Kuumat Kyyneleet (“hot tears”) was the fanzine done by ‘Vivisektio’ bassplayer’ Pentti ‘Pena’ Kaulanen (from Äkäslompolo, Finnish Lapland). There were 4 issues (’85-’88). Everything was written in Finnish.
#1: ‘Ex Humans’ (Gre), ‘The Dirty Scums’, ‘Terveet Kädet’, ‘Crass’. #2: ‘W.D.M.’/ ‘World Disarmament Movement’ (Fin), ‘Diatribe’ (USA), Matti Saarinen (Kaaos zine, Kaaos Korporaatio label), Trash Can Tapes (Fin). #3: Pekka Kanniainen (drummer of the HC/punk band ‘CMX’/ ‘Cloaca Maxima’), ‘Extreme Noise Terror’, ‘Irstas’ (Fin), the Finnish label Wiipurin A-Levyt; plus bits on South-Africa, intolerance, anarchy, a conscientious objector on hunger-strike, etc. #4: ‘Bad Beach’ (UK), ‘C.O.C.’, ‘Chumbawamba’, ‘Concrete Sox’, ‘D.R.I.’, ‘Sburg’ (Laama zine), articles (Nicaragua), reviews (gigs) and more.
Brob
In 1981, punk had mellowed into new-wave but I was still interested in punk-rock. I was excited about the new oi! and hardcore bands, but Finnish rock magazines wrote little about them. So, I started buying D.I.Y. punk zines, which were published a lot at that time, and they had articles about bands I liked. Soon I wanted to make a punk zine myself. I first tried to make a zine in 1983 but I couldn’t finish it. And I gave my ‘Dead Wretched’ and ‘Instant Agony’ interviews to ULO fanzine, which was the best Finnish punk magazine at the time (along with Kaaos zine). In 1985 I got the first issue of Kuumat Kyyneleet out and I published a total of four issues of the zine. The last one (Which I provided – it looks best though it was released 35 years ago; the other issues seem boring and crude.) came out in the spring of 1988 (printrun 600 copies – quite a lot in Finland). After this, my enthusiasm for doing the zine ended, because of band-activities e.g. After the Kuumat Kyyneleet, I’ve written a few articles for Toinen Vaihtoehto over the years. I still play bass in the band ‘Vivisektio’, which we founded in 1983. Svart recs released our Uusi Normaali LP in September 2022…
Pentti Kaulanen
Pentti Kaulanen (Jun.’ 88, after K.K. #4 came out; photo: Janne Mäki-Turja)
1987-88, ‘C.O.C.’ had a promotional campaign going (aiming to restore their credibility within the HC/punk-scene) and were trying to get interviews in D.I.Y. zines. I wanted to expose that in my own zine (C.O.C. – interview in Tilt! #4). Pentti posed his questions…
[Translation below; thanks Pentti]
‘Corrosion of Conformity’s manager Karen wrote to me and asked to do an interview about the band. Well, of course I did. The answers to my questions unexpectedly came recorded on a cassette and decoding the interview was difficult. I must thank Pörri for his great help with translating the interview into Finnish.
REED [William Reed Mullin; R.I.P. Jan. 2020]: We will tape the interview to get more detailed answers and it will be easier for us and hopefully for you too. I’m Reed Mullin and I play drums in the band. I’m 22 years old.
WOODY [Woodroe Weatherman]: I’m Woody Weatherman and I play guitar. I’m the same age as Reed. Phil [Swisher] isn’t here now, I don’t know where he is. Simon [‘Simon Bob Sinister’; real name Robert McIlwee] is not in the band anymore.
KAREN [Mason]: I’m Karen and I’m asking you these questions.
REED: I was just about to say that Karen will handle the questions.
