When I sit down to research a band before an interview, I instinctively jump online and start reading and listening to everything I can. But with Fiend, I hit the immediate speed bump of them having no online presence as a band whatsoever. No socials, no digital music to stream, and perhaps worst of all, the unfortunate choice of naming your music project “Fiend” in the city where the best song of the ‘90s was written by the rapper Fiend (“Take My Pain” of course). Worrying about your band’s SEO and online presence seems like just another part of the game artists have to play to function, but hardcore band Fiend has committed to doing the promotion process the old-fashioned way—shows, word-of-mouth, and physical recordings. They’ve lurked about the scene, frequenting the Fred Hampton Free Store and playing a hotline show where venues are decided at the last second in less-than-legal places, and the only way to know where to go is to call an old-fashioned hotline (hence the name). Fiend consists of Sophia Duv (vocals), Jack Croce (drums), Sterling Anderson (bass), and Dylan Hemard (guitar). Ahead of their debut tape release show in April, I met with the band at Rendon Inn to discuss their philosophy, the members’ various projects, and their origins, all while the bar played a Spotify playlist called “Best ‘90s Alternative Playlist Ever.”
As a band, you don’t have any social media presence and you also don’t have any music released digitally. So first off, do you have music recorded?
Sophia Duv: It’s on the way.
Do you plan on releasing it digitally?
Jack Croce: Yeah. It will be on Bandcamp. Maybe on YouTube, on an account we control.
Why aren’t you going to be on other streaming services?
Sterling Anderson: I think for streaming, we don’t agree with the ways artists are treated on Spotify and Apple Music.
JC: Spotify literally takes all the money for the artist away. And then on top of that, the direction the platform’s moving with all the AI stuff, like the shadow music companies that pump out AI songs. They used to pump out actual songs [made by “fake artists”] and flood playlists with them, and then Spotify would be paying them and they would pay Spotify, and it’d be a circular thing where they’re just paying each other to playlist themselves. And now they have AI so they can just flood it. So Spotify’s basically incentivized to profit from AI. Pretty soon it’s going to be hard for anybody to even find your shit through a Spotify algorithm organically anyway. If you put on a lo-fi beats playlist, it’s going to be mostly just AI shit.
SD: They’re literally coming out with ads for ICE and shit too.
JC: They’re just a shit corporation and then they don’t fucking pay artists anyways.
SD: We just want to be in control.
JC: Some of our favorite bands don’t put their shit on Spotify anyway.
What about the social media side of things?
SD: I think being an artist in these modern times is really weird to navigate. There’s the whole Spotify thing and there’s also the short-form content and that [can’t] really encapsulate the whole band and it’s not really necessary, but people think it is. We just want people to experience us in person and seek us out if they really like us.
That’s kind of how it used to be.
JC: Exactly, before social media people actually had to go to shows and see a band if they heard of them.
SD: Yeah! Buy a CD.
JC: You couldn’t just watch a video of a band and then make a judgment from a video you saw online and then be like, “Ah, well I’ve seen ’em basically.” Then you don’t actually check out their shit or even care what they have to say as an artist because you can just watch a 15-second video.
And that seems like the modern pressure. If you want to get your music in front of people, you have to be on social media. You have to be making sound bites or whatever.
SD: Yeah it is pressure.
JC: Y’all can say more about it, but I just feel like as an artist, it’s just one more extra thing you have to worry about that has nothing to do with the art and doesn’t actually give you anything of value. It just takes from you. We hate interacting with it. When we started the band, we thought it was a good idea not to even worry about it.
SD: And these guys, [Sterling Anderson and Dylan Hemard], already had a presence in the scene. They’re veterans so it worked out that way. Maybe if we were all like new, new.
So Dylan, you used to play in a bunch of bands like Green Gasoline and Royal T, right?
Dylan Hemard: [Royal T] was [Anderson and I’s] first band together.
SA: What was that other band called?
DH: Oh, Stereoeater.
How has running a band’s social media changed since you started with those projects?
SD: People think it’s part of the artistic process now, like part of presenting your art is to post it. And I’ve been making a lot of visual art recently that I’m like—one, we’re getting data-farmed now, so social media has changed in that way. And two, it’s a weird thing to navigate now. They’re putting people on terrorism watchlists and shit. And I have this one print with a picture of Mark Zuckerberg with crosshairs on him and I’m like, “Do I really want to post this?”
That’s such a classic punk thing. As far back as I can remember, there’s been zines with crosshairs on politicians.
SA: X’s on the eyes.
DH: Dead Kennedys.
JC: We’re in an unprecedented time as far as technology and as far as the regime we’re in right now. I don’t think anybody has lived through anything like this, especially people our age. On the one hand, I feel posting and being a presence in the future could make us a target. Or maybe not, but we don’t really know. I guess that’s part of the reasoning—and also part of the reason is just that it’s punk to say, “Fuck the corporations.”
