Rabid Pigs #21

How is everyone during this quarantine times.
Here is an awesome band I stumble just like Sidetracked. I picked up a split from my homie Rob from Rotten to The Core, but I remember it was a Rabid Pigs/Grin and Bear It. I was listening  to the songs and they were straight to the point powerviolence. with an awesome name that they got from one of the og favorite bands. Here is the interview with Rabid Pigs 

state your name and what band are you in??? 

Gregg Harrington and I do everything in Rabid Pigs.

what is the line up in Rabid Pigs??? 

Currently it's just myself. The band evolved into a studio project over the last few years.

How did Rabid Pigs start??? 

I really had an itch to start a straight edge power violence band because both things are big passions of mine, plus it was something I rarely saw outside of Vaccine, who were a big influence on the band. Unfortunately over the tenure of the band being composed of people other than just myself, some pretty big scumbags were involved with the band so I honestly think the best stuff has come from just me recording everything.

How did you get the name Rabid Pigs???  

Obviously from the classic Infest track off of No Man's Slave. Funny enough, I kind of wanted to do a reverse Pig Destroyer thing and call the band Rabid Cops but I forgot when I started making art for our demo so Rabid Pigs just stuck.

what are the influences in Rabid Pigs??? 

They're pretty all over the place within the realm of fast music. Sidetracked has been a really big influence on the band based on their evolution over the 20+ years they've been together, and Jay and I have had some really cool conversations online, so I'd say they're the biggest influence. I've also taken notes from a wide swath of bands like I Hate You, Vaccine, Infest, Failure Face, Extortion, Trash Talk, Ceremony, and Internal Affairs.

How did you get into punk???? 

I actually had two entry points into punk. When I was 8 years old I really got into Green Day. Dookie had just come out and they were a big gateway into some more poppy punk and ska-punk that was going on in the mid-to-late-90s. I first saw them in 1998 and Samiam was supporting them. I also got into stuff like All, The Pietasters, The Offspring, Less Than Jake and Screeching Weasel around that time. After falling into the nu metal rabbit hole for about two years, I got back into punk in 8th grade after a kid in my class with a mohawk and plaid pants gave me a bunch of burned CD's.

how did you get the split with Sidetracked???? 

Honestly, I just asked! It was something I thought would be extremely awesome and figured, "might as well try". Rob from Rotten To The Core Records was kind enough to put it out after he had previously released our split with Grin And Bear It, an amazing grindcore band from Cleveland.

any releases coming out???? 

During quarantine, I was going through some old recording files and realized I had an unfinished song from the sessions where I did all the songs from the Sidetracked split and the Spoiled Heat EP. Lyrically, it was about how the police have overstepped their boundaries and the repercussions it has on the families of victims of police brutality, which is still very relevant today. I finished it and mixed it and threw it up on our Bandcamp with basically no promotion, so if you're so inclined to check it out, I'll include a link here: https://rabidxpigs.bandcamp.com/track/overcome-with-grief

Also, while working from home from March to June, I had been working on some drum-machine-driven noisecore stuff a la 7MON, Suppression and Scab Addict but I have yet to finish any of it. I don't have access to any great recording equipment or drums at the moment but hopefully I'll be able to record some proper material soon.

any shout out you want to give??  

Black lives matter. Support extreme underground music and the labels that put it out. As far as plugging other things I work on, if you're into 80s horror movies and podcasts, check out my show Neon Brainiacs and if you're into 90s grunge rock check out Pummeled. Thanks for the interview, man, this was great!