I first encountered Dropdead when they came to London in 1995, playing at the Laurel Tree pub in Camden. I didn’t know much about them at the time, but their short, ferocious set was highly impressive. Mixing a furious hardcore delivery with anarcho-punk sensibilities, they had plenty to say and presented it with some of the most powerful music you were likely to hear. The following year, the returned to London, this time playing at the Red Eye in Islington, performing another stunning set. But, as far as I know, that would prove to be the last time they played in London until now (I may be wrong about this, but no-one else seems to recall them playing here inbetween times…) So, when I heard that they would be headlining one of the nights at this years’ ‘Chimpyfest’ in New Cross, I booked myself a ticket and sent a message to the band to see if an interview would be possible. A few days later, I received an email confirming that they’d be happy to oblige…
The gig actually started pretty early in the afternoon but I didn’t arrive until early in the evening, straight after finishing work. I found band members Bob and Ben at their merch stall and we arranged to do an interview after they played, which would also give me a chance to check out some of the other bands. The first that I see are French grindcore band Whoresnation. Not bad, they play a pretty relentless and powerful set, quickly followed by Feastem from Finland, also playing a similar grindcore style. Both bands are pretty powerful when you hear them live, but I’m not so sure that it’s the kind of thing I’d enjoy as much back at home… Anyway, soon enough it’s time for Dropdead and, as they set-up it seems that everyone who has been hanging around outside the venue now crowd into the room and it’s soon pretty packed. Bob makes the introductions and the band launch into their set. The music is just as powerful and awe-inspiring as I remember it. There are a lot of bands who try to play fast hardcore punk and, for the most part, it’s not very interesting because they just seem to think playing fast is the only objective. But when you see a band like Dropdead, you quickly see the difference. They play with a genuine passion and intent, while the music is a reflection of those ideas and emotions. Above all, Dropdead do it properly. They’re a really tight unit and there’s obviously a lot of dedication and effort that goes into what they’re playing. The set is truly stunning and the audience react accordingly, with bodies flying on and offstage almost continuously, while Bob sings several of the songs from the middle of the crowd. However, towards the end of the set, technical problems rear their ugly head. The power cuts-out mid-song and the soundmen desperately try to rectify the situation… after a few minutes, sound is restored and the band attempt to complete their set but after one more song, the power cuts again and this time it’s obvious that the problem is a bit more serious. Unfortunately, Dropdead have to end their set to allow for appropriate repairs. It’s an frustrating end to an otherwise excellent set.
The gig actually started pretty early in the afternoon but I didn’t arrive until early in the evening, straight after finishing work. I found band members Bob and Ben at their merch stall and we arranged to do an interview after they played, which would also give me a chance to check out some of the other bands. The first that I see are French grindcore band Whoresnation. Not bad, they play a pretty relentless and powerful set, quickly followed by Feastem from Finland, also playing a similar grindcore style. Both bands are pretty powerful when you hear them live, but I’m not so sure that it’s the kind of thing I’d enjoy as much back at home… Anyway, soon enough it’s time for Dropdead and, as they set-up it seems that everyone who has been hanging around outside the venue now crowd into the room and it’s soon pretty packed. Bob makes the introductions and the band launch into their set. The music is just as powerful and awe-inspiring as I remember it. There are a lot of bands who try to play fast hardcore punk and, for the most part, it’s not very interesting because they just seem to think playing fast is the only objective. But when you see a band like Dropdead, you quickly see the difference. They play with a genuine passion and intent, while the music is a reflection of those ideas and emotions. Above all, Dropdead do it properly. They’re a really tight unit and there’s obviously a lot of dedication and effort that goes into what they’re playing. The set is truly stunning and the audience react accordingly, with bodies flying on and offstage almost continuously, while Bob sings several of the songs from the middle of the crowd. However, towards the end of the set, technical problems rear their ugly head. The power cuts-out mid-song and the soundmen desperately try to rectify the situation… after a few minutes, sound is restored and the band attempt to complete their set but after one more song, the power cuts again and this time it’s obvious that the problem is a bit more serious. Unfortunately, Dropdead have to end their set to allow for appropriate repairs. It’s an frustrating end to an otherwise excellent set.
So, after giving him some time to recover, I track down Bob and we find a reasonably quiet spot in the downstairs bar to go ahead with the interview. Firstly, I asked how Dropdead had first come together as a band ? Had they already known each other ?
‘We didn’t know each other, so we came together the same way that a lot of bands do… I was a huge fan of hardcore and anarcho-punk, so I’d always wanted to put my own band together. Eventually I did the usual-thing, made up a flyer and put it up in record stores. That’s how I first met Brian, our drummer, when he answered the advert… We became really good friends right away and then Ben, our guitar player, answered it. He had just arrived in town from California and was interested in playing with us… We were basically just a bunch of geeks who were all into the same type of music. Back then, we really didn’t know what we were doing and we didn’t know how to play properly, but we just wanted to do it. The fourth member at the time was Brians’ brother, Lee, but he was pretty crazy ! Sometimes he’d show-up for a practice with only one string on his bass and shit like that ! I remember once, we were on tour and we ended up sleeping in this really cold squat… I woke up about 3.00 in the morning and he was just standing over me, staring down at my face ! He was a good guy, but he had these strange characteristics which made it a bit awkward to be in a band with him. He was really out there, which is why he eventually got the chop.’
