Interview with Across and Meat For Dogs
Double chat with Calabrian bands Across and Meat For Dogs
By way of a double interview here we are talking with two very good Calabrian bands, Across from Cosenza with their darkcore and the Catanzaro punk rockers Meat for Dogs. Why a double interview? Because the 12″ vinyl split between these two bands was recently released, supported by the Overdrive Records label!
Radio Punk: Hi guys and welcome to our ‘zine! Tell us a bit about yourselves, in what places and historical contexts were you formed? Which bands and projects have you been a part of in the past?
Across: We formed in January 2019 on a rainy, cloudy afternoon in Cosenza. We all came from city underground bands of the late 90s and early 2000s such as Duff, Lumpen, Mas Ruido and other short-lived ones. Apart from the bass player, who took over in March and was also already active in Shameless as a guitarist/vocalist, we are all well over 40 years old and have been very active in the underground scene of our city, organising concerts and criss-crossing the sub- and counter-cultural milieus of our city, from the curve to the social centres.
Meat For Dogs: Hi guys, first of all, thank you for this space you give us, it is really a pleasure for us. We were born in 1993 in Catanzaro. In those years punk rock was living a golden age with so many bands and records coming in from all over the world. However, in our city, we can say that we were pioneers of the genre. In fact, there was no real punk scene. Clearly, from the very beginning, we referred to the bands we liked and, thanks to our passion for music, we started the band. Our listening also ranged a lot in other genres, and we carried this into our sound over the years. As far as other musical experiences are concerned, at the time of our formation, only Eugenio had other parallel projects, but they had more to do with metal.
Radio Punk: Let’s talk a bit about the split…How did this collaboration between you come about? And what was it like working with a great artist like Lucio Parrillo, a comic artist from Catanzaro who has collaborated with Marvel, and DC Comics and had already worked with Meat For Dogs in the past?
Across: The idea of the split came about by mutual agreement during the concerts we did together in the last two years around Calabria, with the intention of reviving the punk scene that had died out a bit in the area in recent years. We have had a friendship with them for over 25 years, despite the heated social/football rivalry between our two cities for purely parochial reasons. Our bass player is from Catanzaro and can be considered a godson of Meat For Dogs, having grown up in the same town as the two of them. We also started the Fast Summer/Xmas Fest together, which has a summer and a Christmas edition where we both perform together with another group of friends from the Soverato area, the Ska/Rocksteady band Bruno & The Souldiers. Other Calabrian bands of various genres are also involved from time to time. Regarding the collaboration with Lucio Parrillo, I think the most pertinent answer will be given by our split partners, who have a twenty-year relationship with this extraordinary artist, as he is the author of all the covers for their albums. Lucio did an extraordinary job on this cover, you only have to look at it to realise that!
Meat For Dogs: The split came about very naturally and spontaneously. We had a long-standing friendship with almost all the members of Across, but over the last two years, thanks to a wonderful synergy, we have had the pleasure of sharing the stage many times and always with great fun and a spirit of friendship and collaboration. Hence the idea of doing something together that would ‘seal’ this beautiful musical experience. For us, the choice of Lucio to sign our covers was now a trademark! Across also immediately shared this choice with great enthusiasm. Together we decided on a mega group ‘caricature’ and obviously Parrillo’s artistry made it all look fantastic.
Radio Punk: What about the Overdrive Records label, what was it like collaborating with it? And how did you come up with the choice of this particular format with two songs per band, one unreleased and one cover of the other band?
Across: The initial proposal was to produce a split on 7″ vinyl, relying entirely on self-production and distribution through labels, distros and DIY realities scattered around Italy and Europe. For this reason, too, we had planned to record two tracks per band, and the idea of covering each other immediately appealed to everyone, something unheard of for bands as unassuming as ours, but very representative of the spirit of friendship that drove us to make the record. However, the vinyl reissue of ‘Il Grande Bluff’ (Meat For Dogs’ album, released in 2000 on CD by Vacation House) had just come out. It had been taken care of by Overdrive, a label on which two Calabrian DOCs such as Cristian and Fabio are active, and as soon as they heard the idea of the split, they offered to produce the entire release, proposing the Maxi-EP format, i.e. 12″ vinyl running at 45 RPM. Despite a collaboration full of logistical hiccups – the whole thing took place in the two years of the pandemic with the problems that vinyl record production has suffered – in the end, we made it and we are very happy with the result and the work that the label is doing, always moving independently and from the bottom up, as we would have done with a DIY production.
