GODLESS WICKED
CREEPS, from Aarhus, Denmark, started their musical career in 1993. A
6-track demo, made in March 94, was send to a few labels and magazines.
The german label CRAZY LOVE RECORDS got a tape from a friend, and
contacted the band for a 7" vinyl, with 3 other bands.
In 1994 they released the first album VICTIM OF SCIENCE on CRAZY LOVE
RECORDS. First as cd, only (the first CLR-cd, by the way). Later, May
?98, re-released as picture disc vinyl.The style then, was fast,
pure?n?punk psychobilly.
GODLESS WICKED CREEPS got very good reviews on VICTIM OF SCIENCE, and started touring all over Europe.
Only one year after the first album, the band was in the studio again
for the recordings of the 2nd album HELLCOHOLIC, which was a
breakthrough for the band.
They toured Europe again in 1996 and played at various festivals before large audiences counting 1500-2000 people.
GODLESS WICKED CREEPS played in following countries: Finland, Sweden,
Denmark, Germany, England, Holland, Austria, France and Spain.
In 1997 the 3rd album HYSTEREO was released and this time the touring included U.S.A.
A month (March 1998) of touring up and down the westcoast in the states
was at the same time the end of the original line-up. Guitarist Thomas
Mejer chose to leave the band almost a year before, but helped out
getting a new giutarist to replace him.
Well, Kim & Martin decided to make Godless a fourpiece-band. A new
guitarist and a new singer had to be found. They didn?t have to look
far. Nikolaj, the giutarist was taken from Martins other band, THE
DEFECTORS, where Martin plays the organ. Lars, the singer was taken from
Kims other band, LEZ BOOMERANG. Lars is playing the drums in Lez
Boomerang and is the brother of Kim.
Half a year of rehearsing with the new line-up, and now ready to kick some butts again.!
The new line-up played a few gigs in Europe before going to the States
again. Oktober and November 1998 took them, again from San Diego, over
L.A., San Fransico to Seattle.This time also Las vegas, Salt Lake City,
Reno, Portland and even Vancouver in Canada were visited.
GODLESS WICKED CREEPS are now releasing their 4th. album, SMILE. (August 1. 2001)
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C.
and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a
strong influence on the punk scene, both stylistically and in
establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and concert promotion. Minor Threat's song "Straight Edge" became the eventual basis of the straight edge movement, with the band often professing their own "straight edge" ideals. AllMusic described Minor Threat's music as "iconic" and noted that their groundbreaking music "has held up better than [that of] most of their contemporaries."
Along with the fellow Washington, D.C. hardcore band Bad Brains and California band Black Flag,
Minor Threat set the standard for many hardcore punk bands in the 1980s
and 1990s. All of Minor Threat's recordings were released on Ian
MacKaye and Jeff Nelson's own label, Dischord Records. The Minor Threat EP and their only full-length studio album Out of Step have received a number of accolades and are cited as landmarks of the hardcore punk genre.
History
Formation and early years
Prior to forming Minor Threat in 1980, vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson had played bass and drums respectively in the Teen Idles while attending Wilson High School. During their two-year career within the flourishing Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene,
the Teen Idles had gained a following of around one hundred fans (a
sizable amount at the time), and were seen as only second within the
scene to the contemporary Bad Brains. MacKaye and Nelson were strong believers in the DIY
mentality and an independent, underground music scene. After the
breakup of the Teen Idles, they used the money earned through the band
to create Dischord Records, an independent record label that would host the releases of the Teen Idles, Minor Threat, and numerous other D.C. punk bands.
Eager to start a new band after the Teen Idles, MacKaye and Nelson recruited guitarist Lyle Preslar and bassist Brian Baker. They played their first performance in December 1980 to fifty people in a basement, opening for Bad Brains, The Untouchables, Black Market Baby and S.O.A., all D.C. bands.
The band's first 7" EPs, Minor Threat and In My Eyes, were released in 1981. The group became popular regionally and toured the east coast and Midwest.
"Straight Edge", a song from the band's first EP, helped to inspire the straight edge movement. The lyrics of the song call for abstinence from alcohol and other drugs,
a novel ideology for rock musicians which initially found a small but
dedicated following. Other prominent groups that subsequently advocated
the straight edge stance include SS Decontrol and 7 Seconds.
