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Irish Voodoo Records interview
Irish Voodoo Records is a DIY label out of Southern California with bands like Ruined Tongue, Results, Birth And Burial, Colors and many more. They're pretty busy right now, with new releases in the pipeline and distro full of hardcore goodness. Here's an interview with the guys behind the Irish Voodoo who drop some knowledge on what is it like to run a label, future plans and more.
How did Irish Voodoo Records come about? What encouraged you to set it up and how long was it gestating before taking flight?I never wanted to start a label, at the time i was in a band called A Witch's Distance, after we recorded and released a demo, we were back in the studio again to record new songs to shop around, but as a band, we decided to self release it. I had no funds to start a label, no name for the label, no logo, just had nothing.
And the label name, where did that come from?
So around 2004, I was thinking, if we are going to self release it, I want it under a name, so since I'm Irish, I said IRISH VOODOO RECORDS. At the time, and even now, I think it sounds good. I was into lots of punk style music or underground, so I didn't want a name to sound like a hardcore label, or just be a hardcore label, cause I'm into metal,post hardcore,or some form of punk. So the first release was the A Witch's Distance CD, It didn't have a logo or release number, cause I wasn't sure yet about doing a label.
You have quite a few cool bands lined up for the label now, like Results, Decisions, All Your Might or Birth And Burial among others. What plays into your decision when choosing which bands to work with?
Results changed to Worlds Below, great songs, great band, pick up the new 7" lol nice plug, anyways when my band was playing shows, I would see other bands on the bill with us. I would say, they are cool, they should have a release out, but lots of the bands are young kids and don't have the money to make a demo, let alone self release a cd or vinyl. So I started setting up DIY shows, at any place that would let me, with bands i liked, that we played with to make a relationship with them and to get to know them better. That's when I decided to start this label and release music, in my opinion, should be heard.
Based on your experience of running a label, what advice would you give to someone interested in doing the same thing? How to go about finding new bands, promoting early releases etc.?Well if your serious about doing a label, do it for fun. I love hardcore, If i wanted to make money, I wouldn't do hardcore/punk/metal label. I don't make money, my goal is to make my money back for future releases and merch. I still go to shows, so sometimes i see band, and keep tabs on them from the bands myspace,twitter, or facebook, that way i can see if they are serious and play lots of shows and tour. I still get demos in the mail, and I listen to all of them, a little fact, the bands Shadows and Ruined Tongue are two bands on the label that emailed me or sent in a demo to check them out. So bands, email me too, or send me music, it never goes to the trash, I listen and keep everything. As far for promoting, I don't do big adds in magazines, so the bands playing as much as they can and touring is the best way to promote a release. I wont lie, Myspace helped with sales in the beginning, I still use Myspace, but Facebook and twitter is better, or online fanzines.
Has running a label, which obviously gives a lot of satisfaction but also means dealing with some bullshit as well, changed a way you look at hardcore scene in any way?
Well I'm a little guy, DIY all the way, so I don't deal with as much bullshit as bigger labels, but I'm a positive kind of guy, so I can look pass the bullshit. I have been involved in hardcore since 84, I'm 38 now. I hate saying "back in the day", but it's hard sometimes. I just change with the times.
What’s the biggest mistake to avoid when running a label?
That's a good question, I am too nice sometimes, I hear it all from bands, for example, "we want to tour and make this full time" "We have big things coming up" I did that once, and spent lots of money on a band, and they break up week after the release, so its a learning process for sure. Don't just jump on every band, keep tabs on them, to make sure they will work hard for you, as you will work hard for them.
You must be getting a lot of submissions from the new hardcore bands. What in your opinion is the state of hardcore music nowadays?
I love it, I get lots of submissions from good bands, just sometimes I don't have the funds, or I would release a record for every band that sends me a demo. I'm a old school type of guy, and I'm hearing more and more old school style hardcore which I love.
What are your thoughts on hardcore nowadays, when did you first discover the genre and what exactly is it about this type of music which makes you happy?My first show was in 84, My oldest brother took me to see Black Flag, I was scared for my life seeing a bunch of older bald sweaty guys killing each other, but the music was real, nothing I heard before. Then I got a tape of Minor Threat, that turned me on to straight edge. Till this day I'm still edge and proud of it. I like the fact that hardcore was about crowd participation, a brotherhood. I still feel the same about hardcore now that I did when i was younger, sure things change, but still love it. I know we have the internet now, but I like paper fanzines at shows, That's how I found out about bands, its cool, cause kids I see at shows are bringing it back, even doing cassettes again.
What’s next in the Irish Voodoo pipeline? Anything else you'd like us to ask? Or anything you'd like to plug/mention?