Meat For Dogs: Regarding Overdrive, we were coming from a vinyl reissue of ‘Il Grande Bluff’ for the 20th anniversary of its release. We have always known Overdrive and its modus operandi. For the release of the split, there was a dense and fruitful exchange of ideas especially on the format to be released, and in the end, despite some inevitable delays due to the unhappy post-pandemic period, the result was very positive. As for the choice of songs, we had always hummed ‘L’odore della pioggia’ and would have loved to play it, and as soon as the opportunity arose, why not play it on the split?! It was really inspiring and fun to play their song, which is now, of course, part of our live setlist.
Radio Punk: For those who haven’t heard the split yet, would you like to tell us about the themes addressed in your unreleased track? And while we’re at it, how and why did you choose the other band’s track to cover?
Across: ‘Didascalia’, our unreleased song, is our response to those who believe they want to teach didactic values to others, which for us represent disvalues. With this song, we decided to caption in our own way the values that we believe are right and that guide us in our daily lives. As for the cover, we chose “A Spasso nei Cieli” partly because of the rhythm and melody of the song, which suits our atmospheres and gave us room to manoeuvre to personalise it as much as possible; then also because it is a decidedly enigmatic piece, in the clouds, a bit like our songs.
Meat For Dogs: Our unreleased track, ‘Brucia’, is clearly inspired by the sad story of George Floyd’s death. This episode affected us greatly. We condemn any form of abuse of power and in particular, it is not tolerable that a man can lose his life like that. With regard to the cover, as we said before, the choice immediately fell on a song by Across that we liked very much and the result once reinterpreted in our own way, convinced us that it was the right choice. It’s a song that carries a really deep and personal meaning, so from a certain point of view, we were honoured to be able to play it in our own way.
Radio Punk: Although we have several friends from Calabria, I have never been down there, would you like to describe what the scene is like in your respective parts? What spaces, collectives, bands, labels, and situations are there and what is it like to be a punk band in Southern Italy?
Across: well on this question maybe more space would be needed, but let’s try to make some considerations starting from the end. Being a hardcore punk band in southern Italy, for obvious reasons, can be more difficult than in the big centres of the country. First of all, for logistical reasons, because of the great distances to travel and the possibility of getting around, but also because of the lack of spaces to play in and new situations to meet and get to know. It is enough to think of the fact that to play in the cities of northern Italy there are hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometres to cover, which precludes the possibility of doing it very often and obliges you to always build at least a mini-tour of a few dates to make ends meet, which is quite different from the possibility of playing every weekend or even playing abroad. As for the scene in our city, in recent years it has been experiencing a more active season thanks to the efforts of realities such as M.A.D. Productions, DUFF Records and Oblio, which are trying to collaborate to feed the live activity in the city, relying on the two social spaces in the urban area, the SPA Arrow Occupato in Rende and Auditorium Popolare in Cosenza. In terms of bands, Cosenza has also been very lively lately: in addition to us Across, bands like Shameless, Kjummo, Lumpen, Artico and Rea, encapsulate all the nuances of Hardcore Punk sounds and have their say through records, concerts and tours around Italy (and beyond).
Meat For Dogs: Over the years, there have been several musical realities here, mainly linked to true music lovers who still work hard to organise events or release records and create synergies between bands. Unfortunately, we have always had to reckon with realities that are not always predisposed to welcome certain types of music, but this has not prevented us from finding our own spaces and creating others. Here, it is very important to be actively involved in the scene and to be able to pursue musical discourses and realities. There are few venues with a constant programme of live music. Many situations have to be ‘invented’, in short, a DIY style is essential. Being a band in southern Italy certainly entails more effort and sacrifice than bands in the rest of Italy. Even logistically, everything is a bit more complicated for us. Apart from everything, the live shows are participative and very involving, so we love playing our parts when we can organise something.
Radio Punk: At stadium level there is, to put it mildly, a rivalry between Catanzaro and Cosenza, how do you live it? Do you go to the stadium, is it a heartfelt parochialism or do you not give a damn about such things ahahah?
Across: there is a historical rivalry, and not just a football rivalry, between the two cities, a rivalry that unfortunately is still passed down from father to son! Two of us, in particular, grew up in the Cosenza Curve, but now at more than 40 years old these dynamics no longer interest us – or at any rate, we certainly don’t live and feel them in the same way as in the past – they just represent indelible memories that we always claim.
Meat For Dogs: Ahh what a question! We are huge fans of our city’s team! But with the Across despite there being so much footballing animosity between Catanzaro and Cosenza, it all translates into healthy banter with a few good laughs as it should be.
Radio Punk: A question you’d like to ask the other band!
Across: in almost thirty years of activity your line-up has always remained the same, with the exception of the drummer, the cross and the delight of every self-respecting punk rock band. For what reason? Can you give a summary of the drummers who have been fundamental to your journey?
Meat For Dogs: How do you put up with Luca Garro (laughter)? Joking aside, when will the next record be released? We’re looking forward to it!
Radio Punk: Below are the answers!
