Here is the long awaited Mediocracy interview! It has been done by Luka quite a while ago, so finally it gets posted. I also intended to throw in a download link in the end, but my pc is kinda out-of-order and I'm on an emergency laptop, so I couldn't upload their album. If this interview sparks curiosity about the sound of "Mediocracy", you can download the album on their last.fm page. Enjoy the interview and thanks to the band for being interested in it!
1. Hi Viez, first I would like to thank you for this interview. Please introduce yourself and the rest of the band?
Hey man. No problem! Well I am Viez I play the vocals, Radu and Costin play guitars, Dop is the bassist and our drummer is Parashuta. Except for the guitar players these are our nicknames, but that's all you need to know haha! There is also a good friend of the band who is always with us and for live shows he's usually the one that makes the difference,his name is Fane and he is our sound guy.
2. Why "Mediocracy" and what is the story behind the name?
Well Mediocracy was an idea that I had a long time ago...almost 4 years, that I didn't even know at the time if it will even become real because I knew where I was living... But still,Mediocracy was a name I thought fitted the idea I wanted to share with the rest of the world (not just the country) seeing that Romania is really a country full of mediocre people who settle for a mediocre life, willing or unwilling and don't really have much power over the decisions or their own lives. It's also a result of post-communism that our country and probably the rest of the ex-soviet bloc have, where people were forced to relocate and educated in a rudimentary manor and so now we have the mentality and ideas of today.
3. "Mediocracy" is a young band, how long you work together and when did you get the idea to form it?
Well the current line-up is reletively short-lived. We had our first concert on 4th of July, without a second guitar player but after the second show where Costin filled in on bass for Dop (who was in the hospital at the time) we decided to go for a second guitar and from then we have the line-up we have today. Then the songs became more and more awesome haha. I want to mention that even though it was my idea to form this band, for wich I struggled for almost 4 years, without these guys it wouldn't have happened because at one time I think I had just had enough and wanted to quit, because of the costant member changing. Until I met Radu and we started writing the songs that you can hear today. For this reason I want to thank them first for making this band become real!
4. You just released your debut full lenght called "Human Progress - Endless Regress". Can you tell us something about it and the story behind the songs?
The songs on ''Human Progress - Endless Regress'' are our own personal views of the situation and society we live in. Lyrically I had a lot to learn from such bands as "Pavilionul 32" or "Terror Art" because they reflected the romanian every-day life very well, socially and politically and seeing how I wanted to be a part of this scene it was near what I wanted to say also. The album is focused on the idea of humanity's closing self-destruction and our aproach on how we see things today. It wasn't necessairly intended to be a revolutionary album or something that people haven't heard before, but it became something new because of the place we came from and thus our point of view for these problems. The songs focus on the struggle to get out of the everyday mediocrity, fighting for a chance to be heard, opression or religious indoctrination. It's probably a bit random for now but this was my first effort to write lyrics and we didn't have a plan or a concept settled before we began this album. We just wrote what we felt and this was what came out. It's an immense joy seeing now that there are people who enjoy what we did.
5. In your songs different impacts can be heard - crust, sludge, metal...tell me about your sound and which bands most influenced your work?
Well first of all we are 5 very different idividuals. The rest of the guys knew each other before I knew all of them, I was the only punk haha. But after we've met we found out that we had a lot of things in common and we all like bands like Disfear, Converge, Kylesa, Wolfbrigade, Doomriders and to my great joy, Fall of Efrafa! We didn't necessairly set out to sound like a certain band, but we definetly had our influences and those werefrom the different crust,metal,sludge or punk bands that we all listen to and thought would fit in what we were doing. It was a very surprising result even for us seeing how these songs came to sound like when we are so different. We are definitely not a typical crust band that's for sure haha.
6.I see you are going for your first tour. More about it and is there any chances that you visit Serbia next year?
The tour was actually an offer we got from Coro,a friend of ours who did it for "The Arson Project" and the moldavian grinders "Abnormyndeffect" before he heard us. But after our very first gig he told us about this and we would have been lunatics not to accept. First of all we get to play with "The Arson Project", who are a great band and I can't wait to meet them and second of all touring was pretty much what we wanted to do with this band and play as many places as possible.
