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Croatian band Stigma plays hard and raw music and I really love it. Here
they answer my questions about the group and many other things. November
2014. It´s Vucko who answers the questions.
Please tell me a little bit history about the band?
-We are Stigma, crustcore band from Zagreb. We have formed in 2007. Back
then, there were two hardcorepunk bands rehearsing in the same garage, one
called ˝Pogrebno poduzeće˝ (means˝Funeral company˝, in which our drummer
Branko and lead guitarist Klen then played), and second one was ˝Kriza˝
(which means ˝crisis˝; my former band). At some point (while drinking on a
back wall after some rehearsal), Branko, Klen and me came to idea to to form
a new band, Stigma, and play raw crustcore.
Our first demo was ˝Povratak bombardera˝ (¨return of the bombers˝), recorded
in 2007. Second demo, ˝Apokalipsa˝ was recorded in 2009. Our first, and for
now only album is ˝Nova doza mržnje¨ (˝a new dose of hatred˝) recorded in
february 2011 in Studio depth in Požega (studio owner is our friend and
bass-player of grindcore band Dislike, which you may know for playing on OEF
in 2011). The album was released in a DIY manner, in limited edition of 100
copies (which are gone by now). Coverart was made by Stiv from Visions of
war (thanks Stiv, great job!), grafhic design was made by our friend Ficho
and printing by Dena (also from Dislike, as he works in printing company).
To this time we had aprox. 50 gigs, mostly in Croatia and Slovenia (most
notably supporting Extreme Noise Terror, Inepsy, and Malignant Tumour). We
haven‘t played more because of our job obligations (days off are hard to get
in this times of recession, when you can actually lose a job just for asking
for a day off, and it‘s even harder to coordinate days off in the same time
for five of us in the band)
Please tell me a little about every member in the group right now age,
family, work, interests and something bad about everyone? Original members?
Bands on the side?
-Branko (28 yrs old, drummer) is a truck driver, he also plays drums in punk
band "No More Idols", and spends his spare time repairing his car. Klen (24,
lead guitarist) is a carpenter, joined the Army recently as a professional
soldier, mainly due to the fact that Army offers secure and steady wages and
cause he hated his former job in a warehouse. Pupi (28, bassist) is an
electrician, he also plays guitar in "No More Idols" and guitar and vocals
in his other band "Kvar“ (which means "malfunction“). Gorša (24, rhythm
guitarist) is a machinist (and a metalhead), after some time on the dole,
now works in a computer store. As for me, I’m 31, married, one daughter;
before recession I was a construction worker. When the crisis started, I've
lost my job and spent few months on the dole, found another job and worked
for several years in a public company for waste management, changed company
again recently etc. I also work part-time as a security guard and bouncer on
gigs and other events. Most of us in the band listen to similar music, in
the range from crossover thrash to grindcore.
I can of course hear some Discharge and Varukers and some Thrash metal …what
about that? Which bands are you being compared to??-
Well that is sort of music that we all grew up with (hardcore punk and
thrash metal), so those influences are obvious. Some people here and there
used to compare us by genre with Doom, ENT and some Scandinavian bands. It
is flattering to be even put in the same sentence with such bands, but we
are primarily trying to make some sort of our own, distinctive sound. You
can't avoid influences, which is not a bad thing, as long as you build
something of your own based on those influences, and not just ripping off
others music.
Stigma where did the name came from… Was it suggestions on any other name?
Which is the best band name ever?
-„Stigma“ here stands for „a mark of disgrace/infamy“. We had a
personal/social reasons to choose that name back in 2007. And no, it has
nothing to do with Vinnie Stigma, his second band, or Christ‘s wounds, or
dwarves, unicorns, or anything else.
Which is the best name ever? Well, what is the riddle of steel? I can only
came up with the answer that every band name with a real meaning is good. In
my opinion, name of the band should be part of the whole message.
What´s the best thing with playing live?
-Playing live as such.
And where is best to play?
-Everywhere where there are people who like to listen and create noise.
How is it to play this sort of music in your Croatia? Is it a big scene?
-It’s a small scene. Luckily there are still some persistant people who keep
it going.
How would you describe your music in three words?
-Crust core thrash.
What does punk mean to you, is it only a word or is it a lifestyle?
-As I recall, punk was that guy whom Dirty Harry asked: Do you feel
lucky...well do ya punk?
How do you see on downloading, mp3 and that stuff?
-It's good to get the access to the music and bands that you wouldn't
otherwise ever heard of, like from Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia or
somewhere like that. But someone’s music experience shouldn’t be based
solely on MP3, as it is in a way degrading of a musicians effort and of
music itself.
How is it to live Croatia Politically?
-Fucked up. Fucked up hard.
Is there any good bands from Croatia now? ?In your homecity?
