Andreas

G: Please introduce yourself: Who are you and what are you doing in your normal life?

 

A: Hey Gunter, first thanx for interviewing me. It s a pleasure. My name is Andreas, I‘m 32 years old, still punk, I use to work as a free lance journalist for several german (mostly left-wing) newspapers and magazines. Mostly I write about political issues, generally about latin american topics cause I used to live a while in Cuba, Mexico and Brazil and thats the part of the world I‘m somehow most interested in. Beside those free lance activities I run a small DIY punk label called Thrashbastard, book tours, do shows in my hometown Berlin and just started to do a radio show recently. I also did a paper fanzine once called Thrash It Away. Although I would love to do more issues in the future I m afraid I won‘t cause the lack of time and energy. And to finance my DIY activities i work as a tennis chair umpire, a job I actually like a lot since more then 15 years now.

I love to travel and tour cause I feel somehow alive being at different places from time to time, meeting new people or seeing old friends, hanging out at shows and watching good bands. I m a big football fan, so if you don‘t find me at a hc/punk show you will meet me in a stadium, supporting my teams union berlin, türkiyemspor or corinthians sao paulo. I love to sit in Cafe jenseits at Heinrichplatz in Kreuzberg and read newspapers or watch people, I love to read books, to cook, to laugh and to party...

 

G: How did your label start? What did you thought when you released your first record?

 

A: The label started more by coincidence. I had this idea somehow in my head since a while to do a label someday, inspired by people like Stephan from Vendetta Records, who started his great label a year earlier or something. But it was more an abstract idea I had. When I used to live in Mexico City back in 2002/2003 I became quiet active in the mexican hc/punk scene, being in a concert collective, doing vegan soup kitchens and stuff like this. When I visited my friends there in 2004 two of them asked me if i would like to participate in a Compilation cd project with 15 central and south american straight edge bands. I agreed to put some money to support them. When it came to finish the artwork they asked me to send them a label logo and a label name so I had to put a logo together and create a name and it ended up being Thrashbastard and this Samurai guy as a logo. I don t consider myself as a really creative person, but who cares?! Although this cd has been somehow my first release i don‘t consider it as the start of the label. It just pushed me to find a label name and a motive for the logo, but since I haven‘t been involved either in the selection of the participating band nor the whole pressing or printing process, I just put some money, I don t really feel that this cd is „my“ release.

But more or less at the same time I saw this awesome band Attack! Playing live in Mexico City and got really impressed by their energy. Those guys used to play in Hog (maybe some of you still know this band, they even released a 7“ on Lengua Armada), so we talked after the show, saw each other from time to time and became good friends. Some day they told me that they had recorded some songs and would like to use some of them for a split Ep with an european band and asked me for a recommendation. I promised them to help. And since I liked the recorded song really a lot the idea started to grow that this could be my first release. Back in germany I knew through a friend that Neubrandenburg based grind band Axt! was looking for a band to share a split record so things came together and this mentioned friend, Gerki, guys from Axt! and me released the „What If Gods Lie/Axt Split“ 7“. Attack! Had changed their name to What If Gods Lie just right before the record came out. So this record I consider my first release.

And, yeah, I can‘t really describe the feeling I had when I got the testpressing or even when I got the regular release. Just very, very exciting. When I got the compilation cds with my logo on the backcover it was a great feeling but not comparable to the sensation I had with this black vinyl 7“ in my hands and the self printed cover still smelling on printing ink...

And with the next release – the Dick Cheney/Tangled Lines split the label really started. But I gonna talk about this in a later question, cause it s also a good example of my label policy. 

 

G: How long does the thrashbastard label exist now?

 

A: After talking so much on the first two question I make it short this time, hehe. It s 5 years now the label is existing. It feels much more, haha, I guess all the stress and work I have with the label makes me feel the label is 10 years old already or even more. The comp cd came out in February 2004, the „what if gods lie/axt“ split two months later.

 

G: How do you work and get the records out? What is the policy of the label?

 

A: Ok as I told before I gonna use my second 7“-release, the Dick Cheney/The Tangled Lines-Split as an example for my labels policy. I met Erik the singer of Dick Cheney, who later played bass in The Vicious and at the moment plays drums in masshysteri a couple of years ago at K-Town-Festival in Copenhagen. Over the years we became really close friends and still I consider him one of my best friends in the HC/Punk-Scene. Anyway, back then in Copenhagen he gave me the demo of his band Dick Cheney and I loved it. I really loved it!!! So of course I told him that I wanted to release those songs since I already started with the label. It should be another split-record. About the same time I got to know Robert from Warszaw who is running the great Refuse records label. He was supposed to put out a Tangled Lines/X-Wing-Split 7“, this czech band where Pawel was singing. But X-Wing splitted up, so Tangled Lines and Robert were looking for another band to do the split with. I had done a show for Tangled Lines, liked this band a lot and so things came together. So to make it short: First of all I wanna release bands I like musically and I consider as friends, and I love to cooperate with other DIY labels, cause I guess thats the idea behing DIY. The Dick Cheney/TTL 7“ is such a good example, cause all guys in Dick Cheney became really good friends, I also booked their only european tour of them and spent three weeks with them in a tourvan and later a couple of days with Erik in some hospital in Santander when he got a bassguitar in his eye and had to break up the tour... Later I released several bands of Dick Cheneys Drummer Erik (a different one) like The Rats and Epidemics. Robert refuse became a really good friend too and we released several records together over the past couple of years as Lets Grow LP or Discarga LP, and finally also all people in Tangled Lines became close friends. I released Konrads other band Depressive State and last year the Vitamin X LP, where Wolfi, TTL-drummer plays drums too... So those personal connections are the most important reason to me to release a record, although there have been some exceptions over the years, as This Ship Will Burn 7“ or NK6 7“.... but those bands I just liked really a lot so I released them even without being close friend to them...

