1) yo Giulio the Bastard… how’re you doing??!? Can you look back through your memories and tell me how did you start a band like CB, how things begun exactly, which were the first impulses/motivations? At those times did you slightly expect that the band would have gone thru such a huge, insane career and things would have developed to the point you’ve reached today??

Ciao Curby!! …doing fine, just very busy on tons of different things. CRIPPLE BASTARDS was the result of a huge musical passion, that’s the reason why it all started. Back in 1987-88 me and Alberto the Crippler were school-kids, bored to death by the atmosphere of apathy and indifference our town has always been sunk into. We grew up listening to fast Hardcore and following the early Grind scene, our first attempt to create this kind of noise by our own was a band called GRIMCORPSES… soon later we thought it had to be ways more extreme + anti-musical, and restarting from 0, we adopted a new name, CRIPPLE BASTARDS. We had the first rehearsal in March 1988. So the main impulses were frustration of living in a lifeless conformist town under the sword of parents, teachers, institutions and on the other side our love for fast and aggressive noise. That’s it. At those times I would have never even dreamed CB to last for so long, done so many records, shows etc… there’s not so many things in my life that progressively turned into full success and happiness… CB was over all expectations. As a 13-14 year old kid, bands like NAPALM DEATH, FEAR OF GOD, EXTREME NOISE TERROR, RATOS DE PORAO, CHAOS UK were legends to be enjoyed on my record-player, I would have never thought that one day my band would have played on the same stage and met those people face to face, become friend with most of them… hard to describe what this means to me.

2) Could you describe the feeling you had holding in your hands the first CB demo, then the first EP, your first album…. And some words about your first show??

well, the first 2 Demos we did (one with Grimcorpses in 1987 and one with CB in 1989) weren’t even published with a cover becoz we didn’t feel any need to display our noise to somebody else, we were simply doing it for ourselves… for the sole pleasure of re-listening to it at home. The first official demo I could hold in my hands was released just in 1991, and I remember we were giving it away for free at shows because we were feeling like our crap had no value at all. The first EP was the split 7” with Violent Headache on Psychomania Records. I found the free copies package at home after coming back from school. It was like holding a jewel, before that we were saying “just one thing on vinyl then we can even break up, we reached a goal and that’s it”… Same story with the first album, “Your lies in check”… it’s impossible to give an idea of how much we struggled to have that record done. The drummer Michele Hoffmann was about to quit, the bass-player Eduardo was working in Torino 12 hours a day… it was so hard to meet us all and practice, me and Alberto burnt all our patience/energies to make that dream come true. So when I finally got it released on CD and vinyl, it was a majestic emotion, think of a football player whose team starts from zero and ends winning an international cup or stuff like that… The first CB show was crap – a birthday party in front of few jerks, 1989. We were shy and ugly, untalented.

3) I know that your first role in the band (when you started) was playing drums along with singing…. All your fans will have the chance to see this in the old footage that’s goin’ to be included in the upcoming DVD…. When did you start/finish playing drums and what can you say about yourself as a drummer?? And will you get back playing drums someday??

I have never been a drummer, I just “tried to play drums”. I’ve always been a zero on that… it was OK for the very early CB style, but later I always preferred to be replaced by someone doing it with style and professionality. When I look at the way our current drummer Al Mazzotti plays, I realize I’ve never been even 2% of that. If it’s fast music made for sounding untalented and rough, that could probably be my ground… but… but…. Anyway, I always loved to play drums, even being a zero. It helped a lot on composing the basic structure of some older CB tracks, and besides this – it was a great stress reliever. CB had a very short period in ‘97 in which we couldn’t find a definitive drummer, so at those times I’ve been playing drums a lot and we even recorded a couple studio trax with me beating. They’re featured on the “Almost human” collective CD. I had even bought the DV double-pedal, but then I passed it to Al Mazzotti becoz it was too much for me. Now I haven’t been playing drums for 2-3 years. My last attempt was in 2001 when I had a project (that lasted just few months) with people from local D-beat HC bands (Kontatto + Campus Sterminii). It was called SONDERKOMMANDO. We were trying to do stuff like KRIGSHOT/MOB 47 and wanted to record a 7”. But then the rest of the band moved to a town which was too far, so we quit and with that experience I stopped my untalented drummer’s career, being too busy with CB and all the rest. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll try again – but when I attend festivals with hypertechnical death metal bands or people playing drums professionally since years I simply tell myself “go home!!” – got the feeling?

