So boys, how long has Upperhand been operating as a hardcore unit and who’s in it? DOM: well we’ve been together a few months now (about 4 or 5) we have a fluctuating bass position because of problems filling that position. Right now its me (guitar) and dean (parochial growls) and ken on drums. Maybe Doug Defence on bass for a short time (possibly only for the 21^st show).

Can you answer critics that the ACT is just a town full of junkies and gimps? DOM: There’s a lot of problems in every city. Gimps, well I know I like to break out the bondage gear at practice and tease Ken with the whip while dean uses the mic to pleasure himself. Junkies, well that’s a matter that is beyond my small innocent young mind.
DEAN: I like to hang out in Civic, so I end up running into junkies no matter what. Um there are lots out in Civic.... just depends when you go out there, sometimes there’s none, sometimes your pushing your way to get to Ali Baba to grab a super veg roll... no onions please. They redesigned civic, so it more open.... I and I reckon it has worked....I feel much safer there now. As for gimps I haven’t seen many acts of bondage in Canberra.... Maybe I should go out more? Its just a thing people say to make them selves feel tough....does it make you feel tough?
KEN: Everyone knows that the ACT has a big Junkie problem and there’s a lot of other shit going on here. But were definitely not all Junkies and Gimps, there are a lot of people who think for themselves, the only thing is everyone already has this idea that we are Gimps or whatever so we are so we gotta change that.

Have you had any responses from your lil’ demo yet?
DOM: we’ve had a few interviews, reviews and some feedback about it from people who have been really nice about it. Yeah I guess the responses have been really good especially since we only did it for a few friends originally and now we have something ok in quality to show for it. We’re better now though as a band and players.
KEN: Yeah it has been pretty positive, considering that the recording sucked hard and well we are only new and haven’t even played yet So far it has been pretty cool.

When do you plan to play live?

How important is the Straight-Edge to Upperhand and what does it mean to you?
DEAN: Its hard to put it into words...self pride, that’s the best I can put it. Its an attitude to life, it makes me wanna do things like a band and a distro etc....not save the world though...that’s something I cant do...just have fun and not be so uptight I say. (I have been one of the uptight try hard eco warriors myself)
DOM: straightedge is to me being drug free and just having your head straight, having morals and believing in them and yourself and having pride. As three straightedge kids we all take pride in having these feelings in our hearts and we want to express them, plus we listen to a lot of bands that are sXe and youth crew so that style is like, influential musically.
KEN: The Straight-Edge is very important to Upperhand since everyone who is in the band is Straight-Edge, so that is a real big part of the way we all think so that inputs into the songs a lot. To me The Straight-Edge is a big part of my life, Its something I do for my and its a life style I enjoy. It also means a lot to me because when I was a kid my Dad was an Alcoholic and I thought I was going the same way so I’m pretty fucking proud to say that were both Sober.

A lot of lyrics have to do with interpersonal relationships in "the scene" any particular instances spark these off, or are you gonna leave it vague.
DEAN:This interview is long enough as it is so I won’t explain every song.... if you want an explanation just write to me.

"Rumour mill", is about rumour mills everywhere...but I wrote it about things that happened when I went to college and left for a semester and came back-many a crazy story about my life.
"Fake" is about homeboys at the civic and Woden bus interchange...not the scene. "You decide" is about my hang ups in life...more about day to day decisions that I make. "Youth of yesterday" is about Hardcore....its about holding the "respected" players in the scene high and envying them and trying to live like them. "Wrong choice" was chosen because of the relevance to experiences that I have/had....not Hardcore just my ex-friends…but the lyrics actually mean stuff to me that’s why you can understand me better than you can mean Steve. "INTRO" is about where I live…I think it is pretty self-explanatory.

The song "Fake"... the chorus is "I will never fight you" followed up by "acting so fucking hard will get you fucking hit"...please explain.
DEAN: I wasn’t implying that I would hit them....what do you expect when you walk around and pick fights? One day your gonna pick a fight with some one who isn’t as nice as me, and BAM...there go your teeth. I guess its more about people who pick fights but don’t actually want to be in one, they just put on the mad I’m tough front.

And my favourite line in the lyrics sheet of You Decide..."Fucking is a part of life"... Typo or Freudian slip
KEN: Aaaaaa Dean wrote that, what a sexy man.
DEAN: A bit of both. After all we are young men...and what else do young men think of?......its a typo, thanx for being a nit picker Doug. I have read that 90% of the time guys think of sex....so I must have been when I wrote "you decide".
DOM: Well, Deanboss has Tourette’s so…

Give us your rundown on the state of Australian hardcorepunk today.
KEN: I think that there is a lot of really, really good bands, and there is a lot of people who put a lot of there own money and time into helping out the Scene. I really don’t know what it was like "back in the day" but I have been to some Aussie shows which" bust it up" just as good if not better as any American or whatever I have seen on Video’s. Everyone just has to stay true keep putting on the shows and keep the bands going and it will grow, what would life be with out H/C I hate to think.
DOM: I love Australian Hardcore, I mean bands like FD and that got me to where I am sort of thing. I would never have started listening to Hardcore without seeing Forward Defence and Mugshot and Half Mongrel. Plus there are so many other fucking rad bands (like all of them). We’re proud to be a part of Australian Hardcore, and we all love the bands. Only down-side is the cocks who don’t come to your local shows, like Renee’s show the other day here in Canberra which Canberrans didn’t support but they are fuckwits who would’ve cried like little girls when people danced. Shame those same "punk"(??) kids who showed up to Millencolin Propagandhi and SOIA didn’t turn up for Arms reach, Pitbull attack, Mugshot, Half mongrel and Conation.
DEAN: A few months ago there was that whole Internet message board drama people thinking they were OLC or something...but that’s over now. There are a few stupid dramas happening over the place.....If your not involved don’t pay attention! Mad bands...many new bands forming....

