Crucified 'zine can be reached at: Fabrice TARRIEU, 4 rue Pierre de Fermat, 31130 BALMA, FRANCE or by e-mail: Tlse2@aol.com
As usual, can you please tell us everything we must know about the band
Domas: at first we'd like to introduce our current line-up: Verbaitis/mom-bass, Mindas/dad-guitar, Saragosa-drums, Gedas-alto sax, Konanas-tenor sax and me, Domas-vocals. the band is run fully in d.i.y. spirit.
it can sound quite boastful, but we introduced ska to Lithuanian underground scene and it became quite popular over here. it's not only our music (as far as dr.GREEN isn't a pure ska band, we mix lots of punk, hardcore, other styles), but also organising gigs for probably the most famous band in the region SPITFIRE from St.Petersburg/Russia, corresponding with some ska labels, contributing for various zines and writing about this exciting style of music and spreading ska sounds all over the country. I mean our band isn't just musicians who play together and then go away. it's something like a family, community or something like that. we are in the mood for ska!
Verbaitis: Funnily, the first sax player was litteraly found on the street. I just sat on a bench eating a sandwich on a hard working day and was listening to a nearby sax player. i did not realise that it might a horn player, we were looking for for some time already, 'till he played the pink panther theme, making lots of mistakes. then i was hit by the idea: "hey, this fella plays sax, i must talk to him". so, gedas became a member of our band. after that i've been making such proposals to every other horn player found on the street but, alas no luck yet.
Are you the only Lithuanian ska Band ? It's the first time I hear about a ska band coming from the former Soviet Republics?
Do: no, there is one more band called TAI+KA? they are more retro, 2-Tone influenced ska. as far as their singer works for the main Lithuanian record label, they have lots of support in mass media and often take part in various show business events. interesting, but their debut tape "Nabadango" was released themselves. we try to "steal" their sax player Konanas and it seems that we gonna win! other punk bands play some ska stuff, also there is a wonderful reggae band LMP.
you haven't heard russians SPITFIRE?! recently they've released their 2nd album on "pork pie" and it's really amazing, specific, interesting ska-core. there are some other ska-related band in Russia, but their ska is very different and original. recently we've played with VOICEKS VOISKA - it's some kind of Latvian ska.
I think you firstly started by playing a mix of punk and Hardcore music, so what prompted you to the ska scene?
ve: yes, during the celebration of New Year 1996 i decided to start a new project with mindaugas, it had to be just another punkrawk band, just what we used to play. but we tried to play one of his former, split-up band, old songs, adding some Op.Ivy kind of skanking guitar, and "Hey! It's great! Let's try more!" and the we explored ska culture deeper inside, learning the traditions, the three-wave-theory and finding lot's of great bands, and related styles -- i started digging jazz and funk, for example.
do: our lyrics aren't very different from those i used to shout in a punk/hc band. the same attitudes, only music was changed. why? because most of us aren't really angry or agressive people, we rather observe the world with irony so we changed heavy guitars to skankin' beat. it came naturally, as Verbaitis already told. we wanted something new, original and for Lithuania it really was.
What bands influence you?
ve: for me, the best are Fishbone, with their relaxedness and the wonderful capability to do whatever on their songs still sounding great. Norwood fisher, yeah. it's nice to listen to NYSJE, but that's not an influence, it's more of a favourite. others -- i guess, the Toasters, a bit of the Bosstones, a bit of the Specials. a new and fine discoveries for me were Hepcat, Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Brian Setzer. they're my best mp3's to listen at work :).
do: I guess those we listen to - personally I listen to the Clash, Ramones, Dr.Ring-Ding, Spitfire, Adjusters, Skatalites, Nofx, Operation Ivy, MM Bosstones, Skankin' Pickle, Ejectes and many more, but I can't point out one and say: "they really made an influence on me, I want to sing like.." - all of them have something interesting. I listen to reggae, hardcore, indie, even some techno stuff as well.
You have performed shows in germany, poland, austria, also in Scandinavia, are you more popular outside Lithuania?
ve: popularity in Lithuania is a quite hard to measure thing, because underground audience is really small, you know all your listeners by face in a couple of years. i guess we are a kind of accepted in Poland, where audience was really friendly and we get invitations to play more.
do: playing in your country all the time isn't very good thing for a band. only after playing abroad, where nobody knows you, gives a band strenght and belief in themselves, proof that you are doin' right (or wrong). I suppose in Lithuania there are few hundreds who are interested in us, but they are really honest and warm people and I like Lithuanian gigs, especially in our hometown.
