JasonAlex.com: How did SKOH start?
Matt Pike : Who knows? SKOH started because I was bored. I only have a million things going on in my life so what's one more.
I have been going to shows for for12-13 years and wanted to be on the other side of things....just wanted to have fun i guess

JasonAlex.com: Tell us about your new record "Undisputed" on Bridge9, it was album of the week here at JameyJasta.
Matt Pike : Undisputed is just short, sweet and to the point. It is a no thrills punk hardcore album. Nothing groundbreaking although it's sincere and bitter. It was a great way for me to get a bunch of shit off my chest in a round about way. It is a far cry from the seven inch in terms of the song writting....I am fucking proud of this record.

JasonAlex.com: You guys have played a bunch of shows and have even done some west coast dates, any plans for a tour?
Matt Pike : Not really a full blown tour, but we wil do as much as we can with the time that we have. I think we are going to try and do a week of west coast dates the second week of July. The Distance and Outbreak are going to do them with us....they just dont know it yet

JasonAlex.com: What are some of the best shows you have played?
Matt Pike : Reach The Sky's last show was amazing. Our shows in San Fran, Anaheim, Che Fest and Hollywood were unreal and Posi Numbers 2003 was a great time. We have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with some of the best bands around, we are really lucky.

JasonAlex.com: Let's talk about Matt Pike the dude, when your not doing SKOH you run a full time booking agency, how did you get involved with that? Do you have any advice for someone that would want to get into that field?
Matt Pike : Matt Pike the dude is shot bro haha. I started booking tours around '96. I toured with Converge and just hanging around with them for a while. When it came time to tour the summer of 97, I said to the dudes. Fuck it, I will put it together for you. They were like sure ok...and I did it. Then i booked Bane and started doing shit for a bunch of band. Around 99 I moved to NYC to work for a "real" company, up until that point i was just doing things on my own out of my house and what not. I moved back to Boston in the summer of 02 to start my own thing and it has been rolling right along even since. I owe a lot to the guys in Converge and Bane because if it were not for them giving me a shot at this shit I would be doing who knows what now......

JasonAlex.com: Were you ever worried that maybe things wouldn't work out? It's always hard to go and do things on your own.
Matt Pike : I am not so sure if I was worried it wouldn't work out I try not to think that way,i am not someone who gives up. It isn't easiest thing in the world to do. I like a good challenge and there is nothing more rewarding that working hard and seeing that hardwork pay off. I am motivated, I don't want to fail, fuck now I don't know if i am making any sense haha..

JasonAlex.com: What bands do you currently work with besides Converge and Bane?
Matt Pike : The Bled, Bleeding Through, Comeback Kid, Give Up the Ghost, H20, Between The Buried and Me, Throwdown, THC, Stretch Arm Strong, Big Collapse, Terror, MPB, Walls....Aaron from Bane has a new band called Only Crime that features Bill from the Decesdents and Russ from Godd Riddance. Zack and Pete from Bane's other band Silent Drive

JasonAlex.com: Lets get back to SKOH for a minute, is there any plans yet for a follow up to "Undisputed" ?
Matt Pike : Yeah sure, we'll see how things go ya know. I would love to keep playing shows here and there and write some songs to release sooner or later...we are pretty laid back

JasonAlex.com: What's your take on the current hardcore scene? Matt Pike : There are a lot of great bands out there that never get any attention. Man i don't know i am almost 29 and i think my view is a bit different than say someone who is 21. I am not going to sit here and say shit like "i remember when...." but i just wish some of these kids would just stop taking themselves so seriously. Bro your at a hardcore show No One Cares. I don't know. I still love hardcore (i think). Message Boards are shot, in theory they are great, they give dudes a chance to promote shows and releases and all that. But at the end of the day all it's all so counterproductive, dudes taking shots at other dudes blah blah blah.....your band sucks, my band sucks, everyband sucks, this label sucks, this scene sucks, this zine sucks, whatever. If i was someone who didnt know much about hardcore and I stumbled upon a hardcore message board, would i want to be in that "scene"? fuck you....who knows...blah blah blah

JasonAlex.com: This is kind of a two parter, What newer bands are you currently into, Also what bands now do you think will be looked back on as classic bands in a few years? I really think Give Up The Ghost will be one of those bands
Matt Pike : I am not sure if there will be "classic" bands....for a few reasons - it isn't like the "old" days when punk/hardcore was this fresh raw thing, so when people heard Black Flag they were blown away, when they heard Agnostic Front they were blown away, Judge, Negative Approach, Minor Threat who ever they wer blown away. there was much to compare it to. As in today, the kids hate everything and nothing is ever as good as the old stuff.