Antisect is one of the best anarchobands around
from the 80´s I think and they have released new
material now and I really wanted an interview
with them so here it is. February 2017. It´s
Pete who is answering the questions
How many of the old members are still left in
the group? Please tell me a little about every
member of the group today?
-Well,
I'm pretty sure that most people who have
followed us know by now that Antisect has always
had something of a fluid membership. Our current
lineup consists of Joe Burwood on drums, who's
been with us for the past 6 years, John Bryson
on bass, who was originally in the band in the
mid 80's and played and sang on one side of the
"Out From the Void" EP, and myself.
Have you been playing all the time or have it
been a long break?
-The
last lineup split in 1987 as most of us began to
go our seperate ways. We reformed in 2011.
Your new song Black seems to be a lot heavier
than it was before? How come?
-Maybe
for those who's experience of us ends in 1984 it
does, but after the first LP we became heavier
as time went on and it seems that's just now
what naturally comes out. We didn't "decide" to
be heavier. We just progressed that way. I doubt
that most people who have seen or heard us since
2011 would have been too surprised at how
"Black" sounds. Of course there are always going
to be the ones who think we should stay sounding
like we did 30 odd years ago, but that just
seems ridiculous to us. We move on, and it's
right that our output reflects that rather than
trying to be something we're not.
Are you still think you´re a punk band? Because
you were involved in the anarchopunk "movement"
before?
-The
thing here is that really I prefer not to get
too associated with any kind of label, whether
that's "punk", "anarcho", "metal" or whatever.
The problem I have with it is that it brings
along too many preconceptions of whatever that
thing might be. I.e. If you're a "punk" band you
must do this, if you're an"anarcho" band you
must be like this, etc. etc. I've said it
before, but at the end of the day it's just
fucking noise isn't it. You either like it or
you don't. Basically, we are a rock band aren't
we? Albeit a rock band with a political stance
and roots in what we call the "punk" movement.
Are you playing a lot live now? Where is best
and where is worst?
-We
don't play too often. Mainly because of the
outside commitments we all have. Consequently a
lot of our shows have been restricted to
festivals and one-off events. Best and worse? It
doesn't really come into it for us. We've had
positive experiences everywhere we've been.
Have you been much abroad and played through the
times?
-Not
really sure what you mean here, but we've all
travelled. Particularly in relation to the band.
Personally, I fucking love to travel. I love
experiencing new things and meeting and
communicating with new people. Being in
different places around the world has taught me
a lot. Not that you have to be somewhere to
understand what it's like there, but it
definitely helps.
What does punk mean to you, is it only a word or
is it a lifestyle?
-It's
a word. It's just a fucking word. And let's be
honest, none of us invented it, so why should we
feel so strongly about claiming it? I get that
it has a meaning for a lot of people, and that
meaning became a kind of lifestyle, but too
often it seems like we are expected to then live
our lives governed by the parameters we see as
being "punk". I don't go along with that. I
choose what I want to do based on my own
thoughts and feelings at the time, not any self
imposed lifestyle label that may look like it
fits the bill. I'm guilty of occasionally using
the term "punk" to describe some things in their
broadest sense but really my understanding of it
is that it's a term we shouldn't get too one
dimensional or precious about. There are more
important things that could occupy our minds.
I read today about some punk people who have
been millionaires on their music, how about
that, is it right or wrong to earn so much music
on punk?
-Well,
I suppose I have to point you to the answer
above. What is "punk" and who are "punk people"?
Why might they consider themselves as being
"punk" and what is it that motivates them? And
also the question would then have to be asked
that does this mean that people who think of
themselves as "punk" should not become
millionaires? If so, then what is the "punk"
rule here? And how much should "punk people" be
allowed to earn before they are considered to
have broken it? And over what period of time? Do
they consider themselves "punk people"? If not,
who decides whether they are "punk" or not? Is
there a commitee somewhere? And would it be ok
for them to be millionaires on the back of their
music if they weren't "punk"? The whole scenario
has so many flaws and contradictions it's kind
of worthless trying to examine it like that.
What I would say, and this doesn't really apply
to the millionaires amongst us, is that I don't
believe it's wrong for someone to attempt to
make as much money back from their music as what
they have laid out in the first place. The
buying of instruments, amps, the cost of
rehearsing their shit, the cost of recording
stuff, of getting to and from their gigs, the
amount of strings and sticks they will have
bought through the years. Very few bands, "punk"
or otherwise will ever make that money back. And
I speak from first hand experience of both
running an independent music studio in London
for the past 20 years and being in this band
myself.
So, I guess the short answer to your question
might be - Is it right or wrong for anyone to
become millionaires on the strength of what they
do? And, if we should decide to judge them, do
we not need the knowledge of what it's cost them
to get there in order to accurately do the sums?
What's the biggest difference of playing today
if you compare with the 80's?
-In
all honesty there doesn't seem to be an awful
lot of difference in a lot of the shows
themselves. We have found ourselves playing at
one or two different types of events from those
we did before though, which has been an
interesting way of presenting the politics of
the band to a different audience. Probably the
biggest difference overall has been the desire
to make sure we get a decent bed for the night
these days. Our days of being able to wake up
refreshed after a night on a couple of
mattresses on a squat floor are well and truly
behind us.
When you play out, how does the audience look
like, ages?, punks? metalheads?
-It's
still predominantly a "punk" type audience,
though as fashions and trends have changed
through the years it's perhaps not so easy to
figure out what people are into purely by the
way they look these days. Age wise it seems like
a pretty wide cross section of people. I've
spoken to more than a few who weren't born when
we were on the scene the first time round, which
is a bit of a head fuck, for both of us.
