Spjral.... rock from Naples
RSR.- how are you doing? let me know something about the story of the band.
Gigi : First of all, thanks a lot, Jose, to stay here!
Spjral band is a Napoli(Naples , Italy
some university friends. During the early months Noemi joined the band as drummer and not too late during 2007 Checco was employed as singer.
Since in Naples , but I can say in Italy
there's a bit of confusion about genres! So, when you ask for a bass player
you have to be careful, because rock have many meanings. Due to this misunderstanding many guys reached the band to leave it in few weeks. Enzo is actually the band's bass player and we wish that he'll stay with us till the end.
Noemi : The name of the band comes from Tool's song "Lateralis" and while it sounds "We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been!",
we just mention this word as an aptitude and a wish!
G : After more than one year of preparation, spent in the making of the songs, starting from the latest months of the 2008 to the half of 2009 we toured around Naples
In the second half of 2009, due to Checco's temporary absence, we had a second tour around Naples and outside, called "Acephale dates", that let us able to conceive the instrumental Pisces album recorded by me and Noemi in August 2010 in Senigallia, since the latest bass player left us some months before.
N : The name Pisces wanted, in some way, include Checco beyond his distance, but in particular it recalls to the meaning of salvation in the former Christian cult. The time that led us to Pisces realization was precious lapse in which we got rid of our musical influences and previous life experiences.RSR.- what do you do in life besides the band? I mean work studies.....
G : I'm a quantum physicist, currently employed in a particle physics research project and in the meantime a PhD student in technologies.
N : I'm a physics student aspiring to became an electronic physicist with the purpose to work in the music industry.
Enzo is a student in biology and Checco is a student in communication's digital culture(branch of sociology).
RSR.- i think you live in Italy, how is your city? i mean about musical and diy scene
G : Yes we are actually living in Naples , a special place in the south of Italy
N : In our city there is not a great music culture. Probably because of the aptitude to get bogged down in the same artists and genres, for year and year.
An example, now in the club you can easier hear indie or post-rock bands or
tribute to some Italian artists or 70's bands, than hear some metal o hardcore
or even worse hear that kind of band, like us, trying to do something different.
G : Or you can consider that at the last ISIS show in Rome
N : They (I mean club manager or public events organizations) don't easily give us room to play. I think there is a sort of snobbery, there are always the same
bands with the same songs playing around Naples
G : But, as I've said, this is valid for all Italy
the band they choose to be the band of the moment. For example, Verdena is
a band, with major contract, that played alternative music in the 90's, today reviews say they are the band of the future! I think there's something wrong!
RSR.- what were the motivations when you start the band? how did the band and sound change after time pass? do you get new motivations each few time? what are your motivations now? and why instrumental band?
N : When Gigi decided to start the project, his primary necessity was to realize something casting out all his musical influences. For me it has represented a
way to test myself, finding my own personality as drummer.
We grow up together a lot and we always search for something new, focusing our attention on how it sounds. Gigi transmitted to me a sort of obsession in search of "the perfect sound", even if I know that soon it'll becomes "the super incomplete sound"... there is always something better than we reached. We constantly try to marvel at ourselves!
Moreover, since we continuously changed bass player, we faced with different way in conceive music and our genre, and despite some stalemate moment, we constantly evolve.
The biggest motivation is to create the music we like to listen for, arises on the
simple fact we are essentially listeners!
G : We do not play music to exclusively scream against the world or to express a monogenic kind of rage! We would like to express the higher sense of our experiences by meaning of themselves, for what they represent for us. So I suppose our motivations increase continuously and shade gradually.
So, our music tries to take in account the tension between our individual feelings and the will to create a new rhythm. We are not an instrumental band and Pisces is not an instrumental album, but a mute one. That is, we have just experimented Pisces.
N : All in Pisces is a silent tale, narrated by instruments.
G : The sound has been balanced and shaped by our gestures and travels the space producing vibrations we would like they enter in resonance with the listener feelings; so, when someone said that, listening to Pisces, it seems it has drizzled all the time! I answer, you look far enough the tempest.
RSR.- Do you tour out of Italy
G : Not yet, but we have some contact to be out of Italy Europe without a contract, it seems you are having an holiday. More bands spend a lot of money to do this and once they come back home, they leave the band. You have to tour around when you are already known! So the probability to have a tour with minimum lost is high.
Look at our music players stats, we are far away to tour around Europe . Actually we could play in the ex-USSR, where we have a lot of fans. But as you imagine we look to the west!
RSR.- what does the future hold for Spjral? does the word quitting ever cross your path?
G : In the next future there is our second work, I can say a 9-tracks album that we are currently working for and we will record in 2012. In the meanwhile we are organizing the fall-winter tour around Italy
N : So, does the word quitting ever cross our path? Yes, of course! But never seriously... The main reason were the frustration to not be able to realize our project, both for what it concerns the lineup and economically.
RSR.- how do you define your sound? i heard it and seems difficult for me to define it, please try to do it
G : Ok, from the listener point of view, I define it art-rock and, as some one said about us, it “is chill music, but with all the silent intensity made up in atmosphere as many of the new avant-garde blackened post-metal acts have. Note, this music is not post-rock or post-metal...”. Some review associated us with great bands as Tool, Metallica, Monster Magnet, Pink Floyd, Melvins, Between the Buried and Me and other, but we love to think that anyone hears in our music what comes from his own personal influences. Anyway, experimental sludge probably is the best genre we have to be referred.
