Great hardcore from Rome fueled by classic 80s' USHC. Interview conducted with guitarist Pierluigi around 2008.
Perro: Let's start with the classic who do what, how you got together blablabla...
Pg: Anti You started couple of years ago, by Paolo(the drummer) and me. We used to meet sometimes in the reaharsal room to play some cover songs, just for fun, you know, guitar and drums.. then we tought of adding a bass player, and we called Marco, who was already a friend of us, then the last step was natural: finding someone to scream, and starting to write our own songs. So we called Andrea, who had been playing in bands for years but never sang, and that was it.
Perro: I love the name you've chosen for the band, it's direct and with an explicit "fuck everyone" message. How did you end up calling it Anty You? What were other unchosen options?
Pg: There were too many unchosen options, but none worth to mention. The name Anti You came up after cuttin the th from Anti Youth, wich was the first option, since we’re all over 30 and we hate the kids. It definitely has a “fuck everyone” message, wich reflects the attitude of the band as a whole and individually. I guess you can see that in our lyrics too.
Perro: I've read a lot of reviews where you've been described as a faster Circle Jerks version, which can give a decent idea of how you sound but also is a bit reductive. How would you describe your sound to the uninitiated?
Pg: I would describe it as hardcorepunk. Simple, fast, angry and straight to the point. No bullshit, no frills. That’s what hardcorepunk is to me.
Perro: You are getting lots of international attention and you have also released some eps on US labels like No Way Records and Punks Before Profits, which is something that doesn't happen frequently to italian bands...how do you explain it to yourself?
Pg: Actually i think european bands in general get more overseas attention now compared to 10 or 15 years ago, so it’s a bit easier for italian bands too. It all started when we met Ryan (Punks Before Profits) here in Rome, we played together with his ex band I-Object two years ago. We sent him our songs and he said cool let’s do a 7”, which got great reviews and sold very well. Then Brandon (No Way) asked us to repress our cd on 7”, and... that’s it! Our latest release “Johnny Baghdad” 7” is out on an american label too, Puke n Vomit.
Perro: Your lyrics are very pissed off and with a "leave me alone" message, which is something quite common for bands with older people involved...
Pg: Andrea writes all the lyrics, wich are usually pissed off and we all relate to them.
Perro: You are the only italian hc band with a direct reference (Pig City Life cover) to our beloved prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. I mean, it should be like Ronnie in the 80s' in the US but it seems like everyone is avoiding to mention him in any way...
Pg: Actually our intent was not to refer to him directly, also because apart from us italians, not everybody knows who Berlusconi is. But it came out as a mix between him and the pope, wich is fine to us. I don’t know why hc bands dont refer to him directly.. maybe cause they’re a afraid of some legal consequence? Or maybe cause he’s a too easy target...
Perro: What's about the "Johnny Baghdad" ep? Can you explain the meaning of that title?
Pg: Johnny Baghdad is a song about a punk who decides to go in the army. It might look weird, but probably it’s not.
Perro: You did a east coast US tour recently. What were the highlights? Any scary story? Do playing at Bob Suren's record shop sucked so much as you described in your tour report?
Pg : It was overall a great experience, we had some great shows and some “less great” shows. We toured with our friend’s Ryan band Religious SS Disorder, playing mostly diy basements shows. The best one was not in a basement though, but in a sushi bar, in Richmond (VA), together with Government Warning and a local band called Archaic. Other great shows were in New Brunswick (NJ), Philadelphia, Ft. Myers (FL), Buffalo, Boston. We played with amazing bands like Government Warning, Lybians, Rational Animals, Coke Bust, American Cheersburger, Merkit, Cult Ritual, Double Negative, Oppressed Logic, I Hate This and more. The show at Sound Idea was kinda weird.. i wouldn't know how to explain... weird atmosphere... it looked like people were not there because they were interested in us, but because they had to support the show. Maybe it was just us.. we had a 16 hours straight drive to get there so we were a bit tired and weird ourselves. Plus, we expected Florida to be much warmer that it was! Bob was totally cool though and playing at his record store was still pretty cool, you know, we all grew up reading his ads on Maximum Rock’n’Roll and listening to Burrito records!
Perro: Name some popular hc bands that didn't/do not deserve so much attention...
Pg: i’d say 90% of the “modern” hardcore.
Perro: Isn't Dogmatized one the best band coming out of Rome ever? Any other underrated local band worth to be mentioned?
Pg: i don’t have their 7”, i never saw them live and I doubt i’d like them. As for roman bands, nowadays there are so many.. probably The Fourth Sin, Coloss, Strength Approach, Tear Me Down, Coke Rocket (wich are not hardcore but still great) and Die! (who just broke up) are the ones worth checkin out. I think the most underrated band in Rome has been Flu!, where our drummer Paolo used to sing. Great band, they should have gotten more credit.
Perro: You're all into your 30s'. What keep you still involved in hardcore? How's your perspective of it has changed compared to when you were 16 or 18 years old?
Pg: I’m 30 and I’m the youngest guy… I’ve been playing in bands since I was 17, and I guess the reason why I’m still doing the same old hardcore shit is because in these 13 years I haven’t changed that much as a person. I mean, back then I was pissed and depressed and I loved this fast and angry and simple music that really fueled me and I loved everything that surrounded it, the people, the political aspects, the DIY idea, the shitty dirty places where shows were set up, I loved being different from the average Italian guy, etc… so basically I still keep playing it cause I still love all those things. Maybe one day I’ll start hating them, or some of them, but so far so good. I guess the hardcore scene has changed quite a lot since i was 16. Hardcore has become much more popular than it was, maybe mainstream in some ways.. and nowadays bands, most of them, suck!
Perro: What's your worst nightmare?
Pg:i hardly remember when i dream of something. But i know usually it’s nightmares.
Perro: Are you happy of having a fascist as a mayor of Rome?
Pg: of course not, but sometimes i guess people get what they deserve.
Perro: Anything planned for the near and not so near future?
Pg: yes. I’m supposed to find a job. The other guys already have one.
Perro: Thanks a lot for your time. Anything wise or dumb to close this interview?
Pg: thank you for the interview, i guess i’ve already been dumb enough, and unfortunately i have nothing wise to add.
Thanx Buddha not only this ep looks cool, it also contains awesome music (or should I'd better say noise?). I do really appreciate that, while both Control and Stagnation are influenced by the usual suspects (Confuse and Disorder, respectively), they are not ruining their sound by hyper-distorting everything (like lots of japanese bands have done in the last 4-5 years). For sure the guitars sound like chainsaws, but under the fuzz you can also enjoy the structure of the songs. So the final result are some memorable tunes, not a simple blur of generic noise. Get this one before its too late!!
