Ghost Town Interview

1.Hey Sam, How's it going? First of all what's your role in the band and tell me briefly about the history of Ghost Town and how it began?
Hello Kenet, I am well. I do vocals for Ghost Town. We started the band at the end of 2007, there is no cool story or anything we just wanted to start a band that was different to what was happening at the time, something with a little more depth. We then recorded a couple of demo songs ourselves and did a mini tour of the east coast of Australia. A lot of people were into it so we decided to record an EP. We recorded and released that ourselves and did a couple of Australian tours with friends bands.

2.Besides playing in a band. what do you guys do? working, study, etc...? are any members of Ghost Town playing for another band?
I currently study Audio Engineering at SAE in Brisbane. I also have my own recording studio where we recorded the Ghost Town Album. Jackson and I play in another band called Unconscious, we have just started recording our own release for that band which will be available on the Ghost Town tour in November and Chris plays in a band called Life Act.
www.myspace.com/unconsciousxxx
www.myspace.com/lifeact

3.Your next full length "Calamities" is going to be release this coming Halloween. How did you guys hook up with Deadsouls?
Unfortunately, the release of Calamities has been delayed a bit so it probably won't be available until the end of November. I met Marty sometime last year and showed him our EP, he was really into it and had just started up the label. He contacted me earlier this year saying that he wanted to release something for us, I told him that we were writing for an album and it went from there.

4.How many tracks will there be in "Calamities" and what kind of topic will you guys be putting on this record?
Calamities will have 11 tracks. Lyrically, some of the topics I write about on this Album is stuff that most teenagers go through when growing up like not knowing what they want to do or where they want to go with their life, misanthrope, corrupt governments and animal consumption.

5.What are the biggest influence for making "calamities"?
We decided to do an Album because we had all been in a lot of bands before that never really went anywhere and we really wanted to do a proper release.

6.Talking about your previous EP "The Way The World Ends" How has it been selling and what kind of responses have you been getting from the people in Australia? Are you guys content with the EP's sound/production?
We have sold a couple hundred copies of the EP and a lot of people seem to be really into it which is awesome but on that EP we were still trying to find our sound and what direction we wanted to take the band in.

7.Ghost Town just form back in late 2007. I'm not sure if many people know about Ghost Town in SE Asia. Are you worried if this tour is not well-received?
We are just really excited to travel, we don't really mind how the shows go, we are just happy that we get to play shows in different Countries. We have had a lot of people from SEA messaging us saying they are excited so that makes us excited to play over there.

8.Many touring bands are afraid that they might lose money on touring. Shows in SE Asia do not pay as well as compared to US, Euro, Japan and maybe Australia.Due to lower currency rate in SE Asia, How will you guys manage out your expenditure for this tour?
We don't really care about whether or not we make money, as I said in the last question, we are just excited to be traveling to different countries as most of us have never been outside Australia before.

9.Ghost Town is going on tour this coming november. What motivated you to do this tour?
Well originally we planned to release our Album on Halloween and then we got asked by Gavin at Dead Nation Records to do the tour with Gold Kids so we thought that was perfect but unfortunately we have encountered some delays so it will not be available on the tour which sucks but this stuff happens.

10.What's your expectation touring SE Asia? Aren't you bothered about terrorism issues after the Jakarta bombing last July?
We don't really know what to expect of SE Asia other than it will be really different to what we are used to. Of course we are scared by the Terrorism issues and Bombings.

11.Did you take notice of any bands from SE Asia?
I have listened to a couple of bands from SE Asia that my friends who have toured SE Asia before have told me to check out such as: Kids On The Move and Under 18.

12.How is the hardcore/punk scene in the Gold Coast currently? who are some of the up and coming bands from the Gold Coast area that we should lookout for?
The hardcore scene on the Gold Coast is great right now. Some bands that you should check out are
Marathon from Brisbane www.myspace.com/marathonruins
Skyway www.myspace.com/skywaygc
The Surragate www.myspace.com/thesurrogateaus
People Rain www.myspace.com/peoplerain

13.Last words as usual and thanks for your time. See you real soon.
Thanks for the interview Kenet, we look forward to the tour!

Abhorrence / Under 18

Abhorrence's promising band hailing from Europe (Slovakia). Their live appearances are brutal, pissed off and kick ass sight full of energy. With inspiration from bands such as For The Fallen Dreams or Bury Your Dead, Abhorrence exhibits a youthful and modern "hard core" sound. The band played lot of shows/(3 European tours) in their home country and in mid Europe as well. (sharing stages with bands like Unearth, Caliban, Parkway Drive, First Blood, Born From Pain, Heaven Shall Burn, Full Blown Chaos, Agnostic Front, 100 demons, Shai Hulud and many more) Their entirely first product - 7inch in 2002 (Vegan Idea rec.), debut CD entitled "Burial Of Evil" in 2004 (Deadbutcher rec.), MCD "The Blood Of Hatred" in 2006 (Deadbutcher rec.) and latest full-length in 2008 (Deadbutcher rec.) have proved, that they aren't fooling around, but working really hard! At the moment working on new tracks and ready to hit the studio (August 2009) to record a new single as a sample of their upcoming full-length.

Band : ABHORRENCE
Hometown : Bratislava, SLOVAKIA
Genre : Hardcore / Punk / Beatdown
Label : Deadbutcher Records
Link/Myspace : ABHORRENCE

1. Hye Dajko. Tell me your role in the band and how was Abhorrence formed?
- Hi man, Abhorrence was born in 2000, coming from Bratislava city (Slovakia), just bunch of guys living their dream. Founding members are singer, drummer and Krivic - one of the guitarist. I play bass.

2. From the start till today how many releases did Abhorrence release? Any future release plans?
- Well, even if we do our best, we have only 4 under belts (7inch/MCD/2 times full length). Closest plans are about the trip to SEA and our first video in September_09. In 2010 new full length, EU tour and some more ill places where we have never been before, so let's see, coz this is always subject to change.

