•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  

Visiteurs aujourdhui: 3298
Visiteurs actuellement sur le site: 90

Bleu : Orange :

Ceremony

Lire cette interview en FRANÇAIS

CEREMONY is planning an European tour next summer. That was an excellent occasion for us to do an interview with Anthony, the band's guitar player, and Ross, singer and lyricist.

B: Hey there ! Could you please introduce yourselves as individuals and as a band ? What are your names ? Where are you from ? What do you do and enjoy doing in your life ?
A : My name is Anthony Anzaldo and I play guitar in CEREMONY. I grew up in Rohnert Park, California.

L: I‘ve seen you guys live recently on a German tourdate with SABERTOOTH ZOMBIE. I really enjoyed both bands. You guys seem to get pretty strong reactions from the audience in the States (aka people lose their shit). So how is it for you to play in front of smaller and maybe less enthusiastic crowds here in Europe?
A : Hahaha, gotta love that European honesty. I'm not sure what show you saw from our last tour but as a whole it was pretty comparable to our reactions in the States. It was definitely our best European tour we've done so far.

B: I know you’ve covered songs from many old bands, like DEAD KENNEDYS, RED C and PROJECT X. Why do you play cover songs ? Is it simply for the fun of it or is there another aim behind it ? And are there other songs you think of covering ?
A : It's all for fun. We are about to release covers E.P. where we cover CRISIS, THE PIXIES, VILE, URBAN WASTE, WIRE and L7's version of « American Society ».


B: In the current US scene, which bands do you feel close to and why ?
A : We grew up with PURPLE MERCY and SABERTOOTH ZOMBIE so obviously we have a strong connection to them. We share members with SKIN LIKE IRON. We've toured a lot with BLACKLISTED, BANE, HAVE HEART and CRUEL HAND which makes them pretty special to us.

B: Do you keep an eye open on entrance fees ? Has it ever happened that you refused to play a show because of a door price deemed too high ?
A : It's never gotten to that point. From what I've seen the door prices at our shows are pretty fair.

L: You toured with the mighty AFI. Are there any cool tour stories you could share?
A : We saw a Bald Eagle on the drive from Montana to Washington.


B: There’s a phenomenon happening right now that I think is pretty recurrent with American bands, without putting everyone in the same basket though. I’ve noticed that some bands like to show their belongings to the United States of America, proudly hanging the American flag on stage or wearing t-shirts with this same flag printed on them. That is something that is a bit weird to me cause in Switzerland, and in Europe too I guess, it seems that we don’t have the same kind of connections with national flags. Basically, in the hardcore scene here, if you go to a show displaying such a symbol, there are chances you’ll be suspected to be a neo-Nazi or at least right-wing. So I’m not blaming anyone at all, I’m just trying to understand. What do you think of all this ? Does a national flag have its place at a hardcore show ? As a band, would you use the American flag on stage! ?
A: Hmm, I haven't noticed that at any shows I've been to here. We used the American flag as a back drop at our set at Sound and Fury '07 with Scared People spray painted across it. It was pretty cool.

B: What are your views on free music downloading ? Is that helping ? Is that theft ?
A : I don't support downloading music. Music is one of the most valuable things in my life and I think a lot of people tend to take things for granted when they're able to get it for free. I remember going to the record store as a teenager and spending hours in an aisle trying to find what I wanted and listening to records and CD's. I feel that that spirit has been lost in recent years.

B: I have recently read an article about early LA punk. There was a bunch of illustrations linked to it, including the front cover of CHINA WHITE’s « Dangerzone ». It strongly reminded me of the « Rohnert Park »’s cover. Do you know this record ? And how much the late 70’s/early 80’s LA punk scene impacted on CEREMONY ?
A : That scene and era have played a huge role in CEREMONY. Bands like THE GERMS, BLACK FLAG, CIRCLE JERKS, ADOLESCENTS and X have had a major subconscious and conscious influence on not only the music that we make but also on our aesthetic and ethics.

L: I love the song « Sick », but seriously, how could anybody be sick of BLACK FLAG?
A : Thank you, that is one of our favorites. I think Ross was trying to portray that he is tired of all that he has taken in from living on this planet for the past 26 years. I think it's awesome how we have that lyric on a record that is so clearly influenced by BLACK FLAG.

L: This may be a dumb question, but since I couldn't find the answer anywhere: is it Ross singing on « The Doldrums » and « Into The Wayside Part III »?
A : Ross sings « The Doldrums » and I sing « Into The Wayside Part III ».

L: Did the story on the back of the « Scared People » 7inch literally happen to one of you?
A : Yes.


L: The three next questions are for Ross. You are one of the few people in
 the hardcore scene, along with George Hirsch or the authors at Heartworm
 Publishing, who is also pursuing a writing career. How is that coming along and what can we expect from you in the future?
R : I hope to keep writing, at least until the juices stop flowing freely. It's hard, especially now that I'm bogged down with tons of school work. Before I could write whenever I felt the need, now I have to separate time to get things done. It's hard.

L: In the « Society Verse » book, you mention Philip K. Dick and David
Foster Wallace as authors you like. What other writers inspire you and what are some of your favourite books?
R : I like Annie Proulx, Tobias Wolf, Raymond Carver, Primo Levi, John Berryman, Philip Roth, Saul Below. The list goes on. Anything by Cormac McCarthy. « Lolita », Flannery O'connor's « Complete short stories », is the greatest.

L: You have brought out a couple of zines in the past, the « Gravesight »
photozine or the ones on Spiderghost Pressgang. Are there any new one planned?
R : Nope, not right now. Calico Grounds is printing a group of short stories, and I have one in there. It's called « God is lonely in his heavens ». I believe.

B: Back to all of you and to end this. This is a question I ask at every
 interview. Could you please list the five best records you’ve listened to inyour life and leave a short comment for each record?
R : That's impossible. Right now I like MILK MUSIC – « Beyond Living » EP, FUGAZI – « The Argument », and THE LINES – « The Landing ».
A : PRINCE – « Purple Rain »
DEPECHE MODE – « Violator »
THE CURE – « Disintegration »
AFI – « Sing The Sorrow »
BLACK FLAG – « Jealous Again »

Interview : Bastien, Lukas

Plus d'infos :

Label : Bridge Nine Records

MySpace : www.myspace.com/ceremony

Site Web : www.ceremonyhc.com

Site du label: www.bridge9.com

Interview cliquée : 24908 fois

Live Reports du même artiste :