SA: Fuck the system.
JC: Fuck the accepted way of presenting your art in a way. But I just hate the platform and I hate that people have been like, “Oh, it’s a necessary evil,” and people just kind of accept it.
New Orleans has good underground infrastructure. Did wanting to be a part of a community, or fostering your own, factor into your decision to not be online as much?
DH: A hundred percent. I think you’re right. I think we’re actually really blessed and lucky to be in New Orleans because there is already a really good community here.
SA: And I think it’s actively growing.
SD: Yeah! Word-of-mouth is still a thing.
DH: Yeah, like that hotline show we played, we didn’t know where we were gonna play until two hours before we got there. I mean, people pulled up.
JC: People want community and tangible experiences.
DH: Because that’s what community is, you got to show up, you got to be there, it’s not just liking a post.
JC: Being online is not the same as actually getting a phone number, calling the phone number, going to the show that you got the address [for the hotline show] and you can barely fucking hear the guy talking on the phone. You got to play it back five times and argue with your friends about where the address is.
SD: And some things are more special and more exclusive too—with us you have to be there in person.
Ded Debbie album cover art created by Sophia Duv.
How did the hotline show come about?
JC: I don’t think we should say too much about it because we want it to keep happening but basically, we were asked to play the show and it changed venues, and eventually the secret show people took it into their hands and put it on.
SD: These generator shows are some of the coolest shows you can experience.
SA: Yeah, I think the secrecy of it is part of what makes it exciting.
Anderson and Hemard, y’all are in GARGUTS too and you organized Guts Fest. Can you tell me about that?
DH: We just wanted to get a bunch of bands that we fucked with and have a bunch of people pull up where we’re all friends. I was surprised at how good of a turnout it was getting.
SA: I think the biggest part of it, the main goal when we first started, was that we wanted to give back to the community in a tangible way.
Was it just y’all two organizing it or was it all of GARGUTS?
SA: It was us two. I mean, people absolutely helped day-of [with] moving equipment [and] sound guys. We had two stages, so it was a lot of logistics. We wanted to have a donation that we could give to Parisite Skatepark. So we put in a lot of our own money to buy snacks and porta-potties and lights and whatever other bullshit just so that at the end of the day we can have something to give. Last year we actually had enough to give some to the bands, too. Wasn’t a lot, but just something. It was really fun. It was also really stressful. We’re not doing it this year which I’m sad about, but at the same time, we got a lot of shit coming up. I mean, we’re getting married and shit this year [Anderson and Hemard]. But in 2027, we’re going to do a comeback.
DH: That’s how I met Jack and Duv.
SA: She had her art there.
When y’all started Fiend, you all were doing separate projects. What were y’all planning to create differently with Fiend? Duv, was this your first step into music?
SD: Yeah. This is my first serious band… I played bass briefly in Fake Coffee Club and I was also in a band with Jack called Prozacdog. This is my first long-term serious thing and I guess I didn’t really have much expectations. I just wanted to do something cool and I didn’t know exactly what I was going to sound like yet either. But it ended up going towards stuff that we really liked, but also being its own thing as well.
How did y’all land on hardcore with Fiend?
JC: Dylan and I were the ones who initially started jamming at first. And we wanted to make a d-beat hardcore band and I think it evolved into what it is now. And then Sterling hopped in and then Duv. [Our influences] all blended together and it wasn’t just a straight d-beat band anymore. We still draw a lot of influence from hardcore punk in general.
DH: I think the initial idea was more up-tempo, in-your-face.
SA: Short and fast.
Fiend performs at the Fred Hampton Free Store on November 1
photo by Dalton Spangler
It seems like there’s been a lot more hardcore bands lately.
SD: It’s a reflection of society. Everybody’s angry. As we get deeper into this Trump presidency, people are just louder and angrier.
SA: There’s nothing we can do a lot of the time. A lot of people feel really helpless, just watching this shit happen to us and to people around us. And this feels like something that gives us [agency].
JC: It’s cathartic to go to a punk show and have a punk band saying some shit that you feel. You’re just glad that somebody else is saying it out loud and you’re with a bunch of people who are in agreement and y’all can shove each other and have fun.
SD: We’re expressing how we feel and we’re also taking action with it. And it’s just coming out more and more.
I remember seeing y’all did a Southern Solidarity show. Was that a benefit?
SD: So that was a benefit for Southern Solidarity. I helped my friend Olive [Davis] organize it, and we had about five bands on that bill and it did pretty well. That was the first one we organized with Fiend. We’ve only been a band for so long. We also did another benefit for ICE victims. That wasn’t organized by us, though. Obviously catharsis is part of it, but also to make a platform, leverage it, and take action. It’s really important right now.
For some people online, “punk” or “alternative” is a costume you put on and there are no beliefs behind it.