Initially, the band were called ‘Hellocaust’…
‘Yeah, but that was really our ‘cellar’ name, you know, while we were still rehearsing and trying to put things together. The only thing we really did under that name was a track included on a compilation called ‘Bllleeeaaauuurrrggghhh !’ which was put out by Chris Dodge, who played in Spazz and has been playing in Infest since they reformed. It was just something we recorded on cassette tape and was our one-song wonder before we became Dropdead… I’m glad we dropped that first name as it wasn’t something we were very comfortable with and it certainly not the best name we could come up with.’
Did your musical style change between what you were doing as Hellocaust and what you would do as Dropdead ?
‘Well, the big change was that I’d been playing guitar and Ben had been singing. But I’d not been able to play as well as we needed and Ben couldn’t scream the same way I could scream, so we decided to try and switch spots. That waks when the whole puzzle came together. We all looked at each other and said, Okay ! I already knew that he could play better than me and it turned out that I could sing a little better than him, so it all fell into place.’
‘We didn’t know each other, so we came together the same way that a lot of bands do… I was a huge fan of hardcore and anarcho-punk, so I’d always wanted to put my own band together. Eventually I did the usual-thing, made up a flyer and put it up in record stores. That’s how I first met Brian, our drummer, when he answered the advert… We became really good friends right away and then Ben, our guitar player, answered it. He had just arrived in town from California and was interested in playing with us… We were basically just a bunch of geeks who were all into the same type of music. Back then, we really didn’t know what we were doing and we didn’t know how to play properly, but we just wanted to do it. The fourth member at the time was Brians’ brother, Lee, but he was pretty crazy ! Sometimes he’d show-up for a practice with only one string on his bass and shit like that ! I remember once, we were on tour and we ended up sleeping in this really cold squat… I woke up about 3.00 in the morning and he was just standing over me, staring down at my face ! He was a good guy, but he had these strange characteristics which made it a bit awkward to be in a band with him. He was really out there, which is why he eventually got the chop.’
Initially, the band were called ‘Hellocaust’…
‘Yeah, but that was really our ‘cellar’ name, you know, while we were still rehearsing and trying to put things together. The only thing we really did under that name was a track included on a compilation called ‘Bllleeeaaauuurrrggghhh !’ which was put out by Chris Dodge, who played in Spazz and has been playing in Infest since they reformed. It was just something we recorded on cassette tape and was our one-song wonder before we became Dropdead… I’m glad we dropped that first name as it wasn’t something we were very comfortable with and it certainly not the best name we could come up with.’
Did your musical style change between what you were doing as Hellocaust and what you would do as Dropdead ?
‘Well, the big change was that I’d been playing guitar and Ben had been singing. But I’d not been able to play as well as we needed and Ben couldn’t scream the same way I could scream, so we decided to try and switch spots. That waks when the whole puzzle came together. We all looked at each other and said, Okay ! I already knew that he could play better than me and it turned out that I could sing a little better than him, so it all fell into place.’
You already mentioned that you were into hardcore and Anarcho-punk, was there anything else that particularly influenced the band ?
‘Initially, the whole UK anarcho-punk scene was extremely influential for me. A lot of those bands had lyrics that I could really believe-in and they also helped me to form my own ideas. You need to remember, George Bush was in power at that time, so there were a lot of things for us to think and protest about. I loved bands like Crass but I think I was more interested in their philosophy, whereas musically I was more in to bands like Icons of Filth and Conflict, you know, the heavier sounding bands. I loved Antisect and Discharge, obviously, and Rudimentary Peni are one of my favourite bands of all time. I gravitated more towards that UK scene, but at the same time, there were some amazing bands coming from all over the world… Wretched from Italy, BGK from Holland, some amazing bands from Scandinavia. In my opinion, that was the golden era for hardcore punk, even though there were plenty of great bands in the Nineties and there are still great bands around today.’
Well, when there are so many things that are not right about the world around us, there will always be people who want to express the way they feel, and punk / hardcore can be a very direct way of achieving that…
‘It’s one of the great things I’ve experienced with hardcore punk… It just keeps on recreating itself. Sometimes, the sound can be a little sterile, but it’s the politics and philosophy behind it that’s important and keeps it alive. There will always be an audience for it and, even for us, when I see kids out there in our audience, it still thrills me to death. They’re getting to experience hardcore that same way we did, so it keeps on happening over again and that’s a great thing.’
Living in Providence, Rhode island, was the hardcore scene quite isolated or did you have links with larger cities like Boston or New York ?
‘I really got into the Boston scene in the early Eighties and I managed to see most of the bands that everyone now loves. I saw Siege, the FU’s and DYS, but I was still more into the anarcho bands. Myself, I was mostly into those UK bands, but Boston certainly had some great bands back then and I’d probably have to say that they were more of an influence for Ben and Brian because, as the musicians of the band, they were probably more into that stuff. I loved a lot of the bands from Boston, but they weren’t my main interest.’
The music that you play is obviously very powerful and your lyrics have plenty of things to say, but do you find it frustrating that, due to the kind of music you play, your words and ideas are only going to reach a comparatively small audience ?
‘I do see that as a problem and it’s funny you should mention it, because we’re about to record our new album and, while it’s certainly a Dropdead album, I think I’m trying to sing a little more, rather than just screaming the words in a way that people aren’t going to be able to hear what I’m saying. I’ve made a conscious decision to try and sing in a more articulated style for this record. But I do have to agree, that anyone who likes more mainstream music is certainly not going to enjoy or even listen to what we do, so the problem is that it’s not going to reach those people even though, to me, the message is super-important. On the other hand, we have been very lucky that the more extreme music scene has also been growing and a lot of the kids into extreme metal or even Industrial stuff seem to like what we do, so I’m hoping that the new album, while it’s certainly not going to be some kind of sell-out, might be a little bit more accessible for people other than our usual audience. But it’ll still be a Dropdead record… we’re not aiming for the Top Ten !’
