An Interview with Ikara Colt by Sink Hole Zine ~ This was done in March 2003
I’ve never interviewed a band that I had never heard before. In fact, I’ve never really interviewed a band that I wasn’t completely into before either. I always make an effort to interview bands that I really dig, just to get them a little extra exposure so maybe someone else will give them a try and dig them as much as I did.
Well, this interview changed all that. I actually interviewed Ikara Colt never having heard one note, having absolutely no idea of their sound. Basically, the 2 weeks previous to doing this interview, I had seen Roger Miret and The Disasters, The Templars and Terminus City (amongst others…). Three killer fucking bands, but each night I left without doing an interview. Well, I needed to get interviews for this here zine, so I knew I had to get out there. I picked up Weekly Planet (our local free arts/music newspaper) and read their quick synopsis’ of what was going on this particular weekend. As it turned out there was a band I had never heard of that was playing only an hour away. The writer described them as a "77 style punk band from England with a heavy love of Oi!". That’s the ticket I thought. I went online, found their site, printed out some stuff and made a call to set up an interview. I talked to their manager who sounded more Californian than British and grabbed my camera and got in the car.
After the hour drive, I arrived, fashionably, but about an hour late. The club was pretty empty and I wondered what these guys looked like. I sat down at the bar and ordered a water (only the hard stuff for me!) and started to peruse the printed reviews that I got from their site. I was a little confused because there were absolutely no references to Oi or Oi bands at all. Still, I read on. I had to interview these guys and didn’t want to sound completely unprepared. I finished my water and started to look for the guy I spoke with on the phone. Perfect, it only took a minute before I spotted 5 folks standing together. The group surely looked 4/5 British so I went and introduced myself.
“Hi, I’m Marck, I have an interview with Ikara Colt”
“Yeah, Marck, we’ve been expecting you, is it 7 already?”
“Actually, it’s closer to 8”
“Shit we go on soon, lets get to the van. Do you smoke pot?”
“Nope, sure don’t” This was met with a general look of dissappointment, so I followed with “But, I love a good contact high!”
“All right, lets go!”
As we made our way across the lot to the van I introduced myself to the skinny folks who made up this bizarre “Oi!” quartet. Dominic, the drummer kept on walking as we reached the van, but the rest of us piled in and as Jon methodically rolled a couple of pinners on top of a Tom Waits CD, I got the vague and ambiguous questions rolling.
SHZ-So why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourselves and what you do in the band…
Claire-I’m Claire and I play guitar.
Jon-I’m Jon and I play the bass.
Paul-I’m Paul and I sing.
SHZ-And I guess Dominic drums, but doesn’t talk, right?
Jon-RIGHT!
SHZ-How did you guys meet and decide to form a band?
Claire-We all met up at art school, like lots of bands seem to.
SHZ-Well, that’s kind of unoriginal, but whatever…
Claire-It’s a well-chosen route.
Jon-We’re basically professional dossers.(sp?)
SHZ-Did you play and stuff before art school.
Jon-Not really, we tried, but we were just generally quite shitty. Well, Claire is pretty good. Paul used to play the bass. Don was sort of pretty good already. We only just learned to play.
SHZ-So, you guys just met and decided to start a band having no knowledge or skill?
Paul-It was sort of like, Claire wanted to start a band and play guitar. She met Don and asked him to drum. He said “No fucking way, I’ve already done all of that already, I’m not doing that anymore”.
Claire-But he’s here today-still.
Jon-Yeah, he claims that he’s just a stand-in till we find someone better, but he’s still standing in.
SHZ-So, are you all art school drop-outs?
Claire-No, actually we all finished. It was quite a funny time. We got signed just as we were finishing school.
Jon-It’s not like it really made a difference, it was cool to finish the school, it was cool to get signed, but we’re all still fucking broke…
SHZ-Whats the deal with the name? Who came up with it and what the fuck does it mean?