RSR.- normally i ask bands to explain the lyrics of the songs... but you don´t have lyrics, so what the meaning of your songs?
N : Really “Strings ray through eclipse” has lyrics, because it is a track we arranged before we experimented instrumental asset. It talks about the will and the jokes it starts with us, how the enigma conceals itself under the appearance and how, when we touch the lowest point, we perceive the world. The song says “Rings of light seep the obscure bodies that softly overshadow my sun. Strings ray through eclipse”
G : The songs, in order, Pnevma, Strings ray through eclipse, The womb, Rise of machina and Lightdrome, in an evolutionary context, represent respectively the animating warm breath, the will, the place that originates everything, the body and the perception. Every single note or beat or sound has contributed to the whole structure to express our drawing up to those concepts.
N : Moreover, on our space there's Prassi, a song in pre-edit, we will include in the next work. It is a story regarding Gigi and it talks about the walk to the death from the point of view of who he is still alive and doesn't matter about religion.
RSR.- what do you recorded? how do you deal to release it? diy is on your thinking?
G : Our record has been made in one of the professional study in Italy Napoli . We can define them DIY because of their sound quality. We use DIY tools during the pre-edit periods... to know how the songs play and to have an idea about arrangements! Apart from studios, we always records our sessions with a portable pc. Sometimes we record at home just an instrument. We do this to let the band able to study the song. Anyway we think that DIY is the main resource for a band, independently if we are talking of a great one or not.
N : When you record in a friendly-studio you have to take care of all and paradoxically you have to work more than a pro-studio. Level of compression, balance, equalization, number and displacement of microphone around the drum set, on-the-fly mixing, sound quality, lost of hidden frequencies, analog filters, effects and microphones quality... only in a pro-studio you can find all these stuff. You can feel and hear the sound rapidly warms up. DIY always sounds cold and sometimes empty. And ideas not always are better than the sound!
G : The music industry gives the standard to a song to be listen! If the song doesn't match the production requirements, listeners reject it within first seconds of the song. Moreover, I think a fundamental hint to be listened is to do something recalling a familiar sound, the one the listeners used to play.
RSR.- what would you consider as the biggest influences?
G : Pink Floyd, Tool and Neurosis are the greatest one for me! These are the bands I always listened to. Some influences comes from King Crimson, grunge and 90's NY hardcore and more or less recently I discover some band as Isis, Cult of Luna, God Speed You! Black Emperor, Mogway and other like these.
Checco has a great influence coming from Tool, Led Zeppelin and many Italian songwriters and bands. He loves old school Italian music, in particular he loves the PFM, a prog-rock band born in Italy
Enzo loves Tool and Meshuggah.
N : I've no bands to add, but as drummer, there are a lot of names to consider... anyway, I don't think it's important to list them. They are more than famous!
RSR.- next plans
G : In the near future, I suppose in September, we will record a promo from the new album. 4 tracks to send to labels, we wish to be produced and distributed. The title of new album is Apocaliptein and it will contain 9 tracks. Moreover, we hope to produce the short-film Standing Ocean
RSR- last words
G : “Life is just a ride! Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love.” (B.H.)
Thank you very much Jose for this precious space on Romantic Songs! Thanks to our followers from the ex-USSR and from other part of the world. Continue to follow us! We need your support and love! We hope to travel to your country as soon as possible.
Reservoir.....
RSR.- short story of the band….
Andy and Josh started it with another drummer with the intention of playing something new with a tight live show, influenced by bands that came about a decade earlier such as small brown bike, sunny day real estate, etc. Steven and Justin joined which brought a lot of new possibilities and is what really made us the band we are now. We've all been in bands for years, and our bands all used to play shows together at the same venues, so in hindsight the fact that we all ended up in this band actually makes a lot of sense.
RSR.- Coastal let me know about you, what could you say about them? 
RSR.- what could be defined your musical style? Is it under the umbrella of hardcore?
Essentially its punk, with influences from genre's like post hardcore/emo/90's alternative. We all have slightly different musical tastes but find common ground with a combination of all of those genres. I'd say you could draw parallels to hardcore in the sense of the diy ethics and the straightforwardness of some of our music. In the end we play music that we like, as long as it's something we all agree we would listen to and something honest that we can all believe in, then I'm personally fine with it. The genre or grouping that other people file our music under is inconsequential to what we write and play.
Well, we've only played in Connecticut once, and the show went pretty well. We got to play with Heavy Breath and Wolves at Bay who are both awesome bands and great people, definitely worth checking out. I'm assuming this question was directed toward the scene in the town we claim as home, so I'll answer about York/Harrisburg Pennsylvania. Other than MC (oldetigers.bandcamp.com) doing shows in his garage, York/Harrisburg as a 'scene' is practically non existant. There are very few diy spaces available for bands to play and touring bands are skipping over the area more and more frequently. Most of the people who compromised the scene in the area that I loved growing up in have gotten older and either A) Don't go to show with the frequency that they once did, B) Dropped out of the independent music scene entirely, or C) Moved to more densely populated areas with a more thriving scene (Baltimore/Philadelphia). The shows at the Skid Row Garage are important, and it's important to have all ages diy spaces where bands (touring and local) can play fun shows.
