Much Worse interview October 2013

Ha, ok well Much Worse is from Minneapolis, MN, which is in the middle western region of the United States. I actually consider our city rather idealic in comparison to the poverty, crime, culture and overpopulation of other "major" cities. Some attribute these factors to our cold winters keeping us more civilized with each other. Its hard to say. Our city might also be known for its illustrious music history I guess, since Husker Du and Bob Dylan both pretty much invented modern rock and were from here.

Our recording techniques have been the same for our 3 records so far. We record in a home studio onto tape, live drums and guitar. Then discard the scratch guitars, bring out the tube amps and bass, and pile on the riffs. Vocals are kind of secondary for us. I'm pretty sure every other band records similarly. I think we are going to try a whole new approach for our next project though.

My own moods are generally  just various and random if not fucked up. I'm usually pessimistic and paranoid about the world at large and resentful of my place in it. Like a good Midwesterner though i tend to keep it bottled up and stoic and just live in the immediate frame and focus on what i have some control of and responsibility for. Much Worse's music to me at least attempts to express a more exquisite panic, terror or paranoia then perhaps previous bands have been able to pull off. These feelings come, I suppose from some painfully realized and humanistic perspective on mortality and our increasingly fragile reality. But I really only wanted to create futuristic sounding punk rock, apocalyptic but casual. Its not as if no one hasn't heard a fast punk band before. Personally Im more into discovering new "moods" as you put it, then just expressing my own pedestrian bullshit. You gotta aim higher, as they say...

Yeah man you can listen to all of our records on our bandcamp and order the new LP from our bigcartel, forward records, or even Sorry State has them available. I suggest you appropriate your internet machine.

October 2013

The Brotherscup  - Cat food Product 7'' 2012 Single

bandcamp

Casanovas In Heat interview june 2012

alright well lets see... we were all born and grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts. an old, mill city about 30 miles north of Boston. there is a small scene out of Lowell, but like most suburban punks, we flock to the big city to get to the real action. As for who were targeting?...the fucking world! We have everyone in our crosshairs... We've had quite a number of funny shit happen to us in our existence. last year at our demo

 

release show in Boston, a girl who bought a demo tape, asked our bassist Sean to breathe on it for her before she left...a few months ago in Phili, our rhythm-guitarist Steve, nearly electrocuted himself dangling from a telephone line until it broke. and just last week our drummer Con took home a 40 year old woman after our set, and left us to sleep in the streets...

i won't toot my own horn about my own excursions..ill let those guys have the spotlight!..we would totally go to Russia with the show. the internet tells us we've got some fans out in Russia, and we sure are big fans of White Russians!.. In our space time, we like to drink, smoke, ride motorcycles, and howl at the moon! we want to turn every day into a night, and every night into a crusade!
-Davy

Tenement Interview for Russian Punks march 2012

Great Band Tenement.

Amos Pitsch
hey stas, here is a write up about tenement. I hope this is what you had in mind. I've got some pictures, too. i'll send them in another email. Sorry, I wrote the majority of this on the road, so it took awhile. thanks. -amos

amos at BFG in Appleton at night

My name is Amos Pitsch and I compose music for an American pop combo called Tenement.

In a place like Appleton, Wisconsin, You’re often thought of as a shell of a human if you look or act different. Adolescents heckle and police harass the eccentrics, as if the city itself were a child pulling the legs from a helpless spider. Lost men with hardened souls and stiff faces shuffle in and out of the paper mills and foundries and taverns. They shut their eyes at night in their quiet homes, in their quiet neighborhoods; rows and rows of steaming coffins of all sizes, shapes, and colors. This is the Appleton that I know, and this is the lands where two thirds of Tenement grew up. The city of Appleton resides in a cluster of small, working class cities, crowded along the shore of a lake called Winnebago. This geographic region is called The Fox Valley. It’s an area rich with deciduous forests and corn fields, and crawling with slow, simple people. The only weirdos to be seen that don’t have art as an alibi are either talking to themselves at the bus station, or completely snapping and killing half their neighborhood. Famed serial killer, Ed Gein, was from a rural town in central Wisconsin just on the outskirts of the valley, called Plainfield. So close to us in fact, that some of us have family members that knew him personally in their time.