Sure I hope we can come to Serbia very soon, seeing how it's so near, but this depends on things that are pretty much out of our power...we have jobs, school, some of the guys play in other bands too, so i can't know at this moment where we will be next year. But we will do our best to reach as much places as possible!
7. We know little about Romanian hardcore/punk scene. Can you give me some small info about it and active bands that play in your country?
I think you know very little because there is very little to be known haha! Well the ultimate hardcore/punk band from Romania is definetly "Pavilionul 32" from Timisoara. They always had a great scene over there, compared to Buchurest where it barely exists, they are the band with the most shows and tours ever played by a romanian underground band and were also the first to make this kind of fast, political and honest punk here. Another band that people should check out is "Stuck in a Rut" from Cluj-Napoca, a city that also has a great scene and awesome shows. They are a young band also and a premiere in Romania because they are the first real thrashcore/powerviolence band from here. There are some bands here and there but I don't consider anything overwhelming at the moment. I don't want to be the judge of the scene now or anything like that,but these are just the bands that i consider are worth checking out.
8. Beside "Mediocracy" do members play in some other bands, any side projects?
Yes they do, but very different stuff. Our rehearsal space is actually a place of costant music making and we are always working on something. Radu and Costin play guitar and bass in a death metal band called "Cap De Craniu" (meaning Head of Skull haha) which is really good and also a big leap forward for the romanian underground scene. Para, our drummer, now plays in a band called "Rain District" which is...very different from Mediocracy haha. It's a more alternative rock, with some post rock influences here and there, some grunge... It's more commercial but compared to some things people decide to play here, they are also very good. Still...I don't think I can recommend them to our listeners. He also has another side-project called "Roadkill soda", which is more stoner-sludge oriented. I haven't heard much because they're still working on songs but what I've heard I think will also be very good. Dop and I don't play in other bands. He played before in some metal bands, most notably being "Deviant". Costin has had a lot of projects and is probably one of the most hardworking people I've met in my life. "Nightpray" is one of his projects and there are a lot of other projects in the past. I don't think I can remember all of them right now haha. So yea this is what I was saying...we come from very different backgrounds but managed to find something in common and I think what came out is surprisingly good. We'll see..
9. I see you work art for the band, also saw that you have your own blog with your art. Art seems to be a big part of your band?
Yes, well I wanted to do the artwork even before the band even existed. It's something I want to do besides playing music. Drawing was actually first and I still dream that I can make a living out of this hahaha.
I consider the artwork to be a big part of the band because that is actually what you see first and probaly draw your attention to listen to a certain band. I tried to represent the music's atmosphere and I saw people enjoyed it so I guess that I managed that. I did some art before this for "Pavilionul 32", the guys from "Downfall of Gaia" used some of my drawings for some shirts, stickers etc, I've made some gig posters and so on. My portfolio is not that big yet but I'm still working on that and want to do artwork for bands in the future.
10. Besides the band, do members have some hobbies or something like that, are they still in school or have jobs?
Hobbies...I don't know. Yes some of us work, me and Radu are students. Costin also does artwork but he's been doing this for years and is actually a very renown graphic designer. He's been doing art for dozens of bands and is constantly working on this, besides his day job. He actually finished the same section at the university where I am now (graphic design). Check out "twilight13media" and you'll see his art there. Radu is studying photo-video and Para...is doing all kinds of things hahaha. Dop also.
11. I think I asked you everything. Thank you again for this interview. If you want to add something for the end, maybe something important about the band that I forgot to ask you. Some message for the blog, bands?
Thank you for this interview Luka! This is actually the first interview we gave since we released the album and we appreciate your support very much! Keep up the good work and I hope we will meet soon! Also thank you to everyone who gave us a listen and gave us a chance. It was a great surprise to see people enjoying our music seeing how we have done something new for our country but not so for others. We didn't know really what reactions to expect, mostly because we are not a typical crust band. We definitely don't look like one that's for sure. But maybe we're not even that...you decide. Still, in the end the music and the message are all that count and I hope people will understand this. We will keep working on improving ourselves and hope the next release will bring even more than this album.
