Agnostic Front: 'Everyone thought Lars Ulrich was an asshole'

Damn, it's about time I get off my lazy ass and start posting some more. Interviews with Rise Against and Title Fight are coming up soon. But let's start with Agnostic Front's Mike Gallo who talks about how the dinosaurs of NYHC keep him sane and off the streets.


Victim In Pain is 25 years old. I bet you are influenced by that record. What does Victim In Pain as a record mean to you?
'Well to me VIP is the most important record in nyhc history. It set the standard. You can never capture the raw energy like that again. If Roger and Vinny never got together to do this record, i would be miserable working some bullshit job i hate for the rest of my life. So this record made nyhc what it is as well as giving me a life!'


My Life My Way is the new album title. Is it about living live Agnostic Front-style, and if so how does that lifestyle differ from the life your parents wanted you to live?
'The title fits Agnostic Front and everything we stand for. They always done things on there own terms.

Actualy my parents were musicians so they supported me and still do. Im greatfull to come from such a good family. They always had my back in what i pursued in life as long as it was realistic.'

You were also in On The Rise and released a record through Bridge 9. Now you’re a member of Agnostic Front a band most well known because of Roger Miret and Vinny Stigma. Do you feel you can put as much into this band as you did in On The Rise or are you more bordered know because of AF’s legacy?
'I actually put more into Agnostic Front than i ever did in OTR. That band was my baby. I started it and wrote most of the music. I took that band as far as we could before everyone just stoped getting along. Then it just wasnt fun anymore. So we ended it. Being in AF gives me more to strive for. This band makes me work harder. Its everything i worked so hard for in my life to be. So i never get bored. I helped write the last few records as well as my other band Stigma. in case you didnt know me and Vinnie do that when were not on tour with AF. Roger and Vinnie will always be the face of Agnostic Front. This band is their baby. I just help them keep the legacy alive.'

As one of the younger guys in the band do you keep up with what’s happening in today’s scene and do you tell the old timers in AF all about it?
'I absolutely keep up with whats going on in the scene today. Theres a lot of good new bands i like these days. Wisdom In Chains is my favorite. Also Chosen Ones and check out this band Live Fast Die Fast. I just produced ther new full length cd that will be out in april. Look out for those guys. I always play new music for the guys, but there still involved with the scene too. So just because there older dose not mean they dont know whats up. They started this shit...'


Recently a lot of older bands have started to play again like Supertouch, Sheer Terror etc. How do you feel about that? Do you see yourself only doing shows based on the old records and not writing new songs anymore?
'I see nothing wrong with old bands coming around a playing shows. It brings everyone together again. I think its great. Everyone should take advantage of having that oportunity to keep playing music.

I my self personaly will never stop writting music. Its all i know. But if i were given a chance later on in life to come back a play a few shows with i band i been in before. I would definitly do it as long as i was having a good time. I do understand where your coming from about bands touring on old material, but if people are gonna come out to see them play, why not.How ever I do have much more respect for bands that are still relavent and continue to make records today.'

AF is still seen as a New York Hardcore Band, but of that scene it’s mostly the old bands that are still around like Madball, SOIA and H20. Isn’t there a new generation of bands? Where did the old bands succeed and do the newer bands come short?
'There is definetly a new generation of ny bands still carring on the hardcore spirit. Bands like Backtrack, This Is Hell. I mentioned a few more earlier as well. I dont feel they fall short of anything. There out there working hard as the older bands still are. It all depends on how long they continue to keep it up as a band. Longevity means everything.'

Freddy Madball assisted you guys in the studio. Where there no fights between both brothers?
'No fights at all. Roger and freddy get along great. All we did was laugh and eat! We had a great time in the studio creating this record.'

Just a couple of months ago Roger also released a new record with the Disasters. Do you think Roger doing both bands makes Agnostic Front more hardcore and not as punk as during the Somethings Gonna Give period?
'At the time they were just a 4 piece band when they came back to unite in the late 90's. Vinny plays more of a punk style hardcore. Later on we added a second guitarist so We can play our full catalog which calls for two guitars. This way we can give our fans from every era of the band what they wanna hear. Roger doing the Disasters gives him the focus to just play more punk stuff.'


This is already the third record on Nuclear Blast a label more known for their metal releases. What makes AF stick with the label? Or are you guys big metalheads?
'We have good relations with NB. The owner marcus is an old fan. He believes in us. Thats the reason why we are still with them. We are all fans of metal. Agnostic front being a hardcore band is just as much as part of the scene as any other metal band. We have thrash roots in our music since the early 80's.'

Ever since AF released it’s first 7”the music scene has changed, can you guys keep up with declining recordsales, are you relaying more on shows and merch for your income?
'Things are definitly not the same with everyone stealling music. So we do have to rely on making money on the road. Everyone thought Lars Ulrich was an asshole for fighting against napster. No he was fighting against what is going on today. He knew it was gonna destroy the music industry. I have to give him credit for that. But we will continue. We just have to work harder..'

How does a typical day of you look like when you’re not on tour or recording and how many days like that do you have in a year?
'Ahahah I have to laugh to cause this is the first really long break we had in a long time. So we been home since december after we finished recording the record in Florida. So I'm out of work and starting to go nuts! I try to keep busy by going to the gym as much as possible. Writting music, I dj at a small bar in the lower east side of manhattan called 3 of cups. So I try to keep my self busy with out causing to much mischief on my time off. I slowed down in past few years. Trying to grow up! Haha its slowly working..'

Is AF still a popular band in the US or is Europe your steady fanbase?
'We still have a good cult folowing that still allows us to tour the States. Europe is definitely where our stronger fan base is from. I think Europeans have a stronger passion for music than people do in the States. But South America takes the cake...'

Happy New Year and Stay Hungry

Let's start 2011 with an interview with one of the best European Straight Edge bands around at the moment: they're from Sweden, they're hard, they're hungry: Stay Hungry. Staffan Snitting was kind enough to answer some questions.



First of all how does it come that hardcore and punk are such strong scenes in Sweden. People all over the world know bands like Refused, Millencolin and Satanic Surfers. Right now there seems to be a whole new generation of good bands coming from your country like Atlas Losing Grip and yourselve.

First of all I have to say that I can't think of any other country in Europe that has the same level of quality and quantity when it comes to bands as Sweden at the moment. Finland is great as well right now but don't have as many bands. We most definitely have a large amount of bands that are amazing. Punk rock bands, fastcore bands, NYHC-type bands, crust bands, early 80s hc bands, straight edge bands... There is a lot of diversity and for some reason the quality is high all over the field right now. It's hard to say why, or at least I don't have an answer to that. Except for the fact that we have a lot of people in different cities that are working hard as hell to make it happen.

'Against The New Wall' is the new record. In my opinion it's more varied, melodic and a bit less fast. What do you think are the main differences between your debut and the new record?

Is it really not as fast? Hell, we should do a bpm check. Personally I am sort of a speed freak (I once walked into a tattoo studio in San Francisco to get "play fast" done on my knuckles, thankfully they had no open slots that day). There are surely some really fast songs on the first 12" but I think tracks like "Dedication", "Disgust" and "Ingen plikt" are just as fast. Out of the 14 tracks on the new LP, including the intro, 10 are one beat fast ones, that is OK in my book haha.

