The Oral History of Give ‘Em Hell (Vegas Archive)

Oct 20, 2014 Posted by Emily Matview In Oral History, Vegas Archive Tagged Give 'Em Hell Comments 1

Welcome to Vegas Archive, a feature where we re-release music from local bands that are gone, but certainly not forgotten.

Today we’re bringing you a previously unreleased demo from punk band Give ‘Em Hell, who were active in Vegas from 2005-2009.

For more information about the band and these songs, read the oral history as told by former Give ‘Em Hell members Pete Aponte, Tony Batz, Chris Duggan, Sal Giordano and Matt King.

“You can talk about ‘scenes’ and trends. What’s punk rock, what’s hardcore and what’s not. This is more than a ‘scene’ and it’s more than whatever labels people feel the need to slap onto themselves. This is a community and at it’s best, a family. It’s having fun and holding on to what you believe in. Getting out that aggression, doing something, getting involved, expressing yourself and finding those who feel the same way you do. ‘Give ’em hell, kid.’ This is what happens when a few friends get together and play the music they love.” – Give ‘Em Hell (Myspace)

Pete Aponte, Give ‘Em Hell drummer

Give ‘Em Hell started when my band Revenge and Regret broke up around the same time Sal’s [Giordano, bass] band No Division called it quits. We were all practicing at the same place, and would always run into one another between songs. Sal and I are both east-coast guys and have some similar influences, so it was easy for us to talk music.

Sal Giordano, Give ‘Em Hell bassist

Pete and I had a lot in common. When our bands were winding down, we realized that we both wanted to be in a fast, hard, tight punk band. As the rhythm section, we could do that.

Pete Aponte

Soon after, we found Flip Tomasetti, who was new in town, and also wanted to play fast, hard punk rock. He’s a very laid-back guy and was cool with us so we said “Why not?!” Flip brought influences outside of what Sal and I were listening to, and those influences resulted in or sound becoming grittier.

Flip Tomassetti, Give ‘Em Hell guitarist

I had posted an ad on Craigslist looking to start a punk band. Shortly after, I got a call from Pete so we jammed a couple times—just us.

Sal Giordano

Flip was awesome. He was a blue collar construction guy who loved Pantera [laughs].

Pete Aponte

Things were going well, and through the magic of Myspace, we found Chris Duggan. He was this skinny little guy with yellow hair who was into 90s grunge, The Beatles and pop-punk stuff.

Chris Duggan, Give ‘Em Hell guitarist

I started my “music career” [laughs] in high school as a singer. After graduating and moving to Vegas, I jumped on guitar and helped start the band This Bitter End with Meg Vitale (Ministry of Love, vocals). During the dissolving of TBE, a punk band from Canada called Raised By Apes moved to town for the summer and brought me on as rhythm guitarist. RBA was my first taste of playing punk music and I instantly fell in love.

Pete Aponte

Chris could also play like nobody’s business, which was perfect for us! His style was totally out of left field from what we thought we were looking for, but he was a good guy and had a ton of enthusiasm and wanted to jam. So we just went with it.

Chris Duggan

After Raised by Apes went back to Canada I put some ads up on a few sites looking to join a punk rock band and eventually was hit up by Flip about a band that was starting. It’s funny, I actually tried out for a band Sal was in prior to Give ‘Em Hell.

Sal Giordano

Chris had previously tried out for an older band of mine as a singer/guitarist. He was GREAT. That band reached out to him to practice, and I was so hopeful; we just clicked. Then he blew me off to do his taxes.

Chris Duggan

I jammed with them once… and never got a call back.

Sal Giordano

I thought it was some “washing my hair excuse” so I didn’t call him back. Turns out, he was actually doing his taxes [laughs]. It was our loss missing out on having him in that band.

Chris Duggan

When I showed up to my first Give ‘Em Hell jam and saw Sal ,I thought “Oh great, this asshole again” [laughs]. But luckily I got a call back with Give ‘Em Hell.

Sal Giordano

I was psyched to see him try out. I’m so glad he did.

Pete Aponte

Next it was time to find a vocalist. We put an ad out for a singer, and Tony Batz was among the candidates who gave us a ring.

