"DANCE FLOOR" JUSTIN

From DISTRICT XI -HARDCORE WEB-ZINE by Preston Hyer (excerpts)

Anyone who has been following the hardcore scene in the last few years has no doubt heard some of the bands that "Dance Floor" Justin has played drums for. Some of the bands he is currentyl in, such as Mental, Righteous Jams, and RNR, have been getting a lot of attention lately due to some energetic live performances and some great records, so I decided to email Justin a few questions...

You have been in tons of bands over the years...could you do a run down of the complete list and make some comments about each?

I'm not going to name EVERY stupid band i have been in but I will name the more noteworthy ones... 

turned away - youth crew revival style hc. my first "serious" hardcore band. only played a few shows and recorded a demo. 

reach the sky - filled in for them for a handfull of shows senior year of high school. Good experience. My first show for them was opening for snapcase and AFI. There were definitly skid marks on my underwear from that show. 

the trust - played guitar for them becasue their lead git man joined in my eyes. I was a big trust fan and friends wtih all those dudes so joining the band only made things funner.  

down but not out - basically the post-Trust band. I played guitar. recorded a demo and played a bunch of shows. should have taken it further than we should have. I still love that demo... 

FYA - recorded a piss poor demo in early 99 while I was still in the trust.. The new FYA that started in 2001 was much different than the old one that recorded the demo. first of all, we were much heavier, second, 3/5ths of the band  was made up for druggies. It was awesome, it worked out perfectly. the later material is some of the best material i think i have ever done with a band. I hope we record them eventually....anyway we broke up only about 6 months after getting back together. the last show was a memorable night of acid bum/straight edge mosh and phycadelic lamps in the dirty basement of the berwick. think i care played too, they were sick.  

taste of fear - hardcore with grindcore/death influences. the singer Daryl Kahan sang in that old ny band citizens arrest, who are one of my favorite bands ever. crushing shit. I played on taste of fears newest recording which is on their 91-03 discography coming out soon on throne records. I also played drums on daryl's side project death metal band called Funebrarum. Its pretty dark. The Funebrarum record just came out on Midnight records but i think its sold out.

It's a pretty well known fact that you are a Krishna consciousness devotee. First of all, could you give a brief introduction to what Krishna is for those who my be ignorant and then explain how got involved in it? How has it changed your life and the way you interact with others?

is it a well known fact? cool! i hope people dont think that all hare krishnas are insane like me! Im not a very good example of one... the general philosiphy with krishna consciousness is pretty simple. The goal of our existence as living beings is to re-connect with God in a loving relationship. It takes dedication and sacrifice but I think its worth it. Obviously there are many ways to go about this and if anyone has any questions they should email me (iaminmaya@aol.com) because I dont want to feel like I'm overly preaching or something. But yeah, ask anyone who has known me before I became a hare krishna devotee and they will see that my life has improved. I look at the world in a different way now and I think it has saved me from just killing myself. So, yes it has changed many aspects of my life but all these changes have been welcome because it has been all positive.

It seems like the general consensus with hardcore kids is that religion is something that doesn't belong in the scene - how do you feel about that as a devotee?

How do you feel Krishna coincides with general hardcore ideals? How does it oppose it? How do other Krishna devotees you know feel about your involvement in hardcore?

I mean I dont try to equate hardcore with Krishna consciousness because I dont think Im a good representitive for the tradition. The philosiphy is so vast and encompassing that I wouldnt want people to think that being a Hare Krishna means that you have to be in a hardcore band. Music and hardcore is something I do as good fun. I think its cool to have something to say in your music. it becomes sort of obnoxious when you start threatening people if they dont agree with you. I think theres a fine line between conveying a message in your music and being completely rude and in your face about it. I mean, be respectful its the hardcore scene, not a temple.

Didn't you go to India recently? What exactly was all that about and what were some valuable experiences you had there?

first time i went to india was in early 2001. I stayed for two months and it was awesome. I got sick towards the end so thats why i came back. The last time i went was last year for about 5 weeks. it was so much fun. india is cool because no one is stressed out like they are here in the US. Some parts felt like it was a different planet. I went through some heavy shit (all positive of course) and I think im a different person now because of my experiences in India. Its weird im much more normal and content when im there. i should move...I had more culture shock coming back to the west than I did when i first arrived in india.

How do you feel about the materialism that runs rampant through the hardcore scene...such as the desire for limited vinyl pressings and old shirts?

I'm a hypocrite because im into old shirts. I mean i would rather have a bootleg than a shitty torn up original that looks like a belly shirt on me. I hate records and all that limited vinyl bullshit. I mean whatever if you're into it than its cool, it just seems like baseball card collecting to me.

Full interview here