How did people react to your music?
ve: positively, really positively. we may not show the best musicianship, but usually we play really sincere and energetic. and that's what you need to have in your music to be warmly accepted -- sincerety and energy. ska is a nice dance music anyway.
do: well, I've never heard whistles while we were on a stage. there were some chicks who demonstratively closed their ears, but it was in a pop-rock club and they couldn't stand these "punks". there were few hundreds baldheads with stoned faces when we played in a prison. but mainly our public contains merry young people from students to punks. usually they dance more or less. during a gig in polSKA there were few skinheads who danced on a stage all the gig long.
Many ska bands were or remained involved or connected to the skinhead movement, is it the same for you ? are you a skinhead band?
ve: no, we are not. Although I favour short hair, bomber jackets and grinders boots, but that's a dressing style attraction only.
do: we aren't rudeboys neither. I don't think that you should be that or that if you play ska. as punk doesn't mean painted comb, ska doesn't mean only rudeboy or skinhead.
Is the skinhead/punk movement really present in Lithuania?
do: after declaration of independence in1991 Lithuania was suddenly flooded by various "capitalistic things". before that there were only punks (lithuanians) and montanas (russians). punks meant listen to ac/dc or ozzy, dress in jeans, with baskets and short hairs. actually first punks appeared sometime in 1987 - there were first gigs. people mostly listened to sex pistols, exploited and dead kennedys, because even these records were hard to get. after Lithuania got independent there suddenly came skinheads, ravers, rollers, rapers - without any roots. all football fans saw that they "should" become skinheads and preferably nazis, so they went on. all them used to be matalheads, so they still listen to hard music, they have nothing to do with ska. ska supported mostly by punks and similar people. punk movement is quite strong, they have a stable club in Vilnius. it is arranged in a former cold-war era bomb shelter - in fact the only comfortable place for us to play.
How is the underground scene like?
do: of course, you always would like to see it more educated and developed, but it is as it is - anyway it isn't so bad: more and more people interested not only in old school punk77. there were more bands and zines few years ago, but almost all of them were not skilled enough. lots of wish to do something, but not so much ideas how to do it. nowadays there is a stable underground club, some good bands, some zines. I would say the scene even grew older a little bit - some people stay in it and we already have some punk babies! the main scene is in the capital Vilnius, other cities have only small underground communities. as our scene is quite small, lots of various underground styles (ska, oi!, reggae, hardcore, etc.) fans hang around together.
Are they bands we should listen to in your area?
ve: as regards the punk hc scene, the best acts are Invazija w/ their strong emo-ny-whatever else hc and the new outfit Bramborak, something like tribal hardcore a la soulfly. alas, it's the same musicians anyway. as regards other non major projects, it's that wonderful reggae band LMP, and my favourite funkadelic oriented Bites and and more rocking Vertigo AB.
do: punk scene is almost dead. some bands practise in "Bombiakas" club: oi! street punk band TORO BRAVO, punk band KLAUSTROFOBIKAI SPINTOJE, anarcho punks ADAMKUS IR IEVA, these bands are quite new, so let's wait a little bit..
Do you have productions available?
do: yep. we have our debut album "Skango" released. we sell as a tape and as a "homebaked" CD-R. you can get it straight from us by address bellow. our tape is distributed in Poland, Latvija, England (as a split with INVAZIJA). also finnish label "Brew records" released our EP. check out!
ve: i'm also proud to add, that with Micius from SC band we were first to start promoting Lithuanian punk/hc scene on the WWW, giving space for everyone, who wanted to be heard. so check out http://www.hardcore.lt/
What are your projects?
ve: play more gigs, record a new tape. get better in general :)
do: our drummer came back from Marocco few weeks ago, so we are trying to "remember" all the stuff now. we were going to play in polSKA again, but faced some troubles like finding a van, getting holidays at our jobs. the most important thing is probably to record a new material, because old one was recorded with single sax and we really want to hear how everything would sound with double.
The most difficult question: please write something in French to the readers of Crucified:
ve: Renault Cinema Ejectes. ;)
do: "monsieur, je ne mange pas six jours" (from old russian comedy).
Something else to add?
do: even in Lithuania ska sounds like ska!
contact us: Dr.GREEN
P.O.Box 790
2050 Vilnius
Lithuania
e-mail: drgreen@hardcore.lt
