INTERVIEW - BASTARDS ON PARADE

Bastards On Parade will be releasing “Empty Bottles & Broken Things” next August 30th, 2013. We have talked with David (vocals and guitar) about  the new album

Hi David. First of all, which  is the current line-up of the band?
 
It’s almost the same that recorded the previous album. Pablo (accordion) and Alber (electric guitar) instead of Ruper are the new members.

Where have you recorded the new album?

The disc was recorded at Bonham studio, in A Coruña. We have been working together with them  since the recording of  the "Death Shore Pirates" EP.

 

Regarding the tracklist, how many songs have made the album?

14 songs this time.

Are all of them songs or is there any instrumental number? Apparently you have recorded one song in Galician …

There is one self-penned instrumental and yes, a  number is sung in Galician. It’s a traditional song and the only cover on the album.

On your previous album some friends guested, particularly Andries “The Dutch Irish Bastard” on accordion and songwriting. Which "guest stars" will be featured on "Empty Bottles and Broken Things"?

We are very happy with all the buddies that have guested on the album: Finny McConnell, Johnny Rioux and Perez (Twenty Fighters) on vocals;  Perez has also made the artwork  once again; and we've had the pleasure of having the Galician folk band Tiruleque.

 

How did you meet Finny and The Mahones?
 
We organized the gig in A Coruña on  their 2008 tour, they were at my home and we became very good friends. Later we opened for them on their Spanish tour, we shared the stage at some European shows, we recorded a song for their 20th Anniversary tribute album … haha

The album is being mixed in the U.S. by Johnny Rioux. But, who has produced the album? And how did you get in contact with Johnny?

The album has been produced by the band. It’s OK when a producer helps you, but we wanted to be totally free.

We shared the stage with the Street Dogs in Germany and we met Johnny. We knew his work with Flatfoot 56. So I contacted him after having recorded  the “Shallow Waters” EP and he liked the project from the very beginning. We are very happy with his work and his help. Besides, it’s always an honor to work with people from your favorite bands.

A lot of Celtic punk bands are mastering their albums in Finland, Australia or the USA. Are you getting the album mixed abroad?

It’s going to be mixed at Mammoth Sound Mastering in California by Dan Randall. We are also very excited, he has worked  with Street Dogs, Strung Out ...

On which formats will the album be available?

It will be available on CD, digital and a limited vinyl edition.

Which label will release the album? Carnage again?

The album will be released by Wolverine Records, a German label.

Are you going to tour around Europe to support the album?

Sure, we will be touring Europe in September and October . We intend to play a lot of gigs and visit a lot of new places. Can’t wait!

In which countries have you felt more comfortable on stage?

Germany is always great and the Basque Country is not far behind.

I guess that people from all over the world have bought your previous recordings. Any uncommon place?

I don’t know what to say. We have got orders from Alaska, Colombia, Indonesia ..

Last year your bagpiper, Aspy, was touring with The Real McKenzies. This involved a short break for Bastards on parade. I guess that the experience  was amazing for him. Has this opened new doors for the band too?

We were not inactive.  We met Pablo and we kept on gigging and songwriting. So, we had more leisure time to work on the second album and we feel that this has paid off, we are very happy with the album.

Despite the evolution of the band, there are still some people that label you as a Dropkick Murphys wannabe band . Maybe it’s because your name was lifted from a DKM’ s song. Flatfoot 56 were also considered as the Dropkick Murphys from Chicago, but thanks to their latest albums this has changed. Do you feel that the new album is the evidence that you have your own identity?

It’s true that both of us have bagpipes and our name is the title of one of their songs. Anyway I feel that musically we have shown that we are closer to other bands. I think that the new album follows the same path that was opened with our debut album and it strengthens our own identity.

Finally, which is your goal as a band?

We enjoy travelling, giging and partying. We will try to do this, to visit new places, to meet people and drink  local spirits as long as we can . And we are proud to represent Galiza out there, of course!

THE FATTY FARMERS - Interview

This interview was firstly posted last April 7th on the Spanish version of the blog-zine.

The Fatty Farmers come from Toledo, a town which is not in the Celtic area of Spain. Could you please tell us how the band was born?

Rodri, the singer, was looking for people interested in playing in the band. At the beginning, everybody thought that it was funny, but not easy. However, after some line-up changes the band is already established. The last musician to join The Fatty Farmers has been Goyo, who comes from Soria and plays the accordion. So, we are an 8 piece band playing instruments such as Highland pipes, Galician pipes, accordion, fiddle, banjo, mandolin and so on. The youngest member is 16 years old and the oldest member is 38 years old, but we get on well.

When we began to play we thought that there was no other band making the music we wanted to play. Actually there are other Celtic punk bands in Spain, but we feel that all of them are different, every band has its own personality

Have you been previously in another band?

Yeah, several members have already played with other bands. Rodri and Lalo were in a band playing ska-punk rock (in English), Juancar, Lamber and Diego played heavy rock, Goyo used to play in different covers bands and Rodri was also a member of a metal band, Hatecode, that played at the Villa de Bilbao Contest and at the Viñarock festival


People say that The Fatty Farmers sound like Flogging Molly. What do you think about that?

Well, we’re not angry they are a great band and it’s clear that we’re influenced by them, but we’re also influenced by bands such as Dropckick Murphys or The Real McKenzies.

We know that normally the new bands sound like the main bands. However, we want to draw the attention of the fans to our live shows. We feel that we are really a live act, we want that the fans enjoy our shows: they can listen, dance … and we expect that they recall the gig and think “Those guys were really crazy on stage”

In fact, we feel that the album allows us to play in more venues, but we prefer the open air shows, if the sound is good and all the instruments can be heard

The Fatty Farmers have played several contests or Battle of the Bands. What do you think about them? Have they helped you to become a well-known band? We guess that after the debut album is released you will stop that.

When we played at those contests we didn’t intend to reach a bigger audience. In fact, most of them are not well advertised. For us, it was a mean to get money to finance the recording of the album, to buy the gear,etc.

We didn’t want to put money to record the album. The money should come from the shows or from the prizes. And, fortunately, we got the first prize and the second prize in both contests we played, so we got enough money.

We will try to win more contests in order to get more funds to pay the next album, although it won’t be easy. The rules state often that the bands that have released albums cannot apply.

But, apart from the contests, we also play at weddings, High Schools … we play a lot of these private gigs. The music we play has that festive side, so we are open to all kind of events and we adapt to them.

Let’s talk about the debut album. What is the title?

We have been talking about the album for a long time, and we know that the release date has been delayed, but there are a lot of things to take into account: recording, mixing, mastering, register the songs, booklet, pressing of the CDs, how to sell it …

We are a lot of people and sometimes we have to reach a compromise or we have to vote. We expect to have it ready in a couple of weeks. It’s coming from Ireland and we are already working on the artwork, the website, T-shirts, photo session …

Then we have to make the booklet, another 15 days.

The album is titled “Down in the Streets”, like the first song or intro.

Are all the tracks original numbers or have you recorded some covers?

All the tracks are self-penned songs and we have included the songs from our demo. We have also recorded an extra track, but we don’t know if we are going to release it. Besides, it’s a sort of a piss-take, so it doesn’t match with the other 10 songs in the CD.

Regarding covers, legal issues are quite complex and we should ask for the permit to release the songs before recording them. So, for the moment we haven’t recorded any cover.

Is the track list ready?

