The Hudson Valley of New York State is an expansive area stretching from Rockland and Westchester Counties all the way up past cities like Albany and Troy. With In Effect teaming up with (Hudson Valley based) Outsider Magazine in the last few years I have really had my eyes opened to many of the up and coming as well as more established bands from the region. Grave Heist, RBNX and Life Abuse are three bands that call the Hudson Valley home and in my opinion are also three bands that deserve way more recognition than they are currently getting. The fact that each of these bands are pretty different from one another in a musical sense was even more reason to put together a “Greetings From The Hudson Valley” article. The bands were interviewed between late March and early April. “Postcard” graphic by: Paul Turano.
GRAVE HEIST who got their start in December of 2022 consists of: Ethan Portes-Chaikin: vocals, Zach Kenny: guitar, Dan Shaw: drums, Josh Obijiski, guitar, Kevin Platt: bass. Ethan resides in Peekskill, Zach in Buchanan, Dan in Thornwood, Josh in New Milford and Kevin in Mahopac. To date Grave Heist have released the following: “Future World Order” EP (May, 2023), “Gravedust” split EP w/Jawdust (October, 2023), “Time To Die” single (December, 2023), “Long Game (Nada Session)” single (August, 2024), “Desperate Times” EP (September, 2024). To date Grave Heist has played approximately 30 shows and have played as far away as Virginia with stops in Maryland and Pennsylvania. You can find their guitarist Zach Kenny also in the NYC band Shoot Da 5. All answers by Grave Heist singer Ethan.
GRAVE HEIST
IE: How did the name Grave Heist come to be? Kind of gives a more metal feel when I hear the name but as we know you draw from various sounds and cultures…
Ethan: So the name was kind of a shot in the dark… we were just kind of bouncing ideas off of each other. At the time, we had no idea how committed the band would be, and we probably didn’t put as much thought into the name as we should have. Still, it stuck, and people seem to enjoy it! I’ll admit… it’s a ton of fun to yell it in and between songs!
IE: Can you explain why/how you think the Hudson Valley heavy music scene is on such an upswing right now?
Ethan: I think it’s because you’ve got locals working their asses off from both a musical and promotional standpoint. You’ve got bands supporting promoters, and promoters supporting bands. There is a clear divide between the upper echelon bands from the HV and the bands that are making a name for themselves. It’s a divide that turns hard working bands into harder working bands. The Hudson Valley is all about making moves right now, and I think the underdogs are something to watch out for.
IE: Tell us about the first Grave Heist show that you played. Where was it? When? Who else played?
Ethan: That was a night… March 2023. Everything that could have gone wrong did. We played to a ton of people for the size of the venue; Toasted in Newburgh. We were the first band, and we ended up playing at around 11pm. The PA blew out so my vocals were most likely inaudible. Chemical X and RBNX played. Honestly, it was still such a fun night regardless of the mishaps. Just goes to show even the most poorly run shows can be awesome.
GRAVE HEIST PHOTO BY: Face Photo.
IE: Three bands in any genre that everyone in the band would agree on have been most influential on the music you put out?
Ethan: Leeway, Power Trip, Into Another.
IE: Tell us a couple of things that you like about living in the Hudson Valley and a couple of things that suck?
Ethan: The Hudson Valley obviously has a killer music scene, but some of the politics are just ass backwards… but I won’t get into that. The food is great in a lot of places. As we find out more and more with every new place we play in the area. Tons of great dispensaries now, and so many cool people. We all have quirks, but in the end we’re all just trying to have a good time and support each other. Being in the scene was never meant to feel like work, and though we all work hard to keep it going, it’s all part of the fun.
IE: Grave Heist upcoming plans for the summer and beyond?
Ethan: We got new music in the works for sure. Some bigger shows are on the way as well, maybe some light touring. We’ve been wanting to do a video forever but haven’t found the right time… it’ll come for sure. Plan for a crazy end to 2025 with the Heist gang!