RSR.- what do you think about politics, I mean if you translate your social and political thinking to your lyrics? Or you just don´t care too much about politics
We all have our own political opinions which I'd imagine line up almost across the board as far as big ticket issues. Personally I'm always very interested in what's happening in the world around me, it's hard not to be lately. However, politics are definitely not something this band set out to delve into much as far as our lyrical content is concerned. Don't get me wrong, politics are important, though it's much more effective to lead by example and implement your politics into the decision making process for a band, such as playing strictly all ages shows, printing merch on recycled/fair trade materials, etc. We use the lyrics instead to convey things that are important to us as individuals. Music at least for me has always been an outlet for things that inspire you, whether those things achieve inspiration through anger, fear, sadness, or happiness.
RSR.- how is a gig of your bands? Do you have something special you remember from a gig?
Like any band does, when we play a show we want to play our songs as tightly as possible. I feel like we've played out enough to do that and at this point it's about consistency, energy, and trying to come up with ways to make things flow well in a set but also to try new things people might not expect. Whether it be a cover, an interlude, etc., it's important to keep things fresh for the sake of the people coming to see us but also to keep ourselves from being burned out on doing the same thing over and over. As far as cool memories from shows, just last month we did our first tour as a band around the Northeastern US. We played a house show in Philadelphia at a place called the Cracker Factory where we've played a couple times now. Literally when we got to the show we heard that The Menzingers, a band we all have been listening to a lot the past year, were going to play. We also had a great show in Portland, Maine which was really cool because we didn't know what to expect or what the response would be. It was one of those shows that just felt right and where we connected with a lot of people. Playing in York at the garage is always great because you know who you're going to see there and sometimes you'll see old friends you haven't had the chance to catch up with in a long time.
RSR.- what do you think about diy scene? How do you define it?
This is kind of a tricky question. I consider diy anything that you do largely by yourself or with friends without the help of corporations, big business, etc. I feel that bands that use booking agents or are signed to a label can still in certain circumstances be considered diy bands. I think the economic downturn in the United States has actually helped independent and diy bands to thrive, since larger bands that depend on certain amounts of record sales and have a really high tour overhead are forced to quit, and bands that were already scraping by on a shoe-string budget are able to continue in much the same way, the only difference is that now bands have to be good to get to the next level. The economic crisis has worked much like punk rock quality control. The scene itself is defined by a mentality more than anything. For example, the tour we did was comprised of mostly basement shows and each one was donation-based. We didn't lose any money on that tour. People that came out and liked the music bought merch and were sometimes giving us $10 for our 4-song demos which we usually hand out for free. They understood where we were coming from and that it's not easy to get around being a fairly new band so they were more than willing to help. It's the same for when touring bands come through our area. As long as that mentality continues, the DIY community will continue to thrive.
RSR.- on the last 10 years anti system collectives are rising up…what do you think about this?When you say "anti-system" collectives, I'm going to assume you're referring to diy show spaces rather than larger business-minded venues. If that is the American comparison, then I am all for it. These types of spaces are where I saw shows growing up, and became one of the catalysts for me becoming involved with music (punk rock specifically) because these types of venues enforced the "anyone can be up here doing this" mentallity that so many credit as the thing that got them into punk rock. I was lucky enough to have people around me who ran spaces like this and allowed my bad high school punk band to play shows. Some of these spaces (such as Charm City Art Space in Baltimore) I've been going to for nearly ten years. These spaces end up being essential for small time touring bands, as most large venues won't even respond to smaller bands when they get booking emails.
RSR.- what do you have recorded and how you deal with it?
So far the only thing we have released is a 4-song demo that we put out at the beginning of the year. You can check that out at reachthetracks.bandcamp.com. We have another song recorded but not released and will be going into the studio in a few weeks to record 3 additional new songs. We plan on releasing two of those songs on cassette by the end of summer and hopefully not long after that we'll put the others on a split with Life and Limb (lifeandlimbma.bandcamp.com ) from Massachusetts.
RSR.-next projects
We're looking to release an EP by the end of the year (the plan is to get it out on 7 inch). Hopefully more splits and maybe a full length in the future. Aside from that, we want to keep touring as much as possible. We're touring down to Fest 10 in October and are very excited to play in the Southern US for the first time together as a band.
RSR.- last words
Thanks so much for taking the time to check out our demo and for doing this interview. We're a new band so anyone that takes the time to even give us a chance and listen to something we put our hearts into really does mean a lot to each of us. Aside from that..listen to Hot Water Music, watch Star Wars, eat tons of ice cream, and everything else will fall into place.
(reachthetracks.bandcamp.com)
NO ANCHOR.... AUSTRALIAN.... 
RSR.- short story of the band....
No Anchor started as a two-piece band with Ian on bass guitar and myself (Alex) on drums. We both played in bands that were very different before No Anchor and we started the band due to our shared love of heavy styles of music like The Jesus Lizard, Helmet for example.
We spent the next two years exploring different styles of heavy music, making two albums and after Ian took a break from the band to tour Europe with his Solo project Ambrose Chapel, we decided to add a second bass player to the band. Donovan joined and we started work on the album ‘Real Pain Supernova’ which we have just released.