Claire-Nothing really, we basically had a gig one night and we needed a name and it came up. It’s not like it really meant more than just two words together at the time.
SHZ-Well, it sounds thought out and unique, maybe its just cause I don’t know what it means.
Claire-We just had loads of books together and we just put together two words. We used to make up interesting stories about it, but it’s really not that interesting.
SHZ-Well, entertain me with one of the interesting stories…
Claire-If you look up Ikara colt on the internet there’s a horse called Ikara and…
Jon-A colt is a young horse, and that’s how we were looking at it. This is our horse. The band I mean, it’s our horse, a dark horse, a race horse. It’s a one-hundred to one longshot. That’s kinda the way we looked at it. Ikara Colt as a one-hundred to one longshot, if you put your money on it-it may pay off.
SHZ-So are you guys a good bet?
Jon-I don’t know, insiders say that that’s a safe bet because its got a high pay off.
SHZ-I read somewhere that you guys said that all bands should be shot after they’ve been together for 5 years.
Jon-That was metaphorical… I think it was said in regards to colt, which is a young horse. Like a colt has a working life of 5 years. It’s not necessarily that a band only has a 5 years, its just that I think a band should give it up when they are spent. So you know you have bands like, you know, who…
Claire-You just don’t want to see bands out there who’ve lost it, who don’t know what they are doing anymore…
Jon-They’re not moving forward, they’re just repeating themselves trying to make money. It shouldn’t be about that. It should be about pushing forward, trying to make good music. Sometimes it gets lost.
SHZ-So, how long have you been a band?
Jon-We’re only at about 2 and a half, maybe three years.
SHZ-So you’ve got 2 or 3 years before you get shot?
Jon-Well, Ive only just learned how to play so I should get some extra time, right? I think we should be allowed another album, maybe even two. If its still going, we’ll kick it off.
SHZ-How about you hang it up after 4 years, lay low for a while and then come back in 10 years old and fat for a reunion tour?
Jon-There seems to be a lot of that going on, so why not.
SHZ-So, Is that it for your long-term goals, just make excuses so you don’t get put out to pasture and get shot and make another album or two?
Jon-I just basically want a huge mansion, fur coats, loads of gold. Maybe a couple of pit bull terriors. A super-model wife, loads of tattoos.
Claire-I’m just happy doing what we’re doing. I want to make songs that are like good and fun and people like them.
Jon-We want a bigger fucking bus, too.
Claire-Yeah, that would be nice. Maybe some free clothes?
Jon-I could use a second pair of jeans, we’re not asking for much…
Editors note-At this point its pretty fucking noticeable that Jon is REALLY stoned
Claire-Freebies are nice, but I really just want to make really good songs. Guitar, keyboards, everything. Just make monstrous good songs.
SHZ-Do you guys have a message to your songs?
Claire-Paul writes the words, maybe he can tell you.
Editor’s note-Paul was in the front seat of the van in near completely suspended animation where his only movements were the Camel heading for his mouth and away again. I’m not sure if he had heard any of this interview…
SHZ-You awake Paul?
Paul-Huh, hmm, hff… Yeah, let me turn around…
Jon-I think that Paul likes to pose questions in his songs, asking people to question whatever it is that concerns them, rather than offer up easy answers.
Paul-Well put Jon, that really sums it up. And I’d like to say that I don’t like those people over there. (he’s pointing to the church of scientology) I was in there earlier arguing with them.
SHZ-About?
Paul-About why they’re such smug wankers.
Jon-Was that in the record shop? (yeah, he followed with a bunch more of “was that in the:” questions before narrowing it down to the Dianetics shop across the street that Paul was pointing to all along) Oh, that was the place where they asked me about a personality test and I said that I didn’t want to know about my personality? I told you not to go there. I warned you that they would try and steal your kidney. Well, how did it go in there, tell us about it… (thanks again Jon for moderating the interview)
Paul-They said that I had too much self doubt and self critisism.
