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| (Photo credit: Sam Tilkins @prismavice) |
With some of the craziest shows and the funnest bands, Buffalo hardcore is certainly nothing to ignore. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, a perfect place to start is with this brand new quintet - Spaced!
Labeling themselves “far out hardcore,” Spaced is fun, fast, wild, angry, and they have something important to say - essentially, everything a hardcore band should be. The band released their first demo in August, followed shortly by their first show with Exhibition and Smash n’ Grab. They’ve already got some cool shows queued up with some other awesome current bands, like DARE, Life’s Question, Shackled, and more.
Keep reading to hear Lexi’s thoughts on Spaced, finding her voice as a frontperson, vegan food in Buffalo, musical guilty pleasures, and more!
AA: Introduce yourself with your name, what you do in Spaced, and a random fact about yourself.
LR: My name is Lexi Reyngoudt, and I am the vocalist in Spaced. A random fact about myself is that I am currently back in school for a second degree in English Education 7-12.
AA: Who played your first hardcore show? What impact did that have on keeping you involved in hardcore?
LR: The first hardcore show I went to was an Every Time I Die holiday show back in 2016. One of my favorite local bands, Bungler, was opening, and this was my first experience with hardcore. It was super cool to see so many people come together and go so hard for a band, and it really opened my eyes to the genre.
AA: What made you want to start a band like Spaced?
LR: Donny [Arthur], our guitarist, approached me about starting a band. I was a bit shocked at first, because I’ve never pictured myself in a band, let alone being the vocalist in one, but I’m so glad I did it! It’s important to get more non-men involved in the hardcore music scene, and I thought it would help other people like me to start their own band if I made one.
AA: What are some of your musical influences?
LR: Some of my influences when it comes to vocal style are Turnstile and Trapped Under Ice. It was a bit challenging at first to figure out my vocal delivery, so I would practice by screaming along to songs off of Big Kiss Goodnight and Nonstop Feeling in my car.
(Photo credit: Sam Tilkins @prismavice)
AA: You guys just released a demo at the beginning of August - what kind of things inspired you lyrically on the demo?
LR: Donny and I collaborated on writing the lyrics, because I had never written lyrics before. We agreed that we wanted to focus on being true to ourselves for a big part of the lyrics. I’m really passionate about not hiding who I am, and not blending in with a crowd, so we wanted that to be evident in the songs we put out. We also wanted to focus on some social issues, like government officials trying to control women’s bodies.
AA: As a self-proclaimed “far out hardcore” band, you guys have a really cool aesthetic. What inspired your band promos, album art, etc? Is it a collaborative effort with the artists you hire, or do you give them more creative control?
LR: We wanted to find an aesthetic that we thought fit best with our music. Like I mentioned earlier, I like standing out in a crowd. When we took our promo pics with our friend Sam (@prismavice on Instagram), we knew she would be the right person to do them with. Her work is really cool and experimental, so taking our ideas and mixing them with hers, we were able to come out with some really awesome pics!
AA: I’ve always heard that Buffalo shows are crazy. How do you feel about the scene? What are some of your favorite bands from your area?
LR: I love the music scene here. I feel like no matter what show I go to, I can find someone I know, and we can agree that we wanna get into the pit and have some fun. We all just want to have a good time! I think that’s why the shows here and the bands that come out of this area exude such a fun energy. Bands like Every Time I Die, Super American, Smash N’ Grab, Exhibition, Funeral Coat, and Bungler are great examples of that.
(Photo credit: Sam Tilkins @prismavice)
AA: If someone came to Buffalo that hadn’t been there before, what are some places you’d recommend they check out? (this could be a restaurant, coffee shop, nature spot, whatever you want!)
LR: I’m huge on planning any trip I make around where I’m going to eat, so whenever I have someone ask me about what to do in Buffalo, I mention food spots they should hit up! I always bring my out of town friends to Amy’s Place on Main Street. It’s my favorite restaurant, and they recently changed their menu to all vegan options! Best part is, there’s a bubble tea place a few buildings down that I love to go to in the same trip.
AA: What are some pieces of media you’ve been enjoying lately? (music, movies, TV, video games, literature - again, anything you want!)
LR: My not-so-guilty pleasures are anime and K-pop. I love watching all kinds of anime - and collecting the manga if I really love the story. My bookshelf is just full of manga and K-pop albums. I got into K-pop at the beginning of the pandemic, and let me just say, it’s so much fun! It’s a lot of fun to discover new K-pop groups and pay attention to the promo they do for each album they put out.
(Photo credit: Sam Tilkins @prismavice)
AA: Any upcoming plans you’d like to talk about?
LR: We have some shows coming up this fall; we’re playing in Cleveland on 10/30 with Gag, Circus, and S.M.I.L.E., and we’re heading down to Wilkes Barre on 11/8 to play with DARE, Life’s Question, and Off The Tracks. I’m super pumped for these shows, ‘cause I love both of the scenes in Cleveland and Wilkes-Barre.
AA: Any last words or shoutouts?
LR: Shoutout to Buffalo Hardcore, and to anyone who has been spinning the demo! The support has been overwhelming, but so cool - and I’m really thankful people are enjoying it. We’re heading back into the studio to pump out some new tracks, so be on the lookout for that!
Thank you again to Lexi for doing this interview! Their demo rocks, and I can't wait to hear more.
Keep up with Spaced via their social media:
Instagram | Twitter | Bandcamp
Last but not least, give their demo a listen!
-Angie
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