The Threads are taking back New York City!

The Threads are from New York City.  Not the crisp cityscape you see behind Ryan Seacrest every New Year’s eve, but the urban grime that spawned The New York Dolls, The Ramones, and breathed life into Stiv Bators and  The Dead Boys decades ago.  A place that wasn’t so sterile, a place you had to look over your shoulder walking home at night.  Maybe the patron’s faces weren’t as surgically perfected then as they are now, people wore scowls a bit more but at least the city was real.  The metropolis lived and breathed on its own steam. This is the slice of life The Threads bring to the table with their music: hardened, honest, and  in your face Rock ‘N Roll.  If you don’t like it, go back to the suburbs! 

Interview by J Castro

Let’s start off with some introductions, who is currently in The Threads and what does everyone do in the band?

MICK: Lead Vocals

ANDY: Guitars & backup vocals

ROGER: Guitars & backup vocals

ANTHONY: Bass & backup vocals

CHRIS: Drums

How did you all meet and decide to play music together?

ANDY: I met Mick years ago. I was a fan of his (and later my) band the Lower East Side

Stitches. Roger & I met when we both worked at a guitar shop. Mick & Rog started The Threads a decade ago and I weaseled my way in soon after.

ANTHONY: Been a friend of Mick’s for a while and a longtime fan of The Threads. Was fortunate enough to catch them when they needed a bassist.

CHRIS: I've known Mick for 20 years, we met at the Scrap Bar. The regular hang out for his old bands and my old bands. I met the rest of the guys when I went to go see the band play before being asked to fill in and then eventually being kept on.

ROGER: Mick came over to my apartment in 2004 for a Super Bowl party. At that point

Stitches was on a hiatus. Both of us were not doing much musically and decided to get together and jam later on in the week. We tooled around with some ideas and became really inspired by what we had accomplished in one night, so we decided to get some friends together and head into a rehearsal space and see how it sounded full throttle. It all snowballed from there.

MICK: We met drinking beer and talking shit and decided to play some music while we were doing that.

How would you describe The Threads music to someone that’s never heard your band before?

ANDY: This is never as easy question. Like, how do you describe the sky to a blind man? I guess if you do the old TV pitch line I’d say, Green Day meets The Clash with the heart of New York City.

ANTHONY: We sound like a punch in the face from a funny friend that you like but slightly suspect that they might be sleeping with your girlfriend.

CHRIS: Loud Rude Aggressive yet melodic

ROGER: The more we do this, the harder it becomes for me to describe us. Every song writing session is completely different and drawn off of different influences. Between the five of us, we’re into everything from jazz to metal. If I had to say anything, I’d describe us as rock n’ roll with a punk edge and a New York attitude. I’m just happy that at this point in our musical adventures we haven’t succumbed to being a wedding band.

MICK: Hate this question. I would say play them a song so they could make their own judgement, but my default answer is high energy Rock n Roll with a Punk influence.

What band, musician or songwriter would you say had the most significant influence on your life and can you tell me about the first time you heard them?

ANDY: The Clash. Joe Strummer changed my life. The first time I heard London Calling was like the first time I had sex. Mind blowing and life changing and just wanting more and more of it.

ANTHONY: I studied classical piano as a child and Beethoven was one of my first hero's.

Nothing came easy to him. As far as playing bass, Geddy Lee, Paul D’Amour, Eric A,

John Entwistle and Cliff Burton are probably my top 5.

CHRIS: Early: The Business, Later: Screeching Weasel

ROGER: KISS, particularly Ace Frehley. That’s when I wanted a guitar.

MICK: I guess Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones. They both influence most of the bands I love. First time I listened to the Stones my oldest sister’ boyfriend gave me a cassette of Hot Rocks. I was about 8 years old.

The Threads are based in New York City. On your website’s bio you say you guys

“long for the days of the Tompskins Square Riots, squatters on every corner instead of Starbucks and no fucking bike lanes”. Can you expand a bit on that statement, do you feel there are any positive aspects about the “cleaning up” of New York City at all?

