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Dwarves

Rock legends The Dwarves have always been one of those bands that should be playing at Groezrock but never made it. Up until this year’s edition where gentleman Blag Dahlia and his merry band finally made it to Groezrock to show the kids some real punkrock. So we at RMP Magazine grasped this opportunity to have a chat with the rock legends that are The Dwarves and what a chat it was. Chaotic and fun, just like the band and its members. Find out more about The Dwarves below!

 

  1. Welcome to Belgium, first time at Groezrock.

Blag : Very first time at Groez…

Marc : We've been to Belgium

Blag : Pukkelpop, wasn't that Belgium too?

Marc : Oh yeah. And Graspop Metal Meeting, that was a good one.

Blag : We hold hands with Belgium

Marc : You got fucking cool waffles, you don't eat them with syrup?

 

  1. Today you played the main stage, a big stage with barriers and so. How do you feel on that?

Blag : I wounded up jumping into the crowd while Rex Everything was singing. So I got a little crowd interaction. I like it when the crowd is more close-on. I don't like the barrier. I just like to get out there. So then I can grab a titty or an ass, you know.

Marc : So you're a groper?

Blag : I'm a groper!

 

  1. Today's performance is part of a European tour featuring the Russian undercover KGB spies The Svetlanas.

Marc : Svetlanas are awesome, they are from mother Russia

Blag : She busted her leg last night, very tough.

Marc : Last night she dislocated her knee, still played the show. They’re fantastic.

 

  1. The Dwarves are all about primal drives. Sex, drugs and rock 'n’ roll. You almost stand out as the last bastion of feral punk energy.

Blag : What do you mean almost. We are the last real punk band. Nick Oliveri's penis is larger than all of the other punk bands combined.

 

  1. When did punk rock become so safe?

Blag : They didn't ask me, everyone is like chicken shit now. What happened Marc, you remember punk?

Marc : When we were young, you went to shows, you learned how to play, you wrote a fucking good song. Nowadays it's like “Hey that guy has got cool tattoos and big earlobe things, let's just form a band!” I don't want to be a dick but there are bands like that. It just used to be, you learned how to play and wrote a song went on the road for years, now it's like “Ifound four other guys with tattoos and earlobes stretched” and you got a band.

Blag : Even so, even with your earlobes stretched. They have to want to fuck and get loaded. I don't care if they are just fashion fags and they suck. That's fine, I understand that. But if they are not searching for vagina or penis, equal opportunity, fag bands are good by us, we go both ways. Musically.

Marc : Nick said he played a good vegan festival, pretty rock 'n’ roll, shitty food.

Nick : Food wasn't that good . Food that tastes like Styrofoam. Not so good…

 

  1. Another thing that seems to be missing in punk and music in general today is humour. What is your opinion on this?

Marc : Punk rock is just fashion, you've got a lot of cool tattoos and your ears are stretched. And now you've got the big fucking beard.

Blag : The emo beard, those are kind of funny. Because people get food stuck in them so that's kind of humorous. But it's unintentional.

Nick : I hear this band is changing their name to The Hewhocannotbenamedes… (pointing at Masked Intruder)

Blag : Masked Intruder are biting our Hewhocannotbenamed style. Can you believe that? I love those guys.

 

  1. I didn't see Hewhocannotbenamed on stage today.

Blag : He's here actually, I just saw him. He's very unpredictable; you never know what he is going to do. He transcends life and death.

 

  1. Your website was hacked recently by Jihadi associates. How weird was that, a rock band getting hacked as a sort of political act?

Blag : We can't make this shit up. Our website got hacked by Tunisian fundamentalists, the little fucks. I think the problem is we have lot of tits and ass on our site and that made them upset. Because Islamic jihadists don't have genitals, they are born without genitals…

Marc : I'm working on a new magazine it's called Burka babes. It's going to be a hot girl wearing aburka just showing the ankle. But we're going to show more ankle than anybody. Look for it, Burka Babes.

Nick : Ankles and eyes baby! Burka Babes!

Blag : We're like the Charlie Hebdo of rock. Every city that has a kebab shop we're worried they will be cutting our heads off.

Marc : It's a religion of peace, if you don't believe me I'll cut your head off.

 

  1. You once wrote a song for George Bush’s campaign. If you were to do so today, who would it be addressed to?

Blag : Rex Everything wrote the song “River City Rapist”for Bush, it was at the Texas time.

Nick : It's actually Jorge Bush! A different Bush for a different time…

Marc : Now we have a new Bush coming on, it's happening all again.

Blag : We could write a Hillary Clinton song called “There Better Be Women”.

 

  1. You had to cancel the Hannover show, but played the Netherlands instead? What happened?

Blag : At the last minute those Speedfest guys said we'll give you a bunch of drugs and money and you can fuck our Netherland women. Or you can drive all the way to Hannover. We don't care about people so we played the Netherlands show. We took the money and vagina.

