1. Please, introduce the band for us (members, when did form the band, etc..)
the band was formed in 1996, when all our previous bands splitted-up: bassplayer Ve played in one of the most famous Lithuanian punk bands TURBOREANIMACIJA, drummer Saragosa - freak punk act VARNU VEJAS, guitar player Mindas and me, Domas (voc.) - punk/hc band WC NEWS. while playing with WC NEWS we've tried some up-beat and skanky guitar after hearing probalby the best ska/punk band OPERATION IVY. at first we've played as quartet, but we were looking for horn players. one of them, Gedas - alto sax, was found playing in a street. later the second, Konanas - tenor sax, joined us. sometime he played with us and his previous band TAI KA? (melodic ska-rock), but later he decided to play only with us. we have won traditional festival of the worst bands and went to play our first gigs outside Lithuania (Germany and Russia). of course, we played lots of gigs in Lithuania. in 1998 we have released our first album "Ska'n'go" with "Zona" label support. the album received quite warm reviews all around Europe, especially in Poland. year after we went our first real tour to Poland and Austria. in 2000 we have released the second album "The Sounds of Black & White Radio" on d.i.y. label "Kablio muzika". the release was supported even with two euro tours (Poland, Germany, Ireland, France, Czech and Slovak rep., Croatia, Slovenia, etc.). the album was re-released in Poland, Russia and Finland and distributed worldwide from the USA to Japan. we have never played pure ska, it was always tighly tied with punk and other styles like funky, jazz, hardcore.
2. What do you think in your "civil" life
well, one sax player and drummer are students (journalism and east culture studies), bass player is computers engineer, guitar player - unemployed squatter, other sax player - lawyer and me - doing some office job in a photo agency. unfortunately the band cannot be our main income and we must work. it's quite upsetting thing, because we can't devote ourselves to the band and go to all places we would like because of holidays limit..
3. Please tell for us some words about the Lithuanian Ska and Reagge Scene!
unfortunately some words are enough to describe the scene. at first there are no real ska/reggae scene, it's only part of punk, underground if you like, movement. LIPNUS MACHARADZOS PIRSTAI is a beautiful honest original reggae trio with two albums released. unfortunately their singer studies in Germany, so L.M.P. activity is with often breaks usually up to half a year. there are no real ska bands and dr.GREEN is the only one, which can be described (with lots of exceptions) as a ska/punk band or just a "skunk" band. we see ourselves as a punk band in general.
4. What is your opinion: the most well-known and important Ska scene is in Germany (in Europe - this is the public opinion). The distance is not too long between Lithuania and Germany or England?
I'm not sure about your question, but if you ask about differences between German and Lithuanian ska scenes, so there is a huge gap between them. in Germany ska is one of the most popular music styles - lots of bands, lots of albums, gigs, merchandise and supporters, while in Lithuania you should be really smart to get at least a simple ska record or zine. but on the other hand, I personally don't like German scene very much - it's too sterile and soulless. you hear German bands, very good quality, skillful muscians, but there are no power and soul in their music. of course, bands like dr.RING-DING & The Senior Allstars or COURT JESTER'S CREW are wonderful. but, for example, French ska scene is much more interesting with bands like EJECTES or English with CITIZEN FISH or INNER TERRESTRIALS. there are lots of cool ska bands all around the world and Germany it's not the best place for sure.
5. What kind of people are your audience?
all kind of people. and it's the best crowd we can expect - all kind of people. it's not our thing to play for only one group of people. music should be for all. I think, it's one of the main things about ska - music for open-minded people.
6. In Hungary 90% of the "skinheads" are nazi boneheads! what is the situation in your country?
in Lithuania it's 100% I suppose. and they are not real skinheads. usually they are ex-metal heads and football fans. they are really boneheads and we have no relations with them. some guys, who used to play in oi!punk band TORO BRAVO, are skinheads with brains, they are really nice people. there are only few of them, but they really able to kick ass to every nazi scum.
7. What happened with the band since the formed?
our sound is more mature, we understand each other better. it's like a family - we hang around not only when playing. of course, there are some misunderstandings, because a lot of things had changed since we met. the band is one of the main part of our lifes (at least of me). I hard to imagine my life without dr.GREEN. we see a lot of young people at our gigs, so we feel some responsibility to keep them in the scene and give some ideas to think about, not just to follow the crowd.
when we started, we stick "ska" label, but later we found out, it's quite stupid to stick any label, because it means you follow standards and rules of a label. everything we are doing is d.i.y. movement in general.
