So Hamtown Smakdown has just been, and it was bizarre to say the least. Still, we had an 'interesting' time and hopefully some people dug it (though we are of course heathen hessian scum fr00ts from the capital city of Gayz and Fagz). We have some new shirts as well which will go up on the site to mailorder within the week. As listed below, we are playing an excellent show on Thursday at Valve, Wellington; with 3 awesome bands - DIAL, THE WRONGMEN and KNIFE FIGHT. You should try and be there!
Here is an interview recently done for Dehumanize Zine #2 which you should pick up when it comes out this week. I muse on everything from XXXSTRAIGHTXXXEDGEXXX to my current bedside books (kill me...):
What was the inspiration behind the change of direction/name from Guest Stabs Host to Strangers?
I think basically the old name was tied to an era of songs, music and lyrics that didn't really apply any more, so it sort of marked the beginning of a new identity - conceptually and musically. It was important to get a new name as well in the sense that we wanted a name that didn't give a pre-emptive notion about how the music was going to sound or what the ideas behind the band were, so it’s something a bit more ambiguous and more interpretable.
How has the addition of Mike and Kalem affected the dynamics of the band?
Mike’s been with us for a year now so the new era of music hasn't really changed much with his input; although he's writing most the material now which is really a welcome change. With Kalem on bass, it’s given us an opportunity to explore new ideas and sounds, and his critical input is a bit more directed. As well as that I think he adds a new dimension to the live performance because he has such an investment in the music, and I think it manifests itself more in the way we play live.
There’s some pretty in-depth lyrics throughout the 'Holding' Demo, What influences the lyrics for Strangers? How much importance do the lyrics have compared to your music?
Well, I place a lot of value on writing lyrics. I think they are an important part of the identity of the band as well as reflecting conceptual aspects of the music. In terms of influences, I suppose on a general level there is a consistent theme of questioning the preconceived ideas about the way people are supposed to live, and looking at the individual’s place and role in greater society in terms of the individual’s relation to the world itself. I’m interested in questioning a lot of the roles that have been pre-determined; in terms of creativity, sexuality, morality… there are a lot of restrictive norms that exist almost solely based on tradition (mostly religious…) and leave us alienated. I guess it’s mostly about examining that alienation as being an inherent part of existing.
I suppose I’m influenced by a variety of other lyricists and writers; ranging from French writers like Céline and Gide to Americans like Bukowski and Ginsberg and a lot more in between. There are a lot of great lyricists in punk and beyond too… people like Chris Colohan, David Bazan, Scott Walker etc etc etc…
What books have you been reading lately?
I’ve just been reading a lot of stuff for my research at uni at the moment, people like Daniel Dennett & Richard Dawkins and so on. I’m also reading “Hunger” by Knut Hamsun.
How have your views of straight edge changed between the time you became straight edge untill now?
I used to think that it meant something important but I realise now that it doesn’t... it’s just one of those things that I ‘do’ like taking a shit or buying a cup of coffee…
You used to be a christian and now you an athiest, what has changed?
I guess a re-evaluation of myself and my own views about life in general. Previously I may have been seduced by a few ideas sort of tied to social aspects of life, like the ‘community’ - it gives you the idea that you can get easy answers to a lot of impossible questions. But thank fucking jeezus I learned to think for myself, and through a revaluation of things I came to realise that atheism is a liberating lack of delusion that opens you up to reality and lets you confront the real problems with the world and yourself, rather than just passing it off as the will of A Big Man In The Sky.
Who are your favourite New Zealand bands?
The Wrongmen, Dial, Scab, Kill the Fake Patient, Brick vs Face, Black Boned Angel, Birchville Cat Motel, Knife Fight.
What touring plans have you got for 2007?
We're doing a bunch of shows on the Wrongmen tour in March and April, and then after we have finished our cd in May/June or so we will be touring the whole country again. I’d love to be playing in another country by the end of the year.
When do you start recording the cd and who is recording it for you?
We're not 100% on who will be recording it; we’re just inquiring with a couple of studios at the moment in Wellington we should start recording within a month.
What releases have you got planned for Action Man Records for 2007?
Next up is the Wrongmen 7" and then after that there will be a Damaged cdep, the Strangers full length and probably a Wrongmen full length as well as a couple of other projects that I can’t really say much about yet.
Is Action Man Records going as well as you thought it would?
I haven’t ever really had any ideas about how well it was going to go or anything like that, it’s all sort of happened bit by bit and there has been no real greater plan for everything. I think that over the last year or so my goals have gotten a lot more salient and a lot more defined, with more thorough quality control on what I put out. The future is just going to be a case of taking things as they come, but now I have more detailed plans and a better distribution deal signed, and a lot more ideas regarding promo and distribution so hopefully things will continue improving. Maybe I’ll even ‘crack the market’…
Lastly, it looks like we will be hitting the studio this month to start recording the new album. The tracklist and title will be unveiled in the coming fortnight.
