me:Please tell who's who and the history of IN MY EYES..

Pete:My name is Pete, I sing, this is Anthony he plays guitar but you cant actually see him since its an interview, we have Damien on bass, Jeff on guitar and Luke on drums. In My Eyes- we started in 1997 and everyone's an original member except Jeff.We had this kid named Neil play guitar and he left at the end of '98 and we picked up Jeff. It's been a while,3 years of recording a demo, 2 albums, touring and it's just been fun!

Me:How did you end up on Revelation, are you officially "signed" to the label?

Pete:Yeah! Basically we put out our demo, we toured all around the country and played at all these places.We just got a few offers from labels and we jsut looked at the offers and decided what would be best for the band and who would best represent the band and what kind of label we wanted behind us and everything like that and decided Rev was the best for us so I mean, we had to sign a contract, we signed a 3 album contract so we've given them 2 and we're gonna give them one more and I dont know where it's gonna go from there.

Me: Do you get a lot of publicity on the West coast,since your on a west coast label?

Anthony: Probably their advertising is based a little bit better on the West coast they have a better idea of what magazines to work with and whatnot and you know, they're a little closer to all the stores in Orange COunty CA and whatnot so maybe do a little better with promotion there.So I guess it works to our advantage cos we do really well when we go there.So it kinda helps cos being based otu of Boston, on the weekend we can go down to DC or VA beach or Philadelphia so it covers all the bases I guess.

Me: Hows the Boston scene?It seems like the place to be,it's like one big family,like you guys all take each other on tour

Anthony: Yeah , i mean it's awesome i think there's such a variety of bands and whatnot different styles and i think things are mixed up pretty well and everyone's pretty supportive. I think scenes that go down in Hardcore history it's more than just the bands its the people involved in it the whole ideas behind what's going on.And I think that's what makes our place special cos all the bands are kind of different, bands play together and a lot of characters are involved in it and there's a lot of personality. Everyone's really passionate about it and all the people and the bands that are involved in the scene too the bands don't play and the fans watch, the bands are the fans also.

Me: Is there any difference between Worcester and Boston? Have you been faced with negative words or press about the Boston kids, or "scenesters"(not to say being one is bad)?

Pete: Um...we got..well the only difference is about 45 miles .Same kids

Anthony: I mean, I've heard it all, "these Boston scenesters, they think they're cool". But I mean, what's the definition of a scenester?Someone whos involved in the scene travels around and goes to shows and knows people like you know and talks to people at a show...is that supposed to be a bad thing,calling someone a scenester?I mean, it can be taken in a negative way but you know,people in Boston,we travel a lot for shows we're involved with the scene and people kind of like try to slag on us like "you know,theyre scenesters"

Pete: Boston scenesters are from New York, DC, CT, California...It's just a bunch of people in boston ..

Anthony: Yeah, i mean, maybe we look intimadating to people who are new to town but anywhere you go it's no different we're all good friends we're all really close so maybe that's intimidating to people but we dont shun anyone out it's pretty open place.

Pete:There'll be 12 to 15 Boston kids in NJ for a show and we'll all hang out together and it looks a little intimadating but we've driven 5 hours to come to a show b/c we love hardcore not to be some elitist clique or anything.IT's a pack of us that are friends and we go to shows all the time so we hang out with each other cos we like each other. Maybe it is scary for a kid to see 15 or 20 kids hanging out, to walk up and say hey, whats up..

Me: I heard that Boston kids dance really hard,

Anthony: haha i dunno man, i mean the last time we played DC the place got shut down cos the roof got pulled down and it wasnt anyone from boston! the main person who did that might be in jail right now, who knows?

Pete: I jsut got my nose broken,we played Worcester last weekend but it wasnt cos of hard dancing it was cos kids stagediving

Anthony: we all weigh like 150 lbs i dunno how hard it is .There's a difference between hard dancing and dancing to have fun..kickboxing and trying to hurt people maybe our friends dance hard cos we like bands but we're not trying to hurt people

Pete:we just call it extreme dancing, we just like to MOSH,MAN!!

