The Witzard

Neil Rubenstein's "headshots" (CREDIT: Ryan Brook) Neil Rubenstein has worn many hats throughout his career: musician, frontman, talent manager, pick-up baseball player, label co-owner, tour manager, podcaster, reviewer/critic, and stand-up comedian. Rubenstein was once a member of Punk/Hardcore bands Irony of Lightfoot, Sons of Abraham, Tetsuo, These Enzymes, and thisyearsmodel. He acted as tour manager for Motion City Soundtrack, Kittie, and RIVAL SCHOOLS and briefly operated his own artist management agency, Sons Modern. Neil Rubenstein co-owned, operated, and revived Fadeaway Records along with fellow Long Islander, scene photographer, and long-time friend Michael Dubin. Fadeaway issued note-worthy releases from The Movielife, Brand New / Safety In Numbers, a split from Rubenstein's own thisyearsmodel & Hot Rod Circuit, Kevin Devine's The Miracle of '86, and a 2017 compilation EP entitled Between The Bars (The Songs of Elliott Smith.) Neil Ruben...

Fontana, California-based artist Clark Domae was a driving force behind the success of early 2000's Pop-punk/Emo pioneers Rufio. Domae played lead guitar and sang back-up vocals across Rufio's four critically-acclaimed albums, as well as a handful of singles and EP's, released between 2001-10. Domae was part of Rufio's initial run between 2000-07 and reunion stints held in 2010-12 and 2015. During their heyday, Rufio toured alongside of bands like Alkaline Trio, Brand New, Less Than Jake, Relient K, Senses Fail, and Taking Back Sunday. Since Rufio's 2007 disbandment, Clark Domae has started a family, gone back to school, maintains a "normal" job, and still plays guitar from time to time after his kids go to bed. Clark played guitar on "Drugs" from his one-time bandmate Scott Sellers' 2018 solo EP The Judge and most recently, revitalized an old band with Sellers and Aaron Fernandez. BigCity's awesomely-titled The Quest for Power EP con...

"It's hard to pinpoint the moment I wanted to become a producer. I do remember contemplating at a young age the elements of Hip-Hop, wondering where I fit in. My older brother wrote [graffiti]. My other brother's friends were DJ's and emcees. To 12-year-old me, it was logical to take a craft up in one of these cornerstones. I, actually, wanted to break, but having no actual training available to me, that didn't last long. Around this time, I recognized my affinity for beats and beat-making. The part that interested me the most was seeing people come up with something from nothing. You didn't need to know how to play an instrument. The process intrigued and excited me. The rapping was cool, but what moved me the most was the music. I could get down with an average emcee, so as long as the sh*t he was rhyming on was tight; vice-versa, if a fire emcee had wack beats, it felt wasted to me." Four Albums of Note (Honorable Mentions) 1. De La Soul - 3 Feet...