UN: Can you go through a history of Skare Tactic starting from the beginning and bringing us up to present? You guys have been together quite a while now, and this is your debut full length release. Why did you guys decide to take your time, or was it just a matter of the band needing time to progress and get to the point you are at right now?

Keith: Well.... we started in 2000 and didn't really know exactly what we wanted to do or what direction we wanted to go with the band, we were just some hardcore kids who wanted to play some music i guess. this is the first and only band i have ever played in. tom played in some other bands in the past and his band had broken up so he wasn't doing anything at the time skare tactic started. this is tim’s first band also. we tried out a lot of guitar players and usually the people that showed up were kids that thought hardcore was slipknot or the deftones, not that i have anything against those bands it just wasn't what we wanted to do. i met wong on a bus and we talked about bands and stuff he seemed cool so i asked him if he wanted to play with us, he came to practice and he joined the band. josh came later on and joined also. neither wong or josh are in the band anymore. we had a friend in az who moved out here recently to play for us...his name is drew and he really smells. as far as taking our time, i don't think we would have been ready when we first started cuz some of our old shit really sucked ass, we DID need this much time to progress, I think we have came a long way in the last 4 years.

UN: How did things come together with Thorp Records? Was it just a matter of Andy being into what you guys were doing or did you send him a demo to check out? Are you guys into the other bands on Thorp?

Keith: Well we owe a lot of us getting on thorp to josh and joe hardcore, we were sendin shit to all kinds of labels, thorp being one of the labels. josh talked to andy and andy said he wanted us to tour the east coast and then he would sign us, so we did an east coast tour and biggity bam! here we are on thorp. mikey hoods also put in a word for us. I'm into a lot of the bands on thorp, my luck is rad, madball is the best band in the world, punishment is the shit. and now there’s blood for blood awesome.

UN: Can you explain the meaning behind the album name and how it relates to the cover art? I’m assuming the album name comes from the lyrics, but I was just wondering how the album cover and overall look of the booklet ties in with the title.

Keith: as far as the title goes its just basically a reminder to think about what you do and say. the cover art was done by scott Mcgrath who did stuff for carryon vendetta www,takeoverrecords.com and a bunch of other bands. we wanted something different then your typical hardcore record ya know? the album cover doesn't really tie in with the title its more of looking at who we are and where we come from, i grew up around drug addicts and misery and a lot of bad shit happened when i was a kid and when i saw the album layout it just stuck and we were like that's perfect.

UN: Was there a certain type of sound you guys were going for with the production of Remember When? I think it’s somewhat of a throw back to the past, in that it’s not over produced. It has a nice powerful sound that isn’t hindered by modern technology.

Keith: No not really, we just wanted it to sound raw and huge, the recording was a nightmare to get done.

UN: Would you say that each member of the band brings something unique to the table as far as songwriting goes? You guys are definitely hardcore, but there is a lot of variety. Lots of fast moments, but lots of slower heavier stuff and even a bit of melodic stuff in there as well.

Keith: yeah we all write together and throw ideas out there, usually there is a riff brought into practice though and we go from there. we just dont want to write boring stuff, we do mostly what comes natural and flows, ya gots to break it down every once in a while.

UN: I haven’t had the chance to check out any of your stuff other then that full-length. I also read on your merch page that your EP and the split with Fall From Grace are both sold out. Any chances of these being re-released?

Keith: the demo is done, unless someone decides to bootleg it or something, we actually just got 100 more of the splits from liberty records to sell at shows, if ya want one let me know I'll send ya one.

UN: Do you think the hardcore scene needs a band like Skare Tactic right now? It seems like more and more bands are breaking away from the traditional hardcore sound. Emo’s influence is finding it’s way into some pretty unexpected places! It’s nice to hear a band that just turns up, let’s it rip and screams about the world around them.

Keith: well you got bands like terror, madball, and sworn enemy who are keepin the shit real, even know the emo and the super metal stuff is present that doesn't mean that kids wont still be down, i think diversity is good, i mean i see kids that will go see a band like bane and then go see a static lullaby i don't think there's anything wrong with that, as long as you know what's up it doesn't matter what you listen to. in the l.a. area a lot of kids are catching on to whats hardcore and what's real. i personally like the fast pissed off shit, cuz i relate with it. hardcore is alive and well my friend. and i don't know if the scene NEEDS us but hopefully some kid somewhere listens to the lyrics and can relate with somethin i have said.

UN: Do you think that being from LA adds to the anger of the band? A lot of people only see the sun shine and bikini’s, they don’t see the dirty underbelly that pretty much every major city in the US has. I’m assuming you see things almost every day that make you angry.

Keith: Yeah this world is fucked, it’s not the cities, it’s us as human beings that are fucked up. yeah i see a lot of shitty stuff and have seen a lot of shitty stuff in my past.

UN: I asked you about the city but what about the hardcore scene itself. Is there a strong scene in LA today? Any bands you’d recommend for people to check out?

Keith: L.A. is really good right now kids are rad here. make move, life or death, donny brook, vendetta, piece by piece, i.a., if it kills, already dead, life in numbers. those are some of the bands that you really need to check out

UN: I read that you guys were supposed to have a split with Punishment coming out on Spook City Records. Has the split seen the light of day yet? What can you tell us about it?

Keith: Damn I don't know, we were supposed to do it a while ago, we'll talk to punishment and get back with ya .

UN: Seeing as though you guys are obviously huge hardcore fans and probably love vinyl, will an LP version of Remember When be coming out anytime soon? I’m not sure if Thorp releases vinyl, but there must be labels interested.

Keith: well no one has asked us yet, but that would be rad.

UN: I’ve read that a few of the members run tattoo studios. Would you say that tattoos and hardcore seem to go hand in hand? You don’t see many hardcore bands that aren’t covered or have at least a few tattoos. Do any of you guys have Skare Tactic tattoos?

Keith: i just tattooed skare tactic on tim in handwriting, but hes the only one so far, i don't. have much room left on me to do it, maybe i'll get it on my forehead. as far as running tattoo shops, this is false, i work at st tattoo in mar vista www.sttattoostudio.com and that's about it, tim used to pierce but now he's an electrician.

UN: Do you guys get the chance to tour as often as you’d like? I’m sure with a new album out you’ll want to be hitting the road as much as possible. Is Thorp helping you guys set up any shows or tours?

Keith: We want to tour and not come back we want to maybe be home 1 week out of the year, thorp is going to be helpin us out with touring soon, right now joe hardcore is helpin us tour, thanks joe.

UN: Why did you guys pick hardcore as your genre of choice? Is it just what comes natural to you guys? Do you remember what album made you say this is what I want to play?

Keith: well hmmm it’s just what we like, i can relate with a hardcore record more then i can anything else, it’s real, I think minor threat and the misfits made me want to be in a band. Ummm downset had a lot to do with us when we first started but we didn't sound anything like em, we just liked that band and made us want to play music. K i guess that's it, thanks for taking the time to interview us, it means a lot to us.