Local Color

By Rev. Sal Lucci

Freddy Hernandez has been active in the local underground music scene for the better part of a decade, promoting shows, DJing and trying to get different types of bands and music heard that would otherwise be stuck in a basement or garage. He’s been booking shows at Connections in Passaic, NJ, for about a year and a half, with Civil Unrest Wednesdays. You can check them out at www.myspace.com.

So, what’s the name of your production company? Who are the members?
Civil Unrest is the production company that I run myself and I’m the only employee.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the Bronx. I lived there until I was 17, then my family moved to Rockland County, New York (right on the border of New Jersey, right next to a “Welcome to New Jersey” sign.)

When did you “get into” music (not just punk, but when did music become a major part of your life)?
I really got into music when I was 13 (1989.) Then I discovered metal. I was into Iron Maiden, Kiss, Anthrax, Def Leppard, etc. Later on I got into punk, post punk, Goth, industrial and most alternative music. At the time in my neighborhood in the Bronx nobody was into what I was into. When I first got into punk, I was rebelling against what was around me. Everyone was into gangsta rap, hip-hop and R&B. I just wasn't into that and that lifestyle. I don't knock it, but it wasn't for me. In the Bronx, I've gotten a lot of grief for being the way I am.

Play any instruments? Been in any bands?
I tried bass when I was younger, but I never followed through with it. The closest thing to a band I've been in was when I was 16. I had a few friends and we made random noise. Now I wish I stuck with that.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be an underground music mogul or maybe A&R for an indie label.

Favorite bands? Favorite style of music?
That’s hard to say. It depends on my mood. I would have to say most underground music (i.e., punk, post punk, industrial, indie, psychobilly, garage, ska, some Goth, death rock, and 80's college rock.) Later, I started listening to a lot of Killing Joke, the Cure, Joy Division, Cramps, Adicts, Adverts, TSOL, Los Gatos Locos and plenty of others.

What do you think of the state of popular music today? What do you think of the state of underground music today?
I feel that some of the popular music out now is really about image and not about the music. Others I feel record labels are trying to beat a dead horse. I stopped listening to radio because every other band sounded like Pearl Jam or Alice in Chains. The pop punk bands you hear on the radio or see on MTV (when they show videos) don't have the anger or the fury of punk bands from the past. I feel punk shouldn't be pretty and cute. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel all popular music is crap. There are some bands that are Top 40 that I really like, such as the Killers, Radiohead, etc.

With the underground scene I feel that there's a lot of great bands and some I feel that need to develop their sound more. What's great about the underground scene is that bands are free to do whatever they feel like doing. They take charge of their music and take it in whatever direction they want to go. They don't have to answer labels or follow popular opinion.

Would it be good or bad if “good” music became popular? If everyone had the same taste in music as you, would it take the fun out of liking the music you do?
I don't mind if good music becomes popular. Good music should be popular. What would kill it for me, say for example, if I own a CD and I hear it more on the radio or MTV than I play the CD, it gets annoying. I used to love Nine Inch Nails back when they came out with Pretty Hate Machine. Then when Downward Spiral came out, I thought it was cool that they were getting airplay. By the end of the year I got tired it, because it was all I ever heard on the radio. I felt that “Closer” was played every other minute on MTV or K-Rock.

Do you remember a time (maybe mid-90s) when there was always a basement show or VFW/Legion hall show? Do you think they’re not around anymore, or at least not as prominent as they once were?
I've been to a bunch of those show in various parts of the tri-state area. In Rockland County, they used to have hardcore shows in a batting cage of a sports complex. It was funny because not only did they have shows there, the rest of the complex was open to the public. They would have a guy charging admission to the one cage, while the other cages had little league batting practice. It was funny to see bodies flying into the safety nets of the cages. They stopped having shows there because of safety issues. Think of it, kids at a hardcore show with easy access to baseball bats!

I think the whole basement/VFW/Legion scene is still around. I know some places stop having shows for one reason or another. I see for every one that closes, another opens up. That’s just my opinion, being where I live in Rockland I have easy access to three states (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) and I see those shows popping up all over the place, and I’d like to see those shows continue. I feel it's important to have those shows, so the younger bands could grow and develop.

How long have you been promoting shows? Where have you put on shows?
I've been involved with promoting shows and music business on and off since 1997. I started as a roadie for a grindcore band, Negativehate. I'd get shows here and there for them. I then DJed on WRPR at Ramapo College and interned at TVT Records in the Sales and Tour Marketing departments. That is where I learned hands-on about the music industry, which I'm still learning now. Something comes up everyday. I've set up in-store shows at Tower Records in Paramus, as well as booking various shows in Rockland.

In the spring of 2001, some partners and myself started Conspiracy. It was a weekly industrial and experimental noise night at Duvel in Clifton. Myself and two other DJs spun aggressive industrial and power noise. We'd have a band play at least once a month. Later on that summer it had died out and my partners left to go back to school and have since landed new jobs.

In September of 2001 I started Civil Unrest with my partner, Chris Starz, at Duvel. It was weekly, Wednesday night, where we spun punk, industrial and experimental music. Like Conspiracy, we would have a band there once a month. We did that until Duvel closed in December of 2001. After that I took a break from promoting for at least a year.
In 2003, I started up again with Civil Unrest at the Loop Lounge. I did a show once every few months there. The first two shows I did were benefit shows for FORSA (Friends Of Rockland Sheltered Animals) where the door would go to animal rescue.

How long have you been at Connections?
I started doing shows at Connections in January of 2004. I started out there doing monthly weekend punk and psychobilly shows. Then later on in February, Adi from the NY Rel-X started Punknite Wednesdays. In March, she had asked me to jump on board and help with the booking. In June, I completely took over the night. Adi had left for Israel for three months and to complete work on the latest NY Rel-X CD, Sold Out of Love. Last March, I changed it over to Civil Unrest Wednesdays from Punknite Wednesdays. I felt that the night had grown beyond the punk label and I wanted to book more bands from other genres.

Do you have any goals?
Right now my goal is to have Civil Unrest become a bigger production company. I want to help develop newer and younger bands, help them get to where they need to be.

If you could book a show with any bands from any era, what would it be?
I could be here forever trying to decide that! I'm into so many bands, I don't know where to even begin. Right now I would say I want to book Killing Joke with Samhain, Joy Division or maybe Husker Du, with Mission Of Burma. That’s what I've been listening to lately.