What are the bands that inspire you?
DEAN: For the band side of things....not just one band in particular. I don’t set out to write the songs to sound like any band (maybe they do I don’t know). Um, Confront, Brother hood, Pitfall, Halfmast, Over the line (especially the lyrics), Floor punch, OLC (music) to many to mention.....but that’s only the music. Bands from anywhere in Australia inspire me. One of the major bands that has changed my life is YOT, but bands like Unity and Insted make me feel good about myself. Bands like Ulcer, Asshole parade and Damaged are good to release the anger.
KEN: Me personally??, YOT, GB’s, Confront, Floorpunch, DRI, Unit Pride, FMD, Ten Yard Fight, Forward Defence, Ultimatum, In my eyes, Arms Reach, Adolecents the list is thousands long.
DOM: We are all inspired by certain bands who might not have much grip on us as Upperhand. I like (no particular order) Eyeball, Sportswear, Floorpunch, Ensign, obviously Chain of Strength, Youth of Today, Bold, Gorilla Biscuits etc and Ten Yard Fight and Battery. Aussie stuff like Arms Reach, Forward Defence, Xclaim!, Pitfall, Price of Silence and that all sort of stuff inspires me.

Have you got a solution for Canberra’s out of control junkie population?
DEAN: Set the DMS crew loose! Nah I don’t know, the redesigning of Civic seemed to help the problem there...but that’s not all of Canberra (although the police seem to think it is). I don’t have the answers to any political things. From what I have seen not much can be done...they don’t listen and they don’t learn, I guess you can only stop someone starting. I went to this drug forum and the police drug specialist didn’t know shit and she was a racist, separatist fool who was supposed to be in charge. "The only way to stop drugs coming into Canberra is to stop suspicious Chinese males or Bikers"…yeah good one. No wonder Canberra is having policing troubles.
KEN: Umm this is a tough one, I really don’t know I can say that the way the ACT Government are going about it now is fucking dead wrong. Everyone in the ACT (and Australia) knows we have a fucking huge problem but I haven’t seen any awareness campaigns or anything to actually say what that shit can do to a person. I think we need a lot of education stop it before it starts attitude. The junkies now…I don’t know, get the fuckers and their needles off the streets for a start. The ACT Government is spending money on complete shit when they could be giving junkies REAL help and I don’t mean free needles, that’s encouragement. That’s the attitude that "if your going to do it, do it safe" there is no fucking safe way to take smack.
DOM: Do you know anyone who can solve it? It’s a horrible cycle of bullshit that can’t seem to be stopped. Yeah there are a heap of junkies in Canberra I guess you just sort of assume you won’t have anything to do with it. A fucking horrible waste of life and space, but then you read about 12 year old fucking junkies and even 2 year old second generation fucking junkies it makes me sick. But really there’s no solution, I don’t know about the death penalty I do think minimum fucking penalty for pushing or dealing any drugs like that should be life in jail. It’s a complicated issue and I see the point I just don’t think anyone has a solution.

That is a great Brett ZeroTolerance impersonation in the intro. Intentional?
DEAN: Yes, that’s what I try to do, impersonate Brett.....So you think its good? Its pretty close, but Brett is one of a kind...sorta a vocal hero of mine.... I like bands with vocalists that stand out. I could have been joking but I can’t remember... KEN: Dean is a master of many styles

The demo is very hometown proud, with piccies of act maps and flags and stuff. What brings this about?
DEAN: if you think the demo is hometown proud...you should see my guitar! People tend to put us down about where we come from.....why not throw it back in there face? Its just a retaliation.....Canberra is boring, don’t believe the pamphlets you get.... "feel the power" my arse..feel the nothingness more like it.
DOM: A love for all things Canberran, especially Kate Carnell’s previously shaven head. We wanted her in our band but she refused to be seen with us.

Anything else you want to add to the adoring public?
DEAN: This is Australia… not New York. Send me letters and tapes. Send me 10cents and a 45c stamp and I can photo copy the cover of Canberra times with Mr Douglas Smith on it.
Support all levels of Hardcore not just the "cool" stuff. Go to shows that contain non-American bands.
Thanx Doug. Thanks to my friends and all Australian hardcore punk bands.
DOM: Come see us on the 21^st of November along with Balance, DSM, Arms Reach, AVO, Zero Tolerance, The Blurters, Mugshot and Half Mongrel, the Bigots, DJ Rudeboy mixing ska vinyl in the breaks and Grim Reality. Come see us on January 30 at civic youth centre, as we are most probably playing then. The other bands on the bill are unconfirmed except for Mugshot, DJ Rudeboy and DJ Sad Ken. But that’s gonna be huge as well and worth a look.
KEN: Thanks for this Doug, and thanks to everyone who got a Demo much appreciated, ACT kids GO TO SHOWS, hopefully we can get our shit together and play a show soon. We have an Adoring public shit ha!