Interview with Richie Krutch from Wisdom in Chains, Krutch and Comin’ Correct

Please introduce yourself and tell us what bands you have been a part of?

Richie Mancuso, Wisdom in Chains, Krutch, Mushmouth/Out to Win, Boxcutter, Comin Correct, Z9!, Corpse Division, I think that’s it for bands.

Legendary Krutch known as the undisputed king of Pennsylvania Hardcore. Can you tell us about the mid-90s ''golden era'' when you were doing shows with bands such as Bulldoze, 25 at life, Madball and Biohazard, VOD. What was it like back then and can you describe being in amongst probably the most important eras of hardcore?

The 90’s era of HC was a great time, at least in the Northeast of the United States. There was a decent amount of bands, not really over saturated, it seemed like just enough. There were like 2/3 key bands from each region, they were all active in booking shows, so a natural pathway was created from let’s say Baltimore to Boston. So in between there, every key city was represented as well as so many smaller markets and towns. The group of bands that we came up with wasn’t very welcomed in the circles of a lot of the older established HC labels at the time. So you would see a lot of brand new labels, and zines popping up in that era. The big influences of the time, that really become well known in the 90’s were Biohazard, Madball, and Earth Crisis. These were the bands that we looked up to. Of course the bands before them like Agnostic Front and Sick of it All were also very well respected, and some of the more open bands that predated the 90’s, that actually showed love. In the 90’s the post office was so important, printing stores like Kinkos were very important. E-mail was a thing, but it was in a very early stage. The 90’s were cool for aesthetics as well, it’s basically the era of the transition. We went from physical drawing, cutting, pasting, creating and printing flyers, demo art, and zines to using the early forms of computer art programs to help create. It was the era of the cassette to CD transition for demos. In the early 90’s, it was unheard of for a band that wasn’t on a decent label to have CD to sell. By the end of the decade, you would start seeing a few bands actually selling CD demos. So even as the music changed, so did the tools available to bands to promote.

What was it like touring Europe and Japan with Comin' Correct back then? Is it true Krutch had a big influence on the LBU scene and I know you played shows with some of the London bands back then?

It was awesome touring overseas with Krutch and Comin’ Correct. It was so raw, we had no idea early on what to expect. We had to trust people we didn’t know and never heard of. No one had a cell phone, we landed in a foreign country and hoped someone would meet us. HC at the time was like a religion, and without faith, it just wouldn’t work. As for the London scene and LBU, it’s not my place to say if Krutch had any influence on them. I do know that we made a special bond with Knuckledust, other bands, and the people of that city that still to this day holds up. Playing in London, and having such good reactions was so important for Krutch at the time. It definitely fueled us to believe in HC. I can say that London, Knucklesdust, LBU, and the UK scene in general definitely influenced and ignited passion in us.

Can you tell us about the members of Box Cutter, How did you meet Joe and was Box Cutter the first band you were in together?

Boxcutter was myself on guitar, Mad Joe and Stickman on vocals, Shawn Battle on drums, Chris M of Mushmouth and Chris Mav of Wisdom both did time on guitar, and Pepi of Livin Proof on bass. I actually lived with Joe when we started up Boxcutter. When I first met Joe, he was in a band called Feeble. Eventually, he would jump in Krutch. So I knew him well and long before Boxcutter started. I started Boxcutter because I wanted to do a project with Stickman from Fury of V. Fury ended, and Stickman wasn’t doing anything at the time. I know that an idle Stickman is a dangerous person, so we threw him some extra Krutch songs, and he took it from there. The style and image was all from him.

As you are aware Dan Smith was a big part of the 90s New Zealand hardcore scene, how did the Sharp Shock/Wisdom in chains split come about and will we see any future W.I.C splits?

We first met Dan while we were on tour in Europe with H20. Dan was filling in on bass for them, at first I was like “who is this guy, and why didn’t they get an American to fill in”. Of course, like everyone else, eventually we fell in love with him. He’s a great guy, talented, fun, SxE. Anyway, during the tour, we learned about his band Sharp Shock, and we started talking about doing a split, we made it happen. As of now, nothing is planned with Wisdom as far as recording new music unfortunately. We have been lucky over the years though. We did the split with Sharp Shock, one with Twitching Tongues, and one with Madball. Hopefully I didn’t forget any.