"Out of Step", A Minor Threat song from their second EP, further
demonstrates the said belief: "Don't smoke/Don't drink/Don't fuck/At
least I can fucking think/I can't keep up/I'm out of step with the
world." The "I" in the lyrics was usually only implied, mainly because
it did not quite fit the rhythm of the song, like the updated version on
the 1983 album Out of Step,
which is slower, allotting a bridge where MacKaye explains his
philosophy of straight edge, explaining that straight edge "is not a set
of rules; I'm not telling you what to do. All I'm saying is there are
three things, that are like so important to the whole world that I don't
happen to find much importance in, whether it's fucking, or whether
it's playing golf, because of that, I feel... (chorus)". Some of the
other members of Minor Threat, Jeff Nelson in particular, took exception
to what they saw as MacKaye's imperious attitude on the song.
Minor Threat's song "Guilty of Being White" led to some accusations of racism,
but MacKaye has strongly denied such intentions and said that some
listeners misinterpreted his words. He claims that his experiences
attending Wilson High School, whose student population was 70 percent
black, inspired the song. There, many students bullied MacKaye and his
friends.
Thrash metal band Slayer later covered
the song, with the last iteration of the lyric "Guilty of being white"
changed to "Guilty of being right." In an interview, MacKaye stated that
he was offended that some perceived racist overtones in the lyrics,
saying, "To me, at the time and now, it seemed clear it's an anti-racist
song. Of course, it didn't occur to me at the time I wrote it that
anybody outside of my twenty or thirty friends who I was singing to
would ever have to actually ponder the lyrics or even consider them."
Hiatus
In the time between the release of the band's second seven-inch EP and the Out of Step record, the band briefly split when guitarist Lyle Preslar moved to Illinois to attend college for a semester at Northwestern University, Preslar was a member of Big Black for a few tempestuous rehearsals. During that period, MacKaye and Nelson put together a studio-only project called Skewbald/Grand Union;
in a reflection of the slowly increasing disagreements between the two
musicians, they were unable to decide on one name. The group recorded
three untitled songs, which would be released posthumously as Dischord's 50th release. During Minor Threat's inactive period, Brian Baker also briefly played guitar for Government Issue and appeared on the Make an Effort EP.
In March 1982, at the urging of Bad Brains' H.R., Preslar left college to reform Minor Threat. The reunited band featured an expanded lineup: Steve Hansgen joined as the band's bassist and Baker switched to second guitar.
When "Out of Step" was rerecorded for the LP Out of Step,
MacKaye inserted a spoken section explaining, "This is not a set of
rules..." An ideological door had already been opened, however, and by
1982, some straight-edge punks, such as followers of the band SS Decontrol, were swatting beers out of people's hands at clubs.
Breakup
Poster promoting what would be Minor Threat's final show.
Minor Threat broke up in 1983. A contributing factor was disagreement
over musical direction. MacKaye was allegedly skipping practice
sessions towards the end of the band's career, and he wrote the lyrics
to the songs on the Salad Days
EP in the studio. That was quite a contrast with the earlier
recordings, as he had written and co-written the music for much of the
band's early material. Minor Threat, which had returned to being a
four-piece group with the departure of Hansgen, played its final show on
September 23, 1983, at the Lansburgh Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., sharing the bill with go-go band Trouble Funk, and Austin, Texas, punk funk act the Big Boys. In a meaningful way, Minor Threat ended their final set with "Last Song", which was the original title of "Salad Days".
Following the breakup, MacKaye stated that he did not "check out" on hardcore, but in fact hardcore "checked out." Explaining this, he stated that at a 1984 Minutemen show, a fan struck MacKaye's younger brother Alec
in the face, and he punched the fan back, then realizing that the
violence was "stupid," and that he saw his role in the stupidity.
MacKaye claimed that immediately after this he decided to leave the
hardcore scene.
Subsequent activities
In March 1984, six months after the band broke up, the EPs Minor Threat and In My Eyes were compiled together and re-released as the Minor Threat album.
MacKaye went on to found Embrace with former members of the Faith, Egg Hunt with Jeff Nelson, and later Fugazi and the Evens, as well as collaborating on Pailhead.
Baker went on to play in Junkyard, the Meatmen, Dag Nasty and Government Issue. He currently plays in Bad Religion.
Preslar was briefly a member of Glenn Danzig's Samhain,
and his playing appears on a few songs on the band's first record. He
joined The Meatmen in 1984, along with fellow Minor Threat member Brian
Baker. He later ran Caroline Records, signing and working with (among others) Peter Gabriel, Ben Folds, Chemical Brothers, and Idaho, and ran marketing for Sire Records. He graduated from Rutgers University School of Law and lives in New Jersey.