All the best and hope to see you all soon!
Thanx again Luka!
Viez/Mediocracy
Hey man. No problem! Well I am Viez I play the vocals, Radu and Costin play guitars, Dop is the bassist and our drummer is Parashuta. Except for the guitar players these are our nicknames, but that's all you need to know haha! There is also a good friend of the band who is always with us and for live shows he's usually the one that makes the difference,his name is Fane and he is our sound guy.
2. Why "Mediocracy" and what is the story behind the name?
Well Mediocracy was an idea that I had a long time ago...almost 4 years, that I didn't even know at the time if it will even become real because I knew where I was living... But still,Mediocracy was a name I thought fitted the idea I wanted to share with the rest of the world (not just the country) seeing that Romania is really a country full of mediocre people who settle for a mediocre life, willing or unwilling and don't really have much power over the decisions or their own lives. It's also a result of post-communism that our country and probably the rest of the ex-soviet bloc have, where people were forced to relocate and educated in a rudimentary manor and so now we have the mentality and ideas of today.
3. "Mediocracy" is a young band, how long you work together and when did you get the idea to form it?
Well the current line-up is reletively short-lived. We had our first concert on 4th of July, without a second guitar player but after the second show where Costin filled in on bass for Dop (who was in the hospital at the time) we decided to go for a second guitar and from then we have the line-up we have today. Then the songs became more and more awesome haha. I want to mention that even though it was my idea to form this band, for wich I struggled for almost 4 years, without these guys it wouldn't have happened because at one time I think I had just had enough and wanted to quit, because of the costant member changing. Until I met Radu and we started writing the songs that you can hear today. For this reason I want to thank them first for making this band become real!
4. You just released your debut full lenght called "Human Progress - Endless Regress". Can you tell us something about it and the story behind the songs?
The songs on ''Human Progress - Endless Regress'' are our own personal views of the situation and society we live in. Lyrically I had a lot to learn from such bands as "Pavilionul 32" or "Terror Art" because they reflected the romanian every-day life very well, socially and politically and seeing how I wanted to be a part of this scene it was near what I wanted to say also. The album is focused on the idea of humanity's closing self-destruction and our aproach on how we see things today. It wasn't necessairly intended to be a revolutionary album or something that people haven't heard before, but it became something new because of the place we came from and thus our point of view for these problems. The songs focus on the struggle to get out of the everyday mediocrity, fighting for a chance to be heard, opression or religious indoctrination. It's probably a bit random for now but this was my first effort to write lyrics and we didn't have a plan or a concept settled before we began this album. We just wrote what we felt and this was what came out. It's an immense joy seeing now that there are people who enjoy what we did.
5. In your songs different impacts can be heard - crust, sludge, metal...tell me about your sound and which bands most influenced your work?
Well first of all we are 5 very different idividuals. The rest of the guys knew each other before I knew all of them, I was the only punk haha. But after we've met we found out that we had a lot of things in common and we all like bands like Disfear, Converge, Kylesa, Wolfbrigade, Doomriders and to my great joy, Fall of Efrafa! We didn't necessairly set out to sound like a certain band, but we definetly had our influences and those werefrom the different crust,metal,sludge or punk bands that we all listen to and thought would fit in what we were doing. It was a very surprising result even for us seeing how these songs came to sound like when we are so different. We are definitely not a typical crust band that's for sure haha.
6.I see you are going for your first tour. More about it and is there any chances that you visit Serbia next year?
The tour was actually an offer we got from Coro,a friend of ours who did it for "The Arson Project" and the moldavian grinders "Abnormyndeffect" before he heard us. But after our very first gig he told us about this and we would have been lunatics not to accept. First of all we get to play with "The Arson Project", who are a great band and I can't wait to meet them and second of all touring was pretty much what we wanted to do with this band and play as many places as possible.
Sure I hope we can come to Serbia very soon, seeing how it's so near, but this depends on things that are pretty much out of our power...we have jobs, school, some of the guys play in other bands too, so i can't know at this moment where we will be next year. But we will do our best to reach as much places as possible!