ANDY: Don’t get us wrong, the crime rate declining is great. We are not longing for the days of murder and violence. The problem is with the cleansing of the city we’ve lost its soul. Its cookie cutter, Disney Store NYC. The tradeoff has been extreme.

ANTHONY: “Cleaning up” is code for getting rid of minorities and the poor through economic gentrification. The 1% have benefited. The rest of us are fucked. The Ramones and punk and most of the great art that came out of NYC back in the day came from poverty like circumstances. NYC is now safe, less diverse and predictable. Just like the suburbs. It is simply impossible to be a young artist in this city anymore. Unless of course you’re Taylor Swift.

CHRIS: New York City was a very different animal back then. Safer than it was in the 80s yet still having neighborhoods that were very distinctive. Once you started seeing a Starbucks on every corner the next thing you knew all the bars are started to close and next all the live music venues. Artists and musicians that are young could not afford to live in the city anymore and it destroyed what was a very vibrant scene.

ROGER: I think in that statement we’re describing the musical aspects of New York City at that time. Not the necessarily the violence or crime rate. Of course the social instability did influence all the bands coming out back then. In our music we often reference those times.

MICK: I just hate that the personality disappeared and that it is no longer artist friendly. If you aren’t making six figures it’s difficult to live here, unless you have strangers living with you.

You guys released the EP …In a Good Way earlier this year. Can you tell me a bit about it, where it was recorded, who helped out with the recording etc.?

ANDY: We recorded ...In a Good Way at Seaside Lounge in South Brooklyn. It was produced with our friend Phil Palazzolo. The album title is a little inside joke we have with our buddy Jan.

ANTHONY: Yeah, Jan the Barbarian is our beer/shot guy. He lines up about 15 shots and beers on the stage in front of each of us every show.

ROGER: Phil was amazing to work with. He really brought us to a new level and we’re happy to say that our new album, still being mixed, was also done by him and even furthered the direction we were going in on ...In a Good Way.

I detect some hints of Jim Carroll Band in your music, especially on the songs

“Chump” off the new EP and the older song “East Village Boys”. Are you guys fans of his at all or am I totally off the mark here?

ANDY: I love “Catholic Boy”, so I take that as a compliment. It wasn’t on purpose though.

ANTHONY: Mandatory love for Jim Carroll as a lifelong NYer.

CHRIS: in my opinion Jim Carroll band was not anything but this quick project ....if that comparison is going to happen, I'd rather we be compared to the RAMONES for those songs.

ROGER: I hear it now that you mentioned it. Being fans, it makes sense that his influence found its way into our rehearsal room.

I love that you guys recorded a cover of The Ramones “Slug” (It’s one of my favorite Ramones songs) on the new EP. What led to the decision to record that particular song?

ANDY: We all love the Ramones. Covering “Slug” was Mick’s idea, though.

ROGER: We first did it a few years back at Webster Hall for Joey Ramone’s birthday bash and benefit. It went over well enough to put it down on tape. It’s a fun song to play.

Also on your bio it states you guys wanted to start a straight Rock & Roll band not punk, indie, or glam. With a lot of today’s youth and popular culture going so “politically correct” to a fault, do you think bands like The Threads, Biters, and Wyldlife will ever connect with kids the way honest, in your face Rock & Roll did in the past?

ANTHONY: I think “politically correct” is over simplifying it. Today’s pop music has complete tunnel vision. Everything sounds the same whether it’s a rock, country, or a pop band. And mostly because the music is written by a hand full of Swedish guys. Music is life. If you write a great catchy song it will connect. That’s what we strive for.

ROGER: Absolutely it will connect. There’s still plenty of people listening to good music, but the internet and social media makes it appear like nothing else exists but the Biebers, Beyonce’s etc…. No disrespect to them at all. You have to dig around to find bands like The Threads, Biters, Wyldlife, Heap, Big Con, Mad Juana and so on. But there still are fans of music willing to find you if you’re good. It’s like thumbing through the vinyl section in the record store years ago and stumbling upon something cool.

MICK: Probably not, but we are playing this style of music. The music that makes us happy and if people pick up on it and like it, that’s a bonus.

