NO LABELS
Interview
Vince wrote us and asked us to conduct our own interview. We didn't really know what questions to ask/answer so here's a brief history, and a few statements that we'd like to make/clear-up.
Background No Labels started in February of '82. We were looking for fun and there were quite a few people in Raleigh who liked hardcore - but no bands to speak of. By August we had established a permanent line-up and we started writing our own songs. We all like music other than hardcore - i.e. blues, heavy metal (without the mentality), reggae - however it's the energy and/or truthfulness of the music that we are attracted to - not the label. At this point it is mainly "hardcore" that we play.
Band's Purpose or Intent Having fun - us and the audience - is the main purpose but we can't help but interject personal opinions and politics within our songs. As Vince told me, it is too band that there are so many bands that don't take a stance on anything either intheir music or lyrics. If you're serving something that tastes good, why not add some nutrition to it?? One important thing to remember about us and every other band is that what we say is an opinion - no more, no less - the important part of what we say is the questions or thoughts we arouse, not the answers. Those are for you to find.
On Raleigh and D.C. Because of Raleigh's small size, a relatively small scene, and narrow-minded club owners, very few national bands make it to the area. No Labels and others have relied on DC as a place to go and see shows. They have some of the best bands anywhere. This is important because the song "HarDCcore" on the North Carolina compilation NoCore has seemed to cauuse a lot fo tension between NC and DC. It is unnecessary and unfortunate. We would like to explain that we personally think that DC as a whole has a great scene with good attitudes and good people, but within any scene, especially one of its size, one is going to find problems. We cite DC in the song because we are familar with the place. Its intention is not to breed ill feelings, buut to serve as constructive cirticism from an outside view - stressing the distinction between territorialism and localism; and the stupidity of the hypocracies people commit just to be "accepted" in the "scene".
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