FEB 2011

THE MIX TAPE ISSUE:

AGAINST ME!COBRA SKULLSLUCEROSMOKE OR FIRE

DENNIS LYXZENPOLAR BEAR CLUBYO GABBA GABBA!BEDOUIN SOUNDCLASHJA

CKKN

IFE ZI

NE

Jackknife Zine is a by product of ‘Bullying The Jukebox,’

a punk rock radio program that airs at midnight on

Sunday nights on Triple R in Melbourne, Australia.

If you would like to contribute to the zine or be

interviewed email new_noise04@yahoo.com.au

Brendan Hitchens

Prior to the Soundwave Festival, the band are taking time off to write the third record. How’s it going so far and has the writing approach differed at all compared to the previous two records?It's going great. The process isn't majorly different; we are just getting better and smoother at it as time goes on. We have never been this excited about a record before.

Chasing Hamburg was an album that paid homage to influential bands like Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike and The Get Up Kids. Three albums in, would you say Polar Bear Club have now created their own identity?I think so. That's not really for me decide though. Those bands are all huge influences but we are finding our voice more and more as we go.

I had to laugh at the Soundwave bio of the band that said, “sure to please fans of many different music genres – punk, hardcore, emo.” You guys obviously listen to more music than that, and I’m particularly interested in one of your main influences, Third Eye Blind. Has Semi Charmed Life and the like, really inspired the PBC sound?Yes, honestly. The first 3EB record is one that we all agree on. I don't care what anyone thinks about it, I love that record. I don't think it's a major influence for us but we all love it.

Taking your new songs to Australia for the first time, how much does crowd involvement/reaction play in deciding if a song makes the cut for an album?I'm not sure if we will play any new songs at Soundwave. We will have a short set to begin with and it's only our second time in Australia so we might just keep it to the oldies. But we have a way more extensive pre production process than we've ever had before, so that will help a lot in narrowing down on the album.

I assume Bridge Nine will be putting out the new album...?You better believe it.

The rise of Polar Bear Club has been rapid. From a band that was talked about in small circles on Internet message boards to playing Warped Tour and signing to Bridge Nine. Was there a definitive time or moment early on in the bands career when you all said, ‘we want to do this full time and take it as far as we can?’From the second we started touring we knew wanted to take it has far as it could go. There wasn't an exact moment but I'll never forget our first time on the West Coast playing San Francisco to like 200 kids freaking out. That was such an amazing feeling.

Living Saints has a brilliant film clip. Can you tell us how you managed to combine the lyrics and images so well?The video idea came from Tom Collela, the director. He did an awesome job with it and I think it largely had to do with both PBC and him just having high standards. We didn't want either of our names on a piece of junk so we tried to remind ourselves of that throughout the whole process.

On Living Saints; the song features on Rock Band 3 on X Box. How did this come about, and who in the band has the high score?Hahahah, I've never played! It came about through management as these things do sometimes. I still haven't seen it; I'm a little a afraid to do it. What if I suck?

You last toured Australia in January of last year. This time you’re coming out as part of a festival that includes Iron Maiden and Slayer. What are you most looking forward to doing when in the country?We love Australia a lot. I'm really looking forward to seeing the friends we made last time we were here. The guys in Break Even and the Gift Horse. All in all, I'm excited to get out of New York and knee high snow.

In the space of just a few years Polar Bear Club have gone from Punknews.org message board fodder to touring heavyweights. I caught up with the bands vocalist Jimmy Stadt.

www.myspace.com/polarbearclub

POLAR BEAR CLUB

SM

OK

E O

R FIRE

“Theyʼre coming for the band, pitchforks and torches raised. They used to love you, now they want to burn you at the stake. People are strange that way, with what they choose to embrace. Want you all to themselves, then shun you if you grow or change.”

