You have a good sound, and have some familiar draws. What bands influenced you most in your writing and playing?
"I’m usually seeking musical guidance from bands I feel have healthy doses of negativity and stubbornness… primarily Neglect, Cold World, Bulldoze. I’m also trying to be a little more poetic with my lyricism by adding elements from bands like More Than Life or Turning Point for the sake of Sam’s riff-writing style...I also kinda copy vocal patterns of snippets of any song from any hardcore subgenre. Near the end of ‘Genie In A Bottle’ I take inspiration from a small part of Stout’s ‘Shaved for Battle’... Since we’ve always played in D Standard as opposed to E Standard my riff writing has kind of been all over the place but overall a lot of the Penalty Box songs I’ve written, the guitar and bass parts for draw influence from a slew of late 2000s/early 2010s democore stuff. Basically the entire era of hardcore where every album cover had either cartoon characters, bubbly graffiti font or a rip of the Floorpunch mosher guy."What bands got you into hardcore?
Carter: "First hardcore band I ever saw at age like 14 or 15 was Redeemer. They randomly threw on this big show at the Nile theater with synthy metalcore bands. They stuck out like a sore thumb, sounding a bit like Verse, and I particularly loved the ample use of two-steps at that time. I didn’t even care that they were a Christian band either...Listening to or seeing that style was pretty dormant for me until I discovered all the other AZHC heavyweights like 7serpents, Beg For Life, Brothers In Arms, Reasons, and Spill My Blood, and saw them all at Dust Fest II later that year. The rest was history."
Sam: "The first legitimate hardcore band I listened to was a band called Set It Straight from Redding (they did a split 7” with local legends Where Eagles Dare). One of the first friends I made from the Phoenix area back when I was living in Flagstaff as a youngin inadvertently put me onto them during a time when I was mostly listening to heavier metalcore stuff. As I started going to more shows in Flagstaff I started listening to some of the bands my friends who went to shows listened to and talked about, which were a lot of 2000s bands like Ruiner, Verse, Have Heart, Life Long Tragedy, Sinking Ships, etc. A noteworthy thing about core kids from Flagstaff was that their musical tastes pretty much spanned the entire spectrum of aggressive music from straight edge, youthcore, all the way to Killwhitneydead, which was kind of cool as a 17 year old becoming involved with all of it since I kind of got a feel for everything from the get go and could decide pretty early on what I liked and didn’t like."
Can you discuss the lyrical content of your songs, what message is the band hoping to convey?
"A lot of our songs are written from a personal standpoint about our own selfish grievances toward the self-involved and disrespectful ways people choose to lead their lives. None are about specific people per se, but they all focus on bad habits and shitty actions we’ve either witnessed or were on the receiving end of throughout our lives. Some lyrics serve as a warning about how peoples’ behavior can impact those around them and ultimately themselves. We want it coming across as a suggestion to look at the big picture, and better one’s self in the process, rather than pompously telling people the way they live that we may feel is ‘wrong’, is the bottom line, because a second set of eyes could always use a third set of eyes. But then again, I might say screw it and go full dickhead for the next release."
You recently played with Skarhead and Desert Dweller, what was that like?
"The Skarhead show was cool! We don’t really listen to Skarhead much, but knowing who the members are, and the role they played among other NYHC bands from that time made it one for the bucket list (plus they were total characters onstage and their banter with one another kept things interesting). Their DJ kept playing trap horns and this “I love cocaine!!!” soundbyte repeatedly.. they’re a total riot. Brick By Brick also played that show, and they’re just straight up heavy and sick as hell.
As for Desert Dweller, we went for the 3-peat, which was cool because Matt has always been down to make sure we were playing every year. Big fat shoutout to the whole Desert Dweller crew for always doing their thing and showing everyone a good time. We went into this one knowing it was going to be our last show for a while since all of us have other projects to focus on, so we knew the energy would be a little bit different between the band because of that. Everyone still showed out, represented Arizona to the fullest, and made it a memorable experience. It’s always a fun time running into our buddies in Drain as well.. it’s so sick seeing them absolutely tear up the place."
What’s been the most interesting show you’ve played?
"One show we still laugh about to this day, took place in Flagstaff at Firecreek back in July 2018. Besides us, every band on the bill was either a pop punk or alt type band. We were kind of out of our element being on this mixed bill, but hopped on anyways cuz Sam’s good homies in Dead Lakes from WA played, and we wanted to get it in with them during their visit.
