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Hrvoje Bubić: Intervju s Infra Ed
Hrvoje Bubić
Infra ED je pseudonim američkog glazbenika Eda Portnowa. Za Solin Live govori o okladi sa svojim bratom Davidom, bendom Dehumanizers, kontroveznom TV voditelju Lou Guzzo, kao i glazbi za koze.
Your band Dehumanizers, begun as bet between you and your brother David, while you were in grade school and it was mention in Kurt Cobain’s diary. Could you tell us more about that & who won the bet?
Well, my recollection of the events at the time were that my brother Dave was in high school. He had suggested that he could sell more recordings as well as get better gigs if I’d make a metal style recording and let him promote it.
Turned out that he was right.
I preferred punk music so I tried to fuse the metal that Dave wanted with some punk elements and “Shazam” the Dehumanizers were created.
I played all the instruments, sang all the vocal parts and gave the recording to Dave.
He then came up with the name- The Dehumanizers, had some artwork and a logo designed and had some cassette tapes made.
To my surprise the tape got reviewed in magazines. These reviews were not only local but national and international. The tapes were being sold by mail order and had placement at indie record shops.
THEN He booked a show and
Shit got real I had two weeks to form a band and get ready to perform live…
So yeah,I guess that Dave won the bet : )
Dehumanizers’s first EP Kill Lou Guzzo is most know Dehumanizers’s record, but before that you also recorded an demo album Save The World. Tell us more about demo album, the first EP and who was actually Lou Guzzo?
The Dehumanizers- “Save the World” was the first recording that I’d made. It got enough attention and sales that we decided to try again with a second cassette tape release.
This tape was called – The Dehumanizers “Post Nuke Boys”. I wrote and recorded the songs with the guys in the original Dehumanizers lineup including:
Zoli Semanate – Guitar
Mort- Bass/Vocals
Infra Ed- Drum’s/vocals
We were beginning to play shows regularly and opening for bigger bands.
It was at this time that Dave had started his record label Sub-Core records.
He had booked and paid for studio time for another band. The band couldn’t make the session date, so on short notice Dave offered us the opportunity. This recording session would turn out to become the “Kill Lou Guzzo” ep.
We had a few new songs to record, however, one tune was an all instrumental track with no words. It had a good balance of metal and punk influence.
On the weekend before the recording session we went to see a show with the Circle Jerks headlining. The energy of the room was intense and the police raided the building just as the Circle Jerks were playing their first song.
A full scale riot broke out as more and more police arrived. They were beating teenagers with their “nightsticks” and throwing kids in police vans. It was winter and there was blood in the snow.
The riot made it on the local TV news programs. Mort had videotaped these news segments. One of the news reports was just awful and had really misrepresented the event. The news anchor of this program was named Lou Guzzo.
I asked Mort to bring the video to the recording studio. We ended up feeding the audio tracks from the video commentary into the recording of the instrumental tune. Then Mort volunteered to write some lyrics. He returned with the words to “Kill Lou Guzzo” written in big black marking pen on a greasy used pizza box.
The record made some big waves and it wasn’t long before we were issued a LAWSUIT, along with Dave, by the TV station where Lou was employed.
Ultimately, we ended up getting a lot of notoriety and publicity. This event propelled the band to book a U.S. tour.
You’ve opened up for the Circle Jerks, the Ventures, Poison Idea, DRI, Neurosis, Dropkick Murphy’s, etc. you must have some stories to tell. What’s the greatest show you ever played? Did you ever get to play at CBGB’s?
During this time there were many opportunities to play with some outrageously good groups.
The Dehumanizers toured a lot. We did play shows with a many great bands, some of which you have mentioned along with many others and yes, we did play at CBGB’s : )
There are many stories and I really wouldn’t know where to begin. It’s hard to determine a single “greatest show” – there were so many greatest experiences for different reasons. I can share a few that immediately come to mind including:
The Mardi Gras festival New Orleans, Louisiana with SNFU
The Butthole Surfers at the Axiom in Atlanta, Georgia
The Circle Jerks at Fenders Auditorium in Los Angeles, California -the Pit was just unbelievably Massive
And
Circle Jerks at Buffalo University, New York- two interesting things happened :
– We found a wheelchair and our singer used it all day long, saying that he’d had a skateboarding accident. Everyone believed us including the Circle Jerk guys. When we began our performance, Joe was wheeled out to the microphone. This mystified the audience and they were strangely, respectfully quiet. The band started to play and when time came for the vocal part, Joe jumped out of the wheelchair and launched into the Pit. The place went crazy and we owned the stage that night.
