Long Island Hardcore holds a special place in the annals of East Coast aggression, and Neglect was one of its tough, unrelenting voices. As a metalhead who came to discover hardcore through the crossover scene of the late '80s, Neglect spoke directly to me. While they often laid down a groove-driven foundation to their arrangements, they always drove everything forward with the bluntness of hardcore and the down-tuned guitars usually found in death metal.
Burnt out of the same DIY furnace that produced bands like Integrity and Merauder, Neglect's influence is still being felt today. If you don't believe ne, just go ask your local beatdown band.
These days, Neglect guitarist Derek Schilling is in a new project called The Unalived which finds him collaborating with musicians who have also played in Yuppicide, Berzerkers, and Cleanser (Derek was also a member of that band back in the day).
But for today during '90s Hardcore Week, I spoke with Derek to trace Neglect's roots, discuss their recorded output, and how their bleak yet moshable take on hardcore has lived on decades since their breakup.
I saw the band many times back in the day, but I don't know anything about Neglect's formation. How did you guys start the band? Did you all know each other from the Long Island hardcore scene? Maybe it was more of the metal scene since you always had a metallic edge to what you did?
Well, I knew [future Neglect drummer] John [Lafata] since around 1986. He was my brother's friend and I got to know him and then we just started hanging out. We basically learned our intstrunents playing together our first "band" we did was in 1987 and we were called Toxic Waste. At that time, I was really into thrash and that stuff and John leaned more towards punk/hardcore.
John joined [Long Island hardcore band] Mind Over Matter in 1991 and they played with a band called Vice Grip that [future Neglect singer] Zoid and [future Neglect bassist] Bones were in, so that how we met them. The funny thing is I remember watching Vice Grip with John and they had a hardcore sound but tuned down and heavy and I told John that was the kind of band I wanted to do.
Fast forward a few months later, I got a new guitar and stopped by John's to show him and there's Zoid with Bones, and two guitarists Rich Torn (RIP) and Bryce. Bryce left when they were writing the song "Depressionism" and were stuck, so John said, "Derek, write something." So I plugged in my guitar and just started playing that slow middle section and they loved it, so the switched Bryce with me and Neglect was born. We were a 5 piece til after the demo when Rich stepped down due to personal issues.
I was deep into death metal and that definitely was showing in my writing in Neglect stuff like Obituary and Bolt Thrower. I thought mixing that heavy groove-style death metal with a hardcore sound would work great. No one was doing that in 1991. Any hardcore back then was mainly using thrash as the influence. Well, I guess early Sheer Terror had Celtic Frost influence, but I was being inspired by Cause of Death and War Master at the time.
What other bands from Long Island do you remember from that era? I used to come from Queens to clubs like February’s/Hammerhedz and Sundance to see shows all the time.
I dug all the Long Island clubs back in the day. I thought Hammerheadz was a perfect club for hardcore shows, as well as Reds. Reds was actually the first club me and John moshed at. But the mighty Sundance ruled! I lived there from 1988 til it closed. Actually, that was the club when I spoke to Zoid for the first time.
It was Agnostic Front, Rest In Pieces, and, I think, Raw Deal's first show as Killing Time. Zoid goes for a stagedive all shirtless and sweaty and the dude literally slid across the crowd towards me and all I was able to do is grab his arm then "boom" on the ground. [Laughs] He just jumps up and says, "thanks, man," shakes my hand and got back into the pit [laughs].
What do you remember about making the demo and what was the reaction like to it when it first came out, from your standpoint?
It was recorded at Paul Umbach's home studio in Seaford, Long Island. It was his first time recording a heavy band, as he was more a pop producer. He produced Madonna and other artists like that. George [Reynolds] from Mind Over Matter and my good friend Randy D. were with us and did back ups.
I recorded my guitar through a Rockman [guitar effects pedal] which sounded quite crappy but I didnt give a fuck it was my first demo. If you listen close, on the end breakdown on "Death Explorer," there's a tambourine [laughs]. It was done in about 7 hours.