3. Hardcore in South East Asia are not really big/popular, to compare with euro, america or japan. So.. What makes you so interested to do a South East Asia Tour?
- We have always wanted to play some wild places as well as play shows generally, so SEA is the next experience and of course exept shows we cant wait for the nature and lifestyle. But the same we would say about US or Japan. We love to travel, even more so when playing shows.

4. Abhorrence has done 3 European tours and shared the stage with big hardcore bands like Unearth, Parkway Drive, Heaven Shall Burn and a other bands. So, What is your expectation in South East Asia.?
- Huge mosh pits, nice people, cheap electronic, pretty girls, hot weather, annoy monkeys:), Petronas Twin Towers in KL and hopeing to get to see the strange mermaid who was reportedly found in MY!!! Its true or hoax?:)

5. Coming 18th October at Kuala Lumpur Abhorrence will share the same stage with living legend punk rock band "No Use For A Name". How did you feel or react when you found out that your going to be sharing the same stage as NUFAN?
- We have never been listening punkrock music, but of course know them. Anyway, it's great that we were added on the bill and playing such a huge show.

6. What do you guys do besides performing together as a band?
- Everybody have regular jobs - plus im studying university, drumer and guitarist are engineers, me and singer have common bussines, other guitarist is working for the national TV like soundmaster. The band is our hobby...

7. If you had chance to change something in the world. What would it be? - Resurrection of Michal Jackson:)

8. Lastly. thanks for taking time to reply this interview. See you this October.
- No dude, thanx for YOUR time and support. See you soon!!!

++++++++++++++++

Under 18 was a hardcore punk band formed and rising on Bandung City in 1997. Their style was flavoured by New York hardcore skinhead style, and their primarily hardcore sound was flavoured by influences ranging from band called Warzone, a band that come from the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Their songs, mostly give any messages for the long live hardcore scene in Bandung. Releasing their debut EP in 1999 with the tittle OSHC Till Die" Then joined in undoground Compilation" that released on France in 2001. Later, releasing 4 Way Split Band "Rockin Riot vol" 2 under United Races Records in 2003. Under Linoleum Records, released 12 songs LP/CD and Cassettes called loyalitas in 2007, and available in a compilation called "Total Destroy" vol 1 released by Chaotic Records in a same years. On 2008, they available on Riot Connection Records Compilation in Germany and Family Compilation that was released by Linoleum Records in the same years. Under 18 has done lots of tour in Indonesia with any local and foreign band.

Band : UNDER 18
Hometown : Bandung, Indonesia
Genre : Hardcore / Punk
Label : Linoleum Records
Link/Myspace : UNDER 18

1. Tell us your name and what you role are you in the band?
- Yeah, I'm Seeon taking for the interview . . . OK, Under 18 are Seeon and Tepeng on vocal, Iev on Guitar, Budrexxx on Bass and Joko on Drumm.

2. How did Under 18 start and how many releases have under 18 come out with so far?
- Under 18 was start as a side project band since 1997, when all of the members were still in high school. Previously, all personnel already have a band before then we met and started this band with a reason, yes. . . Warzone so the only reason why this band was born. We're very love NYHC style, especially the legendary Warzone. Under 18 was start with cover Warzone songs at the first time, and still like that until now. . . we're ever joined with any local and overseas compilation before finally we're to release an album. In 1999, we're release a demo album called "OSHC till die" (self released). Then we're join the compilation in France called "Indoground Compilation" at 2001. In 2003, joined in 4-Way split "Rockin Riot vol #2" released by United Races Records. In 2007, we're release Full Length album, called "Loyalitas" that have released by Linoleum Records and joined "Total Destroy Compilation" by Chaotic Records. In 2008, joined in two compilation, 揜iot Connection, Indonesia Germany split by Riot Connection Records and "Family Compilation vol #1" by Linoleum Records.

3. Correct me if i'm wrong, This is your first time touring outside Indonesia right? So hows your feeling and what are your expectation playing in Singapore and Malaysia?
- Yeah, that's absolutely right. This is our first tour outside of Indonesia. We only heard about Singapore and Malaysia through TV, Internet and friends who have toured there, and we're just keep in touch by internet with some people before we have a chance to go there. We really excited for this, to do the shows, to hang out, meet new friends, mingle with the culture over there, visiting new places, meet with hardcore / punk / skinhead boys there, and a lot of another fun. Yeah, hopefully it will be the great tour for us, to meet with a good attitude guys in Singapore and Malaysia. Yeah, we're really excited for sure

4. How is bandung's hardcore scene right now? Any upcoming/good band you'd recommend?
- Increasingly crowded and developed, we've very proud of that. Starting from the reappearance of the old bands, until the presence of new bands that more and more. It makes things even more crowded here and better than 3 or 4 years ago. Hopefully, it will be always like this, or even more evolved than the previous. And get stronger than before. Too many hardcore bands that we wish to recommend, but maybe you can check some new names like Damage Done, Standfree, Outright, Forgotten Generation. Yeah check them on Myspace.

5. If i come to bandung for vacation where is the best place/spot to visit? Mountain? beaches? waterfall etc?
- The first place you should try to visit is a place where we usually gather, ahahahah . . . oh ok, if you want to visit a mountain, we can bring you to a place called Tangkuban Parahu, it is a mountain with a crater and it's good, and then you can just visit the hot spring pools which was not far from there, named Ciater Hot Spring. If you like shopping, you can visit some factory outlets and distros here . . . hahaha . . . if you like to visit the place of traditional culture, well ... we can bring you to that place. . . You will see several options for places to visit here

6. what are the things you like and hate about the scene today? why?
- Yes, many things we liked in this scene, maybe one of them is the presence of new bands who can support each other and mingle with old bands that already exists. We can share the fun in a gigs, add new friends and so on. And in bandung we have several communities in the scene, and it became one of that we like because it will have a variety, but now it's like being a boundary between the hxc kids are there, starting from small things like the difference place to hang out, differences in idealism, etc. Well, we really hate things like that, because we want to try to united and mutually supportive of one another

7. Lastly. Thanks for your time. see you for real this October at the upcoming gig.
- Yeaaaaaah, see ya for real in october guys. we're really excited and can't wait.

