MADBALL

Freddy “Madball” Cricien
Ambassador of the New York Underground
by Jason Walsh
photos by Samma Jamma

Sometimes in life, people search out and find what it is that defines who they are. In the case of Freddy “Madball” Cricien, hardcore found him. Cricien was born into hardcore royalty, with older brother Roger Miret of Agnostic Front serving as one of the founding fathers of the New York hardcore movement. Miret would bring his younger brother on stage to sing Agnostic Front songs at the tender age of 12, and a year later was instrumental in forming Madball with Cricien in 1989.

Now, nearly twenty years later, Cricien is one of the leaders in the NYHC legacy and co-promoter of Black ‘n Blue Productions, who recently threw arguably the biggest hardcore affair of the year.

“This type of event has existed for years,” Cricien said. “Black ‘n Blue Productions didn’t always run it. It’s been a tradition in our scene for many, many years and it somehow got lost along the way over the years. My partner, Joe, and myself, we brought it back.”

In the early days, the event was dubbed the Superbowl of Hardcore, and in most cases, run by larger corporate sponsors and agencies. Part of the dissolution back then was due to the fact that those who were in charge, were not a part of the underground scene.

“We wanted to make it our own,” he said. “We wanted to brand it with our own thing. It’s important in every way for our scene. You see the crowd out there. You see all the different bands coming together to be a part of it. It just reminds people that this scene, which I feel is a very significant part of the roots of hardcore, is still very much alive and kicking and doing its thing.”

The Black ‘n Bowl is now in its fourth year and showcases some of the biggest names in the world of hardcore, not only from New York, but across the country and Europe as well. However, Cricien says its about more than just the music. It’s about unity.

“It’s always been that kind of environment. Family, friends, and we want to keep it that way. We’ve never had, knock on wood, issues with fights or this and that. The people that come to these shows, they have a lot of respect for what we’re doing and the people behind the scenes.”

Madball just returned from a tour in Australia with Boston’s Death Before Dishonor, promoting their most recent release, “Infiltrate the System.”

“We’re still out there supporting it,” he said. “It’s still sinking in with people. I’m very proud of the record. The whole band is. Thanks to people who can appreciate what we’re doing, we’re moving forward.”

Madball isn’t the only band from the Lower East Side Crew with a new album. Big brother Roger is also on tour promoting the new Agnostic Front record, “Warriors,” as well as headlining the Black ‘n Blue Bowl. Cricien is very proud of Miret’s new release.

“What’s great about their newest record is it captures different times throughout AF’s career,” he said. “I mean it has a little bit of the old ‘Victim in Pain’ stuff, some ‘Cause for Alarm’ flavor, some ‘One Voice’ flavor, and even a little bit of newer flavor that’s still great. It shows you that they are still very in touch with what’s going on in this world. It’s one of my favorites of theirs and I’m a big fan, aside from obviously being family.”

Following the Black n’ Blue Bowl, Madball will be touring Europe this summer, which Cricien says is always a great experience.

“They just embrace what we do,” he said. “There’s a little bit more of an appreciation for what we do. I think America may be a little bit spoiled with everything else going on, y’know, there’s so much going on. Sometimes, hardcore stuff gets lost in the mix. For whatever reason, Europe has consistently supported our movement and its growing and growing. Not to say America doesn’t have its key areas that are still flourishing but overall in Europe it’s consistent. We play anywhere from small clubs to huge festivals.”

Regardless of where they are playing, Madball’s goal has always been to represent the five boroughs the best they can.

“We’re still putting it down for New York. We still fly the flag all over the world for this city.”