Introduction to the final issue It has been around four and a half years since the last issue of this zine. It’s true that the name has changed, but the person doing it is still the same - unfortunately a little bit older and probably not much wiser. Four years in which I tried to gather materials for the next issue and every time I was about to release it, I had the urge to do ‘just that one more interview’. So the years went by and now we’re here, the third and last issue of the zine is finally out. Finally, because I always knew that I am going to get it done, but never really took the time needed to do so. There are a lot of reasons why this issue is final and there are also a lot of reasons why it took me so long to put it out. And none of them I am going to get into details here. The fact is that you’re reading it, for which I am glad and thankful and that’s the only thing that matters. I am sure that most of you probably read this magazine for the first time, so for those of you just a brief introduction – the first issue I did only in bulgarian about 6 years ago and never found the time to translate. The second one, which came out one year later, was bilingual – there were copies both in english and in bulgarian. Both times it was printed on paper. To tell you the truth, people outside of the country seemed to be far more interested in this zine than the folks around here (although ‘here’ is very relatively speaking, but you get what I mean). This one, on the other hand, will be in english only – so the circle closes perfectly. Another new thing as you can see is that the zine is entirely free on .pdf to be downloaded from the web. I decided I would go half digital/half printed( it’s still in a print quality so anyone can print it), because I felt that this is the best way I can distribute it. I don’t have the contacts I used to have anymore, so if people are to read this, I should better take the advantage of the Internet. Internet gives me a wonderful opportunity to be able to reach as many people as possible and as I mentioned, if you really like to see what this zine would’ve looked liked, had it be printed, you can do so yourselves. Print it, give it a try, I am sure it will not be that expensive and I can assure you, it will look nice on your bookshelves, doubt me not...Well anyways, hope my english is good enough and doesn’t scare away the native tongues and I also hope that the people inside the country will read it as well. I must admit that in the previous issues I emphasized mostly on the local scene, local bands, local people etc. And I am sure that, in one way or another, I helped those bands and people get heard. That was also the reason I started the whole thing in the first place – I wanted the scene to get a little more attention by bringing the message to the front. I wanted to show that there is more than just showing off at shows, more to it than just the music...Taking into account some of the emails I received during those years, emails in which ‘kids’ were telling me that the zine helped them look at the scene in a more deeper and wider perspective, I think I succeeded in doing just that and I am not over-exaggerating when I say that this makes me happy. So when I started preparing this issue few years back, I knew that there is not much more that I ‘owe’ to the scene anymore and that it will be a better idea to make an issue that focuses on a specific subject, but still has all of the essence of a hardcore/punk zine – the interviews, the reviews (which I will go back to shortly) and so on. Or a long story short, just the ssue that I always wanted to do, but for some reason could not. I leave entirely up to you to experience what the subject of the zine is. And there are surely a
lot of aspects to it and I would rather let you build your own perception of what I tried to accomplish with this issue, than to simply ‘tell’ you my side of the story. Because as we all know, there is more than this one ‘truth’ and there is more to life than just one simple view of it. The view that I am going to bring to the public would probably not fit all of you, which is fine with me. It’s rather a perspective that we all have to take into account, a perspective that will probably help us realize other things in life better. And I would also say that everything is personal rather than to say that “No Donnie, these men are nihilists” or “No Donnie, these man are cowards” because they leave the personal out... Anyways, there are some interviews in the zine as well, a good number of them too, I must say: all in all there are about twelve interviews in this issue and they all, except for the Comeback Kid one (done via email) were conducted live, in a live chat with the band members. In the years of taking interviews I learned that it is very important to be able to interact with the interviewed person, rather than to just email them a bunch of stupid questions and wait for them to reply. And because the interviews were taken while the bands were on tour I also got to capture their mood, I was sometimes able to feel what they felt, their frustrations or anger (or be able to see them wash their socks...another all time high) - something a person in front of a computer, typing and re-typing the answers couldn’t or would not be capable of sharing with me. That is one of the reasons it took this zine so long to get finished – I had to go see those bands, I had to experience them live before I speak to them. But that was the fun part anyways, because I never did an interview with a band I didn’t like or a band that I felt wouldn’t fit the zine just for the sake of it or because more people like that band (well I guess I did that only once, and that’s why that interview was never included..) The hard part is obviously to be able to be at the right place at the right time. There are probably a few bands that I never had the chance to do an interview with, but I wanted to. Most of them broke up and I never got to see them, but I think that with this last issue I finally managed to bring all the bands that I felt were important to the scene in one place. And if I wasn’t to be sure that those bands are sincere in what they do, they surely would’ve never made it to the pages you’re about to read. Because that is one of the most important things to me in this scene, a thing that is rather fading away with each line that I write. Beside the interviews you will also find a couple of columns written by me, the usual reviews and a report by Greg Bennick on Trial’s Reunion shows in the year of 2005 (a DVD footage of which will be available as of 8 Jan 2008, check out their myspace page). I included some vegetarian recipes also, because the first thing people do once they find out that I am a vegetarian is to ask me: “Hm, vegetarian? So what do you eat then?”. Your imagination is the limit. There are probably more things to cook without meat than with it. This is really a fraction of the recipes I wanted to include, but I just had two pages for them and I guess those would have to do for now. The rest I leave up to you. So I guess that should do for an introduction, please take a moment to read the whole zine and make sure you email me to let me know what you got of it, if anything at all. thanx.
Writings...
“It’s a Dream...We live inside a Dream!”
Dreaming my life away, just letting it slip right through! Who told you that sleeping equals living? I’m not a living man, for I am endlessly sleeping. A sleep without dream - the saddest thing one could possibly imagine... Do I need to fool myself that this is life, that this might be an existence? I don’t need to proof the opposite – I just have to take my next breath - for as long as I can take it, for as long as I can take it without breaking up. The bitterness that’s overwhelming me knows no boundaries. To know there is a limit could only be a frustration and it would still mean nothing to me. For living only to sleep without dreaming is no living at all. It is painful and murderous, yet it is a warm and solid shelter for the most of us …
“There are times when life calls out for a change”
all those things, I mostly hate life. Not death, but life with all its obscurities and blandishments, in all its forms and shapes. I’m not ashamed to say that I feel fine with it. It’s natural. Why hate death, when death is just the continual of life. Or should I rather say the end of it… I hate, because I also feel the need to. It makes me/you/us complete and gives purpose, to something that has none. And unfortunately we all are seeking for purpose. Some of us even question it, when others simply don’t give a damn. But it’s ok, they don’t need to, they can always hate. Hating ourselves for what we are ... For what we might be…For being part of something…For feeling…For living…For breathing! I hate breathing; it only makes me feel sad. It’s only a reminder of how useless I am or I could be... If I am to hate something that will always be life. It rejects me by its simple existence. And it’s not just anger or pain, it’s something much, much deeper.
“Thus conscience does make cowards of us all”
Every one of us is looking for shelter, a protection, a thing called home. Some of us are rather unfortunate not to have a place they can call their own. You can see them on the streets, on the corners, in the cold, starving to death, rejected and neglected by all and everything. They’re the living proof that something is awfully wrong. That we’re wrong! We can’t escape the simple facts, although we learned to live without taking notice or carrying for something other than our little selves. Our goal, our dreams, our fears…The selfish way of mankind has prevailed over the feelings of compassion. Man has learned to be selfish in order to survive, but now, man must unlearn it or it will fade away! Man has to understand that there is more to life than just the pure existence, there is more to it than breathing, and it’s more than just living. If we were to change, we must change now. We must rebuild the way we think, the way we act, the way we treat each other. It’s not “the system” that we must blame for everything bad – we must blame ourselves for being the way we are. The next revolution is not going to be on the streets, it has to be in our minds. A revolution which will revise our thinking patterns, one that will truly set us free...
Do you believe in fate or karma? Have you asked yourself? You have to! At least one time, everybody does and everybody has. Well, I used to not believe in it. Why? There are many reasons for this. Maybe it was my ego. Maybe I had this thought that I’m in control over everything in my life. Maybe I thought I pulled the strings around and whatever “choices” I was making it was me behind the wheel. It was so hard for me to take something for granted, to accept that it is taking away from my “freedom”. And I really believed in freedom, in my freewill. But I don’t anymore. I believe in something else, I believe in fate! But not in the religious kind of way, but more of a biological, physical way if you wish. That is due to the fact that I was always fascinated by science and was looking for answers there. I believe in fate, because I think that there is a process in our brain that tells us what to do. I’m talking here about the subconsciousness. Did you ever know that even before you have a thought or even before you decide to do something, the brain already processes your thoughts or moves? It is a gap of 10 to 20 secs. So it’s something like this: the left side of the brain tells the right one what to do and the right one tells you what to do. Think about it! Everything you imagined, the choices you’ve made, your actions, every little step you take, all this was already predicted in your brain (or a part of it). A scary thought, huh? “What a piece of work is a man, Why is such a potentiality so hard to be accepted? Are we not machines? Our how noble in reason, bodies, our organs etc. are a well-oiled, functioning machine. And what do we how infinite in faculties in form and moving, know of the machines – that’s right, in order to work they have to be how express and admirable, programmed. Then what’s so strange about the fact that everyone of us is in action how like an angel, adjusted to do specific things in life, without even understanding it. There is a in apprehension how like a god! similar phenomenon in nature among the animal world – we like to call it an the beauty of the world, “instinct”. Well then, I’ll have to call our lives an instinct. As sad as it might the paragon of animals—and yet to me, sound, this might be true. And if God, Nature or whatever has a purpose for us what is this quintessence of dust?” all, then we are fouls if we were to think that there is such thing as knowledge or understanding. It’s all been given to us to an extent. Can we fight this? Well Somebody once stated that the only constant thing in the Universe is ‘change’. sure, but can we fight ourselves? I don’t think so. Don’t forget our sense for Well, in our small universe, down here on the Planet Earth, the only constant preservation, our fears. Fear is the strongest way of control, one that even we, must be Hate. Hate, in any given form, serves as an inspiration to each and every one of us. It’s behind all wars, religions, governments, is in our history, it helps us cope with our daily lives, it gives us security and makes us complete. It is the driving force for all things. It’s simply natural… I have to admit that I also happen to hate. I hate very strong and passionate. And I love it! My love is based on hate! Hate and love are one and the same! So when I say “I Love”: this also means “I Hate”… My hate is constant, as it probably should be. I hate everything that I don’t understand. Stuff that my little brain couldn’t comprehend. And from
the humans, know how to use. In order to break from this, we have to crack the code. I don’t think that’s possible. How can you crack a pattern that’s inside of you when you don’t even have the control? By disfunctioning yourself? By breaking your perceptions and erasing everything – memories, thoughts? Maybe in order to free ourselves we have to stop function – an act that does not necessarily make us free. It’s our right to not believe in fate – it’s our right not to believe in anything. We have this right to be silent…
“Our silent agreement...”
There is a term in the legislation that is often referred to as the “silent agreement”. This is not a technical term, but it’s often used by all the man of the law to describe a certain way of carrying out permissions, settlements or laws. This is not a local term; it’s well-known all over the world and is also in the bases of many parliaments, including the European Parliament. How does it work: if a given person or a group, members of the parliament have a suggestion, they have to propose it to the concerning commission. The commission is inspecting the suggestion and if there are no objections, the suggestion passes - either given for voting (and of course if this party has the majority of votes in the parliament, it’s elected) or passes without voting. As simple as that! This is the way in which our society works and as I mentioned, it’s in the base of all the modern democracies. What’s wrong with that? Well on the first look-nothing. But when you think about it – this is a very dangerous way of taking a decision. What if the people responsible for the decision are, not entirely fair-minded? Remember, if they don’t object, then we’re stuck with the consequences. But this is just a rather small aspect of life where the “silent agreement” is pretty much fundamental. It’s basically in our every days. In the way we communicate with each other. Whether we like it or not it controls our lives. That’s why I rather choose not to be silent. I rather raise my voice than let the things that I don’t approve of go unnoticed. That’s my right, or is it not? Why is it then so uncommon nowadays to really say what you mean and to not simply shut it up? Why is it that when you say what you think you’re being somewhat rejected? Are people afraid of the truth or of different opinions? Are we all really so afraid? I think the one thing we hardcore kids should never allow to happen is to ever get silenced. You all should say what’s on your hearts and what you stand for, because otherwise your silence will say it all. That’s the reason we chose to be here - not just to listen to this type of music and do all the things we think of are right, but also to feel the need of a change. Otherwise we’ll all end up being just the next subculture. So raise your voices – in any given or nonegiven way!!! “Judge and be judged” The biggest mistake one can make is to be judging someone, or something based only on assumption. Why do we take everything said for granted? Why do we insist on believing in everything we hear? I’ve always tried to stay away from rumors ever since my teenage years. I’d even get to the point in which I stopped telling people to not accept this and that so easily, because I was tired of doing so. I was so disgusted of the way we tend to judge people who we know very little of. I can’t say that I know myself perfectly well, so how come you believe that you can know me better than myself? To be honest with you, I also have done this in my life, maybe we all did it, few are those with pure hearts, but I have urged myself to unlearn it. I insisted on it, because it poisoned my mind. It made me a person which I didn’t want to be. Now I like to listen, to meet and to communicate in order to understand something that I’m curious of. There is nothing wrong with being open-minded and not always calling the others around you this and that based on assumptions. I think I’m still learning, I’m still learning to be a better and more positive person. And this is one of the paths to becoming one, the path that we all have to take. Be it in the hardcore/punk scene or in society in general. “And what of the catoons...?” Well, I don’t know about you, but I love cartoons. I loved them as a child and I still do. When I come to think of it, watching cartoons was one way of learning English in my childhood - the funnier and easiest way, at least. When I was
growing up, let’s say when I was at the age of 7-8, right after the end of the communist regime, the only way of watching cartoons was to follow some foreign programs and since I didn’t understand them, I had to learn the language. So in one way, cartoons were not only fun, but also educative. Now, when there are tons of channels one can choose from, I still find myself watching cartoons. I do it not only because it’s fun, but also because I find it inspiring… I chose to tell you about one great cartoon, because of that exact same reason. To be quite honest, I like more the old school type of cartoons and am not into all of the new 3d stuff that is going on, but this piece, which by the way is very fresh and was made recently by some people in Cartoon Network, is really great. I’m talking about “Samurai Jack”. This is surely one of the most amazing cartoons I’ve come across in a long, long time and I always watch it when I have a hard time or am feeling down – it makes me feel better and inspires me to think about stuff. This is the story of the lonely, exile Samurai. The tale begins long ago in the past, and tells about these ancient people losing the final battle with evil, embodied by this creature called Aku. Aku is the most powerful wizard on the planet; (sort of) strengthen by the all mighty evil inside each and every one of the people in the world, fact that makes him almost unbeatable. Unfortunately to him, there is one way of being destroyed and that is with one particular sword. This sword was safely kept for many centuries by the emperor and in his last moments he is giving it to his little son, who is supposed to take care of it. After doing so the little boy is witnessing the death of his parents. Determined of revenge, he is fleeing only to go back stronger and fight Aku. Well, the story, being only a prelude to the real series, is so far pretty basic and nothing new is happening, but one can say that it is told in a very different and very beautiful way. After facing Aku and almost defeating him, something unexpected happens. Aku is opening a time portal and is sending the young Samurai in the future in which he (Aku) is the main figure and ruler. This is the future of modern technologies and all kinds of weird creatures. Future full of hatred and evil, in which all good is being oppressed. So, our hero begins his long quest in the search of another time portal, which will hopefully help him get back in his own time so he can undo the present. A long, lonely quest in which he is trying to learn more about the world he was introduced to - a very hostile place full of things he doesn’t understand… (don’t we all?) This is basically what “Samurai Jack” is about, but I’m only just scratching the surface, since to fully understand what I’m talking about one should watch it him/herself. The cartoon itself has kind of a manga feel to it (I’m no expert in drawings), but it’s not at all in that scheme. I mean there are still those long scenes of staring between the main heroes or the wide angles type of filming, also “the big eyes”, so popular from the manga cartoons, but it’s so more original than that. It successfully combines great story and story telling with cool martial arts fighting and kung-fu, in the spirit of old Chinese/Japan movies, Buddhism + various funny moments. The Soundtrack to it is also very good and it always fits the action perfectly. All in all this piece has so many perspectives to look at it and since each series are full of metaphors and wonderful morals, it’s making you really think (not many cartoons help you do that nowadays, do they?) I’m not sure if the kids see in it something we “adults” might, but they dig it also. Or at least my little cousin (9-10 years old) watches it with the same enthusiasm as I do. Being it because he likes cartoons in general or because he also sees more to it, like I do… even though he doesn’t yet have the burden of our ‘perspectives of the world’. I can only add that “Samurai Jack” is an amazing cartoon and I’m strongly recommending it to anyone who is into cartoons and likes his/hers coffee not entirely black or white, but also a little grey…This is a little something for the lonely ones out there fighting every day evil, searching for their ‘time portals’ that will bring them back to good times and exploring life! …
and thoughts...
“...Our spring was wonderful, but the summer is over now and we missed out on autumn...
and now, all of the sudden, it’s cold, so cold that everything is freezing over.
people could have principles or morals when you live in your small, shitty world of fancy cars and electronic toys? And surely it’s easier to make fun of it than rather trying
We fell asleep and the snow took us by surprise.
to comprehend it! So that said, it’s obvious that nobody will listen to you unless you
But if you fall asleep in the snow, you will feel death coming...”
stand and fight for what you believe in. And I mean to really fight in a battle! In order to make it effective we’ll have to threat the enemies’ “personal worlds” in every possible
Could I drown in these deep waters? Could I just let myself drown? Is this a gasp or the
way. Only then we will be able to achieve something in this consumer’s world ruled by
need to cry? A thought so scary and yet so truthfully beautiful is in my
sensations hungry mass-media and people without morals!!!
present as strong as it was in my past. Looking down and wondering. Looking down and questioning. It’s all a matter of when and how. Is it all a matter of time? The feeling’s there and the need is strong - to fly or just to cry? Perhaps to die? When
“...in God’s name and Country...”
breathing’s hard, words shouldn’t come so easily, but they do! All comes so easy, but it’s rather late, too late to even scream! Words are overwhelming me with their need
In the first issue of this zine there was a column I wrote about my friends who lived or
to be spoken. Unspoken, they are hard to swallow. No point of them now when they
studied abroad,about the country in general. It wasn’t so much about patriotism, the
don’t mean a thing... “to fly and glide... to strive? I’ve been searching for a chance to
love of your country or anything, but about me being so frustrated of all my friends go-
cry, a chance to die – this simple glance at life? It’s been so long and I need a sign
ing abroad, or changing the place they live. It was about me looking for answers why
that I’m still alive…”
they do it, and why they want it so badly. Somehow it never was meant to be a patriotic
I wish I could’ve carried you away – some place safe, some place unaware of grief. I
column, I never claimed to be a patriot and I don’t think I am or could ever be (I am
wish I could’ve carried you away, but did I even try, would I even try? It’s all too late
not!), but it got misunderstood by a lot of people, or so it seemed from their reactions. I
now, too late to even know. In search, will I find? But It’s all too late now, too late to
think I found the answers for myself and some 4 years later here is the place to put this
even know. I’m leaning on this wall, depending on it not to fall, but I’d rather break it
column to its deserved rest and try to reflect it on the current situation in the world.
with my head. Break it and forget the thoughts I’ve come across for so long…As cold
Patriotism is if not THE most exploited word ever and I think that it always was.
as I could be, this time I’ll fall!
People are so fond of belonging to something or someplace that just one simple word can make them blind. It is so easy to give the masses what they need; a country they
“our lives...?”
can love, a flag to bow before, a football team to follow and of course a God to worship. I used to live in a place in the world where this “love” for the country is taken
I, as an ‘outside party’, will try to comment the processes involved with, within and
advantage of on a daily basis; being as an act of simple popularity, strife for power
around the so popular subject of Globalization and of course the media’s reaction to
or the very occasional chat on a drink or two. And the problem I see is that a whole
them. What’s the common scene/image everyone of us is witnessing in the daily news
generation is being raised to judge (if not even hate) people based on their religion or
(papers) when the media is covering any ANTI - WTO, IMF or G-8 Committee meet-
country of origin. And I am even going further by saying that a whole generation is
ing? Young people with masks on, wearing old and dirty clothes, are hurling stones (or
being brainwashed. And this trend continues as I write these lines... I find that very sad
whatever they can find) at Stores, Cars and the Police. Or let’s say any average PETA
and dangerous. I really would rather see a world with no borders or barriers between
protest – pictures of naked and/or chained protesters. Why are those individuals do-
people, where people forget about their history or politics and try to live together,
ing that, what might be the reason behind such a radical decision, why did they leave
rather than a world in which we need a million seals and stamps just to go from one
their families, friends and traveled all this way – nobody really cares. At least until
place to the other. Because believe me, through this scene I really got to meet a lot
the media has its 5 min of coverage, it doesn’t care! 5 min of brutality, aggression and
of people from different countries and even religions and I never had a problem with
unfortunately, often also murders! Before I go any further into this, I’d like to say that
them, neither did they. So forget about patriotism, forget about hate and try to look at
I’ll not try to acquit either side of the “conflict” ( Globalisation - Anti-globaslisation
people for what they are, because at the end of the day, there is surely more to bind us
or etc.). The only point I’m trying to make is to focus your attention even more on the
than to divide us.
problem that the media is creating. A problem that is taken for granted and as something we can’t possibly cope with. But can we really cope with it? Yes, we can, because we have the power to stop it! Who else if not we are watching, buying or, in any other
“Note to self: remember to question authority…and celebrity status”
way, supporting this machine? Consuming it! With our own actions we are giving them the power! I’m sure that even though so many times this subject was brought up to
Are you the person that goes to shows and is actually interested or curious when a
light, we still doesn’t seem to get it, do we? Why then, something as important as the
singer or a band is approaching the audience with a message they (sometimes) feel
care for animals or the planet in general, has been publicly discredited and lowered to
strongly about? If you are, then you probably were amazed too, how some of the most
the simple: “Oh, they’re just over-exaggerating”. Why is it that people who really (and
stupid thoughts can get across so easily and be accepted or even applaud just because
I mean truly and passionately) care for anything, whatever that might be, are laughed
the kids are into this band’s music or this or that person has some “cool” status in the
at and being mocked? Just because you don’t understand their beliefs, you don’t have
scene. I don’t know about you, but I had the opportunity to witness this phenomenon
to make fun out of it, do you? Every day, every hour even, TV shows are flooding the
all too often lately and decided to write few lines. I guess, I’ve known this all my life,
air with sketches about somebody, “protecting the rain forest (or the universe for that
but for some reason didn’t care all too much to be bothered by it. And not only in our
matter), by sitting on a tree for the rest of his life”, or a Sitcom, in which somebody
little scene that we call “hardcore”. This was just to draw your attention – the bigger
is refusing to buy this and that product and is carefully studying the ingredients. Of
problem is that we see this
course, nobody’s explaining why those people think or act this way, what they might
happening every day in society. Be it in school, work, where the people with
believe in, what’s the true purpose for their actions. They’re not explaining it because
authority – the teachers, bosses, have the saying and even if they’re wrong (which they
they couldn’t possibly understand it! Because, obviously, it’s hard to understand that
sometimes are) their opinion has to be taken for granted. This is the
pattern that we use in the modern world. We are likely to not believe a person we dis-
someone else thinks of some other sort of expression, we are stuck with it. Other than
like or a not so “popular” person in any given way even if he/she is to be telling us
jumping or walking on peoples heads for that matter. Hey, you know what, that person
something as truthful or let us at least say something we all agree upon, as for instance,
could be you – so get of your ass and start thinking of the next big thing - you never
“the water freezes at below 0°C”. And why do we do that, why are we so tempted to
know, you could make history for the next 20 or 30 years…But you better be quick,
trust someone who is somewhat appealing to us or has some sort of a “celebrity” sta-
‘cause something new is about to happen – I can feel it, it’s in the air...
tus? I think the basic reason is the fact that we are afraid. Afraid of having a say against someone who is something “more” than us, afraid of not being liked, or not being accepted in a group? And we want to be accepted so badly that we’d rather go with the
“To a decaying scene:...”
flow than to question anything for the sake of not being laughed at or being rejected, or who knows what else. And this is what the masses need, right? A leader, someone to
Coming back from a none-hardcore show yesterday I was thinking “Wow, how come
show them the right way! One, who is somewhat good looking, dresses properly and
the hardcore scene, the one that was once truly inspiring, is the only scene (inde-
says whatever everybody else wants to hear. He/she doesn’t necessarily have to believe
pendent or whatnot), in this country that is lacking originality lately?” I mean, I’m
in it, oh no, we don’t need that - it just has to sound right and have a moral or two to be
speaking about our country in particular here, we’re beginning to do the things we’re
passed on and be more acceptable. And when someone who doesn’t fit in that image,
supposed to be against or at least used to be - that constant
but might really be telling something truthful on the other hand steps up, usually gets
copying, the lack of total sense for the music or interest in any message, or
rejected. This, my friends, is the way our politics work, the way of the media, this is
passion, the whole elitism thing, the fashion! Being in a hardcore band today is not
how our perceptions of the others work and this is what does NOT work in our society.
more than being on a stage, fooling around with a guitar or whatever is that you have
And what can we tell about our little old scene? Well, we as
no idea how to handle, of course showing yourself, the clothes, the tattoos and every-
human beings tend to follow our instincts no matter what micro cosmos we’re put
thing to a wider audience, because for some reason, all of the sudden, this scene got
into or have build for ourselves - we’re animals with instincts so why do we have to
popular and popular. Even here... The scene, where the most intelligent people (me
change? There always will be some of us that try to use the others, because of their own
excluding...), those who fled the so called “mainstream”, used to find shelter is now
little insecurities or egos and of course there always will be those that will follow – for
being overloaded with total ignorance and idiotism. It’s just unthinkable how we aban-
the same exact reasons. This will happen in society and it will happen in our little sub-
doned this beautiful thing and left it to turn into this – your average, boring, sub-culture
cultrue... And what will be then left of our sincerity, straightforwardness or truthful
around the corner. A culture robbed of its identity or soul, stripped to its most primitive
believes? Hmm, who needs those when you’re popular anyways, right? Right!
form - this is no culture at all! Alright, you may call me a cynic and all and I know that I have been accused too many times of being “the guy who always complains” or that “I always fail to appreciate the
“stage diving”
others” or whatever bullshit is that you can think of to hide the basic fact that you have no emotion hidden inside of you and the only reason you started a band is because you
I was sitting today, listening to some music, watching video clips on my PC and was
desperately want to be in one. Not because of the art, or the expression, or the fact that
thinking about stage diving - how everybody does it nowadays, how mainstream it is
you have something to say, something meaningful of course and to show something
grown to be and how they show it on commercials on TV all the time and stuff like
new, to challenge yourself. If you do that, if you can show me or the average kid who
that and was wondering - hey, what was it when they did it for the first time? What was
goes to shows, that you have a heart and believe in what you do, then you can get
the feel? Have you ever thought of that? We all remember our first time we saw people
more attention. And you can’t just fake or fabricate it so easily, this has to be real and
stage-diving live, right? We all remember our first dive. But what was it to see it for the
it has to be felt on stage, because believe me, this is something that you can’t hide.
first time ever and be a part of history, musical history that is. What a show that had to
And there are still some bands that do have hearts and carry the passion and energy.
be, huh? And who would’ve come up with an idea of jumping on peoples heads for the
Ever heard me complain about those bands? No! Ever thought about why? Because
first time? What a revolution!! To interact with the crowd and to invade the one space
of all the reasons I just mentioned. Think about it and if you really care, make those
that was strictly forbidden, to go on stage and jump over. It must have felt so liberating.
lines I wrote worth it.
And now, everybody does it – people started improving it, adding tricks and stuff…
Ok, if I have to think of a positive way to let this column in piece, I’d say that the only
Who would’ve thought that one so simple thing can turn out to be the flag of a whole
positive thing in this whole situation is the fact that there still are young people in this
scene? (also the reason for so many discussions and separations).
country that would experiment and really make great and
I remember now writing an article about stage diving for a local e-zine some years ago
passionate music. The only problem I see is that they get driven away by this scene
and of course like always, there were lots of opinions and replies from kids
we call hardcore/punk only to be replaced by close-mindedness and ultimate stupid-
saying what should and shouldn’t be done, what’s “right” or “wrong” etc. I don’t care,
ity…To be honest with you, I was just reading through some older European zines and
everybody is right for him/herself. I’m not going to tell you what to do, do whatever
I stumbled across many columns that handled this same subject. And in the words of
you feel like; it’s a hardcore show, not a pop concert! This column is not about any of
the guys from Spot, if we really are a scene that is going 5-10 years slower than the
this. This is simply about stage-diving as an art of expression of some kind. This is a
rest of the world, then what we’re witnessing now might just be ok. But that doesn’t
column about me thinking what our scene would’ve looked like without stage-diving.
necessarily mean that it is OK, becaues the scenes I’m talking about have grown and
Without having nut kids jump all over you all the time? Horrible? I kind of think, that
they have bands that really took the music to the next level (both music-wise and spirit-
it was always there to be invented and if people didn’t do it back in the ‘70’s 80’s or
wise). So, the basic idea of this column was, to urge those young local bands to try and
whatever, someone else would’ve for sure done it later. This is the progression; this is
take their own music to the next level and help this scene be what it is meant to be and
the creativeness of our scene. And that’s what makes us special. I think without
carry it in the future…Nothing more, nothing less. And of course, to never forget that
stage-diving there couldn’t possibly be hardcore and vice versa. But I’m also sure
hardcore was, is and always will be about the feelings and emotions combined with
that the days in which the “dives” would be un-cool are near, if not present. And until
true believes...