Eleven Interview

1. First and foremost. Please tell us your name and your role in Eleven?
- My name is Bart. I am the vocalist of Eleven.

2. Tell us a brief of history of Eleven from when you first.

- Eleven was started in the early 2003. Originally formed by Palie, Rush, Ja'a, Hafiz and Man.
Due to unfortunate circumstances, Rush and Hafiz decided to part ways with the band.
Soon later, I took over as vocalist. Man was replaced afterwards, by Chacha on drums.
In the early 2004, Eleven has restructured its line up, Daus as the new bass player. Fast
forward to 2009, our current line up are Bart, Daus, Palie, Atoq & Arafat.

3. "Shattered Hope" is the first EP from Eleven and you guys has been around for ages, more than 5 years i guess, why take so long to release this EP?
- While in the process of releasing the EP , we've made quite number of changes in the music
arrangements to get the desired final product that we wanted. Since, we released our EP with
our own pocket money and due to each individual financial commitments and the process itself
doesn't costs cheap so it got delayed for awhile.

4. You guys have a critical opinion in certain subjects, what is your influence in writing lyrics? And what are the bands that influence you? Do you think that hardcore bands should get political?
- My writing gets easily influenced by everything in general, but i most passionate about stuff that are related mostly to positivity, war, child abuse, drugs. Bands that influenced me the most are Minor Threat, Champion and Verse. Their lyrics have made such an absolute impact that it lingers in your mind. I think everybody has their own views and ideas on politics but i have no right to imposed such idea that all hardcore bands have to be political, its up to the individual.

5. What motivate you guys to stay drug free until today? Why do you choose to be a straight edge band?
- It's the values and principles. Well, it's not that bad, to live a healthy and positive lifestyle. We're not forced to choose what we want to be, instead it is our choice to live drug free.

6. If you are not into the HC/Punk scene. What do you think would have happened to you? Would you say that HC/Punk saved your life?
- I won't die of course. I guess, i would be like one of those people out there who enjoys any
other music like normal folks do. But HC/Punk does helped to distract me from other negative
stuff that happened around me when i was growing up and now, i found a passion for life.

7- What do you like most about the scene today?
- The scene now is much bigger compared to the good ol' days. Plus, we get to see more of
International hardcore bands performed in Malaysia.

8. If someone could get a message from your band, what would you like it to be?
- The choice is yours, it's yours to make it.

9. If you could do a split release with any band that you like, what band would that be?
- Champion.

10. Can you share with us Eleven future plan? Any tour, new records or anything in mind?
- We plan to tour Asia in near future & a 2nd EP wouldn't hurt either. We would love to do a
split with Hold X True someday.

11. Thanks for your time. Any last words for the readers?
- Thank you for interviewing us. Do feel free to check out our band at ELEVEN Myspace.

Kids On The Move Interview

1. For our readers that are unaware, could you give us a brief background on Kids On The Move?
- Kids On The Move is a band based in Klang City, Malaysia. We are five people playing in a hardcore band. The current lineup is Chacha, Wan, Kaza, Syahmi including the one who’s answering this q&a Dean. We’ve been together since 2003 and had a few releases under our belt.

2. Kids On The Move just released your second full-length by CeaseFire Records entitled "Changes". Is there any good story behind the name of the full length?
- Well basically what we are referring to is the changes we had gone through all these years. In general, people change from time to time let it be for good or bad. For this release we were trying to embrace the changes that we all had but at the same time proving that we still have the same values and that we are still the same person.

3. "Changes" completely comes with a different set of sound and energy from Kids On The Move’s previous releases. What the biggest influence in the making of "Changes"?
- For us, complete change to what we were before is something that we weren’t aiming for. We believe that we had grown maturely although we still think that we are not even close to being good, we are constantly trying to improve ourselves, and that’s also a “change”. Everyone listens to a lot of different bands, I won’t be able say on their behalf but for myself I was moved by Have Heart, Miles Away, Verse, Allegiance, Champion and lots more. I prefer modern sound but with classic values.

4. The artwork was amazing. Can you tell the concept behind artwork? Who made the illustration?
- The artwork was made by Bill Hauser who did designs for Energy, Modern Crime, Hirax and etc. We were constantly discussing the theme with Bill Hauser, but at the same time we did it on such a short notice. So we put our trust on him to deliver what we portrayed to him. The people that are rotting/zombie actually mean changes from being alive to the dead. What we meant was that as people we can be alive but sometime they are dead inside and we portrayed them as the living dead constantly trying to feed of their hunger for something like money, a perfect life or anything.

5. What would you say is one of the biggest messages that you guys were trying to covey through the lyrics?
- A big message can be describe in a lot of ways. We weren’t trying to be big, and only talk about what we all have been through personally. I think that the common thing between all the songs I wrote is that we shouldn’t close our hearts for anything, take a risk, give chances, help another, make a wise choice and even if we fail or fall in the middle that is not a reason to give up. It is something practical that we all can relate to.

6. Lyrically, there seems to be a lot of reflection on how things used to be in hardcore. What do you miss most about the days of yesteryear? What do you miss least?
- I would say that I missed the days when I used to know everyone that came to the show (our show or any other’s). I feel closer to everyone and felt more appreciated. But I am not complaining of how things are right now, more kids are coming down to shows. That means we won’t just be shouting the same words to the people who already knew about what we were trying to convey. If I can remember each and everyone that came to support us, I would. But that is just impossible. So I am very grateful for the way things are.

7. The song "Fallen Man and Changes" is one of my favorite songs from your catalog. Just curious if the song was written in response to any particular incident?
- The words are actually quite straight forward that if you read it you can get the gist of it. Both of the songs have a different meaning but at the same time have something to do with another. With “A Fallen Man” I was basically talking about myself or everyone in that matter. Everyone has its ups and downs and we all have tasted defeat but we should never give up easily. And that is where “changes” came in, to move on forward we have to change for the better, although we won’t know if what we changed is the right thing we can only hope that it would make you a better person but at the same time not losing yourself or be led astray.

