I know you guys love your hometown, Brooklyn's, hardcore scene. What other scenes in the US would you consider to be good, thriving scenes? And what, to you, makes a good scene?

I think there are a lot of good scenes out there. Just to name a few: Cali, Texas, Florida. A good scene, to me, is having the kids in it come out to the shows and support the touring bands.

When you guys were kids first getting into hardcore, the scene
really was something that was totally underground. Now, the scene is a
lot larger and still growing all the time. How do you feel about how
large hardcore has gotten?

I think it's great, the more kids the scene has the better it is. To play a show with as much kids as possible is definitely cooler than having no one there.

In my opinion, you guys play old school hardcore with hints of new
school heavier energy, like with all your breakdowns, etc. Is this
something you set out to do when the band first got together, was it
something you just tried and it worked? How did you come out with the
unique sound Shutdown has?

Yeah, we basically got our sound from going to a lot of shows when we were younger, and we basically got our own style from playing constantly, and getting influenced by many different bands.

How do you think it helped to have older friends and family in the
hardcore scene as kids? I ask because many people don't have that
"help" when discovering hardcore for the first time, but it seems to be really beneficial in helping to learn about hardcore's roots.

It helped out a lot because we had all the music more available to us to listen to, and they also brought us to all the good shows.

How did the guest track with Freddy Madball come about? And how did it feel to co-write and sing songs with some of the band's family members?

We just thought he has a really hard voice and we thought it would sound cool on our record because we love Madball. It felt good to give them back the appreciation I feel towards them for showing me the hardcore lifestyle.

What's your favorite part of being in a band (writing, recording,
touring, etc.)? Why?

My favorite part is definitely touring. I love seeing the country and meeting new people.

Having been lucky enough to tour overseas, how are foreign scenes
similar and different from the US?

They are actually very similar because they have the same kind of passion that kids at shows here have, same dancing moves, and singalong styles. We've only been to Japan.

Any upcoming bands that you have heard and think the hardcore kids should watch out for?

Sworn Enemy from Queens, and Collision from California are two of my favorites.

Any advice you have for kids that are for the first time hearing
hardcore and digging it?

Just go to as many shows as possible and definitely support your local bands.

Top 5 All-Time Favorite Albums?

Madball "Set It Off"

Sick of it All "Blood, Sweat, And No Tears"

Agnostic Front "Victim in Pain"

Good Riddance "Ballads From The Sounds of the Revolution"

Cro-Mags "Age of Quarrel"

Any last words?

Just look for us on tour and if you see our new album, "Few and Far Between" please pick it up. Thanks for the interview.