But my thoughts on the demo are that I was just psyched about it and couldnt wait to play it for my friends and get it out there. Another thing is that the demo got around fast! It literally sold thousands of copies .But today when I listen to it, I wish I had a better guitar sound. .
What were your first impressions of Zoid’s lyrics when you first heard them? A big part of what separated Neglect from other bands of that era in hardcore were the utterly bleak lyrics pointing inward.
Well, I had the Vice Grip demo so I already knew he had great lyrics, and not hardcore-type lyrics. You know what I mean? But he was not just a great lyric writer, his singing had character. I loved the way he presented his lyrics. He was unmatched. Songs like "Death Explorer" and "No Tomorrow" still blow my mind. Genius stuff.
I wasnt a fan of "Fuck Life" at first, but it grew on me. I did not like the lyrics to "Hitler Was a Jew," because they didnt fit the song, and me and John worked hard on that tune. Thats the one song I'd say I didnt like the lyrics. But he wrote deep lyrics and sang them in a very "metal" way. Zoid would probably say Henry Rollins, though.
Zoid's perfect with my music, John's drums, and Bones' bass. We complimented each other perfectly even though we were all coming from different angles and influences. It turned out to be something totally unique for the time, and still holds up today and stands out.
My favorite Neglect material/recording is found on Pull the Plug, which came out on Wreck-Age Records. How did you hook up with Pavlos and Amber? I remember that record being everywhere when it came out, so that distribution must have really helped Neglect's profile around the world.
I would buy all the 60-min blank tapes they had at my local store, and make photocopied covers. I had like 5 double-cassette decks going at once, bringing mailers to the post office. But shit, it paid off! It got Neglect known worldwide through the old-school flyers in the mail.
Wreck-Age saw us at the Continental in NYC when we jumped on during a Mind Over Matter set and played two songs. The label gave us an offer right there.
But I guess they didnt expect how fast the record was going to sell because all the promo I did, especially in Europe. So they had to step up distro, I guess. I know it was repressed many time [laughs].
READ MORE: Wreck-Age Records Co-Founder Pavlos Ioanidis on the Label's History
What do you remember about recording Pull the Plug with Don Fury?
I remember at Don's studio, the other guys went to smoke and get drinks and I stayed back and listened to "No Tomorrow" mixed, just me and Don. I guess he noticed the look on my face during the whole "going away" screaming section. I was just shaking my head in shock, like this is some fucking serious shit [laughs]. I had never heard anything like that.
The song ends and Don just says, "this right here is going to change hardcore." I guess he was right.
Did Don tell you any Twisted Sister stories?
[Laughs] No, dude. I dont recall any but [Twisted Sister singer] Dee Snider lived in my hometown of Lindenhurst and he used to go to the Arby's that Artie from Milhouse worked at back in the day and I'd always see him driving around town.
Speaking of Don, what’s the story behind The Pain Principle and who was behind Puncrock Records?
Oh damn! [Laughs] OK, well, when the internet first became available, like before MySpace, there was just AOL Instant Messenger and chat rooms and the girl I was with at the time had it so I used that shit all the time. I think my name was "Neglecting" or "Neglected."
But anyway, I got a random message from a guy asking if i was in Neglect and he had a small label and if he could do a 7". We just threw 3 songs at him. One was "The Pain Principle," which is one of the only Neglect tunes that I didn't write, and 2 others and that was that. I have no idea how many were pressed of that or how Jmey Jasta re -released it. I'm not a fan of that 7".
How much touring were you doing at that point? You released that Hang In There record on We Bite, which had a big presence in Europe at that time. Were you bigger there than here at home?
Oh yeah, we were definitely bigger in Europe, and it got bigger when we left, because like you said, Hang In There came out through We Bite and they had major distro. We also did the music video for "Good for Nothing" with SPV Records. Our records were in more stores, and the video got on [MTV's] Headbangers Ball.
