Grind Block records intie

Hey guys!!
here's the first blog's interview with a label, this time with my great friend Brandy of Grind Block Records, Sonic Arse tapes, 2 Minuta Dreka, Grinder Mafia (RIP) and Penis Enlargement.
It was translated by me from Italian, I hope everything will be understandable and easy to read!

1- Hi Brandy, how's life?

"Life sucks, then you die". I'll start this intie with a quote and I'll finish it with another one. Apart from the fact that I just finished jacking me off and endorphines makes my mind more relaxed. I'm listening to "Neon Genesis Evangelion" soundtrack, and this helps to make life less shitty. But apart from this 2 things I can't really say it's going fine. It's normal routine, I'm used to it.

2- How's your label going? What are the future plans? When did you start it? Why you decided to start it?

Label's going well, we just made a big distro restock and opening U.S. division helped us making concrete plans on our future releases. We trade a lot and I think that by the end of the year our last release, Agathocles / Repulsione split 7", will sold out. Our future plans are several 7''s and 2 CDs. The upcoming releases are Dispepsiaa / Axed Up Conformist 7", 2 Minuta Dreka / Impotence Trichomonad 7", SMG / Repulsione 7", Final Exit / Deche-Charge 7", 2 Minuta Dreka / Iron Butter 7". By February first Repulsione's full lenght CD should be out. Well when I started...In 2001 I founded a label called Noise Holocaust records, it was a label without expectations, I dubbed tapes and cd-r and I had a small distro I used to carry with me at local gigs. Then I started to release records, my first release was the demo tape of my past noisecore project Grinder Mafia "Terror Demo 2002", followed by a bunch of comps and few things more. In 2004 I started to have a more serious approach to it, and considering that at that time grindcore was everything for me I started to dedicate all myself to the label and I changed the name in Grind Block Records. The name comes from the famous Black Blocks that smashed everything in the streets in Genova (it was the period in which there was G8). If Black Blocks destroys everything in the streets, then Grind Block destroys everything in the musical sphere. During this years I was devoted to the tape format, not giving a shit if a band would sell or not, but nowadays a strong period of chrisis has arrived for tapes. The only ture freaks who buy grind/noisecore are maniacs that are parts of a small group of people, that I don't think has more than 200 guys.
That's why I decided to found a satellite label called Sonic Arse tapes and I also decided to transfer all the distro tapes and to produce new ones with this. Grind Block releases CDs and vinyls, a format we really love. Since a couple of years Grind Block has a new important collaborator, Matteo. We try to do our best trading kickass stuff from all the world, being always updated on new releases.
Despite the fact that the scene is dying, a lot of labels are forced to close and only the big ones have the bands that sell more, we go on with humility and determination, trying to be nice with everyone, receiving respect from our international partners.

3- How and when you discovered grindcore? How's the situation in italy? What are your fave bands?

I first discovered grindcore when I was 17, some friends of mine brought me in a squat (I was a punk back then) and there I saw the first grindcore band, with the passing years I discovered who they were, but nobody knows them and I think they split up so there's no need to speak about them. There I bought my first grindcore 7" Rot's "Fatality". The second concert and the listening of the disc at home really impressed me and from then I really realized where I could channel my adolescential frustration with the right extremism. Time has passed and what was a scene (late 90s/first years of 2000) now it's only a shadow of itself. A shadow that is getting everytime smaller and smaller.
In italy the "scene" it's all about squats because clubs, that only care about money, are rarely interested in organizing gigs for a few people. Should we blame club's owners? NO! It's fault of all the guys that don't come to concerts! The situation is really on the brink of a break, people that organizes grindcore gigs in Italy can be counted on a hand. Some old school bands now have a metal wannabe attitude, and this is a squalid significant symptom.
Speaking again of Squats, nowadays they only bear on themselves and they "go on" just thanks to inertia. Their ruin was due their bending on themselves, being hard-liners and purists without any attempt to evolve, and now they're dead. The only decent underground scenes in Italy, as far as I know, ar Black Metal and Hardcore.
My favourite italian bands? Hard to say, there are only a few good bands in Italy, only Jesus Ain't In Poland and the newcomers Ultimo Mondo Cannibale and Replusione come to my mind.

4- I see you also run Grind Block live events, what are the best gigs you did? What about future gigs?

For sure the first edition of Semptember to Dismember in 2006 with Mixomatosis and Needful Things, then also the show with Squash Bowels / Neuropathia in 2005 was memorable and then some others, but these 2 were the best. On the contrary I can list a lot of shitty concerts where we had to pay bands with our money and where someone did not do what he was supposed to do, fucking up everything. Our next engagement it's the upcoming September to Dismember 2 that comes back after 2 years (and it's really much for Italy), this time instead of 2 days, the days are 4 with international bands coming, some also intercontinental! For sure it will be a "can't miss", most of these bands come in Italy for the first time and for sure it's not so easy to see them near home. The most important bands are Mixomatosis, Agents of Abhorrence, Anal Penetration, 2 Minuta Dreka, Gonorrhea Pussy and Xaros.

5- What about 2 Minuta Dreka? How is it going? Do you still have problems because of PC activist calling you "Sexist"? Are you still searching for a drummer?

Unfortunately with 2 Minuta Dreka we stopped for a year because of personal problems and the loss of our drummer. This has damaged us for sure, but we decided to resist and try to continue in some way, organizing some mini tours abroad and some gigs here in Italy. Unfortunately we can't compose new stuff, it's not impossible, we know, but it's not our style.
Since we can't find a drummer, we decided to ask for help to a guy who is going to play only live. Naturally if he's not busy, because if he is we use a drum machine. As regards the problems with PC people of my balls I thought they would have turn quiet but last year when we were playing a gig, they turned off the electricity after 3 song, so you be the judge.

6- What will be your dream with 2 Minuta Dreka and Grind Block records??

My dream with 2 Minuta Dreka is to make a tour in Japan!!!!!!!!!!!!
With Grind Block Records, my dream is to grow as a distro and as a label, only because it would be a personal satisfaction, as I'm very ambitious.

7- Fear Of God or Napalm Death? 7 M.O.N. or Deche-Charge? CBT or Gut?

Fear of God. Deche-Charge. Gut (Everything before that Hip Hop shit)

8- Ok my friend, last comments?

Thanks for the brief but not expected intie.
As promised at the beginning:
"Deliziosa creatura, vuoi le mie mutande sporche, le mie vecchie mutande? Sai che ciò è di una raffinatezza impareggiabile? Vedi come sono sensibile al valore delle cose? Ascolta, angelo mio, io ho il più gran desiderio del mondo di contentarti in questo poiché sai che rispetto i gusti. I capricci, per barocchi che essi siano, li trovo tutti rispettabili. Sia perché non ne siamo arbitri, sia perché anche il più singolare e il più bizzarro a ben analizzarlo risale sempre a un principe de délicatesse... e sì, vecchi rottinculo: esprit de délicatesse!"(sorry but I couldn't find a translation from the english version- Fibro)

2 Minuta Dreka: http://www.myspace.com/2minutadreka
Grind Block Records: http://www.myspace.com/grindblockrecords
Grind Block Live Events: http://www.myspace.com/grindblockliveevents
Penis Enlargement: http://www.myspace.com/penisenlargementnoisecore
Sonic Arse Tapes: http://www.myspace.com/sonicarsetapes