2011/12/11

Interview: Asta Kask


 



Asta Kask (From Schizo Fanzine #6, the punk illegal special)

1. Hey Asta Kask, how was your gig at Punk Illegal 2010? My opinion is that is was almost in same class that your gig 1992 at Fryshuset


Dadde: It was a bit stressful since we arrived about 15 minutes before the gig and our backline was in another van that was even more behind the schedule than we. But when we were playing it was just as fun as usual, even though it was a bit chaotic when like 30 punks stormed the stage.

Micke: It was fantastic. Lot of stress before the gig an arrival 15 min. before gig. When our sound engineer started the recorded intro I run to the Toilet for a quick shit. I know that it takes 2 minutes.... Quick drop. When we got up on stage it was like always... fantastic. And the storming punks in the end was like in the 80 s. (Yeah it was just what I thought, I have seen old Asta-videos from the 80's and it remember me of that/ Schizo) This is the second time in 30 years that we did not played RINGALS BRINNER. The people on stage said stop now stop now... I think the crazy punx smashed the scene if we had played that song.

2. What do you think of Punk Illegal in general? Did you watch any bands or visit the camp area?

Dadde: I think it's a great festival and a nobel cause. I think it's a great thing that they do and I'm proud that the punkscene actually do something constructive to help people. I of coursed watched our friends in The Baboon Show, From ashes Rise and saw some songs with Doom and EATER.
I was at the camping and played an acoustic gig with my other band Sju Svåra År around 3 in the morning haha...

3. You belong to the veterans, another band that are veterans are E.A.T.E.R, what do you think of them?

Micke: I have knowned the guys in E.A.T.E.R. for many years. They visit me in the 80´s in "KLOAKENS AAS" even as the early band " IN CHARGE". They recorded their first and classic ep "Doomsday troops" in Kloaken anti studio. What I think about them? Crazy guys... And in these days... even crazier and more fat than before. It was a fun reonion at Punk Illegal... lot of hugs and talking memories.

4. What is the 3 biggest differens when it comes to your old era and this era when it comes to your gigs, the people and the punk in general?

Things are more organized, or rather we are more organized today. We won't do a gig without getting our expenses payed, food, drinks etc... That's the least you can ask for for doing a gig. I guess it all comes down to experience, we are more experienced, the organizors are more experienced, and punks in general are more organized nowadays. But still just as whiny ;)

5. Do you have anything else to say about Punk Illegal or whatever you want, any last comments?

Support them in everyway. If you can organize your own supportgigs! Every penny is needed. Thanks for the interview, see you. Cheers / Dadde

www.astakask.se

2011/12/07

Interview: Power is poison

Here's an update interview with Jobby from Power is poison. I wanted to know
about their new recording and what they will do in the future. This interview will
you not find anywhere else than just here. These exclusive interviews is a reason
to check out this site with a big frequency because I will update pretty often.

(2011.12.07)


















1. So tell me about the new recording are you satisfied?

Yeah really happy with the new songs and sound we got this time.I think we done a good job this time no unwanted noise in the background as we have had in the past and the bass is pretty clear and audible on theses recording .Something we never really got right in the past.

2. I have listen to one of the new tracks which I liked a lot, how many new will it be and what is your plan, what kind of release will it be?


There are a total of 5 new songs for what we hope to release either as a 7'' Vinyl with just us or maybe a split with 3 of the songs and the other two can go on compilations we might be on.Nothing is definite yet but we are easy going on how they get released as long as we like the other band and their attitudes(Anti fascist bands only) as with compilations it need to be something we agree with.Most comps we go on are benefits for various stuff.There's also a possibility we will make this record a benefit for Anti Fascist groups in the UK.But as i say nothing is definite and we are still open for offers/help.

3. Any labels that have been in touch?

Yeah the Pumpkin collective/record label will be helping us for sure.We have worked with them for a few years now by either releasing our records or helping each other with gigs so we are always happy to work with the Pumpkin heads .Good honest people unlike some in the D.I.Y world theses days.We are also in contact with 2 US labels who are interested in releasing our stuff in The US but we are still at the talking point about that and of course due to the world being fucked financially not a lot of labels have the cash to put out stuff at the moment so like other records we put out we are trying to get a few labels interested to split the cost of getting the record pressed..any labels out there wanting to help us out get in touch.

4. Can we expect something new in the music or will it be the traditional Power is poison sound?


No nothing new still the same raging anti -fascist Punk Rock we have become known for.There's not any chance of us jumping on the screamo crust bandwagon.Our music will still be 80's inspired Punk.

