SCARECROW : Interview (2004) ENGLISH VERSION

Still almost unknown outside their native Finland, the members of young band SCARECROW play an aggressive and very effective kind of Horror Punk, as shown in a very promising way by their "Black Chains" / "Endless Spine" CD, and by the split vinyl single SCARECROW / SEX SEX SEX, recently released. Exclusive interview with Petey Scarecrow by Hans Wehrwolf (Hans Cany), 20 May 2004
Hell-o ! SCARECROW's birth seems to be relatively recent, and outside Finland, very few people have ever heard of you so far, especially in France where you're still totally unknown . Therefore, can you please present yourselves and let WARDANCE readers know more about your line up and history ?...
OK, a Punk Rock band was formed in 1997 at Hyvinkää, Finland. The name SCARECROW was chosen in new year 2000. The current line-up has been like it is for a couple of years now. Samsam and Jack are the original founders, but you could say the current line-up is the "real" original SCARECROW . That's because with these guys we have done some pretty good material and a few gigs that rock. Theis current line up is as follows : Petey - bass, Samsam - drums/b-vocals, Juho - guitar/b-vocals & Jack - vocals.
It seems like there's currently a kind of "Horror Punk renewal"worldwide, for about three years or so, and personally I think it's really a GREAT thing, with tons of new interesting bands appearing a bit everywhere !But I wondered : are you the only band of this kind in your country, or are there also some other Horror Punk bands in Finland ?... If so, do you have any contacts with them ?
There aren't any other bands like us in Finland at the moment, although there are a few incorporating the same kind of spirit we have. The only band worth mentioning is propably Suruaika, whom with we have gigged a few times and there's more coming up. I have been collaborating with other bands by putting together a promo CD-R"Re-Animators" part 2 has now been released.
Listening to your debut CD, your style seems to be in a both very classic, straightforward, and agressive Punk Rock vein. Does it relate to each member's tastes ?... And which are your main influences ?
There are so many influences, the greatest ones are surely the MISFITS, SAMHAIN, DANZIG, RANCID, the RAMONES, RIISTETYT, DEAD KENNEDYS,... These have had influence on all of us, to some more, some less. Our style is really very classic, I don't really feel I'm doing something new, more like reviving our kind of U.G. scene. I'm not ashamed of it, on the contrary, I stronly believe I'm driving a good cause and that something good can be achieved. The straightforward approach is very important to us, when we play live we try to play so hard you would have to find a stronger word to describe it. Aggression comes by nature, it's overflowing in this horrible world, although the aggression isn't the main thing, it's about real emotions.
Horror Punk Rock is often viewed as a kind of small "ghetto" within the whole Punk Rock scene. However, as your music, with its raging and energic tunes,remains quite similar to the old school Punk Rock style, do you think that it might also appeal to the more "classic" Punk audience as well ?...
I believe the classic punk fans get us really well. Though here in Finland the scene is a bit of a mess. There are so many forms of music attached to the punk scene : Hardcore, Grind, Crust, Noise, Pop-Punk, and so on. But people are wondering "what is this SCARECROW about ?", people who have heard MISFITS like 15 years ago in a party or something, then start drawing conclusions based on that.
Do you think the fact of being a finnish band ever had a certain influence on the fact that you're a "Horror-oriented" band ?... Do you think there are some local elements in your country's culture and traditions who,in a way or another, contributed to determine your special interest in the "Dark Side" of things ?.. .
Not much, well, it's so goddamn cold here, that pisses me off big time , ha ha !! All that dark side, it happens every day and it pisses me off. Not personally all the time, but everything you see, hear or read is very depressing. I don't even bother to think about the patriotic shit they taught us at school. Following some kind of a strict code in life is nothing but blindness and human weakness. That makes the people today really pathetic. I strive to be myself and it comes with a cost.
Please let us know more about your discography so far . Were your records self-released, or did you sign with a label to produce them ?
After a few crappy demos we have done the following: -2004 "Black chains" / "Endless Spine" CD (2 new EP in one cd) -2004 "Fuck the world" split 7"with SEX SEX SEX -2002 "Evil never dies" CD.EP -2002 "Creepshow" CDr.EP + a lot of other smaller releases & compilations. All those EP's are self-financed on our own label, except for the 7" which was released by Devil's Shitburner Rds.
And in general, what kind of topics do your lyrics deal with ?
Because we are such horror freaks, our lyrics are mainly in the horror/violence/black humour vein, but ther are also lyrics about hatred and bitterness towards humanity. But I don't really see the lyrics as such an important part of our music. It's just, like "I'm pissed off…now let's forget it and jump into another world. Do your own descisions and let the bastards swallow their vanity".
Do you also have an interest in social, political, and/or environmental issues ?
I never discuss about politics, not one of us is interested in it. I have no bigger interest on environmental issues.
Do you often play live shows ? If so, which other more or less well-known bands did you already play with, so far ?...
Now that we are in shape for gigging, yes, we try to get gigs as much as possible. We also arrange gigs with other bands. We haven't actually played with any big names yet, but last year when we played in Puntala-Rock (the biggest punk fest in Finland), there was also DISCHARGE, TV SMITH, WOLFBRIGADE, RATTUS…and we just did a gig with BAD MACHINE. We just had like five gigs in a month, there's a few for the summer too. In july we are playing at Lumous festival in Tampere, Finland. It's a gothic fest so it will be really intresting to see how the audience reacts, when we beat the shit out of our instruments. Until now, we have played about 20 gigs.
And how would you describe the general atmosphere at gigs, in your area? Did you ever play abroad ?
Well, when we were playing at the Vastavirta May day party, the crowd was really mad, banging their heads like maniacs. When we get the promotion and the contacts in order, we would like to go gigging in Germany, Poland and Lithuania. But it's propably too early to start talking about that now, although we are seriously thinking about it. If we just would get to do the first tour, maybe on the second one we could come to France, too. Of course, if there's anyone who wanted Scarecrow to come play there, get in contact, maybe it is possible at some point. We would like to know where there are good places to throw gigs at and other shit.
Do you plan to record a new full-length album soon ? And do you have special projects for year 2004 ? What can we expect ?... Please let us know more about that !
There won't be an official SCARECROW debut album before a label asks for it. I think the debut album should be made properly and the promotion should work well. Personally, I hate bands that hurry to make a longplay without any ideas or vision. Devil's Shitburner records will release a 12" containing old material, "Evil Never Dies" and "Creepshow" EPs. When the time comes, the vinyl will come out, with absolutely great coverwork. SCARECROW is entering the studio next time in December 2004, this time for a bit longer session, just to get it done well. The "Black Chains" session was 10 tracks in 2 days, you can hear it sounds a bit messy. In the "Endless Spine" sessions we recorded 6 songs in 2 days, and it worked much better. The December session is on the planning stage now, but we hope to do about 10 tracks, and do them with time. This year is about gigging and writing songs. I'm propably putting together the third "Re-Animators" compilation CD-R in early 2005, this time on a tougher level. A SCARECROW video, "House 666", will be on the net by the time summer sets in.
Well, thank you very much for this interview ! A last word maybe ?... Or perhaps a special message to WARDANCE readers ?
I could say to the readers that bands are nothing without fans. We are doing this to get out of this fucking world, at least for a little while. So, everybody who's interested, buy our records and come to our gigs, together we raise the skull flag. Big thanks to you, Hans Wehrwolf from WARDANCE, for supporting horror scene !
OFFICIAL WEBSITE :
http://www.scarecrow.rocks.it/
CONTACT :
scarecrow@vituttaa.net