Interview with Luk Haas This is the short interview for FB page "české a slovenské fanziny" which is connected with archival page http://ziny.info/. It is web-page about Czech and Slovak archive of subcultures. Aim of this page is to create an archive of subcultural production, which will serve as an aid in research and teaching of the history of everyday life and independent cultural production in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Page start from the premise that in the period of late modernity, subcultural affiliation is one of the important forms of social identification.
LUK HAAS in Indonesia
Mišo: Hello Luk, greetings from Bratislava, Slovakia. Luk, let me ask you few question about fanzines. Could you say a few words about yourself at the beginning? When did you start writing about music? Luk: I started writing about music just after my first visit to CSSR. 1986. I met so many interesting people and bands. They were very struggling against the repressive regime, but were very very creative and making great music! I wanted to let the punk world know about it. My first report was in MRR, 1986, CSSR scene report. It was also printed in French fanzines. Mišo: Ok, I would like to focus this interview on fanzine production. What do you think, how important do you consider fanzines to be today? Do they still have justification? Are you still buying any fanzines? Luk: I sometimes still buy fanzines, but much less than before. There are less fanzines, and maybe many are less interesting than it used to be as there are so many digital sources of info these days. But I really enjoyed a few zines lately: the French Cheribi and the German My World Is. Fanzine is an egotrip usually. As long as the people doing them enjoy it, they have a justification. At least something more tangible that can last longer than digital info. Mišo: If we go back to the pre-internet era, can you try to remember what were your first fanzines that you read? Luk: French zine New Wave, US zine MRR, German zines Trust and Zap, and very punk French zines Gabba Gabba Fuck, Agaaa, Deadfuck Commando, etc. Mišo: What decided that you started contributing for fanzines by yourself? I know that over the years you have written for various fanzines, for example MRR, FLEX´S DIGEST, COMMUNIQUÉ, GABBA GABBA FUCK, RUSSIAN LETTERS, AEDES, REVOLUTSI, Are You A Man Or Are You A Mouse and some others... How did you get involved with these magazines? Luk: I was in touch with so many people, and wanted to share my information. That was a logical thing to do. Help people get in touch with each other across borders, across systems, etc. People reached to me and I reached to them. I those days, all by paper letters through post office, we were starving for information. It was very exciting!
Mišo: Did you wrote articles under your name first, or you had a nickname? Why did you choose the pseudonym Clément Wojna? Luk: Usually under my name. But for sensitive articles, that could bring trouble from some authorities, I had to find a pseudo. I chose Clement Wojna, because I have an uncle who had inspired me to travel, his name was Clement, and Wojna because life is a war. And in Polish, because, well Poland was my first trip behind the iron curtain in 1983, and also was a big inspiration. Poland opened me to punk and to underground music in Eastern countries. Mišo: Did you write about French scene too? Which foreign country was the first you wrote about? Were the fanzines helpful for contacts and informations about scenes in other countries? Luk: A little bit, I loved some Frnech punk bands and wanted to get them featured in MRR, to open them beyond the French-speaking world. But I only published these in MRR. My first foreign report was CSSR in 1986. Fanzines were essential. Mišo: How did you get in touch with local punks or members of alternative culture in particular country, What was most surprising for you? Is there anyone else after those years who you keep in touch with? Luk: Depends on each situation. Sometimes through people, sometimes by chance, sometimes by asking in music instrument shops (ex in Turkey and Nepal), sometimes through local managazines (Ex in South Korea). I am still in touch with quite a lot of people but less intensely... mostly through Facebook, or face to face when I travel. I am not sure what was most surprising, because I always expect anything. Maybe we should use „exciting“. I was very excited to meet punks in East Timor for example, for a recent case. But of course, it was very very exciting to meet the underground in Poland, CSSR, GDR, in the 80s, or Romania, China, the Baltics in the 90s.