But to answer your question, I think the main difference is that the small metal influences on the 12" are gone with the wind. We actually stole riffs from black and death metal bands on that one and twisted them around a bit to make it sound HC. Nothing new, Slapshot has done the same. It might be true as you say that it's more varied, but we did work hard to make it a more genuine and focused hardcore record. In that process we scrapped a bunch of ideas and whole tracks that didn't fit in. It's more Floorpunch and less metal, I guess.


Am I right in thinking Against the Wall is also some kind of tribute to older bands I mean titles like 'Against The Wall' and ' Something Must Be Done' sure remind me of other bands. As well as your songstructures which have more in common with bands like Judge than a new band like Defeater.

The idea when we started the band was to do a fast one beat in your face straight edge band in the vein of Internal Affairs. I guess we are closer to that now than before actually. But yeah, there are loads of references to more or less old hardcore in the lyrics at least. Some more obvious than others. Uniform Choice, Minor Threat, Antidote, Battery, Youth of Today... I personally like stuff like that, such as when Skull Crusher used a line from Judge on their 12". As for the music, I think we just went in to do a fast hardcore record without pretentiousness or metal influences. "Against the wall" is what came out.


Are you the kind of older guys who tend to dwell in the past or are you as stoked on newer bands as well and if so which newer bands do you really love?

Nah man I wouldn't say so. Sure we all love the old stuff and most covers we have played are so to speak semi old (as in late 80s, Citizens Arrest, Chain of Strength, Project X etc) but we all follow new music quite a lot. I can't say I enjoy everything that comes out, but who can?

One of the things I have enjoyed a lot the latest couple of years is the new wave of straight edge bands in the US that have sought their way back to the roots of it all, to hardcore PUNK and all that comes with that both sound and attitude wise. I'm talking about Black SS, Blank Stare, Sick Fixx, Coke Bust, Poison Planet... Awesome stuff.


What is the Swedish song on the new record about and why did you decide to keep that one in Swedish.

"Ingen plikt" can be translated to "No duty" and is about people who consider drinking to be their personal business even though it makes them a part of a social problem in society. It's not meant to throw punches at alcoholics and people that have real problems that they need help with, but rather all the people that get pissed on weekends, glorify drinking and refuse to acknowledge that they're a part of the problem. We decided to do a short and really fast song in Swedish and I think it turned out really cool.

I think a lot more people recently got interested in your country since the popular books of Stieg Larsson as well as the whole story about the mystery sniper. Sweden doesn't seem to be the peacefull quiet country were all is good, which I imagined it would be growing up. So what is the situation in Sweden like at the moment? How is it to grow up there?

Well I recently sat down and discussed drug policy with the guys in Coke Bust, who are from Washington DC, and our opinions definitely clashed but we also realized that our perspectives vary due to our radically different environments. They spoke of a "murder rate" and I mean...

Sure people get murdered here as well, but nowhere near that level that they are used to. Anyway, this will be an answer that reflects my opinions since we all don't see things the same way in the band.

Sweden is still a very good country to live in. For sure. But like any other western country we have seen the public sector and welfare system being slaughtered the last three decades. It's a horrible and tragic development that escalated with the membership in the European Union in the 90s. The thing is that the Swedish working class has been completely defenseless against the attacks of the right wing, big business and so on.

Which is a bit ironic since our unions are famous for being large and strong with massive organization levels. The thing is though that it all rested on a system of class cooperation between labor and capital. And when capital ended their part of the cooperation, starting in the 70s and accelerating in the 90s, the main labor organizations just continued dwelling in the past. Absolutely no attempts whatsoever to counter the massive attack on all the things the workers had gained during half a century of positive development. These things take forever to build up and seconds to destroy.

I've witnesses this first hand as an auto worker in the Volvo factory in Gothenburg, where we had to battle both the company and the union sitting idle, silent and obedient in their lap. A couple of months ago the right wing government that has been sitting since 2006 got re-elected.

The political climate it so perverted that the conservative party campaigned as "the new worker's party" and such nonsense. Anyhow, long story, but all this has led to drastic widening of class differences and injustice, which in turn leads to social unrest of a spontaneous and unorganized fashion, especially in areas of the larger cities dominated by immigrants, who rightfully believe they have been left outside in the cold. This election also saw the entrance of a right wing populist party into the parliament, for the first time in Sweden really.

There was one party in the early 90s but it was a one time thing and they didn't pose a threat like these assholes are doing. Unfortunately some workers fall for their crap. I see co-workers sometimes with their party logo. It's very disheartening. But to sum up and return to your question, I think you need to look upon the recent shootings in Malmö through this perspective, even though I am quite sure the guy responsible is more of a looney than a political strategist.

Sweden is getting more and more segregated, the welfare state is dismantled, more social unrest is around the corner. My only hope is that the latter will take a positive form.


You were supposed to do a eurotour with Skull Crusher, why didn't that happen?

That cancellation was a pain in the ass to go through with. We were really looking forward to touring with Skull Crusher, their 12" is amazing. Basically, we had to make some tough decisions when Reflections pulled out of our LP. They were supposed to do the record but in the end had to face the fact that they had too much going on right now.

So all of a sudden we stood there with a recorded LP, a tour booked and no one to release the record. We decided to release it ourselves, which feels great, along with our friends Daniel from Green Menace Records and Dave from Get This Right Records.

Obviously it felt shitty not to have the LP on Reflections, as we truly felt at home there and Johan and Suzanne are just the greatest people alive more or less. But we decided not to whine about it, but rather make the best out of the situation. But with this new development we realized that it was highly unlikely that the LP would be out in time for the booked tour. And we just can't tour without the record being out. We have jobs and stuff and when we take days off, we need to choose the opportunity wisely. So we cancelled, and it turned out to be a good choice since the LPs arrived several weeks after the tour was due to start.


What's the story behind the new swehc website?

We originally started talking about doing an online blog where we could post articles from out of print issues of Law and Order zine, which I am involved in. Then my co-editor Fredrik (of Law And Order Records) started planning a (more or less) free sampler CD of many of the most interesting Swedish hc acts together with Daniel from Green Menace Records. These two ideas sort of merged in Fredrik's head and swehc.com is what came out of it.

It's mostly done by the three editors of Law and Order zine (except for me and Fredrik, there's also Marcus) but we are hoping to get help from more people. We will post news, short interviews, video clips etc that for most of the time have some sort of connection to Sweden and hardcore. Apart from Swedish bands it can also be foreign bands touring Sweden, old video clips that were filmed by Swedes and haven't been seen online before etc. It's a way to cover hardcore and support the Swedish scene that is meant to complement the zine, which is the main focus still, at least for me.

What are Stay Hungry's plans for 2011?