8. What do you enjoy most about the present day hardcore scene? What do you dislike the most?
- I would say that I enjoyed how the local scene is expanding and more bands like Have Heart and FC Five is coming down to this part of Asia. If there’s anything that I’d dislike the most it would be that people here are still focusing on nonsense that only brings separation in this already small scene.

9. What current bands do you find yourself most consistently being impressed with?
- If by current bands you mean bands that haven’t gone R.I.P. yet, I would say one of them is Have Heart, I just love how they wrote ‘Songs to scream at the sun’, it felt as if it was very vulnerable where they pour their soul in it that I can just drown myself in it, I hope I made sense with that and doesn’t sound wrong hahaha. Other than that I’m totally impressed with more Australian band like BLKOUT, Break Even and etc. I felt like they all gave me something new and old at the same time which is what I love. Of course the local band is showing lots of versatility, we got Burn Out, Eleven, showing that they can surely make something of themselves.

10. Any tour plan in the future and where is the most places do you like to play?
- For now, the only legit plan for touring is Indonesia at the end of this year, but nothing is booked yet. I seriously hope that everything will be book soon so that we can announce it officially and book flight tickets so that we can get cheap fare haha. Other than that we have been planning to hit Australia, I hope that we can get there next year.

Kids On The Move Myspace

Carpathian Interview.

After releasing Isolation CD/LP Resist Records and Deathwish Inc, Carpathian have been playing numerous shows and had done a European tour last year. This year they have decided to tour South East Asia before heading back to Europe again to perform alongside with the finest European hardcore bands "Anchor" and "Ritual". We, the people at Allyearsummer, will take the chance to talk with Carpathian frontman Martin Kirby to find out his feelings on it as well as any other interesting story that he could share with us.

1. Hi Martin. What is your role in the band and tell me a brief of history about Carpathian?
- Hey I sing for the band, we are a hardcore band from Melbourne, Australia and have been around for around 6 years.
Too many member changes to name. We are straight edge, vegetarian and love travelling.

2. After releasing "Isolation" on Resist Records, Carpathian was the first band from the Asian region that is signed under Deathwish Inc, How did you guys get hooked up with Deathwish?
- We recorded Isolation in Boston after I had spoken with JD from Shipwreck A.D online and decided that Boston would be a wild holiday as well as a good chance to meet labels and bands from that area. JD introduced me to Tre and the Deathwish crew and everything went from there. We are obviously stoked to be a part of Deathwish and proud to be flying the flag from the Australasia side of the world.

3. Overall in my opinion, "Isolation" is totally different from your previous releases in both writing and music. What would be the biggest influence in the making of "Isolation"?
- Obviously the band Joy Division and everything associated, New Order, Factory Records, Manchester bands were a huge influence on this record and always have been a huge influence. I think the change was mainly due to the fact the band had grown older, moved on from bullshit in our lives, and realised alot about the people and places surrounding us... the record is pissed off and desperate because thats how I felt at that point in my life. In those 12 months I felt like we grew up so fast and its reflected on the record.

4. The lyrics to your songs are extremely personal. In particular, the lyric for "Ceremony and The Cold Front" really stands out to me. Any story behind those lyrics?
- Ceremony is a song about a specific few people that I've lost touch with. Some of my best friends growing up who I shared everything with including the band and traveling decided to move on and eventually cease all contact with me. It's a personal song for sure and mainly just expresses my disappointment in how things can turn out.
The Cold Front is a song about refusal. Refusing to contribute to all the bullshit in the world, drugs, alcoholism, consumption of animals. It's a sad documentation of the destruction of our planet, cultures and lives.

5. This July Carpathian is going to do a South East Asia tour for the first time. Is there any expectation for this tour?
- We are so excited to be traveling to SE Asia for a million reasons. Obviously the culture and lifestyle of these countries is something we want to experience, as well as playing shows
to people who might not get to experience hardcore as often as we get to with so many tours happening in Australia. We cant wait to meet new people and play awesome shows and just having a wild time in general.
Hopefully we get to see some nice beaches and nature!

6. Right after S.E Asia, Carpathian going to be heading to Euro with bands such as Ritual, Anchor and Rise And Fall. Is it hard to set up the tour in Europe compared to Australia?
Europe is definitely a big deal for an Australian band. Its so expensive to get there with flights and then the Australian dollar being so weak compared to the Euro. So we have to travel there knowing that we will lose money, which sucks but at the same time we were never in this band to make money, being able to survive and play shows in countries that we otherwise would never have visited is everything.
Our booking agency Avocado does a really good job in sorting out tours for us and we are lucky to be going back for our third tour.

7. Love Like... Electrocution and Mindsnare is the first band I heard from Australia. Have you seen them play before? How was hardcore punk scene in Melbourne right now.? Any band should we check out?
- I've never seen LLE before, they have never really been my thing. Mindsnare are an awesome band from the city we are from Melbourne and have always been an iconic Australian hardcore band, they are our friends and amazing musicians. They have some side projects including Frenzal Rhomb and Ire.
Other bands to check out include The Hollow, Ghost Town, Vultures and Hopeless who are all reachable through our Myspace.

8. What is your daily routine other than playing in a band? Any 9 to 5 job? What other projects that the members of Carpathian are currently involved in?
- I'm the only member of the band that doesn't really work another job, im always so busy with the band or with the record label. I have a new puppy who takes up alot of my time and do filipino martial arts (arnis/kombatan).
Most of the band skates and rides bikes, surfs etc. Im working on a few other bands and starting up a recording studio when I get home from this tour also.

