VIGILANTE - Can't Stop, Won't Stop ! (Beatdown Hardcore - Interview with Hunter)

Hello, please introduce yourself and le us know how it all began ?
My name is Hunter Weeks, I'm the lead singer of Vigilante.  This band started around 2022 with myself and our guitar player John.  John used to be in a band called XTyrantX and I used to be in a band called Love is Red.  Our bands played together back in the mid 2000's, so we knew of each other and had a bunch of mutual friends.  John lives in Detroit, I moved to Michigan in 2016, and after a lot of talk, finally in 2022 we started playing music together.  We recruited our friend Joe who sings in Big Deal, to play guitar.  Our buddy Andrew, who used to play in a few bands Wreckless, and Down and Out is playing on bass.  And the old drummer of XTyrantX, Joe Sauce, is holding it down on drums.

Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
Vigilante is straight up heavy hardcore. There are elements of late 90's/2000's era hardcore, and elements of current heavy beatdown style hardcore. If you like Madball, Indecision, Terror, Foundation, you would like Vigilante.

Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ?
Lyrically we talk about a lot of the bad shit happening in the world right now. Whether it's constant wars across the globe, many the US Government is heavily involved in, we talked about the affects of religion and the chaos it creates, we talk about mental health and battling your own mind on a daily basis. The lyrics are super important to me, we want to talk about issues that are important to us.

About your latest release ?
We dropped our Demo EP - "False Gods of War" last year. You can find it on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, wherever. We also have demo tapes available through our friends Top Floor Tapes, check them out on Instagram.

Future plans ?
Right now we're finishing up recording a new 5 Song EP, that's going to be finished and mastered in May, so we'll have it dropping in June. We're super stoked on the way it's turned out, and have a pretty insane surprise guest collab happening on one of the tracks. Can't wait for people to hear it and go off.

Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
Playing Hellfest in France!!!!!

Your BEST & WORST concert and why ?
Probably my favorite show we've played was the Black Christmas show this past December with Cold as Life, Earthmover, Conservative Military Image, Hold My Own, and more.  That show was awesome.  We haven't really played a worst show yet, they've all been a lot of fun so far.

Next live-appearance(s) ?
Vigilante plays May 11th at Edgemen Warehouse in Detroit for the Record Release Show of Big Deal, with Gavel, Strangle You, Bitter Truth, and Lyuda.

Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ?
Detroit hardcore is absolutely popping off right now. Some sick bands from here are Never Ending Game, D Bloc, Big Deal, Vigilante, Moral Pollution, Hard Count, Persist, Lyuda, Bad Beat, Escalation of Force, Dead Hang, Poison Tongues, Stop at Nothing, so much new shit happening out of Detroit. Tied Down Fest is wild and really helped put this scene on the map.

Last word is yours..
Mosh. Stage Dive. Start a band. Start a Zine. Start a photo/video account on Youtube or Instagram, Support shit. Show out for local bands !

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