Yeah, these are the 10 tracks:

1 - Down In The Streets
2 - Man Of Glendalough
3 - A Drunken Night In Temple Bar
4 - Homeless
5 - Welcome To Baja California
6 - The School Shooter
7 - Wild Ways To Galway
8 - Tomorrow
9 - Brisking Your Nights
10 – Island

We were wondering if you have had some guests on the album.

We thought over the possibility of adding further vocals on "Brisking Your Nights", because it’s a different number and we wanted to try another singer together with Rodri. But finally, we forgot about that, we decided to make it as simple as possible. I guess that some fans will be wondering why we recorded that track. But we wanted to try something different.

Who has produced the album? Where has it been recorded and mixed? If you have had a bigger budget, would you have chosen another producer?

The album has been produced by Luis Alberto Caballero in Dopplermedia (Madrid) http://www.dopplermedia.es I have to admit that Alberto has born with us, he has been very patient. It’s not easy to record 8 guys and he has done it quite well, taking into account the difficulties to record some instruments.

The master has been made by Richard Dowling (Foo Fighters, Kylie Minogue, David Bowie, La Unión, etc) in his studio Wav Mastering in Limerick.

We have not listened to the album yet, but we have listened to the mixes and we feel that it will sound great.

Alberto offers a ratio quality/price that is very good, so we trust him. Even if we have had more money, we wouldn’t have spent a bigger budget on the first album. Moreover, we feel that Alberto’s quality is as good as that of other people that would charge you the double. We have already decided to record the second album with Alberto, we have got on with him.

Are you going to release the album on your own or are you dealing with some labels?

It will be released by a label and we will make 1.000 copies. However, we don’t know how to proceed yet: maybe a song could be downloaded, we could sell the album at the shows or in stores… we will take a decision once the copies are available.


Have you thought over licencing the CD to an international indie label?

It’s not easy, but we will see.

And what about selling it in the USA via CDBaby or Interpunk or Amazon (CDs and/or mp3)?

It’s a good idea. We know that there are labels that could make it for us, but we have to check how it works and if we can do it on our own, we will go ahead.

You have a couple of websites (MySpace and Musikaze)? Are you going to have your own website www.thefattyfarmers.com or open an account on Facebook or Reverbnation? (remark: the website is already on line)

Yes, you’re right, we have a MySpace account, some accounts on Tuenti, one account on Musikaze and another one on YouTube.

The website is ready, but we are waiting to get the master to launch it, so I think that it could be available in two weeks. Regarding the Facebook account, it’s the same, as soon as we get the master we will be there.

What about the Saint Patrick’s gigs in Madrid?

They were amazing! We feel that the fans really enjoyed the shows. They didn’t expect that a band from Toledo could be a top-notch live band. Our drummer couldn’t go to the first show, so we play an acoustic gig. Taking into account that it was our first acoustic gig, it was really successful, the venue was full of fans.

At the Gruta 77 we really enjoyed the show, the sound was one of the best I’ve heard in a venue. The guys who called us to play that festival were very happy and they told us that they would call us again when a foreign Celtic punk band is scheduled. There were several bands playing, so the show was a lot of fun

Are you going to play a special show to release the album or go on tour?

We intend to release it in Toledo at the local Festival and we also want to play some shows in different towns. In fact we have already started to work on that in order to have some dates in September. As you know, it’s not easy to do it in Summer, because it’s the open-air festival season.

We feel that we could play a couple of shows in every town, Friday and Saturday (for instance, one day in a bigger venue and the other one in a pub or a bar). This way the costs wouldn’t be so high.

Are you going to release a professionaly shot video to promote the album?

Yeah, probably during the Summer. Some friends would make it, but we feel that the quality will be quite good. Then we will upload it to YouTube. I think that the song will be “Homeless”

Bastards on Parade have just been touring Europe. Skontra toured The Netherlands and Germany last December 2010. And Brutus’ Daughters are going to play a big festival in Poland. Are you thinking about playing abroad?

Well, it’s a possibility. We have been together only two years and first of all we should try to play in Spain and then abroad. A European tour is not easy, we are 8 guys and the costs are high. Anyway, we will talk with other bands and ask them how they arranged it.

We guess that you have gone to several Celtic punk shows. Which have been your favourite bands on stage?

Flogging Molly were great in Madrid, an excellent sound. Dropkick Murphys rocked, but the banjo was hardly noticed. Then, The Real McKenzies acoustic gig was also amazing. The Mahones were not so good on stage, but we like them too.

And which are the bands that you would like to play with?

Any of them would be OK, apart from the Spanish bands that play this genre of music. But we would also like to play with other bands ,even if they are not Celtic punk bands.

We feel that a band located in Madrid has more posibilities. Have you thought about moving to this city?

No, we don’t need to move to Madrid. In fact we are only 40 minutes from Madrid and some of the members are already studying in Madrid. For us it’s quite easy to go Madrid, because it’s close to Toledo.

If we would rehearse in Madrid maybe we would have more contacts to get gigs. Anyway, we feel that this will depend on the promotion we made: radio, press, spotify, YouTube, Tuenti, Facebook … We have a lot of ideas about that.

What do you think about the European Celtic punk scene? Do you know other bands?

As we have been playing this kind of music for a short time, we have been focused on writing our own material.

Maybe it’s time to begin to check other bands, listen to their songs .. We will try to add more bands to the social networks when the songs from the album are available and, who knows, maybe we could do something together.

We feel that this genre, with the right promotion, can be a big thing, like other genres have been in the past (grunge, metal …) The shows will help to get a bigger fan base.

And what do you think about the Spanish scene? Do you know any other band?

This kind of music was not very popular here but little by little more bands are playing Celtic punk. So I feel that the main festivals will include more Celtic punk bands too.

We only know Brutus’ Daughters and Drink Hunters, they are cool. We would like to play with Bastards on Parade and Skontra soon. A festival with all the Celtic punk band from Spain would be a dream!

Do you want to add something?

The website will have a special “comments” section, so the fans will be able to tell their opinion about our music, if there is a venue near their home in which we can play, if they know any radio station that could play our songs … We will appreciate very much this feedback and we will try to play everywhere. Let’s go Farmers!

Now check their website and listen to some tracks:


www.thefattyfarmers.com

.

THE DUTCH IRISH BASTARD - Interview

The great accordionist DutchIrishBastard spent recently some days in Spain. Unfortunately I couldn't meet him. However I contacted him via MySpace for an interview and these are his answers. The photos are taken from his MySpace site and were shot in Madrid when Bastards on Parade opened for Pipes and Pints.

Enjoy!

First of all, Dutch Irish Bastard or Andries?

In personal conversation it's Andries, but as soon as I pick up the box it is the DutchIrishBastard. I had the privilege to pump the box for six months with German band Mr Irish Bastard in 2008. Me being Dutch, that's where I got the nickname. It was great fun, they gave me the fully unexpected opportunity to make my debut in a band and on stage in the 50th year of my life, it was a great surprise and a great eye-opener, which changed my life quiet a bit.

When I read your blog at your MySpace site,you are always writing “Yer man” instead of “I”. Why?

In songs I do write "I" at times, but somehow on the myspace it seemed fun to write about myself as "yer man", which, if I am not mistaken, is not uncommon in Ireland.

You picked up the box when you were at home because of an illness. Why did you choose the accordion? Why not a fiddle or a tin whistle?

