We Came As Roman is back! To celebrate, both Dave AND Kyle, co-frontmen of the band are on the show. We discuss them taking some time off to find themselves both musically and personally, how they write vocals and lyrics together, their new label Sharptone Records and how their side projects helped shape the sound of the new WCAR record. We also discuss bad band acronyms, leaving the hard partying days in the past, and how they’re moving forward - by checking their egos at the door.
Roger Miret is a true New York Hardcore legend. As the frontman of Agnostic Front, he has been at it since 1980. His story however is not so simple. Born in Cuba, his parents moved to NYC and he faced and extremely abusive childhood, eventually living on the streets, and also served some time in prison for drug trafficking. Now happily married and living in Arizona, he has written a brand new tell-all book chronicling the stories he faced growing up, the hardcore scene and his time locked up. Shane and Roger discuss the behind the scenes stories of the book, and of course what it’s like to be considered one of the “Godfathers of hardcore”. My Riot: Agnostic Front, Guts, Grits and Glory is out now! Buy the book on Amazon: Use link: leadsingersyndrome.com/amazon
Shane jumps on the phone with Chicago sports fan, Game of Thrones junkie, and frontman of Eighteen Visions, James Hart. One of the most respected bands in the 90's and 2000's hardcore scene, Eighteen Visions was not only known for their technical and heavy riffs, but also their image, often referred to as "Fashioncore". Now, back together with a new album in 2017, Shane and James discuss being straight edge in your late 30's, his major label experiences, his musical influences, and yes - Fashioncore.
Shane sits down with his buddy and '68/The Chariot/ex-Norma Jean frontman Josh Scogin. One of the most critically acclaimed heavy bands of the last decade, The Chariot announced their breakup suddenly in 2013 after a Warped Tour stint where they were arguably as big as ever. Shortly after, Scogin announced his new project '68, a 2 piece band where he now picked up the guitar as well. We talk about the learning curve of becoming a guitar player/singer, looking back on the legacy of The Chariot, touring in Siberia, and the time Silverstein covered The Chariot in their hometown.
Dennis Buckley of 88 Fingers Louie sits down with Shane to talk about being back on the road with a new album after almost 2 decades, watching his ex-bandmates get huge in Rise Against, and the mix up with another band called The Story So Far.
SWMRS frontman Cole Becker takes time out of his busy schedule and joins Shane between lunch and soundcheck while on tour in Providence, Rhode Island. Starting his first band Emily's Army when he was barely a pre-teen, he learned the ropes from his best friend and SWMRS drummer's father, who happens to be Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. Now 22, Cole has found his own voice and sound, and he discusses Art vs. Business, how to rev up a crowd of young fans, and his mega crush on Miley Cyrus.
Hatebreed's own Jamey Jasta sits down with Shane on the very last day of Warped Tour outside the bus in Pomona, CA. Never one to not speak his mind, Jamey and Shane discuss the Victory Records days, keeping their talking/screaming voices in check, Jamey's very successful podcast, and Hatebreed once being sabotaged and called a racist band.
It's a very special episode today! Backstage at Warped tour in St. Louis, Kevin Lyman (founder and producer of Warped), Jack Grisham (TSOL), Steve Soto (The Adolescents) and Lisa Johnson (Rock Photographer) join Shane to have a round table discussion about the state of the scene, Warped Tour drama, the changes from punk then and punk now, and also discuss the upcoming It's Not Dead punk rock festival featuring a huge lineup of punk rock bands, headlined by Rancid and Dropkick Murphys.
Photo by Lisa Johnson
The notorious Chris "Fronz" Fronzak of Attila joins the show.... Is his on stage persona real? Is he really as crazy as he leads on? Listen and find out as Shane hangs out with him on the back of Attila's bus on Warped Tour, drinking whiskey, beer, and a box of "Fronzia" wine.
Seaway's Ryan Locke jumps on the phone from his "Vacation" and speaks with Shane while he's in Orlando, FL on Warped Tour. After getting through a couple interruptions from a strange woman on the streets, they chat about Ryan's conversion from drumming to singing, our Mom's being friends, the Canadian "theme" and how smoking weed led to the formation of Seaway.
One of the most requested guests, Knocked Loose frontman Bryan Garris talks about the hype surrounding his band, religion, the importance of hardcore history, playing Warped Tour for the first time, and being terrified about having to write a follow up to the acclaimed debut album Laugh Tracks.
I'm on Warped Tour, and I sat down with John Floreani, of Australian punk/indie/alternative/whatever group Trophy Eyes, a band who put out my favourite record of 2016. We talk about his early life and ongoing struggle with addiction, the weird things about America, life on Warped Tour, and if they knew they had something special while making their last record Chemical Miracle - in Thailand.
Chadwick Johnson from the hardcore band ... wait a second... they aren't a hardcore band anymore... That's right Hundredth has taken a complete 180 and have ditched the screaming, the breakdowns, and even the heavy guitars. Listen to his explanation of why this happened, what the hardcore fans of the bands are saying, and what he predicts is about to happen as they embark on the entire Vans Warped Tour... playing ZERO old songs. After that... check out their awesome new record "Rare" on Hopeless Records... Out now.
John Joseph joins the show for an extremely candid and unedited chat with Shane. He discusses his abusive childhood that left him living on the streets of NYC at age 14, his rise to hardcore fame in the 1980's, his current projects writing books and competing in triathlons, and his feud with former Cro-Mags bass player/vocalist, Harley Flanagan.
In a very honest, candid discussion with Shane, JT Woodruff of Hawthorne Heights talks about their quick rise to fame, their lawsuit with Victory Records, and the death of their guitarist Casey Calvert
This week Brian Swindle of Have Mercy joins the show, calling in from Shane's FAVORITE place ever - Houston, Texas. They discuss their new record being the comeback from their "sophomore slump", how hard it is to define Have Mercy under a specific genre, and how losing members of the band has affected Brian personally. Bonus: Brian spills the beans on an upcoming acoustic project!
In this 2nd of a 2-parter with both I Prevail frontmen, I speak with Brian Burkheiser, the clean vocalist. We discuss their calculated success, being terrified of dealing with overnight success, and how he figured out he could sing while riding in his buddy's car one day.
The first of an I Prevail 2-parter with both frontmen! Screamer/unclean vocalist/yeller/whatever you wanna call it, Eric Vanlerberghe joins the show. Topics include their rapid rise to fame, being very calculated in their decisions, how they write songs, and a scary moment when their bus caught fire.
Matt Pryor of The Get Up Kids joins the show this week. A massive influence of Shane's, without The Get Up Kids, Silverstein would have never formed. Matt and Shane discuss TGUK's place in the 90's emo scene, The Emo Game, Matt's 15 year old daughter's budding solo career, and writing custom songs for his fans. Matt also talks about new Get Up Kids songs that may be coming out in the near future.
Alt-pop/hip-hop artist, basketball fan and coffee drinker K.Flay joins Shane on the show this week. Fresh off the release of her new album "Every Where is Somewhere", they discuss her upbringing in the midwest where music was surprisingly not a focus in her life, her transition from rapping into singing, co-writing with Pharell, Trump, her departure from RCA records, and her stint on Warped Tour.