Interview with Jon Snyder: Punk Rock Librarian

and member of The Quintessentials














The Quintessentials circa 2004. Pictured from L to R:
Jon Snyder, Les Hernandez, Dallas DuBach, and Mike Nelson.



I ran into Jon at the No Kings anti-Trump protest at the Hawaii State Capitol. I know him from a class at Leeward Community College that I taught and that he was a student in. I would see him at the Library as well. When we talked at the protest he reminded me we had briefly discussed punk music, the fact that he knew some of the bands I’d been in, and that he’d been in the beloved Hawaii band The Quintessentials. We decided to do an interview.

Hawaii Punk Museum: Jon, tell us about yourself. Who are you? What do you do now? How did you end up in the Hawaii punk scene?


Jon Snyder: Well, I grew up on Oʻahu and went to intermediate and high school with some of the people I’ll mention later. Back then I was (and still am) more of a metalhead. 80s thrash and the L.A. sleaze bands were my favorites then. 1988 specifically, was crucial in those formative years. There were so many albums that resonated with me.

Currently, I’m in my last year of the Masters of Library & Information Science program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa on the archives track and am working atʻUluʻulu: The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi. We collect, preserve, and make accessible pretty much everything related to Hawaiʻi and Hawaiian culture that was captured or documented on an analog video format. Stuff like 16mm home movies, news reels, 35mm film, up to more familiar formats of Betacam and some VHS. We have items that go back to the early 1900s! We clean and stabilize the physical items we get and prepare them for safe long-term storage in a climate-controlled vault. Then we digitize those items to create digital preservation files that are stored off site on remote servers. We then provide access to our catalog and to digital video files for research purposes via our website, uluulu.hawaii.edu, as well as in our offices at the University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu James & Abigail Campbell Library.

So,(shameless plug) if anyone reading this has footage of the scene, I think it would be great to get that into the archive as another means of preserving the history of the scene. I think the goals of what you’re doing with the Punk Rock Museum and what the archive does are very similar.

My current music projects are really DIY, home recordings. I put out an ambient project/album called Liminal Spaces and I am currently working on stuff that has a metal vibe with me doing guitar, bass, vocals, and trying to program the drums. I recently deleted my Soundcloud and opened a Bandcamp account to host these projects. Lately, it’s been my intention to do something along the lines of mid 90s industrial metal with some ambient soundscape stuff in between tracks, but whatever comes out in the creative process is what comes out.

I got involved in the scene during the late 90s from hanging out at Kānewai park near the UH dorm buildings with a lot of the punks there. We jokingly referred to the punks that hung out there as the Kānewai Cockroach Crew cause every time the cops would come around we’d scatter! I knew Mike Muus from Extra Stout and 13th Legion since intermediate school and Justin Ryder of The Catalogs from high school. It was through that group that I met Les Hernandez who was playing with The Catalogs at the time. The Catalogs moved to Portland Oregon after being signed with Mutant Pop. When Les came back he formed Crawling Chaos with Mike Silva of M.U.G. After Mike left for Washington, and Mike Fuji joined Crawling Chaos, is when I started going to more shows. After Crawling Chaos, Les formed The Products (because the products were the things in the merchandise catalogs back in the day) which evolved into The Quintessentials.

Through hanging out with those punks I was exposed to bands like The Queers, Sloppy Seconds, NOFX, Fugazi and Propagandhi. Where Les and I seemed to connect was for our affinity of the 80s thrash, heavy metal, and old horror movies. I absolutely love Vincent Price, and Les loved the Hammer Horror movies that Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were in. So aesthetically, we had a lot in common. But Les was also great at suggesting other bands like The Electric Hellfire Club, and films that have become favorites of mine. I would hang out at band practices and when others left the band for various reasons, I was able to fill in on bass since I was familiar with most of the songs and I was always around.

HPM: For you, what was at stake in being part of this youth subculture? Was it rebellion? If so, against what? Was there a lot of push back against punks at that time in Hawaii? Was it about having a community? About expressing yourselves? In other words, what drew you to it?


JS: I wouldn't say that there was a lot at stake for me being in this subculture. It was a place where my friends were. I was comfortable to be myself with no judgment from others, because we were all on the fringes of society. Even as a metalhead, there was a certain amount of being ostracized in society. I don’t think I’d call my involvement rebellion, more self expression and being around like minded people, so a sense of community even if I didn’t recognize it as such back then.

