OUT OF THE DARKNESS # 1 & # 2 RECENZIJE

OUT OF THE DARKNESS # 1, A5, 60 str.

Krajem 2016.-e, u Novom Sadu u Srbiji je izašao prvi broj novog fanzina pod imenom Out Of The Darkness. Istoimeni website a i facebook site postoje već neko vrijeme prije fanzina a oko istog je okupljeno nekoliko ljudi i suradnika. Nekoliko ih je iz Novog Sada, mada nisu svi od tamo. Moglo bi se reći da su glavni urednici ipak Zgro i Nemanja, barem sam ja to tako shvatio. Obojica imaju puno iskustva vezano za fanzinaški rad a i ostatak ekipe okupljene oko OOTD su također uglavnom ljudi koji imaju iskustva sa radom na fanzinima ili pisanjem za iste. Nemanja je poznatiji po radu na Last Breath fanzinu koji je mnogima koji prate fanzine poznat taj fanzin a djelovalo je od 2005.-e do tamo neke 2009.-e, 2010.-e. Spominjem Last Breath jer mi se ovo čini u dosta sličnom stilu, barem zadnjih Last Breath brojeva gdje se sve više sadržaj bazirao samo na muzici i skoro na ničemu drugome. 

No, prije nego krenem sa kritikama, još par tehničkih podataka da kažem i što sve sadrži ovaj broj. Zine je štampan, mada meni dizajnerski nije ništa posebno i pisan je na srpskom. Od sadržaja, tu su intervjui sa: Become As One, Attitude Adjustment, Concrete Worms, Warsong, Dag Nasty i Keith Morris. Ima jedan tekst o tome koliko je utjecajno Srpski San izdanje od Hoću? Neću! ex-YU na hc/punk ekipu i taj tekst je dosta dobro napisan. Ostatak fanzina se svodi na izvještaje sa koncerata i festivala, (što iz vana, što domaćih) te od muzičkih recenzija.

Da su ovo radili neki klinci, rekao bih da i nije tako loše za prvi broj fanzina, no pošto su to radili ljudi koji su godinama radili fanzine i to poprilično kvalitetne (doduše isto samo muzičke) fanzine, onda moram reći da ovaj broj i nije nešto posebno. Neću sad krenuti sa onom klasičnom spikom da fali kolumni, ali bome fali neke dubine u svemu tome, dosta stvari u zinu se čini odrađeno samo da se odradi. Od intervjua, samo su dva domaća banda intervjuirana, sa Become As One i Concrete Worms a ta dva su mi i najbolji intervjui u zinu jer se čine nešto smisleniji i sadržaniji od većine ostalih koji se uglavnom vrte u krug sa sličnim pitanjima o tome tko je kad došao ili izašao iz banda, te spika o prelaženju s jednog labela na drugi. Nema goreg od toga kad se na dvije strane vrte ista pitanja o tome što si mogao pitati u jednom ili dva pitanja (npr. Attitude Adjustment vju koji je katastrofalan). Takve “greške” se ne bi trebale događati iskusnim fanzinašima, ali zato sam i rekao već prije da mi dobar dio fanzina izgleda odrađeno samo da se odradi. Kod festivalskih i koncertnih izvještaja ima svega, od solidno napisanih do onih koji su ništa posebno. Tu sad ne bih o ukusima, ali ima tu svega i svačega, možda je i previse naglasak na samim festivalima i na gigovima iz vana a ne domaćih. Osobno me više zanimaju domaći izvještaji DIY hc/punk koncerata nego npr. neki koncert nekog reunion banda u Londonu. Jer, htjeli to neki priznati ili ne, onaj istinski i ogoljeni hardcore punk duh se i dalje najviše može osjetiti na DIY gigovima ne toliko poznatih bandova po rupama i malim plejsovima a ne na nekakvim megalomanskim festivalima. 

Tako da sve skupa dosta ispod prosječno, s obzirom kakva je ekipa okupljena oko ovog fanzina. Moje preporuke su da se malo bolje potrude oko intervjua i da ih učine zanimljivijima i da se ne davi na dvije strane o povijesti postave banda. Više izvještaja sa gigova manje poznatih hc/punk bandova i više da se posveti sadržaj domaćim hc/punk bandovima, ali ne nekim nebulozama koji nemaju veze sa DIY hc/punk duhom već sa bandovima koji zbilja žive taj hc/punk i tu ideju. Jebiga, nekad treba malo dublje istražiti hc/punk i doći do novih i uzbudljivih bandova. To bi barem trebali znali ljudi koji su u tome već dosta dugo. 