– Later in the performance the sound system lost power so I started to play some “jungle drum rhythms” and Joe joined playing on my floor tom. People started to dance and instantly the stage was completely filled by people from the audience. Once the sound came back on then the band went right into the next song and all the people were stage diving back to floor. At the end of the set we kicked over all the equipment and the place went crazy. That was a pretty good show…
DRI & Poison Idea at the Crescent Ballroom in Portland, Oregon
CBGB’s in New York City with LA’s Wasted Youth (their drummer,Joey, went on to play for Queens of the Stone Age). The owner of CBGB’s, Hilly, was very good to me personally. I’m glad that I was able to meet him.
We played a 24hr punk festival at the Farm in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, California
That was fun : )
We were thrown out of both San Angelo, Texas and Rockford, Illinois by police for “playing satanic music”
It wasn’t a great experience but it was definitely surreal.
We played with The Mentors in Seattle, Washington
What sticks in my mind was going backstage after the show. Unfortunately, I can never “unsee” what I witnessed. The Mentors and a photographer having group sex with a fan… Super weird.
I was in a different group – The Manatees with Phil from the Dehumanizers and we opened for a lot of bands including The Ventures at the EMP in Seattle,Washington.
The EMP club/music museum had a Stratocaster that was owned by Jimi Hendrix – they allowed us to touch it, amazing … the Holy Grail
The Manatees also opened for rock and roll legend Link Wray at the Crocodile club in Seattle . He was Awesome!
I guess that another experience that stands out in my mind was when the Dehumanizers were playing with the band -the Melvins- in Seattle…
I met their roadie as he was sitting on our guitar players Marshall Amplifier. We had a brief conversation but he wasn’t very talkative…
His name was Kurt Cobain
Among the Dehumanizers, did you had some projects by side? I know that there was a collaboration with Pamela Des Barres and Jason Potbelly, and you’ve also performed and recorded with lots of other bands, let’s start with the Manatees. Surf Music, tells us a bit about them. Is it true that you played drums live on stage with U2?
Oh, I’ve played in many groups
Punk, Jazz, Rock, Funk, Surf, Blues, etc…
And I love it all
In the Dehumanizers , Dave set up a a project to record a 7” single record with the infamous “author/groupie” Pamela Des Barres.
That was a lot of fun and from what I understand, the 7” single is now pretty rare and valuable $
The Manatees were a band that Phil from the Dehumanizers formed. Phil always loved surf music and plays a pretty mean twangy surf style guitar. We made a few records, toured a little and had a lot of fun.
Interestingly, we learned that the late singer/guitarist, Tom Petty, was a big fan. He would play the Manatees regularly on his radio show- Wow !?!
James Brown & U2:
I’ve been out playing music since I was barely a teenager. It was during this teenage phase that I had two experiences that were instrumental in guiding the course of my life.
Two “chance encounters”:
First with the legendary Funk and Soul icon James Brown.
I was waiting to meet a female friend in the lobby of a hotel in downtown Seattle as it was located close to our bus stop.
While waiting in the lobby, who fuckin’ walks through the door- It’s James “Muthafuckin’”Brown and his entire entourage.
And who does that muthafucker come to stand next to this muthafucker: yeah ME
Unreal
There were some flight attendants, also checking into the hotel. They walked over and one of them says- to James Brown- “ ummn, excuse me, we couldn’t help but notice you walking in, I recognize you. You are a famous person but I can’t recall your name.”
So, without any hesitation, I step up and say:
“Lady, your looking at none other than Mister Please Please himself, the hardest working man in show business, that’s The Godfather – Mr. James Brown”
This makes James Brown laugh out loud. He then signs autographs for the flight attendants and starts up a conversation with me.
I tell him my name and that I’m a musician too.