‘Initially, the whole UK anarcho-punk scene was extremely influential for me. A lot of those bands had lyrics that I could really believe-in and they also helped me to form my own ideas. You need to remember, George Bush was in power at that time, so there were a lot of things for us to think and protest about. I loved bands like Crass but I think I was more interested in their philosophy, whereas musically I was more in to bands like Icons of Filth and Conflict, you know, the heavier sounding bands. I loved Antisect and Discharge, obviously, and Rudimentary Peni are one of my favourite bands of all time. I gravitated more towards that UK scene, but at the same time, there were some amazing bands coming from all over the world… Wretched from Italy, BGK from Holland, some amazing bands from Scandinavia. In my opinion, that was the golden era for hardcore punk, even though there were plenty of great bands in the Nineties and there are still great bands around today.’
Well, when there are so many things that are not right about the world around us, there will always be people who want to express the way they feel, and punk / hardcore can be a very direct way of achieving that…
‘It’s one of the great things I’ve experienced with hardcore punk… It just keeps on recreating itself. Sometimes, the sound can be a little sterile, but it’s the politics and philosophy behind it that’s important and keeps it alive. There will always be an audience for it and, even for us, when I see kids out there in our audience, it still thrills me to death. They’re getting to experience hardcore that same way we did, so it keeps on happening over again and that’s a great thing.’
Living in Providence, Rhode island, was the hardcore scene quite isolated or did you have links with larger cities like Boston or New York ?
‘I really got into the Boston scene in the early Eighties and I managed to see most of the bands that everyone now loves. I saw Siege, the FU’s and DYS, but I was still more into the anarcho bands. Myself, I was mostly into those UK bands, but Boston certainly had some great bands back then and I’d probably have to say that they were more of an influence for Ben and Brian because, as the musicians of the band, they were probably more into that stuff. I loved a lot of the bands from Boston, but they weren’t my main interest.’
The music that you play is obviously very powerful and your lyrics have plenty of things to say, but do you find it frustrating that, due to the kind of music you play, your words and ideas are only going to reach a comparatively small audience ?
‘I do see that as a problem and it’s funny you should mention it, because we’re about to record our new album and, while it’s certainly a Dropdead album, I think I’m trying to sing a little more, rather than just screaming the words in a way that people aren’t going to be able to hear what I’m saying. I’ve made a conscious decision to try and sing in a more articulated style for this record. But I do have to agree, that anyone who likes more mainstream music is certainly not going to enjoy or even listen to what we do, so the problem is that it’s not going to reach those people even though, to me, the message is super-important. On the other hand, we have been very lucky that the more extreme music scene has also been growing and a lot of the kids into extreme metal or even Industrial stuff seem to like what we do, so I’m hoping that the new album, while it’s certainly not going to be some kind of sell-out, might be a little bit more accessible for people other than our usual audience. But it’ll still be a Dropdead record… we’re not aiming for the Top Ten !’
You mentioned that some fans of Industrial music have embraced Dropdead and I can certainly hear similarities between your music and some of the more extreme Industrial bands. Is that a genre that interests you at all ?
‘Yeah, I do listen to Industrial music, although now it’s a term that seems to cover so many different things. But I was into the original Industrial scene, bands like Einsturzande Neubaten and Test Department… I was listening to all of that alongside Crass and I enjoyed it because it was challenging… I also really like Diamanda Galas for the same reason. More recently, I’ve even been listening to some of the heavy Gabber records from Holland, which is really not that far away from hardcore punk or Industrial…’
I’ve always felt that seeing a band like Dropdead goes beyond the music and almost becomes a physical experience… You don’t just see or hear the band, you can feel the energy coming from the performance…
‘Yeah, I hope that’s the case. I mean, we’re a hardcore punk band, we’re not super musicians, but we put a lot of power and belief behind our music and really try to push it forward. I think that’s what people get out of it… they know it’s authentic, they know that we mean it and that we really try to live the life we talk about. I try to be the person I say I am… I’ve seen a lot of fakes and frauds in my time, like people getting up and singing about Animal Rights but then get spotted going into McDonalds after the gig. That kind of thing disappoints me and I don’t want to be that kind of disappointment to anyone who comes to see our band. I want people to know that we live it. I try to be who I say I am because I believe in what we’re doing.’
Obviously, Dropdeads’ lyrics have tackled political issues over the years, but at the same time, I think it’s true that you’ve tried to deal with things on a more personal level rather than just sloganeering…
‘Well, thanks for saying that, because it is something I try to do. It does involve personal issues, especially things like the Animal Rights side of it, because I love animals and I love this planet and I believe that we can make a positive change… We just have to change that thing in our heads that tells us we can’t make a difference and stop believing all the lies. We have to see the bigger truth. I believe that Animal Rights is an important part of the future and it’s something that’s very, very personal to me. I try to put my energy into helping people understand and believe this philosophy as well, because I don’t want to just stand up their with empty slogans that people have already heard. I want to make it more personal and when I manage to create a good dialogue, it can really work… although I’m sure there are other times when people will just think that I’m another asshole in a band. But I try to say something effective even if I’m not Martin Luther King or Ghandi… I’m just trying to be honest and I hope that I have moments where people can see that clearly and I hope that it appeals to them enough so that they’ll go out and investigate these things further.’