 BFG in Appleton, WI

Jesse Ponkamo plays bass guitar in Tenement, and also composes a small portion of the songs. He and I met in high school, finding a common interest in punk bands like Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, and The Descendents.

Anyway, that’s all played out history. It’s been six years since this band began making music together, and now we live in three separate corners of Wisconsin. Eric Meyer, our drummer, lives in a very violent, segregated neighborhood in Milwaukee’s inner city, at a punk house that’s been hosting shows for a long time called Ground Zero. He works at a tofu factory and collects punk and hardcore records, recently acquiring Minor Threat’s first 7 inch for 500 dollars. Jesse lives in Madison and delivers pizzas for a living. He’s been studying chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, collects Free Jazz records, and shoots + develops his own photography. I still live at BFG in Appleton; a well known punk house that went from hosting shows to being a recording studio. Our house is a well known residence in the community as well, and the Appleton police always have their eyes and ears on the place, from raiding it for drugs to pulling me into the street at 3 am in my underwear under suspicion that I’d been involved in a local crime.

 amos' fathers' trophy deer on the wall of his home in rural Winchester, Wisconsin

Post-recording of the explosive end of the "Napalm Dream" LP

The nature of the music we play in Tenement is what come would consider unusual. We consider ourselves experimental, but we’re not entirely a noise group or a free-improvisation combo. We all grew up listening to pop music, be it The Beatles, or Abba, or Elvis Presley. When I was young, country music was popular where I grew up, and my father would often take me to polkas… so I absorbed a lot of the music of my environment, even down to the Catholic hymns from church. In high school, we all dipped our feet heavily into punk music, getting turned on first to The Ramones and Black Flag, then later digging deeper to find bands like Heresy, The Rip Offs, What Happens Next?, Gauze, etc… Jesse was into a lot of Metal too, like Napalm Death, Carcass, Entombed, and Pestilence. Around this time, we met many of our friends from Milwaukee who played in bands like Holy Shit! And The Modern Machines. They turned us onto a lot of underground Midwestern American music like Husker Du, The Replacements, Die Kreuzen, etc… Here at home, we were taking notes from a local band called Yesterday’s Kids.

amos' bedroom at BFG in Appleton; recording gear, the bed I sleep on, and what I dream about at nigh

They were sweating a lot of pop music like The Plimsouls, The Diodes, The Everly Brothers, and Big Star. High school came and went and we each separately found our own niche: Jesse got real into free jazz after taking a jazz history course in school, Eric kept digging deeper into more obscure hardcore punk, and I discovered soul and blues music through a blues compilation record I found for a dollar at a thrift store. These influences led to our fascination with improvised music, and eventually noise. Here-in creates the formula: Noise+Rock N Roll+Pop+Soul. This the way we like to portray ourselves in an immediate, live setting. Our fascination with bands like The Zombies and The Beatles and R Stevie Moore; people like Geoff Emerick, George Martin, Henry Pierre, Harry Partch, John Cage, etc… really explains the way we behave in a studio setting, and the way we treat music business. So many worlds to pull from to create a single piece of work. 

 Jesse Ponkamo

So rural Wisconsin is a strange place. Dig no deeper than the photographic work of Shimon and Lindemann, or the immortal book, Wisconsin Death Trip. This land of slayed deer strapped to rooftops of station wagons during hunting season; Wife beatings in otherwise moral homes when the local sports team loses; Grand orange, yellow, and green sunsets over corn field country sides; Drooling, slobbering drunks stumbling out of local bars and into their rust-bucket pick up trucks on hazy-eyed Saturday nights; Big lipped, bloated, bulging farmers in cow shit soiled bibs talking the local garb about crop prices, barnyard suicides, and the weather on Sunday mornings at the greasy spoon; Joe McCarthy and his communist hunting agenda; Cows and beer and cheese; Bored and frustrated suburban children killing their parents or themselves; Historic back shed blues recordings for Paramount Records in Grafton; Snow; Ice; The mail man freezing to death while tying his shoes in the winter time. This is where we’re from, and this is the environment that affects our thinking processes, and the way we write music and 

 create art.  