Well we just got the LPs last week and all the pre-orders have been shipped. We're also working hard booking a tour for April. We will do 16 shows. A lot of it is already booked but anyone interested in helping out can get in touch, we still have slots to fill. We are booking this tour by ourselves so our whole operation is pretty DIY now which feels cool. It's been totally mind blowing how helpful people have been so far. So the main focus now is to spread the word about the LP and finish booking the tour.

We also just added our friend Johan on guitar, so we are now a five piece. We have done two shows with him so far and having two guitar players is a big step forward for the band, without a doubt. I guess we will start looking at new material next year. We live in different cities so we have to sort of focus on whatever lies ahead and is the most important task. Right now that is obviously to get ready for the tour, new songs is kind of secondary I guess.

Antillectual: 'We can't force people to listen to the whole album'

With a right wing government cutting on everything cultural and environmental friendly it's good to have a band like Antillectual around who still struggle for a better world by singing about change. Their new record 'Start From Scratch' recently came out one more labels than there are documents published on Wikileaks. Without further ado read what drummer Riekus has to say about downloading, guestsingers and punk.

You have spammed the international punkrock community a song a week for the past months. Besides getting some attention from everywhere this also might make people judge the record as a whole based on the snippets they hear. Aren't you afraid of that?
People will always judge a band by individual songs, there’s no use denying that. Whether it’s that one song they hear on your myspace page or the lyrics of a particular song, certain songs will stand out more than others. As a band, we like to think of an album as a whole, more than just the songs by themselves. Not everyone will share that opinion, so be it. We do encourage people to listen to the album as a whole, for example by putting a full stream + free download of our album online after the release date. We can’t force people to listen to the whole album rather than just their favorite songs, nor do we intend to force them. I guess the most we can do is offer the whole package and allow people to listen to it in whatever way they prefer.



'Start from Scratch!' is the record title. Do you also see it as a new beginning for Antillectual, it being the first record with a new bass player?
The album title is a quote from the first song, which is about the crises we are facing these days, and how we feel these crises allow us to improve things or start over. We chose the album title because this theme recurs in quite some of the songs. Of course, we as a band are also facing a somewhat new start, with Yvo leaving the band and Tom joining, and we feel this ‘new start’ has presented us with a lot of opportunities to change and evolve, but that’s not the reason why we chose the title.

As a political band with a somewhat left-wing ideology you guys must be very happy with the new Dutch government. Finally there's something to really be angry about. Or do you rather see a total leftist government?
There is no government like no government! But the new government sure provides us with enough inspiration for a whole new album, if not a double album! But it would be rather cynical to praise the new government for being inspiring for revolt. I’d rather see a government taking care of ALL its people in stead of the already wealthy white males. A total(itarian) left wing government doesn’t sound very appealing to me either, China and Cuba don’t seem very nice places to me. I don’t think any government can fulfil my needs, let alone all people in one country, but I’m sure we can easily do better than what we came up with now. On the other hand, why worry about politics when commercial enterprises have so much more influence on our daily lives than any government can ever have?



I guess working with thousands of different labels on the release of 'Testimony' paid off for you guys, since you have even expanded the amount of labels releasing the new record. So what are the benefits and what are the negative aspects of doing things this way?
Working with several independent labels on “Testimony” payed off really well for us, indeed. The main benefit of working this way is that each label is extremely specialized in their own region. They know where to promote our album, where and how to sell it, and where to book shows to promote the album. I don’t think any one (European) label can cover the areas we cover all together through the different labels, from the USA to Europe to Russia. On the downside, working with 10 labels at the same time requires a lot of time and communication, to have everyone on the same page, and have the same agreements with everyone. With the experience we have from releasing “Testimony”, it has become easier to arrange all this, and in the end we’re extremely glad to have the support of all these labels. The benefits are definitely bigger than the negative aspects.

One of the new songs features Chris Hannah of Propagandhi. From a commercial point of view this is a good thing, because more people got to know the name of Antillectual. But being a punk band wouldn't it be more logical to ask the local tramp to do some screaming? Why of all people you could have asked did you go with Chris?
I don’t really see how ‘being a punk band’ makes this a strange decision? Chris has been in a punk band for years himself. We like to aim high, but we never counted on it to actually work out. When it did we were happy as little kids. Having said that, we also have our local hero Heleen from Midnight Menace doing guest vocals, but I don’t think she would appreciate being called a tramp ;)
On a more serious note: Propagandhi is a band that has inspired us for years and years. To have one of their members contribute to our album is a dream come true. We didn’t ask Chris to contribute from a commercial point of view, and if we had done that i doubt he would even have considered helping out. Actually, according to the Propagandhi Facebook it cost us 7000 dollar to get him to sing on our album, from a commercial viewpoint a very bad idea.


Whereas you probably could write a record full of punkrock hits, you choose the difficult way. Why?
Interesting! We feel this album is a pretty big leap towards a more accessible, poppy sound. Compared to “Testimony”, the songs on this album are far less complicated or technical, and more melodic, so it’s interesting to hear that we still choose “the difficult way”. I guess it has never been our intention to produce only punkrock hit songs and anthems, and honestly, that would make a pretty boring record. We are not such good songwriters that we can actually chose or decide to write hits or not, it’s more trial and a lot of error in our case. Let’s leave the hit albums to the Pennywises and Bad Religions (pun intended!). We enjoy a lot of styles of punkrock, hardcore, orgcore and emo (even some metal), and i think those influences find their way into the styles we play on this record. Difficult? No. Variation? Yes.

You must have done some interviews already about the new record. What was the most original question, and what did you answer?
We’ve been getting quite some creative questions lately, but i think the weirdest one must have been an interview from an English magazine we literally got this morning containing only 1 question: “What was the one thing that has completely changed, or ruined your life? Please use around 500 words”. The answer was a pretty obvious one: this band. On the other hand we got an interview from the Incubate Festival website asking us if we had played in Holland before and, if yes, what was our experience.


What are the plans from here? Touring, touring, touring? Any new countries you're going to explore?
Yes, touring, touring and more touring! We sure wish to play at least all the countries where our record is released, and that includes the USA and Russia, of which the latter is new to us. Besides that we are planning to play shows and festivals in places we haven’t been before, Slovakia for example. We’re always interested in going new places and returning to places we’ve enjoyed playing. Willem will be doing some acoustic shows too, something we haven’t done for a while. And we will be doing everything we can to get our record out to people. To begin with, we’ll be offering all our music for free download at http://music.antillectual.com as of November 1st. Please go on, download and enjoy!

Midnight Souls: 'Always our own worst critics'

A lot of bands out there could do with more exposure. Midnight Souls sure is one of them. Especially if like me you can't get enough of bands who kind of play the same style as Modern Life Is War and American Nightmare, and are good in what they do. Enter Midnight Souls frontman Donny.

The 'Colder' 7" is out for a couple of weeks. Are you satisfied with the endresult? Are there already things you wanted to have done differently?

We are very happy with the way things worked out. We achieved everything we wanted for our follow up to the demo. We tried to make a heavier, darker, more intense record that reflected our live performance and I think we succeeded in doing so.

