RESIST RECORDS, Australia

Graham Nixon is the man behind one of Australia’s most successful independent hardcore punk labels. Resist is home of Parkway Drive. I’d definitely put Graham in the group of ‘people who helped make the Australian punk community radder’ alongside Stu Harvey.

What’s one of the biggest misconceptions people have about you?

Not too sure, I guess many people think I make a lot of money and live a high roller lifestyle. Anyone that knows me would know this is far from the truth. I live in a living space that is about as big as most people’s bedrooms, and this has my kitchen, bedroom and lounge room all in one. Up until April of this year, I worked another job to support me doing Resist, for the last 6 years I have lived off under $200 a week, so it’s far from a glamorous lifestyle.

What’s one of the biggest misconceptions people have about Resist?

Many people seem to think Resist is some massive retail store or a massive record label, which is great they think that, however its just myself and a few friends in a small shop in Newtown selling and releasing hardcore bands.

Resist seems to cop a bit of flack from some people. Why do you think this is so? Do you think it’s a case of tall poppy syndrome?

Regardless of what you do in life, there is always someone who doesn’t like what you are doing. For every 10 people who support you there is one who hates what you are doing. This is the exact case for Resist. Many hardcore / punk purists think the music should only be sold at shows etc, its not about profit etc etc. The reality of life is that there are bills to pay, between rent, electricity, phone, GST etc you cant sell things for no profit. I keep the Resist prices affordable, and if you think we are too expensive, don’t buy it, mailorder it from the label or the band direct, pretty simple really. I don’t do what I do to please everyone, I try, however I’ve learnt that pleasing everyone is impossible.

Where does Resist fit into the hardcore scene in Australia? What do you feel is your/Resist’s contribution to the Australian hardcore/punk scene?

Over the years many things have happened in Australia that is the result of Resist. Many of the bands I have toured from the US would never have toured here if it wasn’t for me, before we started the label there were very few labels taking it seriously. Most would release a handful of releases and then fold. We are up to release number 36, with many more planned. Other then Trial and Error, no Australian label is that productive. No doubt we have inspired other labels to start up and Im sure there are kids that have started bands due to a band from our label. Amongst the hardcore scene, Im sure most kids would have a few Resist releases in there collection, and Im sure the last few shows they attended had something to do with Resist. Whether or not it was a band from the label playing or a tour I have presented.

If you ask some of the bands that have played at the Hardcore 2000 shows over the years, you would find that this weekend may be some of the most fun that band has had in there existence.

If your in a band and need a shop to sell your release, we sell them for you, without this support from both the store and touring opportunities, Im sure many bands would have broken up.

What is one of the biggest issues that should be address in Australian hardcore?

From a bands point of view, I think too many bands want to do too much too soon. Some bands cant even get local shows and then they are disappointed when they don’t get on international supports. More bands should also release demos before recording an EP or album, not enough bands do demos. Also bands seem to want to tour without any reason, then complain when no one comes out and supports them. Now a days there are shows at least once a week, this is possibly too much and as a result crowds are lower as people have been spoilt with the amount of shows going on, they can now pick and choose when they want to go to a show, so they may only go to every third show, rather then every show. Bands also play way to often, some bands may play 3 times in one week, unless you are touring, this is only overkill.

As far as people who go to shows, people should lighten up more and start having fun. Go to a show and get into a band hang out with your friends try and make new friends, support other bands. Rather then sit there bitching and complaining about how bad things are. If you don’t want to support things, don’t complain about how bad things are. If you don’t like any of the bands playing in your area, start a band yourself. Sure everyone has an opinion on everything, however so many people seem to complain these days about a lack of shows or quality bands and then when a band plays they don’t go because they couldn’t be bothered. This attitude won’t fix anything.

Its not a competition between bands who draws the most kids or sells the most CDs, just go out and have fun. The other thing is people sit at home and complain on the internet about so many little things that are happening around them, again life could be worse. Fucking lighten up. A lot of people want to judge a band or wont like a certain person because of the shirt they wear or the bands they like, and will not even attempt to like them, even though that person is probably the nicest person ever. More people should get off the internet and do something productive with there lives, also if you are going to bitch about something, make sure you get your facts straight.

Would you say hardcore in Australia is still exciting, challenging and progressive?

I think it is, there are more bands in Australia now then ever, so that only means the scene here is growing with more and more people involved. I still enjoy going to shows and hanging out with my friends, that excites me, as far as challenging and progressive, it certainly has progressed over the years. The sound of hardcore has definitely progressed whether you like it or not, the lines between hardcore and metal are definitely blurry these days.

If someone came into the store that was just getting in to hardcore and asked your advice on what CD’s they should give a listen to, what would you suggest?

