94-04-02 Subcaos – Subway Arts – Oi Polloi – Quite Fresh Phobia – Kulturalis Szemle – Systemphobia

Don’t find the flyer anymore… The newsletter of that time mentioned “7 bands, 7 nationalities” and also announced ‘Apathia’ from Poland and the Belgian ‘Systemphobia’… Can’t remember if these showed up (Mario & Kristof of the latter commented that they did play…).

The Scots of ‘Oi Polloi’ played at the V.V. so many times… Not sure what the line-up was here; I guess Calum MacKenzie (bass), Murray Briggs (drums) – they’re in the guestbook – Deek Allen (vocals) and Matt Finch (guitar) … & Colin Douglas (the driver). The band has had many different configurations: in my friend Michèle’s zine Persons Unknown it’s mentioned that on the tour with ‘Inkisiçao’ & ‘X-Acto’ (a few months after this, Sep ‘94) it was Deek & Matt, and Chris ‘Wheelie’ Willsher (drums) & ‘Clive’ (Calum Mackenzie, bass), and Al was the driver… An interview in Fifi #1 mentions Brian [Tipa] playing guitar…

‘Subcaos’ from Lisbon were Diogo (Tovar) Carvalho (vocals; also did Recognize No Authority zine, and distributed mine), Xico (or Chico or FJ; vocals), João Abrantes (guitar), João Barrelas (guitar; also in ‘X-Acto’), To-Pê (bass) & David (drums). They put out a demo (Genocidio, “chaotic crustcore”) in ’92 and tracks for the split-7” with Hiatus (on Slime recs) were just recorded (raging HC)… Slime recs (which existed since 1989) changed it’s name to Ataque Sonoro around 1994/95 (ataquesonoro.blogspot) and released their split-album with ‘Genital Deformities’ in ’94. Fast crusty HC! ‘Subcaos’ had been here before… (93-08-01)

‘Subway Arts’ were a political hardcore/punk band from Luxembourg. In 1991 the Band released a split-12” titled All Life is Equal together with their mates of ‘No More’ on Markus Haas’ Per Koro recs (actually he ran it together with Tanja Maier). Two years later they released a 12” titled “Una Definizione Perveresa Della Pace” (‘93) – a collaboration of Genet recs and PeaCy recs (ran by Diff and Simone Winandy). They were: Claude ‘Bourano’ Bour (drums; Mike played on the split-LP but left also soon after), Steve ‘Diff’ Differding (guitar), Fränz Laureys (bass), Sabrina D’Aurelio (vocals; David on the split-LP) and Xavier (guitar).

‘Quite Fresh Phobia’ from Eindhoven consisted of Skip Kort (drums), Sander (vocals), Antoine (bass) & Roland ‘Rolansky’ Molegraaf (guitar; ex ‘Incertitude’ & ‘Hund Als Waffe’). They had a track on the Bits Of Noise CD, a compilation of Ducth bands on WRF recs. Roland also booked bands (@ Burgers) and sometimes set up tours… They had been here before (93-03-14)…

‘Kulturalis Szemle’ (“Cultural Review”), a band from Orosháza, South-Eastern Hungary, were: Eörsi (guitar), Kicsi (drums/vocals) & Csiri (bass/vocals). They did two mini-tours in France & Belgium with the French band ‘Constant Summer’ (Don’t think they played this one…). The band had a total of six demos (downloadable via their website kulturalisszemle.mindenkilapja.hu) out. They played punk-rock, “mixed with alternative and indie influences”. Most songs had Hungarian lyrics.

Brob

We were touring with our friends form ‘Subway Arts’ when we arrive at beautiful Ieper. I can remember the church near the V.V. and specially the V.V. bar. In Portugal back in the 90s we used to play for 300/400 people, numbers that are rarely seen nowadays over here. At this gig I remember that Bruno (who organised our Euro tours) talked about +/-1000 people at the festival. Our show was huge. [The bands played in big ‘barn’, not the pub.]

We were touring with an old drummer that learned the songs while driving from Portugal to central Europe and so we couldn’t play many new songs that we had. David was replaced by Hugo Begucho (he was our first drummer and recorded the Genocidio demos back in 1992. He also played for the great Portuguese HC band called ‘Alcoore’.) on this tour. We also did an (self-titled) EP in 1994 on Rage recs with the new songs that we couldn´t play live because our drummer left us one day after we left Portugal to the Euro tour… I still remember that the Belgians really liked us.

