Sep 18, 2026 · 1 hr 12 min · 11 segments
Getting to grow up in Jersey and see a bunch of these old bands like Instill, You and I, The Assistant perform in various hall shows is something I have always treasured. It was special to me and I am…
Tom KaleGuestElliotHostI don't even want to think about it, you know? Um, So let's go back, I guess, to early New Jersey scene, part of like what we were talking about that night in Providence there with, I guess, I guess I'm going to start, I guess, with the era of like Trackstar Records, the Bandit Still, you and I and all that kind of stuff.
Basically, like what started first for you right around then?
So there's, I guess if we were to pick up like when I started playing after meeting Mike Ramirez and I, I, you know, gotten interested in all different kinds of punk and hardcore and stuff like that and started like a fast hardcore band and Mike would put on some shows once in a while at a VFW or at like a bar in asbury park which asbury park was not very nice back then
oh no it wasn't
we'd play these shows in asbury park to like mike's band and like maybe two of his friends or something like that there was like nobody there um but i got into like playing faster hardcore and doing that kind of thing and natal from kirk because um i used to skate with Natal like when I was really young when we first started skateboarding and stuff and then he just like popped up one day at a show and he had been playing in bands like that whole time too and he had started some punk bands and some like alternative rock bands and stuff and he was playing guitar for this like metal influenced hardcore band and Um, we played a couple of shows together and then he called me up and he was like, Hey, our, our guitar player just quit.
Do you want to play guitar for us? And so I started playing, I started playing guitar in a band with Natal and he taught me sort of like the metal crossover, hardcore stuff.
He like introduced me to all the like earth crisis and snap case 108 um he like introduced me to all these bands that like i had never heard before and this total new way of like approaching how how to play guitar and i i was like holy shit this is like wild you know and uh that band like me and natal were still in high school but the rest of the guys in that band were in their 20s so like that band was actually playing like shows out of state which kind of blew our mind like I remember like we drove to like Ohio and played a show and like I'm like 15 or 16 at this point you know what I mean and like we're I'm like lying to my parents and telling them like yeah we're going to Philadelphia to record for the weekend and meanwhile like we driving out to like Ohio and playing a show and
it's insane what you got away with back then
And we traveled out to Pennsylvania to play a show at this high school gym with 108, Mouthpiece, a bunch of other bands.
By the end of the summer, they were like, hey, do you want to play guitar for Instill? And so I was on this thing where it was like I'd be in a band, the band would break up, and then some other band would poach me into their band.
They happened to be at this show that we played in Pennsylvania, and those guys were became friends.
And then by the end of the summer, my band had broken up and they were like, Hey, why don't you come play with us? Um, so I ended up in instill and instill was like even more so into like, like, traveling all over the state pennsylvania connecticut new york like playing shows and stuff so i was like traveling even more than that i think my first show with instill we played in like wilkes-barre pennsylvania it was like a two and a half hour drive i had no idea like where we were going we just like got in the car um so it was like at like a relatively like young age just like traveling a lot and playing shows.
You know what I mean? Cause it's like, you're getting to see this other world where like cool shit is happening and you're seeing bands and they're blowing your mind and you're getting introduced to all these new concepts about like life and politics and all this stuff.
I don't even want to think about it, you know? Um, So let's go back, I guess, to early New Jersey scene, part of like what we were talking about that night in Providence there with, I guess, I guess I'm going to start, I guess, with the era of like Trackstar Records, the Bandit Still, you and I and all that kind of stuff.
Basically, like what started first for you right around then?
So there's, I guess if we were to pick up like when I started playing after meeting Mike Ramirez and I, I, you know, gotten interested in all different kinds of punk and hardcore and stuff like that and started like a fast hardcore band and Mike would put on some shows once in a while at a VFW or at like a bar in asbury park which asbury park was not very nice back then
oh no it wasn't
we'd play these shows in asbury park to like mike's band and like maybe two of his friends or something like that there was like nobody there um but i got into like playing faster hardcore and doing that kind of thing and natal from kirk because um i used to skate with Natal like when I was really young when we first started skateboarding and stuff and then he just like popped up one day at a show and he had been playing in bands like that whole time too and he had started some punk bands and some like alternative rock bands and stuff and he was playing guitar for this like metal influenced hardcore band and Um, we played a couple of shows together and then he called me up and he was like, Hey, our, our guitar player just quit.
Do you want to play guitar for us? And so I started playing, I started playing guitar in a band with Natal and he taught me sort of like the metal crossover, hardcore stuff.
He like introduced me to all the like earth crisis and snap case 108 um he like introduced me to all these bands that like i had never heard before and this total new way of like approaching how how to play guitar and i i was like holy shit this is like wild you know and uh that band like me and natal were still in high school but the rest of the guys in that band were in their 20s so like that band was actually playing like shows out of state which kind of blew our mind like I remember like we drove to like Ohio and played a show and like I'm like 15 or 16 at this point you know what I mean and like we're I'm like lying to my parents and telling them like yeah we're going to Philadelphia to record for the weekend and meanwhile like we driving out to like Ohio and playing a show and
it's insane what you got away with back then
And we traveled out to Pennsylvania to play a show at this high school gym with 108, Mouthpiece, a bunch of other bands.
By the end of the summer, they were like, hey, do you want to play guitar for Instill? And so I was on this thing where it was like I'd be in a band, the band would break up, and then some other band would poach me into their band.
They happened to be at this show that we played in Pennsylvania, and those guys were became friends.
And then by the end of the summer, my band had broken up and they were like, Hey, why don't you come play with us? Um, so I ended up in instill and instill was like even more so into like, like, traveling all over the state pennsylvania connecticut new york like playing shows and stuff so i was like traveling even more than that i think my first show with instill we played in like wilkes-barre pennsylvania it was like a two and a half hour drive i had no idea like where we were going we just like got in the car um so it was like at like a relatively like young age just like traveling a lot and playing shows.
You know what I mean? Cause it's like, you're getting to see this other world where like cool shit is happening and you're seeing bands and they're blowing your mind and you're getting introduced to all these new concepts about like life and politics and all this stuff.
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3 of 8
A Scene Comes Back
A generation revived a scene through representation.
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Seeing peers onstage made music feel possible.
The Basement Changed Everything
Basements erased distance between bands and crowds.
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