‘Yeah, I do listen to Industrial music, although now it’s a term that seems to cover so many different things. But I was into the original Industrial scene, bands like Einsturzande Neubaten and Test Department… I was listening to all of that alongside Crass and I enjoyed it because it was challenging… I also really like Diamanda Galas for the same reason. More recently, I’ve even been listening to some of the heavy Gabber records from Holland, which is really not that far away from hardcore punk or Industrial…’
I’ve always felt that seeing a band like Dropdead goes beyond the music and almost becomes a physical experience… You don’t just see or hear the band, you can feel the energy coming from the performance…
‘Yeah, I hope that’s the case. I mean, we’re a hardcore punk band, we’re not super musicians, but we put a lot of power and belief behind our music and really try to push it forward. I think that’s what people get out of it… they know it’s authentic, they know that we mean it and that we really try to live the life we talk about. I try to be the person I say I am… I’ve seen a lot of fakes and frauds in my time, like people getting up and singing about Animal Rights but then get spotted going into McDonalds after the gig. That kind of thing disappoints me and I don’t want to be that kind of disappointment to anyone who comes to see our band. I want people to know that we live it. I try to be who I say I am because I believe in what we’re doing.’
Obviously, Dropdeads’ lyrics have tackled political issues over the years, but at the same time, I think it’s true that you’ve tried to deal with things on a more personal level rather than just sloganeering…
‘Well, thanks for saying that, because it is something I try to do. It does involve personal issues, especially things like the Animal Rights side of it, because I love animals and I love this planet and I believe that we can make a positive change… We just have to change that thing in our heads that tells us we can’t make a difference and stop believing all the lies. We have to see the bigger truth. I believe that Animal Rights is an important part of the future and it’s something that’s very, very personal to me. I try to put my energy into helping people understand and believe this philosophy as well, because I don’t want to just stand up their with empty slogans that people have already heard. I want to make it more personal and when I manage to create a good dialogue, it can really work… although I’m sure there are other times when people will just think that I’m another asshole in a band. But I try to say something effective even if I’m not Martin Luther King or Ghandi… I’m just trying to be honest and I hope that I have moments where people can see that clearly and I hope that it appeals to them enough so that they’ll go out and investigate these things further.’
It’s odd that things as important as Animal Rights, Vegetarianism and Veganism seem to go through different periods of being ‘trendy’ or ‘fashionable’… it can be pretty annoying when people treat issues in such a way, but at the same time, the fact that the issues are getting across to a wider audience means that at least some people are going to think about them a little more seriously and maybe adopt them in a positive way…
‘Yeah, the same thing has happened with Veganism in the States. The whole thing seems to have come full circle… back in the Eighties, a lot of those ideas and the philosophy was very underground , but it was bands like Antisect or Flux of Pink Indians and the things that they talked about that made me decide to go Vegan, so I really hope that what Dropdead are doing now is holding things up for the next generation.’
The other thing about Animal Rights being brought more into the mainstream is that, hopefully, people will also start thinking about how these things are also linked to other issues…
‘Well, I can tell you, having Trump as President has provided a cornucopia of things to write about and things for people to think about. Our new record is going to have a lot of stuff about the rise of Fascism… I mean, it’s always been there and racism has always been there, but it’s really upfront now. Before, it was behind closed doors, but now it’s really in your face. Trump has really opened the gates and I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. On the new record, we’re really trying to write about the state of the world and how so many of the issues do come hand-in-hand. Of course, I’m still writing a lot about Animal Rights, as that’s my personal thing, but all of these things come together when you think about them.’
The thing that’s really scary at the moment, is that so many ‘politicians’ are just self-serving and don’t have any idealistic convictions… Donald Trump is obviously just working for his own interests, as is Boris Johnson. The same can be applied all around the world, as these people just seem to be accumulating power for the sake of it…
‘Well, when 1% of the population can control the 99%, something is clearly fucked up. If people don’t get off their asses and take that power back, then that 1% are going to win at the cost of all-humanity. The USA has got a long history of being a fucked-up place and right now, we seem to be proving it again ! I don’t think, in the whole history of the States, we’ve ever had someone quite like Trump. I mean, I never thought we’d get anyone worse than George W Bush, but right now I’d much prefer him to this one. I seriously don’t think there’s ever been a more dangerous, unhinged person at the helm of our country than the one we have right now. If he gets in for another four years, it could really, truly be the end of the world… Things have just got so fucked up, all over the world, and it’s a very difficult political period. We’ve got to get these people out of power… I don’t think the world’s going to last much longer if people like Trump are left in control…What we’re trying to do is to pump up the volume and make people more motivated. Again, we’re just four guys in a band, but we believe what we say and sing about, so I hope that translates to the audience.’
‘Yeah, the same thing has happened with Veganism in the States. The whole thing seems to have come full circle… back in the Eighties, a lot of those ideas and the philosophy was very underground , but it was bands like Antisect or Flux of Pink Indians and the things that they talked about that made me decide to go Vegan, so I really hope that what Dropdead are doing now is holding things up for the next generation.’
