Giuda

     In 2009, Giuda went into the studio to record a bombshell by the name of Racey Roller. One year later this megaton glam/punk debut was unleashed on the world and the fans, press and everyone else in between ate it up. And then nothing, nothing was heard from the Giuda front until last year’s Let’s Do It Again. Instead of glam/punk follow-up, Giuda went straight for the ‘70’s glam era throat by recalling the days of T. Rex, Slade and Sweet and laying that sweet sound on analog tape capturing the pre-punk sounds of both yesteryear and for today.

Interview by Ed Stuart

Who’s answering the questions?

Lorenzo Moretti (Guitar)

Where is the band from?

Roma, Italy

Who is in the band and what instrument do they play?

Lorenzo Moretti (Guitar / Vocals ), Ntandarere Djodji Damas (Vocals), Daniele Tarea (Drums), Michele Malagnini (Guitar), Danilo Valerii (Bass)

How did the band start?

Tenda (vocals), Danilo (bass) and I played together for many years in a band called Taxi, but we broke up in 2007 after releasing our second album, following the sudden passing of our drummer Francesco. Later that year we reformed as Giuda, and went through a couple of lineup changes after that, which is when Michele (guitar) and Daniele (drums) joined our ranks. Our first album, Racey Roller was recorded in 2009 and it came out one year later.

Giuda has really nailed the glam/glitter sound. It’s not just the songwriting, but the instrument sound and tone as well. I had read the Racey Roller was “recorded with vintage all-analog studio.” Was Let’s Do It Again recorded in the same fashion? Can you guys elaborate on how long it took to nail this sound?

In our records the production is fundamental and the analog recording sounds much better than digital. We tried plenty of amplifiers before we decided to use our French ‘60’s guitar amps and we spend long time to find the right outboard gear to record or mix our songs. Recording our first album Racey Roller was difficult because we had no idea how to obtain that powerful drum sound. Let’s Do It Again recording sessions were easier because our ideas were much more clear. We spent six months to making it.

We really have to thank our sound engineer and producer, Danilo Silvestri, for his competence.

I noticed Let’s Do It Again went straight for glam rock gusto. Was there a conscious decision when writing the songs to drop some of the punk influence?

As Taxi, we played punk rock for years and I have to admit that while we were working on Racey Roller we wondered if our audience would have understood and appreciated the style changes, so probably unconsciously we did not have overplayed and denaturalized our old sound. The success that he had with Racey Roller has led us to be more daring, so Let's Do It Again is a bit less tied to our old period, and is undoubtedly more “pop”.

Both Let’s Do It Again and Racey Roller have soccer themed songs, “Get That Goal” and “Number 10,” how excited is the band for the World Cup this summer?

Well, I have to say that I’ll watch the World Cup, but its not my favourite soccer competition. I prefer much more to watch the Serie A and the European Championships to follow the only team I really like which is AS Roma.

What is the punk scene like in Rome? Is there a bovver/glam/glitter scene in Italy?

Actually I don’t think that there is a glam rock scene in any part of the world.

However here in Italy there is another cool glam rock influenced band called Faz Waltz, we shared the stage some times, they are really good. About the punk rock scene or the underground scene in general, it was better about ten years ago, when the gigs were always pretty crowded and lots of international bands came to play here, anyway in Italy there is a good hardcore/punk rock tradition, so there are many bands that are still going on with that stuff.

Do you think music can still be a vital force in such a disposable age?

Music is all about emotion; there will be always a place for that in such a disposable age.

How was the US tour Giuda did last year? Any shows on the tour that was the band’s favorite or stood out in anyway?

The tour was very good, we played about ten gigs in the Midwest and the East Coast so we spent most of the time in the van and we didn't have many chance to hang around and visit the cities. Some of the gigs were great, I remember the first show in Chicago, the venue was sold out and the crowd loved the show: they were singing to all of our songs, it was amazing.

50 years ago people used to buy music and get their water for free, now people pay for water and get their music for free. How do you think this affects music in any way?

