The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 23, 1998-9
I i
cpultura to present world music
fln Rosli
krtn Writer
>ultura is not only Brazil's heaviest music
but it is also the country's musical ambas-
to different countres and cultures. The
has toured all over the world - including
in Spain, Mexico, Japan and Austrailia-to
its music and its fascination of the world's
; nicity and tribal heritage. While its last
vas n support of the Brazilian tribal-influ-
"Roots" album, the group now returns in
it of its latest release, "Against," an album
that is Japanese in presenta-
tion and concept.
Sepultura guitarist
Andreas Kisser, provided
pUitUra enligtenment on this newly
Detroit adopted ethnicity. "We
recorded a track with the
Tonighta Japanese drum group,
Kodo, and in a way it was
the same concept as when
we recorded 'Roots' when
we went to the village of the
Xantave tribe and recorded
with them. We used their
image, their themes and
everything to make 'Roots.'
ent to Japan this time. The Japanese are so
and unique in their culture and artistic abili-
e re attracted to this,so in a way it was a
urn of what we did with 'Roots' except
this time instead of the Xantave tribe with their
culture and themes, we used the Japanese.
Through the Kodo drummers we had a source for
the presentation of the new album," said Kisser.
One may wonder how the Kodo drummers and
a group like Sepultura, clearly musicians who on
the surface have nothing in common, ended up
collaborating together. Kisser explained, "The
Kodo is a group that we have known for about six
years or so, a group that Igor (Cavalera, drummer)
discovered. He was very impressed with the
sounds, the patterns and everything which is very
different from Brazilian music. We had a chance to
see Kodo live in Belgium four years ago and we
got a chance to talk to them and they knew about
Sepultura which was very surprising at that time!
Since then we talked about doing something
together someday, somehow. This time was the
perfect time. It was suitable for us and for them so
we went to Japan and spent five days there in the
islands. It was amazing! Same way we spent time
with the Xavantes but now we did it with a
Japanese 'tribe' by way of the Kodo drummers."
The group has played in Japan before, but said
the experience of working with the Kodo drum-
mers was still something special. "It was great
because we wentto the Sago Islands," said Kisser.
Adopting the Japanese theme for "Against" is not
the only departure from the group's previous
efforts. "Against" is also the group's first album
without its former singer and rhythm guitarist,
Max Cavalera, who has been replaced by its new
singer Derrick Green. While the vocal chores are
handled by Gretn, the group decided to just leave
Kisser with the bulk of the guitar work. "It's a lit-
tle different," Kisser said of this new arrangement,
"but its something that I enjoy a lot. There's more
room to work with my guitar parts. More room for
(Bass player) Paulo as well as for me. We just
explored those holes that Max left:"
"But the main thing (in replacing Cavalera) was
really personality, I mean we basically have to live
together and travel together on the same bus and
shit like that. We met a lot of very good singers
throughout the auditions but we were looking for
people who we could live together with without
going insane. With Derrick it was very easy, he's a
very fast learner, he's learning a little bit of por-
tuguese right now and he loves Brazil. He goes to
Brazil for holidays now. He's got the good stuff!"
Stylistically, Green bears very little in resem-
blance to Cavalera. "It would be very stupid to
find someone else like Max. I mean Max is only
one, Paulo is only one, Igor is only one and I am
only one. It would be very foolish on our part to
copy something that is not there anymore. Even to
try to copy 'Roots' or 'Chaos AD' (an older
Sepultura album) musically, for us it was more a
challenge and more exciting to try to write differ-
ent stuff, to learn different stuff," said Kisser.
Despite having played in many different
countries, the group has found that its fans are
quite similar everywhere after the superficial
differences are overlooked. Talking about
Sepultura combines flavors of world music into their own brand of rock.
