In the mid-to-late '90s, Baltimore, Maryland metalcore band Torn Apart dropped a handful of releases that I remember playing a ton at the time. The first pair—Extermination (1995) and Nothing Is Permanent.... (1997)—came out through Life Sentence Records, a label owned and operated by Dan Gump, vocalist of Excessive Force.
Torn Apart then signed with Ferret Music, issuing two EPs—Torn Apart (1997) and The Fifty-Ninth Session (1999)—expanding their reach thanks to better distribution. They ended the decade by releasing their swan song, 1999's Ten Songs For The Bleeding Hearts album.
Now, after years of silence, the band is gearing up for a pair of reunion shows. I spoke with drummer Aaron Friedman about his time in Torn Apart and the upcoming gigs
Tell me a bit about your upbringing and how you came to discover hardcore music? Were you a metalhead first like so many other people our age?
I grew up in Baltimore City. I was a normal kid, nothing at all special. I started playing drums by 10 and was obsessed with Guns N' Roses and all-things hair metal. By middle school, I was in a band with a few buddies. It was the early '90s and we sounded like an awful Nirvana cover band.
We were playing a “show” at my older sisters party and one of her friends asked if we had heard of Minor Threat. We hadnt. We found a copy of Complete Discography and within a month our grunge band sounded exactly like Minor Threat [laughs]. Soon after we discovered Reptilian Records in Baltimore and the owner Chris X was awesome in suggesting what to get next.
I’m pretty sure I’m a total weirdo because I loved all-things Victory Records, especially Earth Crisis as much as Gravity Records and bands like Antioch Arrow and Heroin. That was 30 years ago… I’m kinda still the same.
What was the Baltimore scene back then from your memory? Was Behind Closed Doors the first "real" band you played in?
Baltimore is rightfully getting love now, but was amazing then also. Mid-to-late '90s there were a ton of DIY venues /hall shows/basement shows. A few legit clubs that would book punk, hardcore, and indie bands as well. Ottobar opened around that time and now touring bands would come through.
Behind Closed Doors was first band I was in that played a lot and got out of town. Was a spazzed out emo band that could play Hardcore and normal Indy shows too. There would be wild mixed bill shows that were the total norm at the time in Baltimore.
I remember seeing The Makeup and a His Hero is Gone together in a basement. That’s how I ended up in Torn Apart. We played a show together in a squat. Next Step Up, Turmoil, Torn Apart, and Behind Closed Doors. They were going through a change and asked if I wanted to play drums.
Yeah, you joined Torn Apart after their first album, Nothing Is Permanent...., was out. Was the band already on Ferret Music by that point?
I came into the band after they had switched over to Ferret. They already had first 7 inch and the full-length LP out through Life Sentence Records. I knew them well. They were the up-and-coming hardcore band in town. They had no idea who I was before seeing Behind Closed Doors play.
I definitely used to play along to Nothing Is Permanent.... record on drums with my Discman. I thought Torn Apart was a tough-guy straight edge band. They were not that way at all. I replaced their original drummer Devon [Gallagher]. Shout out to him. He was awesome on those records and didn’t try to fight me when I joined [laughs].
READ MORE: Interview with Dan Gump (Excessive Force, Life Sentence Records)
What was your first show with them and what do you remember about the experience?
The first show was with Bane in Boston. It was the start of a short run. We ran out of gas on I-95 and tow truck driver said there was a 20-mile backup behind us leaving NYC. We showed up so late to the show that Bane had already played. We didn’t bother unloading gear, and just used the equipment that was still on the stage.
The kids that were left were in a bad mood. The band was no longer straight edge and I’m pretty sure everyone who stayed, did so to call us sellouts. People X’d their arms up or just turned their backs entirely. Maybe it was only a few kids, but it felt like everyone. The show was awful. We left quickly and slept on some random's dirty cold floor.
We had some gnarly shows that first year. A couple of times we had to leave shows quickly to avoid dudes in varsity jackets who had something to say. Shout out to those dudes for keeping it real! A few months earlier, I was in a band that was handing out lyric sheets to emo kids rolling on the floor crying. I wasn’t ready.
Most shows were rad. I probably made it sound way worse than it was.
The Fifty-Ninth Session EP was your debut recording with Torn Apart. What do you remember about that one?
