What’s the meaning of the moniker Gradinata Nord & the agenda of the band + explain what is the messages thru your lyrics mainly?
Gradinata Nord is that sector of a stadium that houses Lecco Calcio supporters during home matches. It was chosen as the band's name by its very first singer, who had a ticket for this sector in his hands during a session we spent at the pub to pick a moniker. It seemed like a perfect name for a band that was initially intended to play Oi!-core with lyrics revolving around football, hooliganism and life at the stadium!
The aim of the band, in all its various line-ups and regardless of any variations in style, has always been to have fun, travel around and meet people. That's it!
As for messages in our lyrics... Well, we'd better leave it at that! Haha At first we wanted to sound as ignorant as possible, then we toned that down a bit. We now try to write lyrics about the clichés of rock as well as punk/Oi! in an amused and amusing way – with a hint of parody too!

I realize that Gradinata Nord often had line-up changes, what is the main problem, do you think with keep changing members healthy for the band’s song writing & isn’t destroying the main vision of the band who are the current line-up of the band?
To tell the truth, most line-up changes were made in the band's first year. Between 2001 and 2008 the band has always kept its basic quartet (Hector Reactor vocals, Alejandro Rovex guitar, Bassman bass and C8 Nord drums). We changed second guitarist three times, but then it was the four of us who recorded our first genuine album (‘Valtellina boyz’, in 2010), with Bassman doubling up on second guitar under the pseudonym of Matt Cigarette. Finally B.J. Andrè (Bassman's younger brother) joined us on the bass, leaving Bassman/Matt Cigarette as fixed guitarist to form our present line-up. So for the past eleven years, four members out of five have remained the same: there is little risk of us completely changing our sound and concept!

Why don’t you write more English lyrics rather than your native Italian language, isn’t better to for international market to spread your music if it’s in English or is it due to many Italian couldn’t write & speak very well in English, please elaborate on this?
Yes, your second guess is right! We could write lyrics in perfectly correct English (thanks to the help of an Anglo-Italian friend!), but then we'd also have to sing them, and that's the rub: rough pronunciation, marked Italian accent, etc. - and then we'd be a laughing stock for everyone in English-speaking countries! ;-) And, without making any names, I know of a few Italian bands that sing in English and they're pretty embarrassing...
Also, bear in mind that we almost exclusively perform live in Italy, so 99% of our “fans” (to put it briefly, although I'd rather describe them as people who like Gradinata Nord) are Italian. It would make no sense to offer them pieces to sing along to in a foreign language.
As for the international potential of English, you're right, but a group of amateurs like us, who hardly have the time to play a few gigs here and there in Italy, won't be travelling across Europe and the world any time soon. So we are not really interested in “conquering” foreign markets where in any case we could never be present through concerts, which ultimately is the most important thing of all, since we don't live off our music (and I'm pointing this out just in case back in Singapore you might think that this would be possible in Italy! ;-)).

When listening thru your live tracks, I sense that Gradinata Nord really had quite a strong fanbase supporting your music singing along & cheering, I believe it’s fun for you guys on stage, so have you guys played out of Italy or do you’ve any plans to play in Asia?
Believe it or not, Gradinata Nord have only managed to play once outside Italy! It is impossible to us for travel regularly because of work and family commitments (we are all between the ages of 35 and 40, except for the bass player who is just over 20). Even playing two gigs in a row in Italy over the weekend is a big success for us. Having said this, if you wish to organise a tour for us in your country, we will do our best to have a “holiday in Singapore” (which hopefully will be better than the Dead Kennedys holiday in Cambodia! haha).

Tell us something about the labels that have worked for Gradinata Nord thru the years & are you guys earning just thru music along or working in other industry for survival?
As I was telling you, we have never earned a penny through our music. In fact, we have squandered quite a few! ;-) All five of us work to earn our living and only play for fun and our love of music.
As for the labels that have worked for Gradinata over the years... well, that would only be one label actually! We released our first album (in 2002) through a Roman label (the now defunct Valium Records, based at the Hellnation record shop, which is still running). Given the kind of label it was (a small to average but professional one), it did its job in terms of promotion and distribution.
The following album and the compilation we actually produced ourselves through our BaCio Records!

Aren’t you interested to have more Metal or other music influences aside from old school HC/Oi! Punk style in order to expand your music range + what can you say about your music scene in Italy be it Punk/HC or Metal generally?
I would say that all in all we include various influences in our music (which deep down remains Oi!/punk rock, of course): you might find traces of 80s metal, hard rock, hardcore, classical rock and so on in it, but we don't want to stray too much from what we are.
The Italian scene: years ago I was really into it (as a player, 'zine producer, distributor and even record producer), but now I only play here and there at times and show up at a few concerts – not very often, though. So I can't really tell you about the present scene, not least because there are practically no new bands I listen to...

