Old Habits, Become the Bastard
Old Habits
“Hardcore is really what opened my eyes to a lot of things and gave me the life I have today,” says John Wylie, Eulogy Records founder, owner/partner at a number of Aces High tattoo shops in South Florida and guitarist in hardcore band Old Habits. “I don’t think it’s something that will ever leave me or the person I am. I don’t really want it to either. I choose not to spend as much time on playing hardcore as I did at one point but I still make it a part of my life.” Wylie, a stalwart, almost legendary figure in Florida’s hardcore and metal scenes having been a part in some way or form of too many outfits to name here most importantly, Morning Again.
John Wylie
Old Habits, a hardcore five-piece featuring Wylie and Thomas Stevens on guitars, Justin Thought on drums, TJ Knox on bass and Billy Hart on vocals, is not out to set standards or become trailblazers. To do so would be ridiculous. Old Habits, as much of the cliché as they’d like to avoid with such a nomenclature, are five dudes playing the type of hardcore that they like. With Eulogy closing in on the twenty year mark, a veritable and much lauded lifetime in the underground, Wylie’s been forced into the perspective of aging and adapting to responsibilities outside of music like family and career.
“Eulogy is a part-time thing for me. It was once the main focus for me but the music industry has changed so much that I needed to shift my focus to my tattoo shops,” he explains. “Eulogy has been around so long I feel because I always made the decision to do what I felt was best rather than what everyone else expected.” Proving that a life in hardcore might indeed be an old and rather hard habit to break has paid off in dividends for Wylie and crew. There’s something immediately honest about their music that cancels any thoughts of nostalgia or of trying to reinvent the wheel; when a band has fun playing music, the fans have fun enjoying it.
With his tattoo shops as his main focus and with Eulogy following the uncertain strides of the music industry, Wylie has vowed to continue evolving and releasing material through the legendary label. As for the band, they’ll be releasing a follow-up to 2012’s self-titled CD, Become the Bastard, an album of new material and some recorded tracks that never saw the light on intended split 7”ers. “I would say if you like Old Habits, then you will definitely like the release. That being said, we aren’t for everyone,” he warns. Become the Bastard is the title and it’s basically about embracing the fact that we are not part of mainstream society and that’s a plus.”
Even if the days of wind-milling and ninja kicking are behind you, it’s good to know that pure hardcore is out there and being played with the gusto that initially got Wylie and co. into the genre. “Hardcore isn’t supposed to be a place where everyone agrees with everyone else and people are worried about hurting each other’s feelings. Hardcore and punk has always been about being yourself and pushing the limits.” That’s an old habit worth nurturing.
Old Habits album release takes place Friday, August 21 at Propaganda with Sweet Nothing, Bishop, Judge Holden, Right Through. $10 includes the CD. 18+, 8pm. RSVP
~ Abel Folgar
