This week's interview is with Reno of White Wash. Reno is lead singer of White Wash, as well as several other musical projects; the newest being Slap In the Face. I have been personally meaning to contact him and do a interview but have been sidetracked and every time we do speak I neglect to bring it up. However, Reno is a supporter of us here at Uprise Direct and rest assured we do plan to conduct a interview with him in the future...This particular interview was conducted for a Hungarian 'zine Riado. However, I only read this after I caught it on a brand new Bulgarian 'zine blog HERE.
Now we can tell your band has been existing for 10 years. What made you to form it?
Well making it to the 10 year mark is very surprising for me. When first starting the band I had no idea of how long it would it last. I had just gotten discharged from the military and found a couple of guys who were interested in starting a band. Quickly we put together a set list of originals and covers. At first we played many small gigs, but our first quality show was with the bands Squadron and Aryan. From there everything continued to get better.
Over the years the band has been fortunate to keep a full line-up. There have been consistent line-up changes. Members have quit on good and bad circumstances. Besides myself, there are no original members. Well Tapeworm, our bassist, can be considered original. He has been in the band for 9 years and has played on all our releases.
I am sad to report that our original drummer, Jim, died this year from heart failure. He played on the “Unity Through Aggression” CD. It had been 4-5 years since I had spoken to him. Regardless, I was still shocked by his passing. Jim was a good person and has always stood by his beliefs. He was extremely influential in helping start this band. I miss all the good times we had back then.
Can you tell me what were the most memorable things in the history of the band in the past 10 years?
Well there have been many memorable things that have happened. When our first CD was released, I was really excited. I had been playing in bands since 1990, but none of them ever released an official CD. Now it may not seem to exciting but back then it was a really big thing to me.
Also we have been very fortunate to play all over the states and a few times in Europe. In all our travels, we have met all kinds of interesting people. Some really great people who turned out to be great friends, and others that were psychotic. Through our travels I have a wealth of great stories! Times that I will never forget. We do not take any of it for granted.
Speaking of the band’s history, we have been writing material for a WW zine to celebrate the 10 year anniversary. If will not be so much of a straight history, but a collection of stories and commentaries of past events. Also there will be a section of lyrics about the meanings and motivations in writing them. Hopefully this will be available before the tour. If anyone is interested, write me at the email address provided below.
You've released lots of cds and split cds. Which one is next to your heart?
Yes there has been lots of material released but probably my favorite is “Unity Through Aggression”. I also really like the soon to be released “Pain is Temporary”. That record is filled with catchy songs with great lyrics. Also the soon to be released split CD with Frontalkraft is also a favorite of mine. I really like the material for that one. Another release that I am proud of is the “Unity” 10” picture disc vinyl. It is a beautiful collectible piece of vinyl. Oh the split with Avalon was also a favorite of mine. It contains some of my favorite tracks like “Patriotic Void” and “Hate Edge”. The “Awfully Raw…8 Years Later” is also a great CD. It is a huge collection of previously unreleased material.
Your new CD will be released soon and after wards you're gonna make a tour in Europe. Are you looking forward this autumn?Yes we are extremely excited about the mini tour in Europe. We will have plenty of time to travel around and see the country. I am looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. On the tour we are set to play with many good bands. Being a fan of music, it is exciting for me to have to opportunity to watch all these bands play.
As I know until now you've been twice to Europe. What is your opinion about the scene here?
Europe has a great music scene. On both of our trips there we were well taken care of. The people were all really friendly. The shows were really great.
Also being a tourist, we had the opportunity to see the land and some attractions. The previous trips were short but this time around we will have a little more time. So I am looking forward to seeing more of Europe’s countryside.
What about the situation in Texas?Unfortunately the scene in my city has gotten small. About 5 years we always had a huge crew of people hanging around. Back then we would have crazy parties at my house. The band would set up in the living room and play. The house would transform into a small “concert hall”. The whole place would be filled with drunken slam dancing. Surprisingly the house would only get minimal damage out the parties. I really miss all that. Everyone would always be ready for another concert party at my house. My neighbors hated the loud noise.
Now only a few of those people are still involved in the scene. The others either moved away or just disappeared. These days only a few of us get together. Now the only big events are going out of town for gigs.
Do you know anything about Hungary? Any Hungarian bands?
Yes I have read quite a bit about the Magyars background. Your country has a long history of heroic struggles against Communists and Muslims.
As for music, over the years I have received a fair amount of mail from Hungary. I have also traded lots of music with several Hungarians. So I have had the opportunity to get CDs from great bands that are not available in American Distributions. Some of my favorite Hungarian bands are Valhalla, Titkolt Ellenallas, Feher Torveny, Verszerzodes, Romantikus Eroszak, Junkers 88, AMF, Nimrod, Archivum, Gungnir and others.
Are you members of any NS group?
We support several groups, but we are not actual members of any organizations.
Is there any conflict between NS groups in America? Because unfortunately in Europe we do have problems.
Oh of course there is always some conflict and drama going on. I do my best to stay out of any infighting. I am not interested in fighting with other whites. I just like to go to shows and have a good time. Everyone has their own internal problems and I respect that. Just like in a regular family household, siblings fight with one another. Every grudge has a reason for it. If it does not concern me, I mind my own business.
As I realized you've been doing the same style of music during the years. Is there any change on your new CD?
Yes, over the years we have maintained an Oi/hardcore/rock sound. That is because it is the music we love. We have done side projects to play different styles but we wanted to keep the integrity of WW’s original sound.
The new CD follows the same formula as before. Some of the tracks have a hard rock feel….in the vein of AC/DC and, Motorhead. Of course there are many good sing along Oi/RAC tracks. I feel this CD has memorable choruses that will be stuck in the listener’s head. Tracks like “Only the Valiant”, “Time and Time Again” and “No Reason Why” should be favorites.
Finally send some words to the White Hungarian Youth!
Stay loyal to your culture! Your country has a rich history of Nationalism. We are extremely honored to have the opportunity to play for you! Also thanks to everyone who organized our tour. If anyone is interested, please feel free to write me at slinger14@hotmail.com
~Chris
However, with this emergence of more moderate content, a somewhat derisory tone has appeared to take hold. Bands such as Aggravated Assault fall into this category of much maligned bands, their OTT lyrics attracting criticism because they are not "high brow." Yet, as much as I am glad to see more considered input from bands like Teardown, Blue Eyed Devils and Sedition, there is no escaping the fact that bands like Aggravated Assault and other much-maligned groups represent the basic anger that spurred this whole scene from a group of angry kids in garages with three chords and a lot to say into the international scene we know today. The implication that it is somehow "low brow" is to assume that "high brow" will have an equal or superior impact. If the discussion were turned to the notion of positive and negative, rather than erudite and reactionary, the debate would be more relevant; however, this goes to a greater argument as to the nature of the scene and the divisions therein between those whose agendas vary radically from one another, a topic for another time. But there is a legitimate expressed concern that the use of inflammatory language and narrative will be used as a template for action by younger kids. We don’t need to see any more kids serving long prison sentences and being used by the media as a stick to beat us with simply based on their inability to distinguish between songs' lyrics and reality. While each individual is free to choose their path, sometimes a song is just a song and needs to be treated that way.