Most people getting into hardcore nowadays listen to more metal influenced hardcore, and this is just an example of how hardcore has progressed over the years. Most people think Terror or Hatebreed are an old school band and a band like Bleeding Through and Atreyu are hardcore. When I got into hardcore I didn’t really like Madball as I thought they were too metal, I never really got into the heavy stuff until the last few years. I still love hardcore punk, not metal. Most hardcore bands nowadays have no punk in them at all, everything is metal, with a bit of hardcore, not saying it’s a bad thing, its just the way it is. The lines between hardcore and punk, and hardcore and metal these days are so blurry. Bands like Poison the Well, Thursday, Thrice, are all massive bands and are great bands, however to me they are not hardcore. I think every person has a different idea of what a hardcore band is and each to there own. Hardcore bands to me are Gorilla Biscuits, Token Entry, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Turning Point, Sick of It All etc. Getting back to the question, I would find out what they want to listen to, some people like heavy fast music, others want screamy stuff etc and think its all hardcore. I would suggest they check out Hatebreed “Satisfaction”, Minor Threat “Discography”, Gorilla Biscuits “s/t”, Turning point “Discography”, Sick Of It All “Scratch the Surface”, Bad Brains “Banned In DC”, Token Entry “Jaybird”, Madball “Droppin Many Suckers”, Judge “Bringin It Down”, Terror “Lowest of The Low”. There’s ten hardcore records that most people should check out. This list could go on for days, and that’s not to mention what punk releases people should check out as well.

How’s the mail order part of Resist doing? I know before stores like Resist you had to mail order to get most of your favourtite bands releases. Is mail order still a healthy business?

We have a lot of regular customers who mailorder from us on a regular basis, every now and then we get new customers, however they are very few and far in between. With hardcore and punk labels having better distribution these days, you can go to your local record store and order in nearly anything, therefore taking the emphasis off mailorder. Many people Im sure would order direct from US mailorder services as well. Some days we may have 5 mailorders come in and then you may go a week where no one orders anything, its very inconsistent.

Resist is a lot more than just a store. Are you surprised by it’s success? What do you think has made it such a success?

The amount of time and effort I put into the things we do are a result of its success. I work very long hour’s everyday and Im always trying to improve everything we do as well, which I guess makes it more successful. As a massive fan of hardcore and punk music I know what bands are doing well both locally and international, what people are buying and what people want. This is the biggest reason for its success. With the shop I still have to order in stock that will sell and know what will sell and what wont etc, I need to know when releases are available, stock just doesn’t turn up on our doorstep the day of release and you sell it. If I was to go and manage a metal or pop store, besides the basic retail things I would need to know, the stock I would buy wouldn’t be what people want, therefore the shop would suffer and close as sales would be slow. Our contacts are a lot better now then when Resist started, which just comes from being around long enough to know there’s more out there.

Outside of the store we have the label, tours as well as bookings and management, all are doing very well and keep me busy, if a certain area of what I do wasn’t working as well as it should I would find out why and fix it, rather then deal with it being mediocre.

It seems as though hardcore is having it’s day in the sun – once again (though most will argue it never went away) do you think it’s popularity is peaking or do you think it will steadily stay where it is? Why do you think it’s gotten bigger again?

Hardcore will always have cycles, one day it’s old school bands are back in fashion, the next day it’s the heavy bands, then tough guy bands etc. Regardless of the style of hardcore or punk, if it’s done well, it’s good. Hardcore at the moment is the strongest it has been, there are many reasons for this, the main one being the amount of quality bands there are and the amount of touring there is going on. Most capitol cities have at least one hardcore show a month, which is the most we have ever had. Also the bands are world class and people enjoy going to see them. If people are having fun, of course you will keep backing up. As for it peaking etc, there will always be times when bands are on film clip shows, or on the radio etc, this will always come and go, so the people who are into it for good, will hang around the people that are here for the trend will soon die off and follow the next trend.

As much as we’d like to believe it isn’t, it seems as though hardcore is still predominantly a boys club (as is punk rock). Why do you think this is? Do you think girls are turned off by the aggressive, very male vibe that seems to come across at shows? Is there any way that we could perhaps counter the larger male to female ratio?

