Agnostic Front guitarist and founder Vinnie Stigma is the undisputed king of NYHC (New York Hardcore). Since 1982, he and his partner in crime, AF vocalist Roger Miret, have carried the torch for punk’s unapologetic cousin, hardcore, across the globe, amassing a rabid following of loyal, oft criminally-ignored youth, as well as those simply attracted to the band’s punishing rapid-fire crossover anthems.
“Stigma” as his friends and fans lovingly call him, is not your run-of-the-mill rocker. He has lived a fascinating existence, launching from his beloved Little Italy neighborhood where he came up rubbing elbows with everyone from mafioso to pioneering artists and musicians at the dawn of punk. He has dabbled in cooking, acting, martial arts, yoga and other creative disciplines, even professional wrestling. He is a father and a cancer survivor who helped pioneer skinhead and tattoo culture in America, and ushered in an aggressive musical movement, the repercussions of which are still felt and championed to this very day.
So, the title of Stigma’s upcoming autobiography, The Most Interesting Man in the World, might be a little bit of an overstatement, but only a little bit.
Here, handpicked by the book’s co-writer Howie Abrams, are seven fun facts — and the relevant excerpts — from Stigma’s The Most Interesting Man in the World.
Vinnie Stigma (accidentally) invented the term “mosh”
Some people say I invented the term “mosh,” but I don’t know if that’s true or not. I do say it a lot, though. I know the Bad Brains, when they got heavy into the Rasta thing, used to say “MASH it up” or “MASH up the place,” like a lot of reggae artists would say. Supposedly, I was yelling out what (Bad Brains vocalist) H.R. said onstage, but my New York-Italian accent made it sound like “MOSH” instead of “MASH,” and it went on from there. Now everyone is MOSHing!
Stigma handpicked Agnostic Front vocalist Roger Miret because of the way he danced
John Watson was the first person to leave the early version of the band, so we had Jimmy the Russian, who was in a band called Virus, come in to sing. That didn’t last long.
Now, I had already seen Roger play bass in his band the Psychos, and I really wanted him to be in the band. He danced all crazy at the shows, too, which made me want him more. I had our then bassist Adam Mucci go over and tell him I wanted him to join, so Roger came over to talk to me. He was a little confused because he was the bass player in the Psychos, and Adam was already our bass player. But I loved watching Rog on the dance floor. We chatted, and at the end of the talk, Roger said he would do it; he would be our singer. Thank God, because otherwise, I wouldn’t still be talking about this band this many years later.
Stigma was against making Agnostic Front’s most successful Album, ‘Cause for Alarm’
Without even realizing it, Agnostic Front had become part of the crossover hardcore/metal scene (during the mid-80s). (AF’s 1984 debut album) Victim in Pain had a lot of fast songs on there, and that seemed to be what the kids wanted at that time. Metal bands were playing fast by then, too: Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax…. They heard us, D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and all the other bands who were playing fast and added it to their sound. I suppose it was just a different time; it was something new. For our second album, I wanted to make more of a direct hardcore-punk follow-up to Victim in Pain. It’s fine to follow tradition, but if you want to be a pioneer, you have to make your own path; you have to update the sound.
When it came time to do Cause for Alarm, we were looking for new ideas. By now, we had the same manager as Carnivore, Crumbsuckers, and Whiplash. We’d heard that Louie Beato and Peter Steele from Carnivore were fans of Agnostic Front. I became friends with Louie, and wound up doing backup vocals on the Carnivore albums. He eventually agreed to play drums on our album because we didn’t have a drummer at the time. That’s how Peter became involved with Agnostic Front, through my relationship with Louie. We used to go out to Brooklyn to rehearse, and Pete helped us out with some lyrics. Their involvement changed our sound a lot, with a lot more metal in there, but it still had the energy AF always had. In the end, I’m glad I made that leap, but honestly, it’s not the album I really wanted to or expected to make.
Stigma dropped out of culinary school
Years ago I bought a studio over on Varick Street from Richard Hell and was actually living there for a while. A few floors up was the New York Culinary Academy. I eventually lost the studio, but I liked cooking and was curious about the Culinary Academy. I decided to check it out and went for around two weeks. I wound up feeling like, “This ain’t for me. I can’t afford it, and I just don’t care. I got a grandmother who’ll teach me that stuff. I don’t need these fucking guys,” so I quit.
I did learn a few things, though. There are a bunch of stages and levels they make you go through. They start you in produce, learning about all of the different vegetables. Then meat. Plus, you have to learn about refrigeration. No one wants meat with freezer burn; it tastes like chalk. You had to learn the flame levels, the different pots and pans, cooking with oil and butter…. It was a long time ago, and I really couldn’t put all my eggs in that basket, so to speak. You know, every Italian guy thinks he knows how to cook. It’s just a thing
Stigma moonlights as a professional wrestling manager
I was a big wrestling fan as a kid and watched it every Saturday after the cartoons. My favorite wrestler, of course, was Bruno Sammartino, the living legend. I saw him up close once. The guy was like a refrigerator: a thick, naturally built specimen. It’s just incredible entertainment. I’d always fantasized about being a wrestler, and I finally got to live out my wrestling fantasy recently. Our friend, Kevin Gill, who used to have a little hardcore record label, is a big wrestling announcer now. He says to me, “Do you like wrestling? Do you want to wrestle one day?” I’m like, “Yeah, sure, I’ll want to do it.” So he eventually called, and I did it.
The original idea was that I would be the manager, kinda like Lou Albano, but that plan changed. I came in as a manager named Mr. Goombah, but wound up getting beat up, getting involved. I even came off the top rope. I was thinking, I can do that because of CBGB. I know how to stage dive. One fat guy throws me into the other fat guy. Then that fat guy throws me to another fat guy. I’m only like 147 pounds, so a big fat guy can throw me around. I climbed up the ropes and launched myself. It was incredible. Afterward, I was like, “Holy shit! I just lived out my fantasy.” I flew off the top ropes. I fought famous guys who were in the ring with me, and we won the belt that night. That was the clincher right there. I got the belt.
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett told Vinnie he was his hero
I got to hang with Kirk Hammett from Metallica once. He asked Agnostic Front to play his horror themed FEAR FestEvil a few years ago. We didn’t drink together or anything, but he was telling his wife that I was his hero. I was like, “Who, me?!” I made sure to tell him that I was THE WORST! There isn’t a person in the world who knows me compared to that guy, but it was nice to hear.
Stigma refuses to use social media
I don’t really use any of those social media apps. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll see you when I get there. I guess it’s kinda fun, but it’s unnecessary. I’m cool with it, but this look, here’s what I’m eating bullshit is not for me. I’m too busy. Too busy DOING. I mean, I’m out there onstage. People know where to find me, even in other parts of the world. The whole itinerary is available. And when I’m back home, I want to just shut it off.
I don’t need to have this superficial interaction with people, because I get to see them face-to-face all the time. I do this stuff in person, so why do I need to be on social media? Plus, you say the “wrong” thing one day, and you get haters. I ain’t got time in my life for that.
The Most Interesting Man in the World is due out via Simon & Schuster on September 10th.