Talking to Fil-Am hardcore legend Joe Songco Part 1

Talking to Fil-Am hardcore legend Joe Songco Part 1

by rick olivares pic by gretchen baria

When American filmmaker Drew Stone released his independent film, The New York Hardcore Chronicles, one of the musicians he featured was Joseph “Joe” Songco.

Songco is the Filipino-American drummer for legendary New York hardcore punk band, Outburst, that first came up in the late 1980s and is still performing today.

Although Outburst never released a full-length album of their own, they did come out with an extended play album, Miles to Go, and was featured in seven classic hardcore compilation records including the wildly popular, Where the Wild Things Are. Their peers – Cro-Mags and Warzone to name a few – were more edgy and gritty in their view of life as translated through their songs. Others like Gorilla Biscuits and Judge exhorted a more straight edge lifestyle. As for Outburst? Theirs was more about maintaining one’s individuality, a mutual respect for people, and doing things yourself.

The original members of Outburst – vocalist Brian Donohue, guitarists George D’Errico and Fil-Am Jay Rufino, bassist Mike Welles (including original bassist Chris Bruno), and drummer Songco – all met at St. John’s Preparatory School in Astoria, Queens, New York. They also had among their classmates AJ Novello who later formed Leeway and joined Cro-Mags, and Anthony Communale from Killing Time.

It was Novello who turned them into punk and hardcore as he let everyone listen to records of the Dead Kennedys, the Circle Jerks, and Black Flag to name a few. The effect was instantaneous. They all started listening to hardcore and going down to CBGB’s to watch shows. When they decided to form a band, they covered songs from Murphy’s Law, Ludichrist, Attitude Adjustment, and Nuclear Assault.

Outburst eventually recorded some original songs their for Miles to Go EP.

And despite the lack of a long and comprehensive discography, Outburst, made their presence felt and not just in New York but across America.

In fact, rising Dallas, Texas hardcore crew Power Trip named Outburst along with Sick Of It All, Leeway, Breakdown, Killing Time, Cro Mags and all these other NYHC bands as a major influence.

 We spoke with Songco whose daytime job is working in the legal and compliance field of the securities industry since he graduated from college about life for Outburst today; some 30 years after they debuted. Outburst had just played the Bold Breakdown show at the Brooklyn Bazaar and we spoke last November 7 about the band standing the test of time, of Songco being a Filipino in the legendary and famous New York hardcore scene, and the possibility of a triumphant Manila homecoming for the band. The drummer was game for every question thrown his way.

Soundstrip: Immigrant families usually do not allow their children to get into sports, music, and the arts -- at least not right away as they try to find their footing in another land.  Was it easy growing up and liking punk and hardcore in a Filipino family in the US?

Songco: Yes, it was fairly easy. I grew up on music my parents liked – The Beatles, The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, lots of soft rock radio, stuff like that. When I got my introduction to punk (The Clash, The Police, Ramones, Sex Pistols, etc.), I was already learning about hard rock and heavy metal so it wasn’t that far of a musical stretch for me. It wasn’t until my high school years that I started listening to hardcore.

Soundstrip: Were there any objections to you being in a band?

Songco: No, not really. There may have been some objections to the noise we’d make in our garage at first though. But my parents were cool with it. Growing up, my mom insisted that I take piano lessons. She would always tell me how we came from a musical family where everybody played an instrument and she wanted me to follow tradition. I wasn’t too bad at piano either. I would compete in recitals and win medals but around high school, I asked my parents if I could switch to another instrument. I didn’t enjoy lessons and reading sheet music any longer. So my parents bought me a drum set. Not too long after, me and the guys would jam together in my garage. Eventually, we formed the band and the way my mom saw it, I was still musically involved.

Soundstrip: What is it about punk rock that appealed to you?

Songco: I liked the upbeat rhythm and melody. There was a definite energy to early punk rock music. As for hardcore, one of my friends who grew up on the same block (AJ Novello of Leeway) was always buying hardcore records and playing them for us when we were hanging out. He introduced us to bands like Zero Boys, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, DRI, Dead Kennedys, and Kraut to name just a few.

Soundstrip: What is it about the music that makes you still involved to this day?

Songco: First, we are very fortunate to have the luck of geography on our side. We all grew up in NYC and met each other as high school classmates. We were able to join and be a part of the NYHC scene that exploded in the 80’s and 90’s. I don’t think that would be possible if my parents had chosen Florida or Arizona to start their lives in America. As for to this day, the NYHC scene was and still is probably one of the most influential hardcore scenes and there’s a whole new generation of fans and bands making their presence felt to this day.

Soundstrip: Where were you playing back then?

Songco: Our first official show was at a place out in Long Island called the Right Track Inn. We played all the usual places our band friends on the scene played: CBGB, Lismar Lounge, Pyramid Club, Anthrax (Connecticut), City Gardens (New Jersey), Safari Club, and the BBQ Iguana (Washington DC).

Soundstrip: If I recall correctly, the band released a single and a cassette and appeared on a bunch of compilations?  Why didn't the band record a proper LP? Any plans for that now?

Songco: The “discography”, if you want to call it that, goes like this: The demo, New Breed Tape Compilation, the NYHC: Where The Wild Things Are compilation and then the Miles To Go 7-inch EP. I think we had enough material to do an LP but Bill Wilson from Blackout went with the idea of the 7” because at the time even inches were still kind of an “in” thing. Plus it was the next logical step right after a demo tape. Blackout has special plans for 2019 – that’s all I can really say right now.

Soundstrip: Who is on the current line-up of Outburst? How oft do you perform? Tour -- in the NYC or Tri-State area?

Songco: It’s Brian on vocals, Mike on bass, me on drums and George and Mike Dijan on guitars. After our farewell gig at CBGB in 2006, our bandmate and my fellow Pinoy Jay Rufino called it a day as far as the band. Mike Dijan (Show of Force, Crown of Thornz, Breakdown, Sai Nam, and King’s Bounty) grew up in Astoria with me and George and he actually auditioned to join the band back when we were looking for a new bass player after Chris left. Mike Dijan’s already achieved legend status on the scene, so it’s been a lot of fun playing with him. In the past 12 months, we’ve done a handful of shows with so many great bands like Killing Time, King Nine, Krimewatch, Crown of Thornz, Sheer Mag, Buried Alive, Power Trip, Breakdown and Bold. These shows have all been in the NYC/NJ area but maybe that might change…who knows?

Soundstrip: Any chance we can get Outburst to play in Manila? How can we make that happen?

Songco: As the old saying goes “Que sera sera. Whatever will be, will be.” 

In Part 2 that will be published next week, Joe Songco talks more about his family and the New York Hardcore scene.