Interview | Never Ending Game
featuring Mikey Petroski
What’s something that people don’t understand about the 313 but they should?
From the outside looking in, a lot of people view this place as a crime ridden warzone and I think what gets lost is the purity of the people here. Some of the nicest and hospitable people in the world. People here have been through so much that there's room to front. Detroit has culture and has helped shape a lot of the music as we know it. Motown, Techno, Punk, Garage rock, hip-hop, hardcore - so many legends came out of here. It's not just the bullshit you see and hear on TV. There’s real people here with pure intentions.
Can you talk about what the Detroit hc scene means to you guys and how it influenced your upbringing?
Well it was the only scene I knew for a long time coming up so it shaped a lot. Being like 15 and seeing grown men with face tattoos beat the shit out of each other was a crazy thing to stumble on. I would leave a show and be like, "man I love this music but I don't wanna get my ass beat." But as time went on and you start meeting people you realize everybody is looking out for each other and it's not as crazy as it looked. We kinda came up right after what seemed like a violent era of the scene with bands like Cold as Life, xTyrantx, Pittbull, Walls of Jercho, etc. Us and our old bands and friends kinda ushered in the next wave and I like to think we helped things get a little more controlled and less violent. Now it feels like HC is allowed in all the venues here, there's no real drama or beefs and I think that's helped bring a lot more people in. I think the scene is bigger now than it has been in a long time here.
How about some thoughts about Outcry? What went into recording it / what you’re trying to get across with this album?
I'm really proud of that disc. I think we put out our best work and put it all on the line. I wanted the record to be the next evolution of the band and push more of the melodic and metallic sounds that we've flirted with in the past, while still feeling urgent and aggressive and like us. We wrote it in the spring/ summer of 2022 and recorded it in September 2022 at Bricktop Studio in Chicago. We had played some awesome shows that summer like Tied Down Fest in Detroit and Sound and Fury in LA and it was feeling like the energy we felt from those shows was making it into the writing process. I can't wait to start playing some of these tracks live.
Do y’all prefer playing these mini fests with a million bands on the bill, or smaller one off shows?
I prefer a smaller one off show all day. Unfortunately with where we all are in our lives right now it's hard to do as often as we like. Don't get me wrong, I'm very appreciative there's a lane for us to play for a bunch of people with our limited availability. See, what they don't teach you in Old Skool Hardcore 101 is that this shit don't make any money. We all have bills and mortgages and families, so we have full time jobs and keep the band part time on the weekends and such. That's all good, I prefer it that way and it keeps every time we get on stage feel special. But when you write to us mad that we never play Tallahassee, that's why.
What’s next for NEG this year?
We got Tied Down Fest in Detroit.. a really dope annual hometown fest put on by our homies. A little east coast weekend with Gridiron. Maybe making it out to the west coast, and hopefully making it out overseas once or twice. We're pretty bad at planning so we just take it as it comes and as we're all available to do stuff. We try and keep an updated list of shows on: www.NeverEndingGame.net
Any connections to skateboarding in Detroit you to mention/shout out?
Refuge Skateshop in Dearborn Michigan. Dopest spot, ran by a hardcore OG. It's the best skateshop in our area with pure intentions, definitely check them out if you're ever passing through. Other than that Tony Hawk has a house in Detroit and I seen him skating down Woodward Ave. a few months ago, that was awesome.
Photos: Reellife Media & Anthony Orosz
Originally published in Issue 1 - September 2023