keskiviikko 27. elokuuta 2008

Interview with RISEN


RISEN is a political vegan straight edge-band from Indiana, USA. The band is quite new, but the vocalist Kurt has had experience from one legendary VSXE-band, Birthright. Besides the band, Kurt also runs his own record company, Catalyst Records.

First off, describe in your own words your band to someone who hasnt heard you guys before?


RISEN is first and foremost a DIY hardcore band, to us that means we are trying to capture a certain anger, energy and intensity to convey to our audience. We do this (hopefully) both through our music and through our message. Our message concentrates heavily on issues of social justice and new ways of thinking about how we as humans live in the world around us.

As a band, stand for animal rights and for straightedge. Why these issues?

These are both very important issues to us personally as individuals and as a band, but we do not exclusively concentrate on them. But I think these are both issues that are fairly clear cut, and can begin a process of questioning that will lead into other areas as well. For example, I believe that straight edge is a great way to begin a process of maintaining mental clarity, and can be a great first step in rejecting many of the things that out culture has taught us that we take for granted - like consuming alcohol. Similarly, veganism is a great way to begin the process of thinking about how we as humans in this culture interact with nature, and the injustice of our current system of living.


With that said, I think it is also very important to continue these lines of reasoning forward into other areas beyond veganism and abstaining from intoxicants.

Kurt, you have been standing for Animal Rights and advocating veganism some time now.

What made you become vegan in the first place?

I was strongly influenced by the hardcore scene for the most part. I had always considered myself an "animal lover" when I was younger, but didn't realize the hypocrisy of loving certain animals and promoting the completely unnecessary torture and killing of others that our society has determined are more valuable as clothing or food. Reading information I gained through listening to bands like Youth of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, Insted, Outspoken, and Vegan Reich helped me realize that I needed to change my own actions to remove this form of cruelty and injustice from my own life.

The lyrics of RISEN also deal with political issues. Do you see that these things are
connected to cruelty towards the animals, like for example the fact that there are so much
money involved in animal-related “industries”?

I definitely think that the capitalist system encourages us to view everything as commodities for our consumption, especially animals of course, but also other humans and the world in general. It is a system where the number one goal is profit for the few with no regard for the rights, or the best interests of the many. This is not to say that capitalism is the cause of cruelty towards animals, because that exists in other contexts as well, just that capitalism really pushes the idea of turning living things into inanimate objects, or products, to an extreme.

What is the situation of a grassroots activist for AR in USA today? The SHAC-campaign
seems to be causing a lot of stir and activists are labels as “a #1 terrorist threat inside
the nation”, I hear.

Currently the USA is in the grip of a very repressive system that is very serious about discouraging dissent in any form. There is a real fear being (falsely) instilled in the general population here, and for the most part the laws are being bought in this case by organizations that profit from the abuse of animals. It seems that things have been a little quieter recently, but the danger is always there, even for those like the SHAC 7, who's only crime was to post information that anyone could have found themselves with a little of their own research. It is a serious problem in a "democracy" when ideas and voices of dissent are silenced in this manner.

I find it especially ironic when the USA was partially based in direct actions on the part of revolutionaries, wich are glorified in our history, yet condemned when people fight against injustice now.

Are the members of RISEN active in local animal rights groups? What kinda stuff you guys have been doing?

It really depends on the time period, members have definitely been active to some extent in local AR groups, and even with organizations like Food Not Bombs at times. Personally I was more involved in the past where there was a more solid AR movement in Indianapolis which is unfortunately pretty lacking now, and in the Midwest area in general.

When talking about vegan straightedge, one cannot really pass the subject of the
HARDLINE-ideology. How do you feel about the subject and have your opinions changed over the years?

No one in RISEN ever considered themselves Hardline. Though I do agree with the Hardline philosophy in many areas, I also completely disagree in some areas as well, such as their stances on abortion, homosexuality, religion, and even how to define what is "natural." I think I have probably become more distanced from Hardline as the years have passed and I have become more anarchist in my beliefs because much of the ideology comes across to me as very conservative, or about purity, which I think misses the point.

In the nineties, there was a big boom for bands promoting veganism. Nowadays it doesn’t
seem so “cool” anymore, in public opinion at least. What do you think about these kinda “fashions”?

Everything goes in cycles I think, but I doubt that the fashion trend of veganism will return as it was in the 1990's.
I really think that in hindsight it was pretty superficial at that time, hopefully those who are picking up veganism now are doing it for better reasons now that it isn't as hyped, or a huge trend. I would much rather see people adopt a vegan lifestyle out of sincere belief and then stick with it as a rational ideology.

Kurt, in your personal opinion, can there ever be a political system in this world that
could really work for all of our benefit (Humyn, animals and the planet)?

Well, I think there has been in the past. We often forget that humans have not always lived the way we do now, and that in reality the majority of humanity probably lived within a system of communal anarchy for most of human history. I think it is really important to keep in mind that our current way of living is less than 5% of human history,and is probably the exception, not the rule. So in many ways I think a return to our more natural system of communal anarchism could work for the benefit of all, providing that the extreme human over-population is brought into check.

Do you see animal welfarism as a part of reducing animal suffering or do you feel that its about making too many compromises, compared to animal rights movement..s more “demanding” claims?
Is there room for both?

I definitely think there is room for both, I am not a big fan of creating extreme "us against them" dichotomies. Though I feel like those working for welfare (in contrast to liberation) are a bit hypocritical and misguided, we have to realize that even these measures can make the terrible lives of many animals at least a little better. Its ridiculous to deny this and to only concentrate on the ultimate goal which is so far off as to be fairly unreachable at this point. I feel that the goal should be to do the greatest good for the most beings possible. To pretend that "animal liberation" is some attainable goal within our lifetime (or 100 years) is both self-defeating and counter-productive, we have to be realists as well as idealists.

If you could influence the animal rights movement with something new, what could that be? In other words, is there something you would like to change or make people more aware about in this field?

I really feel that many people, even vegans and those claiming to fight for animal liberation, still make great artificial distinctions between humans and non-human animals. Even within the vegan community I see many people who still carry
the cultural message that animals are food or clothing in their hearts. I really think it is necessary to completely reject the idea that non-human animals are anything but independent living beings with desires and interests of their own.
I feel that too many people fail to adopt this perspective and truly act on it - still wearing second hand leather for instance.
I think it is really necessary to see leather as something other than an inanimate object (created from the suffering of a once-living being) and instead as something we would not consider any more acceptable as clothing than the skin of oppressed and tortured humans.

The last one is open words; what would you like to say to our finnish readers? Do you want to say something I may have not asked?

First, thank you for the interview, its great to be able to reach as many different people with ideas as possible. Beyond that I just think its important to always question everything, both what we have been taught in our culture, and our own motives. Learning and personal growth is a life-long process, and those who do not grow are dead, in spirit, if not in physical form. All struggles are one. xvx

http://www.myspace.com/risen
http://www.xcatalystx.com
The finnish language version of this interview can be found in the legendary punk/hardcore-zine "Toinen vaihtoehto". I highly recommend ordering it.

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