And he says to me …
Ed, You Are A Star
U2:I was a fan
I had tickets to see U2 play for the “War” album concert . I had read an article in a fanzine that listed the real identity of the singer Bono.
So… of course, on the day of the show I call the famous hotel where all the rockstars stay when in Seattle. The hotel known as the Edgewater Inn (Frank Zappa made a song about the Edgewater- “Mudshark”). So I call the hotel and ask to speak to Bono by using his given name… And… Bono…Answered the phone !?!
I tell him that I’m a fan, a musician and that I was looking forward to seeing their show that evening.
Well, we just seemed to get along and we discussed a number of subjects briefly including music and politics.
We hang up – surreal for sure
Later that night, I’m at the concert with my female friend ( same one that I was waiting for when I met James Brown : )
About midway through the show, the band start playing a vamp on the opening chords to a song when Bono begins to talk about a “phone conversation” that he’d had with someone from Seattle earlier that day.
I nearly shit my pants – He’s talking about me.
Then he calls me out by name and said “Ed – are you out there? If so come on up and join us”
I’m thinking like – “What the Fuck is Happening”
So, I just walk up to the stage as the crowd parts for me like the Red Sea.
Then the shit gets real
The roadies help me up on stage and there I am, with U2, looking out at a packed stadium- outrageous
Anyway, Bono asks if I can play with the band and the audience goes berserk.
They hand me a guitar and a guitar pick
I look at Bono and say:“I usually play drums”
Bono laughs loudly and says “ Oh, I thought that you played guitar”
Then everything went into slow motion
I remember giving back the guitar and carefully replacing the pick on the top of the amp of U2 guitarist, the Edge.
I climbed back behind the drums and played on the two floor toms together with U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. playing the kit. The bass player, Adam Clayton, is smiling at me : )
We finished and ended the song together smoothly
Then the audience gives a standing ovation – outrageousness
Bono, off microphone, asks if I’d like to wait backstage until they finish the show and hangout later.
And I say…
Well, thank you but I have a friend out in the crowd.
Then I jumped offstage, everyone was hugging and kissing me
It got Super Duper Surreal
Then…
I found my friend
And never spoke to Bono again : )
Oh well…
Dehumanizers are know as Rolling Stones of punk rock, as among the rare bands who still active right from 80’s hardcore scene. Could you explain that and how do you look now on the 80’s hardcore scene? How many albums do you think you’ve appeared on in your lifetime
The Dehumanizers have managed to stay alive and now usually only play for special events and charity occasions.
I don’t spend too much energy looking backwards but I do regard the 80’s hardcore scene as a special time. I will try to explain my thoughts briefly…
The American youth weren’t stupid, we saw the writing on the wall. It was the Dawn of the Computer Age (no cell phones or Facebook shit-yet). Corporatism and Corrupt Capitalism were tightening the noose on society.
The Natural Environment was being devastated for the cause of profit. Opportunities would not be available for many. Opportunity for young people would be limited unless one could afford to pay.
These are the roots of the American hardcore movement of the 80’s.
The beautiful part was that it was an underground, independent and do it yourself movement. There were no rules. People made there own fashion and music that reflected the changing times…
Albums that I’ve appeared on-Hmmm…
Jeez, many – fortunately – – – BUT still not enough
I want to keep making records until I can’t do it no more!
Tell us about your new solo project? Did you play all the instruments and perform all the vocals? It’s my understanding that you have developed music for goats 🐐 and perform for them? How did you get that idea?
The self titled Infra Ed cd/album is really a collection of glorified demos that were recorded as a way of learning about digital recording. It has an even split of 6 originals and 6 cover tunes and is assembled to be listened in sequence as a complete work.
I did play all the instruments and performed the vocals ( I had help from friends on one track : )
I was influenced early on by artists like Frank Zappa, Prince & Todd Rudgren who operated their own recording gear and could play or compose parts for all the instruments.
Music for goats : )
That’s Funny- – –
Ok, here goes- it’s been difficult to make enough money $ playing music.
To supplement my income, (and also in trying to be true to my punk rock ethics or my moral core), I went GREEN as in a Green Business.
