2000 Interview With Katz By Sean...
First off Katz, I know HATED PRINCIPLES has a history going back 18 years. Obviously the band has gone through a wide variety of styles...so if it's possible, could you give an overview of why the band initially formed? I know your brother helped form the band, is he still into all things punk now? When did you come aboard and what instigated playing the style of d-beat thrash? How old are the current line-up's members and what compels you to play punk rock at an age where your "peers" might look down upon this (unless they're "old", burnt-out punks too!)? I'm of the opinion that the "scene" has a bad habit of "infantilizing" it's members, relegating thrashers who are only in their 30's into some kind of mental "punk rock nursing home".
Yeah...the band has gone on for almost two decades. It was started back in April of 1981, by our drummer, Jose, and our original singer Mark. They would jam in Mark's grandmother's garage next door. I helped out with making flyers and stickers, wrote lyrics to some of the early songs...my brother, Don, would be somewhat their manager, getting gigs booked and tapes copied. Don later joined in on bass in 1983, I joined in on guitar in 1989. The musical style changed over the years usually being influenced by what was going on at the time, and with the input of the various guitarists that were in and out of the band. I've always been more partial to hardcore thrash, though I would toss in other influences from out of "left field" sometimes. Having slogged it on for this long, it's obvious that we are all in our 30's...Me, 36...Don, 31...Jose, 32...The thrash scene is but a small fraction of the punk/hardcore scene, and there's not a whole lot of thrash bands, but of those that exist, many of them have members in their 30's as the majority of the teen scene seem to be more into "mallternative" pop-punk and ska-pop.
Lyrically speaking, HATED PRINCIPLES follows some tried (but true) "cliches"...songs such as "Extermi-nation" and "We Are Nothing" strictly follow the formula of "this system sucks". Does much thought and sincerity go into the lyrics now (especially at an age where revolt turns to resignation), or is it just "music first" with an attitude of "Fuck it..we're preaching to the converted anyway...we'll just give them what they expect to hear topically"?
I was an English major in high school, and I was in the "fast" creative writing class where the first 15 minutes was spent writing a story, so in that short span of time I would generate 12-16 pages...when I used to do reviews in Flipside, I would do them at a rate of one every 3-20 minutes...When I write lyrics, entire songs would just pour out from my mind to where I would have an entire records' worth in one afternoon. It basically depends on how absolutely livid or miserable I am at the time I'm recording a particular session, and I draw upon these emotions when generating lyrics. The songs you mention were written back in 1992, during one of those said dark moments in my life when I was out of work for 18 months and no one would give me a break. In the past few years I've been working some back-breaking jobs, so now I've been writing about killing my boss or killing off the rich...if you remember the lyrical contents to our split 10" with CUFF. Doing this shit is like an exorcism...like primal scream therapy...an emotional release of sorts.
You've got a fucking humongous record collection Katz! What are you numbering vinyl-wise now? How the fuck do you even remember all the shit you have? I understand that it spans several genres, but at what time did you stand back and really think, "Fuck! I've got a lot of bitchin' shit!"? Do you ever trip out on the size of your own collection? I know that you don't like to consider yourself a collector, but CHRIST you've got a ton of great stuff!!!
I don't think that I have a humongous record collection as I've only got around 7,000 records, tapes, and CD's...though some might disagree with my assessment, especially if they only have 50. I'm really not that hyper-serious about having every fucking punk record. The collection just grew over time and I've never been a fucking drug addict, so I never had to hock off my collection for a fix. Big collections are those of friends who have collections 3 or 4 times more bigger than the one I have. [Such as Felix Havoc. --S]
I understand that a lot of the thrash/punk vinyl you picked up was back in the day (and now some of the pieces are legendary/$$$). Now, when picking up raw punk like SHITLICKERS, PROTES BENGT, SWANKYS...what did you think of the extremity of those releases then? Did people trip out and say "NOW THIS IS HARDCORE!!!" or was it all a bunch of noise to them? How did the more extreme/faster/noisier bands impact you? What are the records that have made the most impact on you not just musically but spiritually as well? Anything nowadays that grabs your attention (any genre!)?
Yeah...I remember buying the SHITLICKERS 7" for $1.95 and just hearing the sonic blast booming out the stereo speakers! I was totally floored. I never imagined back then that punk records would become so comodified. I just bought them, spun them, and that was all...I would say that there is no such thing as "too fast" or "too loud". If its noise that can scare people...that was "cool" in my book. There were some classics that had an impact on me, like: The first two DISCHARGE albums, G.I.S.M. "Detestation" 12", DISORDER "Distortion To Deafness" 7", and RAW POWER "Screams From the Gutter" LP. Hell, hearing the rough mix tape of "Screams..." is what inspired me to buy my first guitar.