The other thing about Animal Rights being brought more into the mainstream is that, hopefully, people will also start thinking about how these things are also linked to other issues…
‘Well, I can tell you, having Trump as President has provided a cornucopia of things to write about and things for people to think about. Our new record is going to have a lot of stuff about the rise of Fascism… I mean, it’s always been there and racism has always been there, but it’s really upfront now. Before, it was behind closed doors, but now it’s really in your face. Trump has really opened the gates and I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. On the new record, we’re really trying to write about the state of the world and how so many of the issues do come hand-in-hand. Of course, I’m still writing a lot about Animal Rights, as that’s my personal thing, but all of these things come together when you think about them.’
The thing that’s really scary at the moment, is that so many ‘politicians’ are just self-serving and don’t have any idealistic convictions… Donald Trump is obviously just working for his own interests, as is Boris Johnson. The same can be applied all around the world, as these people just seem to be accumulating power for the sake of it…
‘Well, when 1% of the population can control the 99%, something is clearly fucked up. If people don’t get off their asses and take that power back, then that 1% are going to win at the cost of all-humanity. The USA has got a long history of being a fucked-up place and right now, we seem to be proving it again ! I don’t think, in the whole history of the States, we’ve ever had someone quite like Trump. I mean, I never thought we’d get anyone worse than George W Bush, but right now I’d much prefer him to this one. I seriously don’t think there’s ever been a more dangerous, unhinged person at the helm of our country than the one we have right now. If he gets in for another four years, it could really, truly be the end of the world… Things have just got so fucked up, all over the world, and it’s a very difficult political period. We’ve got to get these people out of power… I don’t think the world’s going to last much longer if people like Trump are left in control…What we’re trying to do is to pump up the volume and make people more motivated. Again, we’re just four guys in a band, but we believe what we say and sing about, so I hope that translates to the audience.’
Of course, the irony is that a lot of great Art, literature and music does seem to be created because the world around it is so messed up…
Yeah, that’s true… a lot of great punk and hardcore music came out of the Reagan era and that’s something that a lot of people have talked about. But it’s true, fucked-up times can result in some great music, so I’m hoping that what’s going on right now is going to inspire some really intense punk rock to come out of this really scary scenario. There certainly seems to be a lot of new, young bands coming out right now, a whole new generation of stuff. The only thing is, for me as an older guy, when I go home after ten hours at work, I just want to listen to something more relaxing, like Dead Can Dance or the Cocteau Twins… So I’m not as up on it as I’d like to be, but we do get to play with a lot of young bands and you can see that they’re raging against the right things. There are so many good bands out there and it seems like more are coming up every year… I just hope that we’re a blueprint for younger bands. You know, doing something like this is hard work, but hard work pays. I’ve lost jobs, I’ve lost girlfriends and I’ve lost houses that I used to live in. And I’ve had to sleep on cold floors, slept in the rain, slept in the snow, just to make something that we believe in. But we had a common philosophy and we wanted to get it out there.’
Ben runs the Armageddon label, which has released most of your records. Do you think it’s been important in that it allowed you to do things on your own terms and at your own pace ?
‘Oh, yeah. Ben does all the artwork, he gets the records pressed and puts a lot of time and thought into all of that stuff. What he wants to do is what we, as a collective, would want to do. I mean, when you’re a fan of a band and you get a record and it’s on splattered vinyl with all of these different inserts, that’s exciting. I used to almost religiously read all of the stuff that came with the Crass records and stare at them for hours, trying to figure it all out. In our case, with Ben having a record store and being able to have complete control over our releases, it’s been a very positive thing. I mean, we’ve also had a bunch of releases on other labels but we’ve always been able to consider what they could do for us, not in a monetary sense, but in terms of, can they make something good ? It all goes back to the same thing… can we do something worthwhile and not lose control of our artistic clarity ? That’s the way we’ve always done things. Bens’ label will be releasing the new record, although we’ll work with other people to get it distributed further out. But we’ll keep artistic control over it because we won’t have to sign with anyone else and we’re happy to do things the way we are. We’re not looking for fame, we’re just hoping that people will listen.’
That being said… you did once release an eight-track cassette of the band, which obviously no-one can even play these days…
‘Ha ! We didn’t actually release that, someone else did, the TPOS label, who specifically did eight-track releases. They got in touch and we just thought the idea was so funny, because we’ve always liked doing weird releases. When our second album came out, one side of it played backwards, from the inside to the outside… Some people got pissed-off with us for doing that, but, you know, you either got the joke or you didn’t. Just because we sing about serious things doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun as well. We’ve released 5” records, 8” records, one sided records... Some of it is to amuse ourselves but the songs are always true to the point. But we’ve had a lot of shit about some of the releases and I understand why some people might get upset about those things… I think, after the fact, we realise that perhaps we went a little over the top, but it is what it is and it was only ever meant to be a bit of fun. I mean, I know of bands who have done whole albums of locked grooves and, as an artist, it can be fun to fuck around with the format like that. We’re all record collectors as well, and these things are always fun for collectors. But it can be a pain for people who just want to listen to the music, so we don’t do that so much, now.’
