The Legionnaire sails to China, Legionnaires and Point Blank

I wish I can say this was an interview about two new bands for me/you can catch them at a live show in the future, but the sad truth is these two bands are long gone.  Great bands that lived for a short time, one from USA and the other from China. Josh who was kind enough to be part of this interview and who was in both bands.  It realy BUGS ME when great bands don’t get the recognition they deserve especially when the music is so true and 100% skinhead.  Remember these two names, The Legionnaires and Point Blank, THIS IS Oi!!!!

THE LEGIONNAIRES

NBOS:  In my opinion you were in the best Oi band from California, if not the best, The Legionnaires were deff up there.  Can we go back from the start? when, where and with who did The Legionnaires form?

Josh: Johnny and I formed the band in 1999-2000.  Eventually we needed to change drummers and we recruited Adam from Counterattack.

NBOS: You guys had a different sound, deff not that typical tough guy fast paste oi/hc mix sound that you hear a lot in the US.  What bands influenced the sound?

Josh: We were influenced by The Templars, Snix, and any other band that we liked at the time.

NBOS: In 2002 "Rising from the Ruins" 7" ep (first line up with Shaun on Drums) was out with only 600 hand numbered  copies released by Crucified Records who also ran "Bovver.net"  How did the skins in San Diego react to the release?

Josh: There are not too many skins in San Diego but every one of them liked The Legionnaires.

NBOS: The year after "Life in the Legion" was released (second line up Adam on drums who also was in COUNTERATTACK) by well known UK label Step-1 Music.  How did the US band and UK label connect?

Josh: We mailed out our demo 7” to many labels around the world. Step 1 was one of them.

NBOS: Having two releases backing u up, did it help the band play more shows outside of CA and did you guys get the chance to play Europe or outside the US?

Josh: We didn’t get any offers to play outside California and I was going to college at the time so a tour was out of the question.

NBOS: It seemed like you guys were heading up there and become a legendary band, you guys had that unique Oi sound and were in a label that was not new to the skinhead subculture.  What happend that made the band call it quits?

We decided to quit the band because shows were very rare and our drummer lived in Washington DC so it was difficult to get together and practice or write new songs so we decided to end the band.

NBOS: Besides you, did the rest of the band still keep playing music after The Legionnaires?

Adam, the drummer continued with Counterattack. Johnny, the guitarist did not.




POINT BLANK

NBOS: I didnt know you were in this band from Beijing, Point Blank.  Three Chinese, a American and a French made Point Blank, how did this happen? what did you play in the band?

Josh: I met Thomas, the singer at a punk show and he wanted to start a band and asked me to help him. We had a mutual friend, Wang Xu from Life For Drinking, help us recruit other member.

I played rhythm guitar.

NBOS: Can you tell us a bit about the skincult in Beijing?

Josh: It is roughly the same as anywhere else I have been but there are not nearly as many fights.

NBOS: Point Blank did a self release ep "Right here, Right now" in 2007 and later on that year great Label from France Bords De Seine released album "Made in China", which rules!!!  What made the band sing the songs in English, and not in Chinese or in French since Thomas the vox was from France?

Josh: Thomas speaks English very well and in China a band has a better shot at gaining a bit of fame if they sing in English. Therefore we decided to sing all our songs in English except one the bass player sang in Mandarin.

NBOS: Did the band get to play out of China like the US or France where some of you are from?

Josh: The band never left China and the other members are all from Beijing so we stuck to Beijing for the most part. A friend from Tianjin had a birthday party with bands and we went to that and played with Misandao.

NBOS: After "MADE IN CHINA" the band has not released anything, when did the band decide to stop playing?

Josh: I moved to Southern China for work and we just made a mutual decision to call it quits for the band.

NBOS: Are you making music at this time? If not why not? you make some real good sounding Oi

Josh: I still play my guitar often but I do not have a band. No real reason. I just do not have a band set up.

NBOS: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview, realy means a lot!! any last words for the readers?

Josh: You’re welcome very much for the interview and I don’t have any last words for the readers.

Peter and The Return of SUBCULTURE!!!!

