ZAGORO MOJA
Ante Tešija
Hrvoje Bubić | Interview with Dean Rispler
Hrvoje Bubić
1.For the beginning, how did you get started with music? What was your crucial moment for engaging with music? What were your influences ?
I started playing violin in school when I was in fourth grade. I believe I was about 9 years old. I was already enamored with rock-n-roll. My mom had a bunch of old 45s that I used to listen to and loved – The Troggs and Tommy James & The Shondells were the earliest I could remember. But I got really into local rock radio and I was lucky to know a bunch of older kids in my neighborhood who turned me on to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc. And, somehow, I just got myself into metal. I bought Ozzy’s Blizzard Of Ozz on cassette when I was about 11. When I was 12, I discovered my mom’s guitar – she plays a little bit of guitar, piano and some other instruments – and I eventually abandoned the violin. I really had no interest anymore in that. I just wanted to rock on guitar. By the time I was 13, I was so deep into metal – Venom, Metallica, Manowar, Mercyful Fate, Motorhead, etc. – but I kept wanting it to be faster and harsher. I kept reading about hardcore, punk and crossover in many different fanzines. So, like the curious kid I was, I just started buying punk and HC records and fell in love with all that stuff, too.
2. What was the scene in NY back in those days, when you played with Murphy’s Law? And how did you get in the band? Did you meet anybody from The Ramones, Blondie,Talking Heads, Suicide? How was CBGB’s club? And what is new with the all-knowing hardcore scene today? Did you ever collaborated with someone like Agnostic Front, SOD, MOD, Anthrax?
The scene in New York was wild for me. I started going to shows when I was pretty young. I saw The Replacements, Husker Du, Lords Of The New Church – all when I was about 15 years old. I started seeing shows at CBGB’s when I was about 17 or so. It was a crazy and sometimes very violent scene when it came to hardcore and metal. A lot of fights. A lot of dumb knuckleheads. But, it was fun.
I didn’t start playing with Murphy’s Law until 1995. I played with them for a full year and then on and off for another year. I was also playing guitar for a bit with Crown Of Thornz. It was a total blast, but my head was elsewhere and I wanted to do different things.
As far as The Ramones go, I met Joey, Dee Dee, Tommy, Marky and CJ. They were all very nice. I still see CJ once in a blue moon. I unfortunately never met Alan Vega nor Martin Rev from Suicide. I love that band so much. I did meet Clem Burke from Blondie who is very nice.
CBGB’s was an amazing place. All the wild history aside, that place had one of the best sound systems ever. It sounded so good in there. Possibly the best on stage sound I have ever witnessed.
I never collaborated with any of the above mentioned HC bands, but definitely played shows with them. I have produced records by Killing Time, 25 ta Life, Crown Of Thornz, Comin’ Correct, Skarhead and a slew of others.
3.Can you tell me about The Dictators? How did you get in the band? How did you guys meet? What are your plans in future? What was that incident in Israel? And what member was in Manowar?
Well, we are legally known as The Dictators NYC as of now. But I won’t get into that now. Long story.
I was playing with J.P. Thunderbolt Patterson from Dictators/Manitoba’s Wild Kingdom for years in different projects. So when The Dictators wanted to start playing again, they called me. And that’s the way it’s been for 6 years now.
Ross The Boss is the guitarist for The Dictators. He was also a founding member of Manowar. He currently has the Ross The Boss band doing a ton of Manowar songs and bunch of new things in the works. He also has a killer band called Death Dealer that has two records out now.
I don’t know anything about Israel. Was there some sort of incident? If there was, I was not involved.
4.You have been a producer for a long time for a lot of bands. How did you get started as producer? What are your working methods – your criteria for someone to work with you since you said in one interview that you appreciate passion rather technique? Can you little explain that? And what is your opinion about modern rock and general music today?
I was in a band in 1992 that went into the studio with the founder/songwriter of The Dictators, Andy Shernoff. He was producing the record. I saw the way he was doing things and I thought to myself “I can do this!” So I came back to the same studio a few months later with two different bands and produced recordings by them. And then the first project that I got paid to produce was Sweet Diesel’s “The Kids Are Dead” for Blackout! Records. And it just kept going from there.
As far as production goes, I try my best to spend some time with the band doing heavy preproduction and getting the band ready and in shape for recording in a studio environment. As far as the passion vs. technique thing goes, that rings true. I will stand by that. There are so many great bands and musicians out there, but that doesn’t mean they all play with passion. Those who do are my favorite. When it comes to modern music, the same things that mattered 60 – 100 years ago (and more!) still matter today. The most important things are songs. You have to have good songs. And, honestly, that’s all that matters when it comes down to it. Though, of course, there are exceptions. Some artists just have an amazing sound and they don’t necessarily need catchy songs. Just listen to all the great Krautrock stuff – Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Can, Faust, Neu!, etc. Although some of those bands wrote amazing songs (Kraftwerk especially), the sound that they had was the most important. The same could be said for a lot of extreme black and death metal. Not a lot of those tracks are memorable, but the sound it quite distinctive and effective.
