|
|
||
|
|
||
|
--------------------------- So, how are you ??
Fine
man, thanks! Damn busy but it's good. Thanks for getting in touch, how
are you Matt? I'm
okay , thanks !! First of all, let's talk about the man behind NJW
records: please introduce yourself (name, age , activities, hobbies..) Hey okay, well I'm Ronald from the northern part of the Netherlands, in a province called Friesland ; I'm still 31 but damn I'm celebrating my 32nd birthday in December . I used to do shows every now and then but I started Not Just Words records in 2000. Besides the label I play football and spend time with my girlfriend and two little daughters. In
daily life I'm a teacher. Teaching history to kids from like 12 to 16
years old is my main profession; anything else you want to know? No,
it's ok!! Well, we cannot say you're a rookie in hardcore so!!! I
used to be politically active as well but I really don't have time for
that anymore; I wanna do things that are closely connected to my age so
I'll probably start being active in politics in like 5 to 10 years or so. Well
yeah I've been listening to HC for a long time. I
think since I was about 13 or 14 when I got bands like early DRI, SOD
and Suicidal Tendencies on cassette from my older brother. Also
visited lots of shows, starting from when I was about 16 or 17 years old. Please now introduce NJW records... What motivated you to do a label , and not a band or a fanzine for example? Well
first of all I've never been interested in playing instruments, I don't
know shit about that haha!! My voice is very weak so I had been thinking
of being singer in a band but when I do like 3 sing-alongs during a show
my voice is just totally gone, so being a singer won't be a very smart
thing to do haha!! But
well about NJW ... Basically
it all started during a show in our area; I was closely in touch with
the guys from Spirit 84 back then ,from like '98… They
are from the same area as where I live: Their
singer used to give me tapes with all their demos and other recording
sessions cause I was (and still am) really into Spirit 84, They were on
Good Life recordings by the way so
when I again got the complete sessions from their 'beyond the call of
friendship' mcd/7" on Goodlife there were 9 songs on it, while the
7" only had 6. So
I was going like: "why didn't you have those other 3 songs released,
they are so good!?" and
he said: "well why don't YOU do it?" So
I was going like ... hmmm well, why not? So during that show (can't even
remember what bands played that night) I decided to release a 7"
for Spirit 84, who were quite well known back then. I
actually never intended to do a record label before, it actually just
happened and thought “well, let's give it a try and see how it works
out”. It's
not only starting a record label, but I'm the type of guy that wants and
has to try something new every now and then so when I got the
opportunity to start the label with a good and well known band and
knowing for sure those records would sell I just gave it a try ...
That's basically the story behind NJW Matt. Ok, it's not the worst start to make for sure!!! Well, and what has NJW records release so far?? Well
it all started with the Spirit 84 - When the first leaves fall 7"
(all sold out - first press of 500, second press of 250), After that
came Mutiny from Colorado/USA, quite an unknown band but I think the
7" is really awesome (also sold out, one time pressing of 750
copies); they are still around by the way. Then
came the Degradation 7" (one time pressing of 500, all sold out)
who at that time had released an amazing 7" in the late '90s but
after that were silent for a pretty long time; in support of their full
length LP we released the 7" to more or less re-introduce them. That
7" sold out so damn fast by the way. The
fourth release was the Dead Scenestars 7", the absolute horror EP
that was released in 2003; first pressing of 525 copies sold out very
fast and we had a 2nd pressing of another 525 copies and I think we now
have like 60 left of those; NJW-005
is the No Turning Back / The Deal split 7" but it was actually
released even before the DSS 7" because we had Mike Bukowski doing
the artwork for DSS and he needed some time to make something really
cool, so in the meanwhile we had the split 7" released. That
one had 1030 copies pressed, we only have about 7 left in our own distro
to sell so we declared that one as sold out like 2 weeks ago as well. This
year has been quite a busy year; we were in contact with the guys from
My Luck (also on Youngblood records, Martyr records and Thorp records -
full length album coming up on Thorp as well by the way) and we did a
7" for them a couple of months ago called 'Endurance'. Just like
with the DSS 7" it took a long time before the artwork was designed
(by Florian Bertmer from Germany) so
in the meantime we released NJW-007: the Nothing Done - Idiot stomp
7" featuring ex-members of Reaching Forward and Know Your Enemy.
Just like the My Luck 7" there are 1030 copies pressed; the Nothing
Done 7" is out only for about 3 months but we have only about 150
left while we speak so that one is also going really fast Our
latest effort is the Internal Affairs - This is for you ... LP and has
both the sold out 7" and the 5 songs from the split 7"; first
pressing of 525 sold out within 3 weeks but we'll be getting another
about 530 next week That's
it, but new plans are on the way Ok!
