Posted on Jan 20, 2005 by Tom

Eight Mockers is an Italian ska-core band that is struggling to convince people to turn up the volume and dance to the soothing sounds of their infectious blend of ska, punk and hardcore. They released one of the best ska-core album of 2003 and are now ready to conquer the world (or Europe at least). What else would you expect from the European counterpart of the Mad Caddies? We had a little chat with guitar player Massy, who was kind enough to fill in a big set of questions. Read on to find out what the Italian scene is lacking and... more imporantly, what it's not...

I'm sure a lot of people aren't too familiar with The Eight Mockers, so please tell us more about how you started, where you are from precisely, who is in the band.

We founded the band in the summer of 1998. We’re from Ravenna (Emilia Romagna) and consist out of Massy (guitar), Gento (vocals), Paolo (bass), Davide (guitar), Sibode (trumpet), Leo (trombone), Fede (drums) and Jay (staff).

Why did you change the band name from The Mockers to the Eight Mockers?

There already was a USA based band called the Mockers, so they contacted us and asked us to change the name. That’s the reason we changed it.

What is your connection to the "Mocking" thing. Are you guys always in for a practical joke? Do you think life is miserable enough already that mocking things may just make it a bit more bearable? Is it a bit the general motto of the band and it's members?

No… In 1998 we were looking for a band name, but we were young and a bit stupid. That’s why we chose the Mockers. After all those years of playing, we don’t really see a reason to change our name.

Do you guy pull stunts on each other ? If so, whom did what to whom recently? Who's the jackass" of the band?

Sibode is a very, very funny guy… and stupid. I think that we can state that he is the jackass of the band.

You chose to call your album "Ready To Explode". Why that title?

We didn’t really wanted an album named after a song title, but we recorded a very important song for the band. It’s called “Welcome home”. The lyrics of the song are about the emotions that we feel during one of our concerts: we’re ready to explode when playing. We hope that our fans feel the same way.

Where did you record it, how long did the recording take place and whom produced it?

We recorded our record at Fear studios. We’ve been there for forty six-hour days. The release is a collaboration between the band and UAZ records. We payed the recording bill and the label paid for the cd copies.

Are you happy with the outcome of the album now that you can look back on it?

We’re happy with it, but the recording sound and arrangements could be better this time around. We’re not too happy about the artwork either, as we’ve done it in a few days and could be much better.

How have the reactions been since it was released, and especially in your own country? Do you think the CD earned you a loyal fanbase?

We haven’t had that many reactions on the cd yet. The people who comment on the cd or live performance say fantastic things. It’s just that we’ve got a problem with the distribution of the record, so not too many people have heard it yet. It’s hard to get heard, especially for a ska-core band in Italy. For pop-punk bands it’s certainly doable, but for us it’s very difficult.

What surprised me was the variety of influences you put into the album. Is that one of the benefits of being in an 8-member band?

Certainly. We’ve got many influences. Everyone of us listen to different kinds of music and we like it that way.

How do you write songs with such a numerous crew? Everybody adds their piece or is it mostly one person writes the songs?

When somebody has an idea that everybody likes, we start to work on it with the whole band. All arrangements are developed by all of us together. Mostly, Sibode comes with the first idea for a song, then the band works out the music and all the lyrics are written by Gento.

What would you say are the disadvantages of being with so many people in the band?

Many different minds can create a chaos. Sometimes, the contrast between the ideas is very big. For example, when arguing about buying a tour bus, we all had a different opinion. It was very hard for us to decide what to do, especially for the back-line of the band.

The ska-genre isn't so popular as it used to be back in the day, so what inspired you to play that particular style of music?

When we started to play, ska-core was pretty new in our country. We like punk, hardcore and ska, so you can see the reason why we picked ska-core as our style.

What would you say where your inspirations to start the band? What music did you guys listen to while growing up?

we all like rock in general. From the very start, anyone of us has listened to various musical genres, but no one listens to house of techno music.

Why did you decide to cover a song by the Dire Straits on the album?

Massy heard it on the radio the other day and immediately thought of a ska-core version of the song. It’s a very famous and funny song too.

How did you get in touch with Uaz Records?

After a concert organized by the Shandon, the owner of the venue gave us the phone-number of Silvio who owns UAZ records. He knew Silvio was looking for bands to put on his Italian Ska Invasion Compilation! They liked out music and when we recorded “Ready To Explode”, they chose to release the album on UAZ. That’s the story…

Are you happy with the way they are promoting/distributing the album?

The exposure in magazines, web-zines and concerts is very good. The real problem is the distribution though. Venus distribution hasn’t done a very good job with distributing our record. The problem with UAZ records is that their website has been under construction ever since we signed with them.

The label doesn't even have a website with info about their bands on it so it doesn't appear to be a very active label or a label that takes itself seriously for that matter. Maybe you can shed some light onto this matter?

You’re right about that. We don’t know what to say. No website, no information…

How would you assess the strength of the Italian scene at this moment? Which talented bands should we look out for?

The Italian scene is very young and the fans seem to only like the trends passing by… The big trend in Italy is pop-punk right now. You should check the Hormonauts though: they’re a very cool rockabilly band.

How's it like to be a punkrock band from Italy? is it hard to get good concerts in your home country?

That’s one of the most difficult things in the world. If only we could play more shows…

What can we expect from the 8 Mockers in 2005? Any plans for new material yet? If so how will it compare to the old stuff?

We’re sure that we can produce another album. We haven’t got any money yet, but we hope to sell copies of “Ready to Explode” to cover that up. We’re writing new songs, which have better arrangements, are technically more profound and a bit slower that the older ones. For 2005, we’re going to try to play many shows in Italy. The latter concerts are longer in length than the older ones. We now get to play an hour, including both new and old songs.

Is there one thing that you really, really really want to do in your musical careers or are you just along for the ride of playing live in front of a crowd!?

We only want to do it! Play, play and play! Nothing else matters!

Time for some random questions to get to know your musical preferences a little better! What's playing in your stereo at the moment?

From the old stuff of NOFX and Lagwagon to RX Bandits, the Police, the Cure, Motorpsycho, Velvet Revolver and Calexico.

What song that is currently on the radio do you shamefully admit to liking?

Gwen Stefani’s new single…

What did you buy during your Christmas shopping?

Nothing special really. Every band member has bought something, but money is a very big problem for us.

Any famous last words?

Stop with the pop-punk bands! It’s the same old story for all the bands!

Taken On:

January 20th, 2005

Interviewees:

Massy (Guitar)

Related Links:

• eightmockers.com

Band Profile

Band Of The Month November 2004

Album Reviews

Ready To Explode Oct 21, 2003

Interviews

Jan 20, 2005