Saturday 30 January 2010

NONSENSE interview


here we go..this is the interview with Nonsense, band from Požega(Croatia).. this is something that I listen constantly over and over again in last few weeks.. big respect goes to Kktz who answered this my questions immediately as I send them to him..thanks on that.. I wait some other bands for few months to answer the questions.. BTW this is first interview with them since they started to play again.. okay view is quite informative so enjoy in it!..



c.f.: for the beginning, who/what is Nonsense?
kktz: hi, nonsense is underground band that Chucha, Gera, and me, kktz, started somewhere in '93 i think. at first we played improvised noisecore, soon including more structured grind tracks. after Chucha left for then obligatory army service, Gera and me recorded an diy demo in '94 called «Always Against», with more of hardcore crust punk influence too. After few gigs band split and Gera and me continued with playing in other bands, etc... in 2008 we returned as Nonsense.

c.f.: from where you get idea to act in two different line ups? how this works?
kktz: well, after Gera and me discussed playing again as Nonsense, it took some time to actually start with it because of our job and family responsibilities, etc... in meanwhile our friend Janez in Belgrade really liked the idea of bringing Nonsense back, and he was really enthusiastic about that. so i asked him if he wants to record some chaotic noisecore with me, and we did it. it was short of return to anti-musical roots of Nonsense. then me and Gera finally started to play together, also asked our old friend Dena to join us on drums. Gera stayed on guitar and i was on vocals only. Still without bass guitarist like in 90's. but with this line up we decided to try something a bit different than before, so we started to play fast old fashioned hardcore punk. in that line up we recorded one hardcore thrash demo. in  '09 we finally got bass guitarist in a band, a young punk rocker Mata. Right now we are working on music for new recordings in hardcore punk thrash style, so that's it, everything goes fine.

c.f.: you wasn't active for almost a decade (with Nonsense, I know that you have played in some other bands), what was happening with you in that period? has it many things changed since then?
kktz: it was more than 10 years, but we played in other bands like Senseless (Dena and me), Bad Justice / Nepravda (Gera), Fight Back (Gera, Dena and me), etc, etc... i also played in old Dislike line up, with Gera, Dena, and Smole, than Filip came instead me and they moved in more technical direction, so you see, it's some sort of family. back in first half on 90's we had a lot more time, with more of let's say wild life, and now, we have jobs, responsibilities, you know, life goes, it's not the same, but we still like to play together when possible. Gera has wife and kid, his wife Lidija was with him in Bad Justice, too. at some point because of my job in road building i had to quit all bands and was active only with my electro/noise project Gruuthaagy. lately i am not working outside of our region, so it was possible to start a band again.

c.f.: almost all your stuffs was released by d.i.y. labels from abroad.. how it comes to cooperation with this foreign labels?
kktz: back in 90's i was really into tape trading so i have sent a lot copies of our demo tape all around the globe, and good old underground network spread it even more. we ended up on one compilation 7'' EP released in Belgium with many grindcore bands of that time, all with short tracks, so it was all around too, we kinda made some name in diy underground circles. so when we returned and made it public via internet, some good people into old fashioned grind/noise/punk worldwide made a nice welcome job helping us with new underground releases. big thanx goes to Intestine Stew Tapes in Canada, Sludgesicle records in US, SaOrS in Greece, and especially BOG records in Belgium. BOG records released first full Nonsense 7'' EP called «Crna Statistika 1994 + 2008», including best of '94 grind/punk on side A, and two new noisecore demos on side B. any label interested to put our hardcore thrash punk stuff on vinyl too feel free to hit us.

c.f.: i know that you were active in bunch of other projects, bands, zines in the past.. what does the members of Nonsense doing besides the band?
 kktz: yeah, i used to be into zinemaking since second half of 80's till first half of 00's, zines like Udarac Drito, Schmutzig, Crni Humor, Fecal Forces Zeen, etc... unfortunately no time nor money for that anymore. still working on few one men projects musically, and all other Nonsense members are in other bands too. Gera and Dena are also playing in punk rock band No Name, and they are still grinding with Dislike, Dena is also in melodic hardcore band Loš Primjer, Mata played in hardcore punk band Anti Talents and he is in punk / oi! band Ljena Đubrad,  i may forget something, but you got the picture.