NJW
has mainly put european records out, which i think is great; what do you
think the kids should know about european hxc history? Well
right now things are going really great, lots of great bands especially
in Belgium and the Netherlands, the UK scene is really booming last
couple of years, Germany always has its good bands so right now it seems
that the sky is the limit. I think what's important to know is that it
hasn't always been this way. Of
course there have been some crucial bands in the past, I mean everyone
should know bands like Lärm and Manliftingbanner and old European punk
bands and so on, but in the past, as I see it and how we had to deal
with it when I started visiting shows during the '80s, it wasn't
anything like it is right now. Not
so many bands, not so many fanzines, definitely not that much cash kids
had for them to spend, no CD's (only cassette and vinyl haha!!) and of
course no internet, not to speak about the lack of good shows. So
kids that are involved in the HC scene right now are, compared to the
late '80s and early '90s, kinda spoiled I think. It's not meant as a
negative thing cause most of what's going on right now is great of
course, but I gotta see who will still be around as soon as there are
hardly any good bands left . When there aren't that many shows anymore,
there's a chance that a lot of kids turn their back and say like 'bwwahhhh
it isn't fun anymore' you know ... When you're used to going to shows a
lot, spend shitloads of cash on shirts and records and then there comes
a time when a lot of things disappear; Don't know what will happen but I
gotta see who will be around so I think that would be important to know,
that it really hasn't
always been this way... Besides all the crucial bands kids have to check
out of course haha! But now, it seems that the euro scene has reached a status of its own, and has stopped trying to be copycats of US bands. The bands are better and show more maturity than in 98' (thinking about the almighty Dead Stop, Justice, Damage Control... who have conquered the states).. How do you feel about it?? Man
that's such a great thing .. Not so long ago you could read US kids
talking shit on European bands and kids, but I hardly read such things
anymore. It's great to see those bands being accepted and respected in
the US, not only for those bands of course, but also for other European
bands cause I think the ice is breaking: More and more US kids are
prepared to give European bands a chance so
in that way especially Dead Stop and Justice have done great things for
the European hardcore scene as a whole. By the way, I gotta say that
looking at several bands qualities I think they're often better than a
lot of US bands, a few years ago there were bands like Eyeball and
Sportswear and so on, just awesome bands who blew away most US bands
during those years, not only in songwriting but also
in the quality of the recordings, so in all: for the European scene I
consider the last 2 years or so the best we ever had and we have to
enjoy it while we can. I definitely agree with you on that point !! However, we've been used to seeing many Dutch bands leaded by the same guys for almost 10 years in Holland.. Now there seems to be a fresh air blowing in your scene, with young and new bands, new labels,... Can you tell us more?? What is worth checking out? Well
yeah quite some new bands around that delivered great demos lately like
A Step Apart, Abusive Action, Remain, Restless Youth, Nothing Done,
Icepick and the band that was formerly known as Blood Red (they will be
having a new name but nothing's sure yet); of course there's still No
Turning Back (they seem to be touring Europe all the time), Downslide
and No Denial and I'm sure I forget a few. There
aren't that many new labels I guess, not that I know of. There's Decline
that's not that old, releasing mostly cool demos just like Discontent
does and Commitment records is also still around but he's not new. So how do you explain that hxc brings so many people in Holland/Belgium and Germany?... You know we southern european kids often look at these scenes as some sort of "hxc heaven", and all the US bands want to tour there... haha
yes that's true ... Well it's something I wondered myself lots of times
as well. Why the Benelux and Germany? Hmmm I don't really have a decent
answer but I think those areas have more of a history of punk and
hardcore bands so there's been 'something' in the past on a regular
basis; For US bands it's most interesting to tour cause that's where
most kids show up without having to drive for
days and days right through France and Spain and so on haha!! But I
always keep in mind that the UK scene has been wacked
for a long time as well, also in Portugal the HC scene started to
erupt only like 2 years ago or so; In other words - I think it can
suddenly happen but of
course it's a very positive aspect to have a lot of people in a more or
less smaller area like the Benelux and Germany.. That's
for sure, it's way harder to get a scene started in like Spain or France
or Italy or so .... Don't know man, guess it has nothing to do with the
people's mentality, right? You gotta know that Matt, what's going on,
are you people just playing with your dicks in the Mediterranean sea all
