ok this seems kinda old.Its an interview i did with kate from SCHIFOSI back in JUNE 2005. SCHIFOSI is a downtuned crust band from melbourne that also features members from Abc Weapon,Pisschrist and Terror firma.
By the time you'vr read this, they've alreeady toured the US for six week in 2005 with kakistocracy and also played the Pointless fest.Their new record 'absentium existence' is already out on thrashsteady syndicate for CD and their Lp version on Alerta Antifacista.
1.hello! greetings from Singapore/southeast asia! please introduce the band
to the readers out there,tell us a brief history of the band.what does schifosi
means anyway?how would you describe schifosi's music.
schifosi came together a few years ago after other bands we were
in defunct in one way or another. we hadbeen in bands together before- tim, bart and myself in
recalcitrate and tim and tristan in deconsume. thereis tristan and jacquie on guitar, bart bass, tim on drums, myself on vocals. it initially started with just tim, tristan, bart and
myself and it was about a year and a half into it thatwe asked jacquie to play second guitar.
Schifosi is italian for filthy and disgusting, it it adescriptive word and an insult. i guess our music in downtuned melodic crust punk.
2.Also tell us what other bands are schifosi members involved in?
at the moment, j is in another band called terra firma
and tim is playing in pisschrist and abc weapons.
3.you guys got some cool releases in the past few years of existence,
how was the response so far?
the repsonse has been great, particulary since the 12"
came out and now that the 7" has been out for a
while.Our good friends in Endless Blockades, Broken
Rain and Appliances and Cars have gone totally nuts
on distribution, they have really helped us.
we have made some great friends from getting our
music out there, particularly overseas. australia
feels somewhat isolated sometimes!
4.What do you guys think about the sudden 'd-beat phenomenom'.D-beat already
exist for a long time now but why the sudden hype for it in the past few years?
Any other cool bands from your area that is worth checkin out?
yea the d-beat phenomenon has definately exploded and
gotten a whole lot popular of late. but thats cool,
trends come and go and i'll still be getting into this
shit for years. i think a lot of the hype has come
particulary from western countries as i think that
they do have a lot more 'influence' or just more
coverage in the world wider punk scene/community.
5.What really inspire/influence schifosi's lyrics and music?who usually
writes the lyrics?
the lyrics are personnal socio-political commentary on
the world around me and how it affects my life etc.
they do tend to be somewhat melancholic, but i do
maintain that there is a lot of hope in the words that
i write. you gotta have hope.
bart also writes some songs too, a few of songs that
will be on our next realease have been worked on by
both of us.
6.i heard thrashsteadysyndicate(singapore) is going to
release your next full length? what should people expect from Schifosi in the future? and also you guys
touring the US soon?
yes they are putting it out on cd.which is awesome!
it is getting released on vinyl by Alerta Antifascista
from germany. this hopefully will be out in the next
couple of months.
we are touring the U.S late july to late august,
which'll be awesome.check out our website for
dates/shows...
7.how is the melbourne hcpunk scene these days?
the melbourne scene is pretty good at the moment,
regular shows etc several bands that are worth checking out.
pisschrist, straightjacket, terrafirma, the focus...
eddie currant suppression ring. there are great
interstate bands too: los diablos, smash and grab,
falluja city rockers, draft dodger, sydney city trash...
we just had the closure of the pink palace which was a
long runnning warehouse that put on d.i.y all age
shows and rehearsal space which sux, but in time
something else will happen...we do have a few good
pubs/bars that put on lots of our shows too.
8.Any members of schifosi into any activism? e.g
food not bombs,and hows the political situation over there in
australia?
yep we are all pretty active people, food not bombs
does 3 kitchens a week and has been going steady for
many years now. melbourne also has a pretty strong
squatting scene too...as far as australia goes i think
in relation to the rest of the world we are somewhat
apathetic but many issues like deforestation,
indigenious rights, uranium mining and asylum
seeker/refugee action have still really strong
support/following and always will.
9.Whats your favourite band from singapore/southeastasia? pisschrist did a tour here earlier this year,any plans to tour se asia?
well i like apparatus, minus and fallen world....
pisschrists' tour went great and we'd love to come
over your way, perhaps soon. it would be so much fun.
10.last words?... thanks for your time!
thanx for the interview, we really appreciate it.
our website is www.schifosi.nomasters.org
or you can write to us at:
p.o. box 242 northcote 3070, victoria, Australia
Contact Thrashsteady syndicate if you wanna get hold of their release.
www.thrashsteadysyndicate.com