9. You just started a label called "DeadSouls" and Shipwreck /Carpathian 7" will be a first baby for DeadSouls. What make you start DeadSouls?
- I wanted to start Dead Souls to help encourage more real Australian hardcore bands to write music and tour. The first release was the Carpathian / Shipwreck AD split which was primarily so I could afford to releasethe next record. The next record is The Hollow EP which is available this week and will be on tour with us in SE Asia. They have a myspace at www.myspace.com/thehollownc

10. What do you think about commercialization in hardcore?
- Its such a difficult topic. Commercialization of anything sucks but its a double edged sword. Without more money being in the industry it would be harder for bands to tour and travel to different places but at the same time the money is spent by labels and booking agencies by trying to promote the next big thing which is almost always a bunch of fucking assholes. I 100% back labels and people working hard to promote the right bands.

11. Carpathian have already finish a short tour with Have Heart and it will be the last tour ever for them. I know there is a lot of good story from the tour. Would you mind to share with us a few?
- There really isn't any good stories from the tour. The only story really was a huge fight in Sydney on the last night of tour. Pat from Have Heart was unfortunately placed in a street fight between groups of other people on the streets of Sydney and Carpathian came running down from the hotel into a huge fight. Maybe 15+ dudes fighting some with chains and keys as weapons. Team Carpathian totally won. I KO'd two guys and realised I wasn't wearing any shoes but unfortunately our drummer Skan ended up with a broken wrist and won't be able to do SE Asia or Europe with us. Which sucks!

12. I know you are crazy about Joy Division. Have you watch the movie "24hours party people"? What do you think about Ian Curtis suicide before doing the U.S tour? Do you like New Order?
- I love New Order. Substance is an awesome record. Ceremony is one of my favorite songs ever obviously. Great dance music, but I dont dance!
24 Hour Party People is pretty cool as a comedy but I think its a bad reflection of the band Joy Division and of Ian especially.
Control is an incredible movie and anyone wondering about the band or where I take influence from should check it out!

13. Thanks a lot for sparing us the time to answer these questions. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the readers?
- Thank you for having us in SE Asia. See you soon! XXX

Carpathian Myspace | Deadsouls Myspace

Second Combat Interview.

THIS INTERVIEW WAS TAKEN FROM SODA FANZINE.

SECOND COMBAT
1) I thought we d start off by chatting a bit about your recent activities. So what has Second Combat been up to for the past few weeks? Playing any shows lately?

- Currently we are working on our new songs for a split with Motivation from Hungary ,and then we head up for a full length and discography. We’ve been playing shows almost every week this year. Prior to this we actually decided to cut down our shows and focus more on our recordings.

2) You guys recently undertook nearly a month-long European Tour. Where did you go? Give us some details on the tour.

- We’ve been to a number of wonderful awesome places, and I’ll summarize the places we’ve been to below.
These are the schedule of our shows in our last European tour 2007 ;

07/12/2007 – Paris , France @ Le Batofar
07/13/2007 - Caen , France @ La Place
07/14/2007 - Bath , United Kingdom @ The Hobgoblin
07/15/2007 - Brighton , United Kingdom @ Belushis
07/16/2007 - Glasgow , United Kingdom @ Oerel
07/17/2007 – Southampton , United Kingdom @ King's Half
07/18/2007 - Amsterdam , The Netherlands @ Maloe Melo
07/19/2007 - Nürnberg , Germany @ Kunstverein
07/20/2007 - Jena , Germany @Cafe Wagner
07/21/2007 - Plzen , Czech Republic @ Rokycany ( FLUFF FEST 2007 )
07/22/2007 - Plzen , Czech Republic @ Rokycany ( FLUFF FEST 2007 )
07/23/2007 - Freiburg , Germany @ KTS
07/24/2007 - Wolfsburg , Germany @ Hallenbad
07/25/2007 - Bologna , Italy @ Lazzaretto
07/26/2007 - Zvolen , Slovakia @ Banska Bystrica
07/27/2007 – Szentes ,Hungary @ Jomadar
07/28/2007 - Piacezsno , Poland @ Park Miejski
07/29/2007 – Gdynia , Poland @ Ucho
07/30/2007 - Berlin , Germany @ Koma F
07/31/2007 – Nünchritz , Germany @ Kombi
08/03/2007 - Boulogne , France @ Red Bar
08/04/2007 - Toulouse , France @ Caves de la Notté

3) How did the whole European Tour come about? Apart from Utarid, I think Second Combat was one of the only Malaysian bands ever foot steps in the European scenes. Did you receive any financial supports from anyone/labels? I mean it must be difficult and expensive for you guys or any Asian bands for that matter with the high currency exchange and the cost of travel/lodging and the air-tickets alone cost you a bomb.

- We’ve been planning for the tour for about 3 years, prior to our record from Commitment Records from the Netherlands. Definitely it is expensive for us; some of us couldn’t afford the tour. I have to quit my job and get a loan for the tour because I know RM1k (Malaysian Ringgit) is not enough. Our currency is too small compared to Euro and we didn’t get much after exchanging our monies. We did not get any support from anyone, we are on our own, everything is totally DIY.

4) What differences have you noticed between Malaysian/Asian and European punk/HC audiences? Do you think hardcore is more political in Europe?

- We are 10 years behind the European scene. We need to struggle more to achieve their current level. I think The European bands are more serious and liberal in what they do. I have to admit that some of the audience is there only for fashion and are not really serious with the scene. There a lot of people that stayed well over 30’s which is indeed a rarity in our country. That’s the fine line where you can gauge how serious our European counterparts are compared to us. They are also politically minded since most of them are staunch follower of SxE , vegetarian ,vegan and anarchist. Here, most of the bands will leave the scene before even hitting 25. Reasons such as work commitment, family commitment and the lack of money (to survive) were all too often given as a reason to leave the scene. I believe the same goes in Europe, but ultimately it all boils down your own determination and commitment in the scene.

5) I believe you guys played with some of the household bands in the European punk/HC scene. Who and what bands did you guys play? Did you guys get to talk/hangout with them?

- Yeah we played with 108, Vitamin-X, Converge, Set Your Goals, Oi-Polloi, Kaospilot , Victims, Confronto and a lot of other fantastic bands, we did get to exchange ideas and thoughts with some of the bands but unfortunately we didn’t have much time to really hang out because everyone’s on tour and busy as hell, but we did took tons of pictures and took any opportunity to mingle around with them and there is actually no boundaries between us, be it language, religion and ideas. This is what I like about Hc scene where the people are much, much more open and accepting.