There was always some kind of pushback from people towards the punk rockers and metalheads, I think the two scenes had that in common so there was some unity in that. Some people might not remember but, back in the mid 80s, when I was getting into metal and punk it was in the middle of the Satanic Panic that swept across the country. It was not as bad here, but it was still present. For myself and a few friends, there were constant accusations of being “devil worshippers..” We saw that it frightened people and kept some others at bay so we kinda played that up to keep them away.

HPM: What years were you most active in the scene?


JS: I was more directly active from about 2000 to 2004 when I played bass with The Quintessentials. I appear on selected tracks of The Horror Never Ends (2001), all tracks on Pentagonal Revisionism (2004) and I think one track on Legends From The Grave (2005). Les and I took the producers class at Olelo, our local cable public access station, in order for us to film and edit the music video for the song Another Girl. I also edited the music video for Specimen 32 (Brain Intact) using clips from the movie Return of the Living Dead part 3, even though I finished it years later just before Les passed. Our first big show had us opening for Bad Religion at World Cafe on October 22, 2002. Then on August 13, 2004 we opened for Blink-182 at the Blaisdell Arena.

While it’s not directly punk related, I think it’s worth mentioning that both Les and I were briefly in the black metal band Magnum Carnage around 2003. When we played in the band the lineup was Kai Laigo (guitar and vocals), Les (rhythm guitar), and John Voorhis (drums). I played bass on the album Flowers of Flesh and Blood (tracks 2-7) and wrote the verses for Everything Must Die. Les and I both appear in the music video for Wicked City. It was kinda busy being in both bands but it was so much fun! The band as I recall had kind of a revolving door of members, as did the Quintessentials. During my time in MC, I can remember going through three or four guitar players.

HPM: Describe if you can the philosophy or approach of the Quintessentials. I honestly don’t know their music well but constantly see people referencing the Satanic aspect of the music. Was the Satanic aspect mostly schlock horror fun or did Les have a genuine interest in Satanism as a philosophy or way of life? I know the concept of Satanism spans a lot of ideologies that range from the Left to the Right of the political spectrum, as is the case with Black Metal. I’m not sure you can answer for him, but maybe point us in the direction of things he said about it, or even other interviews.


JS: As far as the types of music that influenced The Quintessentials, Les was a huge fan of the Ramones and really liked Screeching Weasel, I think those influences are most noticeable in the music. There are a few songs that display his liking for Black Metal and you can hear a punk rock- black metal crossover. Satanic Revolution (from the Crawling Chaos days), Five Point Plan, Mistress Damnation, and Midnight In The Black House are some good examples of that. With the Quintessentials, Les wrote all the songs, with the exception of the Crawling Chaos songs that Mike Silva wrote and gave permission for Les to record. Aside from the Hammer Horror movies, he was also an avid reader, and devoured all of H.P. Lovecreaft’s works (the Cthulhu mythos). Rats In The Walls is about the story with the same name. A lot of his personal life is in his songs too. Everything from ex-girlfriends, to drinking at strip clubs, to sex in cemeteries.

The Satanic aspect you mention comes from the fact that Les was a member of the Church of Satan (CoS). The CoS is an atheistic / Epicurean organization that was founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey. Satanism as codified by LaVey was the first religious philosophy to define what Satanism is that did not come from a Judeo-Christian framework. Where most modern religions view Satan as evil incarnate, in Satanism the character of Satan is viewed as a positive archetype. If you look at the Hebrew root of the word "Satan" as "adversary", then Satan represents all the things that the Judeo-Christian religions attempt to suppress. Aspects like pride, carnality, enlightenment, freedom of thought, and indulgence in humanity's natural instincts. If you knew Les, you’d know that this is who he was.

Les was a member of the CoS for as long as I knew him, and just before he passed away he was granted the title of Magister. The way in which faced down his mortality by taking control of all aspects of it and selecting the people he knew would make sure his wishes were carried out is just one of the reasons why he was able to attain the rank of Magister. So that philosophy, his love for horror movies, dark adventure, sci-fi, and occult books, and the carnal aspects of life would naturally crossover into his music, writings, art, and zines that he put together.

No, the Satanic aspect was not used in the schlock/horror/fun manner, it was a genuine interest. It is philosophy that he lived his life by. Although to some, the very mention of the S word (Satan) is shocking and will horrify some. But that is part of the point. This is where Les would not downplay the shock value in it. It would keep some people at bay, but entice others who had more of an open mind, just like a lot of the people in the punk scene. He had an ability to write a lot of really fun songs, and some people really miss the point in them cause they don’t know the deeper meanings.

