|
Rebel conspiracy - The Early Years Training Bartek
I'm self taught, I never went to music school. When I was at secondary school I went to an after school guitar club where a guitar teacher showed me a few techniques, but I was already playing guitar for a few years then. Growing up
I've grown up since I've first started on the punk scene. I was very naïve in certain aspects back then. You see things from a different perspective as you grow older, it becomes more about the music rather than being too naïve about going to change the world. You begin to understand more and more about how our World works. That's what our song 'The Battle of our Dreams' is about. Improving
For the last couple of years I have become more and more interested in the theoretical side of playing guitar and have started looking into it. I think this can improve your playing as well as song writing skills. I don't have any techniques for my voice. I just go for it and it's pure aggression really. Dean:
I think I had lessons to start off with but I'm not trained at all, I'm not even self trained! I think if it sounds al-right and that's basically it. Also, there's no premeditated this is what I'm gonna do with the song like. I think if you sing every night I think you need to do special exercises and breathing techniques, but for what we do it's not really necessary. I've known Mat since I was 11. Every other band I've been in was probably with Mat. Including a few with limited musical instruments! Mat:
I played on cardboard boxes before I had a drum set. We were playing Thrash Metal, doing really bad versions of Metallica & Anthrax songs and some of our own stuff.
Bands before Rebel Conspiracy Mat
I played in a band called Big Blonde, a glam rock band from the early 90's, which turned into Nobody's Heroes. Dean
Yeah, Nobody's Hero's was probably the main one with Mat. It was like punk rock, like American rock combined to old school, English punk. And we did them for a few years Mat
And then Stio the singer swung more to the 70's punk, Dean:
Yeah, The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers, Sex Pistols. But it all got a bit weird, so we called it a day. and split up in the early 90's, because Stio started slashing himself on stage.
Mat:
He did an Iggy Pop and sliced his chest open with a razor blade because it was punk. Dean:
I've not done much for about 20 years this is probably the first band I've been in since Nobody's Hero's. Bartek
I've been in three bands in Poland. My main band Dzieci Stanu Wojennego I was in for about 10 years. We had a lot of different members, we never got far, we only recorded one album and some demos and just played on the local scene.
I was a guitarist for another band called JEZUSMARIA for two years, we recorded an album with them as well. And the other band we got the name from a stolen sign, one of our mates stole a sign from a big foundry in Krakow and he brought it with him and we thought it was a good name, it is translated to mean: the first zone of sanitary protection, I think.
 The Band Bartek
Been together for 3 and a half years. It started in July 2008. the idea was there for a long time it was just the matter of finding the right people to do it. I came to England in 2005 and I decided to start another band because I was I was really missing it. I met Andy, the previous bassist, through the internet and we were looking for a drummer.
Funny enough I was talking to Dean at one of his gigs at Oldham asking if he knew about a drummer and he said Mat's a drummer and I started chatting to Mat and we had a rehearsal and we really liked him. Dean
I joined Rebel Conspiracy cos they are nice lads, I've known Bartek for a few years and I thought it was a level I could manage. If I don't do it now, cos I'm getting on a bit. If I'm ever gonna do this, I might as well give it a crack. I mean I could have joined a few other bands if I wanted to. I prefer to do this kind of music really. The Genre Bartek
Too be honest with you, I don't think we are a purely punk band, I don't think the people who listen to 70's punk would say we sound anything like that, but neither do we sound like metal core bands.
We play what you would call hardcore punk, a style that emerged in the late 70's, early 80's, it was fast and aggressive with a lot of energy, for example bands like: DOA, dead Kennedy s or Black Flag.
If you really want to categorise us, we're something in between the new and old hardcore, with some punk and thrash metal elements. It's difficult to categorise music, people just like to put everything into pigeon holes. But one thing can be said about Rebel Conspiracy is punk in spirit with the viewpoint, the message and the attitude. People who understand what punk is will know what I mean. Mat:
We enjoy what we play and we want other people to enjoy it as well. Hardest thing about being in a band Dean:
The hardest thing to get it over, I suppose is trying to get your music across to as many people as possible.