6) How do you see the European scene with regards to gig promoters/organizers, treatment of (Asian) touring bands, gig venues, payment (if any) etc?

- They are well organized, friendly and united with their promoters. They have their own place where they can accommodate visiting bands and allow them overnight for free, shower and have a good food and sleep. I guess they’ve been doing this for a long time and it was ace. We’ve been treated fairly and amiably together with the French bands that we toured with. All the payment that we got from the shows we use it for the gas, tolls and the rent for the van.

7) Utarid and Second Combat have definitely paved the way for more Malaysian bands to tour Europe. Do you think there be more Malaysian bands tour Europe anytime soon?

- I’m not sure about that. They have to do a small tour first to test their commitment and then they can handle performing in big, arduous tour as this will require serious commitment from all of their band members. Some of the bands will quit after touring, that’s where you can see if the tour is successful or not. More bands are touring now like Blood On Wedding Dress from Japan and even more so from Indonesia, Phillipines and Thailand, Hopefully we will see more talented, able and committed Malaysian bands all over the map in the future.

8) So what have you guys learned touring (Europe/Indonesia/Thailand)? What has your touring experience been like? Any memorable fun and not so fun moments? What advice do you have for any aspiring bands who wish to do so? What are some of the things that they should expect and face when touring?

- The most important thing is teamwork which is vital more than anything else, It will be quit stressing, being with your band members all the time, akin to you being locked up in a jail with no foods and nobody else to talk to. There is some bad experience like getting lost and our van broke down at the highway, The worst part I guess is getting sick. But there are some good parts about the tour, you get to see new places and meet a lot of new people, Sightseeing is amazing to where you could take pictures and experience new culture. My advice is to bring lots of foods so you could save money, supplements and medicine, first aid kit which is very important too. Take care of each other just like family.

9) Let’s talk about your awesome EP "What has inspired us?" How has it been selling and what kind of responses have you been getting from the people in and outside Malaysia? Are you guys content with the EP¡¯s sound/production?

- We have 300 copies left, The response was good from inside and outside this country . We have good reviews from overseas magazines and fanzine, but not so good reviews around here. People were amazed at what we did, when we take time to explain our lyrics at every part of our songs. We are still improving and do not sit on our laurels with our current productions. In fact we hope to do better in the future in terms of sounds and production wise.

10) How did you get Aby Huraira of Suicidal Art/Clothing to design ¡"What has inspired us?" CD cover/sleeve? I believe he also designed and put out a Second Combat T-Shirt through his cool clothing line. Was there any sort of deals between Second Combat and Suicidal Clothing?

- We are not attached to any clothing company; we prefer to sell our merchandise on our own. Aby of Suicidal always been a good friend of us. He designs our cd covers and our European tour T-shirt. We have other designer that design for us too.

11) I must say "Infidelity" has to be the EP's standout track. The song was brilliantly written with commendable lyrical topics and good melodic choir-style going on in the background and also with the appearances of Janarthan Nair and the LastxMinute sisters Ereen and Riena on lead vocals. How did the whole process come about? Who wrote that song and who thought of the idea to incorporate SXC Youthcrew on backing vocals?

- The songs deals with the taboo topic of rampant racism and sexism in our scene where most bands seldom or hesitate to talk about openly, we brought the subject into the scene since we experienced a lot of unexpected scenarios and situations which is irrelevant and harmful to the development and growth of the scene. We’ve been focusing on the wrong problems all these while and none of us realized that we’ve been fighting the wrong cause. The reasons why these songs were written is to attract more women and other races to participate in the scene. Furthermore the appearance of Jana, xEreenx and Rina appeals to what sexism meant for, where women were treated badly in the scene, they were pushed away and people were taking advantage of their weakness, Its totally unfair and irrelevant. We don’t believe and detest strongly in racism, sexism and all kinds of oppression. There’s only few people non Malays in the scene and none of the bands take time to talk about this. Jana were shouting for racism and xEreenx, xRina xwere shouting about sexism and I was singing about the whole subject taking 13 May as a topic to relate with our problems. Where history lies and undiscovered to avoid racism and fascism with this sick society which is controlled by corruptions and manipulations from our leaders. I wrote most of the songs that related to what I dealt with everyday. The backing vocals are essential part of our music.

12) In the song "Infidelity" there's a line reads "I'm pretty sure I can count, people of colors with my two hands, and I can count all the women with one hand" It¡'s obvious that the local hardcore scene (or in other parts of the world) is not as receptive as other cults like punk, indie or emo why do you think there are lesser girls and non-Malays in the local Hardcore community, considering nobody keeps them from participating or contributing in any forms to this scene? What are some of the things that could be done to get more women and other minorities into hardcore?

- The problems occurred when I see the older generations in the scene were arguing about the differences of music instead of focusing on the importance of unity. They seemed to detest other music such as Indie, emo and metal, which they thought are killing the pureness of the hc scene. i guess that’s the mentality we had back in the years, we were selfish and naive. We should have focus at the right subjects like unity in the 1st place. Currently, ever since the last generations are gone, we had implemented up new strategies to attract kids into the scene again and maintaining the harmony and preaching acceptance of our differences. We had been setting up shows by mixing bands with different genre. I believe that every band have different messages and styles of delivering their ideas and thoughts. It really doesn’t matter whether you are a Hc or a Punk, rejecting any of them from the scene are considered as fascist, hypocrite and showing blatant prejudice. Most of the non Malays and females are not from the hc punk scene, lots of them are from the indie and mainstream, they listen to My Chemical Romance, Bloc Part, Snow Patrol, SOAD and other music genres What we did is we performed shows with indie bands and sometimes with independent bands together, our intention is to reach and appeal to their crowds and hopefully gained their interest, and eventually penetrated the independent culture. This is what we did and it were not totally DIY and people fucked us up because of doing this, But the purpose is first and foremost to create a scene with complete harmony with different ideas, gender and races. The scene don’t belong to us specifically, It’s for everyone who knows how to appreciate music and new ideas.