Eric Meyer

the country side of Vinland, Wisconsin; just south of Appleton. A cornfield after harvest.

While being beat to death, you can either lay down and give up, or spit out the blood and write your name in it. Those blood stains are starting to look real pretty.

  New French band, I highly recommend

Bandcamp

 

Citizens Patrol

http://citizenspatrol.bandcamp.com/

Hi im Kenny, i do the vocals in Citizens Patrol. As a band we’ve been around since 2006. Well its 2012 now, my next birthday is in a few months and ill turn 31, turning 30 last year really made me feel like an old fart, so im kinda used to it know (still not liking it though). I live in Nijmegen, the band is from Panningen, the town i grew up when i was younger. We’re all originally from Panningen (or small towns around it), its a tiny shithole of a town in the South of the Netherlands. We ussualy say its around Venlo to give people some sence of direction to where its located, but seen as most of you guys reading this are Russian: Venlo is also just a small litte shittown in the south of the Netherlands!

My brother used to play in a powerviolence band called Insult, but when they started out in 1992, they were a punk band trying to manage their instruments playing Minor Threat and Napalm Death songs, wearing DRI and Bad Religion shirts. Beeing just 11 at the time, i thought that stuff was amazing, hell all i know back then was Iron Maiden and Slayer. So i would sneak up to my brothers room, steal some tapes and listen to them. Thats how i got to know punk/hardcore. Didnt do much with it though, it was only until highschool i got to know more people that listened to the same Music and go to concerts etc.

I used to be in a band before we started Citizens Patrol. Maybe i should say “we” cause Erik and Ronny (drummer and bassplayer of CP) played in the same band: My Reply. I think we were around from 2003 untill 2005. Just figuring out our instruments, seen as Ronny never played bass before, and Erik used to play bass in Cockroach, a crusty/fastcore band kinda like Charles Bronson/DS13, and wanted to play something else, so he moved to drums. If you would know our town you’ll know why we ended up in a band togheter… Cause its a small town, full of rednecks and the majority of the people only listen to stupid techno or your typical mainstream bullshit, so you automaticly get to know the people that dont fit the profile. And thats how we started playing in a band i guess, there’s fuck all to do in town. Erik used to hang out at the skatepark, Ronny and I used to shoot hoops at the basketball court. We started this band cause we didnt want to go to the disco, or a local bar full of rednecks. The band didnt realy last real long though, it was one big compromise, seen as our guitar player back then was more into “heavy” NewYork kinda metal/hardcore and the rest of us wanted to do more 80’s kinda hardcore/punk. We broke up just before we were supposed to go on our First tour.

Nowadays, beeing in a band is not more a necessity, its just something we love to do. Citizens Patrol started the day we quit My Reply, Tommy joined on guitar and its just been a killer ride so far the last 5 years. Its the most fun i ever had. We’ve been all over Europe and the USA, released a couple of 7inches and a LP, and playing tons of cool shows and meeting the best people on our way! I love this band. There is no pressure at all, we just do what we want to do and we simply do it. I love the DIY attitude, we do all the stuff ourselves. Erik built a recording studio, we record our own records, Ronny and Tommy are great with graphics, so we design our own records/shirts, its great! Apart from that: its fun! I love going on tour or going to shows, just hanging out laughing, making fun. Ussualy a few friends tag along for the ride, its simply the best (just quoted Tina Turner…)

I live in Nijmegen nowadays…well the last 11 years. Went to University there to study Spatial Planning and started working straight after i graduated. Its kinda hard to combine playing in a band and working full-time next to it. It was great during studying though… “Exam-week? Maybe next year, im going touring!” Took me a while to graduate hehe. Now touring has to be done while taking free time of work, and i only have a couple of days free a year. Well probably not the most punky thing to do: i have a job, a house, bills to pay, etc etc. I think punk has more to do with the stuff you DO and HOW you do it then sitting on your ass screaming “fuck the system!”