RSR- I love your sound experimental.... sometimes, aggresive others... but how could you describe your sound...? could be under the umbrella of hardcore?
The experimental side of our music has been at the centre of everything we do. As people we love lots of different music, we like heavy music, hip hop, pop music, hardcore and avant guard. We don’t want to just sound like the music of other bands that we like so we always try to make something that is interesting. It is easy to be heavy with loud music but to be heavy and catchy and to challenge people with melody is what is interesting to us. We are not a hardcore band and we are not a metal band but we like that people who are into hardcore and metal music can find something to enjoy in our songs.
3.- On your blog, there is some kind of letter of a girl that lives close to Danzing... why do you include this.....
Music that is described as metal is too often overly serious. We have that blog post about Danzig because we think it is funny. We like Danzig and we like his music, he is just a normal person like you or me but he has a very serious persona. We like to remind people that you can laugh at heavy music too. We do not take the masculine or dramatic side of metal seriously and we like to poke fun at it sometimes.
RSR.- How was the reactions with your double LP..... ? what´s the price and how could i arrange to get it on Spain if I don´t like to pay with paypal, this my situation....
We are very happy with the reaction to our album. Not everyone will like our music so we know that only a small number of people will want to buy our album and that is ok with us. Many people said we were wrong to invest so much money and time into making a double LP but in the few weeks that our album has been available we have almost sold out of all our records. We recorded the album ourselves, we mixed it ourselves, we made the artwork and the record sleeves ourselves and we wanted the physical album to look special and people have reacted positively to this.
We have tried to make the album as cheap as possible because people will not buy expensive vinyl when there is a cheap digital version. It is important to us that there is a physical copy of the album for people to hold and play on their stereos. We charge 25 Australian dollars for the album and only as much as it costs us to post it to another country.
We are happy to arrange other methods of payment for our record. A credit card can be used to buy the album from our bandcamp page or if you like you can email us for details and make a deposit to our bank account and we will happily send you a copy of the LP.
RSR- You upload your vynil to digital ...what´s your thinking about digital downloadings.... and people that have thousand downloaded Lps and can´t heard them unless they live for lives
The format of music is in such a state of flux that it is hard to know what will work for people in regards to the format of delivering the music. Everyone in the band listens to music differently and so we understand that convenience is as big a part as documenting the music in a physical format.
We see it two ways. On one side we love the tactile, visual representation of the music we make. The visual aesthetic is important to introduce people to our band and our music. This is why we have put so much time and effort into making a vinyl record. So people who can not see a live show can feel, in some small way, like they still interact with the music.
On the other side, a lot of people listen to music in the digital format so we did not want to stop them from enjoying the music of our band. We are a band with a small audience and having music online in a digital format means that a lot more people can easily discover our music and if they like then they can also buy a physical Lp. The fact is that if we do not make the album available on the internet then someone else will make a copy to share and download and we would prefer that people at least had access to a good quality version of our album. If they wish to download it for free then we would rather they do that from us.
There is nothing wrong with having lots of albums so long as you still have an emotional connection to the music. It does seem though that having thousands of digital files has bred a more transient relationship with music for a lot of people. No longer do some people save and invest time in music the way it was once done. You can download and delete an album a lot easier than a physical record but still, it is easier for people to become educated on the vast types of music that are out in the world.
RSR.- how is actually the australian scene..... could you explain how is the scene on your area?
The Australian scene exists in small pockets of our cities. The cities are thousands of kilometres apart and so touring the country takes a lot of effort.
There are lots of great bands and like a lot of places elsewhere in the world, there is a scene of hardcore bands, some good and some not very original, a scene of metal bands and a scene of rock bands. It is common for metal bands to play shows with hardcore bands and rock bands. In our town there are not any other bands making the kind of music that No Anchor makes, which means we play shows with our friends, and touring bands. Often, we have different types of shows with bands from other scenes and that always brings different people along.
RSR.- do you follow spanish scene or bands... and about europe which bands surprise you
It is so hard to keep up with all the good bands that exist overseas. It is only maybe when bands make it to Australia that we find out about them and or similar bands.
So last year the Estonian band Talbot came to Brisbane and they were very good and we have previously played with and known about the French group Monarch who we like. Really though, we are spoilt for great music and bands here in Australia so apart from some of the bigger bands from North America or England, we mostly know about the great bands in Australia.
That said, there are some very good bands on your blog that we do not know about that we would like to check out so thank you.
RSR.- are you a political band... or do you care about politics? what´s your thinkings about political questions like war with islam, Israel and palestinian war.....
As for the music that No Anchor makes it is not explicitly political. We do care about politics very much and do not like the injustice that often occurs in the world. Because we are far away from conflicts in places like the Middle East, it is sometimes hard to find out the true facts and publicly comment on them because information is filtered through the news. We prefer to comment about situations that are closer to home or in situations where we have first hand experience.
We do not support religious or tyrannical wars and when we can, we support shows and groups that help with political and social movements. We will play these shows in solidarity and offer our support where ever it is helpful. Especially in Australia that has an extremely diverse multicultural population.
RSR.- this year Australia have several earthquakes and in the area, you got the problem with Japan, how do you live all this facts...
