Intrusive, with Zach Herlevi

When punk rock bubbled up from the underground in the early 1980’s, it found fertile ground in Santa Cruz with it’s loud and obnoxious sound. Whether fueling a raging mosh pit (slam-circle) at a sold out show or powering an all nighter on the half pipe, punk rock music helped define an era in which such a defiant and do-it-yourself lifestyle had never been so appealing, especially to local skaters and surfers. 

Bands like Circle Jerks and Adolescents were inspiring local bands like B’LAST and Lost Cause to develop their own tight acts, who in turn motivated a generation of talented surfers and skaters to reach heights previously unimaginable. By the height of the local punk movement in the mid-1990’s, there must have been over twenty tight acts regularly performing shows in the area, from Good Riddance to Fury 66. Alas, by the turn of the millennium, the movement had faded away, and there it has lain dormant. Until now.

Four decades later, a new wave of punk rock has invigorated the local scene. These are the the grandchildren of that first generation of local punkers, kids who’ve decided to reclaim their birthright by plugging in and getting loud. Bands like Curb Creeps and SLAM, who look to the golden age of punk for inspiration while drawing in fresh new energy and eager fans with their modern-day punker sensibilities. 

One of the most promising of this new wave of bands are Intrusive, a four man outfit from Santa Cruz who undoubtedly deserve your attention. I chatted with lead singer, Zach Herlevi, about Intrusive to get the nitty gritty details about the band, the local scene, and to ask him why he’s always screaming so much.

Tell me a little bit about your band. How did you guys link up? Who’s who in the band?

I’ve known Fundo (drums), since Kindergarten. He and I originally started making music together off and on during high school. I showed Fundo Operation Ivy one day and he dug it. When he slowly got into real hardcore we started trying to make our own versions of it, with him playing drums and guitar and me on bass and vocal, dubbing it over each other to make songs. It sounded horrible. I met Genghis (guitar) surfing when I was younger but we never really talked. I think I saw him biking with a guitar and hit him up on social media or something. Fundo introduced me to Courtney (Bass) and she came along and from there it all just fell into a band.

Band name? Significance? How did you guys come up with that name?

The first name me and Fundo had was Minors in Possession but it didn’t stick. Then it was Bad Party and we even sat on the name Dream for a little while. Our whole idea with Dream was to act like an indie band and then crash indie shows with hardcore. Intrusive is what stuck since punk rock is pretty much considered intrusive music to most.

Who are your band’s primary influence? Any singers in the punk space that you look up to or want to emulate?

We were pretty much a wannabe Void at the start then kinda just morphed into our own sound recently. It’s funny because one of my biggest influences is actually Clifford from B’LAST and I know the guy. I like that he’s a super heavy vocalist but you can still clearly understand what he is saying. B’LAST is honestly just a huge influence in general. They were super weird. I feel like not many people emulated their sound.

What’s the local punk scene like right now? What explains punk’s resurgence?

It’s really cool because almost every band in our scene has its own sound. No one is really trying to copy each other for the most part. SLAM has always been super close to us and the term “Slamtrusive” is always thrown around (laughs). They are all incredible musicians and me and we seem to bounce of each other’s energy while preforming.

I don’t know, it’s kind of weird honestly because we’re the older ones these days. Everyone I grew up with in high school didn’t listen to punk rock at all. I was almost insecure about it. Most people in the bands and crowds are about two to three years younger than us. I couldn’t tell you an absolute answer on why it’s resurfacing but if I could give it my best guess it’s due to the appeal of the 80’s/90’s right now. You see a lot of people with film cameras, baggy clothes, older cars and stuff. Probably the same with music.

What do you do in your spare time?

I hate surfing with people so i’m always running around surfing in shark tanks north or south of town, which usually involves hiking, which I really enjoy. I also skate, but I suck. Minecraft is pretty fun when it’s raining.

Is surfing “punk”? What about skating?

Surfing and skating is whatever you make of it.

How often do you guys practice? Where do you practice? 

Every Wednesday. Used to be everyday when we used to practice in the garage at Genghis’s house. But that only lasted a few months before the neighbor across the way couldn’t take it anymore. Apparently, when we would practice for hours at a time, his whole house would shake so it was kind of understandable on why he shut us down (laughs). Now we just jam in his room with a smaller kit and amps. Sometimes at SCRS or his dad’s studio.

Favorite show played so far? Why was it so memorable?

For me personally, both Catalyst shows we’ve played are tied. They were both packed with randoms and all of our friends and they always were just complete mayhem (laughs). During the first one the sound guy was having to fix cables constantly because of the stage moshing and the 2nd one we had SLAM come up to play a song. Everyone was so confused—it was hilarious.

Follow Intrusive on Instagram @intrusivesc