The box was there. I had bought an old one at a flea market a few years before, after a holiday in Ireland. I never touched an instrument before, but the locals playing at their sessions in Irish pubs had so much fun, I wanted to be part of that fun too. And the box, to me, gives a nice touch to songs. But in fact, the box had largely been gathering dust until I was forced to be at home for a few months, after suffering blood cloths in lungs and brains. Potentially that is very dangerous, so I was well aware to be lucky to be still alive and kicking. Listening to PaddyPunk helped me through that period quiet bit (thanx to one and all, at the time especially Mahones, Greenland Whalefishers and Flogging Molly). Having had the shit scared out of me, there was some reshifting of priorities in life, and with a lot of time on my hands, picking up the box just seemed kind of the logical thing to do ...

At your website you mention that your main influences are Shane and The Pogues, Flogging Molly and Mr. Irish Bastard. But I guess that you also have some traditional folk influences. Which are your favourite Scottish and Irish folk bands?

No, I have no folk influences 'proper', am not even too fond of it. Neither do I have any punk heroes or am I very fond of punk. But the combination of the two, the energy of punk and the melody of folk, just seems to fit perfectly, to my ears at least.

And which are your “accordion heroes”?

Have none, really. Admire especially James Fearnley from the Pogues. And I like the story how he got to play the box. Basically, Shane MacGowan forced him to, since he could play the piano
:-)

Now everybody knows how the Dutch Irish Bastard was born. You got a mail from Mr. Irish Bastard asking you if you were interested in joining them for their next tour. I feel that a previous explanation would be needed to understand the whole thing. Apparently, you had met them before. How did it happen? And why did they know that you played the accordion?

"Yer man and his lassie" were (and still are) going to a great deal of PaddyPunk gigs after the aforementioned period. She having health issues too, on a good day for us there is nothing that comes close to attending a PaddyPunk gig. She especially likes the shouts some singers have, to her Finny McConnell (Mahones) and Arvid Grov (Greenland Whalefishers) have the best shout. But back to the question: having somehow learned about them, we were probably among the first to order their first EP, and probably also among the first to travel all the way to Germany to see them gig. I think they thought that was pretty weird. Anyhow we talked a bit after show, the accordion must have been mentioned at some occasion. And then shortly before the Shamrock Clash tour in spring 2008, when they suddenly were without accordion player, they send me this mail "Do you want to join us for this tour". Still can't believe it. In fact, I first wrote a lengthy mail telling them I wouldn't, but luckily I never sent that one. So instead, I just said I would, and asked which songs would be played (this was shortly after "Bastard Brotherhood" was released). They send a list of 13 songs, so I had one day for each song to practice playing, at home, their CD blasting through the sound system. We had one rehearsal (I had never seen a rehearsal room before !!) and then we were on the road with Blood or Whiskey and with Fiddler's Green, touring Germany on a night liner bus. My debut.

Did they offer you to be the accordion player on a permanent basis or was the deal only for that tour? Do you still play some gigs with MIB?

The initial invitation was for the Shamrock Clash tour, but it was such good fun that I continued playing with them throughout the summer and autumn of 2008. With pain in my heart, however, it became obvious that I really lived too far away from them (three hours one way) to keep going like that. So I played a goodbye-gig in the night I turned 50, seemed like a nice moment for goodbye and a nice way of turning 50 !! Altogether I played some 30 gigs with them in those months, great fun with great people !! But that's in the past now, a nice memory.

The next step was to join The Mahones on their Euro Tour 2008. When did you meet them before and how did Finny know that you played the accordion?

Mahones were without accordion player for their European tour in 2008 (they now have the prettiest in the scene !!), so Finny McConnell sent me a mail. Couldn't believe it. Especially not as he gave me about 5 days for learning 30 songs. I admit, there have been songs I hadn't rehearsed at all and that learned to play only on stage. It was in the same crazy summer I was playing with Mr Irish Bastard, so there were a few days when I had to chose whether that evening I would play with Mr Irish Bastard or with Mahones. One day in Dortmund, Mr Irish Bastard opened for Mahones, and I played with both bands, that was pretty tiring !!

I had talked to Finny a bit after a Mahones show about a year before that. I commented that he never played one of my favourite songs "You're the one". He said he was afraid he didn't recall how to play it. My answer was that I could play it with him to refresh his memory. So there we were, backstage, I playing the accordion of the Mahones player at the time, Finny playing the guitar and singing. He must have remembered. A great guy, by the way.

Which are your best recollections of gigging with Mr. Irish Bastard and the Mahones?

All of time was weird and wonderful, hard to pick out a best memory. There I was, never having played in a band, in the 50th summer in my life, playing Holland, Germany, UK and Switzerland with two of my favourite bands. Travelling to London with the Mahones, to be joined on stage by some of the guys from The Popes is among the highlights, as is flying to Milan with Mr Irish Bastard to headline a very drunken night in Chiazzo (Switzerland). And once the network was there, meeting the guys from Flogging Molly back stage a couple of times. But maybe best of all was playing an open air gig in Münster, hometown of Mr Irish Bastard, in front of 4000 people.

A Dutch accordion player touring with foreign bands. But then you joined a Dutch band, Circle J. You toured with them and even wrote some material that you recorded with them on their last album “Weekend Warriors”. Normally you should have stayed with them. What did happen? Was their touring schedule too much for you? (You say in your MySpace that they kicked you out, but I guess that this is a joke, isn’t it?)

It was impossible to keep playing with Mr Irish Bastard because of the distance, regrettably, and the Mahones appearances were for that tour only. But I was hooked on gigging solidly by then, so started thinking of alternatives. I saw only one in Holland and that was Circle J, a band I'd seen playing a number of times, and that once opened for 'me' (-: when I played with Mahones. They'd seen me play with the two other bands, so I kinda suggested that maybe they could do with some accordion. I joined some rehearsals and after a few try out gigs, I joined the band. Was a great time, at times we played with Mr Irish Bastard and Mahones, so I would meet old friends, and we had a wonderful tour of Germany and Holland with Dreadnoughts. Within a few months with the band, I had suggested lyrics for four songs and melody for two, all to be heard on Weekend Warriors. After recording, which of course also was all new to me, but which went above expectation, something must have made some of the guys think twice. I honestly do not know what exactly, apart from one gig having been very tired and next gig having played with numb fingers as the door of the van had been closed with my fingers in between shortly before showtime. Word was that there was doubt in the band and among some fans whether I was good enough, and that was the end of the story. Not nice, I guess breaking up is never easy, but this was especially clumsy. CD was being mixed at the time, there is much less accordion on it than there was on the demo's, not too sure myself whether that is an improvement, but by that time I was no longer part of the process. So no: the being kicked out is not a joke. Anyhow, within one-and-a-half years, I sure accumulated a lot of new experiences: gigging with bands, writing songs, recording a CD, being kicked out of a band. There was some catching up to do, and I did :-).

And after two years being a guest or a part-time member of different bands, you started a project with different bands (The Ceili Family, IXRN, Bastards on Parade …) that finally has evolved into a new band, The Bastard in the Barley. I guess that this was the normal evolution, you are writing your own songs and tunes …

At first I was kinda fed up with the band thing, but songs kept coming, so I had this crazy idea of asking other bands whether they be interested in my stuff. And to my surprise, some where: Ceili Family, IXRN, Bastards on Parade, Greenland Whalefishers and Go Set. But as songs kept going and the stage kept itching, I set my mind on starting something myself. Bastard in the Barley is not a band yet, and it is not even sure that it will be a band under that name, but the first steps are there: there is a first line up and there is songwriting and even some rehearsing going.