I do want to say this to the people of Hannover, We love you and we shall return. We beg your forgiveness. That club Bei Chez Heinz, very cool guys, they were great and we'll going to go back. If they'll have us, if they won't, then fuck them. We did it for the money, we're The Dwarves. We like money and vagina.

 

  1. You also released an EP on Fat Wreck Chords and two weeks ago another EP for Records Store Day. How did this come by?

Blag : That record was on Burger, a cool garage label from Orange County. Those guys are great and they do all our reissues on CD and shit like that. They did the single “Sluts Of The U.S.A.”, “Fun To Try”, great kind of poppy garage single.And on Fat Wreck Chords we did like a hardcore single with pop punk. Kind of Rex Everything's song stuck in the void. That one has my dick on it, butt naked. If you like to look at penis as well as vagina you got everything on that single on Fat Wreck Chords.

 

  1. Any last words or plans you'd like to share?

Marc :We love Belgium, we like Groezrock.

Blag : The Dwarves are rock legends, the greatest rock 'n’ roll band of all time!

 

– David Marote

The Smith street band

Australia, home of the kangaroo and the boomerang. But these last years it seems that their main export product has been kick ass bands. The Smith Street Band are one of those bands that have been touring relentlessly and becoming the best ambassadors the ex-convict colony could wish for. During their stop at Groezrock we took the liberty to sit down with frontman Wil Wagner and discuss their latest album “Throw Me In The River” and much more.

 

 

  1. Hey, end of last year you released your latest album “Throw Me In The River”. How has the response been so far?

It's been amazing; almost surprising. We've put it out and then we toured in Australia a lot of the back of it. We've pretty much been on tour since it came out. People know the words to my songs. It's been amazing.

 

  1. The amazing Jeff Rosenstock produced “Throw Me In The River”. What led you onto the path of Jeff?

I find him amazing too. We toured with Jeff when he was Bomb The Music Industry, just him and his iPod in Australia. I like him and John K Samson pretty much, and Bruce Springsteen. When I was like fifteen or sixteen, I started listening to Bomb The Music Industry. They taught me so much about being in a band. Just like “Fuck it, you want to start a band, start a band.” He's so passionate, we did that tour and then we toured with Bomb The Music Industry full band in Australia and just became good friends with him. We basically got him to produce the album but none of us knew what a producer was. We basically just wanted to hang out with Jeff for a few months.He came down and he is so positive and his brain is so amazing. You're playing and he goes “That would go good with a flute.” He pulls out his computer and puts on a flute. Plays it back, oh my god, I never thought of a flute sound on a Smith Street song. Working with him was amazing. I can't believe I'm friends with him.

 

  1. You also embarked on a US tour with Jeff Rosenstock, Andrew Jackson Jihad and Chumped some time ago. How was it playing a full-on tour in the States for an Australian band?

It was awesome. We've done a few tours in the States. I love Andrew Jackson Jihad as well. I've never seen them. We've played with them once here in Antwerp. And then Chumped as well, the whole tour, every person was so nice. All the Jihad guys are so nice. All the shows were no ages and no barriers, making it a crowd-friendly experience. Doing that tour we learned a lot. Andrew Jackson Jihad, I love them and now they're like an important band. I tell people to get “Christmas Island”. His lyrics are so weird, so dark but so hopeful as well. I adore that band. I got to get a tattoo of that band now. I've already got a Jeff tattoo.

 

  1. Maybe one of Sean's (AJJ singer) drawings?

I really want to, he was drawing, he's just a genius. He'd be sitting backstage doing watercolours and then he'd be out skateboarding and be better than anyone else. He's just one of those guys, what can't you do.

 

  1. The band has been going for five crazy years, three albums out and numerous tours. Did you ever expect this when starting out?

I remember when we started we sold out a venue of like 200 people. I was like “That's fucked”. Anything that happens from here is just a bonus. I feel like we're tricking everyone, soon everyone is going to clue on and realise we're just some idiots from Australia. This is so unexpected. We've been on tour since January and we're so tired and I miss my girlfriend and my cats. And now we're waking up and playing Groezrock again, I try to remind myself to be excited about it. None of us takes this for granted. Whenever people show up we're like “This is so good”.

 

  1. The band’s name is based on a legendary street in Melbourne. Given your status today as international band and in line with The Beatles Abbey Road street sign antics, has there been an increase in theft of Smith Street signs in Melbourne?

Yes, people steal the Smith Street sign. I've got one at home. The first is hanging in our lounge room. A lot of people steal them and bring them to sign them. Parkway Drive are from Australia as well and Parkway Drive is a street in Byron Bay and we drove down there. And the street sign is like as high as those lights. You need to put a ladder up there because it's so high so no kids can steal it. When we drove by people were trying to steal it.