We got the chance to work with the best in the business on almost every level. The mastering was done by Alan Douches, who has worked on so many records, the cover art by Linas Garsys looks amazing and when Europe’s biggest record label agrees to put out your record, it just can’t get any better.

We are always our own worst critics and in hindsight there will always be things we could have done better, but right now we are all very proud of our release. It captured us at our best in that moment in time.

In 'Black Lung Disease' you paint the picture of the town were you live. Has music been your getaway from those surroundings? How did you get in touch with hc and punk? How do you see your life evolve and how much of that has been because of the music you listen to?

Music has always been important to me. Even at a very young age I was really interested in different genres, the artists themselves and what they were about.

I’ve always been a big Guns n’ Roses fan and at the age of 12 I started getting into heavier music, bands like Metallica, Pantera, . Then one day, I think I was 13 at the time, a friend handed me this copied tape to check out. It was a bootleg recording of a Sick Of It All show. It sounded awful, noisy and I didn’t like it. But somehow I gave it another chance and the second time around I understood what was going on. I felt the energy that oozed from the speakers, the intensity of the vocals and guitars combined with the pace of the drums. I was hooked. I started checking out other bands and got more involved in the entire culture. Back then it meant ordering stuff from The Lost & Found catalogue, based on single line descriptions, reading thanks lists for other bands to check out…you know them good old days.

I’m turning 29 this year I’ve seen many things come and go. The music changes, the people change but in the end everything remains the same.

It has always been the backbeat to my life. How much influence did music have? I don’t know. To quote Rob Gordon in High Fidelity “Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?” It made me feel less alone at times and helped me through some difficult moments.

There are moments when I’m a bit burned out on the HC genre when nothing interesting comes my way, but it’s always a part of who I am. These days I explore other genres more cause I still like to be surprised by music and that’s something’s that doesn’t happen that often anymore after 16 years of Punkrock.

You're from Belgium. Can you tell me why for a pretty small European country, you guys always have been playing a main role in the international hardcore scene. Starting with Nations On Fire, then the whole h8000 scene of Congress, Liar etc, GoodLife Recordings, Dead Stop, Rise and Fall, Justice and True Colors.

It’s hard to explain why. Maybe it’s something in our water, I don’t know... I think we’ve always had a quite active scene. We support our locals as well as the many touring bands that have played Belgium. Maybe it’s our central location in Europe that works to our benefit, who will tell? I don’t think anyone can provide a truthful answer to this question. Some things just are the way they are. Water is wet, the sun is hot and Belgium has produced quite a few amazing bands


There seems to be a struggle going on in your country where the northern dutch speaking part wants to separate from the french speaking part. Do you notice anything about that in daily life and what is your opinion on the crisis in Belgium?

To be honest, I think it’s just a political problem experienced in parliament and on the news. Nobody notices it in their daily lives. I remember a few months ago people were outraged by the prices of diesel and it was all over the news. Eventually the prices were lowered and the problem went away. Nowadays the diesel prices are skyrocketing again and no one seems to care, cause our focus is somewhere else. So I think sooner or later politicians and the media will find a new shocking tale to tell and this too will go away for some time

Speaking of which how come all the bands I mentioned above are Flemish and I personally can't recall any Wallonian bands.

Daggers is a Wallonian band and they are amazing. You also have Do Or Die I think…
I don’t know why there aren’t many bands from the Southern part of our country. Maybe the scene isn’t as active as it is in Flanders.

The 'Colder' 7"is out what's up next for Midnight Souls? Are you already working on songs for a full length?

At the moment we are focusing on our release show this Friday. Other than that we’re trying to play as many shows as we can to promote our record. In the first year we hit the stage, we focused on Belgium and now we’d like to get out more and play in different countries. We’re working on a tour and some weekenders.

Musically we’re taking the first steps in writing new music for a next release, trying out new things so that we don’t end up repeating ourselves.

Which Belgium bands should we all check out?

Accept The Change, Fundamental, Hessian, Worms Feed, Daggers and so many more…

Comeback Kid: Talking about symptoms and cures

To be honest I'm not the biggest Comeback Kid supporter around. Though 'Turn It Around' and 'Wake The Dead' had some good songs, I never particularly lost my mind on them. It may come as no surprise nothing has changed after the release of 'Broadcasting' and the recent 'Symptoms and Cures'. I did this interview for Upmagazine and think it's interesting enough to post here as well. If anything you got to admire to workethic of these Canadians and the fact they're getting a new generation interested in hardcore. Vocalist Andrew Neufeld gives the answers.



Just before Broadcasting, Scott left the band, so you were rather new as the singer for CBK upon entering the studio. Was there less tension on him recording Symptoms and Cures as this time there was more time to prepare?

There was more time to prepare yes. But there wasn't really any tension going into the studio with Broadcasting. On Symptoms + Cures it was just the fact that I'd been singing in the band ( as opposed to playing guitar ) much longer so I had more control of my voice and was more confident to sing on record how I do live. So that's what I did!

I remember you saying that the soundtrack for Lost was a big inspiration when writing Broadcasting. What was the biggest inspiration for the new record and why?
I wouldn't be able to pin point one big inspiration for the new record other than the transient lifestyle we live. It affects every part of my life personally and music wise. Most of the songs talk about that and how it makes me feel living this kind of lifestyle. Lost is over and I was sooo dissapointed with the ending! It was all a dream and they were dead? I mean, what the fuck?

Some people who’ve heard the new songs say Comeback Kid is very angry. The new songs sound harder and more straightforward. Are you more angry now then in the past or has it something to do with the way the new record was recorded.

I'm not angry at all. We are all very chilled out dudes. My vocals naturally are a lot more aggressive so maybe that sounds angry but it's a misconception. The songs deal with struggles in my life at times, but on the other hand we feel like the album has a lighter vibe and is more of a fun record than our latter. We wrote songs intentionally for the plastic cups to be held up high with beer spilling over and for people to have fun with and sing along. We really don't take ourselves TOO seriously.

The past few years you have created quite a backcatalog with songs. How do you pick which songs to play on stage. As fans want to hear old stuff and you probably want to play new songs. And does this decision making gets harder with every new record you write?

Sometimes we don't play songs that I personally would like to play live. Making a setlist is a combination of playing something from every record. There are certain songs that we would never do set without. Like All in a year ( first song we wrote as a band ), False Idols Fall, Wake The Dead, Broadcasting, and there are a few more. The other part of it is playing songs that we feel get the best reaction and excited the audience the most, which in turn makes us psyched. The last part is playing songs that are fun for us to play live. So we just mix it up based on how much time is available. to us.

Some people say you should have changed the name of the band one Scott left, in fact this still comes up in some reviews of the new record. Did you ever thought of doing so?

Hell no, we are Comeback Kid through and through. We have 3 original members that were the same 3 guys at the first few practices. The 3 of us wrote all the songs and Scott and I wrote all the lyrics together before he left. We have built on the foundation we created for the last 10 years and will continue to do so. Fuck the haters.

Different from the previous two records you didn’t record in the Blasting Room this time. Did you want a change of scenery and did it help the band to grow further?