Some may remember the Bloodfire! zine that Les put out. He compiled the essays he wrote for the zine into a book called The Bloodfire Compendium that also contains some of his short stories, poems, and explanations of things related to the CoS and the Satanic philosophy. The CoS is unique in that the organization recognizes that people can agree with the philosophy but how they apply it in their daily lives will be very different. Therefore the membership includes all types of people from every gender, sexual orientation, and all sides of the political spectrum. For those who’d like to know more about the CoS the best thing to do is explore churchofsatan.com and read The Satanic Bible.

HPM: Tell me a bit about the personality of The Quintessentials.


JS: The band was Les’ vision so the personality of the band was mostly him. But a lot of us had similar interests that drew us to the group. Russ Jarolba (guitar) and I went to high school together and were into a lot of the same music. There were times in practice that Les and I would jam on Faster Pussycat or L.A. Guns songs. Or Russ, Dave Vierra (drums), and I would play Rage Against The Machine or Pantera. Daniel Rodby (guitar/drums) and I would play Weezer just to piss Les off. You know, just dicking around at practice. But Les always wanted to play Ziggy Stardust by Bowie and I fought it for a long time, causeI knew he wanted to do it for real. Like Les would start playing it and no one would continue playing it. Until after Russ joined. Les started it at practice and Russ played along with it. It was from that day on that we started playing it. There were so many good songs that Les had, I felt we didn’t need to do covers. But we did a few others at shows.

One night when Les and I were in The Quints and Magnum Carnage, both bands played the same show at King’s Crab in Waikiki and Les needed to borrow an amp from a friend so we could play. Our friend lent Les his 2x12 Marshall combo amp on the condition that it not get trashed. For being such a small amp, this thing was tougher than nails. It was a long night and the drinks were plentiful. Both sets we played that night went off without any trouble, which was surprising given how much alcohol was consumed.

As everyone who knew him, Les was full of jokes and liked to have fun. As we are heading toward the ramp for the underground parking and load up the gear, Les says “I’m gonna ride this amp down the ramp like a horse!” I could see that at the bottom of the ramp was a little metal grate to try and stop rain water from flooding the garage. I knew for sure that as soon as he hit the bottom, the coasters would get caught in the grate and he would eat shit.

So, here’s Les clad in black jeans, black shirt, and black leather jacket sitting on an amp that is maybe two and a half feet long and maybe two feet tall at the top of the ramp. Before I could even try to be the voice of reason, he took off. Left hand on the amp handle that is in his crotch, legs tucked up as if he was riding an undersized tricycle, and his right hand in the air. If he had a cowboy hat, he would have looked like a punk rock Slim Pickens riding the A bomb in Dr. Strangelove! I just knew that we’d be at the hospital after he flipped over and face planted into the cement driveway. Somehow this guy managed to hit the grate just right and the coasters on the amp didn’t get stuck. He rode that damn amp down the ramp to glory! This was the essence of what made Les so much fun to be around. No matter what he did, he did it with all his heart, right up to the very end of his life. He did things his way and had fun doing it.

HPM: What was your approach/experience as the bass player in these bands?


JS: I like so many different genres of music, so I try to incorporate something from everything if I can. My favourite bass players growing up were Nikki Sixx and Cliff Burton. I think both were great songwriters, and I know they are completely opposite ends of bass playing. But in learning Burton’s stuff, it really showed me how the bass interacts with both the drums and guitars while filling in gaps. And with Nikki Sixx, that taught me that sometimes the simple idea is the better idea and you don’t have to over play all the time. A lot of the songs that I got to play were either Catalogs songs, Crawling Chaos songs, or ones that were already recorded for The Horror Never Ends before I joined. Those bass parts were already written so I followed what the previous players (Kevin Jones, Mike Nelson and Russ Tong) had done as best as I could. Two songs where I think I stand out the most in what I did are in the prechorus of the Quints song Inferno from The Horror Never Ends, and during the outro of Just Another Homicide with Magnum Carnage on Flowers of Flesh and Blood. I threw in what I thought was some Steve Harris-esque stuff. Although on Just Another Homicide the mix really eliminated the bass and the guitar solo really overpowers what I did. I really liked how I was mimicking the bass drum while accentuating the guitars at the same time. I feel it really added to the feel of the song. It's a shame it’s lost in the mix.

HPM: Do you have any memories of weird or interesting characters in the scene?


JS: There were lots of interesting people in the scene. I usually say that I’m really glad that some of the ones who took way too many drugs were there cause they became examples of what not to do. There was one lady who was always at the King’s Crab shows. She was an older, heavy set, Korean lady who always had her hair pulled up on her forehead kinda like Gene Simmons. I remember her just always rocking out!

HPM: Any incidents or experiences stand out?