c.f.: you rarely play live..what is reason for that? does people call you at the gigs?
kktz: we don't have touring plans, that and our jobs and responsibilities just don't go together neither we can afford to lose money. after we started to work again we only played two local shows here in Požega, and we really didn't tried much more than that. but it is possible that we will play from time to time some show around here, not just Požega, as some friends and people already asked it. if possible we will play live, as we really like it, but don't expect too much gigs.

cf.: in your noise  is strong feel of ex yu hardcore '80s and '90s influence, but unfortunately today there aren't many bands sounding like that.. what do you think why is that so and which are your favorite bands of those which are active today (not only from Balkans, but worldwide)?  .
kktz: you know, trends change, new styles come, etc... it's all natural. there is also some sort of revival for old school hardcore worldwide, but we really try to be rooted in origins of former Yugoslavian hardcore approach, as we too feel that it is something that is missing today. and after all that's what we really know, we have our own identity, so why not taking inspiration from that. as band members, we all have our own taste in music, Gera likes old school thrash / death / crust, Dena is into grindcore but also more melodic stuff, Mata is into old punk, oi!, etc... i like noisy and fast hardcore, some old school metal, industrial and other darker stuff, but we are all in this band together for a reason, and that's that we all really like that old former Yugoslavian sound. each member has it's own favorites, well, we all like Damir Avdić especially for his lyrics, more individually or as friends, Atentat Na Sluh, Motherpig, Atomski Rat, True, are some bands that we can mention. i am not sure if we have any todays worldwide bands that we all like equally as band, it's very individual, so we just respect that.

c.f.: most of your things in this new hard core thrash line up are covers from some older bands.. what are plans for the future? can we expect some new songs?
kktz: you are right. we play like 3 types of songs; 1) some old Nonsense songs in a bit different way, 2) old songs that we have made in our other bands and that we think are fitting to Nonsense as well, sometimes a bit changed too, 3) cover songs by other bands, mainly former Yugoslavian stuff from 80's. We play covers because we want some great old songs to live again, not to be forgotten, and to show our respect for such music. we will continue to do so, our new material comes from all 3 types, but we also have some brand new songs and they are quite unique i think, taking all that influences and adding something of our own. musically we may be a bit more open for different sounds to present what we lyrically try to picture too, and it's harsh and dark side of life at Balkans, without any preaching, just presenting it as it really is, through our own way of playing.

c.f.: Požega was allways cradle of the crust punk and all other kinds of bands? how is today situation?
kktz: there was lots of diy hardcore/punk/metal/noise stuff here, that's true. i mentioned most of today's bands that are connected to us. something is always happening. it's nothing big, but for such small town it's good. there should be released a compilation with bands from Požega that have been playing and managed to get something recorded in all this years, many that i didn't mentioned here, some before us, starting with late 70's, so it may be a nice document. now we have some local pub where occasionally some gigs happen too, and where most of us hang around as punxs are working there. Studio Depth is here too, i guess that's it.

c.f.: what is your opinion about free downloading music from the net and about internet in generaly? do you considere internet like advantage of todays d.i.y. bands or you're more for good old "hand to hand" and ordinary post things?
kktz: we don't have as much time as we have had, also postage costs are too expensive at here, so you can guess, we have nothing against what came with internet when it's about practical aspects. still, there was something really great about the old way and new generations may not experience it if we let it all die, so some balance between the two is probably the best.

c.f.: you pointing up that you aren't politically correct band.. what is reason for that, years of experience or something else?
kktz: I already mentioned what we try to picture with our music and lyrics, but we are not here to judge all, sometimes negativity in our music speaks for itself. so yes, it comes from our life experiences, things are not always that simple as any ideology wants it to be. we have our own attitude as band and we are not trying to fit into any scene as way of thinking. we also use irony in our work, 'cause after all, it's just a band.

c.f.: future plans with the band, releases, gigs, etc..? 
kktz: to record our hardcore stuff in this new line up, than we will see what way to have it released. some gigs are discussed too, not on hurry for anything, just naturally progressing i think, hope it will stay that way.

c.f.: for the end, if i wasn't ask something and you would like to add + message to readers..
kktz: I think this was quite informative, thank you for interview and we just have to say hello to all our friends. nothing more to say,  we are at www.myspace.com/nonsensefuckingnonsense

Saturday 23 January 2010

S.P.K.