A lot has happened over the last few months with nature dealing a heavy hand. Yes, there have been earthquakes and tsunami’s and in Brisbane while we were mixing our record, our city was flooded. These things have been in our mind. When we were mixing, most of our city lost power due to the worst flood in a generation and the floodwaters actually came up to the front door step of our studio. We had to get all the recording equipment, our instruments and the masters to higher ground. It was stressful but thankfully nothing was destroyed.
When we heard about what was happening in Japan, it seemed so extreme. Many of our friends had to leave Japan and come to stay in Australia where it was safe. Other people we know quickly took the time out to make a compilation of Brisbane bands playing the songs of Japanese bands to help raise funds to send to Japan. We happily gave a song to this compilation where we covered the song ‘Rattlesnake’ by Boris. A small gesture and it is nice to know that the money that has since been raised has gone to people who really need it.
RSR- next plans
We have almost sold out of our new Lp and so we might need to get it repressed soon and we are going to go on a tour of Australia in the coming months. Hopefully in a few months we will release a new 7-inch single but for the moment, we are happy to have the new record out and for people to be hearing and discovering our band.
11.- last words
Just to say thank you for taking the time to check out our band and conduct this interview
Contacts:
NO HUMANITY.... IS HARDCORE
RSR.- short story of the band.... did you ever been in other bands before?
Our story is pretty simple. There are not a lot of hardcore punk bands in our town so we got together to form a band to support punk shows in our community. I had been in one other band but it wasn't very serious. Our guitarist has played in many other bands before this one but our drummer had only been in one serious band before this one, in a good pop punk band called Witchfinger.RSR.- what do you have recorded before this ep or this is your first ep?
We recorded a demo before our EP, but all the songs on the demo were re-recorded for the EP
RSR.- if I want to buy this ep.... where could i get it on Spain or more close place ? and how?
RSR.- if I want to buy this ep.... where could i get it on Spain or more close place ? and how?
It may be a little embarrassing, but we haven't even made more than a few burned hard copies of our EP yet. We strictly distribute it digitally for the most part. So anyone in Spain can go to the bandcamp website and download it!
RSR.- what do you think about internet as a way to make the music transmission more free and cheap? how do you deal with this fact?
RSR.- what do you think about internet as a way to make the music transmission more free and cheap? how do you deal with this fact?
As a band, none of us are really concerned with making any money and just want to get out our music and our message to as many people as possible and we use the internet as our main method of doing so. I think it is really great that the internet can make music available to people who wouldn't normally get to hear it. Although some bands and labels may be unhappy with it, bands can find other ways to make money, like t-shirts, and in punk music I believe that people will buy records of bands they truly support even if they downloaded the music beforehand.
RSR.- What do you think about the dispersion on hardcore punk scene?
RSR.- What do you think about the dispersion on hardcore punk scene?
Today I think the hardcore punk scene is as divided as ever and that is really unfortunate. Although within hardcore punk, there are many diverse bands, we all enjoy this music because we don't fit in with the status quo of our societies and with both all the various bands and various people that have conflicts, I think there are more similarities than differences. In music community that is as small as this we really don't have time to be fighting amongst ourselves and should be supporting each other. RSR.- how do you define your sound, i think it s under the hardcore punk umbrella but ... how could we name the style, in order this disgregated scene where a punk didn´t heard an emo band ?
In this band we are all fans of metal music so I think that was a big influence into our sound, but we leave it to the people who listen to us to define us for themselves. We simply consider ourselves a hardcore punk band.
RSR- how is a show of no humanity?
RSR- how is a show of no humanity?
We have had many different shows with different crowds and reactions, so I think a No Humanity show typically is a lot of fun for everyone. People mosh in whatever way they feel comfortable, sing along, and hopefully stage dive. No fighting!
RSR- in some interviews, i feel something strange when i question about politics to some punk hardcore bands and they don´t know? or about economical crisis and they tell me that they don´t care, they just want to get they school degree and get a good paid work? do you think this attitude is a good punk hardcore attittude...
RSR- in some interviews, i feel something strange when i question about politics to some punk hardcore bands and they don´t know? or about economical crisis and they tell me that they don´t care, they just want to get they school degree and get a good paid work? do you think this attitude is a good punk hardcore attittude...
I think that, while punk music may not have exactly been founded on the most complex political message, this music has always been about doing something different from the crowd and I think we quickly learned that political involvement is very very important. I understand a lot of bands just want to party and have fun but our band has always thought having a political message is an important part of being a hardcore punk band. Even if not everyone agrees with what we are saying, hopefully we can discuss it respectfully and agree to disagree and still support each other. We have a unique opportunity in hardcore punk to put a message out to an open-minded crowd that will actually listen to it rather than just dismiss it, so having some type of message is something our band will always consider very important.
RSR.- do you know some fantastic band from Spain? i recommend you Wild dögs....
We will check them out! We don't really know any bands from Spain.
RSR.- what about diy ? do you use it. or do you prefer a label that prepare all for you
So far when we made put together demos we did them all ourselves, and we'll do the same with our EP, but there are a lot of great labels out there as well! DIY is very important to maintain control over our community, what we are putting out is 100% ours in hardcore punk music. This goes for our show spaces as well, it is much better to have a DIY music space than a club which is simply trying to make a buck. We feel that the entire idea of DIY is very significant because it is an ideal we strive for, to be able to sustain ourselves on our own terms, and it is the means by which we strive for this idea. But the great thing about hardcore punk labels is their dedication to a DIY ethos even as an organization.
