Rectify (Total Blast #4)

Total Blast started in 1988. It was done by ‘Mike’ Michael Gough a.k.a Hyper Dermick (from Cathays, a suburb of Cardiff, the capital of Wales). After being on hiatus for some twenty-five years, it was revived for a couple of issues…

I have #4 (1990) in my collection. That, aswell as #2 (’88), is also available online. Besides cartoons there were also reviews and interviews with HC/punk bands. #2: ‘Instigators’ & ‘The Disturbed’ (Glasgow). #4: ‘Rectify’, ‘Disarm’ (Merthyr Tydfil, Wales), ‘Doom’ & ‘Filthkick’.

Brob

I did 4 issues of Total Blast from 1987-90. I got the name from a Vivienne Westwood quote in The Observer (newspaper). They were doing a 10th anniversary special of punk in 1986. She was saying how it revitalised everything and “it was a total blast”.

My zine was inspired by zines featuring the bands I wanted to read about, that weren’t getting coverage in the music-press or played on radio-stations. The written part was familiar interviews and reviews with bands of the time. It could be fairly scrappily presented with one issue being handwritten when I found myself without a typewriter. There was a crudely drawn comic-strip that was influenced by a comic punk-zine of the time called Ivor The Anarchist. This was about a fictional anarcho-punk band called the Thrashoholics and this first run of adventures ran for four years. The zine was a great way of getting to know more people and sometimes I was helped by people passing on their writings/comics after abandoning their own plans for a zine. The zine was sold at local gigs. I resurrected Total Blast for two issues in 2016/17 , still put out other zines and have contributed art/writings to the likes of Cubesville and Light Goes Out.

#1 was with ‘The Heretics’ [Cardiff] & ‘Heavy Discipline’ [Kettering]; #3 with ‘4Q’ [Colwyn Bay] & ‘Culture Shock’. #5 & 6 were comic-strips.

Mike

‘Rectify’ were a political (anarcho) punk band from Nantyglo/Blaina (north of Cardiff, in Wales). Wayne ‘Pig(gy)’ Cole sang, Mark ‘Wedge’ Wedgebury played drums, Andrew ‘Footy’ Foot was the orginal bassist (he had left the band by ‘91, to be replaced by Rob ‘Newt’ Newport) & Michael ‘Mudgie’ Mudge (R.I.P.) played guitar but left and Greg Comber joined… In 1990 they did a tape entitled Ebullition. They already had a split-LP out with ‘Bazzy & The Budgies’…

Second Siberia (Het Sallands Dagblad #2)

The zine Het Sallands Dagblad (“the Salland newspaper”) was edited by Manja van der Storm, at the time living in Franeker (province Friesland, The Netherlands). She did 2 issues (both dated 1986). The first is made available by Michael K. and Manja provided the second one.

#1 contains reports on the scenes in Zwolle (by Harry Maas of the zine Ongein) & Amersfoort (by Gwynn Ten Boske); an interview with ‘B.T.D.’; presentations of ‘Murder Inc III’, ‘The Rudings’ (Heerenveen), ‘VanAlles & NogWatt’ & ‘Tina & The Torpedos’ (Deventer); info on the anti-military action-group Alarm and multinational companies, etc.

#2 has interviews with ‘Second Siberia’ (cold-core from Amersfoort), ‘Ceremony’ (new-wave from Ermelo); presentations of ‘Laitz’ & ‘U.B.C.F.’, ‘Direct Action’ (Toronto peace-punk band) collage, news on youthcentre Hedon in Zwolle, info on an A.L.F. support-group, a Toronto scenereport and a column on 10 years of punk.

Nowadays Manja’s a graphic artist; take a look at her work on her website.

Brob

When I was 15, I lived in Heino, a small village in the province Overijssel. I was the only punk there, very interested in (punk) music and had my own style, didn’t want to belong to the ‘masses’. The only big city in the area was Zwolle – where I attended secundary school – had a recordstore (Plato) where they sold a lot of punk and also fanzines. That’s where I got to know the Nieuwe Koekrand; I readily took a subscription. Then I wanted to publish my own zine, do it myself: layout, cutting, pasting, copying. Portray my own world, with information from and about like-minded people.

The first issue was put together when I was still living there. The Sallands Dagblad was a local newspaper (Salland is a region in Overijssel). I thought such a lame name was quite funny for a fanzine, especially since it wouldn’t appear each and every day. When the second issue came out, I was living in Friesland but kept the name. At that time it was a lot of fun to do intervieuws and collect info by [snail]mail; there was a very lively correspondence.

My interest in art/design and music, going against the grain, the punk do-it-yourself mentality, all formed a strong motivation to attend the art-academy in Groningen. I graduated some thirty years ago and I’ve basically been doing the same thing ever since: everything as much as possible on my own, depicting my own world and trying to make the world more beautiful.