I na kraju još jedna bitna kritika. U fanzinu nisam naišao nigdje na email adresu od fanzina, znači postoji samo facebook link od fanzina pa pitam, gdje da šalju kritiku oni koji nemaju facebook i da li uopće urednici OOTD žele vidjeti neke konstruktivne kritike ili su dobrodošle samo pohvale na fejsu. 

 Ex-YU DIY hc/punk fanzini satjerali OOTD u kut, kakav će biti ishod?  

 

                                           OUT OF THE DARKNESS # 2, A5, 60 str.

Nakon nekih pola godine pojavio se drugi broj. U uvodu istog kaže ovako: “Prođe pola godine od prvog Out Of Darknessa, koji je naišao na odlične reakcije, što nas je naravno podstaklo da nastavimo dalje. A kako i neće obzirom da konkurencija ne postoji… Voleo bi da se pojave fanznini koji će nas ubediti da ovo što radimo nema smisla…” E buraz, IOSC postoji već 15 godina i još uvijek mi je posao da u istom govorim da ovakvi fanzine poput OOTD nemaju smisla. Šalu na stranu, krećem odmah sa kritikama. Izgledom i sadržajem se fanzin nije puno promijenio od prvog broja, osim što su ubacili par kolumni te sad ima pokoji tour report i putopis, no idemo redom. Od sadržaja u ovom broju tu su intervjui sa: Dulles-om (lik koji (je) svira/o u Mitesers i još nekim NS bandovima), Fury, Red Dons, KBO!, Sick Crap i Antunom (kao predstavnik i jedan od glavnih organizatora SAWA festa u Županji), Against The Odds tour report, putopis od Šolje kako su njih nekolicina išli na Shield reunion u Umeu (onu pravu J) u Švedskoj, kolumne, gig/fest raporti, recenzije muzike i recenzije svega par knjiga/fanzina.

Recimo da je ovaj broj nešto bolji od prvog broja ali neke stvari i dalje štekaju. Ovaj put su intervjui malo bolji, ima ih par solidnih mada mislim da je najbolji onaj sa Antunom (SAWA fest), dobra pitanja i dobri opširni odgovori a definitivno najgori intervju je sa Sick Crap, pitanja su užasno šablonska pa je takav i cijeli intervju, na stranu što mislim da i inače ta ekipa nema baš što puno za reći. Od kolumni, Vojkanova o fanzinima je OK, Kobčeva kolumna je odlična, dosta zanimljiv tekst, no pročitajte pa sami vidite o čemu se radi dok je kolumna od Tejke nešto najgore ikad što sam pročitao u fanzinu. Ona daje savjete kako biti uključen u hc/punk scenu, ajme bogovi hardcore-a pogodite me tri akordnom thrash munjom! Dotična je postala u zadnje vrijeme prava internet DIY celebrity mada ne znam na temelju čega ali to su ta moderna vremena gdje je bitnije kako se prezentiraš online i stvoriš neku mitsku sliku o sebi dok je stvarnost puno drugačija. Novi nadimak nek joj bude Fejka jer ovo što ona priča je poprilično fejk. Gigovi i to su solidno napisani i OK je čak pročitati nešto više o tome kako je netko doživio put do nekog giga u nekoj drugoj zemlji, ali i dalje mislim da se previše gleda na to da gig raporti budu sa koncerata trenutnih cool i hype bandova no jebiga, to je izgleda ukus ekipe okupljene oko OOTD (ne svih, nego tih koji su pisali gigove, jel).

I to bi bilo to. Ali nije! I dalje stoji zamjerka za to što nema email adrese a još jedna bitna stvar mi je zapala za oko. Intervjui sa ljudima iz hrvatske su prevedeni na srpski i koliko god se trudio pronaći neku logiku u tome, ja ju ne nalazim i nije mi jasno čemu to!?! Da postoji email od fanzina, poslao bi im mail sa istim ovim pitanjem, ali eto, no email, no critic. Iako sam rekao da je ovaj broj nešto bolji od prvog i dalje nisam uvjeren da ovaj fanzin ima neku konstruktivnu ulogu, pogotovo za druge fanzine na ovim prostorima. Više ima destruktivnu jer dokona ekipa sa fejsa koja se trudi nabaviti OOTD se i dalje neće truditi nabaviti druge ex-YU hc/punk fanzine jer im nisu ponuđeni na facebook tacni i opet se vrtimo u krug. Također, nije poanta da se samo odradi fanzin da bi se odradio i da je poanta da se kače na fejs fotke kako je fanzin prešao ocean ili je stigao do moje WC školjke u Sigetu. Teška nebuloza. Tako da ekipa, uozbiljite se malo ili batalite cijelu stvar, ne znam kaj da vam drugo velim.

