http://www.myspace.com/suntzuhc
First off i would like to thank James and Sun Tzu for taking the time out to do this interview with Worldwidetakeoverzine
How did the band come to be named Sun Tzu and is what does that mean and is
there any special meaning behind the band name
Sun Tzu was a military strategist in China (544 BC - 496 BC). Sun Tzu is
credited with writing a book on military strategy titled "The Art Of War". He is
also credited in social theory as being one of the earliest realists. We wanted
to take the idea of Sun Tzu writing a book on war and apply that to the band. In
a nut shell we're a bunch of guys who have something to say about and through
hardcore.
who are some of the bands main musical influences
We're pretty heavily influenced by both Australian and American hardcore and
metal bands. All of us are fans of Day of Contempt, Madball and Integrity. But
also bands like Death before Dishonor and terror.
are any members in side projects other than Sun Tzu
Ev is playing in a new secret side project.
how long has the band been together
Dave, Bucky and I were in a band before Sun Tzu called The August Reign and
pretty much, the week that band finished, I played Bucky some riffs and it went
from there. Dave is the late edition I think we tried out about 5 bass players
before we even made it to a stage.
how many cds eps 7 inches split cds and demos has the band currently
released
We have a demo for free download on myspace, we also have a track going on a
compilation from Warcity and Australia's newest and hardest label Dogfight rec's
are releasing our split with Vengeance from Perth.
what do you base your lyrics on when writing new material
Dane is a really good lyricist, for example in the song 'All In' off the split
Dane came to us with the idea of doing a song about work sucking. We all felt
that no one had managed to write a song that lyrically captured the frustration
of doing something you hate 5 days a week. So we came up with the lines 'Our
revenge on a world ripe with disease, betrayal thrown back in your fucking
faces, you cant stand in our way, 40 hours of filthy pain, an addiction to money
this world cant break'. The words are basically about those occasions when your
boss will ask you to work your days off, show you little to no respect and you
can just get in to this cycle of depression. Sometimes stage dives and moshing
are the only way of getting that shit out of your system, and thats what the
line 'pay your debt in blood' is about.
is there a large and thriving scene in the Melbourne area as well as
throughout Australia
Australia has a heap of really good bands, but Melbourne more than anywhere
else. I personally love Her Nightmare, The Deadwalk, No Love Lost, The Seduction
and Mindsnare. But the most important thing to hardcore in Australia is the
Arthouse hotel.
how did the band come about getting signed to Dogfight Records and how have
they treated you so far
We hassled Vengeance into doing the split with us and when we recorded the songs
for it with Roman at complex studios, he said Pilks (the fucking legend who runs
Dogfight and sings for No Love Lost) would be keen on it so we hassled him about
it and fortunately he liked our stuff. As far as how we've been treated, it's
been really positive, Pilks is a good dude.
is this the original lineup and if not what is the current lineup
Ahh for all intents and purposes this is the original line up which is Dane
(vox) Ev (guitar) Dave (bass) Bucky (drums) and James (guitar)
if you could have anyone do guest vocals on your next recording who would
it be and why
I've had a heap of names that i would like to drag into do vox, but the top 3
would be Jay from Fuck...I'm Dead, Angry Anderson from Rose Tattoo or Link
Meanie from The Meanies. They're all such major figures in good hard music and
they're Australian.
in only one sentence describe your sound to someone who has never heard
you before
Music to shit yourself too.
when the band is on tour in the van what is usually playing in the cd
player
When doing long trips i usually like to break things up with Hip Hop, Funk and
spoken word. Especially Sugar Hill Gang, Aesop rock and Henry Rollins or Dave
Chapelle for spoken word.
how were you first exposed to the scene and what made you say i want to be
in an band
I was exposed to hardcore in particular through my wife. She was far more into
hardcore than I was, to tell the truth i thought all hardcore kids were
cockheads when I first went to shows but as i got to know more about things I
grew out of pop and old school punk and into hardcore. When I heard Hatebreed's
Satisfaction record I knew I wanted to play in a hardcore band, not many things
have spoken to me as much as that record did since.
where do you see the band in 3 years from now
broke, Bucky will have 10 new drum kits, and we'll all be seeking meaningful
employment.
who are some of the upcoming bands from the Melbourne area as well as
throughout Australia that we should be on the lookout for
No Way Out, Pentridge and Hopeless from Melbourne are not only good bands but
they're good dudes. As far as the rest of Aus suss Vengeance, Settle for
Nothing, Shinto Katana and No Love Lost.
the term hardcore has become so overused that any band putting a breakdown
into a song is considered hardcore but explain to the readers what hardcore
means to you
Hardcore is a style of music born from frustrated youth. It should always tackle
issues wether they be personal, political or social. If you are not conveying a
message that fits into those categories then you are a metal or thrash band. I
always hear about bands just being in it to have fun, the thing is I can't see
people being passionate about having fun. But you can be really passionate about
venting out your personal problems or frustrations at the world.
How can the readers from around the world contact you about ordering
merchandise
just hit us up on myspace and we can organize something
http://www.myspace.com/suntzuhc
What is your most memorable show and why
I don't really like rating shows.
Who are some of the bands that you enjoy touring with
Pentridge are always good dudes to spend way to long in a van with
What advice can you give to some of the newer bands starting out that
maybe having a tough time and thinking about giving up
Ask yourself why you really started playing hardcore. If you only want to play
because you think you can write way sick breakdowns or the fastest thrash
riffery, then give it up. we could really use one less asshole with a microphone
singing about nothing too. A hardcore band should be confronting it should be
something most people don't like, you should always have trouble describing your
band to other people. If your band is not tackling issues and you're just about
having fun, your more of a metal band than a hardcore band. In Australia
especially, all these faux metal bands singing about killing chicks really piss
me off. The U.N released a report a while back into women's health issues in
Australia and the finding was that the biggest health issue was domestic
violence and we get these idiots talking about killing chicks that wont fuck
them. Grow the fuck up you douche bags, you are the future of the problem. I'm
gonna go write a song about murdering faux metal kids after this.
where do you think you would be right now had you not been exposed to the
hxc & metal scenes?
Dunno, it's a pretty scary thought actually. I'd probably be in an unemployment
line complaining about how Rancid never come to Australia.
why do you think that people always associate violence with hardcore
shows and it always gives hxc scenes and shows a bad reputation
Firstly cause kids misinterpret the message and secondly because of dickheads
with microphones. Kids should dance hard but at the same time show respect.
Energy being expelled is what its all about.
Do you have any upcoming shows that you would like to tell the readers
about
The 27th of April and 25th of May at the Arthouse.
