Intervju The Corps

The Corps: Well, we started in 2004. We had different guitar players and bass player, so now the drummer (Jordan) and myself (Alex) are the only original members. We've put out 2 demo EPs (2004 & 2005), 2 albums ('Nail It Shut' - Rebellion Records 2007 & 'Hold Fast' – Randale Records 2008), and are about to release another EP called 'Bottle of Rock'n'Roll' in August this year (2010). The Corps has toured a bit on the East coast of Australia and through Western Europe in 2008. We've played heaps of shows over the years and done some notable supports with Rose Tattoo, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, The Expoited, UK Subs, and The Vibrators. This is the shortened version of the opening bio question for interviews.

The Corps: We started with an idea of being a pretty straight froward streetpunk sort of band with influences from the obvious Oi! stuff through to a bit of hardcore like Blood For Blood, and some viking riffs thrown in here and there. Since then we've focused more on the rock'n'roll side of our sound, and the obvious influences would have to be bands like Motorhead and Rose Tattoo, but still with that streetpunk and old HC flavour. People have always comp[ared us to Rose Tattoo because of the slide guitar on a lot of our tracks. So a simple answer would be that we sound like the harder end of Aussie pub rock with a touch of streetpunk.

The Corps: I think it does. Touring interstate is usually a bit of a gamble. There generaly isn't kind of financial hospitality in Australia that you would see in the music scene in Europe. It's just too expensive for a promoter to pay for airflights for a band (unless they're really big). So a lot of this stuff falls to the band. People will come out for an interstate band if they're known to be good, but people aren't generally into coming out for a band they don't know unless the local supports are good too. But locally, there are good scenes in themajor cities of Australia, and a small amount of touring does happen.

The Corps: I think Australian punk scense have always had to be open to mixed genre gigs because there's just not enough people to pack a venue with only one sub-genre of underground music. We have played with all sorts of bands that we probably wouldn't have if we were based in Europe or the US. We've played with everything from country to crust to black metal, and it's worked out well (most ofthe time, ha ha). I think Rust is an obvious band for us to share a stage with and at one point we even shared a guitarist (AJ, but he's in neither band now). Next week we're playing wih Deathcage. We'll be the least brutal band on the bill I think, but the gig seems to be shaping up to be a big one even though it's a pretty mixed bill. This sort of thing is good because it makes for some pretty original music when everyone's not taking their influences from the same tiny pool of bands. Maybe this is something that gives that "Australian sound" people talk about.

The Corps: It's hard because so many good bands start, play a few gigs, then break up, and often theres no recordings. In recent times, there's been some great releases from Rust and Thug just for some obvious mentions. Deathcage have three 7"s out now and they're all definitely worth a listen. Fuck Oath are great and their album is tough as fuck (though I think they're a bit inactive at the moment through lack of a singer). Repoman were good, but have broken up (check out their 7" if it's still around). All in Brawl are a new-ish band from Canberra. They kick ass. Canberra bands always have that hardcore sound mixed in there, and these guys sound like Negative Approach crossed with something a bit more Oi! Our newer guitarist plays in a HC band called Had It. Their EP is great. Can't think of any more off the top of my head.

The Corps: Right this second, I am listening to Totalitar (from Sweden I think). But I listen to all sorts of stuff. Anything from black metal to country and (almost) everything in between. I don't want to come off as one of those wankers that says 'I listen to everything, I'm eclectic'. I hate "wacky" music like Mr Bungle and dick heads trying to be weird, so I don't listen to everything. As far as local stuff, I've been thrashing the Plan of Attack EP lately.

The Corps: Really, the only distro I think that is doing an excellent job at the moment is Pug Music (www.pugmusic.com). Awesome support for the scene and the bands, anda lot of effort put into making sure peope can get stuff for reasonable prices. Zines come and go here. I can;t think of anything currently still happening that I like. Maybe I'm not hooked upto the zine scene enough. Zines are far stronger and more consistent in Europe than here in Aus.

The Corps: Yeah, last time was great. I expected it to be a bit inconsistent, but majority of the shows were really good and people knew our music, so we didn't haveto win everyone overfrom scratch. And in there was some really big gigs too which went off. We're heading back to Europe in September this year and playing though UK, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, and the Netherlands. It's come together a bit easier for us this time and the gigs look like they're going to be great. Anyone keen to come along should check outthe myspace (myspace.com/thecorps) for updates and gig dates.

The Corps: I know you were going to ask this. ha ha. One big thing I noticed is the fixation on politics everyone seems to have on the European punk scene. Yes there are problems with some extreme individuals, but on the whole, if you turn a blind eye to that sort of thing, it doesn't exist. People really wanted us to choose a side when it came to the

band, but there are no real sides for us. It's music. And for the vast majority of people on the punk scene, politics seems like just part of the package, like Doc Martin boots or patches on a crusty's jacket. Most of it's just plain crap that has no impact on the real world. I think extremism in poltics is always fucked and has never worked. People say that things were never given the chance to work, and highlight certain features that could be positive, but the truth is, as systems they didn't work. History proved them not robust enough to stand the test of time. Anyway, that's the end of my generalising rant. ha ha. People can believe what they want if they can keep it under wraps. In Australia, the extreme politcal kids don't have much influence or respect outside their own comrades, so no one cares or gives a shit about that stuff. The idea of Nazis and Antifa battling

it out doesn't come into people's minds here.

The Corps: I think it's fairly strong. But do you mean for us as a band, or for gigs in general? Either way, I'd say generally it's strong enough to make it worth while. The music scene in Australia is strongest in Melbounre, and that's probably the only city where an non-international band can fill a venue on a week night. But that said, there's good gigs on here in Sydney pretty regularly. You've just got to be open to seeing a few differet styles.

The Corps: I did a bit of work in London whe we played there in 2008, but it's quote hard to match the two schedules up when you'r on tour and trying to organisea tattoo for someone. I'd like to try and make this work on the next tour as there's a bit of interest in a number of cities for my work. It's just a matter of finding a shop to work in for a day

here and there. Hope it can work out.

The Corps: Well, we just finished recording our EP. This will be out in August, so there's no plans for us to rush back int the studio just yet.

The Corps: myspace.com/thecorps, myspace.com/scampkid, www.rebellionrecords.nl, www.randale-records.de ...and look us up on Facebook

Sa Alexom razgovarali Bojan & Ilijana / Ritam Galama