FEAR OF EXTINCTION are a raw d-beat crust band from Prague, Czech Rep. Formed in 2009 the band recently released a fucking awesome S/T 7“ on Phobia Records and Riotstarter Records. The band are currently working on a forthcoming 12“ LP and are about to embark on their first European Tour. The following interview was conducted with Mirek aka Carrot and Bruce via email at the beginning of 2012.
Can you introduce the band? How did FEAR OF EXTINCTION get started and what brought you together?
Bruce: So current line up is Mrkev “Carrot“ (known as Mirek too) vocals, Proof and Petersson do guitars, I´m on bass and Pepi is drumming..... we are around 30, our main hobbies is booze, loud music, booze again and some more personal specialities..... Mirek have his wife and kids, Proof like motorcycles and polish powder, Petersson is collecting glasses and plaid shirts, Pepi is pepper lover and he´s biggest fan of mighty Horst Fuchs - the teleshopping king and I play water polo and I love fetish gay erotic magazines.
Band started in 2009 with Rich on drums, Proof and me, we know each other for a years of destroing brain and liver cells.... F.O.E wasn´t serious band at begining, first rehearshal happened just because our other bands (ANGRY BRIGADE and JONESTOWN) doesen´t practice too often and we was little bit bored of doing nothing.......so we made 3 songs at first practice, give them stupid names (Suicide Donkey, Lazy To Walk, Carrot Is The Enemy, Leak In Fire etc....) and our point was to made a fun from “serious“ people.... but then Mrkev comes on board and he starts to do a serious lyrycs and the band change course little bit.....
Carrot: As Bruce wrote… we started in the beginning of 2009 when I lived in Prague. I run label and I know guys (Bruce, Proof and Rich) for a long time from shows & parties (and Bruce has good and solid marriage agency…) so they decided to ask me if I want to practice with them. It tooks a few month when I showed there, because I refused all their invitations .. I had a lot of excuses like that I´m too old to start play in band, I have no time or I´m bashful.. But as I said, one day I showed there and the saga begun…..
What bands have influenced FEAR OF EXTINCTION the most? I can hear a strong Scandi D-beat influence in the bands sound? Did you start the band with this sound and style in mind? Bruce: Had to admit that ripping off Swedish way how to play d-beat was one of the main point, especially that there (Czech) is not so many bands producing that kind of noise. We want to keep it as much distorted, dirty and pissed off as we can... ..... my personal musical influences are 3-WAY CUM, LOUDPIPES, SKIPLICKERS, JEWDIS, NO SECURITY, DOOM, KONTROVERS, millions of Sylen´s (D-takt och rapunk) bands, DISGUST, SKITSLICKERS, DISCHANGE, MOMENT MANIACS and many more.... that list will never finish... maybe DISCHARGE little bit aswell hahaha and ELECTRIC SIX of course....
Carrot: What can I say? I love d-beat, I love Scandinavian d-beat bands and I always wanted to play this style of music. I suppose that the plan was to play loud and noisy crust punk. ANTI-CIMEX, MOB 47, 3 WAY CUM, WARCOLLAPSE, new wave of old school death metal like MIASMAL, BURIAL INVOCATION, KRYPTS, DOOM, DISCHARGE, old DISFEAR, WOLFPACK, CRUDE SS, NO SECURITY, SkitSylen´s neverending list of bands etc. Etc. So influences are clear right?
Your debut 7" received positive reviews. Were you happy with the response to it? Is it sold out? Any plans for a repress?
Bruce: Well it was a big suprise to me, I really didnt expected that positive feedback, especially as there is shitload of things at 7“ which can be done little bit different way.... as far as i know we still have some copies left so guess repress is not necessary.....
Carrot: One word - surprising. We expected reviews like... “oh another band which is playing the same as million other bands“. But hell, it´s true... we want to play like that, because it´s the way how we like it. Noisy and primitive. And maybe it´s the reason why the reviews are so positive. In these days where all the hardcore bands around the world are trying to be another copy of dark emo crust band like TRAGEDY or FROM ASHES RISE. Or to play kinda trendy 80´s hardcore like REGULATIONS etc. I have nothing against those bands, but I feel sick everytime when I listen another bad copy of TRAGEDY….
