Sick of it All
Built To Last (EastWest)
An interview with vocalist Lou Koller
by Tim Creter
For anyone not from New York, not into New York hardcore, not into hardcore, or into any hard music, I’ll take some time out to introduce this band. In the dimension of sound that helped shape hardcore, Lou Koller, Craig Setari, Arman Majidi, and Pete Koller stand alone. They are a locomotive steaming against the injustice system. They’ve been pushed too far in a world full of hate. They are the voice of the kids who just want the truth. They’re Sick of it All, living legends. Their new album, Built to Last whoops major ass. Or if you want a sing-a-long anthem, give “Us vs. Them” and “Burn ’em Down” a shot. Bassist Craig even steps into the lead vocal spotlight on “Busted.” The album is a step in the right direction from their monumental big label debut, Scratch the Surface. It’s packed with their signature sound – chugging guitar, thundering rhythms and Lou’s patented hollering. This latest is constantly upbeat, heavy and instantly memorable. Sick of it All stands as a superlative example of the musical force that we like to call hardcore. Check out the highlights from a chat I had with my friend and yours, Lou Koller (vocals):
What’s the band doing now as of February ’97?
Getting ready for the record to come out. We’ve been rehearsing for the tour on February 27. We’re going to do the whole United States until the 5th, and that’s when we’re going to come back to New York City and play there. Then we’re home for five more days, and on the 10th we fly out to Europe.
When did you get time to write the new songs since you’re on tour constantly?
We recorded it over the summer. We started writing the songs last winter around this time. We’d still fly out and do shows in Europe and South America, then come home and write some more. We did a lot of demoing, finished it all up, went on tour again, came home and went to record it.
This record is a worthy folIow-up to Scratch the Surface. Are you happy with it?
Yeah, we really are. Scratch was a great record because it had more of a dark, heavy feel. We didn’t know where to go. We didn’t want to go heavier because it would be bordering on death metal. We just decided to see what came out when we started writing. When we were on the road we were talking about old style stuff, like some early Jersey hardcore bands and early Straight Ahead stuff, and I guess that’s what came out.
How do you account for your longevity?
I’d say we just stuck it out. I don’t think we really followed any trends that came around. We weren’t in the whole straightedge movement, we weren’t in the skinhead movement or anything like that. We just played. We just wanted to play our music and that’s one of the main reasons we keep doing it. Even when there was no big scene in the States around the early ’90s, like ’90, ’91, and ’92, we just kept touring. I think it also helped that we didn’t just do hardcore tours. We would do our own small tours and then we would go on tour opening up for Sepultura or somebody like that.
Are you still living in New York?
Yeah, I still live in Queens. Been living here all my life.
Do any of the locals give you shit about being on EastWest?
No, not really. Everybody is pretty cool about it. It’s funny, a lot of the bands sit there in interviews and scream, “Yeah, do it yourself!,” and I don’t mean just New York bands. Then they’ll ask us “How’d you get on EastWest?”. But when you read interviews with them, they’re all against major labels because they’ve been turned down by them. It’s no big deal to us to be on EastWest. In fact, sometimes it’s a little frustrating, but it’s like any label. We know we’d have the same problems on a smaller label too because we’ve had them. Like delays on the record. This record was originally supposed to be out in October, then it got delayed until after Christmas, then from January it got pushed back until February. We figure it’s going to be the same with any label. It’ll be frustrating either way. We do a lot of the stuff ourselves still, we pay for our ads in fanzines. Whatever the label’s not covering, we’re paying for out of our own pockets.
I’ve always been curious about your relationship with Lost & Found records. Spreading the Hardcore Reality and Live in a World Full of Hate were on that label; do you get royalties or have any say about the records?
We get royalties now, but when it first came out we were one of the first bands that guy made a deal with. I know he put out other bands without asking them. He figured the bands would never be around or never tour, so he made a lot of money off them. It turned out he was just a guy who loved hardcore and he would take his old vinyls and put them on these compilation CDs called Lost & Found Records. All of a sudden they sold by the ton. Then he started putting out New York stuff like Side by Side albums, and figured these bands would never tour and he started making a lot of money, so it became a legitimate business. We were one of the few bands that made a deal with him. We said he could put out the live album, pay us so much up front, plus royalties, and that album became the bestseller in his catalog for a while. But then he wasn’t paying us royalties, so we had to go back. Luckily we tour Europe a lot, so we finally went back to meet him face to face. He sent somebody to the show with a check and all this shit apologizing, saying it was a mixup and all that. He’s kind of shady, I think.
You’re done dealing with him?
We’re still getting royalties, but that’s it. We’re not going to do anything more. We didn’t like how he would take the same songs and put them on a hundred compilations and use our name for everything. He’s just out for the money now.
A lot of hardcore bands say they like touring Europe better than the U.S., is that true with you?
It’s not that we like one more than the other. We’re one of the few bands that will tour the U.S. as well as Europe. When we go to Europe, kids ask us if we’re like so and so who only plays Europe and won’t tour the U.S.. I say no because we tour everywhere we can. I like playing Europe, especially Germany, Holland, and Belgium, because the music is more accepted as a legitimate form. It’s not like in America where it’s a “hardcore” show, said in a condescending tone, or that it’s just for kids. In Germany and those countries it’s considered as legitimate as any other form, like hip-hop or whatever. I think that’s why some bands like it. Again, touring the U.S. is very hard. Our strong spots are on the East Coast, where we’ll have a great show every night, and then we’ll go to Texas and it sucks. The clubs aren’t geared for all-ages shows. Any small venue has a bar in it, so they don’t have all-ages shows. If you’re going to play an all-ages show you end up playing in a place that has about 1000 capacity and only 200 kids show up, which sucks. Then we go out West and it’s great again. The Southern Midwest just really sucks for hardcore shows.
Are you still listening to new bands from New York?
Oh, yeah. I like this band C.R. from Staten Island, who’s a lot like early Straight Ahead. There’s Ensign from New Jersey. There’s a new band, Floorpunch, who sound very old school, from Jersey. I love the new Crown of Thornz album, I think it’s one of the best albums that came out last year. I think the last Murphy’s Law album was amazing and really overlooked.
What do you do in your time off?
I like to read. I collect comic books. I recently tried to get back into skating, but with the weather and all it sucks. Today was really nice though, so I went out skating, I realized I totally forgot how to do an ollie (laughs). Arman told me to practice but not to break my arm so we can’t go on tour. I don’t play guitar though, so it’s okay if I break my arm (laughs).
When are you hitting Boston?
Probably around April 1st. I can’t wait because we haven’t been to Boston in so long and I hope the new album is accepted up there. It usually is, Boston’s always been great for us. We always mention it every interview when we’re asked our favorite places to play. Of course we love New York because it’s our home but we love Boston just as much if not more because it’s our home without 200 assholes trying to get on the guest list.
Any last comments?
I hope everybody likes the new record and we’re still sticking it out, playing the music that we love.