4) Which are the most important things that traced the CB’s history, the turning points, which factors have inspired you most thru the years??

this is a very complex question, it would take a lot to answer in detail. Let’s say that under a musical view, line-up changes was a factor that played a fundamental role in CB’s career. Started as a 2 piece band >> the years with Michele on drums and me evolving as a singer + the early singles >> the years after “Your lies in check” and the many members entering and leaving >> all what concerns the realization of “Misantropo a senso unico” >> Alberto deciding to quit after 10 years >> the enormous strain to re-build the band trying a lot of new people >> the current line-up… Things have been constantly changing, sometimes progressing, sometimes ending on dead lines. All what we did with the current line-up is probably the first chapter in CB’s maturity, before that we were mainly a name on many records, but almost not a band in the real meaning of the word, it was simply me (and for some time Alberto) trying to keep things together. On an emotional level, CB have found their unstoppable fuel on the endless hatred that came from tons of negative experiences we crossed in our private lives. Without that spirit of rage and revenge which has always motivated our expression, things would have never gone so far. CB is a personification of HATE, it’s a mirror of existential pain and violence channeled thru extreme/fast music and a certain type of lyrics. So, back to your question, the main factor on an emotional level was the need of giving shape and outburst to the immense hate we have lived year by year – on a musical side, all what’s explained before + also the way we grew in relation to the scene, the changes of fans/audience we experienced etc, etc, etc…

5) By the way, the main reason of this interview is introducing the DVD we’re working on… what can the fans expect from this?? How do you feel about DVD’s, do you like this format?

I love DVD’s, they can be an incredible source of images, documents, quality. Just think of the many re-issues of old cult movies… completely cleaned, remastered, put together with extras. Simply wonderful. This Cripple Bastards’ anthology has mainly to be seen as an history thru images, a sort of documentary giving an idea on how the band developed and changed thru the times. We always wished to put together some kind of video-report from a tour, a period of our career or stuff like that… This DVD is goin’ to sum up all what we managed to collect in the years, so it’s the most complete shit you can expect. It’s mostly going to be VHS material converted to digital, but you’ll see… since now CB has mainly been viewed thru records, lyrics, internet stuff and live appearances… this is goin’ to be something outstanding and very interesting, let’s say a side of us which hasn’t been discovered yet.

6) it seems like the first chapter on it will be your show at Obscene Extreme 2003… Few months ago you told me that after viewing for the first time the video-shot made by our friend Xander, you were close to have tears on your eyes… please, describe this feeling in detail – does a die-hard merciless bastard like you ever cry?!? And anyway, what’s your sincere opinion about the Obscene Extreme festivals… please, give us the truth straight-in-da-face!