 

  1. You recently put up a new video for the song “Arrogance Of A Drunk Pedestrian”, a track of the new album. I noticed a Weed culture sticker on the guitar headstock and you also have songs like “Get High”, “See No One”. How do you stand on drug use in general?

Oh my god. I'm very pro weed obviously. Whatever people want to do, they can do, is my opinion. If people are like dominating other people, I don't like that. I've done most of the drugs that you can do in my life, they all have their benefits and their downsides. Marihuana should be legal, it's insane that it's not. We've toured all of America and then you go to Denver and it's beautiful and clean. That's because of weed. It's great. I think that marihuana should be legal. That weed culture sticker, I saw it on a window and just stole it and stuck on my guitar.

 

  1. You recently recorded a 7” for a similar cause. Can you tell us some more on what motivated you to do so?

That was amazing. We've put out a 7”. The Australian government has a very backwards policy towards refugees. It's basically not letting anyone in. A lot of people live like in detention centres for like five, six, seven or eight years. For really long periods of time, it's almost barbaric. I wrote a song because I was angry about it and it must have been a slow news day in Australia. Because the main newspapers of Australia are like calling us for interviews and a big photo of us in the newspaper on page six. We've donated like 85,000 dollars just from the 7” and then we put on a show that generated like 20,000 dollar that we donated for the refugee charity. We've got a lot of like angry racist people yelling at us. I can talk about it in every interview that I do. But that's good; you don't want these people to like your band. I've got lots of friends who do volunteer work and stuff but we can't do that since we're away. So it was the best way to give something back. That's my favourite thing we did as a band.

 

  1. When listening to The Smith Street Band, there's no hiding that you hail from Australia. Is it a conscious decision to sing with an Australian accent?

Yeah, unfortunately that's how I talk. For me you have to sing like you talk. The Australian accent is just so horrible. If you get singing lessons you get taught to sing in an American accent, because that's like the technically correct way to sing. A lot of Australian bands go out on stage and they're like “ G'day…” then they start singing and they sound very American. For me, I try to make everything very personal and very honest. Your lyrics and your singing should just be an extension of who you are. I always try to sing with my voice.

 

  1. You've encountered some strange things during your career. Like the ‘ampgate scandal’ when your amp was stolen at a show. Any other memorable facts that we need to know about?

Oh, the ampgate, that was really fun. I felt like a detective for a day. We've had many silly incidents. It all just adds to the hilarity of touring. You need things like that to keep it interesting. Every few days something bizarre happens that you could never expect. It's the good thing about being around the world. You have crazy experiences. Ampgate was fun, especially for me. I have things stolen before that I didn't get back and this one was great since I got my amp back. Personal victory for me.

 

  1. The Smith Street Band has gained a loyal army of fans over the years, worldwide. When you're playing it seems that everyone present knows the words and shouts along. How does it feel when you see the crowd respond so well?

It's the best feeling in the world. You can't even describe it. None of us has any money, we live in shitty houses. We're always fighting with our girlfriends because we're on tour the whole time. I dropped out of university and all that just to do this band. We sleep on the floor and drive all day. When you like get on stage and I sing about how I'm like a sad, weird idiot and people like clap and sing along. It just makes you feel so much better. Probably because I write about depression and anxiety, singing about that stuff and having other people get into it, makes me believe that I'm not crazy. It's the best therapy or drug or anything that there is. That's why we tour so much. There's nothing like it, it's the best feeling in the world.

 – David Marote

Teenage bottlerocket

The night before Groezrock kicked off its annual punk party, a selection of some of the pop punk bands playing were playing another great small fest in Munchen, Germany. The Uncle M Fest featured bands like Masked Intruder, Make Do And Mend and Teenage Bottlerocket. We from RMP were present and took some time to talk to Teenage Bottlerocket’s frontman Ray Carlisle about their latest release “Tales From Wyoming” and much more at Skaters palace, Munchen.

  1. Today you're playing Uncle M Fest in Germany. Will you play “Ich Bin Auslander…”?

Yes, we will. It was a song that I learned in high school. I took German in high school. And it was sung to a different melody but I changed the melody and made it a pop punk song. We also did the Tony Sly song “Via Munich”, which was a coincidence, for the EP “American Deutsch Bag”. The other songs didn't have anything to do with Germany though.

 

  1. “Skate Or Die” is an obvious ode to skateboarding. Today we're in Munster, Skaters palace. Did you find time to hit the deck?

I didn't bring my skateboard to Europe, usually I have my skateboard on tour. I skated the day before I got here. But I left my skateboard at home.

