“You either stay heavy or you end up sucking.” – Chris Crudos
Indisgust plays ferocious death/grind that utilizes the “Quart of Blood” technique. Whenever Indisgust plays a show, a quart of blood falls out of anyone standing within 50 feet of the stage. These self-proclaimed “four Mexicanos raising hell” have crawled out of New Braunfels, Texas to become one of the best bands in the state. This interview with Rogelio (guitar), Chris Crudos (vocals), Zack (guitar), and Mike Fury (drums) was conducted at the Fallcore show at the Meridian in Houston, Texas.
No Funeral: Indisgust has been playing tons of shows lately and was on the road for most of the summer. How’s touring been treating you?
Rogelio: We’ve been playing mostly out of town and all over Texas.
Chris Crudos: Yeah, we’ve hit every major city in the state.
Zack: The Hardcore Super Bowl was our biggest show and it was the most fun.
No Funeral: Dave, the bass player, joined back in February 2006. How has having a full rhythm section changed the band’s sound and/or songwriting process?
Mike Fury: He was a dumb ass. He would get drunk and act like a madman, so we had to let him go.
Zack: He was a good musician, but he didn’t think before he acted. He would get full of that “liquid courage” and act stupid.
Chris Crudos: I’m just glad that he finished recording the bass tracks on our album before we had to get rid of him. As a band, that saved us from a big headache.
No Funeral: Describe your songwriting process. Do you write in the practice space? Individually or collectively?
Mike Fury: It just comes out of our asses.
Rogelio: It’s like a big shit.
Chris Crudos: We really need a good day for things to happen; when we’re enjoying our time together. It all depends on how we feel.
Zack: How our days have gone for us. That works into it as well.
Chris Crudos: Keeping it heavy is the main objective.
No Funeral: You represent New Braunfels and are the only band from there to break out regionally. How does it feel to be THE aggressive music act from your hometown?
Rogelio: It feels bad ass because no one else is doing it. Hopefully, we’ll inspire someone else.
Mike Fury: We’re proud because we always shock everyone when we play live.
Chris Crudos: It’s like the “Neurosis Effect” where, when people see us for the first time, they just stare at us. By the end of our set, the crowd is into it.
Mike Fury: You have to see us live to really catch it, musically. I think we’ve influenced other bands doing it this way.
Chris Crudos: We offer a different musical direction than most bands right now. We’re not worried about trends. We play from the heart.
Rogelio: We play what we want to play. We’re grateful that other people dig it, but we’re out to play the music we want.
No Funeral: Metalcore is all over MTV and satellite radio right now. There are tons of trendy bands around right now, but there are a few who have staying power and will continue to evolve. Unearth comes to mind as a quality band in this genre. What are your feelings or opinions on this?
Chris Crudos: You either stay heavy or you end up sucking. Too many bands end up abandoning their roots.
Zack: The bands that jump on this trend are trying to go commercial and get paid, whether they know it or not.
Rogelio: They get a taste of the mainstream and they’re not the same band anymore.
Mike Fury: We’ll never play what we don’t want to play. We may sound a little different than everyone else, but it’s still heavy as hell.
Chris Crudos: If you stay underground, your fans will stay loyal. The bands we like that have broken into the charts still play a lot of live shows and control their own destinies. The goal of all of this is to make a living off of your music.
Mike Fury: You can’t fault bands like Cannibal Corpse and Mastodon for selling a lot of records because they’re still doing what they’ve always done.
Chris Crudos: Staying around for 25 years, staying true, and staying dedicated. That’s what we want to do. Look at The Misfits. They’ve had a lasting presence. It will never die. It’s not going anywhere. Indisgust could do something like that.
Mike Fury: No matter what, we’re doing it for the love of the music.
No Funeral: You’ve signed with Skum Records. When is the album going to be released? How’s the recording process coming along?
Chris Crudos: The record is finished. Craig Douglas produced it at his studio, Origin Sounds.
