Hailing from South Central, CT, Crackin epitomizes the best that hardcore has to offer with their new 7" release Stand Tall out on Refusal Records. Their music can be heard at http://www.myspace.com/crackinct.

Interview with Singer Kilian Appleby, by Roya Butler

How long have you been playing?

Kilian: We've been around for only about six months now, but We've released an eight-song EP already that can be downloaded for free off our MySpace, and after only a couple of months in existence we were noticed and signed my Refusal Records.

Give us some background info on the band.

Kilian: Well, although Crackin hasn’t been around for too long, we've all been in bands for years, and we have a pretty good grasp of how things go on in the music business. I'm the vocalist, JP Modderno is our guitarist, Mike Rivkees plays bass and Chris Mala is our drummer. We all love hardcore, and plan on playing it for as long as we can possibly go on. We play as many shows as we can, and we leave on tour in mid-February. We're really dedicated to what we do, and we love it.

How is the hardcore scene in South Central, CT and in CT as a whole? How does it compare with the NYC hardcore scene?

Kilian: There's a ton of really great, dedicated bands that play in CT, it's a really tight-knit scene, and we're really grateful to be a part of it. I think the biggest difference between the CT scene and any others is that in CT most of the bands are more old-school and punk-based. In other states the hardcore shows I've been to have been more about who can play the most brutal breakdown, and we're not about that, all of us here in Connecticut try to stick to the roots of hardcore as much as possible, while still staying modern.

What bands have inspired your music?

Kilian: Oddly, we all love Converge, but we sound nothing like them. Gorilla Biscuits are a huge influence of ours, probably moreso than anyone else. We also love Bracewar and can't get enough of them. Some of our more old-school influences incule Minor Threat, 7Seconds, Black Flag and others.

What inspires your lyrics?

Kilian: My main influence when writing my lyrics is my pride for where I live. Connecticut is a small place, but the people here are amazing and the shows are always a good time, and I try to highlight the positive things in my life, but sometimes I'll have a bad day and just can't help but write a negative song.

Tell us a little about what your song 'Suck It Up' means to you?

Kilian: People seem to enjoy bitching about the little things in life. When it comes down to it, you have to be happy with what you have and live with it. You have to be happy with who you are to get anywhere in life, that's the most important thing that people seem to forget.

What's your song 'Crackin Skulls' about?

Kilian: This is what I mean when I say sometimes you can't help but write a negative song. I wrote this song about kids who are assholes for the sake of looking cool. That just pisses me off so much that I can't help but want to stomp their heads in.

Can you tell your fans a little about your new 7" and where they can pick it up?

Kilian: It's called "Stand Tall", and it's coming out on Refusal Records sometime in February. We're really excited about it. It has 3 songs from our first CD, and 4 new songs which we recorded just for this 7". The best place to order it is our MySpace, our Refusal Records' MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/refusalrecords.

Tell us about your tour?

Kilian: It's our first tour of hopefully many. We've got some dates on it that we're really excited about. A couple of them are with our friends Outnumbered, a great band and great dudes. We're also doing a couple with a band from Germany called Sheisse Minelli, which we're really stoked about. The tour is relatively small, the first date is in Maine, and we'll be going down to Virginia and then back up again. We'll be doing a much bigger tour this summer.

What's your favorite part of being on tour?

Kilian: It's actually our first, so I'm not quite sure yet. But I'm really excited to make some new friends, stay at fans' houses, and play to people who have never seen or heard of us before.

Anything you'd like to add?

Kilian: I think that's about it. If you're into us, definitely check out some other CT Hardcore bands like Hostage Calm and Boiling Point. Great dudes with great messages. Thanks for giving us the opportunity for this interview.