5.You are a big supporter of independent labels and you run Drug Front Records, so how is it like to run an indie label? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Do you cooperate with other indie labels? What’s your advice for someone who wants to run his own label?
Starting the label for me was a huge mistake. It really was. I do not recommend it to anyone unless they are planning on only doing the label. I have so much other stuff going on that doing the label should have never come up. Plus I made big mistakes in signing bands that really didn’t treat their bands as jobs. They were all hobbies. There was one younger band that I thought was going to go for it, but, like most millennials, their work ethic wasn’t really up to par with what I grew up with. So that quickly turned into a hobby and, eventually, the band broke up.
My advice is if you’re going to do a label, do a label and not much of anything else – unless the anything else part is funneling cash for the label. And only sign artists that are going to work – tour, self-promotion, etc. If the artists are not pitching in, don’t bother. Because it won’t go anywhere.
6.What do you do besides music? I read that by profession you are an anthropologist, so I was wondering are you active in this field. You also love to collect LPs, CDs, cassetes. So I was wondering what is your opinion about internet downloading, the return to vinyl and cassettes, and the difference between music fans these days and yours?
Well, I did graduate with a degree in Anthropology from NYU. That is true. Did I do any sort of anthropological studies or work after graduation? Nope. There are no jobs in that field unless you go back to graduate school. I had no interest in that (though anthropology still interests me). I am not active in that field at all.
As far as collecting goes, I really only am interested in vinyl. I hate CDs and wish I had sold all of mine back in the 90s when a person was able to get between $2.50 – $5.00 per used CD. I find that format as useless as the 8-track (Steve Albini was right!). I have some cassettes because bands have been putting stuff out that way for a bit, but I have very little interest in them. And as far as vinyl collecting goes, I have waned on that a lot. I still buy records, but I am not obsessed by any means.
As far as downloading goes, I am not against it. I download stuff that I want to hear (or that is next to impossible to find) and, if I love it, I will seek it out on vinyl. Plus I download a lot of music that I already own – that is just for convenience so I can put it in my phone and listen in my car, my computer or on headphones when I am away from home.
I will say that it is exciting that vinyl has seen such a new upsurge in sales. It seems that people are really digging it. It’s great! It’s just really expensive. It’s bizarre that it’s totally normal to buy an LP for $20 nowadays. But the pressing costs have gone up. And the worst perpetrator of these costs is the postal service – they raised their rates so ridiculously high over the last 5 years that it has completely effected higher price tags. But, if people are willing to keep buying (as I am), it’s alright with me.
7.For the end, would there ever be a opportunity to see you in Split ?
As of right now, there are no plans. But we do have a booking agent based in Dresden, Germany that loves Eastern Europe. So, there is a possibility that Split (or a nearby city) may see The Dictators NYC soon! I hope so. I personally have never been to Croatia and I hear it’s amazing and beautiful.
HRVATSKI PRIJEVOD….
1.Za početak, kako si se počeo baviti s glazbom, koji su bili tvoji glazbeni počeci? Koji je bio ključni trenutak bio da se baviš glazbom? Koji su ti bili utjecaji?
Počeo sam svirati violinu kada sam bio u četvrtom razredu. Mislim da sam tada imao 9.godina. Moja mama je imala hrpu singlica od 45 okretaja koje sam slušao i volio: The Troggs and Tommy James & The Shondells su bili najranije čega se mogu sjetiti. Ono što me stvarno privuklo bila je lokalna rock radio stanica te sam imao sreće da sam bio poznavao starije dečke u svom susjedstvu koji su onda navukli na Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, itd. I tako nekako ušao sam u metal vode. Kupio sam Ozzy’s Blizzard Of Ozz na kazati kada mi je bilo 11. S 12. sam pronašao sam majčinu gitaru- svirala je pomalo gitaru,violinu i neke druge instrumente- te sam ja međuvremenu zanemario violinu. Tada nisam bio zainteresiran za ništa osim toga. Sve što sam želio jest rokati na gitari. Od dobi od 13. bio sam totalno u metalu – Venom, Metallica, Manowar, Mercyful Fate, Motorhead, itd.- ali želio sam brže i žešće. Nastavio sam čitati o hardcoreu,punk,crossoveru iz raznih fanzima. Pa sam stoga kao znatiželjno dijete kao što sam bio, počeo sam kupovati punk i HC albume te sam se zaljubio u takvu glazbu.
