Rockezine.com interview with Ill Nino on Oct 11, 2005

with Cristian Machado on Oct 11, 2005

Last month Ill Nino Released their new record: “One Nation Underground”. So, time for Rock-e-Zine to have an e-mail conversation with singer Cristian Machado about everything and nothing.
		Are you and the rest of the band satisfied with the way the record turned out? Yes, I feel "One Nation Underground" is our best effort to date. I think it`s a must have for anyone who is an intelligent, and true "groundbreaking music" fan. Finally, we are a family: focused, empowered. ILL NINO is one of the few bands that can truly claim that we try to stay on the "cutting edge" of metal or music in general. "One Nation Underground" is raw, pure, aggressive, intelligently cultural, real, and most importantly it`s full of positive awareness as to the formation and formatting of our current world, our beliefs, and the conditioning that separates us from the truth. It is aggressive, culturally charged, intellectual music for the masses.
		How did you come to the idea to ask Jamey Jasta to do some guest vocals? How is working out with him? Working with Jamey was like magic. The part was already sounding tight, so by the time he heard it and went through some of the lyrics that I wrote, he laid it down. He is one talented artist. He represents a large majority of our current Hard Core culture today. ILL NINO and Jamey go way back, six years or so. Good friends, Good times, Reunited, on CD. "Turns To Gray" is awesome.
		What bands have influenced Ill Nino the most? We are influenced by way too many different styles of music to actually start ripping apart the musical history behind our inspiration. From punk, to metal, to latin jazz, to world music, to reggae, to hip-hop, to industrial, to eclectic. The New York music scene is a multi-cultural, "cutting edge" scene. So most of the band grew up loving bands like: The Ramones, Sick Of It All, Israel Cachoa, Quicksand, Run Dmc, S.O.D, Leeway, Suffocation, Tito Puente, Agnostic Front, etc. But, Ahrue adds a Bay Area Metal feel to the final outcome. It really worked amazingly. The funny thing is that we all share an appreciation for English metal: Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Sabbath, etc. As well as a love for obscure world music: Latin Jazz, Afro-Cuban tribal, and flamenco guitars.
		How did you come to the title “One Nation Underground”? I was on a late night, insomnia trip trying to figure out how to describe the decline of our freedoms and our social structure as we`ve known it for the last hundreds of years. And at the same time a statement that represented the rise of a one world nation, united, without boundaries and laws - without stereotypes or conditioning. Why is it that science and spiritualism are starting to come together like never before yet students in America aren`t allowed to "Pledge Allegiance" because it`s got the word "God" in it. Who the fuck are we to say there is no creator? Opposing religions can only discredit the idea of one divine creation for so long. The reality is that we have all been created by the same higher power - made by the same circumstance - built by the same creator. I call him God. Someone else may call him Ala. Someone else may call him Albert Einstein. The bottom line is: don`t let the government take away your "Rights of Man". They were given to us by our creator, whatever it may be, not by governments. It`s one big, nasty, weak but effective attempt at social conditioning. Obsessive, radical views are what started wars for thousands of years. Meanwhile, the American Government is trying to discredit "The Creator" for the "Rights of Man" That means that the Government will control all of your rights - Your right to live - Your right to speak - Your right to be equal. This will affect every Democracy and will eventually affect the entire structure of western beliefs and civilizations all over the globe.
		Ill Nino is compared a lot with other South American bands, is that a problem to you guys? No problem. We are from South America. Four of the Band members are South American. Wouldn`t that pretty much makes us a predominantly South American band. I know that we are one of the only bands that can claim to be real Latin Metal. I love cultured music in general. Without culture, music is just a trend. Culture is everlasting.
		Is there a lot of new talent in South America? I don`t know. I wasn`t scouting the area in the last year. ILL NINO have been pretty busy recording "One Nation Underground" and now touring.
		You guys play in a worldwide selling band, how is playing in a band that’s so big. Well, we are not Metallica or anything like that. But, we do have thousands, maybe millions of fans on the planet. We have toured 5 different continents. And still we have 2 more that we haven’t yet been to. And, we have to go back to 4 of the 5 that I already mentioned. Confusing, isn`t? We have fun. We get to see the world. I spent 5 days in Puerto Rico about two months ago. We travel, it`s fun. Japan, Australia, Europe, and of course, South America here we come.
		Don’t you ever miss your family when you’re on tour? Do you take them with you sometimes? I miss my family very much. I have a daughter and she is gorgeous. She is two and finally building her vocabulary. It`s funny and amazing at the same time. I also have a niece that is a Diva. She is 6. She`s a rockstar in her own mind. And of course my mother, grandmother, sister, and my wife. I miss them all very much. I am lucky to have all of their support in this crazy thing called Art. Part of being an artist is presenting your art in person to people. We play music for people all over the world and represent our families when we perform. Therefore, always having them with us, mentally and spiritually
		When you are on tour you see a lot of strange things, what’s the weirdest thing ever happened on a tour? We usually see plenty of crazy fucking shit on the road. One time we saw a guy drink his own piss to get some free shirts. That was when we were on tour with Raging Speedhorn. Recently, Disturbed put some traditional Mariachi Costumes on and danced to an entire song during our performance in New Hampshire. Kittie got a pizza delivered to the stage while we were in the middle of our last song. I`m fucking singing and this dude was actually like "pay me". I said "whatever" and passed the pizza out to 8 lucky people in the front row.
		What the best concert you’ve ever seen and what’s the worst? The best: Iron Maiden "Somewhere In Time" tour. Classic. The worst: A video taped concert of my first band.
		What’s your favorite classic and what’s in your compact disc player at this moment? Coca cola. Two AA batteries
		Is there a dream which you want to accomplish with your band? Winning a Latin Grammy for first Latin Metal act. That would be sweet.
		Thanks for this interview is there something you want to say to me or the rest of the world? Make sure you always have clean underwear on, just in case you have an emergency. Oh yeah, and check out the new ILL NINO album "One Nation Underground".
(Jeroen Habets)