“You don’t have to be a well put-together, classically artistic-looking or sounding person to have something of value to contribute in any way. And I do mean in any way.”

Hate Knife is a punk band from Seattle playing loud, raunchy music with a sense of humor, or, as they also put it, “songs for degenerates by degenerates.” The band started to take shape in 2020, when Swan met Tarik, who had never been in a band or played bass but, in Swan’s words, just gave Bassist Energy™. The current lineup consists of Swan (guitar/vox), Tarik (bass/vox), Owen (guitar/vox) and Kyle (drums/maybe a shout or two). Fast and unpredictable, their sets careen between the contemplative and the unhinged, giving the audience space to both philosophize and wild out. Their self-titled album is out now on Bandcamp, with fresh vinyl pressings to be released [very] soon. 

Earlier this month, I spoke with Hate Knife ahead of their set for Hollow Earth Radio’s annual Magma Fest, dubbed “Magmaween” this year for its Halloween date. That interview was sadly lost to some technical calamity, but thankfully the band was gracious enough to redo the whole thing a few weeks later. The second time around, we discussed the band’s origin story, the creative power of novice musicians, degeneracy and, of course, their various artistic influences. There were also a few side quests, including: the tale of a wedding party armed with swords, a signed Kiss album that floated down one’s great river of maternal ancestry, and a fated musical match made at School of Rock’s Weezer Camp (or years thereafter, depending on which band member you ask). And while their name may have come from a fit of rage, all four members agree that Hate Knife is for lovers.

This interview transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Listen to the full interview on Bandcamp here.

So what’s the deal with Hate Knife? Do you have strong feels about knives? Tell me about the name and how you all got started making music together.

Swan: Well, Tarik loves knives.

Tarik: I am a big knife lover.

Swan: I feel like it’s an act of cruelty to force him to be in a band called Hate Knife.

Owen: Blades were a prominent part of Tarik’s wedding.

Tarik: Well, technically, those were swords.

Owen: That’s why I said blade. It’s close. It’s knife-adjacent.

Tarik: Well, I mean, if we called ourselves Hate Sword, it’d be over. I’d be out.

Swan: It’s kind of a sick name, though.

Owen: I don’t know, maybe a rebranding could be in the works…

Swan: Too late. That could be the side project when I die, and you guys keep going without me.

Tarik: No, that’s when we do our own cover band of Hate Knife, but each of us is doing something different.

Owen: Oh, like Kiss did? Kiss did the four different albums, each just a solo album. I’ve got a signed Paul Stanley one. My mom convinced the bus driver to drop her off away from her bus stop so she could go to the Kiss signing. She had to pick which member of Kiss, ’cause you could only get one. She’s like, “Which one am I gonna get?” And she’s like, “Paul Stanley.” And now I am in possession of that. So when we do that, you can do the Hate Sword album.

Swan: Okay, there are a few questions we need to backpedal to. I think first, Tarik, you should elaborate on how swords played a part in your wedding, and then we can go back to the question that started all of this.

Tarik: Okay, yeah, so basically it’s real simple. My wife and I were talking about our wedding and what we wanted to do, and I was sitting there kind of joking around with some friends, like, man, I always really wanted to have swords in the wedding, but that feels a little silly, and Chris will never go for it.  So I asked her jokingly, and without a beat of hesitation she was like, “Yeah, sure, we could have swords.” But then I was like… I don’t know if I have enough swords to go around.

Swan: It’s like the dog chasing the car: once he got there, he didn’t know what to do.

Tarik: Exactly! What am I supposed to do with this? I’ve got enough swords to arm half the wedding party, but not the other half. So of course, I hit up my groomsmen, a majority of whom are martial artists in the same sport as me. And they flew over from New Jersey and brought their swords. I didn’t ask how they pulled it off. I didn’t want to know. I was like, “You guys are doing me a real solid here and I appreciate it.” So yeah, all the groomsmen, all the bridesmaids, and then of course, myself and my wife, we were all sworded up, as it were.

Owen: Tarik also presented his wife with a custom sword at the wedding, and it was a beautiful exchange of the sword. It brought me to tears. I was already crying because it was a beautiful ceremony, but then, cherry on top: a sword exchange.