Mišo: Can you write a few stories about your own fanzine Wielka Rewolucja ... Mała Ewolucja? Why did you decide to make your own zin? Luk: In 1987, after my trip to China, I wanted to share info I had, recapitulating on music from „communist“ countries, that maybe would not fit a „strictly punk“ zine, enlarge the scope a bit. I just did it. Mišo: Our FB page deals with archiving of Czech and Slovak fanzines. Could you mention some older CSSR (later Czech and Slovak) zines which were fundamental to your view? Luk: I did not find that many in the 80s... there was Osli Usi I came across in Prague. Of course, later there was a big explosion , after 1989. Mišo: Have you worked in many countries all over the world. Did you perceive the political context in connection of the alternative/punk scene of a particular country? Luk: Not so sure I understand your question. But, yes, usually punk is connected/reflecting to the political situation. For good or bad. In times of war many punks become nationalists, like in ex-Yugoslavia during the war, or nowadays in Azerbaijan. Punks are only people, and war is a tragedy. No wonder people change. Mišo: What was specific to Czechoslovakia? Which bands/people you met here, when you came here for the first time? Luk: Czechoslovakia was mosre repressive, and more intense in culture. I met with Mikolas Chadima, Jiri Zelenka, people at Jazzova Sekce, and Petr Bermann, Marcel Hauptman, Petr Hosek, Vladimir Stastka, and in Teplice, with Petr Ruzicka. I also met briefly with Petr Zikmund (he was the contact for A/64). Many more. Mišo: Can you recommend some archive pages focusing on fanzines? Luk: Not really sure about this. Bookogs was great but sadly they shelved it. Mišo: Luk thank you for your time, for you patience. Last words belongs to you. Luk: Thank you Miso for the questions and interest. Sorry for my delays in replying, my life is quite messy these day between job, lcokdown, covid etc... Mišo: Please, if you can send some illustration photos (could be made by mobilphone) of some your zines. Luk: Were you able to save some photos from what I upoloaded on Bookogs? Because all zines have been filed again now. Mišo: Luk, thank you for interview.
Czechoslovakia scene report from Maximum Rocknroll #42 November 1986 Having just returned from a trip to Czechoslovakia during which I established contacts with Prague punks, it´s time for a scene report about the past and present situation here. It is quite hard for Czech punks and their number has declined over the last two years. Estimates run at around 200 punks in Prague and about 20 skinheads (skins there are anti-fascist) but they are sadly divided into differing groups, each more or less centred around same band. It is quite sad to see this in a county where being punk is a daily fight against authorities who try to smash anyone who is out of „official standards“. There are a lot of problems with VB (General Security Police) who systematically control the punks, prohibiting concerts and acting brutal (knocking them down, tearing off earrings, shaving hair etc.). Punks are driven to the police station, beaten, photographeed, card-indexed and sometimes even sent to psychiatric hospitals. Czech punks are very pessimistic and have nothing to hope for in this country where anyone who goeas without a job for more than a month is considered a criminal and put in prison. And there´s no way to avoid the army, which is more violent than the police and were National Military Service is required for 2 years and here it´s almost impossible to travel outside the country.The Czechoslovakian state affirms officially that there no punks in CSSR, but punks exist and continue to survive. Musicaly speaking, the first Czech punk bands were ENERGIE G, ZIKKURAT, KEČUP and EXTEMPORE (the latter doing covers of Sham 69, Damned etc, the evolving in a more experimental minimalist direction). In 1983, A/64 appeared formed by ex-KEČUP memebers and evolved from classical ´77 style to hardcore. They broke up in ´84, but have track on the World Class Punk comp tape by RIOR. At present there is F.P.B. (ex-4 SKUPINA) a band from Teplice near the East German border. According to all the punx I met they are the best band in Czechoslovakia. They made an unofficial tape in ´84. In Prague there´s PLEXIS P.M. (anarcho-hardcore) and FUCKMACHINE („fun“ tendencies). I should mention V.3.S. and NÁTĚROVÁ HMOTA (from Prague too), as well as ZÓNA A and TLAK (from Bratislava), OI OI HUBERT (skins from Liberec), RADEGAST (from Ostrava), ARBAJTER (from Hradec Králové) and PROBLÉM 5, V.Z., NOVOUR, ULTRA-PUNK, ANTIPO and DEAD CHILD. A very recent band with very punk lyrics and very political playing violent music with some traditional influences (they have a fiddle) is the excellent POSÁDKOVÁ HUDBA MARNÉHO SLÁVY from the North Moravia district. Finally there a kind of metal-punk band VISACÍ ZÁMEK from Prague, but according to some people they are just a bad parody. The INSTIGATORS from England were in Prague this summer, but the authorities didn´t give them th eright to play. Of course it is imposissible to find any fanzines in Czechoslovakia or any records (a few rare clandestine imports make it to black market) and its difficult to send cassettes by mail. Czech punks are almost completly cut off from the rest of the world and absolutely need contact and info. Try if you can to sned some zines (under anonymous plain cover) informations and records (which will be copied for many on cassettes). But overall BE CAREFUL, it is almost certain that mail from the West is controlled by censorship, so if you write them don´t tell anything about politics or social problems. A lot of punx are in prison or hospitals and they riskk their thin freedom or just graffiti or a gesture or a world. It may occur that the French label Primitiv Cozak will edit some songs from F.P.B.´s live tape and that will be available on my label Ukrutnost Tapes. Thanks. Luk Haas
Muzika-Komunika Digital Publishing:: November,2020