Nelson played less-frantic alternative rock with Three
and The High-Back Chairs before retiring from live performance. He runs
his own label, Adult Swim Records, distributed by Dischord, and is a
graphic artist and a political activist in Toledo, Ohio. The band's own Dischord Records released material by many bands from the Washington, D.C., area, such as Government Issue, Void, Scream, Fugazi, Artificial Peace, Rites of Spring, Gray Matter, and Dag Nasty, and has become a respected independent record label.
Hansgen formed Second Wind with Rich Moore, a former Minor Threat roadie and drummer for the Untouchables. He also worked with Tool in 1992 on the production of their first EP, Opiate.
Copyright issues
"Major Threat"
In 2005, a mock-up of the cover of Minor Threat's first EP (also used on the Minor Threat LP and Complete Discography CD) was copied by athletic footwear manufacturer Nike
for use on a promotional poster for a skateboarding tour called "Major
Threat". Nike also altered Minor Threat's logo (designed by Jeff Nelson)
for the same campaign, as well as featuring Nike shoes in the new
picture, rather than the combat boots worn by Ian MacKaye's younger
brother Alec on the original.
MacKaye issued a press statement condemning Nike's actions and said
that he would discuss legal options with the other members of the band.
Meanwhile, fans, at the encouragement of Dischord, organized a
letter-writing campaign protesting Nike's infringement. On June 27,
2005, Nike issued a statement apologizing to Minor Threat, Dischord
Records, and their fans for the "Major Threat" campaign and said that
all promotional artwork (print and digital) that they could acquire were
destroyed.
"Salad Days"
On October 29, 2005, Fox played the first few seconds of Minor Threat's "Salad Days" during an NFL broadcast. Use of the song was not cleared by Dischord Records or any of the members of Minor Threat. Fox claimed that the clip was too short to have violated any copyrights.
Wheelhouse Pickles
In 2007, Brooklyn-based company Wheelhouse Pickles marketed a pepper sauce named "Minor Threat Sauce". Requesting only that the original label design (which was based on the "Bottled Violence" artwork) be amended, Ian MacKaye gave the product his endorsement. A small mention of this was made in music magazine Revolver, where MacKaye commented "I don't really like hot sauce but I like the Minor Threat stuff".
Urban Outfitters
In 2013, Minor Threat shirts began appearing in Urban Outfitters
stores. Ian MacKaye confirmed that the shirts were officially licensed.
Having spent what he described as "a complete waste of time" trying to
track down bootlegged
Minor Threat merchandise, MacKaye and Dischord made arrangements with a
merchandise company in California to manage licensing of the bands
shirts. In comments that appeared in Rolling Stone,
MacKaye called it "absurd" for the shirts to be sold for $28 but
concluded that "my time is better spent doing other things" than dealing
with shirts. Dischord had taken action against Forever 21 in 2009 for marketing unlicensed Minor Threat shirts.
TONTTU:
Anti-Gnomemartialindustrialneofolkmetal since the 90’s.
As everyone knows TONTTU is the most
recognizable name, some would even go as far as saying it to be the household
name, in Anti-Gnome Muzik. Many have tried but no one except TONTTU has succeeded
to dedicate all their musical output to eradicating gnomes and everything that
is connected to those vile cretins and redcappers.
After their highly hated and vastly
underrated first album, Nekrognomekon (including their first 3 EPs), they
landed on a safe haven with the label Panicmachine. At this point their
original line-up had changed dramatically leaving Tonttufindergeneral Hanz-Baal
to carry the torch as gnomes kidnapped one of the crew, Petja, and as TONTTU
does not negotiate with terrorists: Out with the old, in with the new! The
New-Anti-Gnome-Order had been born with Großinquisitor Rudolf Von Deer and
later on High Commander Hephzipah.
Years went by and many highly uneasylistening
albums (give or take 9 including remake albums and collaborations and what not)
later they are at the point where they would like to be (unless their desire
would not be in totally smashing the gnomenkind…): Somewhat underground, mostly
covered with foil and spreading The (righteous) Anti-Gnome Propaganda throughout
the world with numerous highly valued comrades including Freiherr von Gargamel
and Marcel P. of Miel Noir (both of whom joined the ranks on the latest album)
and naturally P. Emerson Williams who has been very close to the project also
making the most documentative gnome-art for TONTTU.
The future will bring The Book revealing everything about gnomes’ schemes +21%
and giving those reading it the most horrible insight of the world ruled by
gnomes. Future will also show us the direction where TONTTU is heading, there
will be more comrades, that much is certain!
Reminder: All of TONTTU’s lyrics (in videos and in albums) has been translated
in English, so you will not miss the point if it for some peculiar reason tries
to escape you (note: probably reason feels endangered by the presence of gnomes
and runs for its life).
1)Hello my enigmatic friend from
Tonttu. Lol… I would like to know how,why and when did you start to make music?
