Grab your s’mores, your bug spray and pack your bags as Riot Squad Media is about to take over Northeast Pennsylvania with Camp Punksylvania! The 3-day festival with multiple stages and amazing national and local acts like The Suicide Machines, War On Women and A Wilhelm Scream, will take place from 1 September until 3 September, tickets are available here. Rome, NY’s throwback punks No Complyance joined TGEFM to discuss their upcoming appearance at Camp Punksylvania for the latest installment of our Camp-centric Roll Of The Dice interview series. Check it out below and I’ll see you at the campfire!
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! What can you tell us about No Complyance, your sound and what you stand for?
No Complyance is from Rome, NY and we’ve been together a little over a decade. Our sound is kind of an amalgamation of ‘77 style punk, skate punk, and a little bit of old school hardcore. Our mission statement is to spread the ideology of anarchism, not just generic chaos, but true anarchism. We also add a healthy dose of comedy to keep things light. You can’t take life too seriously.
(Jesse Goodman, Guitars/Vox) No Complyance is an amalgamation of all things punk, anarchism, chaos and pure energy. Our sound keeps you guessing on what’s next while raising your blood pressure. It tears away at all the layers and reaches inside you to bring out the energy we all have which ultimately brings you closer to your true self. At least that’s what it does for me.
You are gearing up for Camp Punksylvania in the coming weeks, what does the festival circuit mean to individual artists like yourself?
(Anthony Cianfrano, Vox) The festival circuit is everything this time of year. You really get to see people let go. It’s almost like a mental cleansing for people, musicians included. Plus on the artists side of things, it’s an amazing way to get new eyes on our music, sling some merch, and all that good stuff. We even played a couple hippie festivals this summer. Nothing beats the vibes of a well put together festival especially a DIY festival like Camp Punksylvania.
(John Pich, Drums/Vox) I just think it’s so awesome how a group of family/friends came together and said “let’s throw our own music festival and do it all ourselves”, and made it happen. It’s really an honor be to be apart of something like this that the whole Camp Punksylvania and Riot Squad crew take so seriously.
(James Goodman, Bass/Vox) The festival circuit means so much because it allows us the time to connect with people on a more personal level. Whether it’s the festival staff or other artists from the area, it’s exciting to meet such creative and dedicated people who always have another project lined up. I’m grateful to be apart of it.
(Jesse) what the festival circuit means to me , in the best way that I can describe it, is that it is a community built from the ground up and is exactly what society as a whole is meant to be. Where a stranger feels like your best friend. A renaissance of art and music from the people, unrestricted and pure. We can get our name out there and share our music and our merch but we are also building a family.
What’s the state of the live scene from your point of view? We are living in a “just deal with COVID” world and everything about this timeline is some level of completely fucked. What impact, if any, do the current cultural and political landscapes have on your music?
(Anthony) The live scene in our area was largely unaffected, especially in Syracuse. There’s always new bands popping up and there’s a lot of younger people coming to the shows, which is great because that’s exactly how the scene not only stays alive but continues to grow. Our music has always been impacted by current cultural and political issues, so you think it would have been business as usual, but ironically COVID made us go the opposite direction and write more about reflection, open mindedness, and what I can best describe as a “”WWJD” (what would Joe [Strummer] do) sorta way. Though, the political songs are DEFINITELY still there haha!
(John) it was slow when Covid happened, but shows started popping up in Syracuse a little over a year and a half after the Covid lockdown had began. As a band, we’ve spent that lockdown time writing music about the senseless killings from police brutality and full autonomy for women, men and the transgender community. As a band, we think it’s a ridiculous thought that the government or any person would try to dictate or influence what an individual should and shouldn’t do with their body and their life.
(James) From what I’ve seen, the live scene is thriving. Artists from the area support and promote each other on a regular basis. It’s like one big family and it makes what we do possible.
The cultural and political landscape is very chaotic but it is also the fuel to our fire. Covid has certainly pushed people to the far ends of the political spectrum which has created more tension within our society. Our observations and opinions are surely coming through in our music.
(Jesse) the live scene continues to grow through anything that stands in its way including Covid. The punk rock community has always persevered because the artists are dedicated to not only their music but to the people. It is a place for people who feel like they don’t have a place. Politics will always include some agenda that does not favor the wellness of people. This only further pushes us to say what we want and say what we think.
Any summer camp worth its salt knows there needs to be a lot of different activities to participate in. What activity would the members of No Complyance be in charge of if Camp Punksylvania was an actual sleepaway camp? What song are you performing at the end of the season Campfire?
Definitely kickball or dodgeball. Either that, or we’d be the counselors that sneak off to smoke a joint, fuck, and get killed by Jason. Yeah, I kinda like that one better! As far as a song, we’d perform a cover of “The Decline” by NOFX. I dare you to find me a better song to close out anything!
(James) My vote would be for either a beer pong tournament or a vinyl swap meet! And if I had to perform a song at the end of the season campfire, it would be “Manthem” by the Bouncing Souls. I think that song would be the perfect vibe for the moment.
(Jesse) No Complyance would absolutely be in charge of a chicken wing eating contest haha! Especially if they’re hot. More times than not, it has given us the fuel to get to our destination to play a kick ass show. That way we always remember our experiences from beginning to end if you catch my drift, ha!
The song I would want to perform at the end of the season campfire would be “Baby, I’m An Anarchist” by Against Me!. It really brings people together and that’s what it’s all about.
Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see on each stage?
A Wilhelm Scream, Black Guy Fawkes and the Co – Conspirators (they’re fire stage, right? If not I have 2 main stage picks, whoops) and Vulture Raid
(Jesse) Some of the bands that I’m most excited to see are A Wilhelm Scream, The Jasons, and Black Guy Fawkes as well as the Co-Conspirators.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Just wanna mention we released an EP back in April called The Street Cat EP that you can stream anywhere you please. Hopefully we’ll have the vinyl pre orders up soon. You can visit nocomplyance.bandcamp.com if you wanna check out our merch. We hit the Sampler stage at camp on September 1st (Anthony’s birthday!) at 7pm and September 2nd at 4:45. Catch us on the Ferris wheel at some point too haha! You can give us a follow on basically all platforms besides Twitter. Other than that, just always keep educating and stay humble!
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
