Intro:
Sworn Enemy frontman Sal Lococo took some time out while on tour with Pro-Pain this past June to let us know about his bruising NYC unit’s latest Century Media release TOTAL WORLD DOMINATION as well as of what life in a metal band perpetually on the road is really like.

E.C.: Talk about the process of working on TOTAL WORLD DOMINATION.

Sal Lococo: Tim (Lambesis, As I Lay Dying frontman and producer of the disc) is awesome. I haven’t worked with too many people, but he definitely is my favorite producer to work with. I don’t think I’d really want to work with anybody else. This process was a little bit easier than the last one. We actually had a full unit intact to be able to get the shit down. We had everybody taking place, doing their part for this one…just basic, regular – everybody get together, we write songs, bring them to Tim and he helps us restructure them. We work them and put them together.

E.C.: What’s the difference between this album and the last album besides the cohesion with everybody working together?

Sal Lococo: The sound of it. This one we took back a little bit to more of an AS REAL AS IT GETS, more of an ignorant type thing. Instead of us trying to mesh with the music that’s out there today and trying to please everybody else, we just were like “Fuck it, just please ourselves” and let’s write what we want to write and just be stupid about it, like how we were in the Castle Heights days. Do what got you there. Don’t try to be something else, you know? Do what got you there and just be yourself and that’s it.

E.C.: Have you guys seen any sign of a recession out there?

Sal Lococo: Oh, there definitely is, man. Yeah, you can see that the economy has been putting a little damper on things, you know? Not as many people as you’d like to see and the people that are coming, you know, sometimes they can’t afford to get the CD, get some merch or shit like that. The economy has taken a toll. Just talking to the people at the shows they say, “Yeah, I wish I had money to go to more shows and I saved up my last couple of red cents to come to this one.”

E.C.: What’s the touring schedule looking like for this album?

Sal Lococo: I haven’t really thought about it yet. We are going to go back to Europe in August – at the end of August, the last couple days of August and the whole month of September. After that, everything’s up in the air right now.

E.C.: Who were some of the influences you had basically for writing this one? Since you guys said you took it back, I’m figuring you guys dug out some Leeway, Cro-Mags?

Sal Lococo: I don’t really have to dig those out. Those are implanted in my brain. It was a culmination of just me personally. I’m over it. I’m over the music scene. I’m over the industry, I’m over everything about it, you know? And that gave me good writing material. So on this one I just used my head a lot and used my brain. It’s so easy for me to be ignorant, I don’t have to do much for that.

E.C.: Will you guys be doing any videos? How’s Century Media treating you, you know?

Sal Lococo: Century Media’s been treating us awesome. We have no complaints. I don’t know if we’re going to do a video for this one or not. I’m not sure if it’s in the budget right now. But I don’t really want to get into that and that’ll just make me hate some more.

E.C.: At least it’s good fodder for some lyrics, though. That’s the main thing, you know?

Sal Lococo: Oh, without a doubt, man.

E.C.: You’ve been doing this so long. What keeps you going?

Sal Lococo: The chance that I might actually break through. There’s always that opportunity that hey, maybe I can do this for a living and also the fact of the feeling I get playing and when I see people going nuts to my shit. That’s what really keeps me going. My hope is one day I can break through and make money, but just the fact that people enjoy the music and still go crazy to it is what really motivates me.

E.C.: Have you thought about doing anything on the side musically? Other members have side projects working…anything for you? Maybe going on the other side of the board?

Sal Lococo: No. I don’t really want a side thing, I don’t think. I like to focus my energy on this. But the behind the board, that’s a possibility. I’d have to go to school for that first and learn cause that takes some time to figure out the schematics of the board and everything like that. When it comes to hearing shit, fine. My ears are great – I know exactly what I like and what I want to hear and shit like that. I think actually I’d be a really good producer. I know I could help singers with their lyrics and restructuring songs – I tear apart songs now in my head, you know? But on the engineering side of it, when it comes to actually pressing buttons and stuff like that, I have no clue. That’s something I wouldn’t mind playing with in the future but if I did do it, I wouldn’t just do it for metal bands. I love rock as well. Actually, I think I could hear for rock better than I can hear for the music that I play. I would do it – I would open up my insight to everything. I wouldn’t just shelter myself to one little thing.

E.C.: This is your 4th full length now…what have you guys not done that you guys still have got on the big board that you’ve got to conquer this time around?