Claire-They could say that about anyone!
Paul-I said “whats wrong with that?” And they told me that I didn’t understand and I wasn’t reaching my goals. I said, “well what are my goals?” “Maybe I don’t have any goals, and maybe I’m reaching my goals”. Well, they asked “Are you reaching them fast enough?” I said “Shut the fuck up you smug wanker”. They are soo fucking smug. They’re all “I’m going to heaven and your not”.
SHZ-So what motivated you to go in there in the first place?
Paul-Ah, I really just wanted an argument to pass the time…
SHZ-Do they have religious extremists in Jolly ole England?
Paul-Oh yeah, we’ve got the church of scientology…
Jon-But nobody gives a fuck about them. Everyone’s an atheist in our country cuz they know theres nothing left.
Claire-I don’t think that’s really true at all.
Jon-Well, maybe, but you definitely don’t get as many devout christians…
Claire-I had a group of christian girls come by to talk to me the other day. They wanted to come in and talk to me and help save me from going to hell and stuff. Really nice girls, but they came just as I was eating my dinner. I didn’t want to be rude, but it was a really good dinner and I had spent a lot of time making it. I said “I’m sorry I’m eating” It probably sounded really rude and dismissive, but…
Jon-I’ve listened to them plenty of times, they just haven’t provided, they haven’t proven their point.
AAGGHHH!!!! This spurred a lengthy and intense conversation that doesn’t dictate well and really doesn’t matter. Basically, there’s five people in a van and none believe in christianity and we all have lots of catholic hate stories and Jon is fucking stoned and can’t make a point, so we’re gonna fast-forward a bit…
Paul-Everyone’s got their right to choose, but I’ve also got my right to ignore them.
Jon-…I will not be told what to listen to. I will not listen to Justin Timberlake, I will not listen to ska punk, I will not follow this religion. You want to be given a choice. Now maybe that’s the only thing we stand for as a band. We’re not telling you what to do. We’re telling you that you have a choice. Ya know, don’t follow the path that you're given, you need to find out about things for yourself. It’s about learning. You learn enough and then you can make your own decisions.
Claire-Wait! What was the question?
SHZ-Its okay, Jon knew. Anyway, moving right along. Is there your first time in the U.S.?
Paul-This is our first tour. We did a one off gig for a CMJ Festival in New York in October.
Jon-It was a bit shitty
SHZ-How shitty was it?
Paul-By our standards we sucked. We can be harsh on ourselves.
SHZ-What have you thought of the US so far?
Jon-Its been all right. We’ve been along quite well with this band The Washdown. They’ve been sort of keeping us in check and showing us around. Paul-The average American has seemed pretty cool so far. We judge America by Bush and America judges us by Blair. It’s not right, we’re fucking British, but we’re not Blair.
SHZ-Did you guys have any preconceived notions about Americans?
Jon-I thought I was going to get beaten up quite a lot, in every city every day. I thought that people were going to be generally quite obnoxious and mental. So far, about half is true.
Claire-Oh, that’s not true. Most everyone is so pleasant. We’ve met so many people who are really genuinely interested in what we’re doing.
Jon-Well sometimes you get a really shitty crowd like the other night.
SHZ-Do people know who you are?
Claire-No, mostly not. Actually, we get really surprised when they do because we are such a small band.
Jon-Its nice if people do know who we are and come to see us having heard a song before, but we don’t expect it. When it does happen its fucking brilliant, I still can’t fully believe that there are people out there who listen to us, who have our record.
Claire-Its just as nice when they don’t know who we are and then buy a record…
SHZ-In everything I’ve read on you the common comparison musically is Sonic Youth, particularly a Joy Division meets Sonic Youth tag. How do you explain your sound and what do you think of being tagged as such?
Paul-I would describe our sound as Joy Division meets Sonic Youth…
Claire-I always find it really difficult to describe our music. Those comparisons are really nice.
