Ploedi:

If you´d first like like to introduce yourself to our readers?

Rick:

Okay, I´m Rick and I sing for 25 Ta Life and Comin´ Correct and I do Back Ta Basics Rec.

Ploedi:

How would you describe 25 Ta Life to somebody who never heard about hardcore or punkrock?

Rick:

Who never heard of it before? Oh man, who never heard of it before, I love it. Would you like that I describe our sound or what else do you wanna know?

Ploedi:

Or how you see 25 Ta Life for yourself?

Rick:

I mean , for the people we are a hardcore band, we play like more of the metal style but the lyrics they´re about unity, acceptance, tolerance, bringing people together, don´t give a shit about color or whether you are punkrock, straight edge or skinhead, whatever, it´s time to break down barriers and bring people together.

Ploedi:

You said your lyrics deal lots about tolerance and stuff like that, how do you see, how would you say that the future of the hardcore scene, what direction is it taking, because in recent time it´s splitting up in punkrock and oldschool and newschool. How do you see the future?

Rick:

Right now a see a lot happening. A lot of people are like divided. Today the hardcorescene includes so many different styles like emo, the hardcore style, straight edge or vegan, punkrock, oi, ska. I mean for us, in the future with 25 Ta Life and Comin Correct I´m happy because we try to open people´s minds up and like take it back to the way as it was when people were more openminded and everybody came together and had more tolerance. Today I think the scene is so big and there are so many different styles and some bands play harder style and people like to dance differently but when 25 Ta Life plays we mainly want the people to have fun. I think we stress that and when you´re on stage it´s up to you to let the people know what kind of band you are and you wanna have a good time and when fights break out you stop and tell the people: Look that´s why I´m where and we´re about having a good time. I think that´s up to the band and if people are spreading like a positive message and the new bands trying to help each other out and setting good examples then I think that the future is gonna be good. I´m happy with 25 Ta Life and the other stuff we do, because we try to bring people together and I think that we definitly set a positive example.

Ploedi:
You said that if there´s fight, you stop to play. I heard that there was a fight at CBCGs and that there aren´t any hardcore shows in New York anymore. Is that true?

Rick:

At some shows. But it doesn´t really has to do with the violence. The violence that was years ago. I think that now people have learned from the past especially at 25 Ta Life. Because I was around when everything closed down, the gangs were beating up the new kids, but now the people who are now involved like Murphy´s Law, Agnostic Front, H20, Madball everybody sets a good example. Everbody knows each other so there´s no really fights. Mainly what happens now is that the bigger clubs got closed down, so CBCGs doesn´t do shows anymore because when the Raybeez Memorial Show happened a kid stagedove and got hurt. Because of insurance. Connyen High got closed down because of the owners backstab and stuff like that ... it´s not because the violence anymore. I think people today have more respect for each other and are trying to build a scene and keep it strong. It´s just that right now there´s not a lot of clubs, but there are still a lot of shows in New York. They´re are just in different clubs now.

Ploedi:

Do you see any differences between the scene in the USA and Germany or Europe and in how far?

Rick:

Yeah, definitely. I think, that here it´s more diverse. There is a lot more different people coming out to shows ... the straight edge kids, punk rock kids, the oi kids, everybody shows up and I think, everybody has more appreciation for the lifestyle. In the States it´s like people picking shows, if they wanna go to a hardcore show, to a punkrock show, to a ska show, it´s more separated. Here I think everybody comes up and has respect for the others lifestyle and everybody comes up and supports the band. I mean not everybody, but from what I see Europe is definitely opened up. When we, 25 Ta Life, started, we were first a hardcore band but because of touring, meeting different people, you know, it opens up your mind. You get older and you see things differently.

Ploedi:

You also spread lots about DIY and stuff like that. But what do you think of bigger Hardcorebands going to huge labels like Roadrunner or whoever?

Rick:

I mean, for me and
25 Ta Life we talked to labels like Century Media and for me, well you know 25 Ta Life is a hardcore band, it´s very important that our records gonna come out on a label that´s gonna put the money back into the future of hardcore. A lot of those labels like that people they choose the hardcore scene to make money. They don´t have anything to do with Hardcore, they´re not in any bands, they don´t put on shows, they´re not into the music. Their only interest is to make money as a bussiness. So for 25 Ta Life, we´re more into it and so we are on a label that puts the money back and help hardcore. I mean money is not a bad thing it just depends on what you´re doing with the money. The fans, my distro, I gotta help put out new bands and new records, I think it´s the point to put the money that´s made back into the hardcore scene so that the hardcore scene stays strong. Help out the new bands, put the money back into the hardcore, so that way I think it stays strong. Nothing big company, for the kids, by the kids, kids supporting each other and doing distros and keeping the scene strong. So the money could go back in the fanzines and when we are on tour, I support as many people as I could, with demos, taking their fanzines up, helping the other kids getting their cds, getting their message out. It´s a lot of work for me, well I´m 29, i´m straight for the last two years as you say they focus in doing what I do.

