Aaron Adkins & Joe Villella of P*ssing Match On The Ins & Outs of Crossing Streams (The Witzard Interview)
Pissing Match was formed in the fall and winter of 2013-14 by guitarist Aaron Adkins (Everything Falls Apart, Able Danger, Lewd Dewds,) who had wanted to start a Hardcore band that borrowed from his latest obsession: the short, frantic start-stop frenzy of the Swedish Hardcore duo Pusrad and wed it with the sounds of USHC alumni D.R.I. Koro, and Negative Approach with a splash of toilet humor for sh*ts and giggles. After recording all of the instruments and vocals for a 10-song demo tape clocking in at just over three minutes, Adkins enlisted vocalist Jay Galvin (Slugfest, Face The Panic, PURE HEEL,) who suggested the young pisspot Rob Ohlenschlager (PURE HEEL) on drums and veteran bassist Joe Villella (KDC, Fledging Death, Bleed for Me) to round out the yellow-eyed line-up.
After the release of the aforementioned demo tape in 2014, followed by the 6-minute 16-song Break The Seal 7-inch in 2016; the gang quickly marked their territory on the US Hardcore scene. The quartet subsequently shared the stage with a diversity of International Hardcore & Punk acts such as TERROR, Iron Reagan, Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School of Medicine, Negative Approach, Chokehold, and La Armada, among numerous others. In 2019, Pissing Match enlisted Aaron Ratajczak (Every Time I Die, Face The Panic, Bleed for Me) to fatten up their gold stream of short, fast urine-soaked Hardcore. The potty-mouthed quintet released their Break The Seal follow-up, Crossing Streams on extremely limited edition and now completely sold out lathe-cut 7-inch double-vinyl on Irish Voodoo Records. We were fortunate enough to speak with pissants Aaron Adkins & Joe Villella about all things Pissing Match, Crossing Streams, and everything else down around the botom of the bowl. Pissing Match's Crossing Streams is now available on streaming services.
I. Who's in the current line-up of Pissing Match and how did all of you meet?
Aaron Adkins: I play guitar and sing. Aaron Ratajczak, also, plays guitar, as well as, also, being named "Aaron." Jay Galvin sings. Joe Villella plays bass. Rob Ohlenschlager plays drums. We've all known each other through Hardcore & Punk for many years.
II. What are some of your current and former projects fans may know each of you from previously?
Joe Villella: PURE HEEL, Good Dude, Worse Things, Slugfest, KDC, Fledgling Death, Everything Falls Apart, Avulsion, Able Danger, Tearwave, Every Time I Die, Herod, Kid Gorgeous, Killshot, Bleed for Me, etc.
Aaron: Collectively, as most of us are in our thirties and forties, we've all been around the block several times... so, Joe's answer just about scratches the surface.
III. How did you guys link up with Irish Voodoo Records (IVR) to release your latest full-length, Crossing Streams?
Joe: I was on the roster with KDC and Jay & Rob are in PURE HEEL, who are on the label, as well. I like Joey ["Voodoo" Fitzgerald] & Danny [King] as people and, because of that, I'm able to look past their love of Ghost. They treat their talent very well with open and fair communication. I really appreciate the work they put into the releases, so when the moment arose, I sent the tracks to Joey and he loved them immediately! The rest is pretty much history.
IV. How would you personally say Pissing Match's overall sound, style, aesthetic, etc. has changed and progressed between your 2014 Demo & Crossing Streams?
Aaron: I performed all the vocals and instrumentation on the demo. Most recognizably, the vocals are different, as Jay's got more of a bark. On both the demo and our first record, Break The Seal, the aesthetic was to write extremely short songs with complicated time changes. Now, we’re not afraid to crack the 30-second or even the one-minute mark on some of the songs. Otherwise, we still play the complicated time changes. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
V. Who would you cite as some of your greatest sources of inspiration and influence while writing and recording Crossing Streams?
Aaron: Now and forever, The Almighty Pusrad will always be my number one influence for Pissing Match. I, also, love Tropiezo, from Puerto Rico, who play a lot of weird stop-start Hardcore. Otherwise, it's a lot of fast classic '81-84 style USHC, such as D.R.I. Hated Youth, The Neos, and YDI.
VI. How was Crossing Streams created... was it largely made prior to or during this global pandemic?
Aaron: We, actually, recorded the record at the end of 2017 and kept it under lock and key until we found the right label; that label being Irish Voodoo [Records].
VII. What's the relationship between Pissing Match and Buffalo-based Wrestle-core pioneers PURE HEEL?
Joe: They stepped to us once. We beat them into submission, then, helped them up, and became The WNY Tag-team Champions!
Aaron: What Joe meant to say is that we share a couple of members, so we play shows together often.
VIII. Who created the equally awesome accompanying cover image seen across Crossing Streams' digital and physical packaging?
Aaron: Thanks. Flaco Martinez illustrated the cover art and Jay & Joe Fitzgerald worked out the layout part. I'm not sure if Jay consciously does it, but the band's aesthetic, as far as typeface and layout kind of reminds me of some of that late-70's Dangerhouse Records stuff. Also, we totally bit the Crass font.
IX. In addition to its widespread digital release, Crossing Streams was, also, released on limited edition lathe-cut vinyl, correct? But now that it's completely sold out, are there any current plans for a second pressing?
Joe: Not sure. We'd certainly be open to it, but it depends on what IVR's plans are for it.
Aaron: Stay tuned...
X. For those completely new to the scene, would you mind recommending some bands, artists, releases, record labels, etc. hailing from the Buffalo/Syracuse, New York area?
Aaron: There are SO many good bands and labels from Buffalo & Syracuse that I feel I would be completely remiss in attempting to list them, so I’m not even going to try at the moment. Thankfully, we have The Internet...
XI. Now that Crossing Streams has been unleashed into the terribly unsuspecting world, what's planned next for Pissing Match?
Joe: We plan to write a new record and play as much as we possibly can wherever we are welcomed. We did a really cool livestream and that can be viewed on YouTube, as well as any of our social media accounts. We put a lot into it and it featured our willingness to experiment with weirdness.
XII. In addition to Pissing Match, do any of you have any additional side-projects or bands with upcoming releases you might like to mention within this very space?
Aaron: Jay & Rob are in PURE HEEL, who have a self-titled 7-inch EP coming out, courtesy of Irish Voodoo. Rob, also, plays drums in Worse Things. Aaron [Ratajczak] plays keyboards in Orations. Joe plays bass in Good Dude, who have a record coming out. I play guitar and growl in a new Grindcore band with my wife called Ground Sweat. We've got a six-song EP called Shredded & Destroyed, which we'll be releasing ourselves soon.
Joe: My Instrumental Synth Rock band [Good Dude] is releasing Paranormal Whacktivity soon and [it] can be found anywhere you get you music from. In the meantime, you can listen to our demo anywhere on The 'webs.
