The Traditionals are going strong for over 17 years already! With a recent split being released with True Grit and a brand new album in the works, I thought it would be a good time to ask founding member Dave a few questions!
Hi Dave! First of all thanks a lot for doing this interview! How are things going?
Glad to ! Everything is going well lately.
For those who aren’t familiar with The Traditionals yet, can you give us a brief history of the band?
The Traditionals formed 17 years ago in 1997. We are from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I was a founding member and guitarist of the band The Sussed from 91-97. The Sussed, who were on Sta-Press Records split in 97 and The Traditionals formed immediately after. The Traditionals have released 5 full length L.P.s since we started up. All but one was released on Impact Records from Germany. We have also been on many compilations. Garry Bushell’s “30 years of Oi!” Backstreets of American Oi 2, and others. We have toured in Europe twice with the bands Evil Conduct, Hardskin, 4 –Promille, and Bad Co. Project. We also have done some touring in the states. We have played festivals such as HITS 2002, Beer Olympics 2000 and 2001, TNT Fest 2012. In the most recent years we have supported Rancid and the Transplants in NYC, Infa Riot and also The Blood. There have been some member changes.
Can you tell something about the line-up over the years. The Traditionals started out in ’97 and are still going strong, how do you keep a bond so strong for over 17 years?
We did start in ‘97. The lineup has however changed over the years. Matt replaced Craig on Bass in 2007, Aj replaced Rick on guitar in 2006, and Tim has replaced Joe in 2011. We have never taken a break and worked through the changes over the years. I believe the band has stayed together and strong because we practice every week like clockwork and do not miss unless an emergency. Even though we have played the songs millions of times we keep ourselves together and tight each week. That is the key in my opinion. We all love Oi! Music and enjoy what we do very much.
Recently you released the “Working Class Heroes” split EP with True Grit (Canada), you also played a few shows with these guys. Buddies of yours?
Yes, True Grit has become good friends over the years. We played a show with True grit during the summer of 2012 in Toronto. Since then we have gotten together on several occasions. They are our kind Oi! Band. Real skins that I think will be around for years to come and last the test of time. Back in 2012 , when I had heard that they were not signed and had nothing released, I worked with the German Label “Clockwork Firm” to do the split with them. I thought the scene needed to hear them as soon as possible. I’m glad it all worked out. The split was the 1st 7” our band has been on. We have only done full lengths.
On this split you are featured with the song “They Sold Us Down The River”, a different version that was on “Steel Town Anthems” and recorded in 2009(?). Was there much delay in the release of this EP? Or is there another reason you released this version?
There was a big delay on the release. We recorded 3 songs in 2009 for the purpose of the “30 years of Oi! Comp that was to be released on Contra Records. Garry Bushell chose “Violence in the City” for the comp. We had two other songs one of which was “Sold us down the River” that were not used or released. We re-recorded the track for our album but always wanted to release the older version as a single.
You guys also got a brand new album in the works, in what phase of this record are you? Writing, recording, mixing? How is it going?
Yes, we do. The new album was recorded two weeks ago in June 2014. The mixing is complete and it has been sent off to the Record Label. I cannot wait until its release. 13 all new songs. This album marks a big step for us. It will be released on Randale Records in Germany this time. We are very happy and proud to be part of this label alongside such great and classic bands. We are also going to be on a split single with Evil Conduct for the US Market this summer with one of the tracks. We owe a special thanks to Lars Frederiksen for all the help and support over the last several years.
Can you tell a bit about the content of this record? What can people expect and what are the lyrics about?
There are 13 new songs in this one. The songs are about subjects such as Daily Struggle, fighting in foreign wars for no reason, Bootboys taking over a party, Unity of the Working Class movement, and other things in our lives.
I believe the new album will be released by Randale Records, this while your last four albums got released by Impact Records. How did this new cooperation got together and why did you decide to part with Impact Records?
It was a tough decision. Impact was very good to us in the 10 years we were on the label. I think 10 years is a lifetime in itself for most punk bands., It was time to see what else was out there for us. Impact didn’t focus on street punk/ Oi! In particular. We wanted to be on a label that featured Oi! Bands first and foremost. Lars is a friend of the band and also assisted in getting us this opportunity.
You guys got a thing with German labels? When is it coming out?
I have to say that we like the way German Labels treat us. Touring in Europe is also very cool. They treat you as a musician and with respect. You don’t seem to get that at the venues in states. Punk bands are treated like crap. No American label has ever offered what the Germans can. Its not like we make any money at this. We just like to try to break even or buy us rounds of beers at our shows. I think the new album should be out in the fall ? Not really sure though.
On previous releases you guys covered tracks by Cock Sparrer, Motörhead, The Oppressed and Sham 69. You like playing the classics? Are there any others in your live-set?
Yes, we do like to play the classic stuff. We have played many covers over the years. The members of the band formed a side project 5 years ago or so called “Sons of Oi!” We changed instruments, Tim our drummer on guitar and AJ our guitarist on drums. We learned 30 or so classic Oi! Songs. We played with this project quite a few times. It always got a great crowd response and was a lot of fun for us to play the songs we grew up listening to live. It has been a couple years since we have done it but some of the covers made it into The Traditionals set. One way System, Vicious Rumors, Oxymoron, Sham, Oppressed, Blitz, Adicts, 4 skins…you name it. Great times doing that.
Would you say the bands you cover are your favorite ‘old’ bands? And what about the new blood? What are your favorite current bands?
I have been hopelessly addicted to Oi! Music since I was a young skinhead at 15. The bands we cover are in the tops for sure. I admin an Oi! Group on Facebook called “Classic Oi! and Punk Rock Tunes” since 2011. I get to hear a lot of new and old in there on a daily basis. Current new bands I like are : Marching Orders, Booze and Glory, Evil Conduct, Argy Bargy, True Grit, Perkele, Skinflicks, Victory, 99 bottles and many more. The music seems to just be getting better lately.
Any of them you’d like to do a split release or tour with in the future?
We are going to be doing a split with Evil Conduct as I was saying before. They are friends and we really like their music. I hope we can support them in a tour sometime in the near future again. We toured in Germany in 2006 with them for a bit. A great bunch of guys!
Okay man, I am about to round this up. Final question, what are the future plans for The Traditionals? If there's anything you would like to add, feel free to do so!
We plan to keep on keeping on. I hope to be doing this until I cannot anymore. It is a big part of my life and we still have a lot of fun. Keep your eyes open for us in the future. Thanks for taking the time to interview me about the band. I hope to meet you at a bar stool someday to buy a round or two. Here is to the next 17 years of the band. All the best ! Dave
