The most stickered band in New York just dropped the best midwest punk tape of the year, even though they're not from the midwest.
Every time your ass graces the seat of a toilet at a New York DIY show, a Heavy Lag sticker watches you from the stall door. If you’ve seen their stickers everywhere but haven’t heard the band, you’re missing out. The band only played their first show in 2021 (at the Econolodge, no less), but they’ve quickly built a name in the local and regional punk scenes. While the members are no strangers to Band Life™, Heavy Lag’s public recognition comes down to one simple truth: they write great songs.
What makes a song great is subjective, but to me, it’s what Heavy Lag is doing: short, to the point, and catchy as hell. You could call it pop punk—but that feels too clean. Their sound is more like pop punk run through a garage rock filter, with the song structures of ‘80s hardcore and lo-fi vocal effects I usually avoid (but again, great songs are great songs). In other subjective words that you might not understand, they sound like audible sugar to me, and I’m absolutely here for it.
Earlier this month, the band dropped Paranoid Acts of Desperation on Bloated Kat Records: a scrappy, five-song EP of what they call “dirt pop.” It’s tight, catchy, and covered in just the right amount of sonic dust. They celebrated with a show alongside SoCal punk legends FYP and are heading out on tour in June with their Midwest labelmates, TV Cop.
I caught up with drummer Matt Giordano and vocalist/guitarist Josh Gaon to talk about people’s trash catching on fire, among other things.
Heavy Lag: from left to right, Josh Gaon (vocals, guitar), Greg Thornberg (bass), Matt Giordano (drums), and Anthony Careccia (vocals, guitar).
Your stickers are everywhere. I noticed them at [East Williamsburg] Econolodge.
Josh: Oh yeah dude, our guitarist [Anthony Careccia] loves to throw stickers up.
Matt: We’ve been to the Econolodge a bunch of times.
Josh: That was actually our first show ever.
What year was that?
Josh: 2021? That was fun, man. That place rules.
You guys feel like a band that is the side project of bands that have been around for a while. What other bands have you been in, and how did Heavy Lag start?
Josh: I've known Matt for quite a long time—since I was probably 15, 16, or 17? We used to have this venue in South Brooklyn called The Temple. It was a synagogue that put on DIY shows. It was very weird, because half the shows would be pop punk—like A Wilhelm Scream when they were Smackin’ Isaiah—but other weekends it would be tough-guy beatdown [hardcore]. A really interesting place. His band really got me into a lot of stuff—Lifetime, Kid Dynamite. They were called The Etcetera, or Counterpoint. [To Matt] You guys definitely got me into a lot of shit.
Matt: After that band kind of fizzled out, I jumped on drums for Up For Nothing before [Josh] joined. We were never in the band at the same time, but we were both in that band.
Josh: Honestly, Matt’s played in Up For Nothing, I’ve played in Up For Nothing, Anthony played in Up For Nothing…
It’s just one of those bands that everybody's been in, like [The Planes**](https://bandnada.com/b/theplanes) or something.**
Josh: Totally.
Playing at a Barbecue, which rocks.
You call yourselves “dirt pop.” Where did that term come from?
Josh: I wrote a song called “Dirt Pop” during the pandemic. You know Craig Shay [from Cold Wrecks and Answering Machine]? We were doing Zoom calls where everyone shared a song they had written. I played it acoustically there, and then we did it for the band. Servo [Jefferson, Bloated Kat Records] loved that as a term and started using it for everything—including Bloated Kat. It kind of got a life of its own.
I think “Dirt Pop” is a good descriptor [for your music]—a Bay Area sound through a Midwest lens. Maybe like Banner Pilot?
Matt: You're on the right track there.
Josh: I see all that. Not to speak for all of us, but I think all of us really like dirtier pop punk: old Lookout [Records] shit, all the mid-2000s Midwestern stuff. Early Banner Pilot for me especially. In my writing of early Heavy Lag shit, Resignation Day was a big influence—the first one they put out, not the remixed. If we're talking dirt pop, Resignation Day was dirty as hell. It's like Dillinger Four wrote an album in a bathroom.
I'm actually glad you used the word pop punk, because originally what I wrote down was pop punk through a garage lens.