Manja

‘Second Siberia’ were ‘Siege’ fans from ‘Lärm’-town Amersfoort: Sweder (vocals), Guust ‘Guss‘ Van de Wetering (guitar), Jan-Willem (bass) & Robert (drums). They only did two shows…

[Translation below]

Overdose – These are the lyrics of a song by ‘Second Siberia’ from Amersfoort. Here’s an interview with the singer. Gwynn of ‘Loud Warning’ asked the questions, Sweder gave the answers.

What kind of music do you make and how long have you been together?

Coldcore (or call it hardcore) with political lyrics. We’ve been playing since March ‘85.

Have you done any concerts yet?

Most of the band wants to wait a little longer.

How many songs do you have at the moment?

Right own songs and two covers with own lyrics and input.

What are the band’s political ideas?

We differ, we put the opinion of the individual first, but our ideology is in the left-radical corner.

What do you want to say with the name of the band?

We see The Netherlands as a second Siberia.

What is Siberia according to you then?

A modernized concentration-camp not unlike those of the nazis.

What do you think of Straight Edge?

We’re positive about it but if you use alcohol and soft-drugs in moderation and let your mind work a little, we think it can do no harm.

What are your lyrics about?

The US army in The Netherlands, nazis, capitalism, unemployment, etc.

Any special influences?

‘Siege’, ‘Negazione’, ‘D.R.I.’, ‘Lärm’, etc.

What would you do if there were neo-nazis amongst your audience?

As long as they remain calm, there’s nothing to worry about, but if they become aggressive and/or provokative, it would be a matter of removing them in a “friendly” manner.

Do you have anything to add to this interview?

Yes, only when it’s ice and freezing…

Ashes (Trustkill #1)

The editor of this one was Josh Grabelle (Tinton Falls, New Jersey). He also founded the (straight-edge) label Trustkill recs (The first release was a benefit-compilaton for grass-roots homeless organisations; later e.g. ‘Despair’, ‘Walls Of Jericho’, ‘Brother’s Keeper’, etc.) and organised shows in his basement. There were 3 issues of the zine. I have #1 (’93) in my collection. It has interviews with ‘Another Wall’, Ashes’, Icoonoclast’ & ‘Lincoln’. But all 3 are available from the www. #2 (’94) features ‘Chokehold’ & ‘Groundwork’. #3 (’95) is with ‘Doc Hopper’ & ‘Snapcase’. Apart from these interviews there’s lots of photos, sometimes letters, reviews, and a few columns; #2 has a spoof chat with none other than Krshna and in #3 a bunch of scenesters (e.g. Joe Gervasi, Norm Arenas, etc.) wrote about relgion. Josh often hinted to his rejection of organised religion and the blind faith some people have in a god. To emphasise that he printed T-shirts with an upside-down cross…

Brob

When I started Trustkill fanzine my life 100% revolved around going to hardcore shows and listening to hardcore records. I had a lot of opinions on the scene and what was happening that I needed to get off my chest! All I wanted to do was talk about hardcore music, and share my thoughts on new bands and new records with my friends. That’s all it was ever about.

Josh Grabelle

‘Ashes’ was a straight-edge HC/emo band from Bethesda (Maryland)/Washington DC. The people in the band were Elena Ritchie (vocals), Jack Radner (bass), Matt(hew) Squire (drums) and Brian ‘Fury’ McTernan (guitar; later in ‘Battery’, owner of Salad Days studio). The interview is with Elena (before they had any vinyl out).

 

Timebomb (Tough Guys Don’t Dance #1)

Massimo Moscarelli was a guy from Rome who visited a few concerts at the Vort’n Vis in the 90s (touring with ‘Eversor’ e.g.). He helped out with Paolo Petralia’s zine Scream Of Anger.

The guys started this zine in an effort “to give back to a scene that they feel they have greatly benefited from being involved in”. Massimo’s mate Andrea Marra (who masters English better) made it possible to reach a wider audience. MRR: >>Primarily based around straight-edge, although not completely, they have teamed together to cover what they see as vital music and people, and with this issue they are off to a good start.<<

#1 (the only issue) has interviews with ‘Acme’, Françoise ‘Hazel’ Lepers (Superfluous zine, ‘Rise Above’, ‘Nations On Fire’, ‘Shortisght’, etc.), ‘Feeding The Fire’, Roman sXe bands ‘Timebomb’ & ‘Gasmask’, and Vique Martin (Simba zine); an article on Forza Italia (Silvio Berlusconi’s nationalist conservative party), Italian sXe scenereports and perspectives of the ’94 Vort’n Vis festival.