Cos that's what people are in a band for at the end of the day, whether it's for fame or as a hobby, if you can deal out the kind of music you like, if you can 100's of people listening to your music that you like, then your happy really, especially when there are so many bands out there
 The Idea Behind Rebel Conspiracy Bartek;
I believe punk is about being rebellious in your life, to think about things and do them in an alternative way, where ever that's possible. It's being in opposition to the main stream, to the system, and not about beating people up or smashing things up.
The idea of Rebel Conspiracy was to play fast and aggressive music, but also about being thoughtful and to make people aware about the world around them and not just taking things for granted .I'd rather encourage people to think for themselves and analyse things and not be sheep, but we don't want to fall in the trap of repeating the same slogans over and over again and fall into that punk jargon.
Dean;
Anti-everything! Because people are narrow-minded: you can't do that, you can't wear this and this applies to the punk scene more than any other. The punks that are supposed to be really open minded a lot of them are more narrow minded than anybody else.
The Band's Influences Bartek:
The Expolited, D.R.I, New York hardcore bands, Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All, Cro Mags. I like quite a lot of the 80's hardcore bands. - Black Flag, Circle Jerks. I like Civil Disobedience, Disaffect, Discharge. Polish bands like Dezerter, Smar SW, Abaddon or Post Regiment to name but a few and the list is endless really.
There is a band I like called Kat from Poland, which means executioner in English, a thrash metal band. I like quite a few metal bands like Megadeth or Iron Maiden. Dean
I listen to a lot of new stuff, probably more than the old stuff. I still listen to the old school, but because of what I'm doing now, with putting the gigs on, I have to check out a lot of bands and stuff. There are some amazing stuff out at the moment. I don't think I'll sit down and write one of there songs or write something that sounded like them I think in a way it all blends in together. Song writing Mat;
It's a group effort, we all contribute ideas for the band and sometimes for each others parts. Bartek:
I come up with initial song concepts, write the riffs and bring them to the rehearsal room and then we arrange things around them. So Mat does all his ideas for the drum rhythms and Dean will come up with own ideas for the bass. I come up with most ideas for the vocals and then sometimes they change in the practice room.
Bartek:
I've always tried not being too influenced by other bands and try and create our own sound but of course, many of the rhythms and picking techniques etc. are used by bands within the similar kind of music. Dean;
You do though when you write stuff, there's nothing wrong with that. You can't write a song that is 100% original. The Casualty Video Mat:
We were asked if we wanted to do a video for Damage Done. We met up at the rehearsal room and started doing this filming. I was suggesting camera angles and I got really into being behind the camera, helping out and getting the video made. We didn't get as much input into the final video as we hoped but it turned out OK.
It was eventually decided that we should invest in some camera equipment and do one ourselves cos we're into the DIY ethic. The more we can do ourselves the happier we are because it is hard to get across to other people what we want to achieve.
We managed to get ourselves a warehouse, thanks to Martin (Wall of Sound). We cracked on and did it, filming each other and using a tripod for shots of the three of us. Apart from a few technical problems, it went really well. I edited the footage and the video for Casualty was done. Bartek:
Yeah, Mat has a natural talent to do this.
We got the video on Blank TV which it probably the biggest punk YouTube channel. Some people in Italy and Brazil watched our videos, which was really exciting to see. Mat:
We had a couple of thousand hits in a fortnight and over a hundred comments. I was chuffed with it. And I was really pleased with the comments, even the negative comments because it meant that people was spending the time watching it and being actively opinionated.
Dean:
And you do look like Iggy Pop. Bartek:
That was one of the weirdest things, people took it as a professionally made video and started judging it. Dean:
'I don't like this and that,' because they think they must be a big band. Mat;
But there are big bands on there with less hits and less comments and that says a lot to me about how well we've done with the first one. It was actually more of an experiment than a serious thing, we didn't know if it would come out any good and it turned out to be better than we'd hoped. Dean:
Video's the sort of thing you need, bands now that are getting stuff up on Scuzz TV and Kerrang, it's the only way to get it out to people on a wider scale than just doing gigs to 50 people. If you have a video on Scuzz TV a thousand people will sit at home and watch it. Mat:
We did have a think about doing Media Lie next, but we need to record that first. Dean;
That's it, we need to record a few songs with the new line up and do a video for that, so the whole thing is complete then. Bartek;
But, we don't know what the idea for the video is going to be like, so we need to come up with that yet, but it will somehow related to the lyrics.