SD: Something I’ve noticed is these benefit posts get a lot of fucking likes, a lot of re-shares and maybe 40 people show up, but it had 700 likes. So I’ve noticed that discrepancy. It’s like, here’s my initiative in sharing. That’s good but it’s more than the thought sometimes. We do have to show up for these things at the very least.
JC: That’s where it counts, you know? I mean you’re not obligated to come to a benefit if you aren’t into the music or whatever. But as a band, if we have the opportunity to play a benefit, we’re gonna fucking do it. Especially right now.
What do you think drew y’all to this style of music?
DH: It’s fun, man.
SD: It’s fun, it’s rhythmic. Also the ideas within [are] really powerful and inspiring. I’ve always kind of been like a “Fuck the System” person and never fully understood why all this boot licking was happening around me.
JC: You see a lot of the same people coming out to different bands’ shows. Maybe it’s a band that doesn’t have any music out, but they have these loyal people who are coming to all their shows and showing up no matter what, backing them up. You don’t really see that with a lot of other bands necessarily? There’s a lot more camaraderie within the hardcore punk community of New Orleans.
SD: It’s very affirming to be around people who are like you. It makes you feel like you’re not crazy.
JC: Tying it back in with the no social media aspect, it feels cool when we’re playing shows and people who are very active in the community respect that we’re doing it that way because it’s more genuine… people are after tangible experiences. They want to get hit at a show and then get a shirt that was made by somebody, and they feel a real connection with the artist. It’s not like they found a song on an algorithm and then they started buying their shit online and they just wear it around.
SD: That’s a good point. That’s why this is the real-life algorithm. [laughs]
I was talking with my editor about y’all and I was mentioning the stance on social media and he said, “Staying off social media is the new straight edge.”
SD: [laughs] Yeah. I mean, phones are just cigarettes for the eyes.
JC: In regard to phones, our generation is cooked.
There we go! That’s what I came here for!
JC: I mean, it’s kind of the elephant in the room. Everyone is addicted to their phones. We’re so deep and we’re so attached… That also goes with the philosophy of the band—the less we’re on the phone for people to see us, the more they’ll come see us in real life.
SD: Also, would we be more prolific artists if we didn’t have this to distract our process?
JC: There’s a couple bands in our scene who also don’t have social media, like Paprika. They’re definitely an inspiration for us. SILO KIDS from Hattiesburg, they don’t have social media.
SD: Everybody just wants the SILO KIDS contact so bad too. They’re just so good. The music really speaks for itself.
JC: There’s a lot of punk bands specifically who only put their stuff on Bandcamp. They don’t have social media but everybody knows about them. There’s a band we really like called PISSMIXER and they’re fucking awesome. We just found out the other day that they don’t actually have [social media for their band], kind of like us. They just have their personals. But all their music is available.
I’m glad y’all are putting stuff out digitally. I was wondering that too—if y’all were just going to do a physical tape release and that’s it.
DH: We are going to drop it on Bandcamp too.
SD: These are only the first recordings though. We’ve only been a band for like seven months now.
DH: Shout out to Fran [Smith] and Riley [Credeur] though. We recorded at their barn.
SD: And Noah [Smith].
DH: We’re kind of proud about how the music came out because we did it all live. Noah tracked the record. I’ve dabbled in mixing and mastering, so I pretty much mixed and mastered it.
SA: This was Noah’s first time tracking an entire band. And we only did two takes of every song.
We love physical media.
JC: Physical media from local bands is my favorite shit.
SA: It’s a collection for when the internet explodes or something.
SD: Another reason I like physical media is, as a visual artist, I want to keep my phone far away from me. The way I’m playing music and Instagram and notifications are right there, it kind of adulterates my artistic process. So when we play records and tapes and CDs at home, I could just have [the phone] far away from me and then we could take turns choosing the music. And it’s just more special that way and more authentic and allows me to be a more authentic artist.
Before I wrap the interview, is there anything y’all wanted to mention that I didn’t get to?
SD: One of Fiend’s messages to the world is, “LOVE IS TUFF.”
SA: Yeah, because we’re a couple’s band.
JC: Yeah, LOVE IS TUFF. We’re a couple’s band and it’s actually punk and cool to care about stuff and cherish somebody. There’s a lot of punk that’s posturing and trying to be tough. Something that’s important to us and it goes back to the whole community aspect, it’s important to care about stuff. It’s important to actually want to attend things. It’s important to care deeply about art, and the people around you, whether it be at a show or in your personal relationships.
SD: This isn’t a competition because we want everybody to win and we want everybody to eat.
Fiend’s tape release show will be April 16 at Gasa Gasa alongside Holeopener, QUILT, and Days of Grief.
Top photo, left to right: Dylan Hemard, Sterling Anderson, Sophia Duv, and Jack Croce.
photo by Dalton Spangler
