Hello everyone.
We have to cancel our tour that we planned for this summer. I will not write to you to tell about all the problems we encountered when organising it. Another lineup change, problems with passports, urgh, it was just a small part. We really wanted to go back to Europe to play gigs and meet friends that we haven't seen for a year. Here comes the grand finale, the Finnish consulate denied entrance into their country, and a chance to get visas for any other Schengen zone countries to the two of us. Damn, it's the second time they're doing it. Late last year we cancelled a Scandinavian tour because of these very problems. We have tried to find out what the problem was but all of our attempts were met with a suggestion to try again next time. Now we have to wait for another half a year to try to get the visas again. We've tried to find some session players but it turned out to be very difficult. We're not just a music band, we're a group of people united by common ideas and certain political and life convictions. Now we have decided to cancel the tour.

We want to thank all of our friends who helped us. We tried to find a way out but at the moment we can't change this situation.

Thanks for your support.

Alex & DISTRESS.

EUROPEAN TOUR 2008:

03.08 need help, Finland

04.08 need help, Sweden

05.08 need help, Sweden

06.08 Rostok, club Median

07.08 Potsdam

08.08 Berlin, Kopi w/ KOMATOZ, WORHATS 

09.08 Lepzig, Zoro w/ KOMATOZ, PISSCHRIST, SOTATILA

10.08 Kladno

11.08 need help, Czech Rep.

12.08 Zlin / Malenovice, club U Tetoura w/ THE SHINNING (Holland), WAKING THE DEAD (Holland)

13.08 Prague, Squat Milada w/ KOMATOZ

14.08 Hamburg

15.08 day off

16.08 Copenhagen, SHIT TOWN Festival

17.08 or 18.08 need help, Sweden

We need help for shows in Sweden and Czech Republic.

Feel free to contact us.

booking: alex.distress@gmail.com

Hi!

We need help with gigs in Sweden this year. We will come Stockholm august 4. We need show near Stockholm on 05.08 and one show near Malmo / Helsingborg on 06.08. If anybody can help, feel free to contact us.

Cheers.

Distress.

Hi ALex. Could you tell us about the beginning of crust in Russia? And about DISTRESS? Is it big the scene in Russia?
Hello! D-beat / crust scene is new to Russia. At the moment it’s very small, and most of this scene is young people between 16 and 18 years of age. Like every new thing, it’s interesting for them. All of this activity, music. But I don’t think it’s serious for them, that it’s their culture and lifestyle. At the moment it seems to me that there is a big interest in music, in the look (dreads, patches, shirts), that is, there is a certain fashion that appeared now, and the messages that the bands or activists within the scene want to get through to them aren’t noticed by many. Perhaps such a situation exists elsewhere too. We travel a lot, we communicate a lot, but somehow this situation is more obvious for me in Russia. When we started with DISTRESS in 2003 there was no scene whatsoever. I guess at the time few people were interested in that part of the scene. And I think that was exactly the reason why the band didn’t have a permanent lineup for a long time. We played with a lot of session musicians, also with musicians from other punk and hardcore bands, tried to tour and record, but no one stayed in the band for a long time. For many people who played in DISTRESS it remained a strange culture, and the way the band was going wasn’t for them. At the moment I’m the only original member. Frequent lineup changes didn’t give much of a chance to be more active but we always tried to do something. Last year before a European tour our lineup had changed again, and after the tour one of the guitar players quit the band. Now there’s four of us, but we’re still active. And if we’d return to your question regarding the scene in Russia, I think that we can seriously talk about a crust scene here in say five years, when it would overgrow this upsurge in so-called popularity that it experiences now and when only the people who are actually concerned with problems of our sick society (wars, environment, animal and human rights) will stay in it. We shall see, the scene develops and I’m very interested in seeing what will be there in a few years.
When I listened to DISTRESS for the first time I thought it was a Swedish or Finnish band. Is your purpose to sound like that?
No, that wasn’t what we were shooting for. It wasn’t any sort of "commercial" step if I understoof your question correctly. We like the Scandinavian scene, and it’s our love for Swedish and early Finnish punk that has been a large influence on our sound.
Nowadays, what are your plans as a band?
It’s hard for me to discuss our plans now, but there’s a lot of them. Maybe we will try to play more gigs, go on new tours. But it’s not always possible, and a lot of things depend on a chance to get a visa for this or that country. The visa system is a big problem for us as a band. We don’t always have a chance to play gigs outside of Russia. In November 2007 we were supposed to do a minitour of Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway, Finland) but the consulate refused a visa to two of the band members. As a result, all of the gigs of the tour were cancelled. But still, for this year we already have planned a few gigs in Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. We also have finished recordings for two releases. One is a split CD with WHEEL OF DHARMA from Finland and the other is a split CD with SUBURBAN SHOWDOWN from the States. I hope all of this is going to happen soon.
To keep a band, recording in an studio or making tours. Is it difficult?
I have told you a little about organising tours. Yes, it’s not always easy for us but it’s possible when you want to do it, when you really do. We’re doing it ourselves, and no one is going to make it for us. The bands are always facing some problems (tours, recordings). It takes a lot of time and energy, and not everyone is ready for this. It’s not just a Russian problem, it’s a problem for a lot of bands all over the world.
Do you know the scene in South America or here in Peru?
We have a lot of contacts all over the world but I know very little about the scene in South America. I have a few records and tapes with bands from Peru, and also a while back I was in touch with kids from Venezuela, APATIA NO. But that was a long time ago. We’re always glad to have communication and new contacts. Contact us.
What do you think about piracy, ripping records, copyright, etc.?
Copyright is shite. I can’t talk about piracy because I don’t know how this industry is developed all over the world. But I liked the form of piracy that has been developed in Russia until recently. Russia is a developing capitalist country with low living standards. Not everyone who lives here can afford a CD or DVD for 10 or 20 euros. Many people’s salary is 100 - 150 euros per month. In Russia it’s a good alternative to the large recording corporations and major labels. Ripping records isn’t for me. I like original editions, vinyl etc.
What does DISTRESS do about actual issues like animal abuse, politics, environment, etc?
We’re not taking part in the direct actions. In Russia such actions are very rare. Russia is a totalitarian police state where most of the population supports or tolerates the state policy. But we support the ideas of various autonomous organisations such as the ANTIFA movement, ALF and PETA, FNB, ABC.
Do you wanna add something to this interview for our readers?
I don’t know. There is a lot of evil and violence in the world. But there are people who do care about what happens tomorrow. Let’s think together about what each of us can personally do so that tomorrow wouldn’t be the last day of the human race. LOVE & PEACE, NOT WAR.
http://www.holocaustozine.com/