 The Internet
Bartek
The internet is just an amazing tool. Before the internet you could just tell all your mates and that's it. Now you can use YouTube as an alternative media you can make your own alternative television if you wanted to.
Through the internet you can achieve a lot more and get to a lot more people. A very good example of that is so called 'Arab Spring' where people have been spreading messages and organising themselves through the internet. In Syria they don't let any journalists in the country and all the footage you get is filmed on mobile phones and uploaded on YouTube etc. Gigging
Bartek;
We always give 100% in every gig, it doesn't matter if there is 1, 100 or 1000 people, we always go for it because we enjoy what we do and that's it. It is only fair to the people who came to watch you.
If you come and watch a band at an audience perspective if they don't look they they are enjoying themselves, why should I be enjoying it? We try to go for it and enjoy ourselves, hopefully that comes across. I enjoy performing all of the songs, there will be certain ones you will like more, but it tends to change around. And you always enjoy newer songs. I love playing gigs, because it's about enjoying yourself and interacting with the crowd. Mat;
We can do a 3 hour rehearsal and play through the set a few times and I can do one set and I can come off absolutely knackered and dripping with sweat. Bartek,
Although I'm not the drummer and he is working the hardest I come off the set absolutely wet. Dean:
We try and put some good jumps so everyone can have a good laugh. I think when you do a gig, you are always going to play what you think is your strongest 30 minutes, so over a period of time you hope to have like a catalogue of songs that you have got and 10 of your best songs you play live. I suppose that's just a natural thing.
I think if you only had 10 songs you were playing 10 years ago, you might as well pack it in. it is always about doing better song and doing more stuff.
Recording Bartek
I really like the process of recording Mat:
Yeah, building up the songs from nothing to the finished article. Bartek:
It's something that started in your house, you were thinking of a riff and then you created it with the entire band and then when it comes to the actual putting things down on track that's one of the most amazing things to do. And we care a lot about our sound and always want to do the best recordings possible. But I equally like playing live. Our EP's
We have 2 EP's at the moment, one has 3 songs on and the other has 5 songs on, it's all about the money at the end of the day, we just can't afford to go in the studio and record indefinitely. We constantly come up with new stuff anyway.
But the music industry is so hard, there are so many obstacles and sometimes it's about who you know and I suppose it's a lot to do with bigger labels, by whom the whole music industry is dominated. It's like little corporations almost, like a little system in a bigger system really. Punk scene Bartek;
The word punk is very specific to some people I think. It's not just music but the way you think. Probably to some kids nowadays punk means something different than it means to me. Having said that we want to be an inclusive band and create an inclusive scene where everybody is welcome. There is no point in creating a punk ghetto. Dean:
I think the music has changed within the punk scene. I'm not right in saying scenes cos I'm not sure there is a scene It a lot more difficult to categorise it now. The scene has moved on, the kids gigging now are listening to bands that is not exactly punk that we grew up with. A lot of people, if you say punk to them now, they just think of the sex pistols, '77 that sort of thing or UK '82. The old school punk band, they'll probably be saying that every single gig they are playing is dead, and that scene is dwindling away, because everyone points to those gigs are now 40 or 50 and they got other responsibilities. Bartek:
I think it is true to a degree in England, but when you look at other countries it'll be very different, all punk bands attract bigger crowds still, so it could be truthful to the UK, but not necessarily to other countries if you look at it globally. I've noticed the difference between Poland and here in terms of people turning up for gigs.
In Poland when I was turning up to gigs everyone just went because it was a punk gig, it didn't matter who actually played. In Manchester anyway, many people will just turn up to watch bigger bands and can't be bothered to see less known bands. It's just an impression I've got that some gigs are really poorly attended, it's a bit of a shame to be honest.
I think it's kind of strange in a way because this punk culture movement was born in the UK (with predecessors in USA) and now you've got an opposite trend almost. From my experience in Poland the crowd fluctuates a lot, you get an influx of young people all the time but older people don't stay in it for a long time, because people will get settled with families and there are few people that go to gigs that used to go to gigs 20 years ago.
When you put a punk band on in Poland it's full of 16-29 year olds and that'll be the majority of the crowd. Dean;
If you think about people who go out on a regular basis they are aged about 18-25 age bracket, they won't go to see any of those old school bands they are not interested, they wonna go and see like The Flatliners.