RBNX
RBNX who got their start in April of 2011 consists of: Mike Dietz; bass, vocals, Phil Bartsch: drums, vocals, Kyle Behnken: guitar, vocals. The members of RBNX are centrally located in Poughkeepsie NY, in the Hudson Valley. Everyone in the band previously lived in the town just south of Poughkeepsie; Wappingers Falls, all attending Roy C. Ketcham Senior High School. The list of RBNX releases is extensive and includes the LP’s “Surrounded By Sin” (January, 2019) and “Nothing Here Is Yours” (September, 2023), a split with The Car Bomb Parade (January, 2025), and even more EP’s and compilation tracks. RBNX has played close to 500 shows with their furthest from the Hudson Valley trip being to Seattle on their 2023-2024 winter tour. Responses by Mike except for the “three bands” question which was answered by the whole band.
IE: How did the name RBNX come to be? You guys are not blood brothers from what I understand.
RBNX: Mike, and his friend Tony were on their way to a fitting for an alternative modeling gig. On the way, Tony got into a car accident, and gave the person fake names and information. Brett, and Tad Raddigan, which then spawned The Raddigan Brother Noise Experience. We eventually abbreviated the band name, because of how hard it is for people to remember the name Raddigan after they’ve heard Brothers Noise Experience rattled off. We’ve heard all types of all types of misunderstood/botched names like Paddington, Anakin, Rotting Ham, the list goes on. It’s always a little entertaining when people ask what it stands for.
IE: Can you explain why/how you think the Hudson Valley heavy music scene is on such an upswing right now?
RBNX: There’s always been a very healthy heavy music scene since the 90’s consisting of bands like All Out War, Dissolve, Drowning Room, My Bitter End, and many more. The popularity of bands like Mindforce and Age Of Apocalypse has given new, and younger listeners an avenue to find hardcore, and punk bands in our region, and also look into adjacent scenes. The Chance Theatre was the largest venue in the area and is now closed. For a long time, they were booking all of the touring acts in one of three venues in the Chance complex. By the 2010’s all of the DIY stuff had kind of taken over. The bands mentioned above are very much DIY and very hands on with what they’re doing in the scene, and for the most part put together the shows themselves. We are very much the same in that vein. Along with lots of bands doing it themselves, there are a bunch of promoters putting on shows like: Streets Of Hate, Heavy HV, HV Chaos, DCxPC Live, and the return of Outsider Magazine. We would say their shows have had a huge impact on the scene. When this stuff is done on a grassroots level, it really draws in the community and involves more people locally. In addition to that, the heavy music scene has become much more inclusive, and opening the door to everyone.
IE: Tell us about the first RBNX show that you played. Where was it? When? Who else played?
RBNX: The first Raddigan Brothers Noise Experience show was at The Montrose Basement in July of 2011. Mike and Young Mitch did an impromptu short performance. It was one of the last shows at that Hudson Valley basement venue. The bill was Shai Hulud, Colony, Living Lazer (members of Mindforce), Problems/Afterhours (members of Age Of Apocalypse), Gilded Age, The Fake Boys, Competition, Nailed Shut (Not the one from MA). It was totally incomparable to what we are doing now. It went as well as an unrehearsed solo electric guitar set played by a bass player with a rapper, and backing tracks, unprepared and unformulated could go. People checked it out, but it wasn’t as palatable, or similar to the other bands. Probably the least liked act of the night. RBNX photo by: Face Photo.
IE: Three bands in any genre that everyone in the band would agree on have been most influential on the music you put out?
RBNX: This is such a hard question, When we write, we just write. There isn’t any band that we’re aiming to sound like, we’re just doing us, and having fun doing it. We can agree on: Folly, The Offspring, Metallica.
IE: Tell us a couple of things that you like about living in the Hudson Valley and a couple of things that suck?
RBNX: The air is clean. There are lots of outdoor activities that are easily accessible like hiking, kayaking, and bike riding. There’s plenty to do as far as food, and entertainment. The local governments make a lot of questionable decisions that go unchecked. The infrastructure can’t handle the influx of people who ran from the boroughs of NYC in 2020 during the global pandemic. That influx of people in itself has made for some very big changes not to say that it’s good or bad.
IE: RBNX upcoming plans for the summer and beyond?
RBNX: We just put out a split with The Car Bomb Parade at the end of January. There will be a song from our cassette split coming out later this year on Locked In The Basement Compilation Vol 1 through DCxPC LIVE. We’re also going to be on volume 6 of Classics VS Classics, we’re covering: Agnostic Front’s “Blind Justice/Last Warning” and Billy Joel’s “Pressure”. We have a Midwest weekend in April, along with an East Coast tour for the beginning of June. We’ll probably have another small tour before the end of the year.