Yeah, that’s true… a lot of great punk and hardcore music came out of the Reagan era and that’s something that a lot of people have talked about. But it’s true, fucked-up times can result in some great music, so I’m hoping that what’s going on right now is going to inspire some really intense punk rock to come out of this really scary scenario. There certainly seems to be a lot of new, young bands coming out right now, a whole new generation of stuff. The only thing is, for me as an older guy, when I go home after ten hours at work, I just want to listen to something more relaxing, like Dead Can Dance or the Cocteau Twins… So I’m not as up on it as I’d like to be, but we do get to play with a lot of young bands and you can see that they’re raging against the right things. There are so many good bands out there and it seems like more are coming up every year… I just hope that we’re a blueprint for younger bands. You know, doing something like this is hard work, but hard work pays. I’ve lost jobs, I’ve lost girlfriends and I’ve lost houses that I used to live in. And I’ve had to sleep on cold floors, slept in the rain, slept in the snow, just to make something that we believe in. But we had a common philosophy and we wanted to get it out there.’
Ben runs the Armageddon label, which has released most of your records. Do you think it’s been important in that it allowed you to do things on your own terms and at your own pace ?
‘Oh, yeah. Ben does all the artwork, he gets the records pressed and puts a lot of time and thought into all of that stuff. What he wants to do is what we, as a collective, would want to do. I mean, when you’re a fan of a band and you get a record and it’s on splattered vinyl with all of these different inserts, that’s exciting. I used to almost religiously read all of the stuff that came with the Crass records and stare at them for hours, trying to figure it all out. In our case, with Ben having a record store and being able to have complete control over our releases, it’s been a very positive thing. I mean, we’ve also had a bunch of releases on other labels but we’ve always been able to consider what they could do for us, not in a monetary sense, but in terms of, can they make something good ? It all goes back to the same thing… can we do something worthwhile and not lose control of our artistic clarity ? That’s the way we’ve always done things. Bens’ label will be releasing the new record, although we’ll work with other people to get it distributed further out. But we’ll keep artistic control over it because we won’t have to sign with anyone else and we’re happy to do things the way we are. We’re not looking for fame, we’re just hoping that people will listen.’
That being said… you did once release an eight-track cassette of the band, which obviously no-one can even play these days…
‘Ha ! We didn’t actually release that, someone else did, the TPOS label, who specifically did eight-track releases. They got in touch and we just thought the idea was so funny, because we’ve always liked doing weird releases. When our second album came out, one side of it played backwards, from the inside to the outside… Some people got pissed-off with us for doing that, but, you know, you either got the joke or you didn’t. Just because we sing about serious things doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun as well. We’ve released 5” records, 8” records, one sided records... Some of it is to amuse ourselves but the songs are always true to the point. But we’ve had a lot of shit about some of the releases and I understand why some people might get upset about those things… I think, after the fact, we realise that perhaps we went a little over the top, but it is what it is and it was only ever meant to be a bit of fun. I mean, I know of bands who have done whole albums of locked grooves and, as an artist, it can be fun to fuck around with the format like that. We’re all record collectors as well, and these things are always fun for collectors. But it can be a pain for people who just want to listen to the music, so we don’t do that so much, now.’
Dropdead is almost 30 years old now…How do you feel about the band lasting this long…
‘There have certainly been points where we’ve been up or down. In a band like this, we’ve spent a lot of time together and there have been moments when it’s been too much and we’ve almost not been friends anymore. I mean, try spending six or seven months in a van together and see what happens ! We’ve all fought like cats and dogs at some points and we’ve had times where some of us have drifted apart, but I think our friendships have always won though in the end. These guys are my best friends in the world and being in a band is very much like being in a family. You always love your brother 100% and, in the end, I know I can always rely on these guys to be on my side or behind me in any kind of fight or whatever. We’ve always had a common vision and it’s brought us closer together as time has gone on, because instead of believing things less, we now believe them even more.’
And, of course, having been in a band together for so long, I’m sure you’ve had your Spinal Tap moments as well…
‘Oh yeah, Spinal tap and Bad News… we’ve had all of those moments ! Blow-outs on the side of a road where we’ve all been yelling at each other and things like that… But that’s just down to the length of time we’ve spent together. Of course that kind of stuff is bound to happen, eventually…’
A lot of the more extreme hardcore bands that influenced bands like yourselves, like Siege, Infest or even Negative Approach, only stayed together for a relatively short time, so it’s quite remarkable that Dropdead have been together for nearly three decades, especially as, apart from bass players, the members have stayed the same…
‘I think the thing with us is that, although we didn’t split-up, we have had a few breaks of one or two years where we didn’t really do too much. Perhaps we’d play a couple of shows, but we weren’t on the road all of the time. I think that’s part of why we’ve stayed together as long as we have, because we’ve allowed ourselves to have time and space when it was needed. We’ve had three different bass players, but each of them lasted quite a long time, so I’d like to think that people stick with the band because they believe in what it stands for, as much as the music…’
That also goes back to what you were saying about having your own record label. You can release records and tour when you’re ready to do so rather than doing so because someone else is expecting you to follow their schedule…
‘Yeah, exactly. I was actually in a quite-serious motorcycle accident a while ago, which could have even killed me, so we had to take a year-off because of that. But when we’ve needed to take down-time, we’ve been able to do that and it’s worked out. Even after a thing like that, we’re still a band and we’re more motivated than ever. We have a lot of love for each other and it’s still fun.’
The band doesn’t tour as much now as it did in earlier years… Do you think you’ve changed your attitude towards touring over the years ?