S.P.K. was another band from Croatia (Split) active in late '90.. they existed from September of 1996.. their music was anarcho punk with influences from various genres like hc, ska, crust etc.. they had two vocals..



line up was: Skenda-vocals, Tudor-guitar and vocals, Čop-bass guitar and Veljko-drums.. some band members was editing fanzines "Sharp attack" and "Remain" and played in some other bands too, like Dark Aura, Kilo Kruva, Bell Peace Noise, Dogprint, etc..

the name S.P.K. has many meanings but originally was Svi Panduri Kopilad (A.C.A.B. on Croatian).. their lyrics was mostly on Croatian, but also some were on English too, and they was about problems that surrounds them at that time, war profiters, against racism, about scene, etc..
in 1998 their 1st demo was released on split tape with Demant (about them I wrote something before).. they have planed to release some live recordings after that but I don't know if they are.. I also don't know exactly when they stopped with playing..if anybody knows leave a comment..
anyhow they were one more great band from here active in '90 when the scene was at its top.. at least when it is about my music taste..

you can read an interesting interview with them HERE

FIGHT BACK




Fight Back formed in 1997 in Pozega, Croatia, and recorded their first demo in 1999. The line up on that demo was Neno - drums, Bjeki - bass, Kktz - guitar, Dena - vocals, and Nani - Vocals. The same demo appeared on the "Crust Is Dead!" 4 way split tape with Dislike, Starvation, and Apatridi. Soon, Fight Back had some line up changes: Neno - drums, Bjeki - bass, Gera - guitar, Kktz - vocals, and Nani - vocals, and their musical direction changed from crust punk to raw hardcore.
Their second demo was recorded in 2003 and appeared on "Teror Slobode", a 4-way split tape with Nepravda, Pandemija, and Deep Cunt. The Fight Back live recording from "Everything Is Disco", a hc/punk festival in Labin, is from the same year. This live recording appeared on a split CDR with Antitalents. In 2007, the Fight Back rehearsal tape was recorded, and after line-up problems, Fight Back split-up.
Mamma records in Serbia released Fight Back "Sva Vlast Narodu" collection CDr + booklet. All recordings are also recently released as collection tape on Doomed To Extinction records in the USA.
Fight Back presented anti-authoritarian hardcore punk with more of the working class perspective, all heavily rooted in the DIY
underground. Fight Back members played in other bands as Antitude, Bad Justice, Apatridi, Sprovod, Senseless, Nepravda, T.R.B.U.H., Soter, etc, and still are playing in todays bands as Dislike, No Name, Nonsense, Los Primjer, Ljubisa Samardzic, Cherkezi United, etc...

discography:  -1st demo on 4-way split tape ...Crust is dead!!!  (1999)
                      -2nd demo on 4-way split tape Teror slobode   (2003)
                      -live recordings on split CD with Anti talents   (2007)
                      -discography CD Sva vlast narodu (download)






  

 








lyrics (click on the picture for larger size)

fan myspace page

Friday 15 January 2010

NAUSEA



 I think that there's no need to say anything for the introduction about this one.. when I found this on their web page i could not resist to post it here, so enjoy the reading of this interesting and extensive story about this legends!..