Tarik: And I was crying too. I choked up from moment one. I was like, “I am going to be so chill,” then immediately, boom: tears. I was stumbling through my vows. It was rough.

Owen: Hate Knife is for lovers.

Swan: I thought it was important to not lose track of that comment because it is a beautiful story. But to go back to the original question, “Where does Hate Knife come from?” While Hate Knife is for lovers, the phrase did come to me in a fit of rage years prior. I was working a job I didn’t like, and I was super late one day. I was struggling to find parking on the waterfront, and as soon as I parked my car, in a stream of consciousness, I yelled the phrase, “HATE JOB, HATE LIFE, HATE SELF, HATE KNIFE!” I don’t really know why it came out, it just did, and when I calmed down, I wrote that down in my notes app and just kind of sat on that for  years. I think that was 2019. And then I met Tarik in 2020 or 2021.

Tarik: Yeah, it was 2020 because it was the COVID year.

Swan: I forget if I had had this thought before meeting Tarik, or if it kind of germinated around that time, but I was feeling like I really needed to be in, for lack of a better term, a “shitty punk band,” just making something simple, loud and gritty. And then I met Tarik and Tarik had never been in a band before, didn’t play an instrument, and just gave Bassist Energy. And then it turned out that he did also in fact want to learn bass, which was convenient. So then we formed a band so we could teach him how to play an instrument and teach him how to write songs. It was also just ’cause I was really into bands like that at the time, especially this album by Trümmerfrauen, which is just a bunch of German women who learned how to play their instruments by making a band together. So I was like, I wanna do that. So then we got Owen in on it, and Owen played drums for a little bit. And then Owen wanted to play guitar, so we found another drummer. And then that drummer moved to Arizona to be with his kid, and then we got Kyle in the mix. And here we are.

What I also remember from the first interview was a lot about music being accessible to anybody– even if you don’t play an instrument, you can still join a band and learn along the way. I really love that. If you want to expand on that and talk about how it influences what you do with music, that would be cool.

Swan: Yeah, I had been getting into a few bands, and I had been particularly noticing this trend of bands where the musicians themselves maybe were not necessarily proficient in their instruments (little to no proficiency) before starting their bands and recording albums. I just kept being astounded by the fact that I really like these songs. I noticed that you get a different perspective on music making when you don’t necessarily have that experience. I don’t want to say it is necessarily better, just different, and really interesting and cool. And since then, I know Owen has experience in music education, doing stuff with School of Rock. I’ve done some stuff with School of Rock too, and doing that has made me realize that with kids, when they are learning music, there is just a different perspective that comes in. Even when I started this with Tarik, I wasn’t wholly new to my instrument. I was playing guitar, which was not my dominant instrument, so I still had things to learn, but I had played guitar since high school. You learn new things about your instrument and songwriting by working with someone else. I mean, the very first song Tarik wrote is still one we regularly play, and I hear comments all the time about how awesome Tarik’s songs are. And I’m like, oh yeah, those are Tarik’s second and third songs that he’s written. They’re catchy and good, and they gave me new things to learn on my instrument just by trying to learn them.

gnat: Absolutely. That is very cool. What was also interesting to me is that at least three, maybe  all of you, contribute vocally to the band?

Swan: Presently, it’s just Tarik, Owen and myself, but I am hoping to get Kyle in there because he has a beautiful voice.

Kyle: Ah, shucks. That’s so nice. I have a hard time playing drums and singing, but I’ll do a lil shout. If we ever get a fourth mic on stage, I’ll definitely join in on the vocals.

Tarik: I keep on telling the sound guys to give you a mic, and they think I’m joking, but I’m like, no, I want to hear my drummer’s sweet, sultry tones. I mean, it’s cool he’s got the kit in front of him, but I’m here for that voice.

gnat: I hope we will all get to experience it someday. Maybe on Magmaween?

Tarik: Yeah. Sound guy, if you’re listening, put a mic in front of Kyle. This is not a joke. I’m being serious.

What does making music by degenerates and for degenerates mean to you? I think this was something in the first interview that I was bummed we lost, and I think, Swan, it might have been you who answered this the first time.

Swan: Okay, let’s see what I can scrape the corners of my brain for.

Tarik: I believe in you. I think I remember some parts of it too.

