If only all the folks I do interview with are so pro active and fast as John I will be one happy bunny. That shows few things about this man, he is dedicated, responsible and hardworking individual. Thank you John for such quick response and commitment to this.

John is known within the London, UK scene mainly from his band Warchrist and Proven where he sang with Louis Gino (check out his story on this page too) as from organizing gigs under the Ready eye collective and helping folks from Rucktion crew.
He is currently singing in new band Infraction (ohh wait, did not I do interview with their guitar player Hannah too? Yeah, check that one here) and I have always wanted to find out more about his life and opinions so why not to catch up with another interesting person from our scene. Enjoy and have fun reading it.

R: How is life during lock down? Have you had the chance to see people or are you self-isolating? What keeps you entertained at home?

J: Hey Roman. Lock down’s been fine for me. I’m my mum’s career and she started to show symptoms of COVID-19 about a week before lock down started, so I’ve been in isolation since then. I’ve been busy with Infraction. Due to the wonders of technology we’ve been able to keep writing and working on our next EP. So that’s kept me entertained along with many games of Street Fighter V.

R: What do you think about that Cumming episode of breaching his own rules and the Bojo excusing him and covering his back? That whole story sucks from the bottom up and makes me wonder, who the fuck is ruling this country?

J: I think the inevitability that nothing was going to actually happen to him left me kind of not caring about it too much. I’m not the most politically minded person so I just watched it play out. In an ideal world, either he would’ve been punished for breaking the guidelines or someone in the Government would’ve been for poor communication with the public, but ultimately, I expected the result we saw.

R: Seems 2020 is time of dramatic changes, not only having Covid 19 spreading across countries but civil uprising in America, do you see any hope in the future coming out of this, Americans will re-elect Mr Orange and the UK will further sink in the Brexit water. How is all this making you feel?

J: I honestly think Trump is going to stroll straight back into The White House with no problems. I hate to say it, but unless the recent events in the US cause a drastic shift in the collective consciousness over there, I think he’ll beat Biden easily.
With Brexit, we have to accept that it’s gone through now. I fucking hate that it did, but that’s where we’re at now. We have to try and make the best out of a bad situation.

R: Tell me more about yourself please. How old are you? Where did you grow up? What are your early memories from your childhood? How was London then and now in your eyes?

J: I’m 41 and grew up in Custom House, East London. A lot of my early childhood was pretty uneventful. I grew up in a wonderful household, the only child of amazing parents. When I got to Secondary School was when things got a little crazier, including getting booted out of one school for fighting all the time. I eventually ended up in a school with some of the original 50 Caliber line-up.

London, as a kid, was my local area. You went to local shops to buy your groceries. It was a five-minute walk to a small street that had a green grocer, a butcher, a Post Office, Newsagent and small general grocery store. You could buy everything you needed within our own community. Most of those kinds of places are gone now, all swallowed up by supermarkets and big brand names. I love the city, I moved out for about five years and I missed the chaos of London, but I think it’s losing that communal sense that I grew up in.

R: Why did you have to fight at secondary school? What happened there?

J: Being the small, skinny guy at school lead to a lot of fights. Honestly, it’s just kids being kids. I think the school had enough of me always being the one in a scrap, regardless of whether I’d started it or not.

R: Returning back to situation in America I guess the racial card in America is pretty fucked up, the country is bloody separated into two, however the UK is not much different when it comes to treating minorities differently, with classical British “charm” and nobles, but still like shit. Not long time ago riots took place in London and across the UK in big cities, stop and search specific ethnicity took place due to massive knife crime triggered in my eyes by poverty and the austerity since the Conservatives took over.
Luckily the UK police is not carrying guns and seems to be more professionally trained than the American counterparts, but with the Brexit vote and the rise of the UKIP and far right groups is not much different than in America when it comes to racism and the emigration card topics. What is happening? Is it the never ending scaring of white middle class voters with emigration what made this country go nuts?
What is your viewpoint on racism in the UK?

J: The thing is, it’s not just the Middle Class that are voting for the likes of UKIP or the Tories, there’s a large chunk of working-class people that are also voting that way. I think most of it stems from ignorance, but some stems from the frustration of those working-class people who are just looking to blame someone.
On a personal front, I think if you’re judging someone because of the colour of their skin, their gender or their sexuality, you can get fucked, I have no time for you.

