KUNIHYDE "CLEVELANDER" of CREEPOUT Interview

Anyone who follows this blog knows I love Japanese hardcore. CREEPOUT is a band that me and Rob found years back and wanted to bring their music to the US. This June they are returning to do 2 US shows (June 17th in Indiana and June 19th @ Summer of Hate in Cleveland). I hit up Kunihyde (aka Japanese Clevelander), Creepout's vocalist to do an interview and he was more than happy to answer my questions about the band's recent activities, tour w/ integrity, and more! I am most impressed with his responses... his English has vastly improved since we 1st met years ago. Now if only I could get a handle on Japanese like that!

HA: Tell us about Creepout's history

KUNIHYDE: ok,We're formed in 2002 with me and Tak. And keepin'on playing many shows and released some comp, splits. On 2008, We made 1st our own stuff called "S.O.S.F" in Japan, and our 1st full length will comes up in Japan and U.S.so sooon!

HA: What are the main differences between shows in Japan and shows in the USA?

KUNIHYDE: Yeah, we have so many different points...We have to pay to play or booking any show at any clubs like $1500 per 1 show...so naturally, ticket's price will be expensive, and normally $18 to $25!
It sucks!! And we have soundcheck before a show. Japan is small country, but so many people is living, esp in big city like Tokyo, so we can't do house show and any small like that. The kids dances same like american's...Mosh is worldwide sports!!

HA: You seem to like American Baseball... how did you learn about it in Japan?

KUNIHYDE:  Baseball is like national sports over here too, so in basic, we love baseball since we were born! MLB is highest place about baseball in the world...so i love it.

HA: Japanese hardcore has a long history, which Japanese punk/hardcore bands were a major influence on you?

KUNIHYDE: Gastunk, G.I.S.M, The Willard

HA: How do most Japanese people view Americans?

KUNIHYDE: Most of Japanese can't speak or write in english, so they're afraid of all foreigners! haha, it's weird but true.

HA: What was the best food you ate when you came to the US?

KUNIHYDE: Food!? Oh, I like american BBQ, Hot dogs, Pizza, Grilled chicken, Hamburgers, Steaks, oh of course Mexicans! And i like american beverages...BRISK (Lipton Iced Tea) fuckin'rules!

HA: Which American bands have influenced you the most?

KUNIHYDE: You already know it!! It's pretty difficult to choice one, but...ok, i say Cleveland Hardcore!

HA: Tell us an odd fact about Japan

KUNIHYDE: hummm, it's depends on people, so you should come here to feel it.

HA: What 1st got you into hardcore? How old were you?

KUNIHYDE: Hardcore? Originally, i loved Dead Kennedys, Misfits, Ramones etc, and Cro-mags, SOIA etc, so it's Cro-mags. I think i was 16.

HA: You recently did a split with INTEGRITY and did a tour w/ them in Japan. Tell us about that record and the tour.

KUNIHYDE: You know i love them, so it was like one of my dreams came true! Jukeboxxx record is my friend and they said ok 3 seconds aftter i offered to release! The record is great i think, and Dwid also loves that.  was released in ep and cd, both are out of stock though, i will bring some to the Summer of hate next month. The tour was awesome!!! They are good guys than i expected, Jochum brothers are stupid but good, haha anyway it was good time.

HA: What can we expect from Creepout in the future?

KUNIHYDE: Our full length "Tribe called hardcore" will be available soon!! and you can get our shirts at Shop Shogun or NGS records.

HA: What are the best current Japanese HC bands?

KUNIHYDE: So many. NUMB, SAND, ROCKCRIMAZ, DOMINATE, FIGHT IT OUT, EDGE OF SPIRIT, FACECARZ, ETERNAL B... AND MORE AND MORE!!! We think we should spread Japanese bands among overseas.

HA: Any last words?

KUNIHYDE: Thanks Steve for take this interview!!! Support Hardass record everyone! And you should get our album and listen to it again and again, and SEE YA AT SUMMER OF HATE!!!!!

Here is a video of CREEPOUT live in Japan! Make sure to pause the HARD ASS RADIO player before trying to watch it!

ASCENSION - CLEVELAND HARDCORE

In the 90's I went to the video store here in Youngstown and there was a skinny guy w/ glasses wearing a bow tie (all employees there wore them) who worked there. Form the looks of us, he figured me and my friends were into hardcore stuff. He told us about his band ASCENSION and told us they were playing soon w/ Ringworm (a reunion show I believe) and In Cold Blood. From his appearance, you'd never gather he was in such a band, but Chris Wood was a great front man who was known for his wacky stage antics. His band was a rather unique 90's Clevo band. They def had a Clevo sound/influence, but they were a little more metal then the rest and they had a sound all their own (check some of the bass work on the albums). This is a band I see discussed very little and I feel they were one of the better 90's bands out of Cleveland. For your enjoyment I have posted both of Ascension's releases below. Both were released by TOYBOX RECORDS and are way out of print. Please check out both the YEARS OF FIRE EP and the ABOMINATION LP! I especially liked ABOMINATION... that 1st song was a killer!

Click here to download ASCENSION "YEARS OF FIRE" EP free! 

