The
Dischargers
Well, The Dischargers is
the new musical endeavor of Malcolm, who has been in the metal scene 2
decades now along with the inspiration, help and support of his Belgian
friends. So, together they aspire to bring back to life a part of their
youth and play the kind of music they love. The music they were brought
up with... So, I suppose a suitable title would be: "For the new to learn
and the old to remember...". Read below the very interesting and informative
stuff that Scruff and David told us...
1. CONGRATULATIONS ON “THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE
HELL”! UNBELIEVABLE!!! HOWEVER I’D LIKE TO KNOW THE CREATOR’S POINT OF
VIEW…
Scruff: Thank you Chrissy. Well, we are all
very very proud of this album!! It has a life of it’s own, it is certainly
unlike any of the many DISCHARGE-COPY bands out there.
David: We're very satisfied with the result,
if you consider how we did it, writing the songs and rehearsing them with
no vocals, then have only one rehearsal with the vocals on, and then record
and mix the whole damn thing in just one weekend...
2. YOU HAVE NAMED YOUR BAND THE DISCHARGERS AND
THERE IS AN 80S METAL BAND CALLED DISCHARGE THAT HAVE A QUITE SIMILAR SOUND.
SO AREN’T YOU “AFRAID” THAT SOME MIGHT CALL YOU IMITATORS AND COPYCATS?
Scruff: OH, not at all!!!!!!!!! One listen
to the album and you can HEAR that we are different. I formed the band
with my friend David because we love DISCHARGE. The UK band “Discharge”
is one of the most intense bands the world has ever had. Listen to their
“Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing “ LP and you’ll see why. The WHOLE
point of the band name is to say "LOOK... WE LOVE DISCHARGE”. We don’t
want to hide away from it…it’s DELIBERATE!!!
David: Our first idea for the bandname was
Discharger, but there's a Dutch OI-band with that name so it became The
Dischargers, and where that comes from is obvious, yes, we are copycats,
that's the whole idea behind this project, it's a tribute to the mighty
DISCHARGE, we wrote our own songs but completely in the DIS-tradition.
3.PLEASE MENTION A SHORT BAND BIO, PRESENT THE
CURRENT LINE UP AND REVEAL YOUR AIMS AS A BAND.
Scruff: The band consists of DAVID JEURSEN
on Bass/B.Vocals, Stefaan De Leersnijder on Guitar/B.Vocals, Zeno De Clerqcue
on Drums/B.Vocals and myself Scruff Lewty on Vocals. There are no aims…We
already accomplished them. We are doing a UK tour in May and it’ll be the
first time in 25 years that the UK has had such a blasting band play on
their doorsteps. We have no aims…We are just here to fucking BLAST!!! Check
our cd!!!!
David: Okay, on vocals we have Mr. Scruff,
known from the crustpunkthrashcultband HELLBASTARD, then we have Zen from
88MATE and THE REPOSTERS on drums, on guitar STEF from the crustcoreband
VISIONS OF WAR and me, David on bass, i'm the guitarplayer in a punkabilly
band called HELLSONICS. The four of us are huge Discharge fans and we all
miss that feeling we get from listening to the early Discharge recordings
in today's music so with this band we wanna bring that back into the scene...
4. OK MALCOLM YOU ARE FROM ENGLAND AND THE REST
OF THE BAND COMES FROM BELGIUM. DOES IT WORK OUT? HOW DO YOU COMPOSE SONGS
AND RECORD THEM?
Scruff: Quite easily really. They over in
Belgium wrote the songs and sent me a rehearsal tape. I put the lyrics
to the songs and hey presto!! There you go, easy. I only wrote one full
song for the album, ”Beautiful Funeral-I am capable of murder”, but all
the lyrics are mine and what a joy it was to write, then rehearse and then
sing them. Once I got the songs sorted out I went to Belgium and we went
into the studio…as a full band. Nothing secretive about it...
5. DO YOU AGREE WITH THE TERM HARDCORE WITH LOTS
OF PUNK TINGES? I’VE HEARD THAT IN THE PAST THERE WAS HATRED AMONG THE
METALLERS AND THE PUNKERS. SO, DO YOU THINK THIS HATRED STILL EXISTS? DO
YOU THINK YOU CAN “WIN” FANS FROM BOTH CAMPS WITH YOUR MUSIC?
Scruff: Oh MAN…there USED to be so MUCH hatred!!!
I can certainly tell you some stories. When the “Crossover” scene came
around, 1985/1986 things got much better with these two youth cults...
I think that now hardcore music is so commonplace and there are no
divisions anymore. There is a boiling pot of cross-genres that mould into
one. The term “punk” or “hardcore” really doesn’t interest me these days.
Well, not the SHIT that the MTV generation aspire to. There was a TIME
for REAL hardcore music and it has been and gone. We are just BIG KIDS
who are re-living something we really enjoyed in the past…
David: There will always be some idiots amongst
the punks and metalheads and if they wanna clash then so be it, I'm not
like that, I like punk and metal and there's a lot of people who are into
a crossover between those styles, I'm sure a lot of them will like our
music.