-There are, even in this and similar genres. Bolesno Grinje and Nulla Osta
from Pula, Dislike from Požega. Motus, Deafness by Noise, Upset and
Stronghold from Zagreb. Of course there are lot of bands being formed and
splitting up on a monthly basis, mostly being formed again by same people
under different name. Only a few bands (people) are really active.
What do you know about Sweden? Have you been and here and played?
-Vikings, Henrik Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimović and some really good bands (by
that we don’t think on ABBA). We have never played in Sweden, but we would
surely like to.
Have you heard any good bands from Sweden?
-Yes, many of them. Anti Cimex, Moderat Likvidation, Crude SS, Black
Uniforms, Mob 47, Wolfpack, Driller Killer, Disfear, No Security, Totalitar,
Skitsystem, Avskum etc
Your lyrics, who does them and what influences you?
-I do most of the lyrics. Some of the older ones were done by Branko and me
together. Our lyrics mainly cover themes of war, system oppression,
alienation, fear, hatred, and violence. It’s a state of mind of a society in
which we are living and which is affecting us the most
Is there any subject that you never will write anything about?
-Well, we won’t make any love songs, that's for sure.
Politic and music, does it goes hand in hand? Which is your most political
song? And your most unserious song?
-Music is a channel to express yourselves in the first place. As you can
express your anger, rage, concern, apathy or fear through music, you can
also express your political views through your lyrics if you need to. But we
don’t think it should be prevailing over music itself, thus degrading it to
a mere tool for political agitation, religious preaching, or such shit. Our
most political song from the album is probably „Kurva sistema“ ("Whore of
the system“), and among the new ones, which are not recorded yet, most
political would be „Abomi-nation“. Our most unserious song is definitely
„Bond“, with lyrics based on an inside joke about James Bond ending up in a
bloody mosh pit.
Best political band/artist?
-Discharge, Antisect, Doom, ENT, Napalm Death for sure among european bands,
Nausea, and Crucifix among american ones.
Do you think that music(lyrics and so on) can change anyones life, I mean
people who listens to music?
-Sure. Especially for those who so often get too drunk on a festival and use
to take a nap next to the blasting loudspeakers. They'll go deaf eventually
and their life would change in that manner.
You do Discharge Fight Back as a cover, do you do any other covers?
-We used to do Lycanthro punk (Wolfpack) and Ausgebombt (Sodom) on some of
our gigs.
Is it important for you to get out physical records? Why or why not?
-Well, you don’t really have an album until you put it on a hard medium.
Tape, CD, or vinyl. Vinyl is the best medium but also the most expensive.
Please tell me a funny thing which have happened during your career and
under some gig? I can imagine that it´s wild
-Well, last year, during the crust festival in Slovenia, a big military tent
with distro was caught on fire from the vegan barbecue. Fire also caught the
cable leading to the big gas cylinder near the barbecue. Everything seemed
as we’ll got a really explosive situation in our hands. Luckily, Branko
managed to turn off the burning cabel on time, saving lives of some crusties
that were so drunk/stoned, that they just stood around and waited what will
happen. Actually, one of that crusties was somewhat proactive so he tried to
extinguish the fire with a half-empty plastic glass of beer. The organizer
was stoned as well, so after some staggering around, he asked Branko
something as: ‚Hey mate, what’s up with all that fire? ‘
How does your audience look like? Which people do you miss on your concerts?
-If you ment which kind of audience comes to hc/punk gigs in Croatia, that
are punks, crusties, metalheads, skinheads...same as elswhere on such gigs I
supose. We don’t miss anyone who doesn’t have real interest in this kind of
music, since we are not doing this for money.
Please rank your five favoriterecords, five favoriteconcerts and five most
important things in life?
-The most important thing in my life was a birth of my daughter Jana. Among
our concerts, that would be the one supporting ENT in Zagreb. Other gigs
would be hard to rank. Favourite records are somewhat also hard to rank for
me, but among them, Extreme Noise Terror „Retro-bution“, The Exploited
„Troops of Tommorow“, Slayer „Reign in Blood“, Discharge „Hear Nothing, see
Nothing say Nothing“ and Wolfpack „Lycanthro punk“ would surely find their
place in top five.
Many of the old good guys is dead, Ramones, Joe strummer etc. If you had a
chance to put together a concert together with five bands(living and dead)
together with Stigma, which five would you have choosed?
-It would be great to play with Extreme Noise Terror again. And for the dead
you mentioned, let them rest in peace.
Is it boring with interviews?
-Only with the boring ones.
Futureplans for the band?
-We are currently working on a new material. Some 8 tracks are already
finished and few others are in the process. We have some loose plans to
record that material as a new album in next few months. If all goes well, we
will do so. When recorded, it will surely be released on a CD, also on the
internet free for download. If we’ll have the money, maybe we‘ll also
release some very limited edition on vinyl.
For yourself?
-To keep my job and take care for my family.
Wisdomword?
-Even a kick in the butt is a step forward.
Something to add?
-Cheers to you mate and to all those who still love raw hardcore!
Vučko
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