Crying?? I was probably cutting some onions, hehehe!! Well, no bullshit – that Xander’s shot is certainly the best video recording of CB at the Obscene Extreme out of the 4 times we played there. It captures the enthusiasm of the crowd and the huge intensity that whole gig had. The first time I watched it I was astonished… it’s an insane parade of stagediving, moshing, even a kid givin’ a flying kick to a security member!! In one word: awesome. There’s this special feeling between us, well mannered Italian mafia-grinders looking ways different than many metal/gore bands on the fest and those crazy fans… every time I go up the OEF stage I say myself “it won’t be as good as the last time, why should these kids keep on enjoying our crap” and I end saying “fuck, even better than the last time, kids are crazy”. That’s the feel. And my sincere opinion about OEF is… I’m from Italy man. Here we have no scene and the few into HC, Grind or whatever spend most of their time hating and backstabbing each other. The Obscene Extreme fest is just another planet for me… above all the atmosphere, the fact of meeting tons of friends all at once and having a great time with them, out of barriers, prejudices, envy, personal paranoias. It’s simply people enjoying the bands and having fun. My musical taste today is certainly far from most of the bands appearing there, it’s not what I’m listening to anymore… but personally, the atmosphere itself and the fact that it’s so focused on pure fucking Grindcore… well, it’s a reason for loving it to the bone! Curby knows we are very far in mentality and attitudes, I’m a master in complaints and criticizing the others… so a compliment from my side means a lot more than the mass of asslickers saying the fest is cool just for gaining his sympathy, he knows how I feel about this, I really love the fest and respect his effort in doing something like this. 100 years more of OEF!

7) Another section in the DVD will be focused on your US East Coast tour back in May 2002... what’s this goin’ to be exactly, which shows, etc…? Could you give me a final comment on this tour you made??

Ok, in May 2002 we made a tour in the US East Coast with a band called STRONG INTENTION. It was around 10 shows in towns like NYC, Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, Richmond etc etc. On the DVD part related to this you’ll see some songs from the gigs and some on-the-road inserts giving an idea of the whole thing. That tour was a big stress and it was terribly organized. Long drives, no fixed sleeping places, too many minor shows not properly promoted (narrow attendance) …let’s say it was a first experience to understand how things should be handled for touring oversea. The best gigs were NYC/CBGB, Boston, Philly, Richmond and which more.. I can’t remember. All in all we had a great time becoz even in the most depressing situations we’re always able to make fun on the people surrounding us and leave the stress on our backs. And we had terrible experiences like being stuck on the highway over 13 hours due to a huge car-crash (the show that night was cancelled), then the fights with PC morons, ABC No Rio… uh yeah, and the van we got for touring had no backseats, so we spent hundreds hours inside that box sitting on our luggage, like war refugees or stuff like that. It was very underground, after 2 years I still smile thinkin’ about it, but honestly, if we want to evolve – there’s no future for CB touring that way. Fun but never again!

8) One year later (October 2003) you went back to the States (this time the Western side) for a second tour with the Grind machines PHOBIA…. Some words about this?? A lot of bands and individuals still see America as a sort of heaven on Earth and dream to go there, make a tour, see shows.. whatever. What’s your views in general about the USA after touring there twice??

The second tour was a lot better than the East Coast one. We played 15 shows in 15 days goin’ from California to Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Tijuana/Mexico. CB + PHOBIA together are a perfect combination. PHOBIA doing the pure mindfucking Grind thing, tight + powerful + fast from beginning to end, CB having the aggressive Italian HC approach mixed to our own way to grind which is a different school. I think a lot of people had a great time at the shows, it was 2 good bands on an equal level. What to add… the stress-factor on this tour was enormous. I’ve never been so tired in my entire life. We had drives goin’ from 7 to 12-13 hours, even by night. The States are too fucking big, so the distances between the places were incredible. PHOBIA could take it a lot better than us, they’re certainly more used. But most shows were memorable, especially those in Hollywood, Newport Beach, Seattle, Austin, Forth Worth, Tijuana… I’ll never forget it. The Mexican fanatics and the Indian natives are the perfect crowd for CB and our kind of music, they love it to the bone, simply like kids in Eastern Europe.. it’s probably a matter of simplicity and good spirit. Ok, but back to your question..… after being in the States twice… mmh. It’s certainly not the land of my dreams. The way of life there is pure annihilation, what they eat, their habits, tastes… it’s something worlds away from my mentality – as a half Italian half Yugoslavian guy. The extreme scene in Europe is certainly much bigger. Bands wishing to go there on tour should be really careful on organizing things properly. With PHOBIA we had let’s say 70% good shows but on an economical view we spent a lot… Check this out: we paid 3000 dollars upfront to buy the flight tickets. Then we had to share the van rental + all road expenses. Since the drives were so long and stressful, the only way to survive was getting a motel room every time we were stopping, becoz staying in the venues or at the promoters’ houses wasn’t possible in most cases (we would’ve ended crashing on the floor or not even having a place to stay). So add the hotel accommodation to whole expense. We ended the tour (15 fukkin’ shows) with 800 dollars of gain, 50% to CB 50% to PHOBIA!! Luckily, we’re well know there and we managed to sell merchandising for over 3500 dollars. But if we wouldn’t have brought enough tshirts and records, the tour would have been a complete loss of money. The clubs don’t pay too much, and expenses in general are too high. So all this was to explain to all Euro bands wishing to play there that it’s no easy deal. Long drives, much money spent, not that much earned…. if you’re not able to sell a bunch of merch – you’re fucked.

