NINEBAR Interview

Ninebar (UK) – another pissed off and dirty Beatdown Hardcore-band from RUCKTION RECORDS.


First we wanna thank you for spending time in this interview!

NINEBAR started in 1997. Please tell us something about the beginning of NINEBAR.

The original nucleus of the band is four friends who grew up together in South London, got into hardcore in the mid to late 90s through seeing bands such as MADBALL, SICK OF IT ALL and later WARZONE. Became more involved in the underground / DIY aspect through all the old BACK TA BASICS releases, the early UKHC scene bands such as KNUCKLEDUST, UP AGAINST IT, PUBLIC DISTURBANCE, STAMPING GROUND etc.
Another important source of information back then was TIME FOR SOME ACTION, a newsletter Pierre from KNUCKLEDUST used to hand out at shows which exposed us to plenty of new music from the UK and overseas.
All this and more inspired us to start the band and we played quite a few shows with various lineups, but this stabilised around 1999/2000 and since then we've only changed bassist and added a second guitarist.


How long does the actual line-up exist?

Since the early 00's, I forget exactly when Chris joined but our line-up has remained unchanged since then.
As well as the normal lineup we have friends like Ian from DICTION and Pieman from HELLBENT DIEHARD who can fill in for Nicky when necessary, as he has had heavy work commitments recently.

Are any members in side projects beyond 9bar?

Matty also plays guitar for KARTEL and INJURY TIME, Nicky is of course in the legendary KNUCKLEDUST, and Chris also plays guitar in DICTION, as well as singing for HELLBENT DIEHARD who unfortunately are inactive these days.
I just started on vocals in a new project, but there’s not too much to say at this stage as we've only practiced a few times.


Who of you write the lyrics?

Lyric writing is split evenly between me and TB the other singer.
We generally write them separately and then nearer recording we discuss, adapt to each others vocal style and suggest alterations, additions and improvements.


And what are the songs about?

Loss, pride, alienation, destruction, persistence, dedication, hatred for fakes, users and bullshitters and love for our friends, crew and home town.


What made you say “I want to be in a band”?

Getting to know the guys in KNUCKLEDUST, who we already recognised from shows.
Their early encouragement and the fact that they were down to earth people like us, rather than some unaproachable rockstars that didn't want to know you, spurred us on to start playing.


Is RUCKTION RECORDS the one and only label for you?

Without a doubt. Theres just so much UK history and quality there, from sadly defunct legends such as DIVIDE and TAKING NAMES, consistant favourites like SPECIAL MOVE through to newer releases such as CHAINS OF HATE.
Run by guys our age who grew up alongside us in the scene, and are in it for the right reasons rather than being swayed by money or trends.
And of course it doesn't hurt that a couple of the guys in NINE BAR are involved in one way or another ha ha.


A few months ago we interviewed the guys of PROWLER. We asked about the general collaboration with another RUCKTION bands. They gave us a positive feedback. What would you say?

Not sure I understand, maybe I answered it in the previous question? I fucking love PROWLER, they were like Londons secret weapon for ages with not much recorded but some crazy reactions when they did play.
Good fun hanging out and playing with those guys, they can write a MEAN tune and I'm glad to see them finally have something released and get out there.


If you could have anyone do guest vocals on your next recording – besides the guys of RUCKTION RECORDS - who would it be and why?

I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have as guest vocalists than the two guys we’ve got on the upcoming CD – Pierre from KNUCKLEDUST/BUN DEM OUT and DBS from KARTEL/INJURY TIME. Both have been good friends of ours for over 10 years and are still to be found dancing and singing along at our shows, as well as being a constant inspiration with their encouraging words and the creativity they put into their bands.
If it really has to be someone unrelated to RUCKTION, I’m gonna go with Alain from OUT FOR BLOOD, one of my all-time favourite European bands. Never get tired of ‘Strive to Survive’ and it was really good to see them in 2010.


At the start of 2010 you guys recorded 12 brand new songs for an upcoming full length release. It`ll be released on RUCKTION RECORDS. Please tell us something about this cd.

We’ve been writing it for the last couple of years, I think it gives a good impression of what we’re about with its mix of shorter, faster songs and longer heavier ones, a touch of melody and groove and maybe a wider variety of influences, also more guitar solos this time around.


Could you give us an exact date?

Not just yet, we just got the recording mastered and later on in February 2011 we will get together and take the inlay photos.


On MySpace fans are allowed to hear fresh new stuff. Is this the only one or will you upload some other track(s)?

At the time of writing this we have just put a couple of mastered songs up on our Facebook and Myspace pages.


And what about your previous releases? Are all the cds / Tapes with NINEBAR on it still available? Or are they sold out?

Yeah, the remastered version of our debut MCD (which features an earlier live set from 1999), our SOUTHBOUND split with our brothers in KARTEL and DICTION and the RAISING THE BAR full length are all still available.


