Interview with Genders, September 2006

NB - Please introduce yourself and tell me how did The Genders start, who are the members, were you involved in other bands before, what have you released so far...?
G - Hey, my name is Amir Neubach, lead singer and guitarist for The Genders. From 1990 to 1998 I was the drummer (and later co-lead vocalist) of Salem, a legendary Israeli Metal band. The Genders started in 2003 when I got back to Tel Aviv after spending 5 years in the US, touring and recording with a couple of bands, the most noteworthy of which would be a late incarnation of the Sado Sluts on Smack (with former NY Doll Rick Rivetts), and Sugar High (Arizona based powerpop/rocknroll band). Upon returning to Tel Aviv, I hooked up with my long-time friend and co-conspirator Ofer Korichoner to write some new songs, inspired by the events of 2000-2003, later dubbed the "second Intifada". We recorded some tracks in his DIY studio in Tel Aviv, and by the beginning of 2004, The Genders was born as a band, when we added Orr Kahlon on drums.

Those DIY recordings became our debut album, entitled "Rockin in Ramallah" (AMP Records). We went on a short US/Canada tour in September of 2004, where we hooked up with AMP Records and laid the foundations for releasing the album in the North America, which happened in the end of 2005. To celebrate the release, we embarked on a coast-to-coast US tour, playing 50 dates and getting a nice little buzz going within the tightly-knit Underground Rawk scene. The lineup today has been reinforced by Nahi Ninyo on guitar, and sadly we parted ways with founding member Ofer due to scheduling differences, replacing him with Tanny Clapsaddle on bass guitar.

NB - Tell me how is it to be a band in a situation like one now in Israel? We don't have to speak about politics, but I guess it must be hard to play gigs etc. All we see on news here is politics and terrible things that are happening.
G - Well, the situation in Israel has been pretty stable for the past 30 years or so, believe it or not. Don't believe everything you see or hear on the news, kids. This "latest chapter" of the Arab-Israeli war was really nothing compared to what went on here in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Granted, it has been tough on the folks living in Northern Israel, most of whom left their homes for the whole month, some finding their homes damaged or completely destroyed when they returned. But most people up North got back home and got right back to their normal boring lives. Here in Tel Aviv, it was basically "business as usual" the whole time; we watched the war on TV just like you guys did. Only one Genders show got cancelled, a big beer festival we were supposed to play got rescheduled, and they ended up moving the festival to Haifa, which was hit during the war, just to make the kids there feel better.

NB - Is it difficult to keep your thoughts clear with all this around you?
G - It's harder to keep my thoughts clear from all the hot girls walking around in skimpy summer clothes, believe me. Overall, we've learned to live with everything that's thrown our way, be it suicide bombers or Katyusha Rockets. If anything, it just makes our love for dirty-ass Rawk'n'Roll all that more passionate. However, it bothers me personally that people are getting killed for really dumb reasons. Israel was justified in returning fire and retaliating against Hezbollah, I guess for the first few days, but then it got dragged out for so long and so many people (mostly in Lebanon) lost their lives and homes; time will tell, but at the moment it looks like not much was achieved. We do reflect a lot of what's going on here in our lyrics, I won't give these away but I'm sure someone in NoBrains will put some relevant quotes on here for ya!

NB - Is the music scene in Israel strongly affected by the shit that's happening? Are there more punk/garage bands, labels...?
G - Surprisingly, No! If anything, it's the opposite. Popular music in Israel is generally watered down fluff, pure escapism or weepy maudlin bullshit. Singer-songwriter type crap with relationship-driven lyrics or dancy teen-pop. There are some very good bands in the "underground" scene. Check out The Girls, Midnight Peacocks, The Fans, Useless ID, Man Alive, RockFour and Izabo. There's more, but off the top of my head that should keep you busy on Google for a while. There's a few small labels kicking around town, I don't know all the names of those. I don't care for labels too much, bands are my main interest.

