Interviews

By Vinnie Apicella

   They're tasteless, crude, and downright vulgar. They've sidestepped overexposure with indecent exposure and created one of the biggest stirs in the rock underground since the first wave of American punk. They've proudly pissed on popular culture and cough up controversy with childlike enthusiasm. They aimlessly amuse themselves by spreading darkness, fear, and both cheeks at anyone who doesn't get the joke. And yet anyone who's ever really listened to the music or seen the band play…well, there must be a point buried in there somewhere, right? They're Turbonegro, and they don't like your kids.
When an epic track like "The Age of Pamparius" comes blaring from their APOCALYPSE DUDES breakthrough or classics like "Get It On" or "Rock Against Ass" hook you, evidence shows there's plenty to sink yer teeth into. Turbonegro is an embodiment of sex, sailors, food fights, and F-words rolled into a bong-sized hash ball that's a never-ending toke into the mindless and mad rush of adrenaline that brings out the dirty dog in us all. And they make a statement like few others…not that either of the two band members previously interviewed were too anxious to reveal the inner workings of a cumulatively mad mind. So what? If it sounds good, who cares if it makes sense? After a well-aimed pelvic thrust through most of the '90s that culminated in their finest (APOCALYPSE) hour and five-year period of self-destruction, they rise again, bigger and better than before. Turbonegro is a self-deprecating slice of '70s showmanship and self-indulgence. They've released seven full-lengths, two EPs, and a live disc; and they've already had a remarkable 26-track tribute done for them (ALPHA MOTHERFUCKERS, which features some of the greatest indie rock, punk, and techno bands that ever existed). Now, after a lengthy recording layoff, they release the magnificent SCANDINAVIAN LEATHER, which follows a successful U.S. club tour (first opening for Q.O.T.S.A., then headlining)…and THIS after having played for hundreds of thousands of European festival fans on last year's comeback.

    Prior to a recent show in April at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC's East Village, I had the perverse pleasure of meeting this under-the-radar, made-for-the-stage character act born of hard rock, punk, and comic relief. (Note: Due to technical difficulties taking place in the Ameritania Hotel bar, much of the shared banter between (guitarists) Rune Rebellion, Euroboy, and myself was lost in a blur of indecipherability. However, I recently discovered that scattered at key points between spread particles, the tape does in fact yield enough information to make something out of almost nothing.)

SKRATCH: Why does the live show feature only material from your last two studio albums (ASS COBRA and APOCALYPSE DUDES)?
RUNE: It's partly because this line-up was basically when we started touring for ASS COBRA, and that's when it all kind of formed; so these are our songs.

SKRATCH: There's a huge difference in the sound between the ASS COBRA and APOCALYPSE DUDES albums, yet it's still undeniably Turbonegro.
RUNE: Part of the difference is in the change of line-up. Obviously, Euroboy came in and plays on APOCALYPSE DUDES; and then there's Chris Summers, who took over on drums.

SKRATCH: Do you set out to make a statement or get a reaction with your music?
RUNE: Not really. It's just about us making the records we want to make. But, of course, when we release a record, we do want to get some reaction. [Laughs]

SKRATCH: Do you worry about cynics questioning your…judgment?
RUNE: Well, we give them something to talk about…but we don't like to explain things to anyone.

SKRATCH: Do you have any deeply rooted social or political sentiments you want people to know?
RUNE: Death-punk forever!

SKRATCH: Give me something on SCANDINAVIAN LEATHER, your first new studio album in five years.
RUNE: First of all, I'm really sure it's our best record. It's got all of those elements from our previous records, but it's just more mature and a more concentrated form of death punk.
EUROBOY: It's also the most focused and vital album we've ever done. I mean…what is the best album? That's a matter of taste. But I know that this album as a whole...it's a great band effort. The other albums have been a bit more…maybe separate, you know? APOCALYPSE was...I just feel like halfway through the recording we kind of broke the code and came up with our own musical identity. We started writing these really cool songs like "(Don't Say) Motherfucker, Motherfucker" and "Rendezvous with Anus" and "Back to Dungaree High", and we came up with this really catchy and cool bubble-gum-like death-punk style, and on the new album that was our goal—to really expose that side of the band. We may lose a few of our fans of the old punk stuff because people only into punk are not always into what sounds…good, but they're more about something else. But we're probably going to get a lot of new fans as well.

SKRATCH: There are a lot of similarities between SCANDINAVIAN LEATHER and APOCALYPSE DUDES—which makes sense considering how much better the band sounds overall.
EUROBOY: It's important to remember that state-of-the-art punk rock these days stays underground. It's genuine lo-fi, all recorded live. We totally go against that. It's really well produced and a thoroughly-made album. It means we might lose the hipsters, but the music is still really good, and it's an album that's going to last for years and years.

SKRATCH: What are Turbonegro like live?
EUROBOY: I don't know. I've never seen myself like that, and I don't like to watch videos of our shows. I can feel that there's this certain magic going on when we play. There's a lot of euphoria going on stage, and then it makes sense to perform the songs.

SKRATCH: Why should people go see you guys?
EUROBOY: 'Cause we're good.
RUNE: 'Cause we're beautiful. [Laughs]
EUROBOY: We sound really good compared to a lot of new punk-rock bands, and we actually have a good, heavy live sound now. Musically it's good, and visually—from what I've heard—we're fantastic. A guy came up to me last night (from The Moving Targets), and he's an older dude, and they said it was like watching The Dead Boys.

SKRATCH: Why does Turbonegro "Hate the Kids"?
EUROBOY: 'Cause they suck. [Laughs].

SKRATCH: Seriously, that's one of my favorite songs.
RUNE: I don't think we've ever played that live. We've got so many songs now….

SKRATCH: What are you going to play from the new album?
RUNE: I don't know. We'll probably play one or two. [Writer's note: they did: "Sell Your Body to the Night".]After our interview, the band headed downtown for the second of two sold-out shows at the Bowery Ballroom. The band ripped through their many classics—true to form, sticking mainly to their two most recent albums. The band is alive and constantly in motion on stage, offering a colorful perspective for the fixed eye. Hank's stage presence is simultaneously charismatic and creepy. Adorned with a top hat, cane, and evil black eye makeup, he displays a sinister, Alice-like element in his freak-show persona. The show was phenomenal. No one left disappointed, Hank got a rose from a cute female fan, and they did "I Got Erection" for one encore and "Death Time" for another. On a memorable Monday night, darkness and denim reigned supreme.

Discography:
" Turboloid" 12" (Straitjacket Records 1990)
HOT CARS & SPENT CONTRACEPTIVES (Big Ball Records 1992)
HELTER SKELTER (Repulsion Records 1993)
" Grunge Whore" 10" (SFTRI Records 1993)
NEVER IS FOREVER (Dog Job Records 1994)
ASS COBRA (Boomba Records 1996)
APOCALYPSE DUDES (Boomba Records 1998)
DARKNESS FOREVER (Live) (Bitzcore Records 1999)
SCANDINAVIAN LEATHER (Burning Heart Records 2003)

Websites: www.turbonegro.com, www.turbonegro.net, www.turbojugend.net, www.turbojugendusa.com.

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