For over a year now Hamilton hardcore band Cry Wolf have taken their blazing sound to venues and house parties around New Zealand. A few demos and band members later, they’re finally releasing their new EP ‘Bright Lights’ on June 6th. Mammoth chats with lead singer Jeremy Millar…

MM: Those with a basic view on hardcore probably think that it’s still about being straight edge (no smoking, drinking, and sometimes even veganism and no sex). How relevant do you think that is to the hardcore scene nowadays?
JM: Considering there’s only a handful of edge kids left in in the country, I don’t think it’s hugely relevant. But I do think that straight edge will always play a part in the typical ethics of hardcore – whether it’s directly labeled as such or not. I think it’s just important to be open and to respect others’ views rather than push your own opinions on others. Straight edge or not, my friends are my friends.

Is it hard work being a hardcore band in Hamilton?
Not really, Hamilton has always had a really active hardcore scene. Things die down from time to time but they always seem to get going again. As long as you’re fairly motivated and into what you’re doing, it’s sweet. The hardest thing is finding venues for shows and practice spaces – it’s hard in that sense ‘cos a lot of people don’t appreciate anything unless it’s mainstream. Also, it’d be cool to see some more mixed genre shows. There used to be bands like This Night Creeps playing with Evil Priest and shit, but you don’t really see that any more… I reckon that’d be cool.

Hardcore fits into that niche music genre that generally gets overlooked by most people. Would you prefer it stayed that way or that it was easier to make it big?
Either way I don’t mind. As long as the people in the bands are playing what they themselves want to play, it’s all good whether everyone loves it, or everyone hates it. What I don’t like is people changing their sound/image just to fit the mould. I think it’s better to play what you love, rather than what you think other people will love.

There’s a tendency that people in hardcore bands are usually very socially conscious. Have you guys ever done any work for a non-profit organisation?
Not really anything in particular. We’ve played benefit shows for different things — one coming up is a set of animal rights shows in Aucks (27th-28th June at Kings arms and Ellen Melville, just to sneakily advertise…). But yeah, nothing in particular, though we’re always keen to help out where we can.

What do you think of punkas.com?
Take it lightly, and it’s a bit of a laugh. Go there to check out upcoming shows, and reviews – it’s really good for that. Other than that, it’s a waste of time.

It’s great to see bands like Cry Wolf and This is This representing Hamilton Hardcore. What other Hamilton bands would you recommend people check out?
Thanks! A favourite of mine is Congaline; hard to define but kinda stoner-rockish, aggressive with groove – like Converge meets Cursed. And also The Sheriffs are sick, they sound like the doors but with their own flavour. Wasteland are awesome, thrashy/old school kinda punk. Check out Damsels too, awesome shit.

Aside from the EP launch, does the band have any future plans?
Yeah we’ve finally got our EP done… thanks heaps to Graeme and Lee in Auck for all their help with that. We’re steadily into writing a new record, I’m liking where it’s heading. More aggressive and grim. Other than that, just to keep playin’ what we want to play and we’ll see where it goes.

Cry Wolf will be performing and releasing their new EP ‘Bright Lights’ at Ward Lane on the 6th of June with support from Congaline, This is This, Shitripper and Masada. Entry is a mere $7 on the door. Click for event details

myspace.com/crywolfbro