Marty Williams (Agitator/Burdens) Interview

Can you introduce yourself to people who may not know who Marty Williams is?
I'm 21 years old. I'm straight edge. Not once have I ever drank, smoked, or done drugs cause all that is bullshit. I live with the man who was born to mosh, Keith Gallagher. I major in civil engineering at Drexel University in Philly. I used to have a dog named Max and a cats named Marmalade, Renfield, Mikey, Bud, Cheetah, and Omar. I enjoy candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach.

What bands are you currently involved with?
I sing in Agitator and play bass in Burdens.

Agitator recently signed to Six Feet Under Records, what are your plans with them (record/touring wise)?
We're writing songs for a 7" right now. We have one completely done and the guitar parts for the others, we just need to put it all together. We're doing a weekend to Canada with Wrong Answer in February. Besides that we don't have any real plans. We can't do an extended tour because of school and work, so we're trying to do as many weekends as we can.

You guys just finished up a tour with the band Wrong Answer, how was that?
The tour was awesome. Out of 14 shows only two weren't that good which I think is really good especially since it's our first tour. It was awesome to go far from home and have people excited to see us and actually know the songs.

What was the most memorable show out of the tour?
The show in Monterrey, Mexico was definitely the most memorable. Taking a bus into a country that doesn't share your language is pretty wild. We got taken off the bus at a military checkpoint because we didn't have the right permission papers to be in the country. Nobody spoke Spanish but eventually we were able to figure out that we had to find a way back to the border. We walked to the other side of the checkpoint up to a sandbag bunker with guys holding mounted machine guns and grenade launchers. From there we bribed a bus driver with $4 to take us back to the border. We got the papers we needed then got on another bus back towards Monterrey. After that there were no problems and Mito picked us up at the bus station and fed us. The show was awkward cause nobody knew Wrong Answer or Agitator and most people couldn't understand what we were saying but the experience of playing in Mexico was definitely worth the trip. We were able to break even on the bus tickets by selling shirts and records. It was weird to charge 120 pesos for a shirt.

What does the phrase “Embrace Hate” mean to you?
Ever since I was a little kid I've been incredibly pessimistic. I've never been able to see the positive side of things and I don't see that changing anytime soon. So instead of trying to bullshit myself and tell myself I'm happy, I figure it's better to just embrace the hate.

Harvcore Records basically introduced you guys to the world, how do you feel able the people behind Harvcore?
At first I just thought Vince was just this weird old dude who would bring his entire family to local hardcore shows. Once I actually met him and his family I realized they're all pretty awesome. He has a real job and a life outside of hardcore and even at 40 he still makes time to go to shows. I hope when I'm his age I'm still keeping it real.

You guys were one of the first bands to play TIH last year, how do you feel about the large reaction you guys received?
I was blown away by that. I thought only our friends would be moshing, so for that many people who I've never seen before to be going off for my band was awesome. Getting to jump on the people up front was the best part for me.

Any plans in the works to play TIH or any other fests this year?
At this point we haven't been asked to play any fests, but I definitely would like to. Playing This is Hardcore was one of the best experiences of my life, so I would love to play again this year. I want to play Sound & Fury but I guess that's not really up to me. Since we can't tour that would be our best chance of ever playing on the west coast.

Now onto your other band Burdens, you guys are releasing a new 7” on Harvcore Records called “You Can't Save Us All” can you tell us a little about that release?
It's pretty different from the other stuff we've done. I think these are the best songs we've put out. This 7" has more of a punk feel than the older stuff, but we are still heavily rooted in metal.

Any touring plans in the works for Burdens or is that project staying local for the most part?
They just did a weekend without me while Agitator was on tour. I know we all want to tour and we did a two week tour last winter. The plans this winter fell apart. Right after Christmas is the only time of year I can tour, so if Burdens does anything longer than a weekend this summer it will likely be without me.

What are some new releases you’re looking forward to listening to?
Mother of Mercy's record is finally going to come out soon and that's something I've been waiting to hear for a long time. Lifeless recorded a full length for Harvcore Records that I want to hear pretty bad. I'm excited for the new Bayside album in February too, and if Dre ever drops Detox I'd be thrilled.

Any other comments/shout outs?
Shout out to my man Dave Cave and Grotto Records

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