Swan: Yeah, I think, I don’t know… Punk music in my head is always for the “outcasts” or the “outskirts” of society or of culture. Last time we talked a lot about our younger selves and what they would have thought, and I always did feel a little odd being into punk music but not necessarily presenting as punk, or being a forthrightly “punky person.” Starting to engage in the music scene in Seattle, it was interesting finding ways where it’s like, okay, here is the punk, the counterculture scene, but there’s still kind of these weird terms of engagement, rules, or expected decorum and behavior that just kind of felt weird. And then you come into things where we play punk music, and I find bands that I like the sound of and that would maybe play well with us, and then maybe people don’t want to play with us, for whatever reason. There are just some behaviors of people feeling like punk is just one way or another. So I really just like the idea of making music for the act itself, or just for the sake of going out and being wholly our individual selves, whatever that may look like. We don’t really fit into one box. If you listen to our shows, it might be metal and hardcore or bluesy rocky or whatever; we just play what we like. And we play it loud and we play it fast, so it feasibly fits into the categorical definition of punk. But it really is just for anyone who wants to not take themselves too seriously, have fun, freak out and wild out.

gnat: And does anyone else have anything to add about the ethos of degeneracy?

Tarik: I feel like you have something to say, Owen.

Owen: I’m just wondering why, or who, came up with this for our bio?

Tarik: You mean “Songs for degenerates by degenerates”? I’m pretty sure that was Swan.

Swan: I think it was me. I think it was a term that Tarik would use when we worked at the smokeshop.

Tarik: You’re right, yeah.

Swan: And I’m pretty sure Tarik would describe us as degenerates. And there is also a board game called Dungeon Degenerates, made by another Sean based out of Portland. And the tagline for the game is “In a land where rot rules only the degenerates survive,” and I thought that was kind of a beautiful thing. Or there is this beautiful phrase in German that literally translates to “Where drinking is an honor, vomiting is not a shame.”

Owen: What is it in German?

Swan: I can’t remember what it is in German. But, I don’t know, when you’re in certain situations, different behavior is better. And I think that in this context, if we are going to be in weird, crazy times and have to deal with some weird, crazy stuff, a little bit of degeneracy is good. Not in a slothful, overtly selfish way, but in a bit of a considerate, hedonistic way.

Tarik: Yeah, I guess the way I like to think about it is, you don’t have to be a well-put-together, classically artistic-looking or -sounding person to have something of value to contribute in any way. And I do mean in any way. You can walk into a group of academics and still be [in] leather and spikes, looking like you haven’t showered in days (although you should shower if you can, please). That doesn’t give an indication of your value as a person, or a musician, or even as someone with thoughts, feelings and emotions about these times. We are surrounded by this notion that you have to be a certain type of way, a certain type of elevated, and have a certain type of status to be considered successful, or of value, or to have thoughts that matter, or to be worthy of leading people in some way. And I just think that is nonsense. As a species, we have held on to those values and repeatedly kicked ourselves in the shins for millennia. So why would I want to be associated with a group of people who have regularly made life worse? And those are the suits, the ties, the really nicely put-together folks. You can be well put together, intelligent, well-read and all those types of things, but that does not necessarily make you better than me or anyone else.

Swan: And you can certainly still have a suit mentality without presenting that way. There are ways that people in music, the arts or any facet of life can think they are doing the counterculture thing but are in fact just reiterating those oppressive systems.

Tarik: It’s like anything else. Whether it’s you, me, someone else in the studio, someone on the street, or the person in the penthouse, at the end of the day, we all die and decompose the exact same way. So why does it matter if I am not nicely put together or “successful” or anything like that? I can be degenerate and still have as much value as anyone else. And so can every other, quote unquote, degenerate. It’s a word that we have used in a negative way as a society, but it is also a funny way to refer to yourself, like, you know what, dawg, I’m still a human at the end of the day. 

What inspires you, other musicians, or different forms of art and media?

Tarik: Okay, I am going to put down the obvious here. When we first started, before Kyle got involved, there was this conversation we had where it was like, what is the one band that we all list on our lists of bands that inspire us? We all have wildly different takes on this, but I think there was one that always made it, and it was Viagra Boys.