I also play in another band called Brat Pack (kinda Nofx/Adolescents/RKL/SNFU stuff…). Both Citizens Patrol and Brat Pack started on the same day (or close to each other). I wrote the lyrics to both demo’s when i was living in Dublin, Ireland for a few months for my studies…. Time flies! Well, thats what i remember doing first for both bands. We play lots of shows with both bands, i didnt imagine that when working on those demo’s in a room in Dublin hehe. The people of Citizens Patrol and Brat Pack know each other verry well. In Holland there’s a small scene of punk/hardcore bands. You get to know each other sooner or later.

Unlike Panningen, i think Nijmegen has a good punkscene. Its a verry leftwing kinda city. Most of my friends here, play in punkbands, or listen to punk. Antillectual are from Nijmegen, they played Russia last year, Bastiaan, our guitarplayer in Bratpack used to play in a punkband called Beans, they toured Russia once aswell. Apart from that, there are a couple of other punk bands, like Bambix, and even The Bips started playing again. There are a couple of cool places for shows. Doornroosje is a well known club in Holland (Black Flag played there in the early 80’s etc.), there is a legalised squad called the Onderbroek, they are doing lots of shows there and there is a punkbar called the Bijstand. Its a good hangout. Apart from that i still have some friends from university living here, we go to the pub to watch some football or stuff like that, my girlfriend lives a couple of meters away from me, and both my brothers live in Nijmegen aswell. I think ill stick to Nijmegen for another couple of years hehe… In Panningen most of my friends there play in metal bands. Some of these bands are pretty big in what they do (Cliteater , Inhume , Legion of the Damned , Cirith Gorgor , Skullhog ) We hang out in weekends when we’re not playing. They prettymuch started in playing bands for the same reason we did so you can blame disco for that hehe…

Im verry picky when it comes to liking records a lot. I guess my alltime favorite hardcore records are Koro and Urban Waste. Bad Religion is my favorite punkband of all time and i love most of the stuff that The Kids did. I try to catch a combination of all these bands when im writing lyrics. So it has to be fast, pissed off, its has got something to say and it needs to be catchy as hell. I still buy a lot of records, but they arent all hardcore or punk (i guess, about 40% is so). Lately im collecting a lot of stuff i used to have on tape… those tapes are all gone, but a lot of the mid-nineties stuff is easy to get on cd (like Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, The Frames, The Levellers, etc) and seen as everybody already has them on cd you can get your classic metal records verry cheap aswell (Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth, Sepultura) or pick up records my parents used to listen to (Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen, Creedance Clearwater Revival). I basicly listen to every type of Music. I couldnt listen to 100% punkrecords all the time, or 100% metal records or whatever. I never could. Im still not into the whole downloading stuff, so i simply go out and buy the records and listen to them. I dont have a big collection, but its diverse and i know all the records beginning to end. Most of my punk/hardcore vinyl i get trough distro’s at shows. Im always into getting to know new bands, most of my friends have big record collections they know what i like and what i should get. I dont own that many records though, but i can simply get hooked on to a record and listen to it for weeks. Last one was the Direct Control – Farewell record. Listened to it for 2 months straight. Great record, great band, great people. With Citizens Patrol we toured with them in Europe last year. Brandon and Lauren released our First two 7inches on No Way Records (their label) Worst case ever was when i got the First The Kids album, didnt leave my turntable for about a year.