But seriously, I gotta say Tel Aviv is very different than the rest of the country, this is more of a Cosmopolitan city, where people behave, create and live in a more-or-less Western idiom. It's very different than other parts of Israel. Not completely un-Western (the whole country has been pretty much Americanized along with most of the rest of the world, as you probably know.), but still very different. Some would call it a "Biblical" feel, since most places in Israel are ancient. Jerusalem (where I was born) is still the same town as it was in Jesus' day, for example. And it was already ancient in the days of Jesus, just to put things in perspective.

NB - Do you play outside of Israel and where?
G - Up till now, we toured all over the US and Canada. We're planning a European tour for the summer of 2007. It's gonna be Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Finland, The UK and Ireland. If I missed a country, and anyone would like us to play there, email us and we'll try to add the date.

NB - How did you get in contact with AMP Records?
G - AMP is the coolest, I contacted them about a show I think in 2004, they liked our stuff and helped us book some shows in Ontario. When we met we really hit it off and became friends, which paved the way for a "business" relationship. There are no lawyers and managers, no backstabbing and screwing the artists out of their money with this label. When we play Toronto, Hamilton etc, Larry books our shows there, and him and his wife, Patty put us up in their home, and make us really feel like part of the family. That's worth more than a million-dollar contract to me.

NB - Are there clubs where punk/garage bands play? Is there a TV channel, radio stations that show/play regional bands?
G - It's funny you say "regional bands" because I just read an article about the budding Heavy Metal scene in Egypt. The authorities there outlawed Heavy Metal concerts and gatherings, and it's very underground, but it's there. Maybe one day we can play a gig in Cairo, or even do a tour of the Mid-East (yeah, right!). Although Israel has peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt, two out of four neighboring countries, there are no real cultural ties; most people in the Arab world pretty much hate Israelis because of Israel's politics, its attitude toward the Palestinian issue and its ability to thrive regardless of its isolation. Also, if we like it or not, Rocknroll is a form of Americanization, and that's frowned upon in most Arab communities, even in Israel, which has a very large Israeli Arab population (in Israel proper, not in the West Bank).

We have cable TV with a local music channel (24/7 local music videos, most of which are total shit), countless radio stations that play local music (but only a handful of cool ones that don't play middle of the road crap), and more magazines than you could ever read in a lifetime. There's a Punk scene, a Metal scene, a Goth scene, an 80's revival scene, the list goes on and on. It's all pretty small, and it's mostly centered in Tel Aviv. But hey, it's what we have, and we love it.

NB - What are you doing next to playing in Genders?
G - You mean a day job? I don't have a real one, no 9 to 5 bullshit at least. How do the bills get paid? All I can say is we're in it for the long haul and one day, I'll put a nice fat check in the bank and I'll still owe more than I can pay back. Rocknroll is all about the glory, not the cash.

NB - What are your favorite bands and albums?
GOK, I guess it's top 10 time. Always a tricky one, because it changes all the time, so if I read this back in a year or two, I might go "what the hell was I thinking". in no particular order:

Iron Maiden - Killers
AC/DC - Highway to Hell
The Ramones - Road to Ruin
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet
The Cult - Sonic Temple
MC5 - Kick out The Jams
Chuck Berry - Chuck Berry is on Top
The Velvet Underground - Loaded
Motley Crue - Shout at The Devil
GNR - Appetite for Destruction

I'm sure I'm missing something here, but what the hell. It's only rock'n'roll, right?

NB - Are there good record shops that sell vinyl in Tel Aviv?
G - Yeah there's a couple: "Third Ear Records" on the corner of Ben-Zion Blvd (my street) and King George St. and "Black Hole" Records on King George St., both have kickass used and new albums.

NB - What are The Genders doing at the moment? Can we expect a new album?
G - Yeah, we've been working feverishly on this new one, entitled "Virgin No. 72", which we're now in the final stages of mixing. Hopefully we'll have some advance copies to take on the road with us; we kick off our US/Canada tour in October 2006, 40 gigs in 50 days, and the official release of the album? Who knows.? Early 2007 we hope. Rest assured that NoBrains will receive an advance copy, warm from the press, and you'll be one of the first to review it.

NB - Anything you want to say at the end?
G - Thanks a lot for the interview, Vanya. Hope to see you in 2007 on tour, stay safe!