But, at the same time, you keep on sharing the stage with great bands such as Greenland Whalefishers or SIR REG. The gig with the Norwegian band took place in London. Which songs did you play with them? Any special recollection about that night?

Me lassie and me are great fans of Greenland Whalefishers, we saw them gig once in Norway and were treated to a great welcome at that time. When I saw their short tour of UK announced, it so happened that they played London on my lassies birthday. She didn't know, but she knows me a bit longer, so when I asked "Do you wanna be in London for your birthday?", her question in response was "what band is playing?". I had always stayed in touch with GWF. To add to the fun of my lassies birthday, they too liked the idea of me joining them for some songs. I played some six songs with them, among which my lassies favourite "No More Crucified Days". Was great night. In meantime, Arvid has put some lyrics of mine to music, is a Tom Waits style, really beautiful. We agreed we can both use the song, time will tell which recording will be nicest, his or mine ...

And the gig with SIR REG was in The Netherlands. How many songs did you play with them? What do you think about this new band, one of the best newcomers of the year?

Sir Reg are indeed an awful newcomer !! They had some line-up changes prior to their tour, including a call on myspace for players. I said I couldn't join them for the tour, but would be pleased to join them at least on their Dutch gig. So that's what happened. Played a handful of songs that I had played along with at home to demos that had been sent. Was a bit strange, as we never met and as they were already on stage for soundcheck when I arrived at venue, so we were playing some songs for soundcheck before even having had some conversation. We made up for that after showtime, was great, nice bunch of nutters, and a nice gig, warming up a 500 crowd for a Misfits gig. I liked playing along to the song Far Away the best, a beautiful ballad, where the accordion could really make a contribution.

It seems that you also have a special friendship with Bastards on Parade. They played at the Circle J last CD launch party in The Netherlands and they cooperated with you in your project. You have recently been in Spain, where you have gigged with them and have recorded some material for their debut album. Besides, at your first show with them you shared the backstage with Pipes and Pints. We would like to know everything about that night in Madrid.

Not without mixed feelings, I went to the Circle J CD launch. There was two highlights. The first were the friendly words by Circle J singer Tomba addresses to me and my contribution, the second was meeting the guys from Bastards on Parade. It was a pleasure for me, and to my surprise also to them. Talked quiet a bit with especially their singer/guitarist/songwriter David. I kept saying I was going home, but kept not doing so, and then there was a joke between us: "it's hard to leave the bar". I promised David to write him lyrics for a song with that title, which I did. He wrote some really music to those words, it's become a hell of a song actually.

Then I got the invitation to come over for some recording, which we wisely combined with a weekend of gigging, mid November. I joined them on stage in Madrid, opening for Pipes and Pints, and in Coruna and in some place near Vigo, where Bastards were coupled with Asturian band Skontra.

Had met Pipes and Pints on the road before, one nice evening when the line up was Circle J - Pipes and Pints - Mr Irish Bastard. Was nice seeing them again, but most special of course was playing first time with Bastards on Parade. They had changed the intro to 'our' song "Hard to Leave the Bar", but had forgotten to tell me, so at the outset I was lost and playing all the wrong notes. Well, that's punk ??

What can you tell us about the two gigs that took place in Galicia?

The gig in Coruna was in a wild place in front of a wild crowd, it was a really special evening. The third gig regrettably was a bit quiet in terms of audience, but the trip was very nice, as on the way back to Coruna we had a good look around at Cabo Finistere. That place and the coast at Coruna inspired me to write the following words for David and his crew.

"I am born from Galicia, they say it's part of Spain"
"but fuck it feels like Ireland, judging by the rain"
"the roaring of the waves, is my hometown's sweet refrain"
"when I drink my pint and hear them pipes, I feel Gaelic once again",

I hope they will expand it into some song one day

Did you enjoy the after-gig night? What did you drink there? It seems that Circle J loved to drink pacharán and licor café…

There was no lack of drink before, during and after the shows, mostly cerveza, (beer) though also coffee liquor. Apart from the cervezas, I enjoyed the tapas a lot, especially rabo the toro, pulpo, callos, morcilla and the likes. "A Yer man le gustan mucho las tapas" . And I had of course brought a few litres of tax free Jameson's Irish whiskey

Regarding the Bastards On Parade new album, I was wondering in how many tracks we will hear your accordion.

We had only little time, but recorded accordion tracks for two songs ("Leave the Bar" & "Fucking Town"), and some lines that may become an intro for a third. The rest of the recording will I believe be done in December. Am pretty curious about the result myself

So, the track Bastards on Parade worked with you for your previous project will be included ...

Yes, that's "Leave the Bar".

Can we expect your come back for their CD launch party?

I would take a possible invitation to that effect very seriously, hell yeah.

Any future cooperation with Pipes and Pints? I guess that you talked about that in Madrid.

No, and no, we didn't talk about that. Without any offence being meant, they are not among my personal favourite bands. I appreciate the energy of their show, but for me it is a bit too much on the punky side of things

And with Skontra? This Asturian band shared the bill with Bastards On Parade in Galicia and they are going to play some gigs with Circle J in The Netherlands soon.

Didn't discuss it with Skontra either, but then: I've more or less given up on that "For the Hell of It" project, as I am now concentrating on getting Bastard in the Barley going. But who knows, if more bands are interested, I could re-open the project. UncleOwen records from Japan showed interest in releasing it, so I guess with another handful of bands, there could be a 10-song 10-band compilation CD with songs (co)written by DutchIrishBastard.

Do you know any other Spanish Celtic punk band? What do you think about the Spanish scene?

I am afraid I am not too familiar with the Spanish scene, it is not around the corner, so to speak. But I do appreciate Bastards on Parade a lot, especially since their Galician = Gaelic roots adds a good deal of authenticity to what they are doing. After all, they play a Galician gaita, not Irish or Scottish pipes !! So I wish them all the best, would sure love to hit the road, the stage and the bottle with that lot again one fine day !!

To finish up, which are the bands you are willing to share the stage with, but you have not had the opportunity?

I hardly have more wishes left on that account, really. Life has been treating me generously these past years, especially since, in a way, I live in extra time. I am a great fan of Flogging Molly, Killigans, Dreadnoughts, Pogues, Roughneck Riot and Gogol Bordello, but they all have brilliant accordian players, so they do not need me at all.

Ah, now I think of it: if ever The Go Set play the old world again, I'd love to play some tunes with them. In fact, I got invited last time round by their frontman Justin, but I didn't have my box with me that night, neither had I practiced any of their songs, for that matter. But if Australia is listening, ...

Thank you DutchIrishBastard for your answers and hope to meet you soon!


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BASTARDS ON PARADE - Interview

At last! I’m sorry for the delay, I posted this interview on the Spanish version of the blogzine in April and I should have translated it then.

The band tells everything about its first European tour and their forthcoming debut album.

Hi, Bastards. Thank you for the interview and your support. Let’s talk about your February tour. The starting point was Sestao, near Bilbao (Spain). The gig took place in a small venue on a Wednesday, but maybe it was the right place for a warm-up gig. Which were your feelings then?

Well, we were eager to start the tour. We thought that maybe it would be a quiet show, it was not a weekend show and we have never played there, but it turned out to be a f*cking great show, it was a big surprise and we are looking forward to playing there again in the near future.