TELL US BRIEFLY ABOUT THE HISTORY OF ‘CORROSION OF CONFORMITY’
REED: In a nutshell… ‘C.O.C.’ was founded in 1982 as a kind of hardcore punk band. We got a lot of influences back then, bands such as ‘Minor Threat’, ‘Bad Brains’ and ‘Discharge’. Our first singer was Benji Shelton and we debuted with him on the No Core compilation-tape [1982] (with ‘No Labels’ and other North Carolina bands). Eric Eycke [R.I.P.] came to sing in the band when Benji left. After this, in 1984, we self-published the LP An Eye For An Eye and did our first tour. Eric left after the tour and our bassplayer Mike [Dean] became the singer. Next we signed to the Metal Blade label, which specializes in heavy metal. We released the Animosity LP, which got attention in metal and hardcore magazines and increased our popularity in both scenes. Mike left the band after this and ‘Simon’ (ex ‘Ugly Americans’) became the new singer. After that we released the Technocracy 12” EP which was the last one on Metal Blade. Our new LP will be released soon.
TELL US ABOUT THAT METAL BLADE DEAL
WOODY: Let’s move on to the next question…
REED: The deal with Metal Blade…
WOODY: It’s over.
REED: The contract with Metal Blade is over because they treated us bad and because they pissed us off (everyone laughs). Technocracy was made for them because we wanted the deal to break and so we made it as short as possible, because we didn’t want them to make more money on us and it wouldn’t sell for the price of a full-length record. To make the EP feel like a profitable purchase as much as possible, we included a lyric-sheet. And if you haven’t received it, you can order it directly from us for free. It’s a 2-sided insert and even if you don’t have the record, you can order it from us.
WOODY: Just like that…
DO YOU HAVE A LOT OF GIGS AND ARE YOU POPULAR IN THE USA? HOW IS THE POPULARITY IN EUROPE? HAVE YOU PLAYED HERE YET?
WOODY: We’re popular but not as popular as those mega bands…
REED: It depends on the level of fame you’re talking about. Compared to ‘Metallica’ and ‘Megadeth’, we’re not that popular. On average, there are five hundred people at our gigs. We haven’t toured in Europe, so we have a vague picture of our popularity there, but we get a lot of mail from there. We have done 7 tours in the U.S.A. and Canada. Our next destinations are Europe, Japan and Australia.
I READ IN YOUR INFO THAT ANIMOSITY HAS SOLD OVER 50.000 COPIES. THAT’S REALLY A LOT FOR A HARDCORE BAND (ON THE SCALE OF FINLAND). CAN THE BAND MAKE A LIVING? DO YOU HAVE TO WORK?
WOODY: Me and Reed have day jobs. Phil does all kinds of art jobs around town. We have to work to make a living. The money from the band is not enough for food and other necessities.
YOU HAVE METAL INFLUENCES NOW. IS ‘C.O.C.’ STILL A PUNK BAND?
WOODY: I think lyrically and ideologically we’re more of a punk band than a metal band.
REED: Basically, philosophically and the ideo… How do you say that…euh.
WOODY: Ideologically…
REED: Ideologically we’re a punk band rather than a metal band. I think it’s a shame that a lot of bands have gone for the money and the rockstar-attitude, and forgotten their punk roots.
DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A SO-CALLED BIG BAND LIKE ‘METALLICA’ OR ‘MÖTLEY CRÜE’, OR IS BEING LESS POPULAR IN METAL AND HARDCORE CIRCLES ENOUGH FOR YOU?
REED: Personally, I want to make money with my music because I enjoy playing it. I would like to strive for that and if to achieve that I have to become a big band, then so be it. But I think that my attitude is on the same level as my audience and that I’m not any better than them; that will never change. I don’t think I’ll ever have a rockstar-attitude: not wanting to be placed on the altar and treated like some sacred object.
WOODY: Yeah!
REED: Woody thinks that…
WOODY: I agree.
WHICH BANDS HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR MUSIC OVER THE YEARS?
REED: When we started, we were influenced by bands such as ‘Bad Brains’, ‘Black Flag’ and the old ‘Discharge’. We’ve also always liked bands such as ‘Black Sabbath’ and ‘Deep Purple’. We’ve been influenced by both sides – punk and heavy metal. As well as 70s rock and some old punk bands.
TELL US ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA. ABOUT THE MUSIC SCENE, CLIMATE, ETC.
ALL: Laughter…
REED: We’re from North Carolina but there’s not much of a difference because they’re close together. The climate is similar. The average temperature in winter is around 30°F (-1°C). There won’t be a lot of snow, about 4 to 5 inches at most.
WOODY: It’s hot in the summer.