Err, ummn… I purchased some goats and I use them to clear land. I don’t really write music for my goats but I do a lot of music practice while spending time outdoors working with the animals : )
For the end, what are your future plans, I notice new Dehumanizers’s album. Are you working on a follow up solo album and would you ever have a show in Croatia, Split?
Well, the Dehumanizers are always doing something. Lately, we do some recording when we get the chance
We recently completed a cover of an Alice Cooper song “I Want to be Elected” in honor of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
We are working up an instrumental cover of the Led Zeppelin song “Four Sticks” using a trumpet instead of vocals.
As for Infra Ed solo project-
Yes, I’d very much like to continue releasing solo works . I’ve got so many ideas. There are so many things I want to try : )
Q: Would I do a show in Croatia?
A: Hell Yes- I’d Fucking Love To!
Honestly, it’s been a dream of mine to visit Croatia, specifically Split and Dubrovnik
I was invited to play at a festival in Vienna Austria for 2020 with an artist named Jeff Kelly (he’s an amazing songwriter). Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic this performance was cancelled.
Hopefully, we will be asked to perform again in the future then maybe we could come to Croatia-
Oh man, I’d love to.
I’ll attach a video of Jeff Kelly & I (with goats too !)
Lastly,
Thank You Hrvoje for this interesting interview. It was fun : )
HRVATSKI PRIJEVOD
Tvoj bend Dehumanizers, počeo je kao oklada između Vas i Vašeg brata, Davida, dok ste još ispli u školu,i bilo je spomenuto u Dnevnicima Kurta Cobaina. Bili nam mogli reći nešto o tome I tko je dobio okladu?
Pa, kad se prisjetim svih događaja tog vremena, moj brat David je bio u srednjoj školi. On je predložio da bi ja mogao prodavati snimke kao i bolje nastupe kada bi snimke bile više metal i dati njemu da promovira.
Ispalo je da je bio u pravu. Ja sam preferirao punk glazbu, pa sam pokušavao spojiti s metalom, što je Dave htio s nekim punk elementima i BUM, Dehumanizers su stvoreni.
On je dao ime – The Dehumanizers, napravili smo naslovnicu albuma i logo, neke kazete su bile gotove.
Na moje iznenađenje, kazete su dobile recenzije u časopisima. Te recenzije nisu bile na lokalne, već nacionalne i internacionalne. Te kazete su se rasprodale preko pošte i imale mjesto u nezavisnim glazbenim dućanima.
TADA je on sredio nastup i, postalo je ozbiljno da sam morao formirati bend i biti spreman za nastup uživo….
Dakle da, pretpostavljam da je Dave dobio okladu 🙂
Prvi EP Kill Lou Guzzo je najpoznatiji album Dehumanizersa, ali prije toga ste snimili demo album Save The World. Recite nam o demu albumu, prvom EP-u i tko je zapravo bio Lou Guzzo (novinar, autor i televizijski komentator u Seattlu u Washingtonu op. Prev.)?
The Dehumanizers – Save The World je bilo moje prvo snimanje. Dobio sam dovoljno pozornostii prodaje koja je presudila da pokušam ponovno s drugom kazetom.
Ta kazeta je nazvana The Dehumanizers “Post Nuke Boys”. Napisao sam pjesme s izvornom postavom Dehumanizersa u kojoj su :
Zoli Semanate – gitara
Mort – bas/vokal
Infra Ed- vokal
Počeli smo imati prve nastupe i bili smo predgrupa većim bendovima. U to vrijeme Dave je zasnovao svoju diskografsku kuću Sub – Core records.
Prebilježio nas je i platio studio za drugi bend. Taj bend nije mogao obaviti snimanje, pa je nabrzaka Dave je predložio da iskoristimo situaciju. To snimanje je ispalo “Kill Lou Guzzo” EP.
Imali smo par novih pjesama za snimiti, no jedna pjesma je bila u potpunosti instrumentalna pjesma bez riječi. Imala je dobar balans između metala i punk utjecaja.
Tijekom vikenda prije snimanja, otišli smo pogledati koncert Circle Jerksa. Energija prostorije je bila tako intezivna te je policija morala opkoliti zgradu upravo kada su Circle Jerks odsvirali svoju prvu pjesmu.