Well, we’re all in this. Less money for the bands, promoters, producers, labels, no more free records for the music journalists. We need to sell to live our lives but to release better albums too, to produce the album that we would like to produce we need the money, of course. This affects us directly.

I think the form we were used to imagine the music business when we use to buy records when we were kids practically disappeared in the last fifteen years. Now is slowly coming back because the people out there just realize that there is no future in selling digital only.

Classic Rock Magazine, listed Giuda a one of fifteen bands to watch for 2014. How do you feel about that?

Of course it’s a pleasure also because is not very common for an Italian band to get attention and good reviews from the international press. I have to say that we were a bit surprised to read articles and reviews on The Guardian, Mojo, NME, Q and other stuff like that. This kind of things gave us more credibility in Italy too.

The band’s popularity is on the rise. This summer Giuda is playing the FM4 Frequency Festival in Austria with Queens of The Stone Age, Blink 182 and other giant bands. How did this happen? What has been the bands reaction? What has the fans reaction?

It happens because things are growing, we got enthusiastic reviews from the international press and this has helped to broaden our audience. Of course we also have to thank our agent, Marco Ercolani, who does its job very well. Sincerely when we started to play I couldn’t imagine that we would share the stage with Placebo, Queens Of The Stone Age or Franz Ferdinand and played in giant stages. In such kind of festivals we’re always the “weird” band and it’s fun! I think that our fans are happy to see that things are going better and better and also to see that a Rock N’ Roll band as we are is getting all this attention.

I had read in a previous interview that you run the Proudfoot Sound blog. How has this influenced the band in anyway? Must be inspiring to find some old glam/bovver gem and post it.

Yes, I did Proudfoot Sound blog but in the last months I have a little neglected, because I have been a bit busy with the band. Of course a lot of the bands on the blog were part of our influences and inspiration.

What’s next for Giuda and where can people hear the band?

We will tour all Europe until this summer and then we will fly again to the United States. Come to visit. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for any Giuda’s next move.

Druglords of the Avenues

I remember the first time I saw Swingin’ Utters in Mesa AZ (with AFI in tow!) back in the mid 90’s I was floored.  I thought punk like what the Swingin Utters brought to the table, with that much melody, soul and ferocity was dead and gone.  Vocalist Johnny 
“Peebucks” Bonnel has since been involved with a few other bands including Filthy Thieving Bastards and more recently Druglords of The Avenues which just released a new album (their 2^nd full length) on Red Scare Records in May of 2013.   Druglords play a 
brand of tuneful straight forward punk with heaps of charisma and passion that’s been a trade mark of a Peebucks band since the 
very beginning.

Interview by Jay Castro

Please introduce yourself and how do you contribute to Druglords of the Avenues?
I'm John Bonnel and I do vocals, lyrics and album art in the band.

Where are you all from originally?

I'm from Santa Cruz, Ca., Matt Grayson is from Modesto, Ca. and Jeremy Korkki is from Flagstaff, AZ. The two Robs are from 
Mars.

What is the bands origin story?  How did you guys all meet and start playing music together?

I met Matt working at Cinderblock, a company that printed shirts for touring bands. He was in a band called Forfeit The Day that 
played pretty fast intense hardcore punk. I sang a little piece on one of their songs they recorded. They lost their singer for some 
reason and Matt was a fan of SU. We had similar taste in alternative music and decided to put our interests to work. I told him to 
write music and I will take care of the lyrics and melodies. We got offered a chance to be on a Replacements tribute record on 
1-2-3-4 Go! We jumped at the chance to do Favorite Thing and it just snowballed after that, in a positive direction.

When starting Druglords of The Avenues, was it another outlet for your songwriting that didn’t quite fit in with Swingin’ Utters or Filthy Thieving Bastards?

