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Interview
by SashaS
1-4-2005
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| 12 Tribes: Unity, not a closed V-sign! |
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Brutally mentallistic
12 Tribes: U-rock vs. ‘remote control’ culture
“Our story began with music. Underground music utilizes an aggressiveness that is not expressed in other artforms. These chaotic and progressive sounds generate raw energy and emotion unlike anything found within the confines of social norms. Our culture is cluttered with inhabitants who feel no purpose or destiny. We are anonymous slaves to time, class, occupation, sex, currency, and the underlying belief that this is acceptable. Twelve Tribes is a form of opposition.” Thus opens Twelve Tribes biography.
Emerging from Dayton, Ohio, and inspired by Faith No More, Metallica, Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine, 12T crave as much innovation as confrontation. They are here to annihilate the limitations and broaden horizons of the industry. These five members - Adam Jackson (vocals), Andrew Corpus and Kevin Schindel (guitars), Matt Tackett (bass), Shane Shook (drums) - do mean business: brutally, honestly, mentally, metallically, fuelled by viewpoints that densely come at you!
We find the band, touring the current album 'The Rebirth of Tragedy', getting ready for another Euro-assault and guitarist Corpus is more than ecstatic about the return visit due to the reception that awaited them earlier this year.
“They were the best shows that we’ve ever done. The crowds, the atmosphere was intense, it was fantastic and felt like we were constantly playing the best shows in our life!”
Originating from Dayton - a blue-collar, quietly dissatisfied with politics/economy/social order, typical mid-Western town - how much has that informed your music?
“Very much so and the great thing about the place is that is full of music and places to play, whatever the genre. Kids take it very seriously and there are plenty of great players… We’ve been through so many line-up changes… People take their music very seriously.”
And very positively, judging by your example; alas, it looks like being an idealistic issue?
“Yeah, you are right but you have to fight for your beliefs. There is hope and political messages in hardcore, punk and Hip-hop too… I would be going to all the shows and soak it in but, at home, I’d listen to my parents’ music, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles… Our aim was to draw on all these styles of music to deliver our message.”
Music you make is diverse which might be a bit problematic for people who have been coached on a singular genre?
“That’s our exact point - kids don’t want to accept it, in the States, especially. The American market is big right now with formulated bands using Iron Maiden riffs for some emo-ish singing and have a breakdown at the end for the kids to mosh to and industry wholeheartedly… I know it for a fact because when we were sending our demos out we’d get a letter back that we should change the structure of songs, add a breakdown, alter singing…”
Where's my country, dude?
The band’s debut album was issued in 1999, ‘As Feather To Flowers and Petals to Wings’ but they consider the current disc, ‘The Rebirth of Tragedy’, their truly maiden long player. Very potent selection of songs for all those who, like the title, are optimists, the believers in real-life fairytales. Oh, human capacity for disillusionment!?
“People who finance this kind of music don’t even listen to it. All they are interested in is to make money and the way it is going now - it is being weakened. The intensity is… I remember when I was going to shows there was really a madhouse but now it is timid, kids standing, talking… There’s been a negative effect and we need to bring energy, honesty, deeper meaning, care… back.”
It is the old story of me-philosophy with the latest Nike model being more important that G-Dub, or PM Blair, lying to their people about Iraq and who knows what else, until the wearer gets a mortgage?
“Totally and it is amazing… The general public is so ignorant that I feel embarrassed by it. Even when they respond to some political discussion it is propaganda, the party line and Americans buy it wholesale. Nobody’s thinking on individual level… I used to work in a CD store and people would come in and look at the list of Top 100 best-selling CDs and just pick’n’choose in response to the latest TV-advertisements. People don’t think but consume.”
“Corporations cater in a way to make it easy for people to get whatever they wish. There is no family life, there is no morality, there is no spirituality… American people are obese and that’s more important than complaining about two guys kissing on television… Who cares whilst the health of the nation is at the crisis point. It is very disheartening what we are doing to ourselves, the Americans.”
Anti-materialistic cordon
With your ideology one feels you can succeed Rage Against The Machine in the hearts of alerted youth; would you like to do some humanitarian work like Tom Morello?
“Of course we would… Right now our humanitarian work is really personal and money is very important to us right now, it is that we don’t have a lot of it… Some have families, some have debts due to education and other things; I know there are plenty of other people who don’t have as much money and still do humanitarian work but we simply don’t have the time right now.”
The danger is that voicing political views may backfire as societies appear to be really switching awareness off?
“If you push politics too much, especially in this climate, you may achieve the opposite… A lot of people don’t wanna hear it, don’t wanna know it, so a lot of what we are saying and singing about is of the personal nature and about individual uplifting. Even if George Bush is your most favourite person in the world - ever, you still have to have love for your family, your immediate society…”
“We don’t want people to sit around watching television and rotting their brains… What’s important is to better yourself as an individual. In reality, Governments, politicians and social systems are limiting themselves and us, ultimately. So, our message is get off your ass: put down the remote, go travel, see, learn, look at people and find out there are endless possibilities in life and you should explore and enjoy as many as you can.”
“That’s our message to the world.”
If United Nations were ever to appoint a house band, we’d like to nominate Twelve Tribes!
Tour dates [with 36 Crazyfists]:
03 April - Wulfun Hall, Wolverhampton
04 April - Northumbria Uni, Newcastle
05 April - Garage, Glasgow
06 April - Rock City, Nottingham
07 April - University, Manchester
08 April - Astoria, London
SashaS
1-4-2005
Twelve Tribes album ‘The Rebirth Of Tragedy’ is available now on Roadrunner
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