7. We know little about Romanian hardcore/punk scene. Can you give me some small info about it and active bands that play in your country?
I think you know very little because there is very little to be known haha! Well the ultimate hardcore/punk band from Romania is definetly "Pavilionul 32" from Timisoara. They always had a great scene over there, compared to Buchurest where it barely exists, they are the band with the most shows and tours ever played by a romanian underground band and were also the first to make this kind of fast, political and honest punk here. Another band that people should check out is "Stuck in a Rut" from Cluj-Napoca, a city that also has a great scene and awesome shows. They are a young band also and a premiere in Romania because they are the first real thrashcore/powerviolence band from here. There are some bands here and there but I don't consider anything overwhelming at the moment. I don't want to be the judge of the scene now or anything like that,but these are just the bands that i consider are worth checking out.
8. Beside "Mediocracy" do members play in some other bands, any side projects?
Yes they do, but very different stuff. Our rehearsal space is actually a place of costant music making and we are always working on something. Radu and Costin play guitar and bass in a death metal band called "Cap De Craniu" (meaning Head of Skull haha) which is really good and also a big leap forward for the romanian underground scene. Para, our drummer, now plays in a band called "Rain District" which is...very different from Mediocracy haha. It's a more alternative rock, with some post rock influences here and there, some grunge... It's more commercial but compared to some things people decide to play here, they are also very good. Still...I don't think I can recommend them to our listeners. He also has another side-project called "Roadkill soda", which is more stoner-sludge oriented. I haven't heard much because they're still working on songs but what I've heard I think will also be very good. Dop and I don't play in other bands. He played before in some metal bands, most notably being "Deviant". Costin has had a lot of projects and is probably one of the most hardworking people I've met in my life. "Nightpray" is one of his projects and there are a lot of other projects in the past. I don't think I can remember all of them right now haha. So yea this is what I was saying...we come from very different backgrounds but managed to find something in common and I think what came out is surprisingly good. We'll see..
9. I see you work art for the band, also saw that you have your own blog with your art. Art seems to be a big part of your band?
Yes, well I wanted to do the artwork even before the band even existed. It's something I want to do besides playing music. Drawing was actually first and I still dream that I can make a living out of this hahaha.
I consider the artwork to be a big part of the band because that is actually what you see first and probaly draw your attention to listen to a certain band. I tried to represent the music's atmosphere and I saw people enjoyed it so I guess that I managed that. I did some art before this for "Pavilionul 32", the guys from "Downfall of Gaia" used some of my drawings for some shirts, stickers etc, I've made some gig posters and so on. My portfolio is not that big yet but I'm still working on that and want to do artwork for bands in the future.
10. Besides the band, do members have some hobbies or something like that, are they still in school or have jobs?
Hobbies...I don't know. Yes some of us work, me and Radu are students. Costin also does artwork but he's been doing this for years and is actually a very renown graphic designer. He's been doing art for dozens of bands and is constantly working on this, besides his day job. He actually finished the same section at the university where I am now (graphic design). Check out "twilight13media" and you'll see his art there. Radu is studying photo-video and Para...is doing all kinds of things hahaha. Dop also.
11. I think I asked you everything. Thank you again for this interview. If you want to add something for the end, maybe something important about the band that I forgot to ask you. Some message for the blog, bands?
Thank you for this interview Luka! This is actually the first interview we gave since we released the album and we appreciate your support very much! Keep up the good work and I hope we will meet soon! Also thank you to everyone who gave us a listen and gave us a chance. It was a great surprise to see people enjoying our music seeing how we have done something new for our country but not so for others. We didn't know really what reactions to expect, mostly because we are not a typical crust band. We definitely don't look like one that's for sure. But maybe we're not even that...you decide. Still, in the end the music and the message are all that count and I hope people will understand this. We will keep working on improving ourselves and hope the next release will bring even more than this album.
All the best and hope to see you all soon!
Thanx again Luka!
Viez/Mediocracy
How i wish they would come to Russia.
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