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Positive
Creed Issue #27 DIY Punk Fanzine - Interview Printed
- October 2015
If you're
a Positive Creed regular then you might remember reading
our review of System of Hate's first two EP's some time
ago. This five piece play great punk music and will
hopefully have an album out soon so give them your time.
They will also be playing Rebellion in August are are
on my definite list of bands to see. Thanks to guitarist
Pat Crawford for taking part in this interview.
Sorry that
it's taken so long to interview you Pat. I'd planned
on featuring System Of Hate a while ago but it never
happened so i'm glad to have the opportunity to speak
with you at last. How's it going and what's happening
with the band at the moment?
Hi Rob,
all positive mate, we have just gigged with the UK Subs,
which it doesn't get any better when you play in a punk
band, we have a hometown gig with Dirtbox Disco which
we are promoting next week (15th May) and we have just
booked the studio to start recording our debut album,
next month (June).
What's
the idea behind re releasing your second EP 'Insanity'
and giving it an industrial remix?
I was
in a Punk band a few years ago and one of the lads was
studying recording / music techniques, etc and he took
one of the tracks that band recorded and took it somewhere
totally different, the idea always stuck with me. No
one else seemed to be doing anything like that currently,
so I suggested it and all the lads were up for it. Lyndon
Scarfe an ex-member of the Barnsley 80's Goth band;
Danse Society, is a friend and after a little persuasion,
he agreed to do the remixes which are absolutely brilliant.
The first
thing that caught my attention when I heard System Of
Hate is the use of keyboards which kind of took me by
surprise a bit as it's not the usual thing that punk
bands tend to have but i really like the sound that
it creates. Did you set out to try and create something
outside of the standard punk formula when the band initially
started?
We believed
if we starting a new band we couldn't just come out
with 1-2-3-4 Punk or Punk by Numbers, however you want
to put it and don't get me wrong there's a place for
it. But we knew we'd be scrutinised for our previous
work in Total Confusion and we needed to set out on
a new path, come up with something more inventive. Paddy
O'Neill the bass player pushed for the dark vibe, and
we all went with it. We talked about a second guitar
player but that would just take us where we'd been before,
so the keyboards was an ideal choice.
You've
played alongside some of the big punk names such as
the UK Subs and the Angelic Upstarts. How healthy is
the UK punk scene these days?
The Punk
Scene is very healthy, we went to see the UK Subs in
Wakefield a few weeks back as guests at Wakefield, it
was a Sunday and the place was absolutely rammed, on
a Sunday as well. The Angelic Upstarts, who have also
become friends of ours, play less frequently so they
always pull a decent crowd. There's a few places who
run a monthly night now on our doorstep and they are
pulling well. The people into Punk have stayed loyal
and always will, I don't think they're looking or will
find anything different to cater for their needs. I
think the recent Election results aren't going to harm
Punk in anyway.
The band
has put out a couple of EP's so far. Will there be an
album released this year at all?
Like I
said earlier we are booked in the Studio next month
(June), it will be a slow process as we have to work
round shift patterns / holidays, etc, like most bands.
Carl our drummer had a shoulder operation recently so
that set us back a while, we had to wait til he was
fighting fit, which he is now. We want to get it perfect,
so there is no rush.
I'll be
checking you out at Rebellion this year for sure. What
can we expect from your performance? What are your thoughts
on the festival?
This is
our 3rd Year playing and we are so happy to be on the
bill again. It's the best Festival in the World for
me, it caters for every genre of Punk and you've got
four days of drinking and catching up with friends,
what else do you want or need? I have been as a punter
as well, so seen both sides and it's run so well, it's
a credit to the Organisers. From System Of Hate you
will get the full on dark Punk experience, same as last
year really but the set list will consist of completely
new stuff from the 2014's performance, most of the stuff
will go on the album, we hope anyway, we play Thursday
this year, so we'll be a lot fresher, we played Sunday
last year, ha ha. You also get a Punk band with a keyboard
not a common site at Rebellion.
Due
to the likes of Facebook and Twitter, it's now relatively
easy to promote your music but it also means that millions
of others are doing the same so i'm curious to find
out how difficult it is to get noticed and interest
from people?
I think
if you left it totally to Facebook and Twitter, you
aren't going to get anywhere, you've got to get out
live, people in Punk still like a CD in their hand and
they really appreciate that you've come to play where
they live. With Facebook and I'm no expert, doesn't
only a fraction of your followers see the posts? So
it's not working as it should, we still use it and find
it very useful but it's not the be all and end all.