(Well hello there, Tonttufindergeneral Hanz-Baal greets you with secret
hand signs which are yet to be defined, but damn, do they look cool!)
As for TONTTU the beginning was somewhere during the 95-97: ish… Those
were the most troubled times and one cannot really point the exact point when
the destiny made me do this. If we use our first release (Kabouter Dämmerung cdr-ep) as the holy sign then I would have to
say 96 or so… If we use the first version of “Saunatonttu” then it could well
be 95: ish… Does it really matter? No, as nothing but eradicating gnomes is of
the essence. But Saunatonttu just came out of nowhere so it could have been
just this planet’s cry for help which we heard. And if one is heartless enough
not to answer that kind of calling, well, let us say I am not one of those
gnome-liberals to do so!
2) Your music is very peculiar, I particularly
liked, is a nice blend between folk, industrial and metal… I would like that
you explain this blend for us…
Anything and everything what delights and inspires to hunt down those
soul munching beard faced vessels of doom and destruction. Naturally anything
goes as long as the ideology of the song is Anti-Gnomen in the end. Thinking
outside of those boxes gnomes manufacture and make us accept through mind
manipulation.
“What sounds good at the moment” is the way to go and naturally those
being involved bring their own vision joining in… Let us say we do proper
inquisition before anyone is let even close to our dear project, no stone
unturned or gnome unburned, as they say everywhere in the world.
3) Tells us What are some of the major influences on Tonttu?
Ach, there always is the starting points and
influences do change when one evolves (well unless one is possessed / infected
by and / or sympathizing gnomes, then only devolution reigns supreme). But I
think there are certain corner stones that will stick.
First of all I must say Laibach, they are always evolving and their sounds truly make one
think of pyre of gnomes! I think liking Laibach seems to be the glue in TONTTU,
well that is the sign of a very good taste in my books!
King Diamond / Mercyful Fate: Telling
stories theatrically using different characters, what is there not to like? I
find extreme pleasure in imitating gnomes’ screeching voices! Obviously horror
influences are strong in our stuff for some peculiar reason as what are gnomes
except for pure horror come in the putrid and stenchy flesh.
Isengard /
Storm (some Darkthrone albums): Aren’t they the masters of folkish forest
metal or not? I think they are! Their vision is an inspiration indeed!
Of course there are numerous other influences
like NON’s exquisite song “Total
War”, Blood Axis, gotta even say Two Witches as some of their stuff had a
vast impact to our music as we started. One which I must especially mention is Keuhkot, Finnish Avant-Garde orchestra
from Finland… They do (he does…) not leave any boxes unburned!
Of course there are
also many industrial groups that has given us some ideas namely Ministry etc,
but I think I will leave it to this. Any good band making good, original music
will do…
4)
Do you have plans to play in some
festivals,gigs,tours in other countries or in other continents?
NO! That will cover this question. TONTTU is a project (The Project!)
and we will use our time efficiently only making new Anti-Gnome Muzik when the
time is ripe.
Well, the main reason naturally is that we must keep our covers
unscathed as gnomes really would like to identify us and use it against us.
We have been asked but we have always declined
nothing personal in that for those who have been courageous enough to ask us
(highly appreciated, though.)
5) When will you release a new album?
Toughie! Well, preparations are in progress for the 9: th chapter but
nothing has been decided yet. As the last album, Riimuja ja Tonttuja (and WWGS3,
with our dear friends FAHL, for that
matter) was kinda stylish and monolithic we must destroy that to rebuild
something different! There will be more comrades included so time tables will
be a bit tricky yet manageable, me thinketh. Let us see how this goes.
But next chapter in TONTTU-story will be the book to make every other
book obsolete and worthy of burning, it will be released through Panicmachine and will include amazing
artwork by P. Emerson Williams and
highly descriptive text by Thomas Jude
Barclay Morrison with yours truly. The text is ready and Emerson is
preparing the artwork as we speak, braise yourselves!
6)
What your point of view about
underground music nowadays? And What your opinion about new bands? Are there creativity
and innovation? BTW: You are very creative,your band is very different that I
have listen…
Well thank you, we must have achieved one of our goals, then! Naturally
our only goal in the long run is to eradicate every gnome on this wretched
planet ruled by them!
