Badlands comes from Netherlands and plays among the best streetpunk I ever have heard since Cocksparrers best days. After many different things which happened during the way we finally have the interview eher.Please enjoy Eefs answer and buy their records…….September 2004. But it seems like they have split up but we really hope to hear them again somewhere, sometime…

History?

-Badlands started as a project of our singer (Victor) spring 2001. He recorded the "False Gestures" Cd with some studio musicians in spring  2002. Wouter from Rebellion Records, a good friend of Victor, released this album. In fact this was his first release.

The album sold well and Victor started searching for people to join Badlands, this was autumn 2002. First Niels, bass player of defunct Offside

(Oi!), joined on.... bass. Then Eef, guitars Offside, on rhythm guitar. And   last Sander, drummer of CHV (fast punk), picked up the drum sticks.

Badlands now was a band instead of a project and gigs were played.

In spring 2003 the second album "the Hands of Time" was recorded and  released on Rebellion in Cd format and Bandworm (Ger) in Lp format.

This album also sold very well and GMM Records (USA) took interest in the  band. They decided to sign Badlands and  released "the Hands of Time" in the USA. Spring 2004 we went again into the studio to record the third album "the Killing Kind", also released on Rebellion Records. 500 Cd's were sold in one single week, the Lp version was released in  July. In the meanwhile the first Cd was released on vinyl by True Force Records(Spain).

Badlands played gigs in Holland, Belgium, Germany and England. With bands like Section 5, Discipline, On File, Headcase, Tech 9, Discipline, Streetdogs, Blood for Blood, Backfire etc.

GMM records offered the band a deal to come over to the USA in October and  play the Beerolympics festival in Atlanta with bands like the Last Resort,

Anti-Heroes etc. July 2004 Badlands played their last gig at a big punk/hardcore festival with Blood for Blood, Street Dogs etc. Victor wants to start something new, more challenging musically, cause he gets bored playing the same songs for years. Niels also was not keen on continuing.

September 2004: Victor is busy with school and has still no new band. Niels and Eef play in a new band (no name yet) with ex-members of defunct Offside and Best Wishes (hardcore).

Please tell me a little about every member , age, work, family, interests and something bad about every one?

-Victor, Solo guitar, Singer and writes the music/lyrics. Age 21. Student

(something with music).  Niels, Bass. Age 29. Installator for Coax Cables.

Sander. Drums. Age 32. Driver delivering tv's, washing machines etc.

Eef. Rhythem guitar. Age 25. Chemicall Proces Operator.

Music is our main interest... listening, playing going to gigs.

Bad things? We're all nice guys... yeah right!

Badlands, where do the name come from(I always think of a Bruce Springsteen song because of the name)?

-Well, to be honest I don't know. Victor did choose the name. It's also the name of a Bruisers song so..... who knows.

Netherlands , how is it to play music like yours there?

-As a pure Oi! band it is difficult to play in the Netherlands. All the clubs, pubs who once did Oi gigs no longer do them. In most cases because of all the figths. We play a sligthly different sound and have not that much problems to get  a gig. But this means we are often asked to play with hardcore bands, which we don't like as no one of us is into hardcore music.

How would you describe your music in three words?

-Melodic street rock.

I compare you a little to Cocksparrer much depending on the singers voice, comments?

-Well, thank you, Cocksparrer is a very good band everyone likes them! Much  on behalf of the singers unique voice. Our singer has, I think,a slightly different voice but he also puts a lot of melody in the songs. As Cocksparrer we're also having success because of Victor's great vocals. For the music we're a bit louder I think!

Why do the singer(you) sing so good?

-Because he was lucky to be born with a good voice! He never had singin  lessons.

Which other bands are you being compared to?

-Social Distortion, Skrewdriver, Cocksparrer, Vogelfrei. Not a bad list, ha ha!! The sound live is a bit harder then on record. When we just started we played with almost no distortion, in the Templars, Skrewdriver way. Later on, between the 2nd and 3th record, we turned up the distortion and played mainly the faster/harder songs because the audience was to lame. But most people who had never heard us on record said a lot of songs are very  Skrewdriver(early years) alike when they heard us live.

How is life in Netherlands otherwise, I mean politically and so on?

-Life is good here. I think we are all very lucky to be born here. There is  almost no unemployment, good health/care system (for the time being...)  etc. Lot of things are better arranged then in countries around us! On the  other hand our country is small and in some regions live loads of people on a  few square kilometers... this ofcourse causes tension ....

How about racism in your country?

-Like in every country, part of the world, also here is racism.

How about racism in the skinheadstyled music?