 

  1. What came first, skateboarding or punk rock?

Kind of the same time. I got into skateboarding and my older brother had the DK logo on his grip tape and he had Black Flag’s “My War” on cassette. He was like ‘Here's the Bones Brigade, here's Powel Peralta, here's G&S,…’ It all was intertwined with like I said Black Flag, Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys. More so skateboarding was the forefront of my life before punk rock. Punk rock became more after Green Day.

 

  1. Saturday you're playing Groezock in Belgium. Any special songs for Belgium or what may we expect?

We’ll just try to play as best as we can, stay sober. It will be our second time, it's an honour to be playing there. We don't take it for granted so we keep that in mind when hitting the stage.

 

  1. “Tales From Wyoming”, your most recent album has been out for a couple of weeks now. How has the response been?

It's been great, it's cool to hear everyone singing along to the new songs. It seems that everyone is getting into the record. The response has been phenomenal.

 

  1. You also have some exclusive watches coming out from Vannen watches. It's like an eyeball of some monster. How did this come by?

The guys just really love our band. They asked us if we wanted to do a watch and we said yes. It's almost as simple as that. They came to our show at the Warped tour in Ventura. I'm standing behind their product, I'm wearing a watch by them right now. We were involved a little bit in the design. The first design we weren't 100%happy with so they changed it. So they listened to us a little bit.

 

  1. One of the new tracks, “Found The One”, is a straight up love song. Congratulations, the follow up to “She's Not The One”. How important is love to you?

That's a coincidence. I think that we try to write songs about things other than girls. So we have our songs like “Haunted House”, “Too Much La Collina”. You get to switch it up. We'll always write love songs and sometimes it's about girls that are cool and sometimes it's about girls who are shitty.

 

  1. “Nothing Else Matters” holds some Metallica references. A big influence to Teenage Bottle Rocket?

I think Metallica was an influence to us for sure. Growing up, watching Headbanger’s Ball. Before punk rock had really taken over our lives, Metallica did.  

 

  1. Teenage Bottle Rocket always has great videos. You've got the Mincecraft-themed video for “They Call Me Steve”. Or the headbanging video for “Headbanger”. How important is a video to the band?

I think it's really cool. It's part of the way the internet is now. We did a lyric video for “Nothing Else Matters”. Putting together the “They Call Me Steve”-video was funny, because we just did a YouTube search for people who did Minecraft videos. We found this kid in Vancouver, I'm pretty sure he lived with his parents and sent him ‘Hey man, can you like make a video for us.’ And he said ‘Yeah man. I'll do it.’ He kind of quoted a small amount of money. ‘Okay, we'll give you that.’ And the video turned out great. We kind of had to walk him through every single step of the way. He had us strumming our guitars up and down, and we had him switch to like all down strokes. In the end we're really happy with how it turned out. For the “Haunted House” video we filmed in Fort Collins in the street near where our drummer lives. It was a house that literally looked haunted and it was abandoned.So we just broke into the house for a day and recorded this video. Hopefully we can do a couple more videos for this album before it's on to the next record.

 

  1. Any plans in the nearby future or tours?

Tons of touring, we're going to be back in Europe in August. Between then and now we'll be on the road all the time.

 

– David Marote

Dead Giveaway – We Come In Pieces

In my ears, Dead Giveaway sounds like a modern day, more up-to-date Face To Face. And yes, that is a good thing. Starting off with an exorcism scene picked directly from cult classic ‘The Exorcist’, you could say that expectations for this album get an instant upgrade from the get go. Expectations that get filled in almost instantly with “Breach”, one of the better tracks on this eleven songs long feast of up-tempo riffs and singalong choruses. The band –clearly composed of some veteran Dutch punk rockers– nails a sound that fits like a glove with bands like Face To Face, The Descendents and even –if I may be so bold– The Foo Fighters. To me, closing track “Your Own Broadway” is the best track of the record. But all in all, this album has something for all punk rock fans to enjoy. Definitely one of the better works from the Lowlands these recent years.

– Lazlo Cootmans

Destine – Forevermore

This is definitely a catchy, feel good album and I don’t think fans will be disappointed. However, for me there is still something missing. And probably that’s originality. Because there isn’t one song on this album that doesn’t sound like something I’ve heard before. Every song just flows into the next and all the subjects and lyrics seem alike. Still I can’t deny that some choruses really stuck in my head and that it’s a nice variety to all the deep and depressing rock you hear nowadays. So all in all I think “Forevermore” is decent enough, but somehow I think these guys could do even better.  

– Renske Gommer

Blind Mice – Sunday Songs

Alternative rock band Blind Mice has released their brand new six-track EP and oh my it’s a cracker. It’s unique and fresh and sounds good in your ears.