6. LET’S SUPPOSE THAT YOU WERE ASKED TO WRITE
A REVIEW OF “THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HELL”. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TRYING TO
BE AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE?
Scruff: Now, let’s see. Ahh yes…A bomb going
off in your face. Period.
David: "It must been since the Discharge album
HEAR NOTHING, SEE NOTHING, SAY NOTHING that I heard such an angry album."
Hahahaha...
7. WHAT’S THE BEST AND WHAT’S THE WORST PART IN
YOUR MUSIC, ACCORDING TO YOU?
Scruff: None of it. We love it all!
David: If there would've been something worst
in our music we would've done something about it I think, and after all,
we didn't mean to make this a top production, we're a fuckin' punk band
you know. What brings a lot of quality in our music are the lyrics, they
make the whole thing complete and they are TOP! Well done Scruff!
8. LYRIC-WISE YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN POLITICALLY,
ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY DRIVEN. THAT’S THE DEAL ONCE AGAIN WITH “THERE’S
NO PLACE LIKE HELL”. SO, FIRST OF ALL EXPLAIN THE TITLE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN
BY THAT? DO YOU MEAN THAT WE LIVE OUR OWN HELL AND WE FOLLOW CERTAIN PATHS
BASED ON OUR EVERYDAY CHOICES?
Scruff: The title is pretty obvious I thought.
It is playing with words. I am taking the piss!!! It means that , YES,
we are in HELL and there’s NO place like it.
9. YOUR VOCALS SOUND REALLY PISSED OFF, REALLY
FEROCIOUS AND AGGRESSIVE. WHICH ARE THOSE THINGS, IDEAS RO SITUATIONS THAT
MAKE YOU FEEL THIS WAY? IS SINGING FOR YOU SOME SORT OF THERAPY? LETTING
ALL THE STEAM OUT?
Scruff: I had a lot of pent-up emotion before
recording. I personally have experienced some very frustrating and difficult
moments in the last few years. I guess it all came out on the album.
10. I WAS ABLE TO UNDERSTAND QUITE MANY OF THE
LYRICS AND I MIGHT BE WRONG, BUT I THINK YOU’VE NEVER LAID OUT IN THE OPEN
SO INTENSELY AND DIRECTLY YOUR THOUGHTS BEFORE. I MEAN, YOU’VE ALWAYS SPOKEN
YOUR MIND, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU SPIT OUT EVERYTHING THROUGH YOUR
PERSONAL TRAUMATIZING EXPERIENCES. I DON’T THINK YOU DID SOMETHING LIKE
THAT SO CLEARLY BEFORE. AM I MISTAKEN?
Scruff: You are not mistaken at all, perfectly
correct. I was so incredibly pissed off that this is the way it all came
out…I guess. I have experienced a huge amount of billshit in the last few
years-so it all came out.
11. YOU’VE WANDERED AROUND, MUSICALLY SPEAKING,
A LOT ALL THESE YEARS. YOU’VE BEEN IN THE SCENE FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS.
WHAT HAVE YOU WON AND LOST FROM ALL THESE? WHAT EXPERIENCES HAVE YOU GAINED?
HAVE THEY MADE YOU “WISER” OR DO YOU STILL HAVE THE ENTHUSIASM OF A NEWCOMER?
Scruff: I don’t think about it. I just
enjoy the creative processes. I never made any money with music that’s
for sure, although I met a lot of people that made money OFF my music.
I just enjoy being creative. I have made some cool GREAT friends and interacted
with people like myself. That’s good enough for me. The negative side of
this question is huge too. I have met some real cunts whilst being involved
in music, but fuck ‘em…they go away…eventually. Their shit begins to stink
too much and people take notice and begin to realise it.
12. MOREOVER THE DISCHARGERS IS THE CLOSEST YOU
GOT TO THE LEGENDARY HELLBASTARD THAN EVER! WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER TO
REUNITE HELLBASTARD?
Scruff: It has been mentioned many times,
but deep down it’d be the same old story, flogging a dead horse…I really
enjoyed the learning experience that HELLBASTARD held for me and the other
band members over the years. I don’t know if I would ever reform the band.
The right members would have to be available or it’d be pointless.
13. THE COVER ARTWORK IS HARSH AND OFFENSIVE FOR
THE NOWADAYS CONFORMISTS. A REAL PUNCH IN THE STOMACH! DO YOU WANT TO DESCRIBE
IT FOR THOSE THAT HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET?
Scruff: The sleeve was designed by my great
friend in Italy, Gabrielle Santamaria. He also did the enhanced parts of
the cd too and he put a lot of effort into it all. It is originally from
an Italian 1960’s student revolt poster. He made it all organic and rich
with his original background and inventiveness. He was very patient and
took a lot of shit about the whole sleeve design. We eventually got “happy”
with it and…
14. WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN ADDING NEW ELEMENTS
OR EXPERIMENT WITH NEW SOUNDS IN THE FUTURE? IF YES, WHAT KIND OF THINGS
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD?