I don’t even know where to start, this band played that Oi! Sound that a lot of us try to play but cant seem to get it right.  A band that lived for a short time but left their mark in the Oi Street Punk scene that just cant be BUFF’D.  TAKE YOUR HATS OFF FOR SUBCULTURE!!!!! cause they are back to finish what they started.

NBOS: What is your Name and what do you do in the Band?

SUBCULTURE: I am Peter Matthews I am the front man for Subculture............I also do all the washing up and carpet sweeping!

NBOS:  Subculture lived for only 3 years (1980-1983) and only released a 7" "Loud & Clear" on Essential Records in 83 (only a few copies made) I’m happy to say I own a copy. This record is deff a Gemm and no doubt a classic Oi release.  Even though Subculture didn’t release more stuff, that record alone influenced so many bands and boot boys around the world and still now. 30 years later Subculture is back!!!  did you guys even know how big of a mark you guys left in Oi?

SUBCULTURE: No we certainly never realized that people liked what we did so much!!! its been a great surprise and dare I say an honor that we have influenced and been enjoyed by people. We where just a bunch of 18 year old lads trying to make a mark, as we were so young and didn’t come from one of the big cities like London or Manchester most didn’t take us seriously..........then along came Alan McGee (yep him of creation record/Oasis fame) and made the load and clear EP.......we only got 50 copies each for doing it and were told that only 2000 were ever made, some things never change eh?

NBOS: I heard about the Return, I saw a flyer saying SLF and Subculture, how was that? how did it feel to play with a band like SLF?

SUBCULTURE: SLF are one of my greatest influences personally. To play support to such a great band was amazing and I think it showed we had 700 people going wild for us. I certainly left stage with a bloody great grin on my face.

NBOS: Kids like us are inspired by bands like Subculture, Oi was not new anymore in the streets but still young in 1980, what type of music or bands did you guys listen to?

SUBCULTURE: The Clash, The Jam, The sex pistols, The Cockney Rejects, Sham 69, The Specials and on the list goes we were fucking lucky to have so many great bands around.

NBOS: Not so long ago, Subculture released a CD "From Herbert Street To The 100 Club" and has songs that never been heard before and different versions of songs. Such a great CD by the way!!! Can you tell the reader where they can go to get themselves a copy?

SUBCULTURE: www.subculturepunk.co.uk   if you buy it here it comes straight from us and we throw in a badge or two, sticker etc to give you an extra personal feel. 

 NBOS: Is there a NEW 45rpm single or a LP we can look forward too?

SUBCULTURE: We have just finished our new EP and it will be called Old English Folk songs Volume 1, 4 tracks on 7 inch Vinyl with a CD in there so you can keep it as new.

We may re-release the Load and Clear EP as a very limited 7" picture disc all of this is happening in the next few weeks!!!!

NBOS: Where can people go to hear the latest news, shows info etc?

SUBCULTURE:  www.subculturepunk.co.uk also there is the Subculture facebook page.

Adrian From Singing in Toughskins to Running Rotten Roll Records

If you are from CA, you need to read this, a OG that has a big part on the Oi scene in the South Side.

NBOS: What is your name?

ADRIAN: I go by many names, most I do not wish to repeat, just call me Adrian.

NBOS: Where are you from?

ADRIAN: Los Angeles County, later moved to the Inland Empire in my last year of high school where I hated it. It was real bad until I met some like minded people, and my future wife.

NBOS: For the People who dont know, let me tell them a lil about you, this guy was in Toughskins from the IE, Fully Loaded from LA and now he is the man who is running Rotten Roll Records.  Lets talk about Toughskins for bit, what did you play in the band? 

ADRIAN: I shouted into the mic from 94 till about early 1997, early 2000 when me & Mike (drummer) gave it another go with different members, great memories overall. We practiced at March Air Force base, Voodoo Glow Skulls’ record store/rehearsal studio, our rented band storage space, all in drunken fun! Those days were exciting, things were popping off all the time.

NBOS: How was it being a IE based band in them days? I live in the area and you dont see anything "skinhead" or "oi" in this time, was it different before?

