| John Robb Interview - The Final Word |
| Tell me about your current band Goldblade. How is it different from your previous musical projects? How pleased were you with the new LP "Rebel Songs"? Goldblade is basically a Punk Rock band. In that Punk Rock is loud, adrenalised guitar music that goes in a room and attempts to creat a wild situation! Its about the ethic of Punk Rock, its about getting up on stage and giving everything to the music and then hanging around with the crowd. The scene is a big community, there are no stars, none of the bullsh*t, everyone works together and hangs out together, just like it was meant to be in the first place. We write songs that are for maximum entertainment, we want people to sing a long, we want people to go wild and have a great time, we want people to feel empowered, we want[people to feel something! Anything...and you know what? It actually seems to be working. The new album "Rebel Songs" is the best selling album we've done and the gigs have been going great this year. The diferences with this band is we know what we're doing this time and the whole scene seems to be a lot better organised than it used to be. How did the diverse line up come together? The current line is made up of a couple of people I already knew....Johnny Skullknuckles I knew from being on the scene in Manchester and Pete Gorgeous used to be in the Nightingales so we have known each other for 20 years. Is Keith from A Witness (great band) still there? Keith is still holding forth on bass. All the bands from years ago still know each other - it's a very tight scene isn't it? How do you feel about things like the Wasted festival? Do you think they are at odds with the spirit of Punk? Wasted festival and all the other Punk festivals we play are great fun to play, great fun to go to and to tell you the truth they differ very little from the original Punk festivals at the 100 Club or the Screen On The Green festival. Punk is a weird pop cult, the very people that created it tried to destroy it as quick as they could, many of them didn't even like the style of music they were making money out of! It is quite puzzling how something like All Tomorrow's Parties always get heaps of critical acclaim even though its a bunch of simliar aged bands playing indie music in a holiday camp! What's the difference between that and Punk festivals? I've been to both festivals and enjoy them both, a lot of the old school Punk bands play with a real fire - the UK Subs are still a great band and Charlie Harper is one of the true spirits of Punk Rock, he gets up and gets on with it, he gets on stage plays great and hangs out with the crowd afterwards, no aloofness, no tantrums, no bullsh*t unlike so many of the much more favoured indie types who are only in bands as some sort of ego trip and make the music to fit in with what the critics want! Wasted doesn't contravene my interpretation of Punk . And after all the thing about Punk is that everyone has their own interpretation of it! And at what point does something become nostalgia? Was Punk nostalgic after one week, one month, one year? 10 Years? If the music still gives you the rush then it works - what's worse is people who's music taste change with fashion - that's the real tradegy! How do you think the principles of Punk from 77 stand up being applied to life in 2005? They were great principles but of course the world has changed, there was a certain naiveity about Punk as well but maybe that was a part of the beauty of the whole thing as well, with Goldblade we try and apply as many of those principles as possible - not in any strict way - in a way that just feels right - there is no other way to make music and tour in a band. When you look back at the 70s it seems very innocent now doesn't it? When the Sex Pistols swore on TV and people were shocked - that seems bizarre today when people swear on TV all the time..once having spiky hair meant that if you went into a pub everyone would try and beat you up but nowadays it's a footballer's haircut! Finally what are you plans for the future with Goldblade? Any more recordings/gigs soon? Lots of gigs all over the world and a bunch of new songs on their way. We've got a compilation LP coming out on SOS Records called "Punk Rockers In The Dancehall" and a tour of Japan and the States and Europe and the UK lined up, also in April I've got a book coming out called "Punk Rock - An Oral History" on Ebury Press for more details go toour website www.goldblade.com....and then change the f**ing world! John Robb |
| For the next page click here |