Scruff: The WHOLE point of the band was to
EMULATE the GOLDEN YEARS of DISCHARGE, circa 1981/1982……but yes, I personally
would love too. BANJO, PIANO, VIOLA, etc etc really deep and sombre sounds
with some slow songs and clean vocals. I don’t think the others would like
that though…..
15. THE ALBUM IS GOING TO CONTAIN A VIDEO CLIP
FOR “ART-WAR”. PLEASE DESCRIBE ITS CONTENT TO THE READERS.
Scruff: Well….it’s GREAT. Pretty much NO COLOUR,
which ties in with the monochrome vision of 1980’s hardcore. Everything
Discharge released was in black and white, so that’s why that is present.
Again, we sent Gabrielle a lot of footage that we personally shot and he
did a great job!!! The video track is so cool!!! You’ll have to see it!
There are riot-scenes and even a shot of the much admired writer/poet
CHARLES BUKOWSKI. He is mentioned in my lyrics to “Art-War” anyway…there’s
a lot going on. You’ll have to see it!!!
16. YOU’VE ALSO DONE TWO COVER SONGS. PLEASE TELL
US WHICH THEY ARE AND WHETHER YOU HAVE FOLLOWED THEIR ORIGINAL PATTERN
OR YOU’VE ALTERED THEM.
Scruff: I suggested we cover TWO discharge
songs. We chose “A hell on earth” from their 1982 LP “Hear Nothing…..”
why? ‘Cos it’s awesome and an early “B” side of an EP ….”But after the
gig”. Two different sides of DISCHARGE. Any fans of discharge are gonna
love them, no changes really. We just played em note for note, really.
Zen the drummer sang a track I could not get to grips with, last track
on the album, "Constant Fear”….very “punk” indeed!!!!
David: The two Discharge covers we did are
"But after the gig" and "A hell on earth", we played them like the originals
because that's how they sound best.
17. WHAT THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS DO YOU WANT TO
CREATE TO YOUR LISTENERS? DO YOU THINK YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS AFTER ALL?
Scruff: I want our listeners to get ANGRY.
We are fed shit everyday and we are, for the most part, passive to it all.
Oppression becomes normality, if enough people say “Fuck this”, what can
the system do?? SHOOT US ALL??? It’s time to fight back. It’s always been
time to fight back.
David: For the listeners and people who come
to see us live, if you feel angry about something, go on and SHOUT IT OUT,
don't go hiding yourself in your shell and get stressed, get out and DISCHARGE
YOURSELF! HAH!
18. OK YOU ARE A SOCIO/POLITICALLY-DRIVEN BAND,
SO I’M CURIOUS TO FIND OUT IF YOU HAD A HUGE BUDGET TO SHOOT A VIDEO CLIP,
WHICH SONG OF YOURS YOU’D CHOOSE AND HOW YOU IMAGINE IT TO BE.
Scruff: HA ha,..well if it were my decision
I’d choose “Cause and Effect”. There could be so many great (insane ?)
scenes in there…I already have all the shots in my brain right now,…easy.
There again, I’d probably get the cheque, cash it and spend the money on
something more worthwhile. Decadence is a ghetto.
19. IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO INVITE FAMOUS MUSICIANS
TO PARTICIPATE IN ONE OF YOUR LIVE SHOWS, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
Scruff: I'd like to invite Brian May from
Queen, that god-bashing Christian fuck Cliff Richard, all the guys from
Bon Jovi and a whole lot more,…it’d be so much fun to set alight to them
and smell them on stage whilst burning and turning black. It’s fun to have
fun with PETROL. They could participate in so many ways,…Oh,.the list is
endless.
David: The first one I think of is Max Cavalera,
I know he's also a big Discharge fanatic. And of course any (ex) Discharge
member, having Cal on vocals in any of our songs would be great!
20. MALCOLM, YOU ALSO RUN A RECORD LABEL CALLED
FURY76. WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH IT? HAVE YOU SIGNED ANY BANDS? GIVE US YOUR
LABEL NEWS AND FUTURE RELEASES…
Scruff: Well, we have a lot of shit going
on,…DEAD BY WEDNESDAY from USA are working hard on tour right now, their
cd is awesome, real aggressive and BIG CHUNKING hardcore hip-hop-metal-punk.
RUNT are really cool, their album is getting good press in the “majors”
right now. RUNT & DISCHARGERS go out on tour in MAY 2006,….damn,..it’s
difficult to describe everything. I guess the best thing I can say is ALL
FURY76 BANDS have something in common….SOUL and SUBSTANCE. BUY OUR CD’S
! Go to
http://www.fury76.com
cos they are cheaper there than the stores. We are beginning to get INTEREST
from the so called “major” magazines and we are spending vast amounts of
our hard earned money on merchandising and adverts for the cd’s on our
roster, we love what we do. Period. We are always open to listen to new
bands demos and cd’s,…feel free to contact us on - [email protected]
21. THANK YOU! END THIS INTERVIEW ANY WAY YOU
WANT…
Christine Parastatidou
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