GASSED
PHOTO CREDIT: VIC CARRATURE
1. Thanks for joining me! To get us started, would you please introduce yourself and what you do in the band?
I’m Micha, I’m the vocalist for Gassed.
2. Would you please provide some background basics on the band—where you’re from, when and how you formed, common purpose, etc.?
We started playing together in summer 2025. We’re based out of Queens, but our drummer Mark lives in Westchester. I met Logan, our guitar player, and Mark at a basement show in Long Island City and I’ve known our bass player Marcus for years—we used to work together. Our goal when we started writing together was to do something rooted in 80’s hardcore-punk, d-beat, and fastcore, but not easily put into one of those boxes. Something that stands out against the current landscape of hardcore from New York.
3. I want to talk about your upcoming album Mental here shortly, but first I’m curious as to what got you into punk and hardcore in the first place. Take us down “the iceberg” of your journey if you would be so kind.
I grew up in Florida listening to mostly death metal and hip hop, and I was exposed some punk through skateboarding and the Tony Hawk games but never anything that really stuck, and never live. Once when I was 14 my brother and I got dropped off in downtown Orlando by my step-dad for some reason I can’t remember, I think we were trying to go to a metal show or maybe just skating, but instead we stumbled into an all-ages Sick of It All matinee and it altered my brain chemistry. The energy both on and off the stage was totally different from anything I’d seen before. That night I got on Soulseek and downloaded their discography and started connecting the dots between them and other bands I’d grow to love.
4. Mental comes out October 6th on the re-launched Uprising Records, which readers may be familiar with for putting out releases from bands like 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Racetraitor, and Nehemiah, and of course for releasing Fall Out Boy’s Evening Out with Your Girlfriend. How did that relationship come about?
We originally intended to release the record independently, but we were in this long waiting period after we commissioned the artist who did the cover so we figured we’d shop it around a bit because we also wanted to press vinyl and that was out of our budget. Logan sent it to Sean not expecting a response, and he got back to us right away really excited about it.
I was surprised, because Uprising hadn’t put out a hardcore record in more than 20 years and we aren’t as heavy as bands like Racetraitor or 7A7P, but we hopped on a call with Sean and he inspired a ton of confidence. It’s a new chapter for the label and we’re really stoked to be a part of it.
5. You recorded Mental with the legendary Don Fury! What was that like?
Really cool! We wanted to achieve the sound of the 80’s and 90’s hardcore-punk records that we love and Fury recorded a lot of those, so choosing to work with him was a no brainer. His studio in Troy is really sick, he built it all himself and continues to do everything analog, even his multi-track sessions. A lot of the gear that we used has been featured on records like United Blood, lookinglasself, and Start Today, he’s even got a cab that belonged to GG Allin (complete with bodily fluids).
Also, working with him was really attainable on a small budget. He doesn’t use the fact that he’s recorded every important NYHC record to pad his pockets, he remains a man of the people and loves making music.
6. If you would, give us the bird’s eye view of the album—what you were going for, sounds and themes you explore, etc.
The record is three songs off our demo, plus four new tracks and a cover. With the demo songs we just wanted the chance to re-record them in a more professional environment. As for the new material, we had started to refine our sound a bit and hone in on what we feel differentiates Gassed from other bands locally. A lot of our writing process is asking ourselves, “is this song too long?” Or, “does this sound gross enough?” and editing it from there.
Thematically, the record is equal parts political and personal. The stuff from the demo is certainly more politically charged, and we’re still very about that, but the newer songs are a lot more vulnerable. It wasn’t a conscious decision, just where I was at mentally when we were writing the tracks. I was getting sober, and navigating a mental health crisis.
7. I asked Xtinguish the Code this, but I love this question and I’m curious to get your thoughts: A villain of the ultimate description is descending upon New York, and only a crack team of NYHC bands “with their powers combined” can defeat it. Which band is going to represent each borough? It is entirely up to you if extra power is needed from Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate, and/or Connecticut.
I will preface this by saying that I am not the most qualified person to answer this question because I’m not from here, but if I’m assembling the NYHC Avengers it’s gonna look like:
Brooklyn - Biohazard (Yoked dudes - even now)
Bronx - Irate (Won’t back down from a fight)
Manhattan - Agnostic Front (Consistency)
Staten Island - C.R. (Singer’s name is Bricks and that sounds hard)
Queens - EGH (People gonna get hurt)
Long Island - Neglect (Plus anybody wearing a Dig It shirt)
Upstate - Buried Alive (Vogel’s in great shape)
CT - 100 Demons (Pure heft, could probably win this on their own)
8. What would be your personal favorite top five hardcore records?
Very hard question. Ask me again in a week and it’ll probably be different but gut instinct right now:
Blood, Sweat & No Tears
Start Today
Rohnert Park
Background Music
Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God
9. What is a song, album, or artist you love that people wouldn’t expect?
I listen to a lot of stuff people wouldn’t expect, but in the interest of getting away from guitar music I’ll say Caroline Polachek. I think her approach to pop music is incredibly creative and her voice is really beautiful.
10. Thank you again for your time! Let’s close with this question: what is the best thing about hardcore?
The easy answer is community, but I’m going to say catharsis. The scene and its politics can bring people together and it can also drive people apart. However, hardcore music is a perfect vessel for channeling anger, frustration, sadness, and generally repressed emotion into something creative and meaningful. I think that the release we all feel from going to a show, playing music, or connecting with a song, is the common thread that binds us together.