Interview
with Vialka 
on questions answered : Eric and Marylise
- Introduce the members of the band, please
EB: I am Eric Boros and I play baritone guitar and I sing sometimes.
ML: I am Marylise Frecheville and I play drums and sing.
- You represent VIALKA as France/Canada. As it is not even one continent, are there any problems with the rehearsals?
EB: We live together, and actually spend most of our time travelling
and on tour. I am originally from Canada and Marylise is from France, but
at the moment we are more or less nomadic.
ML: We lived successively in Switzerland, Slovenija, France and Canada.
-You plan the tour in Russia, don't you? Would you like to say anything about it? Where are you going to play?
EB: Yes, we are planning to tour all of Eastern Europe this
(2004) summer/fall, coming from Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia,
Finald - then Russia, I'm not sure where - St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Volgograd
at least - then Georgia, Turkey, Greece, and Italy. It is still in the planning
stages so things can change.
ML: I had a dream of travelling with the Trans-Siberian,
but it seems that there is not enough places to play on the way.
-Recently I've learnt that last year you had already played in Russia as HERMIT... The man who told me about that was very impressed by your performance... Was it another band or you just have changed the name?
EB: Hermit was the name of what is primarily my solo experimental/noise/performance
project. Vialka is the musical duo of
Marylise and I, which was formed after our band NNY split up.
ML: I really
enjoyed playing with Hermit but as it is Eric's project we could not give
an equal investment in it.
-How many concerts did you have? And in general it would be very interesting to know your impressions about Russia?
EB: We played seven concerts during a month stay in Russia,
as a tour together with Tea Man With Tea Gum. It was a fairly difficult tour
for us - we felt that people were not very interested in seeing us, there
were very few people at the concerts, so not enough money for the train or
food or anything. It was an interesting experience however, and it is how
we found the name Vialka for our band. We hope people are more interested
in seeing Vialka in Russia...
ML: I found Russia a bit depressing concerning the people of our age which
don't seem to have any hope or interest in the future. But we spent very good
moments with the people from NOM. Russia is a huge country and there are many
different aspects of it that I still have to discover. As for the concerts,
they were interesting but too scarce and unattended, so they did not meet
our usual standard for a good tour.
-THE Republic OF THE BORED AND BORING - Is it your first album or you had something else before?
EB: It is our third recording; we did a CDR demo called "Des Mots", and a CD called "Tonight I Show You Fuck" with saxophonist Jacopo Andreini - all released by ourselves.
-What are you working on now? Is there are any chance for waiting a new album of VIALKA soon?
EB: We hope to record again sometime this year, for a release
as a CD or split LP. Whenever we're not on tour we're rehearsing, writing
new songs, and booking the next tours.
ML: Our new songs are more simple in a way, the change from the bass to the
guitar brought some lightness and dexterity, so I would expect the audience
to dance on the next tours!
-What projects Except VIALKA do you participate in? In particular I would like to know about Manufacture...
EB: Other than Vialka, I personally am not involved in many
projects at the moment. I do the occasional improvised/noise solo performance
and book tours for other bands. Manufracture is the record label that I've
been running since 1998. I've released over 20 CDs and 7"s of obscure
and interesting music, some of which is still availabel. Anyone interested
can have a look at http://noiseweb.com/manufracture
- these days I'm too poor to keep being stupid enough to continue putting
out music that noone has heard of or wants to buy so I'm just releasing our
own music and projects. I think most bands should release their own records
anyway. DIY right?
ML: I help Eric with Manufracture sometimes. I was volunteering in a youth
club in Slovenja and I occasionally get grant money to help us survive.
-Whose creativity has influenced you as a musician? What kind of music do you prefer now?
EB: As with most musicians there are too many influences to
list here, but I think the most important influence I had was DIY underground
non-commercial music. Modern popular culture has been totally polluted by
money and music is one aspect of it that has suffered deeply. Everything is
fake, without meaning, honesty, feeling. It means nothing to me, I don't watch
television
and I only listen to independant radio (a hard thing to find these days).
