The Great Complotto Futureria at Sacile Vintage, 20/07/2012!

Toil Mexico

...E nuovo podcast: tre chiacchiere con Miss Xox, Gian Maria Accusani, Paolo Parigi e Stefano Basso, registrate il novembre scorso in occasione del concerto al PNBox!

In effetti questo articolo sarebbe dovuto uscire mesi fa, poi vicissitudini varie hanno fatto sì che la sua pubblicazione fosse ormai troppo tarda. In realtà ho anche atteso invano alcune informazioni che non mi sono mai arrivate e da lì il "gap" si è allargato. Mea culpa comunque. Le interviste che potete ascoltare nel podcast di cui sotto sono però ancora attuali (a parte alcune date, in particolare quelle dei Sick Tamburo che risalgono a mesi fa e che ometto nella traduzione in inglese) e devo dire così scanzonate e goliardiche che meritano di essere riascoltate (in origine erano state trasmesse su UP!, il dicembre scorso).
Colgo l'occasione per pubblicizzare il concerto che si terrà a Sacile il 20 luglio in occasione della seconda edizione del Sacile Vintage, che vedrà di nuovo in scena le stesse band che suonarono in quell'occasione al PNBox, con l'aggiunta di Spud, band di Pordenone, stile punk, consigliata anche da SteVe, tra gli organizzatori dell'evento. Date un'occhiata al suo sito sul Great Complotto, se non l'avete ancora fatto, per notizie, interviste e foto dell'epoca:
http://www.thegreatcomplotto.it/

Ecco cos'avevo scritto per l'occasione:
Da dove iniziare? Mi tocca riprendere in mano il prezioso volume di Mauro Mazzocut sul Great Complotto? In un certo senso le presentazioni di quel libro (adattamento di una tesi di laurea ben più cospicua, da parte dello stesso autore) diedero nuovi stimoli a diversi musicisti dell'area pordenonese che non aspettavano altro che un ennesimo "la" per tornare in pista, qualcuno con nuovi progetti, altri magari ripartendo da dove si erano fermati qualche anno prima per poi magari tentare nuove vie... L'evento che ha portato un nutrito numero di gente, di fan o anche semplici curiosi al PNBox era il "Sonic Sunday Afternoon", ovvero un brevissimo festival nel corso del quale si sono alternati sul palco: Elvis Le Moko' (un brano solo purtroppo rovinato da inconvenienti tecnici); Miss Xox col suo nuovo progetto Cape Canaveral Soubrette che vede tra le sue fila anche Massimo De Mattia al flauto, Senor Tonto al theremin, Claudio Scircoli alle tastiere, Marco Barborini alla chitarra (che pero' era in veste solo di spettatore quel giorno) ed Eleonora Steffan al violino; i relativamente "nuovi" Toil Mexico (con Gino e Star Lee); gli onnipresenti Sexy Angels con un set breve ma intenso; i Quagga che al momento consistono di questa line up: Scimmia Spaziale Quatermass (Massimo Adolph Nutini), voce chitarre synth e canzoni, Scimmia Spaziale Quasar (Gianfranco Star Stella) a cori, basso e arrangiamenti, Scimmia Spaziale Q (Davide Kyrby Serafini) cori e danze, Scimmia Spaziale X. Poi e' stato il momento dei Kickstart '79 esibitisi con la loro line up ufficiale, ovvero Paris jr alla batteria, Paolo Conforto al basso, Paolo Michelutti alla chitarra e seconda voce, Ambra Fiore alla seconda voce, Pilot chitarra e voce. E per finire in bellezza i Photomodels di Stefano Basso (voce), Stefano Muzzin (basso), Fungo ed Olek alle chitarre, Paris Jr. (sempre lui!) alla batteria... Non basta il cambio di maglietta e una parrucca per camuffare il caro Parigi! Il tutto consumatosi nell'arco di circa 3 orette di musica. Inevitabile dire che giravano per il locale tanti volti noti, tra cui Gian Maria (ex Prozac+, ora con i Sick Tamburo e il progetto parallelo Hardcore Tamburo), Davide Toffolo e Luca Masseroni dei Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti, Ettore Talarico, Steve e Tommygun (tra i dj della serata) e una marea di altri aficionados. Qualcuno era venuto perfino apposta da Londra per assistere a questo concerto. Ho avuto modo di scambiare due parole con Xox riguardo alla riedizione in CD dell'album dei XX Century Zorro ("La volpe du XX Siècle") e sul clima in generale. Poco dopo Xox ha trascinato con se nel backstage del PNBox (OK, si trattava delle toilette in realta'...) Gian Maria, Paris Jr. e Stefano Aqua...  Per concludere vorrei segnalare che l'evento di cui sopra potrebbe non essere un'occasione unica ma che probabilmente avra' una cadenza regolare, mensile o giu' di li'. Per essere informati sulle attivita' del PNBox e sapere chi salira' in futuro su quel palco vi conviene chiedere l'amicizia al loro staff su facebook... 
Per quanto riguarda le interviste... Ecco cosa ne e' venuto fuori... Buon ascolto!
Un ringraziamento speciale a Isabella Dal Bo per le splendide foto che appaiono in questo servizio.