Lots going on for 2011, COLORS new 7" is out now, SHADOWS double 7' is in the works, RUINED TONGUE 7" dropping very soon, new bands, and our website got a make over. I think what your doing with with HardBoiled is great, we need more people like you. If your not in a band, start a zine, label, pass fliers at shows,book shows, anything to keep hardcore alive.
Cold Steel
Cold Steel from Strasbourg, France offers hardcore that is deeply rooted in the 90' sound of bands like Next Step Up or Bulldoze. I know a lot of you have a sentiment for these old times and pioneer bands that were tearing shit down back then. And if you remember that France was producing bands like Stormcore, Drowning or mighty Kickback, you know these guys have mosh in their blood and the outcome sound is never less than compelling.
For those unfamiliar with the band - what do you want people to know about the band and your music or message?For us it’s easy: friendship, open minded lifestyle and passion are what it is all about.
Friendship is what keeps us stuck together since day one. It’s been almost 10 years so far that we’re all playing music in different bands together.
Open minded life style is because one of our most important struggles is to be open to new points of view, new perceptions and to diversity. We believe in changes, in alternative ways to act and live. Some of us are really into travelling for instance.
Passion because it is the most powerful engine. Passion is definitely what drives us. We don’t only mean passion for hardcore. We mean passion for music in general. We believe that it’s a chance for us that most of COLD STEEL’s members are not only into hardcore music, and all the other influences we have do influence the songs we write.
That’s about music; let’s talk a bit about the message. We’re absolutely not into politic nor into religions. Mostly the message which is to be understood in our songs is about the most valuable thing we have in this world, which is the present moment. We believe in human relations and exchanges rather than in material possessions. We believe in the power of now rather than in past memories or unknown future.
How did you all meet and how long have you all been a band?
As we mentioned earlier, we have been knowing each other for almost 10 years and we met in our local underground music scene in STRASBOURG (FRANCE) as we were all starting playing in bands. (we started with bands such as SOLSTIS, BATTLING SIKI, SPITFIGHT you should check them out on MYSPACE). Then we started COLD STEEL like one and a half year ago when some of our bands splitted up.
What's KEUS LIFE CREW about?
KEUS LIFE CREW (KLC) is our local crew. It’s the informal part of our local activism. We’ve got our musical association called ACTS NOT SPEECHES as well for organising shows, promoting bands and realising stuff. KLC would not really mean anything in English, but it’s a mix of English with some French slang. It’s roughly a way to tell that we don’t give a shit about judgements; we don’t pretend to be better than anyone; we don’t say we’re some kind of musical geniuses (haha). We’re just people, friends, a family who want to share great times, have fun playing shows and backing us up anytime.
For those who have not heard anything from you how would you describe band's playing sound?
Well, it’s sometime kinda hard to describe the music you’re playing but we would say that it’s a kind of mid 90’s mid-tempo hardcore. That means there are also quite a lot of metal parts played with a single guitar. Even if we got a lot of respect for all what’s going on today, and in Europe moreover, we don’t want to play something that you can find on any MYSPACE band page.
Your first demo has been released recently. How the response has been so far?
The response so far is positive. We only burned a few copies for free promotion and people seem to enjoy something that is not so common these days.
We would like to make clear that as well as our latest video clip (HARD COMMITMENT check it out), this demo is 100% DIY shit: we recorded, mixed, designed and released everything ourselves thanks to everyone’s effort in the band.
Who are your strongest musical influences and why?
Our strongest musical influences are like we said earlier:
- Mid 90’s metal hardcore crossover, think about bands like NEGLECT, ALL OUT WAR, NEXT STEP UP or CONFUSION because this is what we are listening the most to.
- We’re also big fans of trash metal from SLAYER to PC DEATHSQUAD for the evil metal touch!
- Hip Hop as well, cause it’s such a good way to get inspiration for powerful punch lines! We would mentioned artists from DUCK DOWN RECORDS, or PSYCHO REALM for example.
- But also some jazzy, blues and soul music for the intensity and intimacy we find in it. By the way we are currently working on a BILLIE HOLYDAY cover, stay tuned…
And where do you draw your inspiration from when it comes to the lyrics?
The inspiration when it comes to the lyrics mostly comes from our personal experience, lives, aspirations and determinations. We got a bunch of positive songs which are to be heard as a spiritual help when the tough moments show up. They deal with friendship, partying, street life, love, travelling…
But as well we got some really dark and negative songs which reflect the inner dark passenger we try to cornered most of the time, but who sometimes reaches the surface, poisons our lives and distorts our perceptions. We think this dark part exists in every single one, but we also assume there are ways to get rid of. Our own way is to release those dark and shadowed songs.
We write down quite a lot thanks to the two singers together, and we’ve got something like 5 or 6 songs already written and ready to be used!
Who should start a hardcore band: Dirty Harry or Donnie Darko?