ADRIAN: There were ska bands around at the time, that’s about it in our area. We really had to leave the I.E. for shows in Los Angeles and other areas to spread disease. You would hear about W.P. skins from time to time, but not really a problem there, like in some other areas. One time a handful of them (along with there ole ladies) came to The Showcase in Corona, The Toughskins and Anti-Heros played that night. Reaper his boys took care of them, they were escorted by security after the malee & shown the front door. They gave a nice salute to us all, as they did the walk of shame holding themselves together, broken nosed & bloodied.

NBOS: Was it hard being a Skinhead band in CA? I mean, did bars let skinhead bands play shows or even book shows?

ADRIAN: It was great, everybody thought they knew what it meant. You would get the same dumb ass questions all the time. You really felt like what you where involved with, was really against the grain & I really enjoyed & still do.I never did any booking myself but from what I can remember we never had any problems getting shows when we wanted them. I remember The Authority used to play shows all the time in the O.C. where they were from. There was a lot of W.P. in that location, the bass player (Eric) of The Authority was a black skin, he or the group didn’t seem to miss beat.


NBOS: When people hear about Toughskins, "Raised in Anger" is the first thing that comes in mind, only 1000 copies (800 black, 200 yellow) was pressed by Vulture Rock Records, which now its a collecters gemm for the west coast. Was it a hit in the streets when it was released in 95?

ADRIAN: It was with me, I felt like John fucken Travolta strutten down the street in Saturday Night Fever. It feels great when people are singing along, I guess it was somewhat of a hit. When we traveled to other parts of California, we felt the love.

NBOS: While you were singing for Toughskins, you also were singing for Fully Loaded, what was really cool about that band is that members of The Authority (Bill) and Bovver Wonderland (Stan) were part of it. What made you guy’s team up to start this band?

ADRIAN: Actually, it may seem that way but Fully Loaded started in the last days of The Toughskins. I just called everybody up and they were into it. Those were good times, Duane Peters (pro skaters/later singing for U.S. Bombs) worked at our rehearsal studio,he was a trip. Stan had to leave after a while, rehearsal was getting in the way of his tattoo work, now he works at ‘Good Time Charlie’s Tattooland’ in Anaheim. So, he recommended his brother Steve to fill in, it worked out great. We had some other changes in the line up with Rolli on guitar, Moises on guitar, Gramps(Bovver Wonderland) on guitar & Neil on drums. We always did a couple of Toughskins songs, after a while we reformed The Toughskins for another go with me, Mike & some new members. Shortly after we came out on a 7” split on ‘Headache Records’ with Broken Heroes, that was in 2003, also a great 7”. 

NBOS: Now a days you are not singing for bands but running a Label "RottenRoll Records", when did you start this new chapter in your life?

ADRIAN: It was 2007 at the Airliner in L.A. when I had my last show & life took over. I moved to N.California where there’s no scene in my city, you actually have to travel 3 or 4 hours to be around people who know what’s up, literally. So I have a couple kids,a couple autos, couple houses, etc. But, I wanted to still be connected to the scene in some way, so I started a label ‘blindly’ with the best intentions, helping bands put their music out. Its not what the scene can do for you, its what you can do for the scene.

NBOS: Rotten Roll Records has released a picture disc single for The Bullets (Roger Rivas from Aggrolites) and upcoming great Oi band On the Job split with Rust. Who was the first band you released something for?

ADRIAN: The first release was a CD with 20 Oi groups like Blue Collared Criminals, Urban Rejects, Nuts & Bolts, Control, Glory Boys, Fully Loaded, Fear City, The Toughskins, Bootboys, etc. That was a lot fun, putting everything together, talking to different bands from everywhere. Check it out, www.rottenrollrecords.com. Since then, I’ve put out “Double Knockout” from Sweden & “Crimewave” from L.A. as a split, excellent 7”. And of course “The Bullets” picture disk, which is selling better in Europe than U.S., go figure.

NBOS: I remember hearing from Reggae Collectors that you have a good Original Reggae 45rpm singles collection and you've been spinning at shows/allniters for years now. Can you tell us what got you into collecting and do you remember when was your first show? Even though you are not in any band anymore, its dope that you never left the Music or the Sub-Culture.

