Supporting real DIY hardcore punk in various forms is something we take seriously here at In Effect Hardcore and when we noticed 3 independent labels out of New York all recently releasing old-school style compilations on cassette and CD we took notice. Greg from New Found Hope (Queens, NY) grew up around the corner from me and I am glad that he has rejoined the ‘core in his 50’s, Raph from Knifetwister (Westchester, NY) found us when he asked for an In Effect Hardcore interview last year and Becky from Memory Loss (Westchester, NY) is an old friend and writer for this site as well as a veteran of the DIY cut & paste fanzine world. Side note to all of this is the fact that Becky’s husband and close friend of ours Mike McAuley unexpectedly passed away on May 28th. Besides the Memory Loss compilation work Mike was also currently the singer for HumanTrainWreck and the resurgent Mickeys Crew with previous vox spots in Pegleg, Chokeslam, NineOneWar, and Terror Ave. Rest In Peace Mike, you were one of a kind! A memorial show for Mike is planned for October 10th at Gold Sounds in Brooklyn featuring bands that Mike would say “don’t suck”. Details below… NY DIY Label Spotlight artwork by: Sven Gjurcek. Graphics/coloring by: Jon Contra
NEW FOUND HOPE RECORDS INTERVIEW WITH GREG DIMECH. PHOTO BY: FACE PHOTO
IE: When did you start New Found Hope and what did you put out during its initial run?
Greg: 1996. I’m actually at the 30 year mark even though it went idle for many years. The first were 3 comps I did were “Unity”, “The First Amendment” and “The Declaration of Independence”. Later were full lengths from Born, Southpaw, a random Uncle Al (Murphy’s Law) release I helped with, a second Born release and then the Fit Of Anger release.
IE: What were the circumstances in your life that made you come back and want to put out another compilation?
Greg: After my initial releases, I got caught up in a couple of things, married, kids, divorce, booze, etc….. got REMARRIED and had more kids but the drinking didn’t stop and I kinda fell off the radar. Kids got older and so did I. Sobered straight the F up at 50 and feel better than ever. Started going to shows again and saw a need to get involved again. My kids can go to shows now too if they want to and they have friends so that right there is a scene I’m building. It’s always been for the kids…
IE: How did you go about choosing the bands you put on the “Summer 26” compilation? I see some songs are brand new and others have been out a while.
Greg: I didn’t think I could have done it. This time was a lot easier. Back in my day reaching out was with a pen and paper. I had a fax machine and a PO Box (weren’t ours next to one another?) Social media has made it sooo much easier to look at who’s who and get to know the bands. Picking bands were kinda random… many are known only locally. New Found Hope has always had a global presence even back when I started. Big support from Japan and Belgium! Some of those guys are still playing!
IE: Were there any challenges in putting everything together and getting the final product into tour hands?
Greg: Only challenge really was figuring out how to link the two aspects together. There’s this QR code on the cassette that brings you to the Spotify. The challenge was getting it to cassette from there but Amazon sells anything so….
IE: Tell us about the super DIY.. almost “ala cart” way you are producing the cassettes in your home?
Greg: I’ve always been DIY. No one is going to give me anything and if they do it’s because I was out! The agreement is this… I’m not for profit. The album is free for anyone who wants the link. The cassette is a novelty thing for those who collect. Each one is printed at home, hand-written numbered inside with a positive message to each! I think many people won’t even open it but it’s all good. There’s music on them, I swear!
IE: What are NFH’s future plans for the rest of 2026?
Greg: Plans? I’m not a planner really. Things are happening though. The Bridge And Tunnel Brewery in Queens has welcomed me with the opportunity to book shows, so I’m running with that at the moment and bringing the scene back to Queens!! Wanna play? Hit me up!
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE “SUMMER ’26” COMPILATION FROM NEW FOUND HOPE RECORDS
DM THEIR INSTAGRAM TO BUY A CASSETTE COPY
KNIFETWISTER RECORDS INTERVIEW WITH RAPH COPELAND
IE: What made you want to start your own label and when did you get started?
Raph: I was always on the other side, just kind of a random fan and music listener until a few things happened that gave me the confidence to believe I could pull it off, which was an idea floating in my head for a while. One was directing the video for Butterbrain’s “Hold Tight”, which premiered in January 2025, and the other was taking the gig to manage the thrash metal band CHAKA. So, it wasn’t a matter of if I’d pull the trigger, but when, and when I won a major 9-ball tournament last July, it seemed like the impetus to actually do this. So, yeah…we’re only a year old, but people are usually pretty surprised when they hear that, we’ve accomplished a lot.
