Rockezine.com interview with Sick Of It All on Aug 31, 2003

with Sick of it All on Aug 31, 2003

Sick of it all doesn`t need an introduction. They`re around for more then 10 years now. The new Album, `Life on the ropes` will see a release date later this month. I interviewed the guys from New York and asked them about the tour-life, favourite records and the NY scene.
		You guys are about to release your 7th studio album. Have toured the whole world, had an big influence on the Hardcorescene etc. Did you thought that you will reach this point ten years ago? I suppose we all figured that if we could stand each other for another ten years, why not? Ten years ago, we were just starting to spread our brand of hardcore to places like Europe and Japan, and to tell the truth, we were hoping that ten years later this would be a more popular form of music. Hardcore seemed like it was going to blow up on our first trip to Japan, and it did for a couple of years, but then it fell off like crazy! It`s always an up and down thing, with our popularity going in cycles.
		Before the new album comes out, there will be a 7`` release from Bridge Nine Records. Why is that? That`s actually been put on hold until early next year. There was a botch-up by Bridge 9 and their distributor that pushed the release date too close to the album, and we were all worried that it would end up competing with the album instead of helping promote it. We`re shooting for a February release now, and it will have two exclusive tracks on it.
		About the new album it`s called `Life On The Ropes`. Why did you choose for this title? What does it mean? It reflects the defensive attitude everyone lives with nowadays. `On the ropes` is boxing terminology for being on the defensive and enduring punishment. The state of the world has made us all feel like that recently.
		`Yours Truly` was a bit different than the releases before. The Guitar work sounded more complex and sometimes, it had some new-schoolinfluences. How do you look back on that album and how is the new one going to sound like? That was the most experimental album we`ve ever done, even in it`s artwork. Not everyone understood why we went that route. I guess it was an attempt to break hardcore out of certain limitations that it`s set for itself. We used a lot of melody on `Yours Truly` compared to other records, and sometimes it prevented us from playing certain songs live. Some of the songs were a little uncomfortable for us to play. On the new one, we focused on our strengths by keeping things heavy and dark. I think we`re at our best when we write that way.
		I`ve never seen a bad show of SOIA. How do you guys do that. I mean the tour-life must be tough and difficult, but you guys just keep on going giving away incredibly live shows. Don`t you ever think about giving up? Thanks for that. We always try to give 100 percent, and that might be the difference between us and other bands. I`ve seen some performers get up and hack away, and it`s obvious that they`re not into it. We feel a responsibility to our fans to give them a good show no matter what the circumstances, because they paid to see us. We don`t talk about giving up, but our bodies might make that decision for us at some point, because muscle and bone don`t last forever!
		Are you guys involved in other projects? And what happened to Creep Divison, will there be another release? Pete is involved with his wife`s band called Skizo Nation. They just recorded a demo. Creep Division is not operating at all - mainly because of the distance between band members
		How is the hardcore scene of New York at the moment? There haven`t been amazing releases from hardcorebands from NY this year, but now Madball is back and Harley`s War is touring, it looks like NY is coming back. So, how is NY doing? I think the future lies in the hands of bands like On the Rise, Suicide File and Most Precious Blood. The older bands can always be counted on for some quality music, but I do hope to see a new crop of NY bands soon.
		Are you influenced by other bands while making this release? And to what kind of music do you guys listen to? We`re influenced by everything we hear. I personally have been listening to a lot of Sixteen Horsepower, Terror, Pinback, Radiohead, Minus and Woven Hand. Terror is the only hardcore band who has really captured my attention lately.
		Sick of it all is a band that has fans from every subculture. Emo kids, bikers, metallers etc. love your music. That must be a good feeling and how come that SOIA has such a variety of fans? I think it`s because our music doesn`t only stand for one thing. We try our best to put variety in our music, so that the albums don`t end up sounding like one big song. We use the same approach when putting tour together - we try to put bands together that don`t play the same style. We`ve always had open minds regarding music, and like to see when other people do as well.
		How do you guys see the future of SIOA, will there be another 7 albums? And what album do you consider the best of SOIA? Can`t say how many more albums there will be. We`ve never given the future all that much thought. That`s one of the reasons we`re still doing this. People we know from the NY hardcore scene were going through stressful times 15 years ago, trying to decide whether they should pursue music or education. We opted for music. Financially, it might not have been the best decision, but we`ve been our own bosses and lived on our own terms for a long time. Not being a slave in the faceless work force is a freedom that we`ve all really enjoyed, and that freedom might be worth more than money. Our best album, I would say is our new one. I don`t know how long that opinion will last, but `Scratch the Surface` is the only other one I feel comes close!
(Friso Veltkamp)