Brob

I wasn’t in a punk band so I had to do something else. I began taking photos at gigs and then writing for zines. At the time of Tough Guys Don’t Dance (1994-1995), I was writing for Blast! magazine and S.O.A. zine but I wanted to do something deeper content-wise; and in English – to take things outside Italian boundaries. The intention was to print it but that didn’t work out so we did photocopies – that limited the distribution. Other problems: money and laziness to make contacts. I had a computer and a printer but digital editing needed more resources so it was cut’n’paste. My partner was Andrea Marra [bassist of ‘Comrades’, later in ‘Opposite Force’ & ‘Bruma’]: he knew the language very well and translated everything, even produced some content. It was connected with the straight-edge movement because I was so involved in this. The end-result was a very leftwing-oriented zine with an extreme female presence. Besides the fact that I was interested in girls, their presence in the scene was so scarce that they were like aliens in a male world, and it was good to hear what they had to say. It wasn’t a feminist zine made by males though; it was a straight-edge zine with a political feel and a lot of pages about girls in the scene.

We were thinking about doing another issue but I started university and I was gradually more involved in studying than with HC bands.

Massimo Moscarelli

‘Timebomb’ (Rome) was a communist, vegan and straight-edge band playing metallic HC: Cristiano Suriano (drums; later ‘Opposite Force’), Daniele Marini (guitar), Giorgio Fois (vocals) and Simone Marini (bass; Kill for Love zine). Marco Ciccone joined later (guitar; later also ‘Opposite Force’). In 1993 they did a demo and a 7” (Fury) released by S.O.A. recs. Paolo Petralia also did their Hymns For A Decaying Empire CD (‘96) and in 1998 The Full Wrath Of The Slave got out on Genet recs.

Upset Noise (Was? #1)

“This is not a metal fanzine.”

Before Was?, Guillaume Dumoulin (Grenoble) had done three issues of L’Ordurier and one (or two?) issues of Graffiti. Since we corresponded, Guillaume sent me this issue. It dates from 1988 and contains interviews with ‘Upset Noise’, ‘Negazione’, Skeezicks’, ‘Eat Yourself’ (Grenoble), ‘Death Noise’ (Marseille), ‘A Reason To Live’ (Fréjus) & ‘Nerve Rack’ (Leeds); plus reviews (music/concerts) & infos (scene-report Grenoble, skating, conscientious objection).

In the editorial Guillaume states this is a HardCore zine but that and opening towards other musical styles is possible… “Contributions from everyone are wellcome.” The price is kept low but potential profits will be used for future issues and a tape-label. “It’s possible that #2 comes with a tape.”

>>By doing a fanzine we wanna don’t wanna prove anything but rather convey our ideas and those of the bands. See where we stand at the present time, how ideas/attitudes haev evolved. In France we’re several years behind other countries. People are closed-minded and the various problems in the world are of little interest to them because inequality has made people egoistical. Punks in general have limited themselves to their ‘no future’ and see no alternative in hardcore. […]<<

I haven’t seen any other issues but the cover of #3 mentions ‘Agathocles, ‘Doughboys’, ‘Filthy Charity’, ‘Instigators’, ‘Les Cafards’, ‘Lethal Aggression’, ‘M.S.T.’, ‘Nomed’, ‘S.N.F.U.’, ‘The Feebles’, ‘Vortex’, ‘Youth Of Today’, etc.

‘Upset Noise‘ (1987) consisted of Paolo ‘Boffo’ Cattaruzza (bass), Fausto Franza (guitar), Lucio Drusian (vocals) & Stefano ‘Bone’ Bonanni (drums). In ’88 they had a second guitar-player that joined the band just for that tour. After the split they reformed about a year later with Guido Zamattio on bass and Massimo ‘Max’ Arban on 2^nd guitar…

[Translation below]

Fuck! What an excellent Italian band! Their LP, released at the end of ‘87, is a gem. ‘Upset Noise’ play fast slightly metal-influenced HC, but without the violent, sexist or satanic attitude. On the contrary! Their lyrics deal with subjects that are close to their hearts; such as AIDS, which is seen by the church as god’s revenge on the sinners. (But where do they get all that?!)

While waiting for their tour, you’re obliged to buy their LP, if only for its superb cover full of pretty neon colors!

Come on, enough joking, let’s do an interview with Lucio (vocalist), whom I thank for agreeing to answer my questions despite his nervous state.

Write (for info, concerts…) to Lucio Drusian, v. Scaramuzza 4/b, Mestre (VE), Italy.

HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO RELEASE YOUR RECORD AND HOW COME IT CAME OUT ON A BELGIAN LABEL?

It’s a long story. In December ‘86 we took of to tour Holland and Germany (It was the first time we played outside Italy.) and we already knew that after this little tour (9 concerts) we would have enough money to pay for the studio but not enough to pay for the pressing and distribution of the record. After a gig in Arnhem (The Netherlands) I discussed it with some of the ‘Heibel’ guys and they told me that maybe Werner from Hageland HC recs (That a released their great LP – Yeah, Everything’s Great!.) could help us. So we negotiated with Werner and made a deal for a record.