The next two gigs took place in the Maisuenea Gaztetxea (a kind of squat) in Olazti and in a venue in Mondragón. What do you think about the venues and the audience there?

In both places the treatment was high class; the shows were awesome and the people who arranged the gigs treated us very well if we take into account that we are a bunch of bastards hahaha.

The great leap forwards, the fourth show was abroad, in Bordeaux (France). Did you notice a big difference regarding the organization and the audience there?

Maybe it was the dirtiest gig of the tour, but not in a bad sense hahaha. It was a small venue and the sound was not very good, but it was full of people that were dancing and pogoing from the beginning of the show, people falling down on stage, the microphone hitting on the mouth, sweat, blood … really f*cking good! Hahaha

You told me in Sestao that you have to drive a big distance from Sestao to the Netherlands, since the next show was at 15h00 on Sunday. Did you arrive on time or something happened? By the way, what do you think about an early show like this?

Pfff… it was really crazy. As soon as we ended up in Bordeaux at 2h00 in the morning we hade to drive to Hengelo. We arrived at 16h00 in the afternoon. All along the way we collected some anecdotes: we were stopped at the Belgian border, because they wanted to have a look at our van, we had to pay 50 cents at the gas stations when we wanted to go to the toilet… but everything went OK, hahaha.

I feel that The Netherlands have a big Celtic punk fan base, this kind of music is quite popular there. Did you notice it?

To tell you the truth, this was the weakest date of the tour, we thought that there were no people in the Netherlands, hahaha. Not too many people at the gig and the sound was very bad.

And the other band, 5 Shots of Whiskey, what do you think about them?

Not so bad, punk’n’roll or whatever you call it. Definitely, not so bad.

The next shows were scheduled in Germany. This is the paradise for any Celtic punk band, this style has a big following there from the early days (The Pogues). You were in the middle of the tour and you had already played a couple of gigs abroad. Were you a little bit nervous or were you ready to feel a new experience on stage?

I guess that both of them, maybe we were a little bit impressed, we had always dreamt to play in Germany, but at the same time we were eager to play like madmen. Germany is the key! hahaha

And the Day arrived, your first show in Germany at the Tobis Irish Pub in Emden. Was everything OK?

The place was really cool, it was the Irish pub that you would like to have near your home to spend the whole day there, hahaha. And Tobi and his family were really nice. The show was very good and the people were happy. Even if it was a Tuesday, there were a lot of people and all of us went drunk after the show, hahaha.

The next show took place at the Drücklufthaus in Oberhausen. What can you tell us about this gig?

We really liked that venue. We played with a band called Ausgelebt, which was quite good. The show was also very good, the audience began to dance little by little and finally it turned out to be a great party.

Third gig in Germany, at Subway to Peter in Chemnitz. I guess that you have then a lot of beers and a lot of motorway in your bodies. Maybe you were a little bit tired, but I guess that you were looking forward to playing more shows there …

Yeah, we were ready to play a great show, unfortunately the tour was coming to its end and we wanted to play more gigs. You are right, maybe we were a little bit tired because of the booze and driving too much. But when we were on stage we forgot it and we feel that the gig was really funny. The fans told us that it was great and that they have enjoyed it. So it was great, hahaha.

If you have a look to the pictures that were taken that night, you will notice that we look a litlle bit "tired". Besides, we drank the special Subway to Peter garlic liquor, that really kills you, hahaha.

The last show was at K19 in Kassel, together with Kings and Boozers (former Lady Godiva) and Dominator. Have you ever met Kings and Boozers?

Finally they didn’t play, as far as we remember one of them had heart problems. It was really a shame, we were eager to play with them. But Dominator was a big surprise. They really rock and their show was awesome

The place was amazing, a very good sound, a fridge full of beers for the bands ...The organization and the audience treated us very well. K 19 RULES!

By the way, David was interviewed by Sören (wittmaso) for the netzine www.celtic-rock.de …

We would like to thank Sören very much for coming, he had to drive 4 hours back home, although we tried to get him drunk, hahaha

And the highest moment of the tour arrived, the long-awaited Circle J “Weekend Warriors” release party in Utrecht. I guess that you can tell us a lot of things about that gig. When did you met Circle J? Did Circle J drink all the bottles of patxaran (tradicional liquor from Navarre) that night or did they keep them for other day?

That date was one of the best, as it was expected. Circle J are a great band and their live show was excellent. Moreover, they are very nice people, hahaha. The venue was also comfortable, full of people and the party was unbelievable.

We met Circle J when we arranged a gig in La Coruña for them and Skontra and we became close friends with both of them. We brought hem eight bottles of patxaran from Navarre and they drank all of them very fast. They drank a little bit every time they sold a CD, and they sold a hell of a lot of CDs… It was really the perfect closing date for the tour.

I guess that you didn’t have enough time to enjoy the night life in Bordeaux and Hengelo, but maybe you could do it in Germany and Utrecht. What about the fans, the beers, the pubs…?

We stayed in the same venues in which we have played. The beers were very good and the fans were better. We went to some pubs in Amsterdam, it was the day-off and we should have taken a rest. However, it turned out to be a big party. Taking into account that we were in Amsterdam, I guess that it is normal that it happened there.

What about the CD sales alter the shows? Did you sell more T-Shirts than expected?

That was a pleasant surprise, we sold a lot of CDs and T-shirts. We run out of the L, XL and XXl sizes too soon, the people there are taller than in our country. We are grateful to everybody for their support at every show.


Apart from Sören, did someone else make you an interview for a radio or fanzine?

Unfortunately not.

Now that the tour is over, which are the positive things that you have learnt? And which are the differences that you have found regarding the venues, organization, equipment, etc in comparison with the ones that you normally find in our country?

Positive, everything. We feel that we should come back soon (in fact we are already working on a next tour in November/December). Everywhere the people have treated us very good. They know that we come from a different country and they do their best to make us feel comfortable (the booze helps, of course). The organization was perfect in every venue we played. Here, in Spain,the level is improving, but we must admit that they are doing it better abroad.

Talking about new friends, did you meet other bands apart from the ones you shared the stage with?

Yes, the people from Barroom Heroes, they are great mates and we drank together at the Tobi’s Irish Pub. And the Dutch Irish Bastard, a real crack guy, we become friends quickly and we are going to work together very soon.

By the way, you have already shared the stage with Sambre, Skontra, Circle J, The Real McKenzies, The Mahones, The Dreadnoughts, The Booze, Brutus’ Daughters ….any other band you would like to play in the same bill?

With any other band you enjoy! Top bands such as The Pogues or Dropkick Murphys, but also new bands that are going to play their first show. Every band is very interesting and we can learn a lot from them. Sometimes we play with a band we have never heard before and we find that they are very good on stage.

You have been interviewed by www.celtic-rock.de, three songs from your last EP have got airplay on their Internet radio Station, “Captain’s Dargle” has also been broadcasted at Paddyrock Radio Station, “Death Shore Pirates” and "Saint Patrick's Day" have been included in the Shite’n’Onions Podcast no. 18, “Norfolk Street”was also featured in our own January sampler, you are also featured on the “Tribute to The Mahones Album” that is going to be released soon, you have shared the stage with all the bands that have been mentioned above … Is the Spanish music market small for you?