IE: The “Not In Our City 2” CD compilation is the 2nd Knifetwister Records release following up the 1st compilation that came out in late 2025. Can you tell us about the causes each release benefits and how you chose them?
Raph: Sure, the first compilation went to benefit the homeless through The Bowery Mission in NYC, which is also sort of ground zero of the Lower East Side punk scene. The charity itself was actually a suggestion of Creech from Rebelmatic, who were on the first comp and helped a lot. The second one was for immigrant rights through Make The Road New York, which actually has an office two blocks from my old apartment… big electric blue house in the middle of White Plains. We paid for the actual CD’s out of pocket to make sure the charity got all the proceeds, and thus far a little over $1500 has been donated.
IE: “Not In Our City 2” has an international flavor to it with bands from 8 total countries. Were there a lot of challenges trying to bring so many bands together and getting the finished product into your hands?
Raph: Honestly, not really. There were a few language barrier issues and we had one band disappear off the face of the earth after they were confirmed, but other than that, everyone was very professional. The scariest moment is when a huge box full of CD’s arrives, PunkNews is going live with the track-by-track breakdown in 5 days, and there’s always a terror that there’s a printing error or you’re going to wind up with a bunch of blank CD’s. That 50 minutes of listening to one of those newly arrived discs for a recording error is pretty tense.
IE: Can you talk about the wide range of sounds both of your compilations have? Knifetwister leans more on underground punk but even within the punk genre you have a good mix of bands that you curated that range from noise to ska to more traditional styles.
Raph: Well, we offered first crack on the compilation to bands we had interviewed, so the range of music was certainly going to be more diverse than if we had gone out searching for bands. We sent out a bulk e-mail, and for the bands that replied, we went through their catalog and made suggestions. In some cases, they preferred different songs, and even if we felt that they were not the strongest songs they had recorded… if a band is going to donate their art as a reflection of themselves for a good cause, we felt we could make it fit. I think they turned out well.
IE: You have also put a lot of effort into the Knifetwister website which has a bunch of interviews from a wide range of bands/people. Can you tell us more about it?
Raph: Sure. We just posted our 150th interview, which is quite a bit in under a year. We’ve gotten some big bands; War on Women, Dance Hall Crashers, Angelo Moore of Fishbone… but I realized after a while that we have far less impact seeking out big bands to interview. It’s much more satisfying to give some press to small young bands that it means more and matters more. We recently interviewed ICE HOLEZ from up in Syracuse and F.A.T. Betty out of California, and we could just tell that it meant a lot to them. Any female-fronted or trans bands are also very gratifying to interview, Maya, Dan and I like to get their voices out there… it matters.
IE: Future plans? Are there more comps in the works and do you plan on doing album or EP releases or do you think Knifetwister will stay a comp only CD label?
Raph: Funny you should ask… we are actually doing a physical media run for a pretty big band towards the end of the year. Can’t say too much about it yet, but it’s a new recording of theirs to commemorate their 25th year and it’s going to dwarf our compilations by a factor of at least 5. We’re working on a project commemorating the 10th anniversary of the passing of White Trash guitarist Ethan Collins… his son and former bandmates are re-recording some of his tracks as we speak. Other than that, I think we’re going to do another comp in a little while, possibly one for trans rights. Stay tuned.
BOTH KNIFETWISTER COMPILATIONS ARE AVAILABLE ONLY ON CD (NO STREAMING)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
MEMORY LOSS RECORDS INTERVIEW WITH BECKY MCAULEY. PHOTO BY: FACE PHOTO
IE: What were some factors in yourself and Mike wanting to put out the “A Good Problem To Have” compilation?
Becky: Mike had talked about doing a comp and label for years and it felt like the right moment. Hardcore in the 914 is on an upswing with so many shows and new bands. We wanted to document and share that spirit in the form of a comp, then start releasing more material from underrated locals. From the “New Breed Comp” to “East Coast Assault”, the best comps capture a specific scene or time period while also including a variety of styles and promoting the discovery of new bands outside your immediate listening habits, and we strove to do all of that with “A Good Problem To Have”.
IE: Although labeled a “NY compilation”, the majority of the bands all come from a very defined area starting in the Bronx working its way up the Hudson Valley into Fishkill. Was this specific geographical styling done intentionally?