(English translation after the jump)

Cape Canaveral Soubrette's Xox and Senor Tonto

On November 27th, at the PNBox (a restaurant/venue/recording studio/bar etc.) in Pordenone (Italy), a special event involved former members of the Great Complotto, one of the most important, if not the first, punk movement in Italy. Definitely the first in Italy to publish a vinyl belonging to that genre. It's a very long story explained with great ability by Mauro Mazzocut's book (originally it was a much longer graduation thesis). Now these guys reconvene regularly, sometimes they show their new musical outfits, sometimes they just go back in time and play their "hits" once again, like they used to do some thirty years ago. On PNBox's stage we could witness the performances from Elvis Le Moko', Miss Xox' new band Cape Canaveral Soubrette, Toil Mexico, Sexy Angels, Quagga, Kickstart '79 and the Photomodels. Also our friends Steve and Tommygun were dj-ing. You can check line ups above, in the Italian section. The podcast you can listen to in the above section is in Italian but here's a translation for non-Italian speakers. The first musician I chatted to was Miss Xox (Fabio Zigante), we talked about the reissue of his classic XX Century Zorro album, on CD for the very first time. It was originally released on vinyl in 1983. Gian Maria Accusani, formerly of Prozac +, talks about his (relatively) new bands Sick Tamburo and Hardcore Tamburo (Sick Tamburo released a new album a few months ago called "A.I.U.T.O", of which he slightly talks during the interview). The Photomodels are an interesting cover band whose covers aren't really what you hear everyday at local venues, their repertoire consists of punk/post-punk/wave songs and I'd say they're kinda unique in what they do. Besides, they are working on originals now and I'm looking forward to hearing their new numbers.

This is what Fabio Zigante told me: "There was a renewed interest in hearing and having what once was "La volpe du XXe Siecle" by XX Century Zorro. The project started in 1983. It came out on vinyl with a "Monster System" format that I had invented at the time, trying to put in a single vinyl as many sound information as possible, throwing some tracks on the left channel and other tracks on the right channel. So what you hear in the end is a mix of different thoughts that generate a unique sound and thought situation. I'm always coming back to this concept because... I don't have very deep messages but I always want to point out that people's individual thought is one of the most precious things to grow, defend and cultivate. So all of these projects of mine revolve around my endeavor, that I want to share with everyone somehow. So this thought agitation comes back this time in the CD format... Produced by Old Europa Café, which is a label specialized in minimal situations, spread all over the world. I invite you to check their website out. 

UKN: And with several sleeves too...

MX: Yes, the idea was that of publishing eleven different front covers, thanks to the collaboration of our new support to the XX Century Zorro project, he lives in Milan where he works at this project called "Quadreria Romantico Seriale". I also want to thank you for the opportunity you give me, through the radio or the blog, of expressing my thought, we go back to what I was just saying, in this way we can build barricades against the most dangerous of appliances that we all have in our households... The TV! This is the music I wanna hear, which is not made of perfect cords or songs "in tune". When you have a self defense against this you can watch TV as well but you watch it with a different agitation. I always go back to all this with my punk '77 bands, with more experimental/noise stuff or when I just accompany myself with my guitar... I might sound monotonous at times but I like being agitated in this way, this is how I like it.

UKN: It's your "nervous thought"! What do you  think about today's concert?

MX: It's one of those situations which are good to "put in the trenches" (meaning to come up again with) every now and then.It's always good when you meet people like this, music is just an excuse, you mix things, you share a laugh, you meet others one more time, taking a look at each other like "soldiers in the trenches"... It's always good! It's important to breath a little, raise your head and move in the middle of all the mess we have. This is something I talked about in a song I played tonight called "La Resilienza di te" ("Resilience of you" in English, Ed's note), which I dedicate to the female world because I like how they react, there's always something to learn [from them], I admire women a lot (laughs)! And these XXI century youngsters who are inside this hard music, a music where there's a lot to play, sing and dance. I like the word "resilience", it's a nice word, all of us have it in our pockets, we know how to play it, making it stronger.

UKN: So is there a project right now... With your new songs and all...?