LIFE ABUSE
LIFE ABUSE who got their start in March of 2023 consists of: Mark: guitar and lead vocals, Chris: guitar, Sean: bass and backing vocals, and Dan on drums. (Nate Wilson played lead guitar on their LP and the split 7″ with Skrewball). Everyone in Life Abuse is from the Albany, NY area but Mark has since moved to Richmond, Virginia. To date Life Abuse have released an LP titled “Systematization” that was released on Armageddon Label (October, 2024). They also have a split 7” with a band from England called Skrewball which was released on Crew Cuts (October 2023). Upcoming releases for Life Abuse include a split 12” with the Dutch band Seein’ Red and a split 7″ with Alarm!, who are from Sweden. Both of those records are being released by Armageddon Label. Dan also plays drums for a band called Cinnamon and is also in another band with Chris called Ferriday. To date Life Abuse has played 15 shows with the furthest from the Albany area being in Durham, NC. All questions answered by Dan. Edit: Since we checked in with Dan in late March for this interview Chris has left Life Abuse and Nate Wilson has stepped in while recently playing on the two upcoming recordings that were just mentioned. Above photo by Sak Or Die.
IE: How did the name Life Abuse come to be? Abuse has been used a bunch in hardcore band names… Verbal Abuse, Mental Abuse… Life Abuse has a good ring to it if you ask me.
Dan: Mark started the band as a project during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was working long hours, traveling for work. He had brought his guitar with him and was writing some of the initial songs that would become Life Abuse after work each night. He came up with the band name during that time while he was traveling for work. He based the band name off of what his life was like during that period of time.
IE: Can you explain why/how you think the Hudson Valley heavy music scene is on such an upswing right now?
Dan: The scene in Albany and the Hudson Valley is bigger than it was and seems to be growing all the time. Beginning around 2022 there was a noticeable difference in the number of people who were starting to attend punk and hardcore gigs. I personally started going to punk shows in 1997 or 1998. The scene was thriving during that period of time. There were many DIY punk/hardcore shows in ‘99 and the early 00’s as well as places like Valentine’s in the Albany area that hosted pretty big punk and hardcore shows. There was a kid named Judd, who was my age, who brought tons of touring bands to the area. Ted Etoll booked tons of shows at different venues in the area as well. The size of the crowds now and over the last few years is the closest thing I’ve seen to that time period. There are some incredible show promoters now who bust their butts to bring live music to the area. Booking shows can be a thankless task and there are several people who are currently working really hard in Albany and the Hudson Valley to make things happen. Thank you to those people. There are also several new bands who have popped up over the last few years. I think the combination of hard working promoters, enthusiastic bands and an uptick in show attendance and people getting creative with flyers, zines and labels have all contributed to the recent change in the scene.
IE: Tell us about the first Life Abuse show that you played. Where was it? When? Who else played?
Dan: The first show we played was in November of 2023. It was in Troy, New York at a bar called El Dorado. We played with Dropdead, Wet Specimens and Stutter. That was a fun time. All the bands played great and a bunch of old friends came out so that’s always fun. Life Abuse photo by: Sak Or Die.
IE: Three bands in any genre that everyone in the band would agree on have been most influential on the music you put out?
Dan: G-ANX, No Security and ABC Diablo. All of us have been huge fans of those three bands for a long time. We also all really like early Megadeth. Those first couple albums of theirs are just killer.
IE: Tell us a couple of things that you like about living in the Hudson Valley and a couple of things that suck?
Dan: Personally, I love living here. I was born and raised here and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. The nice thing about this area is it’s got all of the benefits of living in a slightly more rural setting. You can hike and enjoy the outdoors if that’s your thing, but there are still a lot of bands who stop here on tour. We’re also like 2 or 3 hours from a lot of great cities so it’s pretty ideal. I would say the only thing I’m not into is that the winter is like one month too long. Other than that, upstate New York is a dream.
IE: Life Abuse upcoming plans for the summer and beyond?
Dan: Yes, as I mentioned earlier, we have a split 12” with Seein’ Red in the works as well as a split 7” with Alarm! We are planning a bunch of shows for the spring and summer. Hopefully we get to play some new places as well.