Interview written by Stacey and Wayne McCarthy

Photos by Stacey McCarthy ©2006

     Wayne and I sat down with Pete Koller (guitar and vocals) of Sick of it All, the legendary hardcore band from NYC.  Pete was very relaxed while talking with us in the basement at Toad's Place on December 30th and the interview quickly exceeded 20 minutes.  Here is the first 8 minutes.

Stacey: Sick of it All has remained true to its hardcore roots. How has the hardcore scene evolved over the past 20 years?

Pete: It seems to have de-evolved, revolved. It started out friendly and everyone took care of each other…. It actually goes in circles all the time. It starts out friendly and united and then it starts falling apart with a lot of stupid fights and gang bullshit happening. Then it got back together again, but now it seems like the tough guy image is back into it; a lot of dumb gang stuff and fighting happening lately…

 

Stacey: Do you think the younger generation of fans gets the message you are trying to get across to them?

Pete: That’s one thing that has changed too. A lot of bands had some sort of political message or about the environment… and lately things have been about “I gotta do what I gotta do for the crew” and things that don’t actually matter in real life. When you have to pay your bills; what does that mean? When you have to feed your kids; what does that actually mean? You have to look out for your family and friends, but it goes beyond the crew thing.

Stacey: We saw you at the Nokia Theatre with the Dropkick Murphys last March. You did an awesome job getting the crowd into your music, I think you even started a chicken fight in the pit. Before you go out on stage, do you know what your going to do or do you just live in the moment?

Pete: It’s pretty much just the moment kind of thing. He (Lou) always makes the people run into each other, that’s one of the things we always do, but it’s the power of the music that should make people dance and sing along. They shouldn’t have to be told what to do.

Stacey: That’s what I was wondering. It seems like you almost have to tell the crowd what to do.

Pete: These days, it’s pretty much, it is like that. That’s what’s really strange. Even yesterday, we played up in Buffalo and we’re giving it are all and feeling the music and our fans are really getting into it and then there’s people up front texting their friends. It was like, what is that? It’s like when we would go to shows when we were kids and going to CBGB’s and stuff like that. The only reason we were going was to freak out because of the music because you were going to feel the music and that’s why we’re still in the band because we actually love music and we feel it every time we play it. People are just showing up cause it’s like, “Oh yeah, I went to that show, uuhhh, Hatebreed…I don’t know, but I was there and I got the shirt.”

Wayne: How’d you feel at your last CBGB’s show in October?

Pete: It was great.

Wayne: Did you get any souvenirs?

Pete: I ripped off a piece of the stage, almost a square foot.

Wayne: It must have been bittersweet playing there for the last time.

Pete: Yeah, but the show itself was just like being back in the 80’s. It was packed, beyond packed. People were diving in every single direction. There was no rules and no law and that’s the way it was and people were really loving the music. There was no texting going on at that show. I think that show was filled with people that wanted to see a piece of history closing that really sucks.

Stacey: Especially the way it happened…

Pete: That’s big business, nothing else matter except making money in this world…if there is a corporation that thinks they can make a little extra money, nothing will stand in it’s way, they’ll get rid of it…it doesn’t matter what it is.

Stacey: “Take the Night Off” is a very powerful song. The lyrics and music work together perfectly. What comes first, lyrics or music?

Pete: Usually the music. I wrote that song…I hear things in my head…rhythms. The song is about when you come to a show, you’re taking the night off from everything that’s going wrong or even your job, school, or your parents bugging you, or your wife, or your husband bugging you. You come to a show and who cares about what is happening around you. It’s just the show and your having fun. It’s not about looking the right way and having the right tattoos or the right sneakers. It’s about feeling the music and that’s what the whole song is about. Hopefully people will understand it.