Zealot R.I.P. started years ago when life-long friends, Jason Hamacher (Frodus, Battery, CombatWoundedVeteran) & Mike Schleibaum, decided to collaborate and write music that’s fast and heavy. Between Schleibaum’s relentless touring in Darkest Hour and Hamacher’s extensive documentary work in Syria, it took a few years for them to settle into a sound that’s somewhere between Entombed, Dead Kennedys and Born Against. The band was solidified with the additions of Pig Destroyer’s Blake Harrison and Fairweather’s Peter Tsouras. This metal amalgam, upon forming, went immediately into the studio and recorded a handful of brutally unhinged songs, released as a self-titled EP on Three One G in 2019. As a bizarre and radical opening reception to the world, Zealot R.I.P. played their first show at the Swedish Embassy in Washington D.C., as The Embassy hosted a concert and panel discussion around the history of Swedish metal.
 
With the release of the Zealot R.I.P’s debut LP, “The Extinction of You” has every bit of the energy one would expect from these beloved, brutal and ripping musicians. And yet, by their own admittance, the band is also a deviation for most of its members. Mike Schleibaum explains that from the band’s formation, “I’ve taken a different approach from any other project or band I’ve been in. Zealot is sort of a return to my early days in music. We write songs pretty quick and usually end up keeping the first takes. I’ve always appreciated Jason’s creative raw energy on the drums and this project is a direct reflection of that. Combine the unique perspectives of Peter and Blake, and the result is explosive visual energy personified in song form.” Blake Harrison adds, “Moving to DC, I wanted to start another project that was a little more ‘punk’ and ‘live’ than Pig Destroyer. Lo and behold, I did not start a new project, but fell in with Zealot RIP, whose energy is bombastic.”

ZEALOT R.I.P.  "The Extinction Of You"

ADULT. & PLANET B - self-titled split 7”

Justin Pearson (Dead Cross, Deaf Club, The Locust), Luke Henshaw (Sonido de la Frontera), Kevin Avery (Field Day, Retox) and Scott Osment (Deaf Club, Glassing, Volente Beach) formed Planet B with the shared purpose of creating music subversive in sound and sobering in message. Their music lays somewhere just out of reach of genre, with aesthetics rooted in hip hop, hardcore punk, turntablism, and 70s-80s horror movie scores. It is catchy, heavily percussive, and eerie all at once, much like the creative output of dark dance duo ADULT., a pair that seek to harness “the perverse aspects of the late '70s analog dystopian post-modernism.” These artists’ bodies of work mirror one another in form and function, and both “Release Me” and “Glass in The Trash” encapsulates the ethos of both, allowing the duos’ similar mindsets to collide. Nicola Kuperus’s hypnotic vocals add an occult aura, mysteriously alluring and supernatural, pulsating and equally intense alongside Pearson’s aggressive style. Henshaw and Adam Lee Miller’s sampling, sequencing and synthesizing entangle and diverge seamlessly, providing dance-driven soundtracks fit for an apocalypse. Both tracks ebb and flow, pull and push, begs to be released and yet remains throbbing in your head long after it ends.

ADULT. and Planet B "Release Me"

Episode 45 takes place during San Diego Comic-Con, where Justin and Luke sit down with director and producer Lloyd Kaufman to celebrate 50 years of Troma: his absurd, low budget, highly stylized, iconic film company responsible for cult classics like The Toxic Avenger, Tromeo and Juliet, Class of Nuke 'Em High, and so many more. Lloyd reflects on how he got started, working with talented people like Trey Parker and Matt Stone to help them release Cannibal! The Musical early in their careers, Luke remembers taking psychedelics and watching whatever Troma VHS tapes he could get his hands on, and Justin recalls The Locust heading directly to The Playboy Mansion last minute after a long trip home from Japan, where they would film a scene that never came to be due to Gene Simmons calling the cops on a noise complaint. The three discuss how Troma has evolved in some ways over the years and stayed the same in others, adhering to a DIY ethos to create outsider entertainment that has become truly beloved by so many.

The concept of Cult and Culture began as a short segment created by Justin Pearson, an internationally known musician, record label owner (Three One G Records), author, and actor. He is perhaps best known as bassist for bands such as Dead Cross, The Locust, and Some Girls as well as vocalist for Deaf Club, Swing Kids, and Planet B. Having traveled the world touring in hardcore and punk bands since age 15, Justin has come to know and work with a broad spectrum of captivating personalities and brilliant minds, many of which are key figures in the realm of popular culture and cult followings alike-- from being on the soundtrack to John Waters’ Cecil B. Demented, to acting in an Asia Argento’s Incompresa, to playing in Dead Cross with Mike Patton and Dave Lombardo. Cult and Culture arose as an opportunity to document bits and pieces of the DIY-driven, subversive world of art Pearson identifies with- one that many are not aware of or perhaps have misconceptions about.