Josh: We played with FYP the other night.
I was going to actually bring that up, actually. How was that?
Josh: FYP fucking ruled. [Matt and Kim] were actually at that show. Kim was losing her shit for FYP.
I feel like Josh and Anthony have two different songwriting identities. Is there a guy who writes poppier songs and a guy who writes more rock-y songs?
Josh: I would say Anthony’s songs are more Ramonescore—like Mean Jeans, Dark Thoughts. I would say my stuff’s along the lines of D4 and Marked Men. I don’t know if it translates, but that’s what I have in mind. (Laughs)
Before this new release, you also put out a [four-way split**](https://bandnada.com/p/63948-4-way-split-lp) this year with [Sekunderna, Teenage Bigfoot, and TV Cop](https://bloatedkatrecords.bandcamp.com/album/4-way-split-lp).**
Josh: Yeah, we've been stoked on that. That split happened because we had a four-way tour with all those bands—economically, not the best idea, four touring bands—but it was super fun. We got to know everyone on that [split] album. It took a while to get everyone to record their songs, but we're very stoked that got put out finally.
Let's get into the new EP, Paranoid Acts of Desperation. The artwork is a garbage truck dumping fire. Explain yourself.
Matt: (Laughs) I’m a garbage man. I was out on a route, and garbage trucks catch fire sometimes because people throw stuff in their trash that they're not supposed to. And that was an exceptional one because it was a big fire and there was some stuff dripping from the back… It was a sight to see. I took a picture and made an Instagram post about it—“tell me what your band sounds like.” It was a picture of the truck on fire. That was a while back. And then we were scrambling for artwork, and I remembered that picture and everybody really loved it. It captures the essence of the EP pretty well.
Tell me about Bloated Kat Records and what format they’re putting it out on.
Josh: Servo is a beautiful maniac! He's been super supportive of us since we [only] had a shitty two-song demo. We weren't even going to put this out physically, but we're touring and Servo was just like, “you want to do tapes?”
Right, you’re touring with his band, TV Cop, next month. You're also playing with Lipstick Homicide, Bike Tuff, and Bong Mountain—three bands I really like. What's your relationship to those bands and the Midwest in general?
Josh: Lipstick was all TV Cop’s—they’re homies with them. I like them a lot. I was just listening to Out Utero the other day! Our buddy Joel is in Bike Tuff, and I think Greg [Thornberg - bass] is cool with Bong Mountain. This is going to be our first time in the Midwest, but we all love Midwest pop punk, and all the bands we reached out to hooked it up with the lineups. Bad Crime set up some really dope shows, and Canadian Rifle's going to be awesome.
You’re playing with all the best Midwest bands I got into 10 years ago.
Matt: Come out with us! Let's go.
Maybe Jon [Daily, my boss] will give me a raise so I can go on tour.
Both: (Laughs)
Tell me about recording *Paranoid Acts…*
Josh: Our buddy Ilan [Ilan Makes Noise] has been recording stuff that sounds fucking good out of his basement. We went there basically to do these demos together, and it really just went from basement demos to “let’s put this out.” It was right in my neighborhood, so it was very chill—didn't even feel like recording.
Matt: This just felt like hanging in our good friend's basement—ordering food, knocking out song after song. It was really comfortable. That's how I recorded for the most part in my younger band days. It just brought a good vibe to the experience, and I think maybe it comes across in the music a bit.
The first song is “Mind Control.” You guys are kind of trippy. “I change channels with my mind,” sung with that “underwater” vocal effect, exemplifies that.
Josh: Matt wrote the main riff and it was honestly even trippier with [his] guitar leads. He had vocals but blessed me with the ability to throw mine on. Thank you for that.
Matt: Your ideas are better!
Josh: I don't know about that. [The lyrics] were silly, but deeper in my mind—you know what I mean? I was very much feeling like shit was not in my own control. I guess that line is trying to get past that. But at face value—it’s about telepathy and losing your remote. (Laughs) I went to our friend Elena [Barrio] to do [the music video]. Elena used to sing for my old band, Ellen and the Degenerates. She came up with a super fun video that I think captured that song completely.
Track two is “Husker Don’t.” Was this the working title?
