Hey Josh, here's some questions when you get the chance:

1) Where did Trustkill come from?

i'll assume you mean the name, and not the label itself. the name is more or less a word that sounded cool at the time but had its origins in my distaste for organized religion and how people put too much faith and trust into it. the name "trustkill" was actually my zine before it was a label and in the zine i attampted to open people's eyes to some other viewpoints on religion and some theories or things they may have not known at the time. also, at the time i came up with the name, ilistend to seven seconds waaaaay too much and "trust" was my favorite song, and i killed it. hence, the name.

2) What is your first memory of hardcore?

i have three older sisters, and one of them used to listen to hardcore way before i even knew what music was. when i was in 6th grade i sort of got interested into what she was listening to, bands like bad brains, dead kennedy's and stuff. so she would play them all for me and i thought it was the coolest thing in the world because i hadn't heard such aggressive and loud music that didn't take any shit, you know? of course, i thought it was pretty cool that they cursed and stuff too, i mean, c'mon, i was in 6th grade, that shit was cool back then. and then in 7th grade is when i went to my first show with my best friend and his older brother, it was an Underdog show in Belmar, NJ. it was totally rad and i was scared shitless to go anywhere near the pit because i weighed about 65 pounds in 7th grade, no lie.

3) How do you feel about MP3s and the current Napster insanity?

i'm still wondering how they're still around, honestly. i mean, it is clearly copyright infringement to provide a forum for people to trade illegal sound files. i just think the whole thing is getting out of hand and these companies aren't taking into consideration the hard work and money that goes into creating the music. even though i run a record company, i take a very pro-artist approach to this debate. in fact, i wrote a legal article about the whole thing, it can be viewed here: (http://www.trustkill.com/pdf/MusicPublishingRightsOnline.pdf) although it's 27 pages long, i think it's pretty interesting and it discusses the major point that under u.s. copyright laws, every time a song is played, streamed, or downloaded on the internet, the artist is supposed to be paid royalties. of course, with napster, this doesn't happen. my guess is that metallica and dr. dre are going to win th ebattle against napster because the riaa (recording industry of america) has already won these battles against companies like mp3.com and others.

4) What are you trying to offer to the scene, through Trustkill?

i'm trying to offer people excellent music from kick ass bands. i want people to go into the store and see a new trustkill cd, and know right away that it's going to be good, no matter what style of hardcore/metal/rock it may be. i enjoy working with political bands because i feel that is the root of hardcore, but i also feel that there is a special place for bands who can write other kinds of songs with no political content whatsoever.

5) What can we expect in the future from Trustkill?

lots of good shit. heh heh. new albums by eighteen visions, idle hands, the great deceiver, nora, and brother's keeper. as well as whatever new bands i may sign, who knows. but the trustkill roster right now is keeping the label pretty busy, all the bands are touring the us, europe, japan, australia, and other places. i'd like to see the label grow to the point where the band members no longer need to work and can be self-sustained on the road, that is my goal, we'll see if i can make it.

6) What is your opinion of Major Labels and Major Label distros?

i see nothing wrong with it. i mean, it's just a company that's bigger than the indie's, right? i never understood the big "to do" with the major distributions channels. i mean, isn't "mordam" just as big as "red" or something? what is the difference? kids are going to buy the cd's no matter who distributes them or manufactures them, so who cares? i think the whole "punk rock fantasy" is dead, if people want to hear music, then they have to be paid for and sitrbuted, that's all there is to it, end of discussion. i wish kids in east-bumblefuck arkansas could find my cd's in their local music store, but they can't, and that sucks.

7) Do you make a distinction between "old school" and "new school" hardcore? Is Trustkill a new school label?

no, i don't. old school hardcore had its time, and we're past that now. it's the year 2000, kids are different, the music has gotten angrier and more aggressive to reflect what's going on in society and our schools. it's a natural progression and people who won't listen to a band that put out a record past 1988 are fools and are acting like their parent that they hate so much. fuck those people, they're retarded. i'll always throw on an old "chain of strength" record or "minor threat" album, but i listen to new bands too, if we don't, the scene will die, end of story.

8) Are you straight edge?

yup.

9) What are you listening to right now?

aaaawwwww man, it's chessy, but i'm listening to the new "eighteen visions" album. whenever i get one of my new records from the studio, i beat the piss out of it. i listen to them so much in fact that by the time the actual record comes out, i don't want to even listen to it. but this new album is amazing, it is going to knock people on their ass and take them for a ride.

>10) CDs or Vinyl? Preference?

i am a CD man myself. vinyl is cool, but i'm lazy and hate flipping them over and stuff. plus, my girlfriend always puts crap on top of the turntable so i have to clear off 80 pounds of her shit before i can play a record.

11) Is Christian Hardcore an oxymoron?

i don't think so. if you talk to a christian hardcore kid they think they're doing something different, so if they believe that they're walking "against the grain", then that's cool. also, we have too many fucking depressed people in this world, any means by which a person can be happier, more power to them, you know? i mean, the company that makes "prozac" is making a killing, any way we can redirect some of that money is cool.

12) Who will win the next election?

i think it's going to be perot. in october he is going to pop out of nowehere and pay off gore and bush and just buy the presidency. it'll be cool. heh heh.