This is something we are thinking over. We feel that if we were based in another country such as Germany, in which the musical taste is more rock/punk oriented, we could get more shows and we could improve as a band. Remember that we are living at the left corner of Europe, faraway from many places, hahaha

I feel that this is the year of Bastards on Parade. In a two years period you have released three EPs and “Death Shore Pirates” is your master piece. I was wondering if you have been contacted by some labels.

No, but we are working on that, we are going to forward our stuff to a lot of labels and we expect that some of them could be interested in Bastards on Parade.

Remark for all the punk/Celtic punk labels in Europe: What are you waiting for? Sign a deal with these guys, they are at the forefront of the new wave of European Celtic punk bands!!!

So, which are your plans for the near future?

We are trying to play a lot of shows and we intend to release our debut soon. After that, a new Euro Tour in November and we hope that everything will go fine, hahaha

Let’s imagine that you are contacted by another band in order to release a Split CD. Would you accept or do you think that the next step is to release the debut album?

We can do both things for sure. We are open to any project, we feel that it is good for us.

As far as the debut album is concerned, will all the tracks from the previous EP be included? Will the tracklist be totally new?

Maybe we will include a couple of them, but basically the tracklist will be new, with some interesting guests.

Is there a release date for the album?

We intend to release it at the beginning of the Summer, if we are lucky. If this is not possible, it will be available at the end of the Summer.

OK. That’s all. Do you want to add anything more …

We feel that the interview has covered everything, hahaha. We would like to suggest to other bands that they should play abroad, it’s a “religious” experience, hahaha. Thanks to all the promoters, bands and fans that went to our shows and, of course, thank you Waldo. Thanks for your support to this bunch of drunkards.

See ya in the Pub!

DRINK HUNTERS - Interview

Drink Hunters are a band from Barcelona (Spain) that intend to be heard worldwide. They are at the forefront of the Spanish Celtic punk scene, together with Bastards on Parade (La Coruña) and Brutus’ Daughters (Madrid). After having included their demo in the first sampler of 2010 and having reviewed it, we got in contact with the band in order to make this interview. This is what they told us.

First of all, Could you introduce yourselves? We would like to know if you have been playing with other bands and which genre of music you played.

Pau: I’m Pau and I play the drums. Before Drink Hunters I was the drummer of a hard rock band called Aural. But those bastards fired me because my way of playing was too punk for them. I’m joking, ha ha ha.

Aaron: Hey, I’m Aaron, I’m the bass player and lead vocals of this punk band. I had previously played with other punk-rock or hardcore bands, such as 13 Picas.

Rosa: Hello, I’m Rosa and I play the accordion. I used to play in a folk band called Tanyuts.

Raja: Hey! I’m Dani, aka Raja, I play the guitar and before Drink Hunters I was a lazy boy, Drink Hunters is my first band.

Nando: I’m Nando, the fiddler. I had never played in a Celtic punk band before. I had been in some projects in Music Schools, classical and modern bands.

How did you meet each other?

Pau: Well, the band was born after having left Aural. I knew Aaron, who was playing with 13 Picas. We were drinking at a pub, a little bit drunk, and I suggested him that we should play something new, the Irish Punk was new for me. So, I asked him something like this: "Aaron, d’ye wanna play in an Irish Punk band with me?"

Aaron: And I told him. “OK. When are we going to start?" Then me and Pau met often in order to write some songs. And then I left 13 Picas for different reasons and I put all my energy on Drink Hunters. Me and Pau went to Ireland to celebrate it!

Pau : But, of course, we needed a guitar and other folk instruments (such as a fiddle and/or an accordion). So we talked with Raja. The bastard had not been playing for a long time. It was a little bit risky, but we trusted on him and he did it quite well

Raja: To tell you the truth, it was really risky, cause I had not got any decent guitar… and I had never been in a band.

Pau: We met the fiddler by chance. A friend of mine showed me a video that he has shot with his mobile phone. It was Nando playing the fiddle, so I got in contact with him straightaway. And we also met the accordionist by accident. I asked a friend of mine if she would like to play in our band, but she refused. However, she gave to me a list of people that she knew. The first accordionist I talked to was Rosa … and she accepted!

Rosa: I was dreaming, ha ha ha. One day a certain Pau came across and told me that he was in a band that played Irish punk and asked me if I was interested in playing with them. I told him “Yes, of course”, cause I was interested in playing in a real and decent band. And, even if I thought that they would fire me immediately, I’m still playing with the band, ha ha ha

Aaron: And that’s how Drink Hunters was born… A little bit boring, isn’t it? Ha ha ha. During the first year we were rehearsing to death, writing our own songs and making covers of bands such as Great Big Sea, Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphys. They were our only Celtic influences, cause we were mainly influenced by Bad Religion, NOFX or Raised Fist.

You sing in English. Is there any particular reason? Regarding the lyrics, who writes them and what are they about?

Aaron: Well, in my previous band I used to sing in Spanish, but I realized that the people didn’t understand the lyrics. So, I thought that it would be better to sing in English, cause there are a lot of people who can speak in English and it was more suitable for the kind of music that we were playing.

Pau: Yeah, I feel that the English language can open more doors, particularly in this genre which is not very popular in Spain yet. Regarding the subjects, apart from the social side, we talked about every day’s life and about funny things, cause we play to have fun. Why should we always talk about the same things? Everybody knows that this world sucks, but I think that our lyrics are about the things we really want to say.

Aaron: Usually I write the lyrics, cause my English is better, but everybody shares his own ideas… Sometimes I made some corrections. So, we could say that the lyrics are writen by all of us.

Do you intend to post the lyrics to your MySpace page?

Raja: No, we are not going to upload them, I think that nobody does it… I guess that they would be printed on the CD booklet.

The demo was recently out. It has four great songs. Are you happy with it?

Raja: It is working quite well, it has been critically acclaimed by our fans on MySpace.

Rosa: We have been distributing it for a few weeks, but the results are quite good. At least the people are asking for it . Now we are giving it for free, we are mainly interested in the promotion of the band.

Even if you are a young band, we have noticed that you have already shared the stage with the Real McKenzies and the Dreadnoughts … I guess that this is a positive step on your career.

Pau: Sure. Playing with The Dreadnoughts and The Real McKenzies has been a stroke of luck. It has opened many doors and has given us more opportunities.

And what do you think about those bands, musically and like friends?

Pau: Incredible! It was really a pleasure to play with topnotch bands such as the McKenzies, we cannot complain.

Aaron: I was really amazed by the humility of both bands. Apart from enjoying the booze as we do, they are fucking cool people.

We will continue talking about the main bands in the genre. Did you attend the Dropkick Murphys gig in Barcelona? What did you feel?. Please , tell us your comments.

Raja: Awesome, and I must say that The Mahones performance was great too.


Rosa : We had fun from beginning to end!

Pau: Wow! If we take into account that a lot of time has gone by from their previous gig, we were eager to see them live. In fact, all of us went together to the show and it was unbelievable: a sold out gig, a packed audience and DKM was at their peak on stage. We were lucky and they played some of the old Murphys songs, such as “Bar Room Hero”

Now we will come back to our home. In the past we have had some Celtic Rock bands in Spain (Labanda, Celtas Cortos, Tom Bombadil, Rhune …). Apart from Skontra and the sadly defunct band Oi n’Ast (both of them from Asturias), there were no Celtic punk bands here. However, right now we have Drink Hunters (you have recently released a demo), Bastards on Parade (that have been touring Europe some weeks ago) and Brutus’ Daughters (that have just released their debut CD in a gig in Madrid in which you also played). Do you feel that there is a Celtic punk scene in Spain? Do you get along well with those bands?

