Boxer
The Hurt Process (Vagrant)
An interview with vocalist Dave Vicini
Scott Hefflon
With only a four-song demo to their name, Boxer have opened for such luminaries as Lagwagon, Weston, Screw 32, Good Riddance, Jimmy Eat World, and Bracket, and have recently released The Hurt Process on Vagrant. Being a relatively new band from Boston, and without having the Boston punk scene falling all over themselves to’ve been there since the beginning, man, Boxer has traveled the long and lonely road the hard way – through perseverance and relying on a talent to write a catchy, memorable blend of East Coast emo/hardcore and Orange County melodic punk.
[Note: This interview was conducted (for lack of a better word) in the early stages of Lollipop‘s “We’re closing the fuckin’ office” party on March 20th. In other words, the booze had begun to flow, and by the time the interview started workin’ into a groove, the tape was recording more dancing on coffee tables than interview. Note to self: Don’t interview bands at parties. Especially not while dancing on coffee tables.]
Three out of four member of Boxer live in Boston. Who doesn’t and how’s that work?
Our drummer, Chris (Pennie), lives in New Jersey. He’s also in Dillinger Escape Plan. Chris went to Berklee, and that’s where he met Jeremy (McDowell), our guitarist. They both ended up quitting school to do the band full-time.
What were their majors?
Jeremy’s was songwriting, Chris’ was, I think, music synthesis.
And now y’all play punk rock… Howzabout doing the ol’ synopsis thing?
We got together in October of ’95, and during the winter of ’96, that’s when we really started playing every weekend. Everything from Club 3 and the place above the Penalty Box [The Causeway (R.I.P.), then Hexx (R.I.P.), you get the point], the Rat, Monday night at the Middle East Upstairs, that sort of thing. We never got much of a response, but I think Boston’s like that. It’s getting better now, but back then it was totally indie rock. But now it’s getting better and a lot of bands are getting hooked up. A lot of our friends and stuff.
Like who?
In My Eyes just got signed to Revelation, Miltown just got signed to a major, Six Going on Seven have a record out on Some, the label run by Jason of Quicksand…
And you just signed to Vagrant, who put out the live Face to Face album and an amazing comp called Before You Were Punk…
They also put out a Dogmatics re-issue, an Automatic 7 7″, and the vinyl version of the A&M Face to Face release…
How did you hook up with Vagrant?
We were interviewed in Punk Planet, and when they read it, they asked us to send a tape. We weren’t really looking for a label, we didn’t think it was, like, “We have to get signed to a record label.” We just got lucky, I guess. We wanted to sign to a punk label and not a hardcore label, because hardcore kids don’t seem to listen to punk rock, but punk rock kids’ll listen to hardcore.
What was your game plan prior to getting signed?
Playing out and writing. A lot. This year, we spent a lot of time writing material. We’ve really grown as a band because of it.
Have you released any 7″s or been on any compilations?
No 7″s, but we had a track on the They Came from Massachusetts comp put out by Big Wheel Recreation. They’re big into hardcore, but there were so many awesome bands from Boston on there, we just couldn’t pass it up. We became friends with a lot of the bands on the compilation. I think Boston is a hard city to break into. It’s almost like you need to be on a label already for anyone to take notice of you. So now we’re starting to see way more kids at shows, more people talking about us.
What other bands do you see in Boston that oughtta be signed?
I grew up with Big Lick; I’ve known them since they were a small band playing in high school, and after five years, they still aren’t on a label or anything. They play hard-rockin’ ska with some jazz and stuff thrown in, and they totally deserve to be on a label. There’s also a new band, Endless, who just put out their own four-song CD. Let’s see, who else… There really aren’t that many bands I really like in Boston.
Kinda like you get along with the people in the band and you wish ’em well, but you’re not really into their music?
Right. Like The Get Up Kids, who we’re doing a mini-tour with. I don’t really like their music that much, but they’re awesome guys. They write really good songs, but it’s just not my thing. They’re going to be huge.
I only have a three-song teaser for The Hurt Process, so why don’t you tell me what’s on the album?
The four songs on the cassette we got signed from have all been re-recorded. That’s “Child Labor Laws,” “Georgia,” “Shore Points,” “Blue and Gray,” “Blame it on the Weather,” and “By the Way…” I guess it was six songs… Plus we did six new songs out in California.
Even the demo versions sounded fuckin’ great.
That was Brian from Miltown and Battery. He has a studio called Salad Days in Boston, well, now it’s in Norwood. I think he did a really good job. Trevor from Face to Face produced the full-length.
Most bands really tighten up from extensive touring, but Boxer hasn’t toured very much and you’re all tight as shit.
I think it’s ’cause everyone in the band is just a really good musician. We don’t even practice all that much, mostly ’cause it’s hard for Chris, living in New Jersey and all. So we only get to practice about twice a month. But now that we’re on the label and we’ll be touring, we won’t have to practice even that much anymore. But we’ll have to see when it comes time to record the next album. I don’t know how we’re going to get together to learn new songs.
Did you guys come from other bands prior to Boxer?
Chris has been into metal his whole life, and that’s the kind of drummer we wanted. While a lot of the style is derived from metal, I think some of it draws from Gorilla Biscuits and old school hardcore punk. The goal from the beginning was to be a hardcore band, but have the melodies of punk.
Where the hell does “emo” work into all of this?
I have no idea. We fought over that.
I consider you melodic, fast punk rock.
Me too. People need to label everything. It’s basically punk rock, just a little slower, but they have to call it emo. It’s really just rock `n’roll. Boxer has three songs that aren’t quite as fast as the others, so those must be our emo songs. Or something.
