Ready To Begin In A World That’s Ending: An Interview with SCARBORO
By Maya Bishop | March 23, 2026
Photo Credit: by Ashtonn Nagy
“We're not political but things are getting critical” feels like a sentiment a lot of people are reaching these days. Amidst constant waves of new, horrifying, headlines the struggle to maintain a sense of sanity has become the new normal. SCARBORO, a hardcore punk band from NYC has paved their way in the scene by highlighting the more personal side of reality: keeping your head above water. They’ve been working hard for over a decade, and after a hiatus brought about by personal struggles, the band is back with a new album “Hate Season” coming out in April. Now we’re taking some time to delve into the mental state, and the process behind the new album’s creation.
So let's start easy, tell me about how Scarboro came into being.
Shi: An old friend of mine asked me to start a band around 2010 or so? I struggle to remember, time is a flat circle. Eventually as that project morphed and members switched out the early Scarboro was born in 2012. But once Jack joined the band in 2014 it really solidified what Scarboro would become, with us locking in our sound and knowing the direction we wanted to take things.
You have your seventh release coming up in April, "Hate Season", what can fans expect from that?
We’re really proud of this new record. I think folks will find a lot of variety in it and new elements we’ve thrown in. It’s probably the most personal record that we’ve put out and reflects the growth we’ve made as people and as a band over the years. You certainly won’t be bored listening to it. I can promise that much.
I'd say that being seven releases in makes you pretty well versed in the music process. Have you done anything different in creating this album?
Shi: Normally, I'll bring the rough skeleton of a song to the band and everyone contributes their parts, and the studio process would normally take a handful of days. On this one it’s been the most collaborative record we’ve done to date. We really took our time in the studio –demoing in the winter and then recording over a couple months in the spring. We were very open-minded about trying new elements and making sure that everybody was represented in all of the songs. I think Jack and Radhika are enormous talents and wanted to make sure that their input was not just heard, but put into the songs and I think it made the record that much better.
Photo Credit: Aleda Gagarin
Was any part of the process particularly hard?
Shi: Surprisingly, no! We work really well together in the studio and really had an attitude of: if you have an idea let’s just try it and see how it sounds, if it works it works if it doesn’t it doesn’t. So it was a really fun experience overall and it was cool to see us push each other out of our comfort zones on this one.
You also have some collaborations and a feature from Kasey Heisler(A Very Special Episode), how did that come about?
Shi: We all came up around the same time and at a point where you saw a lot more mixed bills and co-mingling of the various wings of the punk and hardcore scene, so we’ve known Kasey for years. When I wrote “Kintsugi” I always pictured a call and response with a powerful female vocal in the mix. Then one day I was listening to A Very Special Episode’s “Smolder” and immediately thought Kasey would be a perfect fit for the song. Thankfully she agreed and the rest is history!
You've already released the first single "Sìn Futuro" it acts as a warning to those to wake up, do you think the current political climate has woken you all up to a degree?
Shi: I ran for Congress in 2020 as a leftist, spent my non-music career in the non-profit/advocacy space and before I turned to Scarboro full time was the chief of staff for a Dem-Soc State Senator, so I’ve been aware of the coming storm for a few years now. That said, as a band who were never overtly political in our music, we thought it was important to put “Sín Futuro” out because the gravity of the situation isn’t lost on any of us.
Photo Credit: Face
When I first heard from you, you said you're "not political (except for being 2/3 Queer 2/3 POC) but the world is what it is and we stick to writing what feels true" would you say that's more of a way to avoid the expectations that come with being a "political" band? Or are all of you rather hands off about politics in general?
Shi: For me, my existence is inherently political, and my professional life was entirely political - Scarboro was the one place where I could create art that touched on other aspects, like mental health or even just fun in your face punk songs that weren’t necessarily anchored in reality that served as an escape for me. There was never a time where we sat as a band and said “this is what we’re going to be, and this is what we will or won’t write about,”. We’ve always aimed to just be as authentic as possible and let the music do the talking -if you’ve seen us live you know we have like thirty seconds of banter- it just so happened that the majority of our releases tackled other parts of life.
Shi, this is mostly directed at you since you do most of the lyrics. You focus more on mental health and addiction and from your music it kinda has it's ups and downs. Would you say this is a more secure era for you?
Shi: Definitely, and this record documents that journey for sure. One of the record titles that didn’t make the cut was “Healing Era” as the songs were written coming out of a dark time in life and having to put in a lot of work to get to a place where I feel whole again. “10,000 Miles” is one of the last songs I wrote for the record (Jack has the honor of last with “Got Soul?”) and it sort of caps the era for me acknowledging that who I am today wouldn’t be possible without the pain it took to get here. So I hope anyone that’s gone through, or is going through some shit can relate.
What would you say was the goal in writing "Hate Season"? Was it born from wanting to be heard? Compelled by the world? Or more it just felt like time to make something?
Shi: When we came back from our hiatus we put out two singles we wrote when Radhika joined the band. The dark times had made it so that I couldn’t write at all, so I was just grateful to get back on that horse. But luckily the flood gates opened up and as we worked the songs out at rehearsals and played them live, we were like “oh shit” we think we might have a fire record. So I think that drove it more than any careful planning, it was just a really interesting cohesive set of songs that we wanted to share with the world.
Would you say you all have an optimistic view on your lives or is finding the joy in existence an active struggle?
Shi: What I would say is find joy in the little moments while you can and really take them in no matter how small. Even if it’s just that first sip of coffee, or going to a local show, whatever it is don’t take it for granted. As for optimism, I can’t divorce the long-view of my life from what’s happening in the world today. From what I’ve seen through my work, things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better. A new world is going to be born, but there’s labor pains to get through. So I really focus on the present moment as much as possible and am just grateful to be doing this while I can.
Photo Credit: Davey B.
In either case, what do you do to find the motivation to keep going?
Shi: This is going to sound mad corny, but when you’ve toyed with non-existence, you really come to appreciate how fragile and beautiful life is. I’ve gotten to a point where waking up and just being the bare minimum alive is good enough for me to keep going.
Maya: That’s actually a pretty huge thing. That appreciation takes a lot of work.
What song are you all most excited for people being able to hear?
Shi: I waffle on this depending on when I get asked, but right now probably our next single “Got Soul?” that Jack wrote. It’s really different from what we normally do, yet incredibly raw at the same time.
Is there anything you want your fans to take away from the album?
Shi: Honestly, I just hope they don’t think it sucks! But joking aside, and if you have the attention span to listen back to front, it should leave you with a little hope.
Maya: I have, at least a dozen times now, and it’s entirely worth it.
To end things on a lighter note, favorite bday cake flavor?
Shi: Chocolate
Anyone you want to thank/shout out?
Shi: I’d like to give a shout out to my mom for buying me a $99 electric guitar from the JCPenney catalog in 1996 and for putting up with it in a tiny one bedroom in Queens.
Band Links:
https://www.instagram.com/scarboropunx/
https://scarboro.bandcamp.com/