REED: Fairly humid and the temperature can be 90°F (+32°C).
WOODY: The musical atmosphere is open-minded and united. There aren’t many bands here but all the bands in the cities in the area know each other well.
REED: There’s a club here called The Brewery [Raleigh, NC], where local and neighbouring cities’ bands play. Some bands worth checking out: Mike’s new band ‘Final Offering’, ‘Slash Puppies’, ‘Wax’, ‘Egg’ and especially…
WOODY: ‘Confessor’!
WHAT IS YOUR RELATION WITH ALCOHOL AND DRUGS?
REED: I don’t do drugs or alcohol, and I don’t smoke. Oh well, yesterday I tried smoking one Menthol More and it was a horrible experience and I’m not going to do it again.
WEEDY: Everyone must make up their own mind about drugs and alcohol. It depends on the individual.
REED: I can’t function properly if I smoke marijuana or drink alcohol. The reason I used to do those things was because I was trying to alleviate boredom. Nowadays, my attitude is that if I’m bored, I have to do something interesting.
WHAT ABOUT P.M.R.C.? IT’S POPULAR IN THE U.S.A. AMONG THE MORAL MAJORITY?
WOODY: Very popular. They go hand in hand with each other. P.M.R.C. and the moral majority follow the same line and have the same goals when it comes to the music business.
REED: Yeah.
NORTH CAROLINA IS A SOUTHERN STATE (‘C.O.C.’ IS FROM NORTH CAROLINA) WHERE RACISM IS DEEPLY ROOTED DESPITE THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE 1860s. IS THE KU KLUX KLAN STILL STRONG THERE? WHAT ABOUT RELATIONS BETWEEN WHITES AND BLACKS?
REED: Yeah, North Carolina is a southern state and the K.K.K. is widespread. There’s also still tension between whites and blacks, which is unlikely to disappear in the next 50 years.
WOODY: This isn’t just limited to the southern states, it’s just as common in the north and west, if not more so in some places. Racism here is practiced by the K.K.K. or another racist organisation, the Aryan Nations, which in many respects is even…
REED: Worse.
WOODY: Yeah, worse. And they are often more radical…
REED: The Aryan Nations is a militantly racist group. They are from, as far as I know…
WOODY: From Idaho…
REED: Yeah, from Idaho. And here was the local Klu Ku…euh…Kluk…
WOODY: The Ku Klux Klan.
REED: Yeah, the local Ku Klux Klan leader ran for lieutenant governor of North Carolina and got 45.000 votes. This gives a good picture of how racism works here today.
IS RONALD REAGAN STILL POPULAR IN AMERICA DESPITE HIS FAILURES? HOW ABOUT RELATIONS WITH THE RUSSIANS?
REED: Ronald Reagan is still popular here despite Irangate and the endless support for the Contra’s [armed opponents of Nicaragua’s socialist Sandinista]. He’s one of the most popular presidents the U.S.A. has had this century. What was the second question?
HOW ABOUT RELATIONS WITH THE RUSSIANS?
WOODY: They don’t get a lot of respect. And that is largely due to a lack of knowledge and understanding.
REED: There’s a paranoia here about communism and communist countries: a lot of propaganda in the news and it’s also pouring out of the Reagan administration. I’m impressed by Gorbatsov’s approach and especially his disarmament policy. Gorbatsov has made a great impression on me, and he is a good leader.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HIS STAR WARS PROJECT AND HIS CENTRAL AMERICAN POLITICS?
WOODY: The Star Wars project has been limited due to popularity and lack of funds because the American people have expressed a lot of concern about it, meaning they haven’t liked it.
REED: About the Star Wars project – it has an estimated failure-rate of 10: 10% of the missiles they think the Russians are firing will get through the defense-system. And that means that 10% of 10.000 nuclear warheads….
WOODY: That it wouldn’t be the same even if the whole project didn’t exist….
REED: However, everyone blows up. The Star Wars project is a completely ridiculous idea. It doesn’t work at all. However, it has submarines loaded with nuclear warheads. There are missiles fired from airplanes, battleships, etc.
WOODY: And when you waste money on it, it means robbing the government of other projects. And the money has gone to Star Wars projects in the last couple of years.
