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INTERVIEWS

#4 Third World zine, January 2001

1. When did you start to play, line-up…influences?
We started at the end of the autumn `97. First we really didn't have the style organized, we were just banging on the instruments hoping something will come out of it. Slowly we were learning more about hardcore/punk movement and we gained our own music preferences and influences. The line-up hasn't changed in these almost four years of the bands existence. Line-up is Ivo, playing bass guitar, Radovan, playing guitar, David, our drummer and me, Dean, I sing. So about our influences. We don`t want to sound like somebody, like million bands before and we try to do our own music. We all listen to a lot of different music it is just we, four people, playing music we like. If somebody else likes it then it is like thanks to us, to our music and our emotions and our ideas.

2. Your releases till now and who released that?
We have a demo cassette out but I don`t know if you can still get it. But there are songs from it on our full length. We released it, independently. We recorded it at our friends home made studio. We were/are satisfied with it and I think it is good for our first release. Then we have a 4-way split CD out including (besides us) Entreat (great emometal hardcore), Man in the Shadow (brilliant political emo hardcore, RIP) and StraightForward (melodic oldschool hardcore). This was released by Choose Life records, by Miran. And now we have a full length out called Act…Revolt…Live, which also includes songs from the demo. It was released by ChooseLife recs.

3. Are you active in any other band, too?
Me and our drummer also play in an emocore band called UpJohn, Ivo and Radovan play in an emo-metal/hc band called Elodea and I also play in a new band called Cycle of illusions (metalcore).

4. What do you think about the globality of Europe; there are so many people against that.
I don`t know. This is again just an easier way of controlling people and sucking even more money out of them. Speaking for myself I am totally against the nation states and their involvement in the peoples lives. European union is a fine good example of this kind of control. We are acting like America by creating this mainstream way of living. One in the control others must bend and live like sheep. You can see that now. The prices are getting higher, not everybody can keep this tempo of raising the cost of everything. The prices are getting bigger but nobody cares that this will create more differences between people; one will get richer on the expense of the other. We will become Americanized. And there is little we can do against that. Unfortunately people still believe that we will be better off.

5. There are a lot of zines which think that the interviews are only important, they don` t give a fuck about columns, your thinking.
In zines I prefer personal politics like columns, essays and more personality. If somebody wants to do only interviews and reviews it is ok with me. It is his/her zine and if you like that then it's ok. But in zines I don`t like ads. Hardcore is not about selling the hottest band. It's about changing something within yourself or changing something you don`t think it is good for you or others. And also the record reviews. There must be thousands of excellent bands but because somebody in the review says that some of them suck then they will not a chance to say what they want to say. About interviews I read them only when they are done with a person (not a band) and have intelligent and thoughtful questions. But it is a person's choice and I respect that.

6. Everywhere in world are men (politics, music), where are women rights, your thinking....
This we could speak for hours. Things are getting better because women are getting some respect for their efforts and there are some women that are successful in politics and other areas too. But sexism is still so easy to find everywhere. Even in the hc/punk community. You can still see it in the world outside too. Advertising products with beautiful women and picturing them only as sex objects. But it is again a woman's choice whatever she wants to do. But forcing them into being a sexual object that is created only for men's sexual desires that is oppression against women. We still live in the male thinking society and that sucks big time. But I quote a guy from a zine that said:" Women liberation is human liberation."

7. Ozone hole is getting bigger and bigger and it seems that governments of states don`t give a fuck. They only think how to make money, they don`t think about next generations.
The fact is that we all know that some things are getting serious day by day like ozone hole. But the saddest fact that we really don`t care. All the people want is themselves and more and more money. There are people that took some action about it but they are seen as terrorists and murderers by the media. So the people don`t have a slightest chance to know the truth about them. It is really fucked up. We should be also thinking about the future generations like you said. Where are my children going to live? It is a hard fact that this is really happening. So sad…

8. When you look at the life you spent in a band, hc/punk for about 20 years, do you think you will be ashamed of it?
I am not exactly sure I understood this question. If you are asking if I will be ashamed of HC/punk in the next 20 years I don`t know. There are too many ways that hc/punk took over in these 25 years of existence that it could be drastically changed in the next 20 years. I really don`t know. Sometimes I am ashamed of hardcore now like it is today. But maybe hardcore will be different in the positive way and it will gain more positive influences from the people involved in it. Maybe.

9. Your thinking about films and their influences on kids. Again a debatable situation. If you are asking me about violence in the films yes I think they have a drastic influence on children. Especially (again) American movies. Hollywood found out that violent movies sell the best and nobody cares about the consequences. There are films that come out of there and they are good but the majority is not so good. Unfortunately. Hollywood could do better with all their money and actors but they don`t really give a fuck. And then you have kids running around with guns, beating each other and so on. Pornography for example. Again if it is her/his choice then it is ok with me. But sexual exploitation is what shouldn't be tolerated, because showing women only as men's sexual objects is fucking sexist. Oppression shouldn`t be tolerated and sexual exploitation spoken against and combated.

10. What does the band mean to you?
Not only the band, also hc/punk is a life to me. Not just lifestyle but life itself. I cannot think about what would be like if I hadn't have bands and hardcore/punk. This is a way of thinking and it is so much connected with life itself that it is life itself. In the band we are all friends, we all know each other very well and it is like having another family every time we have a show or when we practice. I love being in a band and I love hc/punk counter culture.

11. Are there any chances for you to visit & play in Yugoslavia?
About visiting I had already two chances and I am so sorry that I didn`t go. My friend has entire family in Beograd and he was there when his cousin got married (he was devir, I hope I pronounced it right) and he went again for this New Year. I really want to go there because we are like brothers and sisters. We were living together for so many years and nothing can erase those memories or crush the bonds that keep us together. I hope we are going to play there very soon. We just have to get us some tour dates and some places where we could play and we will see each other then. I can hardly wait.

12. Tell me something about labels in Slovenija, I only know about Choose Life recs, are there any others?
Ivo: Yeah, Choose Life rec. seems to be the most well known Slovenian label and I think it's not hard to figure out why. Miran who runs this label is really active and he knows what he is doing. Sometimes, even I have some problems with remembering other Slovenian labels on my mind because we have just a few labels really. Why? Because we don't have much HC bands over here and the second reason is probably the small size of our country. A while ago there was a label from Maribor called Jay-Walk rec. but they haven't been that active lately and I can't even remember when they released their last release. Then we have a young label in Nova Gorica called When the day comes rec., which is run by Valter (Entreat. bass player). Valter told me that he has some plans and the first one is going to be Curse of instinct (screamy metal/hc with some shield influences) CD. I think there are some other crust/grind labels in Slovenia but I'm not that much acquainted with them. Oh yes, and also I have some dreams to start a label with the same name like my distribution - Xstorm insideX.

13. Plans for the future?
Hmm…in February we are going on 10 days tour in Europe with our brothers Entreat. When we come back we are going to hit the studio again and record 3 new songs, which will appear on another 4-way split CD with Straightforward and two Dutch bands. CD will be put out by Out of step records from Netherlands. We were asked also by a French guy who wants to put ten minutes of our music on a compilation CD with political old school sounding bands and by a Serbian band Pressing who wants to do a split 7'' with us. But these information are so unreliable that it would be better to say nothing for now. We will see with time.

I think it is enough, thanx.

Thanx for the interview it was really good. Now I have to say something for the end right? Well now enjoy living in Yugoslavia and good luck with your zine.