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RIP

What's up man? Start off with your name, what you do in the

band, and a little bit about Rapid Change.

My names Russell Bussey. I do vocals in Rapid Change. Rapid

Change is a straight edge band from Charlotte, NC. The band

also consists of Matt Kalbaugh on bass, Paul Vuksanovich on

guitar, and Connor McAuliffe on drums. We started the band in

the spring of 2014. Connor, Matt, and I had been wanting to start

a straight edge band for a few months. Paul was over one day to

record for another one of his projects at the time and him and

Connor jammed and basically wrote the first demo that day. It all

came together super-fast and we recorded and released it all in

the span of a few days after that.

You guys put your demo out in 2014 and although having not played a whole bunch of shows, people still go off

whenever you play. What's it been like since starting the band?

After we put out the first demo we got our feet wet and played like 3 shows that summer. Then that fall Connor moved

to New York to go to recording engineering school and it made it a lot harder to play shows. Connor since then has

moved back but between school, work, and other bands we've been kinda lazy about getting consistent. But we're

about to finally hit it hard here soon.

What are three bands you personally took from when contributing to the writing?

With the older stuff I'll go with Floorpunch. With the newer stuff we're doing right now I'll go with Stop and Think,

Carry, On, and Righteous Jams.

How do you feel about the NC hardcore scene as a whole?

It's awesome and a pleasure to call North Carolina my home. Rather than being confined to one city, people in our

scene travel from all over the state for shows which is really cool. The scene is constantly growing which is so cool to

watch and be a part of. When Rapid Change first started we we're the only Straight Edge band in the state now theres

five. Other young kids are starting bands and people are getting more and more involved. I can't wait to see where

things are a couple years from now.

Rapid Change played somewhat of a surprise set back at Greer Fest back a few months ago, how was that? What do

you think that fest said about our scene here?

I had previously talked to Emma briefly a couple times beforehand but the first time I actually got to hang out and

have a long conversation with her was after a Rapid Change show in Greensboro in February. She represented so

much of what a hardcore kid should be about: she was young and energetic, full of passion, and had a strong sense of

individualism. She was unlike any other person I had ever met and had this fire in her spirit that burned and left a

mark on others. You could really see the impact she left left in our scene especially at Greer fest. I don't think anyone

will forget the energy in the room that day. As for our set, we decided to do that like a day or two before the show.

Since we don't play that often I think a lot of people were really excited when we did it. Although it was short it was

definitely a set I'll never forget.

When can we expect Bussey on the back of a Hornet's NBA jersey?

Oh man.....hopefully soon. My two dreams growing up we're to play guitar in a band like my dad and to be a pro

basketball player. I made an audition tape for the Hornets over a month ago but they must have not seen it. I'm gonna

try to make another audition tape that they can't ignore here soon so hopefully I make the team before next season

starts so we can go undefeated.

Rapid Change has a promo tape release show coming up, right?

Yes! We're recording 4 songs for a promo tape right now. The tape release is June 21st at the station here in

Charlotte with: Malice At The Palace, Self Destruct, Invoke, and Lowroll. The venue is pretty small so it's gonna pack

out and be a night to remember for sure. Come out and jump off the bar.

Anything left to say? Any announcements or shout outs?

Keep an eye out for the promo tape. Shout out to you for running this badass zine. Here's some advice for everyone:

spend less time and energy on the internet trying to get favorites and more time and energy on learning an

instrument, starting a band, writing a zine, booking a show, or just get involved hands on in the scene it's way more

gratifying and fulfilling than internet popularity I promise. Shoutout to NCHC and everyone out there keepin it alive.