Please introduce yourself. How old are you, what do you do beside the band etc.?
Aside from what I just said it is pretty similar to the US in general.
Andrew: Hi, my name is Andrew Neufeld and I play guitar in Comeback Kid. I’m 23 years old. When I’m not doing band stuff, I am hanging out with friends at home, drinking smoothies, partying hard, eating food, sleeping in, reading, watching movies, going to shows, etc. Basically the same stuff that most people do!
Did the fact that you live in Canada or near the US helped you become a Christian in any way? We Europeans often get the impression that people over there are pretty dedicated to their religion? Did the hardcore scene also have any take on you becoming a Christian?
You’re a Canadian band and since we don’t often get to hear about bands from this country, can you please tell me more about your scene. Can you compare the US to the Canadian scenes, the touring possibilities and conditions in both of the countries or life in general? Well Canada is a bigger country than the US, but there aren’t as many people and the major cities are spread out a lot more. Touring conditions are a little harder due to the fact that you have to drive far distances and sometimes in cold weather. There are some kick ass bands from Canada like No Warning, Final Word, Blue Monday, Hollow Ground, Sick City, Port Amoral, Endless Fight, Propagandhi, etc. Check theem out.
I don’t think I could honestly call myself a “Christian” at this point in my life. I definitely believe in God, but I’m sort of at a point where I’ve been searching and seeking a lot. I don’t think that I am at a place personally where I could label myself. It’s something that I think about everyday. I would like to have some solid truth in this life. Anyways with that said, I’m not sure if living in Canada helps people become Christian. I think there is a lot more Christian influence here than other parts of the world where other religions are predominant. Hardcore is definitely not an easy place to call yourself Christian. I really respect people who stand by their beliefs even when they are going against the grain.
Recently you’ve been on tour with CBK around Japan and Australia. Can you tell me more about those experiences – both personal and from the band’s perspective? What were you expectations and what did it turn out to be? Both countries were amazing for us. We met tons of friends and played some amazing shows! We feel so lucky that we were able to have those experiences. Both countries totally surpassed our expectations as far as show attendance and crowd reaction. It was so much fun, and I can’t wait to get back. How does touring reflect on your personal life? It is very straining on personal relationships. It is very hard to have any meaningful serious relationship with a girl. It’s hard to keep in touch with friends as much as I would like. On a positive note, I get to come home every once in awhile and it feels like vacation. I love playing music as my job. Life is good. How did you end up on those tours – did the fact that you changed to Victory had anything to do with it or did you organize them on your own?
At this point we have not gotten on any tours because of Victory. It’s us or our booking agent hooking that up.
How back in time are you willing to go with your lyrics? Do you only focus on events occurring recently in your life?
Why the change to Victory?
I think ‘Wake the Dead’ very much deals with situations that were going on around the time of the album writing. Scott and I both took care of the lyric writing and it has kind of been a crazy year for us. We had a lot to get out.
We moved to Victory because we knew that they had the resources to push our band to the fullest extent. They have been great so far with promotion, dealing with us, etc. I can always get a hold of someone there when needed, and I feel like we have a lot of support from them. Are you still going to release something on Facedown records and what are your relationships with the label at this point? We will not release anything else on Facedown, but Jason and everyone else at the label are still friends of ours and we support each other 100%.
The video that is online for the song ‘Wake the Dead’ is not done by you guys, right? That’s right. Some kids from California did it. I thought it was pretty cool. We are actually shooting our own video for “Wake the Dead” this weekend. Be on the lookout.
On the other hand – is hardcore becoming just a consummate thing, something that I think it should be against as a counter/subculture, where the kids just want more and more stuff? Where is the line between supporting a band and just consummating it? I think if someone genuinely enjoys a band’s music, then it is fine. If they are just consummating it because of the trend or any other reason, that seems silly to me.
I think I saw some of your press photos and there were just the four of you guys and on the new record you (Andrew) recorded the bass. Do you have a steady line up now, are you ready to tour? Yeah, well we’ve had fill in bass players for the last year or so. Finally we just got a full time solid bass player. His name is Kevin Call and he’s awesome. He just joined the band after we recorded “Wake the Dead”. A lot of the songs on ‘Turn it Around’ dealt with the love topic. The whole artwork had that same feel to it. What’s your personal take on ‘love’?
Did you manage to ‘turn it around’ and did that album and being in CBK helped you to do so? There are always opportunities to turn situations around. Sometimes it is harder than it seems though. I will just quote Vanilla Sky right now: ‘Every passing moment is another chance to turn it all around.’ It’s an ongoing thing. What movie is that sample from the last song on ‘Turn it around’? Tom Cruise, baby. See above. I want to marry Penelope in that movie. She’s so hot. The main themes in your new album ‘Wake the Dead’, if I can summarize them a little, are love, hope and ‘waking up the dead’. Can you tell me more about the feelings behind the songs? The songs on “Wake The Dead” deal with broken relationships, wondering if there is hope out there, searching for answers, realizing self worth and doing what you want to do with your life. It’s all pretty personal lyrics that are very honest and real. I think a lot of people could relate to them.
On your website you addressed some of the people that downloaded your new album and explained to them that it was just a rough mix. What do you think of the mp3 thing and the internet – why is it that there are so many people who don’t care about the packaging of the CD, the better sound etc.? Do you think that some of those that did download the album will still buy it? I am hoping so. I know almost every record gets leaked before it is actually released. I am just bummed out that kids got their hands on an unfinished copy. The original 9 songs isn’t even fully mixed or mastered at all. I would have rather people heard the real record first.
Is Victory your final resting point? We signed to Victory for a few records. I guess it depends on how many more records we put out or if another label wants to work something out with Victory. I’m sure we will be with them for a long time.
Personally, lately I haven’t had the best view of love. I think it is really easy to get bitter about things like that. In a romantic sense, I feel like true love is so few and far between. Sometimes I don’t have hope in it, but then I see my parents for example and they have been married for like 28 years and they are still totally in love. It’s inspiring. I think love in the non romantic sense is very essential. I think that you should treat people with love at all times. If you can do that, then you can do no harm.
Facedown came up with the idea to do the DVD later on to keep things exciting and so that we would have something extra to sell on the road. It was also just a really fun thing to do. We weren’t ready to do a full length DVD at that point so that is why we just included it with the CD. I think only 5000 were made. Limited Edition!
What does Comeback Kid tune to? C sharp standard. Are you planning on writing a ‘slow song’ any time soon? We are doing a Creed cover on our next record. Look out for it 2009! Did you know that such video is being prepared and did someone contact you about it? I only knew about it when I saw it online at the same time everyone else did. We are totally fine with that though. It’s hardcore! Will you try and air it somewhere outside Internet if the dudes that made it permit you? I think it’s a cool video. We are just going to wait until our Video is ready. Can you tell me more about a possible idea behind a video that you’ll do (if any)? To which song will it be? It is for “Wake the Dead” and we will have a lot of crazy live footage as well as a story about a guy walking aimlessly through his day. It goes along with the theme of the song Wake the Dead. You are just going to have to see it I have the CD/DVD copy of ‘Turn it around’- how many of those were made and why did you decide to re-release the CD with this Bonus DVD and not do it separately?
When are you coming over to Europe again? We are hoping to make it back to Europe this summer. Nothing is confirmed yet but we should know some information soon. Check out our website address below for updates. I have no more questions. Thank you for the interview. Any last comments? “WAKE THE DEAD” is in stores NOW! Thanks for taking the time to read this. Yeaaaa! Check out our new webpage: www.comeback-kid.com
pictures taken from: www.comeback-kid.com http://www.myspace.com/comebackkid (for their latest album “Broadcasting”)
Interview taken at Trier’s Summerblast Festival 2007 with Kurt
We just want to play our music and concentrate on that. To have
The time period was about 6 weeks, but we weren’t working
Ballou. It was a nice performance from the band, but I would
a fulfilling musical experience for ourselves and if people like
on the album solely for 6 weeks. It was more about 2-3 Weeks
really rather see them live at a club tour as you can’t really
it, that’s awesome – if they don’t like us, that’s cool too. The
of work.
capture the feel of a Converge show at an Open Air one. To be
goal of the band is not to get out and promote ourselves and
Why did you leave Jonah Jankins do the vocals on one
honest with you I had prepared some more questions, but Jake
get new fans. The goal of the band is to continue to make re-
song?
couldn’t make the interview so I had to cut down on the lyrical
cords and enjoy playing music. And as long as there are enough
ones...As you will read from the following lines a trully great
people who like the band and support us by buying records so
He has a great voice and what I know from Jake is that he was
band, both in its vision and music
we can continue to make music then I am happy
sort of hearing himself sing as if he was Jonah while writing the
Let’s start with your latest album „No Heroes“. It’s a bit
Does that mean that you make a living based on music?
lyrics. Jake is a really big fan of him and the band. When we different from your past albums – both lyrically and musically. Can you tell me what this album is about?
were growing up they were like one of “THE” bands in Boston, a band that broke away from the local scene and were
Well yeah we all have different jobs, but basically we make a
famous on international level so that was a band we would look
living on „music“ - whether it would be the band or other musi-
up to when we were kids. We always really loved his voice and
It has a lot to do with us sort of looking back at our musical
cal things. So it is important for us to get some kind of revenue
loved everything about that band. It was an opportunity to work
past and where we come from and where the hardcore music
through music. I am not going to make „making money“ my
with somebody we really admire and respect and become good
is going right now. When we were growing up there wasn’t
goal in everything I do musically, because I feel that this is a
friends with. He did great job with that song.
that system of „Fans“ and „Bands“ and the separation between
sure way to a failure. I just don’t have the consciousness to do
them – we had the punk rock community and the D.I.Y. ethics
that.
You mentioned your live performances and the small shows – is it true that you attract a lot of fights in the states?
of hardcore and this is where we come from. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be so prevalent anymore. I feel that it’s sort of
There is one song on the new album called „Trophy Scars“
foolish to elevate bands, such as us, to a stardom status, but a lot
which feels a bit different from all the other songs ever re-
Yes, this stuff happens from time to time. I think that when
of the bands now are doing exactly the same. A lot of the music
corded from Converge. Did you ever had that need to make
you are at a high energy and intense kind of show emotions
fans now expect a band to be elevated high above them, but I
a more melodic song?
get flamed up pretty easily and people have that aggression
don’t really wanna do that. The Converge vibe and the shows
built up.I want our shows to be a tool of a release of aggres-
we play and enjoy the most are the small shows where the band
Well we just get together and play – we have different ideas and
sion and not a tool to focus your aggression on somebody else.
and the audience are one and the same – having that cathartic
we exploit those ideas. And if we feel that something could be
But it does happen a lot. You have to also take into account
musical experience together. So this is basically what we’re try-
a Converge song so we use it and if we don’t – we don’t use
that Converge’s fan base has broadened – you got the neo-metal
ing to say with our album
it. Our musical taste is not very narrow and it is much wider
kids, punk kids, crusties etc. So those people and “sub-genres”
than what one can hear in Converge. Anything that can be fitted
don’t always get along to well, so they clash. Or sometimes
How do you feel about playing a festival like this – Open
into the realm of Converge we do. We always try to have a few
the security that these clubs hire are more of a ball player type,
Air, huge Stage?
songs in each record that are outside of the mold just to keep
“the jocks”, and the punk kids don’t like the jocks and the left-
It’s cool but it’s a little weird for us to play such festivals with
it interesting.
over high school rivalry between them ends up when someone
huge stages etc. But this festival seems to be running pretty
stage dives bad, but you know, anything can happen. Bottom
well and I think that most of the people are here for the right
Where do you get your inspiration from then?
line is we don’t have fights at every show and it’s sad when
reasons.
Movies, Books, other music and anything in life. The politics
it happens.
Some festivals we play in the U.S. we don’t always feel this
and the world around me, everything could be inspirational. Let’s change the subject – You do have a recording studio.
way, those huge Festivals were you have the feeling its a Rock Festival. We can play those kind of things, but it’s not really the
Have you seen that Johny Depp Movie „Deadman“ - I feel
Converge experience – the Converge experience should be seen
the same vibe when I listen to „You fail me“
in a small basement, hall or small club.
Can you tell me more about that project of yours? Well it’s not a full time thing – I do it beside the band. Just
Yeah I have seen it, and yes that movie was an influence on me
today we have a band on tour with us, the Animosity, I recorded
Would you categorize the U.S. „Hellfest“ as such a Festi-
- both the music and the cinematography. People have said that
their album. Rise and Fall is playing also right now and I mixed
val?
before and its true. That movie has an interesting and ironic
their record and will record their next one right after we finish
Oh I don’t know, that Fest has its ups and downs...I am referring
tongue and cheek kind of humor. But ultimately, our goal with
the tour. Later in the Fall I’m doing a Torch record and the new
more to those general Festivals were we play with Rock bands
every record has been to create the best record that we can and
Disfear. I am usually booked out 3-4 months in advance and I
and such. I am not going to name any specific ones, but these
try to make it something that we would want to listen to if we
am doing it for 10 years so there is a lot of stuff I have done.
certain shows are clearly not a Converge show. And we like to
weren’t in the band. It’s also important to capture the live en-
do that kind of stuff, because we are in this band and we have
ergy of the band, because we are not trying to make it sound like
And how do you feel about touring? Being away from
the opportunity to experience all that life has to offer, so I will
a slick studio record, but exactly the opposite. In “No Heroes”
home?
sometime play those things that I don’t necessarily consider as
we wanted to have a record that sounds like a raw, small type
It’s cool, I like it, it’s like I am on an adventure every time.
the „ideal Converge situation“ as long as we would still be able
Converge show, where everything is going wrong and crazy.
Being in a new place every day, meeting different people. If I
to play at the places that I feel close to that ideal Converge situ-
There are flaws on the record and we’re ok with that, because
wasn’t in Converge I wouldn’t get tosee all that stuff. But we
ation. We also like to give people alternatives. So if we are to
we wanted to make a raw, human sounding record. That’s the
don’t travel all that much, we tour around 2-4 Months in a year,
play this big fest in Chicago we want to make sure that we’d
goal of every record, although achieving that goal seems to be a
so I get the chance to get home very often. When we’re on tour
play a small club show a few months later in Chicago, so that
little bit different with every record.
we keep in touch through the Internet or the regular phone call.
way people can see us live in a different environment. But we do have lives beside the band so we can’t be on tour a whole
We tour enough to not be a casual band, but it’s also not enough How did you record your album then – completely live?
year long and sometime playing a big festival give us the op-
to call us a full time professional band, which I don’t really want to.
portunity to be seen and only having to spend one day of your
Well no, not completely. There is some stuff that’s live, but
time wheres it might take a week to have the same result on a
mostly we did every instrument at a time. A live record doesn’t
How do you feel about bringing the personal life into
tour. I know that a big fest is not the best place to see Converge,
always sound like a live record. To make a record sound live
music?
but unfortunately we have to do those shows too.
there are some things you need to lead your ear in order to get that feeling and those things need to be done in the studio
So does this mean Converge is still looking for new „fans“ and a bigger promotion?
Well music is personal and if it is not personal what else is it? But it also depends on how obvious you make your references.
How long did it take you to record the album?
I think that a lot of the stuff that Jake writes are metaphors. The
photo by: Ryan Russel
E G R E V N O C
lyrics on the new record sound at first glance very violent, but
How does a Converge song come together?
guess that if there weren’t guitars and drums something, some-
they are not, they are just a violent metaphor of the things that
Every Converge song comes together differently – some times,
thing would happen and it wouldn’t be exactly the same as what
are going on in his life. He doesn’t necessarily want to talk about
someone will come to practice with a complete song, other times
we have right now, but people would still be driven to create
the specific details so he uses metaphors to show his feelings. All
we would have just an idea and get together and jam or the drum-
something that was different, but I don’t know what that some-
that the listener is intended to receive is a metaphor and they
mer plays some beat and we get a note and pick it up from there.
thing would have looked like.
should just derive it from there. We are all pretty private and we
It’s very different and that makes it exciting, because we don’t
don’t really want people knowing everything going on in our
make songs the same way each time
intended for the listener.
Why is it that the social aspect is more important than the musical one nowadays when, in my opinion, the musical as-
lives. Expression is intended more for our own release than it is Have you ever fitted a song to Jake’s complete lyrics?
pect is getting bigger and the message is being left out.
No actually his lyrics almost always come last. Why do you play “Concubine” and “Fault and Fracture” together?
Well when I said social I meant the raw level of “social” - makTo wrap it up, at the end of the interview, did the hardcore
ing and meeting friends, having a certain “style”, wearing the
music, life, gave you something that nothing else could’ve
“right” clothes, that sort of social behavior. I didn’t mean so-
There is a lyrical continuity between those songs and when we
ever done?
cially, ethically and politically conscious. And it’s true that those
make out the set list we always sit down first and try to link
It gave me a sense of identity, a sense of purpose and a commu-
aspects dwindled in the hardcore scene, but the idea that people
songs together so that there aren’t a lot of breaks. But on a live
nity to work within and to feel some acceptance, a family. I guess
could meet new people, especially the outcast kids need to find
performance we focus more on the energy and power of the set
it gave me everything.
a friend base that they can communicate with and feel accepted.
and not so much on the lyrics or the meaning of each song. We
That stuff will never go away and that is still there and it’s just as
try to keep the energy up and balance the songs that the audience
What do you think, if it wasn’t for electric guitars and drum
strong as it always has been. But the ethical side of punk as it was
wants to hear with those that we enjoy playing
beats, would there still be such a community like this one,
when I was growing up is unfortunately dwindling.
opposing the world and standing up for something? Do you have a set for this tour or do you change it with each show?
So is there a place you haven’t played yet, but you still want Oh yeah definitely. Music is one of those things that brings peo-
to?
ple closer. If you look around in the hardcore scene, it looks like We sort of have a set that we work from with each day, but it is
the community and the social aspect of it is almost more impor-
In Asia we’ve only been to Japan, but I would like to play in
always a subject to change. We usually sit down before the show
tant than the music itself and I really think that it’s more a social
places like Indonesia, Honk Kong, Thailand, Singapore. I don’t
and think about it right before we go on. Depends on how long
thing than a musical thing. But music is something that’s excit-
think that we can play in China, except maybe for Honk Kong,
we get to play and if we play other shows close by, so we make
ing and you can quickly build a community around it, whereas
but I would like to though. South Africa and at some point we
sure that if people go and see both concerts they have a different
visual art or film or something like that would be much harder to
will have to go to South America and we want to play more in
experience and hear different songs. We don’t make a difference
accomplish the same task. At the end of the day, creative people
Europe as we haven’t really played in Eastern Europe. And prob-
if we play open air or a club show.
will always find a way to be creative and express themselves. I
ably New Zealand as we already played in Australia, that’s it.
CHAMPION
“After 7 years, one full length, two 7’ eps, one split ep with friends, Betrayed, countless tours spanning Asia, Europe, Australia, Caribbean, and North America, Champion, the straightedge band based out of Seattle Washington has decided to call it quits. While in the process of writing for the 2nd full length we realized that the band might be better put to rest. The amount of touring we had done on the 1st full length was so extreme that in a way we wore ourselves out. Champion was started as something we did for fun. We wanted to create hardcore music the way we liked. Trying to gear up for the new record and crazy touring schedule left us all feeling like it was more of a job to us than our passion. There is nothing I loved more than touring, being on the road, seeing new faces every night, seeing familiar faces from the time before. It was my favorite aspects of Champion. But there came a point when things became to feel like a business to us. We have always had problems keeping people in the band who can keep up with our hectic touring schedule so there were always people in and out of the band. With all the pressure to do another record and to tour, it wasn’t what we “wanted” to do anymore; it was what we “had” to do. So before making any commitments that we would be bound to, we decided to end it now, while everyone in the band was still friends and still loved everything we did together as a band. NO ONE SOLD OUT. Todd and Aram will continue with their band betrayed, myself and Chris will go into hiding and show our faces time and time again at shows in the pit like we always have. We will be doing our final show may 27th in Seattle at El Corazon. The Answer, Sinking Ships, Allegiance, and Outbreak will be playing. Champion was my everything for 7 years of my life, now it is time to move on and it’s hard for me to do. I hope everyone can come out for our last show. Thank you for the memories much love Jim Hesketh” - on Saturday, March 04, 2006 (www.myspace.com/champion). Following is the most honest conversation I ever had with a band member, taken with Jim on the 9th of Mai 2005 in Chemnitz, Germany
Your third time in Europe (last time was with the Promise
We’re talking about South Korea right?
and Comeback Kid) and all those bands you toured with
Jim: Yes, North Korea is a really weird place, because
there is no SxE scene in Bulgaria…
are now recognized world wide. Why do you think that
Americans can’t get in there and I think that to have a hard-
Jim: I only met seven SxE people in Japan which was
we’re witnessing a revival of the fast paced, youth crew,
core scene in a country like that would be really dangerous.
very strange…I think there are not many sxe bands there
straight edge genre in the year of 2005?
They have to be really underground and to avoid publicity.
either…
Jim: I think a lot of people still like this style of hardcore.
So how do you compare Japan to Korea and is there any
Back to the question, why did you choose to sing about
There have been times when it completely died out, but
room for comparison?
straight edge, don’t you think that’s a little bit of a cliché nowadays?
there is some spirit in it and I can speak for myself – it’s my favorite style of hardcore. I got into hardcore, because I
Jim: I think there is a lot more unity in Korea. We played
liked punk and fast paced music, I never was a metal head,
with a punk band a hardcore band, etc. All the bands were
Jim: Yes, it definitely is a cliché. But you know what, it’s
not that there is anything wrong with it, but that is how I
tight and kids were amazed to see an American band, be-
really hard to be creative and say something that hasn’t been
liked it personally. And there are many people like that who
cause I think that not that many US bands have played there.
said or done in the scene. There have been many straight
were always into Bad Religion or something like it and that
I think the only bands that played there were Kill Your Idols
edge bands and they said a lot, if not everything that needed
is one of the reasons this style was always appreciated, but I
and Himsa. And therefore they were very appreciative of us
to be addressed. But I think that we try to put a twist in
might also be wrong…
being there and all the shows were awesome and incredible.
our lyrics and be as much creative as possible. Ultimately
There were people who knew us and those who listened to
we are a straight edge band and this is one of the things
Yes, but you see, the scene now has changed to a more
us for the first time. And I think that Japan and Korea is a
that is important to us, but although most of our songs talk
metal, mosh driven direction, that’s why I asked you this
totally new world. The people in Japan are more used to
about straight edge, we are not trying to convert anyone to
question…
seeing American and foreign bands play there – Converge,
be straight edge or change the world. My goal is not to cre-
Band, Comeback Kid, the Promise, Sick of it All, all kinds
ate a huge sxe scene the way it was in the late 80s mid 90s,
Jim: I think a lot of it comes from the fact that festivals like
of bands and it was really cool there, but when we went to
I just want people to know that such bands exist and that we
OZZ fest and the New Metal scene have been really big for
Korea, people were really glad that we made the extra ef-
believe in this. If there are no sxe bands or sxe kids then the
the last five years and some of those kids that go to those
fort. But it really wasn’t that big of a deal to travel to Korea
straight edge scene will die, as simple as that. I think that it
festivals, got into hardcore through bands like Hatebreed
from Japan, because the plain tickets from Japan to Korea
is important part of hardcore and it started 20-25 years ago
and recently Terror. They never got into hardcore through
are not that much more expensive so everyone can go there
with Minor Threat and it survived so far, so we can’t let this
punk – that is what they like, what they have always listened
and make that little extra effort.
happen. And you know what – there are not so many sxe
to and that is what seems closer to them. And you see these
bands anymore and most of those that do exist are more into
hardcore bands that do those big festivals - bands like
What impressed you the most on this tour, including the
metal and mosh and I think they have a different perspective
Unearth, Bleeding Through, Throwdown. Those bands are
one you’re on right now?
on sxe. I am left with the impression that they are more mili-
like a gateway to the hardcore scene for kids who are young
tant, were I’d really like people to have a positive perspec-
and were unaware of it, but are introduced to it by these
Jim: Playing Korea blew me away, not to speak that the
tive on sxe as a whole…So basically this is about us, about
events.
whole tour was amazing and pretty extreme. We’re touring
our personal decision and about sxe surviving in hardcore.
with Slapshot in Europe and they are very big in Europe
There were times back in the late 90s when Earth Crisis
and especially here in Germany. We’re riding on a night-
were very big and people who found out about sxe through
liner bus and it’s a strange experience to us, because we’re
TV and the papers, who never even knew about hardcore,
Jim: It is a positive thing that new people are finding out
used to traveling in our own van. I think it’s a little bit more
got into it, but I don’t see that as a problem now and I really
about the hardcore scene. But the negative side of it, to me,
of a luxury and comfortable and…well yeah I guess its be-
think that sxe is the minority in the scene. And you don’t
is that a lot of those kids never really learn about the old
ing nice. We’ve been playing to a lot of different audiences
have to be straight edge, but to me it has to be there, to give
bands and old styles. And if you don’t know about Sick
on the tour every night, the venues are also bigger, better
young people the comfort that you don’t have to drink and
of it All, Slapshot, Agnostic Front, Guerilla Biscuits, Bad
sound. The show tonight was also incredible for us, the way
smoke to be cool or hide from your problems. Because peo-
Brains, Minor Threat etc. you really don’t know about hard-
the kids reacted. You hear that the german kids don’t move
ple who go into the hardcore/punk scene are kids that have
core and the roots of it, its history. So I don’t see much point
around a lot, but I guess it was ok with most of them sing-
problems anyway, most of the time they have been rejected
in that…You don’t agree?
ing along and stage diving. We come from Barcelona Spain,
from the rest of the world and hardcore is the place to meet
where we played last night and this show was awesome and
other people who have the same, so there has to be some-
No I agree, totally…You’ve been on tour in Japan and
we’ve never been there before and I think the Barcelona
thing that will shelter them within the hardcore scene and
Korea recently. Tell me more about Korea. We hear a lot
show and the one in Sweden we did were the best shows
will give them alternative to handling their problems. I too
about Japan, their scene, but what’s up with Korea? How
so far.
had problems with drugs and alcohol and without straight
So that’s a positive thing?
is the scene there?
edge I would’ve probably end up addicted. Do you know that you’re the first straight edge band to be
Jim: It is very good. It is really a great place with really cool
interviewed on the pages of this magazine?
old school youth crew band in the veins of Youth of Today.
Jim: Really, how is the straight edge scene in Bulgaria…?
Then there is this band called “13 steps”, sounding more like Sick of it all and Terror and they are very good.
What’s your view on vegan/vegetarianism in Straight Edge?
bands. There was a band we toured with, called the Geeks,
Jim: Well I am vegetarian, but I don’t really tie this to the Well it’s nothing special, maybe few people here and there,
sxe although I know many people do. The reason I am
vegetarian is because I want to be healthy and I don’t be-
to be involved in the scene, because they felt that this is not
lieve in killing the animals the way people do nowadays.
what it’s about. This song is about standing up for straight
But it doesn’t have anything to do with me being straight
edge and proving that it is a positive movement…
edge. You know straight edge and hardcore…hardcore as
Do you think you will ever “move on”? Jim: I don’t know, I have no idea right now, will see. I’ll be straight edge forever, that’s for sure. But back to the ques-
a whole is about positivity and finding solution and look-
But 6 years later, nowadays, there is the same thing hap-
tion – for him this was something personal and then he saw
ing for answers to your problems and being a better person
pening in Boston with those crews, don’t you think that
all these people making a trend of it. And straight edge also
and straight edge as a part of hardcore, it’s also a way of
this is going all over again and people are being turned
became a different thing. In the late 80s Youth of Today,
improving yourself and looking for other solutions to your
away from it?
Guerilla Biscuits, Chain of Strength and all those bands
problems …I don’t think that being a vegetarian is better, I
Jim: I personally have a hard time understanding it, although
changed straight edge. It became a crew thing.
just think it’s the way I should live my life.
