"I can honestly say that I have never been more stoked about 213 than I am now." You can't blame Apartment 213 vocalist Steven Meketa about his band's current state of affairs. But let me offer some quick history for context.
Formed in the hallowed "Clevo" scene of the '90s in Cleveland, Ohio, Apartment 213 first caught my attention through the release of their 1994 EP, Vacancy, which got the digital reissue treatment on Dark Empire Records last year:
The power violence outfit is back in fighting form after many years away. "I thought we had a good thing going for a bit when we did a show in Cleveland back in 2023, we played the show and it was um... a show," laughs Meketa. "But it was not the best show performance-wise due to a member's issues (I will leave it at that). But that all quickly came to a halt.
Meketa picks up the ill-fated Apartment 213 reunion plan story. "Our drummer at the time, Bob, was upset that he put time and energy into the band only to play subpar versions of the songs due to a member's issues. So that all happened kinda fast. However, at the same time, this was going on we were in talks with Shawn Connell (Pillsbury Hardcore, P/H\C, End to End, Process, Charred Remains, Black Claw Records) and he was very interested in releasing a 213 full-length LP. 213 was slow moving due to losing Bob so that gave birth to the Live LP released on Black Claw Records.
"I wasn't that excited about a live record but we thought it would be a 'place holder,' if you will, kinda like, 'hey we are still here, we will get a proper studio release for you as soon as we solidify a solid lineup.'"
A veteran of the SoCal hardcore community, it had been many years since he was in the mix. "The truth of it is I was pretty much isolated away from the scene for about 25 years," Connell tells me. "It wasn’t until my wife Tina encouraged me to get involved with social media did I reconnect with the scene and restart a new interest in music.
"During this reconnection, I met former members of Apartment 213, and in those interactions I was able to connect with Steve. Although I had at least half of the Apartment 213 releases, I really wasn’t familiar with all the players and hadn’t really kept up. My last connection with the scene in a deep sense was back in 1994 and this was a bit early for the band, however, it didn’t take much time for Steve and I to forge our own friendship, and get to know the commonalities that we share which drove are interested in working together further and further.
"Naturally, as someone who enjoys making records it wasn’t much time before, I was discussing the possibility of making records and merchandise for Apartment 213. So that was really the first plan and only plan that I thought I would be involved with, which would be to make records and support the band in anything they needed me to do to help them succeed."
Meketa credits Connell with helping him keep Apartment 213 alive after their lackluster live return. "Chatting with Shawn, he could probably hear my frustration over the phone, Shawn and I came up with the plan that he join 213 on guitar. He could help write the songs help motivate others, then send the songs to the Cleveland members and then they could work on them and then I do vocals, easy peasy! Not exactly the case."
Connell picks up the story: "What was evident to me and also to Steve, was that it was exceptionally challenging to operate and connect with members of a band from approximately 2000 miles away and it was in these moments that I tried harder and harder to support something that really wasn’t working."
Meketa had to make a tough decision.
"I decided in my head that 213 should just be a West Coast band. The band was my conception day 1 and I have been living in California for 15 years now. Also, I'm the only original member. So instead of send tracks to Cleveland in hopes something came of it, the plan was to find local artists. This also eliminated the issues of playing live."
With Connell in the fold, Meketa was then on the hunt for a new rhythm section to round out Apartment 213. "A friend of mine mentioned Jay Castro to me. He was all, 'Jay is in Crom, Cave State, etc., and he may really be interested in trying out.' I was all, 'Trying out? It's his, he is the drummer no try out needed. If he is interested he's got it!," laughs the vocalist.
"Well first and foremost I’ve always been a huge fan of Apartment 213," Castro chimes in. "There was nothing more raw, primitive, and angrier sounding then their sound is what caught my attention. Most importantly to me, it’s hardcore. Some call it 'power violence' but to me it has the best parts of hardcore: the angry parts. Apartment 213 is and always will be one of the reasons my brother and I started our band Cave State. Our style for Cave State has our own style but definitely in a say definitely Apartment 213 influenced."
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The drummer spot was locked, but Meketa still needed someone to hold the bass down. "We knew we needed a bass player that can play a grimy distorted bass so Jay mentioned Mardin Martinez (Excruciating Terror) and I nearly fell over!"
The union was cemented rather easily according to Martinez. "Jay had mentioned to Meketa I had more free time to join another LA-based project after parting ways with Sulfuric Cautery. The rest is history."
The new lineup of Apartment 213 will be making its recorded debut soon via a 7" called Glamour. "The honest intent of this first Apartment 213 record in quite some time was to complete a full-length album," says Connell, who is handling the EP's release via his Black Claw Records label. "I will admit that I was exceedingly impatient to get the band into the recording studio. My initial attempts included direction to begin recording in October of last year, although several interferences prevented this.
"Ultimately, 2025 would arrive, and the hope of completing a full album began to fade, but the crystallization of a new plan occurred to create something new, an Apartment 213 nobody has heard before. Back to the drawing board and six songs later Plan B underway, get a record out as quickly as possible … let’s do a 7" EP."
A huge vinyl collector in his own right, Connell puts a lot of that energy back into his label, and what he and his wife, Tina, have cooking for the Glamour EP. "Black Claw Records has been proud to complete several full length albums previously with extensive paperwork, stickers, posters patches, etc. Effectively, everything was a delux release. Having the opportunity to do a 7 inch has been unique for us. This will be the first 7 inch on Black Claw Records.
"Keeping the record under $10 has also been a challenge, but we are pouring everything into it regardless and with the tradition of funding through test press sales we think we can do it!"
Vinyl goodies aside, Meketa is just happy to have found the right people to fly the Apartment 213 flag with him. "It's my favorite 213 release to date! Vacancy will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first record. But this 7 inch is just everything I was hoping for and way more!"
***
Catch Apartment 213 live in Oxnard, California on August 29th at The Mystery Shop along with Odd Man Out, Bare Minumum, Blasfirme, Centerpoint, and Said and Done.
Glamour will be out soon via Black Claw Records.
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