MX: Yes, in an initial experimental phase, we need to figure it out right now, it's called Cape Canaveral Soubrette, it's been running around my brain for a while, mixing different contributions and ideas, making it a meeting point of ideas. I don't know where they come from, don't know where I'm headed  but I mix everybody's contributions, my ideas I transmit to others and what comes back from them. I'm trying, every now and then I come up with "transversal" things, it's part of me...

UKN: And the official line up will be tonight's band or will it be different?

MX: It's an open project, but the people that have been helping recently are really enthusiastic so I'm taking advantage of that! Without weighing too much on everybody's lives because they all have their daily rock'n'roll to deal with... It's not tuning your guitars in front of an amp... I mean bills, throwing something inside a pan and  taking care of your family, you personal relationships... That's the real rock'n'roll! And if it's not connected to music, music itself becomes almost useless, according to me. I don't need to listen to music as a background for some beer drinking, music is something else for me, it can be played in many different ways and colors, you don't always need a loud guitar to tell how upset you are, just like if you're playing your guitar very loud it doesn't mean you're telling me you're upset... That's it!

UKN: If anybody's interested in your CD... Many record stores are dying these days... How do you get it?

MX: That's another frontier which is shows signs of suffering of the whole thing... Take a look at old europa cafe and you'll find everything.

UKN: Thanks so much

(...)

UKN: And here's Gian Maria Accusani with us... Did you watch these performances?

GMA: You think I'd miss one of Xox', my "maestro"'s performances? Are you kidding? (laughs)

UKN: But you didn't play this time...

GMA: Not this time

MX: ...And Gian Maria teaches me a lot too!

GMA: Xox has been teaching me since I was 13-14 years old and never stopped teaching!

MX: It's because I learnt a lot from Alvaro Vitali (a well known Italian comedian and trash movies actor... Ed's note) (laughs) Respect!

UKN/MX: So what's going on?

GMS: We just came out with Sick Tamburo's new album, "A.I.U.T.O." and we played the first gig for this tour last Friday in Milan (remember the interview is a few months old, sorry again for this, Ed's note) and it was good. We'll see what happens... At the moment we're having a lot of fun around and this is the most important thing.

UKN: How do you find the new album?

GMS: I think it's very good, you know that's what an author would tell you, then again somebody else might say it's crappy! (laughs)

MX: And then you'll never ever be happy with it...

GMS: Well, artistically I like it a lot but technically I'm never happy since I'm a ball-breaker... "This is not OK, that's not right"... Maybe in hindsight, in three months I'll be happy, as of now I'm still very critical about it. I've always been like that.

[Here are Sick Tamburo's July dates:

sab 07 lug INDIGEST FESTIVAL Castel San Pietro

ven 13 lug MAZZUMAJA FESTIVAL Comunanza AP

sab 14 lug LUDOVICO VAN FESTIVAL Montemiletto Avellino

dom 15 lug EXOPERA Cerignola FG

sab 21 lug VICKY ROCK FESTIVAL Vittorio Veneto]

On Sick Tamburo's record, my side project Hardcore Tamburo played too, on one song...

MX: A song you found in your pocket and threw in the record?

GMA: Just chance!

MX: You seem distracted but in fact you are... (undistinguishable)

GMA: I recovered stuff here and there... (undistinguishable)

MX: Hey, finally a woman here!

(...)

UKN: How did you come up with the idea for "Hardcore Tamburo"?

GMA: Sick Tamburo's record had to come out last April but our singer Elisabetta got pregnant so we had to postone its release for seven months, we played a few gigs since everything was ready, ten of these shows we couldn't cancel, Elisabetta had her belly, you could see it, so then I found myself wondering what to do for six months. I started this project which I've had in mind for at least 15 years whose original name was Sick Tamburo... But Elisabetta wanted to use the name for our project, so the original name for this project, a mix of industrial percussion and electronica was Sick Tamburo! We kept the word Tamburo though [drum in Italian] and it [the industrial project] restarted because we had to stop for six months. I've been hooked on that for a long time, in fact I used to be a drummer, so we're all drummers and the good thing is that it is very open, now we're six, some other times it's eight of us, or ten... After promoting Sick Tamburo's new record we'll try and release Hardcore Tamburo's one.

UKN: Maybe in a "deluxe edition"?

GMA: We'll try and get Xox to join us! I think he'd be perfect! I've just had this idea during this interview. I will ask you for sure! Hardcore Tamburo with Xox? It sounds so good! It would be a masterpiece (undistinguishable). We'll talk on the phone!

MX: OK, take a note!

GMA: As you can see our relationship is a fun one! It brings all the rest! Here comes the great Davide Ghirbizza!