9) 3rd DVD chapter features a selection of shows with the current line-up and interviews with today’s members: Al Mazzotti, Schintu the Wretched, Der Kommissar… more infos please.

well, this is mainly goin’ to be a selection of the best CB video-recordings with the current line-up apart the 2 american tours… shows in Czech Republic, Slovenia, Republika Srpska, Germany, Italy… you’ll see an out-take of the very first show of each current member, interview parts where they introduce themselves and talk of CB today… then what else, yeah… there’s even a report from the French TV made in 2001, when we played in Paris..

10) The ending chapter on the DVD is goin’ to be a sort of “view on the past”, aka the Cripple Bastards from 1988 to 1998 or let’s call it “Alberto the Crippler’s decade”!! I watched some parts of what’s gonna be included on this and I have to say.. in one word… it’s simply KILLER. Could you introduce a bit this part??

mmmh, or shall I rather leave this as a surprise?? It’s a tragic part. You’ll see stuff from 1988, 1989, ’90, ’91…etc. every year will have at least 2-3 songs related… There’s a report from the Croatian TV when we did the first show abroad, at a summer fest in 1992. This chapter has an immense value becoz it collects loads of rare vintage bullshits coming from tons of different VHS that were gradually getting fucked in terms of quality. You’ll see me as a 13 year old kid on drums, then CB’s early live appearances as a short song Noisecore act… well, the rest has to be kept secret – discover it by yourselves.

11) CB are extremely well-known for their controversy and tons of crazy stories of fights, people boycotting you, endless diatribes… Among the world of gossips on your back, 4 issues everybody has heard of are: the “Almost human” cover-art, the ABC NO Rio’s case, your motto “Respect or death” and your endless fighting with squats + punkasfuck individuals.. Please, give me your final quote about these topics, how’s Giulio the Bastard in 2004 feeling about it all??

another topic on which I could write for hours. The interviews featured in the DVD are facing these matters in detail.… so what to add here... In the past CB have spent years being part of the most rhetorical and political side of the HC/Punk scene… as time went by, we realized that background wasn’t belonging to us at all, or rather it was just putting limits to our uncontrollable urge of expression… most people/bands were
giving us a feel of silent inquisitors which had to judge at any cost who’s the coherent, who’s breaking the rules set by a certain order… it was like being stuck in a tunnel whose walls were built with preachy ideals and easy-minded clichés; we were feeling that real life Hardcore was miles far from there… So we just chose to turn our backs and go on our way, looking for a different follow-up + rising our heads from those dusty chains of “alternative” morals. By being ourselves till the end, we were aware of the fact that those kids who were loving us then were about to become our eternal enemies. So all the stories around are simply consequences of a free-minded choice, or the will of being something of our own, not the product of a certain scene. I recently interviewed Extreme Noise Terror on my site and the singer Dean Jones wrote “I always thought that Punk was about doing what you want not what you are told”. That’s the essence of the whole argument… and I think it can be referred to any kind of underground expression, not just Punk. The gossips and all the bullshits around are just consequences, reactions. It’s food for kids jerking off all day, but the true spirit of Hardcore, Grind or whatever isn’t that. Well, more on the DVD… anyway, this is a sentence from the interviews’ part that could sum up most of the stuff you asked about: “ALMOST HUMAN. CB have always been on the edge of the razor playing with nonsenses and double-dealing... it’s letting people guess... it’s leaving to the listener some % of decisive power on what we display, a sort of “interpret this by your own”. But many have interpreted the CD in “that” specific way... which meant CB were glorifying male supremacy and female submission. This drove to the many cliches on sexism... after all it’s a very common target... to point the finger vs a choice... well, I think that in a scene where everything should be based on freedom of expression freedom of the individual, any kind of communication/art has to be observed, but never ostracized... dunno... I think the scene has to be multi-shaped somehow. The CB’s one has been a sort of experiment, and for me a victory... becoz this CD, apart from its musical contents has been an attempt to display a certain subject under the eyes of a specific audience... and show – to all those who’re able to scan the whole thing in an objective way – how that audience we tested wasn’t open-minded/smart…”