As Im not a girl, I can’t say exactly why more girls don’t go to shows, but here’s my opinion on the matter. To me it seems more girls are going to shows now, which is great. The problem is to have them come back on a regular basis, just the same with guys. If the girl or guy has a bad experience at a show, they are not as eager to return. Hardcore is aggressive music and Im sure doesnt appeal to many girls, I know of many girls who love going to shows, they go up the front and cant wait for the next show, I know of many who are only there because there boy friend is there, I know of many who go to shows to try and hook up with the band, who cares why they go to shows, as long as they go to shows. Some girls may go to a show and as soon as they get there, another girl who may have been around longer is bitching about the new girl; it’s a vicious circle unfortunately. If we could all get along at shows, Im sure more people would come to shows. Also too with girls unfortunately they are judged on there appearance, just like they are in normal society. This is just human instinct I guess. Im sure if a very attractive girl was at a show she would get more attention from the guys then a girl who may be not as attractive. Then all of a sudden girls start bitching and it’s a scene that may as well be on some soapie or in a nightclub, not at a hardcore show.

At the end of the day, it’s a very aggressive style of music, and girls obviously aren’t attracted to it as guys are. That’s why it is great to see a girl like yourself getting involved with doing a zine etc, slowly there are more girls getting involved, so times are changing and Im sure it will only open the doors for more girls to come to shows and feel comfortable and hopefully enjoy themselves and the bands.

Do you think there’s an unspoken rule in the punk/hardcore community that you have to do everything on the cheap and not really make any money at all for you to have real cred? If you start making a profit or become a success it seems as though everyone is quick to yell ‘sell out’ and tries to discredit you.

Punk and hardcore kids don’t want to be ripped off, if you are getting involved in hardcore to make some bucks, your not doing it for the right reasons. Just because you are successful doesn’t mean you are not DIY or have cred. I work very hard in the things we do, which result in the success of what we do. You obviously need a profit on your product or else whatever your doing will soon end. It’s mainly only people with very little knowledge that will make a fuss about the money side of things, unfortunately there are many costs in anything we do, and I would like to think our prices warrant what we do.

Is the fact that it (punk) has gone mainstream really a bad thing? Or is it more what the mainstream do with it that makes it not such a good thing?

Some punk bands are mainstream, however its not all punk bands. You still have to be a very good band talent wise to be played on the radio, and have a record label take a risk with your music. Think of all the punk bands in the world, real punk bands, not Blink 182 or Good Charlotte. Those bands are just rock bands. Mainstream society labels punk bands on what you look like not what you sound like, do Good Charlotte or Blink sound like Minor Threat or Discharge? Its great to see bands like AFI, The Distillers, Rancid all doing well, those bands are great, they cant help it if they get a heap of people into there band, they cant help it they sell a lot of records, they cant help it if they get a lot of people to shows. The bigger a band gets of course more people take notice, it just happens. People can decide if they want to support any band they want, mainstream or underground, they aren’t forced to support a band. The money and resources the majors have will make any band more popular. Sometimes this may kill a band in other cases, it will make a good band go onto be great. Distribution, networking, contacts, press etc greater awareness, equals getting more people into a band. Its not as though hardcore and punk bands are on the radio every day competing with Kylie Minogue, many of the successful so called punk bands these days aren’t so punk, when bands start writing songs for radio or clips, that’s when the bands will start to suffer as half the time those songs suck and the bands soon break up anyways.

I read the interview Jay did with you in Straight Up! Zine. How did you feel it turned out?

It was fine, Jay gave me the questions, I answered them, wasn’t a drama at all. I don’t have any hidden agenda’s or major secrets with what I do, many people would think otherwise, these are people who don’t know me and want to presume. The biggest problem with people in general, is they make up there own conclusions without knowing any facts. Every now and again I will look on message boards and read the patheticness that goes on those sites, really have people got nothing better to do with there time then to write dumb things or put down people. Out of all the things I have read about myself on those sites, or the rumors I hear about myself, Resist or the bands I deal with, never has one been true, or even close for that matter.

I noticed in your interview with Jay that you said when you were younger you were into hip hop. Epitaph Records has been dabbling with hip hop type artists. Would you ever consider signing a hip hop band/artist to Resist?

This is highly unlikely, however I wouldn’t be surprised if it did happen. Some of my friends are in great hip hop bands and ones that are very successful, if they were looking for a label and I liked the CD, I would have no hesitation in putting it out. It would be a challenge for me to sell to a crowd I have had no experience in. Unfortunately as soon as we work with any band, they are classified a hardcore band. When we did the After The Fall EP, many people were like these guys aren’t hardcore, although they rock harder then most hardcore bands, so pretty much any release we do is going to be judged by the hardcore scene. Obviously as I am so involved in the hardcore scene, I prefer to deal with hardcore or punk bands, so for now I can’t see myself doing a hip hop release anytime soon.

I noticed on your website on your current top five play list that at number 01. You have Tiger Army’s new album. Obviously you’re into other music than strictly hardcore (despite what most people may think) What else do you listen to that’s not hardcore orientated?