System
Of Hate started out as a side project but ended up becoming
the main focus. Do you guys still involve yourselves
with other projects?
No side
projects now, we had two members of the old band who
made their living from playing music professionally,
so the Punk band was their side project. As time went
by some of us really enjoyed writing music, rehearsing
and gigging. It was no longer possible to get together
regularly, so out of frustration the side project came
about and that's how System Of Hate was eventually conceived.
The lyrics
seem an important part of what the band is all about
but the subject matter is not instantly obvious to me
which i think is a positive thing as it requires more
attention to the words. Is the writing process aimed
towards a political theme?
We are
extremely lucky the main body of the lyrics come from
Eric Sutcliffe, the brother of our singer, Dave. He
was an original member of the other band but was never
comfortable playing live, I replaced him in actual fact.
He still sends the lyrics to us, he writes in a Biblical
style, the end of the World is a common theme, so is
there a political theme, Absolutely! We all dabble a
bit lyrically but no one comes close to Eric, he's the
man. Being from Barnsley how can politics not enter
into our songs, it's in our blood, as well as our hearts.
I am not
a big fan of tribute bands, especially within the world
of punk and it still puzzles me why people dedicate
so much of their time to them when there are bands such
as yourselves that write original music and deserve
attention. What are your views on the subject?
There's
nothing Punk about tribute bands, I can't knock the
members of the bands, because at the end of the day,
they are playing music for a living and doing exactly
what we want to do full time but I can't get my head
round the pretending to be someone else, etc. Punk is
about being yourself, I just don't get it.
What does
the future hold for the band? Do you have any specific
plans in mind?
The album
is our main priority, gigging as much as we can and
trying to get a little further afield to play, but all
in all, keeping on this road and enjoying our selves.
It's been
a pleasure talking with you Pat. Thanks for chatting
with us. Anytime mate, I'll send you the album as soon
as it's done, take care.
www.PUNKGLOBE.com
(Lisa from Whatever 68 Radio) INTERVIEW (January 2015)
Get to know UK's System of Hate with Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone
- Web
Link
PUNK GLOBE:
Give us a brief history on System of Hate and how you
got involved with them! (include band members names
and position)
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
The System Of Hate was put together at the back end
of 2011. Suty, Paddy and Pat were members of Barnsley
based punk band Total Confusion, the band was struggling
to further themselves due to work commitments. Initially
Paddy set up a side project just to record songs in
a similar style with some members of the band, to kill
the downtime but again this lost momentum. From there
Paddy, Suty and Pat started writing together and came
up with 5 or so songs, these were rehearsed in a studio,
a drummer was required, Carl was the first to come in
and he's been in ever since, and System were born. Band
member - Suty - vocals, Paddy - bass, Pat - guitar,
Carl - drums & Martin - keyboards (he joined late
2013 from the band Danse Society) I joined officially
about a year ago ... I had worked on the Official Damned
web site as an administrator to their forum board and
in the think tank for P.R company Propaganda who did
the P.R work for the Grave Disorder album /tour. I also
did album artwork and t shirt design and posters and
P.R work for a Barnsley punk band the X Rippers. As
I knew Pat from the X Rippers and Total Confusion era
and had worked with him on a few charity gigs id done,
after id attended a few gigs it wasn't long before I
started doing artwork graphics and P.R work for them...
Now known as the 6th member ... The GURU
PUNK GLOBE: What other
projects do you have?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
Nothing at the moment as the System of Hate takes most
of my time ... but that's not to say I won't be in the
future
PUNK GLOBE: What do
enjoy most about being involved in the music scene?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
Everything the great people and the enthusiasm people
have for punk after all these years
PUNK GLOBE: Do you have
a favorite local venue ?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
Polish Club Rock and Blues venue in Barnsley UK great
little venue and Rebellion in Blackpool played last
2 years and we are playing again in 2015
PUNK GLOBE: What bands
have System Of Hate played shows with? any faves?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
Wow this is really hard ... Dirt Box Disco , UK Subs
, Angelic Upstarts, Discharge, Spunk Volcano, Gold blade,
Sham 69, Peter & The Test Tube Babies.
PUNK GLOBE: Other then
System Of Hate what other bands do you enjoy listening
to?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
All sorts ... from punk to psychedelic .... Doors, The
Damned, Killing Joke, Wooden Ships, Joy Division, UK
Subs, Rudimenti Peni, Dirt box Disco, Lords of Altamont,
Stooges....just to name a few
PUNK GLOBE: What is
your thought of a perfect music scene?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
Ha ha ... will there ever be one ? Where we all got
paid accordingly and not shafted as they try to do
PUNK GLOBE: Other then
Band stuff what else do you do for fun?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
Drink ... And basically have a great time when were
out gigging...
