Paranoid Visions formed in Dublin in 1982 and have just released quite possibly their strongest album to date “Cryptic Cross Words”. Having just launched this new LP with a performance at the legendary Rebellion Festival I was able to throw some questions the way of guitarist P.A. and here’s how it went down…
Hi, thanks for chatting to us, you’ve just played Rebellion, how did it go?
It was amazing. It’s always amazing to be part of it, but for us it was a particularly good year. Best crowd, best reaction. And it was great to launch an album there too.
Rebellion seems to be a huge highlight for most punk bands during the year, what are the best things about the festival for you?
Well the sense of camaraderie is huge, among the audiences and the bands. We get to see loads of mates old and new every year and relax in an environment that is safe, fun, enjoyable and friendly. I’ve been told it’s one of the only weekends in Blackpool calendar that attracts no trouble. There’s a great atmosphere that grabs firsts timers as well as those like me who have been coming for years. It’s a great showcase for upcoming bands and a great inspiration to anyone who plays in a band at any level.
What bands did you manage to catch and who really impressed you?
I saw loads this year.
Standouts for me were:
Ruts DC… the world’s greatest band
The Damned…. an amazing set
Mid Age Rampage… great fun
Gang Of Four… reduced our rhythm section to tears
Angry Itch… amazing Coitus… intense as fuck
MDC… love them
Boomtown Rats… dream come true
Rezillos… top form
In Evil Hour… inspiring
The Mob…. always top form.
Also, before we get away from Rebellion, what do you think about the whole Bob Geldof comments?
Hilarious on two counts. Firstly, As Punk Rockers we have all been trying to get on people’s nerves since we were kids, but don’t like a taste of our own medicine! He was clearly trying to have a laugh at his own expense (his ego was always a major defect), and was being cheeky. But it also seemed to serve the purpose of giving the detractors who kept saying they shouldn’t play on the bill an excuse to get on their high horse and ride out of the venue in indignation. The room was still packed and they were, for me, fantastic. Not everyone’s taste but that’s fine, that’s why there’s 4 other stages to go to while they were on. Secondly, and more importantly the narrow mindedness and bitching over something which was partly true is ridiculous. Let’s face it, at 49 I’m the exact target of his comments. Gone is the spikey hair and youthful sneer and I’m now content to wear my bland uniform of a black Shirt with what I believe is a great band but Joe soap may think are shit! And there’s nothing wrong with that. When he said it, 2 people wearing PV shirts turned to me and pointed at them nodding! At the end of the day it all sounds like an offshoot of the punk police using it as an excuse to prove the rats aren’t punk enough to be at rebellion. Absolute bollocks. Geldof is a bit of a tit alright but at least he’s tried to make a difference in the world. I saw him interviewed last year and was asked why he put the band together. He basically said he clearly doesn’t need the money but other members might, and that his socio-political lyrics, which were always really good, sadly enough have as much relevance in 2014 as they did in 1978 and he felt he should say them again.
Let’s chat about your latest album “Cryptic Cross Words”, can you tell the readers a bit about it in your own words please?
Well we feel it’s the best thing we’ve ever done. Musically we have achieved everything we wanted to do with it, we have a line up now that’s capable of translating the music without compromise and everyone is pitching in with ideas. It looks lovely too, white vinyl with a cd and the cd booklet. The cover has an actual crossword on it (email me for a blank copy to fill it out) and a real word search. All the lyrics are done as newspaper articles. We are very proud of it!
The new album for me feels like you’ve pushed the boundaries further again as a band, do you feel this is the case?
Absolutely. Everything on the album is in a style we have flirted with in the past, but we are doing it a bit more coherently. That’s to say we have always had elements of darkness, almost gothic in places, but we’ve explored that a bit more. We also spent a lot more time and money on the recording and the engineer did a great job.
Lyrically you seem to push your political point of views across, do you feel it’s important to mix politics within your music?
