Loud! Fast! Philly!

LOUD! FAST! PHILLY! Episode 71: Cynthia Connolly of Banned In DC

Joseph A. Gervasi interviews the photographer Cynthia Connolly. We talk about Cynthia growing up in Los Angeles, CA and being drawn into the early punk scene. Cynthia and her sister wind up moving to Washington, DC in the early '80s. There Cynthia become an active participant in the burgeoning hardcore punk scene. Cynthia designed the iconic "Out of Step" 12" cover for Minor Threat. In the late '80s she compiled, contributed photos to, and published the essential "Banned In DC" book, which she's...

LOUD! FAST! PHILLY! Episode 69: Jim McMonagle of Flag of Democracy (F.O.D.)

Joseph A. Gervasi interviews Jim McMonagle of the Philly hardcore punk band Flag of Democracy (F.O.D.). Jim grew up as a "monster kid" obsessed with horror and science-fiction films and books, especially King Kong, Godzilla, and Japanese TV shows such as Ultraman. By the late 1970s, Jim was embracing the nascent punk scene. At the start of the 1980s, F.O.D. was born. Their first show was also one of the most infamous hardcore shows of the early '80s: the Buff Hall show in Camden, NJ that both Ag...

LOUD! FAST! PHILLY! Episode 68: Nathan Gray of BoySetsFire, I Am Heresy, Church of Satan

Joseph A. Gervasi interviews Nathan Gray of the bands BoySetsFire, I Am Heresy, and now solo work. Nathan details his experience of growing up with under the weight of fear in a Pentecostal family. Until he began to shed his Christian faith in his early thirties, Nathan found the religion he was raised with to be debilitating. Despite being the son of a Christian minister, Nathan is now a member of the Church of Satan. We talk about moving from faith to atheism/Satanism, discovering punk (not a ...

LOUD! FAST! PHILLY Episode 67: Ralph Darden of Random Children, Franklin, AM/FM, Jai Alai Savant, DJ Major Taylor

Joseph A. Gervasi interviews Ralph Darden, also known as DJ Major Taylor, who played in the bands Random Children, Franklin, AM/FM, Jai Alai Savant and more. While Ralph now lives in both Chicago and Los Angeles, he grew up in Philadelphia and spent much of his youth in the racially-mixed Mt. Airy neighborhood. In this long and frank interview, Ralph talks about the racial divide in Philadelphia, growing up in a world where he didn't quite fit in with either while or black folks, discovering pun...

LOUD! FAST! PHILLY! Episode 66: Neil Robinson of Nausea, Squat or Rot, Tribal War Records, Final Warning, Jesus Chrust, ABC NO RIO, Farmageddon Growers’ Collective

Joseph A. Gervasi interviews Neil Robinson of the bands Nausea, Slaughter, Warning, Final Warning, and Jesus Crust. Neil co-founded Squat or Rot and ran the Tribal War label and distro. He was also active in ABC NO RIO. Neil is now one of the founding members of the Farmageddon Growers' Collective in Oregon/Washington. Neil and I spoke in his hand-made and electricity-less shack on the Farmageddon property just outside Portland, Oregon after a tour of the (very impressive) veganic farm. This is ...