Bruce: So we just hope that we are not so bad copy of MEANWHILE hehee
How do you go about writing the songs? Do all the members contribute to the song writing? How does it work?
Bruce: Depends, we dont have reguler schema, guess we give it nature way... which means that everyone from us comes to practices with some ideas and then we are putting it together..... then Mirek (mostly) or me wrote some lyrics.....
Carrot: I don´t play on any instrument, so I´m only listening and from time to time I have some comments how the riffs should be long etc. To be honest I´m generally thinking how to fill lyrics into the riffs than to create something new from musicians point of view. But guys know very well how to do it without my smart jaws.
What about the lyrics? Are they written by one member or is it a collective effort? Where does the inspiration come from?
Carrot: Everyday life. Some lyrics are done by Bruce, but the main part is my job. Maybe out lyrics are full of cliché, but if there´re war conflicts around the world - we´ll have lyrics about and against wars, if there´re nazi scums around the world - we´ll tell people the truth, if there´re class differenecs - we´ll still want burn the capitalist cunts etc,etc. And there´re many “cliche“ themes we can use - blue pigs, stupid people, sick society…
What prompted the song "Network of Jerks"? I'm I right in thinking the song is about social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace?
Bruce: Well lot of people think thats song about social networks, but no, I wrote the lyrics considering to few circumstances which I saw at gigs.... Main point of this song is that being or calling yourself punk is not doing a good person from you, there is tons of idiots like everywhere else and its just a patethic to think that if someone´s wearing Conflict patch can´t be such and asshole. Name of the song is Network Of Jerks cause im not and I dont ever want a be a friend with those kind of people,even they are or wanna-be part of this movement.
Idiot will be Idiot whatever he looks like or whatewer subculture he comes from. Maybe we can do a song about FB, I‘m litlle bit sick of all this anti FB attitude,everyone hates it, but lot of those people use it.... Personally i think its just another way for comunication and its just up on you how you use it..... everything have a dark side....
The song "Is It Punk" talks about punks been too lazy to support their local scene by going to gigs etc? Why do you think that is and is it a problem within the Prague/Czech Rep punk scene?
Bruce: Main problem here is that for some people is 20 minutes travel by public transport to venue which is not located at their hood such a pain in the ass so they will rather sit at bar nearby and talking shits about nothing goes on.... Prague starts to be same like other big cities in western europe....sometimes there is more people from smaller towns around then from Prague....... fucking respect goes to them.... cheers to Beroun, Kladno and Sázava crews......
Carrot: People are choosy. I don´t know how to argue them to visit local hardcore punk show and support touring / playing bands. Maybe live gigs in their living rooms? Oh no, too complicated - just direct download link for video in HD quality should be enough. For money they saved on entry they can buy another wasted thing. Internet punks suck!
Do you get to play many gigs in Prague/Czech Rep What type of places do you usually play? What other Czech bands do you get to play with a lot?
Bruce: As a last squat was evicted 2 years before, there is not so many options where to set a shows... now in prague remains just a pillar of the scene - 007 Club (from 1969!!!) where we played some shows,and Cafe na Půl cesty - small coffee-bar runned by nonprofit organization supporting people with mental problems which was infected by punks so most of the shows is done there...... lot of the shows in czech are in clubs or in pubs, somewhere its good, somewhere its terrible..... more bellow by Carrot...
Carrot: Another good places / cities / people I can recommend: Ostrava (Sheeva Yoga guys), Brno (United Crusties crew), Slavonice (March Of The Hordes guys), Podebrady (Boss Bar Boss venue), České Budějovice (Garaz venue / Hiroshima Nightmare band), Liberec (Pivni Azyl venue), Stribrna Skalice (Na Marjane pub) etc etc. It seems that we have a lot of good places around the Czech right now, but always it depends on current situation. I think good info you can get from http://www.czechcore.cz/ and http://www.periferia.cz/ (shame on me .. self promo bastard). Bands we usually play with are MÖRKHIMMEL, PROPAGANDA, MARCH OF THE HORDES, BARREL, RABIES, SEE YOU IN HELL, SANITÄR, LIBERA IN CAUSA, KRUEGER, KOMPLEX VINY … and many more. Can you tell us about your forthcoming Winter Extinction Euro Tour? What countries are you playing? How any dates?