RSR.- tell me something about your scene and the bands we have to keep an eye on them
RSR.- tell me something about your scene and the bands we have to keep an eye on them
The scene in our town is really strong and diverse. We have some very unique and awesome bands like Ex-Breathers, Ka Plaa, Atrocitus, End Times, and Livid. All of them have free music online on bandcamp or 
uploaded to mediafire.
RSR- next plans
uploaded to mediafire.RSR- next plans
Our immediate plans are to play shows locally and record another 3 song EP. We will hopefully make hard copies of our Condemned to Rot EP as well. In the winter hopefully we can do a tour of the United States East Coast.
RSR.- last words
RSR.- last words
I don't want to say anything cheesy, but nobody should ever be afraid to stand up against things they don't think are right! Even in the hardcore punk scene, if you think something is fucked up, say something and stand up for yourself. Maybe there are many others who feel the same way you do but are afraid to speak up. Even within the hardcore punk scene we create a system and a status quo, and we always have to be conscious of it and break it down to make hardcore punk more honest and open for everyone.
1.-For those that don’t know you, please introduce yourself and tell us where you’re from? What do you want people to know about iron hand that they may not know?
My name is Brian and I am the vocalist for Iron Hand. We are a crust/d-beat hardcore band from New Haven CT. Iron Hand has been around since late 2008 and we just had two 7" records come out, one on Redscroll Records (the "Usurper Divine" EP) and the other on Safety Meeting Records (the "Liquid Assets" single).
2.- What are kids going to experience at your shows, that they won’t experience from just listening to your tracks on bandcamp?
Iron Hand plays many shows in basements and other spaces run and operated by the DIY community. So hopefully your experience would be one that surrounds you with incredible, artistic, and creative people. I'd like to think of our performances as energetic and engaging.
3.- Your music, with a strong mixture of various influences, really stands out against today’s trends in hardcore.... for me is the old school hardcore on the citizens arrest way.... i love this way . How did this sound originally evolve?
The five of us have very diverse musical backgrounds and preferences, which come together to contribute toward our sound. Iron Hand began with the intention of starting a d-beat/crust hardcore band. However, that decision provided a litany of various influences (Japanese, Swedish, American d-beat/crust bands, among others.) We enjoy incorporating our other influences as well. For example, we decided to cover the song '122 Hours of Fear' by L.A. punk band The Screamers on the 'Liquid Assets' 7". The Screamers' material is not often associated with d-beat/crust bands, and we really liked showcasing that influence via the cover. Currently, we are writing several new songs and its easy to see how our sound is continuing to develop.
4.- What musical groups, or musical directions, have influenced the development of the band’s sound?
We are influenced by a large amount of various bands. Influence has come from a great amount of punk bands like Discharge, Mob47, Deformed Conscience, State Of Fear, Nausea, and others. We also are influenced by metal bands such as Venom, Bathory, Nuclear Assault, and others.
5.- Share a bit about some of the topics, some of the stories you want to get across in your music?
Andy and Josh started it with another drummer with the intention of playing something new with a tight live show, influenced by bands that came about a decade earlier such as small brown bike, sunny day real estate, etc. Steven and Justin joined which brought a lot of new possibilities and is what really made us the band we are now. We've all been in bands for years, and our bands all used to play shows together at the same venues, so in hindsight the fact that we all ended up in this band actually makes a lot of sense.
RSR.- Coastal let me know about you, what could you say about them?
Coastal is great. We've known most of the guys in that band for a little while so it's cool to see them all involved in that band now. It's awesome to have a band like that in our area where there is not a lot happening musically (not much worth mentioning anyway). You posted about them on your blog so anyone that had the chance to listen knows how good that demo is. Definitely excited to hear more music from them and hope that we're both around for a long time to play shows together.
3.- what could be defined your musical style? Is it under the umbrella of hardcore?
Essentially its punk, with influences from genre's like post hardcore/emo/90's alternative. We all have slightly different musical tastes but find common ground with a combination of all of those genres. I'd say you could draw parallels to hardcore in the sense of the diy ethics and the straightforwardness of some of our music. In the end we play music that we like, as long as it's something we all agree we would listen to and something honest that we can all believe in, then I'm personally fine with it. The genre or grouping that other people file our music under is inconsequential to what we write and play.
4.- How is the scene on Connecticut ?
Well, we've only played in Connecticut once, and the show went pretty well. We got to play with Heavy Breath and Wolves at Bay who are both awesome bands and great people, definitely worth checking out. I'm assuming this question was directed toward the scene in the town we claim as home, so I'll answer about York/Harrisburg Pennsylvania. Other than MC (oldetigers.bandcamp.com) doing shows in his garage, York/Harrisburg as a 'scene' is practically non existant. There are very few diy spaces available for bands to play and touring bands are skipping over the area more and more frequently. Most of the people who compromised the scene in the area that I loved growing up in have gotten older and either A) Don't go to show with the frequency that they once did, B) Dropped out of the independent music scene entirely, or C) Moved to more densely populated areas with a more thriving scene (Baltimore/Philadelphia). The shows at the Skid Row Garage are important, and it's important to have all ages diy spaces where bands (touring and local) can play fun shows.
