Arab

Thrasher Magazine, Jan, 2003 by Wez Lundry

Arab on Radar

STAGNATION AND FORMULA ARE BAD. Sometimes structure is bad. Arab on Radar seem to take these maxims and run. Their music reflects them, and they're impossible to pigeonhole. It's hard to call them a hardcore band, even though they play with other bands that might be called hardcore and the people that go to their shows might follow hardcore. It's hard to call them an artcore band, simply because of the pretension and terrible music that analogy would incur. They combine the outward spazz that analogy would incur. They combine the outward spazz and enthusiasm of the early Nation of Ulysses stuff, but leave NoU behind when it comes to songs that may take as much from Sun Ra or the Electric Eels as any other standard punk or hardcore "influence." Go see 'em play, buy their records, and you be the judge.

Who's who, and who does what?

Two librarians play guitars and two unemployed ex-flowery deliverymen play drums and sing.

How do they do what they do?

We allow ourselves to get truly titillated by music and don't set limitations on what we listen to or play. We are lucky that we're past the point of feeling funny about liking a certain type of music or a certain band. We listen to what we think is good and we play what thrills us no matter how off the wall or how unlike anything else it sounds. This seems simple in theory but it's amazing how very few bands can actually get together and just jam and try to make something new. The current state of punk is a perfect example of this. Think of what the first makers of punk music were listening to. It wasn't punk rock, because that wasn't invented yet so they must have been listening to something. What they were listening to was classic rock, doo-wop, and all kinds of crazy shit that no one ever associates with punk rock. From this unlikely stew they created a new and exciting music. How this approach devolved into a battle of the punk cover bands is a question only the oracle can answer.

Where do they do what they do?

Arab on Radar has regular meeting in a town called Johnston, Rhode Island. These get-togethers are held in an office in a master plumber's place of business. The room is made mostly of cinderblock but has wood paneling and yellow lights to relax us.

Describe the band.

Arab on Radar is a reason to get up in morning.

Tell me about your early encounters with Thrasher or skating. What was skating like for you early on?

When I started skating everything was much looser. There wasn't such a clearly-defined sketch of what a skater should look like or be like. Back in the day you'd see dudes with some of the worst clothes on, like tie-dyes and shit. Some of these guys just looked bad and would evoke some very uncool imagery. But then you'd see them just bombing down the street, carving and hitting everything in one fluid rush of excitement. Nobody could touch them. The best thing about skating back then was that there was absolutely no point to it. It seems like nowadays it's hard for a lot of people to just cruise around and dig it. It's become more of a business and more competitive. I'm sure there are just as many people out there doing it to death as there ever were but it's gotten so big now that it comes off as being more of an industry than a good time.

It seems to me as though although there are a great number of skaters who also pursue some form of visual art, your neck of the woods seems to produce more than its fair share. Is there something in the water?

It's history that's in the water. The first pollution from the first factory in America is in our water. I think the industrial work ethic permeates us still. Artists in Rhode Island have always had a strong work ethic. People here don't put up with bullshit music or bullshit art. In turn, artists here have always been pushed to produce music and art of substance. There is something very blue collar in the approach here but the art itself always winds up very fresh and very free.

Can you give me a discography and tell me what is in the works as far as new stuff goes?

We have four full-length albums out now. Queen Hygiene II, Rough Day at the Orifice, Soak the Saddle, and Yahweh or the Highway. We are going to release a compilation of all our 7"s from 1995-2002 in December. For now, we're writing music for a new album. This will be the big one.

People who might not know that you have been around for a number of years may think that your band name is a reaction to recent events. Certainly more Arabs are on more people's radars lately. Where did the name come from?

The name came from a list of names that were mostly stream-of-conscious type thoughts. Arab on Radar seemed to affect us the most. The name itself has no conscious meaning but unconsciously I think it poetically sums up a certain sense of the intensity of the last decade or so from our point of view. The name was meant to have weight and it does, whether one takes either side of the issue or not.

Not to associate AoR with a "movement" or "scene" but it appears a "deconstructionist" thing is going on in hardcore. Music is becoming less melodic and noisier. What's going on?