![]() ![]() Before technology came into our lives so much, exploring on tour was really hit or miss. I remember discovering MP3 players for the first time there. I’d go to their electronics district and find stuff that they don’t have in America. Japan in particular is like another world. I loved going to Asia back then, and I still do. Eventually we’d go out and find a doner kebab place that was open, which is how we got into those. When we first started touring Europe you’d play to maybe 1,500 people in a city like Berlin and be psyched, but the next night you’re playing some little village where everything shuts super early, so you’d end up sitting backstage with nothing to do with your free time. Presumably there was a downside to touring pre-social media and smartphones, too… “There was. As for the crowds at shows, I see a lot of it, but I think that’s because a lot of our fans are older, so they’re not killing each other in the pit anymore! That’s why we still need young fans to come and stir it up.” Everyone makes fun of each other for using technology all the time. Do you find that other people you tour with are like you? Or are they all glued to Instagram? “( Laughs) It’s a good balance. When on tour, you often take out younger bands with you. We caught up with Lou to find out how Sick Of It All managed to do what they did, and how they keep going. Since forming Sick Of It All with his brother and guitarist Pete, they’ve been the band’s only mainstays, although the line-up has been stable since 1992, completed by bassist Craig Setari and Armand Majidi on drums. You get the feeling though, that’s exactly how Lou Koller likes it. Given that hardcore is based on unity, it’s rare that its frontmen ascend to any kind of star-like status. They also continue to pull impressive crowds to their indomitable live shows, which pair the bone-rattling intensity of songs that wage war on bigots, liars and corrupt authority figures with the celebratory vibe that they’ve earned from being the self styled “ambassadors” of New York hardcore, spreading its universal appeal around the globe for over three decades now. In the three decades that followed, they’ve survived the trends that have come and gone, and released genre classics such as 1994’s Scratch The Surface and its 1997 follow-up Built To Last on a major label without one iota of compromise.Īs a result, they count everyone from Slayer to Rise Against among their fans and friends. Formed all the way back in 1986 and still swinging as hard as ever, Sick Of It All are a slice of living, breathing punk rock history.īy far the most successful band of New York’s iconic hardcore scene, they helped create a whole new strain of punk rock, while at the same time doubling down on the genre’s ethos of being true to yourself. Some bands embody much more than just music. ![]()
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