REED: The U.S. has once and for all spent too much money on national defense.
WOODY: Yep, 56 cents of every tax-dollar go to national defense.
REED: I think U.S. policy in Central America is ridiculous. And I believe that all Nicaraguans accept their government and leaders. Because Nicaragua now has a government and a leader that they have chosen themselves. The U.S.A. didn’t accept it but wanted to install its own puppet government there and I think it’s sick.
HAS THE A.I.D.S. HYSTERIA EVER GONE THERE? WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ABOUT GAYS, LESBIANS, ETC. ABOUT SEXUAL MINORITIES?
REED: I think it’s hysteria but it’s also justified because the U.S. has more people with A.I.D.S. than any other country.
WOODY: It’s serious and the more hysteria the better.
REED: There will be no cure for A.I.D.S. in the next 25 years and if it is said that A.I.D.S. is the new black death, then I agree. That’s a good reason for paranoia and hysteria. My opinion about gays, lesbians, etc. is that freedom of choice is a great way to look at life.
WOODY: No one should be discriminated against for being a sexual minority. Just like no one should be discriminated against because of their race.
REED: Yeah, it’s the same thing… None of us are gay (all laughing).
IS ‘C.O.C.’ A POLITICAL BAND? MANY CROSSOVER BANDS SAY THEY DON’T WANT TO WRITE POLITICAL LYRICS. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT “HEEEYYY MAAAN, IT’S ONLY ROCKNROLL” ATTITUDE?
WOODY: It doesn’t stop us from being a rock’n’roll band; even though we have socio-political lyrics. There are no rules to being a rock’n’roll band.
REED: I think if someone wants to be a rock’n’roll band, that’s OK. If someone has been in a punk band with very political lyrics that are very critical of, for example, big corporations. And then they change direction and want to be a rock’n’roll band with stupid and insane lyrics – insane in my opinion – so I would highly doubt their sincerity as people. But if they want to be a rock’n’roll band, so be it. ‘Corrosion Of Conformity’ is a rock’n’roll band, a hardcore band, or whatever you want, with political lyrics.
SOMETHING ABOUT HARDCORE’S SIDE PHENOMENA. HOW ABOUT ‘S.O.D.’ [Stormtroopers of Death]? DO YOU THINK IT WAS JUST A STUPID JOKE OR WERE THEY REALLY A VIOLENT FASCIST BAND?
WOODY: ‘Billy Milano’, who wrote the lyrics for the band, had that attitude. ‘S.O.D.’ was the kind of joke that people took too seriously and as a result they took themselves too seriously. ‘S.O.D.’ was originally meant as a joke but it got out of hand.
REED: I don’t think ‘S.O.D.’ would give a very positive picture of the whole crossover idea. I think they are crushing the whole idea. It removed all delusions from me about the whole scene. They were popular among skins for a while with their skinhead attitude.
MAKE A LIST OF RECENTLY FAVOURITE RECORDS.
REED: I wouldn’t want to make a list of my favourite records; but if I say something about my favourite bands: ‘The Stooges’, ‘Black Sabbath’, ‘Deep Purple’, ‘Motörhead’, ‘Fishbone’, ‘Buzzcocks’, ‘Crass’, ‘Minor Threat’, ‘Black Flag’, ‘Bad Brains, ‘P.I.L.’, ‘Joy Division’, ‘Minutemen’, …
WOODY: ‘Swans’ is our favourite!
REED: ‘Swans’, ‘Honor Role’, ‘S.N.F.U.’, ‘The Clash’, etc., etc.
IS THERE ANYTHING TO ADD?
REED: What we would like to say about the Technocracy record…
WOODY: The lyric-sheet…
REED: Yeah, about that. If anyone wants it, write to our address and we will send it for free.
WOODY: But you can also send postage. And that would be OK, but we’ll send it for free too.
REED: None of the Technocracy records came with lyric-sheets, so it’s about 3 by 1 feet.
WOODY: And, everyone: please write with us. We thank you for allowing us to do this interview. See you later, goodbye!
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
P.O. BOX 5091 / RALEIGH / NORTH CAROLINA 27650 / U.S.A.
Brob Tilt's zine-world 2 