It was definitely another outlet, but not because it didn't fit FTB or SU. I think I have more freedom and less insecurities with 
DOTA because the rest of the guys are more open to my weirdness. It's really a lot of fun to come up with lyrics for Matt, Rob and 
Jeremy to sing back-ups to without losing it. Those guys can't look mean singing, "Might we dance at your gay and lesbian disco?" 
Homophobia is prevalent in this world and it needs to be pointed out how ignorant and hurtful it is. 

I must inquire about the name.  In sounds so cinematic, like it could be an old lost Scorsese film?  Where did it come from?

I got that name from a documentary on a Jewish community in New York's Alphabet City. It was said more than once by the 
narrator and it just conjured up so many ideas and images. It was first used as a FTB song title, but I always thought it sounded like a band. When I read books or watch movies or TV I'm constantly looking for lyrics, song titles and band names. When I was younger I thought all the best band names were taken, but now I know that's not true. My resources are endless! In everything I do, 
songwriting, drawing, screen printing, sculpture, I always am aware that it will never be the best. To strive towards better art is my fuel to live and love. I feel the greatest band names have a danger mixed with a heroic quality. Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Kinks, Wu Tang Clan, Tribe Called Quest are such great names to me. 

In your bands bio, you list new sounds and new art as influences.  Can you name some contemporary bands or musicians 
that influence the Druglords of The Avenue sound?

King Kahn and the BBQ Show, Sharp Objects, The Caves, Parquet Courts, Pixies, JD McPherson, The Widows, La Plebe, The 
Death Set, ToyGuitar, The Spits.

And speaking of art, Johnny I didn’t realize you did the artwork for Druglords and FTB album covers.  It’s quite 
impressive.  You also have quite an impressive portfolio on absolutearts.com.  I remember seeing the album artwork for a 
FTB album and the art really left an impression on me.  I didn’t know anything about the band either!  What or who 
influenced you to embark on this endeavor as well?

Thank you first. Yeah, man, I just love this way of getting my art across the world. Sometimes getting into a gallery is such a pain 
in the buttock. I really like the idea of showing my work on shirts, albums, tattoos, flyers, patches and the like. It's more grassroots and humble. I'm pretty low-key when it comes to my art. It pisses off my dad's generation that I'm not out there selling my art. It's 
just not me, fuck capitalism, it's gross!

I’ve heard that out of all different art forms, music has the power to alter a person’s disposition the fastest.  Do you agree with this?  Do you have any favorite music that you can put on that will always lift you from a slump?

I can agree that it's the fastest, but my life has been changed by all forms of art. Reggae always seems to lift me up and a few of the albums I listen to are Toots and the Maytal's Funky Kingston, The Wailer's Burnin' and Culture's Two 7's Clash.

I noticed you guys play shows around the bay area, any plans on taking Druglords on the road?

We would love to but I can't afford it. I believe I will die broke with no health issurance, so my main goal is to situate my family as best I can. Music has never paid the bills.

I don’t like using the term “guilty pleasure” because I don’t think anyone should be made to feel ashamed of anything they like.  However with that being said, what to you listen to that you think a lot of fans may be surprised by?
Abba Gold is one album I played at Cinderblock where everyone was sort of shocked I liked. It's great music and no guilt what 
so ever.

What music have you unleashed on the world and where can people go to hear it or buy it?

Swingin' Utters have released around 12 on FAT, Filthy Thieving Bastards have released 4 on TKO and BYO and Druglords of the Avenues have released 2 on Red Scare. Interpunk and record stores and the labels are where you can get them.

What do Druglords of The Avenues have in store for us in the near, or not so near, future?

We're currently writing new material for an EP maybe? I will continue to create and write until I die so keep your eyes and ears pealed!

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Channel 3

     What is there really to write about Channel 3 that hasn’t already been written? Classic Southern California punk band, check. Wrote classic punk song, You Make Me Feel Cheap, check. Released two classic LP’s Fear of Life and After The Light Go Out, check. Had those classic LP’s released on one of the most famous punk labels ever, Posh Boy, check. This would be the beginning and end to a band career that most punk bands would dream of, but the story doesn’t end here for Channel 3. After the band went on hiatus in the 90’s, Channel 3 had a return to form with the CH3 release a few years back. Now with the recently released Land Of The Free on Hostage Records, the band’s classic combination of melody, punchy guitars, and catchy choruses are back at the forefront.