Smoke Or Fire - Hope & Anchor

The Speakeasy features the new line up of Justin Burdick (bass, AVAIL) and Ryan Parrish (drums, Darkest Hour). What kind of experience did these guys bring to the recording process?They've both been doing this for a long time and take the recording process very seriously. We had a blast in the studio, but only after we got everything done for the day. Gwomper was really fun to watch record on the bass. He's very animated and really gets into the song while he's tracking. Ryan had amazing input during the song writing process and was spot on in the studio. It was a really great time writing and recording this album together.

I read that you first met the band’s original guitarist, Chris Brand because he had an Avail Riot at Monroe patch on his backpack. It must be a little strange now then, having a member of Avail in Smoke Or Fire?That is a true story. I met Chris the first day of class in art school in Boston. I wanted to play music and be in a band. He walked into class in front of me and had that AVAIL patch on his backpack. I tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if he played guitar. He said yeah. I told him I played bass and that we should start a band. He thought I was crazy. A couple months later he asked me if I wanted to try out for Jericho, which later became Smoke Or Fire. It is strange that we later got to tour and become such good friends with the AVAIL guys. It was amazing to me that they took such an interest in our music and were willing to take us out.

After touring This Sinking Ship extensively the band broke up for over a year. Will you approach the band any differently now with the new album, particularly in regards to touring?We're just going to make sure we are taking tours that are right for us, and not a strain on anyone. We're not going to tour just for the sake of touring. It has to be fun and with the right bands or it's not going to work. We have to make sure we don't get burnt out, or screwed over again.

Fat have referred to the new album as your pièce de résistance, stating “Smoke Or Fire have finally realised their potential.” This isn’t the final chapter in the Smoke Or Fire story though is it...?I hope not. We had a lot of fun making this record, and I hope we continue to put out records we can be proud of. It all depends on what's best for all of us. We have to be happy with what we're doing both in the band and in our personal lives.

Lyrically, the new album is politically driven. But I’m particularly interested in the song Hope And Anchor, which commentates how fickle punk fans can be; “They want to see you bleed and to discard you when they no longer relate.” Is it a struggle to remain personally connected to the punk scene and not become jaded?That song is more geared towards friends bands who have worked hard and risen in the ranks only to be called sell outs merely because they are finally making a living and/or have become part of the mainstream. I don't think people realise sometimes how hard it is to be in a full time touring band. We're very lucky, but it is financially very difficult, especially in this day and age when nobody buys CDs anymore. You can't really judge the decisions a band makes unless you're riding in the van with them. I don't feel personally jaded, but I do know a lot of bands who do feel very alienated and abandoned by former fans because they experienced some success. Fans can be very unforgiving and forget you very quickly.

Earlier on in the band’s career you moved from Boston to Virginia to dedicate your time to playing music full time. Is Smoke Or Fire still a full time pursuit these days? Not at the moment. We experienced financial and personal hardships at home, and I think we decided that if

we don't have those issues in our own lives in order then the band just isn't going to work. You can't concentrate on the tour you're on when your life is falling apart back home. At some point maybe it will be again. It just depends.

Early on the band were known as Jericho, before being threatened by a lawsuit from a Christian band of the same name. Have you kept tabs on their career since becoming Smoke or Fire?Hell no. I don't listen to Christian rock.

You released a solo EP last year, a split with Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms. Are there any plans to pursue this side project further?I like playing acoustic shows. It's very different. Full band is my first choice though. It's so much more fun to be on stage with your buddies than by yourself. I just played a festival by myself in North Carolina, and I'm playing another large festival in May. I'll always play acoustic shows, but for now it's mainly to help draw at local shows so the touring bands can make some decent money and I get paid in beer.

www.myspace.com/smokeorfire

Against Me! are heading to Australia in May. I caughtup with the band’s singer/guitarist Tom Gabel.

