Brob's Tilt! fanzine

Brob interviewed for Express Your Feelings #10

Interview for the Czech zine Express Your Feelings (1999-ish)

(translation below)

Fanzines are the basis of any scene’s awareness, so it would work somehow. My intention was to present some quality foreign zines. Unfortunately in reality it turned out a bit different, so you only get to read the interview with Brob who does Tilt magazine! (and a little piece about Slug & Lettuce).

You have been active in the HC/punk scene for more than 15 years. How did you even get to this? What does it mean to you?

I first got to know of punk when I heard the ‘Sex Pistols’ on the radio sometime in ‘76-‘77. The music absorbed me and I was also interested in the non-conformist way of life. My involvement in (any) scene was not particularly strong then: I went to concerts in my area and within a short time I came into contact with local punk rock legends ‘The Dirty Scums’ and anarcho-punks ‘No Numbers’. I went to concerts with them and got to know people in punk circles. In ‘83 I started my own band ‘Repulsives’, which underwent two line-up changes and died in ‘86-‘87, after a lot of concerts (we were very popular at the time) and a recording intended for a split-LP with the Brazilian band ‘Colèra’ (the the album was never released, because the label, disappeared). My other band ‘Yuppies’ Death’ only existed for about a year. Meanwhile, I had started organising concerts in my hometown. When the police closed the place down, my friends from the band ‘Hate Crew’, who planned to set up concerts in Aalst, asked me if I wanted to join them. With this collective – Smurfpunx – until the beginning of the ‘90s, we did a lot of well-attended concerts for a bunch of local, Belgian and foreign bands. Then I joined a volunteer group around the Vort’n Vis autonomous centere (in Ypres).

Some time in ‘84 I had also started my zine Tilt!; at first only as info for the local scene (the first two issues were in Dutch), then for a wide range of people. Because I was working and still doing concerts, Tilt! got out on an irregular. At the same time, I also started selling records and zines, because nobody in my area sold DIY stuff … From ’93 on, I focused my distro more on zines and political literature. I still sell some music too but not as much as before. Due to differences of opinion, I had to leave Vort’n Vis, but I soon joined the Newland collective (a collective organising concerts, discussions, and publishing a zine). Currently I work much more locally: in the anarchist and squat-scene, for example I am a volunteer in our anarchist infoshop. I stopped organising concerts, but sometimes I still arrange bands.

What does this all mean to me? The HC/punk scene is an opportunity for me to try to realize my ideals in practice. I keep saying that this sub- or counterculture (whatever you want to call it… but there’s a difference) has a great potential to change some things (even if it’s just the mentality of people) and can be an example and a kind of guide for young people who feel that this world is far from perfect. Perhaps it can show them where to go and introduce them to more revolutionary movements. That way I learned a lot of things that I probably would never have heard about otherwise, and it’s also a place where I met a lot of people and made friends.

You put out a zine called Tilt! Can you tell us something about it?

Like I said, Tilt! started to inform the local scene in my hometown about other scenes in Belgium and in the world. It presented (presents) bands from here and abroad, I try to remain critical (the band must deserve my support/approval – and I don’t mean just musically) and I also try to look at things from different angles. (I’m not just interested in the musical side of a certain band, but rather the opinions of those people – or their activities (distro, label, etc.).) I think it’s important to know something about the band before you start talking to them. I also try to let my own thoughts shine through in those conversations. This confrontation of thoughts and opinions can be a benefit. In addition, I also review zines, tapes and records; and publish various political articles. Most of the time I do everything myself, by times someone writes something for me. After the first issue was published, I moved away from my hometown. I got more and more contacts, and people outside of Belgium wanted to know what was happening here (and vice versa: my friends wanted to know what was happening elsewhere), so I started publishing Tilt! in English from the 3rd issue. Between ‘84-‘97 I did 9 issues, sold over 1.000 copies of #8 (people wanted more, but I didn’t have the money to do more). I don’t print paid advertising (I want to remain absolutely independent and critical), I take money from my savings; the magazine essentially pays for itself. Sometimes I print free ads for things or people I really like (when there’s room left). I always have a lot of ideas in my head (some also on the computer) for other issues, but I also contribute to other zines (Newland, Profane Existence, Spectacle, …). I’m currently working on #10 but due to financial issues I have no idea when it’ll be out (if at all, maybe I’ll end up printing the things somewhere else).

Here’s a summary of previous issues: #1. ‘Scoundrels’ (Hol), anti-fascist info, Danish scene-report… #2: ‘Concrete Sox’ (UK), ‘K.G.B.’ (Ger), ‘Ludichrist’ (USA), ‘Dawn Of Liberty’ (Bel), ‘Get Stuffed’ (Bel), Hageland Recs (Bel), … #3: ‘Negazione’ (lta), ‘Anguish’ (Bel), ‘Lärm’ (Hol), ‘Hate Crew’ (Bel), Mike Muir (Suicidal Tendencies), … #4: ‘So Much Hate’ (Nor), ‘Desecration’ (USA), ‘L.U.L.L.’ (Den), Positive Peer Pressure (USA), ‘C.O.C.’ (USA), ‘Heibel’ (Bel), ‘Mental Disturbance’ (Bel), ‘Chronic Disease’ (Bel), apartheid, squatting, … #5: ‘76% Uncertain’ (USA), White Rose Collective (USA), ‘Political Asylum’ (UK) , ‘Th’Inbred’ (USA), Aldous Huxley, Nabate (Bel), cultural conflicts, … #6: ‘Sofa Head’ (UK), Polish scene-report, ‘F.F.F.’ (Ger), ‘Decadence Within’ (UK), ‘Born Against’ (USA), ‘Econochrist’ (USA), ‘Zero Positives’ (Bel), … #7: ‘One By One’ (UK), ‘Sons Of Ishmael’ (Can), ‘Turbo Reanimacija’ ( Lit), X-Mist recs (German), Belgian Vegan Society, Spanish scene-report, ‘Blindfold’ (Bel), For Mother Earth (Bel), HC activists over 30, … #8: ‘Acme’ (Ger), ‘Graue Zellen’ (Ger), ‘Fabric’ (UK), ‘Shortsight’ (Bel), ‘Undone’ (Fra), ‘Voorhees’ (UK), interviews with women from the international HC scene, radical D.I.Y., major labels, free love, … #9: ‘Alians’ (Pol), Crucial Response recs (Ger), ‘D.D.I.’ (Ita), ‘Hiatus’ (Bel), ‘Juggling Jugulars’ (Fin), ‘Los Crudos’ (USA), ‘Mainstrike’ (Hol), gay rights, global capitalism, propaganda, …

