Meet Husbandry

Upon first hearing this band’s name, I questioned if there could be a “Wivery” (wifery?) — because, you know, equality — which then led me down a dictionary and Wikipedia rabbit hole, which led me to nothing. NOTHING. I also learned “Husbandry” relates to farming.

The internet is WILD.

Regardless, y’all need to check out Husbandry. This Brooklyn, post-Hardcore band is a progressive piece of work. Their prog-rock jams are helmed by some truly excellent vocals that will shake you to your core, kick you in the seat of your pants, knock your socks off, and bowl you right over.

Below, we chat to the four-piece about their dream collaborations, favorite childhood toys, and an education from pots and pans. 

Buckle up and listen to their latest shattering album, A Port in a Storm, and follow their sage advice below.  Do your part!

BOWLING: A Mad-Lib by Husbandry

Almost every community in America now has a bowling DELAWARE because bowling has become very PHLEGMY with young LOCUSTS. Most of them become very BEAUTIFUL at the game. The main object of the game is to roll a heavy GRAPEFRUIT down the alley and knock down the 49 pins which are at the other end. If you knock them down in one roll, it's called a SQUAWK. If it takes two rolls, it's called a BORK. Many alleys have automatic DIDGERIDOO. Others hire MUSTACHES who set the pins near the CARCASS. The most important thing to remember when bowling is to make sure you have a good grip on the PICKLE JAR.or you're liable to drop it on your WEENUS!

Would You Rather…

your bed breathe heavily, or narrate everything you are doing.

Andrew: I think I'd prefer it to breathe heavily.  You can always drown that out with a white noise machine.  Once it starts talking though...you can't block that out.

Some Questions with Husbandry

Who would be your dream musician to collaborate with?

Andrew: Stephen Brodsky from Cave In, Mutoid Man, etc.  A lot of my musical heroes seem larger than life, but Brodsky's someone who I feel like I could actually sit down and write a song with.  If I had to really dream big, I'd say maybe Dave Grohl.  Probably a cliched answer but that'd be fun as hell.  Or maybe Kool Keith...that'd make for some great stories.  I know I cheated here, but I'm going to go with my dream band of Stephen Brodsky, Dave Grohl, and Kool Keith.

What is your take on the current NYC Hardcore/Post-Hardcore scene?

Jordan: It's good, though I wish we were around for the 90s New York Post-Hardcore bloom of bands like Quicksand and BURN who were really going out there with taking groovy heavy post-hardcore to new places. I think we are outside of the straight-Hardcore scene though I would love us to be a more active member of it. We need some more venues that are conducive to loud amplifier music. I miss places like the Acheron or even Grand Victory which always let us put on a cool bill. God bless Saint Vitus.

What was your favorite era of music?

Andrew: Probably early 2000's weird metal era.  Pretty much everything on Hydrahead, plus whatever the Melvins were doing, Mars Volta hitting their peak, etc.  It was a cool time to be weird and heavy, and that was starting to seep into a lot of different sub-genres.  During this era I was able to move on from the shitty nu-metal I listened to as a teenager, and use bands like Deftones, Tool, and Faith No More to lead me down a path of more interesting heavy stuff that could still be catchy as hell.  I particularly remember Leviathan by Mastodon and Miss Machine by Dillinger Escape Plan opening up a lot of doors for me.

Which do you prefer scented candles or room spray?

Andrew: I'm big into scented candles these days.  Room spray hides the farts for a little while, but scented candles keeps your apartment smelling fresh for the long term.

Where is your favorite place to find/discover new music?

Andrew: I love finding out about new bands from other musicians, and specifically when bands introduce me to new bands through the openers they pick for tours.  True discovery is a little difficult these days with the Internet hype machine, but I love being impressed by an opening band and then doing a deep dive into what they've been up to.  A good example is I saw Blonde Redhead open for Failure a few years ago.  Now obviously BR is by no means a new band, but it would've taken me a lot longer to finally check them out if I hadn't seen them at that show first.  And having my first real exposure to them be live was extra cool.

What is the story behind the photography on your upcoming album "A Port in a Storm"

Andrew: After our last EP "Bad Weeds Never Die", which had a very "designed" look to it, we decided we wanted something much more naturalistic.  Arnau our bassist does all our artwork, and he was able to find some really interesting old photos in public archives.  We originally were going to do something with photos of one of our family members, but we couldn't find the right look, and the old photo we found really stood out to us.  We obviously added some stylistic touches, but we felt the imagery of the final product really conveyed the themes in the album.

What was the best toy you remember from your childhood?

Andrew: I loved building things when I was a kid, so I always had a bunch of legos and whatnot around.  I remember I had this one monstrosity from Knex called the Big Ball Factory (amazing name!) that took forever to build but then you could hand crank it and it was basically a pointless Rube Goldberg machine  - I was obsessed with that for awhile.

Do you drink Coffee or Tea? How do you take it?

Andrew: I'm one of the few people I know who never drinks coffee or caffeinated tea.  I'll occasionally drink some herbal tea when it's cold out, but that's about it.  Caffeine gives me the jitters!

Jordan: This is fucking Crazy Town. Andrew is nuts. I would shoot coffee if I could. Black, maybe one sugar if it's like heavy-duty diner coffee.

Did you play any instruments growing up?

Andrew: I was banging on pots and pans since I was a baby.  I then took up drumming in elementary school and my parents were cool enough to buy me a drum set when I was around 10. They then let all my bands throughout high school practice in our basement and definitely suffered through a lot of mediocre nu-metal.

What in your mind makes a live performance a success? 

Andrew: GETTING PAID!  ...just kidding.  A successful live performance is all about that good energy.  When you're playing and locked in and you don't even have to think about which part's coming next - you're just purely in the moment.  Our songs have so many damn parts that that's sometimes a little tricky, but when we hit our stride it's an amazing feeling, and I like to think the audience can sense that as well.  As a music viewer, I can see when a band is really enjoying themselves, and that makes for a good viewing experience.

Jordan: Nothing breaking.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer) 

Andrew: Be kind to each other!  Our album has some pretty depressing themes and can seem pretty bleak, but the whole idea of a port in a storm is finding some refuge from all that.  Whether that's music, sports, dancing, juggling, whatever - follow your muse and do the thing that makes you happy.  But to me it's really people - this band and my bandmates are a port in a storm for me.  Find your people, your chosen family, and be good to them! -

Jordan: Theres no such thing as a $5 show anymore in 2019. Pay the bands. Buy the records, buy the shirts, do your part.  <3