Interview with Creative Waste

 CREATIVE WASTE

Interviewed by: Corix Baluca


Asalamwalaykum marakhmatulahi wabarakatu! I hope I said that right! It’s my first time to meet a band who plays there in KSA. How did you guys form? Are you all Saudis or various nationalities?

Essam Al-Ghamdi [Guitarist]: Wa alaikum asalam. It’s actually Warahmatulahi, but you almost nailed it, dude. I appreciate the sentiment. Well, we actually tossed the idea around when we were in the US back in 1999. We used to go to the same school in Virginia and had the same passion for metal. We bought our first instruments around 2002 but we didn’t really commit to the project until 2004 when we started playing our first gigs. All of the band members are Saudi nationals.

My girlfriend grew up there! She told me it’s pretty strict there since the Holy Makkah is located in your country, but the views there are great she said. So, is the government giving you much trouble there since you guys play in a metal band? Is it not against any of your culture and beliefs? Don’t you get arrested because of that?

The government doesn’t really know we play in a metal band, but if they did, they probably wouldn’t do anything rash like apprehend us or something similar. All of our instruments were purchased legally so they can’t do anything about that.

How did you guys hook-up in metal music? Who influenced you to be a metal head? Is there any underground shop and distros over there to check out underground cd’s?

We started listening to metal back in 1998, but before that I used to listen to punk bands like Rancid. So you can pretty much visualize the correlation we created with metal and punk into our music just by looking into our past influences. The only underground shop we go to in order to get our grindcore fix is Ghadeer which is located in Bahrain, our neighboring country.

Speaking of cd’s, can you give us a few list of bands that you are listening to right now?

Regurgitate – Hate-Filled Vengeance
Nasum – Inhale/Exhale
Pig Destroyer – Prowler in the Yard
Cryptopsy – Once Was Not
Rotten Sound – From Crust to Grind
Impaled – Mondo Medicale
Nile – Annihilation of the Wicked
Devourment – 1.3.8.
Extreme Noise Terror – A Holocaust in Your Head

And a bunch of other stuff we occasionally listen to.

I have a friend who writes a zine also and he is now in UAE, and he goes to witness great UG bands that plays there who are Arabs as well. Where do you held your gigs there in KSA? Is there any underground venues/bar located at your place?

We usually play in isolated areas. We try to get as far away from civilization as we can because we don’t want to disturb anybody around the area.

By the way, do you know someone who writes fanzine in your country? Since your post office is very strict and opens your mail, how do you manage to trade or buy stuffs outside your country like zines and cd’s?

No fanzine in Saudi, but there is a webzine. Be sure to check out www.sametal.org/CW . As for purchasing stuff from outside, we like FedEx or any other shipping company. Aramex (another shipping company) has this cool Indian who always asks us why we listen to this stuff (Grindcore) and why the names are always violent, haha.

Do you guys smoke, drink or take drugs? If yes, where do you get those supplies? It’s illegal there, right?

No, no, and no. None of us smoke, drink, or take drugs. Almost everything is illegal in good ole Saudi, haha. Bars are literally obsolete; there are no bars in Saudi. For your drinking fix, you could go to Bahrain like the rest of the population.

What made you think you guys can make a difference for all those youngsters there in KSA? How will you educate or influence them in listening to metal music?

There’s always force. No, I kid, I'm not gonna force the younger kids to listen to metal, but I will force them to listen to Creative Waste, haha. Some people have these alter egos when they start listening to metal. They start acting up and thinking they’re the strongest motherfuckers around, it gets pathetic sometimes. You don’t have to be an asshole to listen to metal. That’s what people need to understand.

And by the way, pls. tell us a brief u.g scene report in your country so that people around the world will know about your scene there.

Our scene is slowly progressing and blossoming into a full-blown scene just like a lot of the scenes around the Middle East. We’ve got up and coming bands from everywhere around Saudi which is really interesting because we actually thought we were the only ones (us and a number of other bands) doing this sort of thing. Also, the bands don’t stick to one genre; you’ve got a slew of bands playing different genres which adds a variety to the scene. Considering the law restraints regarding officially sponsored gigs, we still hold underground gigs that give newcomers a chance to play and get the recognition they sorely deserve.