“Nervous” is the first song that breaks through your speakers. It is full of energy, and it definitely gets your blood pumping. You find your feet tapping whilst listening to the first minute of this track. It makes you have to listen to the rest of the album.

There is no waiting after each track, they flow perfectly. “Home Movies”, the second track, is a beautiful song. The vocals are superb and really clear to hear every word vocalist Ross Nunes sings. It is a very tight-sounding track and reflects on previous life experiences.

The EP drops down a pace with the fifth song “Barbara’s Bar”. However, passionate shouts throughout this song make you want to shout along with the band. It’s loud and in your face. It is definitely going to be stuck in your head all day long.

The whole EP is catchy and as soon as it ends you just have to listen to it over and over again. They may sound similar to punk band Polar Bear Club, but that’s what makes this album sound even better, greater music to put on your iPod.

– Holly Reijs

The Flatliners – Resuscitation of the Year

Raw. Fast. Loud. The punk rock of The Flatliners certainly lives by those three words and you certainly can say that again for the most recent single the Canadian band released, now over a month ago. The first song on the 7” is a familiar one for those who ever listened to the band’s last full album. “Resuscitation of the Year” is also the opening track of “Dead Language”. Don't worry, after two years, the song still kicks some serious ass. It starts off quite mellow and easy-going, only to shift towards the sixth gear and force some very moshable, up-tempo riffs and beats towards your eardrum. Even more interesting on this 7” though, is the never before heard B-side “Fangs” that shows us a slightly louder, more aggressive Flatliners than we are used to. The vocals of Chris are louder than ever and the riffs in between the chorus lack a certain structure that we are used in other tracks of the band, making the track sound more like a hardcore song. Definitely a sound for the band that is bound to ruffle some feathers with the original fans, but something that I secretly hope to hear more often in the coming LP from this group.

– Lazlo Cootmans

Paperfriend – Memories

Paperfriend are a bunch of mates from Kent who formed their rocking band last year. Not just friends on paper anymore the band names after a Biffy Clyro track and has been playing shows and rehearsing. With a Kickstarter project they gathered the necessary budget and recorded their first EP “Memories”. The result of those sessions are five tracks that take influence from the aforementioned Biffy Clyro, You Me At Six and even Muse! Bringing their own breed of indie rock and alternative they play a diverse selection on their first EP. Straight up rocker “Credit Card Lifestyle” is a nice display of the potential these lads hold in store. To be continued.

– David Marote

Don blake & Andrew Cream

Andrew Cream and Don Blake recently embarked on their first joint European tour, also known as the ACDB tour. Hailing from the UK, both bands loaded up the van and crossed the channel to play some select European places of the continental persuasion. We at RMP Magazine welcomed them at their last show of the tour in Belgium for a small chat on the tour, the new Don Blake record “Pocket Universe” and how Andrew Cream is now a full band thanks to Don Blake.

 

  1. Welcome to Belgium, can you please introduce yourselves?

Nige : I'm Nige, I play drums.

Joe: I'm Joe, guitar for Don Blake

Kieron: I'm Kieron, I play bass in Don Blake and Andrew Cream.

Rob: I play guitar in Don Blake

Andrew: I'm Andrew and I play guitar as Andrew Cream

 

  1. So this is the first European tour for Don Blake and you're joined by Euro-veteran Andrew Cream. How has it been?

Joe: It's been really cool. We've been in a few different countries in a short period of time. It's been cool to play lots of different kinds of show in such a short period. When we get to a venue you never quite know how the show will go down. Some shows you thought were going to be okay turn out amazing and then other show that might be amazing turn out to just be okay.

 

  1. You've played France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and many other countries. Have you noticed any cultural differences?

Rob: We ate more pasta when we were in Italy.

Andrew: There's a trend amongst every time I've been to Europe about how well the hospitality and how we get treated is ten times better than in the UK. We get fed so well, we always get a good place to sleep. That is a trend that runs through every country that we played.

Rob: I think that's been the main difference. Playing new places is cool anyway but the main difference has been the hospitality and everyone who helped us out on these shows.

 

  1. Andrew, Don Blake plays a pop punk sound, your work is more folk punk. How does the crowd react to the different styles?

Andrew: I think a lot of the time people that are into punk music will listen to anything from acoustic singer-songwriter to punk up until hardcore. A lot of the crowds just enjoyed that punky sound. I think some of the gigs had people that were more inclined, like in Italy they have quite a big pop punk scene so Don Blake went down really well on those shows. As on some of the other gigs we played with some more acoustic folk punk artists in Germany. People are more inclined to like that sound. But then both sides appreciated each other.

Rob: I think with the two bands, there is a difference but it's not a world apart.

Andrew: A lot of my songs are just pop punk with an acoustic guitar to it.