At the end of the day, it depends what is fashionable at the moment. It depends what you got on it can be really busy or really quiet.
Manchester at the moment is just saturated, where you got a couple of free gigs every week, then probably 2-3 medium sized bands and then one hitting the academy and this is every week. You got to compete with a gig almost every night and people will only go out once or twice a week cos they've not got thousands of pounds. Also you get loads of bands that play over and over again locally, which doesn't help anybody: venues, promoters, the band itself and they play in free places and the beer is cheap.
You can go from a band playing 200 people to six months later down to 80 people, that's not because the band has got less popular, it's just because people have got other things going on and there is more choice. At the underground level, when you get to the DIY network and that's still there, but as soon as it gets to a certain level it isn't any genre anything it's just music and you fall into the same category as every other type of music. There's no difference. It's about selling tickets or CD's or pints of beer.
Pay to Play
Bartek:
I would definitely not pay to play because of the principles. I think it's a disgrace a band has to pay to play a gig, if anything I should think the band should get paid. People sometimes don't realise how much effort, energy, work and money you have to put in to write songs, buy your gear, get to venues etc. It is a ridiculous someone asking you to pay to be able to play. Dean:
In London it still goes on at all different levels, around Manchester there's not that many probably cut punk that are going to do it and they'll probably hit the indie bands where the fan base is bigger. So with the punk scene quite small anyway.
Future plans New material Bartek:
I'm looking forward to working with Dean on the new stuff, his ideas and contributions. It will be different in a sense because we have our own style. Obviously when you write the new songs you are always thinking of developing, I think every person as an individual brings in their own personality. So there will be always an influence from everybody who contributes to the project. But, I don't think we are going to change the style dramatically.
We are going to remain heavy and aggressive. So, we'll have some new songs and have some freshness about them. We have a plan of recording a couple of songs relatively soon with Dean, because we want to get his bass and his voice on some recordings. His voice is adding a lot now I think.
Next February making a video to one of those songs. Then the future plan after that is to record an album, maybe the end of next year. Dean:
That's what we are trying to focus on now is me doing more vocals. When I get my head round learning the words. I just go for it. Sometimes you think what would work good in this song. Like when we do Media lie, I'll do the higher pitch stuff and like Burn the World, I'll do the lower stuff.
We'll try and work it around the song with a certain style, you can't sing everything with the same style. The old songs are the old songs and they can stay where they are. When we come up with new stuff we'll all chip in together and we'll work on it from that but I've not got this, everything is going to change and we're going to be a skate punk band by next year.
I've not come here saying you really need to do this and you need to do that. I think you got to settle into a band. In a way if I came and did that it'll be like I'm taking the piss, saying look I'm sorry but this is really crap! Some people do, new people come in and change the band completely, base it around what they like. But especially after Rebel Conspiracy has been going for so many years, it'll be wrong to.
Bartek; Dean:
even if you don't know it you are doing it naturally. More Exposure Bartek;
it's very hard for everybody out there, the next step to take it further is to go with a label. You can only do so much on your own without any support and all the bands that have made it or have become a bit bigger they are all with labels. Dean;
I think that's natural for those labels to hit those bands once they get to a certain recognition anyway. You have got to do a lot of gigging up and down the country, even if it's getting 10-50 people knowing the material, that's like a step one on the ladder, Bartek:
The original hardcore scene, especially in America, if you watch that film American Hardcore, it was all about bands just playing for other people and they were just doing it for themselves, it was all about DIY and connecting with each other, like one band going to Washington and another one going to LA in return.
Now it's just become like a mainstream music scene basically. All those bands who started long time ago as DIY, anti capitalistic, anti-mainstream, call it what you like, if they've 'made it', it means they earn money from it and it works with the same principles as the mainstream music industry, just on a smaller scale. This is not a criticism, just stating the fact. It's just what naturally happens. Rebel Conspiracy in 3 years time Bartek
I like to think we would've played gigs all over the UK and outside of the UK maybe even America, releasing at least 1-2 albums and getting on a label. The main thing for the band is to be writing new things and to be putting out new things. Before gigging you want to get people to listen to your music. |