JS: In getting ready for this interview, I was listening to all the songs from the time I was around, and it brought back a lot of memories. One that came to mind was this one night at Kanewai, we were drinking by the tennis courts that night. The police showed up as they usually did, but we didn’t see them come into the parking lot. So we’re starting to clean up and leave “under supervision” when one cop came down and had a real chip on his shoulder that night. He starts yelling at all of us. “You were here last night, I’m tired of it… You were here, you were here” And he’s sticking his finger in our faces as he’s saying this. Then, one guy responds to his "you were here last night” with “No I wasn't.” So there we were all standing in a circle cop, punk, cop, punk shoulder to shoulder watching our friend have a shouting match with this cop. I turned to the cop next to me and asked him if I could take our beer and my two friends a leave. Then Les, another friend and I went to a hole in the wall strip bar called Club By Me. This little hole in the wall strip bar was where the inspiration for the song It’s In My Belly came from. But I think it was that incident that was the end of the Kanewai days.

There was one incident at a show in Pucks Alley. Mike Muus was singing for either Fuctifiknow (the band before Extra Stout) or it was Extra Stout. Anyway, some dude got up on stage and just punched Mike in the mouth. Next thing you know the whole club chased this guy into the parking lot, kicking and punching him as he got in his car. I think one of the windows of his car got smashed in the process. I ended up beside the security guy outside and he said “you guys no mess around yeah?” I replied; “We gotta take care of our own.”

HPM: What were the various bands on the island doing as far as playing here, touring, putting out recordings?


JS: Most of the bands I remember were friends of ours like: The Knumbskulls, Extra Stout, Pimpbot, Buckshot Shorty, Loose Money, National Product, the all girl band Vax (I hope I’m remembering that right), Olivia (The Band), DeBauch, Fever Boner, Tinkle Potty, and The Miltons. The Knumbskulls, Extra Stout, Buckshot Shorty, and Loose Money guys were all friends of ours. Dimitri from Buckshot recorded the first three Quints albums at his studio.Pimpbot was such a cool fusion of punk/Ska/rock. Olivia was one of the bands that we did Heaven and Hell shows with. Les booked two more Christian bands with two more darker/Satanic bands for a show and called it the Heaven and Hell shows. I remember Rob from Loose Money helping us break down after we opened for Bad Religion, I think we helped him sneak into the show after that. Vax was super cool cause they were four young women getting up there and just going for it! It was great seeing the torch getting passed on in a way. DeBauch was a two piece, guitar and drums, just blowing out metal stuff and just having fun. Tinkle Potty was another two piece band that I only saw once and they were really interesting because they were completely different. Cello and drums if I remember, but they left a great impression on me.

Unfortunately, the only touring I’ve done with the bands I played with was going to Schofield to play one show. Most of the times we played we were in town. Most of the times we played we were in town. But playing here, I feel that most everyone was super supportive of everyone else. Getting up there and putting something out is a really cathartic thing. It’s a great way of letting go of some energy and being able to share that with other like minded people who are experiencing a lot of the same things that you might be feeling, really brings people together.

Through playing in these bands, I found that I really enjoyed the behind the scenes stuff a lot more than the on stage stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I will never forget stepping out on the Blaisdell arena stage with a lot of our friends in the audience. That was such a high! I really liked being at practice and recording. That was where we could relax and be creative. One time my girlfriend asked why we drank during practice. We said, “because the drunker we get, the better we sound.” She later admitted that it was true. One of my favorite things we used to do at practice was to play the last half hour in the dark. We’d turn off the lights and run through a set list. It really helped to get a feel for your instrument and play by feel instead of constantly looking at your hands. So, when we did this at Duane Franklin’s (guitar/bass) first practice with us, he thought we were pranking him!

When I did my internship at ʻUluʻulu, they had me work on a bunch of episodes of Hot Hawaiian Nights. That turned out to be really fun, even though a lot of the music is not my preferred genre. I know that some might recognize the name Scott Williams from the Tantra Monsters if I remember correctly. He did an episode and did a song that incorporated a Hawaiian nose flute. Tone Deaf Teens did an episode that can be viewed through the Hamilton Library website. You do need to have some kind of UH access to view that one though. One day, my coworker came across a tape that had M.U.G. written on the label. We have no idea what is on it and I asked Mike Silva and he doesn't recall what it could be either. The only way to find out is to get it digitized.

But I really feel like all that behind the scenes stuff is part of why I really like my job at the archive. I get to watch all this content, describe it, and select the preview clips that people will get to see on-line. It is the creative part of my job and it sort of incorporates video and sound editing which is what I originally wanted to go to school for. My desire to pursue video and sound editing is what led to the making of the Quintessentials videos.