Jon-You take a little bit of this, a little of that and you put your own twist to it.
Claire-We just want to make it quite exciting really. We definitely have fun playing, so we like to think that the people watching us are having a good time as well.
SHZ-For the cliche’ interview question-what influences are you bringing into this project?
Paul-Mainly Sonic Youth. Joy Division...
Jon-There’s quite a lot really, and of course everyone hates everyone elses music. When it comes to what we listen to on the road, we really have to negotiate a little bit and keep each other in check.
SHZ-If each of you had just two CDs you could bring along, what would they be? Paul-Oh, Joy Division and Sonic Youth, of course.
Jon-I think that I would have The 80's Matchbox B-Line Disaster. Oh, I don’t know, how about Prong?
Claire-I would choose The 80's Matchbox B-Line Disaster as well. They are the best British band that is out right now. Have you heard them?
SHZ- No.
Claire-They are just absolutely stunning. They are Cramps-y. Absolutely fresh, short songs.
Jon-They’re the indie-Slipknot.
Claire-They’re brilliant. Electro, techno thrash. Fucking brilliant. I think that people who are into guitar bands could definitely get into this band.
Jon-Dom is into jazz like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, whatever. He also likes classical music and then again he’s really into 80's American Hardcore music. We’ve got a pretty broad spectrum of influences going on here. Basically, we just take a little of this and that and we butcher it, just mangle the shit out of it, stick in a blender, and that’s Ikara Colt.
SHZ-So, what about the riot you guys started at The Reading Festival?
Jon-It wasn’t a riot really.
Claire-We’re not bad people really. We just got a little overexcited, a lot of people came on stage and things got out of hand. The security was just trying to do their jobs. They basically wanted to teach a lesson, so they wouldn’t let us play the next day.
SHZ-Were you actually banned?
Claire-Yeah, that’s what they said. I don’t know if it’s a lifetime ban, but I do know we didn’t get asked back this year.
SHZ-Is it weird for you guys going from playing at home in the UK in front of 1000's of people versus playing small bars over here?
Jon-I don’t think we ever played for thousands.
Paul-In Europe we typically play for 10,000 people a night. (warning:sarcasm)
Jon-Limousines and stadiums...
Paul-I’m really not used to whipping my own ass.
Claire-Seriously, we do have a small fan base, some friends who always come out and support us, but it’s not that different.
SHZ-Since you’ve been over here, have you seen any bands that really made an impression on you?
Claire-Yes, actually, The Washdown are a really impressive band.
Jon-They’re from right here in Tampa. They were supposed to be on the bill for tonight, but they aren’t playing and that’s really disappointing because they are a great band. Their drummer is hurt. It’s a funny story actually. We played a show with Andrew WK last night. It was a lot like Reading Fest, only without the violence. It was funny, while he was playing there were all these kids on stage screaming and acting crazy, but as soon as the show was over-they all just got off the stage and went home. Well, anyway, there were a lot of people stagediving and whatnot. All the guys in The Washdown were doing it, but their drummer hurt his back and he can’t even move right now. They are an excellent band really, they’ve been very helpful to us.
SHZ-What’s your impression of Epitaph Records and how did you hook up with them?
Claire-It was very simple really. Bret, from the label, got a hold of us and said he’d heard it and he liked it.
Jon-Basically, he called said that he wanted it and we said okay. We were just so surprised that he called, surprised that someone liked it.
SHZ-How did he hear of you, did you send him a package, or did he buy it?
Jon-They just found it, I guess. I never asked. We’re really just taking it as it comes. We are on a very tiny label in England, but I guess some people have picked up on it. So, Epitaph picked up on it and they said they wanted it and they said they wanted to give us a deal for America and Europe. We just said fine. If 1 or 2 people want to buy it in America, that’s great. Then all of a sudden we’re doing a 6-week tour in America.
SHZ-Were you guys excited to come to the States?