Me: Are IME vegetarians or vegans?

Pete:We're all vegan, all 5 of us.

Me:COol.

Pete:Yes. Definitely cool... It's a great way to be and a great way to live.

Me: What do you feel about all the things people are saying about being SXE nowadays, like u have to be religion free,cos it can be considered a crutch?

Pete: Everything's a crutch..

Anthony: SXE is a crutch

Pete: SXE is a crutch, Hardcore is a crutch, your friends a re a crutch, it's want you believe in.The only qualifications for SXE a re u dont drink, you dont smoke, there's no certain uniform that you have to wear.X's on your hands, some peopel dond do that stuff and dont want to call themselves sXe, and that's fine . I personally like to call myself sXe- I am proud that i dont do that stuff,I'm proud of that label but I'm not proud to the point where I'm ignorant to someone else's choices or someone else's views but I'm proud that I've eliminated that stuff from my life for the betterment of myself . To help me out in life. Not to feel superior to anyone, not so i can draw X's on my hands with a marker like "uhh I'd really like a drink but I like wearing a varsity coat and writing on my hands" it's nothing like that. It's something I do for myself , something that helps myself.So I guess anything can be considered a crutch,you know what I mean?

Anthony: I probably spend more on records that kids do on beer anyway haha so I mean, whatever, it's all what's your vices..

Me: Do you think the band has reached it's peak right now?

Pete: Right now we're clickin, i dunno how much we have left in the tank but we're on a serious roll right now. We got our new album out we're tighter than ever.We play all the time. The thing that keeps us together as a band is that we're all friends all 5 of us in this band hang out all the time.We care about each other we just don't see each other at practice. That's how and why this band started. IT wasn't like ah,lets do a band I know this kid who plays guitar maybe we can find a drummer who's sXe.We're all friends,that's what keeps us tight .

Anthony: I'm not sure how much further we can go, to quote our label " How big can a SXE band get?" Its cool we can go to a bunch of different cities and there'll be people there to see us wheter it's 20 -30- 100 whatever, it's gratifying. I hope we get bigger cos we just put out the best record we could've done, I hope it attracts people to the band .. But,..if it doesn't it doesn't really matter, cos we're doin it for fun and being sincere.

Pete: We're a sXe hardcore band and that's waht we want to be .We say we are it does turn a lot of people away like theyr'e like 'Oh,Gawd..there a sxe band..

Me: another sxe band.

Pete: exactly like another sxe band. Generic, crappy kids who think theyr'e cool cos they're sXe that's not how it is and if anyone got to know us and talk to us or read our lyrics they'd know we're not like that . It's gonna shut some people out but we're nto gonna compromise what we are . We'e a sXe band,we will be until the day we break up.

Anthony: I'm a sxe kid, I like punk bands so hopefully they'll like us too. But punk bands dont apologize for what they are, metal bands don't apologize for waht they are, so why should a sxe band have to apologize for what they are? It's all the same thing you know, I've no problem with liking all different styles of music so hopefully metal kids will like us, punk kids will like us cos i have no problem liking those kinds of music.

Me: Totally dude. So no worries that your second release wouldnt get the response that 'The Difference Between' did?

Anthony: Honesty, I dont care, because the music on that record is the music that I like and it's the music I wrote and it's the lyrics that we all agree on. It's not like fuckin, Godsmack writing their second record their follow-up to their multi-platinum debut. Just some fuckin jerks playin the music they like.

Pete: Yeah, I'm siked if ppl like it, if ppl dont like it that's cool too. People say that we've changed, or this and that, we're trying to be something else,0 but we're still the same fuckin jerks.

