James of Harms Way.
Chris Mills....drummer extraordinaire.
Here's an old interview I did with John Caution, who was then playing bass in Harms Way and singing in Weekend Nachos, but recently quit Harms Way. (presumably to focus on Weekend Nachos, but maybe there are other reasons involved that I'm not aware of) This was originally put up on C-RAP.com, but I decided to transplant it here for those who haven't seen it yet. The pictures at the bottom are ones I found while messing around with my computer. They were taken at The Knights of Columbus Hall in Arlington heights back when James (vocalist) was still beating on people in the audience. Click on them for a better view. Here's the interview:
"I wanted to give a little background info on the band Harms Way that was featured in issue #1. They’re a Chicago straight edge band that feature members of Weekend Nachos and The Few and the Proud. The first time I saw them I was blown away. It was at the last Expired Youth show at Galaxie by Belmont and Rockwell. I didn’t really know what to expect, all I had heard is that they threw around a bunch of pumpkins during a Halloween show last year. When they started playing the room took on this weird almost evil vibe. The singer James is this hulking dude who just snaps when they start playing and starts literally destroying people. I remember watching them from the back of the room and all I could see from my view was the dude jumping up high over the audience and landing on people and driving them into the ground like a tent stake. I also saw him start double jump kicking people in the head amongst other things. It was GNARLY. The music is dark, evil, and thrashy with crushing slow parts.
They just released their Imprisoned EP on Organized Crime Records.
John is the one member of Harms Way that I didn't get a chance to interview when I talked to the rest of the guys. I sent him these question via email, so this Q and A has a different flow than the one in Night Owl #1.
1. Please further clarify your stance against 21 and over shows, if it was a band you were really into would you play one with them. Extreme Noise Terror?
We were actually debating on that recently, because we got offered that show. Right now it looks like we can't do it anyways, but we were considering it. Normally my stance is "100% against 21+ shows of any kind". In this case, however, we knew it would be completely and utterly hilarious for a band like Harms Way to play in front of a bunch of poser metalheads, so we were considering it. treat it like a joke and don't take it seriously and i suppose the "morals" change a little bit, but that's also a total metal show...metal and hardcore may cross paths musically at times but the scenes are completely different.
2. Do you think a "militant" straight edge attitude is a good thing for kids to emulate or a bad thing?
It depends on how they go about it...we all have respect for the militant edge to a certain extent...it's good to be strong about your beliefs and to have a "no compromise" attitude, but the people who add violence to that are just idiots. Beating someone up for not being straight edge is one of the most retarded things ever, we joke about how cool it is but it's really not. The early to mid 90's were awesome.
3. Do you think hardcore should be/is dangerous?
I think it depends, everything should make sense when it’s happening. If The First Step is playing and I get punched in the face by someone wearing a Cold World mesh track jacket and gold chain, I think that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I'm not swinging my arms and trying to hurt people while singing about making a positive change in the world. When Harms Way or The Killer plays, I think it's more appropriate. Every song is about killing people and hating the world and it's really not that dangerous. If Matt Rolland can survive, it's not that dangerous.
4. Why don't bands from Chicago seem to tour much?
I'm not sure, I think quite a few Chicago bands do their fair share of touring. i think most of the bands here have played (outside of Chicago) at least a few times. If not, it's because they're either a) lazy or b) have too much other shit going on. Both excuses seem perfectly reasonable to me, and I can relate to being lazy and having a lot of other shit that keeps me from touring.
5. Do you see a division in the Chicago scene between the more the political and nonpolitical bands and kids?
There's a division between those people everywhere, I think the problem is that the political bands think that the non-political bands are apathetic and don't give a fuck...and the non-political bands feel they have every right to sing about whatever the fuck they want to. I agree more on the non-political side, because it's like, I'm writing these lyrics...they're going to be about what I want them to be. If you're into politics, that's totally cool and by all means, speak out, but it doesn't mean a goddamn thing to me. I've got my own shit to worry about.
6. Would you rock a lettermen jacket?
Nah, I think James is the only one who can pull that off. I don't weigh a whole lot as it is...the last thing I need is a jacket that weighs half of what I do to carry on my back, also, Sickly Kyle is a poser.
7. Does it bother you if a kid who likes to get high is into your band? ( Harms Way is Straight Edge) What if you knew they were taking bong hits to your Imprisoned EP every night?
That would be fucking sweet, I'd be down with that, I've always wanted someone to get high to a record of mine. I think it would bother me more if a really popular, happy kid with tons of friends was into us, because that makes no sense.
8. Best Pizza in Chicago?
Eh, personally I don't really care. I don’t live in the city so i don't go restaurant hunting like the rest of the douchebags in our scene. I hate Bacci's though...but they have those all over the suburbs too. It's just crappy pizza and the deal isn't even that great."
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