5.- what do you think about politics, I mean if you translate your social and political thinking to your lyrics? Or you just don´t care too much about politics
We all have our own political opinions which I'd imagine line up almost across the board as far as big ticket issues. Personally I'm always very interested in what's happening in the world around me, it's hard not to be lately. However, politics are definitely not something this band set out to delve into much as far as our lyrical content is concerned. Don't get me wrong, politics are important, though it's much more effective to lead by example and implement your politics into the decision making process for a band, such as playing strictly all ages shows, printing merch on recycled/fair trade materials, etc. We use the lyrics instead to convey things that are important to us as individuals. Music at least for me has always been an outlet for things that inspire you, whether those things achieve inspiration through anger, fear, sadness, or happiness.
6.- how is a gig of your bands? Do you have something special you remember from a gig?
Like any band does, when we play a show we want to play our songs as tightly as possible. I feel like we've played out enough to do that and at this point it's about consistency, energy, and trying to come up with ways to make things flow well in a set but also to try new things people might not expect. Whether it be a cover, an interlude, etc., it's important to keep things fresh for the sake of the people coming to see us but also to keep ourselves from being burned out on doing the same thing over and over.
As far as cool memories from shows, just last month we did our first tour as a band around the Northeastern US. We played a house show in Philadelphia at a place called the Cracker Factory where we've played a couple times now. Literally when we got to the show we heard that The Menzingers, a band we all have been listening to a lot the past year, were going to play. We also had a great show in Portland, Maine which was really cool because we didn't know what to expect or what the response would be. It was one of those shows that just felt right and where we connected with a lot of people. Playing in York at the garage is always great because you know who you're going to see there and sometimes you'll see old friends you haven't had the chance to catch up with in a long time.
7.- what do you think about diy scene? How do you define it?
This is kind of a tricky question. I consider diy anything that you do largely by yourself or with friends without the help of corporations, big business, etc. I feel that bands that use booking agents or are signed to a label can still in certain circumstances be considered diy bands. I think the economic downturn in the United States has actually helped independent and diy bands to thrive, since larger bands that depend on certain amounts of record sales and have a really high tour overhead are forced to quit, and bands that were already scraping by on a shoe-string budget are able to continue in much the same way, the only difference is that now bands have to be good to get to the next level. The economic crisis has worked much like punk rock quality control. The scene itself is defined by a mentality more than anything. For example, the tour we did was comprised of mostly basement shows and each one was donation-based. We didn't lose any money on that tour. People that came out and liked the music bought merch and were sometimes giving us $10 for our 4-song demos which we usually hand out for free. They understood where we were coming from and that it's not easy to get around being a fairly new band so they were more than willing to help. It's the same for when touring bands come through our area. As long as that mentality continues, the DIY community will continue to thrive.
8.- on the last 10 years anti system collectives are rising up…what do you think about this?
When you say "anti-system" collectives, I'm going to assume you're referring to diy show spaces rather than larger business-minded venues. If that is the American comparison, then I am all for it. These types of spaces are where I saw shows growing up, and became one of the catalysts for me becoming involved with music (punk rock specifically) because these types of venues enforced the "anyone can be up here doing this" mentallity that so many credit as the thing that got them into punk rock. I was lucky enough to have people around me who ran spaces like this and allowed my bad high school punk band to play shows. Some of these spaces (such as Charm City Art Space in Baltimore) I've been going to for nearly ten years. These spaces end up being essential for small time touring bands, as most large venues won't even respond to smaller bands when they get booking emails.
9.- what do you have recorded and how you deal with it?
So far the only thing we have released is a 4-song demo that we put out at the beginning of the year. You can check that out at reachthetracks.bandcamp.com. We have another song recorded but not released and will be going into the studio in a few weeks to record 3 additional new songs. We plan on releasing two of those songs on cassette by the end of summer and hopefully not long after that we'll put the others on a split with Life and Limb (lifeandlimbma.bandcamp.com ) from Massachusetts.
10.- next projects
We're looking to release an EP by the end of the year (the plan is to get it out on 7 inch). Hopefully more splits and maybe a full length in the future. Aside from that, we want to keep touring as much as possible. We're touring down to Fest 10 in October and are very excited to play in the Southern US for the first time together as a band.
11.- last words
Thanks so much for taking the time to check out our demo and for doing this interview. We're a new band so anyone that takes the time to even give us a chance and listen to something we put our hearts into really does mean a lot to each of us. Aside from that..listen to Hot Water Music, watch Star Wars, eat tons of ice cream, and everything else will fall into place.
(reachthetracks.bandcamp.com)
We talk about a range of topics, from internal issues surrounding the frivality of everyday life to socio-political issues that impact us all in different ways. Our lyrics have addressed things as specific as the recent financial crisis and the ways in which cities have been left to decay for reasons including economics, politics, race, etc. Other songs have addressed broader topics, such as society's collective ability to devolve into an apethic, consumptive, hulking blob. We address these challenges without necessarily proposing a solution, but rather as an observer witnessing these things around us.
6.- How is New Haven scene? let me know some new bands i must know in your area.