The 1980’s were a tense time in America, Ronald Reagan was president, nuclear war was on everyone’s mind and racism was running rampant in the suburbs and the big city streets. The music was overshadowed with the then “new” MTV, cheese metal and complete apathy. The youth in America were consumed with total bullshit and were consuming all the appropriate products of bullshit. The Lower East Side of New York City was still a ghetto of some sorts, providing a home for struggling artists, musicians, activists, squatters, junkies and the generally poor Latino, African-American and Ukrainian community that had already existed there. Here, the backdrop of our story begins.
Angst-ridden and young, the Punk/Hardcore music scene at that time was the perfect home for my attitudes and beliefs. Decked out with spiked hair, a studded jacket and combat boots and listening to equal parts of Discharge, Black Sabbath, Crass and the Amebix, music was the only real release I knew. There was so much to say and so much music to play! Living in squats and on people’s couches, dozens of ideas raced through my head about getting some kind of music (or lack of) project together. I sort of played bass at the time and had been jamming out in basements and 8 dollars an hour studios with a drummer from Virginia named Brian Patton. Brian was not as obsessed with punk rock as I was and sort of just filled the void for the time being. Did I mention that Brian was the great-grandson of General Patton? No bullshit!
Months later while sitting on a stoop on St. Marks Place (when you still could!) drinking beer and killing endless time, we met a sarcastic English punk rocker named Neil. After talking over drinks about music, politics and whatever, he expressed a lot of interest in checking out our music. We didn’t have a singer/shouter, guitarist or a band name at that point so we asked him if he’d be at all interested. Saying yes, we were blown away. It didn’t matter if he could sing or not, because we could care less at the time. We just wanted something to begin with. We needed an outlet, desperately! I must be honest, the first few rehearsals were at best….horrendous and we also had no guitar player. You must understand that in 1985, in NYC, there were a lot of punks, but not really any punk bands! Strange. We needed someone who could play guitar well and whip us into shape. Enter Victor…
Known at the time as Vic Venom (he got that name from the “Venom” pentagram painted on the back of his leather jacket), we already knew him and knew he was an amazing guitarist. Vic was actually playing bass in Reagan Youth (Dave Insurgent-R.I.P.) when we were hanging out with him and before that, was also the guitarist for New York’s Sacrilege (whom I loved) and Hellbent. The later two bands both fused punk and metal, which at the time was a no-no! Vic loved a lot of the same music we did and shared many of the same political views. Vic was our perfect candidate. With Vic, we made our sound happen, but soon after that Brian left. As I said before, Brian wasn’t really that into the “punk scene” so when we got serious, he got packing.
Crass (UK), a super-influential, passionately political punk band from the very late 70’s and early 80’s, had a major impact on us. Though their music was not as heavy as ours, their message was very similar (anti-war, animal rights, pro-feminism, anti-racism and class war anarchy). They had two vocalists of the “opposite” sex, so I thought it would add an extra dimension to our fast and heavy sound if we did the same.
Amy was already a friend and was totally into the same stuff we were, but she was tougher than all of us! I really didn’t know what the hell she would say when Vic and myself approached her about the band, but she was into it. Adding a new side to our sound and an amazing presence, Amy just rocked !

