TRIBUTE TO RAYBIES OF WARZONE - by Dave Wolff - Music - http://maxpages.com/aeazine/TRIBUTE_TO

"They want your mind, they want your soul... you must throw the final blow..."
--RAYBIES (1961-1997), "Wound Up"

EDITOR'S NOTE: This interview appeared in February 1997 in issue #699 of Good Times Magazine in a different format under the title Warzone: Legends of New York Hardcore Return Again With New Album and Tour, a short time before vocalist Ray "Raybies" James sadly passed away due to complications from pneumonia. The interview was transcribed for AEA with kind permission. Ray's work with WARZONE had a profound effect on my life as well as the lives of many others. He will not be forgotten.

Take us back to when it all started.
I lived in New York City all my life. It was in a fucked up Spring Street reform school where I met the vocalist of REAGAN YOUTH who would later introduce me to the scene in New York, which I remember was radically different from the scene today. It was much more underground and more of a gang than a scene. The kinds were crazier, more passionate, and more dedicated. Still, It was a family that would take care of you. I also believe it was no accident that I was introduced to the Hardcore scene. As a strong believer in fate I am convinced that my long road to my current position of responsibility was preordained by a higher order.

What's the purpose of your album, The Sound of Revolution?
To bring back the feeling of Don't Forget the Struggle, Don't Forget the Streets and to establish WARZONE as a part of what's going on today. The content of Revolution is a mirror of that record and delivered with sincerity and without preaching, which I feel is very important. Too many bands have lost track of the feeling; too many people are complaining that the Hardcore scene is dead; I insist that those people themselves are dead in their hearts.

How has the tour been going?
Really awesome, intense. During the European tour we visited places like Poland, Holland, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia and sampled the scenes and traditions there. We've been meeting people who look at WARZONE through the album covers to discuss the ideas and concepts of Hardcore Music. We'll be touring the U.S. up until the beginning of March and after that we're going back to Europe.

What in your opinion is the most important thing to WARZONE?
To make people think about what's going on in the world today; the corruption, the government based injustice. We also want to get people to do something constructive about it as opposed to just saying "fuck the police." I want to keep Hardcore an underground phenomenon while shining a light bulb on the world and shake the complacency of Hardcore kids to open their eyes to what is happening in the world. I want to make things worse to make them better.

What's your opinion of Alternative music?
Did you ever have a bad shit? What Alternative was in the beginning was bands like us; now Alternative is a catch phrase. It's fake and false, it's a joke. Don't believe the hype. It's like how the media gives the underground, particularly the New York Hardcore scene, a bad name. Some journalists are interested in the truth but for the most part the mass media doesn't care about the truth at all and has invented this big lie concerning the scene in the underground just for entertainment purposes, like in the Enquirer or the Star. Regardless, I think that Hardcore definitely can be recognized on a large scale as it was in the Eighties. New York is the only city in the world where so many bands came out of the same family. As a result the scene is now a worldwide thing. These girls I know described it perfectly: The baby that was Eighties Hardcore has grown into adulthood and itself has had a baby which will grown into adulthood itself. Freddie Madball of MADBALL, who has been involved with New York Hardcore since he was seven, is a perfect representation of that.

What's in the future of WARZONE?
I will do WARZONE for two more years, tour ninety per cent of the time in Europe, South America, Japan, and Australia, then stop altogether. The rest of the band knows this. I will start a haven for runaways and children who have been abused by their parents; victimized by their families. I will do this with three or four girls I know. I hate when bands say "were gonna break up and get back together." When WARZONE's over it will be over. We've been through all the shit now we're putting the shit down on paper about our life experiences, our knowledge and mistakes. As for now, WARZONE represents a boxing match with the devil, and I'm kicking him in the face while he's down (Laughs).

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