Becky: Everyone on this comp is intentionally connected. Either they have members from the Bronx or Westchester or they’ve recently played here (ie some of the Hudson Valley bands), have done guest vocals for each other, etc. We always rep “the mainland” and anyone who is excited to see a show in Westchester or the Bronx and not cross any bridges!
IE: Was the plan to put out this compilation and that would be it or were the two of you looking to release other things as well?
Becky: The comp (and the Gassed promo that snuck in before it) were originally just the beginning. We had plans for vinyl, reissues, new demos, and future compilations. With the loss of the more extroverted and design-oriented half of MLR, which also affected some upcoming recordings, we will see what the future holds. In the meantime please buy the cassettes to get them out of my apartment! I’m also working with local promoter Elio Vezza to start promoting shows as Memory Loss Records, including bringing bands from outside of New York to play in the 914. This will keep the MLR spirit alive if there’s a gap in releases while navigating our new reality.
IE: What were the circumstances surrounding the title of the compilation?
Becky: The name and concept were inspired by two Westchester shows on one day on March 8, 2025, aka the best problem to have after years of sometimes no Westchester shows at all! Compared to NYC or Long Island, our local scene is small, so it’s wild that Shatterhand (track 7) and Distance Kept were playing in Peekskill the same night that Trouble Bound (track 6) and The Pist were in Yonkers. I also like a long comp title such as “Look At All the Children Now.”
IE: Before Mike’s passing what were some of the things that were proving to be difficult with getting the finished product out?
Becky: The process was a huge learning curve and took much longer than anticipated. We were originally targeting a December 2025 release date to align with the Mickeys Crew and Humantrainwreck shows on 12/12 and 12/13. It worked out that life events delayed a few of our bands simultaneously and then Glen Lorieo was available to help us fix some stuff last minute.
Also, a huge shoutout to John Franko and Gary Muttley for finalizing the streaming after the cassettes had been ordered but the streaming was still in progress. If you’re doing a cassette, you’ll need two versions of the artwork: the original plus square art for streaming. Mike had just started the square art the day he died and we never accessed the layered files but Franko and Muttley did a great job working with what we had.
IE: What are your thoughts on the whole process of putting this together now that the compilation is out and do you have any advice for others looking to put out music in a DIY manner like you did?
Becky: I know Mike would have been so proud of the finished product and excited to get the cassettes into the hands of our bands and listeners, to hear what everyone’s favorite songs are, and see people singing along to the comp songs at shows now that they are out in the world. Ultimately, it’s all about not just showcasing bands but putting together something you truly love, as your releases should reflect your own version and vision of hardcore. One of my favorite parts was putting the songs in order so the comp would flow naturally between disparate styles. Ask your bands for roughs before the final songs are ready so you can walk around listening and decide what fits where. I also enjoyed the collaborative layout process, with me creating the cut and paste insert after Mike printed and edited the photos, and him designing the cover and exterior j-card using my flyers and “feral stairs” backdrop.
A comp sounds like a good first release until you’re trying to wrangle 14 bands, so it was also perfect to do the Gassed promo (featuring track 8 from the comp) to test out the duplication process. Per the delays mentioned above, set a deadline to receive the completed tracks and leave plenty of time for “when things go wrong”, Outburst style. Especially if you need the physical media in time for a specific show, as rush pricing can significantly impact your costs. If you’re getting it mastered to even out the levels, a firm deadline will also help that person be ready. Shoutout to Joe Kusack at Amplitude Studios for working with our ever-changing timeline. Joe also plays drums in Brass Knuckle Brigade (track 5) and recorded part of Mickeys Crew – “Sever” (track 14), which was recorded in three different studios!
Gather the full names of each band member along with each band’s contact info in case it’s required for streaming and have assets ready so bands can hype it once it’s out, ie even just a list of all the bands’ Instagram handles. We had so many fun promotional plans like recording short videos asking bands about your favorite comps, your favorite track that isn’t yours, etc, but got torpedoed by Mike dying unexpectedly two weeks prior to the release date.
While there was some crossover with my 20+ years of making cut and paste zines, such as mail-order logistics and layout, there were also many things I never thought about, from the mastering to the square artwork, so I’m thankful for many friends who knew what they were doing. The whole process reminded me a bit of the Bukowski novel Hollywood, but we all made it happen in the end.
CLICK HERE TO STREAM OR BUY THE “A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE” COMP
ALONG WITH VARIOUS MEMORY LOSS RECORDS INFO