R: You have played in many London based bands, I cannot count the number of bands I have seen you host or sing for. Tell us more how did you discover hardcore? When it was and who introduced you to the subculture? Name some bands which had an impact on your musical taste. Tell us more about your first band and the bands you played, chronologically if possible haha. Can you remember them?

J: I came to heavy / guitar driven music from hip-hop. From there it was metal, Sepultura I think, was the first real metal band I heard. After being into metal for a bit, I realized a lot of what I was listening to came out on Roadrunner records, so I dived a bit deeper into what they were putting out and found Biohazard, Madball and Vision Of Disorder.
Arguably it was the original 50 Caliber guitarist who introduced me to heavy music in general with that Sepultura album.
The biggest impact on my musical taste is probably Converge, to this day, no-one sounds like them. Obviously those first bands had an impact too. And then it’s really been my friends’ bands, Knuckledust, Ninebar, 50 Caliber, Hellbent Diehard.
I’ve not actually played in that many bands. I started with a band called Deathblow, we played one show in Southend. Then I joined No Survivors, who already had stuff done but had kicked out their singer (can’t remember the exact reason why) so I stepped in, rewrote all the lyrics and re-recorded them. Again, I think we only played a couple of shows, but out of that came Warchrist, with myself, Dan (guitars) and Tom (drums) moving over, eventually I brought in Lauren who had done co-vocals in Deathblow, and obviously DBS who was, at the time, in Kartel and Injury Time.
A couple of years after that band stopped, I was approached by Mark Doolan (formerly of Hellbent Diehard) and asked if I wanted to do something with him and Adam (also from HBDH). Now, I’ve said this many times, Hellbent Diehard are my favourite UKHC band of all time, so getting to work with those two was a bit of a dream. So along with bringing in Louis Gino and Mark recruiting Matt Byrne on drums, we began Proven. We couldn’t find a bassist to start with, but Nicky Baxter (Knuckledust), said he’d help out for a bit, until eventually we got Ian Redding (Diction) in full-time.
Infraction basically started during some downtime with Proven. We were working on an album, but Rich Wooding, who had joined on drums at this point, had decided to take a break from drumming for a bit (I mean he had become the literal “go to gut” at that point), so we were looking for a new drummer. At that point, I was heading over to Adam’s every couple of weeks to write, and we just decided to do something else for a bit of fun and maybe do a side-project from it. When we decided to call it a day with Proven, we began properly looking to recruit the band for Infraction.

R: I noticed you are a huge fan of comics and action figures. Is it something you carried from your early childhood? What is it that attracts you to this world of fantasy? Is it a form of escapism from reality? Be honest this cosplay / comic world is something I have never explored as when I was a kid there were no comic stores at that time either cartoon channels or ways to explore all those action figures, but I knew He-man and Skeleton.

J: A lot of this stems from being an only child and being massively shy and fairly awkward. I’ve always retreated into books, be it comics, or novels or mad science books about physics that I can’t fully understand or grasp.
Comics have the added thing of the artwork. I cannot draw for shit, and when I look at some of the incredible art in these comics and know that they have to pushed out on tight deadlines, I find it very impressive. Comics often deal with bigger issues but in a way that is easier to digest I guess. Take a look at something like Green Arrow’s story on drug addiction “Snowbirds Don’t Fly” from the 80’s which features his sidekick taking heroin on the cover. The entire point of X-Men is about racism. They tell some pretty deep and interesting stories if you’re willing to push past the “comics are for kids” mentality.

R: I totally get the message behind the X-men, being different but having equal rights in society. If you would have the super power you want to, what super power you go for and what would you do to change the world to better place? Let your imagination go.

J. Ha! Bruv, if I had any kind of super-power it’d be terrible for the world. I guess the ability to read someone’s mind would be the most useful, but I can’t guarantee I’d be using it for the good of the world.

R: Haha, I can smell cheekiness from that answer, haha. What martial arts did you practice?
Are you still doing any martial art at the present? Do you remember the first time you went to dojo?

J: I started boxing when I was 5yrs old. My Dad basically insisted that I learn to fight, living in that part of London and being a small, shy kid meant he knew I’d have to be able to defend myself. It was pretty intimidating going into that gym and being that young, but I’m glad I stuck with it. I carried on training there until I was about 22, I also trained in Tae Kwon Do from the age of around 13 until I was 21. Spent about 5yrs doing Wing Chun from 25-30, a little bit of Muay Thai and I was just starting to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when my health decided it had other ideas for me and I basically packed up doing everything, due to the heart condition.