A New Zealand tattooist who goes by the name Ratcorpse did a design used for one of your windbreakers. How did that link come about and do you usually use artists from the hardcore scene?

I’m pretty sure we saw his art on the internet, started talking to him, and took it from there. His stuff is really cool. Yes, we exclusively use artists from the scene. We try to do every aspect of biz with people from the scene, when possible.

What's it like playing at T.I.H.C fest, can you tell us some of your all time favourite shows and bands you have played alongside, and will we ever get to see an Australian, New Zealand tour?

T.I.H.C is Christmas for HC peeps. It’s so fun for us, we aren’t that far from Philly, it’s one of our favourite cities, and at this point one of the few shows we even do in America. As far as favourite shows, man there are so many to choose from. As far as favourite bands we played with. Well, we were lucky enough to tour with Blood for Blood, that was a long time ago, but so cool. It’s always great to just do shows and tour with friends bands like Madball, Terror, H20, SOIA, Death Threat, All Out War… so many. When it comes to Australia/NZ, at this point in the game, I doubt we will ever get there, we never had an offer. But who knows.

Who are your top 10 band influences of all time and what makes them stand out from the rest?

Black Sabbath

The Gods of all of this shit, the first metal song, the first punk song, complete classics

Pink Floyd

The vibes, the lyrics, so unique

Early Metallica

4 of the greatest album ever written in a row, and unbelievable achievement

Guns n Roses

Appetite for Destruction alone, an album without one bad note

Ramones

Master anthem writers, defied all odds

Madball

HCs blueprint for me

Cocksparrer

Another anthem writing machine

Type O Negative

Vibes like no one else, October Rust, perhaps the greatest album ever written

Agnostic Front

One Voice, plus a great group of good people. Good teachers

Lynyrd Skynyrd

When it comes to ballads, these guys own the greatest of them all

I see you commented on one of our nzhcpp Instagram posts and knew who NZ legends Sticky Filth were, Are there any other New Zealand bands you are aware of?

Unfortunately no, Dan Smith turned me onto Sticky Filth.

Has your music consumption changed over the years? What does a pioneering Hc veteran do to wind down, and is there any music outside of punk/hc/metal that you enjoy?

If you check my previous answer about my top 10, you see what I like. I liked the same shit for years. Lately, the newer HC bands are in my head. Loving the style lately of HC. Gridiron, Carried by Six, Missing Link, Fools Game, Risk, Hold my Own, Street Struck.. check some of those out.

Tell us a little bit about Z9, how did the band form and who is a part of it?

Wisdom wasn’t able to finish any music. We literally have 100 plus songs that we have written throughout the last few years, but our singer wasn’t topping them off. Basically, I just moved on, because I have to be creative, otherwise that’s no good. So, I learned some computer recording shit. Wrote a few tracks, a more rock style deal. Figured I’d sing on it myself because when I talked to other people about doing a project, everyone is like “yea yea yea”, but then they don’t come through. I played it for Luke our drummer and Evan our bass player, they liked it, and they also wanted to keep creating, so they added their own flavor. We did everything in my house except drums. It was fun, writing, learning to record, figuring out vocals, getting the art together. Basically had to satisfy the itch.

Any words of advice you can share with up and coming youth hc bands?

Enjoy the scene for what it is, if you’re in a band, write good songs. Help out other bands, zines, labels, and promoters. Spread the word about HC. Use social media to get the word out about all things related to HC. Don’t be one of these dopey HC bands that doesn’t follow any HC related pages and only follows some random rapper or some shit. SHOW LOVE TO YOUR SCENE. Repost for other bands. It sounds stupid, but that’s the tool of the day, use it to spread HC.

Thanks for your time, Would you like any last words?

Thank you very much for the interview..