Photo of the Integrity DVD playing on somebody’s TV by Alan Crapstain
STEPHEN SAYS: “I like the guitar on it but the singing could be a wee bit different. It doesn’t appeal to me the shouting. AC/DC was shouting but you could make out what they were singing. The drums are good. It’s a bit too bleak though.” Integrity came out at a time when hardcore was heading at light speed into Planet Gay Prog Metal Zone and emo college rock was about to engulf the world. Their first EP “In Contrast Of Sin” united crusties, punks and SXE zealots around the world with its violence and brutality. One of the main reasons young (at the time) skater kids liked it was because it had a pic of the singer Dwid painted in camouflage on the back cover and the logo had two baseball bats as an X. Awesome!
Amazingly, 17 years later, the band AKA Dwid is still going, having gone through more line-up changes and personal drama than the Beach Boys. Aside from having the slightly gay job of being a graphic designer, Dwid is one of hardcore’s most enduringly salty characters. As well as keeping the legacy of Integ going he’s got a new goth band called Roses Never Fade and has a new DVD out so he can cash in on all the pussies who just got into hardcore and never had the original VHS copies by trading tapes ten years ago.
Vice: One of the best bits on the DVD is the show in Chicago when you’ve got Samhain hair and there’s a fat guy elbowing two girls behind him. What was going on there?
Dwid: That fat guy was named Steve and he was upset with a girl in the crowd, because she was spitting on him when his band played. I guess she mistook 1989 for 1979 and went on a punk rock timewarp spitting on the bands.
So how come you released the DVD and the accompanying live album? What do you think the world is going to get out of it?
Well the people who bought the vinyl probably have a future eBay investment. As for the DVD, I really hope it corrupts the minds of the younger more impressionable hardcore fans. To be honest, I just wanted to have a DVD that visually and properly documented the band.
Is Integrity still going? Why?
Yes. We did an east coast US tour in October and recorded a couple songs for a 7″ release on a small label from Baltimore named, A389 (a label operated by Dom of the band Slumlords).
Aren’t you in some gay goth band as well?
Fuck you. Roses Never Fade has our first CD coming out next week on Rock Vegas Records (www.rockvegasonline.com), and we are already working on our next one. Jake Bannon (Converge) is joining up for the next album, should be interesting.
What do you think you’re going to get out of it?
Probably more retarded interviews like this one.
ALAN CRAPSTAIN
See vanhellion.com and aurora-b.com for the DVD and album.