Nando: On the one hand, some people would say that maybe it is not the right time, cause it is a genre which is not well-known in this country. But, on the other hand, we feel that it’s the right moment to support this genre and to go ahead with the music we enjoy.

Pau: We have a great relationship with the other bands, we help each other. In fact we have already shared the stage with Brutus’ and it was awesome, a great punk folk party. And we are playing together the Saint Patrick show in Madrid (March 13th, Brutus’ Daugthers CD launch gig), the audience can expect a lot of fun. Brutus’ Daugthers rock, they made us feel comfortable as if we were a family, it was wonderful.

We had some contacts with Bastards on Parade, since they wanted to play a gig in Barcelona. However, even if we tried to get a show together, it was not possible then. To get a gig in Barcelona is getting harder and we could not find a suitable date. Anyway, we are friends and we hope that we will be able to share the stage with them in the future.

Regarding the shows, where have you played till now? We guess that you have played mainly in Catalonia, but, do you intend to play in other regions: Euskadi, Madrid, Asturias, Galicia …?

Rosa: Yes, we have played in Catalonia, but we have played in Madrid too and we are thinking about playing in Galicia.

Are you working with a booking agency or do you get your own shows?

Pau : Yes, we are dealing directly with that. We were thinking over signing a deal with a label from Barcelona, they were really interested. However, the band is still young and our aim is to improve our music step by step. I feel that it is not good to go too fast.

Which are your booking contact details?

Aaron: They can use MySpace (www.myspace.com/drinkhunters) or e-mail to aaronthecelt@gmail.com. Usually, we answer immediately, ha ha ha

What can the audience expect from a Drink Hunters show? Do you play some covers (traditional songs or other bands’ songs)?

Aaron: I guess that the people are expecting a drunken band, a raucous band on stage. Maybe the special numbers in our shows are the old school punk rock covers: NOFX, Bad Religion… I also feel that the people coming to our shows will easily notice our hardcore bands influences. But it seems that the audience enjoys them, they think that it’s something different.

Pau: Regarding the covers, we only play three, cause they fit the party side of our gigs: NOFX, Flogging Molly … we adapt them to our own style.

To finish up, when can we expect your debut album? Furthermore, what about a possible European tour (France, Germany …)

Pau: Our economy is a little bit low ha ha ha … we have not been asking a big amount for a gig till now. But we want to record an album as soon as possible. We would include 14 tracks, since we are already writing the songs for the second album and we would like to record all the songs that we have written during these two years.

Regarding tours, there were some discussions about a possible tour in June, Spain and Portugal, but it has to be confirmed. We also discussed about touring Germany and France together with Brutus’ Daughters, but it depends on many things. We will see.

Thank you for your answers. We wish you that the next Saint Patrick gigs will be a real success (Friday, March 19th together with Ebri Knight in Mataró and Saturday, March 20th with Pipes and Pints at l’Estraperlo in Badalona)

Drink Hunters: Thank you for your support..
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KETAMINA - Interview

Ketamina is a band from Sao Paulo, Brazil, which blends, among other styles, punk from the 77, oi! and Celtic punk. I knew the band in 2008 when I found in MySpace that they were sharing free their first album, “Pode vir me internar”. Recently they have released a new EP, “Whisky You’re the Devil”. The following interview has been made by e-mail:

Hi Fábio, thanks for answering our questions.

First of all, you have already shared the stage with punk and Oi! bands such as The Toy Dolls, The Vibrators, Cockney Rejects, 999 or The Lurkers. What have you learnt from them?

With those bands we’ve learnt to go crazy hah, hah, hah,

I can’t explain the feelings when we shared the stage with Lurkers. They were the craziest band with whom we have ever shared the dressing-room. Arturo, Dave Kemp and Nellie are very amazing people, we drunk and laughed a lot in their tour here in Brazil. The memories are the best possible ones.

We played with Toy Dolls in 2006, we were too young and that was fantastic for us: we were sharing the stage with a band that we have always listened to and have always enjoyed! Drinking with Olga was a dream that came true. He is very funny all the time, that guy rocks!

The most important thing that we learned was to set long life to the Punk Rock. We are from different generations, us and them. I looked at them playing and thought “Fuck! I can keep on playing easily Punk Rock for 30 years! These guys are fucking cool!

By the way, we have seen that you played a tribute to the Toy Dolls gig in Brazil. Toy Dolls are maybe an under-rated band, but they are excellent musicians and play songs whose lyrics are very funny. They are one of my favorite bands too. Do you play often some of their songs in your gigs?

Sure, of course we play Toy Dolls! We are Toy Dolls hardcore fans! A funny fact is that we have never rehearsed “Dig that Groove”, but we play it in every concert! Ha-ha.

They were very excellent people when we played together in 2006. Ketamina was always influenced by Toy Dolls. Most of our songs have choruses that are influenced by them; the funny side in our concerts is all their fault ha-hah.

When I was a teenager I listened a lot to the Toy Dolls. Olga is a fucking creative man. They are one of my favorite bands and I hope to share a concert with them again, someday, in Brazil or in any other place in the world.

If you could choose, which will be the bands with which you would like to share the stage? (punk, Oi! or Celtic punk bands from all over the World)

We would like to share the stage with any other band from any other place in the world, providing that the band is an underground band. We have no preferences for bands, if we have gig, we are ready to play.

I would like very much to share the stage with The Pogues someday , not only for the band, that is wonderful, but specially for Spider Stacy who has supported us very much. He is always writing us and praising us; we are really glad with that, and of course, we would like to play with them too, to get drunk together and to see Shane’s smile ha-ha.

It would also be a dream to share the stage with bands such as:

The Macc Lads, Agitators, Sham 69, Blanks 77, Dropkick Murphys, Street Dogs, Cock Sparrer…

You are from Brazil, which is not really a country with strong Celtic traditions. How did you discover the Irish Punk or Celtic Punk? Which are the bands of this genre that have had some influences on the Ketamina sound?

I discovered it looking for different things to listen to. I have always listened to country and old rock n’ roll, and then I discovered the Irish Punk and the Traditional Punk I thought “Man, this is incredible, very good”. I started listening to The Pogues and Dropkick Murphys, so they are among the bands that have influenced us in this genre, together with the Dubliners, the Clancy Brothers, the Skels ,the Tossers, The Irish Rovers, the Popes and the Street Dogs, that are great. I have always been a Mike Colgan’s fan!

Can you tell us if there is any other band playing this kind of music in Brazil? We know Maltz (but we don’t know if they are still active), Terra Celta (Celtic rock) and Tuatha De Dannan (Celtic metal). More bands?

There is an awesome band named “Os Contribuintes” ( “The Taxpayers”), which is a side project of Mauro, the former bass player of another excellent Brazilian band, The Blind Pigs. This band was more Punk Rock, but “Os Contribuintes” perform a very well done Irish Punk. This is the link to their MySpace page:

www.myspace.com/oscontribuintes

We’ll have to check them, thanks for the lead.

We have noticed that all your discography (demos, album, single) is available free on the Internet. You are sharing your music with your fans on LastFm and on MySpace. What would you say to those bands which are against sharing their music free on the Internet? Do you think that it has been a positive experience for Ketamina?