8. Wich bands did you play together?
it was great pleasure to play with Polish POST REGIMENT, ALIANS, German GUTS PIE EARSHOT, French LA FRACTION, MOLAIRE, ROBOTNICKA English INNER TERRESTRIALS, Dutch the EX, Slovenian PRIDIGARJI, Russian SPITFIRE, Scottish OI POLLOI, DIVIDE+CONQUER.. we should play with Manu CHAO few years ago in Prague, but unfortunately the gig was canceled because of anti-global demonstration...
9. Which gig was the best and the worst?
the best? there were lots of nice gigs. last year we have played in Zagreb, Croatia. it was biker's club (!), but the crowd was totally crazy, so we were flooded by their energy. the same did Slovak people when we've played in Nitra. Our performance in open air festival "Tabuns'00" in Latvia was excellent. "EKH" squat in Wien, Austria is a very nice place to play.
the worst? well, there were lots of them as well - we've supported the legendary the EX in Berlin. there were something like 400 people, but I lost my voice and totally fucked up the gig. some gigs were broken because of stupid skinheads fights.
10. Do you like all waves of Ska? Which band(s) is(are) your favourite?
I like ska in general. maybe I know less about the first wave, but who can resist Desmond DEKKER OR THE SKATALITES? he is wonderful. 2-Tone was more poppy stuff, but the SPECIALS or SELECTER are great. the third wave is the most interesting for me. there are lots great bands like OPERATION IVY, MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES, NEW YORK SKA-JAZZ ENSEMBLE, ADJUSTERS, DR.RING-DING & THE SENIOR ALLSTARS, SCOFFLAWS, EJECTES, etc.
11. Which styles was influenced for the band?
since there six of us, everybody's got his own influence from punk to jazz, from funky to hip-hop, from ethno music to hardcore. we like Music in general.
12. When will see the Dr.Green the hungarian audience?
we have crossed Hungary once from Slovak to Croatia. unfortunately we had no concerts booked, so we have stopped only to buy some food and wine.
hopefully we will play in October on our next tour. guys from Trottel rec. promised to book us a gig in Budapest.
13. Please, tell for us about the Green Club?
Green club used to be our rehearsal basement. we have presented our first album there. lots of people came, the party was wonderful, so we have decided to start something like a club. the building is closed officially, so every party is illegal act. the club is a basement for few hundred people with a small stage and bar. there is a table tennis and table football upstairs. everything is run by our band and friends. all local bands, most of Latvian bands, also bands from Poland, Holland, USA, Czech, etc. played there. there is a vegan info-café on Sundays.. actually it's the only alternative place in Vilnius, probably one of the few in Lithuania.
14. What kind of the themes of your lyrics?
various: against the army, about our inner "boards", about our "dead" friends, who decided to become "normal" citizen, about people's relationships, some ironic stuff about love, against racism, about hard drugs, about blind non-thinking, consumer society - all things that worry us..
15. What do you think about the demostration and fighting against WTO and G-8?
the idea is right and we support it, but the action was too violence and brutal. in general we are against globalisation, because it is useful only a small part of all people. there are lots of wrong things in globalisation and political leaders must consider this, because there is a loud reaction against. they can't ignore it, if they don't want a new revolution with lots of blood and death. our friend was caught in Genoa and spent 5 days in a jail. he saw lots of violence, even facism. face of democracy was marked with blood - some of us made a protest action near Italian embassy in Vilnius.
16. Do you know the S.H.A.R.P movement (Skinheads against Racial Prejudice)? What do you think about these anti-fascist movement or organizations?
of course, we know about these organizations. they are necessary to fight facism, racism and other shit, because facists are well organized and strong. it's hard to fight them alone. in my view it's better to solve all the troubles in peaceful way, but sometimes it's not enough and SHARPs can always kick ass. sometimes it seems like an adult games, but when it comes to death - live how you like, but don't disturb others - it's my main moto.
17. Future plans?
to record the new stuff. we have enough songs already. we are going to record it by ourselves with 4-track recorder. we were satisfied with professional studios - you can reach good quality, but it's very hard to keep emotions and drive. in other words, to keep the record alive. we hope to go on tour in Europe in October. of course, to keep Green club. have fun and make something positive.
18. Last word for the readers!
be yourself and have fun. think about your responsibility as a human being. don't be just a blind and dumb consumer.
e-mail: skandall@freemail.hu