12) I can say that CB did a really huge musical progress, passing from classic Grind/Noise minimalism to the absolute power of the last, brilliant “Desperately insensitive” LP/CD… do you agree about this?? It’s a highly original album and it’s hard to label it as Grind, HC, brutal or whatever… it’s unique in its kind or I could simply tell, it’s pure extreme music. In which direction are you goin’ to evolve your sound/style in the future?? What are the most important features to help you on progressing??

Yes, you’re right. We started as a filthy fastcore outfit, then moved to short-song Noisecore madness, then back to ultraraw HC shakering ‘80s Italian Punk with basic Grindcore, and evolving this genre on and on. With the current line-up, we have tried to reach a mature phase of our evolution by mixing elements from the many sides of extreme music that inspired us through the years, adding precision, intensity and above all tightness – a feature that wasn’t too important for us before. “Desperately insensitive” was a first step in that phase. The newer things are even more complex and apart from any stereotype one can think of. We simply want to play our own Grind, our own music… today we don’t need any new listening, any external reference to compare to what we do… we simply follow our own mood trying to improve the style we’re known for, no matter how you label it. Grindcore is not simply a frenzy ride to the extremes trying to be the fastest and the most disturbing of all… it’s also showing that after almost 20 years this genre can still find new directions, inputs, ideas. It can’t be stuck on the same old schemes forever. So as usual, our aim for the future is to change, to follow our own moods without caring that much on what people think about it, not even when some moronic German metal mag rates zero our newer effort becoz it doesn’t sound enough noise and blurr to someone who just wants it to be snare at 3000 mph, distortion and down-tuning to the max and hyper grunted vocals. Happy to disappoint them, you know?

13) What are you preparing for the second half of this year and what’s the main plans for 2005?? What are the main goals of CB today?? And do you feel strong enough to keep CB alive for the next 10/15 years??!?

This year things have slowed down a bit… sometimes I realize that I’m 30 and over 50% of my life has been spent working for the Cripple Bastards. Once in a while I also try to build some kind of future for me as an individual with a privacy, and not just as “the singer of CB”. But there’s a split 7” with EYEHATEGOD coming out soon on Southern Lord Recordings, then the DVD, then the official remastered re-issue of our first album “Your lies in check”… We are also working on new stuff, but no hecticly. Before starting a new album we should do a couple split releases (with DENAK and YACOPSAE) that have been waiting for ages, the Denak one for almost 9 years if I remember well!!!

14) Ok, this is the end my friend. Anything to say to your loyal Czech fanatics?

Enjoy the CB DVD, hopefully see ya at the next Obscene festivals + keep on being true – you’re the heart of Grindcore in the way it was meant to be, far from ideological crap and any sort of limits.

CB’s official site: www.cripple-bastards.com
GTB’s personal site/label : www.eu91serbianleague.com