Faintest Idea Sidney Street Porter interviews the rudeboy street punks
Where did your name come from? The name comes from the idea that even small things can make big changes, kinda like the butterfly effect idea. There's a poem at the start of the new album which explains the name a bit more :) We're opening the new album with a poem as a little nod to Crass (Feeding of the 5000 album).
How did you get together? There isn't really a set date; it’s kinda evolved throughout the years! I've been in the longest, then Lil Dan the sax player, then Waz our drummer, and then Bobble on trombone and Kai was a roadie on a tour, after which our old guitarist left and he joined. Not very exciting really, ha ha.
Who and/or what were your original influences when you started? When we first, first started I think we just liked playing music with our friends. Listening to bands like Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, all the hellcat stuff, 2 tone ska ‘n’ that.
Who and/or what are your current influences now? Music-wise, we still listen to the same stuff but obviously years down the line have heard a lot more stuff. I've personally got a lot more into hip hop and reggae and into a lot more of the original ska, studio 1 stuff ‘n’ that. I think politics also has a lot more of an influence now than it did, it was always there, but as I've gotten older I've read a lot more and like to think learnt at least something!
Who and/or what are your turn offs? Very cliché list to start with. Obviously any racists, sexists, homophobes or just anyone spreading hate or intolerance. Ignorance on any level basically.
You’ve been very supportive of political campaigns like NO2ID over the years. Why do you feel that it’s worth engaging in political activism and activities? I think it’s vitally important to get involved! These are the things that are going to change your everyday lives! But it is a fucking minefield, I think you need to question everything you read/are told. You need to ask who's giving me this information. And are there any motives for it? Its obvious stuff but A LOT of people never do. In the last couple of days this KONY 2012 campaign thing has started up and people are supporting it and spreading it about after having watched one 30 minute long documentary. Now what a lot of these people didn't look into is the fact that the company that made that doc are 100% pro military action to solve the issue, which would of course lead to many child soldiers being slaughtered. There's even a picture of them posing with fucking weapons for fuck sake! Now I'm not fully condemning the campaign for spreading awareness, I'm just saying its a very complex issue and its not just a case of 'goodies' and 'baddies', and people need to question everything before they get behind it.
You were hassled by cops during the G20 protests when Ian Tomlinson was killed. Tell us more about this and any other interference you’ve had from our friends in Her Majesty’s constabulary. That whole issue was a joke; me, my girlfriend and 2 other mates were followed for hours, purely because we had our faces covered on the march. Its way too long a story to put here, but they brought down about 15 coppers, 3 cars, 2 jeeps and a riot van and we didn't even kick off! Then for the week after I got stopped and searched 3 times in Swaffham (if anyone knows how small and dull Swaffham is they'll understand why that's ridiculous). We used to get pulled a lot when we were away ‘n’ that but I think that's coz we used to drive about in a knackered old Transit, ha ha, and there was the time we squatted a village hall that turned out to be owned by the Queen’s Sandringham estate, apparently in the eyes of the law it shouldn't matter that its owned by royalty. It definitely did matter.
What’s your opinion of the music scene in the UK at the moment? Its good and its bad. The stuff that's really big at the minute isn't really my sorta stuff, but music always goes in cycles don't it? We're really lucky to be signed to TNS where there are some awesome bands (I fully realise this is a shameless plug) to check out - Beat the Red Light, Stand Out Riot, Hated Til Proven, The Roughneck Riot. Plus also check out anyone involved with Pumpkin Records - Autonomads, Black Star Dub Collective, etc.
How, if any, do your hometowns of Swaffham and Litcham in Norfolk inform your views and music? Ha ha, that was a few years ago we lived there, we're all in Kings Lynn or the surrounding areas now. Except our drummer, he's still in Dereham. So I'd say they don't really inform us at all, they were incredibly backwards places from a political point of view!
What’s your opinion of politics in the UK at the moment? Terrible. Really, really terrible. There's pockets of good stuff but I'd say on the whole the country is incredibly politically unaware. We have a media owned predominantly by one man, who controls most of the stuff most people see. We have the Tories in power who seem hell bent on attacking EVERYONE at once. We're having our health system sold off, the welfare state attacked and yet most people would rather sit down and watch the X Factor. It really baffles me.
Are you positive about the future? I work for the NHS so no, not really ha ha ha, I don't know overall, I'd like to hope things will get better, but personally I think they’re going to get a FUCKLOAD worse before they do. Like I said earlier, we've got the health service getting sold off, free schools being set up which can teach creationism, they’re talking of privatising the police and that's just in this country! The rest of the world ain’t looking too much better to be honest!
What would be your favourite Doomsday Scenario? There's a computer game me and Kai (guitar) play a lot called Left for Dead 2. It’s effectively running around shooting zombies. That's my favourite doomsday scenario!
Thanks for this and remember to support underground scenes! Check out TNS Records, Pumpkin Records, and to read more books, they’re good for u :)