NYC’s Molotov Cocktail is a band you NEED to know – even if you’re not from the New York metro area. The band, in all its various incarnations, has been spreading their incendiary socio-politically charged hardcore punk around the world for about 10 years now. Just recently settling on a stable line-up that solidified in 2003, the band, consisting of vocalist/guitarist Gabby, bassist Goose, guitarist Sam, and drummer Brian, have much planned for 2004, including some new releases and a massive amount of touring in Europe, the U.S., and even South America. Recently, I was able to have a nice, long, detailed conversation with the amiable lone founding member of the band, Gabby, during which time we discussed everything from the inevitable – the band’s music, world politics – to the obscure – most notably his pre-show tradition of playing chess with Dave Dictor while on tour in Europe with MDC.
It’s no surprise this man was taken with punk rock when he came to the U.S. back in 1984 (ironic, no?!). Living in Romania where punk rock was basically non-existent, Gabby grew up “an angry, frustrated kid.” He relates, “Over there, there was nothing; it was like complete censorship.” And this oppressive culture definitely impacted his songwriting and outlook greatly. “I was always anti-government, anti-police, all that stuff, even though in the earlier songs it’s not so blatantly in-you-face as it is on the last record. I guess I’m getting more mature and can sum things up in fewer words these days,” he explains. Of speaking his mind through his art, he says, “It’s definitely very important – the message at least to me and I’m sure the other guys in the band [are] pretty much on the same level.” Still, he confides, “It’s also fun playing in a band, regardless. It’s a fun thing, you know, jump around the stage and yell and say what you gotta say.”
Likewise, when Molotov Cocktail started, the music was secondary to the ideas the band wished to transmit. “I don’t think any [of] the classic punk rock bands…were amazing musicians or stuff like that. Nobody centered on that, it was all about [having] something to say and that’s your way of saying it.” As the main lyricist of the band since it’s inception, Gabby says, “When I say something, that’s definitely to me more important than the music,” adding with a laugh, “even though you know we try not to suck either. We try to sound half-decent. The live show sometimes, you know, the alcohol gets in the way, but we try.” Perhaps he’s too humble. These guys put on one helluva show teeming with energy and heart. The guys are relentless, and Gabby as frontman has quite a stage presence, sometimes using dramatics to get his point across, like at the beginning of the unsurpassable “Invisible Cell” (off the band’s second full-length, 2002’s ‘Once Upon a Time in America’), when he shouts “Work eat sleep” repeatedly, drilling the idea that a majority of us are stuck in ruts, slaving for the company, living meaningless lives, into the heads of all those lucky enough to be in attendance.
On the same note, Gabby hopes that upon hearing the band’s songs and/or seeing them live, that people who “are in the same boat” with them walk away with a realization that there are other people around who believe in the same things and have the same worldview as they do, and that they’re not alone. Likewise, it doesn’t hurt if Molotov Cocktail are able to open a few people’s eyes to a new way of thinking. As the frontman says, “The smallest thing you do helps, and if it’s associated with punk, it’s even better…Anything that helps people steer form the right wing and from the whole central government to think more for themselves, it helps.” However, that’s one thing that punks in different countries have over us Americans: “They’re not so much outside of society. They’re much more involved in changing the society. They have their own squats and they kind of keep separate from certain things. They get much more involved in voting and choosing their Congressmen…and they go to meetings and union protests, and they support immigrants, which here we could use a little more of that.” And he makes a startlingly good point, “It’s not something you see on MTV and you’re like, ‘Yeah, ok, I think I’m gonna have my hair like that guy.’ In other words, elsewhere, there’s more substance to punk than there generally is here.
And by actually taking part in marches and demonstrations, Gabby doesn’t just talk the talk. He’s not for random violence in the streets (and is glad we’re moving away from that behavior), but rather boycotting products and companies “that are controlling this whole universe and world. That’s punk rock to me.” As he says, now “there’s a lot of people that are actually involved with punk and Food Not Bombs and stuff like that [and] are more involved than others who just like to go see a show and have some fun. But at the same time,” he adds, “it’s good [for these people] to be there because they support the bands even though they’re not like crazy militants, just by going to see a band that is more active, it’s good because they support them and encourage them to do what they’re doing.” So, he concludes, “in a way they do support the manifestation of dissent.”