the time? Ahaha!!! Well no, i think that maybe our countries are way too big, so the scene is more widespread and communication is not so easy... the thing is that people here often think hxc is metal, because our first big bands played that genre.... well, it's up to us now to make a change and build a real history!!!! we need Dutch bands coming down here!!!! Haha
yeah that would be a cool thing to do, unfortunately it's also really
expensive to tour that long distances and of course it's almost inhuman
to drive all the way from the Netherlands to Bordeaux and then Spain,
Portugal and so on.... Yeah like you say it's really widespread which
makes it very hard. What about the bigger US bands like SOIA, Terror and
so on, don't they come over? Yes,
it's starting changing for the better with more bands touring here,
maybe realizing there's some potential.. Also more people involved and
motivated.. In the end, i think it's simply a lack of knowledge too,
people don't even know about SSD, Minor Threat or Youth Of Today.... we
need hxc teachers!!!! I
am both a teacher and I love hardcore, I'm your man haha! No serious: I
think it's the other way around, first got to get interested and
involved, after that they'll check out those essential bands I guess
.... We'll
see what happens..... Back to the teacher thing: we know you're a
history teacher, do you think society needs more hxc kids getting
involved into education, politics , social issues...etc, to help the
world change and see some light?? Like
promoting values such as straight edge, vegetarianism, veganism ,... I
strongly support kids being involved in more than stage-diving and
finger-pointing. I mean, it's all good fun but there comes a time you
quit going to shows and buying records and then it's all over. I think
it would be a great thing if people would translate some hardcore values
in their daily lives which can be important for the rest of your life
without being into the 'scene' . That's
what the name of my record label means: hardcore is Not Just Words. For
me it's more than just music and cool records. If I hadn't been in the
hardcore scene I probably never would have become politically and
socially aware; Thanks to that I now have a wonderful girlfriend and two
great daughters ... so in all: hardcore gave me all I have right now. However,
changing the world is a damn hard thing to do haha!!!! But of course it
all starts in your own mind and community; For me, on a personal level,
I think being politically aware and trying to be of any help by trying
to change your city or country on a political level means more to me
than "only" being straight edge or vegetarian or something
like that. I
mean, I see society as a whole; we all live together and within that
community you can have some personal principles like vegetarianism which
I think it's a great thing but it stays on a more personal level; being
personally aware and making a personal choice . But
if you really want to change then I'm afraid being straight edge won't
help the crippled or the clochards or the third world poor... However,
when kids ask me about it, I always say one should get the most positive
aspects out of hardcore; things you feel comfortable with and things you
want to do something with on a personal level. For me it was
vegetarianism, getting politically and socially aware and getting way
more open minded than I used to be when I was like 16 or so. Yes,
i agree with you.. You can always combine both sides of hardcore and
apply it to your "real " life... This is when you're making a
change... Stage-diving and having fun at shows, but also learning about
positive values and ideas, sharing things in a community, and getting
more involved in politics and social issues to stay connected to the
realities of the world... Yes
you're right man ... So, as a Dutch who's been involved for years within the straight edge hxc scene, what do you think about the legalization of drugs and prostitution in Holland??? Do you think it helps avoiding problems and abuse by controlling it, or should it be prohibited? (Sidenote
: not really specific to the sXe scene, NJW is not a sXe label and I'm
not edge myself although I do release a lot of edge bands and shows ,and
a lot of people I hang out with at shows are edge) . Well
I support the way those issues are handled in Holland for the most part.
It's a start but the problem is people are allowed to buy like 5 grams
of hash in a coffee-shop but the owners aren't allowed to buy it sell to
customers. So for people in the shops buying it, it's legal, but like we
call it in Holland there's the "backdoor-problem", meaning
that an owner can't supply its own shop. So
that's a problem. I think drugs should be legalized even more, I mean I
think it's a good thing cause in the first place people simply get it if
they want to. Moreover, if you count in percentage of the countries
inhabitants, then there are more drug-addicts in France than there are
in Holland. Besides that, when the stuff is legal the government can
keep an eye on the quality, more than they
can do now. Another aspect of legalizing it is that it will be a
"normal" business then so people can pay taxes on it. Last but
not least: drinking alcohol is way more destructive than smoking a
joint. Let me be clear haha!!! : I don't smoke and I really hate the
smell of marijuana but all in all I think legalizing it is a good thing.