Click here to download ASCENSION "ABOMINATION" LP for free!

ABOVE PIC: Chris Wood on vocals. I once saw Ascension play a show w/  Skarhead... kind of an odd lineup. Hopefully I will see this band again someday and hopefully many more people will be able to rediscover this band!

STRONG STYLE

When some friends from Tokyo visited me a few years ago they gave me many CDs, one of which was this CD from a band called STRONG STYLE which was released opn the famed JUKEBOX RECORDS. This is Melodic Japanese Oi/Hardcore at it's best. All the lyrics are in Japanese, as are all the track listings, so I have no idea what the songs are called or what they are saying, but the music is great. They play a style similar to PRESSURE POINT, DISCIPLINE, etc. This CD is 10 tracks of melodic skin-core anthems. There are guest spots on the record by members of STILL YOU ALIVE, one off my favorite and little known Japanese HC bands.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD "STRONG STYLE'S" ALBUM FOR FREE!

Wish this was in English... but what can ya do? Still some solid tunes!

THE STRUGGLE "DISCOGRAPHY"

The Struggle

THE STRUGGLE was a band from the early 2000's form Youngstown that featured STEVE ASSAULT (Crowd Deterrent), JON BUTTERY, ZACK V (Shelter, Soul Cries, Inner Revolution), BOB DIRENZO, and ANGEL SULLIVAN (Puppet Government). The band played old-fashioned angry, negative hardcore straight out of the 80's, mixing Warzone w/ Black Sabbath. Lyrically the songs were mainly negative in regards to personal struggles/short-comings, plus a few songs about horror movies. The band did a demo, an EP (for Hardcore's Sake), and had 4 songs on the NGS Rceords "Midwest hardcore" compilation. The band played a few shows out of town and mostly shows in the NEOH/Western PA region. They played a mix of punk and hardcore shows. Their style of hardcore would go over well today.

Included here are all the songs the band ever recorded. 18 tracks. The original demo has been re-engineered/re-mastered as well as some of the other songs. Download it for free via the link below:

 DOWNLOAD "THE STRUGGLE- DISCOGRAPHY" FREE - CLICK HERE!

1. Intro
2. On The Front Lines (demo)
3. Will i Ever Learn? (demo)
4. In The Past (demo)
5. The Struggle (demo)
6. What The Fuck is Going On?
7. Uglier Than Sin
8. Law of The Streets
9. 18 & Life (Skid Row)
10. Evergreen
11. They Live
12. On The Front Lines
13. Will I Ever Learn?
14. What we Have
15. Self-Destruct
16. 245 Trioxin
17. Y-Town Is Our Town
18. The Struggle

LIVING BULLDOZER

I can remember being 16 and in a sea of people. Wearing my gardening gloves w/ an X on them in clothing that was ill-fitting at best. Weighing all 145 lbs (if that) just waiting. Waiting for the band to walk on stage. Waiting for them to hit that 1st note. Waiting to explode. As soon as the band hit that 1st chord, I was off along with many of my peers. We were pushing and shoving with all of our might like human bulldozers to clear out space.

Space for what?

Space to dance!

Once there was enough room to move around freely, it was time to do our hardest and most intimidating moves (or what at the time we thought was intimidating) to make sure that wall around the dance floor did not cave-in. If it did, it was time to put your back to the living wall, spread out your arms, and push backwards with all of your strength.

This is something I rarely see at shows nowadays. A decade or so ago, if you went to a Snapcase or Sick Of it All Show, these actions were the norm. Now the dancefloor is already cleared... usually all the way to the very back wall of the venue. There is no more circle to mosh in, and no more work to clear out said area. Now it is usually just a huge open space in which no one makes any contact... unless they are hitting the person standing 50 feet across the room from them backed up against a wall. Moshing has become much more violent in general which is the main reason for this.

Things will be how they will be, though. Times have just changed and there are kids today who will never really get to experiance what I have described above. I always enjoyed that rush when the band 1st came on stage, and the battle to be able to do your dance moves. There were many shows where I recall having conversations with my peers as to whether or not we'd be able to dance, and we'd all get together in the center to clear out a space before the band got on stage. Some shows, the crowd was mostly punk/metal types, or other outsiders, esp at larger shows. At this time, there were a lot of people who were still in the dark as to what HC was and what HC dancing was. Often the push-mosh would over-take the dancefloor (the push was your enemy), or the crowd would swallow-up any space to be able to move and all your hard work was swallowed-up.

Often, fights would occur, usually with one of the outsiders or someone not very well versed in the ethics of the dancefloor with it's arms being thrown and kicks being spun or the process of keeping the floor open. As I recall, most fights at shows were with/against outsiders, and usually not between people within the scene. Sometimes some kinda beef would emerge between regulars, but not often.

To be able to dance was often an effort which took many people, some of whom you knew well, others you did not, but you always at least recognized their framiliar faces, and real always recognized real, which put you on the same team with the same goal. The mosh today is easily had. The battle for the dancefloor no longer exists... for better, or worse. But I will never forget the rush of my years as being a Human Bulldozer and the friends I made in the process. Many of whom I probably would never have met otherwise.