PUNK GLOBE: Does System
Of Hate have any tours/shows coming up?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
See www.systemofhate.com We are playing Rebellion 2015
in Blackpool again in august the biggest punk festival
in the UK www.rebellionfestivals.com And our album of
all new recorded material will be launched at Rebellion
2015
PUNK GLOBE: What's your
outlook on the record industry today?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
Well its all contrived mass produced bile ... keep it
d .i. y that's the way forward.
"Well its all
contrived mass produced bile ... keep it d .i. y that's
the way forward."
PUNK GLOBE: Is System
Of Hate signed with any labels?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
No as yet but S.O.H. are open to sensible offers
PUNK GLOBE: What System
Of Hate song do you like the best?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
All of them ... but the new songs are getting better
and better as they are written .... So wait for the
album in august 2015
PUNK GLOBE: Who writes
the songs?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
In general Paddy or Pat bring in individual ideas to
rehearsal and as a band it's made into a song. Also
Paddy & Pat may have worked on something together
and that is worked out in rehearsal too, You never know
how it's going to work til the drums and vocals go on
but in general in seems to work.
PUNK GLOBE: How often
is practice? is it planned or random?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
Usually once a fortnight but can be once a week depending
on how work patterns fall.
PUNK GLOBE: Where can
the readers find you and System Of Hate?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
www.systemofhate.com, www.facebook.com/systemofhate
& www.twitter.com/systemofhateuk
PUNK GLOBE: Anything
you would like to add? Any shout outs?
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
Just to all the people who have and are supporting us
and the venues we had had the privilege to play And
all of the lads in the System, they're a pleasure to
work and be involved with.
PUNK GLOBE: Thanks Brian
for the interview and always being so good to me WE68
and PP Promo Records
Brian 'Iggy' Featherstone:
You're welcome keep up the great work
www.PUNX.co.uk
(Polish Mike) INTERVIEW (22nd January 2014) - System
Of Hate - Web
Could you
give a brief history of System of Hate and a discography?
System
was set up as a side project to Total Confusion, the
main reason being 2 members made their living playing
music on a weekend, so gigs & rehearsals were getting
harder to commit to. Out of sheer boredom System of
Hate became the main priority and songs came thick and
fast. Once Carl joined on Drums the project became a
band and 7 songs were recorded in March of 2012, with
the first gig taking place in January of the following
year. We have recorded one 4 track E.P. “The Immortal
E.P.” The “Insanity E.P.” will be
out very soon, another 4 tracker. We start our debut
Album, this year."
How would
you describe your sound?
Dark Punk.
Who makes
up the band and what do they do?
Suty –
Vocals, Paddy – Bass, Pat – Guitar, Carl
– Drums & Martin – Keyboards.
What other
bands have you all played in before and do any of you
play in other bands?
Total Confusion
(Suty, Paddy & Pat), The X Rippers (Pat) & Carl
has played all over Europe in cover bands. Martin is
also a member of The Danse Society.
What’s
in the pipeline for System of Hate?
We are
set to release our second E.P. “Insanity E.P”
imminently, just waiting on the final mix and possibly
looking at someone putting it out. We will be making
a start on a full length album in the next few months.
We continue to look for good gigs, with great bands
and run our own nights in Barnsley, under the banner
of Barnsley Punk Promotions.
What gigs
have you got coming up?
We have
a gig at the World famous “100 Club” in
London in April and a return visit to the largest Punk
Festival in the World, REBELLION at Winter Gardens,
Blackpool, in August, so we are extremely happy. We
also have supports with 999, The Lurkers, Discharge,
Angelic Upstarts and Crashed-Out, we hope to pick a
few more up before the year is out. We also have stuff
in Barnsley to organise.
What’s
been the best and worst moment of System of Hate’s
existence?
We didn’t
start gigging until 2013, so It’s all been brilliant
, what we’ve achieved in one year of gigging is
absolutely amazing, the gigs we’ve picked up,
the friends we’ve met, Rebellion was a big one,
playing with the Angelic Upstarts twice and the Subs
of course. No worst moments, we don’t look at
the negative, we do what we can and get on with it.
What is
there in punk to get excited about today and how healthy
do you think the scene is at present?