Not only is Gabby frontman of the progressive band, he also runs a label, Eastern Threat Records on which he has three releases out so far (‘Once Upon a Time in America’, the first Punk Olympics record, and the Molotov Cocktail/Distraught split 7”), AND puts on the Punk Olympics as well, a fun event at CBGB’s, that’s becoming a yearly phenomenon. In 2002, the second time the show was held, Gabby procured such acts as MDC, The Virus, The Unseen, Czolgosz, and World/Inferno Friendship Society, to name a few. This year, the Punk Olympics will be held March 26th and 27th, opting to wait a bit longer and not have it last December in order to get some great acts to match the stellar line-up of 2002. So far, some confirmed acts are Toxic Narcotic, New York Rel-X, The Krays, Vitamin X from Holland, Sixgun Radio, Beer Garden, and as always, Molotov Cocktail. He’s still working on the line-up, and it seems as though The Profits will play among others, which will not be disclosed in case things don’t work out. Basically, he has 10 bands that are local friends and is working on another 10 bands from out of town. Still, of the event, Gabby claims it’s comprised mostly of “local bands, friends of ours, which kind of was the whole idea in having the Punk Olympics anyway. I didn’t wanna have the crazy festival; that’s why most of the time I try to keep the tickets really low, like 12 bucks – 10 bands, 12 bucks [a night].”
In other news, Gabby seems unbelievably excited to be playing Brazil this spring – April, to be exact. They’ll be playing 10 shows, some with punk legends Ratos de Parao, and then will be hitting Puerto Rico for a weekend at the end of the month. Being that it’ll be the band’s first time traveling to these places, naturally Gabby says they’ll be hanging around for a little while. “I wanna stay a few more days afterward,” he laughingly confides, “do a little sightseeing or whatever ‘cause who knows when I’ll get back there…You don’t always get to go to these places.” Other tours on the agenda for 2004 are a European trek in September/October, doing about three weeks worth of shows with The Profits, and then a full U.S. tour at the end of the year or possibly at the beginning of 2005. All Gabby knows is that they’re due for a long U.S. tour. All in all, Gabby calculates Molotov Cocktail has done about six or seven European tours (playing the Holidays In The Sun festival in England the past two summers as well as the Hackney Punks Picnic – a smaller-scale event) and nearly the same amount of U.S. tours. However, going abroad and seeing different places seems to be what Gabby enjoys most – “not that it’s not fun playing here also,” he’s quick to note, but he really likes going back to Europe and seeing old friends and meeting new people, comparing it to a “class reunion every year.”
In any case, these tentative European and U.S. tours will most likely come about after the band puts out their next full-length, which will be their third overall. Already they have some material written, and according to Gabby, composing songs is a major priority at the present moment. They’ll probably record in early summer and hopefully have the record out by September. Having released their last record in 2002, if their new album does come out this year, that’ll mean that they’ll be breaking their “cycle” of putting out a release every three years. All the better for Molotov Cocktail fans eagerly awaiting new material.
In the meantime, the guys are also taking part in a project that will hopefully come together real soon and be put out in the near future. Molotov Cocktail, along with The Profits, The Goons, and, as of the time of our conversation, Caustic Christ, were all going to contribute tracks to a four-way split. The idea behind the release is having “four bands from four different cities to have four different release [dates], like a weekend in every city,” explains Gabby. For example, he says, “a February release in New York – Saturday at ABC No Rio, then Friday the night before have a release in Boston, then the next week we have the release in D.C., and Pittsburgh.” This set-up would be “ideal,” as they’re all good friends and they’re all from various cities. Yet, if Caustic Christ doesn’t take part, then they’ll have to find another band. Their goal is to have it released on Rodent Popsicle. So, basically as can be seen, if all goes as planned, Molotov Cocktail will be quite busy the rest of the year, meaning we have plenty to look forward to like a couple new releases as well as plenty of tour dates around the world.