5. Tell me about the recording line-up, will you keep that for the future?


Yeah There's been a few line up changes at the moment and on the new record I am playing Guitar and have taking over on Vocal duties we also have our original bassist Gradus back who was with us in the early days and on the first record and a new drummer who goes by the name Smokey Shoplifter as a mate of mine would say he's a right top cat! However this line up is just temporary as I am moving to Scotland and the band will then be based there.I got a few mates lined up and ready for it although we are still looking for a drummer so anyone reading this in the Edinburgh/East Lothian area and wants a bash ...get in touch.

6. And while we talk about the future, what will happen, any gigs or tours? And at last, what do you wish for should happen in 2012? Thank you very much. Take care mate / micke.


Yeah gigs!! Yes we are planning a little tour of the UK next year(2012) with our mates Global Parasite and Dead Subverts.We will also be doing a few local ones in and around Scotland.Really looking forward to it after more than a years break from gigging.With the new line up we will be recording more shit .Hopefully enough for our first proper album.After a string of 7'' vinyl it's a bout time we got our arse's together and done a full length.Gonna be recording that at Pumpkin studios based in Manchester.What would i like for 2012?The usual ...and end of racism and fascism.. because its just wrong.
Thanx for the questions Micke and have a good 2012 mate!
J Jobby
Power Is Poison

Take a look at Power is poison on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/POWER-IS-POISON/121894131162037

2011/12/03

Interview: Glidslem

Here is Glidslem from Sweden, from Schizo #4


















1.Hello, let's start with a introduction of the band, who are you, when did you form the band and have you released anything yet?

We are four girls from Sweden who play in a punk band. The line up consists of; Jonna Vallsater, bass; Linnea Snell, vocals; Ronja Lehtonen, guitar and Malin Gustafsson, drums.
We formed the band in August 2008, from the start we had a guy on drums, but he moved out into the wilderness to drive a tractor instead...Our current drummer joined the band January 2009, after that Glidslem developed, in our opinion, a better sound.
We recorded our very first demo in the summer of 2009, and when funds allow, we are ready to go back into the studio.

2. How would you describe your music, and from wich bands do you get your main influences?


Even if our music is pretty "tra-la-la!", the lyrics are aggressive and anti, and we get our inspiration from our community and whatever we believe is important. We feel we really do have something to say, and we don´t try to live up to some punk cliché. Our greatest sources of inspiration are the Swedish government and Carola ( Swedish so-called music icon...)

3. Glidslem consists of 4 girls, so you are a female band, if you had been 4 guys wouldn't you have been called a male band. Why do you think this is? 


It´s more common for guys to play in a rock band, so let´s assume that´s the reason why. We ourselves find it tiresome; one shouldn´t name a band depending on gender of it´s members. That has nothing to do with music.

4. Why do you think that punk girls often behave like "ordinary" girls, that they move out of the way? Or am I've wrong? I think it seems like the girls are in a minority in the scene, is there an explanation? It's almost like "the hero vs. the whore-syndrome". Are equality just a word?

How do "punk girls" behave compared to "ordinary" girls? We believe that there are no definable rules on how a "punk girl" should behave. The more classic definition is to be yourself, and speaking only from our point of view -- we´re not gonna move out of the way from anyone or anything!!!

5. What is true punk for you? Do you call yourself punx or do you just play punk? That's a tricky question according to what I think punk is about.

Linnea: I´ve never called myself "punk", it doesn´t seem relevant. The punk music and what it consists of, however, has indeed formed me into what I am today, which means not accepting any kind of oppression or fascism.

Malin: People call me  "Cruster", so I guess I am punk...True punk is to not let anybody control you, and not to give a shit about what everybody else says!

Jonna: It´s about being who you are, it´s as simple as that. Fuck the clothes! The punk attitude is not to be found in what you´re wearing. Having said that, I do like the "typical" punk style, but prefer to wear my own mixed outfits.

Ronja: I agree, you have to be yourself. I suppose you could look like hell, but still be the nicest person in the world. I´m not "hard core punk", but definetely punk!

6. If you get one wish each, what would that be? Do you think it's easier for you as girls to reach your goals? I mean, it must be so much more all-boys bands than all-girls bands.


We both find it positive and negative to be a part of a so-called "girlband". You meet people who find an all-girl band cool ( we don´t necessarily agree on the label), but you also meet those who seem sprung right out of the 50s, and don´t believe that a girl is able to hold an instrument, even!
Our goals are to be heard, to try and influence and change people and society. A new punk revolution doesn´t seem like a shitty idea, consisting of a lot of girls that dare to make themselves heard!