Musicwise for Citizens Patrol i think we do get the inspiration from the bands we get compared with, so Urban Waste, Direct Control, Koro, Violent Minds. Beeing in a band and doing what we are doing, i get a lot of inspiration from Dutch bands like Mihoen and Seein Red.( Unfortunatly Seein Red has to call it quits this year.) As far as lyrics go, there is no ritual of doing things. I always need the Music First before i can write lyrics, so i simply collect topics i want to write about (from television, reading articles, songs i heard, newspaper etc) and start writing as soon as the songs are finished. Sometimes i have like 50 ideas, and only 3 good ones come out of it, sometimes there’s 5 ideas and they all make it to the record. I need a bit of pressure aswell to write, a deadline or something. Most of the time when the recording date is set ill start writing. I guess everybody has its own way, this is mine. I put most of the ideas in my Phone (does anybody else do that?). They pop-up while working, or listening to the radio in the car etc. I dont walk around philosophizing about the World or live in general. Im not out to change the World (cause i simply cant). So sorry, im not a punk hero, waving the flag… I wont tell people what to do. It gets scary if people dont think for their selves anymore, and thats what i dont like about it. So most of the stuff i write about is questioning stupidity (religion, war, basicly not using your head!) or simply write about personal stuff. Im into this Music cause its a good way to get rid of a lot of frustration. It has a lot of energy and anger in it. I guess thats why i need the Music to write the lyrics. Good Anger-management hehe.

Im not a big fan of the Dutch hardcore scene. Its always waiting for the next hype or trend. Now there all into acoustic punkrock or sludge/stoner stuff, last week it was youthcrew, wondering what 2012 will bring. Holland is probably the only country where Vitamin X isnt big cause of that reason (unbelievable). I like bands that just do what they want to do and do it without thinking about it, like Reproach, Sunpower (both from Belgium…its close to Panningen hehe) and The Shining. Amsterdam is a good place to play though, so is the Acu in Utrecht, and Nijmegen can be good aswell! There are good spots, in a way its one scene ( a lot of the same people you see at all the shows) but its also very divided. I guess that, apart from the whole hype sensitivity, makes it a bit difficult to get fully packed shows! Bummer…

So back to Citizens Patrol… to sum this interview up. We’re definitly gonna tour again this year. We’re gonna record a new 7inch in february and after that we’ll do a tour in May/june in Europe somewhere and around september somewhere else. Would love to play Russia, but i dont know if anybody knows us there. We cant tour all the time so we have to be picky with what to do, but we’re always in for new places! Im exited to read your other interviews with “punks worldwide”. Whats happening with Indonesian punks overthere is insane! In Holland there’s no such thing… So lets keep it that way (intolerance is on the rise, must’ve got something to do with this economical resession everybody keeps telling me about…) Check out our tunes and updates, thanks for the read and hope to see you soon

Raphael Tonchia - Bitter Honey

Hello, my name is Ralph, I'm 18 years old and live in Italy, on the east coast, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
The city where I was born and I live is called Udine. In my region there is a label of punk rock pretty famous name "Making Believe Records" (http://www.mbrecords.it/), try to see it! In my city there is very little chance of playing music and the only chance there is to play metal, I hate metal.
But despite that, you can not find local cool!
I listen to punk rock music since I was young (8 years) and the sound also, in fact I have two groups: "Bitter Honey", Italian pop punk with female vocals, and "The Giacomello's" Ramones-style punk rock with English lyrics.
I play guitar in their respective groups, then do the chorus in the first, second I am in the main entry! If you want to hear you are on youtube or facebook Bitter Honey songs, instead of Giacomello's nothing because we are waiting to record a super album hehe! Our genre is the classic punk rock with the addition of our special features, you'll hear soon hehe!
As you can understand my music is completely influenced by the Ramones, I love the Ramones, and I think they are the best group, with the Beatles, on the ground! Besides them I listen to bands like Screeching Weasel, The Queers, Riverdales, The Manges, The Methadones, Tough, Retarded, Stinking Polecats etc.. In addition, I particularly love the Misfits, in fact I also include their logo as a tattoo!

I conclude by saying that the whole of Italy has some really good punk rock band and they deserve a listen to one or more ... Unfortunately, no one is interested in the scene and this is really a shame!
Anyway good luck for the zine, it was a pleasure to answer you and I appreciate your work, I highly recommend this continues, you have my support!