End Hits Records Podcast

In the podcast's fourth season label founder Oise Ronsberger will talk to legendary straight edge icon Porcell aka Paramananda Das from SHELTER. They will be re-releasing their classic album "When 20 Summers Pass" on End Hits Records on January 29th 2021. The album is already available digitally worldwide.

In the third and final episode Porcell will talk about the strained relationship of him and Ray after the immense pressure that came with commercial success, how the two got together one last time to record a final SHELTER album and the making of "When 20 summers pass" - featuring a 17 year old Chris Conley who later became a worldwide indie star with his band SAVES THE DAY!

In the podcast's fourth season label founder Oise Ronsberger will talk to legendary straight edge icon Porcell aka Paramananda Das from SHELTER. They will be re-releasing their classic album "When 20 Summers Pass" on End Hits Records on January 29th 2021. The album is already available digitally worldwide. In this episode Porcell will talk about SHELTERs breakthrough into the mainstream with the classic album 'Mantra', the immense pressure from their label Roadrunner when it was time to record a follow up and how it felt to get dropped after making too many compromises. Porcell also speaks about the responsibilities that waited for him when he moved out of the ashram and how having kids taught him some important spiritual lessons.

In the podcast's fourth season label founder Oise Ronsberger will talk to legendary straight edge icon Porcell aka Paramananda Das from SHELTER. They will be physically re-releasing their classic album "When 20 Summers Pass" on End Hits Records on January 29th 2021, the digital release is already out. In this episode, Porcell will talk about the end of YOUTH OF TODAY and his spiritual quest that followed. Why did he move to California, what was his job at legendary indie label REVELATION and did he really start a band with Zach de la Rocha from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE? How did he end up joining forces with his old friend Ray Cappo again and join SHELTER for good after being in and out of the band for years? Check the first episode of Season 4 and find out!

In our third and final episode of season 3, our guest is bassist Aaron Dalbec. Originating from Boston's suburbs, Aaron was a core member of two genre-defining bands - CONVERGE and BANE. Besides that he plays in ONLY CRIME alongside members of DESCENDENTS and GOOD RIDDANCE. Aaron currently lives in Maryland with his family.

Our second guest is guitarist Mike Schleibaum. We wanted to find out how it felt for Mike to grow up in Washington D.C.'s thriving 90s straight edge scene. Get to know how he started out as a fan of BATTERY, became a permanent member, and toured the world. When he formed his own band - DARKEST HOUR - his friend and bandmate (and our guest in S3E1) Brian McTernan quickly turned into their producer. Find out how Mike is balancing being a father and family man while playing in several bands, what his friendship with Brian McTernan and the other members of BE WELL means to him, and why it needed three drummers to finish BE WELL's debut album.

In the podcast's third season, label founder Oise Ronsberger will meet members of the fairly new east coast band BE WELL. They will be releasing their debut album on End Hits Records and Equal Vision in August 2020. First up is singer Brian McTernan who didn't only join the legendary hardcore band BATTERY when he was 12 years old but also became one of the most respected independent producers in the world. In this episode, Brian gives you some insights on his studio work and why he quit the music business almost completely after 2010. What brought him back eventually and made him start BE WELL with his friends? Why did Brian start to write the most honest lyrics in his career while being in his forties? How is life in the city of Baltimore? How are his bandmates putting up with being in a band with their own producer? And does his daughter think BE WELL is a real hardcore band? Check the first episode of Season 3 and find out!

Welcome to the fourth and final episode of our in depth conversations with the members of BETTER THAN A THOUSAND. It's about time to talk to the mysterious Graham Land. Despite being a member of some well-known Hardcore bands he hardly speaks to the press. Find out how it felt like for a 16 year old Graham to play his first show ever as a member SHELTER. What it felt like to be a part of the 90s major label Punk Rock gold rush with BABY GOPAL and the following disillusionment within the music industry. And of course, why he came back to Washington DC to start BETTER THAN A THOUSAND - a band not affected by corporate greed and business plans.

Part 2 of our interview with Better Than A Thousand drummer and guitarist Ken Olden. And again - no shortage on great stories.

Check this episode and get to know how Ken and his friends kickstarted DC Hardcore again and how it may have conflicted with the old "Dischord Records crowd". Setting up a studio in his bedroom and bathroom, bootlegging his own band's records, and having a member of one of the biggest rock bands of that time - No Doubt - as a roadie, just to name a few anecdotes. Plus, get to know how Better Than A Thousand eventually slowly faded out after being way more proactive than any member of the band ever anticipated.

Ken Olden - The drummer and guitarist of Better Than A Thousand remembers his past so detailed that we decided to split the interview with him into two parts. He was an active part of the 90s Hardcore scene with his bands Worlds Collide and Battery, manufactured the blueprint for Metalcore with Damnation AD, and went through the rather harsh hardcore scene in Washington D.C. at the end of the 80s. In the first part of the interview, Ken reminicents how he met his Better Than A Thousand bandmates Ray and Graham in the middle of all of that. Find out how a spontaneous project quickly turned into something way bigger - and why he thought that Hardcore could never get better than at this perticular one night, when Better Than A Thousand performed live for the first time.

In the podcast's second season, label founder Oise Ronsberger will meet members of influential 90s Hardcore band Better Than A Thousand who are re-releasing their first two albums on End Hits Records. First up is singer Ray Cappo who is a well-known individual within the Hardcore scene, being the creative driving force of timeless bands like Youth of Today and Shelter. Ray is also known by his spiritual name - Raghunath - under which he is practicing as a yoga teacher. In this episode, Ray gives you some insights on his rather unusual life story. Being a monk while being a heavily touring musician in the Punk and Hardcore scene? Did Better Than A Thousand feel like more than just a side project? Was being one of the most recognized underground musicians in the late 1980s a burden? Check the first episode of season 2 and find out!