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GUILLOZINE #1: MIKE MILEWSKI (BULLDOZE/TRAIN OF THOUGHT/HOLD MY OWN)



How’s it going Mike? Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer a few questions for us!

Thanks for having me! I really appreciate it!


How did you first get into hardcore and what were some of the earliest bands you were listening to?

Originally I was a metal head who liked thrash and death metal - I won tickets to my first show - I wanted to see Overkill, they were playing with Life of Agony, Type O Negative and Biohazard. I remember thinking I was going to die in that pit lol. At that point I started listening to Biohazard, Life of Agony, Dog Eat Dog, Leeway, Bad Brains, Cro-Mags, Minor Threat and whatever else I was able to get my hands on.


Can you tell us a bit about how you met the guys from Bulldoze and how the band got started?

The neighbourhood I grew up in didn't have any metalheads, so I knew all three of the metalheads in my school and the two metalheads who lived the town over.  I knew Puda (one of the other two metalheads in the school) since fourth grade, we knew about a killer guitarist metalhead from the town over named Zack - this was maybe 7th/8th grade - we all played instruments so we would get together and jam songs.  My cousin Chris also liked metal and he was a drummer,  so naturally we thought it would be cool to get a drummer and start a band. At that point it was Zack and I on guitar, Puda on Bass and vocals, and Chris on drums.  We played under the name Retribution. At some point Puda didn't want to sing anymore, and at the same time Chris met Kevin at Biohazard's Punishment video shoot. Kevin was saying he was looking to sing for a band, so Chris asked him if he wanted to sing for our band. Kevin ended up joining and we changed our name to Bulldoze. 


Bulldoze has a legacy of being one of the first beatdown bands. What were your influences at the time? 

When I was really young (like 7 years old) I discovered metal and guitar through Iron Maiden's instrumental song "Transylvania" - I basically knew I wanted to play heavy music and play guitar right after that.  I then grew up listening to Maiden, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and eventually made it to the harder stuff like Napalm Death and Cannibal Corpse and that's where I was mentally when our band Retribution started making the transition from Metal/Thrash to Hardcore.  I really want to stress that we were very young (I was 14), so it's not like we knew what we were doing.  At that time, I did not have a long history of listening to Hardcore, so I didn't really know how a Hardcore song was supposed to sound, so I was adding stuff that I liked from my time listening to brutal Death Metal breakdowns and slowing things down all together vs the faster stuff.  Probably the biggest influences were the bands we were playing with at the time - Dog Eat Dog, Life of Agony, Leeway, Biohazard and the NJHC scene was really strong at the time with bands like One4One, Strength691, NJ Bloodline to name just a few.


With the surge of popularity in hardcore over the last few years, the 90s hardcore scene looked like a different world compared to what we have now. Do you have any crazy stories from back in the day or any standout memories you could share? 

Honestly not much has really changed - places would get packed for great bands, the crowd would go nuts with dancing, stage diving and sing alongs.  Most of those moments were not readily captured on video because cell phones didn't really exist back then, and many video tapes from camcorders did not get digitized and are lost to time unfortunately.  

Something that is different is that there are more women involved today with coming to shows, dancing, stage diving and being in bands - which is all awesome!  Another difference is the type of dancing where the entire floor might have people dancing, but they are all a few feet apart. big pits were a thing but, from what I recall, everyone was way more smooshed together.  


There are too many crazy stories!  But the memories that really stand out are seeing bands for the first time and being totally blown away - I saw one of the early times E-Town Concrete played, not many people heard them yet and the entire club was like "Holy Shit!" - you I was there saying the same haha!  I remember seeing the first time God Forbid played (their first show they played under a different name, I forgot what it was).  That was another time where I was floored - I knew I was witnessing something next level, and sure enough I was right!   I was there the first time Crown of Thornz played - absolutely amazing. Bottom line is go to shows and catch the openers!!


Moving on from the 90s… What are the biggest changes for better or for worse since you’ve been involved in hardcore?

Definitely a more diverse crowd is for the better. I also think Hardcore is more worldwide than ever!  It also helps that the term "Hardcore" has become a "huge tent" with a lot of diverse styles under the umbrella - you got the fast stuff, the straight edge stuff, beatdown, crossover, etc - the blending of styles... there is something for everyone.  We have amazing bands showing up from more parts of the world, and It appears Hardcore is getting noticed in other parts of the world that I never really even knew had a scene, like China.  Hardcore is currently in a great place I think - but the worst part is basically time - we are losing amazing bands - RIP Eddie Leeway, RIP Peter Steele.  Father time is a motherfucker


Hold My Own have recently released a single “No Respect Due”, what are the bands plans for the rest of the year?

We have the Flyover Fest and supporting End It on their record release tour and a few other really cool shows.  We will also finish our next album this year


Do you have any plans to bring any of your bands back to the UK or Europe any time soon?

I sure hope so!  I really want Toby Carvery again so the UK is a priority haha!  


You’ve been involved in hardcore for around 30 years now. What advice would you give to new kids wanting to get involved with the scene?

Step 1a - go to local shows

Step 1b - get there early for the openers!

Step 2a - if you want to do more, one can start making flyers for shows - even if there is a flyer already made, make a cooler one!  No one will be mad if you make a cooler flyer! 

Step 2b - start a zine!

Step 3 - learn an instrument or more than one.  One does not have to be good to play in a Hardcore band, just good enough lol (I was 14 and sucked when I started Bulldoze - and yes, some hardcore bands where the music is really high level stuff - there is definitely a spectrum)

Step 4a - if there is a band you really like, it's not gonna hurt to learn all their songs and let them know you know all their songs... you never know when they will need a fill in or need a new member...

Step 4b - the above is a great idea FYI, but it's a game of chance, find some people you get along with and start a band.  Local shows always want to find openers (we all gotta start somewhere) 


Thanks again for taking the time to answer some questions for us! Feel free to give any final words or shoutouts!

Thanks so much for this!  Too many people to shoutout but I do have a final thought - you never know when a band is going to have their final show (due to breakup or death) so if you've been meaning to go and check them out - DO IT!  If you wanted to maybe grab a T-shirt or something - DO IT!  I have so many regrets of skipping a band and I never had a chance to see them again or not buying that one cool shirt I kept looking at, thinking I'll get it next time - and there was no next time...  

Thanks again for having me!  I really enjoyed these questions! 



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