Ploedi:
So what's
up with Back Ta Basics? Any new releases?

Rick:

I´m working on a new compilation right now: A Call for Unity Part 3 and I put out the new Comin Correct: Straight Edge, the one you reviewed, and I got some new 7“ coming out: One of them is Strength for Reason from Pennsylvania , Reach from New York and As I die, another band from New York. And I work with some other bands, some European and some Japanese bands that are gonna be on the new "A Call For Unity III. Then I´m doing another compilation called "United Worldwide". We´re just trying to help some bands from Europe and Japan up and bring the bands together so that people know who´s active and involved in the scene today.

Ploedi:

Will there be a european release for the new Comin' Correct CD? Probalbly a new one?

Rick:


No, I´m just doing it on myself, kinda like when onescene-unity came out. But that new one is just like that, there are just four new songs and I put a liveset on it. The new one is gonna come out and that´s gonna be released on Goodlife and it´s gonna be released in the States by Triple Crown, the same label, that 25 Ta Life is on and in Europe it´s gonna be released on Goodlife. We try to have it out sometimes next year, maybe in the summer or some like that. But this one was just because we came over to do a little tour because I was coming over here to work some stuff out with Goodlife and so I put the CD out, you know the new songs were recorded to get around for the tour that people have some new stuff. And next year the new cd will be put out.

Ploedi:

Do you consider yourself being a political person?

Rick:

No, not really political. Nothing on politics. I guess in someways, because I´m more about supporting myself and making myself happy and not in society to tell me how to live my life and I´m not really into working like a job or in a factory where I´m gonna hate my surroundings I´m more about living life being free and having a good time, enjoying yourself, looking the way you want, not being money my priority but living life, travelling, and see what the world is about. So you could whatever, but I´m not really into politics.

Ploedi:

What´s up in the future with 25 Ta Life also Comin Correct and all the other projects ... there is a new cd out, what do you plan for the future?

Rick:

The new 25 Ta Life is out right now, we
did a new cd „Friendship, Loyalty, Commitment“ and we´re doing a bunch of split 7“es, we have a split7“ coming out with Spazz on Edison Rec., we have a split7“ coming out with Vorhees on Householdname from England, a split7“ coming out with Breakdown on Aiba Rec., a song on the negative approach tribute comp. Coming out on Aiba Rec. In New York. We try to do like a lot of splits because with 25 Ta Life we´ve been around for 7 years already and we´ve done a lot of tours like in Japan, Europe, the West Coast, the States and right now, when we go home we´re doing 13 shows in Canada and then we´re doing our first tour through Argentina, Brazil and Chile. So we´re just trying to get out there and spread our message and we did so far the 3 EPs the first on SFT, the second We Bite and then the Goodlife Strength through Unity and now the new full length. Well, 25 Ta Life is more a band that´s active in th scene, playing shows and releasing a lot of cds and we´re more about putting out split 7“es bringing people together that they get to know the newer bands. Well that´s the new stuff coming out.

Ploedi:

What was the reason for you guys to put out some older songs on the new cd like shortfuse or the lowdown?

Rick:

Because a lot of the older cds were harder to find and I mean the new stuff is distributed and these are the songs we play the most and so we want everybody to have those songs. Because we play those songs since we started 7 years ago. The new people getting into 25 Ta Life rehearsel songs because those songs are important to us and so we wanted to have them on the new record.

Ploedi:

Some final words?

Rick:

Yeah, just thanks to all the kids, everybody who helps to keep Hardcore alive like people who are active and do fanzines or a distro, everybody who´s involved. And it´s very important that kids support their local scene because that´s where it all starts, with the local bands . So thanks for your support.

Alright, that was our interview with Rick Ta Life who was a very nice person. Sure some of you might think that he bores you with his "Unity, Unity, Friendship" stuff but nobody can
deny 25 Ta Life being an outstandig life band.

A very huge special thank you to x Tom x for typing this one.