Matt Saincome | |
---|---|
Born | 1991 (age 32–33) Danville, California, U.S. |
Alma mater | San Francisco State University |
Occupation(s) | Businessperson, Journalist, and Satirist |
Notable work | The Hard Times: The First 40 Years |
Matt Saincome (born 1991) is an American businessperson, journalist, and satirist.
Matt Saincome was born in Danville, California, in 1991. Following high school he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. [1] [2]
In 2009 he and his brother Ed cofounded the straight edge hardcore band Zero Progress, for which Saincome was the frontman using the stage name of “The Champ” – a satirical character based on typical hardcore frontmen’s macho attitudes. The band folded in 2014, following which Saincome founded the straight edge band PURE. He has also served as a booker for hardcore and punk shows in the San Francisco area. [2]
Saincome published a zine called Punks! Punks! Punks! between 2009 and 2012, releasing a total of six issues. Ian Mackaye, Henry Rollins, Lars Frederiksen, and several other punk scene figures were interviewed in the zine, which had a print run of about 50 copies an issue. Following his degree in journalism, he worked as a freelancer for Vice [2] and served as the music editor at SF Weekly until 2016. [1] As a freelancer he produced several articles that went viral, including his Weekly piece “Meet the Man Who Had Sex with a Dolphin (and Wrote a Book About It)”. During this time he came up with the idea of creating a career out of what he called “punk comedy journalism”. [3]
In November 2014 [2] Saincome, his brother Ed Saincome, and Bill Conway used an $800 budget to cofound the satirical website The Hard Times. [4] Since its founding, the site has added live events and a podcast network to its repertoire. The podcast is entitled The Hard Times Podcast, and features Saincome and Conway in discussion and doing interviews. [5] Its work has been described as a “combination of satirical stories that get into the nitty-gritty of punk politics, and spoofs of news stories”. [1] [3] By 2019 the site was receiving about five million views per month. In 2019 the company cofounded a sister site about videogaming called The Hard Drive. [6]
In 2019 Saincome co-authored the book, The Hard Times: The First 40 Years, following which he proceeded with a national book tour. [1] He also cofounded OutVoice, an automated freelancer payment tool. In 2020 The Hard Times was acquired by Project M in a deal that valued the company over $2 million and allowed Saincome to retain ownership of Hard Drive. He also stayed on board at Hard Times in a position focusing on brand vision. [7]
Matt Saincome adheres to a straight edge lifestyle. [8]
The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of music, ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom, and the DIY ethics, the culture originated from punk rock.
Hardcore punk is a punk rock subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk scenes in San Francisco and Southern California which arose as a reaction against the still predominant hippie cultural climate of the time. It was also inspired by Washington, D.C., and New York punk rock and early proto-punk. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the established music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock" and often addresses social and political topics with "confrontational, politically charged lyrics".
Maximumrocknroll, often written as Maximum Rocknroll and usually abbreviated as MRR, is a not-for-profit monthly online zine of punk subculture and radio show of punk music. Based in San Francisco, MRR focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily features artist interviews and music reviews. Op/ed columns and news roundups are regular features as well, including submissions from international contributors. By 1990, it "had become the de facto bible of the scene". MRR is considered to be one of the most important zines in punk, not only because of its wide-ranging coverage, but because it has been a consistent and influential presence in the ever-changing punk community for over three decades. From 1992 to 2011, it published a guide called Book Your Own Fuckin' Life.
Karl Buechner is an American musician from Syracuse, New York, best known as the frontman for the hardcore band Earth Crisis. He is also the singer of Freya, Path of Resistance, Vehement Serenade, Apocalypse Tribe and 1000 Drops of Venom.
Neal Pollack is an American satirist, novelist, short story writer, and journalist. He lives in Austin, Texas. Pollack has written 10 books: The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature, Never Mind the Pollacks, Beneath the Axis of Evil, Alternadad,Stretch,Jewball, Downward-Facing Death, Open Your Heart,Repeat, and Keep Mars Weird. He is also a three-time Jeopardy! champion.
Punk ideologies are a group of varied social and political beliefs associated with the punk subculture and punk rock. It is primarily concerned with concepts such as mutual aid, against selling out, hierarchy, white supremacy, authoritarianism, eugenics, class and classism, while supporting anti-consumerism, anti-corporatism, anti-war, anti-imperialism, leftism, anti-globalization, anti-gentrification, anti-racism, anti-sexism, gender equality, anti-homophobia, racial equality, animal rights, free-thought and non-conformity. One of its main tenets is a rejection of mainstream, corporate mass culture and its values. It continues to evolve its ideology as the movement spreads throughout North America from its origins in England and New York and embraces a range of anti-racist and anti-sexist belief systems. Punk does not necessarily lend itself to any particular political ideology as it is primarily anti-establishment although leftist punk is more common due to the prevalence of liberal and conservative ideologies in the status-quo.