 

  1. Today you’ve played in Belgium which is the final show of the tour, but you’ve got big plans ahead: you're playing with Masked Intruder in the UK soon. Are you psyched about playing with them?

Nige: We played with them on a big festival at Manchester. There were ten bands on at the time and we were the first one on. We also played with The Murderburgers, they're friends of ours.

 

  1. Congratulations with the new Don Blake album “Pocket Universe”. It has already been released a month ago. How has the response been so far?

Rob: It's been pretty good. There's a lot more focus in writing an album for the first time. On the whole, people take it well and seem to like it.

 

  1. “Pocket Universe” was released on Round Dog Records which is run by Fraser of The Murderburgers. How did this come by?

Kieron: We put on gigs in Manchester ever too often and met Fraser and The Murderburgers through that. We went on tour with them. He mentioned he had a distro but then turned into a record label.

Rob: We pretty much asked him to be on.

Andrew: I heard it involved a gun.

 

  1. There might be a vinyl release this summer, any updates on that front?

Joe: That's partially to be done by Round Dog Records and the US release is being done by Bloated Kat. We're looking forward to getting the record out but part of me is just so excited to be associated with the other bands on the label like The Kimberly Steaks and so on.

 

  1. Last year Andrew Cream and Don Blake released a split EP together, now the split tour and Nige and Kieron play as Andrew's full band on the tour. What's the attraction between both bands?

Kieron: I really struggle to understand…

Nige: Andrew doubles up as a tour manager/tour organiser so you know…

Andrew: I've known these guys for like coming up to ten years. Rob and Joe especially and I met Keiron and Nige like two years later. I don't really know where the conversation started but I wanted to start playing my songs with a band and Nige and Keiron seemed to be the obvious people to ask. And they were more than happy to do it. Deciding to do the split seemed quite natural. I really wanted to do a European tour with a full band and the only I'm getting to do it with a full band is getting them along. It's been really fun.

Joe: Andrew has always been active playing shows and we've been in bands before Don Blake where we weren't doing anything. In Don Blake we've been all more active.

 

  1. Andrew, both you and Don Blake both played The Fest 13 this year. How was that experience? And are there any plans on returning soon?

Joe: It's been amazing. This tour is really great. That and The Fest show, that's been the highlight of us being in the band. I'd love to go back and play. I'm going to go next time. I don't know the rest of the band can do it this year.

Rob: It was really cool and an awesome experience. In a way it's been a learning curve in terms of knowing what to do. Most of the foreign bands go without taking any of the gear with them. It's a learning experience. Next time we will be more prepared. Still, it was an amazing experience.

 

  1. Andrew, you're from Leeds and Don Blake is based around Manchester, how is the scene over there in the UK?

Kieron: I think in Manchester it’s very varied. We've got a lot of promoters like Under The Bridge who put on more acoustic punk stuff. They're getting big bands now like The Flatliners. He's putting up The Masked Intruder show.

Andrew: I find Leeds a little bit more of a hit and miss than Manchester. Sometimes we can have really great turnouts and other days not so good. Manchester feels more of a community. I think Leeds has the potential to become a community. It had a really great community about five or ten years ago but all those people are getting older. There's not really young blood coming in, it's about creating something new again. I've only lived there for 18 months and I want to try and help that happen.

Rob: We're not in the band for that long, just since 2012 so we're quite lucky getting to play in the Manchester scene in a time with shows like Masked Intruder. We also played with Chumped some time ago.

 

  1. So what's next with Don Blake and Andrew Cream? New joint ventures or releases planned?

Rob: We've got a new album and we want to put on shows in the UK this year and promote that.

Joe: We got a new record that we worked pretty hard on to get so now it's about getting it out there.

 

  1. Any last words for our readers?

Andrew: This tour has been fantastic. It's been really great for me to be able to play my songs with a band. I feel like every place that we played we took some positives from every gig. It was really great fun.

Rob: It's our first European tour. The hospitality’s been amazing. Just as the shows themselves. Having people listen to us, like last night when we played in France, it's so cool to play a new place. We saw some crowd surfing and human pyramids. It's been great fun.

– David Marote

Western Addiction

On the day that Amsterdam experienced a blackout, Western Addiction was in town on its first European tour. Luckily that power shortage was swiftly solved so the show could go on. RMP Magazine took some time to sit down with Jason Hall, the vocalist and guitar player of Western Addiction. In between the sound check and the show we checked if a second blackout was to be expected tonight, one caused by the hardcore madness of Western Addiction. Find out below about Jason's experiences in the Old Continent of Europe and their newest EP “I’m Not The Man I Thought I'd Be”.

 

  1. Hello Jason, this is the first European tour for Western Addiction and also your first visit to Europe. How has it been so far?

I love it! All the other guys have been before, so they've known what to expect a little bit. So far I loved every country. We went to Spain, went to France, I loved France, then the UK and now here.

