Battalion of Saints' lyrics still ring true
West Coast hardcore staple plays the masquerade tonight (Wed., March 9).
Photo credit: Cheryl Cole
Before making their way to Atlanta, to play the Masquerade on Wed., March 9, Anthony, Javier, and Vicknair took a few minutes to chat about Battalion of Saints’ staying power, the group's current audience, and signing on with Southern Lord.
How did you guys all end up together as Battalion of Saints?
Vicknair: George approached me to fill in on bass for a few shows because the other guy split to play with Total Chaos. He also asked if I could get a guitar player and drummer, so I did. We played those first shows and George liked it so he asked us to be the band. We made some agreements, and here we are.
Javier: I was very fortunate to be roommates with Mike Vega at the time they were looking for a new guitarist. Having done a one-off gig with the band a few years back, my familiarity with the songs and rapport with Matt and George helped me earn the spot in the band. I couldn't be any happier.
Like Negative Approach and other classic hardcore bands that are still making the rounds live, your older material holds up well topically: “Cops are Out” and “Fighting Boys” are depressingly relevant in 2016. Do these songs get a reaction from younger audiences, since the fears of your own adolescence and early 20s still ring true?
Anthony: I wrote those almost 30 years ago. It’s funny crazy that they fit. It sounds like I wrote them yesterday for what’s going on in the world. You’d hope things would’ve changed in the last 30 years.
Javier: Being younger than George, I've definitely had a different experience than he did growing up when the scene was much more violent and raw. But the parallels still exist in terms of the poor still going off to fight wars for the rich, and those charged with protecting and serving the public abusing that power. If anything, I hope the younger audiences see these cyclical flaws in our history we present as examples of things they can change if they are empowered to do so. I think that helps the songs resonate and relate to current audiences.
It surely varies from city to city, but what’s the age range of the typical Battalion of Saints crowd? Do a lot of teenage punks flee the suburbs to see your show if it’s all-ages?
Anthony: It’s weird. Back then, it was kind of a movement because everyone was tired of the big acts taking all the money and not putting much energy into it. It was basically like the government — taking everything and not giving back. Every decade, it seems the young kids get into it, which makes me feel really good for doing it.
Javier: I've seen everything from little kids with Batts T-shirts to respected elders rocking their beat up battle-vests at shows. It does depend on the age restrictions for sure, but thankfully the punk rocker parents from the '80s had kids and have passed the music on to the newer generation, which gets them fired up for shows.
Vicknair: It really depends on the show and area. We play 21 and up bars to parties in Compton/South Central LA and everything in between. If you respect our guarantee and contract we play anywhere. My personal favorites are the all-ages shows, especially where I live in Los Angeles. We have had huge teenage crowds in Compton and South Central LA. The kids there have something to be angry about and get where we are coming from musically.
Did you have any inkling in the early to mid-‘80s that the songs you were singing would resound with punk kids decades later? I assume you were too busy living in the moment to have that kind of foresight.
Anthony: Oh God, I had no idea. I didn’t think I’d live that long to be honest.
You’ve already released new music together with last fall’s self-titled 7-inch. Why a metal label Southern Lord instead of a West Coast punk staple like Taang? Did Southern Lord's work with Bl'ast have any bearing on your choice?
Vicknair: Punk record labels in my biased opinion are way to self-absorbed now. Minus Bill at Doctor Strange. He rules. They are not looking for good music but something they can mold and produce to sound a certain way. It’s not like when I was growing up and found huge musical differences from bands on the same label like Black Flag, the Minutemen, and Husker Du on SST, or the Germs and the Blasters on Slash, or Minor Threat and Fugazi on Dischord. Plus certain punk labels hate us because of things that happened in the ‘80s which is pretty childish and fine because all their bands sound the same. George was on Taang!, and it did not work well.
Southern Lord has everything from Bl’ast and Poison Idea to Black Breath, Sunn O))), Earth, Goat Snake, and Obliterations. We fit in great there because Greg Anderson loves hard, tough, and relentless music. No ones work had bearing on our choice. Greg is an honest guy who loves the bands on his label. That’s that. A person’s word means a lot to us, and Greg has kept it.
Finally, what’s next for Battalion of Saints? Is there an LP in the cards?
Vicknair: A new LP is being written as we speak. Six songs down, and we need at least six more to get 30 minutes of music. I would be happy with 45 minutes of material if it is good enough to put out. We are hoping to finish in Late April if we have time. It has been hard. All we do is work our jobs and tour right now.
Anthony: We are going to try to get it done late spring. By that time, I’ll have my passport and we should be good to go overseas and stuff.