Izbio je nered u potpunoj mjeri s dolaskom sve većega broja policijaca. Mlatili su tinejdžere palicama i gurali su ih u policijske kombije. Bila je zima tada i bilo je krvi po snijegu.
Nered je dospio na dnevnik u izdanju mjesnih televizijskih postaja. Mort je presnimio isječke dnevnika na videokazetu. Jedan od tih televizijskih dnevnika je bio naprosto očajan zato što je skroz krivo predstavio događaj. Voditelj dotičnoga dnevnika se je zvao Lou Guzzo.
Zamolio sam Morta da mi donese kazetu u studio za snimanje. Na kraju smo prebacivali zvučni zapis voditelja iz dnevnika u snimak pjesme s instrumentalnim zvukom. Mort je onda dobrovoljno pristao napisati riječi pjesme. Vratio nam se sa zapisom “Ubij Loua Guzza” išaranim velikim crnim markerom na masnoj iskorištenoj kutiji za pizzu.
Snimka se je pročula, i nije trebalo dugo da se protiv nas i Davea pokrene sudski proces, a tužila nas je upravo televizijska postaja kod koje je Lou radio.
Na koncu svega smo privukli veliku pažnju javnosti, te smo postali ozloglašeni po svojem istupu. Događaj nas je doslovce vinuo u visinu i omogućio nam glazbenu turneju po čitavom SAD-u.
Bili ste predgrupa raznim bendovima, npr. Circle Jerks, the Ventures, Poison Idea, DRI, Neurosis, Dropkick, Murphy’s, itd… Sigurno imate toga što možete ispričati. Koji Vam je nastup bio najveći? Jeste ikako svirali na CBGB-u?
U to vrijeme je bilo mnogo prilika za sviranje, i to s nevjerojatno dobrim grupama.
The Dehumanizers su dosta putovali radi nastupa. Održali smo nastupe s mnogim odličnim bendovima, a neke si već bio nabrojio pored mnogih drugih, i da, jesmo svirali na CBGB-u
Puno je tu priča i doista nemam pojma odakle početi. Teško je imenovati onaj jedan “najveći nastup” – bilo je toliko velebnih iskustava iz više razloga. Mogu navesti nekolicinu koja mi na prvu sinu:
Festival Mardi Gras u New Orelansu, savezna država Lousiana; nastupali smo s SNFU-om
The Butthole Surfers na koncertu Axiom u Atlanti, savezna država Georgia
The Circle Jerks u Fenderovom Auditoriju u Los Angelesu, savezna država Kalifornija – auditorij je bio nevjerojatno golem.
Naveo bih još i Circle Jerkse na Sveučilištu Buffalo, u New Yorku – dvije zanimljive stvari su se dogodile:
– Pronašli smo bili invalidska kolica i naš pjevač je sjedio u njima čitavi dan, kazavši da se je bio ozlijedio vozeći skateboard. Svi smo mu povjerovali, čak ekipa iz Circle Jerksa. Kad smo počeli s nastupom, Joea su u kolicima doveli pred mikrofon. To je očaralo publiku, i bili su začudno tihi iz poštovanja. Bend je krenuo sa svirkom, a kad je na red došao vokalski dio, Joe je iskočio iz kolica i bacio se je u publiku. Ljudi su podivljali, i te noći smo osvojili pozornicu.
– Tijekom izvedbe se je dogodilo da je zvučna oprema ostala bez struje, pa smo krenuli svirati ritam bubnjeva iz džungle, a Joe je popratio svirku na mojem indijaneru. Ljudi su počeli plesati i odjednom se je pozornica napunila publikom. Čim se je struja vratila, bend je jednostavno nastavio s idućom pjesmom na popisu, a publika se je povukla s pozornice. Na samom kraju koncerta smo oborili svu opremu i publika je podivljala. Nastup je bio izvanredan…
Tu je zatim i DRI & Poison Idea u Crescent Ballroom u Portlandu, savezna država Oregon
CBGB je u New Yorku i tada je nastupao Wasted Youth iz Los Angelesa (njihov bubnjar Joey je kasnije otišao svirati za bend Queens of the Stone Age). Vlasnik CBGB-a, Hilly, je osobno bio jako dobar prema meni. Drago mi je da sam imao priliku upoznati ga.