-We got some rigthwing bands, some leftwing but most of them don't have (much of a) political message in their music. We fit in the last group. Besides the band we of course have a meaning in a lot of political topics but we don't want to express them in our music. Music is for us having a good time. The skinhead scene in the Netherlands like in Belgium is tending more to  the rigth then the left. The scene here isn't big, because of that skins with different beliefs come to the gigs. But it all goes well most of the time, everyone knows each other for a long time. Friendship is more important than some party political bullshit.

What do you know about Sweden?

-Land of the vikings, blonde girls!, moose, expensive beer, a lot of lakes and forest. Actually I don't know much about it but I really wanna go there sometime. What I’ve seen of the country side I like a lot, much better then the Netherlands.

Have you heard any good swedish bands?

-A lot of Swedish bands are my all time favorites!  Perkele, Clockwork Crew (Dennis thanks for sending the 7", never again Swedish tabacco! ha ha!), Unit Lost, Jinx, Sluggers, Pöblers Utd, Ultima Thule, Steelcapped  Strength, Dims Rebellion, United, Headhunters, Agent Bulldog, Midgards Söner the  list never ends... Most of the Swedish bands are musically much better then foreign bands. I know Victor and Niels also like alot of the above mentioned bands.  Sander probably knows none of the bands... he is more into old fast noisy punk.

How does the average Badlands fan look like?

-Most of them are skins, also a few punks, hardcore and "normal" kids show  up at gigs.

How is a good concert with you?

-When the audience is going crazy and we are drunk!

If you could choose five bands from the past and from now to have a big concert with Badlands, which five would you choose?

-Pfff, I don't care really. It is always nice to play with big bands but  I’d rather play with good friends and having fun then play with some  rockstars. But I’ll give it a go.

1. Get Out - One of Hollands longest running oi bands, friends for years and when you're rehearsing for nearly 10 years every week you finally

deserve some succes.             There new album, "the Cutting Edge", will be a hammer, buy it!

2. Kampfzone - Germans best oi band.

3. Evil Conduct

4. Crux - old uk favourite of mine.

5. Cocksparrer or Combat 84

Please rank your five favourite records, five favourite concerts and  five most important things in life?

-Favorite records change all time but worth a listen day or nigth are: Shock Troops - Cock Sparrer, Kampfzone - last one, Pride - No Holding  Back,  Condemned 84 - Battle Scarred, Offside - Kick Off....

Concerts: The only gig that really comes to mind is Kampfzone in the Kastelein Brugge (Belgium) summer 2002. A skinhead pub where only 150  people fit in. That nigth there were 250... Cocksparrer in Germany 1997?, Krefeld was good. Oxymoron in Germany 1998?, because I liked them at that time a lot. Templars 2001? in the South of Germany impressed me somehow a lot.  And last weekend Get Out in Belgium was also very good!

Most important things for me are friends, music, having fun.

First, last and most expensive record ever bought?

-First punk oi related is Exploited Troops of Tomorow.

Most expensive? Mmm I like to collect vinyl but don't like to pay high prices... . Must be Section 5 - We won't change Lp 16 Euros.

Most embarrassing record in your collection?

-I don't have it anymore but for sure it was a Cd by Clouseau (Belgium band  who only sing about love and sound even worse than Abba). I got it for my birthday from my parents when i was 10? I still  remember I was hoping to  get the Gun's 'n Roses album Appetite for Destruction... well I was  dissapointed...

The record who changed your life?

-Exploited Troops of Tomorow. This was my first punk record and because of

this one I started listening other punkbands.

What does punk mean to you, is it only a word or is it a lifestyle?

-Lifestyle.

Rebellion records, is it good?

-Wouter, the label owner is good friend from all of us. We often see him   at gigs and drink until the sun comes up! He does a great job by promoting us everywhere and arranging gigs. His label is getting bigger and bigger and the mailorder is also running very good. There are about 10 releases scheduled for the next 6 months or so.. not bad eh! So yes it is very good!

What do you think about mp´3s?

-I think it's good, I don't care when people copy our music.

Do you download for yourself?

-Yes I also download music from the net. The good stuff I really wanna have  I buy.

Which are the futureplans for the band?

-Well no plans anymore! We have quit!

There might be a rerelease of the first album on Rebellion because it has sold out. It will feature some extra things, live tracks, different cover etc.

For yourself?

-Getting famous with the new band...

Something more to add?

-Thank you for the interest in Badlands and good luck with your e-zine/fanzine. Greetings to all the punks and skins in good old Sverige. For info on Badlands and Rebellion visit www.rebellionrecords.nl  Never heard our music? Visit our never finished website at http://members.home.nl/badlands.nl/ for some mp3's of every release.

gr. eef, badlands.