But Europe had been buzzing to see Neglect since the demo. People from Belgium, the Kickback guys in France, and fans from England would travel to New York just to see Neglect. It was crazy.
The only tour we ever did was in Europe back in '94-'95. Otherwise, we played New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and that's about it.
Were you getting label offers from any of the bigger metal and hardcore labels of the time? I'm talking Roadrunner, Century Media, and Victory?
Oh yes. After Europe, a bunch of big independents—one mentioed above—and an actual major label, started sending offers to me. It got pretty intense with two labels in particular, but we broke up before actually signing which kinda sucked but oh well [laughs].
Before we get to the break up, what's the story behind the Hatebreed split? Were you guys close with Jamey and that crew of folks in Connecticut? I know he's a big Neglect head.
Yeah, I met Jamey during the tail end of his previous band, Jasta 14, It was through an Endless Fight Records comp Neglect and jasta 14 were both on. He was also booking shows at the Bike Exchange in Bristol, so he hooked up shows.
He asked about doing a split and I was totally down with it. I hought it was perfect so I sent him our newest song at the time, "2 Ft. City," right away. I remember he was shocked at how fast he got the song from me. I guess other bands he asked were slacking [laughs]. But shit, if I knew then what i know now, I would of put "No Tomorrow" or "L.S.S. (Life Support System)" on that shit [laughs].
Why did Neglect end up breaking up, especially with labels starting to circle the band?
Well, I didn't want to break up [laughs]. But my view and opinion of the stuation was that it was drugs, addiction, extreme paranoia, and shitty people that latched on to the band for all of the wrong reasons. It turned to shit talking and backstabbing, which all together just came to a head and it sucked because I loved that band. All that work promoting Neglect to make it what it became went to waste.
Bands today have no idea what it was like back in the day to get a following, making demos, and shit, mailing demos and all that. shit Every show we played, I would usually grab Richie Jacovina (RIP) and Tommy Corrigan from Silent Majority so he can tag shit [laughs]. I'd hit every high school and college on Long Island with flyers. Every record store.
Then I'd fucking get on the train at Babylon and at every stop to Penn Station, I'd run out and stick as many flyers around as I could and get back in, have a slice of pizza, and come back and hit the other side on the way home.
I put a lot of work into that band, but I saw it coming. I was kinda expecting it, just waiting for the hammer to fall. It was a shitty situation that if there was clearer heads it wouldnt of happened, because yeah, I lost people. It also put a damper on a very long friendship that went way before Neglect and that shit sucked the most.
But it is what it is and even though the Neglect is gone, we still have the music we created. It was 4 guys making songs coming from all different influences creating some killer shit that shaped a whole style of hardcore...thats fuckin cool.
Didn't you guys reunite for some shows at some point, or am I confused?
We did 3 shows on the Island and one upstate. Time passed and thought we should try again. We even wrote new songs and had music for 2 others, but it started getting weird again and just fizzled out. Oh yeah, we also played one show at CBGBs in 2005.
Neglect, along with bands like Bulldoze and early Hatebreed, are considered highly influential when it comes to hardcore that falls in the beatdown lane. What are your thoughts on that? Do you follow any of the newer bands that cite Neglect as a prime influence?
Well, to be honest, I saw the influence it had on other bands even after Pull the Plug came out with the more heavier stop-and-go guitar riffs and all that. But yes, I definitely see it a lot from today's league of heavy hardcore bands. People definitely keep me informed of all the bands that have the Neglect-inspired sound and/or lyrics. I also see all of the bootleg shirts out there all that other shit.
But yeah, bands like Pain of Truth, Haywire, Whatever It Takes. I've heard a lot of them for sure. Some even wrote me before and told me themselves what Neglect means to them.
It's funny everytime I say anything about beatdown someone is always there to say, "well, you can thank yourself for that" [laughs].
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Tagged: 90s hardcore week, neglect