Where are the best places people can go or log on to hear and buy The Threads

music?

ANDY: We have 2 records available for digital download on iTunes and Amazon. You can also stream our music on Spotify and Pandora. You can buy our CDs and other junk at any of our shows.

ROGER: rdio.com has us streaming as well as google play music. Also,

www.thethreadsnyc.com

ANTHONY: Soundcloud

What’s in the future for the band, any recording or touring news?

ANDY: We are currently are mixing our 3rd record and we hope to have it released in December or January. And hopefully we’ll be hitting the West Coast next year.

ANTHONY: Yes. The new mixes for our next effort are sounding pretty freaking great. New songs, new sound. World domination is next.

MICK: Write more songs, drink more beer and whiskey, play some shows, and laugh and argue with one another.

Follow The Threads: 
 https://www.facebook.com/threadsnyc/

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Nasty Rumours!

     Nasty Rumours are from Bern, Switzerland and they play one of the most infectious brands of punk rock around today.  They take their ques from the late 70's punk bands that had a pop edge to them. Bands like Generation X, The Vibrators and The Undertones. These guys aren't a bunch of mindless copy cats though, they've got a soul and an energy that's all their own and it plainly shows in their music.

Interview by J Castro

Let’s begin by telling me who is currently in the band and what everyone does in it?

Juli: We are 4 guys in Nasty Rumours; Danny / drums, Flo / bass & backing vocals

Jamous / guitar & backing vocals, Juli / lead vocals  

How did you all meet and decide to play in Nasty Rumours together?

JAMOUS: The four of us knew each other already for years. Growing up in a small town in the Swiss Alps, there was only one place to go to, one club where there was punk / metal / alternative music on a weekly basis – bands from all over the world passed by and literally showed us how music is done.  The place is called “Café Bar Mokka” in Thun (and by the way, it is the most beautiful club all over the world, travel to Thun and have a look yourself). “Café Bar Mokka” was the place for all of us to start chatting up other music freaks and so a lot of bands were founded in that environment in the late 80’s, early 90’s. Danny at the same time started his own label “Subversiv Records” and all those bands started to release their first efforts under the “Subversiv” flag. Bands came, bands went and in 2012 I was without a band, as my ’77 punk band of 17 years - Tight Finks - broke up. Danny always loved ’77 punk rock therefore he asked me to start a new project. At about the same time Juli asked me the same question. But here we were with 1 guitarist and 2 drummers.  Juli then just decided to step up to the microphone and to be our lead singer. A job he since then does in such a perfect way! An old friend of ours was happy to fill in on bass and there we were: Nasty Rumours!

"Rats In A Wheel" b/w "Wanna Be On Top" 7" released June 27th, 2014 on No Front Teeth Records  

Tell me about the first time you heard punk rock music?  What record or song was it, when was it, where were you and who first introduced it to you?  If you can remember all of that of course!

JULI: I remember at school the whole Skate-Punk and Melodic-Punk thing was very in trend. All these big bands from “Fat Wreck” and “Epitaph”.  At that time my older brother was introducing me to The Clash, telling me that this was punk of the first hour! It was also my brother who introduced me to the music of Tight Finks. Thanks to those guys I discovered the whole old school punk universe. I’m younger than my bandmates in Nasty Rumours, as you may already know. As a young teenager I was at their shows, going crazy. To be growing up with their music and now being in a band with them is kinda cool!  

JAMOUS: In school there was this guy Tony who was totally in love with The Beatles. The only other band he let “intrude” his ears was Die Toten Hosen out of Germany. In 1987 they released a live album Live – Bis Zum Bitteren Ende and this Beatles dude Tony taped the album for me, which then hooked me up with punk rock for the first time. It was also the first time I heard the word “Scheisse” (shit) in a song. It blew my mind, how great was that!!!! Soon after that the Ramones took over and all the other ’77 bands followed…

What sorts of things influence your song lyrics? Are there any subjects you wouldn’t write a song about?