In making your demo, where did you guys process the recording? Is it a DIY demo that is recorded in someone’s house or in a real studio?

It was primarily DIY. We did it in one of our friends’ basement. He was kind enough to lend us his mixer and we got to work. Real studios are too expensive in Saudi, so we opt for DIY recordings; for now, at least.

Lately, I heard that in your country, they banned the Danish products after insulting Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon Him) as a cartoon character who is a terrorist. What do you want to say to those Danish? Are you also against USA since war is still active in Iraq? I am also wondering if racism exists in your country.

Racism does exist in our country. It exists everywhere. You’ve got uneducated people all around the world. I don’t really have anything to say to the Danish, except to stop being n00bz. They could be fine citizens with a few bad apples like any other country but I will say this. If a cartoonist or any politician for that matter expects to take on a religion that takes its laws and formalities seriously, he/she is marking their own grave.

If your King Abdullah hears about you guys playing that kind of music, how will you convince him that there is nothing wrong in what you are doing?

King Abdullah fucking rules, dude. He would probably headbang to our music. He’s been a supportive leader so far and I don’t see why he would ever be against bands doing what they love.

What can you say about your government? Since your place is very strict, do you like that kind of situation? Do you think there is freedom in your country?

In all actuality, there is anything but freedom in our country. Religious law enforcers are pretty much everywhere nowadays. It’s ridiculous to the point where a guy can’t see his girlfriend much, you know? But what can you do, right? We’re pretty used to it by now.

Do you guys play skateboard? Extreme games is already boosting in Dubai. How about in your country? Are there parks or a place to skate? Or do you skate where the police are near by?

From what I hear from friends, there are lots of skateboarders. They skate in Jubail, a city in the Eastern Province of Saudi from what I heard. It would be nice to meet some of them.

By the way, do you have any Filipino friends there who also listen to metal music? How about a girlfriend who is a Filipina? Do you know any Filipino words yet? Do you know what’s “PUTANG INA MO” means?

Sorry dude, I don’t know any. And I don’t know what the hell you just said, haha.

Hey, can you give us a few profane or bad words in Arabic?! We Filipinos would like to know a few! How about I love you in your language? I heard Arabic has the most number of translations in that word!=)

Kus ummak is the equivalent of ‘Fuck you’ yet it has a different meaning. Kus means pussy while ummak means your mom. You do the math. ;)

There are a couple of variations for ‘I love you’, here is the main one. To a guy, it’s ahubak or bahubak. To a girl, it’s ahubik or bahubik.

If given a chance, would you like to play here in our country Philippines with your own expenses like the flight tickets? Do you believe in DIY? What is DIY in your opinion, by the way?

Of course, but not in this state; once we’re a bigger band and we’ve become a mainstay in the Middle Eastern metal scene, we’d definitely love to play there. Main reason is, at the moment, we’re broke, like everyone else, haha. Of course I believe in DIY, all of the gigs in Saudi so far have been DIY and that’s not gonna change anytime soon. I believe when it’s done by the fans or the listeners, it has a lot more passion and hard work put into it, which is something we don’t see too often in organized gigs.

If your band will be given a chance to play in the OZZFEST to represent your country, will you guys play? Pls. explain why?

Well, considering that all the bands that play at OZZFEST are mainstream bands, I don’t think we would fit in quite nicely. It would be a good opportunity to play with these bands, I'm sure, but it wouldn’t feel right.

What are the possibilities that it will come a time were metal gigs will be legal there?

We don’t even know if organizing a gig is illegal. We didn’t break any laws during the process and progression stages of the first couple of gigs, so I don’t see how they could legalize something that isn’t necessarily illegal.

Thank you for giving much time in answering this! Any last message that you want the UG scene to know about regarding your stand as a band in your country?

We just love playing originally conducted music in front of a live audience, just like every other band in the world. We’re like every UG metal band in the world; we’re in it for the love of the music and not profiting from it. Thanks for the opportunity man. Cheers and grind!


contact: www.sametal.org/CW