*from http://www.geocities.com/Pipeline/2051/
FOS: Names, ages, insturments:
Corey:24, bass
Pat: drums, I'm old, 18
Eric: 26, guitar
FOS: How did you form and why did you break up
and get back together again?
Corey: That's a long story I hope you've got a lot of tape.
Eric: We formed in 1991 and it was basically old
members who never recorded anything, just some
people I knew from around. They asked me if I
played guitar and it's basically how most bands
start. We went through a lot of line up changes.
Probably about '92 or '93 it was Corey, me, Dave
joined on vocals and we had a drummer named
Richey, he was in Necrocedia years ago and
that was pretty much the lineup. Eventually we got a
guitarist named Ajax and that was the lineup for all
the records and everything we pretty much did. Ajax
eventually quit, Richy was kind of off and on we had
a lot of fill in drummers. We broke up in the summer
of '96.
Corey: We toured Europe in the summer of '96 and
split up shortley after. Then we came back in April
of '97.
Eric: So right now it's Pat, Corey, me and Dave.
FOS: What does the name Aus Rotten mean?
Eric: It's German and it basically means extinction
or mass murder of like thousands of people. What's
unfortunate is that it's a term that relates kind of to
the nazi holocaust.
Corey: It's a slang term.
Eric: Yeah, it's like a slang term. We use it because,
A. the English interpetation is kind of stupid,
extermination, it sounds like a bad metal band and
B. it's kind of a very shocking thing, it's what we are
against.
Corey: It grabs you.
Eric: Yeah. A lot of bands have like positive names,
I'm not saying we're not positive but it keeps that
offensive aspect to it I guess.
FOS: On Tuesday May 18th what happened?
Corey: The song is more or less about what's going
on in Bosnia and the whole ethnic cleansing bit.
With the lyrics it's pretty obvious what it's about, the
title itself came from a picture in the newspaper of
some lady hugging a skull. The name of the song is
more or less the day we saw that in the paper.
There's a whole article on it but it just appeared that
day in the newspaper.
Eric: The first lines of the song are "A day in the life
of a never ending war".
FOS: Your lyrics are all political, I was kind of
curious what you thought of the alchoholism in
punk.
Corey: Too much of anything is not good for you. I
like to drink as much as the next guy but there's a
point of taking it too far. Obviously you see a lot of
kids running around with Conflict and whatever, any
kind of anarchist band painted on their jacket. The
thing is, they are the ones yelling smash the state but
what are you going to do, smash it with a beer
bottle? Some of these peoples ideas of anarchy is
toppling over a dumpster or something. A lot of
these people are younger and stuff and they'll learn.
I'm only 24 but I can't drink as much as I used to
when I was 18. Also you have a lot more
responsibilites too so you can't be blowing all your
money on beer and shit unless your parents are
paying your way.
Eric: I drink, right now I'm in a phase where I've
been drinking a lot. The bottom line is that as soon
as you let anything like that control your life to the
point that it's all you want, it's all you do and that's
all you're a punk for it's all you're alive for
then....There's nothing wrong with getting together
and having a few beers, have some laughs and blow
off some steem we like to do that. But if you are
drunk 24-7 and you're doing nothing but that then
it's useless, it's just a waste of time.
FOS: Corey, you were just smoking a ciggerette, isn't
that one of the worst corporate addictions?
Corey: Oh yeah.
Eric: He knows it.
Corey: It's just like how did we get here? We flew on
a jet. I do what I can but it's like, we all put gas in
our cars we're all supporting the oil industry. I have
to do it, I work, I drive a delivery van I have to put
gas in my vehicle. Yeah I'm just as guilty but I do
what I can.
Eric: I wish Dave was here for this. We have a new
song and we'll be playing it tonite and it deals with
that. It deals with, we all know all the corporations
are all this and that and we know all the evils of the
world and you just have to basically do what you can
to avoid them, we are all guilty. We don't want
people to... People look at Aus Rotten and are like
"these guys are probably saints", they have these
lyrics that say oh don't buy this don't do that and 90
percent of it we don't. We all have our vices and our
crutches or whatever you call it, he might smoke for
now, Pat's shirt might be Champion or something.