Interview by Ed Stuart

Who’s answering the questions?

Mike Magrann here!

Where is the band from?

Famously and originally from Cerritos, CA. Though now we are all based in OC/Long Beach area.

Who is in the band and what instrument do they play?

I sing and play guitar, Kimm Gardener on Guitar, Alf Silva on Drums and Ant Thompson on Bass.

Can you give a brief history of the band up to this point?

We started playing in 1980, recorded the first EP on Posh Boy in 1982, started touring then, and after going through a ton of different record labels, band members and hairstyles, we arrive in 2013.  Still recording, still touring, so not much has changed!

Describe the lasting power of Channel 3?

Mainly, our lasting power comes from never breaking up!  Seriously, we just outlasted a lot of other bands (and a lot of the fans) out there, and they just have to accept you'll be around at some point, yeah?  It is difficult at times, to maintain the band when we've come to this level--not the headliner at the festival, not the youngest band on the bill or the hardest touring band on the road.  But people do have to respect that you survive, and there has to be some sort of commitment and passion to the thing if you can still do it!

How important was Robbie Fields to the band? He produced the classic LP’s Fear of Life and After The Lights Go Out as well as the Mannequin/Manzanar single.

We give Robbie so much credit for getting us into the studio and guiding our career in the early days.  I think he saw a potential in the band we really didn’t see ourselves.  We basically made a demo tape in a garage, he heard it through a friend of a friend, and we were recording the first EP in a couple weeks--and this was before we'd even played our first gig!  We may have made it to the clubs and records eventually on our own, but then again we might still be in the garage and backyards if Robbie didn't make the call...

As I was reading through interviews, it just seems like overall the band has a really positive attitude even when talking about period of the band’s history that might not be flattering. How does the band keep this attitude?

I assume we are talking about big hair and cowboy boots?  hah! Well, I think compared to some other bands that don’t really like to talk about embarrassing periods in their careers, we don’t have regrets of that time.  Sure, the photos look silly out of context, but we weren't really doing anything that was insincere.  The packaging and image was poofy, to be sure--and that was indeed involved in trying to break out of the punk mold--but we stand by those songs.  And when we play them live now, without the classic 80's production, the shotgun snare drums and soaked vocals, they just sound like CH3 songs, ya know?

After listening to Whom It May Concern: The 1981 Demos, I found it interesting that I Wanna Know Why was written and ready to record, but didn’t make it on any release until Airborne. Was there any reason it wasn’t included on either Fear of Life or After The Lights Go Out*?

Whoops, got ya there mate--it was indeed of on Fear of Life.  It was written but not recorded for the first EP.  It was probably the second song we ever wrote, and Robbie in his wisdom held us back from releasing it on the first EP, as it would've certainly softened the hardcore introduction to the band.  We just re recorded it -unnecessarily-when we got on Enigma to hold a bridge to the past, I think.

In the early 2000’s, the band releases the CH3 LP, which is a return to form. After starting as a punk band then venturing more of a pop-rock sound especially on the Airborne EP and Enigma years of Last Time I Drank, why the desire to go back to punk?

It was really just how the album naturally came out.  I hadn’t written songs in a good decade, so when you pick up the guitar in your room once again, you go to what comes naturally.  I'd be lying to say we weren’t aware of the great old school punk rock renaissance of 2000, but we did what felt natural, ya know?  It was at this time we started to produce ourselves for the first times, me and Kimm, and it's what we learned from Posh and Jay Lansford and Ron Goudie, all those philosophies combined .

*(interview note: On the Cherry Red released version, which I own I Wanna Know Why and Stupid Girl are omitted.)