Chris Duggan

We tried a number of dudes including Dan45, who would later help start [my current band] Unfair Fight. We originally picked Dan to sing for us, but he needed a break to be with his family and spend time with his kids… like a jerk [laughs]. But the last tryout we had was Tony Batz of The Loud Pipes fame.

Tony Batz, Give ‘Em Hell vocalist

After playing in punk bands for over 10 years in Cali, I moved to Vegas for a change of scenery, and to stop the music thing. Two weeks later I was in The Loud Pipes planning to tour and record. Go figure [laughs]. Life’s funny like that.

Pete Aponte

The Loud Pipes had just called it a day, and Tony was looking for something to do. I remember his first practice with us – we were all in band shirts and blue jeans, and in walks this guy looking like he just came from the TSOL show in that movie Suburbia! We started up a song and he just grabbed the mic and made shit up, jumping all over the place and hanging from the ceiling in the process! We all kind of picked up on that energy and it gave us that “push” we were looking for.

Tony Batz

I knew Pete from going out, going to shows, and we became friends. After The Loud Pipes ended I heard he was in a new band looking for a singer, so I auditioned and it just clicked. I believe I was in the S.S. Hookers at the time, or just getting the Hookers started. Memory is kinda fuzzy, but I missed just singing. So I tried out, and that was that.

Flip Tomassetti

I didn’t care for Tony’s singing style too much at first, but it worked out okay in the end. Plus he’s still my roommate and a good friend.

Chris Duggan

Tony had an enthusiasm that none of the other guys had. I remember him going crazy without any prepared lyrics, and it sounded really good. He even pushed up a ceiling tile and started singing from the attic of the rehearsal studio. After his performance, we had no choice but to take on the terrible responsibility of Tony as a singer [laughs]. Tony had his ups and downs, but he’s always been a genuinely kind person.

The band was a consistent live presence in Las Vegas.

Pete Aponte

We were all a bunch of weirdos and didn’t look like we belonged in the same room— let alone in a band, together—but that was the best part. We just wrote songs that all of us liked to play without worrying about anything else. We weren’t interested in fitting into niche labels, we just wanted to have fun. And we did!

Tony Batz

There were too many awesome shows to list, but some of my favorite local bands to play with during the Give ‘Em Hell era were: The Apocalyptics, Suite 666, Pigasus, Lydia Vance/Deadhand, Back Stabbath, S.S. Hookers etc. I’m sure I’m forgetting a billion bands.

Pete Aponte

We also had the pleasure of opening for bands we were big fans of, including T.S.O.L, D.I., Agent Orange, Hudson Falcons, The Addicts and Nothington. A few other memorable gigs were when we got to open for legendary skatepunk band JFA at Jillian’s, which was a bowling alley/arcade that did shows. Anything we ever did at East Side Joe’s was fun, which includes an insane gig there by A Wilhelm Scream that was probably the most attended show ever there (they had to move things from the house to the desert outside since so many kids showed up).

Chris Duggan

My favorite Give ‘Em Hell is definitely the A Wilhelm Scream show. Not only are they one of my favorite bands, but seeing them at East Side Joe’s made it so much more personal and intimate. I don’t even remember how Give ‘Em Hell played. I was too excited to see AWS.

Sal Giordano

The most memorable show for me was playing the benefit for Ainjil and Caine at the Box Office with The Vermin and Pigasus. It was a good show for a good cause.

Pete Aponte

Not only did we play with with locals like Back Stabbath, Guilty by Association, 1/2 Ast, False Cause, Suite 666, The Quitters, The Dirty Panties, Ghost Riders in Disguise and The Apocalyptics, but we became close friends with them, too. We’d like to thank them for their friendship over the years. We were a great little community.

The band recorded a demo with producer Mike Lavin (Civic Minded Five, The Pluralses).

Tony Batz

I knew [Mike] Lavin [producer] through the old Cactus Gardens crew. Back then, there were a bunch of bands all in the same couple blocks off Swenson [Street]: Cute in the Face, Faceplant, Suite 666, The Apocalyptics, S.S. Hookers and so many more . At one time or another we all swapped gear, jam spots and shows. I played, Lav recorded, and we were cool. Just a matter of time before we worked together.