The band were set to tour Australia in October of last year but pulled out at the last minute citing unforeseen circumstances. Can you shed any more light on what was happening at that particular time for the band? There was a lot of factors that led to us having to cancel the tour, a lot of them were personal and I'd rather leave out of this. Our relationship with our label did have a lot to do with it though, knowing that they were pulling the plug on supporting an album we were in the middle of touring in support for. We just needed to reevaluate our approach, take a second to catch our breath.

Can you tell us about the line up for the Australian shows? You have recruited Jay Weinberg on drums, will Franz Nicolay also be touring?Franz won't be coming with us no, I'm pretty sure he'll be doing some touring with us later on in the year. He just had a new solo album come out, which is pretty fantastic and he's been pretty busy touring in support of that for the past couple months. For the Australia run it will just be Andrew, James, Jay and myself.

This will be the band’s fifth tour of Australia, coincidently for your fifth album. What kind of set list can we expect? (Any new songs?)You can expect a mix of songs, old and new. We try and play a handful off of each album. We've been working on new material for the past couple months, I'm not sure if we'll have anything ready to play by the time we come down there. Maybe though?

Of the four previous tours, is there one that stands out more than the others?For me personally the solo tour that I did with Chuck Ragan was a real highlight. Really each time we've come over to Australia has been memorable and a total adventure. I say it all the time in interviews and I mean it, Australia is my favourite place to tour.

Each time Against Me! come to Australia you bring out great supports; Off With Their Heads, The Draft and Crime In Stereo for example. How much input does the band have in selecting who you play with?We have total control, although sometimes our choices are limited by budget restrictions, not every band can afford to make the trip to Australia.

Given the flight from Florida to Melbourne is over 15 hours, what kind of flyer are you usually? Are you the type to have a sleeping tablet and a glass of wine? Do you engage in the in flight movies? Do you play computer games, write songs...?Flying from Florida to Australia usually takes us more like 20-25 hours. So there's enough time to do all those things you've mentioned, and I usually do. I wrote the majority of the songs on the solo EP I put out a couple years ago while flying back from Australia. I usually do take full advantage of the in-flight entertainment and catch up on movie watching.

Last time you were in Australia, I interviewed you for my radio show and we spoke about The Triffids. Who are some of your favourite Australian bands?I'm a massive Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds fan. I'm also a huge fan of the Church, INXS and Midnight Oil.

Aside from playing shows, what are you most looking forward to doing in Australia?My favourite thing to do in Australia is just to put my headphones on, listen to music and walk around the cities. I'm also looking forward to enjoying a good Australian Ginger Beer.

ON TOUR WITH GAINESVILLE'S FINEST:

DENNIS LYXZENDennis was in

Australia earlier this month with Italian band

Bloody Beetroots. I caught up with him to

discuss his many projects.

Hi Dennis. How are you going today?

Pretty good. I’m coming here [Australia]

in two months so I’m doing some

interviews with the press. Talking to

people on the phone and in person, but

apart from that I‘m pretty good.

I wanted to mention interviews with

AC4. I notice that you try to operate

outside of the music industry; with

no press photos, no bio and minimal

interviews. At what point do you

draw the line so people can get

excited about the band and things

like an Australian tour?

When we went on a European tour and

we realised that no one knew who we

were (laughs)... Because of all the

background of the band and all the

things we used to do, when we started

the band we said “let’s do it on our own

terms,” keep it close to home, we won’t

do any interviews or sell ourselves

because people will just start saying ex

members of, you know. Then we started

touring and we realised that no one

knew who we were because we didn’t

have a bio or songs on Myspace and we

didn’t do interviews, so we were like,

“maybe we should rethink this strategy.”

But I think it was good because for the

first two years of the band we could

operate undisturbed.

To touch on Refused for a second,

there was a lot of musical innovation

and really pushing the boundaries of

what a punk band can sound like,

especially on The Shape Of Punk To

Come. Where as with AC4 it’s a lot

more laid back, and reverting back

to the early sounds of hardcore like

Black Flag and Minor Threat. Is that

a fair observation?

