Interview: Boka (Ratos de Porão)
by Rafael Karasu (rafael@karasukiller.com)
Photo: Mateus Mondini
originally published in DOLL (Japan) #244
11/07

RATOS DE PORÃO

One of the longest lasting Brazilian punk rock bands, Ratos de Porão started out their career in 1981, in their native city of São Paulo.

Introduce the current Ratos de Porão line-up to the Japanese.
Ratos de Porão is currently: Gordo on vocals, Jão on guitar, Juninho on bass and me, Boka, on drums.

What drives you guys to keep on playing for over two decades?
Music and this band are what we have done for the most part of our lives, so this is really a very strong part of our identity. We love to play and we have a strong connection with hardcore, thrash and underground. We like to travel, we have a good relationship and that helps us not to lose interest and keep playing together as Ratos de Porão, but I think the main reason is out of love for the music we like and do.

What does punk/hardcore mean in your lives? Can Ratos de Porão be considered a punk/hardcore band in sonority as much as in attitude?
Each person has their own understanding of what is or isn't punk. A lot of conceptions about sonority, attitude and ideas are present in what's called “punk”, many people believe there's a correct way of being punk or something like that. I like DIY, I like to draw my own conclusions about everything that's around me, being independent in the sense of being able to do want I want with my own life, band, music etc… is the most important thing. In terms of sonority we're a band that for many years has been bringing hardcore and metal together, and that's how we want to sound. Therefore, I would say we're a hardcore metal band and that our lyrics depict everyday living situations and social injustice, upper class privileges and the struggle of the simple people to overcome their problems.

I've watched a documentary about the Brazilian punk movement, and on a specific scene, João Gordo and a friend were carrying huge amps to a place where there was going to be a show. How does it feel to remember the pitfalls from the first years of the band?
Well, everything was very different here back then, but I believe it was like that everywhere. The thing is, in Third World Countries, with a deprived economy and profound social inequality, getting instruments to start a band, organizing a show or making a record are still much more difficult than in a country in which the economical situation promotes the access to everything. The difficulties still persist, yet, the intensity and situations differ from what we've been through in the past.

What's the difference between hardcore when you guys started and what it is nowadays?
I think everything's easier nowadays and there's a lot more going on, which I believe is a positive thing. In the past, you had to build a network through letters, everything took a long time and now everything is just one “click” away. It was really hard to get your hands on a record or to know what was going on in other scenes, like in Europe and the USA, the resources to get the local scenes going were scant. Today everything's faster but if what you're doing is sincere, it doesn't matter what's going on now, or what went on 20 years ago. I'm not nostalgic, to me, everything is very cool considering the underground scene… a lot of people say that there's an industry and media distorting what “punk” is, generally speaking, but that happens since 1977, only it was in much different circumstances than the ones we see today. This is a complex question and there are many aspects to analyze, I could spend a whole day just talking about it.

What's the band's opinion on the punk/hardcore scene in São Paulo and Brazil in general?
It's raging, there are many shows, bands and people doing stuff all over the place. Sometimes there are less people involved, but I think this cycle exists everywhere, what matters is that hardcore is alive and there's still a lot more to come. I really like what's going on in Brazil lately.

In what other projects are the members of the band involved?
I play in I Shot Cyrus and I also toured with Vitamix X (Holland) twice already, including once in Japan. I have a label and distro, Pecúlio Discos, since 1997. Jão plays in Periferia S.A., Juninho plays in Discarga, O Inimigo, Eu Serei A Hiena and he also helps organizing Verdurada, which is one of the biggest hardcore festivals in São Paulo. Gordo has worked in MTV Brazil for over 10 years now, where he basically interviews all kinds of celebrities or does crazier things like on “Gordo Freak Show”, a show where bands played while participants did the most bizarre things, and was on the air for about two years I guess.

How many European tours has the band already done, and in which countries have you played?
I've lost count already, but in Europe we've been practically everywhere: Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, the UK, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Denmark and more I guess. We've also played shows in the USA and many South American countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador and Chile.

How does it feel to grow up in hardcore? I ask that because I believe that when you guys started playing in bands you never thought you would keep doing this for the rest of your lives.
Sometimes when I look back I can't believe so much time has gone by. I'm 36 years old and I've been involved with hardcore for 21 years. I think it's a very crazy and gratifying experience, after all we're always traveling, meeting new people, drawing our own conclusions about how society works and how we see ourselves and as a part of it. Surely, if I hadn't gotten involved with hardcore I would be a much different person than the one I am now and to be honest, I really like how things have turned out, if I had to go back, I would do it all over again. I also can't see myself away from this in the near future, sometimes I feel sad when I notice some people disappearing, turning the page and living with themselves as this was just a part of their youth which means nothing now. It's okay if you've changed your opinions and started getting interested in other things, but I can't see myself following this path someday.

What's your view on living purely on your music, and where has punk/hardcore contributed for that?
I see nothing wrong in doing what you like and being paid to do it, but in the underground, that's impossible. To live on music alone, you either need to be a professional musician who is constantly hired by studios, record labels and artists, teach an instrument and things like that, or to play in a pop band that sells millions of records and plays more than 100 shows a year. Another thing is having a band like Ratos de Porão, which has a lot of expenses to be kept alive, but also a lot of dedication and effort from the band members to be able to carry on. So, it's obvious that we're always in need of money to pay for our expenses, but I believe that living exclusively off of a band is very difficult. I even try, but many times we must find other means of making money, I believe that happens to all underground artists. But, after all, who wouldn't like to just play an instrument for the rest of their lives?

