1.Please
introduce your band to our readers.When did STRESS form as a band and
what was the inspiration to do so?
The band born in the fall of 1993 like a project, but the band took form
in the beginning of 1994 as a real band; the band was form with ex members
of Eritroblastosis Fetal (grindgore) and Re Existe (hc). The first days
of the band we played extreme noise, we called stresscore. The inspiration
was the innovation and friendship of the members to create a political
band in the most pure style of extreme hc, crust and grind.
2.What have you released so far?Are there any new releases planned?
We released our first official stuff in the fall of 2001, a cassette titled
Tierra y Libertad (land and freedom) with a zine with political articles
wrote by friends of the band, the cassette contain 13 tracks of the first
era of the band 1993-1999. Before that we have only rehearsal and live
stuff. Today we are working in the next record, the next year we will
to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Stress, maybe we release a cd. Also
we participated in a compilation benefit to ALF SG in Argentina, in the
tribute to Anarchus and Massacre 68. We are talking with labels of other
countries for release our stuff.
3.Your lyrics:what inspires you and what do you wanna express by
them?Do you describe STRESS as a political band?
Stress is a political band, the philosophy is libertarian and anarchist
(more postmodern than classic) and we inspires with authors like Bakunin,
Proudhon, Magon, Cappelleti, Guillermo Nuñez, Fernando Savater,
Benedetti, Michel Foucault, Todd May etc. We support the revolutionary
movements like feminism, gay and lesbian movements, social ecology, human
rights, sexual and reproductive rights, animal rights (we are not hard
line), zapatism, all just cause. The songs talk about women rights, against
vivisection, against patriotism and borders, against homophobia, against
religious dogma etc. For the new songs we want talk about more poststructuralistic
topics like power theory, epistemology, advocacy etc.
4.You run a label called RIZOMA RECORDS.Please give us some informations
about it (history,releases...).
The label was form to release the stuff of the band with the colaboration
of Cryptas Records (a label with many years in the Mexican scene). In
the beginning Rizoma was just two members of Stress but now other people
join to the project, Rizoma released a cd for a friend band call Grito
a hc band old school, now we are working to relsease coming soon the latin
american version of Phobia "serenity through pain" album in
cassette and german grindcore band Därm (Hamburg) and other projects
to confirm.
5.In issue #5 ouf our zine we had an interview with a cool band from Mexico
called ABSOLUTION.Do you know these guys?What´s your opinion about
the Mexican underground scene?What about unity,understanding and mutual
help?
Sure we know Absolution they are friends and the next year we
will organize a show in our city for their tour in Mexico (Absolution
with Bread and Water from USA).
About underground scene in Mexico it has several kinds of scenes in different
music style, talking specific our scene we have a brotherhood to make
tours, distribution of music, networks etc. For example in Mexico there
is an electronic list of discussion called Anarchopunk Resistance, and
in this list the community put in practice the mutual aids, unity, organization
of gatherings, solidarity etc, also in this list participate people of
all Latin America. but is necessary abolish the divisions between us,
abolish the idea like see the punk as a dogmatic religion etc. because
for us the punk not is a social and political change movement like zapatism
or feminism for example, is only a protest and culture music. We need
another kind of work to change our social and politic life.
6.Tell us something about the area you live in and about life in
Mexico in general.
We are from Hermosillo City in the state of Sonora a four hours from the
border with USA; the north of Mexico is more expensive than south, because
the north is more industrial more foreign investments, greater taxes but
unequal ( high and low) wages, like the idea of first world only for the
rich people, by the way The president of Mexico and his party are conservator
and president Fox form part of Legions of Christ a group under orders
from Vatican, The government (neoliberalism) work under agreement of World
Bank, IMF. However the Zapatist Army of National Liberation proposes an
alternative for the indigenous people who suffer for years the racism
and abuse in this country. But this army is for all people who search
justice and freedom, the Mexicans wake up slowly and we hope can see the
social and political change.
7.How
looks your typical day and what are you guys doing besides playing in
a band?
A typical day we make different activities like go to school or work,
four members go to university, other stop his studies for work and I work
and study Deutsch 1, we form part a collective call Acción Reivindicativa
(Claim Action) we work with other groups like organizations of sexual
rights, women rights etc. we form part of a national network for the defense
of sexual and reproductive rights and other network call solidarity without
border with collectives from northwest of Mexico and southwest of USA.
Into collective exist three zines; sometimes in the shows we put a stand
of Rizoma Records.
8.What are your musical influences and what are your favorite bands
of all time?
Our influences at the first moments of the band were bands of extreme
noise like Seven Minutes of Nausea, Sore Throat because we played very
short noisy songs. After the band take another sound with influences of
Extreme Noise Terror, Fear of God, La Pestilencia, Doom, Napalm Death,
Sin Dios, and Nausea, about the favorite band of all time for me is so
difficult because I like it many bands like Carcass (first two albums),
Fear of God, ENT, Doom, Agathocles, HHH, Cacofonía, Napalm Death
(all grinding stuff), Nausea, Misfits, Sin Dios, Suciedad Discriminada,
Terrorizer, Disrupt, Impetigo, Morbid Angel, Regeneración, Desobediencia
Civil, Phobia, etc.
9.For how long are you involved in the hc/punk scene?Can you remember
the first gig/show you ever visited?
I think since 1990 when I was in the high school I went to my first shows
of hc, thrash and death metal, but when I was 7 years my mother took me
to a heavy metal show and bought me a Quit Riot album. I saw bands as
Los Crudos, Ass Rash, State of Fear, Sin Dios, Sick of it All etc.
10.Where and when was the best and the worst show STRESS ever played
and how many gigs have you played until today?
Well in July we participated in a libertarian gathering in Nogales city
in the border with USA and was a one of the best shows ever of the history
of the band, by the way a funny fact I was sick and I play in this condition
but all were good, about bad shows I think when the sound system is a
shit we lost the way and we played noise, but is funny after all
11.What does "D.I.Y." and "underground" mean
for you?
Talking about Do It Yourself is put in practice the self determination
to create our own things, is a basic point of anarchism, is the freedom
of media production, and is an alternative infrastructure is necessary
for the scene for combat the mainstream of capitalism. The underground
is very important because is an alternative culture with freedom of choice
the music, the publications etc. We believe in the underground and we
must support
12.That´s
all.Thanx a lot for the interview.Any last comments/statements?
Danke for the interview we planning a possible tour in Spain and Deutschland
for 2003, we hope can see you soon grinders, for the fans of crust grind
you can download a stress song in a site of a friend from Luxembourg in
http: // www. Crustpunk.de and if you want a copy of Stress cassette write
us ok!
*Answers by Ruben
Stress
are :
Billy the Crust bass
Don Bacteria guitar
Don Poyo core screams
Daniel screams
Ruben drums
Stress sites:
http://www.geocities.com/stress_ruido
http://poststress.tripod.com.mx
http://www.geocities.com/rizomarec/
Stress e -mail:
grindcore74@yahoo.com.mx
stress@lycos.com
rizomarec@yahoo.com.mx
Stress
Ruben Martell Collins
Jabalí 53A entre Horizonte y Venado Cola Blanca
Colonia Nuevo Hermosillo, C.P. 83296
Hermosillo Sonora
M E X I C O