Haha, definitely Dirty Harry!! Even if Donnie Darko is pretty smart, he’s way too negative and too lazy to play any good music. And how could his friend, a gigantic rabbit play drums??
Stormcore vs. Kickback?
First of all you’ll have to know that we love both of them, from a musical point of view. They both released some masterpieces (think of TO THE POINT and CORNERED), and they’re both French so…! We believe they did a lot in the French underground music scene and we can only be respectful for that.
Maybe we should ask every member which one of these bands they would prefer, but this is not really worth it.
Tell us what you have coming up that we can check for. Plans, gigs and releases planned for the upcoming months?
Yes of course! We’ll play a show in AUGSBURG (GERMANY) in March for some good friends we’ve got there. We would love to play anywhere so if promoters are interested, get in touch with us. We hope to start touring in 2011.
Early in 2011 we also plan to hit the studio in order to record a 7 tracks MCD with a selection of our finest tunes. We still got some shirts and are currently working on a new design.
Any closing thoughts?
Well, first of all thank you very much for the interview and the support! We hope it will help people to know more about us and to get in touch with us for anything. We’ll be more than happy to share cds, stages, beers, parties, BBQs or any constructive thoughts with cool people worldwide.
Last but not least: never forget we’re only tenant of our organic shell, we don’t belong to any flag, any country or any continent. We belong to the earth as a part of it. Whatever happens we survive, we move on, and we overcome.
For The Worse announced new album - For The Good, For The Bad, For The Worse
B9 veterans For The Worse announced that their new full length titled “For The Good, For The Bad, For The Worse” will be coming out on Arrest Records! This release will come in 10″ vinyl,CD and digital formats and will be available this winter!
Barcadia - Violent Means, Violent Ends
One thing that is obvious about Barcadia is that they got their own opinions and are not afraid to voice them. They’re clearly comfortable with their chosen, non-conformist lane and they are not about making compromises. Hate them or love them, many people have been waiting for Violent Means, Violent Ends to drop.The band has poured loads of attitude and confidence to this album. Compared with their prior record the music seems to be more mature, with much more twists, but still maintains high energy and high impact. The band mostly wanders in mid-tempos now, with lengthier, drawn out songs, but there's a good combination of different styles with some faster, straight up aggressive parts as well. Everything seems to fall into place musically. The album is filled with menacing and dark atmosphere it suffocates and scrambles the senses of the listeners. The sound quality is heavy, bur raw. It’s not a type of music that needs to be that slickly recorded and I dig that aspect as well.The standout aspect of this album is definitely in the lyrics. Barcadia tackles every form of sexual abuse or act of violence against the innocent. It’s really surprising this problem is so rarely taken up by hardcore bands. As the band explained in the recent interview; “The more I looked into sexual assault and saw how prevalent it is, the more disgusted and pissed off I became. I decided to use my band as a vehicle to drive all of this information into the heads of people who might not be thinking about it or who might not know about it. I also wanted to be a band that lets anyone who's ever been sexually assaulted know they are not alone and there is at least one band, one group of people in this world who care and who actively stand up against what ruined their lives.”
Violent Means, Violent Ends is a good album for Barcadia. Both the music and the message maintain the high energy level and it makes each track a strong and powerful statement.
Review: Dloogi
Label: Seventh Dagger
Year: 2011
Band's website
New merch and planned releases from Beatdown Hardwear
"We've got tonz of new apparel with rad designs and a short feature in the coming 'Streetwear Today' magazine. Got new Beanies, Shorts, Baseballjackets and all that stuff.. planning new Caps.." - this is the massage I got from the good folks at BDHW. Check out their webstore for more info! It seems they've got a lot of going for them now with tons of new stuff and releases. Red Eyed Devil with members of EGH signed to to BDHW Rec. The Releasedate of their upcoming full length will be the 20.04.11. Also, Twitching Tongues from California with members of Alpha Omega, Ruckus, Nails… will release their first physical output on BDHW Rec. Other news is that you can download nearly all BDHW Rec. Releases via several Download Stores as iTunes, Amazon…
Wisdom In Chains and Naysayer - pre-orders are up at Reaper
Reaper Records has launched pre-orders for new EPs from Wisdom In Chains and Naysayer! Pennsylvania-based Wisdom In Chains with Pocono Ghosts. The pre-order is available in a gold or a red vinyl, and you can check these three new tracks on Stereokiller.com. About Naysayer's release, here's official press release: "From Richmond, VA's decades deep hardcore tradition comes Naysayer, the area's newest offering to the international stage. Following the footsteps of old school legends such as 4 Walls Falling and newer heavyweights Down To Nothing, Naysayer's mission is to keep the faith and make their hometown proud. Their brutal signature sound, coupled with their youthful enthusiasm for hardcore makes them a strong addition to the ever-diverse Reaper roster."