Svirali smo punih 24 sata na punkerskom festivalu na Farmi u San Franciscovom Golden Gate Parku u Kaliforniji. Zabavno je bilo.
Policija nas je izbacila iz San Angela, Texasa i Rockforda u saveznoj državi Illionois zbog “sviranja sotonističke glazbe”. Nije bilo divno iskustvo, no definitivno je bilo nadrealno.
Svirali smo i s The Mentors-ima u Seattlu, savezna država Washington.
U sjećanje mi se je urezalo što se je događalo iza pozornice nakon koncerta. Nažalost, nikad neću moći zaboraviti čemu sam bio svjedok. The Mentors i fotograf su vodili grupni seks s obožavateljicom… Prečudno.
Ja sam bio u drugoj grupi – The Manatees s Philom iz the Dehumanizers-a i bili smo predgrupa mnogim bendovima – npr. The Ventures u EMP-ju u Seattleu, savezna država Washington. Klub/glazbeni muzej EMP je imao gitaru Stratocaster čiji je vlasnik bio Jimi Hendrix – dopustili su nam dirati ju, zapanjujuće… Sveti gral.
The Manatees su također bili predgrupa mnogim rock legendama, npr. Link Wray u klubu Crocodile u Seattleu. Bio je odličan!
Čini mi se da se još jedno iskustvo ističe pred ostalima, a to je kad su the Dehumanizers svirali s bendom the Melvins u Seattleu…
Upoznao sam njihovu prateću ekipu dok je sjedio na Marshallovom pojačalu svirača gitare u našem bendu. Kratko smo porazgovarali, no nije bio naročito pričljiv. Zvao se je Kurt Cobain
Među Dehumanizersima, jesi imao neke projekte sa strane? Znam da si surađivao s Pamelom Des Barres i Jasonom Potbellyiem, i da su također svirao i snimao s mnogim drugim bendovima, uzmimo za početak the Manatees. Surf Music nam je rekao malo o njima. Je li istina da si svirao bubnjeve uživo na pozornici s U2-om?
Ah, svirao sam u mnogim grupama.
Punk, Jazz, Rock, Funk, Surf, Blues, itd…
I redom sam sve obožavao.
U Dehumanizersima, Dave je osmislio projekt snimanja singlice s neslavnom autoricom/grupom Pamela Des Barres. To je bilo iznimno zabavno, i koliko razumijem, dotična singlica je sada raritet i vrijedan puno novca.
The Manatees je bio bend koji je Phil iz Dehumanizersa sastavio. Phil je uvijek volio surfersku rock glazbu i svira opaku gitaru podesnu za tu vrstu rocka koja zveči jako. Snimili smo nekolicinu ploča, bili na kojoj turneji i dosta smo se zabavili.
Zanimljivo je što smo saznali da je pokojni gitarist, Tom Petty, bio veliki obožavatelj. On bi redovito svirao glazbu koju su skladali the Manatees na svoj radijskoj emisiji – Bome!?!
Jams Brown & U2
Sviram glazbu još otkako sam jedva bio tinejdžer. Upravo tijekom tinejdžerske dobi sam prošao kroz dva iskustva koja su mi ključno odredila životno kretanje.
Dva susreta “pukom slučajnošću”:
Prvi je bio s legendarnom funk i soul ikonom Jamesom Brownom.
Čekao sam prijateljicu radi dogovora u predvorju hotela u donjem dijelu grada Seattlea iz razloga što je bio blizu našoj busnoj stanici.
Dok sam čekao u predvorju, gledam tko to ulazi kroz vrata – kad ono, jebeni James Brown i čitava njegova pratnja.
I zamisli tik do koga je stajao jebo mu mater, nego kraj mene, da da, kraj mene.
Tu su bile i neke stjuardese i neki stjuardi koji su se također javili recepciji hotela. Približili su nam se, a jedan od njih je Jamesu rekao – “oprostite, ali nismo mogli doli primijetiti kako ulazite u hotel, poznati ste mi. Vi ste slavna osoba, no ne mogu se imena prisjetiti.
Bez zadrške sam prišao i kazao:
Gospodična, upravo gledate dragoga gospodina, najradišnijega gospodina u šou biznisu, nikog drugog doli Kuma – Jamesa Browna.