Anthony:We still don't get our gurantees, we still get treated like shit, we dont get royalties, we still lose money, we still have day jobs, it's no different you know

Pete: it's not like , hey it's our second album we gotta crank it up a notch just to reach these fans or do this and that, we're just putting out records. Just music that we like that's sincere. We're a SXE band, and we're just gonna continue to put out music not like with our next one we have to top it or do this differently, we jsut write songs and if we like 'em we keep 'em and record 'em

Anthony: If people think that this record's different, then they probly shouldnt have liked the band in tha first place cos this is the truest thing we've done. It's got the most personality.. it's the most what we're about cos there's a variety of songs and styles and i think it's all hardcore that we like. There's songs that are a bit more abrasive than some, some that are catchier than others, it's jsut a better mix

Pete: I think it's a better record.

Me: So then IME will continue doing what it does, having fun, being positive, trying to spread that word...

Anthony: Defintly. Until we get sick of it or we feel like we're fakin it. Everyone's really pasionate about what they're doing and this is waht I do, this is what I like to do. I like to think hardcore is a social thing. You don't go to shows and have no social interaction. You talk to people that you know, or mee t ppl from outta town and make new friends and it makes you more global. I've no intention of stopping and if this band's done I'll do another one.

Me: have you guys faced any incidents of more than u can handle lately?

Pete: Ugh, I could bitch about people at my work all day but I'm not going to.

Anthony: Doing my taxes...haha filing my taxes sucks, I wish I was a fake person that didnt have to do taxes.

Pete: A lotta shit pisses me off but I'm gonna turn it into a positive thing. I'm not gona let it get me down cos I love hanging with my friends, I love what we do. I enjoy life, and that may sound cheesy but you know. I enjoy my life- i work every day, I hang out with my friends at night and have fun

Anthony: I thoougnt i wasnt gona be able to handle Y2K but it worked out =o)

Me: hehe no shit hitting the fan i guess...Do you wana say any last words?

Pete: Yo big ups to...haha i dunno, just a joke...hm..being in a hardcore band is the greatest thing in the world cos i have friends all over. It's like every time we roll into a city I know there's gonna be certain people therre that I talk to on e-mail or thru the computer or whatever. It's a GREAT thing, and people don't do that. Hardcore isn't like...you shouldnt just come to a show you and your friend and just stand there and watch the bands. It's so much more than music, hardcore, the scene is like a family and people should be more friendly and talk to people. YEA, i know it's a little intimidating but 99% of the people in Hardcore are nice people! It's a great way to make friends and people say *darth vader voice*"it's easy for YOU.you're in a band" but I was into Hardcore for years and years before i was in a band and I loved it! I just loved meeting new people, i loved talking to people and just hanging out with people. Not just SXE people, not just vegan people but just kids.

Me: That reminds me of Lifes Halt song 'More than once we've stood side by side what are we doing watching each other as we just go by'..

Pete: That is true! Say 'Hi' to the person next to you. U know u see a kid sey hey what's up, how ya doin...aw, you like Reach The Sky, I like Reach the Sky. Just start a conversation with someone, you know...90-99% of the people aren't gonna be like "yeah,ok, get away from me". If I was in an airport, and I saw a kid with a YOT shirt i'd be like ' DuDe, YOT! I lovvee YOT!" and we'd probably end up talking. But you don't see some dude with a Guns N Roses shirt saw another dude with a GNR shirt ..he wouln't walk up and be like "GNR Duuuuddee, yeaahh!!!" because, it's just not like that. But if you see a hardcore kid you can just instantly start a conversation with him, like it's such a small scene, it's such a small community that we shouldn't...

Me: take on all the High School garbage

Pete: yeah! Embrace each other and be like cool, what's up. You're not SXE anymore, who cares, you're still a good kid. Whatever,you know what I mean? You dont' like band X, i like band X..thats cool, there's no need for us to not be friends and not wish each oter well!

Me: So bottom line is just having friends, and having fun then...

Pete: That's what it's ALL about for me man, that's waht it'll ALWAYS be about. Ever since I got into hardcore. Friends and having fun and helping each other and not being selfish and that's what it's all about for me..

Me:Awesome..well thanxxx so much guys, have fun tonite, rock out!

Pete: Thank you!

Anthony: Sure, it's no problem!

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