7. What's your opinion about Suicide Girls?

Everybody is allowed to make their own choices, we don´t have that strong opinion in the matter. We feel that these girls, however, desperately need to be seen. But, it´s their life!

8. Okay, back to Glidslem, write some lines that you think it's necessary to know about the band? And please, give us some crazy story that have take place.

What´s necessary to know about Glidslem, is that we are four pissed off ladies in our prime; one pill-popping on sick leave; one homeless homo; one permanently poor student and one who works with whoopie cushions! We intend to revolutionize Sweden ( but rather the hole world...) !!!
We have never, EVER, done anything crazy, we would never, EVER, put ourselves in jeopardy, in any way whatsoever!!! We are honerable citizens who attend church every Sunday ( accept Jonna, ´cause she´s gay and won´t be let inside!). We would never, EVER, use nicotin, caffeine, alcohol or any other drug, it´s a sin according to the Reverend ( whom Ronja is having intimate relations with). The only alcohol we´ve ever tasted is the sacramental wine, and you don´t even get a buzz from that. One time, though, Linnea combined too many pills with the sacramental wine, and she was found passed out on the church bench...

The craziest thing about our band is Malin, really -- she suffers from a split personality disorder, unfortunately. On and off she calls herself " Torrghnina" and behaves a bit strangely, and wears ONLY black clothes. We have also found a pentagram(!) on a wall in her home, painted in blood (!!) and an altar with a chopped off goats´ head(!!!)
Otherwise we are rather normal and well adjusted...

9 Write a short report from your area
a) try to involve what kind of unity you have among the girls
b) and a short scene report in general


a). There are, unfortunately, not that many "punk girls" in our community, but in between those that do exist there is some unity, however could be a lot stronger.

b). It used to be better. A few years back several punk gigs occured more frequently, but lately not so much. Our home town is pretty dull, you don´t find that many punk bands around here, at least not the kind we like, it´s more hardcore. So in all, the punk scene sure could grow in our opinion, especially a more varied mixture.

10. And well, let's finish this interview, do you have something to add? Oh, I forgot, tell me about your future?

Thank you very much,  We´d like to transform Sweden; to make a change before our society falls into pieces. We´d like to influence people with our music, let them know how we feel, and be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves. To spread some kind of hope -- without sounding like fucking saints. We may be angry, we may be young, but we feel we do have a grip on the state of this country -- which is HELL! Our first and foremost goal, however, is to make sure that Carola is caught up in a hurricane , and when we are filthy rich we´re gonna donate money for a hair transplant to (our current prime minister) Mr Fredrik Reinfeldt...

www.myspace.com/glidslem
or search for "Glidslem" on Facebook



2011/12/02

Interview: Sir Reg



 







Sir Reg (from Schizo Fanzine #3)

1. Hello SIR REG, please introduce the band, and don't forget SIR REG, who's that?

Hi! SIR REG is a 6 piece Celtic Prog Punk band consisting of Dubliner "Brendan Sheehy" on vocals/guitar and Swedes "Karin Ullvin" on fiddle," Robin Rönnlund" on whistles, mandolin & keyboards, "Erik Ullvin" on drums/vocals, "Juba" on bass & "Jimmie Willefors" on electric guitar. SIR REG is a pet name that Robin had for singer Brendan which just kind of became the name of the band. Weird? Yes indeed!

2. Write some lines about the past, what happen to The Barcrawlers and tell me about the new band The Banshee bones? And what is the main difference between those bands and SIR REG?
The Barcrawlers had toured itself to death and lost a few members along the way. We were more frustrated than anything else, not knowing what direction to take as we'd felt we'd achieved everything we'd set out to achieve as an Irish folk cover band. So eventually we decided it best to end the "fairytale" & move on to new pastures with our own tunes resulting in SIR REG.

As economic times are bad, myself, Karin & new bassist "Juba" decided to create "Banshee Bones" as a cash cow. It's concept is similar to that of The Barcrawlers in that it's an Irish folk covers band but this time instead of being a 5 man band we are 3 plus guest musicians. Makes us a bit more flexible & just three egos to deal with now instead of five, harhar...


3. I think that The Barcrawlers was one of the best irish folk bands among in this very exploited scene. And now is SIR REG one of the best. What do you think is the reason that you succeed all the time? As I said, the scene is really big, wich bands would you put on a top-5 list? And which bands influence you?

Haha, Cheers for that Micke! The Barcrawlers always had an explosive energy which quickly became our strong point. What we lacked in playing skills we definitely made up for in energy! We were lucky to play as many great gigs as we did and gain a loyal following who came to all our shows.

