I first heard Skywalker at the recent Tepih na paleti festival in Slovenia and I immediately loved their unique style of melodic hardcore punk. It was a perfect opportunity to talk with the guys for this webzine. Enjoy the interview!
YOU GUYS JUST RETURNED FROM YOUR FIRST GIG IN SLOVENIA AT TEPIH NA PALETI FEST. WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS FROM THAT GIG AND FROM THAT FESTIVAL?
It was fun! It’s always a challenge to go to a place you’ve never played before. You have no idea what to expect. There were some people who knew every word of every song, and that’s amazing. It’s an extra challenge to make a connection with people who speak zero English, haha. So that was there as well. And I also think Eastern Europe needs to cut down on the booze, man. Otherwise, it was nice.
YOU PLAY AN INTERESTING COMBINATION OF MODERN METALLIC HARDCORE MIXED WITH POP PUNK MELODIC SENSITIVITY WITH A GREAT INTERPLAY IN DUAL VOCALS, COURTESY OF YOUR VOCALIST AND GUITARIST. DO EMOTIONS LIE BEHIND THE MUSIC AND SHOULD THE EMOTIONS AND HEART BE IN EVERY HARDCORE BAND? DO YOU THINK THAT HEART IS WHAT KEEPS US GOING WITHIN THIS BELOVED GENRE?
I mean, of course hardcore is all about the emotion. I suppose that’s mainly what differs it from metal. It’s not about the skill, it’s the immediacy of the emotion. And that’s cool. But we’ve always been somewhere in the middle so I don’t know. I can’t see how you’d write songs that you don’t feel so yeah, the emotion you’re trying to convey is the at the core of music as a whole. Good music, that is.
AS I SAW COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE, YOUR LIVE SHOW IS VERY ENERGETIC. WHEN I WITNESS THAT AWESOME SHOW, I FEEL KINDA HARDCORE ENERGY, HARDCORE, HOW SHALL I PUT IT, FORCE, TO KEEP IT IN STAR WARS AREA HEHE! THAT FORCE MAKES GOOSEBUMPS ON MY SKIN AND KEEPS ME GOING THROUGH SHITTY SITUATIONS FOR DAYS, GIVES ME STRENGTH. DID YOU EVER FEEL SOMETHING SIMILAR?
Yeah, you’re totally right. That’s punk. I love the energy, there’s nothing between us. There’s the immediacy again, the shared passion. It’s great. Growing up, there’s a lot of angst, disappointment and such. And all of a sudden, there’s a place where it’s not frowned upon but rather embraced. I love this.
I MUST ASK THIS, CONCERNING THE BAND NAME, ARE YOU GUYS STAR WARS FANS? I AM, I COLLECT THE BOOKS FROM EXPANDED UNIVERSE, ALL MOVIES, COMICS, TV CARTOON SERIES. I TALKED WITH YOUR BASS PLAYER AND HE LOVES HORROR AND ACTION MOVIES. WHAT ARE THE OTHER GUYS IN THE BAND INTERESTED IN?
Yeah man, that he does. Me and Damian (the drummer), we used to be like die hard SW fans. I’m not saying it’s still the same. But for instance, I adore the new films, I’m down with the whole saga. Tom is well into horror films, David likes good old scifi, like the original Alien movie and such, he also likes animated films, which is a pile of shit IMO. My number one thing is undoubtedly South Park!
YOUR SINGER MENTIONED HARDCORE FAMILY AT THE GIG IN SLOVENIA BETWEEN THE SONGS? DO YOU GUYS BELIEVE IN SUCH HARDCORE MYTHIC ALMOST HOLY GRAILS AS WORLDWIDE UNITY, SCENE SOLIDARITY AND BROTHER/SISTERHOOD? I STILL DO, THOUGH I AM ALMOST 41 YEARS OLD NOW AND AM IN THIS SCENE FOR 25 YEARS NOW.
