Tuff Turf

For a certain generation, a video game with a kick-ass soundtrack while your first-person player barrels through the opposition is de rigueur good times. Tuff Turf, the synth brainchild of punk veteran Jeff Richie, takes that immersive, aggressive spirit and applies it to Richie’s latest music: punched-up goth that is too punk for synth and forges a new path for ’80s-inspired hardcore.

This is good music for bad dudes with perms and Oakleys who are obsessed with 8-bit heroics. And we’re here for it, as we told Richie — who left New Jersey for Jacksonville Beach, Florida — in an interview with PureHoney.

Your New Jersey band Cut It Out! was straight hardcore. What prompted you to switch gears and attracted you to the new wave/synthwave route?
I don’t really consider it a huge switch of gears, honestly. Tuff Turf is still hard and pretty straight to the point lyrically. Life will rip you open like a shotgun blast. I often feel like I have more in common with the punk/hardcore scene than the synthwave scene.

What prompted the move to Jacksonville?
I moved to Florida because I hate rules and I hate taxes. I was seeing a trend up north where people need to be told what to do in order to live their lives. Those type of people are weak and weak people are dangerous. I don’t hang my hat with weak people, too risky. As for Jax, it’s impossible to be bored here, plus I already had some friends in the area. Easy decision.

I feel like this project would be perfect for scoring a “Miami Connection” sequel.
I’m aiming higher. I want to direct, score and star in “Rambo 7.”

What’s next on the docket for Tuff Turf?
Florida tour in April, northeast tour in May, southwest tour in October, west coast tour in early 2024. I have a song or two in the upcoming horror film “The Art of Killing” directed by Jacob Ennis. Get Some!

Tuff Turf, Violet Silhouette and Solar Reef perform 10pm Saturday, April 8 at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach. tuffturfusa.com ~ Tim Moffatt