He Has Been Going To Metal Shows For 50 Years

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What would you say was the first show that you ever went to locally? I know there's been a lot.

SPEAKER_01 0:07

It would have been uh some of the early 80s punk bands, um Power Age, a band from Durban saw them my favorite South African band ever, Doggy Detachment saw them uh Asylum Kids, Tribe After Tribe, those sorts of bands. Um I did uh manage to see the first metal band this country ever produced, which is Black Rose, and then the journey just continued since then.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

How's it going, ladies and gentlemen? It's Nice CDs One is my surname, and I'm back with another episode of the Legend of the Podcast. Today I've got a super uh amazing and incredible legend of the scene, someone that I've always been just super excited to see if I could get an opportunity to chat to. Many of you already know him and have seen him at a local show. Uh however, I figured it's time for us to just you know have a conversation regarding you know the history, you know, and how far back it actually goes. But uh yeah, I'm gonna let uh Uni introduce himself real quick and uh we'll basically continue with the conversation from there. How are you doing today, Uni? I'm good, thanks, sir. Uh it's such an honor and a privilege having you on the show. Um I want to know from you, you know, how far back does this go? We did have a brief uh conversation before while you were setting up and uh you did mention, you know, way back in the day, like even before I was born, but you were still you know active and so on. So tell me a bit more about that. When did you start going to shows and sort of introducing yourself to the scene?

SPEAKER_01 1:29

So just to put it in perspective, the greatest metal band the world has ever known, Iron Maiden, are 50 years old. And yesterday one of the great 80s bands, although they're still active, you too turned 50. So um that's pretty much as long as I've been going to gigs.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

That's absolutely incredible. So where does the journey start for you? You know, specifically where you're from, because I think people might sort of be a bit confused considering that you are everywhere. You you have shows in Joeberg, you have shows in Durban, Peter Maritzburg, everywhere. Where does it start for you? Where's home?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

I live in Maritzburg. Um I was born there. I grew up a bit in Keberge and went to school in Worcester and back in Maritzburg. And I've been in Maritzburg for just over 40 years now, and um pretty much enjoyed all going to bands ever since I could sort of think for myself. And um yeah, uh my kids both live in Joburg, so that's why I'm often up there visiting them and always take the opportunity to go to Sonage or or one of those places, uh, railways or some cool places up there.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Wow, that's absolutely beautiful. And for you, what would you say was the first show that you ever went to locally? I know there's been a lot.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

I vaguely remember seeing Rabbit when I was small. There would have been uh some of the early 80s punk bands, um Power Age, a band from Durban. I saw them. My favourite South African band ever, Dog Detachment, saw them. Uh Asylum Kids, Tribe After Tribe, those sorts of bands. Um I did uh manage to see the first metal band this country ever produced, which is Black Rose, and then the journey's just continued since then. Um Best Live. Um it's difficult, you know, um, because I've seen so many, but about 20 years ago there was a band here called Knave who were really, really awesome. My favourite South African band is Dog Detachment Um and Springbok Nude Girls are up there, um Squeal, you know, those sorts of bands um as a s you know it's just so many.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Yeah, and obviously with you uh sort of being active, you know, as fans over many sort of like decades, you know. I want to know from you what the best part of each sort of like decade would be for you.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

So pretty much when when I was uh probably underage, I uh I think the most exciting thing was to try and get into all these venues because it was a little bit stricter back in the day.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

Given a lot of shit trying to get in, but I I managed. Fortunately, I weighed 95 kilos when I was still at school, and I was a big guy, so didn't really have too many problems. And then um yeah, when I started uni, I got involved with our uni radio station at that time called Nuts Radio, and we used to um arrange and organise and and promote all the bands that came through on their campus tours. I mean, that would be the air voids and the jalocas and sevukas and and these sorts of bands, you know, um elementals of the world. Um later on, um sort of late 80s, we're talking the Filfrey bands, you know, Johannes Kerk or all of these guys, and yeah, and so it's just carried on and on.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

It does seem like radio played a very prominent part back then.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

You know, back then there was no internet, no cell phones, none of that. So everything was, let's call it real. If you told someone you're meeting them at seven o'clock, there was no changing the plan. You you you had to be there. And I think because everyone listened to the radio, you know, it was a good medium to promote bands. And this country, sadly, being very conservative, a lot of the real great bands didn't get much radio play.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

Would you say the internet plays a similar a similar role to what you know radio was back then? Would you say it's more impactful or less impactful?

