Jay Galvin Talks PURE HEEL's New Album Freedom from You, Working with Winston Smith & Briteside: The Colors of Hardcore/Punk Rock Coloring Books (The Witzard Interview)
Jay Galvin is the guitarist of Buffalo Wrestle-core pioneers PURE HEEL, one of our absolute favorite Punk/Hardcore-adjacent bands in recent years. Galvin is affectionately known within the band as The Captain and somewhat less affectionately known as Captain Annoying. He's been with PURE HEEL since their formation and appears on their earliest recordings starting with their four-track 2016 Demo. Galvin has been recording, making, playing, and releasing msuic since about 1995 and either is currently or was once a member of Bleed for Me, The Bonesaw Romance, Disengage, Face The Panic, P*ssing Match, Serpents of Shiva, Slugfest, thegalvinwilhelmmillerquartet; these including stints playing and making music alongside Scott Reynolds (ALL, The Pavers,) Aaron Ratajczak (Every Time I Die, HOURGLASS,) and Scott Vogel (TERROR, WORLD BE FREE.) In addition to his various musical albilities—Jay has been a singer, guitarist, drummer, and keyboard player—Galvin, also, works as a tattoo artist at CowPök Piercing & Tattoo Gallery on Elmwood Avenue/Main Street in Buffalo, New York.
Galvin has even illustrated two children's coloring books otherwise known as Briteside: The Colors of Hardcore A-Z & Briteside 2: The Colors of Punk Rock A-Z created along with Scott Vogel, his brother, Patrick Kitzel, and his brother's girlfriend. Galvin's tattoo and body of multi-media artwork can be viwed on his Instagram page ( @teamgalvin) where you can, also, conveniently book him as your tattoo artist. PURE HEEL just dropped their debut full-length album, Freedom from You, on IRISH VOODOO RECORDS. It's currently available on $5.00 CD, limited edition $10.00 three-song cassette tape, and stremaing digitally with vinyl promised to be coming later this year. PURE HEEL is playing a special Cinco de Mayo Record Release Show tonight at Amy's Place in Buffalo with HOURGLASS, Mainbreaker, VOICE IN CAPTIVITY, and DJ sets by Grimetime. Ahead of the mega-gig and on the HEELS (pun intended!) of PURE HEEL's fantastic Freedom from You, we got a chance to speak with Galvin about all of the aforementioned topics and more. Check out our latest interview below, which has been lightly edited for genral clarity.
I. So, who plays on the new PURE HEEL full-length, Freedom from You, and what is each member's role within the band?
Jay Galvin: PURE HEEL is Eric [Borawski] - vocals, Jay [Galvin (me)] - guitar, Joey [Simmen] – bass, [and] Jesse [Muscato] – drums.
II. How did you guys go about which tracks to re-record, tweak, clean up, and re-visit from the PURE HEEL back catalog?
Galvin: We wanted to put "Screw Job" onto the record because it was only out on our first demo and it, also, fit the album thematically.
III. What made you decide to cover and release Wire's "Ex Lion Tamer" as part of the recent Freedom digital single?
Galvin: It's one of my favorite songs. So, I asked the other guys if they would be into it. They were, so we did.
IV. What other cover renditions is PURE HEEL currently working on and cooking up? How will these be incorporated into your live sets and/or upcoming releases?
Galvin: No current plans.
V. From your perspective, what is the Freedom from You album cover imagery meant to mean, signify, or evoke?
Galvin: I sent Winston [Smith] a bunch of lyrics for the record and he came back with a design. I suggested a couple very small tweaks and he obliged. The image is subjective; the viewer places the meaning based on their beliefs.
VI. How did designer and artist Winston Smith (Dead Kennedys, Green Day, Ben Harper, Nomeansno) initially get selected and involved to create the Freedom from You cover image?
Galvin: I bought some art off of him and during that transaction, I told him how much his work means to me and asked if it would be possible for him to make something for us. I must have caught him on a good day because he agreed. I still can't believe it. He is not only a subversive artistic genius, he is, also, a very kind and witty man, who gave me some valuable insight for this project.
VII. What are your plans for the Freedom from You release? We saw it already up on streaming services earlier this week, CD's and tapes drop today, May 5th... and are we eventually getting 7-inch or 12-inch vinyl packages, too?
Galvin: I believe cassette copies of the single have been printed and, at some point, the album will be on 12-inch vinyl.
VIII. The PURE HEEL Record Release Show on Cinco de Mayo has a stacked line-up of HEEL, HOURGLASS, Mainbreaker, (DJ sets by) Grimetime, and Voice In Capacity. For new listeners, where would you recommend starting with each artists' discography?
Galvin: They are all great bands. If you find their music, you will be fine; no stinkers in there.
IX. Sonically, who or what would you readily cite as some of your greatest sources of personal inspiration and influence while creating Freedom from You?
Galvin: Musically, our influences are all over the place, but I really try hard to not make us sound like anyone too much. Black Flag would be the most obvious, but Wipers, [The] Dicks, Agent Orange, Wire, and Nirvana are all in there somewhere, too. I was, also, inspired by THE MYSTERY LIGHTS, which is why our cover of their song, "Melt," ended up on the album. Lyrically and thematically, I was very much influenced by [Dead Kennedys'] Plastic Surgery Disasters. I think it is one of the greatest albums ever made and I wanted to make a record that was that concise in its depiction of modern America. It's, also, probably why I hit up Winston for the art.
X. If you could wrestle against any of your fellow HEEL bandmates (Doughy Ramone, The Claw, or The Mangler,) who would you choose and why? What would Captain Annoying utilize as his signature match-ending move?
Galvin: I would never put my hands on any of them. I love them like family. We fight the world, not each other.
XI. What prompted you and your Slugfest/Serpents of Shiva bandmate Scott Vogel to put together and release Briteside: The Colors of Hardcore A-Z & Briteside @: The Colors of Punk Rock A-Z coloring books?
Galvin: That was a project that was thought up by my brother and his girlfriend. They asked me to illustrate it, so I did. I was happy to contribute. It was fun.
XII. What's planned next for PURE HEEL?
Galvin: Play more shows, write more songs, make new fans. Maybe, get a pizza after practice. Big stuff.