Jon-I don’t know about excited. Maybe, a little apprehensive. I guess we are also a little excited at the same time.
SHZ-So are you scared to fly, or what?
Jon-No, I’m not scared of anything really. It’s just the time and the shit that is going on over here politically. It’s kind of volatile over here, so I was apprehensive. I’m not happy about the way the politics are going and especially with Tony Blair leading with Bush. There are a whole lot of people in England who are very much against what’s happening with America invading Iraq. Its sort of a temperamental time right now. That’s why I would be a little apprehensive. Otherwise, I’m looking forward to seeing the sights in the States. What better time really, to see the sights, than the potential beginning of the Third World War. It’s gonna be fun.
SHZ-What’s the typical day like for you guys on tour in this strange and foreign country?
Jon-Sleep, wake-up, smoke, drive. Get out of the van, play pool for about 4 hours. Set-up our gear. Drink. Smoke some more. Play the gig. Drink some more. Get in the van. Find a Super 8 motel. Smoke some more. Watch TV. Sleep, wake-up, do it all over.
SHZ-So you’ve been sucked into American culture?
Jon-Yes, and we’ve discovered Waffle House. We’ve been getting into the Waffle House.
Claire-Yes, Waffle House is awful! They give you so much, I’m going to go back home 10 pounds bigger!
SHZ-Have you ran into people who have weird misconceptions about you because your British? Has anyone asked if you know Harry Potter?
Jon-They think that Paul is gay because he kind of has long hair. It’s quite entertaining because as they're thinking that, he’s working on their girlfriends.
Claire-Some people just assume that I’m Paul’s girlfriend.
Jon-They don’t realize at all that she is a total riff-guru. She’s like the next Jimi Hendrix, or Jimmy Page at least.
Dominic-(who just appeared out of nowhere and stuck his end in the window) I’ve noticed that everyone on this tour thinks you're saying Syd Barrett instead on “Sink Venice”.
Paul-I know, I need to change the words.
Dominic-Yeah, we’ve gotta go, the club says we’re on in 3 minutes.
SHZ-Okay, we’ll seal this one up. We end every interview by asking every interviewee to sum life up in 5 words.
Jon-Good, bad, yes, no, maybe.
Paul-I am what I am.
Claire-Look at you guys with your quick, slick answers...I shouldn’t bother, I can’t compete with those two, they are way too slick. How about-One, two, three, let’s go!
SHZ-Super! Have a great show, I’ll catch up afterwards...
After the show ended it was pretty apparent that this was not an Oi! outfit, but aside from the fact that they were nothing like I had read-their live show was not disappointing. Oi! they were not, but a decent blend of bands like the ever popular Sonic Youth, The Vibrators, Jesus And Mary Chain, Smashing Pumpkins, The Hives, Jesus Lizard, Joy Division… Basically take a rock band, mix in a new wave Brit band, throw in some noise, feedback, drugs, fuzz and moppy-hair, shitloads of energy and presence and there you go. Not my cup of tea, but far from shitty. I made way over to meet up with the band at their merch table and began to tell them that they were a pleasant surprise. They seemed surprised that I was surprised. I guess I hadn’t mentioned that I had never listened to them. Sorry! Anyway, it wasn’t a total loss. They had just gotten vinyl copies of their LP and supplied me with one so I would be more prepared next time. It was kinda unusual looking. A black album with 80 blank 1” squares on it. They were all captioned as though they were photos. I asked Claire about it and she just said “I didn’t want it to look like a typical rock album”. Fair enough, but after Jon grabbed a marker and wrote “Kill Frenzy” in giant letters beside a skull and crossbones it did look like a rock album, in fact, it looked almost like an Oi! album!
Ikara Colt’s debut LP is called “Chat And Business”, it’s available in the UK on Fantastic Plastic Records or on Epitaph in the States… Check out their web home for more details:
www.ikaracolt.com
They have a new EP out now called Basic Instructions, check it out...!
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