Mike Fury: He’s a veteran producer. He’s worked with Full Blown Chaos and many Texas bands like Will to Live and Flawless Victory.
Zack: It was a long process to get this record made. It was a two-year process, but it was worth it.
Chris Crudos: Craig Douglas made recording as easy for us as possible. Also, Keith Crows of Hemlock did the rough mix for us.
No Funeral: Indisgust formed in 2003 and has been a steady force within Texas metal and hardcore ever since. Have there been any setbacks, major or minor? What has made the band stronger and tighter?
Zack: Finding a bass player is our big hang up right now; that and the lack of label support.
Mike Fury: You’ve got to pay if you want to be in a band. This isn’t cheap. We make it work with our limited resources.
Chris Crudos: I think a strong point for us is that we’re a working class band. We’ve had to overcome a lot of obstacles, but it’s worth it. We can connect with the audience in a way not many others can.
Mike Fury: Right now, we just need to get the album out. I think it will blow up. We need to find a new bass player.
No Funeral: I get the impression that Indisgust’s lyrical content is politically-tinged, but still retains a poetic attribute. It’s sort of like Misery Index and Converge. How do you craft the lyrics and what are you trying to communicate?
Chris Crudos: We write about life in general; everyone’s problems, feelings, and struggles. The best thing to do is to let it out and move on.
Zack: Ugly music made by ugly minds.
Mike Fury: This is positive aggression. It’s like your own personal support group.
Chris Crudos: We have a song called “With These Knives.” It’s about the ugly side of my relationship. This is all about release. I don’t want anyone to handle anything physically. I like to stay on the positive side. No fights are necessary. You can overcome the hard times. Each day is different and it only gets better if you let it get better.
No Funeral: Is it just me or have you played with Full Blown Chaos a lot? I met them in Syracuse and they’re cool guys.
Mike Fury: We’re cool with them. They thanked us in their new record.
Zack: This next show in San Antonio will be the fourth time we’ve played with them.
Chris Crudos: They’ve been very supportive of us. At the San Antonio Ozzfest, they gave us a shout out from the stage. They’re a band that’s coming up right now, but they still do a lot to help out other bands.
Rogelio: Full Blown Chaos are cool dudes. There are no rock stars in that band.
No Funeral: What are your influences? Fuck that question. I’d rather know what you’re currently grooving on?
Zack: Mastodon. Blood Mountain is a great album.
Mike Fury: I’ve still got a tape player in my car, so I’m listening to my old tapes of Van Halen, Motley Crue, and Rush. Oh yeah, I like Isis a lot.
Chris Crudos: The new Despised Icon record.
Rogelio: I’ve been listening to lots of Frank Zappa.
Mike Fury: Richie Valens and Johnny Cash.
Zack: Converge. Lots of Converge.
Rogelio: Alan Holdsworth and Mike Patton.
Chris Crudos: Everyone in this band is a Mike Patton freak.
No Funeral: How was it being featured on Robb’s Metalworks? If you’re from Central Texas, that’s a big deal. There was even a blurb on Blabbermouth about it.
Chris Crudos: That was definitely a good thing for us. Robb is a really cool dude and that’s a very popular show in the San Antonio area.
Zack: We were featured on the same episode as Slayer. As a life-long Slayer fan, that was special to me.
Mike Fury: Robb’s Metalworks is a show people actually watch. It’s a big deal where we live. We were featured at the end of the episode, which is where Robb usually puts the best stuff for that week.
Rogelio: It was a good accomplishment for us. I was happy to see us on the show.
Mike Fury: It’s crazy. That’s a show I watched religiously ever since I was a kid and now I’m on the show.
No Funeral: Any parting shots?
Chris Crudos: Indisgust is what it is. We’re not changing for anyone. We going to stay true to our roots in the underground.
Zack: We’re living for what we love.
Mike Fury: We’re a small band looking for a hand. Check out our myspace page.
myspace.com/indisgust
This interview originally appeared in issue 3 of No Funeral magazine.
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