Eventually, Pearson joined up with producer and bandmate Luke Henshaw (Sonido De La Frontera, Planet B, Satanic Planet, First Power Crew) to build the idea into a proper podcast, now recorded at his own PengOne Studios in San Diego. Henshaw has collaborated with hip hop legends such as Invisible Skratch Piklz’ D-Styles and Q-Bert, Kool Keith, in addition to being immersed in the world of Cumbia alongside Sonido De La Frontera bandmate Karlos Paez (B Side Players). He also recently scored the music for upcoming documentary Sk8face, which tells the history of skateboard graphics. In this way, both Justin and Luke are influenced by a diverse array of subcultures that all have connected roots. John Waters was one of the first people interviewed for the podcast- an icon of both cult and culture. Since then, guests have included a broad scope of musicians, producers, authors, and anyone passionate about what they do-- anyone from Grammy-winning musician Juan Alderete (Mars Volta, Racer X, creator of Pedals And Effects) to actor Michael Malarkey (Vampire Diaries, Project Bluebook), from San Diego Black Panther Party members to longtime partners Nicola and Adam in electro-punk band ADULT. or The Satanic Temple cofounder Lucien Greaves (who would go on to form Satanic Planet with Luke and Justin as a direct result of their podcast conversation). The focus is not intended to be solely on people in any one realm, and because guests are friends and family, the conversations are frank, informal yet well-informed, and genuine. Pearson and Henshaw seek to achieve a casual openness, blurring lines between traditional guest and host. Cult and Culture is part of Ruinous Media.

Catch up on all episodes of Cult and Culture podcast, via iTunes, or through Three One G’s Soundcloud.

Watch episode

Cult & Culture Podcast Episode 45 feat. Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Entertainment

Cover of Ministry’s “Just One Fix” 

Available on limited edition cassettes at select record stores, Saturday 4/16, for Record Store Day.

'A New Wave of Violence' out 5/13 on VICE.
Preorder here: http://smarturl.it/hwc-it 

On tour with Savages this May
Dates and tickets here: headwoundcity.com/tour

Follow HWC on the web:
headwoundcity.com
facebook.com/headwoundcity
twitter.com/headwoundcity
instagram.com/headwoundcity

Just One Fix (Ministry Cover)

Host Jason Schreurs talks to Justin Pearson, owner of Three One G Records and member of a bunch of amazing punk bands. Retox, The Locust, Dead Cross, Head Wound City, Some Girls, Swing Kids and Struggle immediately come to mind. Justin explains how punk rock has helped him get through tough times in his life. He details his struggles with post traumatic stress disorder, due in large part to the childhood abuse he endured. 

http://threeoneg.com

http://retoxrules.bandcamp.com

http://thelocust.bandcamp.com

http://deadcross.bandcamp.com

Featured songs:
Retox -"The Inevitable End" from  Beneath California (Epitaph Records, 2014)  
Suicidal Tendencies - "Institutionalized" from Suicidal Tendencies (Frontier Records, 1983)

Photo: Becky DiGiglio

About this podcast:
Scream Therapy explores the link between punk rock and mental health. My guests are members of the underground music scene who are living with mental health challenges, like myself.

Intro/background music: 
Submission Hold - "Cranium Ache"
Render Useless - "The Second Flight of Icarus"

Artwork: Luke Ramsey - http://lukeramseystudio.com

Contact host Jason Schreurs - jasonschreurs@telus.net

Episode 10: Justin Pearson of The Locust and Retox on childhood trauma and PTSD

Host Jason Schreurs recaps the first 10 episodes of Scream Therapy. He also announces a very special guest for episode 11. Hint: He has the best hairdo in underground music! 

About this podcast:
Scream Therapy explores the link between punk rock and mental health. My guests are members of the underground music scene who are living with mental health challenges, like myself.

Intro/background music:
Submission Hold - "Cranium Ache"
Render Useless - "The Second Flight of Icarus"

Artwork: Luke Ramsey - http://lukeramseystudio.com

Contact host Jason Schreurs - jasonschreurs@telus.net

Episode 10.5: Host Jason Schreurs recaps the first 10 episodes


Three One G is in a sense, a family owned business…and basically a family in itself. I started the label in hopes to better the quality and creativity of things  that I was part of, as well as the music culture that I am part of. Three One G quickly developed into a family of artists who were all intertwined, or on the same page as one another. For me, it is the truest definition of family; people who are of the same breed and people who are from the same way of life. In the beginning, I started off by releasing music by Swing Kids and Unbroken, both of which shared a member, and were part of a musical community that I was submerged in. It was something that I was really a part of and more so, something that was obtainable, tangible, and real. Over the years, Three One G has loosely been related to a band that I’m part of, and better known for, The Locust. The relevance that The Locust had to Three One G brought amazing artists into the picture, either through meeting them on tour, musical collaborations, or other various things that The Locust was doing. This really helped to diversify the label and the sounds that it encompasses up to this day. To me, having bands under the Three One G umbrella like Cattle Decapitation, Arab on Radar, Quintron, Zs, Black Dice, Orthrelm, and so on, all makes sense, regardless of how different any artist's approach to music or their sound may be. We could all conceivably tour together, even sometimes collaborate and share members. To me, this is interesting, bringing so many new avenues of creativity, which are things that the music industry in general has since forgotten. 
The family members who currently make the wheels spin for Three One G, aside from the actual bands and artists are; Sal Gallegos (who also played in Some Girls, which were comprised of members of other label mates such as The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, and Unbroken), as well as myself. Over the years we have expanded, not only musically, but geographically as well. Even though Three One G is below the radar of the who’s who of labels, the bands manage to grow and reach out beyond the label’s grasp, giving a glimpse into the all too interesting underbelly of an unrefined culture. The bands manage to amaze, challenge, inspire, and essentially blow minds. The labor of love here shows sincerity, as well as integrity. The family here is solid, legitimate, and is here to stay.
 
- Justin Pearson

Cult & Culture Podcast Episode 45 feat. Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Entertainment

Three One G

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