 

  1. Have you noticed the cultural differences between those countries?

Mostly for the good, things make sense here. Getting around on the public transportation makes sense. The size of the food makes sense. They give you just enough to eat and to be full. That makes total sense to me. It's not like a big giant burrito or something. So far everybody has been wonderful.

 

  1. And Amsterdam?

I looked a little bit and it's so beautiful. It's as beautiful as some of the small towns in France we went to. Not small but relatively small like Lyon, Cognac and Toulouse. Toulouse was pretty wonderful, but this one is like a postcard everywhere you look. I love it. 

 

  1. Lagwagon asked you to play this tour with the support of The Flatliners. How psyched were you for this tour?

Really excited actually, I've known Joey for quite a long time and I've known The Flatliners guys. I used to work at the record label that we're on, so right when I was leaving, they got signed. They're wonderful dudes and Joey is wonderful too. He wanted to do a tour with all of his friends. It's so great, I have a fulltime job and I don't get to tour all the time. So this is like a dream for me. I'm loving it.

 

  1. “I’m Not The Man I Thought I'd Be” is the band’s newest EP that was recently released. Have you played any songs live yet and how was the response?

We've played that song, the title track song. And we played this other song called “Clatter And Hiss”, it's a demo on there. Pretty good. I think we're kind of the odd band on the bill. People are looking at us and they're kind of confused; interested, but confused. I'm screaming at them the whole time and Lagwagon and Flatliners are so fun and happy. I think they're going “What am I seeing?!”. That first song “I'm Not The Man…” is like a rock song, so people’s bodies automaticly kind of move with rock. It's really like AC/DC style rock, that's like our only song like that. You can kind of see people moving and react to music but they're still kind of confused of what we're doing.

 

  1. The new track “Clatter and Hiss” is the first track where bass player Tony contributed during recording. How does a new member affect the group and the recording?

Each new member brings something different. I love having Tony in the band, he's really positive. He's a great guitar player, he plays bass in our band. But he's an awesome guitar player, he's an awesome singer. I can't really sing, I can  do a little bit, but I have in my mind what I want a song to do. When I can't do it physically, he can do it. So I'm like “Hey Tony, there's a part that needs to be sung” and then he can really do it. He's been in other bands like Cobra Skulls. He has been around the world so he's like a veteran. I'd rather have good, cool friends in the band and I'm so glad he's playing with us.

 

  1. When recording the new EP it was recorded to 2” tape in the studio. In this era of digital technology being the standard, what do you believe to be the benefits of tape?

Chad, our drummer, he's really into that. He likes the sound that the drums make with it. I'm not really that great at that stuff. But Chad is really good about this; he recorded our demo that went on our record. He has got an ear for that. He has a really huge knowledge about when things were recorded, history of music. He really knows a lot of punk, hardcore and metal. And that's the sound he likes, he kind of helps us out with that kind of stuff.

 

  1. The title track of the EP “I’m Not The Man I Thought I'd Be” has a rather pessimistic feel to it. Can you let us in on what message you were trying to get across?

Every song isn't necessarily super true, but my wife read the lyrics to that. And then my mom was at our house and she picked up my lyrics book and was reading it. She was like “I don't know about that song, I'm worried about you”. First of all I was like “You put that down, why are you reading that?!” [laughs]. It's a little pessimistic. You think about how life should go, how things should turn out. They don't ever, they never turn out the way you thought they would. I mean it is pessimistic, but I don't know, sometimes I'm filled with anxiety and that was just one song about how things go. I never thought I would be playing in a hardcore band and touring Europe at this time of my life. That's kind of a good thing that I wouldn't have anticipated. There are good things and bad things; that one is about the bad things. Everybody always feels those things and a lot of our lyrics are really cryptic and you can't really connect with them. I have some friends in bands and they make good lyrics that really connect with people. I think Against Me! does a really good job at connecting with people but their lyrics are understandable. I'm trying to do that a little bit more versus all those crazy words and things that no one can relate too. I think people may be able to relate to that song by thinking about how your life is going to be and it just doesn't happen and you feel disappointed in a way. Maybe the comfort is that I can feel the same way you feel and things will be okay.

 

  1. You mentioned you worked at Fat Wreck Chords in the past. How has this influenced the band? 

Definitely connections. I mean, I have all these great friends from long ago so you just know lots of band people and it does help. We would never be on all of this if it wasn't for Joey. I'm not going to hide any of that. He's a great friend and he asked us to play and we're thankful. And Chad works at the label now. There's this cool thing that has been happening at Fat Wreck Chords, people splintered off a bit and went their separate ways. And now we're a little bit older and getting back together like a family in a way. I'm seeing all these people and the person that runs our label Erin, she's awesome. She was my boss basically for years and now it's like old friends coming together. She's really supportive, she even texted us on this tour. It does feel like a family in an odd way. We're kind of a different band for Fat, but I don't care. I've seen all the other labels, I’ve seen bands not get paid. Fat always pays bands. They always treat them right, they give them whatever they need. Even it hurts the label a bit. That's pretty cool.