Across: We’ve been working on the tracks for the new album since the release of the first ‘DarkCore’ EP, and some of them have already been in our playlists for some time, also as a ‘test bench’ to gauge the response of our listeners. At the moment, between live shows and mini-tours, we are always writing new songs and we hope by the end of this year, or the beginning of 2023 at the latest, to get into the studio and record them and finally put them in a record, so you could say that we are definitely well on our way. As for Luca Garro, well, we’re more than happy to do it and we love him, after all, he is also and above all the musical mind behind the Across songs.
Meat For Dogs: Yes it’s true, drummers have always been our Achilles heel, unfortunately. The reasons are the most varied (from personal reasons to logistical problems etc.) and it would take too long to recount the various vicissitudes that have led to these changes, but what we can say is that every drummer who has played with us has marked a phase, both musically and humanly. Being part of a band really means sharing everything, so the human and emotional aspect is and has been fundamental over these years and with every drummer we have had. Each of them has contributed to the birth of a record or to the creation of tours and to the musical growth of the band, and for this reason, we don’t feel like mentioning one or two names, in particular, rather it would be a pleasure for us to mention them all… BUT THERE ARE TOO MANY ahahah!
Radio Punk: Regarding politics (meaning struggles on the anti-fascism, anti-racism, anti-sexism front) and DIY, how much do they matter to you as a band and as people in your daily lives?
Across: We don’t consider ourselves a militant band in the strict sense of the term, although we don’t disdain the possibility of conveying and sending clear messages to our listeners in which we take a clear stance. We believe that, in any case, playing punk rock and hardcore cannot be separated from proximity to certain themes, values and ways of understanding life, and it is no coincidence that in our city this type of underground music environment has always been closely linked to social spaces, collectives and housing occupations. So, although these themes do not represent the manifesto of Across as a band, it is undeniable that they are focal points in the daily lives of all five members.
Meat For Dogs: first hardcore and later punk rock in Italy was born in social centres and squatted houses, and it goes without saying that with antifascism and anti-racism there is an indissoluble link. Our last song is about the murder of George Floyd, a small contribution against racism and all discrimination. We were born with DIY, the best years were those of self-production starting from the first demos up to the first MCD, and at the time our distro contained hundreds of titles between tapes, records and fanzines, then slowly with the advent of music on the net everything disappeared, or rather it has definitely faded, but we are happy because there are still a few brave people who continue on this path.
Radio Punk: You are two bands that already have some live experience outside your territories. What would you ‘import’ into your cities from what you have seen outside, things that you think work great and that have impressed you a lot, and what would you ‘export’, or rather what do you think is missing that only exists in your part of the world?
Across: there’s little to be done, from Rome upwards people seem to be much more interested in the underground, certainly also for economic, geopolitical and, why not, also demographic and generational change reasons. Basically, ordinary people in northern Italy have seen skins, punks and metalheads circulating since the early 80s, they are used to it, being geographically closer to Anglo-Saxon Europe. Over here, people for cultural reasons and more tied to family and solving everyday problems, there are always too few people who approach this world. In the last few years, however, we have seen the underground scene in the southern regions grow and nurture, from Puglia to Campania via Sicily, with cities that offer a wide range of underground evenings seasoned with the way of doing, the spirit and the passion of us southerners, and it is often much more fun here than in the more emblazoned centres of northern Italy. Even in our small towns if you catch the right night it turns into a night to remember. It is precisely this madness and enthusiasm that we would export to the north, where everything runs smoothly but is often a little too monotonous.
Meat For Dogs: When you go live outside, you always take something with you. For example, we were lucky enough to tour the US. Experiences like that make you realise how much professionalism there is in organising a concert. Even in small clubs, you find situations where bands feel really comfortable. Places where bands are considered from the artistic point of view of the term and treated as such. Sometimes this aspect is a bit neglected here.
Radio Punk: We’re saying goodbye, thank you very much and closing on a high note. One thing you’ve always appreciated about the other band and something on a musical level that brings everyone together! Thanks again!
Across: there would be several, but we will essentially point to three. The first is their unmistakable sound, which has always departed from traditional punk rock, both Italian and overseas, embracing pop, emo and singer-songwriter veins, with here and there atmospheres of early Californian melodic hardcore, a unique sound that you recognise from a distance, like a trademark. The second is their extraordinary cohesion: if you walk around with them you realise how close-knit they are, and on stage, it shows, they instil peace and carefreeness even in those around them. Lastly, their professionalism on stage: never a smudge, like a freeman from another era.
Meat For Dogs: their music! And again, the right attitude and the desire to play and have fun, which has been fundamental for us over all these years. On a musical level, we could say the various listenings starting from hardcore and so on; often on the chat we have in common we send each other tunes to listen to and suggestions on bands or whatever. And they’re great guys. In short, we love them!
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