| Ricardo - For The Glory | |
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A few days ago I spoke to Ricardo (the frontmen of Portuguese Hardcore band For The Glory) and we agreed to do an interview. We talked a bit about the band, previous releases, the new album, their possible visit to Serbia and the Balkans, and so on. I won’t tell you everything… read about it... Babieseater: First of all to thank you for accepting the interview. How are, what are you doing? Ricardo: Hello, thanks for the chance of speaking my mind. I’m doing great, at home chilling after watching a football match. So it’s all good.
Babieseater: For the beginning let’s introduce uninformed with your band; where are you from, who are the members, what kind of music you play, and so on. Ricardo: So For The Glory is a Hardcore band from Lisbon and Porto, but we are based in Lisbon, where we practice and most members are from. We play Hardcore with some groove parts... ya know the deal.
Babieseater: Who in the band writes the music and who writes the lyrics? I know that you're a guitar player too. Is there your share in song making, because it is almost a rule that singers do not write music? Ricardo: We all contribute with music, even myself. I’m not a guitar player. I can play some riffs but most of that I stuff I do is mainly giving some ideas, or just pin point some parts I’d like to listen in our music. We have to agree 100% if we want that riff in that part or not. But we all write stuff and we want to do it that way. Everybody makes the band, so we all have to make decisions and decide the direction we want to go.
Babieseater: Many people do not know that you played guitar in a Dutch band No Turning Back during one tour. What are your experiences like related to that tour? Is there any difference between the For The Glory and No Turning Back tours? Ricardo: I have a strong relationship with No Turning Back. I did their first show ever in Portugal and from there we kinda get along, so it was written that our paths would cross in the future. In 2004 me and some friends decided to go to Holland with my car and catch shows along the way. The No Turning Back guitar player at the time Gio, was going away on some holiday break so they asked me to fill for some shows. The shows I did with them were with Ragmen, and they were great. I was living a dream. At the time they were putting out the „Damage Done“ record, and I loved the record and the songs, so it was a dream. After that I also filled in for the German band Zero Mentality playing bass and that was also an awesome tour. There are differences. Maybe at the time there were not that many, but it’s really different when you do a bigger tour, where more kids come to shows and seems to be a whole different atmosphere. I’m super happy with the tours we did with For The Glory. They were smaller but it kinda gave us the idea that we really need to work hard to achieve what we want. We are doing it slowly, our own pace but we are doing it.
Babieseater: Speaking of the tours, you have never before visited this area, haven’t you? Is there any special reason for that or simply no one from around here invited you? Ricardo: It’s a fact, we never had the chance to go to that part, cause most of the times we have limited period to tour. We all have steady jobs and we simply can’t quit to tour, and Balkan area is so far from us that most of the time we never had enough days to go there. We also never got any invites to play shows there, but I heard its insane and I definitely wanna go there in the future. Even if it’s for a weekend, I’d love to see all those maniacs Hardcore kids.
Babieseater: You promised me that you’d visit the Southeast Europe during the 2011 and that you'd play in Serbia, as well. Has anyone told you about their impressions of Serbia, and gigs held here? Ricardo: I heard from friends that is crazy, they kids really feel it. I think it’s a bit like Portugal. We don’t have that many touring bands coming by so when there is a band in town, kids go there to support them and make them feel at home. I really want to go there… I really hope that next tour we are able to play out there. Maybe the next tour we will fly directly to Germany and start there. That will give us more time to do shows in countries where we have never been.
Ricardo: A friend of mine sent me 2 CDs, Tibia and Hitman. Hitman CD is awesome! And I also proudly wear their Ramones rip off shirt… SICK!!!!!!!!!
Babieseater: Soon you’ll release a new album. Tell us something about it. Ricardo: This is gonna be a bomb! When we do a record I really like to see it from a listener perspective. Like If I was in the audience, and the new songs we made, they make mosh and dance. Also I’ve decided to write some lyrics that go on my view of the world, they prejudice, the way it looks down on us. A man shall never look down on another man, unless it’s to help him stand up, if you know what I mean. The new record will have 10 songs, its way groovier than the other two we did. It’s the variety of everyone’s personality that makes this set of songs strong and unique.
Babieseater: I saw somewhere (Facebook, MySpace) that in the field „record label“ you have several labels (Raging Planet, Dead Serious, Carthage Records, Hard Knox Records, I Owe You Nothing Records). Do you really have signed contracts with all of them? Ricardo: Haha we don’t really have a contract ya know, we kinda have a word agreement. I Owe You Nothing is my own label. I have released the For The Glory „Drown In Blood“ in cooperation with Raging Planet. They are still running things for us in Portugal. Raging Planet is a strong label in Portugal they can reach tons of kids. They sell CDs at stores and it’s cool for a good distro in our country. Then Carthago records did the first 7”, as well as Hardknox made a 7” for us called „Darker Days“. With Dead Serious we kinda licensed the „Survival Of The Fittest“ record for European soil.
Babieseater: Do you remember your first gig? What was it like? Ricardo: I will always remember the first time we played with this band. The lineup was totally different, but I recall pretty well. It was August 2003. We had this show lined up with Confronto from Brazil, but they cancelled so it was cool. There were around 300 kids there, venue was cool, in the middle of the city, and also there was a Portuguese band that I admire a lot playing called Omited GR. They broke up a couple of years ago. I remember that when the curtain opened there was this wall of death and we bust our intro and it was cool. For the first show we had a really good reaction, I was having a blast. Then at the end of the show there was a huge fight and the venue was shut down for some years.