‘Things are bound to change as you get older. As I was saying, I had a really bad motorcycle accident a while ago and fractured seven ribs, blew out both of my knees, I had blood on my lungs and I also had a spinal injury… You can’t go out and play a show for a long time after something like that ! Even now, I have a lot of pain when I get up onstage. There’s a lot of different things that you have to deal with as you get older, but we ain’t dead yet and we’re still swinging ! But we’ve done our share of sleeping on cold floors… We’re older guys now and we want to be sure we sleep in a bed after a show. We’re not asking for caviar or anything like that, but I’m not going to sleep in the fucking van anymore ! But we’re still down-to-earth guys and money certainly isn’t our motivator… our philosophy is our motivation and having some fun as well. I don’t know if we have another ten years left in the band as we’re getting up there now, but at the moment, we’re still rocking the house and having a good time… plus, I have a ton of friends in places like England and I don’t get to see them unless we come over to play. I don’t have enough money from my job to be able to travel very much, so it’s not until we tour that we get to see all of these people that we may not have seen for years. That’s one of the really great things about being in this band… when we go out to play, we seem to bring out all the old fans and lots of people we haven’t seen for years. We’ve always tried to be good towards the people we meet and respect those who have helped us along the way. We try to be the people we say we are, and I think that’s enabled us to have a circle of friends around the world that have stayed with us for nearly thirty years. They’re still our friends, so we must be doing something right !’
‘There have certainly been points where we’ve been up or down. In a band like this, we’ve spent a lot of time together and there have been moments when it’s been too much and we’ve almost not been friends anymore. I mean, try spending six or seven months in a van together and see what happens ! We’ve all fought like cats and dogs at some points and we’ve had times where some of us have drifted apart, but I think our friendships have always won though in the end. These guys are my best friends in the world and being in a band is very much like being in a family. You always love your brother 100% and, in the end, I know I can always rely on these guys to be on my side or behind me in any kind of fight or whatever. We’ve always had a common vision and it’s brought us closer together as time has gone on, because instead of believing things less, we now believe them even more.’
And, of course, having been in a band together for so long, I’m sure you’ve had your Spinal Tap moments as well…
‘Oh yeah, Spinal tap and Bad News… we’ve had all of those moments ! Blow-outs on the side of a road where we’ve all been yelling at each other and things like that… But that’s just down to the length of time we’ve spent together. Of course that kind of stuff is bound to happen, eventually…’
A lot of the more extreme hardcore bands that influenced bands like yourselves, like Siege, Infest or even Negative Approach, only stayed together for a relatively short time, so it’s quite remarkable that Dropdead have been together for nearly three decades, especially as, apart from bass players, the members have stayed the same…
‘I think the thing with us is that, although we didn’t split-up, we have had a few breaks of one or two years where we didn’t really do too much. Perhaps we’d play a couple of shows, but we weren’t on the road all of the time. I think that’s part of why we’ve stayed together as long as we have, because we’ve allowed ourselves to have time and space when it was needed. We’ve had three different bass players, but each of them lasted quite a long time, so I’d like to think that people stick with the band because they believe in what it stands for, as much as the music…’
That also goes back to what you were saying about having your own record label. You can release records and tour when you’re ready to do so rather than doing so because someone else is expecting you to follow their schedule…
‘Yeah, exactly. I was actually in a quite-serious motorcycle accident a while ago, which could have even killed me, so we had to take a year-off because of that. But when we’ve needed to take down-time, we’ve been able to do that and it’s worked out. Even after a thing like that, we’re still a band and we’re more motivated than ever. We have a lot of love for each other and it’s still fun.’
The band doesn’t tour as much now as it did in earlier years… Do you think you’ve changed your attitude towards touring over the years ?
‘Things are bound to change as you get older. As I was saying, I had a really bad motorcycle accident a while ago and fractured seven ribs, blew out both of my knees, I had blood on my lungs and I also had a spinal injury… You can’t go out and play a show for a long time after something like that ! Even now, I have a lot of pain when I get up onstage. There’s a lot of different things that you have to deal with as you get older, but we ain’t dead yet and we’re still swinging ! But we’ve done our share of sleeping on cold floors… We’re older guys now and we want to be sure we sleep in a bed after a show. We’re not asking for caviar or anything like that, but I’m not going to sleep in the fucking van anymore ! But we’re still down-to-earth guys and money certainly isn’t our motivator… our philosophy is our motivation and having some fun as well. I don’t know if we have another ten years left in the band as we’re getting up there now, but at the moment, we’re still rocking the house and having a good time… plus, I have a ton of friends in places like England and I don’t get to see them unless we come over to play. I don’t have enough money from my job to be able to travel very much, so it’s not until we tour that we get to see all of these people that we may not have seen for years. That’s one of the really great things about being in this band… when we go out to play, we seem to bring out all the old fans and lots of people we haven’t seen for years. We’ve always tried to be good towards the people we meet and respect those who have helped us along the way. We try to be the people we say we are, and I think that’s enabled us to have a circle of friends around the world that have stayed with us for nearly thirty years. They’re still our friends, so we must be doing something right !’
This gig is a bit unusual as it’s just a one-off in London for Chimpyfest… we’re you not tempted to play other shows while you were over here ?
‘We’re only here for a couple of days before we fly back. I’ll be going to work for a day and then we fly out to Los Angeles to play with Wolf Brigade and Final Conflict and, as soon as we’ve done that gig, we’ll catch another ‘plane to come back home and jump in a car to drive up to Montreal to play at Deathfest ! You know, for a fifty-year-old man, all that travelling just isn’t fun… the gigs are fun and seeing all of our friends is fun, but the travelling can be brutal ! Driving in a car for nine hours is something that none of us want to do, but the pay-off when you play the show is always worth it.’
Do you think the band still inspires you in the same ways it did when you first set-out, or do you think different factors are now more important to you ?