R: You mentioned you have some underlying heart condition, how serious it is and what are the risks for you to carry on doing band, scream your lungs out and make sure you survive the set. That is a bit of a risky business man…sure your parents are not happy about it right?

J: The heart condition is still, 6yrs in, undiagnosed. It can be pretty serious if I don’t notice it coming on. The only way to describe it is that my heart revs up to a very high speed and then stops completely, then revs up again and stops in a cycle. If I notice it starting to speed up, I’ll make sure I slow down and rest, but sometimes, I miss the signs, especially onstage, because of adrenaline or because I’m distracted. In a full-on attack I’ll collapse and end up in hospital overnight. There’s been a few occasions where I’ve come off stage and dropped. But, I’m not going to stop doing the things I love. Just before the pandemic hit, I was looking at going back to BJJ too. I’m at a point in life where whatever happens, happens. I think my Mum knows me well enough at this point to not try and stop me hahaha.

R: You know you missed the 27 club, right, it won’t be cool anymore bro.

J: I’m definitely not looking to drop just yet. Thankfully, so many people are aware of the condition at this point, there’s always someone who notices that I don’t look too good before even I realise it.

R: When have your cooperation with the Rucktion crew started?

J: I’ve been going to Rucktion shows for a long time now. As I said earlier, I went to school with a couple of the original 50 Caliber members, so I saw a few of their early shows, but never really got to know any of the rest of the Rucktion lot at that time. I had stuff going on in my personal life that took precedence over hardcore, so I was only getting to a few shows here and there. I’d say I really started to get to know people around ‘05ish. And like most people, you just start chatting to people at shows, ended up being really good friends with a lot of people.

R: What is the hardest part to organised a gig? Is it the money for the band? To put it together or get a decent venue with decent rent not to ruin your personal budget or deal with rowdy gig attendees?

J: The hardest part is dealing with the other three in Ready Eye hahaha. Honestly, Rich deals with all the difficult stuff like that. My involvement is mainly looking after our cash / budgets and acting as the negative person within the group, making sure we acknowledge any “worst case scenario” situations.

R: Is the money the trigger for most of your arguments? What do you guys argue about the most? Was there a point where you were so pissed off at each other you considered to stop doing Ready eye collective?

J: Arguments only ever stem from the fact that all of us care so much that we want to make sure we’re doing what’s best, not just for us as promoters, but for scene here in London and across the UK. We’ll disagree on the best way to go about that from time to time, but we’re all adults, no grudges are ever held. At no point have I considered not doing Ready Eye, we’ve worked too hard to let it fall apart at this point.

R: Do you have your favorite spot in London where you love to go and relax?

J: I’ll walk down the docks near where I live. When my Dad was alive, he’d walk down their daily for exercise, when I was a kid he’d take me with him and tell me some of the history of it. He’d been in the Merchant Navy when he was younger and had often docked there. So yeah, I’ll go there and chill sometimes.

R: What are some of the stories you love hearing from your dad? Tell us one or two which stuck with you the most.

J: I wouldn’t say they were “memorable” stories as such. He’d just tell me what used to be in this building or that building, more explaining what working there was like. Unfortunately, most of those old warehouses are gone now.

R: What was the worst day of your life? Do you remember what helped you to go through the day in one piece?

J: Any time you lose someone close to you, it’s a terrible day. I’ve had three of those so far. Each time it’s been a different way to get through, not just the day, but the weeks and months that follow.

R: … but what helps you to overcome the sadness, desperation, depression and not giving up? Loads of young folks suffer from depression and suicides are an issue among young people especially males. What is it that people struggle and cannot cope with the world? What helps you particularly?

J: I’ve suffered from depression for a long time, but I’m lucky. It sounds like a cliché, but the LBU really is a family and I’m lucky enough to have those guys to be able to reach out to. There are people outside of the HC scene that, again, have become like family to me and we look out for each other. And then there’s making music, that’s a massive form of therapy for me.

R: Are you a fan of underground zines? Do you read zines? What are the best UK fanzines you had a chance to see and read and what do you like to read about? What kind of interviews do you like to read?

J: I’ll be honest, zines have never really been on my radar. I prefer to read fiction most of the time and when it’s not that it’ll be some science book or a something on some medieval period of history.
When I do read interviews, I want to read about that person’s creative process. That’s kind of all I care about.

R: What will make you upset instantly?