I'm not really sure about the hard synthetic drugs though ... Ok,
it's an interesting point of view for sure... I think it's a progressive
way, and that our government should try to do it as well, instead of
using some hitlerian repression... back to NJW: Do you have some
specific goals with the label, like living off it, or getting bigger??? haha
good one, I've been thinking about this a lot of times lately. Well it
all started out having a good time and I think I want it to stay that
way. I don't want it to become a label releasing political bands cause
the most important thing will ALWAYS stay the music. If that's cool,
then I'm interested. Of course I don't wanna release racist or sexist or
whatever stuff or such things but fast
and aggressive music will always be the main ingredient. I definitely
don't wanna become like Revelation or such labels, you know ,starting
with great bands but later on releasing
slow rocky emo blah blah stuff man, I really don't. I also think I don't
want to live off it cause you see, we bought a house a few years ago and
I have two kids so I gotta be sure to have enough money in my pocket every
month. Having a label is not really something that provides me enough
money to pay bills all the time; I mean all those new bands are great
but it's also more and more a short time of living. Today a band is
everything, tomorrow they're dead. It's just not stable enough. Moreover,
we wanna do vinyl almost all the time and since that's so expensive we
simple don't really make money. Cool statement... Keep the vinyl thing going on man! Is there any record you wish/dreamt you put on NJW ?? (be it AC/DC or Judge) tough
question man haha!!! ... Never thought about that, I was thinking about
my all-time favourite LP which is YOT - Break down the walls but that
record is still available haha!!!. If we can get the original
WishingWell mix and someone connected to the band or label would ask to
do an official re-release with original artwork and so on on NJW, then I
would definitely be down! Otherwise
it would be a classic like the Antidote 7" or State of Alert
7" or something like that haha! What records can we expect from NJW in the future? Next
up is the A Step Apart 7" late December/early January 2005, right
after that we'll have the final Downslide 7" released, and I think
about the same time the Rearrange 7". This is a real special one,
it's not a real band although it has ex- and current members of Reaching
Forward, Abusive Action, Strip the Threads and Downslide, but we'll be
doing only around 500 copies. Later
in 2005, I guess somewhere around March or so, the Icepick MCD and
hopefully soon followed by the 7" ,and there are plans to do a
7" for our friends in Remain somewhere around that time. That's
what's officially planned so far. Unless
we're hiding under a rock, we should hear about you in 2005!!! ahah!!! Well, the typical youth crew questions now: current top 5 play-list ? I have a shitload of recent and less recent records that REALLY finally need a listen but I just can't find time to keep up with all the new stuff coming out. But what's been in my disc-player every day litterally without exception is the cd-master for the upcoming A Step Apart 7". Besides that: Black Friday '29 LP, No Turning Back - damage done LP, Direct Control 7" and Blood Red demo. All time top 5 play-list: Hey
I've been reading this question in zines for 1000+ times man, but I
never really thought about it myself haha! So this is the hardest
question of all man ... well I'd like to answer it without falling back
to the 'usual' classics like Bad Brains, Judge and Turning Point and so
many others from the '80, which of course, are really amazing records
but you read about those all the time. So let's say, if I was to be
transported to a deserted island and I got the chance to take the best
records from my collection, then it would be those: Best show ever: Hmmm I really don't know. I've been to so many shows and there were so many bands playing very tight and enthusiastic. So thinking of 'best' shows in my case is always thinking of shows that I have good memories about, not just the quality of the bands but the whole atmosphere, my own state of mind at that time and so one. This mentioned, I'd like to mention both Gorilla Biscuits shows in '89 and '91 in Sneek/Holland (in '89 was even with Excel, a really amazing band), I remember an awesome Bolt Thrower show in Groningen/Holland in like '99 or so, blowing me totally away. Also some older Ieper fests (in the original venue that is) with bands like Abhinanda and Mainstrike and so on. Also a newer Ieper fest, with Ensign and Mainstrike (I think it was in 2000 or 2001 or so?) was really great. SOIA and Strife in the early '90 was a great memory as well, and so was the first Four Walls Falling tour. Hmm don't know man, it's especially the older shows that I as a little kid was always so psyched about and looking forward to it for weeks and weeks, and also even being nervous for those shows man haha!! Too bad I hadn't had that feeling for a long, long time anymore. Only The First Step last year in Eindhoven and the Light The Fuse fest in Hengelo come to mind. Final comments: First
of all I'd like to mention that Not Just Words records would be NOTHING
without the enormous help from Franke/Crucial Attack distro. Teaming up
with that guy (also financially) was the best thing to happen for NJW
records besides the great bands we carry. Without his distro activities
I wouldn't be anywhere for sure!
|
||
web design: benji |
||