At what age did punk rock hook you? What was it about the music that drew you in so hard? You're Japanese, right? Did you experience any racism/harsh sentiments about both being a "minority" AND a social outcast?
I was in high school at the time...the student body during the late 70's was either disco-freaks, heshers, jocks, etc...I was more a science nerd and didn't fit in with any clique, but I wasn't a dork because I had a very violent streak, and I was hell-bent in murdering any asshole who was giving me shit...smash the face of one asshole with a trash can, bash another with a chair, beat one with a chain during the middle of class, etc...believe me, I've gotten shit from way too many people for way too many things they don't like about me and I have little tolerance for the shit, so when some dickface think that they got an easy mark on this "slant-eyed yellowman", they will get one big shock when they get a fist in the mouth, a steel bar across their head, or a loaded military weapon in their face. But yeah, X, Suburban Lawns, Rubber City Rebels, and Devo were the bands that got me into punk.
How many releases (vinyl or demo) has HATED PRIN-CIPLES managed over the years? You're friends with Brian/G.T.A., so why no "back in the day" collection? When do you expect Matthias/Ecocentric to release that 5- year-old 3" material? You also have some new releases slated for later in the year...what are these, and why has there never been a full LP?
Right now we're waiting for our next record to be released. It's a limited split 7" that the guys from CHACHI ON ACID, out of Canada, are putting out. Our debut was released in 1983...an LP was put out in 1988...a live 7" in 1991..."Extermination" in 1992...the split with SLIGHT SLAPPERS...the "1982 Demo" on 7", split 10" with CUFF...we've done 2 demos that we sold and several for comps or reference. Actually, Brian/G.T.A. did inquire once about a HATED PRINCIPLES retrospective, but I don't think that there's too many people who would even buy it, so I don't expect one anytime too soon. There is a 90 minute collection of demo tapes out on A.O.N. in Bulgaria. The Ecocentric session was supposed to be for a comp CD, but it was later cancelled, so Matthias decided to do our shit for a 3" CD. When will it be released? Don't know...someday.
Punk rock can't be everything in someone's life (unless you're Thrashead, notorious L.A. hardcore-records maniac and drummer for BAD ACID TRIP), what is it that you get up to outside of scene stuff? I understand that you're quite the mixmaster, having recorded sessions for GAIA from Japan and Mexico's SOLUCION MORTAL. Any other hobbies?
Other than music, I used to do quite a bit of photography and videography. With work and poverty, I haven't partaken in these activities recently. I used to go camping out in the desert...I'm still a science buff...recorded quite a few bands on my 4-track recorder, and some of it has actually gotten used...Some of the best sounding stuff I've got is: LACK OF INTEREST, MAN IS THE BASTARD, SLEESTAK, MK ULTRA, HERMIT/JALOPAZ, and CHRISTFALL, of which all were recorded live. The demo sessions I recorded of my other band, the noisecore group N.O.Y.F.B., is also quite good too.
You do a deathnoise project called HUMANEXTERMINATIONPROJECT. It seems that a lot of hardcore people have gotten into harshtronics. What compels you to create fucked soundscapes and what has the response been to your tapes? What are your comments on ridiculous special packaging (like the time where Merzbow sold a tape wrapped in burlap and dipped in cement!!!)?
I got into the noise thing because it's a sound that seems more Dadaistic than noisecore...it was just the next step over. This is not such a new phenomena as many years ago THE WEIRDOS did the "Warhead Alert" album on CONTAGION records, and the guys in ANTI did "Zurich 1916". I've gotten some good feedback from my latest batch of noise recordings, and I'm hoping to be doing a collaborative 7" with AMPS FOR CHRIST. I do all this noise shit 'cuz I can do all the instrumentation by myself...it's another outlet for my inner expression. Being more a "Hardcore Head" , I don't care for some of the artsy pretentiousness that exists in this scene...some of the amusing packaging is just that, amusing. On any other level than that it becomes pretentious...the prices charged for some of this shit is over the top.
What does the future hold for HATED PRINCIPLES seeing as you guys have been a studio band for several years? Any dreams you still wish to accomplish? Will you ever play live again?
Record more stuff...more records...etc. Live performances? Not likely...can't really find the time...works a drag.