What are band members listening to nowadays?
I can't ask the others right now, but we're all pretty open-minded when it comes to music. I know Gordo likes a lot of grindcore, crossover and seventies rock, and Jão likes 77 punk, American hardcore, thrash metal and seventies rock as well. Juninho likes oldschool American punk bands, extreme stuff, Washington D.C. stuff, soul, funk and jazz. And I really like the latest wave of American hardcore, which is very productive nowadays, many thrash metal and crossover bands from the eighties and the current ones too, and I'm also fanatic about bebop and hard bop. In Japanese hardcore, I really like the stuff I discovered over fifteen years ago like Lipcream, Outo, Gauze, Rose Rose, Casbah and also the more recent stuff that I discovered when I went to Japan with Vitamin X, like Freaks, Gammy, Crucial Section and Total Fury.

“Homem Inimigo do Homem” is the latest full length released by the band, released by Deckdisc in Brazil and Alternative Tentacles in the USA. How was the production, and were you happy with the results?
We recorded this album analogically and we mixed it in an amazing studio with our long time friend Daniel “Ganjaman”. Bernardo Pacheco recorded everything, he's a young producer who's receiving some recognition here lately. The result was excellent for us, a lot of heaviness and dirt, matching the sound we make.

Since 2003 there's a new wave of punk/hardcore bands coming around in Brazil. How do you see this revitalization? Which bands/artists do you consider prominent?
Many bands appear all the time, not only in Brazil, but everywhere, I guess that's like what I answered in the question about the difficulties we had and how now, everything's just one “click” away. That's really encouraging and favors the many bands that are forming. I can name bands like Alarme, Ex-Inferis, La Revancha, Bandanos, B.U.S.H. and many others. If I keep on thinking I would have 30 other names now, all very good bands. This is awesome, new blood and also veterans starting new bands. Every time there's a show, there's good stuff to check out.

What would you guys be doing if it wasn't for punk/hardcore in your lives?
I have no idea, I think I'd be doing something related to sports. I'm a very active person, I like swimming, surfing, running…

When we receive the news from Brazil there's always more unemployment, corruption and violence. What do you see for the country in the future?
What happens in Brazil is what happens globally, generally speaking, that means, there's more and more wealth in the hands of less and less people. I see that these problems are not technical, or because of lack of competence, lack of honesty or any other of the reasons most people believe, that are thrown by the politicians and the mainstream media everyday on the news. These inequality issues are a result of the conflict of interests which is the basis of capitalism. Only a profound transformation of society in all levels will make it possible to address the interests of all people in an equal manner. This is how I see that talking about the problems in Brazil is a vulgar and very incomplete analysis of our reality. There is no possibility today - and I believe that this possibility has been inexistent for a long time - of transforming the reality of a country or territory alone. Capitalism is global, and so are the injustices.

The band's first album, “Crucificados Pelo Sistema”, was released in Japan through Speed State Records, and is very hard to find today. Would you like to have other records by the band released here?
I think some records end up in Japan through Alternative Tentacles. The thing with Speed State is different, it's a label that specializes in re-editing classic albums, and not having an item in their catalog forever. No doubt, it would be very interesting to have our records out there, and that would make it easier for people to know what we do nowadays.

You've been in Japan with Vitamin X in November 2005. What did you see here? Tell our readers what was the impression you got from our country.
Dude, my trip with Vitamin X rocked, there was no way I could refuse the invitation to play in Japan. I had time to walk around Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima… I even met some friends from Brazil who I had no idea were in Japan. The shows were all very cool, we shared the stage with many cool bands. Meeting loads of people and the opportunity of seeing how things work from real close in place that's completely different from where I live was awesome. I bought a lot of records and everything was really incredible. The receptiveness of everyone was amazing and I also noticed that a lot of people in Japan are familiar with Ratos de Porão.

Many Brazilian bands want to play in Japan, what's the possibility of Ratos de Porão coming here for a tour?
We're currently focusing on playing in places we've never played before, and Japan is one of them. I think all of us wish for getting to play some shows there one day, after all, Japan has excellent bands and very crazy shows. It's a radical cultural shock for South Americans, an amazing life experience.

What do you know about the Japanese hardcore scene? What bands do you like, and what impresses you about them?
What impresses me the most about them is the quality of the musicians and also the amount of good bands in Japan. I remember that during the Vitamin X tour, every night incredible bands would play, not to mention it's paradise for people who like records, there are excellent stores and you can find a lot of good stuff. I know lots of bands and labels I've already mentioned in another answer, Gauze, Death Side, Rose Rose, S.O.B. and more recent stuff like Razors Edge, Vivisick, Freaks, amazing bands. Surely, Japanese hardcore is emblematic, it has a lot of history and it's adored and respected all over the world.

What message do you have for Doll's Japanese readers and Ratos de Porão fans here in Japan?
We would like to one day play for you guys and we thank you for all the admiration and respect which you have shown Ratos de Porão. I wish that Japanese hardcore keeps on being wild, insane and inspiring as ever. Be determined and keep moving forward!

Contacts:
www.myspace.com/ratos