Carrot: It´s our first tour ever. For me it´s for the first time when I´m traveling with band for more than two days. We´ll hit with our noise Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany and Poland. First show is on 3.2.2012 and the last show is in Poland on 12.2.2012. If someone from that countries will read it and wanna see us face to face, more info you can find at http://www.fearofextinction.blogspot.com. Mirek, Tell us about your label Phobia Records? When did it start? Any future releases in the works?
Carrot: I was young, I was bored, so I decided to start the label because I want all the records for free or from trades. Hehe. The label started in 2001, so now it´s more than 10 years of bringing the noise to czech people. The business plan is to release good selling records like Swedish crust / d-beat (thanks Sylen!) with non-good selling releases by Czech bands. Future plans for 2012: FILTHPACT / DEBACLE split EP (co-release), RAPSÖD / STOLEN LIVES split EP (co-release), JONESTOWN / ADACTA split LP (co-release), FEAR OF EXTINCTION - Tour EP (just 120 copies by band members), BROTTSKOD 11 debut EP (another Jocke´s band? Unbeliavable..), PROPAGANDA debut EP (great crust / punk from Czech!), TUMMO / TOMORROW´S HELL split LP (co-release), HELLISHEAVEN LP (co-release), FEAR OF EXTINCTION 12“LP.
What bands are you currently listening to? What have been some of your favourite records this year?
Bruce: My last package from Phobia records contians LAST LEGION ALIVE / HELLSTORM and ACEPHALIX - Interminable Night, T SJUDER, MIASMAL S/T, KRYPTS, KROMOSOM, then AMEBIX - Sonic Mass, CRY HAVOC - Feast For The Crows, BULLETRIDDEN CD, downloaded AGNOSY (can‘t wait for the regular recording).... favourite recording? Jeez, dont know... really... but CRY HAVOC are on the top......
Carrot: ČAD - Ťažký kov LP, AMEBIX - Sonic Mass, CRY HAVOC - A Feast For The Crows LP, CONTORT tape, BASTARD PRIEST, CRUCIAMENTUM, USURPRESS, VOCO PROTESTA, AGRIMONIA, GIFTGASATTACK, ELECTRIC FUNERAL, GO FILTH GO, KROMOSOM, BULLETRIDDEN, MIASMAL, STENCH OF DECAY, KRYPTS, DOOM new EP. Right now I´m listening BOLT THROWER - The IV. Crusade. Today´s plan is to listen a lot of crust / death metal albums mixed with old good US hip hop albums from 90´s. My musician taste is really wide… The best album of past year is maybe CRY HAVOC and new AMEBIX.
What does the band have coming up next? Are you working on new material? Any plans for a full length album?
Bruce: If we survive WINTER EXTINCTION we want to record a new songs of course and about future? Who knows...... as Mrkev will be less busy with his family duties, want to do short UK trip which was already was planed and which Iceland volcano finished before it started.....
Carrot: We wanna record new songs for 12“LP. And because I have 2nd child on the way, who knows how many shows we´ll able to play this year, but I´ll try to figure out and make the pause with live shows short as I can do. UK trip would be nice as we wanna see old fart Rich Palmer again. All UK promoters … feel free to make us offers. Hehee.
Thanks for your time. Any last comments? Anything else you want to say?
Bruce: Thank you for interest and interwiew, want to say Cheers to all who helps us with winter extinction tour too and my personal fucking big thanx and cheers goes to our former drummer Mr.Rich Palmer for doing this shit with us - without him this band will never exist.Miss you there you cunt!
Carrot: Thank you for interest and your support! Hope someday we´ll see Agitate zine on paper again! Big thanks to my family, guys in band, Rich Palmer and his family. See you on our shows on winter tour …