HPM: Were attitudes toward music changing in any ways in the scene when you were playing?


JS: I feel like I was involved in the scene for such a short time. But one changing attitude I remember you and I talking about after class was the Quints song Punk Rock Heroes. Lyrically it really sounds like an old man beginning to be out of touch with the new kids in the scene and the changing attitudes that they had that weren’t like the punk attitudes that most older people in the scene grew up with. I will say that being in school now gives me greater respect for those people who were constantly around in the scene and in college at the same time. I don’t know how y’all did it! It just proves to me that things constantly change. Scenes and music evolve, but I do hope that at the core they remain the same in spirit even if the images of the bands change.

Personally, one change I’ve begun to implement since starting to put together my own musical projects is trying not to say an artist or song sucks. When I was playing with bands before, it was always someone else handling all of the behind the scenes details. I didn’t realize all the time, energy, and effort it took to get stuff together and put it out. Even if it’s just online. So, any artist that does all of that themselves has already done a hell of a lot more than most people do in a lifetime. Now I just try and say that a particular artist, song, or movie didn’t resonate with me or that I just didn’t care for it. This approach does not diminish all of the hard work that those artists have put into their creation, but rather puts the reasoning for not liking something on me. We all know art of any kind is subjective, and not everyone is going to like what I put out. But just like all those other artists, I’m just trying to express myself the best I can with the limited resources that are available to me.

HPM: Did different parts of Oahu have different scenes?


JS: The only difference between different spots on the island is that there seemed to be more house shows on the Windward side, town side had all the venues. I stayed in town mostly.

HPM: Tell us about some of the venues and shows you played, people you met and hung out with in the scene, adventures you had, etc.


JS: Since Les was the manager at Pink Cadillac, we played most of our shows there. Some other venues that I remember were King’s Crab, Anna Bannanas, The Wave, there was one over by the Varsity Theatre that I can’t remember the name of. King’s Crab was a lot of fun. That venue was more geared to metal bands.I played there as part of Magnum Carnage and The Quints, on the same night! I wish I could remember more of the metal bands that played there besides the Sun Dog Boys and The Miltons. The Miltons were a three piece and their image was three guys in sun-dresses and makeup.The singer, Noel The She-male even had light up devil horns! The Quints played The Wave shortly after the Bad Religion show. That was such a reality check. We played at packed World Cafe (as it was known then) one night then only played to like one guy and our girlfriends at the Wave the next.

So obviously the biggest venue we played at was Blaisdell arena when we opened for Blink-182. It was myself, Les, Mike Nelson (guitar), and Dallas DeBauch (drums). I remember being pretty nervous that I was farting kinda regularly. When Dallas was in a bathroom stall, Mike and I wet some toilet paper and threw it over the stall at him. Mike had his first beer that night in our “luxurious” tent backstage. Two kids snuck backstage and asked for our autographs! That was also the same day that KPOI got taken off the air. I remember talking to the DJ Double D before the show, who was also at the Bad Religion show. It was really sad seeing how hurt he was that the station got axed. But the few times I did get to interact with him he was awesome!

After the Queers played at the Fast Zone back in the 90s, a few of us took the band around the island. Having Les, Hugh (RIP) and B-face on a round island trip in my car was a blast! All of us rocking out to Aerosmith and classic rock, some great memories made there.There was one house party that I remember on the Windward side, where the mainland band played A Flock Of Seagulls - I Ran, and no one remembered the lyrics for the third verse, so they just repeated the first verse.



Magnum Carnage at King’s Crab circa 2000.

HPM: Aside from playing in bands, what were some of your other impressions on the Hawaii punk scene in general?

JS: I think the Hawaiʻi punk scene is really unique in that it crosses over into so many other genres of music that are present on island. One of the guys I keep in touch with spins at reggae shows, I met you as a student in your history class, and some guys are working their asses off taking care of their families while still playing. So the scene is a very diverse group of people who came together to help create and maintain this culture out here. I have noticed that when you look at the people on an individual basis, we are very loyal to one another. We always have each other's back in one way or another. There is no price on that kind of unity.

HPM: Looking back on your time as a musician in the Hawaii punk scene, what are your final comments or reflections for this interview?


JS: I do miss playing shows and creating music with friends. But I don’t think I could bring the same kind of energy to playing now that I did back then. Kudos to those who are still doing it! That time period in my life helped make me who I am today and I wouldn’t change any of the experiences I’ve had (good or bad) for anything.

Thanks for the interview, Jon!