What are your ideals? Do you see your life as a struggle?

I hate cynicism, I hate injustice and I have quite a sense of responsibility. I’m an idealist because I have a conscience. Like many other people, I would like to create a better world for myself, for the people I love and for everyone else. Maybe it sounds pathetic but I believe that humanity should somehow stand higher, stand out, prove that it is capable of making good use of what nature has given us: our universe. I’m never satisfied with what I have or what I’ve achieved, and I think that’s how it should work for everyone.

The HC/punk scene has achieved quite a bit of that already. We’ve shown (and are showing) that we can take a lot of things into our own hands. There’s great revolutionary potential but we should be able to use it properly. We have to show by our own example that it’s possible to create an alternative to the capitalist system, even if only on a smaller scale. Together with others (anarchists, squatters, etc.) we should try to spread this by example and encourage (especially the younger) people to do the same.

I see no other reason for existence than to gain knowledge and improve myself, and that is struggle, indeed. It’s a battle because we don’t always communicate the right way, or because people are selfish, etc. When you’re dead, it’s all over. Life after death is a lie, it’s something to scare people and keep them in line. If we want to make a mark, if we want to be remembered, we must act now and here. We were gifted with life to make things better for ourselves and for future generations and that’s the point.

What does DIY ethics mean to you? What do you think about people making money from HC/punk?

For me, HC/punk represents the following… The HC/punk scene is to be seen as an alternative to the capitalist music-industry and the rock’n’roll circus. This industry tries to get to and attract young people towards a consumerist way of life (which guarantees the businessmen their profit and thus more power) by using things that play a big role especially in the lives of young people: music, fashion and “alternative” lifestyle (their “alternative” is superficial and aimed at parents, school, etc. but doesn’t attack the real powers), they try to sell/market stuff, goods. Our alternative is intended as an equal, honest and long-lasting battle – based on solidarity – against those who want to control our lives, dictate to us their rules of power, abuse and destroy our world. I think that in the given situation it’s impossible to win this fight (not in this era of selfishness) on a global scale. That’s why I think it’s much more useful and appropriate to teach, to show people what can be done on a smaller scale, i.e. in the HC/punk scene – where the overall atmosphere relies much more on mutual cooperation and where a global network of like-minded people is already established.

That’s also the reason why I react so violently and ardently to people who want to apply capitalist ways to this subculture. People who cash in or try to cash in on any part of the HC/punk scene are greedy vultures who exploit and abuse the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the people who shape our scene. These bastards don’t feel part of the larger whole, they don’t show any solidarity.

That’s why I speak out so strongly against people who run commercial businesses and distributions (especially if they sell commercial stuff and things from major labels). But it’s not the profit I’m afraid of in the first place. I’m more concerned about what this profit is used for. When someone invests money back into the scene, it’s clear that there’s no problem. But people who want to make a living from commercial activities in the scene, intend to survive on them and make them their only source of income, drain energy and money from the scene. It also means that they will have to make certain compromises with the capitalist system and its bureaucratic control of activities within the HC/punk scene, to such an extent that they will deprive this subculture of its very spirit/essence. We all make compromises but I firmly believe that people who do this for a living are already crossing the borders.

HC/punk is – for many people who encounter it for the first time – a music scene; music and fashion, the way it’s presented and laid out is a kind of example for these people. I mean: if they see that it works in a different way than the mainstream, it can show them an alternative way of thinking and living. But when they see that this scene is just copying capitalist ways of promotion and sales, they will not want to change the attitudes/thoughts indoctrinated by the system. The people who run distributions have a lot of responsibility in respect to the scene, as do bands, zine-publishers or labels. Unfortunately very, very few of them do it in the spirit of solidarity – practically all of them are just hypocrites, selfish and greedy pawns of capitalism. I don’t see any harm in a recordstore based on solidarity outside the capitalist system. This is what gives the scene its real meaning. But anything focused primarily on profit is reprehensible!

Would you like to say something punx in the world?

I would like to encourage everyone to consider/evaluate their actions in relation to the HC/punk scene, to think about the essence of this whole ideology, and adjust their attitudes and behaviour based on that. I hope this will lead to less tolerance for the growing commercialisation in this scene. If you disagree with me on something, then start a discussion (with each other or with me) and if you agree: go out and spread these thoughts, try to convince others. All have a responsibility!

I answered these questions not because I think I know the only truth, or to satisfy my ego, but hopefully to start a discussion, show some responsibility and also learn something about myself…