I don’t want to say anything bad about anyone. I have told
Ever thought of loosing your “edge”?
this to people before on shows too. Hardcore is about
Back to the lyrics – can you explain the lyrics to the song
brotherhood and family etc. so I don’t see the purpose of
“116”.
crews. Hardcore is a crew, it already is. The beautiful thing Jim: Well as I told you before, I’ve had real problems with
about hardcore is that you can go anywhere in the world
Jim: Hey Chris, do you want to explain the lyrics to the song
alcohol when I was younger, I am 25 now. I was almost
and if you see someone wearing a hardcore shirt you will
116? Chris plays guitar, he made this song…
becoming an alcoholic back then so I stopped drinking
go and talk to that person and say “hey what’s up” and it
Chris: The song was written in 2001 about the Seattle Mari-
and am SxE for many years. I don’t see a problem now,
is like you’ve been friends forever. You feel that you can
ners, the baseball team, who broke the record with 116 wins
but when I was 21 it really was a little difficult, because all
trust them and this is what hardcore is about. So this is my
in a single season. We named the song 116, because we drew
my straight edge friends started drinking, everyone I knew
opinion about it. I guess I grew up in a different place in the
a parallel with the excitement in the city on one hand for the
hung out in bars and every girls drank – I mean: “how am I
world and they might have other problems, that is why I
people who watched the games and the people in the hard-
going to meet a girl if I don’t drink” – the normal thing for
don’t want to talk negatively about them, but I do think that
core scene. The scene was reviving and a lot of new bands
the American kid, when you turn 21 you start drinking and I
violence is very unnecessary in hardcore. Even if you’re
were forming – bands like Himsa etc. and that’s why people
guess back then it was a little harder to deal with it, but now
straight edge or whatever, there is absolutely no reason to
were excited about the fact that the North-West hardcore
I am older and its just a normality.
fight at a hardcore show. Because you will be fighting your
was becoming more popular. So the lyrics basically were
family, the people that you’re supposed to get along with.
about us being proud in the Seattle hardcore scene – “from
A lot of your lyrics deal with people turning their back
They are all your brothers and sister. When you hit someone
15 kids screaming out loud, ‘we want more’” to hundreds of
on SxE…
in the pit accidentally you go there and apologize…
kids who are screaming even more.
Jim: Yes, it’s really hard…When I first got into straight edge
Like what happened tonight…
In another song you have a line that goes: “can we learn
I was 17-18 every kid that I knew was straight edge. We
Jim: I didn’t get it, what was this all about?
to forgive and forget”. Did you personally learn it?
had this huge straight edge crew in the town that I lived and
Well one kid did a crowd walk and someone didn’t like
Jim: To forgive and forget? I really, really try to live by that
there were probably anywhere between 50 to 100 kids who
it… (ed: well actually there was no fight because the guys
line, ever since I was young.
were straight edge and it was so cool to go out on Saturday
handled it very nice – Jim got his mic to the face of the
Isn’t pride too big of a factor?
night and to hang out with all those people. And one day all
kid that was shouting and the kid was so embarrassed that
Jim: Yeah, but we should all suck up our pride now and
those kids broke their edge except for one kid, called Chris,
he stopped it.)
again. But there are different types of pride. Egos and self
who plays guitar in Champion. We were the only two people
pride could get in the way sometimes.
who left…And that is why it is hard for me to deal with it.
Jim: Ohh, was that it, get over it, kid... Shit like that happens
To see all your friends change…
– what’s a good show if you don’t get hit in the face or get
Reading some of the songs I had the feeling that there was
bruises… (ed: he saw the big bruise on my right arm) Yeah
something more beyond the friendship, maybe even love?
Is this the reason you started Champion? Because of de-
just like that one! That’s how it is. Sometimes when I go to
Jim: Well, there are a few songs that I would say yes, and
pression or frustration?
a show I don’t enjoy it until I got a good smack in the face.
maybe some that I will say no. I try to make the songs as
You don’t have to necessarily hit someone in the face on
general as possible, so that people can relate to them in dif-
Jim: Hmm, well the reason we started the band with Chris
purpose, but such things happen. Keep going, channel your
ferent ways. So if one person wants to relate to some song
is because we were on a tour with Trial and a band called
aggression into the mosh, get pissed, stage dive, but fighting
about love and this song helps them get by it, then this is
“Lost is nothing” (ed: sorry if i got it wrong, it was hard to
people is just stupid, that’s it.
what the song was about and this is what I met to do with it.
hear on the tape), two hardcore bands from Seattle. This was
But a lot of the songs are personal, about friends.
our first time on tour and it was really interesting to go out
To go back to something you said earlier – you made a
in different cities and meet many kids. So when we went
song for standing up for SxE. Many people accuse Ewen
So do you think that ‘love’ in every dimension and
back home from the tour we were so excited, we wanted
McKay for abandoning the SxE scene when things went
friendship should always come hand in hand?
to do more and we started the band, playing the music that
out of control, instead of standing up for it…
Jim: I think it is important to be friends with that person,
we liked. There were no other bands like that in Seattle so
Jim: Well, the way I see it is that he created this thing and
but sometimes love hits you even when you don’t expect
we’ve been trying to tour ever since. That was in ‘99
this was not what he meant for it to be. He never really
it. Sometimes your feelings towards a close friend can be
wanted a huge scene… I don’t think he is doing drugs or
similar to how you feel about a certain girl even if there are
In the songs “The Insider” and “Thank you note” you
alcohol, I think he is still straight, but he doesn’t call himself
no sexual feelings involved. But love is weird and strange
clearly speak against some of the crews. Can you tell me
straight edge. He might still be involved with underground
and most of the time I don’t really understand it…
more about it?
music, movements and still does a lot. Not necessarily for
Jim: Well “the Insider” I wrote because of the events in
hardcore, but he still has the hardcore ideals and way of liv-
I think that’s it. I must say I had a really great time to-
around ’99 when Straight edge was very big in the media,
ing. It’s important to take what you learned in the hardcore
night. Thanks for the great conversation.
Salt Lake City and the violence involved there. The media
scene and apply it to other parts of your life, even if you’re
Jim: Yeah thanks, we will be coming to Europe again in au-
was trying to portray sxe as something negative and a lot of
not involved in the scene. People move on, we can’t all stay
tumn, so if someone wants you can check us out. Check out
people got away from it, because of that. They didn’t want
in hardcore forever. Some people might, but not all…
my brothers band too: www.myspace.com/sinkingships
Conducting an interview with one’s favorite band was never an easy task. There are always questions that are bound to remain unanswered, because one can always ask a limited amount of them. Same is the case in this interview, taken before one of Shai Hulud’s last European shows in the summer of 2004 in the German city of Wangen. (ed: last at that point. But... they are still together, only the two Matts, Fox and Fletcher, are in the band. I even had the chance to catch them once again live) I knew that it will be impossible to find a response to every inquiry I might have and that’s why I choose to lighten up this interview and to not focus on the band itself or the lyrics, because I pretty much knew all I wanted to know, but more on the individuals that are behind it. I had the rarest opportunity to have a conversation with almost all the members and the following lines are the result of our little chat. Take this interview as it is, hope you enjoy it. How was the tour so far? Matt Canning: The tour has been pretty good so far. We’ve had a place to sleep every night. Matt Fox: Well, not every night – Hey, say your name first… Mat C.: Ah yeah, my name is Matt Canning – I play guitar Fox: I’m Mat Fox Andrew: Andrew Gormley - drums (editor: he was laying on a coach in the other side of the room) Fletcher: Matt Fletcher – bass. Andrew is with us for this tour only. Geert: Geert van der Velde – vocals Matt C.: So as I was saying, we’ve had a place to sleep and a food to eat pretty much every day. So far we can’t really complain. I liked it. In Iceland we got to swim in this Geo-Thermal Lake which is naturally heated by volcano’s heat under the earth. Like a bath water. Geert: In some town we were – there were these drunken guys sitting at the ground and singing really loud – there were a bunch of people standing beside them and laughing… How was the tour back 5-6 years ago when you first came to Europe with Shai Hulud? Who was on that tour?
Fox: There were four of us on that tour – Andrew, Me, Fletcher and Geert. Now the tour is a lot better. Andrew is not in the band though, he has his own band called “Playing Enemy” in Seattle, but he is familiar with the songs – last time he learned the songs like a week before the tour. It was difficult – we didn’t have a singer we met Geert on the tour(ed: they met Geert at one show and they didn’t have vocals, because their singer Chad didn’t come on the tour. So he told them that he would love to do the vocals on the tour and toured with them the whole summer...The rest is history) Just compared to this tour – even though it’s not as prepared like a tour should be, is a hell of a lot more prepared. Last time was pretty rough. Even though, when I look back on it – all of us had a great time, but this one is better Geert: Everything is better organized. It’s a bigger van; we have more space for each person. We actually have merchandise to sell. We know where we’re going the driver is very nice. It is more professional.
Geert, how hard was it for you to take a decision like that - to join the band and live in the US?
Geert: 5 years ago? It wasn’t hard at all! It was like a dream come true. Shai Hulud was my favorite hardcore band and still is and I got the chance to sing for it. But 5 years ago I was a different person. Now I’ve grown up. We’re the same people, but we’re moving on. We’re doing different things - it’s time for a change. So how was the life in America for you as a band in those years? Fox: I dunno, I prefer Japan or Europe. America is full of trend and such. Our band has never been one that is the flavor of the month. I think it’s a little harder for us as a band to function in America. Not that we were doing too bad and there weren’t people who were kind to us and cared. But I think Propagandhi, the Canadian band, said it best in a song: The American and Canadian hardcore scenes would build you up and then burn you down just as quickly. I think this is a pretty good capture of the scenes in our Continent. That’s why I would prefer Europe or Japan. How often do you tour over there? Fox: We were touring fairly regularly I would even say regularly. There was no point in that we weren’t touring and we had a little bit of time here and there for a couple of weeks. Did that affect your personal life in any way? Fox: Oh, I have no personal life. My life is pretty much dedicated to the band, so it doesn’t affect me a lot. Matt C.: I just love touring. I’ve been the shortest of us all in the band. When I was a kid, one of the reasons I wanted to be a musician was, because I wanted to see a lot of the world. I have no complains as far as my personal life… Geert: I think that the only thing that is hard sometimes is leaving your home and the people you’re close to. Me, Fletcher, Kenning we have girlfriends, Andrew has a wife. It’s hard to leave that person behind sometimes and to not be able to see them or touch them or have a nice long dinner or something. I miss that now – it’s been 3 and a half weeks and I started to miss that. That was pretty much the only hard thing for me sometimes, even with previous girlfriends. It’s sometimes hard to leave that behind then come back and fall into the routine and later go out of it again. It’s hard to maintain a relationship, but I guess not anymore Fletcher: If you’re dedicated to it you can look over on that stuff – family, friends. And if you have a relationship that is crumbling and destroying itself or whatever (ed: everybody begins laughing) you should be able to overcome those feelings. If your heart is in the music and you just wanna rock…(ed: he plays a string on the bass very loud and kind of angry)…Make sure you put that bass sound, right there.
views lessen, that would be during the set. That is when I feel a lot happier. It would take more then a tour – actually, I don’t think there is anything on this Earth that can make me feel less angry Speaking of misanthropy, Geert, I heard that sometimes you sing “I love you” instead of the line “I hate you” on the song “For the World”? Is it true? Geert: No, no, but I guess you’re close. The original Shai Hulud Demo had Damien Moyal sing in it. And if I’m correct, which I think I am, Damien sang “I love you” and the lyrics were different. That song was put on a “Plead for Peace” Compilation, because at the time the guys had no other material. So the song got out and I can see where the confusion comes from. But that song is the original song. And later when Damien left the band the lyrics to this song were changed by Matt Fox. Matt Fox: Actually “I hate you” was Chad Gilbert’s idea (ed: former singer of Shai Hulud, now a guitar player in New found glory) So you mentioned Chad, what was the feel to be in a band with someone so much younger than you? Matt Fox: It was difficult. For a teenager, he was 15 years old, to deal with men in their mid 20s. Definitely a very big generation gap and that’s why I think he is no longer in the band, because that could’ve not continued. But at the end of the day, he is still a good friend of ours, especially mine. No regrets, but when you’re working with so much younger it is not the best team up for a long relationship. The lyrics to your songs are metaphorical? Was that some idea you had, or they just came up that way? Fox: I have very little education – I don’t know much about speech or writing. I just write what I feel and I word it as best as I possibly can. I talk to my old English professors and I talk to my friends, people that know about writing. I have all my ideas put down and work constantly on them, with the help from the guys in the band and the people that have solid grasp on the English language. As for whether was deliberate to write in a metaphoric way – everything we do is deliberate and every word we write has a solid meaning. The way I write just comes out the way it does. We work very hard on making the music fit the lyrics. I’d slave over one particular word or note for hours and hours just to make sure that it fits. A lot of people would argue that I spent too much time doing it, but if you’re working on something that is important to you, you have to make sure you’re happy with it. I’m not that kind of the person that would settle for something that is average – that’s what the rest of the world is for, right?
Has this tour changed your misanthropic views in any way?
You guys lived in a house together? Do you still do?
Fox: Absolutely not! I think it makes it stronger Fletcher: Naaah (hehe) Fox: I hate to say it, but I don’t think it’s possible
Fox: Fletch and I still live in that house Fletcher: Just the two of us rock there. Geert: At one point, when we moved from Florida to Poughkeepsie (NY) there were four of us living in that house – Me, Fox, Fletcher and our old bass player Jared Allen. I was the first one to move out and then Jared left the band so the two Matts remained in that house.
Why is it making you feel it even stronger? Fox: Because I have to see people. People make me very angry. Just reminds me of it. Matt C.: Yes, people make him angry, very, very angry Fox: But playing the shows, maybe for an hour every night or so, you feel that there are few people that you can relate to. It’s always nice to play the shows. So if at any point I had my misanthropic
What is the feeling to be living in a house with your band mates? Fox: That’s the way I’ve been doing it for a long time since the time my friend Steve Kleisath, Oliver and I were in the band we all lived together, so it’s pretty normal to me.
Did you make songs all day and night? Fox: Yeah sort of. It’s always cool, because when someone has an idea he can always go upstairs or downstairs and work on it. I wouldn’t say we did it all day, but we had the access to work on it at any given time which is always convenient. You’re still living in that same house? Fox: Yeah me and Fletcher And what does this house look like? Fox: Hmm, It looks like a bunch of sloppy guys… Geert: You can tell that no woman lives there... Fox: Exactly! We only have a couch, it’s very stripped out. Geert: On the outside it looks like a normal suburban home, but then you go in and you see the empty living room, which is getting fixed now, getting new carpet and painting and whatever. In that house everybody lives in their rooms and the kitchen and bathroom is shared and the basement is for practice Matt you were going to teach children theater/act I heard? Fox: Yeah, that was what I was going to do. I was in such a school. But I stopped going to college to play in the band full time. My goal was to finish my degree and start teaching children theater at this particular place, because they had asked me to. But I never started doing it, because of Shai Hulud. I needed to finish about a year more, but as I said I chose against that. That was a decision that would’ve left me in a place that I would’ve not be happy with few years down the line. In the retrospective I think I made the right decision. I’m not the guy that would have a 9 to 5 job, that’s just not me. I don’t think I would be able to do it for very long. The prospect of doing it though, teaching those children was great at the time, I loved the idea and it’s something that I would do again, but it would have to be on my own term. And If I wore to have taken this job it would’ve been definitely too strict for my lifestyle. I think this was the right way for me to do it. Well, in a way, you’re teaching the hardcore kids now, don’t you think? Fox: Well I guess for any smart or sensible musician that could be one of their biggest hopes. Geert: Hardcore kids don’t want to be thought though... Fox: I’d imagine that some people do...But if that is what we’re doing that would be fantastic. That would be a huge compliment and would justify a lot of things about being in a band. I can’t say that we are, but I sure hope so and if we are, then I’m very flattered When is that DVD you’re doing going to come out? Fox: We hope that it would be done till the end of this year so that it could be released sometime next year (ed: it was 2005 and it’s 2008 now and still no DVD, so...). But before that, the demo with Damien that Geert spoke of, the first thing that Shai Hulud recorded is going to be released on CD with whole bunch of other stuff in it – live shots with Chad etc. That should come out this year and the DVD is supposedly going to come out early to mid next year (ed: 2005) But the Retrospective CD has to come out this year – there is still some work on the Artwork and Layout (ed: that one indeed came out the same year – check it out). You were on a tour in Japan – how was that? Better than Europe? Fox: Oh, it was fantastic. The thing about the tour is that it was more concentrated – 10 full days and I think we saw the best of the best there. I would say that I like it better than America, but I wouldn’t
say it was better than Europe. It’s just that I’ve been to Europe before and Japan was always a mystery to me. I went to another part of the world where the culture is complete different. It was unique and it made a big impact on all of us. I don’t know if I can say that I liked it better than Europe, but I absolutely loved Japan Tell me more about “Zombie Apocalypse” your side project. Who is playing in that band, I’m not sure Fox: Well in Shai Hulud are Fletcher and myself. We also have our friends Greg Thomas, Ronen Kauffman and Erik Dellon. Those are everybody in Zombie right now. I wouldn’t call it a side band, but another band playing another style and we will not be as full time as Shai Hulud is, because Ronen, the main singer, teaches children in fourth grade and he is committed to his job. He does Zombie whenever he has the chance. He is married and has a full time job. How far would like to go with Zombie? Fox: As far as it can go. Everything is for fun, but we also take it seriously so if Zombie has the potential to go as far as Shai Hulud, we’ll be very happy to do so. Zombie is recording for an album, a split, we’re doing Hellfest. So we take it very seriously and we want it go as far as it can, given its limitations. Is Shai Hulud or Zombie Apocalypse going to play any cover songs of each other? Fox: I don’t know off hand – you never know, perhaps. It is kind of hard to say. At this point I would say no. But you never know... you never know. Ok, so what will be the “Ultimate Dream Show” for you personally? Fletcher: It will be in Japan, the bands would be Iron Maiden and Metallica and Thin Lizzy. Fox: I would also say that my dream show would be in Japan. So let say Metallica headlining, Propagandhi is also playing, The Smoking Popes, They Might be Giants and Strongarm and Burn Are you guys playing on that one? Fox: Who needs us with a line up like that, but sure, we can open for those bands. Come to think about it, let’s make it a fest – The Descendents can also play. Bad Brains, Dead Milkmen re-unite and Testament of Void, Sick of it all have to be there too, E-Town Concrete (ed: Matt C shouts: “Jesus, calm down”) Suicidal Tendencies. Who else would be there? This is going to be a “Japanese Fox Fest” Fletcher: Entombed Fox: Yeah Entombed, With Honor Matt C.: Mine would be at “The Spectrum” in Philadelphia because I grew up there and I saw all those big rock bands. I always wanted to play there, but never had the chance to. Headlining would be Queen Fox: Oh shit, Queen plays Fox Fest also Matt C.: Yeah, Queen is one of the greatest bands that ever lived. They will play every song they ever written Fox: They’ll need like 3 weeks to do so… Matt C.: Exactly! There are two support bands. One is Metallica, but if they play anything after the Black Album they get an electric shock and are forced off the stage… Fox: Which is a shame, because they close with the whole Master of Puppets after they played a song out of those albums. They’d be killed before you see the set you wanted. Matt C.: The opener would have to be the Misfits with Glen Danzig singing. That would take some work getting those guys together, but
who knows… Fox: I think it would probably take more work to get Queen together. Btw you all mentioned Metallica and I know you’re those big fans of the band – well, to be honest I never liked that band. What do you say to convince me the opposite? Fox: Well, I think I can sum it up by saying that Metallica is THE absolute best Heavy Metal band that’s ever been and will ever be. Unarguable, unquestionable! If that’s not enough to peak your interest I don’t know what else. Wouldn’t you agree that they are the most influential band of all time? Fletcher: They wrote the book. If you don’t like metal it would be ok to not like Metallica, but if you remotely like heavy music they did it better than everybody else 10 years before everybody else… Fox: Damn straight! Ok, I’m not saying anything. So to continue with the subject – what would be your fantasy dream band? Fox: Hmm, do I have a dream band? Matt C.: That would start with me, of course, on guitar, right Matt? Fox: I wouldn’t even know where to begin with. Josh Colbert (Strongarm) on guitar. Gavin (Burn) on the other guitar, Tim Single (Dead guy) vocals, Lance Garvin (Living Sacrifice) on drums and then Blacky from Boyvad on bass. That would be one hell of a band. Fletcher: Ahmm, a dream band? I would have to take Hetfield on guitar. James Fucking Hetfield! You can’t go wrong there. But who’s going to sing? I would make mine a dream dirty rock band. Philip Linnet (Bass and Vocals). And after that, what do I care about…Ok Steve Harris can play the bass and Phil would sing and who is gonna do them drums? I think Steve Kleisath can play drums. That’s fine. Matt C.: Ok, my band is a lot nerdier. Just because I want to see what would come out of this…So my dream band would have Terry Bazio on drums, Yngwie Malmsteem on guitar, Freddy Mercury on Vocals and Victor Rudden on Bass. I just want so see what would come out of that. Fox: Who is Victor Rudden? Matt C.: He is a very famous session bassist. He is awesome. I just remember hearing a lot of his stuff and thinking that he would ad a nice dynamic to the whole dream band. So I would really like what kind of nerdy, complicated music they would make. Fox: I’m sure that if you ask us the same in 5 minutes we would completely change our answers. Ok, suppose a fire breaks out in your house and you don’t have much time to run out – which CDs are you going to grab before everything goes down? Fox: Hm, how much time do I have, how many CDs can I pick? Depends on how fast you move… Fox: “Advent of a miracle” by Strongarm, “Right the Lightning” by Master of Puppets, Eisenstein (Bad Brains)…What else, let’s see (ed: and somebody in the room, I think the merch guy asks “Did you just say “Right The lightning” by Master of Puppets – and everybody starts laughing). If that doesn’t illustrate my love to Metallica, then I don’t know what else does. But anyways they are right next to each other so I’ll take both of them and maybe Earth A.D. by the Misfits Aren’t you taking the master copies of your albums? Fox: No, absolutely not Fletcher: That “Advent of a Miracle” by Strongarm always goes
first. ‘Right the Lightning’ and the ‘Masters’ would go also, but if I had to choose out of the two, it would be the “Master of Puppets”, sorry Lightning fans. And maybe also Iron Maiden’s “Life after Death” Matt C.: To be honest with you, you would have to skip me on this one, because I have absolutely no idea what would pick. There are like 50 albums that I love… Fletcher: Oh ok, let me choose for him. Pin Bag, Lynch Pin… Matt C.: Oh, Shut up! Matt hates me because I listen to things other than Metal sometimes. God Forbid! Fletcher: Ha-ha-ha-ha... Your favorite movies? Fox: Hm, mine are a little older. I’d say that my favorite movies of all time are probably “It’s a wonderful life”, “Jaws”, “Glengarry Glen Ross”, Last Star Fighter Clash of the Titans and a lot of Alfred Hitchcock’s stuff… Matt C.: There are so many movies that are a lot better than the ones I’m going to name, but the following movies are movies that I just adore and can watch over and over and never get bored. I love “Best in Show”, a Christopher Guest film. I also like “The Big Lebowski” from the Coen Brothers. Those are just some films that I can throw in at and just laugh and not have to think a whole lot about anything. Fletcher: Full Metal Jacket and “the Thing” Favorite read? Fletcher: Hmm, Favorite book, Andrew what would you say? Andrew: Mein Kampf? Fletcher: Right now I’m reading 2001: Space Odyssey. It’s a Sci-Fi book. Fox: I’m not a big reader, but the favorite books of those that I have read would be the entire collection of “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”, Animal Farm, I also loved the Martian Chronicles. I’d say those are up there for me. Matt C.: I really like a lot of Arthur C Clarke “2001: Space Odyssey”. I like how he can make incredibly complicated things, probably the most complicated things on the planet Earth, simple enough for an idiot like me to understand. I really like fiction books – “Slaughter House 5”. It’s one of the books that you’re supposed to read in high-school but you don’t and then you read it after high school and you wish you read it earlier. I liked that book a lot. Fox: Yeah the same was with “Animal Farm”- never read it in high school and when I finally did, I couldn’t believe it. Do you believe how many books there are that you should’ve read in high school, but you didn’t…? You use a reference to a Talkien’s Book in your last album Fox: Yeah I like Talkien and I appreciate what he does and I’m a big fan of his. I like the stories and I like the worlds and I love the whole Mythos that he created. I can appreciate it that way, but as far as reading the book I don’t think that is for me. It’s a little too detail orientated for me to read. I’m more dialogue driven, I like books with interesting characters and conflicts between them and Talkien is using a lot of descriptions. I’m finding it hard to follow sometimes even after reading the same page 20 times before it starts to make sense. So I’d say that he is not my favorite author to read. Ok guys, thanks for the interview… Any last words Matt C.: Actually I have: You gotta have more Callable… and a cack on the wack
Further Seems Forever
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Further Seems Foreve’s show in Berlin’s club Magnet was something I was looking for a long time during my stay in Germany. It was 2 days before my birthday, a nice present indeed. Unfortunately the band’s spirit wasn’t one of the greatest you could hope for at that evening, one of their last shows in Europe. They looked tired and beat and I can just feel that they were having a hard time during that tour. When i find out that they are playing an acoustic show due to the fact that they lost their drummer who flew back to the States few days prior to the show, I didn’t know what to think - of course the songs have the potential to be played acoustically and of course they would still sound great, but I knew I would miss all the emotion of a true full member show...I was disappointed yes, but the show proved to be just good as it was. They played songs of their latest album at that time “Hide Nothing” and even did some Sense Field covers (singer Jon Bunch’s former band). Jon’s voice wasn’t doing too well at the end of that exhausting tour, but he still managed to sing through the whole show and also set down with me to do the following interview. Unfortunately Further Seems Forever is no longer around, but Jon and Derick Cordoba (right picture) liked the idea of that tour and did an acoustic tour across Europe playing Further Seems Forever and Sense Field songs - they called the project Fields Forever. Unfortunately I missed that tour, but at least had the chance of watching them play live one time before they disbanded.
Tour I told the guys to not have high expectations and that it’s going to be a hard tour, basically like starting from scratch. But to my surprise, the shows have been going pretty well, people have b e e n coming out, they seemed to have the old and new records, they knew the lyrics. Everything surpassed my expectations. I have been in the band for a year now and we did many great tours in the states together and it’s been fun. To be honest, it was hard at the beginning, because I am sure that people didn’t know what to think about a third singer: after all, third album, third
Europe and the drummer problems. My first question was about their drummer Steven Kleisath (ex Strongarm, Shai Hulud), who, as I found out from the local promoter just before the show, has flown back to the states due to some hand injury problems he had during the tour. Here is what Jon had to say about it: “Well, Steve hurt his hand and he was having a hard time playing, but we still made him play, even though his hand was pretty messed up. But at one point he couldn’t take it anymore and flew home. So we decided to finish the tour acoustic and we’re doing it so for the last six show. Actually those shows have been going pretty well too, people were very receptive and understanding and they seemed to like them a lot.” He couldn’t hide his disappointment of the fact that their drummer had to leave back home so early and leave the guys finish the tour alone. At one point in the interview, I even felt that he was quite angry at this and the rest of the guys didn’t look very cheerful at the show either. All the rumors, which surrounded the band at this point, rumors about their disbanding were disproved shortly after on FSF’s home page, only to be confirmed later next year (for more info on the band’s history :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Further_Seems_Forever) We continued our conversation with a talk about the tours in Europe and America and how this affected Furtherseemsforever: “This is my sixth time in Europe actually, because of Sense Field, but this is the first time FSF has come over here and before we went on the
singer. But once I down right and learned ing well. I think ever since was great.”
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The lyrics Jon wrote the lyrics on Hide Nothing, their third full length, so I needed to ask him about some of them. It was quite obvious that there was a Christian influence in some of them, so I turned his attention to some lines: “ ‘Take this heart of darkness, I give it up’ from the song Hide Nothing, was meant as a metaphor for being a better person, a pursuit to leave behind all the darkness in yourself, the bad part of you and start a new better life. In the video to the song we had a similar concept. The man who dies, looks back on his life: we show him as a kid at his birthday party, in the war, getting married and finally growing old. He is reflecting on his life and
what the video, and the song, are trying to say is that one should not believe that there is something better after this life. That you gave your best and you shouldn’t wait for something better to happen at the end”. The video is actually a pretty well done animation, both very conceptual and interestingly made. Then I turned his attention to another line, which was ‘hope against hope’ from the song ‘Already Gone’: “Well, yes I ER V am a hopeful person and I do think that withRE out hope you have nothing. Hope gives you O F something to work and live for, someS M thing that could be very beautiful.” He E SE paused for a while and we talked ER about another part of their H lyrics: RT U “As it goes in the song, I F really think that everyR E V one deserves secE R ond chances. O
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Him. I personally always believed in God ever since I was little and I think a lot of it comes from my family. My mom thought me about God. When I was little my mom and dad divorced and when I asked my mom where my dad was, she would always tell me that God is my real father now and that I should talk to him when I need my father. So as little kid I would do that just to make me a little happier and not feel so alone. That’s where my relationship with God started. But there were certainly some little moments when I was losing my faith in Him, some moments all of us have. When I grew up I started reading what Jesus tried to teach people, I liked it, it made me feel good and so I began becoming a Christian, because I wanted to be more of what he teaches. But back to the line we started talking about, ‘help me to move on’, I really doesn’t trust myself enough and I really don’t believe I have enough strength to make it in this world alone, without God. It’s too hard to be alone.”