We joke
that there’s 67 genres of Punk, I don’t
know how many there really is? That’s what really
excites me, Punk these days can be any style, any sound,
as long as it spits and bites and has the D.I.Y. feel
of Punk, it’s Punk. I think it’s very healthy,
you think of any other genre of music which has gigs
all over the UK, almost every weekend, and the people
are still so loyal to the old bands, so there are always
great opportunities to play with the ‘old guard’,
to a full room.
What’s
the best thing about being in System of Hate and what’s
the worse?
Playing
in a band and you know it’s good, you trust every
member to do their thing and you know they won’t
let you down. I also really get a buzz from rehearsals,
you can come up with a riff, start playing it, everyone
in the room joins in and from time to time you have
a brilliant song, it still amazes me. I know it said
“thing” but got to mention playing live,
it’s all about playing LIVE. Worse thing is not
seeing other bands play because you are busy playing
yourself.
What would
you say that System of Hate bring to the table that
differs from any other punk band?
I think
we have different ideas, a different sound, we have
a keyboard player for a start, you don’t see too
many and the bass player is filling spaces normally
filled by one of 2 guitarists. We just decided we needed
to do something different or there would be no point
starting a new band.
How would
you sum up System of Hate in 5 words?
Hard Dark
Street Goth Punk.
Where you
like to be with System of Hate in 10 years?
Still playing
and more importantly writing and recording something
that is still relevant. And of course watching Charlie
Harper jump up and down and say, “He’s 80
years old you know!”
What bands
should we keep an eye out for?
I’d
say check out the New Band Stage at Rebellion Festival.
But all the gigs we play, all the support bands are
good and the members can really play, I’d say
don’t just go watch the big bands, turn up early
and watch some of the support bands, you might get a
very pleasant surprise.
If you
were to explain punk to someone who had never heard
the word before, what would you say?
Punk is
:- attitude, free thinking, acceptance, friendship,
noise, pleasure, pain, life, death.
Any final
comments?
To book
us – email – six67promo @ hotmail.com you
can find more information at :- www.systemofhate.com,
www.facebook.com/systemofhate, www.twitter.com/systemofhateuk
FUNGALPUNK
INTERVIEW (2nd April 2013) - Paddy Of System Of Hate
- Web
link
1. So a
new venture, System of Hate - why the new band in such
times when it is really difficult to hear a voice in
the multitude of musical offerings?
Well the
band started out as a recording side project to Total
Confusion. I was heavily influenced by bands like UK
Subs, Killing Joke, Joy Division, Rudimentary Peni,
Amebix.
I was interested
in music that was very dark and heavy that had a real
meaning and message to it. I must admit I do enjoy all
genres of punk but the dark heavy stuff really rocks
my boat.
2. Tell us about the set-up -
the faces in the band, their roles, the experience they
bring and what, ultimately, is the raison de'tre for
the bands existence?
The band
line up is - Suty - vocals, Pat - guitar, Carl - drums
and me the Paddster on ‘Sledge Hammer’ Bass.
All the
members of the band have played in other bands (Civilians,
X Rippers, Total Confusion etc.) and have played loads
of gigs up and down the country and recorded demo’s
and CD’s. As you know, we are definitely not in
our youth any more, but just because we are older doesn’t
alter the fact that Punk Rock runs through our veins.
A lot of our friends are long gone, bless them, and
we feel we need to carry on doing the thing we love
for as long as possible. We don’t think we will
ever be too old to gig and record. Long live Punk Rock.
3. What
new strategy will you have in trying to get your noise
heard and in getting plenty of giggage?
Well Mr
Fungal, as you well know, if people come to watch us,
they will definitely hear us. We are a set of noisy
fuckers. We haven’t really got new strategy, just
going to use the old tried and tested way that seems
to have worked for us in the past. People have started
to hear about System of Hate and there has been a lot
of interest as to when we are going to be out gigging.
We have been promoting the new band via the internet
and we have had quite a bit of radio play of our new
‘Immortal’ EP, which is getting us heard,
and so far the feedback we are getting is good.
We’ve
already have a website setup – www.systemofhate.com
As a new
strategy, we did think about playing live in the nude
but with middle age spread, and I mean a lot of middle
age spread, we soon went off the idea as the crowds
are not big to start with, so we thought we would give
that one a miss.
4. What
problems within the scene did you find with your old
unit Total Confusion and how do you hope to overcome
these (if any) with the new unit?