Babieseater: Do you think you will ever again share the stage with the Devil In Me? Ricardo: Yeah off course, we have nothing against Devil In Me. They are a good band, doing their thing. Their singer was the first guitar player in For The Glory. Devil In Me came originally from a band called Lockdown which had our other guitar player Sergio playing bass. We could play more together but for some reason that doesn’t happen that often. From what I heard there was a show booked in March where we would jam together. We share the stage with every band that is down with the core like we are with strong ideas and outspoken about issues that are truly important on today’s society. As a band we hold no hard feelings, or anything. Like I said not everybody needs to get along, and the same happens with bands. Some people get along, others don’t… Also, people like to talk a lot. It’s a fact that I never see some of the so called Hardcore kids on our shows, I don’t care. To each his own.
Babieseater: Are Hardcore concerts in Portugal well attended? Is there any difference whether local or foreign bands play? Ricardo: Well it all depends on which bands are playing but most kids here support bands. Off course that a bigger band like Sick Of It All will get way more kids than a smaller local band, but the thing is we can get loads of people on a local show, and they pay respect to the local bands, they get their records, attend to their shows and get their merch. I’m proud of the support that kids give to the bands. Sometimes they see the same band too many times, so they kinda get more picky about the line ups and all that.
Babieseater: What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you during a show? Ricardo: We had a show once in the north of Portugal and during our set I was going nuts and the microphone cable was going crazy on air, and all of the sudden I think I just made our guitar player fall in the middle of the stage. That one was funny. Also there was a show where we played in Cascais and we were busting a No Warning cover, and during a stage dive a guy was knocked out, it look pretty serious, he just passed out. It was kinda scary to see him laying on the floor eyes closed. Also on the same show a girl broke her front teeth. Haha. Sometimes things get out of control, but its all part of the show. Once in a show in Viana do Castelo a kid was diving and then we was thrown back on stage, feet to my face… bammm! I was knocked out. Ahhhh and last but not the least, this year in Viveiro fest (Spain) during our set, our friends from Porto had this hooligan colored smoke firework and a Portuguese flag with for the glory written on it. When we started to play they were waving the smoke in the air, it looked like a football supporter scene. Hahaha.
Ricardo: We made that video for a friend. It was his final work for a school paper. It turned out to be pretty ok. The first idea was to do playback. It was like 40 degrees inside the arena and we had some people there, but we said Fuck no, we want to play live, so we played a show inside the arena. We were doing 1song, then „Survival Of The Fittest“, then another song, and then „Survival Of The Fittest“. It was cool. At first kids were not really comfortable with the fact we were playing inside an arena, then with a few jokes and more chilled out conversation they were so into it as you can see it. The wrestling thing is huge, side to side using the ropes… Hahah. Hilarious! Also on that video you can spot a lady there with a little child. Her boobs are going up down with the rhythm, INSANE! He captured the essence of that lyric, in this day and age things move so fast and there is always someone trying to take your pride away from you by offering you the universe. It’s a stupid competition just because some have the money. They cannot control what they can’t understand, it was never about the money, it’s always about ideas, about your roots, and that they can’t buy or steal it. We hold our ground.
Babieseater: Tell me, what is your opinion on decreasing sales of CDs, the increasing occurrence of Internet plagiarism, and the reawakening of vinyl? Ricardo: like I said, I run a small label, I put out some stuff I like, and the vinyl thing was a huge mistake. I released the split 7” between For The Glory, Black Friday ‘29, Last Mile and City to City, and the fact is that it did not sold that much and I guess it’s because kids rather jump on mediafire and search for the music. There are so many records coming out at the same time, that kids just download, it does not take much space in our bedroom and you can fill your iPod with. I don’t care if you download the record, but the lyrics and the art, that you can’t fit in your iPod, you cannot hold the piece in your hand and understand the effort that a band had to get it out. I also download records. The ones I love I simply buy them whenever I can.
Babieseater: Your 5 favorite bands and 5 favorite albums. Ricardo: Dude, that is kinda hard for me to name just 5. I’ll name 5 that come to mind and 5 Hardcore records that I often listen, ok?? Basically bands and records are the same. Madball – Hold It Down
No Warning – Ill Blood / Suffer Survive
Terror – Lowest Of The Low
Gorilla Biscuits – Start Today
No Turning Back – Damage Done
Babieseater: Which CD is the last you bought? Ricardo: I bought a split 7” between Never Fail and PHT, Portuguese Hardcore. Also I bought a demo tape from a Spanish band. Got the new Madball, the new Terror… I’m getting records when I have the money for it.
Babieseater: What are you currently listening to most? Ricardo: Right now I’ve been listening to No Warning – Suffer Survive, Backtrack 7”, Cruel Hand – Lock & Key. Non Hardcore: Elliot – False Cathedrals, Frank Sinatra - A Best Of, and Cash - The American Volume CDs.
Babieseater: Thank you for your time, and once again thanks for the interview. Honestly, I cannot wait to welcome you in Belgrade. For the end, do you have a message to your fans here in Serbia? Ricardo: Hang tight, cause 2011 we will play there and that it will be a dream, cause I always want to know that part of the world, it must insane! Get our new record when it comes out, and always believe that this is way more than music, all the lyrics, and all the words. We can show we do not agree with what money makers and the modern age masters are doing to our planet and the effect on people’s life! Make sure to get the new No Turning Back „Take Control“ record and check my brothers Death Will Come, Solid, Grankapo, Overcome… THEY KILL IT! HARDCORE LIVES!!!
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