Yeah we just wanted to switch it up recording wise and see how we worked with different producers in a different studio. This time we did it in Canada with awesome dudes Eric Ratz and Kenny Luong. We went for a more raw sound with everything sounding really natural but big. The tracks sound like they are tearing through the speakers more on this album I think.

What’s the meaning behind the artwork for the new record and it’s title?

The artwork is a guy jumping headfirst into the unknown. Maybe looking for answers or a "cure". The title comes from a lyric in a song that pays homage to the few people who make sacrifices in their life to really make a difference or follow their passion to put a dent in the earth. The title comes from this lyric... "Can we breathe out new life in the air? Send out a wave. Use this as ammunition against the vultures that prey on the public's addiction. They're creating symptoms + cures."

Isn’t it hard getting older but still having to write songs people in their teens can relate to, or is that not something you think about when writing a record?

If we were writing music for the teens of 2010 we would sound more like Brokencyde or something like that. We write hardcore/ punk rock songs the only way we know how to. We write songs for ourselves and hopefully people can relate to them no matter what age they are. I write lyrics and they are reminder's to me after the fact. We are musicians first and foremost so we don't ever rely on the current trends to find our place in this music scene. Hopefully we can stand out.

Right Idea interview part 2 of 2

After talking with drummer Nate Hough-Snee overhere it's time to see what vocalist Jeff Hess has to say about Sportswear, potential friends, Straight Ahead and the Right Idea.

Soon you will embark on your first European tour? What are your expectations? What do you look forward to? Have you or other guys in the band already toured Europe before? What tips did other guys gave you who already toured Europe?

My only expectation is to meet people who can be potential friends, and catch up with some old friends I hardly get to see or have never seen at all but have written or emailed over the years. Would love for kids to have fun at our shows and stagedive if given the chance, but am just fortunate enuf to be able to reach out to new people through our music and words. I think I’ve gotten too much do’s and don’ts over the years about Europe but I’m just hoping I can take in as much of the experience as I can while I am over there. Would love for anyone to show us around their cities too, European history has always fascinated me.

You're releasing a new 7" and a discography both on Refuse. Why did you choose to work with that label again? Most bands who release a discography are on the verge of breaking up, is that also the case with Right Idea?

I just want to point out that like 2 years ago we recorded Straight Ahead’s unrecorded “Knockdown” and it is finally seeing the light of day. John did a pretty cool job with the solos in it. Still not sure if we should have released it, but def a great singalong song….if only more people knew it! Obv the lyrics change in that throughout SA’s live sets, but these are the lyrics Craig Ahead had and are closest to their live recorded Albany set. Also, we do have a new comp song coming out on Crucial Response records aside from all the stuff on Refuse.


Lots of bands nowadays are very around online with myspace, facebook, twitter etc. So far the only thing I can find from you guys is the blogspotpage. Are you just lazy, don't you care about the use of internet to promote the band?

I dunno if we all agree on the corporate entities thing as much as just walking our own path, but agree it lets the music speak more for itself than the list of friends or even the individual band members themselves through comments. We each have our own lives and views but when we come together to share some common beliefs on stage, that is what is represented in Right Idea.

I know you had Mainstrike over when they toured Europe. So what is your experience with eurobands. Which bands from here do you like, have you seen?

Let me say up front that I would be the first guy in line for a Sportswear reunion, easily one of my fave bands from that era…not many of the bands from the late 90s held up well over time but Sportswear is an exception. Hell I even wrote a piece for Look Beyond Fanzine (rip) that was based solely on their opening track choice for each release, silly yet awesome of me to do.

It was def cool hanging with Mainstrike, Jigs and Johan and Suzanne Reflections for a few days and I have some great/fond/hilarious memories from our time together but that could be a whole other entry.

I have liked many a band from Europe over the years, it doesn’t matter to me where a band is from, if they are good then they are good simple as that. Some standouts I guess for me would be obv Sportswear –all, Mainstrike, H-Street demo, the criminally underrated Abusive Action s/t, Insurance Risk for sure, Final Exit, True Blue, early World Collapse when they had the website with the piano music only and released like 1 song every two years ha, Tiebreak, Oil’s first 7” I used to play a lot and would chuckle as I looked at my record collection, Damage Control, Strength Alone, Onward, Reaching Forward tape, tons more. Some stuff didn’t hold up as well as others but Europe always seems to have a lot going on for themselves in the style of hardcore that I find myself continuously attracted to over the years.

More recent bands like Dead Stop, Common Cause, True Colors, early One Voice, Justice, Loud and Clear, Balance, Regulations, Times Together, early Restless Youth, BOAF, etc have all got fair amounts of play in my house or car.

Excited to play some shows with some newer bands from Europe too, always cool to hear a new band you like. Sorry if I carried on with this one, I can talk about this one for quite some time. I am a big fan of art too, Europe has had it’s fair share of great artists in the hardcore scene.

Right Idea plays straightforward oldstyled hardcore, does that also mean you'll only listen to old bands in the tourvan? What will be your toursoundtrack?

My playlist is all over the place. In the car now it’s a collection of all newer bands, but usually on a tour I prefer some comfort I can find in the older stuff. That can range from Turning Point to Carnivore, Altercation to the Abused, Breakdown to early Shelter, YOT to Cro Mags, Raw Deal to later Unity, Agnostic Front and Warzone to Toots and the Maytals, Confront to Gut Instinct, BOLD to Suicidal Tendencies, and on and on…oh and the Spits.

Straight Edge is it a foundation, a way of life, something that comes natural?

Honestly, I only know I’m straight edge these days by others telling me or talking about it in my day to day life. It’s been so long that I don’t know any other way and def don’t want anything else interfering with my ability to soak in everything that is the life around me, there are already enuf distractions. Some of my closest friends are far from edge and some even seem to be living life to the fullest so to each their own, but I’ve seen enuf misery and stagnancy to know that any other way than straight edge is not for me. Like the new song says, “my mind is FREE TO THINK!”.

Right Idea interview part 1 of 2

Ever since hearing the 'Our World' record on React! I'm sold on Right Idea. They're one of the few existing bands playing the kind of youth crew hardcore which initially hooked me into the scene. Besides playing the right style they also have the, in my eyes, right idea how humankind should go about with the world and fellow humans.

Right Idea isn't a band that gets much exposure on the internet and in zines. They're also not a real tourmonster playing everywhere and Europe every three weeks. That's why I'm so excited to see them play in my hometown on July 30th. Drummer Nathe Hough-Snee and frontman Jeff Hess took the time to answer some of my questions. Here is part 1: The right ideas of Nate Hough-Snee.

Soon you will embark on your first European tour. What are your expectations? What do you look forward to? Have you or other guys in the band already toured Europe before? What tips did other guys gave you who already toured Europe?

We're absolutely elated! Geoff and I have been doing bands since we were teenagers and as we practiced last week, we were saying, "this is the stuff you dream of when you're a kid!" Cleveland is a great city, but it isn't known for it's well-travelled residents, so growing up, I was never expected to be going around in bands or for adventures. To travel the US at 18 was exciting and too go to Europe a few years later is just awesome. I'm looking forward to the people, including our friend Robert Refuse, and all the kids and bands who have supported us from across the pond. I am also stoked to take European trains, since I love the US's Amtrak, which is hardly modern train travel.

