The Oral History of The Apocalyptics (Vegas Archive)

May 8, 2015 Posted by Emily Matview In Oral History, Vegas Archive Tagged The Apocalyptics Comments 0

Click here to download The Apocalyptics Discography 2004-2012

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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 the complete discography of punk rock band The Apocalyptics, who were active in Vegas from 2004-2012.

For more information about the band and these songs, read the oral history as told by former The Apocalyptics members Xtal Hawkins and Matt Darcy, as well as other musicians and friends who knew the band.

“The Apocalyptics formed in November ’04. Since then we have been playing punkfuckinrockinroll fueled by copious amounts of Pabst Blue Ribbon.” -The Apocalyptics (Myspace)

The Apocalyptics began with bassist Xtal Hawkins, her friends Andy and Matt, and a punk house.

Xtal Hawkins, The Apocalyptics bassist/co-vocalist

The Apocalyptics formed in October of 2004. I guess I started the band, technically. I knew both Andy [Crews, guitars/vocals] and Matt [Darcy, drums], but they didn’t know each other until the first time we jammed. Andy and I met at a sweet eastside keg party on the 4th of July, 1998. I met Matt in 2000.

Matt Darcy, The Apocalyptics drummer

Xtal and I met at the Enigma Garden Cafe, where we both worked.

Xtal Hawkins

It was sort of a snobby coffee house [laughs]. When I met Matt I thought he was cooler than me. He had this hand-painted Dead Kennedys army surplus jacket on. We started talking about music right away. Everyone that worked there was a musician and there was a big house nearby that we all would go party and play music at. Matt lived there first and then I moved in a couple of months later. When Matt moved to Pittsburgh for a year, Andy moved in and we started jamming.

Matt Darcy

Somewhere near the end of 2004, Xtal asked me if I was interested in starting a band with her and her friend Andy

Xtal Hawkins

Andy and I wanted to start a band. Then Matt moved back to Vegas at the exact moment that we needed a drummer.

Matt Darcy

Andy and I got along right from the start and ended up being very good friends, often hanging out outside of the whole band thing.

Xtal Hawkins

After we played for the first time, it was pretty much just like, “Ok, we’re a band now.” On the spot we decided to propose one name each and choose the best of the three. Matt said “The Apocalyptics” and it was hella cool.

Matt Darcy

I’ve always had a list of possible band names and I offered up “The Apocaliptix.” Everybody was very pleased, although we dropped the “X” and spelled it normally. Then within a few weeks of us being together, I wrote the song “Zombina.” As a fairly mediocre drummer, I’d always advise anyone in the same position to hurry up and name the band and write a song. That makes it a lot harder for the others to replace you! [laughs

Xtal Hawkins

We became super tight. We practiced almost every day. It was the strongest bond I’ve had with any band.

The Apocalyptics (71)

The punk rock trio soon began playing shows in Vegas as well as logging hours on the road.

Xtal Hawkins

We played often, and one of my favorites was a time at The Cooler Lounge in ’05 or ’06 with The Quitters. They had added a band from Japan at the very last minute. It ended up being Bleach03 from Okinawa. If you’ve never heard of them, do yourself a favor and check them out. One of the best bands I have ever seen. We played a ton more shows with The Quitters and I always thought they were super cool guys.

Micah Malcolm, The Quitters drummer

The energy of the Apocs was always electric and fun. It was a contagious feeling. Xtal always bounced and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling as she plowed through on bass, exuding this “I couldn’t care less” attitude that always came off as cool. Matt had enough energy for the whole planet, let alone just his drum set, when he got going with the beats. And of course Andy—his master shredding really felt supernatural. He could always pull out the perfect, tasty riff.

Xtal Hawkins

The Double Down was our home base. We all lived nearby, and it was fun.

Ian Roach, Double Down Saloon

They were a fixture here for years, and if they weren’t playing that night, they were usually here supporting the other bands. They always got a great response from the crowd, and they played here at the Double Down often because it was their home bar, where they’d be hanging out anyway.

Xtal Hawkins

I also really liked the shows at East Side Joe’s. The kids there were so into it that the house would be shaking down around you while you were playing. There was no plumbing; it was so outlaw.

Matt Darcy

The crowds at East Side Joe’s were always the most receptive and excited to see us. Those were pretty much the only all-ages shows we played. I really liked when we played with the Peccadilloes, The Quitters, Half Fast, and Betting on Tomorrow here in Vegas. Those were good times.

Peccadilloes

When we think of The Apocalyptics, we mostly remember them for their loyalty. When we performed, Andy, Xtal, and Matt stood front and center every time. When they played, we couldn’t help but do the same. They were definitely a first choice for us every time when it came to lineups because you knew they were gonna show up (with all their gear) and rock hard, and they always supported and bought merch from their fellow bands. Much love and respect.

Matt Darcy

The shows on tour were a lot of fun, especially the Stork Club in Oakland, CA and some sports bar in Bellingham, WA. Just good, excited crowds and cool supporting bands.

Xtal Hawkins

We toured solo but we made lots of friends on Myspace and played pretty much a million shows with the Cobra Skulls [laughs].