Ja sam Gajo Snejk Bizaro Monah a ovo su bile recenzije prva dva broja Out Of The Darkness fanzina, tenks!

WE DON’T BUY IT!

Photo of a dedicated hardcore punk band

First I’m gonna write few words about myself regarding DIY hardcore punk and what it means to me so you can get some picture about what I stand for and what is my attitude concerning DIY hc/punk. I’m in the late 30’s and I’ve been active for quite a while in Do It Yourself hardcore punk network, since the 90’s. First, I was more just an observer and supporter of the hc/punk scene, I bought the records and zines, went to some shows, played in some bands that no one had ever heard of because most of my early bands never played any shows. Later in late 90’s and early 2000’s I started to be more involved with the whole process of creating the hardcore punk network, I started to do a zine, always played in few bands at once, started small distro, released some tapes, started to write and correspond with hc/punx from all over the world and so on. I don’t mean to brag but I even played in some bands out of Croatia because I always wanted to share my passion about hc/punk with my friends from all over the place, not just sticking to one city or country. Hey, even now (and for the past six years) I play in a band that is consisted of people from Serbia and Croatia. What I wanted to say is that from the start I’ve become more involved with creating local and international DIY hc/punk network, I’ve pretty much dedicated most of my time, passion and energy into hc/punk. So, once when you’re in it for the life you start to look on the rest of the world with different eyes and you are of course strongly connected to DIY hc/punk philosophy, way of living or call it whatever you want. That said, I take all these stuff very seriously and I will always defend my ground and my dedication to stay DIY, underground and noncommercial hardcore punk! That said I can smell the bullshit in hc/punk when I see it. And let me tell you this, there’s so much bullshit these days in DIY hc/punk, maybe more than ever before. 

That rock band with bad tattoos

These days it’s not even problem with major labels, bigger bands or some other outside enemies, the line is drawn pretty clearly these days who’s part of DIY and who’s not. But, the problem as I see it are some people who are also part of DIY hc/punk network, some of them book shows, some put out records, some are in the “cool” bands and what connect them all is probably the fact that they are all full of shit. Let me explain this. I’ve been playing in hc/punk bands for twenty fucking years. Bands where I’ve played are countless and they were are all and still are pretty much DIY. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t need anyone to think of me as some old and important scenester, I never cared about that bullshit. But, it also doesn’t give anyone right to treat me like an inferior being just because me and my bands are from Croatia and Serbia and not from some western European country or USA. In last few years, booking the tours started to be a big pain in the ass. And I still talk about DIY tours without some big guarantees and you know, if you decide to do a show for us in your fucking living room, we will come and play. I know that there are a lot of bands touring these days, sometimes few bands from different parts of the world are touring at the same time and want to play the same places etc. I know all of these problems, I did my part of touring and I’m also getting emails from lots of bands from everywhere asking me to help them with shows in Croatia or other ex-Yugoslavian countries. But still, even if you don’t want to do a show for some band (and no one is forcing you to do it), why it’s so hard to say that you can’t do it!?! Why some people are making promises that they will do a show and then few days before the tour (or during the tour) they tell you some lame excuse why there will be no show!?! That is just fucking irresponsible and it is costing bands on tour a lot, not just money wise but it is quite demoralizing when something like that happens just before or during the tour. If you can’t find a one single place for a DIY show in a big European city then don’t fucking do it at all! This scenario didn’t happen to us once or twice. Sadly it became a common thing on every tour that I toured with my bands in last few years. There are even worse assholes that the example I just wrote about. There are active people in DIY hc/punk with some “scene” reputation that just don’t want to help you with a show even though you know they have all the abilities to do it, you know that they are doing shows in some place on a regular basis but somehow when we ask for a show there is always some (false) reason why these important scenesters can’t do a show. I can’t help but feel that if we were some more known hype hc/punk (but still you know so DIY) and if we were from some popular country (you know, those countries where DIY punx are growing on the trees) it would be a totally different and a positive answer. There is something fucking wrong with this picture and we don’t fucking buy your bullshit anymore! 