James Brown je na to zaurlao od smijeha. Zatim je krenuo davati autografe stjuardima i stjuardesama i započeo je razgovor sa mnom.
Rekao sam mu kako se zove i da sam također glazbenik.
A on meni na to:
Ed, ti si zvijezda
U2: Ja sam bio obožavatelj, imao sam karte za U2 nastup za njihov koncertni album “War”. Bio sam pročitao članak na stranici obožavatelja koji je objavio pravi identitet pjevača Bona.
I naravno, na dan nastupa sam nazvao poznati hotel u kojem sve rock zvijezde borave kad nastupaju u Seattleu. Hotel se je zavao Edgewater Inn (Frank Zappa je skladao pjesmu o dotičnom hotelu pod imenom “Mudshark”). Tako sam ja nazvao hotel i zamolio sam da me spoje s Bonom, no spomenuo sam ga pod njegovim pravim imenom, i zamisli to, Bono se javio na poziv!
Rekao sam mu da sam njihov obožavatelj, glazbenik i da sam se radovao vidjeti njihov nastup te večeri.
I kroz priču smo se dobro slagali, te smo obišli razne teme koje su se uglavnom ticale glazbe i politike.
Završim ja tako poziv s njim, nadrealno je bilo!
Kasnije tijekom večeri smo ja i prijateljica bili na koncertu (baš ona koju sam čekao kad je sam upoznao Jamesa Browna)
Na pol koncerta je bend počeo svirati vamp na početnim akordima pjesme u kojoj Bono počinje pričati o telefonskome razgovoru koji je vodio s nekim iz Seattlea dan prije.
Zamalo sam se usrao – govori o meni.
Nakon toga me je prozvao imenom i kaže: “Ed – jesi u publici? Ako jesi, daj se popni i pridruži nam se.
A ja se mislim – “što se jebote događa”
Samo tako samo odšetao do pozornice dok se je čitava publika razdvajala ispred mene poput Crvenoga mora.
Situacija se je dobrano onda zahuktala
Njegova prateća ekipa mi je pomogla popeti se na pozornicu, i gle me, stojim do U2-a, pogled mi je usmjeren na krcati stadion – ludo
I Bono me zatim pita hoću li odsvirati s bendom, na što je publika podivljala
Predali su mi gitaru i trzalicu
Pogledam ja Bona i kažem: “Inače sviram bubnjeve”
Bono se je glasno nasmijao i kaže: “Eh, ja sam mislio da sviraš gitaru”.
Sve je potom teklo sporije
Sjećam se kako sam vratio gitaru i pažljivo zamijenio trzalicu “The Edge” povrh pojačala koje je pripadalo gitaristu benda.
Povukao sam se iza bubnjeva i zasvirao na dvama indijanerima zajedno s U2-ovim bubnjarom Larryem Mullenom mlađim koji je svirao bubnjeve. Svirač bassa, Adam Clayton mi se je smiješkao.
Pjesmu smo odsvirali glatko svi zajedno.
Onda nas je publika pozdravila velikim pljeskom – ludilo
Bono me je sa strane pitao bih li ih čekao iza pozornice dok budu gotovi s koncertom i bih li se družio s njima kasnije?
A ja kažem: Hvala, međutim, prijateljica mi je u gomili.
Zatim sam se skinuo s pozornice, svatko mogući me je grlio, ljubio…
Bilo je nadrealno i nezamislivo
Poslije toga sam pronašao prijateljicu, i nikad više nisam imao prilike razgovarati s Bonom.
A dobro…
Dehumanizers su poznati kao Rolling Stones punk rocka, odnosno jedan od rijetkih bendova koji je još aktivan od vremena hardcore scene 80-ih. Bi li nam mogao objasniti zašto i kakav ti pogled imaš na hardcore scenu 80-ih? Što misliš, na koliko albuma si se pojavio u svojem životu?
The Dehumanizers su uspjeli preživjeti i sad imaju običaj svirati jedino za posebne događaje i u dobrotvorne svrhe.