2. Kakva je bila scena tada u NY, kada si svirao s Murphy’s Law? I kako si uopče upao u band? Da li si ikako upoznao nekog iz Ramonesa,Blondie,Talking Headsa,Suicidea? Kakav je bio klub CBGB? Da li si surađivao s nekim kao što su Agnostic Front, SOD, MOD, Anthrax
Scena u NY je bila divlja za mene.Počeo sam iči na koncerte vrlo mlad. Vidio sam The Replacements, Husker Du, Lords Of The New Church – kada sam imao 15 godina. Počeo sam gledati koncerte u CBGB-u kada mi je bilo 17. tu negdje. Bilo je ludo i ponekad jako nasilno kada bi bio hardcore ili metal. Dosta tučnjava. Puno glupih kretena. Ali, bilo je zabavno. Nisam svirao s Murphy’s Law sve do 1995. Svirao sam s njima cijelu godinu i još jednu godinu te iduču nisam. Također sam svirao gitaru s Crown Of Thornz. Bilo je ludilo, ali moja glava je bila negdje drugdje te htio sam raditi drukčije stvari.
Što se tiče Ramonesa,upoznao sam Joeya, Dee Deea, Tommya, Markya and CJa. Bili su dragi prema meni. I dalje viđam CJa u Blue Moona. Nažalost nikada nisam upoznao Alana Vegu niti Martina Reva iz Suicida. Jako volim taj band. Upoznao Clema Burkea iz Blondie koji je također vrlo drag. CBGB je bilo fascinatno mjesto. Uz svoju divlju prošlost sa strane, to mjesto je imalo najbolje zvučne sisteme. Zvučalo je tako dobro tamo. Vjerojatno najbolji zvuk pozornice koji sam ikad doživio.
Nikad nisam surađivao s od ovih gore navedenih HC bandova, ali svakako sam svirao s njima. Producirao sam albume od Killing Time, 25 ta Life, Crown Of Thornz, Comin’ Correct, Skarhead i još par drugih.
3. Možeš li mi reći nešto o Dictatorsima? Kako si upao u band? Kako ste se vi momci okupili? Koji su vam planovi za budućnost? Kakav je to bio incident u Izraelu? Koji je član banda bio u Manowaru?
Pa, službeno smo poznati kao The Dictators NYC za sada. Ali nebi o tome. Duga priča. Svirao sam s J.P. Thunderbolt Patterson iz Dictators/Manitoba’s Wild Kingdom godinama u različitim projektima. Stoga kada su me The Dictators željeli da opet sviram s njima ponovno, pozvali su me. I tako je več to dosad 6 godina.
Ross The Boss je gitarist The Dictatorsa. On je također osnivač Manowara. Trenutno ima band Ross The Boss koji svira dosta stvari od Manowara i dosta novih stvari. Ima opak band koji se zove Death Dealer koji dosada ima dva albuma. Za incident u Izraelu, nemam pojma. Da li je tamo bio nekakav incident? Ako je, tada nisam bio tamo.
4. Ti si već duže vrijeme producent za razne bandove. Kako si počeo kao producent? Kakve su tvoje radne metode- tvoji kriteriji za rad s nekim pošto si rekao u jednom intervju da više cijeniš strast nego tehniku. Možeš li mi malo objasniti o tome? Kakvo je tvoje mišljenje o modernom rocku te o današnjoj glazbi općenito?
Bio sam u bandu 1992. kada smo krenuli u studio s osnivačem/tekstopiscem Dictatorsa, Andyem Shernoffom. On je producirao taj album. Tada sam pomislio „ I ja to mogu!“. Stoga sam se vratio u studio nakon par mjeseci s dvoje različitih bandova i producirajući njihove snimke. I tada prvi projekt za koji sam bio plačen za produciranje je bio Sweet Diesel “The Kids Are Dead” za Blackout! Records. I tako je to sve krenulo.
Što se tiče produkcije, nastojim što više provesti vremena s bandom radeći na pre produkciji i pripremajući bend da bude spreman i formi za snimanje u studijskom okruženju. Što se tiče strast vs. tehnike stvari, to je istina. Stojim iza toga. Tu je toliko glazbenika i bendova tu tamo, ali neznači da svi sviraju s strašću. Oni su mi najdraži. Što se tiče moderne glazbe, iste su stvari važile prije 60-100 godina prije (čak i više) važe i za danas. Najvažnije stvari su pjesme. Moraš imati dobre pjesme. Iskreno, to je jedino važno kada je riječ o tome. Iako, jasno postoje iznimke. Neki izvođači imaju sjajan zvuk i nemaju nužno catchy pjesme. Samo poslušaj Krautrock stvari – Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Can, Faust, Neu!, itd. Iako neki od tih bendova rade sjajne pjesme (pogotovo Kraftwerk), zvuk koji su imali je bio najvažniji. Isto tako se moglo reći za ekstremni black i death metal. Nisu sve te pjesme prepoznatljive, ali je zvuk je jako karakterističan i efektivan.