Owen: I’d say one thing that really inspires me, especially being a Seattle musician, is growing up watching the movie “Hype!” It does such a great job of painting the picture of a place and a time that was just so special. So much music came out of that time period that I listened to growing up, like Mudhoney and the Fastbacks, Young Fresh Fellows and stuff like that. So “Hype!” as a piece of art, and also that grunge era of Seattle in general, is super inspiring, and just to be part of the Seattle music  scene at any point in time is a real treat.

Swan: I am also thinking about bands whose shows we’ve gone to together. I know Tarik, Owen and I have seen King Gizzard and the Chats a couple times. I know the Chats are also a big one that gets thrown on the list. I do also like that you bring in things other than music we are influenced by. I feel like we are all movie people. We definitely like some horror movies and some weird stuff. We really like comics and manga, and weird horror comics.

Kyle: Probably the Beatles.

Tarik: I take it back, take the mic away from this guy.

Owen: Which Beatle are you, Kyle?

Kyle: No, no. My bread and butter, my favorite punk music, really comes from that CBGB scene. The Stooges: me and Swan both love the Stooges.

Swan: Kyle and I kind of tend to pick the same songs at karaoke. We both pick the same two Stooges songs, “Search and Destroy” and “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” And if it’s not the Stooges, it’s the Velvet Underground: “I’m Waiting for the Man” or “Sunday Morning.”

Kyle: Yeah, I love the Velvets. Patti Smith, Television. Those are big ones for me.

Swan: I think the first concert I went to with Owen before we were necessarily friends was the Flaming Lips and King Tuff. And those are ones I’ve been seeing with Owen live for many years, even years predating our friendship.

Owen: Yeah, it’s true. We saw King Tuff at Neumos, and after the show we were all waiting for our chance to talk to The King, and Swan… I mean, Swan, do you want to say?

Swan: Yeah, I don’t know if Owen knew this until recently, but I have a photograph with King Tuff that was my Facebook profile photo for a while, and Owen was the person who took it.

Owen: It’s a great photo.

gnat: And you weren’t friends at this time?

Swan: I mean, I knew who Owen was. I don’t know if he remembered who I was, but we had gone to a School of Rock camp together.

Owen: We had been at the Weezer camp together.

gnat: Owen, did you remember Swan from Weezer camp when you were taking their photo?

Owen: I… no.

Kyle: Say it ain’t so.

Owen: I mean, no. I really don’t think it came out until I played this show at the Ballard skate bowl, a little bit after that, [with] my old band, Tom Nook.

Swan: That was years later!

Owen: And then you were at that show, and we hung out that day, and that was the day you were like, “Yeah, we went to Weezer camp together.” And I was like… “If you say so.” Okay, yeah. I was at Weezer camp. And then a beautiful friendship blossomed.

What’s coming up for Hate Knife? We have Magmaween, but outside of that?

Owen: We are very excited for Magmaween. It is circled on our calendar and we are looking forward to it.

Tarik: We’ve got outfits planned.

Owen: I mean we’ve got the idea of outfits planned.

Tarik: Well, I’ve got an outfit planned.

Owen: Some assigning needs to be laid out, or I need to be looped in.

Swan: The plan is in place and will be executed flawlessly.

Tarik: It’s definitely not coming together at the last minute. We would never do that.

Owen: We just got our vinyl pressings in the mail. So look forward to seeing those available for purchase very soon.

Swan: Probably not as soon as Magmaween, but soon.

Is there anything else you want the people to know?

Owen: Kyle, you look like you have something you want to say?

Kyle: Well, circling back to the Kiss talk, it’s not too late to pivot towards Kiss makeup, just sayin’. But it sounds like we got a pretty good plan going.

Owen: I’ll just cut out the vinyl from my mom’s Kiss record cover and use it as a mask.

For more information, visit Hate Knife on Bandcamp and Instagram @hateknife.

Catch Hate Knife at Hollow Earth Radio’s MagmaFest 2026 (aka MAGMA-Ween) on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Black Lodge. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Get tickets here.

THE HATE KNIFE STARTER PACK (based on this interview)

✦  Trümmerfrauen

✦  Hype! [Full Movie]

✦  Paul Stanley Solo Album [Full]

✦  Dungeon Degenerates

Bonus Content: 

✦  What I (gnat) Envisioned While Hearing Tarik's Wedding Story