Ne trošim puno energije obazirajući se na prošlost, no smatram da je hardcore scena 80-ih bila posebno vrijeme. Pokušat ću ukratko prenijeti svoje misli.
Američka mladost nije bila glupa, vidjeli smo jasno što se nagoviješta. To je bio početak informatičkoga doba (nikakvi mobiteli ili Facebook, barem ne tada). Korporatizam i korumpirani kapitalizam su stezali omču oko društva.
Prirodu se je uništavalo radi profita. Prilike se mnogima nisu ukazale. Prilike su mladim ljudima bile ograničene osim ako su ih mogli priuštiti novcima.
To su korijeni američkoga hardcore pokreta 80-ih.
Najljepši dio toga je što je pokret bio podzeman, neovisan, i mogao si sam nešto stvoriti. Nije bilo pravila. Ljudi su stvarali svoju modu i glazbu koja je bila odraz vremena koje se mijenja.
Albumi na kojim sam se ja pojavio, hmmmm….
Jooj, mnogo ih je na sreću – no ipak ne dovoljno.
I dalje želim snimati ploče dok ne budem više mogao.
Reci nam nešto o svojem novom solo projektu? Jesi svirao sve instrumente i otpjevao sve vokale? Koliko ja shvaćam, ti si stvarao glazbu za koze, a potom si im izvodio glazbu. Odakle ti takva ideja?
Samoprozvani cd/album InfraEd je u biti zbirka slavnih demo pjesma koje smo snimili u svrhu učenja o digitalnom snimanju. Jednakomjerno je podijeljena na 6 originalnih izvedba i 6 pratećih izvedba, a sastavljene su tako da ih se sluša u slijedu kao jedinstveno djelo.
Jesam, svirao sam sve instrumente i otpjevao vokale (Pomogli su mi prijatelji s jednom izvedbom 🙂
Rano u karijeri sam bio pod utjecajem umjetnika poput Franka Zappe, Princea i Todda Rudgrena koji su sami upravljali svojom opremom za snimanje i znali su svirati ili složiti dijelove za svoju instrumentalnu glazbu.
Glazba za koze 🙂
To je smiješno
Dakle, ide ovako – Teško je zaraditi dovoljno baveći se glazbom.
Kako bih nadopunio svoj prihod (a istovremeno bio vjeran svojim punk-rockerskoj etici ili moralnoj osnovi), dao sam se u zeleni biznis.
U smislu da sam kupio par koza i iskoristio ih kako bih raščistio zemlju. Ja u biti ne pišem pjesme za koze, no istina je da glazbu vježbam puno puta na otvorenom, u prirodi dok se vodim brigu o životinjama.
Za kraj, reci nam kakve planove imaš za budućnost? Primijetio sam novi album Dehumanizersa. Radiš li na idućem solo albumu, i bi li kad održao nastup u Hrvatskoj, u Splitu.
Vidi, the Dehumanizers redovito rade nešto. U zadnje vrijeme snimamo štogod kad stignemo.
Nedavno smo dovršili obradu Alice Cooperove pjesme “I want to be elected” u čast američkim predsjedničkim izborima 2020. godine.
Radimo trenutno na instrumentalnoj obradi Led Zeppelinove pjesme “Four sticks” u kojoj koristimo trubu umjesto vokala.
A što se tiče solo projekta Infra Ed—
Da, vrlo rado bih nastavio izdavati solo djela. Toliko ideja imam. Toliko toga želim isprobati.
Q: Bih li nastupio u Hrvatskoj?
A: Naravno da bih!
Da ti iskreno rečem, san mi je posjetiti Hrvatsku, naročito Split i Dubrovnik
Pozvali su me svirati s izvođačem Jeffom Kellyijem (on je vrhunski tekstopisac) na festivalu u Beču 2020. god. Nažalost, manifestaciju su otkazali zbog izbijanja pandemije virusa Corone.
Nadam se da će nas u budućnosti ponovo zamoliti da sviramo, i onda bih možda mogao svratiti u Hrvatsku.
O da, svakako bih htio.
Stavit ću u privitak video koji prikazuje mene i Jeffa Kellyija (i koze u pozadini).
Za kraj,
Hvala ti, Hrvoje, na ovom zanimljivome intervjuu. Bilo je zabavno.
