Did you work on some new music?
Yeah, we wrote some stuff. We had some stuff written, and then we wrote a little bit during the whole break. It's just been hard now trying to get back up and running again. It's been hard to figure out a studio and all that, but we wrote some stuff for sure.
Can we expect some new music this year?
I would hope so. Yeah, I would hope so.
Do you see any changes in the audience at your shows throughout the years?
I mean, the shows, to me, since coming back, are back to what it was, what it's supposed to be. The only thing I noticed, yeah, there's newer kids, maybe, newer, fresher faces because in that gap of time, sure people got into hardcore. Somebody told them about this and so now they come like: “Hey, let's go see it live.” Because even in America, I definitely noticed new people at the shows, young, new people. That's cool.
Why do you think you are still so influential to younger generation?
I'm very grateful. I'm not getting younger, so I definitely feel grateful about it. I think with music in general, it's like if you put forward an honest message and an authentic message that's like... I don't know if there's really a timetable on that. I hate to say timeless, but when you're real and you put it out there, I think people appreciate that. It doesn't matter what generation it is. I think they appreciate the honesty, and they appreciate the experience. These are things that we've lived, that we've seen, that we're speaking from our heart. So, when you speak from that place, I think that's important for any music. I think with any band, especially a band that's been around as long as us. I think the second most important thing is what you give out on stage because you can be the realest, most authentic, coolest people in the world, but if you don't bring it live, the people will start to go: maybe don't play anymore. And for us, we still feel good enough that we can put out a good live show. So, the minute I stop doing that, then I'm not saying I would not do music anymore, but I would probably do Madball less if I couldn't put out the right show.
What's the main difference between playing for the US audience and the European one?
When it's a good audience, it's not really a difference. It's just a good show is a good show. I think the difference about America and Europe, and this is pretty much a broad answer, is that America gets really caught up in hype stuff. Europe is very ingrained in the culture. And I'm not disrespecting America because obviously I'm American. I was born there. I love living in the States, but the music scene there sometimes gets too caught up in the hype stuff. And it even works against us sometimes. I mean, we do pretty good in certain areas. And then there are areas that are pretty weird for everybody, but people get sometimes just caught up on the hype stuff and start forgetting about the guys that paved the way for those bands. So, they don't support those bands as much as they should. And here it's the opposite. Bands must prove themselves in Europe. And I'm saying Europe overall. We've proven ourselves year after year after year from a long time ago. So that's why we have the loyalty and the fan base that we have. It's a built. We built it from nothing. Some people now are coming like: Hey, it's already there. That's cool. God, no problem. But yeah, America is sometimes less invested in the depth of the culture.
Maybe it's also because American bands don't come to Europe that often, so maybe we appreciate it more when they come and going to a concert is a must...
You're less spoiled. It's true. And I have to say that you're right about that too, because yeah, exactly. US bands are from that area, so it's easy to say, hey, let's go check them out in New York this weekend, or somewhere else next weekend.
If you miss the show in the US, you can go the following week, but here's another chance in a year...
That's very true.
How do you feel about what is the hardcore music evolving into? There are lot of different kinds of hardcore and even some other genres are inspired by hardcore music. For example, some rap artists are sampling old hardcore songs etc.
It's cool, I guess it's flattering, really. My only thing that I would say is, for example, if you're going to wear a vest and have all these patches on it from all these bands, at least have an idea of what you're wearing. But it is not like you are not welcomed because you just finding out about hardcore. We all started out somewhere and learnt about it.
Young fans often find their way to the OGs when they start researching who were the influences of their favorite new bands etc…
Yeah. And that's how it's supposed to be, right? That's how it's supposed to be. I mean, before you would buy a record, you look at the credits and see who they were thanking to, or you saw maybe what band shirts the guys in the bands were wearing. Yeah. All that stuff is still valid, man. I mean, even though there is now Instagram and this and that, it's still valid to be put on to hardcore. And I've always said Hardcore is all inclusive. Like, everyone's welcome. Just don't come in here disrespecting the culture. It’s like with anything. It's like with hip hop. I'm a big hip hop fan. I go back to the 80s with hip hop. You can quiz me on hip hop. I'll tell you all about it, but I respect the culture. And we were doing that in the early days, we kind of dressed like hip hopish, and people were like, what's that about? Now? The new kids, that's the only way they dress.
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