INTERVIEW
THE DETECTORS
by Christer Davidsson, March 2006
Tell me about the band, for how long have you been playing together, who is in the band and where are you from?
Sascha Gill: We are from Neumünster, a small town in Schleswig–Holstein. We´ve been playing together since 1999 but the band “The Detectors” has existed in this constellation for about 3 years. The reason why we founded this band is based on the change of our preferences in terms of music! The members are:
Matthias Borchers – drums, backups
Andre´ Steenbock – bass, backups
Sascha Gill – guitar, vox
How would you describe your sound to people who have never heard of you?
As simple as possible! Two words: street punk! And if this is not enough i would also suggest people to check out the bands we are influenced by.
How did you get into punk?
Boooaaaaahhhh. That’s the hardest kind of question I`ve ever heard! I wish I could tell you a really funny story but I can't. One day I saw the Rancid video for Salvation on MTV and I really fell in love for the very first time. I guess I was 12 or 13 years old. I fell in love with the sound and the look of these people. So I decided to cut my hair like these cool guys and defaced walls and my boots with punkrock bands like Rancid, NOFX and Operation Ivy. At this time I didn´t know Matty and Andre. Me and Matty were in the same school and one day Matty said to me: ”I like the bands you wear on your shoes!" so we became friends and decided to found a band! A few years later Andre joined the band. I met him at a bus stop and we were talking about the bands we like. I told him that I was in a band and that we needed a bassplayer and he told me he could actually play bass! So the band was formed but we were not sure about our sound. That was in 1999. I don't know how Andre got into punk but I can tell that he is very impressed by the lifestyle of Lars Frederiksen!
I listened to your songs at the band’s MySpace page and I really liked them all. Tell me a little about the songs. What do you write songs about in general?
Thank you very much! Most of the time we write about friendship and unity because these are two of the most important things in life for us. But we also write songs about things which piss us off. For example about fascists, racists, stupidity, ignorance and war. I know that these are cliches but I can't write songs about love and peace while people are dying out there. You should scream out what makes you bitter and angry!
I know you have a lot of swedish influences such as Voice Of A Generation and Bombshell Rocks. How come you are so into swedish streetpunk?
For me Matty is always the first point to get new underground stuff. It was Matty who got me into bands like VOAG or Bombshell Rocks. We like the attitude of those bands. They have a great sound! Pissed off and full of hate without this commercial posing. Their concerts are great, full of power and energy! Draw a parallel between a concert of VOAG and Lagwagon. It seems to me like we are a big family. You stand in front of Kim Belly and shout in his face ”oddgeneration is back!” while he is playing his set down and in the next moment you sit in a bar with him getting drunk. Or the fact that I met Crippe Määttä on the VOAG tour shows me that they are a big family. I was at the Down and Away show in Hamburg before the Set To Blow tour. They played in front of 10 or 20 people, I guess. When they had finished their set, there were basically only me and Andre shouting “we want more!" and they gave us 2 more tracks! Would Lagwagon ever play two more songs for just two guys? I like those concerts where you get the feeling you don´t stand in front of any rockstars!
And that’s it! The will, the message!!!!
Do you play a lot of shows? How is it in Germany, are there still a lot of venues and clubs to play? What’s the best show you’ve ever done?
We are trying to play a lot of shows and there are many cool punkrock clubs here in Germany! But the problem was the band broke up in 2004 after the recordings of the 4 myspace tracks because of personal differences. That was a really hard time for me but after a year paused we found together again. In 2005 we had to work out a new set and started to play some gigs again. The best show we´ve ever done? Hmmm? I guess, the best show for me was my birthday, playing the first time in front of a crowd with lots of people singing along to our songs. This was an indescribable feeling! Yes! 
What’s the scene like in Germany at the moment. Do you have a lot of good bands down there? I know Frontkick is great, are there any other bands you would recommend?
Yes, Frontkick are great! There are a lot of good street/oi punk bands like the Broilers, Oxymoron, and the Vaders. But a lot of great punkrock bands, too. F-Three for example, they have a song called "Peaceful Beings". Everytime I listen to it I wonder if Operation Ivy is still alive! They have a great sound, really hectic and agressive. And also 3 of the nicest guys that I've ever met! Other bands are the Creetins or Skin Of Tears but I'm listening more to swedish punkrock. There are also some new bands like Splitside, Mockingbirds or Silent Opression. We've got a great punkrock scene and bands like American tourists here in Neumünster and Kiel. In Neumünster there is the AJZ where are lot of good punkrock concerts take place and Kiel has got ”Die alte Meierei”.
So, what’s the plan for the future? Any upcoming recordings, tours or anything like that?
Oh yes, after doing a demo which was limited to 77 pieces and 2 songs on the "Kinder spielen Tod" sampler (Zeitstrafe Records), we decided to make our first long-player! We will go into the studio this summer and hopefully it will be a great record! We will also make a 7” split with the band F-Three before going on tour together to do a lot of good gigs. My personal dream would be
a Sweden tour. Yes, that’s it
Ok, thanks a lot for answering the questions, anything else you want to add?
Thank you a lot for your support, have a great time! Keep supporting punk rock music!
Links:
http://www.detectors.co.nr
http://www.myspace.com/thedetectors