That is a fair observation. Music and

creativity should be based on lust and

should be based on you wanting to do

something because that’s what you love

to do. We just decided we wanted to do a

band that plays old school, punk rock,

hardcore, rock n roll music. It’s very

basic and simple, but that in itself is a

challenge. It’s not as easy as you think

to write simplistic, fast catchy songs. We

just felt we needed to do something that

we really loved doing and we ended up

with AC4.

Aside from AC4, do you have an

interest in the hardcore scene?

I keep an eye out and see what happens.

I’m not a huge fan of when hardcore

turned metal, I know I’m partly

responsible (laughs)... but I’m not a

huge fan of that type of hardcore. But I

keep my eyes open, like if there’s good

bands and good punk and hardcore

music I’ll defiantly buy their records.

I notice you have your own record

label to which you’ve signed bands

like Regulations and The Bombettes.

Can you tell us about that?

It’s a small, collectively run label that

also puts on shows and helps bands book

tours. It’s based out of my home town

and all the bands on the label are based

in my home town and are friends of

ours. There’s a sense of communal spirit

to it; we want to do it to support the

bands and because we love their music.

It’s a fun thing to do and in many ways

selfish, because I love these bands and I

just want to have their records on vinyl,

so I make up some lame excuses and

get it released on vinyl and I get to listen

to it at home.

I read AC4 are currently writing and

demoing for album number two.

How’s that been going?

Good. We’re a bit disorganised because

everyone is really busy with life, so we’re

trying to work around that, but we did a

demo record before I came to Australia

and we recorded 15 songs and some of

them sound fucking great. We’re going to

do another demo when I get back and

hopefully record in March or April

depending on how things so. I’m very

excited about it, I think it’s going to be a

great record.

REFUSED - THE (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY - AC4 - NY VAG RECORDS

You’re coming to Australia to tour

with a band called The Star Fucking

Hipsters. Do you know much about

them? Have you played with them

before? Is there a relationship

there?

No relationship. Noise Conspiracy

played two shows with Leftover Crack,

so I met that guy a couple of times, but

as far as Star Fucking Hipsters and AC4

go we have no connection as of right

now.

You’re in Australia at the moment

touring with a group called The

Bloody Beetroots, who do an

electro cover of New Noise. How

did that come about and did they

have to ask you for permission?

No. You don’t have to ask for

permission to cover or remix or

anything. They asked us if they should

release it and we said that was cool.

Then they asked me if i wanted to

collaborate with them for the music and

I was very skeptical, because electronic

music is pretty far from the music I

listen to and write, so I was super

skeptical but they were interesting

people and they have interesting ideas.

Then I decided maybe we should

cooperate and now we’re actually

writing music together, I’m touring with

them and it’s a lot of fun actually.

You been performing the

remix of New Noise at The

Big Day Out’s. What the

reaction been like to it,

particularly from hardcore

fans?

I think most punk and

hardcore kids, if you are at

The Big Day Out, you’re

probably watching Iggy and

The Stooges, so I think they

missed out on me. But

everyone gets excited when

we play it because it was a

minor hit for over a year and

people played it on the radio,

so all the people into Bloody

Beetroots get really excited. I don’t

think they know who I am though

(laughs). It’s been good though. The

Bloody Beetroots are huge in Australia,

I didn’t quite understand until I came

here.

Finally, what’s the current status of

Noise Conspiracy?

We haven’t broken up. We did a band

full time for like 12 years and then one

day we thought, “fuck man, we need a

break from each other, this music and

everything that we’re doing,” so we just

decided to take a break. I’ve been busy

with AC4 and I do a band where I sing

in Swedish, and the Bloody Beetroots

thing and the label. I actually talked to

the drummer a couple of months ago

and we said maybe we should get

together and jam and see what

happens, so there are some plans. We

haven’t broken up... we’re just lazy.

