Episode 26 Luis Aponte.. Growing, Learning and Understanding.

https://www.thisishardcorefest.com/podcast/episode26

Luis Aponte, a son of PAHC grew up in Allentown, learning from his father about hardcore and straight edge at a very young age. Between skateboarding, finding DIY shows to attend at the Secret Art Space in Bethlehem, PA, he would be fully indoctrinated into the world of hardcore punk. Through traveling with friends, he would eventually go beyond the Lehigh Valley to Wilkes Barre and eventually Philly for shows in West Philly basement shows. Over time, he'd link up with various members of Jesus Piece and they would form one of Philly and PA's finest hardcore groups to date.

Much of the Jesus Piece story is already known, but there is a great insight into the band's beginnings from Luis's perspective. When thinking about having him on the podcast, I was much more interested in hearing about how he developed into such a well rounded and diverse musician, as he was posting some incredible hardcore/gabba techno that reminded me of my first encounter with electric music from overseas. This is also during the pandemic, where he would eventually move to NYC to begin work as a model and in a fashion store. There is so much more to Luis then just talking about Jesus Piece tours etc, that we went deep on what his inspirations and aspirations are and how he has grown comfortable with himself and continues to expand not only his creative work in music and art, but how it ties into skateboarding and some fun stories about hanging with Dennis Rodman in a recent photoshoot.

Luis is an inspirational young person who has the world in his hand and someone who is okay standing out in a crowd. I have always loved his individuality juxtaposed against the background of this hardcore atmosphere and I wanted to get into how he feels and thinks about many of things around him.

This was a fun conversation to have and he is a great person to learn from and listen to his evolution as a someone who isn't limited by culture stereotypes or social expectations.

https://www.instagram.com/lu2000k

https://www.instagram.com/jesuspiecehc

https://twitter.com/jesuspiecehc

https://jesuspiecehc.bandcamp.com