Sal Lococo: South America and Australia. That’s definitely in the future.

E.C.: Any bands out there you’d think about touring with or anything you’ve seen? Anybody blowing you away lately that you’ve actually caught in your travels?

Sal Lococo: I think I’ve toured with everybody that there is. I’ve been out there for so long. But I mean, we’re the type of band that we play with anybody. It doesn’t make a difference. If you’re willing to play with us then hey, that’s great. Not that many bands are barking up our tree to want to take us out. We always seem to be the ones that are taking somebody out. We don’t always have to headline. I fucking hate headlining. I’d love somebody to step up and be like, “Hey, Sworn Enemy’s been paying their dues for years. Let’s help them out. Let’s put them on this tour.” Nobody wants to do that for us, so I bide my time and I wait. That’s all I can do.

E.C.: What are you doing in your downtime lately? Still living out in Long Island?

Sal Lococo: Yeah, still out in Oceanside, relaxing. That’s it. Taking it easy. But we’re on the road a lot, man. Whenever I do find that I’m not doing something, I’m at home just relaxing. Watching the Yankees of course.

E.C.: Talk about your New York roots, man. What do you miss about the scene? What have you seen through the time you’ve come through that’s changed for the better or for the worse?

Sal Lococo: Well, when you’re talking about this scene that I’m in, I’ve seen the changes in the clothing, the way the people look. When I first started going to hardcore shows, I was a small guy. Now you look at the shows, I’m a giant. People used to wear clothes that you could tell were somewhat into like, metal or hardcore. Now guys look like girls, sort of. You know, that’s not the minority anymore. That’s the majority and I’m at a loss for words.

E.C.: Hatebreed just put out a cover album. Would you guys consider doing that?

Sal Lococo: A cover album? I’m not really sure. I guess if the opportunity arose and people wanted us to do it and it looked like it would be a good opportunity to make some more fans or whatever or just give back to the scene? I guess, yeah. I never really thought about it myself or for the band or anything like that. But I mean, it seems like it would be fun just to do covers and I can just do songs that we loved as kids growing up.

E.C.: What’s the toughest thing about touring?

Sal Lococo: The twenty-three hours you’re not playing.

E.C.: What do you do during them?

Sal Lococo: I don’t know – try to find time to not think. Play a lot of online games. That’s about the extent of it, you know? When you have too much time on your hands, you’re always thinking. I hate using my brain.

E.C.: What keeps you guys so aggressive and volatile?

Sal Lococo: I think it’s the New York in us. Everybody in New York’s got a little bit of hate in them…you can’t explain it, you know? I guess a little bit of everything…the music industry, the scene, everything. All the shit that you have to deal with from labels and stuff like that…all that adds fuel to the fire…and then you’ve got stress at home or whatever, you know? It’s a little bit of everything.

E.C.: With you guys being around so long, what’s the set list looking like?

Sal Lococo: We just put the songs that we like to play. Whatever we like to play is what goes on the set list. We do try to put a little bit of everything on there from all the records. We want to make everybody happy, kind of.

E.C.: What’s the message of this album?

Sal Lococo: It’s all about just letting people know, look, we ain’t going nowhere, motherfuckers. We’re right here. We’re here to stay. Like Sheer Terror said, “Like it or not, we are here to stay”. That’s the only thing that keeps us going. To be honest, I don’t even know how the hell I’m still here, why the hell I’m still here. I find myself sometimes when I’m mad, maybe I should really just get a job and just chill out and make some money and not be a fucking dirt bag anymore, but I don’t know, man. I think I’d be lost without it. I just love it too much.

E.C.: Who have you not met that you still want to meet?

Sal Lococo: You know, I think I’m over the meeting of people…let me put it like this. I met a couple bands and some of the dudes in the bands I just didn’t like and it just totally changed my whole perception of that band, so I don’t think I really want to meet anybody else and just lose more bands like that. I’ve grown to not like bands because I’ve met people in them. I’m not really one to care about meeting people, but as I have met some and they were dicks, then that was the end of it. I’m over with that band. So I don’t think I want to ruin any more of my childhood heroes, so I’ll leave it at that. Sometimes those people are really the rock stars that they think they are and…you’re not, dude. Just because you sold this many records and that many people like you, you’re just a normal guy like everybody else. You can still get your ass kicked, you know? You’re not special. You’re not anything. What makes you above everybody else? Treat people the way you want to be treated.