I recall that the guitarist of ‘Hiatus’ was chewing my guitar-strings and falling over the drum-kit. The crowd was insane and really liked our heavy sound. Unfortunately our crew didn’t record our show (drunk bastards) but I filmed the entire ‘Oi Polloi’ show. I still have it on 8mm and VHS and I will try to convert it digital. I can only remember the ‘Subway Arts’ gig and ‘Oi Polloi’…the rest of the time I think I spent it drinking beers outside. ;-)

After this crazy show I remember talking and drinking with Wills and the rest of ‘Hiatus’; it was a great great day. The next day we played in Orléans (France) and some French and Belgian guys came with us for that show. Super.

João Pedro of Slime recs also came on tour with us. So were Miguel Crespo and his brother Samuel [Brob: Isn’t this supposed to be his friend Samuel Melro?]. You were asking/searching for Miguel Crespo & Guilherme. João ‘Jonhie Simbiose’ was a close friend of Miguel…

Also some others of us still play and you can check for these bands: vocalist Francisco [FJ] Dias is in ‘Dawnrider’ and sometimes ‘Subcaos’, guitarist João Barrelas played in ‘Danwrider’ and I played for ‘Rolls-Rockers’ and nowadays [2013] for ‘15Freaks’. I still play live (I was 18 at the time) but it was perhaps my best gig ever. Nowadays I’m more into punk rock’n’roll like ‘Supersuckers’, ‘Gluecifer’, ‘Turbonegro’; I really don’t like the new punk-bands but there are some good like ‘Mr. Myagi’ (Check out about the punk-scene on billy-news.blogspot.com). So the ex ‘Subacaos’ members are all active except David, Diogo Tovar (living in Amsterdam) and To-Pê (haven’t heard again from him)…

João (Pedro) Abrantes, guitarist of ‘Subcaos’

Miguel Crespo is not dead, he is very much alive and has been living in Amsterdam for 15 years…

João ‘Jonhie Simbiose’

I was indeed one of the singers from ‘Subcaos’… My memories from those days are not very good, maybe a side-effect from the countless cartons of cheap red wine that we brought with us from Portugal. But I definitely remember that we had a great time and you guys really made us feel at home.

I’m now [2013] living in London but met Miguel frequently when I was in A’dam. I believe Guilherme’s living in Brasil now. He was our driver when we played the V.V. for the 2^nd time. I remember now that there were five of us inside his tiny Renault 5 and we took no instruments with us at all, our only baggage was just this shit-load of cheap red wine. Not very professional I guess… ;-)

Diogo (Tovar)

Our band quit in 1998 but we are still good friends, and meet frequently and talk about the ‘good old times’ then. There’s a special place in our memory about touring with the band and the gigs we played. We got to the V.V. with the help of Manu of ‘Constant Summer’ who organised some other gigs for us in France and Belgium. We were really satisfied about the technical equipment and the stuff at the V.V. The audience was great too, we met a lot of communicative, open-minded people there. We had a nice time.

‘Kulturalis Szemle’

Second gig of ‘Quite Fresh Phobia’ here. Different singer this time: Sander. Maarten had left the band the year before. It was packed, so lucky we played in the hall in the back instead of the tiny pub. Just before we had to play I heard two punks talking that it would be a good time to get food ‘cause the next band (us) was a non-grinding one. True, ‘Q.F.P.’ made punk-rock with some hardcore influences. Anyway there where still a lot of people in front of the stage and they really made this gig one to remember. Very cozy, lot’s of fun & partying with them. The drums where put on the side of the stage so I had good contact with the band as with the public, nice. When ‘Oi Polloi’ started it got really frenzy. The two P.A. speaker-towers where moving (did’nt tip over) and punks hanging in the roof-beams. Great atmosphere that day, had lots of good talks and fun with more than 7 nationalities…

After ‘Quite Fresh Phobia’ split up I went on playing in different bands (‘Bek Hauwe Speule!’, ‘Toad’, ‘Hagridden”). Today still going strong with ‘Kort Door De Bocht’…

Skip Kort, ‘Q.F.P.’ drummer

Now I remember which ‘Oi Polloi’ gig I saw at the barn. It was this one with ‘Subcaos’ in 1994. (I had been on tour with ‘Subcaos’ in the summer of 93 aswell.)

Carsten Pötter, Frankfurt

‘Subcaos’ * João B./ Diogo / To-Pê / Xico / João A. (photo by Michael Maes)

‘Subcaos’ (pictured by Wim DL)

excerpts from the V.V. guestbook:

Samuel ‘Ratanza’ / Claudio ‘Simbiose’ / João Pedro (Slime recs)

additions wellcome!…