Beyond Death and Life
Everybody deserves to be forgiven, if they really strongly want to be forgiven and are sincere. As for the line ‘I never walked alone, help me to move on’ I was talking more about God and not so much about relying on a person. But about the band and Christianity, we are more Christian people in a rock band and not vice versa, so we don’t try to impose our believes on anyone. This is not what we are here for; we are here to play rock, have a good time and not to teach about the Bible. So if someone comes and wants to talk about God, we will talk about God, but I am not here to say that if you don’t believe in God it’s wrong. I am not trying to judge people based on their beliefs. I can understand when someone doesn’t believe in God, God is not visible; there are so many bad things that are happening in the world, so I guess it is sometimes hard to believe in
“I think it’s good to try and live your life to the fullest and do as much as you can with the one life we have before it’s gone, but ofcourse you don’t have to live by it and always be afraid that every second passing by is getting you closer to death. ‘Time takes away’ means exactly, that: you don’t have to think about it in every single second, but it is always good to remind yourself that you have a short amount of time on this planet to live. But when you get tired and you don’t want to live anymore, you have to remember that there is so much left worth living for and so much to learn. We don’t have to give up; we can make it through the hard times. And I had such dark times, many, many times. So this song is me talking to myself and me talking to God. And now I have a little son and I have a lot to stick around for. I have my family and I’m hoping to see them home soon next week” It was obvious that as a man of 34 he was getting tired of touring and it wasn’t the same for him as it was when he was a teenager, but that was the way of life he chose for himself and as Jon put it: “Touring is difficult, but I love it. It’s a lifestyle not too many could keep up with”. And I could see that it was very hard for him, but still he was very excited about seeing new places and touring, even though he had to sacrifice the first steps of his son or being home with his wife. Some of the choices we sometimes have to take in our lives.
Wade: Which song was the line: “Side-stepped land mines and working-class attitudes” from? George: This is from “Where no one knows” from our first album. Wade: Yeah, let’s talk about that one… George: Hm, the idea for this one was about writing love songs and not being ashamed of it. I remember that line well, because the next one is: “This is a love song, deal with it”. So this is pretty much what the song is about, actually.
cally trained musicians and as you will notice tonight, when we play our songs live we play them a little bit faster. Wade: Probably three or four times faster (laughing)… George: The first recording of this song, we did for the demo. Then we played it live a few more times where we played it a little more sped up. So when we recorded the album it came out a lot faster. Chris: Tonight we will play roughly 12 songs and we will make them in about 17 mins. (laughing).
The “Sharks and Daggers” song begins with a sample – is it authentic? (ed: it’s a sample of a phone call to a psychiatric hotline) George: No, I invented that sample…Oh haha, sorry yes, actually I invented “the sample”, way back in the days I don’t know if you guys still remember DJ George …(laughing). Anyways, seriously now, the story is about a guy who keeps correspondence with his sanity, but the returned letters he gets from his sanity are going shorter and shorter until a point comes where he is afraid that his sanity will stop writing back to him and he is going to go out of his mind. So my idea of the sample was for a recording of him calling some sort of a psychiatric hotline, trying to talk to a girl who is there getting all those calls. And this person you hear is me, trying to explain the situation to the person at the end of the phone.
Are you still afraid of yourself and what is wrong with being odd? (ed: a small play with the words of one of their song’s titles) George: There is nothing wrong with being odd. Dallas gave the title to this song so I am not sure how to answer. This was one of the bizarre songs we did on the record. He wrote the title and I wrote the lyrics. I might know where he got this title from, that must come from somewhere for sure…But we don’t entitle the songs based on the lyrics. Most of the time they have nothing to do with each other except for few exceptions like “White Devil”, “ Happiness by the Kilowatt” and some other. Chris: Do you know how we came up with the title for the song “Sidewalk when she walks”? At the recording studio I had to go to the toilet and when I came back the guys gave me a piece of paper and just told me: “Steele, go back and think of a couple of names to the songs we’re recording”. And my first idea was “Sidewalk when she walks” George: There were also a couple of others like “The Minddealer” and some others. We write a lot of stupid titles to be honest. Take “Polaroids and Polar Bears” for instance, I thought Pol-Pol sounded cool so… Chris: Our first song we ever did as a band was “Little girls pointing and laughing”. The story behind this title is very funny. We were in this two stories house on the second level, writing a song, jamming and half way through it we were playing and screaming and the sound was echoing to the streets and these little girls were just walking by, pointing and laughing at us, so this is the reason we named the song that way.
Wow, it sounded pretty authentic; I thought you guys got it from a real hotline. George: Yes it does sound authentic, that was the point. Thanks. Chris: By the way, the girl at the beginning of the song, Nancy, taking the calls, was the girlfriend of our manager Joel at that time. Another thing – why did you change the tempo? You recorded the song much faster in the record than you did in the demo EP. George: This has to do with the fact that we’re not very classi-
Judging from some of your lyrics, you weren’t very good at math in high school? What did you u like in High School the most? George: In High School? Slacking off and doing nothing! But yeah I was terrible at math and I can barely do long division right now too. I already forgot what they thought me there, even some of the stuff which I used to be able to do, I forgot. I think I was OK at English, but I was overall a terrible student. I always got the bear minimum, never did my work. I got accepted at a crappy art school in Toronto, but instead of doing that and going to college, I started playing music with those jerks. I never look back at it and don’t regret a moment of it. I think I wasn’t meant to school anyway. I think High School was more boredom to me personally. Chris: To me it was half and half. I had a lot of funny friends with which I used to hang out with and slacked off like George, or at least in the last two years. Instead of going to class we were going to the beach. George: I think Art class was pretty funny. I went to a point where I could make absolutely anything and still get an acknowledgment from my teacher who would think that what I made is very deep. I would make something stupid like a giant ear out of clay and I would explain it: “It’s about listening to the world around you,maan”. And my teacher was always: “Oh, George, I like the symbolism in that” and she will write an A+ on it. And I’m: “What the fuck, it’s just a big ear out of clay” (laughing)
Wade: Oh I have stories like that: In High School, in my last year, all my projects I did were replica of something else. I used to take a bunch of George’s lyrics and write them right away and my teacher was always: “Wow, Wade this is amazing!” And then she will give me to write a poem and I write it in 10 minutes out of our song’s lyrics and she is again: “Amazing”. Then I once took one of Dallas’ acoustic songs and performed it live and explained that I wrote that song the same week. Then I took one of our friends’ music video and said that I did it all by myself. And for another project I told my teacher I am going to record a CD in a week, where all the vocals and instruments will be recorded by me. And at the end of the week I gave in two “Planes mistaken for stars” songs, made a fake cover of it and called the album “Gruesome” (ed: at this point everybody in the room was at the ground laughing their guts out) I once saw “Planes mistaken for stars” and told them this story and they were laughing about it. George: There is the High School for you – total slacking off. Chris: The worst part of it, for me, was getting up so early in the morning. George: One time I was a part time student and I only needed to take two classes a day and I would go in about 12 o’clock and get back home at 1 or 2 pm or something. Nice huh? (laughing) Ok at the end – ever though about what comes after Alexisonfire? George: Yeah, I actually thought about it. I am going to take a bunch of LCD and walk the train tracks. Wade: I already got tattoos on my hands, so I probably will be playing music for the rest of my life. I can not see myself doing anything else besides music, really. Either that or if Mime doesn’t get officially recognized as an Olimpic Sport, I will take my own life. Chris: What can I say after that…(laughing) I always wanted to be a zoo keeper though, seriously. I think in Berlin you will find two of the biggest Zoos in the Continent. George: Do they have openings? Check it out buddy, what you say, Berlin Zoo? Two Zoos? Hey is your lucky day, buddy. He is pretty good with the animals. Chris: Yes, I will handle them well. check out the band here: http://theonlybandever.com/ http://www.myspace.com/alexisonfire (for a couple of songs from their latest album “Crisis”)
Food Not Bombs is an organization that has around 10 years of existence in the West, but is just slowly gaining ground in the East too. The idea behind it is to gather food from restaurants or supermarkts, food which is otherwise thrown away, cook it and serve it to poor people or people in need. I’m very lucky to say that FNB exists in Bulgaria as of recently. Here is what two of the people, Ico and Maria, involved in FNB – Sofia have to say about their undertaking (unfortunatelly the interview was taken in the winter of 2005, as far as I know the FNB actions are being put on hold, but I am sure that the people that were once involved in the activities and probably others will continue with FNB Sofia very soon).
Please introduce yourself? Ico: Hi, my name is Ico. I’m a student and am 21 years old. I help with what I can in FNB, there is no structure or hierarchy in our organization so there is no specific function that anybody of us has. Maria: I’m Masha and I can only back up what Ico said – we all work as a team and we all do different tasks in order to achieve something. When did you decide to start FNB and how many people were involved in the beginning and how many of them are still involved today some months later? When was the first time that you personally heard about FNB? Maria: I know about FNB from Canada where I used to live and used to participate in. The idea of FNB originates in San Francisco some 10 years ago. In those 10 years of existence it’s spreading quite fast in the bigger cities of the western countries as well as on the east. When I came home in Bulgaria I found out that there is no acting FNB organization. Stimulated by a desire to help people, especially here
in my home country where the need is enormous, I got in contact with a guy from Germany who happened to be a volunteer at a local environmental group called ‘For Earth’ and both of us decided to go for it and so it all began. We are a group of about 5-7 people, but our numbers are constantly changing. Ico: Yes, we got together in the beginning of December; I think there were about 5 of us back then. We organized it all and in one week time we started with the campaigns. There are some new people now, which is always good because this way we can make things happen even if some of us are unavailable. I personally found out about FNB from friends that are in the US and do FNB there. Where do you get the food from? Do you get any support from restaurants, supermarkets or malls? Мaria: Well, a group of us goes out to larger market-places, bakeries, fruit shops, restaurants and even some hotels. We introduce ourselves, explain who we are and what we do and some people are generous enough to give their rests to us. Unfortunately a large amount of the supermarkets throw away their food at the end of the day, because of some insane health regulations. Sometimes we even buy the food with money we get from donations etc. As far as I know, some of the foreign FNB groups do dumpster diving to collect the needed products. You mentioned that some of the food is being thrown away at the end of the day – have you done that yourselves and are you willing to do so if it’s necessary? Ico: Well, we don’t do that and I’m not sure we’ll do it in the future. We just ask people from the restaurants if they have any food left and we agree on a day of the
week in which we’ll come and pick it up before they throw it away. Maria: I personally would dumpster dive for food if I am certain that it is not rotten, it’s good to eat and have tried it out myself before I do so. Of course this is a decision we have to take as a group. But the thing in Bulgaria is that nobody throws away large amounts of food that could be of any good to us. I think it is very important to have such social kitchen for people in need, because it’s just ridiculous how many of them there are out there and the state is doing so less to help them. Why Vegetarian Food? Is this a must or are you just serving meatless food, because it’s harder to find and preserve fresh meat? Ico: Every existing FNB group is independent and decides on their own what kind of food it will gather and cook. But as far as I know, all FNB groups serve vegetarian food, because of several reasons – ethical, health and economical. Shortly – in order to produce meat you have to kill an animal. The meat industry is causing great damages to the environment. Trees are being cut down, forests are being exterminated so there could be more space for pastures for the animals. If we were to use those territories for cropping grain cultures or vegetables etc. we would be able easily to solve the problem with the starving population on the earth. And last but not least, I think that vegetarian food is healthier. Maria: Most of us adopted this diet, because of moral, social or whatever reasons and live by it in their everyday lives. And let’s not forget how dangerous it is to serve meat products that are somewhat old. So you are vegetarians? What’s your take on this diet and lifestyle? Maria: This is a sort of protest, a boycott
to the brutal ways we humans treat animals, just because we have to satisfy our taste desires. I strongly believe and know from personal experiences, that we are able to live healthy without consuming meat (I guess it depends on the organism also). There is one thing that I find hard to comprehend and that is our ignorance towards the vital products for our survival, the same ones that we take in our bodies. It’s also a fact that a lot more people could be fed by being vegetarians compared to being omnivorous. Ico: Yes, I don’t eat meat and I do it, because I don’t want to have anything to do with killing animals. Why did you choose Food Not Bombs as a name for your organization? Is this a way of supporting FNB in general and did you have ideas for other names?
Ico: Yes we started serving food every Sunday and I think it is ok so. Maria: That’s the idea – to do it every possible Sunday. How big is the interest towards FNB in terms of participation and also from people from other cities in the country? What are the reactions of the people on the streets? Maria: I think the interest is there, but the problem is that it is more just an ‘interest’ than real devotion, dedication or constancy. One thing I found strange at the beginning was that some of the homeless
Maria: Well, we sort of have a Bulgarian version of it and it could be translated in English to Food Not Wars or sometimes Food Not Arms, but I guess it’s all the same. I think the name is not that important, but it helps build some sort of more political activities around the whole process. Ico: I think the name is nice. Are you getting any help from FNB abroad? M: Just an inspiration… And what about institutions in the city (councils, mayors etc.) and have you looked for help there? Ico: Nope. We’ve been asked quite some times if we get support from a political party or some church. The truth is we are totally independent and we don’t want to have anything to do with anyone of the above-mentioned. I think they are only looking for power and profit so in the end we could end up just being used. M: Yes, the idea is to not get involved with the state nor the church How many campaigns have you done so far? Ico: Around ten so far. Do you think you can make this thing last in the long term and maybe serve food every week throughout the whole year?
people, people that otherwise dumpster dive were refusing our food - there is some kind of a pride feel, they feel too proud to take the food for free. The restaurants where we go for food are relatively happy and supportive of our undertakings, but are not always capable of helping us, because they have problems with the food also. So what kind of people come at your campaigns and look for free food? Maria: Most of them are homeless or very old (with pensions at around 100 Lv ~ 50 euro). But we offer food to anyone who wants; it’s humane to be hungry sometimes. Ico: There are some people that just pass by and come and eat. Everyone is welcome. Do you give out pamphlets and flyers
along with the food? Ico: Yes, I did some FNB flyers and we have some environmental ones also. Maria: It’s just mainly about where are the meetings taking place and what’s FNB about. We plan on doing more political stuff soon also. What’s FNB-Sofia to you personally? At the end of the day, why is it so important to help people anyway? Ico: I think it is a great opportunity to show to those people that they’re not alone and someone is thinking about them. FNB to me is just a small example of the free society, free of any kind of social separations: hierarchical, political, ethnical, gender, class etc. We live in a cold and brutal world, but we must not give in. We build this world and it’s up to us to make it better. Maria: For me it’s important to know that with so few efforts we can feed at least for a day people who are otherwise starving to death, but also to give them something in their lives to count on and trust again. It’s heartbraking to see those old people, who have worked all their lives for their country and that same country is now repaying them with something like ‘they’ll be gone in a few years time anyways’ attitude. That’s not the point of the state and in this situation it’s more as something that the regular person has to fight with every day. There has to be a working institution that is in support of the community and people. Unfortunately that’s not the case in this country and that’s why the power must be regained by the people. We have to help ourselves in order to survive as a community. I have no more questions. Do you have anything to add at the end? Maria: Remember that ‘Food’ is a right and not a privilege! Think of possible places where you can find recourses that are otherwise thrown away and could still be used. Don’t ever distance yourselves from poverty and never loose hope! Ico: Good luck with the zine, hope you find the time to put it out more often.
This Interview I took in Plovdiv around 2003(as far as I can remember)
interesting and all the surroundings also…
and the ideas, this is more important.
with Aga (Sunnydays Tourbooking). Aga was the first person/booking
Let us get back in time a little – what made you start booking bands
What countries/continents have you been to so far?
to bring/send bands to Bulgaria back in those days. Catharsis,Children
and organizing shows?
I was everywhere in Europe except for Albania, but I’m planning to go
of Fall, Endstand, Antimaniax and Pledge Alliance. Great bands that
I was traveling already with some bands from the States and one time
to Albania right after this tour. I wasn’t to any other continents, because
really cared for their music. So that interview is more about the person
in Germany someone from a band told me: “Oh you’re from Poland?”
I think you have to meet your own country, then the continent and move
behind the tours, the person that really likes to travel and see places,
There was the time when Poland was a “forbidden” country and no one
further. I’m planning to go to Asia. Actually we have some days in
like all of us, but a person, who doesn’t care for what others are think-
was playing there, so they asked me to book them. I was organizing
Turkey for this tour and the guys told me they want to go to Asia, so if
ing and really has the guts and dares to make her dreams come true and
shows in my home town when I grew up and I agreed to make it and so
they are ready we can go together. And if not I’ll go by myself, because
live by what she believes in, like very few of us...Hope she is ok and well,
I started it. Then later when I began booking bands seriously, because
I’m too curious to not visit this place.
wherever she is at right now.
of the long distances, I always tried to do at least one more show on the way to Poland or in some other places in the country so I can raise
What are you doing besides booking shows? Working, studying?
Hi, Can you introduce yourself?
more money. It was basically friends asking me to book them. The tours
I’m kind of studying life and learning every single day. But I’m not do-
Yes, My name is Aga and I live in Prague, Czech Republic and I’m a girl,
became bigger and bigger and I started to book all Europe. Friends were
ing any of the stuff you mentioned. I was traveling in May on my own
which is something different than usual maybe…
like: “Aga we wanna go to play in Spain” So I told them, Ok let’s go to
and when I came back I was offered a job in a really cool oriental store.
I thought you’re polish?
Spain…Or some other band will ask me to do shows in Sofia or Mace-
They’re selling stuff from India, Indonesia and Nepal. I got the money
I’m polish, but I live in Czech for so many years now. I never say I’m
donia and so on. Different bands want to go to different places. I try to
without the taxes so it was really nice. Basically booking tours is what
polish anymore, because I think you’re from there where you feel from
separate them. If a band has 2 months for touring, I would send them all
I do…
and I feel like I’m from Prague.
over Europe or if another one wants to make just an east European tour,
How old are you or am I not suppose to ask a girl about her age…?
I book them as well…
Well the question is ok, you can ask whatever you feel like, but I’d rather
How long do you see yourself doing this? I don’t actually know, because last year I decided not to do things any-
Are you always traveling with the bands you book shows for?
more and this year I took really big breaks. This is the first and last tour
Mostly I do, yes. But last year I did 17 tours so I couldn’t be on all 17 of
I booked this year. Anyways I’m planning more stuff for the next year. I
Ok it’s no problem…How is the tour going on so far (ed: Antimaniax/
them. But usually I do, because the bands want me to go along. I know
don’t really know, because as I sad I’m planning to go to Asia and travel
Pledge Alliance 03)?
the promoters and the countries we’re going to. I can handle borders and
there for many years. I might be down with bookings around May, but
Well it’s going pretty well. Today is the 11th or 12th day and only once
customs etc. It all goes smoother and really fast. They don’t have to care
nothing is sure. My life is crazy enough, so I don’t ask myself those ques-
was fucked up. We were in Miskolc, Hungary and there were Nazis in
about anything and I’m glad that I can be here to help them. So yes, I
tions. This is a very hard question. Things come and go and come and go.
front of the Club. So we couldn’t play the show, because there were too
usually go with the bands.
I hope we can meet again in 5 years here in this place and talk about life.
not say …
many of them and the place was something like a cellar. It was really
I’m gonna come with some bands and you’re going to still work on your
dangerous. We left the venue and the next thing we heard was that there
Maybe that’s the only fun part of booking shows – the traveling?
zine. I never know what’s going to happen. I hope to stay young inside, as
were fights that evening and there was blood inside and all that…But
Well the fun part of booking tours is…I should speak about this tour
I’m now, but I don’t know if I’m going to book tours for so long…
that’s the only bad experience we had. All in all people know the bands
maybe. I’m traveling in the Antimaniax’s Bus and I have a better contact
and sing along, jump and it’s very nice.
with them and we talk more, so I can tell you about those guys. The
So you don’t see yourself settling down any time soon and starting a
drives are very long and I don’t get to spend more time with the others.
family?
Are the guys giving you a hard time being a girl and all?
So to them, it is the first time in Bulgaria and somehow it is fun for me,
No way! This is not my life. I’m more into traveling and going to new
Well this tour it’s been pretty good, but it’s just the 11th day. The other
because I’m helping them to come here. But the most important thing for
places, learning new stuff. I’m not going to be this typical wife sitting in
tours were like…well hard. Exactly as you said – me being a girl and not
me is that we could be in places like this, places they’ve never heard of
the kitchen. Well I like cooking, but it’s not about that. I don’t think of
trusting me “Oh you can’t do that because you’re a girl”…
before and people sing along with them and have fun. The biggest fun is
staying on one place. Not now, not yet. I’m not tired enough.
Really, which bands?
when I see the band, which I booked the tour for, supper happy and that’s
Oh, I’m not going to say names, but it’s very strange. They ask me to
why I join them on their Tour. I can share their happiness. And the next
And it’s not hard for you to be away from your loved ones and your
book a tour and at the same time they are like: “Oh we trust you to book
fun part is that I can meet with friends from all over Europe, sometimes
family for such a long periods of time?
this tour, but we do not trust you to do this and that…” It’s really strange.
for only 2 hours, but I can hug them and see their faces, which is enough
No, I’m kind of used to that. Wherever I go, there is someone I like. It
That’s why my first thing I sad on this interview was that I’m a girl,
for me. The rest of it is hard work – people think that the tours are only
doesn’t matter in which place I am, there is someone to meet or to talk
because so many girls are not allowed to think and this is due to the fact
fun, but no, not exactly. There is stress and hard work involved in it…
to. Like I sad, I’m used to that. I can’t have people I love next to me all
that the males don’t allow them …But yeah, so far on this tour everything
the time, because they do something and I do something else. I had to
was really great. But if you ask me in 3 weeks the answer might be dif-
How do you contact bands? Do you contact them or are they contacting
learn for pretty long time how to cope with that. Right now I meet a lot
ferent. I hope not!
you? Do they have to match a certain criteria?
of friends and people I love and at the same time, when I’m sitting in a
So far bands contacted me. I never asked a band to do a tour for. Usually
Van I’m always thinking and hoping that my friends will have a good
How many times were you in Bulgaria so far?
they are friends of mine or friends of my friends or friends of friends of
time. Just thinking about them and sending postcards or emails is enough
I don’t know. Maybe 3 or 4 times, I’m not sure.
my friends etc. But 3 years ago I was doing too much and some of the
to be sure that we’re still close, because we think about each other. Of
Do you like the place? I read somewhere that the first time you came
bands were assholes. And I got responses from few people that they were
course the most important thing is to spent time together, but keeping in
here you were kind of disappointed, because you’ve expected more?
bad and at the same time I was sending them stuff they needed etc. So
mind the other person is also important and that was what I had to learn.
Well I’m not sure what I wrote or sad, but I remember as a kid I was
right now I’m only booking bands I know of. They contact me and ask
I like to be next to the people I love, because I like to hug them, to talk
always told “Bulgaria is beach and sun, holidays and stuff…” You never
me to do a tour for them. We talk about it etc. I have so much stuff to do
or not talk, just to be next to them. It’s really, really hard. I learned how
hear about the other stuff that is going on in here. Later I contacted Alex
anyways, so usually bands contact me in the first place.
to cope with it, but I still wish to have all my friends around me. But
(Last Hope, who actually wrote me an email asking me to book some
that is impossible.
bands for Bulgaria. And yeah, it’s a great thing to send them to Sofia or
Are all bands independent?
Ok Aga, I think that’s it. Any last words?
whatever. So, I really like it here. People are super nice and the shows
Exactly! The band has to be independent, the DIY thing is very important
Thank you very much for interviewing me it was a very nice surprise.
are always intense. If I wouldn’t like it I would’ve never ever send bands
for me. I wish the bands to be kind of political. The lyrics have to be in-
I wish you good luck with everything and I really hope I can see you
back here again. There are places where I was and will definitely never
teresting for me as well. The music is not the most important thing. When
soon. Maybe we can see each other in March again, because I’m booking
do shows in the future. Even if I know I can make it, because people are
you look at the bands I book, they vary from Emo to Jazzy stuff to Dark
another tour for some US bands. Cya soon
asking me to book them, I still wouldn’t do it. The country here is very
Noise or Ska or Metal. So the music is not important. The background
(contact AGA here: http://www.come.to/sunnydays (website still on))
Editors Notes: The reason I am including Greg Bennick’s Reflections on the Trial Reunion shows lies in the fact that I just wanted to share a part of what I experienced at one of those same shows (in Budapest) and that one week in Hungary through the words written by Greg. A lot of things happened that week and a lot of it has got something to do with Hardcore, a lot of it has got something to do with Love and it also has something to do with what Greg is trying to explain in the following lines...It trully was a memorable week, I was at two great shows (Bane, Comeback Kid,FC Five and the Trial Reunion Show with all the amazing bands that played as support - also one of Undying’s later to be last shows), spend a week in a beautiful country, visited two different towns, made great new friends, met old ones... From the first to the last day it was nothing short of amazing and it was all possible because of hardcore. Without the need of going too melodramatic, if it wasn’t for that same scene, which is in the base of a simpified and better communication, I would’ve never met those people I did over the years, see all the places I have seen or just have a great time. Its really incredible how I can just email a guy I barely know or known and ask him for a favour in terms of accommodation in that foreign country and he, within an instant, will offer me a place to stay and offer his help and time for that same week. Maybe the scene has changed so badly in the last few years and has grown to an extent where that is not possible anymore or maybe that same attitude I am talking about is only part of a scene that used to be, but unfortunately is not. I guess that show on that chilly November evening 2005 had that same flavour – of somethng extinct, of something unexistant, a feel of things never to be again. Never again to be inspired by music or message, never to be so eager to go to a show and never to have the flame of something true and great. Unfortunatelly, with that show the flame of some of the greatest bands has died out. In the following you can read Greg’s thoughts on those reunions and the way he saw it through his own eyes. Those few lines will help you experience the sheer emotions at the shows, but hopefully, they will do a little more than just that...
The Trial reunion shows happened because of Abraham Lincoln. Yes, you read that correctly. No, I am not drunk. I will say it again, in a different way. If it wasn’t for Abraham Lincoln, there wouldn’t have been any Trial reunion shows. For international readers who might not be familiar with Abraham Lincoln, allow me a moment to fill you in: Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States during the civil war. He had a beard. He was raised in a log cabin. He gave a speech called ‘The Gettysburg Address’ which is considered one of the greatest speeches in United States history. He appears on the US cent coin. He was watching a play with his wife and a guy shot him in the back of the head. And it was entirely because of him, this former president with the air conditioned head, that Trial got back together to play three shows. It happened like this... After Trial broke up in early 2000, Timm and I hadn’t talked much for some reason , and every time the idea of a Trial reunion show came up, I sort of brushed it off as if it would never happen. For years, I really didn’t think it would. I always thought that Timm and I would never agree on where or when or how to do it, who would play in the band, or why we’d be motivated to come back for another show or shows. I also thought, with all the reunions happening recently, that I didn’t want Trial to ever seem like we were doing anything just because other bands were. It seems that every band that so much as played a show in the 90’s is doing a reunion now, or has recently. I am waiting for the Doughnuts reunion tour. That is going to be amazing.
Then, I got a call a little over a year ago in the spring of 2005 from my friend Josh Payton. Josh is one of these guys who always has something intersting going on. I know that if his name comes up, whatever follows is going to be good, or bizarre, or just over the top. This particular day, he didn’t break that tradition. He had a favor to ask me. His band, “The Abraham Lincoln Killing Machine” was playing a last show. I had needed some web work done that I knew Josh would be perfect at, and he had an offer for me. He would do the web work for me for free if I would consider possibly, maybe, hopefully, coming to his band’s last show and dressing up as Abraham Lincoln and handing out party favors at the show before introducing the band. It took me about a tenth of a second to decide, and I told him that I would have dressed up as Abraham Lincoln any day of the week for no reason whatsoever, and that he’d gotten the short end of this deal because he actually would have to do some work for me. As long as he agreed that no one in the band would surprise me by shooting bullets into the back of my head, I’d be happy to help. We had a deal. Josh would rent me the costume and I would appear at his show, leaving at the end of the night with good memories and my skull intact. I went quickly to work. Its not often that you get to dress up like Abraham Lincoln, especiaily in front of hundreds of hardcore kids. Or maybe you do? For me it was somewhat of a unique experience. And I knew that I had some work to do. I read about Lincoln, studied his writings, looked into his life. I looked at his photo from Gettysburg. I checked out his myspace page.
