Interview par e-mail de Casino Cowboys aka DryConditions, Emotional Punk Hardcore, Zurich

Hey guys, just to get things started maybe you could briefly introduce yourself and your band in few words?

Alright. We’re Marc, Benjamin, Ramin and Michael. Our bands name is dryconditions and we’ve been playing music together since ever our dizzy brains can remember.

 

How would you describe your music?

It’s not Jazz nor Classic so i guess it`s called Modern Rockandrollmusic, at its loud and annoying version. Some Postrokoko kind of thing.

 

You all used to play under the name « dryconditions ». Why did you decide to change your name to « Casino Cowboys »?

Since the myspace wave took over and the border between reality and fantasy shaded in our eyes pretty alot, we wanted to play with that idea of a fake identity. We liked that with our “new” band who consisted the same members, songs and haircuts we could have the same amount of credibility and friendswhatsoever after existing only a couple of weeks in the virtual world – compared to what we had done couple years out there (which included around 200 concerts) …

 

You’ve got a couple of tunes posted on your myspace page. Have you recorded a demo or something?

Those are songs we recorded at the AlphaOmega Studio in Como for our new album! We also recorded some other songs at Eversound Studios in Effretikon (Zürich), which are also going to be on the new record.

 

Any plans to put out an EP or maybe even a LP soon? Got any contacts with labels or distributors?

The new LP should come out « soon » (whatever that means). As already mentioned the songs are recorded, we just need to give birth to this baby. Right now it looks like we’ll be putting out the record by ourselves.

 

What do your songs generally talk about?

This time we avoided overloaded connotations, so we worked impartially with stories or collages from situations that happened or we found somewhere, sometimes in a picturesque manner.

They can be seen as an answer to the contemporary issue of subjectlessness, due to the superindividualisation, not only in a musical environment but of a whole generation and society.

 

What are your main musical influences?

Influences change all the time. We used to be influenced by punkrock, then it was hardcore, metal, emo, rock’n’roll etc… Before we started writing songs for the new record we were mostly listening to straight melodic/indie rock music, which probably had an influence on the new songs. But basically we listen to all kinds of music. A lot of my favourite bands have a totally different sound than ours.

 

I gather Marc, the bass player, also plays in the Zurich band « Snitch ». Has that experience helped in any way with this band? Are you able to easily combine both bands?

Marc: As I unfortunately can’t split myself into two pieces, it’s sometimes hard! I already played 3 times two shows with the two bands on the same day. It’s all about having a schedule and setting priorities. It’s a bit like “first come first serve”, which means, that the first show that’s confirmed will be played and if there’s a second request about a show that is not too far away, I’ll try to manage also playing that one too. It’s not always easy for everybody involved, but as everybody is going through a hardworkin’ time right now, the reason for not playing too many shows is not only depending on me/snitch. We’ll see what the future brings, but it shouldn’t be a big deal, think of other musicians who play in 4 or 5 bands at the same time, it’ll work out somehow! I am very glad to see the cowboys at the snitch shows and the other way around, as everybody gets along very well with everybody. We’re always having great aftershow parties together!

 

Does anybody else in the band have any other musical or artistic projects on the side?

No. We are pretty busy with our studies and work. There’s not much spare time left besides that and the band. Mikey plays in a successful Reggae band in Jamaica but I guess doesn’t want me to go into details…

 

You seem pretty implicated in the Zurich alternative scene. How does it compare to other Swiss cities and scenes? Like is there a big difference between the French and German part of Switzerland?

The hardcore-scene changed a lot in the past couple years. There are more big hardcore shows in big venues, and less good shows in small venues as the whole government has closed up some of them… especially in Zurich that’s the case. And it seems that with the venues, also the bookers have gone away… (I think of the times, when I saw Darkest Hour in a tiny squat or Hot Water Music & Trial By Fire & Fear my Thoughts in a Youth Center).

Of course there`s a difference even between each and every little city, but as our country is so small, we would like to look at it as a whole and stop talking it in french/germanpart terms. What do you think?

 

What’s the best memory you’ve had with this band?

Too many to mention them all here! But meeting new friendly people on tour is always great!

 

I remember you (« Dry Conditions » at the time) opening for Stretch Arm Strong a few years back in Zurich. Do those « bigger » gigs open up doors for bands like yourself?

Yes, they do. Basically the more people there are to see you play live, the bigger are the chances that we’ll be able to reach these people so they’ll come to our shows again, get interested in our music etc…

 

What do you guys think about all these new websites (like Myspace etc.). Do you think they’re a real support to bands who are starting up?

A lot of bands nowadays start building up a fan community through the internet because it’s such an easy way to access music. My only worry is that the value of music could change. Because of the easy access to it the market now is over flooded with new bands that become relevant for a certain period of time but aren’t able to really establish themselves. We can choose between so many bands and listen to their music and watch their videos without having to invest as much time into it as we used to. Music itself will not become obsolete but the perception of music has changed.

 

What are your main goals for this upcoming year?

The most important thing right now is to release our new album. Once that’s done we really want to start playing shows on a regular basis again. I guess that’s the one thing we miss the most at the moment, just going up on stage and be loud and stupid and have fun. From there on it’s the same procedure as every year: write new songs, meet new people.

 

 

Got anything else on your heart you want to share with us?

Thanks a lot guys and hopefully see you around here sometime soon 😉 !

 

www.myspace.com/casinocowboys
www.myspace.com/dryconditions

 

 

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