Page 34 - NLP244603 "NE Volume" Magazine (56pp 240 x 170 self cover)

MUSIC
COCAINE PISS
“The world is shit”
NEXT NE PERFORMANCE
Wednesday 31st August
VENUE
The Cluny 2, Newcastle
Cameron Wright talks to the adrenaline rush from Belgium that is a Cocaine Piss as they head to Newcastle later this month.
Talk me through the mentality behind Cocaine Piss?
We just talk shit all day long. We’re all friends and that friendship is based around talking shit. Life is laughter and we’ve just communicated by being stupid. We’ve ended up turning that communication and stupidity into music. I think music has to be fun to make because that’s what makes it more interesting than an office job.
What is that intrinsic overlap between comedy and punk?
The world is shit: we’re not satisfied with the world - nobody is. You either laugh it out or you are sad. I guess it’s a coping mechanism - you have to hit back with a smile. Being stupid is a release, a distraction and it’s an understanding.
Is there now an inherent need to be silly all the time?
Being on stage is having an opportunity to be me and it doesn't feel like we need to be performative. I’m myself on
or off stage with the same humour and same mindset. It’s not my job to serve anyone's expectations about cocaine piss or about punk - it doesn't affect me.
How does it feel being so open and free, night after night, to complete strangers? We’re also pissed, and that helps. But the whole point is having a laugh and a dance to help remove the pain and damage we all experience. Being together and understanding each other, while being a bit crazy, comes with an understanding that we’re all going to have fun for a while.
You mentioned the preconceptions surrounding punk. Could you elaborate? Punk can be really scrutinised with its past, for sure. When we last played at a punk festival, I looked out at everyone and it was so interesting. Everyone looks the same but different. Everyone was trying to celebrate their individuality while looking like everyone else at the festival. We might make fun of Coachella crowds, but we all do the same thing. I think that’s alright as long as your heart is pure though. And that’s why a lot of punk has aged well: it was fighting the right fight.
Do you feel a need, while fronting a punk band, to get political and talk about the issues you tackle in your music?
Not really as you can make good music without it. I just feel, since I've been handed a microphone, why wouldn’t I use it to speak up? That’s punk: say what you say, yell what you yell. It’s natural, it’s transparent and concise. It’s not sugar-coated and it’s not pretty, but neither is life.
What should we expect from your Cluny 2 performance?
We love touring across the UK. Newcastle has a kinship between it and our city, Liège. They have similar sizes and energies so returning always feels right. The first time we played in the North East it was in the basement of the Cluny for the best 12-person audience in the world. Now, we’ll play a bigger show and bigger set with big energy.
Cocaine Piss head to The Cluny 2, Newcastle on Wednesday 31st August. Tickets, priced at £10.00 in advance, are available from thecluny.com.
34 \\ NE VOLUME MAGAZINE \\ INTERVIEW MattCrockett