HC History mit Stevie Williams von Clowns – Wie alles begann #56

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Die erste Show, die erste Platte und seine größten Einflüsse! Wir sprachen anlässlich des neuen Clowns Albums Nature/Nurture mit Sänger Stevie Williams über seine Hardcore-Punk-Roots und wie er zur Musik und Szene gekommen ist.

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1Do you remember the first hardcore / punk show you went to? Is the club still open today?

The first hardcore gig I ever went to was Parkway Drive at a venue called Pier Live in an area near where I grew up called Frankston (how bloody fair dinkum aussie bloke am I right now?). The venue still exists and we actually rehearse across the road from it! They were considered quite a big band back then but it’s pretty wild to think how big Parkway Drive are now compared to when I first saw them back in 2009. For a trip down memory lane, I streamed their whole set at Wacken 2016 on YouTube the other day but they didn’t play one song there that they would have played at that at Pier Live, haha. I love how they have evolved into this metal powerhouse, but I’ll always remember them for their shamelessly brutal breakdown metal days.

2What is your all-time favorite club or location?

I’ve got to say, I love The Tote in the inner city Melbournian suburb of Collingwood. It’s a must visit on any trip Melbourne! The place breathes with music history and it’s pretty much an Australian music icon. It first became a live music venue in 1980 and since then has been host gigs for bands like Mudhoney, Fugazi, The Birthday Party, Hard Ons, Courtney Barnett, Big Fredia and everyone in between! One time I ran into Greg Ginn there and he bought me a beer.

3Do you remember the first hardcore / punk record you got?

The first punk record I ever owned would have been The Offspring’s Americana, and it was on cassette. Those loud guitars and catchy melodies were enough persuasion on my 7-year-old brain to make me wanna ruin my life with punk music from there on out. It’s still one of my favourite albums.

4In your opinion what is the perfect hardcore show?

One with a diverse lineup, where people respectfully push get wild at the front of the stage and aren’t just a bunch of macho boneheads showing off their Muay Thai. Mosh etiquette, it’s a thing.

5What is your all-time favorite show you’ve played?

It’s so hard to choose, I can’t even remember them all. But off the top of my head, I’m going to say Holzrock on July 22 2017 in Schopfheim. It was pissing down with rain and everyone was in their tents avoiding the weather. Knowing that no one was going to watch us, right before we played I had the stagehand speak German over the PA and announce to the field of tents that if anyone wanted to see the band, they were welcome to come side of stage and watch us from there. Sure enough, some people starting coming out of their tents… and then some more came, and then some more… Until there were maybe one hundred people causing a riot on stage as we played. It got pretty stupid pretty fast, but I loved the anarchy. Someone was crowd surfing on the stage and they got thrown onto our guitarist Jarrod’s amp causing it to break and he couldn’t play the rest of the set. Then the storm went electrical and there was crazy lightning and the power to the festival all died, including all lights and sound. People boo’d for a couple of minutes and then miraculously the power went back on and we finished the set. Everyone loved it, except for Jarrod because couldn’t play his amp anymore and he just watched from the side of the stage getting soaked.

6Is there a show you missed in the past that still makes you angry that you could not be there?

The first time I ever went to LA, I missed the opportunity by a bees dick to see Macaulay Culkin’s pizza-themed Velvet Underground cover band The Pizza Underground at the Whiskey A Go Go. They played the same day I was flying back to Australia, and I still kick myself over it.

7What band would you like to see again?

Brutus!!

8Is there a person who has influenced you especially in hardcore / punk?

When the band was starting to find it’s feet, I wanted to be like a mixture of Nick Cave, Henry Rollins and Jay from Frenzal. Now that I’m a bit older, I’m just trying to be myself.

9What are you top 3 hardcore-punk drummers / front men (women)?

Brody Dalle (The Distillers), Joey Jordison, Murray Cook (The red wiggle)

10Are there some newer bands you could mention?

Press Club, Pagan, Private Function

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Nature/Nurture ist am 12. April 2019 über Fat Wreck Chords erschienen. Unser Review zum neuen Clowns-Album findet ihr hier.

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