Duncan Barlow:I Resign

Duncan Barlow interview reprinted without permission from Punk Planet. This interview (among others) is available in a great book called "I Owe You Nothing: Punk Planet - The Collected Interviews". Pick it up from Punkplanet.com, Ear X-Tacy, your locally owned bookstore, or Amazon.com. Interview by Ryan Downey.

The first night I met Duncan Barlow, his red hair was shaven into a close crop. He was wearing baggy shorts, Van's tennis shoes, and a white Endpoint longsleeve. We sat outside at a show in Indianapolis and argued for twenty minutes about hardcore bands. I was a wannabe tough guy who loved Judge. He was posi-core and pro-Gorilla Biscuits. That was in 1990.

By 1995, he was singing for a new band instead of merely playing guitar in Endpoint, but we could still engage each other about music. He was touring with Guilt, feeling like he was fighting a losing battle against mediocrity, all the while unwittingly taking part in the creating of what would become the burgeoning noise-metal post-hardcore scene.

His bands changed over the years, from the crossover proto-skate punk of Deathwatch to the uplifting, pro-gay and feminist charge of the otherwise decidedly moshcore Endpoint, to the post-metal of Guilt, the straight-edge-revivalism-cum-savagely-underground-punk of By The Grace Of God, and the indie pretensions of The Aasee Lake. Though the fashions changed, there were always constants with Duncan.

-To be continued.