 

G: How do you sell the records?

 

A: Since I don‘t have even a website I mostly sell my records when I‘m on tour or to touring bands who stay at my place and look through my distro boxes, hehe. I guess thats the weak point of my label. But there are just too many small labels/distros and record stores in Berlin. So being on tour is for me the best way to get rid off my records. I guess thats one of the main reasons why I‘m on tour so much...

 

G: What helps you to get the records out? What makes it difficult? What would you change?

 

A: Mmmhhh, it definitely helps when I have some extra money. Don‘t having any money makes it more difficult. So I guess the thing I would change: having more money, hehe. But as I mentioned before I like to work together with other labels and that definitely makes things easier – from putting the records out cause you can split the costs till distribution. Although sometimes it is hard to coordinate everything: artwork, money etc...

 

G: Can you make a living out of producing and selling records? Or do you see any chance for this?

 

A: Hahaha. Hopefully! No and actually I don‘t know anybody who could make a living out of doing a DIY punk label. Somehow it would be nice but I guess on the other hand I have so many other interests I would get bored just doing the label and selling records... But the main reason why I never pushed the label in this direction to make a living out of it is, that it would change the whole focus. I guess you decide more and more about which bands to release by selling aspects. So I wouldn‘t do croatian, serbian or brazilian bands anymore and more swedish, japanese or us bands instead, cause those are easier to sell and have more possibilities to come on tour, which helps to sell records... I just don‘t wanna be in that position to have to earn my money with the label. It shall stay fun not business.

 

G:You are often on voyages in the world: What are the places you like most? Any nice story from your experiences with bands on tour?

 

A: The place I like moste beside Berlin is Havanna, Cuba. Awesome but crazy city and somehow my second home...

Mmmhhh, nice stories from tour. There are so many. So far I‘ve been lucky. All bands I‘ve been on tour with has been great people and I don‘t wanna miss any of those tours. And believe me it has been a lot. But hard to pick a single story right now.

 

G: And when will we get a new fanzine from you? What is your view on the fanzine/ perzine scene in germany and europe today?

 

A: Ufff, hopefully some day. But right now it is not very probable that I gonna do a zine again. Somehow I would love to do, but I just have no time and somehow not enough energy to do it.

And I‘m a bit out of the zine scene to really have an opinion about fanzine/ perzine scene in germany or europe. I lost a bit the touch with it since the label started to overwhelm everything else...

 

G: What future do you see for you?

 

A: Who knows? Im not the guy who s planning his future. I would love to live again in Havanna for a couple of years. That‘s one of my plans. And maybe I go back to Brazil for some time again too, but right now I‘m pretty happy in Berlin. So at least the winter I gonna spend here. And that s all the time I can overview right now. So NO FUTURE, hehehe...

 

Questions by Gunter

www.myspace.com/22758359

 

Reviews of three of the last records:

 

Minus Apes 7“

(Thrashbastard/ Inge‘s Revenge)

 

Uhhh, a black labeled vinyl in a white cover - aestehtic rules! We are the apple generation. Arrgh... so less possibilities to escape. The first song is „It‘s all the same“, that ends with „I‘m tired of being a compromise“, what is a nice picture. Hmm, I think I saw the band somewhen somewhere in Berlin, but I can‘t remember. I like „concrete spirit“ it is such a dark and tragic song and it remembers me on The Cure or The Clash. The 7“ is to fast over for an old man like me. That‘s all good sung. The last song is „Nothing is nothing at all“.

 

www.myspace.com/minusapes

 

Out on a limp 7“

(Thrashbastard/ Destination Unknown)

 

Can any Berliner refuse to listen to a song called „Drinking Spree“ of this band from Chemnitz? It‘s again a thrashy sounding dark and melancholic song about party til death. The rest of the songs are also played with lots of cool guitars. It is somehow simple, so that everyone can understand them and nevertheless full of emotions, because of the microtiming and the used sounds and distortions. Hey, they also sing about „all the same“...

 

www.myspace.com/kidsincoffins

 

A bit of braindead „totally wrecked“ 7“

(Trashbastard/ Rising Riot/ Yellow Dog)

 

A bit of braindead is a four piece band, doing some hardcore/ thrash stuff, not to melodic, more on the energetic side of life. The name of the band is really funny. The sound is somehow raw, although it is a high-quality recording. The 7“ comes with a nice skatepunk‘n‘wasteyourlife cover. Here are my favourite lyrics:

3. „genitals are arms“

2. „ your fake masks burn on your face“

„ I regret reality has left its mark on me

Go!

 

www.myspace.com/abitofbraindead