Sometimes I spend hours researching bands and celebrities who I think would be cool to get involved with peta2. I stalk Twitter, lurk websites, and generally sleuth to try to pinpoint which animal rights issues are important to people. Creepy right? But every so often my work is practically done for me, when bands reach out to us and makes it abundantly clear how much they love animals and want to do whatever they can to make a difference.
Enter Philly based hardcore band Kingdom, who I stumbled across when they commented on a peta2 Facebook post. I reached out to the band about doing an interview for peta2, and bada bing bada boom, the rest is history!
1. What prompted you to become vegan? Were there any bands, books, etc. that influenced your opinions on animal rights?
Davin: We're all vegan, but I can only speak for myself. Here's the story: I was 16 years old, visiting my Mom in a small town in Alabama, and jogging down a dirt road passing fields full of corn and cows. I was listening to a band called One King Down (a vegan hardcore band in the '90s), and right as I stopped to look at a cow (that had walked to the fence to look at me), I heard the lyric, "We consume to satisfy, we do not kill to stay alive." A flood of realizations washed over me. I didn't eat animals because I HAD to, but because I LIKED to! Every day I chose cruelty over compassion and death over life for no other reason than I was accustomed to the flavor! How shallow! How selfish! Looking at that cow I felt ashamed, she was so gentle and trusting of me, and I was about to jog away and eat a meal that could be her. I couldn't live with that. I went vegan right then. I skipped being vegetarian because I didn't see the point in swearing off murder (meat) but being a-OK with torture (milk, eggs). I jogged back to the house and told my Mom, who laughed and said I'd be over it by dinner … but 12 years later, here I am!
2. What are some of your favorite vegan foods? Any awesome hometown restaurants we should know about?
The band favorite would definitely be fried Chinese tofu dishes. Sesame tofu, tofu and broccoli, crispy tofu, tofu in garlic sauce, salt baked tofu … you get the idea. We eat it on our own, before practice, and any time we're hungry on tour just about anywhere in the world (we've even gotten it in Romania!). Another fave is a recipe we picked up from the band Brave Young (who are also vegan) called "dirty pasta." You cook pasta (we like rotini), then sauté it in Earth Balance until it's crispy (like, really crispy) with garlic powder, soy sauce and salt, nutritional yeast, and pretty much anything else you want to throw in it. We usually throw onions and broccoli in ours. It's outrageously delicious … and cheap.
And uh … yeah there are some restaurants you should know about. Philly is a vegan's dream (as long as you don't mind grease.) There's Blackbird Pizza (an all vegan pizza and sandwich shop), Grindcore House (an all vegan cafe), New Harmony Vegetarian (an all vegan Chinese restaurant), Govinda's (for vegan cheesesteaks), The Pretzel Factory (for fresh, hot vegan midnight pretzels), Fu Wah and QT for $4 tofu hoagies, and, and, and … I could just go on and on. Come to Philly!
3. Of all the major animal rights issues are there any issues that are particularly close to your heart?
Little in this world enrages me more than factory farming and, to play favorites and be specific, especially pigs in factory farms. Pigs are fourth on the animal intelligence list (1. humans 2. primates 3. dolphins/whales 4. pigs) What would be a crime against humanity if done to us is what pigs experience every day. It absolutely sickens me! (Fun fact, this is why the back of our vegan shirt has pigs on it.)
4. If a fan were to approach you with questions about how to get involved with animal rights, what advice would you give him or her?
Contact a major animal rights organization like, ahem … PETA, or Compassion Over Killing, or Mercy For Animals to see if they have people already doing things in your area that you can hook up with. You could also check this revolutionary new website you may not have heard of yet called Google to see if there are smaller groups functioning nearby. And if you come up with nothing, contact any of the bigger organizations and not only will they provide you with material, but also ideas and support! No matter how small your town, even if it's just you by yourself, there is a ton you can do! And if you're into music, which … well, who isn't?—tabling at shows is a great way to distribute info, which you can get with just one little phone call, and meet more like minders!
5. What does Kingdom have coming up that we can be looking forward to?
We have a new record coming out on Dead Truth Recordings called Threads (we just released a song off of it here), a U.S. tour in late spring, and we'll be headed to Europe this summer! For all our tour dates, pictures of food that we eat on the road, stories, and other stuffs you can keep up with us on our blog, Facebook, or Twitter.
Big thanks to Davin and everyone in Kingdom for all they do for animals! Be sure to check them out and bring vegan treats if they play in your town soon. Support your local hardcore scene!
xo
