xBishopx / Until The End – Interview
xBISHOPx sind nun mittlerweile schon wieder länger aktiv und Until The End sieht man ebenso auf dem ein oder anderen Festival. Daher finden wir es passend, mit Peter, dem Sänger beider Bands, ein Interview zu führen.
Yo Peter, how are you doin’? When I saw the flyer for the “Edge Day” in Atlanta on 12 October last year, I was like “Oh shit! Until The End are playing shows again?”..but this is not about me. Let’s get to my first question: could you tell me which line up performed that day? Are these guys also the founding members of the band?
Hi! That was one of the best shows UTE ever played for sure. Shit was wild. The band consisted of the drummer and guitar player of xBISHOPx (Peter and Sam, respectively) and my dude Steven Vazquez (longtime friend and edger, member of Remembering Never). A lot of the dudes, and there were many, that were in UTE sold out. The couple that had not sold out that would have done it, had either prior engagements or live far as shit.
You played “Edge Day“ with xBISHOPx, too. Could you tell us whose part of it and who founded that band?
xBishopx is myself, Sam Kooby (guitar), Peter (drums) and Shane Fucking Nerenberg (bass), the new guy. He’s the best.
Every member of UTE and xBishopx is still Straight Edge with heart and soul. You as bands wanted to express this with your music. What message does UTE spread?
The members of both bands that played the “Edge Day“ show were all straight edge. UTE is a bit on the more angry/ridiculous side, invoking all negativity for the most part with some breaks to shout about the straight edge.
What’s the meaning of Straight Edge for you personally? When did you start becoming interested in that particular lifestyle? What’s your opinion on the Straight Edge scene in Hardcore?
When I was in 5th to 7th grade I drank a bit and smoked cigarettes. By the time I made it to 8th grade, I decided that shit was super whack. Then in high school that basically reinforced how whack it really was. Nerdy motherfuckers coming to class on Monday talking about mad creepy shit involving drinks and smoking and girls passed out. It didn’t matter what kind of kid it was in high school, most of them got fucked up and me being super alienated and listening to metal, which was not a popular thing in my high school… all these things separated me from the typical high school kid. The current Straight Edge scene… I’m a bit out of the loop with this stuff. There are a few killer bands right now, my favorite being Coke Bust, who is just a fucking powerhouse of a band. Dead In The Dirt is awesome, Foundation, Poison Planet, Vaccine (RIP), Criminal Instinct, Agitator… so it appears to be alive and well. Then you get the corny ass motherfuckers who start out as a straight band then realize they limit their fan base so they drop the label.
Many of xBishopx and UTE’s lyrics deal with the topic of SxE. Who writes them and what has inspired him the most?
In UTE I wrote very few songs, lyrically, maybe a couple of the 7″ and a couple of “Blood In The Ink”, and nothing after. Dan (former bass player) wrote the majority of Blood and all of LTWB and Alan (former 2nd singer) wrote some of the 7″ and 2 on Blood, that shit is all over the place, just negativity, being pissed off about X, Y and Z. As far as xBishopx is concerned, I’ve written everything so far. The first few releases were about typical Straight Edge stuff and other assorted realities of life. Drugs and Asylum I wrote when I was going through some shit and I was very selfish and made those releases mostly about my experiences in personal issues, very negative, with a couple songs about shit worth writing about. We’re writing now and I’m very excited to get back to writing lyrics. There are so many things to discuss!
Is there any song which you’re extraordinarily proud of? Let us know why, it doesn’t matter from which band.
I would have to say “Homesick And Hellbound”. It all just encompassed everything I was dealing with at the time, giving commentary on people and their unrealistic expectations of others and my place in it all. Truly understanding the human condition and knowing how it works; holy shit.
It’s been some time since we last heard anything from xBishopx. You played a lot of shows last year and you even played a tour. Are there any future plans for the band, maybe a new album?
We are writing for a new record called “Everything in Vein”. The songs we have thus far are faster, slower, more intense… some of my favorite lyrics so far, patterns, everything. We have a whole lot to write left but we’re shooting for a 2014 release.
Apart from “Edge Day” and “This Is Hardcore”, do you remember when the last UTE show took place? Another question that has to be asked: Will there be more shows or even a tour? Not only the Americans, but also people on other continents like Europe would go bonkers! Spit it out!
HAHAH thanks. We’ve played a few shows here and there when people ask. I think we played in Lake Worth, FL with the mostly original lineup (including Alan Landsman). As far as shows go, I’m not really interested in playing shows with UTE unless it’s a fucking insane lineup (with bands I want to see) or if I get to go somewhere sweet. If it happens, it happens. Those songs are very fucking boring to play. If we did do it, it would have to be a BISHOP/UTE tour with BISHOP doing both sets, hahaha.
Can you also remember the xBISHOPx and Kingdom tour in Europe back in 2009? I think it was your first European tour with BISHOP ever…How did you like it and would you do it again?
That was the best tour I’ve ever done to this day! Every show was awesome, everyone was super kind, and we got vegan food every night and got to go sight-seeing/touristy shit. No joke, hands down the best tour we’ve ever done. It was a real cool experience, much better than when Remembering Never and UTE went. I would love to do it again!
A few years back, Until The End was concerned a lot within the Hardcore scene, I mean the SXE message in general. Are you of the opinion that there’s a band that does the same thing nowadays?
I don’t take anything UTE did seriously. All that tough guy straight edge shit is super tired, so if we had a hand in that, I’m sorry. Some of it is cool, but for the most part I’d rather hear edge bands like XFILESX.
Could you suggest our readers a few bands they should check out, it doesn’t matter if they’re into SXE or not?
Florida has been killing it recently! Check out Fero Lux, Old Habits, Homestretch, Yankee Roses, Los Bastardos Magnificos, Forty Winters, Everymen, Ironside…. and other bands all over, Hivesmasher is fucking awesome. Knuckle Up!, Acacia Strain, Amigo The Devil, and fucking Otis Redding.
Is there any piece of advice for life you’d like to give our readers?
Read! Knowledge is everything. Don’t be a dummy. Normal things like “GO VEGAN” and such, but its 2014, people are going to do it or not, but it’s the most logical choice for eliminating injustice in this widespread industry. Animal exploitation is fucked. Look into it!
Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. I hope to see you and the others in Europe again soon!
THANKS!
Fernando Sanchez Bertot
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