Tim Hackemack - HIT THE STAGE

Wie viele Platten habt ihr bisher veröffentlicht?

Zwei Alben und drei EPs.

Die Kosten für diese Deutschland-Tour müsst ihr selbst bezahlen. Könnt ihr so Geld verdienen?

Bisher konnten wir die Kosten immer wieder einspielen. Wir haben die Kosten vorherberechnet und verhandeln mit den größeren Shows und Festivals darüber, was wir brauchen. Wenn wir viel Merch verkauft haben, haben wir sogar mehr eingenommen als die reinen Kosten.

Ihr bucht die Konzerte also selbst?

Wir hatten einen Booker in Deutschland für unsere letzte Tour, aber diesmal hat er nur die Festivals für uns gemacht. Er beschwerte sich, dass es ihm zu mühsam ist, die gesamte Tour im Sommer zu organisieren. Also haben wir die Kontakte und Freunde hier genutzt und uns zwölf Shows in Deutschland, Österreich, Dänemark und der Tschechischen Republik selbst gebucht.

Es gibt fünf Leute in Gum Bleed , aber nur vier spielen Instrumente. Ist das richtig?

Der Fünfte, Nigel, ist unser VJ. Viele Veranstaltungsorte in China haben Bildschirme und Projektoren, manchmal sogar LED-Bildschirme. Da lässt sich etwas Kreativeres, Künstlerischeres oder Interessanteres gestalten als nur eine einfache Kulisse. Wir waren auch eine der ersten Bands, die einen VJ in China hatten. Meistens haben das nur die Indie-Rockbands, aber jetzt versuchen es auch viele Punkbands in China.

Wenn ihr ein neues Album aufnehmt, habt ihr dann einen Plan, dem ihr folgt? So was wie Lieder auf Chinesisch singen, um ein größeres Publikum in China anzusprechen?

Haben wir nicht, aber das Label hat uns gebeten, auf unserem nächsten Album ein paar chinesische Lieder zu singen. Es kann sehr hilfreich sein, die Aufmerksamkeit des Mainstream-Publikums in China zu erregen.

Gibt es außerhalb von Beijing noch andere Hotspots für Punkrock in China?

Die aufregendste Punkszene in China befindet sich in den großen Städten. Beijing hat immer die meisten Bands und ein großes Publikum. Wuhan war früher großartig, aber jetzt müssen wir zwei Jahre im Voraus buchen, wenn wir dort eine Show spielen möchten. Shanghai ist auch großartig mit einer internationalen und jungen Szene. In Hongkong ist es schwierig geworden. Es gab da einen coolen Club namens Hidden Agenda , aber der hatte immer Probleme mit der lokalen Regierung. Dieses Jahr stelle ich fest, dass immer mehr junge Leute an Punkshows teilnehmen, ich meine Jugendliche so um die 20. Dasselbe können wir diesmal in Europa auf der Tour sehen. Wir sind sehr glücklich und ermutigt, Punk ist nicht tot!

Gibt es Probleme mit Rassismus in China?

Rassismus ist in China kein großes Thema. Die Leute konzentrieren sich auf die Wirtschaft und arbeiten hart, um das Wachstum zu vergrößern, das ist das Hauptthema, egal woher du kommst oder wer du bist. Natürlich existiert Rassismus, aber ganz anders als hier. Er wird nicht auf dem Niveau anerkannt, wie in der westlichen Welt. Er ist einfach Teil des Alltags. Das ist ein Thema, das wir versuchen, den Leuten nahezubringen.

Dee, you started Gum Bleed in 2006. Have you had bands before?

My first band was Gum Bleed and I started it. I’m the last original member, but Xin, who used to be our first bass player, is still with us here. Xin is helping with the merchandise and driving now.

Your first Germany tour was in 2009. How did you organize the tour from China?

Xin moved to Finland and got to know the local punks there. He told them about us and we got invited to play at Puntala Rock Festival. That’s the most legendary Finnish Punk and Hardcore Festival. In the same year we met Mr. Irish Bastard and helped them to organize their first China tour. When we told them that we wanted to tour Europe, they introduced us to a German booker. That first tour we played seven or eight gigs in Finland and three gigs in Germany.

And this is already your fifth tour in 2019. Are you now working steadily with a booking agency in Germany?

No, we do it ourselves. Xin helped us from the beginning in Finland and we already know many people around Europe after years of touring, so we can book it ourselves this time.

If you come to Germany, can you get any help from the Chinese Office of culture or something similar to Goethe Institute in Germany?

No, we don’t get any help. We might ask from them, but it would be hard for a punk rock band. Actually, we don’t want to let the embassy or the cultural department target on us. That would mean a lot of restrictions and we would have to report back. We want to be independent.

How much suppression do you experience as a band in everyday life? Are you free to play wherever you want?

No not really, you can of course play in a band in Beijing. The punk movement started in China in the late 90s. There were a few punk bands and they released a compilation called Boring Army . That was like the booming time for punk rock and even metal music. I was in high school at that time and introduced me to the music. We started to listen to English and American punk bands like The Clash, The Ramones, Black Flag and The Casualties .

Was it hard to get the records?

You couldn’t get the rock records easily in a lot of record stores, but we had our ways. There was only one record store in my hometown. Shijiazhuang sold the punk and rock CDs, but with a hole on them. I guess those were the smuggled records supposed to be destroyed by drilling holes from the customs. Some of them still worked though. Sometimes you could only listen to a few songs, but many times the CD still worked.

How many punk shows happened in a year in that time?

That was around 200 in China, I guess. In our hometown and in Beijing as well there were a lot of shows. I guess there were about three or four clubs in Beijing where punk bands could play.

Did those clubs have trouble with the government?

Even until today there is a grey area in organizing shows. Normally you would have to apply for a license with the government to organize shows. But no one does it if you only do small shows. If you do bigger shows, it’s smarter to have the license. Otherwise they might shut down the shows.

How long did it take you to play your first show?

It took us about one month. In that time, it was a lot easier to get shows. Nowadays there are so many bands and it’s gotten more and more commercial. Capitalism is affecting China in every corner and also in the independent music scene. There are big commercial festivals and we even have internet shows about rock bands. Rock music is very popular right now and that makes it even harder for real punk or independent bands to get the attention from the mass.

How many people usually showed up, if you did a show in Beijing in 2019?

It depends. In the early years it was easier and a lot of people came to shows. Nowadays we have so many commercial music festivals, TV shows and live streams. That makes it harder to get the people's attention as I mentioned. Today there are around 200 to 400 people that always come to our headlining shows. Those commercial bands can play to up to 3,000 people.

Beijing is such a big city, are there punk shows all over the city or do you have certain quarters?

Beijing is a huge city but almost all the venues are in the same district now (East City District). The active punk scene in Beijing is still small. There are about 100 people that are really active in the punk shows and business.

How many shows a year do you play?

Roughly around 30–40 in China.

Mostly in and around Beijing?

No, we also travel to other cities. Right now, we don’t travel around China that much, because we haven’t released a new album in three years. But last year we played punk festivals in many cities.