J: So many things hahaha. I am NOT a patient person. Stupidity, wilful ignorance, arrogance (all things that I’m sure someone will have an example of me doing somewhere)

R: You mentioned you are caring for your mum at the present, that means are you paid as a personal carer? How do you find the health system in UK and the benefits given to vulnerable people in general? The paperwork around getting some support or equipment to survive. Have you worked in health sector before or what have you used to do before becoming carer?

J: Mum doesn’t have a “diagnosed” condition where I can get a carers benefits to look after her, so no, I don’t get paid, meaning that I still have to go out to a job and then look after her when I’m home. Thankfully, my workplace is aware of the situation and are happy for me to just bail on work if she calls because she needs me back home. I think the NHS does an amazing job with what it’s got, but it’s severely underfunded and as a result, people do fall through the cracks in the system.

R: Would you sell NHS to private companies if you would have the power? Do you think it will improve the service when privatized? Explain why yes or not.

J: Fuck no, not ever. The minute you make healthcare a “for profit” system like in the US, you literally kill the poorer and most vulnerable members of our society. The service would only improve for those fortunate enough to be able to afford it at that point.

R: What would you ask your favourite comic writer when you would have the chance to meet him or her / dead or alive one?

J: I’d have to ask Grant Morrison how much fucking DMT he took before writing Multiversity.

R: What are your lyrics about? What is your focus on your own lyrics? Do you want to send message across to others or its too deep and too personal?

J: I generally use music to vent my frustrations. Infraction’s first EP was very specifically about frustrations I had within the HC scene (and still have to some degree). “No Excuses”, for example was calling out people who blame everyone else for their life going wrong. I get that sometimes, bad luck happens, we all go through rough patches. But if your life is one long chain of bad events, at some point you’ve got to start looking inward and seeing if it’s you who’s responsible for some of that. “Paragon” was more about the mad shit that was going on online within the scene. People calling out racists only to be revealed as predators or abusers themselves. There was so much of it one time that you couldn’t go to social media without some new drama kicking off.
The next release we’ve got coming though is a bit more personal. In all the bands I’ve been in, I’ve never really looked at my own issues with depression or anger, I’ve never felt comfortable putting that out there before. Plus, in almost every other band, I’ve not been the sole vocalist. The guys in Infraction have definitely made me feel more able to put that out there now.

R: Thank you John for your time and dedication.

Slovensky text.

John je postavička z londýnskej scény, keby všetci odpovedali na otázky tak rýchlo ako John, spravili by ma jedným šťastným zajačikom, ale realita je iná. Ukazuje to len na jedno, John je zanietený, tvrdo pracujúci chlapík, čo sa nevykašle na veci, ktoré slúbi.
Poznáte ho predovšetkým z kapely Warchrist či Proven, kde spolu s Louis Gino (rozhovor s ním nájdete na tejto stránke) drtí hlasívky, a keďže posledne menovaná kapela je už mŕtva, tak John založil novú Infraction. Rozhovor s Hannou, ich gitaristkou je tiež na tejto stránke v angličtine.
Chcel som Vám Johna predstaviť tak tu ho máte na tanieri.

R: Ako ide život v karanténe? Mal si možnosť vidieť svojich známych, alebo si sám zavretý doma? Čím sa zabávaš a krátiš si čas?

J: Ahoj Roman, karanténa je v pohode zatial. Starám sa o svoju mamu, asi týždeň pred vypuknutím Covid 19 mala symptómi, takže odvtedy som zavretí s ňou doma. Zabávam sa s Infraction a vďaka modernej technológii môžem písať a tvoriť nové EP. Toto ma drží pri živote spolu s hraním Street fighter V.

R: Čo si myslíš o Cummingovy a jeho epizódke, kedy sa vybral s rodinkou počas karatény za svojim otcom a mamou, cez 400 km do inej rite, cestou sa zastavil na nejakom kaštieli s rodinkou, akože si testovať zrak a pritom mal symptómy Covid 19. Bojo sa ho zastal spolu s ďalšími, mne norálne rozum zastáva, keď toto vidím a že kto tu kurva vládne.

J: Vieš čo, vedel som, že sa s tym nič neurobí a že s tým nikdo nič nespraví, preto som sa nad tým ani tak nepozastavoval. Nie som človek, ktorý by žil politikou, ale len som si to odsledoval čo sa stalo. V ideálnom svete by ho z fleku potrestali za pouršenie vlastných pravidiel, alebo by niekto z vlády bol vinný za neodkomunikovanie verejnosti čo sa vlastne stalo, ale po pravde som čakal takýto výsledok.