We recorded that one with Drew Mazurek. He was the guy in Baltimore that recorded heavy music. He did all the previous records.
59th Session is what I think of when remembering Torn Apart. The band had picked up a bunch of influence from bands like Deadguy, Turmoil, and others a little more on the arty side. The riffs got a little more discordant and rhythms a little less straight ahead. At the same time, I don’t think any of us were talented enough to sound like Dillinger Escape Plan or Converge. We landed on a happy medium. Pretty straight-ahead hardcore that was just weird enough to sound different.
Tell me about the making of Ten Songs For the Bleeding Hearts, which was recorded by the one and only Brian McTernan (Be Well, Battery). That was your recorded debut with the band, correct?
Ten Songs was supposed to recorded at Trax East with Steve Evetts. He had recorded Lifetime, Snapcase, Deadguy, Turmoil, etc. Time was booked and we were writing. At some point, our tour manager at the time brought Brian’s name up. We were stoked because he had recorded Cave In and at that point we were full-on trying to make a more raw, weird record.
We switched to him and did the record pretty quick. From what I remember, I think he hated every song and each of us a musicians [laughs]. He was amazed at how solid Brett was as a singer. And how quickly he worked.
The record came out like we wanted and ended up doing fine for Ferret. Brian will tell you when you suck. I appreciate that about him. My next several bands did all our demos with him also. So it must not have been that mean.
I was so stoked that End It did their new album [Wrong Side of Heaven] with Brian. We walked, so they could run [laughs].
Ferret was one of the bigger metalcore and hardcore labels back then. How did it feel being on the label and how did Carl treat you guys?
Carl was, and is awesome. He was always super supportive, and even fronted us merch because we were always dead broke. He never pushed us to do more or less than we did. Carl was also on board as the sound continued to evolve.
Ferret was still pretty new and didn’t have a huge roster yet. After we were done the label got huge. He put out some big records that sold a ton. I heard an interview he did years later and he said 59th Session was one of his favorites he had released. That was kind of him.
Shout out to Carl. Go see Nora when they come to your town!
And I swear I told Carl to check out Every Time I Die. We played a show with them when they were brand new somewhere in Erie, Pennsylvania. I will take all credit for their success [laughs]. I could be remembering that all wrong though.
Did you tour a good amount of touring in support of the album? How was the band being received outside of your region? Did Torn Apart have any specific strongholds?
We did a ton of runs but didn’t ever get a full tour in. We had six weeks booked with Neurosis that we had to back out on due to real-life starting to take over.
I got married young and started a family while still trying to be on the road. It was impossible to keep bills paid so we just fizzled out. I don’t think we ever broke up.
The band was not that big in Baltimore. We did awesome on the West Coast and always had good shows anywhere north of Maryland.
Torn Apart is reuniting to play a hometown show with End It later this month. When was the last show you played before the band broke up?
We played our last show in 2005 at the Ottobar with Turmoil. We stayed in touch but moved all over the country. The last several years I have been touring with End It selling merch and pretty much wasting space in their van.
The idea of a reunion would pop up occasionally and they asked if we would be interested in playing the record release show for their new record. I asked the dudes, and they agreed. That show is at the end of October in Baltimore.
We were asked to also play a show in Austin (where I live) the following week to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Rock of Ages Tattooing. That’s another awesome lineup with Deadguy and Swing Kids. So we were not looking to do anything, but looking forward to playing those songs again.
I really appreciate the fact that people still care about our band. I'm looking forward to playing some shows and seeing everyone.
What are you up to these days on the musical front?
I’ve stayed in bands pretty steady for the last 30 years. That feels insane, I swear I’m not that old. After Torn Apart, I switched over to playing guitar almost exclusively. Most of the bands have been on the punker side of hardcore.
I DJ’d for a long time in Baltimore as well. I always wanted to drop "Firestorm" at a dance party, but unfortunately it never happened [laughs]. Currently, I’m in a band called Penner that plays around Austin:
If you want to say what’s up, you can find me selling merch at most fests.
Shout out to my wife for not being too embarrassed to tell her friends that her 45-year-old husband has a show this weekend, or is going on tour selling merch.
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Tagged: a life in hardcore, torn apart