JULI: A lot of things have an influence on the lyrics. I mean anything that creates an emotion is a possible inspiration for a new song. Whether it’s love, hate, boredom or whatever. We are not explicitly a political band but when I’m reading the newspaper or take a closer look at society, it’s clearly affecting me in writing the lyrics. We often end up singing songs about love and shit, though, hahaha.  I can’t think of something that I wouldn’t write about right now. As long as you got something to say, say it! And underlay it with a catchy tune.

Was the song “Barbwire Heart” (the B-Side of the newest EP on Wanda Records)  inspired by true events?

JULI: It’s fiction. But anybody who has been rejected and felt like a crushed bug knows what it’s all about. 

Nasty Rumours is currently based in Bern, Switzerland.  When I think about Switzerland and rock music, I think metal.  Maybe because of Krokus or Celtic Frost.  What is the music scene really like up there now?  Is there a supportive crowd that goes to punk shows?

JAMOUS: That’s really funny to read! When I was 9 years old I listened to Krokus a hell of a lot. Heroes they were... hahahaha! The problem in Switzerland is, that it is very very hard to earn your living with music. So there is very few bands that are known internationally. Like Krokus, Celtic Frost, Gotthard, Yellow, and Bonaparte.  But, like in every country of this world, of course there are thousands of musicians and bands in Switzerland, too. There’s a huge underground scene, a D.I.Y. scene. Bands work quite hard to be able to play shows and to release albums. There’s every kind of music scene in Switzerland, every kinda music played - so of course there is also a Punk scene here, but it’s not as big as in places like the U.K., West Coast cities of the USA, Washington DC, NYC, Berlin, big places like that. It’s a small scene, but when there’s bands touring through Switzerland people often travel quite a distance to catch the shows. But on the other hand it’s not uncommon that you can watch the U.K. Subs plus The Vibrators playing a show in front of just 30 people! Sad!

And speaking of metal I was reading an interview with Bruce Dickenson of Iron Maiden and he said that punk is rubbish, the people playing punk music can’t play and if given a choice, people in punk bands would rather be in metal bands surrounded by porn stars.   What do you guys think about that, is he half right?

JAMOUS: Nothin’ to say to this one… I’ll have to take a break now, as I have to burn all my Iron Maiden LPs… Strange quote! The first two Maiden LPs had a great touch of Punk in them… Next question, please…

What kind of feeling or sentiments do you hope your audience walks away with after seeing a Nasty Rumours show?

JULI:  I hope they’re all exhausted from going crazy during the best concert of their lives, haha! No seriously, of course I hope our audience is having a good time and that they enjoy themselves and our music.

JAMOUS: I hope they cannot think other than: “When are they playing next? When are they playing next? When are they playing next? …” For me it is important that people can leave their daily life outside the club and have some loose hours and when they walk home they have a smile on their face. And hopefully they think about when they can hit the local record store next time to get a shitload of wonderful old school punk records.

"Girls In Love" b/w "Barbwire Heart" released October 31st 2014 on Wanda Records

It seems a lot of the band’s influences come from punk and rock n roll bands that were in their prime decades ago.  Do any current bands influence you and your music?

JULI: Yes, of course. That’s the beautiful thing about music; you’ll always find new bands that will blow your mind. I’m a huge fan of 70’s punk bands and I listen to those old bands a lot. They made a lot of people to what they are today, including me. Those bands still matter.  But don’t close your eyes and ears on new bands. There are tons of inspiring new bands I could name you. Currently nonstop on my record player: Impo and the Tents, the Achtungs, Generacion Suicida.

JAMOUS: For me one of the biggest influences for the music I play are The Boys, Ramones and The Adicts - but they’re from the “old” scene and that was not your question… I’d say looking at current or “modern” bands I have to mention The Briefs and The Cute Lepers. Huge influences! They both brought a sweet side back to punk rock with cute melodies and bright colors. Thanx, Mr. Steve E. Nix!!!

Where can people go to hear or buy Nasty Rumour’s music?

JAMOUS: We play shows in Switzerland of course but always try to travel to other countries, too. So check our homepage regularly as in the “Show” section you’ll find out about when and where you can catch us live. To buy our music you’ll simply have to come to one of our shows and feast on the merchandise table or you’ll hit our Bandcamp site. Also check the shops of our Record Labels “No Front Teeth” and “Wanda Rec.” if they have some 7” left.