Now armed with two “singers” and a new drummer Pablo Jacobson, we gigged all over the East Village and the Tri-state area with bands like Agnostic Front, the Bad Brains, Prong, Ludichrist, Leeway, Reagan Youth, APPLE and Absolution. There was a Hardcore scene that was huge, but there really wasn’t a punk rock scene with a lot of bands of our genre. Our good friend and roadie at the time, Ralphy Boy solved that problem! Starting “Squat or Rot”, his very own DIY record label and punk concert promotions. Squat or Rot was a small organization that put out a few very cool punk compilation 7” records and put on (sometimes huge!) punk concerts, festivals and punk picnics. These events took place at various squats, clubs, vacant lots and parks. Very shortly after that, the punk community blossomed like you wouldn’t believe! Bands and kids just suddenly sprouted out of nowhere (Long Island and New Jersey, I believe!). This time was 1988 and the turmoil on the streets were “gentrification” and the very ill and very publicized,” Tompkins Square Riots.” The riots were on the news worldwide and showed riot cops, with their badge numbers covered with tape, beating the crap out of punks and innocent bystanders alike. For that short period of time, the neighborhood had UNITY! Something that was usually only dreamed of here.
After a few years and many beers, we parted ways with Neil. Neil went on to form his other groups, “Jesus Crust” (with Ralphy) and “Final Warning”. He also started his own punk/crust record label, “Tribal War Records”. A band called “Misery” from Minneapolis had played the Squat or Rot shows during the summer of the riot. We quickly became friends with them and their vocalist Al and hung out with them constantly that summer. We kept in good contact with them, so when Neil was gone, Al quickly relocated to NYC and joined us. Pablo had been long gone and Jimmy Williams (another drummer and also vocalist for NY’s Maximum Penalty) had just left, so now we had a brand new singer and no drummer
During our trips to Philadelphia and Allentown we met this very friendly drummer with a tall Mohawk named Roy Mayorga. We called him “Roy Boy”. He was a friend and fan so when word was out that we were drummerless, a friend gave Roy a call. Immediately Roy filled the gap and brought our sound to dynamic new levels of intensity and heaviness. Finally we found someone who could share in the song writing duties, along with me and Victor. With this final lineup, we rehearsed hard and developed a sound that was now equal parts: Discharge, Crass, Black Sabbath, Slayer and Pink Floyd (does that make sense? Yes it did!).
Friend and “Profane Existence”, label and fanzine founder, Dan Siskind put out the Nausea record in 1990 on vinyl, titled “Extinction” (which included a gatefold sleeve, lyric poster, “crane-reaper” poster and patch!!!). The record was also released in Europe, through “Meantime Records (UK)”. Profane Existence was a DIY political punk label who also put out an outwardly political ‘zine with a lot of commentary and “punk/grind/crust” band interviews. To coincide with the record release, we embarked on a month long European tour. The tour was a success and we got to headline with many amazing European bands and also open for the legendary, “D.O.A.” The album was doing very well too and to this day, remains the number one selling album from Profane.
In Europe, the atmosphere was extremely political (especially in Berlin during May Day!), so we felt unity and friendship right away from all the local punk/hardcore community. The interviews we did were filled with intense questions on our political stance, that at times, I was even left speechless. The shows we played over seas were packed and were sometimes held in these grand marble buildings they called “squats’!!! Boy, did NYC have a lot to learn! We had the opportunity to play concerts in all the usual countries like Holland, Germany, Austria, Norway, Denmark and also the Eastern parts of Europe like Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary.
During 1990 and 1991, we recorded the ultra-heavy, super-dirgey, “Cybergod” single on Allied Records, did numerous compilation tracks for Maximum Rock and Roll, Allied, and Vermiform and did a great tour of the west coast with a, great band from O.C. , California called Glycine Max. The both of us had the chance to play with so many bands we loved at the time like Neurosis, Final Conflict, Mindrot, and Asbestos Death. We then went on our second European tour for over two months and played incredibly packed gigs. We even did a couple of shows in Poland and Germany with our friends from New York, the Radicts! On that trip, we brought Dan Siskind, our tour promoter, and Jim Martin (roadie extraordinaire, former singer for Connecticut’s Malachi Crunch and now current vocalist for Broken). With them and the five of us in a single extended van, packed with equipment, you can imagine the vibe to be both fun and very tense! Sacrificing the final leg of the tour, we missed out on playing Barcelona, England, Ireland and Scotland (the UK part of the tour was with bands that we were obsessed with like Antisect, Oi Polloi, Extreme Noise Terror and Zygote!).
Upon our return, we recorded the “Lie Cycle” 7”single on Al’s “Graven Image Records” label and soon disbanded after that. Things usually end up that way, no matter how well you’ve gotten along in the past. Four of us even lived together for a short time!
But left behind is a small legacy of bands covering our songs on their records, countless t-shirt bootlegs and live CD bootlegs we have encountered. It still feels incredible knowing the impact and influence we’ve had on bands, fans and thinking in general. Even though we knew we were definitely entertainers (well we obviously knew no one would hear our message if we sucked!), our mission as punk activists were passionate and sincere.
The Struggle will always Continue!
                                                                                                                 John John Jesse

source: http://www.nauseapunk.net/

INTOXICATE


 intoxicate was crust band from Samobor (Croatia), active in late '90.. one of my favorite bands from Croatia of all time.. line up was Darko - vox, Oski - vox, Ploc - bass, Fabo - guitar and Kovač - drums..


 in 1998 they recorded their first and only one demo which was released in cooperation with DHP AK-47 records and Humanita Nova records, on split tape with Radikalna Promjena (also very good and well known band at that time)..

in 2006 diy label Twisted Juice releases their, sort of, discography CD "Toxic Years" with old but also some unpublished songs..

here are few lines about them from their my space page:
Intoxicate is classic crust band with rust and filthy sound. Alcohol, glue and hash, was our inspiration. In the late 90's we emerged as one of rare bands in this part of world with raw, rusty, three-chord screaming punk which later influenced some bands around here. Although we where nothing special and we didn't play well, we where well accepted on concerts. We liked what we were doing and were not in it just for being cool. We drank and played the best way we could. Such non-professional and decadent approach probably resulted with band to stop playing. Working and rehearsing with band“Grob“ resulted in forming of J.W.Pozoj
 



today some members are active in bands True and J.W. Pozoj, so check them up, too..

you can download their split with R.P. and discography CD from Nečista Savjest blog HERE


their my space page HERE