Matthew Colin Taibbi is an American author, journalist, and podcaster. He has reported on finance, media, politics, and sports. A former contributing editor for Rolling Stone, he is the author of several books, former co-host of the Useful Idiots podcast, and publisher of the Racket News on Substack.
ABC No Rio is a collectively-run non-profit arts organization on New York City's Lower East Side. It was founded in 1980 in a squat at 156 Rivington Street, following the eviction of the 1979–80 Real Estate Show. The centre featured an art gallery space, a zine library, a darkroom, a silkscreening studio, and public computer lab. In addition, it played host to a number of radical projects including weekly hardcore punk matinees and the city Food Not Bombs collective.
Australian hardcore punk bands tend to have local fan bases, although a number have toured Australia and internationally. Prominent bands from the scene that have been recognised by the mainstream have included Toe to Toe, Massappeal and Mindsnare, while many relative newcomers have enjoyed some commercial success due to the recent popularity of the genre. Many of these bands are currently very popular and are bringing some mainstream attention to the label "hardcore", Australian hardcore is played on the national Triple J network in the short.fast.loud program and on a number of local stations.
Martin Sorrondeguy is the singer of American hardcore punk bands Los Crudos and Limp Wrist, the founder of the DIY record label Lengua Armada Discos, and a prominent figure in both the straight edge scene and the queercore scene. He currently does vocals in the band Needles.
The Bugle is a satirical news podcast, created by John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman in 2007. It is currently hosted by Zaltzman and a rotating cast of co-hosts including Alice Fraser, Nish Kumar, Anuvab Pal, Hari Kondabolu, Tom Ballard, Tiff Stevenson and Helen Zaltzman. It focuses on global news stories, especially about politics in the United Kingdom, United States, and India.
Straight edge is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs in reaction to the punk subculture's excesses. Some adherents refrain from engaging in promiscuous or casual sex, follow a vegetarian or vegan diet and do not consume caffeine or prescription drugs. The term "straight edge" was adopted from the 1981 song "Straight Edge" by the hardcore punk band Minor Threat.
The Hard Times is a satirical website with a focus on punk, alt music, and millennial culture founded in 2014 by former SF Weekly music editor Matt Saincome, his brother Ed Saincome, and comedian Bill Conway. It has been compared to The Onion, ClickHole, and Reductress in style, and has received praise for its specificity and niche appeal.
Jeremy Bolm is an American vocalist, record label owner, music producer and writer. In his music career, he is most known for being the full-time vocalist of the post-hardcore band Touché Amoré. He has also performed with the part-time bands Thriller, Deadhead and Hesitation Wounds. Outside of performing, Bolm runs the indie record label Secret Voice and self-publishes his own poetry zines.
Animal rights are closely associated with two ideologies of the punk subculture: anarcho-punk and straight edge. This association dates back to the 1980s and has been expressed in areas that include song lyrics, benefit concerts for animal rights organisations, and militant actions of activists influenced by punk music. Among the latter, Rod Coronado, Peter Daniel Young and members of SHAC are notable. This issue spread into various punk rock and hardcore subgenres, e.g. crust punk, metalcore and grindcore, eventually becoming a distinctive feature of punk culture.
Firestorm is the second EP by American metallic hardcore band Earth Crisis. It was released in 1993 and marked the band's first release through Victory Records. Firestorm has been described as a landmark release in hardcore punk for its metal influences and political, militant lyrics, along with helping "pioneer what would become both a signature sound for the band, as well as metalcore as a whole – right alongside the likes of Integrity." The title track is considered Earth Crisis' best-known song.
Finnegan "Finn" McKenty is an American marketing strategist, music commentator, writer and graphic designer who currently runs the YouTube channel The Punk Rock MBA and is director of marketing at the online education platform URM Academy. Previously, he was executive producer at CreativeLive's "Music & Audio" channel and, under the persona Sergeant D, wrote articles in MetalSucks and Stuff You Will Hate.
Johnny Taylor, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and podcaster from Sacramento, California.
Hard Drive is an American satirical video game news website co-founded in 2017 by the editors of The Hard Times. Due to their similar writing style, Hard Drive is frequently compared to The Onion and was named 'The Onion of video games' by both Vice and Uproxx.