John has been to Europe with Good Clean Fun a few times, but he won't be with us this trip as he is expecting a new addition to his wonderful family. We're all totally new at this. I'm going largely on the advice of my friends Ole and Beej from Get the Most and On. Those dudes jet set about like nobody's business, so I trust their judgement in all things core related. Be sure to pick up their bands' new records on React! Records and see them when they come back to Europe.




You're releasing a new 7" and a discography both on Refuse. Why did you choose to work with that label again?
Most bands who release a discography are on the verge of breaking up, is that also the case with Right Idea?

Ever since my first band, Names for Graves, Robert has been a supportive friend and label guy. It was a no-brainer to go with Refuse because Robert does a label with bands that he likes and bands with smart, articulate members. Look at Anchor, New Winds or Blank Stare, just quality releases, from quality people and bands.

As for the discography, that was largely to put our material onto a digital release for kids in countries where vinyl may be prohibitively expensive. We did our releases all on vinyl, except for the limited demo tape, so we just wanted to make sure that people new to our band could catch up in one release. It also provides a means to drop all of our extra studio tracks from the last few years, including bonus tracks and covers.

As for breaking up soon, I think Right Idea has a few more songs and shows left in us, but none of us have the intention of overstaying our welcome or playing longer than we should. We have always been a part-time band, so it isn't like we're going to burn out or anything like that. We're simply going to go out before people are saying, "Man, they're still a band!?" that's for sure.

Lots of bands nowadays are very around online with myspace, facebook, twitter etc. So far the only thing I can find from you guys is the blogspotpage. Are you just lazy, don't you care about the use of internet to promote the band?

It's a two part system: one, we don't use myspace or facebook very much as individuals. They're huge corporate entities, and we're not trying to sell people advertising so they can hear our songs. Two, we wanted to be a band that was about our songs and substance, not hype. The people who want to find our records have to look for us, because we're not marketing for a big label or for sales. Up until the forthcoming discography cd, we were vinyl only on purpose. We love hanging out and playing music together, not trying to market ourselves. Maybe that makes us lazy, but I think it's a part of what Right Idea is, no hype, no bullshit, just fast, fun, straight edge hardcore.

I know Jeff Hess had Mainstrike over when they toured Europe. So what is your experience with eurobands. Which bands from here do you like, have you seen?


I really like I Adapt from Iceland (RIP), Victims and Wolfbrigade. Recently, I've been into Balance, Pair of Dunks, Anchor, True Colors and Common Cause, although I've only seen the last three and Victims and Wolfbrigade. As a kid, I loved Millencollin, Refused, the Business and the Buzzcocks and anything I could get on tape at the local skatepark. Fortunately, I have seen all of those big bands as they've toured the states more extensively.

Right Idea plays straightforward oldstyled hardcore, does that also mean you'll only listen to old bands in the tourvan? What will be your toursoundtrack?

Like most bands, we listen to lots of different stuff. I may bum the guys out with Ming and Ping, Lucero and the Jealous Sound, but I'll redeem myself with my favorites, like YOT, Judge and Chain. I have been jamming the newest Strike Anywhere for a long time now, plus personal favorites like Good Riddance, Iron Age, Gordon Solie Motherfuckers, Black Breath and Criminal Damage, so I'm sure it will be a diverse Ipod playlist as long as I get to have a say. Chuck will no doubt play us some Akon and Lady Gaga among his radio rap lists, while Hess will get us through the Youngblood catalog and then throw it back to new York.

Straight Edge is it a foundation, a way of life, something that comes natural?

Straight edge is what I've known my entire adult life. Not drinking comes as easily as breathing at this point, and I don't see it going away anytime soon. I know a lot of people can't socialize unless they have a drink, but I've never had that problem, so I go on edge. Some folks lean on different things to get through hard times, and I'm fortunate to have other things to lean on, like my friends, family and my passion, ecological restoration. From an ecological standpoint, I think that producing commodities like tobacco, alcohol and cash crops like opium and cocaine is wasteful. Why use resources to produce and distribute things that are unnecessary and that have vast detrimental potential? It doesn't improve anything, it just increases the disparity between social and economic winners and losers in global capitalism.

The Real Danger

The Real Danger shouldn't need an introduction.Dutch melodic punk band THE REAL DANGER are DESCENDENTS and LIFETIME enthusiasts, and the styles of those two bands propel just about everything this band does. is what Pastepunk say in their review of The Real Danger's excellent new full length 'Making Enemies'. If there is one record worth the title Summer Record of 2010 it is 'Making Enemies'. Enough flattery let's talk with frontman Michiel Walrave.

It seems during the shorter period that the band exists as The Real Danger you’ve gained more recognition than when you guys were doing Uppercut. Don’t you ever feel you should have done The Real Danger sooner?

Not really. We did already start The Real Danger when we were still performing as Uppercut. As far as I can remember we did a couple of The Real Danger songs as an encore at one of our last Uppercut shows. We already knew that we were done with Uppercut at the time. Still I think we couldn’t have started The Real Danger at a better moment than we did.

The main difference between Uppercut and The Real Danger, besides the style of music, is the addition of guitarplayer Sharkee. Why did you get him in the band?

Sharkee played in Uppercut for a while when our guitarplayer Robin accidently tried to saw of his hand. Me and Sharkee go back a long time. We were in bands together when we were 15 years old. He’s also been in bands with Robin. I don’t know anyone who is better in playing guitar so it wasn’t a hard decision to ask him to join The Real Danger.

‘Making Enemies’ the new record receives awesome reviews. Wouldn’t your rather be in a band that is able to tour for months in a row, thus really being able to promote the record.

To be honest I don’t. Playing every weekend and short tours are perfect to me. There’s nothing I like better than playing shows, yet my job is as important and as much fun. Besides we knew when we started this band we wouldn’t be a fulltime touringmonster. We play in Belgium and Germany every now and then and we’re able to play in Austria, Italy, Spain and French on two tour. We do have plans for more.

There’s one coversong on ‘Making Enemies’. Why that song?

That song ‘Skip Steps 1&3’ by Superchunk is a personal favorite of both Sharkee and me. I found out about the band in the early nineties through Alternative Nation on MTV and loved them for the start. My sister bought the record ‘No pocky for kitty’ and at the time it was the only thing I would play. To make a long story short, it’s nostalgia and a really great song to do.

You’ve done artwork for many bands like Mental, No Turning Back as well as venues. Still the artwork for The Real Danger is done by other artists.

I did design some Real Danger shirts. When it comes to the artwork for our records I think it’s more fun to ask someone that I think is a great artist to design it. I have a pretty good idea how I want to visualize The Real Danger and try and find the right artist who fit my ideas. In the end I’m still in control of the art direction.

Has Fat Mike already got in touch?