13) I’m intrigued by ‘This Is The Reasons I Stay". What inspired that song?

- I wrote this song to remind myself to be faithful and committed to the scene. Aside from these, there are also other motives and reasons behind this special song. The songs are politically written and have deep meanings of its content, such as animal rights, human rights , global warming and globalization. This is from my point of view of the world that I see. Honesty and purity (metaphorically speaking) are ravaged in every corner of our lives as a result of our own selfish actions and the deceptions of our leaders. There’s so much corruptions and the abusing of power within our society and all of this has taken its toll on the people. We did not even care or show any concern and awareness towards our environment, where money and powers were misused to exploit our world. We spend so much money for sports and reputations for this country’s so-called glory. They have their priorities wrong. People don’t care about all of this. What matter is the people not ridiculous records and so called acknowledgement from other countries. What happened to our country’s reserves? That is our money, the taxpayers money for god’s sake! And they have been using it for their own despicable benefits and agendas. The pathetic level of poverty still continues rampantly, with orphanage sprouting and are still raising funds everyday to feed its orphans, now where are the organizations which are supposed to help this poor people? One thing’s for sure though, they (so called leaders and upholders of the people’s interest) have created a nice pathway to destruction for us in this country. On another point, we can see the world is dying by the globalization that had been a major contributor for global warming such as FTA bullshit. The effect of finders keepers for the developers are killing the scenery, Deforestations to cater to the ver expanding modernizations are literally killing our planet by the seconds. Huge multinational conglomerate corporations are having a wild time building up factories and raping every piece of nature in the name of growth and modernization. Gas guzzling cars are still being manufactured by the thousands daily. Do we need more cars? In another 50 years 50% of the land will be covered with water, What are we going to do about this? I think its already too late if we only start to realize this harsh reality. Most people will never be aware of this as long as they are protected in their own denial and fake sense of assurance. This is different compared to Europe where they had already taken precautions and awareness towards global warming, SxC wrote this song to make them stop and think, and realize what’s really going on.

14) The song “You won’t listen”seems to stress on drugs abuse and from reading the lyrics, you lost someone very close to you because of that. Are the lyrics simply just a metaphor or it does really happen?

- Well it’s based from a true story that happened way back, about one of my college friends who used to be close to me. He died in a car accident while under the influence. Experiencing such tragic makes me aware of the dangers of alcohol. I experienced losses from close friends because of this in 1993, 2004 and 2007 all due to the abuse usage of drugs and alcohol. And this is not the first one. This didn’t just happen to me; there are 1000 people who lost their love ones because of the same incident everyday. People just keep on abusing themselves until they lost their lives. We want people to think about their loved ones before they make that fatal decision to drunk and drive. We don’t want our life to be just a part of a statistic.

15) Do any of you have any family members involved in drugs abuse? And if so, how did you deal with this and I think it must be hard considering the fucked up mentality our communities (Malaysians) have towards the junkies/anyone/family related to drugs abuse?

- I have a brother who used to be drug addicts, and its totally ruined my family because of that, I used to hate my brother because of being a junkies, I don’t even consider him as my brother, As I get older I begun to realize how much support does this people needs from us. To astray them from the society is not the way to do it. We got to put back our trust in them, show them the right way, and help them to build back their lives. Society had make fences, marking each and every one of them as criminals. This is wrong and unacceptable, thus will make them go back to the old habits of taking drugs. Government care less about this, all investment is invested in the capitals that could make money for them not in the social needs.

16) Speaking on the same subject, I think Malaysia along with some other Asian countries have the strictest laws in the world regarding drugs trafficking and all that, but it's ironic and somewhat frustrating to see and the numbers of drug addicts/junkies are increasing by days, and I think there is something definitely wrong and fishy with the way our government handles the issue. Your comment on this?

- Of course there is something wrong; this is business to some party. There is a product that could cure drug addicts. But its cost more than the government could afford, so they decided not to sponsor it, instead the finances is better to invested on military and high rise projects. They sponsored billions of dollars in F1 race and sending Astronauts to the space, but they couldn’t afford to spend a million on fund to settle the drug trafficking. There are buying and selling take place behind the bars. This thing will never stops even in a 1000 years. My brother were one of the drug addict Hardcore that been too jailed for countless times he couldn’t stop because the supply is still behind the bars.

17) What are your thoughts on some bands/people in our so-called scene who relentlessly talk/sing/write about how capitalism ruined the world and how capitalists suck and all that, but at the same those people are their own worst enemies. I mean, for instance, if you ask me I think it's fucking hypocritical for some crust/anarcho bands who fanatically sing about hating capitalism but at the same time they are smokers, consuming multi-national cigarettes. I mean that's just lame.

- We notice these 10 years ago, and past these 10 years most of them are the constant consumers of the branded products. If they could just let other people to live their lives without harassing others it would be just fine. Unlike some of them used bad language to correct other people lives and look at them now one of the regular customer of the nearest clubs and pubs of the night lives. Punks were taken while they are young, Its like clothes to wear, Wait until they graduated from college all fire in the eyes turning into ice, All promises turning into lies. It happens to hardcore and sxe scene too, these are the life cycle of Hc and punks. But there’s some few good people in the punk’s scene deserve our respect, the one that are pretty active and contribute in the community.

18) I know Second Combat is a straightedge band and I think straightedge is a good thing and an alternative lifestyle for those into clean living. So how long have you been straightedges? Have you ever been ridiculed by anyone in the past by being a straightedge in a Muslim country?