Fans of NINEBAR know the video “Read These Boks”. Are there any plans for another video?

That video came about because our friend Khaled was doing a college project, and knew that we’d have some good ideas and would be able to get it together at short notice. It was fun to do, I like how it came out, and it captured a moment in time for us, with some people in it that aren’t around as much these days.
However, this isn’t really what I want to concentrate on as a priority with NINE BAR. My favourite aspects of being in the band are playing live, writing new music and designing our shirts, so miming to our recordings on film doesn’t really do it for me.
That said, its 2011 and I recognise the current importance of such things to promote our music, so maybe I will look at selecting a song from the new CD to make a video for.


Let`s talk about live shows. Do you guys know how many times you hit Germany?

We've played Germany a couple of times. Once way back in the earlier part of the decade, with KNUCKLEDUST, SETTLE THE SCORE, CLOBBERIN TIME, HARSH TRUTH and maybe some others. I forget where exactly.
And in Summer 2009 we played JZE Papestrasse in Essen, it was a 2 day fest and bands I recall from the day we played are SPECIAL MOVE, XREPRESENTX and SHATTERED REALM.
We're also playing BRINGING BACK THE GLORY fest in March 2011. I'm looking forward to that a lot as I travelled to last years with my good friends in INJURY TIME, great day with a well chosen mix of bands.


What was your best show in UK?

DAMAGE CONTROL 2009 (yearly London fest organised by Pierre from KNUCKLEDUST) was pretty crazy.
Any show at the 12bar in London is nuts, just because the place is the size of my living room. You have to really watch yourself in there, I generally end up squashed against the stage or sitting on it, with my free hand in front of me to avoid getting kicked in the face ha ha. I love that place, definitely the home of London HC for the last few years.
Too many others over the years to remember really, one that I was thinking about the other day that stuck out was when we played with THROWDOWN years ago, not our type of crowd at all but a bunch of our friends turned up and went nuts.


And in Germany?

I guess out of the two times we played there I prefer the first, even though we drove all the way from the UK, watched a couple of bands, played and then drove back ha ha. I remember being cooped up in the KNUCKLEDUST van for 10 hours or so each way, so it felt really good to go off when we played, and I think that was actually the first time in mainland Europe with what went on to become our permanent lineup.
Second time in Essen was ok, nice big stage but there were crazy thunderstorms that day and so the venue was hot as fuck, wasn’t feeling the sound much either.


What were your favorite places to play?

Well any London show is an obvious one. We got to play 3 US dates in 2009 and Baltimore in particular was so fucking good, although everywhere we went people were really friendly and receptive. A definite high point in our history to play MD, PA and NJ, where so many influential bands past and present come from.
Another standout for us has to be Tournai in Belgium where we’ve played maybe 5 or 6 shows, always a good drunken time there with Baptiste and Bloodclaat Crew.


Are their any funny tour stories you wanna betray us?

The best time in recent years has been going to other parts of the UK or the mainland, usually Belgium, in a 50 seater coach organised by Pierre.
Too much funny shit went on there to know where to begin, people passing out in toilets, getting back onto the wrong coach and generally living up to the British abroad stereotype ha ha.


Are there any bands you would like to play with?

We’ve been fortunate enough to play with many of the bigger bands that originally inspired us, as well as some current favourites.
But we’ve never shared a stage with HARD TARGET or HORRORSTRUCK, two of my favourite UK bands from the last couple of years.
Dark and viciously heavy hardcore from both, check them out on Myspace and HARD TARGET has a CD coming soon on RUCKTION RECORDS.


Do you see some changes in the scene? Positive ones or negative?

Well an obvious one would be the rise in importance of the internet, and I guess the positive and negative impacts of that stack up evenly against eachother.
Back in the 90s flyering was a big part of keeping yourself in the loop. You would always make sure to grab whatever you saw being handed out, and if we were putting on a show we always made the effort to flyer other shows and try and bring some new people over.
I think thats the kind of thing thats been lost to the net these days, physically putting yourelf out there rather than doing it from home, as well the whole mystique of finding records in shops you'd never seen before, randomly finding out bands were playing and so on.
But I don't wanna sound like TOO much of a jaded old bastard, 15 years on I still love checking out new bands and going to as many shows as I can, the net has helped out a lot with that too.


Please, tell us, what means hardcore for you?

Good friends, a place to be myself when I sometimes feel i don't belong anywhere, somewhere to create while also unleashing anger, agression and frustration.
And too much else to really put into words...


In our interviews it`s usual, so: BRAINSTORMING:

The new SFD CD?
Haven't heard it yet

Fruits or vegetables?
Vegetables

DIY or “big” label?
DIY DIY DIY DIY DIY

The weather in UK?
I love it

For further information check
http://www.myspace.com/ninebar
http://www.rucktion.com
or add them on Facebook!