MX: This is what today's rock'n'roll is all about! What would we sing about otherwise? "La bella lavanderina", the maid who washes the handkerchiefs for the poor people [this is an Italian nursery rhyme] (laughs)

GMA: I agree!

(undistinguishable)

(...)

UKN: And here's Paolo Parigi and Stefano Basso... Can you remind me your old nicknames (from the Great Complotto days, Ed's note)?

PP: I had many... Paris Jr., Steve Vinavil when I was playing with Waalt Disney... That's it! Paolo Parigi is the more used though (laughs). My voice is low, I had to work hard.

UKN: And they got you naked!

PP.: Yes, they got me naked! As a joke though, it never happens in real life!

SB: He's the one that played more than everybody else today! He was the "little engine" for all the boys... Well ex-boys! 

UKN: You were part of many bands at the time...

PP.:Yes, I played with Waalt Disney, in its first line up the bass player was the vocalist and guitar player of Kickstart, then I also worked with the Mess, for Complotto's second compilation and many others up to now... But always with friends, with this round of friends. I played with Prozac + etc.

UKN: Tonight we saw the Photomodels live... You've been around for a few years now...

SB: Three years, but this new line up started in June, we had to change guitar player, he wasn't available anymore because of work commitments and now we also have Jvan (Olek) playing with us, since he joined we made the big step of starting to compose our own tracks.

UKN: Yeah, he was telling me about it, earlier... What should we expect from these new songs?

SB/PP: The genre... Well I was thinking that we would have played that kind of music (punk, post-punk, early new wave, Ed's note) in the end but in a couple of these numbers we didn't... Someone brought a riff, someone else another part of the song and we rearranged it all together, so it's a group effort in the end where everyone brings own influences, hybrids come out but with a very "energetic ground layer", at a fast pace but we're open to different influences, without plans, models or archetypes. Jvan Olek will be very useful in all this, being much younger than us...

UKN: He's very versatile!

SB/PP: Yes, he grew up listening to different things, other kinds of music, he's very responsive and can give us some "freshness" or we will... (laughs) well we cannot dig forever, we never did anyway, we play songs from other bands in our own way but the idea of enlarging our repertoire with our songs can push us move forward, always with no rules and only if we like it!

UKN: So there is an idea for a future record...

SB: Well, for now we've composed a few songs... We need some more...

PP: ...And we won't move until we have enough material to release a triple-record! (laughs)

SB: You need at least 30 tracks!

PP: From which you can "cream off"... But the idea is to do something more than the usual live experience so we can leave a track for the future...

SB: Things work live because we play things we like, we do it good and have a certain energy I think but it'd be interesting... Starting to grow. So who knows about the future, and then, like Gian Maria [Accusani, Ed's note] says "Anyway, records don't get sold anymore, you don't even need to make them maybe!" But it's right for a band to have a goal!

PP/SB: Something that's gonna stay after all. At least we should do that for this reason. Well, I think the "sound" of these toilets is not bad to record drum parts! We should record here! It would be epic, legendary! Everyone inside of a toilet! "The W.C. Sessions", here, we already have a title (laughs)!

[The live dates he mentions at this point are old but we recommend you go see them live in Sacile on July 20. For more information check here]

UKN: What do you think about the other bands that played tonight?

PP.: Very good, well there was another one of my bands, I'm really happy about both gigs and the other were good too. Go ahead (talking to someone going to the toilet), you see we are "bouncers" too, we sort people (laughs), this is what we're actually aiming at!

SB: I think every band did their own thing finely... There was a lot of variety!

PP: They all brought their own things. Xox pulled something very particular and unconventional out of his hat, so I'd say good! Ever since the Complotto days we always had very different expressive forms which were combined only by a certain "tone", by a certain idea of music, drawing from different genres and sounds, which is nice. Without totally embracing a style, a sound...

UKN: And there are always novelties with you (from the Complotto), besides the bands that only reunite once in a while...

SB/PP: The good thing tonight was that it wasn't really a "revival". It can be perceived as an "amarcord" because of the people and the names behind it, the idea of a continuity can be good, but these are new things too, with a human link to a certain experience that develop in a different way onstage, untied to that context. It's good though that it's perceived as a continuation of that scene, that we must be proud of, positively but not uncritically, that something is going on and it's not just a repetition because it would be definitely against the spirit that started that whole scene... Never ever!

UKN: Yes, a very vital spirit that's been perpetuating in the last few years with very interesting projects. Do you want to add something?

PP/SB: Well, that this location is perfect! You made us realize what can be our future! The sound is perfect to record some instruments! Or we can be one of those old ladies that clean toilets at autogrills. The iconographic reference is just there, for the record cover of our next triple-record...