A Dirty Dozen with ALEX GOLDFARB from DEBT NEGLECTOR – March 2025

According to a recent press release: “Smartpunk Records’ beloved punk rockers Debt Neglector have released two new singles as the sneak peek at their upcoming full-length album Kinda Rips, which is set to release on April 4, 2024 via Smartpunk Records. In true Debt Neglector fashion, their new music remains viciously political but also features some deeply personal topics including the pressures of fatherhood, insecurity, and dealing with mortality. The culmination is an album that is dynamic and relatable from a band whose angry and honest approach is a blunt kick in the pants to the powers that be. Formed in 2016, these Florida punks have spent the last 8 years honing a sound that showcases their ability to blend catchy hooks with a vicious attitude. With four releases firmly under their belt, the band has already established themselves as a group that pulls no punches in their pursuit to call out injustice. Their new music remains viciously political but also features some deeply personal topics including the pressures of fatherhood, insecurity, and dealing with mortality. The culmination is an album that is dynamic and relatable from a band whose angry and honest approach is a blunt kick in the pants to the powers that be.” We get founding member / singer / bassist Alex Goldfarb to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

I think on the surface a lot of our songs have a simple punk rock energy to them, but we do try to write them with quite a bit of nuance when it comes to arranging guitars, harmonies, background vocals, chord changes, and transitioning between parts. I think there’s plenty to find for someone wanting to take the time to listen. The record also has a ton of audio clips between songs too. Trying to figure out where those came from may be a bit of a scavenger hunt of its own.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I was always really drawn to music. My dad loved music and played guitar and he’s the one who eventually started teaching me the chords and notes. We used to jam in my living room when I was in middle school playing along to song books he had by Bowie, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, and The Who. I had him teach me Green Day and Nirvana and we would print out the tabs on our old dot matrix printer at the house so I could read them and practice. It was really an invaluable introduction to playing music. Wanting to be a musician came a little later though. I was probably 14 and had just heard Minor Threat. The more I learned about them, that they were just kids basically my age releasing music and starting a label at the time, made me feel like it was accessible to me too for the first time. It was super inspiring. From there I started getting into going to local shows, joined a band, and played my first show when I was only 15.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

For me Minor Threat was that band. They were young, did things themselves, and spoke about things they believed in. But the thing that really stuck out to me was that they sounded so much more pissed off than the other stuff I was listening to at the time. They made me curious to learn more about other old bands and I started digging into tons of stuff from the 70’s and 80’s. That’s how I found so many of my favorite bands. The curiosity they ignited in me got me to really explore the past.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

We’d need a time machine for this one, but collaborating with Joe Strummer would probably be the coolest thing ever. He had such a unique voice (literally and figuratively) and was always evolving.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

I became a dad a couple of years ago and hanging out with my family is just the best. My son is an absolute wildman but doing stuff with him and taking him places he’s never been is just the coolest feeling. That being said, it is impossible to unwind around a toddler. For unwinding I’ll play video games or watch movies when I can. A little bit of escapism is always fun.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

It’s catchy, aggressive, energetic punk music about how the world is falling apart and we’re all gonna die. The songs cover a lot of political issues and many personal topics that I hope people can relate to. It’s hard to disagree with someone’s review since it’s all subjective and people make comparisons based on their own personal touchpoints and experience. So I try not to read too much into them. We did get one bad review of our first album though which hurt my feelings a little bit at the time. They were trying to be funny I guess. I looked into the reviewer and checked out their band (which was objectively terrible) and quickly stopped caring. I don’t expect to be everyone’s cup of tea though. We just have fun making music and if people like it along the way that’s a bonus.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

I’d say Pfister is a good cook, Burns is always offering to get drinks for people, and I’d probably be the one picking up the acoustic guitar to do an ironic singalong of some butt-rock song from the 90’s.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

We opened for the Descendents at one point and being around those guys is a little awe inspiring. They’re legends and all are top tier players at their instruments. My old band (New Mexican Disaster Squad) had even toured with one of Bill’s other bands (Only Crime) years ago, but I never stopped being starstruck by him the entire 2 weeks. Getting to watch that guy play drums every night and hearing him tell stories was such a huge pleasure for me on that tour.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

I think just getting to create something feels good to me. Writing something, collaborating with people, building it from the ground up, and then putting it out into the world is such a cool feeling. I feel extremely lucky to have been able to do it for as long as I have and to have gotten support from different labels to allow it to happen. That being said, we all have day jobs. Music is something we do for fun and we all try to make as much time for it as we can while balancing our lives and responsibilities. I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a dream job for me. I would just love to be free to write music and spend time with my family and travel without having to worry about clocking in somewhere.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I’ve always wanted an interviewer to ask more about the personal songs we have written. I feel like most interviews lean into the political side, which is cool because not every band is addressing political things in their music and we do take pride in that. But it is rare we get a question about dealing with mental health struggles or any of the other personal things we touch on in our songs. As far as questions I’m tired of, I don’t really know of any. I’m always just appreciative when people take the time to take interest in us and give us a platform.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I think the biggest misstep in my mind is not taking more care with the tempos of our songs on our earlier records when we recorded them. There are songs I really love that got recorded a few BPM too slow and it totally sucks away the energy of them for me. When we play them live now we play them faster and they’re so fun, but hearing the recording I feel some regret. We spent almost six hours going over every tempo on our new LP Kinda Rips before we started tracking, and I’m really happy with how each of them sound. This is the first time I’ve ever been completely content with the pace of each song and that really made a world of difference for me.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I’d probably need a bulletproof vest, because Phil Spector is a lunatic and I heard he pulled out a gun on them at the time, but watching the Ramones record End of the Century would probably be wild. Seeing one of my favorite bands record one of my favorite albums, with Spector’s wall of sound production, and all the drama that went into it would probably be super entertaining. From what I recall Johnny hated it and he and Joey were always at odds. I wouldn’t want to get involved, but being a fly on the wall during that process would be incredible.

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Category: Interviews