With SIR REG, well we're only in our infancy so we'll just wait & see what happens. We've the same energy as The Barcrawlers anyway which is a good start.

Our top 5 bands in this genre would probably be:

1. The Pogues
2. Horslips
3. Flogging Molly
4. Street Dogs
5. Dropkick Murphys

A lot of bands influence us. We're all into different types of music from punk to classical & I think it's evident in the sound of our new tracks. We've tried to squeeze everyone's influences into what we do and even managed to explore the wonderful world of disco in our track "Golden Days". Seemed like a good idea at the time, haha.

The reaction from folk who've listened to the new stuff has been quite different with some saying we sound like Flogging, The Pogues & Dropkick while others even mention Oasis & King Crimson. We're delighted If people compare us to Flogging or Oasis. Can hardly be a terrible thing. As said, we're only a new band so still have to find our bearings in terms of style & content. Looking forward to what the future brings!

Karin, one of the best fiddleplayers out there
4. Will you just play your own stuff with SIR REG or can we expect any classic covers? What is the plan with the songs you have recorded?
For the time being SIR REG will be an original compositions band only. We've done the covers thing to death over the years and we feel it's about time to have a proper crack at breaking into the Celtic Punk scene with an orginal band. There's a gap in the market here in Sweden for this type of band as our American counterparts Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Street Dogs etc.have been gaining huge fan bases in this part of the world for many years now.
The plan for our recorded songs is to release them digitally over time. We've already released a 6 track mini-album called "This Is SIR REG" which can be purchased on Amazon & hopefully also on Itunes in the coming weeks. We're due to be released on Spotify too.  We'll be putting some new tunes up on our Myspace every fortnight or so & will release the remainder of our tunes depending on the feedback we get, which so far has been really positive.



5. Your really great song Fuck the Celtic tiger have a message, what is the Celtic tiger and what's your opinion?

The Celtic Tiger is the Asian style tiger economy Ireland enjoyed from around the end of the 90's up until a year or so ago. Ireland's economy became one of the strongest in the world and all of a sudden Irish people found themselves wealthy. When the bubble burst, mass unemployment reared it's ugly head & many people who had enjoyed the economy's generous rewards were now forced to sell their houses & cars and settle for a wage from the dole. For the first time since the 80s, emigration among young people rose with many heading off in the search of a better life. The song itself deals with those issues and the hope for a better life abroad for a young Irish man.

6. Here's an obvious question. Tell me about your first whistle player that you had in The Barcrawlers?

Haha, great question! The great "Schizo Fanzine" founder Micke Ström himself was indeed our first whistler!  We enjoyed many a great gig in the presence of Micke who could drink any man, woman or horse under the table aswell as playing a great whistle. Fantastic memories!

7. Since you are such a great band but maybe a bit after the culmination. what will you do to tell the world that you exist? Because I still think that you're not just a band among all others. But whats your future plans and whats your future dreams and goals?


We'll use our Myspace at first to gain contacts and see where it goes from there. Our Myspace has been up a little under a weeks now & already we've been contacted by American radio stations who've been interested in playing our stuff. Suppose a few interviews like this help spread the word also! ;)

Our plan is to write quality songs and get out and perform them as much as possible, hopefully getting to support the bigger Celtic bands when they come to Sweden. That'd be a great opportunity to get our message out to the fans of this genre. We're new at all this so will take every day as it comes & hopefully we'll be in the right situation at the right time and things will take off for us. We're dedicated 100% to making things happen anyway!

8. Can we decide over a pint that SIR REG wont be too influenced by the plasticpaddy(boston)(american)irish scene?


We can decide over a couple of pints If you're paying! ;)
Is impossible to say we won't sound similar as we use electric guitars & trad instruments but, we'll do our best to define our own sound. We've got a mellotron fetish which can only be a good thing..erm...yeah.

All Celtic punk bands have at some time been labelled as copying The Pogues. And now years later bands are said to be copying Flogging Molly or Dropkick. Maybe in the future bands will be accused of copying SIR REG, who knows?  As long as the scene continues to pump out great music it will thrive and win new fans all the time. At least we've a real Irishman in our band! haha..

9. Okey, let's finish this interview, feel free to write what you want.

Thanks for giving us a chance to do this interview. Hopefully If/when things take off for us we'll give you a more interesting interview!
Check out the Myspace & drive your neighbours mad with our tunes!
All the best!/Bren from SIR REG.

Take a look at their www...
http://www.sirreg.se