SPEAKER_01 5:24

I think social media has done a lot, you know, it's it's made the world a smaller place, but it's also made us communicate a little bit less. And I do sense that people getting more real now, just sort of like not really too much into the social media thing. They're starting to put the phones down and um interacting a bit more, and we can see it in the in the in the scene. It's it's it's on the upper game.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Paint a picture for me in terms of what the scene was looking like maybe in the 90s, obviously with radio plugging and everything I understand, but what does it look like compared to what we have now?

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Minus the technology, it was very similar, but a lot better supported. I mean, in Maritzburg we had a club there called The Buzz Bar, who would bring in all these bands. I mean, the big four of the 90s, you know, which is obviously Squeal, Springbok Nude Girls, a band called Lithium, and Sugar Drive were the big bands of the day, and they would often be touring, and Meritzburg is one of their favourite stops. And you know, KZN had a vibrant scene, and but like anything, you know, it comes and goes, so you have these dips and then it builds up again.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

When would you say the most significant dip was?

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Oh, that's easy. COVID. People couldn't socialise, couldn't couldn't interact. I mean, it saw the demise of places like the Winston. The sad thing is all a lot of venues are closing. I see Bailey's closed down the other day as well.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

What is causing some of these venues to still be close, like be closing long after COVID?

SPEAKER_01 6:56

I just um think it costs a lot to run it, and I don't know if you're getting as much feet through the door. And to be honest, I don't think the youngsters drink like we used to.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Which can be a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

It probably is a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Yeah, and when we were discussing as well prior, you know, while we were you know setting up, you did mention, you know, some bands or you know, some individuals that have been able to, you know, there's a bit of a resurgence and that have been responsible for that. Which sort of entities have you been seeing or have you noticed, you know, have sort of had a positive impact in sort of bringing things back?

SPEAKER_01 7:31

Yeah, I mean reverberate and obviously um Keegan's other thing, Mosh, we got Durban Rock City, you know, there there's there's a whole bunch of them, you know, and it's good to see. I mean West for Warehouse um doing great things, at least it's keeping the scene alive. There's loop evolution here in Bolito that do a lot. You know, you got Sonage, um, rumours, railways up in Joburg and Pretoria, PE in Geberche, you got um Music Kitchen. So there's there's a lot of these places around, and it's good, good to see. You know, I went to a couple of the Vaccan rounds as well and went to the finals a couple of years now, and it's great to see 850 metal heads in a or a thousand metal heads in a in in Sonage, and I was in the thick of it.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

Nice. Yeah, we still need to touch on that like in terms of how you actually go about that. There's something that concerns me here because you know, one of the things that you you guys had mentioned obviously was that there was a time back in Peter Madsburg, like back in the day, when there were literally like 30-something like bands locally, you know, like in Durban, like that's like Durban bands, not even like Johannesburg and anything. What is happening? Why is there such less bands now than there was maybe back then, according to you, who has been you know, throughout?

SPEAKER_01 8:44

I think it's technology, instant gratification, maybe because it's it's hard work, but there's some great young bands coming through, and which I've seen in the last year or two. We spoke earlier about Poster Boy. Um, I think they did a lot for the scene here to to build it up again. You got Blackburn, Shawbreak, you know, those sorts of bands, you first, pink slip, you know, that's youngsters coming through and getting into the scene. It's it's very good to see. It's good to see someone starting somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Yeah, definitely. And what else do you think we can do as just you know people that might be interested in watching bands and so on, or just the Durban scene as a whole to sort of get it back to a stage where we're counting more than the bands that you mentioned, as it was, you know, back in the day, 30-something bands in existence all at once. How can we get back to that sort of level?

SPEAKER_01 9:34

I think you just gotta keep working at it. People want something real. Maybe I'm I'm an old toppy, but that's I just get a sense people want something more real as opposed to something on TikTok.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

So, what is the craziest show you've ever been to locally?

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Look, recently Walk These Skies at Westville Warehouse was absolutely insane and a great band. There used to be um alternative and metal festivals in 20 years ago, Thornfest, Witchfest. It was like splashy fin, but for metal and punk and alternative, and I mean I would have to take a few extra days' leave to recover from those. And um, it's hard to actually single out one.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Which era would you say was overall though? Like you you you literally feel like that era was absolutely wild, like nothing can compare.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

For metal, yeah, probably the 2000s was really peak in this country. I'd say for punk uh the 80s were definitely for me. Um look, there's there are punk bands around now, but it was just a lot hard. I mean, there was a great 70s punk band in Durban called Wild Youth, absolutely phenomenal band. They became Power Age, and um I managed to see Power Age. I was a little bit too young to go and see Wild Youth, and I wasn't living here in any case, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

You mentioned having kids and so on. Is this uh something that you pass down to them?

SPEAKER_01 10:56

You know, my son's actually in a band. Nice.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

What band is he in?