5. Veliki si pobornik nezavisnih diskografskih kuća te vodiš Drug Front Records, pa molim te reci mi kako je to voditi nezavisnu diskografsku kuću? Koje su prednosti i nedostaci? Da li surađujete s drugim nezavisnim diskografskim kućama? Koji bi bio tvoj savjet nekom tko bi želio voditi svoju nezavisnu diskografsku kuću?
Osnivanje diskografske kuće za mene je bilo najveća pogreška. Stvarno je. Ne bih preporučio ukoliko nežele isključivo baviti s diskografskom kućom. Imam toliko posla tako da voditi diskografsku kuću nije trebalo započinjati. Plus, učinio sam veliku pogrešku u potpisivanju bendova koji nisu tretirali svoje bendove kao pravi posao. Svima njima to je bio samo hobi. Bio je tu jedan mladi bend za koji sam mislio da će biti nešto od njega, ali kao kod svih milenijalaca, njihova radna etika nije bila ravna mojoj na kakvu sam ja odrastao. Ubrzo su se vratili „hobiju“ te bend se raspao. Moj savjet je ako želite voditi diskografsku kuću, napravite diskografsku kuću i ništa više od toga – ukoliko diskografska kuća nije sredstvo za pravljenje novaca. I potpisujte bendove koji žele raditi – turneju, samo-promociju,itd. Ako izvođači ne hvataju bit, nemoj se gnjaviti s tim. Jer to nikuda vodi.
6. Čime se baviš uz glazbu? Pročitao sam da si po struci antropolog, pa me zanimalo da li si još aktivan u tom području. Također voliš skupljati vinile, cdove i kazete. Pa me zanimalo tvoje mišljenje o internetskom skidanju glazbe,povratku vinila i kazeta, razlika između glazbenih fanova danas te u tvoje vrijeme?
Pa diplomirao sam antropologiju na NYU. To je istina. Da li sam radio kakve antropološke studije,istraživanja ili radio u tom području poslje diplomiranja? Ne. Nema posla u tom području ukoliko ne nastavite na postdiplomski. Ja nisam imao želje nastaviti (premda me antropologija zanimala). Nisam ni najmanje aktivan u tom području.
Što se tiče skupljanja, jedino me vinil interesira. Mrzim cdove i poželim da sam svoje cdove prodao još u 90-ima, kada bi dobili $2.50 – $5.00 za rabljeni cd. Smatram da je taj format nepotreban kao 8-track (Steve Albini je bio u pravu!). Imam neke kazete jer bendovi su snimali svoje stvari na takav način, no i za njih imam vrlo malo interesa. Što se tiče skupljanje vinila, oslabio sam u tome. I dalje kupujem albume no nisam zaluđen po ikakvim uvjetima.
Što se tiče skidanja glazbe, ja nisam protiv. Ja skidam koje želim čuti (ili koje je nemoguče pronaći) i ako ih volim pronaći ču ih na vinilu. Plus, skidam glazbu koju več imam – za slučajnost da mogu slušati na mobitelu dok se vozim u autu, na računalu ili na slušalice kada sam daleko od kuće.
Reći ću da je uzbudljivo to što je vinil doživio novi porast u prodaji. Čini se da ljudima stvarno odgovara. To je sjajno! Samo što je preskupo. Bizarno je to što je danas skroz normalno kupiti LP za 20$. Ali troškovi tiskanja su porasli. I kao najveći krivci za ovako visoke cijene su poštanske službe – podigli su cijene tako smiješno visoko zadnjih 5 godina tako da su kompletno utjecali na porast cijena. Ali, ljudi ih žele kupovati (kao i ja), što je skroz u redu što se mene tiče.
7. Za kraj, hočemo li imati priliku vidjeti te u Splitu?
Što se sad tiče, nema nikakvih planova. Ali imamo booking agenta smještenog u Dresedenu, Njemačkoj, što voli istočnu Europu. Stoga, postoji vjerojatnost da dođemo u Split (ili neki grad u blizini) da vide The Dictators NYC uskoro. Nadam se tako. Ja osobno nikad nisam bio u Hrvatskoj, čuo sam da je nevjerojatna i predivna zemlja.