Yeah, very positive! Music is culture, music is art. Art and culture must flow without any frontier, and the internet is exactly this, art and culture without barriers. I don’t know what to say to the bands that are against it, but for Ketamina it has always worked. We are an independent band, our CDs can’t arrive in other states and other countries; the easiest way for us do that is making them available free in the net. It’s better to have a thousand downloads than just a hundred copies sold.

I feel that the best thing would be to go everywhere and listen to someone singing one of our songs.

The last track on “Pode Vir me Internar”, “Uma Noite em Dublin” has two hidden tracks, a punk number and an acoustic cover (“Fields of Athenry”). First of all, which is the title of the punk song? Secondly, why did you decide to play an acoustic rendition of “Fields of Athenry”, a song that has already been covered by Neck, Greenland Whalefishers and Dropkick Murphys? Have you heard all of those covers?

The song is named “Quero ser” ( “ I Wanna Be”…), This song can be found in our first demo, “Até o fim!” , and we decided to include it as a bonus track in the CD.

“Fields of Athenry” is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever listened to, we really love it, and we have a punk version of it. However, I decided to perform it just in the acoustic guitar because it fits very well all the rhythms I’ve listened.

Regarding the covers, I’ve listened to all of them, some are better than the others, but my favorite one is the Dropkick Murphys rendition.

Your discography has followed a remarkable evolution. “Pode Vir Me Internar” had 16 tracks. 25% of the album (tracks 2, 7, 15 and 16) were Celtic Punk songs and 75% of the album were punk and Oi! Songs. Your brand new single is a 100% Celtic punk recording. What can we expect from the second album? More Celtic punk than punk?

I don’t think so. Maybe the idea for the single was to make it 100% Irish. It's what we like and we wanted to release something like this to show this side of us. The second album should come with the same feeling of the first one. It will have a nice mix of Punk, Oi! and Irish Punk, let’s say with the same approach that the Street Dogs works. They do a fucking blend of all the ingredients that they listen to, and this is exactly what we do, we blend in just one album all the music we like to listen to.

Regarding your set list, we would like to know if you play Irish traditional songs in your shows (Dubliners songs or songs that The Pogues made popular)

We play “Dice Riley”, “Fields of Athenry” and now with the single, “Whisky you’re the Devil” is in our set list too. All the songs are our own version.

On “Pode Vir me Internar” Joby and Skeeter were guests and the core of the band was Fábio, Flávio and Víctor. Now on the single and on the new pictures on MySpace you are four. Can we say that Joby is now a full member of the band?

Yeah, Joby is definitively in the band. During the “Pode vir me internar” recording sessions only Skeeter was there playing Tin Whistle in “Bob Está de Volta” (“Bob is Back”…), Joby didn’t join us at the recording, but got into the band during the releasing concert of “Pode vir me internar”, since that day he became the youngest member in the Beergang! Hah, hah.

Where did Joby learn to play the bagpipes? By the way, which kind of bagpipes does he play?

(Joby) I play the Great Highland Bagpipes (GHB), which is a Scottish bagpipes, but there are still more kind o' pipes in Scotland.

I dunno why, but when I heard the pipes for the first time, they took my attention, and somehow they touched me! It was in some cartoon, and then in some movies, but I had never seen them in front of me before! Time passed and one mate o' mine, Thiago Scavazini, started to learn the pipes here in Sao Paulo.

And I was listening a lot o' Dropkick Murphys stuff at that time. So me and Thiago began to play covers of 'em, in a band we had! Then I began to listen to some traditional Scottish tunes, and asked Thiago to teach me; he gave me the contact of the same instructor that he had. That was my initiation on pipes, it was almost 3 years ago I think, so I have a lot to learn yet.

Today , apart from playing with Ketamina, I play in a traditional pipe band called St. Andrew Society Of São Paulo Pipes & Drums (SASPD)

http://saspd.blogspot.com/

We guess that you have played mainly in Sao Paulo and its region. Have you also toured other Brazilian towns or even Uruguay or Argentina?

We have already played in other Brazilian states and in other towns in the São Paulo State. The reception is warm here! People drink, have a lot of fun in total tranquility… The gigs are always better, and we always drink with the people before and after the show, which leaves us worn out, ha-ha

Unfortunately, we have never travelled out of Brazil.

We know that you would like to fly across the ocean and play in Europe. The Brazilian audience is really passionate and enjoys the music, as you have already said. What do you expect from the European audience?

The expectations are the best possible ones! European people are very receptive, we have some contacts over there, and everybody is asking us to go there soon, ha-ha.

That’s exactly what we want too, we are waiting for more contacts in order to play in many places as possible. Whoever wants to contact Ketamina for a future show in a European tour, please send an email to contatoketamina@gmail.com.

Which European countries would you like to tour?

In every possible country! We have contacts in Belgium, Ireland, England, Spain, Germany… But we really want to play everywhere in Europe.

I think that the audiences in Italy, Portugal and Spain would understand easily our lyrics, ha-ha.

You have mentioned that you have already had some contacts with other European bands through the Internet. Which are the European Celtic punk bands with whom you would like to share the stage?

Yeah, I have talked with some bands. There are some very good bands with whom we would like to share the stage, Celtic punk and punk bands too, such as Agitators, FunBug, Pogues, and many other bands we don’t know yet.

I have a close contact with Bart, from Agitators (Belgium); Spider Stacy from The Pogues is a fantastic person, Funbug from England too. They are more in the Toy Dolls style, a very good band! I have also talked with the Lurkers guys… we are always keeping in touch with Europe.

Who are the Drunken Lads? A side-project? Do you intend to record an album or is it only a live band?

Drunken Lads is a side project of me, Victor and Joby. Me and Joby in the acoustic guitars and Victor in a drum box. We play versions of folk and Irish traditional music that we enjoy. It is a different project, totally acoustic. Drunken Lads are a little bit frozen because of Ketamina engagements and the little time we have, but at the beginning our idea was to play in pubs for Guinness and fish and chips as payment, ha-ha.

Regarding a future recording, we wish to rehearse some songs and record’em. When all will be a little bit calmer, we will be back to this project, cause our real priority is Ketamina.

Saint Patrick’s Day is coming. Are you going to play a special show?

Yeah, we are gonna play a St. Patrick concert in a place in Sao Paulo named CB. It’s very nice there and they have some good beers. We’ll play a nice set list featuring a lot of folk punk numbers for the crowd.

This concert is a Ketamina partnership with, CB and Ataque Frontal. The São Paulo people will be welcome there next March, 17. LET’S GO!

Finally two “stupid” questions:

Brahma, Heineken or Guinness?

Guinness is a passion of mine, but Heineken works sometimes...

Which teams will play the next World Cup final in South Africa this Summer and who will be the champion?

There are 32 teams, among them the strong England, Spain, France, Argentina, Portugal, Ivory Coast…

I would like Brazil to win the World cup 2014, which will be held here in Brazil… It would be fucking great for us that the Brazilian team wins the world cup at home!

But when the South Africa’s Cup is over, I want to shout “Hexa Champion!” hah, hah, hah.

Thanx, Kinksmarkham, my dear friend for the interview and for the support.

Thanks again to Fábio and Joby for answering these questions. And , why not, we expect to find in the next album a “Nellie the Elephant” cover featuring Joby’s pipes or even “The Ashbrooke Launderette” with that “Keel Row” tune at the end.


www.myspace.com/ketamina77

A German version of this interview can be found here (thanks to Jessy for the translation):

www.celtic-rock.de/archives/5557
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