SPEAKER_01 11:00

He's in a band called Anti-Lover, okay, um, up in Joburg. Alright. Yeah, and they're indie punk sort of band.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

Beautiful, yeah, beautiful. So, what what sort of knowledge have you imparted on him that we can see elements of in his band right now?

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Yeah, just just do what you do, you know, enjoy it. Um, don't worry, and if you find a genre and a style you like, go for it.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

That makes a lot of sense. In terms of obviously, we mentioned earlier that you know you've been you've been around. I don't think there's a single soul in the scene who has not seen you in the marshmallows, you know, who hasn't seen you at shows. Uh, how do you do it? You know, despite obviously having pushed for so long, how are you still able to do this? Because Marcel and I even joke often that you know, we I'm 30, I think he's like 32, 33. And um literally our knees are already like gone already at our age. So for you, how have you been able to consistently do what you do? Even now we see you in the mosh pits without fail.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Yeah, look, uh I try and keep fit. You gotta keep fit. I mean, my job's a desk job. I sit in front of a computer hunched over all day or in meetings or whatever, and after work I do a bit of gym work, a bit of running, whatever, you know, just to keep keep going. But I just love going into the pit, I just enjoy the vibe and yeah, because it makes you feel alive, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Yes, it definitely does. I I could definitely see it. For you who has seen so many bands and you've been to so many like live shows, you know, for you you must have in your mind, you know, sort of like some sort of criteria that makes a good show. So when you think of someone like that there, which bands come to mind for you that are just local bands, obviously, that are able to deliver a show where you leave and you're like, wow, I'm mind-blown.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

I I think bands that interact well with the crowd and are very ingratiating. Yes. And um, they don't have to necessarily be a virtuoso on their instruments, but just enjoy what they're doing because that comes out. I'm certainly gonna say Johnny Clegg, Savuka, and Jaluka. Well, he was certainly knew what he was doing and knew how to interact. Definitely honor Castings, Springbok Nude Girls. He was a larger-than-life character, probably knave as well. Um really great band in the 220 years ago. Current bands, you know. I I saw a band a couple of months ago called Worms that really, really struck me as being fucking brilliant. I mean, they remind me of two American bands. One was called Black Flag and the other one's called The Gets, but so such a good show.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Moving forward, uh, where can we sort of expect to sort of see you? Will we still be seeing you at shows? How long is this gonna go for? Is there a stage where you're just gonna be like, you know what, I just want to rest now and chill out, or are we gonna be seeing you for the future?

SPEAKER_01 13:47

As long as I still can, yeah, I definitely will be there.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Wow. That's absolutely beautiful. Who's on your playlist if you are listening to some of the music? You've already mentioned worms in terms of the live aspect of it, but just bands that you feel you know deserve a lot more shine and a lot more praise right now. Which bands would those be?

SPEAKER_01 14:05

There's um my mate or John Butcher and Thagaroth have come a long, long way, and every time I see them, they are just it's just fucking unbelievable. Um, Human Nebula, who won Vacan this year, were really good. Um Decamienta. Fuck just incredible band. Right here in Bolito, there's a Black Sabbath tribute band called War Pigs who are phenomenally good. Yeah, when they gig again, you must make sure you see them. Um Blackburn, I really enjoy. Um, your cynical sanity, obviously. And um, yeah, Shaw Break really blew me away. I I went to that Mosh, you know, their Battle of the Bands event, and they really blew me away. Hadn't seen them before that.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

What do you want to say to everyone who sees your shows and just absolutely loves the fact that you're out there and you're inspiring them to keep going?

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Carry on, come and have a beer with me. We'll have a few shooters and we can shoot the breeze.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

That is absolutely perfect. I don't suppose you're on social media for anyone who maybe wants to keep up with you. We we need to know where you're gonna be next. So, how do we do that? How do you keep up with you?

SPEAKER_01 15:06

Uh uh I'm on social media, but I'm not overly active. I mean, I'm more watch than partake.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

But I mean, with you also, it's like you go to so many shows, there's there's a good chance we're gonna see you at the next, you know, whatever show there is.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

It's pretty much a guarantee you're gonna see me, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Basically, yeah. And I just want to thank you, Ernie, for doing this with me. I really appreciate it. It's been such a privilege just getting to learn about you know where you're from, how long this has been going, and listening, you know, hearing about some of the bands that you've been in love with over the years and so on. Thank you for this opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Thank you. Uh honored to be interviewed.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

So, thank you as well as the audience for checking this episode out. Uh, it's been Ernie and I. Uh, do check out all the episodes on our websites, and obviously everything will be in the description. And yeah, thank you so much for tuning into this episode. We'll check you guys next time. It is bye for now.