- Its not easy to be straightedge here, lots of people criticize on what we did. Comparing SxE and religions its so far astray. We never take SxE as a religions and spirituality. It’s a constant defiance against the drugs dealing, cigarettes and alcohol corporations that threatening our morals and values. If were not in the Punk scene well be call sober people. SxE was there to tell us, Its Ok not to drink. I remember when the first time I embrace SxE, I choose this based on personal reasons I never wanted people to followed what I did and what I chose. was joked by people around me because of quitting smoking, Puffing cigarettes at my face was normal. I received humiliations every day, at one time they give up on me, even they thought by being SxE you have to be vegetarian. That is an option. However this is the misinterpretations from the society judging how SxE should be. The SxE kids began to increase every day in Klang Valley, few SxE bands coming from this city. There’s a lots of kids who don’t want to do drugs, smokes and alcohol would like to get involve in the scene, and they don’t know where to fit in. Well there is a place for them. I’ve been SxE for 8 years now, I don’t expect to change the world, but I would like to change myself, family and my scene. I believe this is not for everyone so dont get involve if you are not strong enough to be committed. I believe if everyone stops consuming unnecessary products the productions will stop polluting the air, more companies will declare bankrupts and our health and we could live longer.

19) One of things that I liked most about straightedge is the attitudes towards alcohol, drugs and smoke. I'm not a straightedge, but I despise most of those things especially cigarettes and ignorant smokers. I constantly see many smokers who smoke where they're not supposed to like in the public places and transportations and causing nuisance to other people who don't smoke. Do you think this is because we Malaysians lack of civic conscious or perhaps those people ARE just born STUPID and selfish?

- This is teaches while we are small. People smoke everywhere even the teachers and the authorities ignore the facts. We learn to ignore this because we are wealthy. What if we live in Sudan and Afghanistan maybe we didn’t need this things because we cant afford it. We have money and we wanted to show power and machoism, We want to grow up pretty fast and be a an adults. Its a lifestyle that we choose, we choose to be ignorant and selfish unless its benefits themselves. If government pays to stop smoking, imagine how many people stop, how much money they will loose, this will not beneficiary the government. Imagine how much money had been pumped to the Malaysia industries to boost up the economies its 30% invested from alcohol and cigarettes company. They lied about other danger, they portrays women and men badly and they specifically targeted poor people and children. How many percent have the government invested to advertise to make people to stop smoking and drinking, less than 10 % you could see on tv and radio and other public places. Its a weak advertising. If you go to the local shows, you can see lots of people are smoking in a closed room which is air conditions, These damages other people health. We should take serious precautions on this. Its not that we not allowed smoking, but not on closed doors. We should have more respect for other people who are not smoking especially for pregnant ladies and children. This didn’t happen in Europe, they smoke outside the close room. This statement is not to despise smokers but only the habits of being a selfish smokers.

20) What do you think about the state of hardcore today, as far as our local scene is concerned? It seems to me that Second Combat is one of the only hardcore bands left still playing today.

- I think its amazing compare to last time, kids are more respectable and humble but less creative on ideas and opinions. More kids are are expose in fashions but not on educations. But its ok we educating the kids with loads of informations. We wanted to stay longer as we could, and plays lots of shows of shows as possible. There’s not many of middle age people who will stay in the HC scene, They leave once they take what they need and probably get a good job and family. We here To show the he kids that there s something important going on in the HC scene, its just not something that you could have in your adolescents, It has a deep meaning of its contents. Its more than being drug free, Its something that we could contribute to the world and being apart from the norm. Seeing things in other perspective by being a smart consumer. We lack this kind of things, what we care was about fashions, gossips and the latest trends. Its should come hand in hand

21) I believe Second Combat have been playing for over 10 years now, despite the numerous line-up changes. What do you think keeps the band so strong and together?

- Is all about respecting each other like a family, you must understands what each other needs. Its not that we don’t have any problems apparently we do. There’s always a problem between us, we manage to settle all problems smoothly. Misunderstanding always occurred. What keep us stronger and together is because we have the same passions we all wanted to keep the scene positive. We all like music and we all like to tour the world, that’s what keep us motivated.

22) I know some members of Second Combat are vegans. Is it easy or practical to be a vegan in Malaysia, considering vegan foods and products are almost non-existent, expensive and hard to get here?

- We have 1 vegans and 4 vegetarians in the band, This nothing got to do with SxE ,
We’re vegans/veggies for a reasons . We cook at most of our shows now to promote vegetarianism. This is our contributions to animals and for health reasons, and its got nothing to do with religions infect we are not allowed to eat animals if we have compassions to them. I’m not saying that its easy since you have to replace everything you live before transform into non animals products, but its more like hobby now, searching for new vegan recipes, Vegan products, its kind of fun now having new things in your life. Its not that hard since you can find vegan food in supermarket now and lots of vegetarian restaurants around.

23) What are your plans for Second Combat and United Front Records in the future? Where do you see Second Combat and United Front Records in a few years time? Have you set any goals/plans for Second Combat future?

- We gonna play more shows and tour to the places that we never been. We haven’t set any goals yet but this is our plans in the future, Currently we recording our new songs and then we plan to play in Kota Kinabalu , Sabah on July, Indonesia & Philippines on August then Japan and Korea. United x Front will be releasing a band from here called Eleven and release our new stuffs. Yet our goals to get our music across and stay as long as possible to keep the scene positive and active.

24) If I¡'m not mistaken Second Combat have been involved with Commitment Records from The Netherlands for years now. What is the label's interest in Second Combat? How did you guys hook up with them and what do you think of them as a label?

- We the 1st band from Asia that Commitment Records signup. Commitment had been in the scene such a long time, we know Robert the owner of Commitment Records pretty well before we sign the label. The label only interested in oldschool music and they must be a Straight Edge band. I guess we become pretty close and Commitment decided to hook us up, not because we play good music but the relationship that we had bond us together. Commitment records are the best and sincere label coming from Europe, They didn’t do it for money, but infect they do it because the love of the music and sxe ideals which is traditional Hardcore.

25) Anything else you'd like to add. Thank you Ein for taking time to answer this interview!

- Thank you so much for the interview,I hope I answer all that u need.For the kids who reading this please don't hesitate to write to us at secondcombat@hotmail.com or log on to our www.myspace. com/secondcombat and our label website www.unitedxfrontrecords.com, Hope we could talk at the shows.