We chatted on AIM. (He’ll brb.) And I rewrote the Gettysburg Address to read onstage at the show and included a number of hardcore/punk references. I wrote it all out on a scroll and awaited the show day like a little kid awaits Halloween, except that instead of having a cool costume like a skeleton or a ninja, I was Abraham Lincoln. I’ll take what I can get. The night of the show was like any other night, except that it was The Abraham Lincoln Killing Machine. Their shows were insane. Fireworks in the pit? Check. Naked people running around and stage diving? Check. Toilet paper flying across the room? Check. Could you expect less from a band who plays songs with titles like “Hooray, Cocaine!” Relax, straight edgers. Cocaine is straight edge. There is not an ounce of alcohol in the stuff. Its vegan too. Go ahead. Find me one bit of cheese in cocaine. Yep. Thought so. I don’t use the stuff, but relax. Gosh. Anyway, as the band took the stage, I got dressed in back. The costume ruled...a tall top hat, beard, overcoat. Just like the one you wear around all the time. I put it all on and walked out into the crowd, congratulating kids left and right on the victory over the south and shaking hands like a politician while handing out noisemakers and other party favors. I got up onstage and started reading my Gettysburg Address 2.0. The speech built to a crescendo. As I finished and introduced the band, the drummer started playing a drum beat that sounded familiar. All of a sudden I realized that it was the start of Trial’s “This is Not A Trend”. Josh tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned around to see that Timm was standing there,
smiling with a guitar over his shoulder, ready to play. The band had planned this all along and had kept it a secret from me. They were all ready to play the song to start their set. Timm had agreed to surprise me onstage. And so, totally unexpectedly, totally out of nowhere, and totally dressed as Abraham Lincoln, I sang “This is Not a Trend” for the first time since 1999 with Timm and my Killing Machine along with me as kids went ballistic. After the show, in the parking lot, Timm called out to me as I was leaving. He asked “So Greg, how about it?” I knew what he was talking about. I thought for a second and smiled and said “Call me. Lets have dinner and talk.” And that’s how it all got started. Timm and I met at Rom Mai Thai on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Go and eat there. They make their own tofu. I am sure the process of learning to do this was akin to the medieval alchemists who tried and failed to make gold. If the cooks at Rom Mai decided to make gold, they could do it on their lunch break. They fear nothing. They also make vegan coconut ice cream. Yes, vegan. I know, it makes little sense to me either, but you and I are not worthy of the knowledge possessed by these men and women who have dedicated their lives to your sensory joy. Rom Mai, on Broadway. Don’t forget. So...this is the part of the blog where you get to use your imagination and imagine Timm and I at dinners over a handful of nights, trying to figure out when to do a show and where and how and with whom. I could write out all the details, but aside from the fact that there are a million of them
and my laptop would be begging for mercy by the time I finished, you would be begging for mercy too. There were so many things to work out, and to be honest, aside from deciding which songs to play, Timm covered most of them himself: selecting a venue, getting tickets made, designing posters, finding a second guitarist. Next time you see him, congratulate him. He made it all happen. We originally thought that a venue of around 300-400 capacity would be perfect. We thought that our shows in 1999 drew around 200-300 so if all those kids came along with their friends, and grandparents, we’d be set. We never expected that we’d sell out an 800 capacity venue. The thought never even crossed our minds. We decided on Neumo’s in Seattle though, mostly because of the layout of the venue because also because they said that stage diving wouldn’t be a problem. We decided on the opening bands from all those we wanted to have play (if we’d had our way, the show would have had 20 bands). We set a date. And then we waited and worked on the details. We also encountered a problem we didn’t expect. We started to get messages from kids in Europe who wanted to come to the show but who couldn’t afford it. Our friends in Budapest were the ones who really got us thinking that maybe what we should do, rather than play only one show and have 30-40 European people have to pay $1000 each to see the show, that it would be cheaper for everyone ultimately if we flew to Europe to play a show and had them come to see us there. That is how the Budapest show
came about, thanks to Zoli from BPRNR. Zoli is amazing. I love him. His mom cooks me food when I am in Budapest. A lot of food. So much food actually, that I think she has a learning disability regarding measurements. One portion, in her mind, equals tons. She needs to chill, but I am not going to be the one to tell her that, in part because I love her food, but also because she can’t understand a word I am saying. But the point is, Zoli and his good friend Norbi booked Budapest, and we needed one more show to help pay for the tickets over there. Our friend Daveo came through with a show in London, where we’d never played. Both of those shows, like Seattle, sold out. The love and support was limitless. I spent the months before the Seattle show somewhat in denial that it was going to happen even though people asked me about it constantly. I spent the days before the show even more in denial even though people started writing and emailing and texting me saying that they were on their way from wherever they lived in the world. I will never forget the first person to do this: a guy in Arizona who wrote and said “I am on my way.” I thought, “holy shit, this is really happening.” I think that even on the day of the show, as I went running through my neighborhood and thought about the lyrics and why each song was written, that I was still not convinced that there was going to be a show at all. Aside from the fact that I couldn’t believe that we were actually going to play again after six years, i figured that something had to go wrong somewhere along the line. It just didn’t seem possible that the show would be happen without some major disappointment, or a huge fight, or problems from the cops, or some as-yet-unthought-of calamity. There were so many things that were going on at once the night of the show that something inevitably would fall through. We’d hired recording engineer/god-king Blair Calibaba who’d recorded “Are These Our Lives?” to mix live front of house sound, and the unstoppable one man audio fighting system known as Paul Forgues who has recorded such little known bands as Slayer and Nine Inch Nails to record a 16 track live recording of the show. Both of those guys are heroic. I love them and wish I could pay them what they are worth. We hired a video team to capture it all on four cameras for an eventual DVD release. All of this is aside from the fact that hundreds of intense individuals were about to descend on the venue and experience the show. I just wanted everything to go smoothly and for everyone to have a good time, but with all those elements working at once, something had to go wrong, right? Wrong. When we showed up at the venue, all I wanted to do was go downstairs and relax. A huge line had begun to gather outside and that’s when I
started to get nervous and excited. I poked my head outside, said hi to a couple people, including my friend Annessa who had just bought a plane ticket the day before and decided to come up for the show from California. Impulsive? Kinda. Unbelievable and exciting? Absolutely. I loved it. It was such an honor to have people support the show so much. But it all made me too excited and I had to relax. Talking to people outside made my head spin so I went back inside hoping to find a place to calm down and relax. When Trial was together, I always liked watching the other bands as much as I could, but this night I just wanted to be alone and take time to warm up my voice, stretch, and center myself. Before I descended into the depths of Neumo’s however, I wanted to talk to security and touch base. How many shows have been ruined by security not understanding that in hardcore, a kid who flies through the air onto another kid is normal behavior. Fifty kid pile-on to sing along? Bring it. But I wanted to talk to security and make sure that we all knew that and that we were all on the same page for the show. We assembled in front of the stage, and the head of security started the meeting by saying that there would be no stage diving allowed. Timm and I looked at each other like “What did he just say?” This is why Neumo’s had been selected as THE venue for the show! I interjected and explained that it was going to be somewhat unavoidable and that the scene would take care of itself. Mr. large security person was firm about his position. I told him that we didn’t care if kids were on the stage with us. He was surprised at that and said, “Really?” I said “Absolutely. In fact, if I am buried under tons of kids, leave me to die and pick off each of them one by one and make sure they are okay.” This he listened to. He said “But what about the equipment?” I told him that it wasn’t a concern, and that I would pay the first $500 out of my own pocket for any gear that got broken that night. I told him that he had my word. This was good enough for him, and he said “Ok then, lets have a good show.” Insert huge relief moment here. I walked downstairs to relax, while thinking that if Posi Chris from Champion, in one of his 4300 inevitable stage dives that night, broke a monitor and cost me $500, that I would have to throw him from a rooftop. I figured it
was all out of my hands and into the arms of the straight edge gods, and resigned myself to stretching and being excited and nervous in the basement of Neumos along with the other guys in the band...other than Timm, that is, who was dealing with a merchandise frenzy upstairs. I should have offered to help him. I am really not a dick. I chose not to because I knew i would blow my voice out yelling questions back and forth with people over the merch table. I went upstairs only a couple times during the night before we played, once for each band to check out a song or two. This Time Tomorrow kicked off the show and I was glad they did. Sara asked the people in the audience to introduce themselves to one another and make
new friends. She brought name tags for people to make and wear. That ruled. Hardcore music is already intense enough, and our lives even more so. That is why we listen to this music and thats why we come to shows like this one. None of us need to act out that intensity in our personal interactions with one another. The technical term for this is: “acting like a dick”. Its hard to act like a dick when someone is coming up to you with a smile and a name tag that says “Hi. I’m Sara” with a big smile on her face. Her request for friendship went over well, and I was happy. That is exactly the tone I wanted to set for the night. If she’d gotten heckled, I would have bummed out hard, but the crowd supported her. Once again, Seattle proving itself to be
amazing. The Dead Unknown from Portland played next. They recently broke up, but they had their full discography available online for a bit. Check nwhardcore.com for a link. It might still be up. Justin, their singer, has a full sleeve Trial tattoo of the song “Unrestrained” on his left arm. I once asked him, quite casually, who his favorite band was (forgetting about his tattoo). He looked at me like I was absolutely retarded, held up his arm, and said nothing: end of conversation. Yep, idiot=me. The Warriors, from Tehachapi CA, were up next, before us. They sound like Inside Out meets Rage Against the Machine meets 108. Timm had come to me early on and said that if no other band played the show, that The Warriors had to play. He gave me their CD to listen to. I put if off for
months, but when I finally listened to it, wow... no question. Ok...so that brings us to Trial’s set. I did vocal warmups downstairs for hours while the other bands played. I stretched, did sit ups and jumping jacks. And I remember looking at myself in the mirror for a long time and finding a place of calm. The next thing I remember was someone slapping me on the back as I walked up the stairs to the stage. As I got to the top of the stairs, I was feeling the simultaneous pressure of most of my friends in the world waiting to connect with me, and also an intense calm. How is that for an oxymoron: “intense calm”. Yeah. That. I actually think thats my natural state of being. Thanks for making me
write this, everyone. I just figured out my life: “intense calm”. Cool. Anyway, I remember being on the side of the stage as the band was setting up and kneeling down and talking to friends. After that, the next thing I remember was Blair hitting play on the intro “Seems Serene” music and beginning to look out at the audience as the strings played. I remember thinking “hmm...kids are kickboxing to classical music. Once the show actually starts, we are all going to die.” It was always critically important for me to connect with an audience from the start of any show. I always did my very best to make eye contact with as many people as I could before we would play. During the intro that night I looked around the room slowly and deliberately. I remember seeing the eyes and faces of friends from near and far, as I looked all the way to the back of the room. I saw new faces, familiar faces, hopeful eyes, connected eyes. I remember Alexei ripping into the hihats at the start of “Reflections”, and I remember screaming “We’re Trial and this show goes out to the memory of Blake Donner from Provo UT”. And then the whole world exploded. I saw the show differently than you did. You saw the five members of the band, a billion stage dives with kids flying all over the place like there was a goddamn trampoline installed on the stage, sing alongs that were louder than the band, and a big Trial banner. I saw 850 people deeply connected, passionate, and willing. Its something about the eyes. People on the street just don’t have that fierce determined intensity that I saw that night. I crave that. The world is far too tame in terms of the ways in which we interact in our day to day lives. I think the fulfillment of a long time dream for me that night came not in being onstage, but in so many people, all of us really, being able to be in that room together just feeling how it felt to be not just alive but living fully. I wish I remembered what I said in between songs, but I don’t. I think at one point I made a joke about the Tacoma hardcore kids having a hard time leaving Tacoma, and another joke about Joseph Campbell being incredibly smart even after he died or something like that. Other than that I remember feelings. Its a sense memory of sorts, of what mattered most to me during the songs. Like during Scars, when I felt that my energy was coming not just from the stretching downstairs or the run that aftenoon, but far and away more than that, from all the people in the room who I knew had traveled to be there for that song, for that moment in time,
as part of their own healing process. Each one of the songs has a space that is created for me like that. Like during “Reflections”. I want those lyrics to be my epitaph. They mean everything to me, still. And to have everyone locked for those three minutes in a place where we were all connecting to wanting something more even in the midst of slow death and eventual, inevitable decay, was just beyond words. All I remember is bodies and sweat and voices screaming in my face and raw intensity. It was desperation and excitement and unbridled passion. That is exactly what I wanted when I wrote the song: to have the words be a desperate cry...for all of us...a death scream of sorts, but one with a hint of hope amidst the sadness. My favorite moments in the show: 1. Being surrounded onstage by Timm, Brian, EJ, Alexei and looking at them while they were playing, in between vocal lines when I had a milisecond...thinking about how much I love them and need them in my life. Trial had so many members over the years, each and all of whom contributed so much to the experience of the band, but this group onstage were exactly who I wanted to have playing that night. Having Alexei and Brian onstage meant that they had to literally fly in that day from the Three Inches of Blood tour, and then fly out the next morning. Thanks so much guys. You made metal stop for a night to allow hardcore to reign. That is amazing. 2. This one needs a little bit of history. In 1998 or so, Trial played the Showcase Theater in Corona CA. We played “This is Not a Trend” last that night, and at the end of the song, kids went a little ballistic. Actually, they went really balistic. All I remember was a wall of human bodies descending on me as if they were the undead and I was a meal of Greg. They seemed to come at me from all four sides, just like I have dreamed of my future zombie death occuring. The next thing I knew, I was on my back at center stage, covered with people. Now, before you imagine a small mound of humans on top of me, let me clarify: it was a mountain of people. Brian, aka The Brain, on bass, who is about 6’3”, told me later that he looked at the pile, saw that it was taller than he was, realized that I was on the bottom, and thought to himself “Well, I guess The Juggler’s dead. Might as well finish playing the song.” Thanks Brain. Remind me not to call you in the case of an emergency. “Well, I guess The Juggler is being consumed by a pack of wild dogs. I might as well finish this sandwich.” So there, at the bottom of that pile of hardcore humanity, was me. I was laying there, long unable to breathe or move, and I could feel the pile growing. I assume you are thinking “But Greg, how could
you tell that the pile was growing from where you were under it all?” Let me tell you. There was a knee. One knee. It was placed on top of my balls and was crushing down with blinding force. With every person who jumped on that pile, the knee sank deeper into my groin, causing future Greg Bennicks to cry out in fear of possibly never existing. I remember thinking somewhat calmly, as I had resolved myself to the inevitability of my own death, “Hmm....this is interesting. If one more person jumps on this pile, my balls with explode. Weird.” All the while, there is some kid in my face screaming the words to the song, happy as could be. Well, to cut to the chase, I survived the song, as did my entire groin, thank you, and we can fast forward to July 2005 for the second part of this story. The place is Costa Mesa CA. Its lunchtime at Native Foods and I am there alone. I had just ordered and I was walking over to get some water when this kid comes up to me. He looked like a nice guy, straight edge (obvious from the big black X’s tattooed on his hands), smiling a friendly smile, and he said cautiously “Excuse me, but are you Greg Bennick?” I was surprised, and while my first inclination was to say, “No actually, I am Beyonce. I didn’t do my makeup this morning,” instead I said “Yes...hi. I’m Greg.” he introduced himself to me as Chris and invited me to come sit with him and his friends which I did, thus opening up a whole new world of southern CA fun people to my life. In conversation, Chris brought up that it was him who not only was in my face on the floor at the Showcase, but that his knee was THE knee that almost pulverized my package. It was like a family reunion after years had gone by. We laughed, ate lunch, told stories. My penis and his knee exchanged shy glances. It was all very touching. That brings us to the Trial reunion show. Chris told me before the show that he was going to end up in the same place again at the end of the night. I was impressed with his determination but wasn’t sure how he planned to do that, or that I wanted his knee anywhere near me. When “This is Not A Trend” started, all I remember was that same zombie rush towards me. Next thing I know... deja vu...here I am on my back looking up at a sea of happy people. Then I realized, “Wait... that face three inches in front of mine. I know that face. And that knee in my balls....I know that knee!” It was Chris, and his knee, back again for round two. A beautiful moment indeed. Good work, Chris. 2. My second moment also had to do with “This is Not A Trend”. There is a line in that song that no one else gets to sing other than Jake Conroy. I know you think I am crazy, but its true. When we first started playing that song years ago, Jake for some reason happened to be up front singing that line, and it became a secret tradition between us. Whenever Trial would play in a city
where Jake was, he would sing the line. Whenever we would play where Jake wasn’t, I would either hold the mic into the air away from everyone for that one line, or would keep the mic at my lips as if I was still singing, but just not say anything for that line. That line was his. What line? Ahh...thats a secret. But needless to say, at the Seattle show, I feared we would miss the opportunity to keep the tradition alive. Jake being amazing however, came through 100 percent. As I lay there on my back, covered in people and enjoying Chris’ well placed knee, the line approached. I was nervous! I turned my head to the left, and there, amid the pile, just a face in the twisted mess of arms and legs, was Jake! I was able to move my hand with the mic just so slightly, and as he craned his neck over.....there! Just enough and he got the job done. Good work, Jake. You rule. Readers, learn more about Jake, and the SHAC 7 case of which he is a part, here: http://shac7.com/shac.htm. After the show, there was a line of people for 30 minutes or more who came up and just said the most amazing things, and who cried and connected and made me feel like the night was perfect. The things that were said in those moments will stay with me for the rest of my life. There is nothing as vital as hardcore, nothing as immediate. I met so many new people in that 30-40 minutes. For example, and this is silly but it ruled, I had been thinking a few days before the show that I’d needed to book a hotel in Atlanta for later in the month due to a trip I was taking there. In the line of people, a couple crazy dudes named Anthony and Andy, who I’d not yet met, but who had flown from Atlanta for the show, introduced themselves. We, in the span of twenty seconds, said hi, connected on the Atlanta angle, and made plans to hang out there. No more hotel room needed, but more importantly, Anthony and Andy and their friends and I had an amazing time as we played countless hours of Atari 2600 while sitting on their couch later that month in Georgia. Good work, hardcore. Thank you. You make me happy. I had said to the audience at the end of the night that there had been no fights and people applauded. They knew, as I did, that any show has the potential for fighting, but that this show had gotten away with the most minimal injuries (a broken nose, a broken wrist, a concussion, a black eye, and some other more minor stuff), and with almost nothing going wrong other than a microphone going out during “One Step Away”. It had gone exactly like I’d never dreamed it would. The video came out amazing, the audio came out amazing, the crowd had fun, there were no major fights, and the songs and the music, and messages and feelings and ideas got communicated effectively. Perfection. All of the songs were filled with incredible
moments. From seeing unexpected faces in the crowd, to seeing friends fly over my head during this song or another, to seeing people, and this is the most important part to me, having cathartic experiences due to their connection with the music and the lyrics, and then sharing those moments with me after the show. That is the vital part of hardcore to me, and the most important aspect of Trial’s mission. We live in a world and especially in a culture where expression of combined pain and passion rarely happens for average people. We read about exceptional people’s stories in the paper and online, but what about us? What about the people who live day to day with pain and frustration and passion? Trial provided an outlet for that, and a forum, where people felt safe allowing their voices to be heard and their hearts to be felt. That is what I am always going to remember from the 300 or so shows the band played, and what I will remember from the shows in Seattle, London, and Budapest. After the show in Seattle, as people filtered out, I said goodbye to countless friends. I was one of the last people to leave, and even then, hours after the end of the show, I was in a daze. I hadn’t yet realized that the night went as perfectly as it had. I was still spinning. I walked outside with my girlfriend. We got into her car, with me getting ready to drive. I was only then coming back into my senses. I sat for a moment in silence with her, then asked quietly, “It went well?” She answered reassuringly, “Yes, it went perfectly.” I asked “My voice didn’t go out?” She said, “No, your voice didn’t go out.” I asked “There were no fights?” She replied, “No, no fights.” I asked “Did what I said make sense in between the songs?” She said, “Yes, always.” And with that, I started the car and drove to our house, where Parallax would soon arrive and cook a thai curry meal fit for 100 people that would have us talking, sharing, laughing and reminiscing until dawn. I think what I felt about the shows was best encapsulated by what I said to the crowd at the end of the show in Budapest a month later. You can hear what I said here: (http://www.wordsasweapons.com/budapest_ edit.mp3). The file is poor quality but this was one of my favorite moments ever with Trial. I just got overwhelmed, and it was all from the heart. I didn’t expect to speak to the audience at the end of the show. We’d finished “This Is Not A Trend” and the audience started calling out for one more, and this was my thank you to them for that support. My words here could just as easily been spoken in Seattle or London too. The same thank you goes out to you. Thank you, sincerely, for reading, for being at the shows, for supporting the band, and in advance, for being in touch anytime.
photo by: Christopher K. George The Bane show (on tour with Ceremony, Have Heart) was one of those shows that you walk out with a smile on your face. And to tell you the truth, in the year 2007, there are very,very few shows that you can go to and still have that feel of sincerity and positivity. The feel that all the bands playing are there for the „right“ reasons. Being on such show and during it I couldn’t stop thinking and questioning myself – what if those bands stop playing, what if that part of hardcore dies out, what if that already happened? Before this night, I have seen Bane live a couple of times and both times the turnout would not be the one you would expect for a band like Bane, but this show was different. And although I did not expect such a turnout I still had the urge to question singer Aaron Bedard a few questions. I always wanted to do a Bane interview, I had the chance that night and I took it. He was in a good mood for doing interviews and I think it turned out good. This is the last interview you will read from me for this Zine and as I told him before we began with it, it was the only interview I thought was missing in those years of me working on this little project. And this zine and its final issue would have been incomplete, haven’t I taken this interview. There are a lot of things I forgot to ask him, but as the time was limitted, I guess that was the best we can do. A short one, but to the point. Enjoy reading it as much as I did taking it.
see different cities and people every day. You never know what is going to happen, what the venue will be like, how many kids will show up. It’s not the same as if you were at home, where you sort of know what you will do – if you’re gonna go to work, school or whatever. Every day is fun with all those new people excited about music and hardcore. It’s my favorite thing to do! You do miss your friends and relatives, girlfriends but I know that I will see them soon and when I am home I will miss this much more, being on the road. It will only be a month and I will be home. This year we didn’t tour that much, we did Australia for 10 days and US East Coast with Down to Nothing and this is the first full length tour we’re doing, 32 days (ed. it was September). But after “The Note” came out, we toured a lot, that was in 2005. Where I like touring the most? Would have to say Japan, it’s really great. We toured Australia for the first time and that was amazing. Those are very special places to be. But Europe is great too, and US is obviously awesome too, since we have a lot of friends in the bands and we love to hit the road and go see those guys. Touring the States, we know every place, we have been to every place and in Europe, this week I don’t know what to expect and I don’t know which shows will be good or big or small - each day is a different city
How was the tour so far? It has been great. It has been one of the most fun tours we’ve ever been on. We are 3 bands in 2 vans so we are all sort of mingled very closely and we travel to all the shows together. Right off the bed in the first day of this tour we became friends and are hanging out all the time together, having fun. The bands, Have Heart and Ceremony, are great great bands that kids are very excited about and getting great responses every night. So at the end of the day, the shows are good, before the shows and after the shows it’s fun and every day goes by so fast. It’s just been really, really cool. So this your first time touring with those bands? Have Heart are from Massachusetts, so we’ve played many shows with them, but we’ve never toured with them and we always wanted to, since they are one of my favorite bands personally and this was sort of a dream for us to come to Europe together. They are blowing up everywhere, kids love them, they are so big and to see the excitement surrounding that band is great. And then Ceremony is a young band and kids are also very excited about it. I have never seen them before this tour, but I think they’re amazing How do you feel about touring for so many years? I love to tour! It’s a very exciting way of life – to be able to
It’s like this show – last year you played here and it was a small show and this time it’s so big. Well, Have Heart is probably making the difference now, for sure and if we weren’t touring with them the turnouts would be a lot smaller. We’ve just never been a very popular band in Europe for whatever reason. There are some places where we do O.K., but we’ve never been as popular as Comeback Kid or other bands that get huge crowds. I saw you on that boat show in Budapest with Comeback Kid on that tour 2005 after ‘The Note’ came out. The response from the crowd was not good at all and when I think about the fact that you made a scene, a niche for those bands... Every night was like that on that tour, every single night. Comeback Kid are more popular than us, that’s a fact and that’s ok. Kids don’t see about it this way, kids are just into what they’re into and we can’t control that... Anyways, you talk about the scene in a lot of your lyrics, relationships inside this said scene. Don’t you feel a little discouraged to continue singing about this over and over again and see nothing changing within? Well I sing about different things in my lyrics. I sing about hardcore, because that really is my life and I am a hardcore
kid and I am a part of this scene and everyday I spent with hardcore kids. Those are my friends and this is the thing that I relate to the most. But I do think that the problems we had are a little bigger now and there is a lot more shallowness to kids. It’s so easy to get to the information nowadays with the Internet and people get involved in the scene just to be a part of something and be ‘cool’. It’s easier to attach yourself to the scene than it was 12 years ago, because 12 years ago you still had to have some passion to be a hardcore kid, because it definitely wasn’t an easy road. It’s easier to get accepted in the scene today as it got so big and it becomes made out of hateful, hurtful people, who are trying to just be ‘cool’ and make other people feel shitty. And although I sing songs that I wrote 12 years ago, I still believe in what I wrote and the lyrics mean something to me. I don’t know how many people they are impacting, but I talk to kids all the time and they say that our lyrics do mean something to them and makes them see the world differently and have an open-mind. That gives me the energy to keep doing it. And it is discouraging sometimes to be singing about the same things for so long and see that those things we sing about never change, but it’s either do what I am doing or stop coming. If I am going to be here I have to at least stand out for something and try to point out the things that I think are stupid about what’s going on in the scene. I am not going to just shut my mouth and I can’t single-handedly change everything, all I can do is keep trying. We’re getting older and it’s not so easy to be in the band as it was 5 years ago. People have lives, families, other bands and I don’t know how much longer I can do it, but it’s exciting that things are the way they are now. It’s great that we have these young, amazing bands like Have Heart and Down to Nothing and Ruiner and many more, bands I feel that will carry on and stand for something. It’s really amazing to have a band like Have Heart in the year of 2007. Yes it’s so exciting and they are so important, they are a crucial band right now. They believe in what they’re saying and they feel for what they’re saying. If Bane broke up, I would still feel good about Hardcore, because there are so many of those young bands like Have Heart right now. But I don’t know how the trends will work. You hope that they will inspire young bands to continue in their footsteps. Bands that are worried about a message and not about the way they look, bands that are excited about creating a feeling of passion other than a feel of ‘who dances the hardest’ and ‘who’s crew is better than who’s crew’. We need bands that will keep hardcore in the direction of something special and positive and not something hateful.
