It might have taken a few years, but The Last Stand and One X Choice have finally teamed up in the name of hardcore.
From the East Coast to the West Coast is a new split EP featuring the Brooklyn (The Last Stand) and Southern Californian (One X Choice) bands sharing wax space.
No Echo spoke with the singers of both bands about the collaboration. This is what The Last Stand's Michael Scondotto had to say: "The 'us' in our song 'It's Up to Us' refers to the people who see all of the destructive and negative forces in this world and want no part of it. These forces can be many things, but when we were writing the song in late 2019 it referred to political forces who often seek to tear this country apart.
"I took a line from an old Circle Jerks song, 'Coup d'Etat,' 'a push from the left, a shove from the right,' and used it within the context of the deep division in America. 2019 and 2020 were two really particularly dark years in our history that I think most people do not wish to ever revisit. Some people are so preoccupied with their 'team sports' and blind allegiances that they don't pay attention to the fact that its about class, its about money, its about power.
"The people with all of the power and control sit back and watch us suffer as we attack each other, be it online or in real life with real violence. As an adult who has lived through his share of hardships in life, I don't want any part of that. We had a song on our last EP, called 'Path of the Righteous' and 'Its Up to Us' is kind of a Part II, with more of a political side to it. Be a force of good in this world, it is truly up to us."
One x Choice vocalist Victor Galindo offered the following about their side of the new split EP:
"These songs were very important to us considering our 20+ years of friendship with The Last Stand and also writing and recording them during the pandemic.
"Arranging this record was the only thing we had to stay functioning as a band until we are able to play live again."
From the East Coast to the West Coast will be out digitally tomorrow (July 23rd) via Irish Voodoo Records. You can pre-order the vinyl (limited to 250 copies) at this link.
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Tagged: one x choice, the last stand