One of
the biggest problems was and still is work commitments
outside the band, we all have to earn a wage and families
come first. Problems within the scene - well not so
much as a problem more of a irritant than a problem
pay to play promoters and venues that want you to play,
fetch a crowd and advertise the gig. Then low and behold
no pay, no drinks etc. so how do we overcome this problem
- easy we just don’t do anything that doesn’t
appeal to us anymore. But I must stress there are some
good promoters out there. Our last band Total Confusion
have played and been offered expenses in the past and
we have turned it down because of certain circumstances
- you get to know who the good guys are.
5. What are your feelings on the
current 'punk' circuit and does this label hold many
of us back in the quest to get noticed and spread the
word?
Our feelings on the current punk circuit, the circuit
is split in two you know, the have and the have not’s,
named bands it’s great to support them but a lot
of them show no respect at all - they want their coin
and can’t even be bothered to watch the support
bands, too busy selling their merch and telling us thirty
year old rock and roll story’s and how bad the
scene is but if you buy a t-shirt and a CD the worlds
all sunny again. I am sure you all know the story.
6. The
fracturing of the scene with many sub-generic pools
can be both negative and good but one thing I pick up
on is a lack of cross-over. Why do you think it is that
people are unwilling to try different styles, mix and
match what they listen to and stick within certain comfort
zones?
You mentioned
comfort zone Ithink a lot of bands do that. They seem
to go down one path and stay on it. You know the old
saying if it’s not broken don’t fix it,
but I myself really like different styles of punk or
music in general. System of Hate has a very dark sound
and the content of the lyrics are very dark as well,
we used a lot of effects on bass, drums are very tribal.
We are just demoing some new songs now and they are
very different from the ‘Immortal’ EP. One
of our new songs, ‘Ashes Of Divinity’, is
probably one of the heaviest songs we have ever done.
It has a very Killing Joke come Amebix/Joy Division
feel to it so I would say we have broken our comfort
zone and long may it continue. System of Hate will not
be frozen in the past, we will keep moving forward with
sound, lyrics and structure.
7. The
festivals are increasing in number - any thoughts on
the positives and negatives of these much sought after
showcases?
I agree
that the number of festivals are increasing.
Positives:-
Meeting like minded music loving piss heads that want
to put two fingers up to the world for a couple of days.
Negatives:-
Am sure that they were a punk band from Bradford that
got in John Peels top 100 . No really, it always seems
to rains at festivals. The biggest negative for me has
got to be the reforming of one hit wonder bands that
try to reinvent their history to fit into today’s
scenes . I have seen loads of bands with one good song
in them and still have one good song in them. But when
opportunity and money come knocking at the door, ya
know, and there is only one original member from the
band, it does become a bit like a karaoke machine.
8. 'PUNK'
- a much abused, raped and taken for a ride word - what
does it mean to you and do you flow with this 'punk
can be anything' vibe that seems to detract from the
very core of its meaning?
Yes, the
word punk is abused and raped. Once got asked the same
question in a radio interview, so here goes-
The word
punk, or definition of the word is derived from American
prison slang; for male homosexual, worthless person,
the lowest of the pecking order within the prison system.
The press needed a name to describe the type of music
that certain people were playing up and down the country;
who were playing loud, fast and aggressive dark music.
The term Punk rock was born. The gimp masks, bondage
trousers, Mohawk hair styles and safety pins was all
a manufactured image that was made to shock for money.
To me, Punk was about attitude, not clothes or who could
play best. Punk was a clear message to the youth to
question authority, politics, war, religion and society
in general. Punk music:- hardcore, old school, oi, 77,
82, whatever genre, if it rocks your boat its punk rock.
ATTITUDE
THAT’S WHAT PUNK MEANS TO ME
9. What
are the bands immediate plans sat for the next 12 months.
I am always keen for bands to do a split release, has
this ever been a consideration and if so what style
of band would you like to hook up with?
The next
12 months for SYSTEM OF HATE, is going to be very busy.
We have already got a lot of gigs booked as support
slots and we have arranged some local gigs. We are currently
tightening up a few loose ends for our first London
gig. We are just getting ready to start recording our
new album. As a band we have been very lucky to have
demoed all the songs we have wrote. It has given us
loads of ideas for the new album and what direction
we want to go in.
I’m
sure the band would consider a Split release, but I’m
not too sure on what style of band we could do this
with as our new songs are taking a much darker and heavier
edge. The answer would have to be who would consider
to do a split release with us.
ANY WAY
BIG THANKS FOR INTERVIEW MR FUNGAL KEEP UP THE GOOD
WORK AND KEEP SPREADING THE FILTH
LONG LIVE
THE MUSIC AND THE PUNK ATTITUDE
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