So Rick, how was the show tonight? Rick: The show was great. This is the first time in Bulgaria – we had a great time. Well, we haven’t been sleeping so much, and the ride was kind a bumpy, we’ve been on tour a little over a month and a it’s been a little tiring, but a show like this can bring you back and makes you happy. We’re on tour with Last Hope, real nice guys so it was great fun. So how was it this Tour – with Last Hope and the tour before that? Rick: We were on tour with Jetsex (ed: I’m not sure about the spelling) from France – they are this Murphy’s Law type of band, real party people. Every night was a good time, everybody having a lot of fun. We’ve played some really good shows and I think this tour was one of the best. On top of that I was very excited to be able to come to Bulgaria, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia – places we were never before able to play, because of War, or the booking agencies didn’t want to book shows in those countries. We played here, simply because we wanted to come here and see these places and experience these scenes, make new friends, meet the local bands. People were always saying to us – “Hey, you’ll loose money”, but we didn’t care. We wanted to come. It’s the same in the US. It’s very difficult to tour in the US. 25taLife is a small hardcore band - but we did a 2 month tour before we came to Europe. 3 weeks in Texas and back, then the big Hellfest thing. But before that we did 2 weeks in the West Coast, Solt Lake City-Utah, Nevada, Mexico Arizona, and later Florida, North South Carolina etc. And even if we loose money by doing those big tours, we’re just trying to reach all those places we never had the chance to play before. But as I said, we’re not on a big label and it’s difficult to tour for us. You have to want and to do it – it’s the same here. I know that it’s hard to come here, because financially you have to cover – not to make money, but rather to break even. Like any other band, when we come home we have rent to pay, bills etc. You’re signed to Age of Venus from France? Rick: Yeah, we’re on different labels – Age of Venus in Europe, One Voice Records in Brazil, my label BacktaBasics – I released the last records. Before that we were on Goodlife, Triple Crown and Straight Up! Records in Japan. But as I said, we’re a small hardcore band. We really don’t care about the label, we’re not trying to be a really big band – we just want to exist in the scene and be a hardcore band. We’re not that fond of playing big, humongous shows, we’re happy to exist without the hype around us. We’re doing it for a long time that way. Some bands get real big and then they just break up. You can only get so big and in hardcore we’re in the middle. For us the hardcore/punk is the anti-rockstar. So what’s up with 25taLife nowadays – as you said, you’re not that big in the US, nobody is talking about you – what’s up with the band, are you still recording albums? Rick: We just recorded a new record actually. And you know what, we had a lot of offers from Labels such as Roadrunner, Trustkill and Ferret. We talked to all those labels, but I’ll try to release this record on myself. Is going to be something small, without any hype. Like I said, we’re not trying to play the OZZ fest. I try to explain to people nowadays that we’re 25taLife and we’ve been around for 10-12 years and hardcore to us…Well, when we show up in a show in the States in our small Van people laugh at us. They don’t take us serious because I still book the shows, I still do allthe merch, it’s all underground. And we see how today all the hardcore bands work with big booking agencies and they try to be on those big Heavy Metal tours. To me hardcore punk is against that. Not to disrespect those people or anything, everybody can do whatever they want to, but don’t call yourself hardcore or punkrock. It’s sad to see bands, that I respected and have the records in my collection and I’m witnessing what those bands are turning into, I don’t understand it. This is who we are and I’m sorry but I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not…
So 25taLife is like Underground in the “Underground”…? Rick: Yeah, exactly! We represent the underground and we always have been. Like it’s the same here when they see us signing autographs they think we’re superstars, but what do I tell this person – “No, I will not sign this”? I tried sometimes to explain to them that I don’t feel that way, but it’s like, you sometimes are hearting those people’s feelings. And then they think I’m a dick. So either way, we’re dicks. If you explain to them then you’re dick, if you sign the autographs, you’re a rockstar. It’s difficult, because all we want is to play the show and give it our all. And then you saw this – at the end of the show there are always a couple of people that...Well, I’m not a person that goes out to bars and likes to hang out with drunk people, but I always get these drunk people that I would never hang out with in my real life. And here, at the shows, I’m forced to deal with them - it’s cool and I always try to be nice, but they keep repeating the same thing over and over again, so how nice can I be. It makes me crazy and at some point it becomes stressful. Well, if you drink or don’t drink, do drugs or don’t – I always try to be respectful and although I’m a nice guy you sometimes have to draw the line. But I try to give everybody a chance. I agree on that...So which band comes first – Comin Correct or 25taLife? Rick: 25taLife is my main band. Comin Correct was just for fun. I still do it. But we’re 25tal ife although we had numerous lineup changes, because when a band exists in 12 years people will change in that period. They will not want to travel anymore they want to have families and stay home. Although we toured the Us, Europe and Japan with Comin Correct it was still a fun side project. Like, when 25taLife isn’t playing, we took a break for a couple of years in November of ’99, we would do more shows with Comin Correct. But as always in life – the one guy had to join the military the other had a couple of kids so we didn’t have the time to do this band. At some point people started to like it more than 25taLife, we were popular and it was cool, but for me 25taLife was my band and I wanted to bring it back. And I thought that in some places people we’re starting to forget it. Because the scene recycles – every couple of years you will only have 15 kids that remember, because they are always new kids coming. And in the summer of 2002 we started all over again. For just some years of not playing people we’re beginning to forget you. Since then we toured Europe 3 times and the US every other time. We’re getting ready now to go to Brazil and Japan. So I was wondering, is it the same amount of people that go to 25taLife shows in the States and in Europe? Rick: I think it’s the same amount. I just think that in Europe there is more organization. And more respect for bands that are still underground. In the US it’s all corporate. The hardcore bands are big, because they are on big labels. Not that they don’t work hard, but I have the impression that they’re trying to get too big. You become what you were once against. They are like stars – and I don’t want to mention band names. In a year or two, when they’re done being rockstars they’re going to look back and feel stupid. Yeah, it’s like they were being used… Rick: Exactly. For me it’s very hard to even express it. Like I said earlier – when kids see us touring with our little van, they laugh, but we still maintain what we are. And some of those bands that once looked up on us, now are bigger than us and they walk around like they’re better than us, just because “Hey we’re ‘this’ band”. I still remember those kids that used to come to our shows and tell us how great we are, now they have their own bands. To me if you play hardcore music you should be humbled, down to earth. We’re all the same – you do you magazine, I sing in a band. We all make this work. And sadly enough a lot of the bands today have the rockstar attitude. It’s foolish. Why did you move out of Jersey? Rick: Well, I moved out to Baltimore because of my girlfriend. We’re not together anymore it’s been two years, but I have a new girlfriend and we have a kid. The main reason I moved from Jersey is that we shared an apartment with my little sister and we’re splitting the rent, but it was very expensive and we’re touring so much and I was paying for something that I wasn’t using. And that’s why we moved. So you have a kid now? Rick: Yeah, a little kid, a boy, 7 months. And what is the feel being a father and raising a hardcore kid? Rick: I’m so happy. But you know, it changes your whole perspective. The stuff in the scene that happens, when
someone said something negative about 25taLife or me and I work hard and believe in it and they just make fun of it, I used to take that so deep and personal, but now I’m 34 and when I hear something it goes right over. It’s so small, because I have so much more things to worry about than this little hardcore drama. I have my son and that changes me. Nothing anybody ever says or does is going to take away what we’ve done with the band. This is part of me forever. You’re living with your girl and kid now? Are you married? Rick: No we’re not. I stay there with her but we don’t live together, because I have my own house and on top of that I travel a lot. We just had a son, but I still had to travel 2 months around the US and then Europe. So how are you going to manage that in the future – being a father and a singer in a hardcore band? Rick: Hm, Well like Roger, when he had his little daughter Nadia, I feel we laid so much ground work. I don’t have to go crazy anymore at shows, because I used to go to every show and make Distro and make flyers to promote the shows. Because I love hardcore and I feel for it. This is my life so I wanted to give back to the scene. But as one person I can only do so much and now that I’m older, not that it doesn’t mean that much, but I just have other responsibilities. In the future I’m gonna be here like Agnostic Front and 7 Seconds, but I don’t have to do so much touring or go to every show. Just give the time that you can and want to and in the other time take care of your family. In the last 12 years we toured a lot and I was able to see the world and I’m not going to stop this, because this is part of my life, I’m gonna still do this as long as I can and kids want to see 25taLife and Comin Correct release a record. Today I read that 7 Seconds are coming back on tour – Resistance Tour, I love that band a lot, because of the lyrics. I’m happy for that band – bands like 7 Seconds, Minor Threat, Agnostic Front those are my early bands that I loved so much. I remember seeing a poster for a “Warped” tour in Jersey and on the main Stage was H2O and on the side stage were 7 Seconds and Agnostic Front. It’s so pathetic. The bands that made this possible are playing the small stage with a band that is influenced by them. I guess that’s how it’s always is. In a corporate world how can they respect something like that? The main question is who is selling more records and making more money. Nobody respects the bands that did the ground work for me and you. So how did you end up going to a hardcore show when you were a little kid? What inspired you?
Rick: I used to like metal bands like Venom. My first hardcore show was in the middle of 86. I used to go to metal shows since 83-84 Iron Maiden, Judas Priest. But I find it myself that this isn’t for me. But I still loved aggressive music and everything started to cross over. Punk/hardcore and Metal shows started to mix. Like a show where Motorhead would headline and the Cro-Mags would open. I would go to see the metal bands, but then I would see the punk/hardcore bands also and I began to like those more. It was trough metal that I found out about hardcore. When I got older those messages in the metal scene, satanic or whatever didn’t appeal to me. I like the aggression but not the message, it was too stupid to me. And when I saw that people in the hardcore were singing about real stuff, I got inspired right away. And from then on I would get a flyer to a show in the CBGB’s and although I didn’t know the bands I would go every week just to see them. I would see those kids with X’s on their hands, and talking that they don’t drink, but who would think that I’d be in a band promoting that – it’s crazy. So as a young kid I got influenced by those people and the bands.
What was your childhood like then? Rick: I’d say pretty normal. I lived with my mom and dad, my little sister, older brother and older sister. Up until the moment where my parents got divorced in 1985 my life was great. Things started to get a little crazy - I was 15-16, my parents weren’t together, so I got involved with drugs and stuff. But I’d say my childhood was pretty average. I had both parents and we’re lucky. We weren’t rich, but we had a roof over our heads. When you’re young you don’t know about this stuff. Now that I’m older I know that we were rather poor. But how do you know the difference when you are a kid. And when you turn 15-16 you start to notice the difference. But although my father was an alcoholic and had fights with my mother every other night – I felt that this is normal. And when I got older I decided that I don’t want to be the same abusive person. Although my father was a nice guy, he passed away a couple of years ago, he was a nice guy when he was sober but when he was drunk he became crazy. When I think of it there were times when I wished my father was there for me, but he was more interested in drinking. So that is one of the reasons to become SxE? Rick: Yeah, definitely. When I was young I did some very stupid things and as I got older I decided to stand up for myself and be my own person and be better. /Alex from Last hope joins us and I decided to ask him and Rick some questions about their Tour/ Hey, Rick, you’ve been on tour with this guy? Rick: Alex is a nice guy. Alex: Rick is the best guy ever. I sense some love thing going on here Rick: No, no, ok I’m gonna tell you something. The first time we met, we didn’t play with them until the first show in France, and I listened to what Alex was saying in his songs, in his music. Songs like “Fight Back” I read and knew right away he knows what he is talking about. A lot of the lyrics nowadays I can’t relate to. I like the straight forward message. From the first time they played I knew they are real. Simon from Kickback, our drummer for this tour was saying to me the other day “Hey Rick the kids don’t know what this is about” and I told him “Alex knows, he still believes” How did you end up doing this tour? How did you get in contact? Rick: Well, I had Last Hope’s records already. From the last time we were in Europe, so I knew the band. And then we set up this tour. We were writing to each other years ago, but we weren’t in close contact. So we decided to do a tour and I knew that Alex gave his all and I tried to give my all. We had problems with our drummer and the tour could’ve easily ended in the first few weeks, but I knew that Alex is pushing and I didn’t want to disappoint him. Alex: We decided to do the Eastern Part of their Tour together, because not many bands nowadays do a whole Eastern Europe tour, because it’s expensive. And even in Bulgaria – who is coming to Varna?It’s too far away... The first real big hardcore band that came all the way here. Rick: I think there is not that big demand. Like in the US, there are 30 kids that really want to see 25taLife, because they love the band… (ed: we got interrupted by a drunk kid who wanted to hug Rick)…Well, it’s like this, Alex does a lot for the scene here you do some things for the scene also and there are always those certain 5-10 people that make the scene happening and those other people come out…We do the work,
because we love it. Back home I wasn’t worrying about making money out of shows; I did it because I enjoyed it. Alex: That’s why it was a big honor to be on tour with 25taLife. Everything that Rick is telling and doing is real, real hardcore. A lot of people say “Fuck Unity, Fuck this Fuck that…It’s old, it’s cliché” But people like Rick mean it and still do it. Rick: (laughs) Man I used to put up with so much shit about this unity thing Alex: Like this show in Klagenfurt (Austria)… What about that show? Rick: The thing is I don’t know what it was…Hm, it was like I said, I try to be a nice guy. But there were these fashion people at the show, that are not there for the music, they are there to be seen and look nice. So, Last Hope opened up, and those people in the back, maybe 10-20 people out of 200, so they were making fun of the band and of the music and mimicking it etc. Just acting very stupid… Alex: And while we play Rick was standing at the merch table at the back, so at once I see him standing up and jumping of the merch table on those kid’s heads and I didn’t know what happened, because we were on stage, but later he told me… Rick: (laughing) I just jumped on them because they are stupid. But I dove on them and I think they didn’t even notice my intention – they thought I was crazy. But then as the show progressed, these people were doing the same thing. And I began asking myself “Why are these people here? If you don’t like the music why did you come? Just leave!” And then a band like Antimaniax comes who play Ska etc. and they still acted stupid, all night. And when we played on stage I can still see them making fun of me at the back. So I got angry and said “Fuck You” and threw a full bottle at them. Then I told the crowd “Look at these kids in the back. They’re fake! Why are they here – this means a lot to us and they make fun of it.” I’m not a violent person, but if you gonna make me look stupid and do it in front of my face I have to draw the line. And so I told them to leave and they all left. Alex: That’s what I like about the band – everybody is real. If they have to say something they will say it in your face Rick: We’re happy to be on tour with Last Hope
have their hard music. And when these bands see in some years time that they can’t maintain these guarantees and big amounts of money that they’re supposed to earn, the bands are going to go down. These bands are going to break up. Yeah, but there are always going to be other bands that try to get big and the labels will sign those instead Rick: That’s great, but don’t call yourself hardcore. Hardcore is something that means a lot to us. That’s why I don’t like to speak my mind to people anymore. I don’t like to even tell people what it means – I know that it means the heart to me, but they can do whatever. It’s special, so why do you want to take it like everything else and make it fake. There is no heart or meaning to it. Hardcore helps people in their lives, helps them become something and think that they are something and that they could make things change. But these bands become part of the industry and in the industry you don’t have a saying anymore “they” make it happening, whereas “we” make it happening here. This is ours. Once you give it away, it’s not special anymore. This is what is happening today at every show. And the new kids are seeing this and are saying to each other “Hey we can make money, we can be this big band”. Maybe you can be a big band, but that should not be the priority – the priority is saying what is in your heart, what is real to you and not just saying something because it’s cool thing to say. And regarding the “Unity” Topic, that wasn’t something that I just said – I did it and believed in it and I still believe in it. 12 years we’re still here playing the same shows that we’ve been playing, we’re not trying to get big, this is what we believe in, and this is what helped me. It means something to me and I wouldn’t be here for another reason. A lot of people can’t understand this, because they don’t care. If you don’t care it’s like a joke to you. That’s why I don’t like to talk to people what I do – my actions should show. I don’t have to scream about it or sing about it. Do I have to prove to everybody that I’m real? My actions should show…
Any other interesting stories from the tour? Rick: Yeah we got pulled over by the Bavarian Police, our guitar player had a little bit of weed. He was honest and told the cop “Look, ok I have this weed”. And he got arrested, fingerprinted put to everything for a little weed. But the funny thing about the whole story is that 3 years ago, on a Comin Correct tour, this is the same cop that pulled Comin Correct over. But it wasn’t until we were at the station when we saw him and I remembered him. When he came he was alright, because he knows I was straight. Last time we talked about Straight Edge and I explained to him what it was, so he was interested. And when he came, he told the others “Hey I know this guy, he is not doing drugs”, but then the other cop shows up with the bag of weed…So I’m: “Oh God” (laughs). We tried to explain it’s just a little weed that somebody gave it to him, but they had to take him to jail and we got him out later. We got a little late to the show, but anyways… I see you want to go so at the end – how do you see the hardcore scene/ genre nowadays? What’s your view on things? Rick: I think that the big bands are going to regret the choices that they made. Because in a couple of years the people that do the OZZ fest and so on, they’re people that don’t care. They don’t care about message and hardcore is about the message and spreading knowledge. I’m not better, but a lot of those people don’t even care for the message as long as they
photo by: Charline Messa
Interview taken on 16. Sept 2003 in Sofia First of to start with…Tell me the line-up for tonight’s show. Hi I’m Dwid and I sing. Blaze plays guitar, he used to be in “In Cold Blood” and “Ringworm”, Steve plays bass, Mike plays the other guitar and he was in a band called The Final Plan and then there is Chubs, our original drummer… How do you call yourself right now - Angela DeLamorte or Integrity?? What was this all about changing the name so many times - first
Integrity 2000 then Angela DeLamorte etc. At the end of the day was it all serious? We are Integrity! I wanted to change the name to Angela DeLamorte, because it seemed to fit the music better. Integrity sounds like a band that would be on tour with Guerilla Biscuit, Youth of Today or something like that - it’s that kind of a name. The music is a little more metal than that, so I always thought that that was kind of a weird name. Even though I liked it, I sometimes
hated it at the same time. I don’t know…Angela DeLamorte is scarier, I guess, but we don’t call ourselves like that. And with “Integrity 2000” – well it was terrible… How was the show tonight and did you expect something or anything at all when you heard you’re coming to Bulgaria? I heard from some guys in Budapest that it would be a good show. This guy named Marco. He does shows in Serbia and he told us it’s going to be great… But anyways I loved it here. I think that this show and the Big Festival we played in Belgium are my favorites for this tour… How was the tour so far?? What countries did you play? Oh, a lot!!! We’ve been on tour for 2 months and we have about 2 weeks more. We did all of America (East and West Coast), we then flew over to Europe. We played England, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, and Hungary… We still have Greece, Italy, some more Germany and Holland and I think that’s it. But I probably forgot some country… I heard you’re recording – or did record for that matter – a new album. What can we expect? Yes, we have a new album out on Deathwish. It came out about 2 weeks ago. The name of the album is “To Die For”. It sounds like “Humanity is the Devil” and “Systems Overload”. Something like those 2 albums… Can you summarize the reactions to the “Closure” album in the past years? Did the Integrity “fans” so to say, accept it, what do you think? Or you don’t pay much of an attention anyway… A lot of people did like it a lot, actually. There is a couple of ways to look at the people that like our band. Some of them like the band, because it is angry and that’s it. And then they expect every album to be angry. But some people understand that we write the records of the way we feel at the time we’re writing the record. And that was the only time we came out with a sad record. All the other albums were more empowering – “You did this to me, but I’m gonna get you back”… or rise above. “Closure” was more sad and defeated, but you can tell on the music, I think.
Were there any big changes in the way this album was recorded? Are you still using your own studio? No, I don’t have my own studio anymore. We recorded digitally with computers and everything like that. It was different and I think it came out pretty good. But it’s not overproduced or anything is it? I don’t know if it’s overproduced. It’s pretty rough, but hey, it doesn’t sound like we recorded it with this… (ed: my tape recorder) And you’re you own producers I assume? Actually on this record we had a guy named Ben Siegel, who co-produced it with us. He worked with Drowning pool, Ringworm etc. Ringworm has a very similar sound to you guys, by the way… Yes, they’re friends or ours from our town. In fact, the guitar player of Ringworm was in Integrity for “Humanity is the Devil”. How do you manage to play the “Closure” songs live, or you don’t play them live? We played them live 2 years ago, but we haven’t played them live since. But you like the “Closure” album? Yes, I do like it a lot, but that record is hard to be played live. It has a lot of acoustics and it’s hard to do that. Also because of the bulk of our set. I think we played like 26 songs tonight and most of the songs are heavy and loud, so it’s difficult to have an acoustic guitar and throw it and grab a heavy one right away. Do you think about the songs you’re recording and the way you’re going to play them live, or not play them for that matter? We try to write a record that we are happy with. What we have to say has to come out right, with the music and the words. And then we look at the result and understand that we’ll have to play these songs live also, obviously. So we try to figure that out and maybe change some of the ideas. But there are songs that we don’t care if we have to play live. We just want them to be on the album so that the whole picture would be complete and “painted” on the record. Sometimes we’ll have a piano song or whatever mixed with all the heavy ones… You did a split CD with Mayday and with your side projects –Psywarfare and Lockweld. Is there any other split I don’t know of? Yes, we did a split record with Fear Tomorrow. It’s a band with members from American Nightmare (ed: now Give up the Ghost). Josh is a crazy, wacky guy!!! Those side projects, I mentioned, probably don’t exist anymore? No they don’t, I don’t have time for them now.
How was it to make a split with Hatebreed? Whose Idea was it? Yes we did a split with Hatebreed. Jamey asked us to do it and we agreed… Did you guys record the songs together or was it separately? They recorded in Connecticut, and we recorded in Cleveland. We’ve been friends with them for 10 years. And you like what they’re doing now and their band? Yes I do, I’m very proud of them!!! I’m asking you those questions, because I saw a lot of guys with Slipknot T-shirts tonight, who are probably experiencing a hardcore show for the first time. Obviously that doesn’t bother you, that popularization of hardcore with bands like Hatebreed etc.? That’s cool… I mean you can’t blame people for not knowing of hardcore before today. If they come to a show and they see what’s going on and something inside, that they didn’t know existed, opens up, that’s great! So you’re positive about it? To a degree… If people are just gonna come to a hardcore show and beat every kid up and think that they’re dancing – just beating everybody to death, I’m not!!! I don’t agree with that! But if they come and have a great time and realize that everybody here is in there for the same reason – “Hardcore”, and building the hardcore community, I’m all for it… Why do you think Integrity got “embraced” both by the metal and hardcore kids in the beginning? I see reviews of your albums on some strictly metal web pages and zines also…What do you think about that? I guess people can just see that we’re honest in what we do and we obviously have a lot of metal influences as well as hardcore. We grew up hardcore kids that liked metal. The music that we wrote came out like that, because that was what we listened to. So it is a hardcore music with metal influences and not vice versa? Yes, we started hardcore first. Whose Idea was at the beginning to put metal elements in your hardcore influenced songs? It wasn’t really an idea. It was just that when we started the band we started to write songs of what we listened to. It just comes out. We don’t sit down and say “Let’s write a song this way, because the kids would like it and it will be cool”. We write the songs, because this is how we feel. Why is it that you always want your albums to be mystical…?? You are not including lyrics in the booklets, those sample elements and electronics in the back on almost every song in
the “Closure” album, the mantra of “Burning Flesh Children to Mist,” with a recording of Reverend Jim Jones before masssuicide in Jonestown etc.? I think that those parts of the records take it to another level. We look at the albums as movie soundtracks or something like that. It has ups and downs. It’s like a classical. We are human beings and this is the way that we feel – everything isn’t going to be always Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang - all heavy. We put the other stuff in there, because it opens up what we’re trying to express better…I didn’t put lyrics on the last two, because, well, first I wanted the artwork to look in a certain way and second I found from touring something that was very important to me for a while, but is kind of not any more…It’s a weird thing, it’s like two sides. People were saying to me – “You know, I didn’t know the lyrics, but when I listened to the music I heard something”. And it was different, totally different than what I wrote. That meant something to me. The reason that I liked it so much is that it would inspire an imagination in the head and creativity to the person listening to the record. So then they started to understand something totally different than what I was saying. I thought it is brilliant. But you also have people who want to read what I’m really saying and this is kind of fucked. So I started writing the lyrics in the CDs again. And it’s sort of mystical in a way… Yes, sort of…Plus I didn’t want people to steal the way that I write, because they began doing that. So back to the albums, I always wanted to ask you if this is a sample on the beginning of “Troublesome Dilemma of Fornica” or is someone speaking it in the studio? Yeah, that’s me talking. Oh ok, and what is “Drowning in Envy” about - where does it come from and whose voice is this? That’s our drummer – that’s a joke. I taped him talking and later I switched words around on the computer. I made him say stupid stuff. So what was the idea of putting this mantra on the “Burning Flesh Children to mist” in one of your albums anyways? I got the tape from a friend of mine who got it from an FBI agent. They had this recording of the last sermon of Jim Jones, when all the people start to die. I put drums behind it and I thought it was really frightening. And you can hear people literary dying on the tape; I thought this would be good. There are of course a lot of messages behind it. One is: don’t blindly follow until the point of death for no fucking reason. I always try to tell people: Live for yourselves and don’t try to be a part of this or that - even if everybody hates you, who gives a fuck?!? I guess that was what I was trying to say – don’t blindly follow
anything – religion or whatever, because you’ll end up shit-faced on a bonus track on some Integrity record, screaming and crying as you’re dying… You obviously care much about the visual aspect of the CD/the booklet, packaging etc. Do you think that this is art for itself? Maybe that is a way of separating the good from the bad bands –the creativity the guys are putting in with everything - from the music to the cover? It’s hard for me to say about other bands and I prefer to speak about mine. To me, I think it is really, really important for everything to be in a certain way. And when it is not, it’s like something is missing. Like a piece of a puzzle. If the artwork isn’t right or they typed the lyrics wrong…Like the new record, they messed up something that made me very upset… What’s that? Oh this is really bad…They mixed the songs on the back so when you listen to it you don’t know which song you are listening to. It confuses you… So it was not on purpose? No, it was an accident. They didn’t mean it, but it sucks!!! How is it with Deathwish, how do you feel on this label? I like Jake a lot; he is a good friend of mine. But I’m a good friend with the guys in Victory too, so… Why didn’t you record the album for Victory? We were going to do it with Victory in the first place, but they kept saying: “Wait, wait, wait, can you just wait some more…” And we were just tired of waiting. We took our money and we recorded it ourselves. We send out copies to many people and someone called me one day and said –“My friend Kevin from The Hope Conspiracy, he got a copy and he told Jake from Converge who owns Deathwish to listen to this” he listened to it and told me that he liked it and wants to put it out on Deathwish if we want. So I was like “Yeah that would be great”. We started doing all the stuff needed to do the record and Jake was advertising it all over the place. Couple of weeks later my phone rings and there is some guy from Victory: “Hey, we want to do it now”. Yeah, but you waited too long, dude. In your last album there are metal songs and there are these really great old school songs… What’s the inspiration for this?? To be quite honest with you, I play in a band myself and often I catch myself listening to a band and thinking “I Wish I could do a song like that…” and then in a couple of minutes I listen too something wholly different and am thinking the same…Is this the case with you? Do you listen to all sorts of music also? Yes, totally. I also like a lot of types of mu-
sic and what I’m doing is, I’m expressing my emotions. Sometimes a quite song is how I feel and sometimes a ferociously, loud song is how I feel. I feel lucky enough to be able to put different elements of music in our albums. And you don’t like to constrain yourself in ‘genres’? Yeah, but ultimately when you look at the bulk of every Integrity song, most of them are really heavy, metal, hardcore songs and then there are this many songs that are punk, acoustic and some of them sound kind of country even. I guess you can call them country also… Integrity served as an inspiration for many other bands, but I’d like to know what your expectations of the band were when you guys were starting with it?? What did you want to achieve? I just wanted to express myself! I didn’t know we will ever do a record or a tour. I never even thought about it. So one day someone calls us and tells me: “Hey you wanna do a record?” and I’m, “Yes Ok”. And then the same: “Hey you wanna go on tour?”…So we just kept on going. I never even really thought about being in a band in the first place. I was writing stuff and it just happened… And looking back on it now – are you happy with how the past 13 -15 years turned out? Yes of course, I have no regrets. In some interviews I read that you’re not paying too much attention to hardcore these days? Why is that – don’t you think there are good bands out there who deserve to be heard anymore? No, I like a lot of hardcore bands. I have a hardcore shirt on today (ed: he shows his shirt, but I couldn’t make out the name…) Well, I read it in an interview somewhere… Perhaps I meant that I try to listen not only to hardcore music, because my influences will be strictly hardcore. I like a lot of hardcore bands – Death Treat, Liar from Belgium. I’m good friends with Hans, amazing guy. Terror, Ringworm etc. There are a lot of great bands out there. I know it’s probably very hard, but could you pick up one song from each of your albums – one that you think is more special than the others or at least it was to you by the time of the recordings? Hmm…Do you want me to go of each album? ...Well I like “The Dawn of a New Apocalypse” a lot. It means so much to me. The words and the way the song is written, it’s great. On Closure I like “Empty shell”…Well I like all the songs… “Humanity is the Devil”? Well…My favorite will be… “Abraxas…”...
Really, me too!! Why didn’t you play it tonight? Because of our drummer. He was like “I don’t wanna play it, I don’t like playing it” He is a baby. Yes he is... So why is “Humanity the Devil”? I don’t know it’s not my fault (laughing). I just think that this is in our nature. There are a lot of evil motherfuckers who are about to fuck us all. Especially living on this side of the world, I think you guys can really relay to that. Are the ‘visions of your true destiny’ still jagged or are they more clear now? What is your Destiny or the Destiny of Integrity? I know something, but that is the jagged part. I know pieces, but not the whole picture. Like if you took my life, my destiny and it was a mirror and you can see it in one point and than you drop it. That is what it is. Why is Integrity a studio band more than a live band, I read it somewhere? I think you are sick live!! At that time I was in a relationship with this women and she did not want me to tour. And that was it. She made me feel bad that I leaved her and I was like: “Ok I’ll just make records only”…but I’m not with her anymore. You once stated after the release of Closure – “Integrity No Longer Exists” - 2 years from then and you’re now on a tour in Europe… Does Integrity exist or are we just day dreaming? (laughing) …I don’t know. That’s what I keep trying to figure out. I wanted to kill the band, but…I guess you can pinch me and see for yourself. I was here, wasn’t I? Before I let you go, I think you (and the band) need to explain to me and some of my friends who drove all the way to Beograd (Serbia) why you canceled the show there in November 2001? Oh yeah! Because we went through to Slovenia and I had to pay this tax to let me trough, about 100 bucks and they made me wait for 8 hours only for this piece of paper. And when they gave it to me we drove trough to Croatia and when we got there, the people on the border said: “Oh, Fuck off, you can’t come in”. So we turned around and we drove back to Slovenia and then in Slovenia they said: “Oh hey, do you have a fucking paper to leave?” and I was like “Hey Dude, we just came from here”. So we waited for another 8 hours, so we can pay again 100 bucks. I was like: “You mother fucker!” They didn’t say it will last 8 hours, but it became 8 hours. So we got the paper, paid them the money and by the time we went out we wasted almost a whole day. We wanted to go up and around, but we didn’t have time any more…So that’s it actually…
Spot is a Punk Rock band from a small town near the Danube river right on the border with Romania. I first heard about them through the Freemind festivals in my hometown Varna (located 200-250 km southeast from Ruse) some years ago (back then they were called Counterfit), but just recently began to get more interested in the band. What raised my interest was the fact that this band, living in a town with almost none existing scene, was playing so intense and regular and was obviously very passionate about what they do. They were and still are also organizing most of the shows in their hometown, keeping their scene alive. After all, how can you keep up for more than 10 years of playing if you’re not totally dedicated to what you do, right? After a show they played in my hometown in January(2005) we sat outside the club in a chilly winter night to have this little conversation about Punk, small towns, skate boarding and lyrics. Here is the result of it.
