Interview with Casper from KDC

This is going to be the first interview I have done for my awesome hardcore blog. What better way to do your first interview with one of your best friends. Well Casper is the singer for Puerto Rico's KDC. One, if not the best current Puerto Rican bands (and latin american to say the least). So pretty much a standard interview where one dude asks questions, and the other guy answers them:

Me: First Question. OK, Why are you called KDC and not Konfesiones De Changuiro, o Knock Down Crew, which are better names than KDC by itself?.

Casper: Hahahahha, my band has always been Las Konfesiones De Changuiro, we were never Knock Down Crew. We're KDC since I saw it in a flyer and it just stayed like that.

Me: Well, I was told it was called like that (Knock Down Crew). And that's what I saw in some places.

Casper: It's easier hahahaha. if you talk with Sammy it's called like that.

Me: It's called like what? Knock Down Crew or Konfesiones? I'm telling you, ha, I saw it in myspace! Anyway, why do you always wear a cap?

Casper: I love caps. I only take it off to rock out, and I hate combing my hair.

Me: I hear ya. You think La Parka is better than me at Street Fighter 4?

Casper: maybe. He's a killer on all that shit.

Me: I know KDC has done a couple tours in the US. Why now the change to one of the coldest places in the whole country?

Casper: Man, long story short. It's cheap living, and we have tons of people we know over here.

Me: Was that "long story short" a "Dirty Work" reference? What do you think about that movie?

Casper: Hahaha. Dirty Work is fucking funny, but I was not doing a reference.

Me: You never answered the question about Sammy. But now, cliche hardcore fanzine question. What are KDC plans now that you relocated to the cold? And if you can explain to me what is the "cold" I am talking about, I'd appreciate it.

Casper: Sammy wanted the band to have generic hc name and he tried changing our acronyms, which ment Konfesiones De Changuiro, so he started promoting it as Knock Down Crew without our consent, and it sucked. A total different approach from what we wanted.

Me: If it was in myspace like that, I take it as official...

Casper: Nope, Sammy had the password. Like I said. No consent.

Me: ok, i hope he reads the interview.

Casper: me too.

(note* WE LOVE SAMMY)

Me: Ha, and about the plans?.

Casper: Just trying to do some touring. More than PR lets us do geografically. It's hard so we decided to move to Buffalo.

Me: Cool. Cafe Yaucono o Starbucks?.

Casper: Yaucono. I don't drink it. I don't really drink coffee, but that's the one my mom used to drink. I guess it goes.

Me: Now this is the end of the interview. Final thoughts.

Casper: always. Listen to Los B. so you can shit hair. If you can catch KDC in a US show do it. I will let you in for free.


He didn't lie about taking his cap off to rock out. This picture is proof.

One More Summer - Discography

Well this is the One More Summer discography. This blog I run, and rarely update has never been known to put any links for downloading records because I usually am not a fan of downloading music. I am not gonna say that I don't do it, cause that would be hypocritical, but I want this blog to be more like an online zine. Anyway I it's my blog, and I will break the rules.

One More Summer started in the summer months of the year 2002, by my friend and brother Felix, and I. But the story really starts some years earlier. Around 1997.

He and I had previously been 2 other bands together, not for a long time. The first one was Espantajo, which was sort of a weird Nu-Metal band, that no one really wanted to play the same style. And ended breaking up after some shows, but actually like 3 years after it's inception. Actually during the time I was in Espantajo, Felix, who played bass decided to quit the band. But asked me if I wanted to play more of a punk rock style similar to MxPx, blink-182 and pennywise. Bands I was really into.

I knew he liked that style of bands, him previously been in the ska-core band Viuda Negra. So we decided to start that "side project". We needed a bassist, and Felix's girlfriend at the time Dennisse was our bassist. We started having some band practices and some really cool songs started popping out. And we decided to add a new guitar player, that's when Josue came into the band. He used to be in this band called Bad Influence. But the whole idea of him traveling a lot for practice kinda didn't work for him. So he quit the band before we even had a show. This band was called Pre-Shrunk, because of a sticker Felix had in his guitar. It looked cool so we named it like that.

Ironically that band's first (and final) show came my senior year of high school, right when I had already decided to go to school in the United States. It was at a environmental rally sponsored by the P.I.P. which our bassist's dad was a part of, and we also agree with their political views so we played. We played with like a peruvian music group, and no one else, at the city square, It was awful, and we only had four songs for a 30 min set. Most awkward show I have ever played.

Anyway, when I came back that december from winter break, me and Felix kept talking about the band, and we wanted to play a more aggressive style. While still keeping some of the old songs. That's when he and I started jamming some of the songs that went on to be One More Summer. We got inspired by bands like Ten Yard Fight, Tropiezo, Stretch Arm Strong, Comeback Kid, H2O and Pennywise. A slightly more melodic side of the hardcore equation. We didn't have a bass player, and Adiel a.k.a. Satan, who sung in Espantajo, also Felix's brother, played bass, so he joined the band. Now we needed a singer.

Originally the plan to have as a singer was going to be Chepi, from the band Kabezudos de Villabajo, and we had talked to him, and he agreed. But as we all know kind of what the mystique of Kabezudos, was that they were famous for not showing up. So that was it, haha. Then we talked to Felix's friend Tommy. Former singer for the band Abortados. We had our first practices and everything went really well, everything took shape. Althought that first batch of songs from the demo I have to add that were songs that Felix and I completely wrote, including lyrics. After that it was Tommy's lyrics (except give and take which I came up with the idea). We were a 4 piece for a while, but our friend Carlos, who also was in Abortados with Tommy came to our practices and shows, and we knew he was a good guitar player, so we asked him to join the band. He did, and it was pretty much the best thing we could have asked for.

Our first show we played in Arecibo, at a weird sports bar with Nothing 2 Face, Deathwosh Bronson, and some other band I dont remember (and I booked that show). It was alright. After that we played our real first westside show with Enaguas de Chavola, and it was great, people liked it, and it was the start of something good. We recorded a demo, and started playing shows, and it was good. We played more shows, and we made lots of friends, some of the friends that we have to this point still.

After I decided to stay full time in the US, so we do not really play shows like we used to, every summer and winter, but whenever I am in the Island, we still play!

Download here!

01 - En El Recuerdo
02 - We're True To This
03 - Luchando
04 - Fake Pride
05 - The Compromise
06 - La Decisión Es Tuya
07 - Together
08 - Give And Take
09 - The Compromise (Versión 2006)