Well, I’m gonna have to correct you on this one. I mentioned family as in we all get together at a gig to share this amazing thing called music together as a family. I mean, I think of this as a punk/metal version of a Sunday roast. When it comes to the hardcore family, I don’t know. A lot is being said and sung of it, but I fail to see as much of it as I’d like to. I’ve recently read a Tweet about how hardcore bands sing about not judging themselves for past mistakes but calling out other people precisely on those big time. Frankly, there’s a load of pretence and hypocrisy. But yeah, heavy gigs are unlike anything else. The bond is there but I’m skeptical as to whether it’s hardcore-exclusive. I’m a major fan of metalcore, and I feel it there massively.
DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR BAND AS A POLITICAL BAND? HOW IS THE SITUATION IN CZECH AND EUROPE FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW? I PERSONALLY THINK THAT IT STARTED TO STINK TOO MUCH OF 1930-S AND THE RISE OF A MAN CALLED HITLER AND HIS COHORTS.
Nope, not a political band like Propagandhi or Bad Religion. We’re socially aware, for sure, though. What we share is music in the first place. But surely that takes you a step further inevitably. You want everyone to have a good time. Not just at the gig. I intend to make you feel like you’re not alone in your struggle. I’m there with you man. And that’s a community which will prove to be a thorn in the eyes of the establishment cause it’s a big “fuck you, we don’t need you”. And there you go, I’m already political, and I just wanna write songs. I mean punk does mix with politics, and if you disagree, listen to NOFX and stand corrected. The establishments in Europe has put all of their chips on made up scares, but we know better. Big up to supporters of liberal democracies, big respect to true anarchists, and to those who generally wanna have a discussion. Disagreement is an opportunity to learn from each other. I’m more willing to speak to a well-educated and decent right winger/libertarian than a dogmatic Communist, to be fair, even though I’m as left wing as can be.
YOU ARE FROM PRAGUE, MAGIC AND WONDERFUL CITY. HOW IS THE SCENE THERE, DO YOU HELP AND COOPERATE A LOT WITH OTHER CZECH BANDS? IS THERE A LOT OF ARGUING AND BICKERING IN THE CZECH SCENE OR IS IT ALL FRIENDLY AND GREAT?
There’s LOADS, and we’re an easy target: the most loved and hated. We’re the only modern hardcore/metalcore band that has made it out of CZ. We have been arrogant and proud, that’s a fact. But we learn and grow. And we’ve always supported the scene, taking bands on gigs and tours, Damian has been a major modern alternative music producer for years. So don’t give me that self-centered bull shit, haha. We’re not a Czech band, though. We’re a band, we tour, we’re people, we represent music. Fuck borders man, seriously.
YOU RELEASED A COUPLE OF VIDEOS. DO YOU BELIEVE IN DIY ETHICS AS A BAND? DO YOU HAVE A STRONG WORK ETHIC IN THE BAND? ARE YOU A DEMOCRACY OR IS THERE A BAND MEMBER WHO IS NOMINALLY THE BOSS IN THE BAND?
I believe that each member is assigned a role, or grows into it, and then you do it. I believe a band is based on a necessity to express yourself, and that mustn’t change. That being said, you need to run it as a business, evaluate assets, risks, investments, you need to take good care of your image and center the product on a market. Work fucking hard, we work all the time, and our girlfriends hate it. We’re respectful but unapologetic. We do have a manager, though, we work with sponsors, producers etc. I prefer do it together. But man, no one’s gonna write that song for you. And if you can’t write it yourself, perhaps you wanna leave punk? Hahaha.
DID YOU PLAY WITH SOME CROATIAN BAND? DO YOU GUYS GO ON VACATION TO CROATIA LIKE SO MANY OF PEOPLE FROM CZECH REPUBLIC DO?
Not sure and nope. I’d love to learn more about Croatian punk and metal! I’ve been to a resort once, for like an hour. I couldn’t ruin my vacation by hanging out with Czechs man, haha! In any case, we generally don’t do vacations, we tour.
THAT IS IT FOR THE FIRST TIME, FOR THE END, TYPICAL ZINE QUESTION, WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BRING FOR SKYWALKER?
We’re in the middle of writing a full-length record. We’ve just announced a tour with the American band Beartooth, which is cool. We’ll be well active, trust me. There’s no stopping us. Come join the party, we have all the love for you guys.
https://www.facebook.com/skywalkerhc/
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