by Jon A

I recently received The Dead's debut album, "Anthems to World Domination", a half-hour collection of simple, crude, no-holds-barred, fast, and brutal hardcore (reviewed in LowCut 24). If The Dead add nothing new to the genre, like for example Lack or No More Lies, both interviewed elsewhere in this issue, try to do, the prove why simple hardcore is still relevant. Singer Florian and bassist Alex took some time out from the skateboard ramp to answer some pressing questions.

LowCut: First of all: Where are you from? Your biography says nothing apart from the fact that you were formed in 2002, have played a bunch of shows with hardcore figureheads like Youth of Today and Roger Miret & The Disasters, and that "Anthems to World Domination" is your debut album. Can you fill us in on the background story?

Flo: We´re from Münster, a nice town in Western Germany, between Cologne and Hamburg.
The Dead was formed in 2002. Dennis, our drummer joined us in 2003, right after we released the "True as Fuck" 7". We all played in several bands before. I formed my first band around `90, when I was 12 or 13. So there was always a strong relation to that kind of music, but at some time I was pissed off most of the scene and the stupid guys who went to the shows, doing their fashion & posing show. That year our former drummer told me that his band just broke up and that they were planning a new project. I also knew Chris, our bassplayer, from back in the day when I was singing in another hardcore band. Alex joined us a few weeks later and yes - I have to say - I liked his smooth character. There was a good chemistry right from the start and so the baby rolled on. It was just a good moment to start a new band.

LowCut: Since the birth of hardcore in the early 80's, some bands like Fugazi, At the Drive-In, Refused, or Lack and No More Lies that are also interviewed in this issue, have strived to distance themselves from the basic, primitive hardcore, in favour of what they consider a more mature and nuanced sound in posthardcore, emo, and screamo. What's cool about still playing basic hardcore? And why does punkrock still feel so great and important in your opinion?

Flo: I guess it´s the raw energy, you cannot compare it to emo, screamo or whatever. It´s pure and simple, it´s the core. I guess nowadays most of the kids even don´t know what emocore basically is/was. Think of Embrace or maybe some early Dag Nasty stuff. Not that poppy shit you can listen to in your supermarket or seein´ on your favorite music channel. I don´t think that we´re just limited to basic old school hardcore. In all the reviews we got everybody has a different point of view about The Dead´s music. The people don´t say: "Hey they sound like band xy!" We sure got some of these influences, but there is still some catchy rockin´stuff in our songs or some trash or blast stuff. If you compare the songs from the debut single and the album you can see a positive development (hopefully). I guess we´re much more diversified now and a bit more brutal. Lots of people like that hard rocking parts in songs like "Crush" or "Marilyn".

LowCut: You did your first interview for a skateboard magazine. Loads of hardcore bands - Suicidal Tendencies, Minor Threat, Riverboat Gamblers, and so forth - have sung odes to skating. What's the age old link between hardcore and skating?

Flo: For me it goes hand in hand. I started skating when I was 10, 18 years ago. Back then in `87, I was introduced by my older sister to punk stuff like the Ramones, Sex Pistols and some German punkbands. When I listened to that kind music, I only felt the intensity and it´s (positive) aggression. All I wanted to do was skating and learn to play the guitar. As I said before, both skateboarding and punk/hardcore music is a unique way to let out your feelings and emotions. A friend of mine, Ray Stevens II, who play bass for the skatepunk legends "The Faction" did the interview for the American Juice Magazine. There was and always will be a strong relation between punk/hardcore and skateboarding. Hardcore music (punk or even rap like Public Enemy) and skateboarding have been instigators for an innumerable number of radical ideas and new channels for unbelievable creativity.

LowCut: Inside the cover to "Anthems to World Domination" you pose Misfits-style with devil lock under the heading "Who killed Marilyn?": Paying homage, scoring old school cred, or referring to the Green Hell record shop that gave birth to the Rat Pack label you're on? (And where would the link be between Dean Martin and Glenn Danzig?)

Flo: The picture was just a funny accident. We met Jerry Only at the World Championships of Skateboarding in Dortmund last year where he headlined the rock night with the Misfits. We met him backstage, I was wearing our Johnny Cash tribute shirt and he was just nice coming up and talking to us. Later, when I was designing the record I thought it would be a funny idea, even we look kinda messy at that picture! "Who killed Marilyn" came to my mind, `cause it´s an old Misfits title and sure we have "Marilyn Monroe let go" on the record. From that point you can easy cross to the Ratpack guys. We´re all fans of good old Frankie Boy and Dean Martin. The guys from Green Hell (also a Misfits classic) were talking about a brandnew label to put out only hardcore and punkrock bands. They wanted us to be the first band on that label and were still searching for a labelname and a logo. One day I came up with the Ratpack idea and the logo. I thought it has to have some kind of dirty touch, but even it must express some style, some quality. So that was my idea and the guys just liked it. In fact, it´s more a tribute to the golden 50ties than any early hardcore or punkband. I never was into the Misfits that much.

LowCut: Of all classic hardcore bands, you choose to cover one on the periphery of the scene: Beastie Boys and their "Heart Attack Man". Why? A lot of hardcore puritans believe hip hop to be the greatest of all evils.

Flo: The Beasties are definitely punkrockers - they are one of the best and most intelligent bands alive! They came from the early NYC HC / Punkscene and then they went for gold. They made so good records, it´s unbelievable. I could listen to Pauls Boutique the whole day, no problem and then tune on the Pollywog Stew 12". Also it was time to do a cover of a "non classic" HC/punkband. We might have chosen Bad Brains, Negative Approach or something, but that hadn´t been much creative.