The Connecticut scene in general is pretty fantastic. Right now there are several DIY venues in various towns (New Haven, Hartford, etc.) that are constantly putting on shows, hosting bands, and doing amazing things. These areas each have their unique qualities. New Haven has a very diverse scene, from garage bands such as Estrogen Highs and Medication, to indie rock bands like Mountain Movers and Snake Oil, to pop punk bands like Dead Uncles, and crust/d-beat bands like Broken and Iron Hand.
Hartford has a really vibrant punk/hardcore scene with bands like Oiltanker, Misanthropic Noise, and others. There are lots of new, younger people coming to shows, which is fantastic to see and really helps when everyone is contributing, creatively and logistically speaking. The surrounding areas in CT are home to some great bands as well, such as Stone Titan, Gowl, SOFX, and many others.
7.- What is the hardest part about being in hardcore band?
That's a tough question. Ultimately I think being in a band is alot of fun and incredibly rewarding. There's alot of work that goes into it, but its all immensely worthwhile.
8.- if i want to buy your ep how i must do it if i´m on europe?
Per Koro Records (www.perkoro.com) currently has "Usurper Divine" in their distro.
9.- next plans for a future
We are currently writing new material for a split 7" with Stone Titan and a split 12" with Broken (the split 12" will be released on Safety Meeting Records).
10.- what do you think about economical crisis? is iron hand a political band?
I think that the economic crisis presented an opportunity for people worldwide to express their dissatisfaction with the way so many institutions are being run. Ultimately I'm not sure if that opportunity was properly taken advantage of by many, as we as a society are (for the most part) settling right back into the same habits and allowing similar types of behavior that brought us there initially. Our song 'Liquid Assets' (which was on our demo and was re-recorded as a single for Safety Meeting Records) directly addresses this aspect of the economic crisis. That being said, Iron Hand is somewhat of a political band. I would say that much of our lyrical content is more directly releated to the impact political actions and decisions have on us as individuals, rather than discussing politics itself.
11.- something to add
People are welcome to contact us via our website, http://ironhandcrushesall.blogspot.com. Thank you very much for the interview!
COASTAL INTERVIEW
1.- Can you tell us a bit about the history of coastal ? How things got started and what have you been up to so far?
-Coastal started as just a one-time thing, all of us used to be in another band together, and we wanted to start playing music with each other again. We played our first show a month ago, and since then we have released a demo, were on tour and are planning another string of dates for late June.
2.-Your demo has been out recently. How has the reception been so far for? How long did it take to put the demo together? how do you deal to release?
-The reception has been incredible, I'm actually not used to this many people complimenting a band that I'm in. We went into the studio with Kory Gable from Pin-Up recordings and tracked the instruments live and then did the vocals. It literally took us about five hours to get the whole demo done. We knew what we wanted, and got it done efficiently. Currently, the demo is available for free at coastalpa.bandcamp.com. It will also be for sale at our shows. 3.- So what can kids expect when they pick up a copy of thedemo ?
-People can expect honest songs.
4.- Which bands influenced Coastal sound the most?
-Jawbreaker, Knapsack, Texas is The Reason
5.- What are your overall thoughts about the state of the hardcore emo music and community nowadays?
-I think it's a scene by scene basis. We've played some shows with bands in different cities and the community is more a live in some areas than others. However, I think there is a large number of really good emo bands starting to make an impact in the US.
6.- What’s your advice to get ahead but not to get trapped in life´s routine? what do you think about economical crisis?
-As long as you're having fun, routine or not, it's your life. I seriously hope I can get a job with my college degree at some point, that's about all I know dealing with the economical crisis, sorry.
7.- And what is the story behind the lyrics on your demo songs?
- Most of these songs are about relationships with close people in my life, a lot of the content has to do with young friends that have passed away and these songs are how I deal with that.
8.- What you think should be done to keep kids away from drugs and fucking up their lives in general? do you think bands could help on this purpose?
-I think if the world was perfect and everyone had parents like mine that actually talked about drugs, as opposed to keeping it some big secret, there'd be a lot less kids OD'ing or going to jail for drug charges. I can only do what I say, my band isn't really in a position to do anti-drug campaigns.
9.- What are some of the current bands from your area everyone should check out?
-Reservoir (reachthetracks.bandcamp.com) is probably the only band from Central Pennsylvania making above average music.
10.- What does the future hold for you guys as a band?
-Seriously, I hope a lot of positive things come from this band. I think it will. More touring, releasing more music, etc.
11.- Do you have any shout outs or anything that you would like to say?-download our demo at coastalpa.bandcamp.com It is Free!
8.- What you think should be done to keep kids away from drugs and fucking up their lives in general? do you think bands could help on this purpose?
-I think if the world was perfect and everyone had parents like mine that actually talked about drugs, as opposed to keeping it some big secret, there'd be a lot less kids OD'ing or going to jail for drug charges. I can only do what I say, my band isn't really in a position to do anti-drug campaigns.
9.- What are some of the current bands from your area everyone should check out?
-Reservoir (reachthetracks.bandcamp.com) is probably the only band from Central Pennsylvania making above average music.
10.- What does the future hold for you guys as a band?
-Seriously, I hope a lot of positive things come from this band. I think it will. More touring, releasing more music, etc.
11.- Do you have any shout outs or anything that you would like to say?-download our demo at coastalpa.bandcamp.com It is Free!
