Interview: STRAIGHTLINE (Punk Rock Holiday 2.3)

 STRAIGHTLINE is a melodic hard core, super energetic skate punk band from Munich. They've been on the scene for a while now and are no strangers to Punk Rock Holiday, so I was very happy when I found out that I'll be doing an interview with them.

Hi guys! This is not your first Punk Rock Holiday?

Bart: Hi...no, this is my 10th PRH, And 6th playing. We have played every 3 years!

You played main stage yesterday at the warm up show. How was it comparing it to previous shows here?

Bart: Pretty much the same. We have fun every time we play. Last night we played earlier so it wasn't as full but it was cool.

If you could choose, what day would you play?

Bart: Probably not the day where every band is a skate punk band! Cause you are one of all the other bands that sound the same. I would play with the SKA bands or all the bands that are different from us. Like Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.  And then we would cover their songs... (laughter)

And what bands would you love to play with?

Bart: The band I always wanted to play with is Strike Anywhere and Death by Stereo, Strung Out, Good Riddance...those are the bands that influenced us, so...

Speaking of which, are you tired of being compared to Strung Out and Wilhelm Scream. Propagandhi?

Bart: No!!! We are sick of being compared to bands like NOFX. We sound nothing like them, but most people know them from high school so...it's all the same to them...

You had a lot of changes in the band.

Bart: Yeah...well that's life. Drummer moved, guitarist wants to study, raise a family...there is no bad blood...just -  life happened!

And how did this line up happen?

Bart: Accidentally! A terrible accident! (laughter)

About your last record...it is different. Different in a way there is a lot of diversity on a record. Starting with that looong, almost a minute long guitar solo on "Leaders of Self-Destruction". It's not typical for a punk song to have long solos on guitar.

Bart: It is typical for us! We have a lot of guitar solos, but than again - I am more a metalhead then a punk. I was more influenced by metal so many melodies and even vocal parts are from metal. We have a lot of short thrashers. We even have an album - 14 songs in 8 minutes...it was a joke. Eight minutes is the length of a joint. And we had some short songs on other albums, but they kind of ruined the mood, so we thought lets just make one with this stuff. And this probably sounds weird but to me this is the best album I ever wrote because it is very hard to write lyrics when you have just one sentence...what can you say in just one sentence?

I read something that made me laugh, that you are the first band liked by Chuck Norris.

Bart: Ahaha...yeah, that was our Chuck Norris joke. We have a song "Even Chuck Norris fears this song" so at that time Chuck Norris jokes were all around us, and so we made our own one. There was no meaning behind that, just exaggerating.

Let me ask you something: why don't you do interviews? I tried to research you but couldn't find anything...

Bart: Because no one asks us! We would love to do them, but it costs a lot of money to do a good interview and so...I just do music, I am not a pro at this. So if someone wants to do an interview I'll be happy to do it... I am the same on stage as I am of stage. You have to understand that no one is interested in smaller bands. Everyone wants to interview big bands, but then again, everyone knows everything about them anyways. And this is why festivals like this are cool, because you get a chance to be interviewed and heard.

Have you played in Croatia?

Bart: Yes...we have played in Medika and I think it was Novi something?

Novi Marof?

Bart: Yes! Novi Marof. It was fun. And there are a lot of Croatian people in Munich, and there is a bend from Croatia that plays often in Munich - Deafness by Noise. You know them? They have a huge audience in Munich, I would like to play with them one day. And we would love to come to Croatia again.

What are the plans after this, do you have a tour coming up or?

Bart: Yeah, we are playing a few festivals and we have a tour with Ten Foot Pole coming up.

Last question: what are you drinking on PRH?

Bart: Melon ball! And you?

Bambus! Thank you and have fun the rest of the festival.

Bart: Thank you and see you at the afterparty...

Written by I.