R: Vypadá to tak, že rok 2020 je dramatický, nielenže tu máme vírus, ktorý zabíja skrz na skrz celým svetom, ale aj nepokoje v Amerike, vidíš nejake svetielko nádeje do budúcnosti z tohto celého? Amerika si zvolí pána Oražového späť do kanclíku a UK sa bude naďalej potápať vďaka Brexitu. Necháva ťa to chladným?

J: Úplne vážne si myslím, že Trump to zase dá a bude znovu v Bielom dome bez akých koľvek problémov. Nenávidim sa za to, že to hovorím, ale pokial sa niečo drastické práve neudeje, tak si myslím, že Bidena porazí pravou zadnou.
S Brexitom to musíme akceptovať a prejsť cez to. Hnevá ma, že to tak dopadlo, ale je to to kde sme. Musíme sa snažiť cez to prejsť s najmenšou ujmou.

R: Povedz nám viac o tebe. Koľko máš rokov? Kde si vyrastal? Čo si pamätáš zo svojho detstva? Aký bol Londýn pred tým a dneska tvojimi očami?

J: Mám 41 rokov a vyrastal som v Custom house, východný Londýn. Moje prvé roky života boli docela nuda, nič čo by stálo za to. Vyrástol som v nádhernej rodine, ako jedináčik super rodičom. Keď som sa dostal na druhý stupeň základnej školy, až tu nastali problémi. Bol som dokonca vyhodený zo školy kvôli častým bitkám. Skončil som v škole, kde som spoznal pôvodných členov 50 Caliber.
Londýn, keď som bol decko, bolo miesto kde som žil. Chodil si do miestnych obchodov na ulici kupovať si jedlo, päť minút chôdze k zeleninárovy, mäsiarovy, poštu, novinový stánok či obchodík so sladkosťami. Všetko čo som potreboval som si mohol kúpiť v miestnych obchodoch v komunite. Dneska už je väčšina preč, zabrali ich veľke supermarkety a značky. Milujem toto mesto, na päť rokov som sa odsťahoval preč, ale Londýn mi veľmi chýbal, ten chaos, ale myslím si, že Londýnu sa vyparuje ten komunitný život, ktorý si ja pamätám ako dieťa.

R: A prečo si sa toľko bil na základke? Čo sa tam stalo?

J: Tak byť malým, útlim školáčikom mi moc nepomohlo k tomu, aby som sa vyhol bitke. Úprimne, boli to len také decké opletačky. Škola už mala dosť toho, že som si nenechal kydať na hlavu od iných a skončilo to bitkou či mojou, alebo ich vinou.

R: Vrátim sa späť do Ameriky a rasisticke karte, ktorá tam neustále pretrváva, je to dosť kruté, krajina je rozdelená na dva tábory, tak či onak Spojené královstvo na tom nie je o nič lepšie pokial ide o zaobchádzanie s minoritami aj keď s klasikou anglickou noblesou, stále na hovno. Nie tak dávno sme mali nepokoje, kde rabovanie a zapalovanie budov trvalo tri dni, zastavovanie mladých ludí na ulici a obhliadky či nemajú zbrane, predovšetkým mládeže z afro anglických rodín v čase kedy mládežnícke centrá sa zatvárali, konzervatívci robili škrty skrz na skrz v sociálnej sfére a potom sa čudovali, že drogová a násilná činnosť sa zrýchlila, keď škrtli počty policajtov v tom istom čase.
Našťastie UK polícia je viacej trénovaná a nenosí zbrane tak ako v Amerike, ale s Brexitom sa aj vyostrilo aj rasové napätie, biela sila dostala slovo a ľudia okolo UKIP party to vybičovali do extrému. Hralo sa veľa na emigračnú kartu. Čo sa deje v UK? Prečo sa stredná vrstva tak bojí utečencov? Prečo sa tak boja?
Aký je tvoj postoj k rasizmu v UK?

J: Nie je to len stredná vrstva, ktorá volila pre takých ako bol UKIP, alebo Tories, je tam aj veľa ľudí z nižších vrstiev, ktorí sa nechali oklamať. Myslím si, že je to ignorácia, ale tiež frustrácia pracujucej triedy, ktorí musia niekoho obviniť za ich zasrané životy.
Osobne, ak súdiš niekoho na základe jeho farbe pleti, pohlavia či sexuálnej orientácii, možeš sa ísť vypchať, nemám pre takých miesto vo svojom živote.