ADRIAN: I love the music so I think was a natural progression, I was DJ’ing here & there before The Toughskins, that’s 20+ years of reggae & still collecting. First show? I don’t recall but I know someone does. There’s a whole lot of new DJ’s now, its great for the music. We’ll see whose left standing though~ Personally, I enjoy hearing what other DJ’s have in their arsenal, original press is what I prefer. There’s a DJ I know of, who play’s 4 songs off of a double L.P. back to back. That’s not a DJ, even though he claims to be, that’s just a lack of ‘good’ vinyl.

NBOS: Thanks for sharing some of your life with us,Any last words?

ADRIAN: Be nice to your fresh cuts please, for better or worse their our future! Thanks p.s. support your local labels~

Perry Hardy and Chicagos Chapter 21

This man needs no introduction, everyone knows him for being a great Bass player for Templars, Ladies and Gents, I bring to you Sir Perry Hardy

Thanks for giving me a chance to talk to you about you realy.

NBOS: You play Bass for US OI leaders Templars and also the bassist for APA, I got to meet you for the first time when APA played in Corona, CA with Crashed Out about 8 years ago, good times may I add, but what I realy want to talk about is "Chapter 21" the band which you also played bass for in the 90s and is a UNDERATED!!! US skinhead band. When did CHAPTER 21 start exactly and where?  And was this your first real band?

PERRY: I played bass for APA for only a year. I had some great times though. That tour was probably the highlight. As for Chapter 21 My friend Mike a I started that band in 1995 in Chicago where we were both born and raised. It was my second real band and his first. Before that I played in a straight edge hardcore band called X Factor which mutated into Only the Strong, then Even Score. Tony. the guy who started Victory Records was the singer. Anyway, I didn't last long in that band, they were totally into hardcore and I was totally into oi and punk. After I was looking to start an oi band as was Mike. We rehearsed for months with several different guitarists and drummers but just conldn't get the right line up and gave up. A few years later we met 2 like minded souls and Chapter 21 was born.

NBOS: Why the name Chapter 21?

PERRY: The name comes from the last chapter of "A Clockwork Orange". Can't remember much else, seems like a lifetime ago.

NBOS: I love the sound so much, when I hear the 7"s it reminds me of Combat 84, Criminal Class, Last Resort. Ive never heard a US OI band sound so Oldskool like Chapter 21 and it realy bums me out that you guys only released 2 7", why did a band so great call it quits so early?

PERRY: We called it quits for many reasons: The Chicago scene was totally divided along political lines at the time as well as geographically (northside vs southside) and we were somewhere in the middle. Shows were hard to get, I was getting totally disillusioned with the scene, etc. The final blow came when Mike met a skinhead girl whom he would later marry and moved to Michigan.  A couple months before we called it quits I was asked to join the Templars, so at least I had that to fall back on. Haha!

NBOS: When the band split, did the rest of the members keep doing music?
It would be fun if there was a Reunion show, just throwing it out there.

PERRY: After the split I'm the only one who kept playing music. Mike and Brian the drummer both settled into family life and Dan the guitarist went on to become a soul & reggae DJ before his untimely death in a car accident a few years ago. With Dan no longer with us I wouldn't feel right abot any reunion. With all of us living in different parts of the country it would be near impossible anyway.



NBOS: Every band you played bass for is a hit!!!! When did you start playing bass? and do you play anything else? I dont know why but you look like someone who knows how to play the piano haha.

PERRY: I started playing bass in 1985 which coincidently was the same year i became a skin. I just got a cheap bass and started trying to play along to records. Eventually I started getting pretty good at it. I can play a bit of guitar but have never played the piano. That's funny cause Ive had people tell me that I have piano fingers, whatever that means!



NBOS: You are writing a book the US Skin Cult, can you tell us more about it?

PERRY: The book is called "Skinheads: A Guide to an American Subculture" and is being published by ABC-CLIO. It will be out in April and will be available through Amazon, as well as your favorite local bookstore. of course it will be available from me at Templars gigs too. The book is "an insiders look at the history of skinheads in the United States. Beginning with with the emergence of skinheads in England the book traces the arrival of the skinhead subculture in the United States from the U.S. hardcore underground in the 1980s in New York City, Chicago, Washington DC, and Los Angeles to the current scene thriving in many major metropolitan areas today." Its not perfect but my co-author Tiffini Travis and I are pretty proud of it. It was hard work that's for sure!