AC4 and Star Fucking Hipsters play at

the Arthouse on Thursday April 14.

“I’m not a huge fan of when hardcore turned

metal, though I know I’m partly

responsible.”

www.myspace.co/ac4hc www.refusedofficial.com

www.nyvag.com

“We need to look forward. We got everything to win and nothing but our boredom to lose.”

Refused Are Dead manifesto.

Nulla Has major label life changed Lucero?Not at all. We did the album 1372 with Universal Republic and then they dropped us. Which I think was probably best for everybody. The record came out great with the help of producer Ted Hutt, but a label that size is just not the right fit for a band our size. The horn section and the song writing style on that record were going to be the same no matter what label the record came out on. They had absolutely no influence on the sound of the record at all. We made the exact record we wanted to make, and I think overall it's the best thing we've done since our self-titled debut. So yes... we're still the same band we've always been. Busy and broke but doing it our way for better or for worse.

Ultimately the band’s style falls into the country genre. Why do you think then that Lucero are often associated with the punk scene?We grew up listening to punk music. Country music always surrounded us but when we were young that was the music we rebelled against. For me personally it took a little maturity and age to connect the dots and see the connection between The Clash and Johnny Cash. It's obvious to everyone now, but when I was 15 in 1988 that connection wasn't as clear. Also we've ended up touring with a lot of punk rock bands... Avail, Against Me, etc and we've become friends with a lot of great folks in that scene. I think everyone eventually figures out that it's all coming from the same place whether it's The Bouncing Souls, Mastodon, The Hold Steady or The Drive By Truckers.

How much of coming from Memphis inspires your music?More than I ever thought it would. Being able to be in a band with guys like Rick Steff (keys) and Jim Spake (sax) is amazing. Those guys have played on hundreds of records recorded in Memphis and are steeped in Memphis history. Working with Jim Dickinson was huge. He lived and breathed Memphis music. He appreciated

the very special environment this place is. Of course there was Sun and Stax, but there's always been a very strong underground that feeds off of that and it is an honour to be a part of it.

What’s it been like touring with Social Distortion?It's been fun as hell. Everyone in the band and on the crew has been super nice to us. I think in the past they've toured with a lot of younger "punk" bands and we are a change of pace for them. We're a little older and we're not afraid to play slower songs (even when a few folks in their crowd just plain aren't getting it). But like I said earlier, it's all coming from the same place, and so simply being invited to play with a band that I consider heroes is an amazing experience.

Playing anywhere between 150 and 200 live shows a year, how do you find time for a solo project on the side?I wish I could do more solo projects. There are a number of different kinds of records I'd love to make and just have not found the time to do it. For as busy as the band is I've become very adept at wasting huge amounts of time. I'm a fairly lazy person. I'm glad I had my shit together enough to get the one solo project out. Last Pale Light in the West is something I'm very proud of. I need to get off my ass, write a lot more songs and get these things done before it's too late. The band is soaking up every ounce of my energy right at the moment though.

Lucero have a reputation as a hard touring, hard drinking band. After 14 years, does the lifestyle begin to catch up with you?My livers got a few good years left in it I think. I don't rebound as quickly these days but I think we're all doing ok still. In fact, if we've slowed down on the drinking (a little) the main effect it's having I believe is that we're playing the best shows we've ever played.

You’ve just been announced as part of the Warped tour. Will you approach these shows any differently to say Coachella or SXSW?Ha. I got no idea what to expect from Warped. I'm not sure how we'll fit in. We've kind of avoided it for a long time but now we're going to give it a shot. What the hell. I still don't think of Lucero as a festival-type band... I'm much more comfortable in a dark bar at night time as opposed to a dusty field at noon, but we'll see. We're just going to go out there and do what we do. I'm planning on having a blast no matter what.