Mike Lavin, producer

I met Give ‘Em Hell through Tony. I remember dragging a 16 track ProTools rig over to Tony’s garage. It was hot outside and it smelled like punk rock. From what I can remember fun was had by all.

Chris Duggan

I hadn’t officially met “Lazer” Lavin before we recorded with him. It was a great because it was my first legitimate studio experience. He was an amazing recording engineer, and made us actually sound good.

Sal Giordano

Recording with Lavin was awesome. We did tracking in his apartment. He is super easy to work with and good at what he does. He was part of the Swenson Street crew. We were all SSBD at that time.

Pete Aponte

I remember the recording sessions taking a while. We did drums at the studio and some guitars at Lavin’s apartment. I think Tony did his vocals as Chris’ house in the garage? I’m really not sure just because it was a while ago… What I remember most is drinking a lot of coffee and being excited to be in a studio.

Tony Batz

Lavin was rad, a real cool guy in the studio, kept it light, and did his best to pull the best out of us. Solid dude.

Flip eventually left the Give ‘Em Hell. Shortly after the group became aware of another band that shared the same name. This forced them to rebrand.

Flip Tomassetti

I left the band because Chris and Pete didn’t care for my new material. I felt like they were trying to belittle my creations, but at the same time they continued to play songs I made for two years after I left the band. It is what it is.

Pete Aponte

Tomasetti was replaced by Matt “Terror” King.

Matt King, Give ‘Em Hell guitarist

I moved to Vegas in 2008—right when the recession hit. This meant that I was out of a job for quite awhile. I decided to try to fill my time by playing in a band. I had been in a few punk bands on and off for years when I lived in Florida, and really missed playing.

Chris Duggan

We played a few shows as a four piece until we found Matt. He came to see us at the Beauty Bar and seemed to mildly enjoy the show [laughs]. He learned the songs and joined the ranks.

Matt King

This was back when Myspace was still a thing. I was searching local bands and the one I really liked was Give ‘Em Hell. I wrote them and asked if they knew anyone who needed a guitar player. Turns out, they did. Sal wrote me back and told me about a show they were playing so I went, and I didn’t know what to think at first. Everyone at the show was dressed up like Mexicans and I didn’t even recognize the band until they started playing.

Pete Aponte

I’m pretty sure it was Liz [Castaneda], who later played in Unfair Fight’s, birthday and it was themed as a “dress like a Mexican” party.

Mat King

Afterwards Pete and Chris invited me to come to Tony’s to watch them practice and jam out a little. And I guess they liked me.

Pete Aponte

We changed our name to Thirteen 34 towards the end of our run. This was because we discovered there was already a hardcore band by the same name who were signed and touring. We had no idea, but we figured it would be the right thing to do.

Sal Giordano

We didn’t have to change the name, but we had to since another band with that name got signed first.

Chris Duggan

We went through a plethora of names that no one agreed on, and finally stumbled on a number.

Pete Aponte

That being said, choosing a band name is one of the hardest things ever and after a few weeks, we just gave up. Then one day Tony walks in and shouts “Let’s call ourselves 1334 – like the year of the Black Plague!” (you have to say it to yourself in Tony’s voice to find the humor in it). So we just went with it.

Tony Batz

1334 is an old moniker from the Cali spook city/death rock scene, 1334 being the year the Black Plague took hold in Europe.

Sal Giordano

1334 was short lived, and even though it didn’t affect us getting booked since the promoters knew about the change, many other people didn’t recognize it.

Pete Aponte

We were pretty sure nobody else had or would even want that name, so we went and got the roman numerals tattooed on us. We broke up the next week.

Thirteen 34 soon came to an end as the band went their separate ways, but the legacy of the band lives on in other bands.

Pete Aponte

Playing in Give ‘Em Hell was the only thing I had to look forward to and it got me through some dark times. Everybody in that band will always mean a lot to me as friends and brothers; no matter what. The “breakup” just kinda happened since everybody—myself included—wanted to try something new (or moved out of state) – and I don’t blame them!