DON’T YOU THINK IT’S BAD FOR THE HC SCENE TO SEE HEAVY METALS COME TO CONCERTS WITHOUT ANY IDEAS OTHER THAN TOSSING THEIR HAIR ABOUT, DRINKING BEER, SOMETIMES FIGHT AND NOT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE LYRICS?

Well, I don’t know what the heavy metal kids in your town are like but I have friends in the metal-scene. At first they came to HC gigs to “toss their hair about” and drink their beers, but then they started buying our records and paying attention to the meaning of our lyrics. Maybe they realized how stupid it was to fight against people like them. I think we’re not that different. We all hate trendy disco-freaks and posers, and we all love listening to fast music. Anyway, skinheads are much more violent (in my city).

HAVE YOU PLAYED IN OTHER COUNTRIES? DID THE AUDIENCE APPRECIATE it? WAS IT MUTUAL? WHEN DO YOU COME TO FRANCE?

We played in West Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium, and people always had the same reaction.

I want every concert to be a real party because, personally, when I go to a concert, I want to be able to have fun in peace.

People should listen to our music with a lot of humour. You’ll see it when we play at your place (in March or April).

HOW IS THE SCENE IN YOUR CITY? ARE THERE A LOT OF BANDS AND CONCERTS?

Not as much as two years ago. Police oppression increases every day and concerts are restricted. There are still good bands such as ‘Dirty Joy’ [oi! band from Mestre] or ‘Guerra Fredda’ [hardcore punk band from Venice], but the scene is dying.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MACHISM, SEXISM AND PORNOGRAPHY?

I guess that question comes from the fact that you read the lyrics to Weekend Massacre, huh? That song (like most of ours) has an ironic meaning. It’s about the macho attitude which is very strong in Italy right now. You know: Rambo, Terminator, Top Gun as well. These movies have a strong influence on young people, making them believe that war is cool and killing is fun. About sexism and pornography: on the one hand I think sex is wonderful, it’s the most natural means of communication. But I think it’s a shame to see people are using sex only as a commodity.

WHO DID THE PAINTING FOR THE COVER? CAN YOU EXPLAIN ME WHAT IT WANTS TO EXPRESS?

The cover was done by R.K. Sloane, an American artist who has done covers for psychedelic bands such as ‘Plan 9’. It’s a graphic representation of our everyday paranoias, if you know what I mean. It’s a world full of colours, but pale, ephemeral.

ARE YOU A POLITICAL BAND? WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL BELIEFS OF BAND-MEMBERS?

No, we’re not a political band, I would rather say social. How could we trust a political party when we have had so many changes of government? Three (failed) coups and a pornstar as a senator (even though I think that debauchee is prettier and better than a bunch of lying politicians like ours)…and nothing changed? We think they’re all pigs. Anyone who takes power tries to fuck over the poor and take their money. It has always been like that, and we lost belief in revolution after ‘68 and ‘77. Currently we are waiting for something to believe in.

And it’s strange; there’s a kind of anarchy right now but on the wrong side of the fence. I mean on the side of the rich: they have the power and they do what they want. (Crap!)

ARE YOU SCARED BY THE POSSIBILITY OF A NUCLEAR WAR? DO YOU THINK THE REAGAN-GORBACHEV SUMMITS WILL LEAD SOMEWHERE?

Who isn’t afraid of a nuclear war? Reagan and Gorby are friends even though they claim otherwise.

They’re similar, they are the masters of the world and they make fun with our lives.

WHAT OPINION DO YOU HAVE OF ITALIAN SOCIETY?

It’s stupid, rigged and fanatical.

HAVE YOU EVER HAD PROBLEMS DURING CONCERTS?

No, never, except for small problems like drunk technicians.

WHAT ARE YOUR PROJECTS IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

We’re going to do a big European tour in March/April and release a new EP in May (Yeeeaaahhh!!)

DO YOU THINK HC WILL BECOME A FASHION ONE DAY?

No, as long as it remains non-commercial (unlike new-wave and heavy metal). That day, I wouldn’t call it HC anymore.

WHY ARE YOU THE ONLY MEMBER OF THE BAND WITH SHORT HAIR?

Hey, what kind of question is this? I really don’t care about the length of my hair. Anyway, I have long hair now, I don’t know how long it will last and I don’t care. (HEY LUCIO, IT WAS IRONICAL!)

ANY LAST WORDS?

Stay united and don’t let your brains be eaten by all those stupid labels (punk, HC, metal, freak, etc.). Have fun and expect us: we will meet in March. See you! Thank you for this nice interview!