Sammy Ciaramitaro, vocalist of Santa Cruz hardcore band Drain (and drummer of the now-defunct Gulch), joins us on the BrooklynVegan podcast in anticipation of Drain's sophomore album and first for Epitaph, Living Proof. It's a great album that expands upon the hardcore punk energy, thrash/groove metal riffs, and California warmth of their 2020 debut LP on Revelation Records, California Cursed, widening the band's sonic palette to include things like a rap interlude and a clean-vocal Descendents cover, and some of Sammy's most impactful lyricism yet.

On the podcast, we dig into the new album and talk about Drain's upcoming tour with Drug Church, Gel, MSPAINT, Magnitude, Restraining Order, Combust, Gumm, Torena, and Outta Pocket (varying by date). We also discuss the hardcore scene pre-pandemic vs post-pandemic, being a hardcore band in the post-Turnstile era, gatekeeping, some of Sammy's formative experiences in hardcore, his time in Gulch, his love of the Grateful Dead and Drain's multiple homages to that band, and much more. And at the end, Sammy names five current hardcore bands he thinks any new hardcore fan should know.

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