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THIRD
GENERATION NATION
http://www.3rdgenerationnation.de/
(German fanzine- interview done in november 2000 by Holm/Sickspice77)
1.
I think that you not really well known in germany. In spit of it you go on
tour with a band they are also absolutely unknown. How go the tour with Vegas
Thunder?
We toured France a lot, but the only foreign country we already played in
was Slovenia. Funny to play in front of drunk Slovenian bikers in the middle
of the fields, with striptease action between each band!… This European tour
was possible through the tour-promoter, Manny, from The Buckweeds. In fact
he gets contacted from American bands who want to tour Europe and when it's
possible he asks a French or European band to join. European promoters want
American bands, I don't know why… they probably think they are more attractive,
even if nobody knows them. This is the magic of America: they rock and we
want to see them rock! …anyway, Manny is doing a good job!
2.
Gasolheads - Vegas Thunder, French - American Friendship! How do you know
them?
No, shit, we never heard of them before we were asked to tour with them. And
what a mistake : These guys kick ass on stage! We first listened to their
record on Sympathy and though "OK, this is good heavy punk", but on stage
it's really wild. And the second thing: they are four nice guys. 20 days with
two bands in a van, plus a driver, and there was not one problem.
3.
After your big tour and my hope that you have also collect a lot of live experiences
at France. Can you say, what are the differences between a concert in Germany
and a concert in France? What does a "normal" French punk rock fan say, that
your songs are mostly in English?
France is not so small… people react and act different in every city, in the
south they are quiet and distant, in the north they're alcoholic and exuberant,
in fact it depends on the scene each city have developed. But on the other
hand, peoples into garage punk are the same type, most of the time : cool,
not so much into dancing, beer drinker and with girlfriends who look like
Betty Page…and, fuck, I'm the same too! Just my girlfriend looks more than
Bette Midler… We didn't notice so much difference between German and French
concerts, maybe more politic involvement here in Germany. And way much better
reception for the bands.And that thing about singin in English : we just feel
it that way! It's the best language for this kind of music. Isn't it?
4.
I have absolutely no idea how long was your tour and which countries or which
towns you have played. In which parts of Europe you have played yet and where
was the best show? Tell us a interesting story about the life "on the road"!
It was 15 shows during 17 days. We played Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, France,
Germany, Croatia, Slovenia. Nice trip. The best shows we had were in Zurich,
I never though Switzerland was wack'n wall, Berlin, with the nicest club we've
ever seen, the "wild at heart"…Life on the road? We played on Sunday night
in our town, Marseille, and the next show was in Koprivnica, in Croatia… we
left at two in the morning from Marseille, drove non-stop thru Italia and
after 21 fucking hour and a nice confrontation with the Croatian customs officers
we arrived at eleven at night in a small little industrial town thinking the
show must have been cancelled! And shit no: more than hundred and fifty young
Croatian young rockers were waiting in front of the venue, a bowling. The
place was filled with 18 years old nice little Croatian girls. On the wrong
side : I discussed with an innate fat moron with a "Bantam rooster " T-shirt
which showed to be a squalid Nazi! Strange…but the other people there were
really cool, and they told us The Dirty's, The Chrome Cranks, Wanda Chrome
and other played in this place…
5.
I don't have heard anything before the gig at the Eisdeale - Leipzig. My opinion
about your sound was quickly made "fast garage punk with a important punk
rock attitude". But I think there are differences between the people. Which
drawer/ category do you like and which one do you really hate?
Yes, we are a punk rock'n roll band. We do it fast just because we can't do
it slowly. Garage just because we don't have the money to have a cleaner sound.
And that's right. We don't hate anybody, but some parts of the punk scene
suck. We don't hate skaters, we just hate their music and the spirit behind
it. NOFX sucks and so do Millencolin, but what's the use to do advertisement?…
Little boys and little girls with Fat Wreck T-shirt may discover the way between
Eddy Cochran, The Saints and The Rip Offs, but only if they don't get involved
into Limp Bizkit or Korn or Radiohead or any other big corporated major shit,
but this schema doesn't happen very often… I don't have real problems with
streetpunk and oi, but it's definitively not my church.
6. Between the concert
striking me your announce. A French man and German language, a really unusual
mixture. Where do you learn German?
Our Mother, my brother Pascal (guitar) and me, is German. I lived in Germany
for the five first years of my life. Mein Sprechen ist okay, aber ich kann
nicht so gut lesen und schreiben!
7.
Please, tell us something about the French punk rock scene at the south/ south
west!
Everybody knows the TV Killers and the No Talents, the frenchy punk-rock stars...
and the south France scene got a few good bands: Jerry spider Gang, from Toulouse
(soon an LP out on safety pins, in a MC5/turbonegro vein), the Booboo's from
Montpellier, a great Mummies / Ramones styled band. If you consider Bordeaux
as part of the south of France, then you got a lot of amazing bands there
: the Jerky Turkey, The Magnetix, Weak (absolutely ignoble band : they like
to piss on their guitars while playing, argh! Great guys!), The wonky Monkeys…
get their records!
8.
We want to do something for the new German fans from the Gasolheads (i hope
there are a lot of) and let us look at the discography from the band? What
did you do at the last years?
We only play together for 2 years, organising shows in our city, playing around
France. We got songs on different compilations, a double EP out on Rockin'
Bones titled "fuel stereo shit!", the longer version of this on a CD on Lollipop
records: "fuel stereo crash", a split with the speed/garage weirdos from Strasbourg
The Exxon Valdez, out on dangerous at drive records, a split EP with the Dialtones
from Sweden and the new record "Sixty seconds swingers" will be out on January
2001…
9.
What do the band plan at the next months?
We got to records some new songs, go on tour in France for the second album
and do some drugs for our pleasure!
10. Before we come to an end, we are interested who is in the band and what do you do at Gasolheads and beside the band? Okay : there is Nico on bass and vocals, he's working as a mid-time cameraman, Pascal on guitar, he's jobless but works sometimes as a projectionist, Tonio on drums, fucking student, and me, Olivier, I do the vocals. I'm working in a public library in the internet section. A cool bunch of losers…Bienvenue mon ami loser! Rejoints-nous sur la route de la lose! Germans are a bunch of Schweinerockers !
Interview by Holm/Sickspice '77