You came to Australia as part of the Revival tour, alongside Chuck Ragan and Frank Turner. What are your memories of that tour?Some of the best times of my life. Those two guys, along with Tim Barry, are amazing people and good friends. They inspire me in a lot of ways. Just being included in that whole thing was a big compliment. And I got to meet and sing with Jen Buxton who is brilliant singer and songwriter from Newcastle. Good times. I was very surprised how many folks down there knew about our band.

The band is booked out with tours until well into August. Aside from that, what are you plans and goals for 2011?Yeah. Ugh. Fucking busy as hell. Hopefully sometime in there we can write and record a new record. I also want to do a solo motorcycle tour. Just me, the bike, a guitar and a backpack. Figure I'll just do the southern US. Man... that tour would be a vacation.

LUCERO - BEN NICHOLS

-VS-

How did you first become involved in children’s entertainment?As a child I watched a lot of TV! I was also an actor as a child and did commercials and things here and there. When I was about 12 I voiced the characters 'Cavin' on Disney's Gummi Bears cartoon show, which was a HUGE learning experience. So I have always had a baby toe in children's entertainment, even if it was just a fan of cartoons or whatever, I never stopped watching them!

What were your initial goals for Yo Gabba Gabba!? To really create something for my children and I to watch together and be stoked on. The stuff I was watching with my pre-school kids didn’t seem to have child and parent in mind. Also, the music on most children’s shows seems to be pretty outdated and really sedate. The goal was “let’s make something that has good messages and teaches kindness but really gets parent and child up and dancing!”

How important do you think it is to expose children to music at an early age, and what benefits do you think it creates?I am no scientist but music does miraculous things. At the earliest stages of development you can see the effects that music has on babies and children. Positive good music can heal and teach. It can challenge and nurture. Music unlocks those passages in the mind and opens you up to new things and new ways of thinking. I think exposing children to music early on is really important, but just like a diet for a child you need to be careful what music you feed to your children's souls. Like you wouldn’t give your baby a steak to eat so maybe chill on playing Metallica at your child... Wait ‘til they can handle it.

As a child, what was your very first experience with music?My parents are relatively musical and we went to church every Sunday, so music was always there. My Mom singing to us and delving into Dad's 50's and 45's. Music was a big part of development and learning in our home. We had a lot of silly fun with music in our home too. Watching variety shows and singing show tunes together, watching The Muppet Show as a family together. To quote one of Willy Wonka's silly songs..."A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."

What can you remember of your music education in school?Well in pre-school always singing songs. In Sunday school always hearing music and learning songs, like life lessons to music, "wise man built his house upon the rock" etc. Then in elementary school learning songs in other languages like French and Spanish. It was a pattern for learning as a child at school for sure. But even just driving to school with the radio on when punk and hip hop first started hitting the airwaves in the late 70's early 80's. Hearing Queen and Devo, Weird Al, Grandmaster Flash and Frankie Smith's Double Dutch Bus for the first time left strong impressions. Growing up in Los Angeles with a local station that played all kinds of new music all the time (LA's KROQ) was another big part of my music education as a child, there were so many things going on musically at that time.

Have you found Yo Gabba Gabba! has opened up The Aquabats to a brand new audience?Yes, for sure.. We have always had a pretty steady teenage following and I think there has always been a small group of adventurous parents that would bring their young children to The Aquabats' shows. Like seeing an occasional 3 or 4 year old at an Aquabats show was something I can remember that’s been happening for a while now. However, it seems there are more young kids showing up now because of the Aquabats exposure on Yo Gabba Gabba! But I also can see a shift in the older crowds and more teens and adults coming out for sure. I think that Yo Gabba Gabba! has helped translate The Aquabats to a lot of people in certain ways. I think it's helped people grasp what the heck we are doing. Being a band of goofy-spazz- super heroes in the rock scene was always a polarising thing for people, but I think Gabba helps people understand that its just about fun. It isn't rocket science we are just encouraging having a good time. I also think, sadly, that because Gabba is 'cool' with celebs or whatever that more people are like,'Yeah, The Aquabats are pretty cool now.." We've been validated to some I suppose, but i guess that is how things work.... sometimes...