Your lyrics today, is it any other things you
write about today if you compare when you
started to play?
-The
things I write about are the things that most
strongly occupy my mind. It's always been that
way. There is of course a personal side apart
from the more political nature of most of it,
and some of this has found its way into the
writing on the new LP. If there is a difference
between what I write now and what I wrote then,
it's probably that these days I'm much more
aware of the need to relate my arguments in a
less confrontational way. Sure, I get just as
angry and fucked off as I used to, but now the
value of searching for ways to communicate with
people who view things differently is much more
to the forefront of what I do.
How is it to live in England today? What's the
best and what's the worst of living there?
-Well,
as we all know, England is part of a small
island on the edge of Europe. And in many ways
its population reflects its geographical
location. We've seen recently the extent of
feeling that a whole bunch of its people have
for the political direction a lot of the rest of
Europe has been taking. And the ugly side of
that has been the unveiling of an undercurrent
of racial intolerance. There also seems to be
the feeling, particularly amongst the older
generation, that the country has been losing its
identity and sense of self governance. For me,
the influence of the right wing side of the
media is a concern because its dominance appears
to direct the mindset of such an increasingly
large bunch of people.
It also rains too fucking much.
What do you think about Trump as the president?
Does it says everything about USA or what do you
say?
-I
think he's a lying, racist, misogynist, arsehole.
What Trump has done is said the right things and
pressed the right buttons for a whole bunch of
the american population that have felt
increasingly fucked over by the workings of
mainstream politics. The thing is, it's the
attitudes and actions of people like Trump who
have fucked them over in the first place. I've
spent a fair amount of time in the USA and been
lucky enough to meet some truly great people
there so I'm not sure the election of Trump says
anything different about those who live there
than those who live in other parts of the world.
I wouldn't exactly describe the policies of the
UK government for example as being particularly
beneficial to creating a better world for
everyone. It's the same crock of shit the world
over. People vote for the lesser of the
perceived evils that are offered to them. For
all his bluster and big talk, if he's not
already, Trump will sooner rather than later
become just another puppet of the people who
really call the shots.
Politics and music, does it goes hand in hand?
-It
can do. I don't see anything wrong with simply
making music either though. Not everything has
to be political. There are plenty of times when
I just want to be transported away by something
I just love the sound of. And that doesn't
always, in fact it rarely, has an overt
political meaning. There's also an argument that
says all music or art is political in some
sense. Not sure we need to get into that one
here though...
Best political band?
-Hmm!
I dunno. Again, I suppose it depends what you're
calling "political". And it also depends what
you mean by "best". After all, it's not really a
competition, is it? For me, and as far as
outright political bands go and although I
rarely listen to them nowadays, Crass
undoubtably had the biggest influence. I know
they've had their disagreements since they
split, but while they were together the sense of
"fuck yeah, we can do it" they offered me has
not been matched by anyone since.
Which is your most frequent asked song to play
live from the audience?
-With
the way we play our set I'm not sure we really
give the audience a chance to ask for any songs
in particular. Once we start it's pretty full
on. We don't tend to stop until we've finished.
Which is your personal favorite to play?
-I
go through phases with stuff. Usually, the newer
stuff tends to be the most exciting to play, but
there's also something about the brutal
simplicity of a track like "Tortured and Abused"
that I really like.
Do you do any covers live? Why or why not?
We rehearsed a couple a while back but to be
honest what we do doesn't really accommodate
that kind of thing. Never say never though...
What do you know about Sweden? What is typical
swedish?
-Well,
we've played in Sweden twice now, plus the
aborted time at Hygget where I ended up in
hospital. I kinda like it, and have met some
very cool people there but it's very difficult
to get any real feel for a country as a whole
when you're only there for a few days at a time.
Typical Swedish? I dunno. Absolut Vodka? The
Swedish Chef from the Muppets?
Have you heard any good swedish bands?
-Abba
Wolf Brigade
You say that you will release the new album only
on You Tube, am I right? Why not physical?
-No.
We haven't said that. It will be available on
vinyl and cd.
Many bands feel that they haven't done a record
for real if they don't give it out physcially,
you don't feel so?
-I
guess that matters for some people then. Though
I'd have to ask what's a "real" record and what
is the reason for recording something in the
first place? If a band wants to get its music
out there then it seems to me that an online
release is the easiest way to do it. Aside from
the recording costs, there need be little or no
other expenditure involved in doing it that way.
I guess that some people might feel that having
a physical release in some way validates their
band but to me all that says is that they, or
someone, has invested the resources to do it
that way. Of course people like to have
something physical in their hands and not
everyone has access to the internet, so I do
understand there are other reasons for a
physical release, but I don't believe it's
essential and I don't believe that an online
release is in any way less "real". What's real
is the music, not the medium used to convey it.
Future plans for the band?
-Well,
the immediate thing is to get this LP finished
and out there. It's taken a long time, we know,
and there have been lots of different
circumstances around why, but it's nearing
completion now and it'll be nice to finally get
there with it. As for anything else, as we said
when we first reformed, the outside
responsibilities that we have nowadays sometimes
determine what we can and can't do, so we kinda
take it bit by bit and figure things out as we
go.
For yourself?
To find the time to finally get around to
rewiring my motorbike.
Wisdomword?
-More
of a phrase than a word, but "Believe in
ourselves and each other".
Something to add?
-Anything
is possible
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