Getting friendly with Death Comes in 3s - An interview with drummer Adam Golway

The local boys in Death Comes in 3s are seriously laid back. These are the type of dudes who would chill with anybody – a rare quality these days, especially in the metal/hardcore scene.

Lately they have been busy recording and playing shows but not too busy to talk to me. Here, we get some straight answers from drummer Adam Golway about some of the issues that face the scene here in the Temecula area.

Death Comes in 3s’ next show: Saturday, August 18, at 7 p.m. at the Ignition Coffee Lodge (123 North Palm Canyon, Palm Springs) with Murder on the Dance Floor, Sight Through Ashes, Shattered Halo and Carnage Impaled.

Valley News: What local bands do you like?

Adam Golway: Sight Through Ashes – really good guys – <and> Northern Lights from Temec. We like kickin’ it with them.

VN: Have you played with any bands you dislike?

AG: Yeah, this band called… [Writer’s Note: Sorry, folks – for the sake of keeping the peace I’m not going to print the band name.] Biggest talkers on earth. I just hate it when bands get up there and have nothing good to say. They just think that they are above everybody because of the style of music they play.

VN: What style is that?

AG: Original hardcore. I remember going to shows a couple years ago when metal bands and hardcore bands used to play together, and they just played for fun. It wasn’t about going to a show and worrying about getting beat up cause someone disliked your style; everyone was friends with each other.

[Writer’s Note: The hardcore scene has made a sad shift in recent years. The genre is supposed to represent the values of friends, family and loyalty, standing up for your beliefs with respect and integrity while having fun with your friends at shows. While many older and newer hardcore bands maintain these values, a lot of new bands and new kids don’t know what it’s about anymore and unfortunately it kills it for everyone.]

It seems more segregated now. Two years ago I was in a metal band, and it was my first show as a bassist – we played with Bodies of Dissolution and a bunch of hardcore bands. Everyone was kickin’ it, being friends and having fun, and then a year later it started getting bad; now it’s to where if a metal band plays with a hardcore band it’s going to be a riot or something ridiculous.

VN: What is your band’s attitude toward all this segregation and animosity between the different music scenes today?

AG: Life is too short to be pissed off all the time. We don’t hate anyone or discriminate; we’re trying to bring it back to the old days. If someone’s cool at a show, giving us props for playing a good set or whatever, we will give ’em a hug, no matter what style they claim.

We just want to stop all the fighting. You can’t just judge everyone based on style of music. You never know nowadays. People will look at someone and say, “What a [loser],” just based on the way he looks, and you don’t even know – that guy could be the chillest guy you ever meet and now you won’t even talk to him based on how he dresses.

VN: What’s worse: the segregation between music scenes or the militant straight edge kids? [Straight edge is a personal choice to abstain from drugs, alcohol and promiscuity. Usually, followers are identified by Xs on their hands.]

AG: There is a thing in Laughlin called “hate edge” and they will just go up to random kids smoking and jump them. They just take it way too far. It really defeats the whole purpose.

They act like drunkards themselves, being so violent; they’re like crazy Mormons trying to push their beliefs on you. I mean, is it really necessary to beat people up? What’s worse: smoking a cigarette or jumping someone?

You can voice your opinion another way, and most the time they beat up kids who don’t even say anything. They are using straight edge as an excuse to jump people like cowards. And I know girls who claim straight edge but are [totally promiscuous]. They’re not supposed to be having promiscuous sex but are with a different dude every day.

[Writer’s Note: The straight edge movement is supposed to represent a positive way of life. It was originally started by Ian McKaye, lead singer for the band Minor Threat, as a way to show the world that you have your head on straight and make smart choices in life by abstaining from drugs and alcohol.]

VN: Do you know of any bands in the area that represent straight edge in the positive way that it was originally intended?

AG: To be completely honest, no. Everyone seems to be all talk.

Wait, there is one: Thoughts of a Nihilist. They were the only straight edge band I ever knew that could back their [stuff] up. They would go to parties and hang out and be cool without judging anyone [while not drinking or smoking].

VN: Do you consider yourself part of a scene?

AG: I honestly think everyone is part of a scene. It’s cool to say you’re not a scenester now but you look at their MySpace picture and you’re like, “C’mon – you look like a girl and you’re a guy and you only hang out with one group of people all the time. Just admit it, you’re a scenester.”

Everyone is part of their own little click. I don’t know; it’s not really bad that everyone has got their own group of friends but… I just miss the old days when everyone was cool with everyone.

Check out Death Comes in 3s at http://www.myspace.com/deathcomesin3s.