1. Introduction

I played cymbals - not as part an orchestra but - in a NYC Hardcore band called "The Six and Violence." People who've played in bands and especially in bands that performed original material, will describe their material as "hard to describe" or "it's unlike anything out there." After all people play in bands for the usual reasons, i.e. to party, to meet people, to vent, to express, to communicate. But although people don't say it, originality is something they strove for. The Six and Violence was nothing but original. Our originality is perhaps what made us so interesting and so hard to pin down and therefore hard to sell to a mass audience.

I think we got caught up in the NYC Hardcore scene because of the people key members of the band knew who were part of the scene in some way; selling the records, going to the shows, or DJ'ing on college radio. Hardcore was cool back then. Punk was cool but too slow; hardcore was the next evolutionary step in the punk genre. In 1985 hardcore was fresh, exciting and rebellious (during the Presidency of Reagan) which befit a bunch of Catholic high schoolers in Queens.

The band started in a basement in northeastern Queens as the brain child of Kurt Stenzel - more on him later. The band started sometime in early 1985 or late 1984 when Kurt and the rest of the band at the time were in high school. The band played mostly original material written by Kurt along with a couple other members of the band. The first mass produced CD - "Lettuce Prey" - was released sometime in 1990, the second - "Petty Staycheck" - in 1995. As the album titles indicate - not to mention the band's name - many of the lyrics consisted of witticisms, puns and double entendres. It wasn't all spitting vitriol and political grandstanding though there was some of that - it was the Reagan then the Bush eras after all.

The band
Kurt Stenzel, the founder of the band, has been described as "guru-like," "fatherly," and most certainly "eclectic." He possesses a magnetic personality which I witnessed as early as 4th grade. His wit and charm was clearly the brains behind the band. It is also his passion that keeps the band's flame still sparkling to this day. He's inspired many including me for many years.
Dave Miranda who later played with Ludicrist and Tiny Tim (of all people), was the "muscle" behind the band as well the oft needed comic relief unbeknownst to him. His sort of "naive" humor is what makes him so funny. He was also and still is one of the best drummers I've ever heard. Humble, passionate and a little neurotic, he's a part of the spark behind the band. If he or Kurt were not part of the band, it wouldn't be the band.
Ray Amico has always been an enigma to me. We've known each other since the late 80's but I don't know Ray Amico. At turns I've found him to be pompous, aloof, ignorant and cruel. At other times generous, kind, and soulful. Always witty, a bit hyperactive, he's also straddled the borders between "normal" suburbanite and musical genius and circus freak. I think people love him and hate him all at once.
J Garino always struck me as rather John Entwhistle-like in demeanor, wit and virtuosity. Although J was the original bassist he was merely "filling-in" until Kurt found someone more permanent. And although the band went through a few bassists over the years, it felt that they were filling in for J. On-stage J sets up in front of me. I think there was occasion when Ray set up there which always threw me off. J's sound always helped to ground me.
Then there was Paul Gazzara - HE was perhaps THE ultimate character. Kurt may've been the face and brains of the band but Paulie more than anyone else was the heart and soul. His loss is still hard to believe...

Cymbalism
Me. I played cymbals and mostly in live performances. I appear on one maybe two studio recordings but I was primarily the live cymbal player. One of several but I have the distinction of forever being the first and perhaps the last. Dave played cymbals on the two studio recordings. Unless your name was Rod Morgensteen, Dave Weckl, Stewart Copeland, Buddy Rich or Neil Peart noone was to play cymbals on the studio recordings - except Dave. I had no problem with that because Dave is in a class with those aforementioned, I'm in a class called "Percussion 101" and have been taking it since 1985.

I don't work in music today nor do I play anywhere near as much as I did back then. My drum kit is set up in my basement but collects dust. I occasionally get behind them and play and tinker with tuning the heads but my kids will sooner play than I do. In sharp contrast nearly all the other members of the band perform or are involved in music professionally. I'm a web interface designer, aka Information Architect at a large Fortune 100 corporation which is probably partly why in whatever spare time I have I reminisce about and in a sense keep The Six and Violence alive. The other guys do too in their own ways.

I look back without regret and with a lot of happiness. Playing cymbals for a hardcore punk band during the intense NYC Hardcore days of the late 80's when bands like Murphy's Law, Sick of It All, Agnostic Front, held sway is a time I wouldn't trade. Opening for and being on the same bill as bands like Sick of It All, Anthrax, The Ramones among many others gave us a rare insider's view. We felt we were helping to shape the genre and establish its history.

The other interesting twist with us was our connection with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. NYC Hardcore, Jethro Tull; we were the very enthusiastic bridge. Ian performed on two tracks of our first CD, "Lettuce Prey." The joke was that more Tull fans own "Lettuce Prey" than Six and Violence fans - possibly true.

I started this site/blog because I want to contribute to the growing amount of info on the internet about the band. It's an interesting history that is still developing thanks to the remaining band members but also our legion of fans worldwide! This account is certainly not comprehensive. It's my perspective - from the back of the stage. It also serves as a tribute of sorts to Paulie G.

But besides interesting characters, silly lyrics, insane and inane stage antics, we represented a world grown in the heart of Queens, middle-class, restless, angry and frustrated with the government, the world, capitalism, and the trials and tribulations of growing into adulthood.

Besides the music, the band has been about comraderie, friendship, respect and a biting sense of humor. I hope this blog displays a fraction of that.

Thanks to: Kurt, Dave, Ray, J, Jim, Lia, Byso, Kevin, Barbara, Fink, Joe, Zap, John the Baptist, Glenn Glen, Sorge, Jim V, Golan Gorilla, Rob S... Paulie G.


J, Ken, Dave and Ray @ The Continental, NYC circa 1996