Sick of It All

Truly 'built to last'

'Critic Erick Pressman once described the band Sick of It All in an interview by saying, "These guys are like herpes - they never go away."

It's a fitting tribute to one of the longest-lasting punk bands in the scene today. They've made it through the straight-edge Shelter phase; they've survived the H20 GO! popularization of the music; and they will survive the scene's peak, outlasting the likes of Thursday and Thrice.

Their name is synonymous with old-school New York hardcore, in an inextricably intertwined relationship in which SOIA is a perfect symbol of NY's true-to-its-roots history. Their motto is perfectly summed up in the Robert De Niro quote from "Deer Hunter" which is used to open up their new album: "This is this. This is nothing else. This is this."

"We are four guys who have no pretensions," translated band front man Lou Koller. "This is what we do. This is who we are."

Statements such as "I grew up on that band" are familiar to this group of musicians whose main claim to having evolved, according to Koller, is that they learned how to play their instruments better.

SOIA has an impressive track record that speaks for itself. At 38, Koller is still screaming his heart out on stage, most recently on the current Vans Off the Wall tour, as well as on record. Their most current release, "Life on the Ropes," is their fifth release on Fat Wreck Chords and their eighth full-length release over the course of their 17-year history. It's their self-proclaimed "most straightforward Sick of it All record in years."

Since 1987, when their first 7-inch disc was put out, the band has watched the evolution, or devolution - depending on perspective - of a scene.

"The only thing that really bothers me now is that the scene is so separated," said Koller. "Street-punk bands only play with street-punk bands - metal with metal and emo with emo. It was never that way growing up. We always tried to mix it up."

A lot can change within an independently structured scene over the course of nearly two decades, and the amount of factors at play is conceivably endless. Bands come and go and styles have certainly changed, but what could cause such compartmentalization?

"I think that the look has taken emphasis over the music," began Koller. "It's really funny, even on this tour, you see fans of The Unseen disliking a band like Western Waste, who sounds not that different from The Unseen but they don't get the same crowd response because they don't have Mohawks."

They have the music in their hearts and, to them, that is the distinction between a good and bad band. Koller cited bands like Strike Anywhere and Most Precious Blood as being some of the most passionate newer groups. They write songs because they've "got them in their hearts."

For the band, it is more about the state of the world today. There are bigger issues to focus on.

"We grew up on British punk that was politically conscious and I guess that is most obvious on our newest record," said Koller. "Ever since September 11 the world has been a strange place. It's funny how, before that, Bush was a huge joke. Now he's looked at as a hero. It's sick. Look at the Enron scandals, too. Some of the biggest people to blame walked away unscathed. What does that say about our country?"

The band's name, itself, refers to a general sense of being fed up with the state of the world. It may make you feel powerless - but the band is stating their case. Before even putting the new record in the player, that case can be seen as being represented through the design of the jacket sleeve. The pages feature photos of money and "corporate thugs" and corrupt politicians who have their strings pulled from above. The images are both powerfully moving and accurate concerning the world's state of affairs.

SOIA has had issues with being swindled - even in their hometown of Queens. The rap group Mobb Deep (or, Mobb Sleep, according to Tupac) has attempted to steal the alleyway dragon, which serves as SOIA's band logo. They claim it has been a symbol of the band's for years.

"That particular problem has been cleared up," according to Koller. "The only issue that still remains is that, every couple of years, a new Mobb Deep prot/g/ will pop up with the dragon again. So, we have to keep reminding them that it's ours."