What is in the near future for the band, any touring or new records in the works?

JULI: There is going to be a release of another 7” single soon, it’ll be called Dilemma and will be out on Wanda Rec.  We’ll play a couple of shows in Germany, in the Czech Republic and Switzerland at the end of this year.

Follow Nasty Rumours! 

http://nastyrumours.com/

https://www.facebook.com/nastyrumours

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The Stops Interview

Portland Oregon's The Stops released their debut LP earlier this year to much critical acclaim.  The Quintet play sharp, infectious punk rock with shadowy edges,  Ruby, who contributes her guitar skills and vocal prowess to the melee recently took some time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions for us as her band prepares for their European invasion.    

Interview by J Castro

Let’s start out by telling me who’s currently in the band and what everyone does:

RS: Lizzie Sings, Cissie plays bass, Rita and I are on guitars, and Fukuko plays drums. That's the line up for our recent recordings. We have Mike Warm (Observers, Defect Defect, The Minds, Arctic Flowers) filling in on drums right now since Fukuko just had a baby.

Tell me The Stops origin story. How did you all meet and how long have you been playing music together?

RS: Fukuko and I met in Portland after she moved here from Tokyo. We would chat at shows and eventually I asked her if she wanted to start a band. Fukuko had seen Cissie play with Repercussions at Chaos in Tejas so she suggested we ask her to play bass. With Rita it was a bit more complicated. We actually met in Czech as teenagers when we were both on tour and she was living in Brazil. She moved to Vancouver BC a couple years later and we met again when I was touring up there. Eventually she moved to Portland and we ended up living in the same house. She was dating my roommate. Rita had played guitar for an awesome punk band in Sao Paulo called As Mercedes, so asking her to join was a no brainer. Since Fukuko, Cissie and I were practicing in the basement it wasn't long before we were like “just get down here!”

Lizzie and I had been hanging out at the same shows for about 11 years. In 2013 I saw her sing and play keys in a band called Pataha Hiss. Her style seemed like a good fit for us so we asked her to join.

When you started the band, did you have a particular sound in mind that you wanted to work towards or was it a “hey let’s just play and see what comes out” kind of thing?

RS: We all agreed that we wanted it to be melodic punk. We didn't have an exact sound in mind- we just knew we wanted a vocalist that could sing well. It was quickly apparent that the instrumental portion would be a fusion between what we were listening to at the time and the bands we grew up on. While we had no intention in achieving this, we are often told that we have “the Portland sound.”

The Stops are currently based in Portland. With so many other great bands there, what is it like playing shows? Do you ever feel like it gets competitive or are most people pretty supportive of each other?

RS: I would say that people are mostly supportive. There is a lot of band member overlap, and in that way it feels like we're all in it together. I feel really lucky to live in a place where everyone in the punk scene plays an instrument or at least aspires to. At the same time, we are all pretty spoiled to have so many talented individuals and great bands that sometimes it can be hard to get people excited. I've seen really good punk bands play to stiff crowds and empty rooms here. I went to a Poison Idea show recently where someone said, “come on you guys, it's fucking Poison Idea,” since only a couple people were giving as much as a foot tap. Regardless, a lot of people are engaged in the punk scene and this provides the framework for people to participate in other ways than just attending shows and playing in bands. Whether it's opening a business, starting a craft night, or putting on an art show, people here are interested in participating in others endeavors- creative or otherwise.

Your debut LP Nameless Faces came out a few months ago, can you tell me a bit about your experiences working on it?

RS: Franz from Sabotage Records contacted us last July to ask about doing an LP. We didn't have enough material to do it at the time so we really had to buckle down to make it happen. The pressure of time constraints made us get a lot done. Rita and I went to the studio for mixing whenever we had time but it still took months to finish. The Stops even started recording for a 7” before we were done mixing the LP. Fortunately it was a lot of fun to be in the studio and we had a great sound engineer who I've known for over 10 years. Adam Becker (Autistic Youth, Defect Defect, Red Lantern Studios, Trash Treasury) did the recording and mixed with us from November till around April. He'd do things to help us de-stress like playing Michael Jackson in our headphones between recording flubs. He also had a really cool analog chorus/delay/reverb pedal, previously used by Elliot Smith that we used for a couple of songs on the LP.

