What does it feel like for you now, then, to be able to offer a protective, sacred space for alienated young people through your own shows? Because I feel like that’s an extension of the idea of communally raising young people.
I think there’s nothing that I am more proud of. We got like a couple young cats in CORPUS that we train with and make sure that they are on a good path, taking care of themselves while staying militant. But also through travelling the world, making real friends and meeting folks who need it. I’d meet a young man or a young woman and they’d be like, “Yo, this music has been a shelter for me.” I’d be like, “Well, then I wrote it for you.” One time, somebody said, “Yeah, I know.” They looked at me like, “You don’t gotta say it, motherfucker.” It was one of the most wonderful, proud moments.
One time we were playing in Dublin. This young kid and he hits me up and he says, “The show is 18-plus or whatever, and I’m 15, but I really want to come to the show. I live across the island. But I’ll take the bus if I can come to the show.” I said, “Of course! Just pull up and say you’re my cousin. You can help me walk shit in.” We get to the venue, and the motherfucker is not only 15 but like 4ft tall and Indian. We walk up to the club. I’m like, “Yo, this is my fucking cousin!” We drank with this kid and we went out all night and fucking got into a local scrap with some boneheads, and then we walked him to the fucking bus stop. It was the most lovely thing, to be with a young person who needed a family and definitely didn’t have a crew. He didn’t even know what he was getting into hanging with us. But we had the most lovely time. To be able to share not only kind words, but to share food and the night with one another, it’s very special.
As you said, through CORPUS you’ve offered free martial arts and self defence classes. Why do you think that is important?
On a surface level, the hardcore scene is a violent one. I spent time as a young person at shows literally fucking hiding [laughs]. So when I started to cut my teeth, and started to get down when CORPUS started, a big part of it was to protect one another. We was out writing graffiti. We was out at shows. We had to fight a lot. So in one sense, I want to make sure that young folks in the city – non-white folks, queer folks – feel safe to go to shows and have each other’s back. That’s one element of it. I realised at the shows there was like a small clique of slightly younger kids. They were like the CORPUS youth, holding each other down naturally. They were cliqued up because they train together. To see that was lovely.
And at the same time, I wish to communicate the importance of necessary violence sometimes. Martial arts can really help you manage violence in a serious way. I don’t look for it. Especially later in life, I’m trying my best to be a good boy. But doing martial arts can give you a sense of discipline. It improved my life immensely and changed my life immensely. If I wasn’t doing martial arts, wasn’t found by David Kaplan and encouraged to train and become militant and become disciplined, I would be fucking dead in the dirt. I was on dust and shit. I was a fucking idiot. It gave me a framework, of not only being militant and knowing that I am strong, but also having respect for myself. That’s a huge part of it; having respect for ourselves and doing things that make us feel good. And knowing that we have brothers and sisters around us that like to see us do that. We like to see them do that. And we get money [train] together in the park.
The discipline of boxing helps me get a handle on other shit, my other vices and stuff. The same goes for being a dad. Without the discipline that boxing and fatherhood instilled in me, I would fucking just disappear into a pit, I think.
It’s still easy to dream of the pit, absolutely. With all this pain and tragedy happening currently, if I didn’t have my daughter I would’ve definitely made very bad decisions. I’m very blessed to have my daughter. While I am protecting her, on a normal basis like crossing the street, she’s protecting me in a greater way from myself.