When not traversing the globe as MC Bat Commander, ridding the world of evil through his role as leader of The Aquabats, Christian Jacobs is also the writer and director of Yo Gabba Gabba!, Nickelodeon’s music

themed children’s show. I caught up with him to discuss the parallels between the two projects.

www.theaquabats.com

COBR

A S

KULS

There has always been a political undertone to Cobra Skulls lyrics. What are some of the themes on Bringing Home The War?Hmmm, in a nut shell….Immigration, war, famine, human denial and survival of the hot state that our planet is entering, media, capitalism, personal drama. You know, the usual.

Fat Mike not only put out your new EP, but also produced it. How did your relationship with him first come about?Well, I had met him a few years ago, but not that he cared or knew who I was, until he saw us play with the Lawrence Arms last November. He said he was glad to see us play, then I saw him at a NOFX show a month later and he asked if we wanted to do our next album on Fat and asked what I thought about him producing it. I said, “how about an EP first?” Then he hung out for a few days in the studio and tried to mess up our songs, which was fun and then we toured with Me First for 10 days and we hung out a bit then, too.

You guys grew up on 90’s punk. Would you say there is a fat-wreck influence in the Cobra Skulls sound?No, but I was a big fan of Swingin’ Utters, Good Riddance, NOFX and Lagwagon. I would say I’m just as influenced by early Epitaph and Lookout shit, but more so, I’m a fan of late 70’s and 80’s punk. But yes, I grew up in the 90’s.

On your last full length you have a tongue in cheek track called “I Used to Like Them When They Put 'Cobra in the Titles.” Have you experienced any fan backlash after signing to Fat?No, I really don’t expect that problem for Cobra Skulls. Labels aren’t what they used to be even 5 years ago, so if people are upset that we don’t want to pay for our recordings out of our own pockets (which is expensive!) then I would think those people need real problems in their lives.

The EP also features a Bad Religion cover. Given their extensive back catalogue, what made you decide on Give You Nothing?That fact that it was off of Suffer, a fantastic album that a lot of people will say reinvigorated punk in the late 80’s (at least on the West Coast). Bad Religion was still young then and not too sonically technical. It would be a joke if we tried covering their new shit, because we are far from virtuosos. It’s a fun, simple song and that makes it easier to tweak a little and add our own flavor.

There have been a couple of lineup changes for the band, most notably recruiting former Only Crime drummer Luke Ray last year. Would you say this has had any effect on the band’s sound?Yah, Luke is awesome, he has his own style and that will show in the new songs, but he is also great at keeping true to the style that Chad played on our older stuff. We might be a little faster now, but other than that, there’s not much difference.

You are a first generation Argentinean-American who speaks Spanish, and a handful of Cobra Skulls songs are in fact sung in that language. Have you had much of a response from Spanish speaking fans about these songs?We have had a lot of people who speak Spanish come up to me and want to chat in Spanish and that’s cool. I think I’ve been losing it, but it usually just takes an afternoon with my dad to get back into it. On my mom’s side I’m actually sixth generation Californian.

You guys have an elusive sound that combines many genres. There’s enough ska to open for The Mighty Mighty Bostones, the political edge to play with Propaghandi, yet a positivity and pop element that works with Me First And The Gimmie Gimmies. What kind of audience do you think best connects with Cobra Skulls?We have had to make our own audience, really, which is hard, but rewarding. I was hanging out at a house in Philly after a show once and someone from another band that just saw us for the first time said it must be hard to play to new crowds, because we don’t really fit in with bands that are straight oi, street, indie, ska, reggae, rockabilly or skate or pop punk, though you can tell we are influenced by all of those styles. We aren’t genre-breaking by any means, but more like a punk retrospective-collective, though that may be pushing it.

