Scene Point Blank one question interviews

Scene Point Blank have been continuing their excellent series of one question interviews with authors of punk and hardcore books.

A while back they asked Charlie Harper of UK Subs about how the process of writing differs to playing gigs with his awesome autobiographical tome, ‘An Anarchy of Demons’.

Now they have spoken with two more of our authors, Greg Soden and Ian Glasper.

Greg Soden, whose new book ‘Unscripted Moments: Conversations with Propagandhi’ is based on his superb podcast and the interviews he has completed with all the band members over the last six years. This book even has a companion double CD of Propagandhi tribute covers to go with it.

SPB asked: You’ve obviously followed Propagandhi for many years – what was the biggest surprise or revelation to you about the band as pieced the book together? 

Greg replied: To me, the greatest joy in interviewing members of Propagandhi for five years was the mutual respect that we built between the project and the band. When the band realized I was working as hard as humanly possible on this project, they afforded me so much of their time to appear on the podcast and conduct the interviews that eventually became the book. The dedication I put into the project made it so the band was more interested in collaborating with me. They are so meticulous with their songwriting and I did my best to be as meticulous with my creation of the podcast and my organization for the interviews.  

Readers of the book may find the format and style of the book different from other band books. This isn't so much a definitive biography of the band as it is a collection of conversations where the history of the band is woven in, but with deeper emphasis on certain songs. What is so fun about the book is that as the band members returned for more interviews throughout the podcast/book, the storytelling got more personal, the anecdotes from their personal lives became more in-depth, and the relationships between members of the band became more clear.  

Another thing that surprised me is the friendship and dynamics between the band members and their excellent fit they have as people. A version of this band has been together for 40 years. I am 42 years old. In my opinion, the relationship between Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky is comparable to Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson's trajectory; two creative spirits that forged a life together in the arts. Chris and Jord forged that life while emphasizing a value-system that inspired a small but mighty group of young people.  

This book is super fun for me because it is representative of this project, not anyone else's project. Readers can explore this book linearly or completely out of order, including reading from back-to-front. I was so surprised the band engaged as much as they did and I'm so grateful they allowed this book to exist. 

https://www.scenepointblank.com/features/one-question-interviews/greg-soden-1qi/

Then Loren Green at SPB also spoke with Ian Glasper, renowned punk and hardcore scene musician and author of such brilliant books as ‘A Country Fit For Heroes’, ‘Silence is no reaction: Forty years of Subhumans', ‘The Scene that would not die’ and ‘Terrorized: The collected interviews. Volume One and Two’

SPB asked: What was the first punk show you saw and do you remember how it inspired you at the time? 

Ian replied: I'm not sure which was the very, very first punk gig I went to, because it's all got a bit blurry over the years, haha, but it would have been either Screaming Dead in Worcester or The Samples in Malvern. I was definitely fifteen, and had been listening to punk for a few years, but was too young -- and too nervous-- to really go to a 'proper' gig. Both the aforementioned bands were local to me, and both had just released classic singles... The Samples had issued Dead Hero on No Future Records, and Screaming Dead had released Valley of the Dead on Skull Records, which was their own label, I think. Anyway, the atmosphere was charged at both gigs; I can vividly remember the excitement of the ferociously loud music and the ominous feeling of impending violence, with punks from different towns giving each other hostile looks -- it was all ridiculously tribal in 1982 -- and the skinheads spoiling for a fight with pretty much anyone. It certainly kept you on your toes, and with the booze we had managed to get our hands on, we were giddy with the thrill of it all. Most of all though, it was inspirational to see two bands from your area releasing music they had written on vinyl and getting reviewed in Sounds... if they could do it, surely so could we? Early the following year (1983) we formed our first band, Ammonia 77, which eventually became Decadence Within, and never looked back.

https://www.scenepointblank.com/features/one-question-interviews/ian-glasper-1qi/

All of Scene Point Blank’s one question interviews are here: https://www.scenepointblank.com/features/one-question-interviews/