One band in particular had these shit-eating kids with agents and photographers present. That honestly wouldn’t have mattered but they were acting a little too Hollywood for the coffee shop venue’s 50-head turnout, and a little too Hollywood towards us- pretending to forget our names and laughing about it. I remember asking those dudes a few questions trying to make conversation, and their manager(?) or whatever was answering for them. I don’t know.. we didn’t get radio play on KUPD so I guess the joke’s on us.
Well, anyways, all our Flagstaff guys rolled out for our set and got appropriately rowdy, as Flagstaff does. Kids getting moshed on top of tables, some high school bully came and got clocked badly, Carter’s boss from the Ice Rink and Jesse’s coworker from the hospital came out of curiosity, and all this busy activity kept us all smiling and having a fun night.
The photographer of the Hollywood band was taking pictures of every set, and while she got pretty good shots of everybody else, the photos of our set were all taken from a chair in the back corner of the room. It was basically 38 of the exact same wide angle photo of the whole stage.
It was just beautifully controlled chaos in this otherwise quiet, little coffee spot."
What role do you feel punk/hardcore plays in social and political movements?
"Hardcore’s a powerful outlet and platform for anybody who is passionate about a viewpoint they wish to defend in a healthy way. Acknowledging social issues, and unifying with one another to foster change in the hard-headed spirit of hardcore creates an atmosphere of solidarity for those who may share the same viewpoint without really having the means to express it. Giving misguided, confused, or oppressed people a voice, and a reason to aggressively express their feelings with that voice, is something that is relatable to many other folks within the circle and builds strength to take on the world/their issues together. That, right there, has always been the most important aspect of it, at least in my opinion."
"Militant-minded people are crucial to any hardcore scene, because they help encourage us to say what we mean with utmost conviction. Advocating movements in hardcore also kickstarts the desire to get educated on current issues, so we can draw our own conclusions and know exactly what we’re fighting for. Anyone can yell on about “fuck this, fuck that”, and strength in numbers will always help us hinder oppressive forces. Real, long-lasting change, however, comes from those who not only follow the right path but know why they’re following that path as well. Thankfully, Arizona’s hardcore scene has no shortage of these types of role models."
Do you have any new projects or musical efforts coming down the pike?
"At the moment we’re taking a bit of a break from the band because we’re all working on other projects, but rest assured this isn’t the end for Penalty Box. Sam is playing bass for Construct (just played FYA) and doing Decided Advantage Fanzine, both of which he is grinding hard at. Austin and Nathan have a powerviolence-centric side project as well as a heavier hardcore project in the works called Cradle (keep your eyes majorly wide open). Carter is also dabbling in a new, heavy project with some Flag and Phoenix homies called Full Immunity. There’s clearly still a ton of musical inspiration alive within all of us, but in due time, Penalty Box’s hibernation will end, and we’ll have something in the works. We’re just rolling with things as of right now, so we’re still down to play a cool show if the opportunity presents itself."
What’s are some books, movies, and music the band has been getting into you feel others should definitely check out?
"This may sound like a shameless plug but Decided Advantage Fanzine is a piece of literature you truly want to be reading for your ‘in-the-know’. Otherwise we can’t really read. Carter is patiently waiting for season 4 of ‘Better Call Saul’ to hit Netflix. ‘Pen15’ and ‘I Think You Should Leave’ are a couple great current shows we’ve been into lately.
Now BANDS.. Some personal favorites as of late have been Amy Winehouse, Dojo Cuts, Silver Jews, Narrow Head, Diztort, VOD, Life of Agony, and still any 90’s/00’s beatdown. (Trying hard to cover all bases here). I told myself 2020 would be the year of change as I try to find more easy-listening for longer car rides, but I always find myself coming back to beatdown, smh.
Other tight up-and-comers to check out that we like include True Form, Apsara, Figure, Wise, End On End, Big Laugh, Shining Hour.
Last but not least, shoutouts to our AZHC kin making GOOD new music. Check out War Prison, Incentive, Concrete Evidence, Slow Descent, Get a Grip, Mad World, Pedistal of Infamy, Easy Money, Pointbreak, Beg For Life, and Arm’s Reach."
This interview was one that I thoroughly enjoyed, and am grateful to these guys for being willing to do. This band puts on for AZHC in all capacities. Give them a listen, a follow, and keep your eyes peeled for the many other musical projects the members have going.
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