R: Hral si v množstve kapiel v rámci Londýna, už si ani nespomínam kde všade som ťa videl hosťovať či bliekať. Ako si objavil hardcore? Kedy to bolo a kto ťa do neho zasvetil? Ktoré kapely mali na teba vplyv? Vieš nám o tvojich kapelách povedať viac, chronologicky, ak si pamätáš ešte?

J: K tvrdej gitarovej muzike som prišiel cez hip hop. Odtial som išiel cez metal, Sepultura bola moja prvá kapela, ktorú si pamätám. Nejaký čas som počúval metal a keďže väčšina kapiel vyšla od Roadrunner records tak som cestou objavil hardcore ako Biohazard, Madball či Vision of disorder.
Do podzemia ma dostal pôvodný gitarista z 50 Caliber, ktorý mi ukázal cestu.
Najväčším vplyvom na mňa mali Converge, dodnes, nikdo iný neznie ako oni. Prvé kapely mali na mňa vplyv tiež ako Knuckledust, Ninebar, 50 Caliber, Hellbent diehard.
Nemyslím si, že som hral vo veľa kapelách. Začal som v kapele Deathblow, odohrali sme jeden gig v Southend. Potom som išiel do kapely No survivors, ktorý už mali svoj material, ale vyhodili speváka, neviem prečo, ale to je jedno. Prespieval a prepísal som zopár skladieb a znovu sme ich nahrali. Myslím si, že sme hrali len zopár koncertov. Na troskách tejto kapely potom vznikol Warchrist, kde som spieval, Dan hral na gitare, Tom na bicie, priniesol som do kapely Lauren na post druhého speváka, spievala aj v Deathblow a DBS hral už v tedy v Kartel a Injury time.
Po pár rokoch hrania sme skončili a Mark Doolan z kapely Hellbent diehard sa ma opýtal, či by som nechcel hrať v novej kapele. Adam z Hellbent diehard sa k nám pridal. HBDH bola moja oblúbená kapela na UK scéne, takže som bol rád, že sme to dali dokopi. Pridal sa k nám Louis Gino a Matt Byrne na bicie a začali sme Proven. Dlho sme nemohli nájsť basáka, tak Nicky Baxter z Knuckledust nám vypomohol až do doby, kedy sme našli svojho. Tento post vyplnil Ian Redding z Diction.
Infraction sme začali v čase, kedy Proven už nevládal fungovať. Pracovali sme na novom albume, ale Rich Wooding v tom čase nevládal bubnovať ďalej a chcel si dať prestávku, takže sme museli nájsť nového bubeníka.

R: Všimol som si, že si veľký fanúšik komixov a akčných figúrok. Je to niečo čo si si objavil ako dieťa a nevieš sa toho zbaviť? Čo ťa do tohto sveta láka? Je to forma úteku z reality? Pravdu povediac, nikdy som sa s týmto svetom nestretol v mladosti, keďže u nás neboli dostupné komixy či programi z tohto sveta. Poznal som len Hemana a Skeletona haha.

J: Asi je to tým, že som bol jedináčik a veľmi plachý a divný. Veľa som čítal, nie len komixy, ale aj romány a šialené vedecké knižky o fyzike, ktoré mi nič nehovorili.
Komixy mali pridanú hodnotu v podobe umenia, kresieb. Neviem kresliť, ale keď si pozriem tie skvostné umelecké kresby a pri predstave, že musíš niečo takého nádherného stvoriť do časového limitu, tak je to docela namakané. Komixy maju často tému, názor, ktorý rozoberaju. Pozri si niečo od Green Arrow, ktorý pojednáva o drogovej problematike “Snowbirds dont fly” z 80tych rokov, je tam týpek v komixe, ktorý je závislý na heroine, dokona na obálke komixu. X – men je celý o rasizme. Komixy zobrazujú hlboke témy, pokial akceptuješ, že za obrázkami je príbeh.

R: Chápem úplne to posolstvo v X – men, byť odlišný a akceptovatelný pre druhých v živote. Ak by si mal možnosť mať hoci akú super silu, čo by to bolo a čo by si spravil? Nechaj svoju predstavivosť na divoko v tomto…

J: Ha, kamoško, ak by som mal nejakú super silu asi by som bol zlý k svetu. Možno, možnosť čítať myšlienky by bolo použitelné, ale nemôžem garantovať, že by som to použil správnym smerom.

R: haha, tunak v tejto odpovedi cítim mužskú ješitnosť, haha. Aké bojové umenia si cvičil? Ešte sa venuješ bojovým umeniam?