I'm drinking coffee and I'm sure some poor soul got
fucked over when he picked the coffee seeds. It's not
an excuse to copout, it's not an excuse to be lazy.
Corey: You live in corporate America and I don't
care who you are, if you live in America you live in
corporate America.
Eric: Unfortunately we have jobs and we pay taxes,
we are hoping that we can work towards the day that
we don't have to do that anymore. But right now at
the present time that's an unfortunate thing. Maybe
right now in his life, and I'm not trying to speak for
Corey or anything but he's smoking, he's trying to
quit but we all have our little flaws.
Corey: I was smoking before I was into any of this
stuff. Yeah, it's a crutch for me and it's a bad habit.
Pat: I smoked for about 4 years and I smoked Camels
which is like RJ Renolds. I did quit for a while.
Before that when I was really getting into the political
side of it I tried to buy smaller tabacco
corporations. Basically what it all comes down to is
that it's one huge corporation. You can try to get
around it, you can smoke different brands that aren't
the big two, Camel and Marlboro, but pretty much
all the money goes to the same place. I'm not trying
to justify it, I'm trying to quit now but I still have one
every once in a while. It's more the unhealthy factor,
I'm still young and I shouldn't be doing that.
Eric: I think the main thing with our songs is not so
much do this or you're wrong it's like look we see
this as fucked up, we as individuals are trying to
better our lives trying to show that to people. Like
look this is what's wrong we all know we all agree
that this is wrong and that is wrong. For the most
part of it we all can get these evils out of our life,
evil for lack of a better term.
Corey: I'm aware of what they do and I know it's
wrong... but again, I smoke and I'm addicted to
nicotine but I don't care what you smoke there is no
such thing as a PC cigarette. People will smoke
Drum and it's like they've tested on animals just as
well. It's just what I do, I know it's wrong but I do
my part in what I believe in. I don't mind you asking
me that, it's a good question and a fair question but
my answer to that is that we live in corporate
America, there is no escaping it. If there's a way of
living totally corporate free sign me up I'll be in line.
Eric: We don't have any short answers by the way.
FOS: What do you do as far as jobs?
Corey: I deliver futons. I drive a delivery truck and
that's more or less it. It's not the greatest job in the
world but it lets me do what I want. I went to
college, I still have a year and a half to go and I
plan on finishing that up because I've already paid so
much into it.
Pat: I was a student last semester, I took a semester
off and I'm going back to school in the fall.
Eric: I'm a bicycle messenger. I've been doing that
for almost 4 years now. Even with my job, I keep
corporate Pittsburgh going. I deliver for lawyers and
universities and all the main corporate things in
Pittsburgh. It's a catch 22, the job gives me money to
live and let's me do something I want to do like
riding and also I'm an independent contractor so I
can say like "Hey I'm not coming in for a month, I'm
going on tour with my band" and they are like "Ok,
see you in a month". A lot of jobs you say that and
they fire you. It gives me the freedom, I am my own
boss. On the other hand I am also delivering
packages for scumbags that I write songs about.
Corey: Sometimes you just have to sit down and eat
shit, you have to take it whether you like it or not.
FOS: Do you see punk as having made a change
or making a change in the future?
Corey: I think it has, Abc is probably living proof of
it. Abc on the rocks for how many years now and
they have gained support for people other than punk
rockers like artists all sorts of people.
Eric: You're not going to see some drastic overnight
change. The governments aren't gonna fall tomorrow
because of some Crass lyric you know? I think the
positive thing is, like Abc has been going for
something like 20 years now, it's practical anarchy is
what I like to call it. You're living within this group
of individuals who are living and doing what they
want and they got something like Abc going and
they are fighting for and it's surviving and they are
winning. If they win this place maybe it will show
the city of New York something. That's a small little
battle one in an endless war, that's the way I see it. If
you are living your life or maybe inspiring other
people to take ahold of their own lives, they don't
have to nescecarilly go out and blow up the Capital
building tomorrow, religions aren't going to end,
racism unfortunately is not going to end but it
teaches people that it's fucked up, I'm not like that
and I'm gonna let people know I'm not like that, it
takes time. You'll have small battles that you'll
win, look at like squats or different things like that
how they just fight and fight and fight and they
finally win and they have their homes. Look at Food
Not Bombs has been going through in like San
Francisco where people are getting arrested and
stuff. That's punk rock to me, that's anarchy to me.