Can you guys introduce yourself and just give a brief history of the band for all the people that never heard of you? Radney: Hi, I’m Radney. About the band, here it goes…We began as ‘Counterfit’ around 1994. Back then it was just me on guitar Metodi bass and Christian on drums. After one year we changed the drummer and recorded our demo ‘Martial Arts’. Our new bass player Joro (Crowfish) came after we’ve changed the name to Spot and with him we recorded our first full length entitled “The Ultimate Guide to Modern Dancing”. We changed the name because I remained the only original member of the band. Plus we found out that there are tons of bands with this same name so we decided to change it to Spot. With new people, new blood and a little different style we decided to have a clean start. So the current line up is me on vocals and guitar, Georgi (Bass), Stilian (Drums) and Denis (second guitar)(ed: I am not sure if the bass player is still the same though).
er once again and I think that helped them a lot with touring and doing more shows) Radney: Well, he tries to come to Ruse at least one time in the month when we practice. We, on the other hand, play very regularly, because we’re happy to have found a place in a small community center were we can do so. The manager was very kind to us. She lets us use it for a practice room. We have our own equipment and so on and we do fine. But without her help it would’ve been a little harder. What’s been the best and welcoming place for you in Bulgaria in terms of shows/ playing live?
Radney: Last one was about a month ago in a local community center. I’m not sure, but I think there are going to be more in the future, hopefully it can get easier and better.
Radney: I don’t think there is difference for us were we play. As long as people have fun and they are kind to us it’s great. I can’t pick a place off hand. Denis: If the audience is enjoying what we’re offering, then that’s the best. To me, there is no place were we perform better or they like us better, just because we’re in this ‘exact’ place. It’s true that we play in Sofia and Varna more, but that doesn’t mean that we have our best shows here… Radney: To have a good show, the most pragmatic condition is of course to have a good sound… Denis: Sometimes you don’t even need that – the kids are having fun and are not paying much of an attention to the shitty sound. Stilian: The most important thing for me is the people that visit the shows. Radney: Yes, I agree, but we must not forget the band itself. If the band believes in what is doing and the guys do it well and honest and show that they have fun, this can be transferred on to the audience very easily… Denis: If we can share part of the energy with the kids, I think the show would be good. Radney: And not to forget, 10 years of practice…
What was the reason to start a punk band and listen to this type of music in a town with a little to no scene?
What’s the most vital and driving motive for you guys to be playing together? What is that inspires you to keep moving on?
Radney: Hmm, I think it’s simple to explain. Everything began with skate boarding. We were watching the skate videos; the old tapes like ‘New Deal’ had soundtracks full of punk bands in them. So one thing leads to the other, we liked the style and began to listen to it or to play it.
Radney: My personal motivation lies in the fact that I want to show what great music punk is and can be. That is what is motivating me. Years ago, when we started, punk was considered worthless and if a band was playing punk it obviously meant that this band is worthless or shitty. It was like: “Oh they’re playing punk - obviously they can’t play their instruments”. If we can change just that then we’re going to succeed. I think we owe it to the music… Stilian: We, of course, do it for ourselves too. And for the people that still like us and motivate us to look ahead.
So you guys are from this town called Ruse. Can you tell me more about your local scene if there is any – do you have shows? Radney: To tell you the truth, it’s hard to do shows in our local town, because there are no places where we can do them. There was this club that we used to play in, but …you know, people weren’t used to pay for the shows… Luckily, as of recently, things have changed a bit for the better. There are, I’d say, a total of 4-5 bands that try to do independent music, but we’re the only one from the Punk scene How often do you have shows there?
Your bass player plays in Crowfish, his main band, and they are touring very regularly around Central Europe, he also lives in Varna. How do you manage to practice, isn’t that a bit too hard? (ed: well, the quesion is a little outdated because they changed the bass play-
Radney: Skate and Punk shaped us into what we’re today, they formed us as individuals. When I was a little kid for instance, I listened to Queen. Anyways, at one point in my life I realized that I need to not only listen to music, but also learn to play it. I had a friend with whom we trashed our place to pieces. He used to play on this really old Russian guitar and I tried to sing. I wanted to be part of the music, because the music is a wonderful thing, a powerful force. It can change characters, perceptions…It changed and helped me. Music can also be harmful just as easy, for the same reason, people are easily attracted and they believe in it. If you really like a certain style or genre it’s inevitable to run away from the messages hidden behind the songs. You are bound to start questioning and wondering what they’re saying. And often you’ll be caught to not like them or to feel differently about them and that is good, because this way you think for yourself and try to decide for yourself. One of the things that the music changed in me was the fact that I don’t eat meat anymore. There are smart people out there that truly believe in this and they express it in their songs. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, because these same people are not saying it direct, but are rather trying to explain why things are the way they are and why they find it important to talk about such issues. So what part of the music take the lyrics? Your lyrics come across very optimistic – you have a line that goes something like this: “smile is the key to every door”. Radney: Yes, that is from the song ‘Smile’. You know, when I was a kid, that line seemed very stupid and naïve. But people grow and learn that this is what is true and real, this is what really matters. Everything else just comes and goes. As for the music and lyrics, if I can put it this way, they share 40% for the lyrics and the rest for the music. The reason is that people will always like the music first and then look deeper and see what the lyrics are about. Of course, there are those that will never sit and read them, but anyways…To me personally they are very important. The lyrics fill the music with content. You might have great songs, but with some shitty lyrics it’s nothing. And vice versa, I guess…The only thing that I find really bad is when people care only for the music. I read the lyrics of all the bands I like very carefully. If I happen to not understand a word or some sentence, I underline it and look for it in the dictionary. Like in school (laughter). By the way, this is a very effective method for learning a language. Anyways, I always try to find out what the lyrics are about, because when you comprehend what it’s all about you start to listen to the music in a whole different way. I’ll give ‘At the Drive In’ as an example.
I first started to like their music, which of course is amazing, but then, when I began reading the lyrics too, I was stunned. I was so impressed; it was like putting together all the pieces of a puzzle. I think the guys from ‘At the Drive In’ and ‘Propagandhi’ write one of the best lyrics out there. As for whether I’m an optimist and what made me the way I am, I guess we’re just born optimists or pessimists… Stilian: I think we in the band are optimists as a whole. Radney: Yes, it lies in the fact that we believe in what we do. Otherwise we wouldn’t have stayed here in this club and made fools out of ourselves with those guitars and drums for an hour or so. Maybe those who have ‘negativism’ in their lyrics or music do it for the good; they’re just showing what is wrong in order to help things get better. You can’t be a pessimist when you’re in a band in Bulgaria and you’ve been playing for more then 10 years.
You told me right before this interview that you’re recording a new album, your second full length? Tell me more about it. Radney: If all goes out to plan, it has to come out early next month ( spring of 2005). The album’s called “Waiting for the Inevitable” and we’re putting it out and distributing it ourselves. D.I.Y. I think this is the best way. Every band started with the D.I.Y. and I don’t see why we shouldn’t do it ourselves too. That is the right way for me. Stilian: The album came out pretty well and I just hope that it can get out soon so everybody can listen to it. It will include 12 songs in total. How old are you now by the way? Radney: I’m 28 and have wife and a kid. Joro is 30 and has a wife and kid too. Denis is 29 and Stilian is 25. Do you see yourselves so enthusiastic about your music and in what you do as a band in the future also? Radney: I was very enthusiastic this night, so I don’t see why that shouldn’t continue. Stilian: Me too, totally! Denis: I’m the biggest kid out of the whole bunch, even if I’m not the younger one, so there will be absolutely no problem for me… Radney: I can only hope that we’re still around
in 5 years time and have 2 more albums out. The reason I asked you this question is the fact that I wanted to know how you look on your music in general. Do you view it as a hobby, a way of getting your frustration out or is there something more…? Radney: You know, we had a conversation like this in the train on our way to this show. I picture the band as a house in which I want to get old. The band is the thing that gives me shelter. It also gives me hope that one day I’ll not end up working in a warehouse moving tubes or something, there is nothing wrong with that of course, but that just wouldn’t be me. Do you think that this is possible in Bulgaria? Radney: Actually, at this point I don’t think it is… So this automatically means that you’d have to go on a higher level and look abroad for someone to release you there. To do tours... Radney: Well, you’re right. I guess this is the wish of the other bands around here also. In order for a band to get better and to prosper it has to stop thinking about other bullshit beside the music. And that can be done by a label of some sort. We’ll see in 30 years time if this is possible in Bulgaria though (laughter). But even if you look the bands that are screened on TV, those bands are just something transient and they’re being used pretty fast and in 5 years time no one will remember them. The one thing that I see lacking around here is more albums and more shows also. Do you think there are enough people who would ‘consume’ those albums? Radney: Yes, there are, but here comes the question whether it is going to be from the Internet or are they actually going to buy them. But I definitely see a passion and desire in people for listening to Bulgarian music also and not just American. We have to have more places were we can record the albums, studios with better sound quality where the prices are normal, not cheap, but reasonable, in order for people to be stimulated to record good albums. I’ll tell you about a postcard I saw in a local magazine. It had the following scenario on it – a green glade and a little girl with a basket sitting on it. Underneath the picture there was
a message: “10 years of punk music in Bulgaria”. The idea is, that although we’re this young scene and we’re not having much ‘flowers’, there is still so much to happen. We’re 10-15 years behind the western countries and if we assume that we’re not babies any more, we’re at least these kids that are not fully grown as of yet. But kids that are eager to grow and develop and make better things Sounds really cool! What are your plans then - do you plan on touring somewhere, perhaps abroad? Radney: Yes, of course, we’d love to do so. But that is hard if you don’t have a label somewhere and a firm set of dates to go on tour with. Plus we must not forget that we come from Bulgaria, we’re unknown. We also have families to take care of and for some of us it would be very hard to do so, unless of course, like I said, we don’t have this label that will guarantee for us. Bands like Crowfish, Last Hope and Indignity managed to go on tour and still do and that is great. That would also be a big challenge for us as a band – to be touring for a long time, to see if we can put this out as people and a band. We never had the opportunity to do so as of yet. But this is definitely a dream – to be playing all the places possible. (ed: last year the band went on their first european tour - hope they had a great time) At the end of the interview you can always add a comment or two, something positive perhaps? Radney: No, I don’t have any hidden messages to address. What I have to say, I say in my lyrics and try to make it as accessible as possible for everybody. Everything has been said, everything has been done, we just carry the torch. I just can hope that the kids that come to shows now like what they’re seeing or hearing so much that in 5-10 years time they’d get inspired to start their own punk bands. That would be enough and it would mean a lot. I believe in this music and I want it to remain alive even after me… That’s a perfect ending for our little chat. Thanks!
* “SMILE IS THE KEY TO EVERY DOOR” *
Reviews... Here are the reviews of the stuff I got over the years. Some of the CDs are pretty much outdated: some of the bands broke up,some of the labels don’t even exist or don’t do printed records anymore (example: G7 WelcomingCommittee who decided to put all their stuff online so people can buy/download and print the covers themselves - you can read more about it here: http://www.g7welcomingcommittee. com/) So anyways I just owe it to the people that were so nice and send me the free stuff over the years. Better late than ever, was I once told... I am sure that some of you will find a band or two that they never heard of before, will read the review and will buy the CD, hopefully...There are a lot of albums that came out over the years, albums that I like very much, but are missing in the zine. I can’t review all my favourite albums, but some that you must definitely check out are: Endstand’s “Time is now”, Propagandhi’s “Potemkin City Limits”, Champions albums, the new Comeback Kid, Poison the Well’s new album, Have Heart’s “The Things They Carry”, Alexisonfire’s “Crisis” and about a thousand other so I better stop now, before I miss some album (which I am sure I already did...). That’s that. I know you all have good tastes in music and you all know what to listen, so my oppinion doesn’t matter, but! nevertheless, here is what I think of those bands...If you don’t want to take my words for granted just google the bands, find their myspaces and listen to them...Something that was a little harder 6-7 years ago... The Bulgarian Scene and Bands produced some interesting stuff over the years, but I guess I reviewed most of it in the last issue(s) of the zine. The new albums that you should check out are: Indignity’s “Hands dripped with blood” - a discographic Digipak CD that came out 2005 (http://www.myspace.com/indignitybg), Crowfish’s amazing album “Requiem for a Broken Heart” 2003 (http://www.myspace.com/crowfish), Maniacal Pictures’ ‘Circles’ (www.myspace. com/maniacalpictures), Mindown’s “Moments of Love&Grief” myspace.com/mindown, Melekh’s debut CD (http://www.myspace.com/melekh), B.F.D.M. (http://www.myspace.com/bfdmsfc), Rise UP (http://www.myspace.com/riseupbg) and I guess you could also check out this band too: www.myspace.com/xcabanix. Hope I didn’t forget a band or two... Spearing Jocasta – “The Cassandra Complex” 2003 CD (Life Sentence Records)
Here is a very interesting album for me to review. This is the first time I’m hearing from this band and I can say that I’m already surprised. I’m not sure if this is their debut full length, but I can easily say that “The Cassandra Complex” is great and mature both musically and lyrically. It starts up explosively and then so to say settles down with time. The music I can describe as chaotic-emo (could I actually do that?), but there is a lot to it than just that - catchy melodies, some slow clean guitar parts here and there mixed with beautiful bass sections followed by the desperate screams of the singer, this is what makes this piece special. The vocals as mentioned are mostly screamed (which by the way remind me of the Japanese band Endzweck), but there are a lot of sung or clean parts also. I guess there is something for everybody here - believe it or not some of the passages on the 2nd song remind me of Radiohead. Few words about the title of the album – as far as I know “The Cassandra Complex” is a psychiatric term that is referred to somebody who claims, that he/she can foresee the future. This is also the name of the 2nd song, which handles the all too well-known “lost love” topic. The lay-out is a simple booklet or 2 pages of lyrics, but is very nicely made and the various font sizing used for the writings allows you to be creative in reading the text, because some of the lines are mixed – one over the other. Ah yeah and the last song is a nice <industrial?> instrumental one - Was that my mobile ringing at the end? So you know what, if you hear that this band is playing near you, give it a try! I’m sure their performance will be very passionate judging by the music, so what more can one want? And don’t forget to get this piece on your way out… http://www.lifesentencerecords.com Wings of Scarlet - “Before the Great Collapse” 2003 CD (Life Sentence Records) My first reaction hearing this thing was – oh, does the world really need another mosh hardcore/metal band? You thought the same? Wait, there is more to it!!! It begins to get interesting! So I’m giving the band a shoot and am not disappointed. OK, the mosh elements are still here and so are the metal riffing and double bass drums, but the vocals begin to break from the monotony of the growling. Clean parts and singings? – that came by surprise. And if it wasn’t for them I probably wouldn’t listen to the whole album. The lyrics are touching topics such as Rape, Religion, Freedom?, the Afterlife and at the end of each of them there is an explanation (some times 5x then the text itself), which is good, I like to read explanations. The lay-out might be considered as in-
teresting and the print on the actual CD is intriguing – is this the map of the Skies? Maybe, maybe not… Anyways the music is not bad and if they get rid of some all too well-known mosh parts it can get even better. There is a potential in this 5 piece though. Check the site of Life Sentence for more info and mp3s. Nientara – “Consequence” 2003 EP (Life Sentence Records) It took me some time to review this piece and that is not because I didn’t like it or anything – no, I just found it hard and I don’t know why. So where to begin? If I am to say that the cover is great and it was the first thing that caught up my attention that will not be enough for you to actually get this album, would it? What if I told you that the music is very passionate and the lyrics are good?? I hope this is enough, because I’m running out of options here. To describe this band’s style would be just insane – there are some mosh/metal parts in here, so far so good, but there are also these very beautiful slow to fast melodies and the vocals are anything but monotonous. The production on the CD is very, very good. It’s obvious that the guys put some extra work to make it this way. When hearing this album, bands like Undying, Unearth, Newborn come to mind, but many, many more also so I’m not going to categorize it any further. The only way to understand what I mean and what Nientara is all about is to stop reading those lines and find out for yourself. I’m not responsible for the consequences… This Day Forward “In Response” 2003 CD (Equal Vision Records) Why is it that almost all of my favorite bands nowadays are either splitting up, changing their names or who knows what else? Unfortunately this is also the case with TDF, who are calling it quits. But not before they did their latest full-length “In Response”. I think music-wise, the path they took with “Kairos” is still the same, which is good. From melodic to fast emotional songs which are making me listen to this album over and over again. It’s just insane! I don’t remember being so blown away lately by any piece of music I’ve laid my hands on. The last time I felt this was to the SCF’s “10.21”. And it was a long, long time ago. The songs are not only good for themselves, but they are also very well ordered. The production is a killer and the artwork, being somewhat simple, is an art for itself with the collages and the original way the lyrics are printed, which to me are also very, very good! Last song is a mix of piano and acoustic guitar and the interesting
CDs, DVDs, Books thing about it is the sample at the end. This is not just some old movie sampler – no, the guys took it from some homeless dude of the streets in Detroit, who was talking about his life. TDF was always a gang that was looking for the original. Like that one sample (on the “My unbroken reflection” song from their full length “The transient effects of light on water”) taken at a painting lesson, talking about the motion of water and how incredibly difficult it is to be painted. I’m truly glad that I can listen to this CD, so positive, so beautiful. And yet I’m also very, very sad about TDF braking up. In response to this album I would just add: great? greater? fucking amazing! Destiny “The Tracy Chapter” 2004 CD (Lifeforce Recs.) I have to admit that I’ve been preparing my mailbox for this CD for quite a long time. Unfortunately, until this moment, I never had the chance to listen to their debut “Diving into Eternity”, but I was lucky enough to catch these guys live. They made a very good impression on me even though I saw/heard them for a first time – a well balanced mix, and you can take my words literally, between Poison the Well, the Deftones and a little bit of Shai Hulud is what makes this band a must hear, at least for me. The album contains 12 tracks recorded in the Danish “Ant Farm” Studio (home of Born From Pain, Heaven Shall Burn, the Haunted) so you can expect a very powerful production. I have only this promo release for a review so I’m not sure of what the exact artwork would look like. I can’t say anything about the lyrics either, because they’re missing too, but judging from the names of the songs – they’re around the love topic. The music is no exception from what I mentioned earlier - the guys took the better of the last two PTW full lengths and added a little “destiny touch”. There is also an enhanced video track for Passing Moment, which was done very professional and I’m sure all of you german folks out there will have the chance to watch on viva2 any time soon. (update: the band is now called “the Destiny Program” - probably had a problem with the name and their major - they are now on Nuclear Blast and you can definetely hear it in their latest works...A band that once had “it”, but unfotunatelly lost “it”) Trivium “Ember to Inferno” 2003 CD (Lifeforce Recs.) Forget Metal core - this is pure Metal to the last chord. Reading the bio of this Florida based band, I understand the guys are somewhat young and gathered for a fest in their high school. Some years
from then and they’re signed to one of the “biggest” metal-core labels in Europe. Some progress, huh? The music is a mix between At the Gates, Shadows Fall and many more. Metallic riffing with double bass drums all the way. Except for the places where they change the tempo and use clean singing, thus helping me listen to this album easier. Well to put it like this: if they used only screaming, I’d probably drop it after the first song. Not that it’s entirely boring or anything, but when you get used to it and hear it from every other metal core band you get used to it. The songs also can get repetitive and predictable at some point, but I’m sure the guys will work on that for future releases. The production, all in all, is very good, but my only complain is that the bass is kind a week or it’s just too quiet. You can check Trivium @ lifeforce’s site. V/A Liberation songs to benefit PETA 2003 CD (Fat Wreck Chords) Is there a point in explaining what PETA means? Yes? Go to peta.com (or peta2.com) and start educating yourselves, now! And it’s about time too! 16 songs to benefit what PETA does and stands for with bands like Hot Water Music, Anti-Flag, NOFX, The Used, Propagandhi, Good Riddance makes it a must have! The CD is also enhanced and features some interviews and cool commercials PETA did, but got banned and never made it to TV, obviously. You can always send some $$ and order it from their site and support an organization that deserves to be supported and not laughed at, like it’s often the case! Fear Before the March of Flames “Odd how people shake” 2004 Digipak CD (Rise Records/Equal Vision Records) This is the debut full-length by this intriguing young four piece from the US originally released on Rise Records and re-released by Equal Vision. If you take the chaotic and fast Converge tunes, but with more melodies and singings compared to chaos and mix it with Botch you ought to now what these guys sound like. Two people taking care of the vocal duties – one singing (the guitarist) and the other screaming, which came out as a result pretty well, to say the least. Great, catchy melodies and emotions are what you’ll get for your money. The production for a debut full-length is more than great and this goes to show how a young band with a good producer and a sound engineer could get a long way. The layout, although I’m not sure if this is the original one released trough Rise Records, because I have the Equal Vision version, is an interesting and very creative digipak, which is a bonus. The CD is en-
hanced and includes a live footage video on the song “The 20th. century was entirely mine”. With the band members aged 19-20 this is definitely a band to look out for in the near future… I know I will. The guys’ new album on Equal Vision is coming out later this year. Rydell “Hard on the Trail” 2004 CD (Engineer Records) Which movie was this intro from? It sounds very familiar. Oh well, nevermind. This is supposedly the third and final full length by this UK band. Why final, dunno… This reminds me so much of Hot Water Music except that the vocals are not that croaky, but hey, who can match those anyway. Mellow rock, emo tunes are blowing, or should I say swishing out of my stereo and suggested by the Engineer folks is making me forget the everyday grind. He he, you know what, it does, but I still need my grind medicine or else…So I’m not sure that I’ll be putting this on repeat too many times though. The layout on this piece is very good and I think if you’re into this type of music you should definitely check Rydell out and what is obviously going to be their final release. Joshua “Baggage” 2004 EP/MCD (Engineer Records) First time I hear of this band. Five tracks that easily could be on the soundtrack for any American teen movie, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Catchy and melodic emo songs with singings all the way. Last two ones are acoustic and are making the soundtrack complete. A nice EP for the times you are felling down. Check out this and other nice bands on www.EngineerRecords.com. Grimlock “Crusher” 2004 MCD (Life Sentence Records) Grimlock, a metal core machine ala Hatebreed hailing from Salt Lake City, home of the “extreme sxe”. This is a 6 songs EP which will smash your head into pieces or just make your mosh-heart fill up with joy. Killer production and an all in all cool layout add to the nice feel to this cd. Angry music calls for angry lyrics and not to forget angry screaming, yes sir! The cd is enhanced and includes bio, pictures and videos. One of them has a very interesting footage from the backstage of the infamous night in Salt Lake where some kids got injured (or even killed, I’m not much sure about that) when falling of some window on the second floor of that same building where a HC show was held. More info about this band and this mcd can be found on
the Lifesentence’s web site. The World Inferno/Friendship Society “Hallowmas Live at The Northsix” Live CD (Go Kart Records) A live album… How many reviews have I read in the past where the reviewers are saying they don’t like live albums – well I kind a do, especially when they can capture the energy of a show and the sound is as good as a studio recording, like it is the case with this CD, recorded live on the Halloween day of 2002 (too bad it doesn’t come with pics from that show). So back to the band – 9 people (boys and girls) from Brooklyn, NY. Yeah, you heard me right, 9 of them. How they fit on a small stage in a stinky club, I don’t know. Well anyways they are so many, because there is a 4 piece brass section and 2 percussionists – mad stuff I tell you. Their music could range from pure folklore (German, Russian, Spanish) to some fast street punk/rock and the variety of sounds it’s just amazing. Too be quite honest, I’m not a big fan of that punk/jazz/folk/ska genre-thingy at all, so you have to judge for yourselves. Though the WIFS really sound like a bunch of fun, party people and one can definitely dance and rock to their tunes. If you’re looking for just that, you found yourself a match. They even “mosh-ed” up the Hellfest this year. http://www.GoKartRecords.de
Transmission0 “0” 2004 CD (Go Kart Records) Transmission0 hail from the Netherlands and play this very nice mixture of dark, metal influenced music and energetic punk (ala Refused). It’s a rather new band - the serious work on it started in the late summer of 2003, but already these guys have a full length on a very respectful label. Transmission0 uses a lot of melodies and with the help of keyboards the sound becomes more symphonic and mystic at some parts. Listening to a CD like that one can easily enjoy the diversity of the album – raging from pure heavy black metal (with solos and stuff) to rock/indie that can please every other fan of the softer genres. I can’t say a word about the layout or the lyrics (there isn’t much of a singing though, and the places where there is, the voices could be growls, clear singing or even as far as spoken word, which is very cool), because the CD came only with a biosheet, so I hope that will improve in the future. So at the end of the day, judging by the number of styles T0 combine, I don’t think you can go wrong with those 10 songs or 50+ minutes of music from this 5 piece from Holland, so I suggest you give them a try. http://www.GoKartRecords.de GFK – “If Liberty isn’t Given, It should be taken” 2004 CD (G7WelcomingCommittee) For those of you who are not familiar with G7WC, this is a Canadian political indie label run by some of the guys from Propagandhi. Thus, most of the bands signed to it are also political. So is the case
with GFK (Government’s Fury Kills) - a metalcore machine from Quebec. This is already the fourth record by these guys and one that can impress every fan of the genre. The music is full of double drum bass parts and heavy breakdowns, but has also these surprising moments with spoken word vocals, mixed with rather heavily screamed vocals and of course the usual growls. The band is obviously very interested in spreading their message and therefore they have posted the lyrics of the songs plus explanations in 3 different languages (English, French, Spanish) on their site. Favorite song of the album has to be the last one – “Direct Action is More than Wearing a Che Guevara Shirt” (just the name itself is cool). Give this band a try at: http://www.g7welcomingcommittee.com/g7037/ and read what these guys have to say. Submission Hold - “What holds back the elephant” 2004 CD (G7WelcomingCommittee) The second CD I receive from this label and how different can those two bands get? The first one, really heavy, metal driven and this one, on the other hand, is punk rock, indie, folk and jazzy even. It’s obvious that the guys at G7 are open-minded and are looking for the right music and message in the most obscure places. Anyways, Submission Hold is from Vancouver, Canada and exists since the early 1993 and this is their third full length and debut for this label. The music on “What Holds Back the Elephant” is really making my life hard since it’s very difficult to simply be put in few words – energetic, experimental, catchy, and different, just some of them that come to mind when listening to the CD. This whole is expanded by the beautiful women vocals that range from spoken word to screams to folklore singing and whatnots. The lyrics are talking about women empowerment, religion and the world state in general and as usual in G7, are translated in 2 other languages in the booklet (a very nice looking one, I must admit) – Spanish and French (if I’m correct). Visit the band’s site at www.submissionhold. org and hear a song, read some lyrics and find out first hand how a band is managing to tour having small kids on the road. http://www.g7welcomingcommittee.com/bands/ subhold.html Action Action - “Don’t cut your fabric to this year’s fashion” 2004 CD (Victory Recs.) “Pink is the new black”, right? At least that’s the impression I get from the booklet –anyways, a really nice looking (and smelling) one, I must admit. Action Action are not what you might expect from a label like Victory, at least few years down the line that is. A mixture of all kinds of tunes, synthesized or orchestrated are pumping out of the stereo reminding me of bands like the Cure, Depeche Mode (“drug like”), Duran Duran (“this year’s fashion”), and of some of the more modern ‘teenage Punk’ bands (“photograph”, “instructions on building” – the Foo Fighters??). I even sense some grunge influences at some points in “basic tiny fragments”. This band is
really hard for me to review since I’m not that used to listening to this kind of music lately, but their music can easily be called “catchy”. The one thing I really like about this album is the title, which really grew on me. Other than that, I think every fan of the above mentioned bands or styles will dig this band. http://www.action-action.com River City Rebels – “Hate to be loved” 2004 CD (Victory Recs.) First off, just to get over and done with it, I really don’t like the booklet. Ok, it might be a joke, but I still don’t dig it with all those naked chicks and blow job references on the cover. That said let us focus on the music itself. Well this, their four full length album, is seeing the band getting more poppy and trendy I guess. Some Punk/Ska elements here and there, lyrics about “baby, baby”, which might attract some teenagers (those who listen to Britney I guess), but I doubt it will impress the most of them. I wouldn’t go as far as to call this a ‘street punk’ band although some of the bands of today’s scene (plus the bio sheet) are trying hard to convince us so. Go check the band at http://rivercityrebels.com and if you’re into this type of music give them a try. Voodoo Glow Skulls – “Adiccion, Tradicion Revolucion” 2004 CD (Victory Recs.) The CD starts off with a sample from the Kubric classic movie “A Clockwork Orange” (if I’m not mistaking that is) and from then on continues with the “Ghettoblaster” and the Ska/Punk tunes that are still so popular around nowadays. Arguable one of the bands that first mixed hardcore with ska elements is still alive and kicking. 14 songs (in English and Spanish) some serious other rather not, packed in roughly 40 mins on a piece of plastic could bring any kid to dance. Catchy choruses, not very technical songs and kind a repetitive are the things that most of the modern ska bands still use and well copy. So if you are into the Ska thing yourself, you know that you can’t go wrong with the Voodoos. Don’t forget to invite your girl to dance in the pit. http://voodooglowskulls.com/index.html Straylight Run - “S/T” 2004 CD (Victory Recs.) Straylight Run is the band that probably convinced me the most from the newly recruited ones from this label. I don’t know exactly why, but I guess the idea of mixed vocals (female/male) and the use of piano trough out all of the songs is something that simply appeals to me. Maybe I’m in the calmer phase of my life, maybe is because it is autumn, I dunno, but this CD hasn’t left my stereo/discman for a long time lately. This is the kind of music that would either pick you up or crash you down in the hardest moments of your life. I like to feel both myself, so I don’t mind listening to this album over and over again. Sometimes you just need a break from all the other noise and a CD like this comes in handy just in time. Before I go further and talk about the music, I have to admit that the booklet/artwork is a piece of