Sepultura's fans Kisser said, "Of course it's a lit- was crazy!" Sepultura's Michigan fans should
tle different everywhere since they have their expect no less either as this Brazilian heavy
own different cultures and customs. Like the musical ambassador heads its way to Harpo's
fans in Japan are very polite, they love to watch tonight. Kisser promised, "the same kind of
but they really enjoy it as much as the fans that shit! A lot of energy, loud music! Just go there
go nuts in Mexico or in Spain. We played and have fun, we're going to play some old
Indonesia in '92, it was amazing! There were stuff. We're just very glad to have an opportuni-
50,000 people who came out to see Sepultura; it ty to play again to all the Michigan dudes!"
ancid tour draws moshers and ska fans
ex Khachaturian
s Writer
re is a list of things one can expect
'ancid show: live performances of
s as "Ruby Soho" and
dtlively mosh pits with flying
is and bodies, valiant attempts at
I surfing and an overabundance of
active high school punks throwing
bodies around. Don't, however, be
sed if the main attraction from
ley, Calif, unexpectedly shows up
ut their characteristically colorful
wks.
er a noticeable three-year absence
*merican music scene, Rancid
k, but this time with a new look, a
lbum, a new tour, and pleasantly
icipated ska undertones.
a recent phone interview with
d bassist Matt Freeman, he dis-
: the band's whereabouts over the
"'ight after our last album ('...
And Out Come
the Wolves'), we
went on a year-
long tour that
ncid ended in '96.
People always for-
ate a Cargo, get that we tour
Pontiac after a record
rrow at 8 p.m. comes out."
On its latest
album, "Life
Won't Wait,"
Rancid delivers in
usual punk rock
form, but delves
heavily into ska,
reggae and even a
sit of blues. "I don't think we're
ng toward ska for any reason in
lar," said Freeman. "We just want-
"ut the best songs on there that we
whatever we feel like putting out,
what you hear." Rancid most
ly marketed this new sound over
miner's biggest ska/punk/reggae
"The Vans' Warped Tour," fea-
lucrative music careers
Rancid made its debut with "I'm Not
the Only One" in 1992. Since then, the
band has produced four full-length
albums with Epitaph Records, including
their first hit, "Hyena," coming off of
their self-titled album in 1993. They
went on to become mainstays on MTV
and on major rock radio stations across
the country in 1995, resulting from the
release of "Time Bomb" off 1995's
"...And Out Come the Wolves:'
Freeman views Rancid's initial break-
through into the mainstream American
punk rock scene as the best measure-
ment of its success. "Our first goal was
to put out a full-length record and go on
a US tour," he explained, "and we met
that about five years ago, so now it's just
about having fun"
The United States and Australia tour
extends until Christmastime, they then
have their sights set on Japan. As far as
Rancid's long-term future plans, expect
Freeman and the boys to be singing,"...
destination unknown." Judging from
Rancid's extensive touring schedule, its
fifth album won't come out until early
next century
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Rancid is currently touring the word, playing hits from " ... And Out Come the Wolves."
Luring artists that contributed to "Life
Won't Wait," including The Specials,
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and
Hepcat, who opens for Rancidtomorrow
night.
As a result of"Warped," which conve-
niently played to Rancid's crowd, and
also began touring almost the day the
new album was released, Rancid's name
was restored to the upper ranks of itspre-
sent genre. In fact, the band gained
enough popularity to be asked to open
for two of the summer's most highly
anticipated artists on tour, Pearl Jam and
the Beastie Boys.
"Those shows were fun and both
bands treated us really nice, but it's a trip
playing for an audience that doesn't real-
ly know who you are. That really doesn't
happen to us much anymore, it was kind
of like the old days (before Rancid
became well-known)," Freeman said.
Freeman would certainly be expected
to be quite knowledgeable of the old
days. As a veteran in the industry for
more than a decade, he has plenty of
experience. In 1987, it was Freeman and
his childhood friend, current Rancid lead
vocalist, Tim Armstrong, who founded
the ever popular band, Operation Ivy.
After two years Op Ivy broke up and,
although Freeman and Armstrong
remained friends, they could not work
together because of Armstrong's serious
problems with alcohol. This plagued
Armstrong for years until he, with
Freeman's support, decided to encer an
alcohol detoxification program with the
Salvation Army. "He hit rock bottom'
explained Freeman, "the program basi-
cally just gave him food and a place to
sleep, (in return) he had to work his ass
off every day picking up junk for the
Salvation Army, and that just shocked
his system. He saved himself, I just
helped," Freeman said.
It was at this point that Armstrong
decided he needed something to do to
truly cure him of his ills. He and
Freeman picked up Brett Reed, a drum-
mer frequently performing at Gilman
Street in Berkeley. The creation of the
band not only played an instrumental
role in Armstrong's cure, but also
changed the lives of the three musicians
by putting them on a road to successful,
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