Demerit gets their Hardgroove on

Who’s that standing there in the middle of, um, those other guys? Why, it’s Brian Hardgroove! And Demerit!

Hardgroove may be better known as the drummer and musical director of Public Enemy – you may recall Chuck D giving him a shout-out onstage at the Beijing Pop Festival. Demerit, of course, is the local punk collective that's rocked Midi something hardcore for the past few years.

So what are they doing together in the studio? It turns out the Hardgroove’s got a serious interest in the Beijing scene. Though he admits, as a performer, he wasn’t able to catch many Chinese performers during his brief visit for the BPF, he was still keen to hear more about what local bands were up to. So, via his contacts at Gibson (where he's a sponsored musician), he was introduced to Brain Failure and Subs, both of whom he invited onto a locally recorded segment of his Sante Fe-based radio show Fuse Box, which was broadcast during the festival.

But that still wasn’t enough: “I want to contribute something to the scene,” he says, and that’s why he’s back. After following through with some other contacts he gained during his initial visit, he hooked up with D-22’s Michael Pettis, who recommended that he handle the production for Demerit’s upcoming album on the new Bingmasi label (aka Maybe Mars, which recently released its first batch of albums).

The album is slated to be released in late December if all goes well, and will include a few re-worked tracks from the band’s 2006 DIY debut, Never Say Die (including a certain acoustic surprise, which has been said to have been one of the factors that inspired D-22 to begin their Punks on Wood series).

Stay tuned for more details and an upcoming interview with Brian Hardgroove.

Links and Sources:
Maybe Mars/Bimasi Records Official Site