 

 

  1. I love the way they work with one record deals.

Yeah, because they're not trying to lock anybody in there. There are no tricks. Even if you don't make money from royalties you always get a statement. It's not like labels like Lookout records who were in the past accused of not paying people. Fat always pays even if you don't like them or make fun of the bands. They always pay.

 

  1. After the start of Western Addiction and the first release in 2006, “Cognicide”, you all went on a hiatus, due to the usual routine of kids, work, life or other interests. How does it feel to be playing and recording again?

It feels kind of nice. The break was my fault. Because I have a family and my little daughter was young and I didn't want to be away or gone too much. She's a little bit older now and I'm able to get away and I also have a job. Leaving the label I came to respect music so much more and like music more. I always liked it. Even when I talk to the guys of the label they don't always know exactly what's going on because they're in it all day. I love music. I listen to it all the time, I look forwarding seeing it on TV. I got a bit older where I'm not complaining about music as much. So if you're watching a big television show like the Grammy's or the Superbowl. What's this band doing? These guys suck. I don't think like that anymore. I'm just so thankful, check it out, there's rock 'n’ roll on TV. I'm more appreciative, I lightened up a little bit.

 

  1. Jason, you also keep a tour diary published on New Noise. For instance, you visited the Guggenheim museum in Bilboa.  In the blog you mentioned Niki de Saint Phalle and her sculptures, what attracts you to her work?

Yeah, I have to do that. I turned in the other one Wednesday. They had a video of her speaking about her work. It was so powerful. I life with all ladies: I live with two daughters and a wife and they are all strong, powerful women. She was a really strong, powerful woman and what she was saying was really interesting. She was basically saying “Only men can make destructive things, so only women can make beautiful art out of these things.” She had this giant skull and this golden bat with the machineguns. Also when you’re looking at some people's art you can see them falling apart or their madness. You can see their madness in what's happening. The whole thing, I think she was an incredible woman.

 

  1. You also seem to be fascinated by black metal like the Gaudi sculptures you described on the tour blog as ‘black metal’. What do you like in it and what bands can you recommend?

That's only recent. I like all the classics. I'm really new to listening to it. I only recently started listening to it. Like all the classics as Bathory and Burzum, the ones you're supposed to listen to. There's something so fascinating about that lifestyle to where you paint your face, you only do certain things and you run into the forest. I guess there's more to it. I don't know. I get into genres of music and I go in and out of things.  For a while I was into Sam Cooke a lot, a while I was into The Pixies. Now I'm into black metal. For some reason I don't know why, it's so fascinating. There's this band from San Francisco, they're called Mastery. They have a black metal record and the cover looks different than any black metal cover. It's not the undecipherable writing, really cool, just like primary colours. I listen to that and like this music, it’s maddening. It makes me feel nervous and anxious and wonder “Why am I listening to this?”. In a bizarre twist of faith I met the guy who made the record at the record store. I referred his record to him. I'm in the black metal section and I go “Have you check this band out?”. He said “Yeah, I made it.” And I was like “Get the hell out of here!” I think it's interesting. It's like another world, like in a play. It seems crazy. Just seems so fascinating. Have you seen that documentary about the Norwegian scene “Untill The Light Takes Us” or something. The whole thing is like a fascinating chapter in history. It wasn't really about being satanic. It was about people coming into their country and appropriating their things. You always think it's all about the devil. 

 

  1. So in 2013 the three-song EP “Pines” was released and this year the new EP. Any plans for a full album soon?

We have a lot of new songs. We were going to make a new record but we got offered this. I’ve never been here, so I was like “We're doing that.” But we have tons of new songs. When we play in Germany in a few days we will play more because we have a thirty-minute set. We will play one new one tonight that is not on any album. I pretty much used up all my vacation from work so I don't know when we are going to record. Maybe on Christmas day or something.

 

  1. What is the ambition of Western Addiction next to world domination?

I want to do one more record. I'd like to. The songs we have now are really interesting. I like the line-up, it feels really positive and fun. I have to share the members with other bands. Those guys will be doing their thing. I've been here now, we've been to Japan. Of course I'd like to go to other countries, I feel kind of spoiled. This is great.  At least I got to come here and see some of the best countries of Europe. I'm pretty good actually.

 

  1. Any last words for our readers?

Just thanks so much and maybe check out our new EP, it's on Fat. We'll have a new record out soon!

– David Marote