Some American labels did contact us, but Fat Wreck wasn’t one of them. So far we have released three records on Shield Recordings and the good thing about it is that we know them well. Even more important is that it are great people, they work hard on the label and releases many great bands. The communication with the label is very good. Gert and Fieke just went on tour with us and I don’t think we could have a better deal.

Did you make enemies on the latest tour?

We only made friends. The bassplayer of The Fake Boys, whom we were on tour with, did throw out some moron out of a venue in Innsbruck. But that guy tried to put something in someone’s drink. As for us we behaved like the good boys we are.. I think.

Watch the tourvideo/clip for 'Cutting Ties' here

Bouncing Souls

Every year when the winter is over and the weather gets better the first record I want to play is 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation' by New Jersey's finest The Bouncing Souls. The band celebrated their 20th birthday last year and honestly they are on of the few longstanding bands whose new records are as great if not better than previous releases. Recently they released 'Ghosts On The Boardwalk' and singer Greg found the time to answer some of my questions.

Ghosts On The Boardwalk is a compilation of previous released 7” songs. Were the songs written and recorded over time or all at once?
They were written from around 8/08-3/09. We kept creating as we finished up the recordings. We finished the mixes on 3 songs at a time which made the whole process a lot less stressfull.

Do you see it as a full length record or really more as a compilation? Is there a difference in approach?
We did think about the songs being released one at a time so our perception of them was a little different. It was fun to imagine them coming out on the first of each month so we had a slightly different attitude towards each one. We imagined each one standing on it's own.

The record is released on your own label. Does this mean you’re not on Epitaph anymore?
Yes. Our contract with Epitaph is done.

You are around for a long time now. How do you keep yourself interested in playing shows? Do you think you’ll be doing Bouncing Souls for 20 more years?
We love playing BS shows, We love each other, We love the music and all of our friends all over the world who come out to see us. The fun stays with as long as we dont tohr too much. We have no reason to stop playing as long as we are able to physically.

When are we going to see Bouncing Souls perform opening up for Bruce Springsteen. Would you like to do that?
I don't know. But that would be fun!!

Acoustic punk seems to be the next big thing. You guys are pretty good in acoustic songs so when are you going to release a record like that?
We have done various acoustic stuff over the years and we are talking about doing some more. We will see. At the moment I am on an acoustic tour with my wife Shanti, Kevin Seconds and Kepi Ghoulie. We will be doing some acoustic dates in Europe from April 6-13. We are listening to Kevin's new acoustic record right now on our way to a gig in Santa Barbara. It sounds great!! Check it out it's coming out May 11.

The Anchors Aweigh record was partly about the attacks on New York resulting in quite a heavy record. Years later how do you look back at that period and record. ?
Do you think with Obama the US is starting over fresh?
Wow. That is 4 questions in one. I don't even know where to start. It's a bit complicated. When we are recording new music we usually don't look back too much. We are doing our best to express the current moment we are living in.
Obama is definitely not starting fresh. The government is so full of corruption that needs to be weeded out it cant be easy to manage all of that from obama's position. It's not an easy job but I think he is doing ok so far and I support him.

You have gone from an underground punkrock band to a bigger underground punkrock band. What is the biggest advice you can give, with your experience, to bands starting right now?
Do what you love! Support each other and music itself!! Have fun! Get better and better at having fun! That will reflect in your music and the way you do business.

Which current bands are able to inspire a bunch of guys who have probably seen it all?
At the moment I'm really digging Kevin's new acoustic stuff. I'm getting more familiar with Kepi Ghoulies songs now that we have been on tour and they are so much fun. I can't speak for the other guys but that's what I have been loving at the moment.

This Routine Is Hell

They're Dutch, they're the kind of band most moshers will think way too fast and politcal. They should be the band everyone talks about on the Bridge 9 board. Their record is everything you look for in a hardcorerecord. They're This Routine Is Hell. After delevering one of the best records of the year and being featured in the NY Times, I thought it was time to send singer Noam some questions.

There’s a Paint It Black vibe all around the new record. Is that band a big influence on you?

Ever since the first demo people have compared us with Paint It Black. Musically and lyricswise Paint It Black has been an influence. Yet while writing the record we tried to get a sound of our own, in which I think we succeeded.
Paint It Black is an influence because their music is progressive but stays within the borders of hardcorepunk. They have the right attitude which combines aggression with intellect. This shows in the way the band goes about and is something we try to do as well.

Where does the name This Routine Is Hell come from?

It’s about the majority of people who live their lives without passion, always taking the easiest way. Never thinking about the consequences or the possibilities of their lives. It also represents the danger of how easy it is to live such a life.
We play in this band because we want to do something that goes beyond established paths. Creativity and constructivism to fill the routine’s void. Yet one can wonder if the current hardcorepunk scene with it’s myspace, facebook isn’t part of that establishment.

Even before your recordrelease show you offered it online as a free download.

During our talks with Shield Recordings, who released the vinyl, we told them we wanted to put the record online. We have always been a ‘try-before-you-buy’ band. And it is fair since we all have a lot of records on our iPods as well.
A lot of records are available online anyway. Doing it ourselves enables us to be sure that the quality is allright. This way we also were able to enclose the lyrics.
I don’t think it will reduce the sale of ‘The Velvet Crusade’ in the end.


What is the story behind the song ‘Tied Down’?

How easy and the amount of joy with which people choose to spend their days before the television, accept a life full of work and the total depression and passive society we’re all a part of.
Mass culture, mass production and mass entertainment make it possible to live a ‘great’ life without ever having to really try and make something special of it.
For me it was an important decision when I realized that I don’t want to become a part of it. I want to inspire myself and others to be special.


You just got back from Africa. What have you done there?

For two months I have worked in a remote area of Rwanda, trying to get local highschools connected to the internet. One of the goals of the project is to bridge the big communication gap between the big city and the rural areas. To school the youth and make them less depended on the agrarian culture.
It gave me a good view on their lives and made me think about the positive and the negative sides of development aid.
The song ‘Crooks & Robbers’ is about the IMF and the Worldbank passing out the wrong loans which don’t fit in the economical structure of third world countries. As a whole the western economical policy destroys more than it builds.

Myspace: This Routine Is Hell

Paint It Black 2009 Interview

I think aside from Anti-Flag Paint It Black is the band I have interviewed the most. Being really into their 'Amnesia' ep, I thought the time was right to speak to the band once again. So here it goes:

Releasing a 7” was new for this band. ‘Amnesia’ is out for a while do you see differences between the release of that one and previous full lengths. Or is releasing a 7”the same as releasing a full length.
Releasing a 7” was something different for us. We had been focusing on albums for so long we forgot what it was like to be able to write a song and have it recorded and released in a matter of months. So, the main differences are the rate at which we can release music, and the pacing of the records themselves.

Albums usually have a lot emotional nuance, they wax and wane in intensity and tone, but with 7” EP’s we have a choice of being relentless or being more subtle. I feel like “Amnesia,” the first 7” has lot of variation between pure hostility and melody, and builds up to a real emotional peak, but the “Surrender,” EP just pounds relentlessly from beginning to end.