Which do you guys prefer, recoding live material or studio works & what can you say about your special live show presentation that maybe different from other bands?
I like both: working in a studio because it's the crowning of a long process and it's fun for us to work with our trusted sound engineer; and playing live because it's always a good opportunity to meet new people and visit places you've never been to. As for our live shows, we offer nothing special: we go on stage as we are in everyday life and try not to make too many mistakes and forget our pieces!

When thinking about Italy, there’re always these 2 things in my mind, 1st it’s bands like Bulldozer & Necrodeath the Thrash Metal legend from Italy, do you listen to their music + 2nd Italy always remind me with Horror/Gore directors like Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento etc that are famous for their Cannibal/Zombie theme films, do you like ‘em & your honest comments on these violent cultures in art & if possible please share with us your film interest?
Myself, I adore Bulldozer (even the latest album is not bad at all!), as well as 1980s Necrodeath (the new ones leave me cold). In the 1980s we had a brilliant thrash metal scene, with bands such as Schizo, Nuclear Simphony, Incinerator, Creepin’ Death, Jester Beast, Drunkards, Extrema, Excidium (already bordering on death metal), Mortuary Drape (playing black/occult metal in 1986!) and will also mention two obscure proto-black metal bands: Black Prophecies and Sagatrakavashen (the latter were already using face painting back in 1988!!!!). Generally speaking, we had a strong metal scene in those years, with many bands that deserved to be better known but suffered the drawback of having been born in a fourth-world country, in terms of music.
As for the Italian film tradition, I personally appreciate Argento's style, which is more psychologically based, than Fulci's quasi-splatter style (although Fulci too was a giant, and not just in the horror field, since he also directed spaghetti westerns, thrillers and even a few Italian-style comedies!).
I am not particularly well prepared on the topic, but I know that Italy boasts a considerable tradition in the horror/gore genre, not least thanks to films such as ‘Cannibal holocaust’ and 'The Last Cannibal World' (both by Ruggero Deodato). The first of these films notoriously includes actual scenes of animal killing, so as far as I'm concerned it's shit. Generally speaking, I like horror movies, but I prefer those based on psychology and suspense – I find too much blood boring.
As far as my personal film tastes go, I adore Italian-style comedies from the 1970s and 80s, and – as I already mentioned – horror films and thrillers. I'm quite omnivorous, in fact, in the sense that I'll watch anything else as long as I like the plot!

Please explain your philosophy about skinhead Punk & the Trojan like Punk heads as mainly it’s anti government movement/attitude stuff practise in like but I don’t see much these days & tell us the difference with Anarco Punk & Crust etc?
Punk/Oi! and anarcho-crust are both protest genres (for the vast majority of bands), but then differ in terms of their music, style and attitude choices. Ultimately though their closer than one might think (Crass, for instance, played one piece with Business!). The basic problem nowadays is that these genres are almost completely stuck with slogans and topics that are twenty or thirty years old; and while some (such as war) are still terribly relevant, unfortunately, it hardly helps bands and their message, which should rather be brought up to date and contextualised. Also, many bands just love playing for their little audiences and are not really interested in the topics they are singing about... It's sad but true!
Ultimately, as always, the only real “anti” approach is what is practised beyond bands' lyrics, and only few band members, be they punk or crust, actually engage in any activities.

Mosh & pogo is a command thing in most Punk/HC gigs just like Metal having slam, head banging & stage diving, so do you guys still get wild with these cultures on every show hooking with fights etc?
Well, in the latest concerts I have seen or played, I had the impression that today's kids are more “polite” compared to those of a few years ago... haha In the sense that there have been no fights and that pogo and stage-diving took place in quite an orderly way, not like in some of the “hardcore tumbles” I've had the privilege to take part in over the years!

Nabat & Agnostic Front is your main inspirational bands I guess, what is there so special about ‘em & what other bands that had inspired you guys to form Gradinata Nord?
Let's say that Nabat, Agnostic Front and Warzone are the bands that inspired us at the time we set up the band. Especially Nabat – without them Gradinata Nord probably wouldn't even be around, since we first became a band to play a single gig in which 90% of the pieces were songs by Nabat (a landmark Italian Oi! Band from the early 1980s, for anyone who might not know them). Gradinata Nord then decided to continue playing, but that's a different story!
Other bands we are inspired or have been inspired by include Business, Motorhead, Motley Crue, Turbonegro, Zodiac Mindwarp, Cock Sparrer and Hanoi Rocks.