Josh: It was a placeholder. I don’t think I was planning to use it because I was like, “people are going to hear this and think I'm a fucking herb or something.” (Laughs) But we never changed it, and I think it worked for the best.
It feels pretty personal.
Josh: I’m going to kick it to you [Matt].
Matt: So, I've written songs in the past with other people—lyrically—but this is my first time with this band. I had written the first verse and then kicked it over to Josh. He picked up exactly what I was going for and really brought it home. I was like, “Holy shit! Something really clicked here.”
Josh: The lyrics really, really spoke to me at the beginning of the song. The second half was kind of that same hopeless feeling, but more specifically about the impending economic doom. I remember we were coming back from some show and talking about the weight of life—I think we were talking about investments and passive income, and trying to balance that and live a life where you're not just fucking worrying about everything collapsing or feeling like a failure if things aren't comfortable. Matt was like, “dude, was ‘Husker Don’t’ about what we were talking about?” “Absolutely.” And yes, I agree it was a very cool collaboration. We came at it separately but wound up in the same place.
“Love and economy are intertwined” is such a good line.
Matt: Yeah, it is.
Track three—“That Girl.”
Matt: Anthony and I were working on that. Anthony usually writes a lot of his own stuff from beginning to end on his own and kicks it over to me every once in a while. He came over to my place and we ended up demoing this. We weren't sure if it was going to be a Heavy Lag song because it was a real, like, rock ‘n’ roll song. And there was a guitar solo in there—we’ve never had one of those. So musically it was a lot of fun for him. It became what it is, which is a random rock song in the middle of the EP. (Laughs)
“Sleep/Wake” has a really rad bridge. You know how D4 songs have a hardcore structure?
Josh: I definitely know that. “Sleep/Wake” is kind of fast all the way through, but the chord progression is definitely very hardcore. I think I was just fucking around one day and thought we were getting away from faster [songs] a little bit, so I was like, “let me throw one in for good measure!” Just wanted to have something a little faster.
Matt: It's fun to play fast.
It’s one of my favorite songs on this [EP].
Josh: Thanks, man. That’s another one that… Anything of mine is going to have some sort of existential crisis tied to it. (Laughs) Sleep is very weird for me. My dreams can be very fucking vivid sometimes. Every once in a blue moon, I'll have, like, a sleep paralysis experience. So I was kind of coming from there: waking life versus whatever chaos my dreams are.
“I Don’t Want To Be Around (You).” Even though it's got that jumpy drum beat and guitar lead, my only note on this song was “Ramonescore.”
Josh: Nice.
I think that's kind of something cool about your band. You might have songs like that, but I'd say the rest of the songs sound more like Wynona Riders, Samiam, or Banner Pilot. But they all fit together.
Josh: Yeah. I mean, Anthony had the whole thing written. As soon as I heard that, I was like, “dude, absolutely.” Sometimes I'll just be like, oh man, I want to write some straight-up Dark Thoughts [songs] or something, and I won't achieve that. (Laughs) But he'll just have it. He'll just write a song I can't come up with on my own somehow. So yeah, I love that song. I didn't write the lyrics, but to me it just reminds me of punishers and, you know, people you just want to get the hell away from.
And with that, I got the hell away from Heavy Lag and stopped punishing them. *Paranoid Acts of Desperation** is out now and it rules. Heavy Lag will be on tour in the Midwest this June, don'tchaknow - tell your friends and family to go see them, eh? They'll have a good time, you betcha.*
STRESSED IN THE MIDWEST 2025 w/ TV COP:
6/06 lowa City, IA - Trumpet Blossom w/ Lipstick Homicide, Dreamthief
6/07 Minneapolis, MN - Cloudland w/ Bad Crime, Joust
6/08 Milwaukee, WI - TBA w/ Bad Crime
6/10 Madison, WI - Black Saddle Bike Shop w/ Bad Crime
6/11 Chicago, IL - Burlington Bar w/ Canadian Rifle, Royal Dog
6/12 Grand Rapids, MI - Killroy’s Garage w/ Bong Mountain, Bike Tuff
6/13 Niles, MI - The Rage w/ Bike Tuff, Gunk Lung6/14 Dayton, OH - Cosmo Joe’s w/ Houseghost, The Passed
