Little less than two weeks ago (it's 28 November 2014 when I write this) I received a message from Last Crusade vocalist / guitarist Karl if I fancied in doing a review of his band's demo that just got released digitally through their Bandcamp page. It only took me half a listen to realize how fuckin' great their sound was and I immediately asked if they found a label already while I sent my buddy (and boss) Wouter at Rebellion Records a message that he had to hear this! That was two weeks ago, now they're signed to Rebellion Records and I just got the answers below back from Karl for my interview. Enjoy reading!
Hi Karl, thanks a lot for doing this interview! Everything well?
My pleasure! Everything is pretty good. Went to visit family in Montreal for two weeks, back at work now.
Let’s kick off with a basic question, since Last Crusade is still rather new. Can you introduce yourself, the rest of the band and how you guys got together? Do any of you have experience in previous bands?
My name is Karl, i'm the main singer and I play guitar. We got Mike on lead guitar, Ralph on bass and vocals and Ben on drums. We all live in different cities but we practice in Leeds. I met Mike through mutual friends. He and Ben wanted to start a skinhead band and were looking for people to do it. I gave it a shot and we had a couple of practices, then we asked Ralph to join on bass. I met him at a Boston Strangler gig in Sheffield. He has good music taste, is enthusiastic and seemed into what we were doing so it was a no brainer. We've all played in tons of bands, ranging from Straight Edge hardcore to street punk to metal and many others. Not much worthy of mention though haha.
Recently you released your first demo with your band Last Crusade and from the reactions online, including myself, everyone is incredible enthusiastic about this release! Did you expect this when you uploaded the recordings on your Bandcamp page a few weeks ago?
I'll be perfectly honest, I had no idea how people were going to react to it. I must say I'm surprised and humbled by people's reactions to it. We went into the studio and did the best we could, and we were pretty chuffed with how it came out and to us that was more than enough. But the fact that the feedback was nearly unanimously positive means a lot to us as a band, definitely.
Can you tell in a nutshell what your three own songs, “Deadbeat”, “Morally Bankrupt” and “Cycle Of Terror”, are about?
"Deadbeat" is about a period in my life (which is thankfully behind me) where I didn't really feel like I was doing anything or going anywhere and was pissed off at myself and the world. I'm sure plenty of people can relate to that to varying degrees. "Morally Bankrupt" which was written by our bassist Ralph talks about how mainstream media manipulates information and controls what people think, and also how they'll write or say anything just to generate sales and ratings. And finally "Cycle Of Terror" is a song against religious fundamentalism and religious fanaticism. Pretty straightforward really.
Besides these three songs, there’s also a Warrior Kids cover on it entitled “Personne”. An odd, but excellent, cover for a band from Northern England. Are these your influences, since you are originally from Canada?
Our influences are all over the place, but French Oi!/punk is definitely up there, for me anyway. We chose to do the Warrior Kids song on the demo because it's kind of out of left field for an English Oi! band to do, it's really fun to play and also the lyrics are brilliant and express exactly how I feel. Marc the singer from WK actually said he liked the cover, which again is very humbling.
How did you, as a Canadian, wind up in the UK? Was your immigration related to work or personal life? And how do you like the UK and Europe?
I moved to Manchester to live with my girlfriend who is British. If i'm being completely honest I love England and I never want to leave haha. I've got a great job, the Hardcore and Skinhead scene here is awesome, barely any snow/cold, plus you've got proper football, curry, chips'n'gravy, what more can you ask for really .I'd like to point out that Mike is also Canadian but born of English parents and has the broadest Yorkshire accent you'll ever hear, so I'm the only true foreigner haha.
Does it (you being from the other side of the world) bring any other influences, both musical or lyric wise, to the band compared to your British band mates? Is there a different approach or view on sound and lyrics?
Not really. Maybe I've got a bit more Hardcore influences than the rest of the boys but that's pretty much it.
And what would you say are your influences (both sound and lyrics) in general?
Our influences are pretty broad haha. If I had to name some bands I'd say Blitz, Negative Approach, Templars, Cock Sparrer, Rose Tattoo, Camera Silens, Komintern Sect, etc. too many to name really.
Do you perform any more covers from those bands that influenced you? Are there more French sung songs in your repertoire?
-We're gonna learn some more covers soon, a few classics and also a few more out of left field songs to keep it interesting. I don't know if we will cover more French songs but it's a possibility.
It’s obviously no secret you are into old French Oi!. What are your favorite French classics? What three albums would you recommend as a must-hear to those who aren’t quite familiar with the oldies yet?
Three is too few but here are some of my favorites:
- Camera Silens - Réalité
- Komintern Sect - Les Seigneurs De La Guerre
- And here's a modern classic: Maraboots - Dans La Nuit. I must have listened to that record hundreds of times since it came out. RIP Maraboots.
Do you consider yourself a collector of vinyl? What are some of the gems in your collection?
Unfortunately no. I live in a pretty confined space at the moment so I've not got much room for vinyl. However once my missus and I move into our own house I definitely plan to get a decent collection going.
Maybe obvious, but it’s a bridge to my final question... when can we hear Last Crusade on a crackin’ piece of wax! What will 2015 bring for you guys?
Our demo will shortly be coming out on a 7" on Rebellion Records. In 2015 our plans are to play gigs, write more songs and put out an EP and maybe a few splits. We'll see where it takes us but I'm pretty excited for what's ahead.
Okay that’s it, thanks again! If there’s anything you would like to add to this interview, feel free!
Thanks a lot for the interview, and thanks to our supporters, you guys rule. Special thanks to everyone who keeps our scene healthy, fun and free of drama and political bullshit.