Corey: You see a lot more of it in Europe they aren't
afraid to fight the police.
FOS: I've heard the politics are a lot more present
inside Euorpean punk scenes...
Eric: I think it's in their culture. In America I think
it's a little bit harder because of the capitalism, we
are a young country, it's only been 200 years. We
had the Civil War but who the hell remembers that?
I think these countries have gone, in a lot of peoples
lifetimes, have gone through political changes. A lot
of them are former communist countries a lot of
them are former fascist nazi countries. I think a lot
of these people, they've seen and they've been
through Hitler they've been through communism
they've been through it all. I think it's in their blood
to naturally have some type of political views and
fight for what they believe in. In America I think we
take shit for granted, we never had to go through
anything like that, nothing that obvious. I'm not
saying America is a free country but we were never
occupied by something and the next thing you
know a wall falls down or something and everything
changes. We have never had any drastic experiences
like that.
Corey: A lot of people have asked us that in Europe
like why there aren't many riots and why people
don't stand up against the police. I think the big
difference is that over here they don't shoot rubber
bullets at you.
Eric: We played a show in Germany in a city called
Giezen and there were riot police outside of the show
and it was the wildest thing we saw because these
kids were actually like shooting fireworks and flares
at these cops and these cops were acting like they
were mesquitos and it didn't even bother them. We
were trying to tell these people that if you did that in
America it would be over. If you sit there shooting
fireworks at cops it would be all over and they were
like "yeah right, come on" and we were like "really".
It's a whole different world, it's interesting.
FOS: Most of the knowledge I would get concerning
something like war would probably come from the
media which is obviously going to be filtered
through whatever, how do you get your information
and know it's reliable?
Corey: Underground publishings, books. Personally
you have to learn to decipher the bullshit, it's like
does that actually sound like that could have possibly
happened?
Eric: Yeah, Dave's really into reading alternative
media all different papers, books, watching different
videos he has. You take what you are fed be it the
media or some anarchist paper or whatever and you
just make your own decisions, decipher it your own
way.
Corey: Even some underground publishings you read
aren't exactly accurate either. Just because it's not
mainstream news doesn't mean it's always right.
There is some shit that I have read or that I have
heard and it just sounded completely outrageous.
Eric: I've even read some things put out by
alternative media by like socialists or whatever
different ists or ism's. People were passing around
different things about the Pennsylvania governer
Ridge in cahoots with these white power leaders and
I know for a fact that some of these people he in no
way knows because they aren't even alive anymore.
Reading that wasn't so much an alternative
newsletter as it was bullshit politicians. Socialists
want their man in so they're ripping on the
republican.
Corey: You just have to be careful what you read and
you just have to be smart and check shit out for
yourself.
FOS: If you were drafted what would your reaction
be?
Eric: I think I'm too old.
Corey: I wouldn't do it and if it came down to it I'd
go to jail. Unless someones kicking down my front
door, then yeah I am going to fight. If its something
I honestly honestly believed in I would go but it
would take a whole hell of a lot for me even to
consider.
Eric: If America was to be invaded and someone was
kicking in my front door and I happened to have a
gun maybe I would shoot you know. I wouldn't be
shooting like "America USA" I would be shooting
like "Hey me, don't fuck with me."
FOS: The song "They Ignore Peacful Protest", it has
lyrics that say things like "A cop can't ignore a rock
going through their window" or something like that,
if someone does that they are going to jail and they
won't be able to protest anything. Do you advocate
violence or protesting violently?
Corey: I see your point. It's an extreme statement is
what it is.
FOS: But do you think it makes any change?
Eric: I wrote that song a long time ago during the
LA Riots and it was basically not so much a do this,
this is what we believe in as much as it was about the
LA Riots. It was an overall song about riots in
general. I was inspired by the LA Riot, just going out
there with your flags and banners and saying stop
this or stop that is going to do nothing. At times
people are going to go after a police car and they are
going to smash it. I am not saying that it's right or
wrong I'm just saying that it happens. The lyrics
aren't very much it's just a Discharge two liner, but it
was basically around the time of the LA Riots.