Unfortunately I feel that this DIY culture has suffered from it's dogma and
traditions. I hardly ever listen to any punk or rock music, it's staying the
same - no progression. Lately I've been listening to mostly traditional musics
from around the world, there are a lot of good discs at the local public library.
ML: I don't have any favourite kind of music. I am more interested in sincere
people and the atmosphere they create on stage. So most of my favourite artists
are the ones I can afford to go and see, or the ones I meet on tour. At the
moment I listen to what Eric listens to mostly, because it's good and most
of the time does not have rock drums in it.
-On one of the albums the name of your band is written in russian letters... Does somebody of you have russian roots?
EB: No, my roots are Hungarian and East German.
ML: My roots are French and Flemish.
-What do you usually do during your free time?
EB: These days I like to read books, listen to music, visit
my family, make sauerkraut, and make love. I don't go to many concerts but
I would like to go to a hockey game.
ML: I mostly practice and cook, and also do the same things as Eric.
-On your web-site I've met the information about NOM... Do you know each other? How do you like their music?
EB: I organise NOM's European tours, and have released a CD
for them on Manufracture. We met in Slovenia when Marylise and I were still
playing in NNY. We toured schools with them, playing in the schoolyard in
the middle of the day. It was great and we have had a relationship with them
ever since. I like their music and humour.
ML: NOM are great people.
-Tell us about your political views...
EB: We are not a political band in the sense that most punk
traditionalists would like us to be - we don't have token lyrics about "bad
stuff" - we are about living a free and respectful life and playing the
music that we feel and believe in. We also believe in survival, that DIY shouldn't
just mean "no money" - it should mean working in realistic and sustainable
projects, which does mean making money sometimes. I don't want to work a stupid
job for someone I hate just so I can be a slave to DIY - I want "DIY"
culture to be long-term and independant. I don't believe in punk politics
- there is nothing radical about a white male music club. Real revolution
will come from common projects against economic and ecological oppression,
by people from all kinds of different races, backgrounds, ages, cultures and
cultural interests. This has to be mainstream stuff, presented in a way that
the average person can understand and relate to.
ML: I hope that all young people in the age of voting will get their ass out
of their video games and go to vote for the people they believe in. Democracy
is the right of the people to dispose of their own country, a concept that
has been mostly developped after the French Revolution. We need to be able
to use that new concept. Who are the trustworthy people to vote
for? What is our education, criticism of the media, awareness of the people's
power and rights?
-What do you think about war in Iraq and the USA activity in the world for the last several years?
EB: The USA is striving for global imperial dominance. There
is not much more to say. Some good info on this subject can be found at:
http://www.democracynow.org
http://www.gregpalast.com
http://www.newleftreview.net/TariqAli.shtml
http://www.michaelparenti.org
Another VERY interesting website is:
http://www.suppressedhistories.net
All in English unfortunately...
-You travel a lot, have lived for a long time in different squats and support this movement... Do you think squats have any future? And where from your point of view the squat-scene has reached the best results?
EB: Unfortunately I think there is little future for urban squatting.
Most large cities these days are facing housing crises, extreme property values,
and repressive police forces (post 9-11 man!). Squat "scenes" have best developed
in regions with left-wing or relaxed governments, and these seem to be becoming
rarer and rarer! Maybe future squat movements will have to leave the polluted
and expensive cities and reclaim the land.
ML: Unlike Eric I think there will always be opportunities for energetic people
to squat old buildings if need be. If the project is benefitable for the local
community it has chances to stay for a while, since the political powers don't
like the bad publicity of having oppressed the poor. I consider a squat being
a success if the neighbours support it or don't mind it. It can be anywhere.
Though it is true that a lot of empty houses are to be found in the counrtryside
nowadays.
-Would you like to add anything?
EB: Thank you very much for the interview Michael, we wish you
all the best and are looking forward to meeting and collaboration with you
during our Russian tour. Anyone who feels like it can contact us or find more
information about us at http://www.vialka.com
ML: I appreciate your interest in us. Thank you. A meeting would be more interesting
than a interview in the sense that there will be a dialogue. So see you soon.
18.02.04