I like your “Valtellina Boys” album Rock ‘N’ Roll ideas blended well with the Punk root but why did you guys choose to have that smart image on the photos of the album, any sponsors helping you out + what about the labels Lorenzo Monti Recordings & Bacio Records?
No sponsors, my friend! The car is Bassman's Fulvia (which he inherited from his paternal grandfather). The picture is a tribute to italian 70s crime films (another movie genre Italy is famous for!).
BaCio Records, as I already mentioned, is our label: Bassman and I run it.
Lorenzo Monti Recordings is not a record label, but a business (recordings, concert services etc.) managed by our sound engineer (Lorenzo Monti). It seemed like a good idea to advertise it through our records seeing how Lorenzo's helped Gradinata and that we're friends.

What do you think about aggressive sports like wrestling & ultimate fighting or any martial arts + what can you say about black magic & supernatural evil spiritual existence?
As for the first question, I can tell you that I basically know nothing about it! Sometimes I catch a glimpse of wrestling on TV and I find it amusing – but that's all.
Same goes for the second question! They are things I'm intrigued by and I've also read a bit about them, but I don't know enough to discuss them, also because I never know whether to really believe in them or not.

Your honest political view for Italy government & pornography + what about vegan ideology/straight edge etc?
Italy is a very peculiar nation, and quite an ungovernable one by normal standards. The present government (which is at least formed by competent people rather than clownish characters like the previous one), despite its attempt, is pretty powerless to react at the ills that have long been eroding this country: corruption, poor public services, welfare scrounging, a terrible public debt, etc.
Porn: who doesn't watch it? Come on! Let's not be hypocritical. I personally like things that are not too extreme: let's say normal porn that is neither misogynistic nor too vulgar. You might say I've got a hardcore (punk) approach to hardcore (porno) – haha!
Finally, I'm the guy who's usually described as straight edge, since I made the choice not to drink alcohol, smoke or take drugs about twenty years ago now. I'm also vegetarian, but not vegan, and this choice is only due to the fact that I like animals. Generally speaking, these are all personal choices – nothing to feel better than others for or to impose on others.

Are you satisfied with the current success of the band & do you plan to do music video or DVD release or pushing your music to mainstream market or just keeping it just spreading in the U/G movement, why is that so?
Yeah, we're enjoying the success a band that plays few concerts deserves and which doesn't go through too much trouble to promote its stuff. This is why in addition to the many positive reviews our records have received it would be great if we might also be contacted by a label that might help promote Gradinata Nord.
Sooner or later we would like to shoot a videoclip, and with the help of a friend who's a director we might even make it; but it would only be a matter of personal satisfaction, not a way to reach higher levels. We're an underground band and will stay that way! I cannot imagine Gradinata Nord posters in the rooms of teenagers across Italy! Haha

Who’s the main songwriter or the band & who’s idea for having the keyboard parts in ‘Gradinata Rock’ & ‘R.S. Army’ who played it + aren’t you interested to do something Ska Punk music having trumpets with Reggae elements to make it much more fun in the musical experiment perhaps?
The main songwriter, music-wise, is Alejandro Rovex, although we all help a little in completing the pieces. Bassman and I got the idea of adding a keyboard in those two songs, played by (a local professional classical musician and piano teacher who is also a former member of some local 1990s rock bands – he even played with Alejandro and me in one). As for adding ska punk and reggae elements, they don't seem too suited to Gradinata; plus, too many Oi! bands have them... and we're different! ;-)
You might be interested to know that I got the idea for the finale with the Deep Purple-alike hammond in ‘Gradinata Rock’ from Bulldozer's 'Art of Deception', which has a similar finale (as a good metalhead I'm sure you'll know the piece!).

What do you think about Beast Petrify, Abysmal Sculptures ‘zine & other Asian stuffs that you got in touch + your final Punkish army Rock ‘N’ Roll screams for our outro wwith additional promotion of Gradinata Nord merchandises & updates!? Thank You & Good Luck!
I had long heard of Beast Petrify and finally got to listen to them thanks to the CDs you sent me. I must say you play a good and dark thrash/death metal, just as I like it, with a nice aggressive voice and excellent atmospheric intros.
I wasn't aware of 'Abysmal Sculptures' ‘zine, but I found it to be very good both in terms of graphic layout and of contents (well written reports and reviews, original interviews with truly underground bands, with particular emphasis on south-east Asian ones in the only issue of the 'zine I've read).
Our final Punkish army Rock ‘N’ Roll screams? “Scream for me Singapore!!!”… Sorry: I couldn't help mimicking the Bruce Dickinson of the good old days! ;-)
No, really: our CD compilation 'Never Trust a Indie – 2000/2002…2010!' is available (69 minutes at 5.00 euros + P&P), along with the last remaining copies of our CD 'Valtellina boyz' (same price). We've also got man and girlie t-shirts at 10.00 euros each + P&P.
For more information please visit our website:
www.gradinatanord.eu
or check us out on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/gradinatanord
Last but not least, many thanks to you for your lengthy and interesting interview and the opportunity you're offering us to be featured on your 'zine. And thanks to Sergio too, who will be translating these answers, since my English sucks!