Rockers Flitch put the hard back in hardcore

On a misty night on the North Quad Nate Cavalieri got a chance to interview Jeff Allen, Mike Runshe, Dan Rony, Nick Party of Flitch, Oberlin's premiere hardcore act. Flitch is out to bring true metal-edged rock to Oberlin and as they stood around in a circle spitting the story of Flitch unfolded.

N.C. So the first question in these things always is: How would you categorize your music?

D.R. Metallica.

N.P. Lets see, how about hardcore with a metal influence.

J.A. And a little electronica.

N.C. How about your influences?

D.R. Metallica.

N.P. Metallica, Tool, Machinehead, Type O Negative.

M.R. And a little Ice Cube (laughs heartily)

N.P. A little Randy Rhodes.

N.C. How did you get together?

N.P. (Gesturing to Allen and Roney) The three of us have been together since we got here. We were both big Korn fans. We jammed with him (Allen) one night and after just sat around with our mouths open. We were like 'That dude is crazy.'

N.C. So who plays what? Is there a charismatic front man?

N.P. I'm probably the front man. I play bass.

D.P. I play guitar. The other guitarist is Jeremy Stone. Matt Winstanley plays drums. He's on the hockey team. So I guess five in all.

N.C. (to Runshay) What do you play.

M.R. I'm the big guy. I break people. I move stuff.

N.C. So tell me about your plans for the future?

N.P. We have a tour planned for next winter term.

N.C. Mostly clubs?

N.P. We're going to tour the east coast, starting in New Hampshire and working our way south, going through New Haven, Stanford, going through New York...

M.R. Rest areas.

D.R. Trailer parks.

N.P. ...and over to Baltimore, and then finishing up in D.C.

N.C. That's kind of a long way off, will you be playing around in the near future?

N.P. We will be playing around Cleveland by the end of the semester.

N.C. Does Cleveland have a good scene for hardcore?

N.P. Peabody's is really the place to play.

J.A. There is a pretty good scene for it.

N.C. There isn't really a huge hardcore scene here in Oberlin. How would you describe the music scene here?

M.R. Mellow.

N.P. Its very one-sided. Its kind of annoying because there is no variety. It is either the hippy-style music that is kind of like jazz, or there is punk. That's all there is really.

D.R. Swing is really big here.

N.C. How do you see yourselves fitting in to that kind of scene?

N.P. I think there are a lot of people that sort of yearn for the old Metallica style, and actually we are making an effort to bring that back. One of the things that is really important to us is to bring really heavy music back but stay away from the muddled, growling vocals, and a lot of people are like 'whoa.'

D.R. Guys hear what we are doing and come up to us and (gesturing the rock and roll goathead hand gesture) are like, 'Yeah, Metallica, Metallica.'

N.C. I saw some of your guys playing at the last hockey game.

N.P. That wasn't really the band. But Matt plays hockey. We have spent the last month or so whipping him into shape. Making him sweat. He was like, 'You want me to do what?!"

N.C. (to Allen) You're in the conservatory. I know some people feel a kind of rift between the Con and the music scene in the college. Do you sense that?

J.A. I don't really sense that because I'm involved in the TIMARA department. The TIMARA department is open to a lot more "outside" things.

N.P. But there are a lot of people in the con who are like, "You play electric guitar?" And its distorted?" I guess I don't know the right Connies. There is a lot of music there but it is limited.

M.R. But there are a lot of people even involved in the classical department that are into metal and other music that is a little edgy.

N.C. (to Party) So you write most of the songs. What is most of your music about?

N.P. I would say that most of our music is heavily political.

N.C. Political in what way?

N.P. Well it is pretty clear that, looking around, things are really not right right now. Not that they will ever be but (gesturing to Rony) I know the two of us have backgrounds from other countries. He has a background from Indonesia and I have a background from Chile, and those are places that are not really like here and the military short of runs the show and if you don't tell them what they want to hear you kind of disappear.

N.C. So would you say that you are primarily a political band?

N.P. I wouldn't say that. We're not like those hardcore punk bands out there that are like 'down with the system.' Its about being angry.

N.C. Has it changed a lot from the beginning.

D.R. At first it was kind of gothy.

N.P. We have a little of that in us. But I we play with a lot of energy. It is all about the mosh pit ethic.

Say metal: Flitch poses. (photo by Pauline Shapiro)