Up until now Dan Yemin has mostly worked with Jade Tree records. So is releasing a 7”through Bridge Nine and Fat a whole new experience for you? Why didn’t you decide to release two 7” on Jade Tree instead. And why did you chose for Bridge 9 and Fat Wreck in particular?
We just focusing on 7” gave us an opportunity to see what it was like to work with other friends in the punk and hardcore community. Dan’s been putting records out with Jade Tree for 14 years, with our decision to express ourselves through a different format (the 7” EP), trying different working relationships also made sense. It’s been really interesting and a lot of fun working with Bridge Nine and Fat Wreck.



All the songs of the 7”we’re recorded at the same time, is their more material of the same session waiting to be released? Do you have new releases scheduled and if so will that be another 7”. In fact will Paint It Black ever do a full length again?
There’s no more material from this recording session, but we do plan on putting out more 7-inches in the future. I can’t reveal when or with who at this point. I would be happy to never release a full-length again, but I can’t predict what will happen in the future.

Is Paint It Black going to do a split-record in the future and if so which band would you all like to be on the other side.
I would love to do a split EP with Ceremony, but I think that they have a rule about not doing splits, so I can’t really say. I would do a split with Career Suicide if they were willing...

I have the feeling that the songs on ‘Surrender’ are your most experimental and hard ones yet. Do you see the band evolve more into that direction?
Paint It Black has always been a band that’s evolving in many directions at once. “Surrender” gets into some of the most furious music we’ve ever made. But remember, on the “Amnesia” EP the song that closed the record explores melodic territory that we’ve never explored before.

You went on tour in The Uk for a couple of weeks, why did you decide not to cross the sea and do a couple of shows in Europe as well? Do you have any idea when the band will be back on European soil.
We’re headed to the UK to play 12 shows. We’ve always wanted to do that, and we’ve been talking with Ceremony about it for months. Trying to get around Europe in the short periods of time that we’re available to tour can be really stressful, and we just wanted to focus on having fun with our friends and not dealing with crazy overnight drives. We’re grateful for the opportunities we’ve had to tour Europe, and for the hospitality we’ve received, but this time we’re just keeping it simple.


You guys did a tour with Propagandhi and are now going to do a tour with legends Naked Raygun is touring with such different bands a way for you guys to keep doing shows interesting and also your way to expose Paint It Black ‘fans’ to other bands that you think people should know about.
I know that punks aren’t supposed to have heroes, but I need to say it: both Naked Raygun and Propagandhi are heroes of ours and huge influences for us. Naked Raygun has always inluenced our music, and Propagandhi our politics.

We like to play with a wide variety of bands, instead of only playing with angry hardcore bands all the time. Paint It Black is an unusual band in that we never really fit in anywhere in any simple way, because we play hardcore punk that is both very belligerent and very melodic.

We can tour with Leatherface and Dead to Me one week, Ceremony and Sabretooth Zombie the next, but it all makes sense to us. I’m afraid it confuses people a lot of the time, but its the only way we’re comfortable being a band.

To answer the last part of your question: Naked Raygun is coming to our part of the country for the first time in 20 years! If we can expose people to this band that have never heard them before, that would be a privilege.

How hard is it to maintain both the band and keep your career/work going at the same time. And has there never been a time that you wanted to make Paint It Black a full time band. Or is doing the band the way you are doing it now one of the things that keeps you motivated and interested in doing the band.
Sometimes its really hard to balance the band with work, but the hardest thing to balance is band and family. It definitely takes a toll emotionally and physically. There are times when its really frustrating not to be able to spend more of the year touring, especially when we watch our friends doing it, but several of us have lived the constant touring life too when we were younger, and we’ve seen how much that changes your experience of making music, not always in a positive way. At this point, we’re grateful not to have to rely on our band to pay our rent.

Being around in the nineties, how do you look upon the whole revival of nineties hardcore, what was so good about those days that we seem to have lost right now. Or are things always better looking back and will one day someone also write about the heyday of hardcore 2009?
We’re not really interested in nostalgia. I’m not sure exactly what type of 90’s hardcore is being revived, but I’m afraid that it wouldn’t have anything to do with what we’re interested in.
If by “90’s hardcore” you mean Born Against, Rorschach, Heroin, Assfactor 4, Torches To Rome, or Deadguy than that might be really exciting. If by “90’s hardcore” you mean Outspoken and Chorus of Disapproval, than not so much. I would say that things are pretty good right now from a musical standpoint. The thing I miss the most about the 90’s is that people seemed to have more of a political sensibility.

Reflections Records

The fact that (what I think) one of the best hardcore labels has moved to my hometown Tilburg from Arnhem is awesome. (Though my wallet might think otherwise) So why did Reflections Records moved to Tilburg and what can we expect from the label in the near future? Time for labelboss Johan to fill me in. Now I know Johan for quite a long time. I remember Reflections Magazine being one of the first zines I read, and a major inspiration for me to start a zine myself. Which eventually led to a career in journalism. So let's have a word with the man in charge:

You've participated in some big hardcore festivals in Arnhem. Most Reflections band also played a show there? Can I expect the same thing happening in Tilburg?
That's something we will start working on in the future. Tilburg simply has a better climate for loud music and more opportunities than in Arnhem. The coming months we will try and participate with others to get more promotion for hardcore and punk in Tilburg and have more bands play here.

Besides the label you also have an online shop. Do you think you will become a competitor for recordshops in Tilburg?
The online shop is as important as the label. Still I don't think and don't hope we will be a competitor for recordshops. So far too many recordshops had to stop. As a musicfan and self-employed person I think it's a shame. Besides we are very underground and mostly sell vinyl.
The other side is that lots of recordshop owners complain about mailorders and say that internet has taken away their business. Personally I think that has more to do with illegal downloading.

Is doing a recordlabel still relevant these days?
I think it is and I hope it is. I know there are people who say you don't need recordlabels anymore. But a lot of people forget recordlabels have the network, ways of distribution and promotion to push a band to the next level and get more people into them. Labels can help bands get on tour and in touch with promoters. If a band joins a label like ours they immediately get more attention because we are kind of well known in the hardcorepunk scene.


How do you still manage to sell enough records despite all the illegal downloads?
The only thing you can do is release good records that look good as well. We sell enough records to keep our head above water and make the profit we need to release another record. Fact is that where three, four years ago we were able to sell twothousand cd's from one band, nowadays we often sell less than a thousand. Vinyl sales has increased the past few years and that makes up for a large part. But illegal downloads affects us as a label. That is certain.


Why did you move the label from Arnhem to Tilburg?
For a long time we wanted to get out of Arnhem. With the birth of our son Jules it would be more practical to have the label and mailorder in house once again. Tilburg was a logical choice as Suzanne (Johan's wife) got a new job here.

What can we expect from Reflections in the near future?
Though it is not made official yet we're going to release a record by a new US band called Worship. As well as a 12-inch by Stay Hungry from Sweden, they're over thirty and still all about straight edge. We're working on some new things with our sidelabel Monumentum and of course No Turning Back is still playing all over the world and will release some new stuff this year. We will continue for more years. Especially now with a new office in a new town I'm all inspired to do new things.