Alex: We all love the Beastie Boys and they started as a punk/HC-Band in the early 80s. They never cared about the things people expected them to do next. They just did what they wanted to do and weren´t willing to accept any boundaries for their creativity. They did their own label, they are political and have a social awareness... Is there any better band to cover, which combines so many aspects of the Punk Rock-Spirit? I don´t think so.

LowCut: Here's one I asked Catalan punkrock band No More Lies in LowCut 24: Has MTV's appropriation of pop-tinted punkrock like Sum 42, Green Day, and the like had positive effects on the "real" hardcore scene? Do you think some people could be lured into listening to underground hardcore, having gotten into these other bands, or are they two completely separate worlds?

Flo: I think it´s like everything else. Those who are really into it, will stay true and won´t give up. It´s like skateboarding. Trends come and go. Punkrock is mainstream since a couple of years now and most of the kids who watch MTV or VIVA (German music channel) really don´t know about the roots or the history of that kind of music. They just consume for being accepted or being cool or whatever. I didn´t watch that channel that much and seeing silly MTV hosts wearing Motörhead shirts pisses me off.

LowCut: Throughout the album are spread samples from classic films like "Taxi Driver" and "Apocalypse Now", just like for example Unsane and Ministry have done. These are movies that portray characters whose moral and conception of themselves are falling apart: What effect did you want them to have?

Flo: Both are from the 7". I don´t know if Ministry or whoever sampled some of those movies before us and in fact it´s not important. A record should stand for the band itself and what they want to express and deliver to the listener. Many people like those movies and I´m sure there are lots of records around with similar samples. It´s good. It shows that they got good taste and that the movies are well done. We also have a Noam Chomsky and a Jay Leno sample on the LP.

LowCut: Like Ratos de Porão did on their latest album, "Onisciente Coletivo", you've added explanations to some of the lyrics on your album, namely "2 + 2 Equaling 5", "You're on Combat Camera!", and "America Must Die". Did you want to prove that there was some thought behind the rather primal music?

Alex: We didn´t think that it was important to prove anything, but we thought that it was important to give some more informations on these issues. We have to face serious problems in the world nowadays and sometimes it´s impossible to take a stand in a one minute-song. Some issues are more complex and need more details for the explanation. If we write a song about a serious issue it should be more than an empty slogan. We all believe in choice and so we give the readers the information that is important from our point of view and they can decide if they want to think about these things or if want to think that we are just a bunch of stupid idiots. We don´t want to sell a million of CDs to MTV- or Limp Bizkit-kinda-jerk-offs, so for us HC and Punk should be something with a positive message and nothing that only consists out of a heap of empty slogans.

LowCut: How important is it to take a political stance in music? And does it help any?

Alex: Everybody has to decide for himself if it´s important. Music is a perfect way to express our thoughts and feelings and if we think that we want to do something political we just do it. But everything you do is a political statement. For example everything you consume is a political statement or if you are not interested in politics it´s also a political statement. Even if you say that you keep politics out of your music and that you are not a political band it´s a political statement.
Does it help to communicate some political thoughts? If people think about it and talk about it and get out of their isolation that means if they see that other people share the same ideas they have, it´s a first step. Everything you want to change in the world depends on the free flow of information and on solidarity between people that share the same ideas. If you have a brilliant idea for a new concept of the society for example and you are isolated that means you are the only one, who knows about it, nothing will change for the better. So it´s important to tell others about your ideas and this you call communicating. Music is one channel of communication and a really good one.
Music is also in another way political that means if you make music you refuse to be just a passive consumer. You use your own creativity to create something new. You don´t sit back and just watch the world go by and that´s also in my opinion the meaning DIY.
So, yes music could help, but every change in the world takes a long time and a lot of effort from dedicated people.

LowCut: How is the European hardcore community doing at the moment in your opinion?

Flo: I guess it´s getting very strong again over here. Like back in the early 90es. Lots of good bands coming up and we have some nice fanzines who are still doing the DIY style. A lot of people, especially in eastern Europe doing a lot of shows for non-popular bands. But also there are a lot of idiots in the so called "scene" who don´t understand what hardcore and punkrock is all about. I don´t want to be the preacher, but I know hardcore and punkrock is not just wearing a fat X on your hand, showing up your oldest X-Claim or Dischord shirt which you fucking idiot bought for hundreds of dollars on eBay, standing in the corner of a club like an icicle when the kids on stage are playing the shit outta their pants. Also we don´t like the kickbox violence and windmills-fraction. If you wanna fight, go to a sports center or whatever - the gym has been closed! I prefer punkrock and rocknroll shows. The audience is not so "cool", much more relaxed. They just dance and have a good time, even don´t care if they know the band on stage or not. As long as a band kicks ass, you should support them, even if it´s not your superhero from the States!

LowCut: What does the immediate future hold for The Dead?

Flo: We´ll play a couple of shows this year and try to go on a Italian tour around November.
Also we´ll try to go to South Africa to play there around February next year. Alex lived there for about 6 months and they have a good scene. We´re writing on new stuff right now and maybe we´ll manage it, to go to the studio later this year to record another 7" or a MCD. We´ll see. Just having fun, traveling around and having a good time. I guess that´s it. The Dead say thank you for giving us this interview opportunity. Take care and help saving CBGBs!

Check out: http://www.thedead-hc.com