J: Začal som boxovať, keď som mal päť rokov. Môj otec ma nútil k tomu, že sa musím naučiť bojovať, keďže som vyrastal v štvrti, kde to bolo potrebné a keďže som bol malý a chudý musel som sa vedieť obrániť. Nebolo to príjemné ísť taký malý a s takou fyzičkou do telocvične, ale som rád, že som sa do toho dostal. Trénoval som box do svojich 22 rokov, popri tom som začal robiť Tae Kwon Do od trinástich do 21. Päť rokov som sa venoval Wing Chun, 25-30 a trošku popritom aj Muay Thai a keď som sa rozhodol, že vyskúšam Brazilske Jiu-Jitsu moje zdravie sa začalo kaziť.

R: Čo za zdravotné problémi máš? Si spomínal niečo so srdcom. Ako táto choroba má vplyv na tvoje pôsobenie v kapele, však to nemôže byť sranda takto riskovať. Mama musí byť na prášky asi, keď ťa vidí na pódiu.

J: Už šesť rokov je moja srdcová vada nediagnistikovaná, nevedia čo mi je. Čas od času je to dosť kritické, pokial prehliadnem príznaky, že to na mňa ide. Moje srdce začne strašne rýchlo biť a potom náhle prestane úplne biť a takto to ide dokolečka. Keď zistím, že ide príliš rýchlo tak si musim lahnuť a ukludniť sa, ale keď som na pódiu a všetok ten adrenalín je vonku, môžem to prehliadnuť veľmi ľahko a to je problém. Môžem úplne vypnúť, padnem ako kabela a musím ísť do nemocnice, ale nezastaví ma to v tom čo robím. Milujem hrať v kapele. Beriem život tak, že čo sa má stať, stane sa. Rodičia ma poznaju natoľko dobre, že vedia, že ma nič nezastaví, haha.

R: Uvedomuješ si, že si už prešvihol klub 27, že? Už to nebude cool ak ťa na pódiu sekne braško.

J: No nechystám sa skončiť ešte. Vďaka tomu, že už veľa ľudí o tom čo mi je vie tak dávaju na mňa pozor.

R: Kedy si začal spolupracovať s Rucktion crew?

J: Celú večnosť už chodím na ich šou. Ako som spomínal, chodil som do školy s niektorými zakladajucími členmi 50 Caliber, videl som ich prvé koncerty, ale v tej dobe som ešte nespoznal osobne chalanov z Rucktion crew. Mal som dosť svojich problémov v osobnom živote, ktoré na nejaký čas mali prednosť pred hardcore a na koncerty som chodil len sporadicky. Chalanov som viacej začal spoznávať okolo roku 2005, začali sme spolu kecať na koncertoch a skončili sme ako dobrý kamoši.

R: Čo je na organizovaný koncertu najťachšie? Sú to peniaze pre kapelu, dať dokopy line up, nájsť dobrý klub za rozumnú cenu, dealovať s deckami, ktoré sa nezmestia do kože?

J: Najťachšie je jednať s ďalšími troma členmi Ready eye koletívu, haha. Úprimne, Rich je ten čo robí všetkú špinavú robotu. Mojou úlohou je dávať pozor na rozpočet a byť tou povestnou negatívnou postavičkou v klube, kde dávam pozor na všetky tie scenáre, ktoré môžu prísť.

R: Sú peniaze často vecou argumentov medzi vami? O čom sa častejšie hádate? Nastal niekedy vo vašom teame čas, kedy ste si povedali, že na to jednoducho kašlete?

J: Argumentujeme iba kvôli tomu, že nám všetkým na našom koletíve záleží a chceme len to najlepšie, nie len ako promotéri, ale pre našu scénu všeobecne. Niekedy proste nesúhlasíme medzi sebou, ale sme dospelí ľudia, a tá negatívna energia nikdy medzi nami neostane. Ešte ma nikdy nenapadlo, že sa na to vykašlem, makáme na tom tvrdo všetci a nie je dôvod to nechať tak.

R: Máš svoje oblúbené miesto v Londýne, kam ideš keď potrebuješ oddych?

J: Idem sa prejsť popri londýnskom prístave, kde bývam. Keď ešte môj otec žil, chodil tam denno denne pešo a brával ma ako chalana so sebou a vyprával mi príbehy tých budov a miest. Bol námorníkom, keď bol mladý a často tam kotvili za mlada. Chodím tam dodnes a relaxujem.