There are loads of good stuff, even those innovative ones, so all those
yearning for goode olde days should shut up and try to open their mind or then
again it is always an option to listen to those classic albums, nothing wrong
with that (just saying that there is no use whining about things that are
taking place whether we like em or not and/or bash bands that are trying their
best and beat the odds to get a listen or two). No, the world is not the same
as it once was neither the music as a whole is and will never be. Gnomes have
made it pretty damn hard for musicians to make it financially (we do not care,
as we are doing this purely out of desire to follow our hearts’ calling to
persecute and destroy gnomenkind) but that does not change the fact that there
is loads of great music up for grabs and hey, you may even pay for it when you
face the luring “Pay what you want”-option…. Even buying the physical version
if you get totally wild!
I would like to give a highest of fives to those who came up with the
idea of Bandcamp, must be one of the greatest inventions to keep up and coming new
music available in one location and great platform all around.
One of the sadder parts of digitalization is that ideas spread like
wildfire and suddenly you see gazillion bands doing exactly the same thing
leaving one feel a bit sad and empty… One genre that comes in mind, even though
I love some of the more original ones like 777
Babalon, is Dark Ambient… But hey, same applies to this; you do not have to
listen to anything you do not like! Pick the cherries that delight you and try
to support them with likes/shares/buying and be happy for those who have good
time doing music, even though you might not like it… Someone else just might.
As for the bands: Lucky enough to have stumbled (and even collaborated with) on
many great new and innovative bands through our little project, listen to our
dear friends Miel Noir for example,
astonishing! Listen and you shall find!
As for the zines etc: I feel for you, guys, must be quite a headache to
try to find those acts worthy of noticing and I sure understand why you are
covering mostly those bands already having some kinda reputation… One has only
so much time in his/hers hands and it is a rare bunch who gains by doing that
precious work you do. Keep it up!
Hhahahah, we are making it easier for zines as they must be repulsed
seeing our agenda, if they get through that then there is the problem of
deciding whether we belong to their box to begin with! That being said thank
you for your time and effort for those giving us the chance namely Kaaoszine, Intravenous Magazine (THANK
YOU!!!), Tuonela Magazine and others that did not make it to the list this
time… Most delinquent and inappropriate handshake to Steven G. from Brutal Resonance, you are one of the
reasons we continued after Nekrognomekon, hahhaahha…. Happy? Hopefully you will
not get beaten up for this…. Of course hope you do, if you wish that to be the
case… I am liberal also in that way.
As for that horrid thing that those bigger record (media) companies are
doing… Not even the lowest of fives for them… Syndicated playlists and pushing
horrible social media celebrities etc is the most gnomified thing that the
music industry has ever faced. Shame on you and make gnomes eat your spleens!
Probably they won’t, as gnomes must enjoy every second stations playing those
same hits over and over again.
I used to love radio but they sure are making it hard nowadays.
It is quite hard to define underground nowadays, I think. If it is
everything that does not get any kind of recognition in mainstream the
underground is one of the biggest entities to ever roam this gnomified
existence, hehehehe.
Listen to Podcasts etc and you will find absolutely amazing music played
by bands you may have never heard of. I would like to recommend Eterna
Oscuridad Radio and Victor & co first and foremost for including us in
their shows and showcasing plethora of amazing bands to those who are listening
to those brilliant casts. Big Hand also for those I did not mention here for
playing TONTTU and our collaborators!
7)I did this question in another
interview with manyfrom other countries
too,however is very interesting to know what do you know about Brazil? Please
without carnival and football. Hahahahahaha…
Well first things that comes to mind is the huge size of it and also the
most beautiful nature (until gnomes destroy it for quick cash…) There also may
be a bit of a problem with gnomes running rampant in the streets as inequality
is quite an issue it also increases the chances for gnomes getting more influence
in everyday events, if I have understood it right.
Loads of resources=Loads of things to loot and ravage, sorry to say.
Have met a few people (thank you, social media) from there and always
been happily surprised, what are the odds?
One thing that comes in mind when facing gnomish entities is naturally
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (when you do not have your trusted flamethrower with you,
that is…) Many famous fighters in UFC etc from your country.
Quite the large musical scene (you name it!) in so many genres and the
most oddish liking of Finnish punk-bands, LOL.
Sepultura! I like those older albums with Cavaleras.
To sum it up: Loads of good things but sad to say also those usual
problems that we all are facing in the modern world: Gnomes that is!
DECADENCE: Very good answer,I´m brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and there is a punk band in Finland called FORÇA MACABRA that sing their music in Brazilian Portuguese. hahahahahaha....
8) Tonttu you are free to say what you
want.
How nice of you! Words to live by: Support those you like, do not waste your
time / energy on those not worth it and always try to stay Anti-Gnomen! If
everyone exclusively hated gnomes and nothing else but them this world would be
a quite much better place.
Thank you for this chance to spread The Righteous Gnospel and pleasure
meeting you.
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