saying. We worked with Don Fury and Billy G.,and it was great to be part of that history but now I feel like we need to work with someone who will help us acheive what we want on record.
Alex: If Cold World doesn't play Japan and Australia, I will consider this unfinished business. I want to tour like a motherfucker. I'm not sure how everyone else feels about this, but I'm too young to pass this opportunity up. Fuck work!
Neon Knights Zine: Any last words/comments?
Nick: Thanks for the interview. It's definitely one of the best ones I've done. Everybody keep their eyes peeled for "Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First". Shout-outs to the Wilkes-Barre posse, Blacklisted, LOJ, Justice, Rise and Fall, all our friends in Belgium, The Lockin Out crew, Mental crew, Jude Pharrel, Sami Reiss, Craig Mack & Living Hell, Kitzel and Rene (True Blue Army in effect), and the rest of the Cold World crew. Peace is not the word to play.
Alex: Live and let die.
Thanks to Cold World for taking the time to do this interview. While waiting to get your hands on their LP to be released next year, if you haven't already pick up "NO OMEGA" on 1917 Records (http://www.1917records.com/) since it contains almost every CW song there is to date. Also, the pictures and the logo were taken from the Deathwish Inc. site.