R: Nepovieš nám nejaký zaujmavý príbeh?

J: No neboli to nejaké super historky, ako si myslíš. Hovoril mi o tom, čo či kto pôsobil v tej či onej budove, čo sa tam robilo a podobne. Väčšina týchto miest už neexistuje dneska.

R: Pamätáš si svoj najhorší deň v živote? Čo sa udialo a čo ti pomohlo sa cez tento deň dostať?

J: …vždy keď niekoho blízskeho stratím, je to hrozný deň. Stalo sa mi to už tretikrát. Každý jeden je iný, a nie je to len deň, je to týždeň, mesiace kým sa s tým človek vyrovná.

R: …chápem, ale je tam niečo čo ti vyslovene pomáha preniesť sa z tej úzkosti a nezblázniť sa z toho? Veľa našich kamošov nás opustilo, pretože to už nezvládli, sebebraždy mladých ľudí a hlavne mužov je denno denná realita. Rád by som vedel, čo tebe pomáha čo by mohlo pomoť aj iným.

J: Trpím depresiami už dlhé roky, ale som šťastný. Znie to ako cliché, ale moja LBU rodina mi pomáha, možnosť ísť za niekym kto ťa vypočuje. Dávame na seba pozor, potom pomáha hudba, je to masívna terapia pre mňa.

R: Páčia sa ti ziny? Čo rád čítaš, keď sa ti dostane do ruky fanzine?

J: Ziny neboli nikdy niečo čo ma lákalo. Mám radšej knihy, alebo vedecké knihy či historické veci. A ak čítam nejaký zine tak väčšinou ma zaujma skôr kreatívny proces toho jedinca čo je spovedaný, ako veci robí a prečo.

R: Čo ťa naštve, že úplne hneď?

J: haha, veľa vecí. Vôbec nie som trpezlivý človek. Hlúposť, chcená ignorácia, arogancia, všetky tieto veci ma nahnevajú a som si istý, že sú to veci, ktoré sa hodia na mňa osobne haha.

R: Hovoril si, že sa staráš o svoju mamu, si teda platený opatrovatel? Ako sa pozeráš na zdravotný system v UK? Je ľahké dostať podporu od štátu?

J: Moja mama nemá žiadnu diagnózu, takže nemá nárok na žiadne benefity a ani ja na žiadnu platbu. Chodím do práce a popri tom sa ešte starám o mamu doma. Našťastie môj zamestnávateľ si je toho vedomí a pomáha mi. NHS robí skvelú prácu, ale je veľmi podhodnotené a preto veľa ľudí padne do medzier, ktoré vytvoril štát.

R: Myslíš si, že by mala byť NHS predaná súkromným firmám? Myslíš si, že by to malo vplyv na kvalitu ošetrení ako to tvrdia konzervativci?

J: Kurva nie, nikdy. Hneď ako by si ho sprivatizoval ako to maju v USA, tak doslovne zabiješ tisíce chudobných ľudí, čo si zdravotnu opateru nemôžu dovoliť. Takýto sytém by vyhovoval len bohatým.

R: Predstav si, že stretneš svojho oblubeného komixového autora, čo by si sa ho – či jej opýtal?

J: Opýtam by som sa Grant Morrisona, že koľko DMT zobral, keď písal Multiversity.

R: O čom sú tvoje texty? Akým témam sa venuješ?

J: Hudbu používam hlavne na ventilovanie mojej frustrácie. Infraction EP bolo veľmi špecifické práve touto témou v rámci HC scény. No Excuses je napríklad o poukazovaní na ľudí, čo hľadaju za svojimi problémami iných. Každý z nás si prejde ťažkými chvílkami, ale to neznamená, že iný môžu za naše chyby, mal by si sa zastaviť a pozrieť sa na seba, kde robíš chyby. Či za to nie si zodpovedný sám. Paragon, je o veciach, ktoré decka riešia online neustále nejaký beefs, decká hovoria o druhých, že sú rasisti a pritom sú sami len obyčajný sexuálny predátori. Nebolo času, kedy si človek zapol internet a nevypadlo na teba nejaké svinstvo.
Nová nahrávka bude viac osobná už. Ešte nikdy som nešiel do hĺbky svojho ja ako na novom materiály, kde hovorím o svojej depresii, alebo hneve, ktorý v sebe mám. Okrem iného som v žiadnej inej kapele nebol sólo spevák, vždy tam niekto spieval. Ľudia z Infraction mi definitívne pomohli to dať zo mňa von.