DS Interview: Catching up with Pueblo, Colorado punk vet Matt “Pickle” Hamilton

Dying Scene sat down with Matt Hamilton (aka Pickle) to discuss his long involvement in the punk rock scene. Matt has been playing drums for many years and many bands, including Produkt, S.O.S., the Coffin Boys, the Worms, the Sex Pickles, Trash Idols, Blanket of M, and Slash City Daggers. He’s also been a roadie for Eleventh Hour and Total Chaos and currently plays drums for Diskount Vodka and the Dead End.

Dying Scene: So Matt, tell me about yourself. Who are you? Where are you from? When did you get into punk rock? When did you decide to become a drummer and why? 

P: My name is Matt Hamilton. Everybody calls me Pickle. I play drums. I started playing…well, I got into punk rock when I was about 15 years old. I didn’t start playing drums ‘til I was 17 and I’ve been playing punk rock ever since, for 30 plus years. I’ve played in tons of different bands through the years but right now, I’m playing in Diskount Vodka and the Dead End in Pueblo, Colorado. But I’m originally from from East Texas.

DS: Why did you decide to become a drummer? 

P: Because I skateboarded from the summer of fifth grade all the way ‘til the beginning of 10th grade and I messed up my knee and I needed to do something so I didn’t lose my mind. So, I started playing drums and all my friends were musicians. So, I got a friend of mine named Kevin Fender (Eleventh Hour, Employer Employee, AUNTIE) to show me a little tempo and I built off of that. Here I am, to this day, it’s the only lesson than I ever had. I also played with tons of people through my lifetime but finally just got my life back together. So, now I’m actually making a dent in society, I think a little bit. So, that’s good.  

DS: So, what other bands were you in? 

P: Let’s see, way back in the day, I was in a band called The Coffin Boys. I was in band called Blanket of M, the Worms, and I was in a real big band in Arizona called The Slash City Daggers. We went worldwide with that. It was like a trashy, glammy, punk rock and roll band. It was fun. You could find that stuff online. I sat in and played drums with Jeff Dahl and Freddy Lynxx at a live show back in the mid or late 90s back in Arizona. That was pretty badass.

DS: That’s a lot to be proud of for sure. 

P: Yeah, definitely.

DS: So, what brought you to Pueblo, Colorado? 

P: I needed to get off of drugs and I had friends here and could smoke all the weed I wanted to. So, here I am and I got a little bit right-minded again and started craving drums. So, my old roommate used to talk about this guy at the plasma center who played guitar named Carlos. So, I went and found him and here I am playing music eight years later with him in the Dead End.

DS: You’re currently in Diskount Vodka and the Dead End. How would you describe your bands? And, how do you manage your time in both bands? 

P: Diskount Vodka is just straight up old school punk rock. Some of it kind of sounds like street punk, a little Oi-ish, kind of poppy…just a little bit all over the place. We have a split seven inch with Tv Tragedy coming out on January 13th on Split Personality Records out of Las Vegas. That’s a fun one and Diskount keeps releasing singles. February, we’ll release an album. Then as far as the Dead End goes, we are a psychobilly band with punk rock influences. I’m a punk rock drummer but I play a little bit of rock and roll in that band, too. So, a little bit all over the place also as well. Hopefully we have some new music coming out soon, too. 

DS: Cool. So, what are you up to right now? 

P: Just getting ready to release more material with both bands, but Diskount Vodka for sure. We have new material coming. So, we also have a video that came out on December 1st, a little live video with a song that we’re about to release. 

DS: So, with your two bands, have you achieved what you sought out to do as a drummer? 

P: I’ve made goals and hit those goals but now I have new goals. So, I’m just going to keep moving up the ladder. Never stop. It takes forever to get anywhere being a musician, for some reason, but it’s worth it. 

DS: Who are your biggest influence and inspirations? Tell me about your patches on your jacket. 

P: As far as my biggest influences, of course the Ramones influenced me playing drums at a younger age. But here recently, Scott Churilla (Reverend Horton Heat, Supersuckers) who played with Three Bad Jacks, that dude was super inspiring to watch. So, I’d say that gave me a little bit of inspiration in my life to beef up my drums some. I like listening to a bunch of Oi bands. They’re pretty inspiring. Rancid always inspires me. I like all kinds of styles of music, so I listen to psychobilly music, too. I like The Meteors, The Peabrains, The Quaranteds, and Rezurex. There’s a bunch of good bands like that. I like everything from the New York Dolls to Johnny Thunders, all kinds of stuff. 

DS: So, you’ve been performing locally and touring regionally for years now. What is the biggest show you’ve played? And, what is the best show you’ve played? Tell me about the most memorable show you’ve played. 

P: The biggest show I’ve played is Hot Rod Rock & Rumble because there were hundreds of people in front of us and then thousands of people in the whole place that heard us. So, it was pretty wild. As far as memorable shows, I could go all the way back to when I lived in Arizona and played shows with David Gardner with the Trash Idols and those shows were very memorable. Playing with Jeff Dahl was something that was super crazy in my lifetime. Raymond Burton Estes (…And We All Die) told me to buy a Jeff Dahl tape at Camelot Music in the mall for a buck. So, I did and I fell in love with it. Years later, I got to play drums with him on stage and played his songs. I was super amazed. But he’s also recorded stuff for the Trash Idols and recorded stuff for Slash City Daggers also through the years for me. So that was pretty cool. I still keep in touch with the guy. He’s awesome. So, much inspiration comes from him, too. 

DS: So, what would you say your proudest moments are? 

P: My whole career. I like it all. It’s never been a dull moment, that’s for sure. Playing with the Fat Skins. They’re a really good Oi band and those guys are really good guys. So, I’ve played with a lot of good bands. 

DS: What advice do you have for young musicians who want to start a band? 

P: You don’t want to play music. Don’t ever play an instrument! No, I’m just kidding. I don’t know…just learn that instrument and feel it. If you don’t feel it, definitely don’t play it. Just keep moving forward. You’ve got to put in the work. You can’t just sit there and expect somebody to come give it to you. You’ve got to go do it. 

DS: So, what’s next for you? What are some of the goals you have for 2024? 

P: Just put out as much music as I possibly can and maybe tour some and who knows, shoot some videos for both bands. So, just do as much as I possibly can. I only live once. 

DS: What bands are you listening to this week? 

P: Rancid, Descendents, Conservative Military Image, and a little bit of the Hellbound Hitmen, too.

DS: So, do you have anything else you wanted say to Dying Scene’s readers? 

P: Check out all the bands. Check out Dying Scene and just keep this going. Keep an eye out for the latest releases. Thank you for doing this for us. 

DS: Thank you. Thanks for taking the time to sit with us.