There’s no point in not mixing music and politics. That’s the whole point in doing music, to provoke debate or express opinions. Even if only one person reads or absorbs something we sing about its better than singing nonsense nobody can read into.
In the case of “Anagram Sam” I am very impressed with your use of words on there and the way you did manage to use anagrams, where did this idea come from and did you have to research at all?
Deko writes all the lyrics and he’s into cryptic cross words in the papers. So he wrote down all the anagrams he came across and decided to put them into a song or poem. There was about 50 verses, so he chose the ones that could tell a story or fit together. The cd booklet has all the rest of them in too. Every line is an anagram and some are pretty amazing… the last line “he’s got supersonic percussion” is my favourite!
The album is out on vinyl and CD. Do you feel it’s important to have both mediums available these days? And what do you think of the surge in vinyl sales?
Yeah I love vinyl. I always feel music is a piece of art and vinyl with the sleeve art and labels or inner sleeve or coloured vinyl is as much a part of the experience as the music. And you have to interact with a record. Its 22 minutes long in the running order the band spent months debating, then you get up from your chair and turn it over for part 2! It’s great there’s an upsurge in sales. I still like CDs too, but like owning the record, so the package containing both is brilliant!
You formed back in 1981, how has the punk scene changed since those days and is there anything you miss from then?
It’s a lot less dangerous now anyway! Music is more accessible and easier to get around. This is good, however the thing punk was reacting against, at least in my opinion, was the big business and lack of connection between the bands and audiences… that’s back with vengeance, with perceived fake accessibility via twitter etc. There’s not much I miss from 1981, apart from my youth, it was a difficult time to be in a punk band in Dublin and only the most stubborn survived (i.e…. us and U2!)
In fact, is there one band you wish you’d be able to see play live again?
I’d sell my soul to Satan… again… to see Crass. But more realistically I think I will get to see Amebix again someday! Or The King Blues. Or the original Dead Kennedys. … I could go on all day.
You’ve run your own label (F.O.A.D.) for many years now, what have been the biggest challenges for you to maintain it?
Distribution is always the hardest. It’s impossible to get exposure for new bands without throwing money at press agents. So we are now resigned to the fact that Facebook etc. and launch gigs are what will shift releases. The main idea behind the label is to legitimise releases for bands and give an outlet for their products. For Paranoid Visions we use it as the production company and some releases then get licensed off to other labels where appropriate. We tend to keep singles as our own releases and keep them limited edition. We’ve also promoted gigs for decades under that moniker.
Is the DIY nature still strong within the band?
It’s the only way we can operate! Every facet of the band is DIY!
You’ve worked with Steve Ignorant in the past, are there any more plans to work together in the future?
Yeah we continue to do gigs with him when we can. We are planning to record a new album shortly actually. Mixture of old songs (2 Schwartzennegger songs 2 Stratford Mercenaries songs, 4 new songs and 4 older PV songs).
Does the internet play a huge part in how the band functions these days? And do you see it as a positive thing compared to back in the 80’s when you first started out?
Yes it does, and it’s very positive. It makes it a lot easier to reach out worldwide and the barriers between countries and territories are now blurred. It’s a great tool!
So what’s up next for Paranoid Visions?
We are off to America in September with Steve, then Germany in October. And we are playing a number of shows in the UK and Ireland, in particular the forum in London with The Exploited and Discharge!
Have you got any messages for people out there in bands?
Just do it…. don’t let anyone hold you back. Don’t listen to the detractors and always play to entertain yourself without thinking if what others will think of it!
Thanks for chatting with me, one final question for you. Now I know it would be cliché for me to ask you what punk means to you, so let’s get something much more hard hitting….so we’re off to the bar, what would be your poison?
Beer, beer we want more beer, all the lads are cheering get the fuckin beer in! And a vodka would go down well too
Cheers and good luck with the new record.
Many thanks!
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