The Stops - Nameless Faces LP 2015  Dirt Cult Records (America) Sabotage Records (Europe)

I was reading an interview with Kim Shattuck from The Muffs and she said she never includes politics in her lyrics because she feels that it dates the song. What do you think about that statement? Are there any subjects you try to stay away from in your lyrics?

RS: I think she makes a valid point but we have never been concerned with what we should or should not talk about. We have not put any lyrical constraints on ourselves and there aren't any subjects we have purposefully avoided. That being said, our aim isn't necessarily a political one. Our songs are about our experiences as people and how we see the world. The content of our writing isn't meant to fit into a mold that reflects stereotypes about us as women, punks, etc. For us, the point is to play music, write lyrics, and be in a band simply because we enjoy doing it. Putting restrictions on what we sing about would totally go against the grain of the type of people we are.

What band or musician would you say has had the single most influence on your life? Tell me about the first time you heard them and how you felt when you did.

RS: If I must pin it down to one band then I have to choose the one that got me into punk: The Ramones. My only exposure to rock n' roll before them was what was being played on alternative radio stations in the 90's. Discovering the raw pop hooks of The Ramones was life changing. I don't know what I thought punk was at the time but it was not immediately clear to me that they were it. When I found out, I thought “oh this is punk.. Ok I guess I like punk.” I began hunting down information on bands like the Sex Pistols and Clash so that I could download their albums off Kazaa. The Ramones' sound was a perfect introduction to punk for me. It felt like I was beginning to understand what made me tick.

The Stops/Daily Ritual split EP 2015 released by Sabotage Records and 4490 Records

The band recently played a show with School of Rock Portland. How did you become affiliated with them and how did you feel the show turned out?

RS: Lizzie currently works there as a piano/vocal instructor, and we were asked to play the Best of Portland fest because one of the lead organizers liked our demo. Overall the show was good and a lot of people came out to watch the kids. It's really heart warming to see teens and pre-teens playing in bands. The school provides an environment that helps them succeed as budding musicians while giving them a safe space to feel supported and engaged. We have many friends who have contributed to or worked with School of Rock since it's a great way for musicians to give back to the community.

Photos by Daniel Vincent and Aaron Sharpsteen

I’ve seen a couple of really cool Stops shirts. Is that Medusa’s severed head being held up?! They’re both great! Who came up with the designs for them?

RS: Hey, thanks! That is in fact Medusa's severed head. During high school I became interested in Greek mythology. Using Medusa on a T-shirt seemed appropriate for us so I asked my roommate if she could draw it from a photo of a famous statue. Rita put the drawing in photoshop, tweaked it and designed the background. The skull design was done by Rita's friend Flávio Bá. We found the image on his website and asked if it would be all right for us to use it. He was more than happy to let us put the design on a t-shirt so he added The Stops logo at the top. Our new design will have a girl's leg kicking a cop in the face. We found this design in my friend Allison Phillips' portfolio.

What non music related things do you all enjoy doing around Portland?

RS: We all work or go to school. Everyone in the band does many music related things including DJing, working at the local radio station, giving music lessons, attending shows, etc. So the only time left at the end of the day is spent hanging out, eating good food, watching TV or reading for the most part. Sometimes during the summer The Stops like to go to the river after practice just to catch some rare Portland sun-rays.

Where can people log on or go to buy your music?

DirtCultRecords.com   (North America)

SabotageRecords.net    (Europe)

facebook.com/thestops

stops.pdx@gmail.com

What lies in the future for The Stops, any tour plans in the works?

RS: Yes. We're touring Europe from October 2nd – October 24th. We will have our 12” and a split 7” that we did with Daily Ritual. After that we will be taking a couple months off and writing more songs. We might tour the US sometime in 2016.

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