SLIPS Y SPERMA
Interview from Penetración fanzine N° 4, February 1984Translation by Fernando Herrera
Clica aquí para la versión en español
(When this interview was made, about the end of 1983, the line-up of the band that soon was to become MG-15 was: Diego (bs), Miguel (dr), Iván (gt & vc) and Roger (supporting live gt).)
Q. Tell us a little about the band's origins and evolution, where the name come from, etc.
SyS. The band formed at the beginnings of 1980, with 1977's legacy. The name came from the union of two ghost bands, The Slips and Sperma, that's where it came from, and it's the only tie that binds us to the past. The line-up now, which has lasted for one year, is the only thing that we care about - we don't feel fulfilled with the past, we're not interested in its past line-ups. We live for now and the future, not for the past.
Q. Your previous stage is the one people have in mind when they hear about you. Could you explain your nowadays situation?
SyS. In the previous phase, we were typical '77 punks and then we were Oi! - one day we stopped and started wondering what we were doing, and what did we want to do, and we understood lots of things, and that the previous thing didn't contribute to anything neither fulfilled us. This meant the band break up, and a new Slips y Sperma.
Q. Do you still include in your repertoire old songs like "Cuero y Cadenas" (Leather and chains), or was the break-up total?
SyS. The break-up of the previous line-up was due mainly to motives like remoteness of ideologies between us. The break-up was total - "Cuero y cadenas" was deleted one-odd year ago, as well as some of our thoughts. Look, we even wanted to change our name, but we concluded we liked it, and, on the other hand, the name is only a war to introduce yourself. What you say or do then, that's what is important.
Q. How would you define your current music? What kind of influences have you had up until now?
SyS. Musically speaking, can be said it's hardcore. About lyrics, it's some real punk, anti-opression and libertarian above all.
Our previous influences helped us in those years. But I've already said that the past is past, and that's all. Our present influences, or rather our favourite bands, are Disorder, Dead Kennedys, Fartz, Millions of Dead Cops, Wretched, Discharge and tens more, but hardcore in general above all. On the other hand, we don't like that people say we're emulating Discharge. We don't really do it. In fact, we play pretty fast, we use distorted bass and the voice sounds thrashed and sore, it can make remind of Discharge, but hardcore is out there, and it's not exclusive to them (Discharge). In fact, go and listen to Wretched or Terveet Kädet, and then talk about influences or imitations. The hardcore we play is ours, it's no imitation, it's the musical expression of what we feel inside us.
Q. The scene in Spain seems to be very poor: what do you think about it, both about the public and bands and fanzines?
SyS. The truth is, it's incredible that in a country like ours, with so many problems about freedoms and all that, as so many countries have, there are very few punks who really have a positively minded opinion about the situation. The majority of them is a mass without a brain, their attitude is miming what the English bands do, above all, without stopping and thinking why do they do that, or if they would like other people doing to them what they are doing to others with no reason.
The labour done by fanzines as Unica Alternativa, Destruye, Brigada Criminal or Penetración is very important for us, because they're joining bands and ideas, and they clarify these ideas for a lot of people who read them, making them think and use their reason.
Q. How hard is making gigs in your area? In which places have you played out of it?
SyS. The gigs thing, not only in our area, but in all Spain, is really fucked up. Round here, the problem is bigger, for there are no people who understand what you're doing or who support you. When we have managed to play, it happened in discos, college parties or anti-NATO festivals; in the last one, we played beside non-punk bands.
Q. Do you consider yourselves as a committed, combative band...? What motivates you for the lyrics? Why?
SyS. We're committed to ourselves for doing something really positive; we are four guys who are united, who fight for their ideas, some ideals which are supported by very few bands in Spain. We're totally committed musically and verbally with whoever wants to hear our message. Our lyrics are like that because we long for a free life, and, if some people wants to stay silent, we won't. We can't live still when we are seeing how they are going to nuke us, or how the ultras [fascists] are beating you up in the name of Jesus, or the coppers beating up peace and anti-militarism demonstrators. Down with moral and physical repression.
Q. What's your opinion on the last things that are happening in the world (nuclear deterrence, euromissiles...), what's your stand in front of all these problems?
SyS. The problems (war, violence, hunger, submission, and so on) that are whipping up the world are caused by some stupid people who are only thinking of themselves, without interesting about the planet's future, in the case
We support the struggle against the euro-missiles in Europe, the Greens in Germany and the lot, we must avoid through all means the armamentism, the militarism that can lead us to the FINAL CHAOS [= a title of a Slips y Sperma's song].
Our message is - FIGHT, fight against that power! A power based on innocent free men's deaths.
Q. And what about things like, say, ecology, peace, anarchy, feminism...?
SyS. Our ideology is mainly based on the individual freedom, without physical or moral repressions, [a situation] where to act by yourself, without despotisms. Living in freedom, true freedom, means not to be forced in any way to do acts alien to human reason.
That's why we oppose to the army, militarism, war or submissive religions. Most of our songs deal with war cos we think, if you fight for all the other things and you forgot this one, being so imminent, if it was declared, fighting for the other things would be no use. About anarchy, we're not anarchists, tho' we identify with most of their ideals, but we differ in some points. Rather than anarchists, we define ourselves as LIBERTARIAN.
Q. What kind of projects do you have in the present day, as individuals and as a band?
SyS. Each one of us is longing for being able to live according to our own schemes about life, without attaching to any previously stated standard of existence.
As a band, we're longing to be heard and to say what we think and to express ourselves openly, without manipulations.
Q. What do you think of the attitude of people as the Vancouver Five?
SyS. About the Vancouver Five, we want to say they're fucking great guys, with a fucking lot of bottle... They implement their thoughts, in a violent form, which is necessary in some cases; they didn't think just what was going to happen to them, but they thought of what could happen to the rest of the people, with those bombs or the destruction of the ecology in that area. Our total support.
Q. Something else to add, something else you want to express?
SyS. Yes. That we have to join forces and unite, both groups, individuals and fanzines, in order to act in an organized, active and stinging form. Unite and win, they say, and we're a minority, so that being united is very important. We thank all those who trust in us and who have supported us. A big hug to all. HARDCORE RULES!!! PUNK AND FREEDOM!!
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