Which is a whole different subject, I don't think the
LA Riots were done properly I think it was kind of
stupid, I'm not saying I support the LA Riots, that's a
whole different story and I'm not getting into it.
Basically to make a long story short it was a general
song about riots inspired and written at the time of
the LA Riots.
FOS: Are you all anarchists?
Corey: I wouldn't say I'm an anarchist, I really don't
claim to be anything. I have a mixed bag of beliefs
whether they be anarchist, socialist, communist
whatever I have a lot of different views.
Eric: I consider myself an anarchist I guess for lack
of a better term. Like I said before, I consider myself
a practical anarchist. When I think of anarchism
I think of living your life as free as possible living
your life without influence or relying upon the State
and stuff like that.
FOS: Do you ever see anarchism working on a world
wide scale?
Eric: No. I don't really think so, not in our lifetime. I
think there is too much extreme diversity in the
world, there is too many religions, there is too many
cultures.
Corey: Not that there's anything wrong with too
many cultures.
Eric: There isn't. There's always bickering and
fighting between them, it's in the punk scene, kids
here tonight might get into a fight over something
stupid. How the hell do you expect all the
governments to fall, religions to end and everyone to
live in this utopia of peace when kids at an Aus
Rotten concert can't get along?
Corey: When the people in Aus Rotten can't even see eye
to eye (laughs).
Eric: I'm not trying to discourage people or anything
but I personally think that I'm not going to see it.
There are too many wars going on in the world be it
wars out in the battlefield with guns and tanks or be
it wars between people just not liking each other.
Corey: There are billions of people in this world not
all of them are going to get along.
Eric: Even if they are all punks or anarchist or
whatever you want to label somebody as.
Pat: It would be even worse.
FOS: How did you end up doing the split with Naked
Aggression?
Eric: They toured and they played Pittsburgh and we
played with them and had a couple of their records
and we dug them and we got to know them. I
think it was our old drummer Richey who actually
suggested doing it. We had them send us the DAT tape
and the artwork and we released it, we only
pressed a few thousand. It got to the point where we
couldn't afford to press records anymore and then the
band broke up. Dave and I tried starting a Rotten
Propaganda label, we put out a couple of releases but
that kind of fell through and I let Dave kind of take
it over. He released his other band Human
Investment on it but I think he's even having trouble
financially keeping that record going so Neil from
Tribal War is going to take it over. It's really tough.
FOS: What are some of your current, for lack of a
better word fights?
Corey: Peeves, pet peeves? Old people driving slow
(laughs).
Eric: El Nino (laughs).
Eric: I think my personal fight for a long time and it
may be even stronger now is nazis and racism. Right
now in Pittsburgh, I've been involved in the Pittsburgh
scene for at least 11 years now and there
has always been nazi skinhead trouble off and on.
We went for a good long time without any problems
and now there is a lot of new faces coming out.
Corey: It's resurging.
Eric: So far knock on wood it hasn't affected the
punk rock scene, they don't go to shows. They went
to The Varukers show that we put on and they were
there for like 2 songs and then we kind of escorted
them out. Nobody noticed them at first.
Eric: We just marched them out, there was a couple
of words exchanged and then they left. They have
these stickers that say like "The white race is
becoming extinct" blah blah blah with the addresses
on it and they are everywhere in the city. Me being a
courier I ride around and see them everywhere and I
just rip them off, I thought I was the only one doing
it and I was like "God this is getting tedious". Finally
I saw a lot of people crossing them out, a lot of
people are starting to see these things and are pulling
them down and writing over them etc. I think that's
my fight right now. That's a pretty wide range, that's
the biggest thing that bothers me so I'm going to
fight that.
Corey: I agree that's probably mine and maybe add
on the religous right.
Pat: I'm new to the city. I'm still trying to get
involved with a bunch of orginizations like Food Not
Bombs, there's a Zapitista alliance group there which
is actually doing stuff. Recently we've had some
problems with Food Not Bombs but we are trying to
get it up and started again.
FOS: Any closing comments?
Corey: Well you were saying before how you didn't
have the first 7". We are doing a CD compilation of
all of our stuff and it's coming out this summer,
Tribal War is putting it out.
Eric: Thanks.
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