Die Brucke by Matt Dixon, August '07

Photo by ???

Status Coal from 8 Song Demo
 

1. Please list members + give a history of the band.
Greg: Stephanie Johns, Mark Black, Mitch Kelly, Greg Boone. Mitch, Mark and I (Greg) wanted to start a thrash band, we had another drummer who didn't work out so I suggested that I would play drums and we'd find a bass player. Lachie just moved back to town, Mark and he played in bands previously and so we asked him to play bass. Flash forward 7 months and you have the worlds richest thrash band.

Mark: ... until Lachie moved to Toronto to pursue a career in policing. We recruited our only fan, Stephanie Johns of the Stolen Minks, to play bass.

2. You just finished an eastern Canadian Tour with swords -- what cities/provinces were the best to play? do you prefer a house show or club show?
Greg: We played all the major cities (Montreal, Toronto, Moncton) but we didn't play any house shows. As far as favorite cities, Montreal and Toronto were fun for me, as well as St John's. Oh, and I prefer a house show.

Mark: New Brunswick was kind of absymal and I'm not really sure why. I'd chalk it up to bad booking on our part, lackadaisical promoters and bad timing. The other cities/provinces we played were quite a lot of fun. I wish we had seen more of Quebec, it seemed like we were just rushing to get through it.

We haven't played many house shows, but one of our most memorable sets was at a house show. It featured a packed living room, a circle pit and ended with a pile-on. I am not a big fan of bars, but sometimes you have to make the compromise and play one, especially if you want to put gas in your vehicle.

3. Any cool stories from the tour?
Greg: Our tour was actually quite boring. We're mediocre guys leading mediocre lives. We got a flat tire and changed it, that's it. BORING.

Mark: It was a pretty cool flat tire though.

4. The major influences of Die Brucke:
Greg: Cut the Shit, Bones Brigade, Gorilla Biscuits, Limp Wrist, Los Crudos, 'Tallica

Mark: James Coburn

Photos by Mike Craig

5. What kind of message does the band hope to get across?
Mark: I don't think we're overly dogmatic or overzealous about anything. I think I'd like to make music that is pretty accessible to a wide group of people, that is agressive without being tough, and most of all, create music that is fun. I hope we accomplish that.

As far as lyrics go, most of the songs are about recognizing personal shortcomings and trying to rectify them. I'm not so hot at writing political lyrics, I feel like it comes off as too didactic when I do that.

6. Who would you consider your current contemporaries in the hardcore punk scene?
Mark: It's hard to pick out comparable bands in terms of style, approach, sound, but we played a great show with our friends, the Black Spokes, at Planet Kensington in Toronto. I think that was, for us, a moment of "someone else gets it!" Not that there's a whole lot to get.

Also the Wednesday Night Heroes, Defect Defect, C.I., Blindside Assault, Black SS.

7. What do you guys think of the current state of the punk rock scene, locally in halifax and in general?
Mark: One thing that seems to have happened in the last couple of years is that bar shows have waxed, while all ages shows have waned. There are a lot of major cities where it's much easier to get bar shows for hardcore/punk bands than it is to get an all ages one. It's kind of disheartening.

However there's some great bands making great music in this city: Vkngs, the Memories Attack, Windom Earle, C.I., Risky Business, Ratbag, too mention just a few.

It'd be nicer to see a stronger d.i.y presence in this scene, but maybe I am lazy and not looking hard enough for it. I'd bet on me being lazy.

8. What are the bands' future plans?
Mark: Re-releasing our demo on vinyl (hopefully), at least one new 7" and a tour of the Eastern US and Canada.

9. How can kids contact you?
diexbrucke@gmail.com, myspace.com/diexbrucke.

10. Any final remarks?
Mark: I feel like I should have something clever, but I got nothing.

Listen to Die Brucke:
myspace.com/diexbrucke

Photo by Amir Sabanovic

DIE BRUCKE ARE GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
TAKE A LOOK AT OTHER JUNNNKTANK INTERVIEWS HERE