Agnostic Front’s Vinnie Stigma Is Annoyed by Non-Native New Yorkers
Formed way back in 1980, Agnostic Front is arguably the most important band in the history of the hardcore scene. Over the course of 10 studio albums and countless other releases, the New York outfit has gone on to influence an entire movement of artists including everyone from stalwarts Sick of it All and Youth of Today to younger acts like Terror and Hatebreed.
Agnostic Front has spent the last few months out on the road promoting 'My Life My Way,' their latest album and founding guitarist Vinnie Stigma calls Noisecreep from a recent tour stop when he decides he wants to get some things off his chest.
"A lot of non-native New Yorkers live there now. My friend calls them "invaders" and I think he's right [laughs]. I don't know man – they're just not real New Yorkers to me. Look, everyone is welcomed there, but a lot of these people are annoying.
"They're the first people to complain about the noise in the city. I feel like saying to them, "Then don't move to New York!" What did they expect moving to New York City? If you want to live somewhere with peace and quiet, then move to a farm! They annoy me," says a fired-up Stigma.
Despite his complaints, Stigma still gets homesick. "While I'm out on tour with Agnostic Front, I miss the city, but New York has changed in a lot of ways. Just look at the skyline itself – with the Twin Towers being gone. Every time I come back home from touring somewhere, I see that skyline driving back into the city and it's just not the same without those buildings there. It throws me off."
Noisecreep asked Stigma, who was also a member of Madball at one point, what Manhattan neighborhood he was raised in. "I grew up in Little Italy and I'm one of the few true New Yorkers still around in the hardcore and punk scene. I'm talking about New York City and not Queens, Brooklyn, or the other boroughs. I have family in both those places, and I consider that New York City too, but when it comes to Manhattan, I'm one of the few people still here. I grew up right around CBGBs and I started going there when it first opened up in the '70s. I also used to go to Hilly's, which was the other place the owner owned before that. This city has such a great music history."
Agnostic Front's 'My Life My Way' is available now via Nuclear Blast.
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