Interview with Tony of Masakari 2010

By Bradley Smith

Your new album, The Profit Feeds is blistering ear drums across the world. What do envision when you listen to your own album and how did you end up collaborating with Southern Lord? How is this a progression from your debut 7”, Eden Compromised?

One thing I can tell you for sure is that we did not expect the album to be received as well as it has so far. We have all been in bands since our early teens and this is the first LP any of us has recorded so it was an exciting experience for us. Just before we were going into the studio, Cory from Halo of Flies (released our Eden Compromised EP and the vinyl of the LP) contacted us to inform us that Southern Lord was interested in releasing the CD version of the album. Since none of our labels (Halo of Flies, Alerta Antifascista, Scarecrow, Contraszt!) were planning on doing the only a vinyl release we jumped on the opportunity. Since first talking with Greg at Southern Lord we have had nothing but great experiences so far. We look forward to working with him more in our up and coming projects. There are obvious progressions from Eden Compromised. The biggest progression is our writing opened up on the LP, both musically and lyrically.

You are in the middle of your first European Tour right now. How is it going? How do you compare the European crowds to the US ones? What exactly does a live show from Masakari entail and what are you trying to achieve with your live performance?

(Answering after tour so I will use past tense)

We had an amazing time on the European Tour. The hospitality for touring bands is unbelievable: every day we were fed better than we eat at home, we were guaranteed a place to sleep each night, and breakfast in the morning. This sort of hospitality is rare for touring bands in America. The only thing we hope to convey during our show is the passion we feel for punk/hardcore and maybe pass on a message or two from the lyrics. We just hope to create an energy that everyone that comes to see us can feel and share during our performance.

When forming Masakari, what were some of the bands you looked up to and shaped you both as a musician and in relation to the type of music you chose to play? What are some current bands you admire?

Japanese hardcore bands that include Death Side, Bastard, and GISM. American punk bands like His Hero is Gone, From Ashes Rise, and Tragedy. And of course Cleveland hardcore bands like 9 Shocks Terror, H100's, the Inmates, and Integrity.

Current bands (to name a few): Alpinist, Nails, Black Breath, Oiltanker, Gun Mob, Homewrecker, Mad Minds, Protestant, Punch, Scapegoat, and Brain Killer.

One thing that really comes across in your music to me is urgency and intensity. How do you as a band try to convey that immediacy of your music into the listener? How do you view your style when you look at it through the prism of your musical goals?

It’s the energy that we want to express. We wanted to closely match the feeling of a live performance when listening to the album. We also try to cut out repetitiveness. One thing you can probably notice when listening to our songs is we don’t repeat sections very often. Rather than the typical ABAB repetition (Which many bands have perfected and in that case works well for them) we choose to move on to new parts. This does make writing new songs very challenging but we think the payoff is worth it. Our songs steer away from monotony because there isn’t much time spent on a single riff.

What do you think Religion’s role is in the modern world? Is it an outdated concept that needs to be abandoned? Do you feel that religion is basically the root source of all strife on this planet?

I do not feel that religion has a public role in the modern world. Religion throughout history and up to present time has always enjoyed special societal privileges; tax breaks, (“divine”) power and influence, and even judicial functions (i.e. catholic sex abuse cases). There is too much clerical control in our education, in our hospitals, community groups like the YMCA – the Young Men’s Christian Academy: these things are publicly funded (there is even a case in Venice of the YMCA trying to start a publicly funded private school). This is not even considering the religious influence on State issues like divorce and abortion and I could go on.

Religion plays a big role in the repression of sexuality (oppression of women and gays). Women are controlled by the authoritarian nature of religion's in both society and family as with the roles of gays in society and its “threat” to the traditional family. These are, in my opinion, outdated concepts that must be abandoned to have any sort of progress. Alienation is another topic that goes hand and hand with religions, the worshiper must be alienated from his/her own world to function in an organized and obedient matter; one must become a cog in the larger machine and religions are an easy way to accomplish this goal. Human beings attribute their reality to be God given even to the point of estrangement; they become autonomous agents without the feeling of control in their own world. People alienate themselves this way by viewing themselves in “God's image”. Honestly I think the moral rules defined by religions are opposed to natural human instincts, following these laws goes against our instinct and thus alienates ourselves from our reality. It is my belief that we should be confronting the to institutionalized religious beliefs projected back into the past (socialization and indoctrination) and emancipate man/woman from his/her subjugation. This would relieve some of the strife that occurs today but I wouldn't say its the root source of it all, that would be ignorant to declare.