At first when I heard the new Tiger Army, I wasn’t a fan, then after a few listens (Like most things), I thought it was great. All 3 TA records are great. I listen to many things that aren’t hardcore, Im really into good acoustic sounding stuff like Waxwing and Rocky Votolato, Against Me and Rumbleseat. Gyroscope, Sommerset, After the Fall, and The Nation Blue I think are all great, I really like female vocals stuff like The Distillers, The Gits, Pretty Girls Make Graves, I listen to a lot of good punk music like Rancid and Swingin Utters, I’m really into the new Taking Back Sunday CD as well as the new My Chemical Romance, I listen to a lot of emo stuff as well as older hip hop like Public Enemy, NWA, Beastie Boys. I still would say Public Enemy is my favorite band along with Avail. I’m lucky I’m in a position to listen to many styles of music under the hardcore and punk banner, so I don’t really limit myself to one genre. If it’s good I’ll listen to it.

What’s one of the most satisfying things about doing what you do?

There are so many things about what I do that is satisfying. To work with the people and bands I have worked with over the years is very satisfying to me personally. Through what I do, I am now friends with so many bands who when growing up I was a massive fan, and now I’m friends with them which is bizarre. To hear the excitement of a person after I have asked for their band to play a show is satisfying, to see a massive crowd turn up to a show you put on and for everyone to have a great night is satisfying, to see a person singing along to a band you are touring or released is satisfying. At the time of this interview I just released the Internal Affairs / Last Nerve split, and as we are doing that record by ourselves for the world I have to make sure people can get that record in the USA (IA are from Los Angeles), to get orders from distributors that I have dealt with for a long time for the shop, is very satisfying.

Is there ever any days where you just want to give up?

Some days are harder or more stressful then others, however at the end of the day I could be doing something worse, so I try and think of the positive not the negative. I do a job where I get to listen to the music I love everyday, deal with some awesome people on a daily basis, go on tour whenever I want, so it would have to be a pretty drastic thing to happen for me to say I’ve had enough.

When was the last time you had a real vacation?

In 1996 my brother moved from Sydney to Surfers Paradise and I went up and stayed at his place for a week, that’s was the last time I had more then 3 days off. Even though I am on tour many weeks of the year, having a day off when on tour for me means no shows that day, not any work at all. Unfortunately there is always something to do.

Obviously doing what you do you’d have had some great experiences and got to meet some awesome people. Have you had any really bad experiences?

Obviously over time every person you meet and have to deal with is not going to be a friend for life, however I can honestly say I wouldn’t be able to count on one hand bad experiences I have had. If you asked me when I first started going to shows that I would meet the people I have met and had the pleasure in working with, there’s no way I would have believed you. Working with Sick Of It All was amazing, they were the nicest guys ever as were Good Riddance. Listening to John Joseph’s (Cro Mags) stories was mind blowing, getting record label advice from Darren Walters (Jade Tree) on the Strike Anywhere tour was awesome.

Over the years I have met some of the most awesome people and have remained good friends with many of them, thinking back even the worst experiences aren’t that bad.

Do you ever feel people just talk to you because you’re Graham from Resist?

I’m sure they do, I’m more then happy to have a chat with anyone, so it doesn’t really bother me. Of course if you’re in a band, it’s in your best interest to talk with me, as I can help them out a lot. I probably go to more shows then anyone, I know what bands are doing well and what bands I like, so just talking with me won’t change anything for them, I encourage bands and people to have a chat with me. Touring with bands a lot I see people’s reaction to a guy who are in a band and sometimes its shitty, just because they are in a band doesn’t maker them superior. At the end of the day, Im no different to anyone nor are band members, people are people, if you’re a nice person people will like you. If you’re a jerk, people will pick up on that. It’s nice to be important; however it’s more important to be nice!!!

What’s one of the most important things you’ve learnt from hardcore?

It’s hard to say as you don’t get into hardcore or punk music to learn something. One of the best things is the friends I have because of hardcore music. When I first started listening to hardcore music, I was way into the positive side of things and the reality of the lyrics. Hardcore lyrics are real, they are real emotions from everyday people, not some guy who gets paid to write songs and needs to structure songs to sell CDs. Most main stream CDs don’t even include lyrics, they have pages and pages of publishers info and who played what on the songs, what can a person into that band learn from that, not much. People in hardcore bands are just every day people, there are no rock star attitudes, they play and listen to hardcore music because it’s what they enjoy doing.

On a completely different note. I know you’re into golfing. Have you ever thought of having a hardcore golf tournament?

Many of my friends in bands play golf, so it could be something to think about, don’t know about a tournament, but could possibly arrange a golf day some time in the future. I haven’t played in a very long time as things have been very busy of late, so I can’t imagine it happening anytime soon.

www.resistrecords.com