Devin Peralta, Cobra Skulls frontman

The Apocalyptics were a great band and great people. They always put on a good show and put us up, made flyers, brought fans to the shows.

Xtal Hawkins

My favorite local bands to play with were Give ’Em Hell, B.O.T, The Quitters, and the Peccadilloes.

Pete Aponte, Give ‘Em Hell drummer

We had a great time whenever we played with The Apocalyptics. I felt like we’d found a “sibling” band that we could play shows and just do our own thing with.

Sal Giordano, Give ‘Em Hell bassist

We practiced just two houses away from each other and we played so many shows together. I loved when we’d both play the Icehouse.

Pete Aponte

They sounded and looked very “Las Vegas” to me, if that makes sense. They could also all play really well so you kinda had to take them seriously!

Sal Giordano

Xtal slayed on bass, her lines complemented the songs and stayed tight with Matt on drums.

Pete Aponte

A criminally overlooked and underrated band.

Micah Malcolm

The Apocalyptics were serious musicians that tried to play it off like they didn’t give a shit. That was who they were—very humble and generous, always supportive and a blast to watch. Just complete BAMFs.

The Apocalyptics (68)

After writing their songs, The Apocalyptics teamed up with a member of The Faction to record their music.

Xtal Hawkins

The songwriting process was not always the same but it usually happened one of three ways:

Someone would write a whole song
We wrote together and we started with either a riff or a title and we went from there (which is what we did a lot of the time)
We weren’t a “deep” band. It was more our style to say something like “Ash from Evil Dead is pretty fucking sweet. Just fucking shit up, chainsaws a-blazin’.” “That would be a cool song name!” Then we would write a song around the name. So most of our writing process was comedy I guess. There are jokes behind a lot of our songs.

Devin Peralta

They wrote some really cool songs.

Xtal Hawkins

“667” was actually Paige Overton’s idea. She made a joke that turned into one of my favorite songs. She was around for a lot of our shows and practices and hangs.

Paige Overton, singer/songwriter

“667” was kind of a funny concept about being “one more than evil…” Evil with a little extra. Andy and I dated for 5 years and we had a lot of those types of silly conversations.

Xtal Hawkins

We recorded our first release, Quest for Disaster, with Adam “Bomb” Segal in January 2007. It was right after we got home from a West Coast tour. We recorded the whole album with all the vocals in seven-and-a-half hours. We recorded it live and got most of it on the first take because we’d been playing it every night for 10 days straight.

Adam “Bomb” Segal, producer and The Faction guitarist

Andy’s voice was one of the best punk voices I’d ever heard. He could sing the phonebook. I immediately began plotting to steal him away and form a new band with him, which I eventually did with Kamikaze Prophet$.

Xtal Hawkins

Live! at the Stork Club was recorded in 2008 by the sound guy at the Stork Club in Oakland. When you play at the Stork Club they give you a free recording of… dubious quality. We recorded everything else we ever wrote over the course of a couple of years with Adam, but we never released it until now.

Paige Overton

I was always impressed with how catchy The Apocalyptics songs were. The lyrics always had some tongue-in-cheek innuendo sort of feel. Andy was a killer guitar player and at some points in time I swear he could make his voice sound like a saxophone. The three played off of each other very well. It was a recipe not to be replicated or substituted. They were who they were and that embodiment was charming.

Pete Aponte

I liked that their music picked up on a lot of different influences—punk rock, psychobilly, rock and roll, and whatever else they felt like playing. AND they did it well.

Xtal Hawkins

The unreleased EP was all of our previously unrecorded material. We went into the studio before Andy moved away for work in 2012. Andy was a tattoo artist. He moved to Seattle because there wasn’t much competition up there and he made more money. Our intention was to eventually release the EP when Andy got back.

The Apocalyptics (58)

The Apocalyptics went on hiatus in 2012 after Andy passed away.

Xtal Hawkins

We never actually broke up. Andy committed suicide. No one really knows why. He was living in Seattle at the time. He told me before he left that he wanted to work up there for a couple of years to save money so he could come home in 2013 and open his own tattoo shop. He died on Oct 16th, 2012. In retrospect, there are a lot of references to suicide in his lyrics.

Sal Giordano

Andy was a different and unique kid, an artist who was an amazing player and composer. But he was also a complicated person. He was always a tortured soul.

Adam “Bomb” Segal

It’s still really hard to believe he’s gone, especially with the way he died. Last time I was with him, we went to see Van Halen with Kool and the Gang. He sang all their songs—Kool and the Gang, not Van Halen!

Pete Aponte

Andy was always nice to me. I remember him always taking the time to say “hello” when we’d see him out. We’d chitchat, talk shit about whatever was happening at that moment, then say our “see ya ‘round”s. It’s heartbreaking that we lost him so soon.

Matt Darcy

Since the band went on hiatus, I’ve been having kids and attempting to be an adult.

Xtal Hawkins

Matt’s daughter is like a combination of Punky Brewster and Rambo. Me? I have had other projects, but The Apocalyptics was my favorite. I would trade them all to have Andy back.