art. This is the first thing you’ll notice when you pick up this record. The way it was framed, photographed and the way the lyrics are written, it just fits the music perfect. Ok, back to the music – although most of the songs are mid to slow tempo - there are some faster/catchy ones (“Tool sheds and hot tubs” – sung with female vocals only) which add variety to the whole thing. The CD is enhanced and the multimedia part of it is not stepping back from the great impression the music and booklet are making. It shows footage from the recording studio, which is located at a nice big house in some woods. For sure, great environments to record an album like this. I have nothing more to add so I suggest you do yourselves a favor and buy this album. For some samples check the website at: http://www.straylightrun.com/, which again, yes you guessed it, is really well done. Silverstein “When broken is easily fixed” 2003 CD (Victory Records) First of, to make it clear, this is not the bonus CD/ DVD with two new tracks they released last year, rather the original debut on Victory. Ok having said that, let’s focus on the music. It reminds me awful lot of Poison the Well mixed with Thursday, but the typical screams are rather a background to the clear singing (changing to spoken word at some points) which fits the mid tempo melodies very well. The use of violin came out pretty well on some of the tracks and added some sad feel to them. Lyrics are handling the love topic all the way (refer to the title), but I guess this is inevitable in this “genre”. The booklet looks real nice also and although it is very simple it is also very well drawn – one thing I notice that is becoming very popular again in nowadays bands artworks is the use of drawings instead of pictures. Look out for Silverstein’s re-release of this album containing bonus DVD and two new tracks and check the band at: www.silversteinmusic.com The Black Maria “Lead us to Reason” 2005 CD (Victory Records) First, seeing the band’s name and artwork I thought I’m in for some good old metal moshing. I dunno if it was for the word “black” in the name or the snake on the cover, but that was my expectation. As I put the CD in the player, of course as usual, I was very surprised. Reading the band’s bio sheet first is always useful in a case like this. Former band members of Grade, Zyon and New Day Rising formed the band in the early 2002 and this is their debut full length on Victory. They start off the album with a nice organ/ keyboard and melodic guitars that lead the way until the last note. Keyboards and mid-tempo melodies, combined with the clear singing by the two vocals is what this CD is mostly made of. I must say that the music is very diverse and the album is by far not boring at all. The lyrics are mostly personal and orientated around the love topic. The layout and cover/back artwork look good, although they could’ve improved the inside a little bit. 11 passionate songs from what is probably one of the most
promising of the new wave of bands on Victory. Check out the band @ http://www.theblackmaria. com Bury your Dead “Cover Your Tracks” 2004 CD (Victory Records) Hailing from New England, home of the notorious New England HC & Metal fest, these guys bring on the mosh. And they bring it hard and hitting. If you’re looking for a replacement for Hatebreed and you tried out Victory, look no further! These guys sure know how to bring the kung fu moshers into action on their live sets. Having members formerly been on tour with bands like Between the Buried and Me or Blood has been Shed is always a plus and by now you must be convinced of the intensity of this album even if you’re just reading this review. Fans of brutal metal core and violent moshing, this is your thing. Don’t miss the nice and amusing booklet -either. http:// www.buryyourdead.com Dead to Fall “Villainy and Virtue” 2004 CD (Victory Records) Listening to this CD for the first time, I must say, it didn’t impress one bit. But putting it on resume for a couple of times and doing so for some hours, it just grew and grew on me. The production on this piece of plastic just shows how professional the nowadays recordings are getting. Everything is so powerful and well balanced that you can’t miss a single tone. And that surely could be of help to every band. The one thing that grabbed my attention was the cover art and the way it is referred to the title of the album – two mythological creatures, a snake and an eagle embodying the “Villainy” and the “Virtues”, fighting. Actually, reading the title track’s lyrics, one leaves with the impression that there is no difference between the two-this is the main theme in the rest of the songs as well. The music is a mix of death metal/ core and a little pinch of hardcore, with deep, growling, but very ‘clean’ (one can make out almost every word this guy is shouting), vocals all the way. Aside from the moshing parts, there are these melodic fast to mid-tempo interludes that could well be taken to bands like At the Gates or whatever Swedish heroes you might think of. And although I’m not a huge fan of this particular genre, I must say that they’re very well balanced and fit the songs perfectly, with my personal favorite one being the “epilogue”. If your roots are in the death scene, but you just happen to be a hardcore kid and if you used to have a long hair, but you cut it to this year’s fashion, don’t bother and check out Dead to Fall, you will not be disappointed. http://www.deadtofall.com Atreyu “The Curse” 2004 CD (Victory Records) Atreyu is one of the most controversial bands in today’s scene (alongside 18Visions and Bleeding Through). The highly awaited new album, by some, has made it even more so. Well, to me at least, this album can’t match their debut “Suicide Notes &
Butterfly Kisses”. The music is rather simpler and the direction they took with the more (little too overproduced) singings and melodies and guitar solos, just isn’t my thing at all. Can’t say anything about the lyrics on these 13 tracks either, because there are none in the promo they’ve send me. Overall nothing special. Comeback Kid “Turn it around” 2003 CD/DVD (Facedown Records) This is the debut by this Canadian five piece (band members of Figure Four) and what a debut it really is. I’m not sure if I can call it a full length with around 28 minutes of playing time, but nevermind that – it’s simply amazing. I’m holding the CD/DVD version of it so a nice bonus. I will start the review with the artwork, which is the first thing that will catch your eye when you look through that pile of CDs, we hardcore kids so proudly like to call ‘distro tables’. It’s a picture of a guy holding his wounded, bloody heart – ok, not too original you might say and maybe you’re right, but it is very well drown none the less. The inside of it is well done also – so the artwork is really good. Back to the music; it’s really surprising how this type of old, fast passed, energetic hardcore is the hype again. With new bands like Comeback kid that couldn’t be of surprise to anybody really. The interesting thing is, that even in the year 2003 CBK still sounds fresh and are bringing the old so familiar style to new levels. Even though the songs have that old- school feel to them, the guys somehow managed to put a nice double bass drum breakdown here and there for all of you mosh lovers and for the sake of diversity. If I am to say that this CD completely blew me away it’s just going to sound like an understatement. An album, a package that is hard to be topped off any time soon. Comeback Kid “Wake the Dead” 2005 CD (Victory Records) The highly anticipated follow-up to the ‘Turn it around’ found the band with a new label, namely Victory. And this is one of the best records the label has to offer nowadays. The guys in the band managed to keep their style intact and even improved it a bit. Bane, StretchArmStrong and even Snapcase (on some songs) could still be mentioned as influences, but this album is just so much more than a rehash of any given band. It’s just Comeback Kid. The main difference I see between ‘Wake the Dead’ and the previous one is that CBK somewhat left part of the mosh parts and cleaned up their music with a lot of back ups and fast to mid tempo guitars, but there are still some moments and possibilities for mosh madness on hand. I’m not sure if the guys managed to top ‘Take it around’, but they at least came very close to doing so. Only weak point I see is the layout. Otherwise - essential! www.comeback-kid.com Thursday “War all the Time” 2004 CD (Island Records) In the last issue of the zine, some 2 years ago, I raised your attention about this band and the fact that they
are recording a new album. So the record is now a fact and it’s great that I’m able to listen and review it. And if you, reading these lines, leave aside your prejudices such as: the band is being aired on MTV, they are signed to Island etc. you will definetely really enjoy the music and Thursday. Because this is what the album offers – Thursday in one of its best forms. Full Collapse was a good album itself, but this one managed to keep the same sound and identity of the band and even extended it. 11 tracks, both fast (For the Workforce, Drowning, one of the best in the album) and slow (War all the Time, This Song brought…) with great sound and music full of passion and professionalism are the recipe and guarantee for success. And last but not least, great lyrics, which can for sure be found here. The artwork is very nice also, so there is no chance that you can go wrong with this piece. Be on the look out for the new album, being recorded as I’m writing this review. Check out some of the songs from ‘War all the Time’ and find out what I’m talking about here: www.thursday.net Bridge to Solace “Of Bitterness and Hope” 2004 CD (Let it Burn Recs.) For all of you who still remember Newborn, the Hungarian band, from the split with Catharsis, Bridge to Solace features two ex-Newborn members – Adam and Zoli. And as we know, Newborn were on the brink of conquering Europe, before they decided to part ways with Zoli and form a new band. Well BTS is more then an ex-thing, but one can still feel the same sound. Zoli’s ‘desperate’ vocals are hard to not get noticed and the lyrics are still in that same direction. As a huge fan of Newborn myself, I learned to love this new band very fast. The music is fast passed, melodic in the veins of Newborn, but there are a bunch of cool metallic and mosh parts too. The one thing on the record that really needs mentioning is the use of spoken word between most of the songs, done exclusively by Greg Bennick, more known for doing vocals in Trial. This came out pretty good, especially the parts mixed with the music. It really adds something to the whole thing. One can argue that they were too many (at the end of almost every song), but that’s a personal choice. So if Newborn stopped at the finish line, I think Bridge to Solace are ready now to take it to the next level and being on a somewhat known, german label will help them do so. They’re already touring Europe constantly. Ah yes, there is a nice bonus song at the end of the record paying tribute to the Swedish/ Scandinavian metal scene. Not my cup of tea, but cool nevertheless. www.bridgetosolace.com Desert City Soundtrack/SettleFish/ Sounds Like Violence 3 Way Split 2004 CD/ep (Deep Elm Recs.) A three-way split between an American, Italian and a Swedish band, great way to get to know any of them. The opening is given to the guys from Sweden ‘Sounds like Violence’ and their song ‘Push you up the stairs’. Unfortunately this is their only song
in the total of six on the CD. I say unfortunately, because I really would like to hear more from these guys. They play a cool rocky, indie music with very clean guitars. The vocalist is both screaming and singing in his angry desperation as the guitars change their pace from fast to mellow. Some of the parts remind me of the more recent RHCP stuff even. A really nice opening. As sad as it is, Italy’s Settlefish can’t keep up with the high standard set by ‘Sounds like Violence’ and although the band is not bad at all, it’s just not much. I just don’t like the vocals to love the music, which comes out like a strange jazzy rocky improvisation at parts. Their last song ‘Glass Party’ is the only one that deserves attention to me at least. And next are Desert City Soundtrack, who are probably the best one of them all. Or maybe a close photofinish between DCS and SLV. Anyways, DCS are participating with 2 songs, but they are enough to show the potential of the band and their music - very passionate, piano and guitar driven combined with astonishing vocals. The song January’s Loss is for me the best one on the whole EP and you should just hear it, because like many cases, words can’t do it justice. Deep Elm came up with a very nice 3 way split EP and it would be a shame if you miss it. www.deepelm.com/sum/437_sum.html Greg Macpherson Band “Night Flares” 2005 Digipak CD (G7 Welcoming Committee) Sometimes it is good to be reminded that running a zine has its better sides too. And what a better way of doing so if not with a nice package containing an even better Digipak waiting for you in the mailbox early in the morning when you had a streak of bad days? But is a CD like this one capable of giving you back the smile – on the first look at least, yes. The artwork is just so beautiful in its simplicity. It captured the rising sun from the window of an airplane (what do they call those – hatches?). And when I think that in two weeks time I’d be on one leaving at about the perfect time for the sun to rise, I just can’t wait. The booklet, so full of sharp pictures, mostly showing old buildings with peeling off plaster, is fitting the melancholic feel of the whole CD so perfect that’s hard to even explain. Speaking about the music, I must say that although the band’s name leaves an impression of an “one man show”, which, at the end of the day, more or less regarding the writing process could easily be so, for this piece of plastic to see the flares of night (or day) many people, artists, musicians have contributed. Which is probably the reason for it to come out as good as it is. The 48 minutes of this album are mainly dominated by clean guitar tunes and Greg’s singing, with some back ups (female ones on Southern Lights – one of my favorites). The interesting thing about it is that he uses his voice in a very diverse way – for instance a song like “California” could easily end up being mistaken for a Boy Sets Fire one with those high angry vocals, but most of the time they’re slow and quite. After every song in the booklet there is a line or two explaining who took part in the recording and they go something like this: “Greg played guitar with his finger, 1 string bass and sang”,
“Steve played guitar with a pick and his fist” or just: “Greg sang and Steve made those other sounds”... In conclusion I’d like to quote something from the promo sheet that came along with the CD, which I rarely do, but this time it captured in one sentence the essence of the whole: “In another time and place the fruits of this labour might have been simply referred to as ‘honest’; today it’s ‘political’ ...” This is the music that you heard at the end of that great [short] movie, this is the soundtrack that you always wished you could listen to at home or just take away with you as you felt it too personal…I’ll sure be on the look out for the next release that comes out on G7 http://g7welcomingcommittee.com/bands/ macpherson.html Sinai Beach “Immersed” 2005 CD (Victory Recs.) There were times when terms like “metal influenced hardcore” were enough to describe the style of a band sounding a little tougher than usual. But nowadays things have changed so much that to be correct when reviewing some bands I must use quite the opposite one: “hardcore influenced metal”. Such is the case with the fellows in Sinai Beach. This debut album on Victory is metal, make no doubt about it. Even some of the vocals are reasonably compared to those of Glen Danzig or Phil Anselmo. The hardcore portion of it is enclosed in the more modern type of mosh orientated breakdowns, with the usual double bass drums – a little too well known to be quite honest. When I think about it, the new Caliban and Killswitch Engage remind me awful lot in this department. I can also see why they use clean vocals mixed with the growls and screams, but when I refer it to the old album I can’t say I saw it coming. This is a Christian band and one must not look much deeper in the lyrics to realize that. I have no problem with it though and more people shouldn’t also by the way – after all this is what the band/vocalist believes in, whether we like it or not. Although I think that if one must sing about God, one can use more metaphoric ways of expression, but that’s just me. All in all, this album is not something ground breaking, but I must admit that it is quite intense and I can see a lot of people really liking it. And what is a plus is that it is not at all boring even for someone like me who is not quite into this “genre”. Songs like “To the Church” and more precisely the sample keyboard intro part, really make it that more interesting. I think they should try and use more of them in the future. Of course like anything coming out of the Victory factory, you can expect sharp production. But although essential that on its own is just not enough sometimes… Smut “Forever is not enough” CD 2005 (Years of Pain/On Point Recs.) Smut is a Macedonian band, but this album is released with the help from two of our local, Bulgarian, labels. This is the simple prove that where the politics, media and historians have failed, hardcore has succeeded. Namely, being popular of the problems on the Balkans and different political positions between our countries, we hardcore kids can forget
about that and treat everybody just the same way. No matter of nationality, race or whatever – we’re united! This is what makes me proud of our, but also Macedonian and Serbian scenes (and friends). But enough talk about politics. Let us concentrate on the music. Being heavily influenced by bands like Hatebreed or 25taLife, Smut are trying to find their own style. And it was not in vein, because this CD is not a sheer image of those bands. It has its own sound and feeling. The quality of the production is ok, when we think of the circumstances behind the recording process and the fact that it was recorded in just 2 days. The lyrics are mainly in English (macedonian also) and they focus on the war factor. Knowing that the people from Smut speak in first hand – the war in Macedonia and Kosovo - not like many western bands, which have experienced it only from their TV sets, you can really learn about what those people felt or have lived trough. Ah yes, the last song is a cover on Hatebreed’s “Last Breath”. I don’t quite approve of bands putting cover songs on their full lengths, and making them 1:1 to the original, but if the guys think they are giving a credit to someone, it’s ok with me. Check the band by contacting yearsofpain@mail.bg http://www.myspace.com/smutarmy Champion Different Directions The Last Show DVD 2006&2007 (Bridge Nine Records) This is the last show Champion ever played – filmed in the ‘El Corazon’ Club, Seattle and captured on a 2 Disc DVD with commentaries from the band members and amazing live footage. On the first disc there is the video, on the second one the 14 songs in audio format. Nice clean layout that you can fold out to a small poster and a really great quality video and audio. This video gives me chills every time I see it and almost makes me jump into the screen while watching. So intense and so real...There are about 150 Thousand stage dives and none like the one before...To be honest with you, I had the chance to see a couple of final shows or reunions live before and I know what vibe you can feel at the venues, while the band is playing their last songs... But seeing one more just made me even more jealous that I wasn’t there. Champion are for sure to be missed! I must admit that I wrote a SxE column for this issue. There never was a word about SxE in my zine before, and that was intentional...I just wanted to be neutral on that. After seeing this DVD, I decided to leave the column out. I just don’t want to be misunderstood at some point and I know that SxE influenced my life in some way or another and SxE is part of hardcore and always will be. SxE is also something that makes the scene unique. Because as Jim said it in between songs, there has to be something like SxE to show to the kids out there that being drug free is ok, that being true to yourself is ok too, you don’t have to pretend to be someone else just to be accepted. Although sometimes people use SxE for the same exact reason. I think about SxE as something that must be felt and not pretended and I give him credit for standing up for SxE with each
breath and each line of his songs. There are for sure going to be kids that want to be popular and abuse SxE in one way or another, but there are going to be 100 more that give their everything and that’s way more important. You know, hardcore probably isn’t the same and will never be the same again, but having a band like Champion, even one band like that in the scene, still makes or made the scene alive. Because you can always see these bands that are like machines on stage, they sound like machines on their CDs, but who cares? They are not true and they don’t inspire. A band like Champion inspires, because people see and feel with their hearts that they’re part of something special... You must see this DVD! There are a bunch of other DVDS I wanted to review and never found the time, will just mention some of them here Refused (“Refused are fucking Dead”- amazing DVD on their last show/tour), Converge’s Long Road Home DVD Movie and Patrick Shen and Greg Bennick’s “Flight From Death:a Quest for Immortality” www.flightfromdeath.com - you must definitely check them all out!
“Days of War, Nights of Love: Crimethinc for Beginners” - 280 pages, Color cover Book,(Crimethinc Workers Collective/Demon Box Collective) Writing a review for a book was always a difficult task and reviewing this one was no exception either. I must say that I wanted to read it since the first time I find out about it on a Catharsis show some years ago, but only had the chance to do so recently. Actually the book itself is even older – it was published somewhere in the early days of the new Millennium, which makes it almost 7 years ago. This book, is not a book with stories, a novel even, describing the “days of war and nights of love”, rather is a collection of thoughts, columns, ideas (stolen or adapted, which the authors don’t mind doing or find wrong for that matter, like it is been explained to us later in the pages) or manifestos, so one can read it none-chronologically, like we are advised to do in the opening lines – the same place where we find out the true purpose of this “tool”, namely, to save our lives and “set us free”. I really would like to start with the things that bugged me or that I disagreed with the most. First off, trough out all the pages, there is this feel of disapproval, disapproval of everything and anything at any given cost. I have nothing against this feeling of revolting or rebellion, but when it is done just for the sake of it, which I sometimes felt, it really starts to feel kind a fake. We’re advised not to forget our adolescent uprisings and dreams just because it is expected from us to get older and be responsible, which of course is great in itself, but sometimes, when we begin to question everything surrounding us, we must not forget to question even ourselves. And this is what it is lacking in some of the columns. I think the most controversial of them all has to be “H is for History, Hygiene and Hypocrisy” (most of the sections of the
book are divided into groups of columns joint in a capital letter …A, B, C etc…) and especially “The Dead Hand of the Past”. Basically, the idea of this article is to let the past be forgotten and replace it with myths. The one thing I didn’t like is that the whole column is based on the assumption (like this cartoon says): “Those who cannot forget the past are condemned to repeat it”. This is totally the opposite of what I believe is true and has proven its worth – namely that we must learn from History and understand what was wrong in order to not repeat it. Of course, the idea of not knowing our history is not necessarily bad, because sometimes history can be of a burden, but that again comes to the humans, to the individuals. And the individuals are in the center of the universe of this book, those free individuals, who are learning to live together, peacefully without greed. In some parts of this book one will read assumptions (based more or less on the authors own perceptions of her/his self view of life) that the nature of humans is not that what it is portrait to us today, but this is the result of modern day society and that we’re not those greedy, selfish, materialistic consumers who will crash everything and everyone in their way in order to achieve their own. We are just a product of the society we live in and had we another society or a model our behaviour would’ve been different. This might be true to an extent, but I’d rather think that this IS our nature. And this is what we are - these greedy, selfish, materialistic consumers and even if it wasn’t for capitalism we’d still fight each other on everyday basis for something else. But of course, there are some really intriguing sections, even in this chapter (I wouldn’t say anything about Hygiene though – it’s strictly a personal choice!), the column entitled “Hypocrisy” or “M: Movement: Working within the system” (an interesting look at the punk scene and the use of the word revolution), “The Domestication of Animals … and of Man” etc. etc. etc. Not to forget the whole of the “L: Join the Resistance fall in Love” – Especially in this chapter, one can easily feel how the authors want to romanticize their ideas and lives, a feel that can be sensed through out the whole book. The other thing that I liked very much are the nice cartoons and drawings etc. with messages embedded into them. At the end of the day, I must say this book was very easy to read (which I wasn’t very sure of at the beginning) and I think that it has to be read after all. It must be read by all who have no idea of the existence of such people (the authors and their collectives), but also by the anarchists, revolutionaries, punkers etc. and by anyone who is willing to question the “reality” surrounding us. As the book suggests – this is only a guide and the ideas used must be put to a test before we urge to buy into them easily. I’m glad that I read it and although I’m not sure, it can easily end up changing my life – in the way that I learn to live it to the fullest, regardless of the costs. This is what the authors of this book are doing and I think there is nothing wrong with that... www.crimethinc.com (online store), www.demonbox.com - Europe
Vegetarian Recipes Ingredients: * 1 cup dried chickpeas or 16 oz. (about 200g) can of chickpeas * 2 cloves of garlic, chopped * 3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped * 1 teaspoon coriander * 1 teaspoon cumin * 2 tablespoons flour * Sesame * Salt * Pepper * Oil for frying and a kitchen Robot for chopping the chickpeas
Falafel
This is a Recipe a friend of mine told me about years ago and I have been making falafels on my own ever since. And they are as good as the ones you get from the Arabs around the corner if not better. Enjoy: Preparation: Place dried chickpeas in a bowl, covering with cold water and let them soak overnight (if you’re in a hurry you can leave them for about 5-6 hours during the day). Then you must drain chickpeas (they should’ve gotten bigger, see picture one), and place in pan with fresh water, and bring to a boil (This step could be omitted). Allow to boil for 5 minutes, then let simmer on low for about an hour. Drain and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl. Add flour. Mash chickpeas, ensuring to mix ingredients together. This is where the kitchen Robot comes handy,because you can chop the chickpeas easier. You could either first chop the chickpeas and then add the spices or you can do it all at once. The result should be a thick paste, add flour if not thick enough (second picture). Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a ping pong ball. Slightly flatten and then if you wish add Sesame to them (I don’t do that because if falls in the frying oil. Fry in 2 inches of oil or on a frier at 350 degrees until golden brown (3-5 minutes). Watch out for them on your first time because they could get a little hard if you leave them for a long time. Result should look like the third picture on the right Serve hot in arab bread or seperate with tomatoes.
Soya Schnitzel For the next Recipe you will have to find Soya Schnitzel (Shreds). Those are Soya beans in a Schnitzel form, usually sold in a 500g bags. If you do find them, it’s rather hard I know, but if you do so, make sure they are mostly big and not very small. To tell you the truth, you probably can’t buy them at the local Supermarket, you must look at the Bio Stores and not all of those have the Schnitzel either. Anyways they have to look like the picture on the right: Ingredients: * Whatever amount of Schnitzel you want to serve - usually 6-7 would do for 2 ppl. * Cumin, Salt, Red Paper * Very fine breadcrumb * 1-2 eggs (for a vegan one, just make sure the Schnitzel are a little wet) * Oil for frying Preparation: Place the Schnitzels in a bowl, covering with hot water and let them soak for 2-3 hours until they got bigger and soften a little. Then you drain them with your hands, but make sure you leave some watter inside of them or otherwise they get a little hard to chew. Stir eggs in a bowl. Salt the Schnitzels and roll them in the eggs Then stir the schnitzel in the breadcrumb and add the cumin, red paper (good amount of them on both sides) and fry them until golden brown and crispy - about 2-3 minutes on a medium heat. You can serve them with potatos or mashed potatoes and some sauce. Enjoy!
Spaghetti Bolognese (vegan) Ingredients for the spaghetti (serves two) Ingredients for the sauce: * Soya minced ‘meat’, one bowl * 300-350g spaghetti * 1-2 onions (decent stuff such as Barilla, De Cecco, etc.) * 400-500g tin of chopped tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes) * 1,5-2 liters water * 2 tablespoons olive oil * two tablespoons olive oil * Black Pepper (on taste) * one teaspoon salt * Cumin (on taste) * two tablespoons butter * Salt (on taste) * freshly chopped basil * 2 tablespoons oregano * freshly grated Reggiano parmesan cheese or * two cloves of garlic a normal cheese (you can skip this if you want it * 1 tablespoon honey vegan) * 1 teaspoon paprika * one glass (125ml) red wine (optional)
Preparation of the sauce: The only difficult part here is to obtain a good soya minced ‘meat’. Once you find one, soak it in a bowl of watter for about 3-4 hours and then drain it. You must also spice it. Use salt,cumin and black peper and taste it while doing so. You could also stir one vegetable bullion cube, avoid salting it if you do so. Leave the soya aside. Chop the onions - not too finely. Press the garlic. Pour olive oil into a large saucepan, add the onions and fry them in the olive oil until they change colour. Now crumble the soya mince into the onions and fry it until it is completely done (looks a little browner). When the mince is nice and crumbly, pour in the red wine(you could skip this one). Now add the tomatoes, the tomato concentrate,and add some more spices (I usually add some cumin and black paper to taste). Let the whole lot simmer for 15-20 minutes with no lid on the saucepan (low heat) - we want the sauce to reduce to get rid of some of the water - that will make it tastier. We all know how to cook spaghetti, but there are always going to be those few that don’t so... Boil water (about 2.5 liters), add some olive oil and salt. When the water is boiling, add the pasta (around 12 minutes, depending on the Pasta, ragazzi). You could also add 2 tablespoons of butter to them after you soaked them. Melt the butter. Put the pasta back into the saucepan and heat it up while turning it until it’s hot. The pasta will taste great, not stick together and be just right! Add the sauce with the cheese and serve very hot.
Stuffed Peppers (Tomato) (vegan) Ingredients for the sauce: * Soya minced ‘meat’ about 400g * 6-8 red, green peppers * 1 cup of rice * 2 carrots * 2 onions
* 1 Tbs chopped parsley * 2 tsp salt * ½ cup of olive oil * 2 Tbs plain flour * 1 tsp vegetable or green herb stock * 2 Tbs plain flour
Preparation: There are two ways to do it - either with peppers (green or red) or with tomatos. I prefer the red peppers (the long sharp one). Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds. Wash peppers to prepare for filling. Fry chopped onions and grated carrots in olive oil at medium to high temperature. Stir constantly. After 2-3 minutes add the soya ‘mince’ (you could spice the ‘mince’ like in the spaghetti recipe) and salt and continue to fry it for another 4-5 minutes. Take it off heat and add rice, plain flour, sweet paprika and dehydrated vegetable or green herb stock. Stir the mixture. Use a spoon to put filling into the peppers. Cover the top of each pepper with a slice of cheese (vegans could use a cooked potato). Place peppers in a dish. Pour water until peppers are top-covered, so that they have enough watter, but do not drown in it. Boil at low temperature for 40-45minutes. Sprinkle chopped parsley on the top. Serve hot.
Final Words
“Goddamn”, he said, “I promised myself I’d never feel this fucking way again”
This surely is the final issue of the zine and these surely are the final words. I’d probably maintain the coming website (and/or myspace page) and still figure out a way to be somewhat creative and see how that goes. I don’t know if you liked the zine, but the fact that you’re reading these last lines is good enough for me. For all, my thanks . You can still help by spreading the word, the more people read it the better. There really was a message somewhere inside these pages and it was both for you and for me... I tried to be positive about this zine and make it come across so. Believe it or not it was harder than you think, because there really is this negativity in me, in life, but I really try to look on the other side of it, if possible at all. Though how can one see the world with other eyes, eludes me. How can we bare all this pain which at times must surely causes us to pause, to think. Not of ourselves, but for the others. To be these creatures that wonder without noticing the pain they are causing, a flesh of nothing, no meaning and no purpose. All for nothing. How can one then look at this world and think of it with something other than repulsive thoughts, for this with certainty must be the view of shuttered eyes. To try to be ourselves would still not be enough, but by being so we must not come to compromise with our thoughts and forget our tenets. Because of all the things we can, we must not ever forget of our believes. For even if we’re taken from the ‘outside world’ and ‘culture’ we still are confined in this small shell with everything we’ve been thought of, that must now come to an end. There is no purpose of being here, if we never follow our honest convictions. There is no purpose of being ‘different’, if you’re still the same. And that we ‘would’ do, we should do, when we would; for this ‘would’ changes...
To die, to sleep ...no more...
For the ones I love, and for those that are no more...
http://www.myspace.com/sunrisesunsetzine email: sunrising.sunset@gmail.com