Matt King

After a while, I finally got a decent job with a sheet metal union, which ended up taking a lot of my time away from playing. But shortly after, I lost that job, which was very hard on me and my fiancé (now my wife). So we decided that the best thing for us to do was to move back to Florida. I kept in touch with the guys over the years—just hoping they continued playing. I never started another band, but I do think about it a lot. My job keeps me so damn busy that it’s hard to just chill and play whenever I want.

Chris Duggan

I owe a lot to Give ‘Em Hell and the Vegas music scene. It was—and still i— such a great group of people. I was very close to the guys in the band and I made a lot of really close friends from playing and going to shows. Before Give ‘Em Hell’s inevitable demise, I had started drumming with Sal, who went from bass to guitar/vox.

Sal Giordano

I had a bunch of songs I wrote that didn’t feel right for Give ‘Em Hell, so I began TheCore. At the time, Duggan and I were roommates. He showed interest in playing drums and boom! We did what we could, all starting something new.

Chris Duggan

We brought in Brian Addeo on bass and soon recruited Brock Frabbiele on lead guitar, and my drumming career had begun.

Pete Aponte

If we never broke up, TheCore. probably wouldn’t have taken off like it did, Tony would probably had never left for his hiatus to Florida, and I wouldn’t have started up Unfair Fight with Chris. Tony started Viva Valhalla and is currently involved in the Loud Pipes reunion and Matt ended up in the Navy and is now a rescue swimmer, which is pretty cool. I like to think that “Give ‘Em Hell” was kind of like the seed that started up its own little family tree, the tree grew a few branches and the branches actually sprouted some fruit.

Chris Duggan

After Give ‘Em Hell ended, I talked with Pete to see if he wanted to keep what we had going. Pete is one of the best drummers in this town and I’ll be damned if I EVER let him go. He agreed to the idea and we were on the search for bass and drums. We eventually convinced Brett [Wilson] and Dan [45] into joining what would become Unfair Fight.

Pete Aponte

Unfair Fight came together simply because I didn’t want to stop playing. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music but I’ve always had a soft spot for hardcore. This time around I wanted to do something a lot heavier/meaner sounding than give em hell and luckily for me, Duggan did as well. Chris is an incredible guitar player and a good friend – it’s a privilege to be able to write songs with the guy. He also has a different background when it comes to his musical influences so it definitely keeps me on my toes. Even after all these years, there’s always something new to look forward to when we walk into the jam room. I couldn’t ask for more.

Sal Giordano

Like TheCore. to Give ‘Em hell, [current band] No Red Alice is my next level. It’s lyrically where I am now in life. TheCore. Is still around to me, but needs a break for life to happen. No Red Alice is with Chris Berg and Chris Bitonti, who I played with in Eliza Battle. We have a new EP mastered and coming soon.

Matt King

After moving back, my fiance and I got married, had a kid and fell into the whole typical family thing. I did a lot of construction, worked at a tattoo shop for a while, then did more construction. Then I got sick of that shit so I did the most punk rock thing i could think of: I joined the navy as a helicopter door gunner. We’ve been in San Diego for a few years now. We still try to go to Vegas a good bit but haven’t had much time to hang out with the boys. Hopefully work will slow down this summer and we can work something out.

Tony Batz

Give ‘Em Hell was a chance to hang out with my buddies and try my best to stay out of trouble [laughs]. We always took pride in being honest, and the band was such a mixture of different influences that it was interesting to create in that atmosphere. After Give ‘Em Hell I was in a couple bands just staying busy, trying different styles. As far as now? I’ve always been creating, never stopped. I’ve got a couple projects that are unreleased. Maybe one day I’ll release the stuff. But I do music more for myself now. I don’t think I could stop if I tried, so why bother?

Pete Aponte

If it wasn’t for our band, I don’t think I would have met half as many people as I did during that time, and I’m grateful for that. It was a fun time. We worked REALLY hard and we got to leave at least a little bit of a mark in the Las Vegas punk scene. I couldn’t ask for more.