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www.myspace.com/cobraskulls

In September you released your fourth album Light The Horizon. Prior to this, the band was on an indefinite hiatus and it was unsure if Bedouin would continue. As a result of getting back together, was there an element of letting go; pushing boundaries and trying new things on this album? For sure. I think that we were a lot more open to letting the music lead rather than trying to overly direct the process. We weren't as concerned with what genres we were working with, just whether or not the song had feeling and meant something to us.

You come from a West Indian background. What records did you grow up listening to? Too many to name in one go! Ken Lazarus, Sam Cooke, The Drifters, The Mighty Sparrow, Super Blue, Machel Montano, Sanchez, Beres Hammond, U-Roy, The Blues Busters, Dennis Alcapone, Gregory Isaacs, Tiger, etc.

On that, what’s it like playing Jamaican inspired Canadian music in places like China and India? I heard you had to submit your lyrics to the Chinese government for approval...? It was interesting just being in China and India with the task of performing our show to these new markets. We did have to submit our lyrics to the Chinese government to make sure there weren't any inflammatory or riot-causing material which was a first for us too. The audiences tended to be more reserved, and as a result of the language barrier, we also had to find less-linguistic ways of communicating, by gesturing, waving, and using simple English, all of which helped us to get through to people better.

How did your relationship with Daryl Jennifer of Bad Brains form? Our first manager was heavily involved in promotions in Montreal and had struck up a lasting personal relationship with Daryl through these dealings over the years. When we were set to record, he passed the demo on to Daryl who in turn said he wanted to work with us which is a continuous blessing.

There has been talk of a collaboration or mash up record between Bedouin and Bad Brains. Are there any updates on that? We actually recorded 8 tracks for it over 2 sessions in Woodstock with Daryl, and have posted a free link to a mixtape (http://soundcloud.com/pirates-blend/pirates-radio-vol-1-rock-the-night ) of our favorites of the bunch. Some tracks may also be featured on a B-sides, Rarities, and remixes record we are working on as well.

Can you tell us about the band’s label Pirates Blend? Is there much difference in being on a large independent label like Side One Dummy to a brand new label but with major label distribution?Pirate's Blend was something that Jay had started talking about a few years ago and we always wanted to make our own label happen when the time was right. Basically, we wanted a place to call our cultural home, and by staking claim to a piece of the Canadian industry landscape, we hope to attract other like-minded and similarly cultured artists to call Pirate's Blend home too. The only difference between what we do now and being on Side One Dummy is that as artists we could hold them accountable for the label duties necessary to further our careers, and now we have to hold ourselves accountable. It's positive pressure and exciting to think about what the future could hold if we build it right.

You’ve played alongside some of the greats, including Damian Marley, The Skatalites, Burning Spear and Bad Brains, to name a few. Is there a particular show that stands out to you? There are two. The first was a show at Montreal Jazzfest a few years ago where we were invited to cover a song for a tribute concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of Paul Simon's Graceland performance at JazzFest 20 years earlier. Alongside artists such as Elvis Costello and Alain Toussaint, we played our version of "Mother and Child Reunion" with Vernon "Maytone" Buckley and Zaki Ibrahim on back up vocals in front of over 100,000 people on the street. The second memorable show was Leeds Festival in 2005 when Jay lost his voice and we cut the set short ending with "When the Night Feels My Song," our charting single at the time. As Jay started the song, the crowd took over all of the vocals, verses included. As we left the stage, they kept repeating the refrain, so we came back out, and the tent full of people continued to sing. When we left the stage for good, the crowd kept singing the chorus as they left the tent all the way to the camping area. Definitely one of the most affecting effects of playing these songs we love.

Canadian reggae/roots band Bedouin Souundclash continue their contemporary take on Jamaican inspired music on their recent album Light The Horizon. I caught up with bass player Eon Sinclair.

ROOTS ROCK REGGAE

www.myspace.com/bedouinsoundclash