These guys, so dedicated to the cause... of waiting...

Some people from The Truth and Rules did bunch of shows in Serbia and Croatia and helped lots of touring bands with shows and places to stay and I don’t think they ever cared from where these bands are coming from or how trendy they are at the moment in a “mega positive but you know so  radical DIY hc/punk scene” (I’m not mocking here those who are really in it for life but those who think they know all the answers and who established themselves as some big scene personalities). But, you know, if you really don’t want us to play your shitty town (for whatever lame reason), it’s OK, there are so many other places, towns, villages, communes and people who are not utter assholes and who will welcome us as normal human beings as we are. And as I’ve said before, we’re not picky either, we’ll play anywhere, your backyard, roof or whatever (and don’t get me start with bands who don’t play in squats anymore) and we will continue to tour and play to destroy any place we come to. Also, this is not some whining but a warning to those who tried to sell us their bullshit lies and to those who thought that we weren’t cool enough to play in their towns, don’t cry when we call you out on your bullshit because we know who you are and we can see through your fucking lies. And it’s not about pretending to have some ideals and wearing them as an etiquette, it’s about having real ideals and sticking to those ideals and not blindly following every new scene trend that pops out every month. And if you are pretending that this problem doesn’t exist and that everything is nice and peachy in the hc/punk these days, kick yourself in the ass and reevaluate your attitude once more. 

We don’t fucking buy it! 

I am The Snake 

A pretty bad photo of Left To Starve, The Truth and 2/3 of Eaglehaslanded dudes near the Kombinat club in Zemun, New Belgrade, Serbia. (Rites of) Spring 2017.

CROWD PLEASER # 1 REVIEW

CROWD PLEASER # 1, A4, 24 pages, English

Crowd Pleaser is a new zine and the guy who’s guilty for its creation is my good friend Felix who currently lives in New Belgrade, Serbia. I remember Felix talking about doing this zine for ages, so I was pretty eager to see the zine and I was very glad when the zine was finally done.

Knowing Felix and his history of doing zines in the past (first as one of the authors of Jedan Po Jedan zine in late 90’s/early 2000’s and later as one of the main editors of Last Breath zine) I expected this to be as it is - a pretty strong hc/punk zine with a good mix of personal, political and hc/punk music content. The design is pretty simple and cleat cut and I would’t want it to be any different. It’s written in English and I think that this was a good choice because this way the zine can be spread to people all over the globe or at least all over the Europe on tours with The Truth (where Felix is a vocalist, by the way). Also, if it wasn’t written in English, I don’t think that this zine would get much appreciation in ex-YU countries because people who support zines here are very few. 
 

Anyway, the first issue of Crowd Pleaser contains: interviews with Class (hc/punk band from Milano, Italy) & Ugly Fucks (hc/punk band where I used to play but the band broke up last summer), bunch of columns by Felix from personal to political but always critical, Switzerland hc/punk scene report and you also get a section called Balkan Photo Rage that was nicely done by Pavle (drummer of Rules and Left To Starve). Reading this you could think that it’s not much material but believe me, there is no empty void in this zine, everything written in there is written very thoughtful and with heart. And you get enough material to read. I certainly enjoyed reading Felix’s thoughts and he really know well how to write and say what’s on his mind. The Class interview is pretty good, excellent questions and good answers, there is lot to read. As for Ugly Fucks interview, I will just say that reading this interview and some other stuff in zine, I realized that Felix was number one Ugly Fucks fan and some stuff that he wrote in there about UF touched me in the most deepest way. Thanks again for all the support, my friend!  
 

So, if you want to read a cool and new hc/punk zine with a DIY/fast thrash hcardcore punk/personal mixed with political attitude, I highly recommend Crowd Pleaser and I hope that this zine will not stop any time soon. Felix also run a DIY hc/punk label called Mad Schnauzer Records and you can also contact him regarding the record label. 

You can get Crowd Plaser here: madschnauzer@yahoo.com or if you are too shy to contact Felix himself, you can also get the zine at my headquarters: gajoimasa@yahoo.com

I am The Snake and this was Crowd Pleaser Numero Uno!