In a Razorcake interview, Mike had stated the band got back together by “playing every Christmas at Linda's Doll Hut. We played for free so nobody could accuse us of "selling out." The next thing we knew, there was a benefit with TSOL. Then The Misfits called and they wanted to do a show with us in Vegas. The Angry Samoans called. There were all these great shows being offered to us and we did not want to keep going out there unless we had some new material.” What was decision to have new material and why did the band feel it was important? Nowadays bands are touring just playing LP’s in their entirety. Buzzcocks did it and so has Devo.

Hell, the people that show up would indeed be happier if we just stuck to the Posh Boy catalogue in our live sets, so I can understand why bands honor those classic albums.  But in So Ca especially, we have this unique biosphere where all the bands are still playing, everyone looks great, and the bands that are really into it are still creating.  I know that there are audible groans when you announce this next one’s off our latest album, but if you can’t still create you can just become a cover band of your former selves, ya know?  And even if you don’t even play the new songs in your crusty set list (guilty!) a band thrive and grows on that creative process.

How did you connect with Hostage Records?

Speaking of new songs!!  We'd met Rick Bain many years ago through his photography, and were always aware of the quality releases from Hostage.  We happened to run into Paul at Record Store Day 2012 and we started chatting about a possible release.  Well, turns out we'd accumulated almost an album's worth of material in the last few years, so they released the Land of the Free single with the 8 song download card.  It was a real treat to release songs in a new format and to see how that goes.  We've really come full circle now!

Has the band view about music changed at all or does the band feel the same way about music in the same way as when starting out? In the Razorcake interview, Mike stated “We have no illusions about becoming rock stars anymore.” What other views might have changed?

Well, I guess at 50 now we can reconfirm we aren’t holding our breaths for the major label contract, eh?  But then again, what does a major label deal even mean any more?  The classic music industry is in such a fucked up state nowadays, which I think thrills most punk bands and labels.  It's like the world had to catch up to the DIY recording and promoting that the punkers had to embrace for the start, yeah?  So if anything, we are more reassured than ever that we are in the right place, making music that matters to us and our small but loyal group of chums, and get out there and play it worldwide on a shoestring budget.

50 years ago people used to buy music and get their water for free, now people pay for water and get their music for free. I know as part of the Land of The Free 7 inch there is a download card with extra songs. In a way the band is doing both. How do you think this affects music in any way?

It is a shame that people have no qualms about buying goddamn five dollar coffee and then scouring the internet for illegal downloads!  But, I don’t really blame people as thieves, it's just that for better or worse the internet has become such a wild west of content, and the way music became available was really one of its revolutionary components.  A child of the 60's. I saw 8 tracks (hell, 4 tracks) to cassettes, CD’s to downloads, so it's been a wild ride.  One downside is the instant gratification aspect, where kids find the top 3 songs of the artist and just download those, no more sifting through cool b sides, no more rolling joints on the 12" sleeves and pondering the lyrics on the liners.  And what of the art of song sequencing, deciding which song is second track side 2?  So for the very convenience we paid a price and I guess that's what the vinyl rebirth is all about.

Mike and Kimm are both parents. How do your kids view the band or your kids’ friends?

The kids are all getting pretty old themselves now, so they seem to view the band with a bemused smile, Dad's softball team is going on the road again this weekend, ya know?  It is hilarious when they come home and tell us about seeing strange kids at the mall, flying CH3 patches, as if that is finally validation of the band in their eyes, not the goddamn albums lining the hallway or the 6 dozen tour t -hirts in the back of their closets.  You know kids--Dad's always a dork.

Does Kimm still have the CH3 stencil guitar?

Don’t we wish!  Our great pals used to work at the famed Charvel factory out in Sam Dimas, and we used to drop buy and get handfuls of San Dimas Charvels for a tour, then we’d destroy them or trade them for amps or something. Those things would be worth a fortune today!  They will probably start turning up on Ebay once Kimm or I die or go nuts or get elected to Senate...

What’s next for Channel 3?

We’re gearing up now for an August European tour.  We're looking forward to meeting a lot of old chums out there and playing some cool festivals.  Lots of fatty snacks and cold beers, business as usual!  Cheers, MM

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