On your track Pain Conceived As A Tool you decry the horrific act of Dog fighting. What made you choose this issue as worthy of your attention and How do you view individuals who engage in this barbaric activity?

The song specifically attacks Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), which is the restriction and even in extreme cases banning of certain types of dogs based on the perception of being “dangerous”. These labels of “vicious” are given to the breed without any regard to the behavior of the animal.

This is something that is currently affecting Greg and I because we are both proud companions of pit bulls (who are the main targets of BSL right now). These laws serve to hurt innocent dogs and responsible owners not to mention are proven not to improve safety. It’s the perception of the media and the people who support these laws that sustain the ignorant views people have. We hope to at least bring up this topic in the song itself. The song does include dog fighters who abuse the loyalty pit bulls have to their human companions. Each dog fighter (and supporter) should be found, round up, and shot one-by-one in the head. Your existence is shit.

On the album’s Outro you sample a US Soldier’s testimony, where did you get this sample and why did you choose it? What is your feeling about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

It's from Mike Prysner's speech at the Winter Soldier testimony, March 2008. A friend actually suggested that I watch the talk given by him on racism and the military. I thought it was a powerful and well structured talk about the dehumanization of the “enemy” given from a first person account. The overall topic of the Prophet Feeds I would say is how alienated and distanced we are from our own world, this speech seemed to fit perfectly and I think it worked well.

As a crust band do you think that lyrics should be socially conscious? What should a band’s goals and obligations be in regards to their lyrical message? Educate, influence, what?

I have identified with the punk lifestyle since I was an early teenager so I grew up with socially conscious lyrics. Punk does relate a set of values and beliefs that most people have in common and we can communicate with each other through the message in the music. It’s a great way to provide commentary on current issues that are personally affecting us. Lyrics should be personal no matter what the content, I do not feel that there is a set rule to what they should be themed but I think the culture influences the lyrical content. I think if someone can relate to the lyrics then you have a successful song. If anything, I would like to interest someone enough to research and educate themselves on a topic. I have always said people should think for themselves, not follow the leader (we see where this has gotten us over the years).

While we are on the topic of being conscious, what is your opinion regarding the BP oil disaster in the Gulf? What should be done to prevent events like this happening in the future?

The BP oil spill is obviously a tragedy that has and will continue to affect numerous people in Louisiana and elsewhere. I wouldn’t call myself a scholar on the matter so I don’t want to get into preventative measures they could take, because honestly I don’t have a clue but it seems that punishing the company is some way, whether financial or otherwise, could get them to regulate themselves so that nothing like this can happen again.....that being said I guarantee it will happen again. The capitalistic system instilled is what supports these things from happening over and over. Without the abolition of capitalism, corporations are almost encouraged to act irresponsibly in order to attain as much money as possible (corporations are pathological and have no emotional stake in humanity). In this case, BP decided to drill below the depth of 5000 feet. This was warned against because of the dangers predicted but the company ignored the warnings and the outcome was detrimental.

Do you think the world in general is moving towards a more racially/culturally divided place? I mean there are outbursts of anti-immigration taking hold in various places, and especially in friction zones like Arizona. What is your opinion of what is going on down there on the political and social fronts? How do we as a society fix the issues associated with illegal immigration?

It is depressing to me. I can’t quite grasp my head around the race debate. Race is a social construct; it is only meaningful because humans give it power. People are conditioned however to see the differences in appearance first and then apply their own judgment solely on that. Race is an easy scapegoat and if those in power keep the oppressed masses fighting each other they have less time to fight back. While it is something we have to live with it is up to individuals to break free from a system that forces racial stereotypes down our throats. As far as illegal immigration goes, isn’t it kind of hypocritical for a nation of mostly only 2nd or 3rd generation Americans to be complaining about it?

After you get back from your European tour what are the upcoming plans for Masakari? Any other tours planned or any new music headed our way? Any projects that you have outside of Masakari that will be eating up your time?

Currently we are taking some time to write some new material for two potential releases in 2011 that we are really excited about. We cannot reveal all the details as of now because we are still solidifying the plans but the first release should be in the summer of 2011. As for touring, we have plans to do weekend tours in the beginning of next year, another European Tour in July, and a hopeful west coast US tour in the winter of 2011. We all are in other projects as well to keep busy: Heartless, Wind of Death, Little Sister, and a few other bands that are in the early stages.