‘I still feel really inspired by this band. Obviously there are times that I feel that way and others when I feel less-so, but that’s bound to happen in relation to whatever moments you’re going through in your life. I mean, for the first ten or fifteen years of Dropdead, I was vegetarian but I started to feel that, if I was up there talking and singing about Animal Rights it was wrong that I wasn’t trying to be 100% vegan. So, at that point I decided to become vegan and it really inspired me to push the Animal Rights aspect of Dropdead. The fact that the other guys in the band were happy for me to explore that further within the band was inspiring for me as well. Ben writes most of the music, but they’ve always been cool with me writing the lyrics and promoting the philosophy. We all believe in the same things and they trust me to write things that mean something. I think we’re all very much inspired by what we do and I’m sure the new record is going to show that. I think it’s going to be the Dropdead record that everyone wants to hear. I think it’s the state of the world around us that inspires us to do Dropdead, because I don’t think humanity has that much time left unless we start to make some serious changes. If we don’t start to get off our asses and make the changes that are needed to save this planet, then we’re done. We can not be silent at this point, we have to act in whatever way we can. It’s almost more like desperation than inspiration, but watching the clock ticking out is what inspires me to say something, because silence is death.’
Well, one final question… When you hear the way you deliver your vocals, your voice must take quite a battering ! Have you ever had any problems with your vocal chords ?
‘Haha ! Well, I would sometimes have problems when we used to go on really long tours, but we don’t do that so much these days. We all have jobs at home, so we just can’t take so much time off. I’m a Mental Health worker and Ben runs his record stores and the label, so we have to do the band just as much as we can. But, we’re playing extreme music and I’m up there screaming as hard as I can, so there have been times it worked out and other times when my voice goes. There’s no rhyme or reason to it and I’ve never had a vocal coach, so I don’t have any tricks to make sure my voice continues to work. When we used to be touring for, like, three months at a time, then I’d know that at some point my voice was going to give-out. But it would always be a whole day of not being able to talk at all and then two minutes before we were due onstage, my voice would miraculously come back… I don’t think I ever had to pull the plug on a gig, but some days were certainly better than others. You just have to do the best that you can.’
‘We’re only here for a couple of days before we fly back. I’ll be going to work for a day and then we fly out to Los Angeles to play with Wolf Brigade and Final Conflict and, as soon as we’ve done that gig, we’ll catch another ‘plane to come back home and jump in a car to drive up to Montreal to play at Deathfest ! You know, for a fifty-year-old man, all that travelling just isn’t fun… the gigs are fun and seeing all of our friends is fun, but the travelling can be brutal ! Driving in a car for nine hours is something that none of us want to do, but the pay-off when you play the show is always worth it.’
Do you think the band still inspires you in the same ways it did when you first set-out, or do you think different factors are now more important to you ?
‘I still feel really inspired by this band. Obviously there are times that I feel that way and others when I feel less-so, but that’s bound to happen in relation to whatever moments you’re going through in your life. I mean, for the first ten or fifteen years of Dropdead, I was vegetarian but I started to feel that, if I was up there talking and singing about Animal Rights it was wrong that I wasn’t trying to be 100% vegan. So, at that point I decided to become vegan and it really inspired me to push the Animal Rights aspect of Dropdead. The fact that the other guys in the band were happy for me to explore that further within the band was inspiring for me as well. Ben writes most of the music, but they’ve always been cool with me writing the lyrics and promoting the philosophy. We all believe in the same things and they trust me to write things that mean something. I think we’re all very much inspired by what we do and I’m sure the new record is going to show that. I think it’s going to be the Dropdead record that everyone wants to hear. I think it’s the state of the world around us that inspires us to do Dropdead, because I don’t think humanity has that much time left unless we start to make some serious changes. If we don’t start to get off our asses and make the changes that are needed to save this planet, then we’re done. We can not be silent at this point, we have to act in whatever way we can. It’s almost more like desperation than inspiration, but watching the clock ticking out is what inspires me to say something, because silence is death.’
Well, one final question… When you hear the way you deliver your vocals, your voice must take quite a battering ! Have you ever had any problems with your vocal chords ?
‘Haha ! Well, I would sometimes have problems when we used to go on really long tours, but we don’t do that so much these days. We all have jobs at home, so we just can’t take so much time off. I’m a Mental Health worker and Ben runs his record stores and the label, so we have to do the band just as much as we can. But, we’re playing extreme music and I’m up there screaming as hard as I can, so there have been times it worked out and other times when my voice goes. There’s no rhyme or reason to it and I’ve never had a vocal coach, so I don’t have any tricks to make sure my voice continues to work. When we used to be touring for, like, three months at a time, then I’d know that at some point my voice was going to give-out. But it would always be a whole day of not being able to talk at all and then two minutes before we were due onstage, my voice would miraculously come back… I don’t think I ever had to pull the plug on a gig, but some days were certainly better than others. You just have to do the best that you can.’
We end the interview there as noise is coming from upstairs, meaning that the PA is working again and the final band, Mens Vreters, are now onstage. All the way from South Africa and describing themselves as ‘Cannibal Rap’, they’re certainly a bizarre end to the evening. With the frontmen clad in Gwar-esque horror costumes / masks, it’s quite theatrical although musically, it’s a bit of a mish-mash and possibly not focused enough to really make the performance work effectively. That being said, I’m glad I’ve seen them, but, by far, Dropdead had the highpoint of the night.
