Much of 90s hardcore was defined by bands like Earth Crisis and Fury of Five, tough guys with even tougher music. The Victory Records lineup featured heavy hitters like Integrity and Blood For Blood as well, but one band stood out from the rest for their incorporation of classic punk rock full of melody at a breakneck pace—Grey Area.
While the band’s second, and last, record Fanbelt Algebra is now a decade old, the songs still sound as fresh as ever. This weekend, Grey Area reappears to headline a show at the Barbary with Static Radio NJ. In preparation, we talked with Grey Area/ex-Kill Your Idols/SSSP drummer Vinnie Vega about the band’s history and future.
Phrequency: It seems every year or so Grey Area comes back and shows the kids how it’s done. What makes you guys keep coming back?
Vinnie Vega: Thanks for the compliment. This past December Ernie asked me if I would be interested in playing drums for a Black Train Jack reunion. Of course I accepted and just getting back in the studio with him made me realize the chemistry we have. After the BTJ show we talked of possibly doing some Grey Area shows and six months later here we are.
P: What does the band get out of playing these songs, considering everyone’s other projects?
VV: These songs just don’t get old for us, in my opinion they don’t seem dated. There are lyrics that Ernie and I wrote, so they really strike a nerve for me after all these years.
P: Every time Grey Area plays it ends up being the most fun part of my year. How do the shows now compare to the old shows? Is the audience always as stoked?
VV: Yes and no. We played many hardcore shows where kids didn’t know what to make of us. You have to remember, when Grey Area started Earth Crisis, Snapcase and Strife were running shit. Often times we’d win over some of the crowd and they would be stoked, but after we stopped playing for a while I think people missed it, so the return shows we’ve done have been insane.
P: Why was now the time to do two reunion shows as headliners?
VV: We’re not getting any younger, we all still love to play music and we want to see what the vibe is these days.
P: Are there any plans to keep playing shows with an increased frequency?
VV: Right now we’re focusing on these two upcoming shows (notice I didn’t say no).
P: Why Philly and New York?
VV: Some of our fondest memories are from Philly and NY. From Stalag 13, Killtime, Unitarian Church, The Troc, I know there’s more. Philly is how we met Kid Dynamite, Robby Redcheeks, R5 Productions, Dave Hause and Colin when they were KD’s roadies, not to mention all the great vegetarian eats out there. Same goes for NYC. Ernie has been playing gigs there since the 1800s.
P: How did you guys pick the openers for the shows?
VV: We honestly didn’t want to have to choose cause we know so many bands, so our brother Phil from Black Numbers helped us out. Static Radio NJ are great and we definitely wanted them on both shows cause we fit well together soundwise and I’ve always liked them. We also wanted a local openr and I never heard of Lighten Up, or the Reveling, but I checked them out online and am pretty psyched to see them live.
P: What else do any of the members of the band going on currently?
VV: Ernie, Jason and Al have Higher Giant, and I have a side project called Skinheads Still Scare People, and a band with Rick from the Casualties called Kickstarts—both on Koi Records.
P: Lastly, what is going on with Higher Giant? Also, is there any news on the rumored Kill Your Idols book project?
VV: Nothing new with Higher Giant at the moment, and I heard about the book and I heard about a tribute record, but after all we’re hardcore/punks. We can be real lazy.
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