Total Fucking Destruction Interview
Formed in 1999 by drummer/vocalist Rich Hoak after the demise of Brutal Truth, Total Fucking Destruction set off on a journey of complete annihilation with their own unique and often eccentric take on Grindcore. After yet another frantic year which saw the band tour both the UK and US (which literally ended with a bang!) and the release of their full length album ‘Zen and the Art of Total Fucking Destruction’ on Translation Loss/Bones Brigade, I managed to collar Rich, who must be one of the busiest men in grind, to answer a few of my humble questions.
Hey Rich, hope everythings well with you and Total Fucking Destruction, firstly, can you give us a brief run down on the bands history, releases to date and current line up?
Fuck no. Life is short and I am a drummer not a typist and all that info is available to you or the reader on the internet, just google for “total fucking destruction”; fuck yeah!
And how would you describe your music?
A beautiful day is indescribable. our art is both the music and the message. A poem about the oneness of music and message is one of the 108 zens of total fucking destruction. There are no plans or schedules or budgets; grind just happens.
You obviously draw your inspirations from a lot of different musical styles, but can you tells us what influences you from both a musical and lyrical point of view?
Total fucking destruction is influenced by beer, girls, vodka, weed, methamphetamine and crazy fucked up daily life in the modern day military/entertainment/technology complex. The music and lyrics are our lives, and represent the future/present of the world and the end of human dignity and civilization.
And the name, Total Fucking Destruction, who came up with the idea and what is the meaning behind it?
Nihilism, nothingness, emptiness and nonsense is the agenda of total fucking destruction. our songs are true stories of life in the global techno/military/entertainment complex and represent the future/present of human civilization.
For such an in your face moniker, has this ever been a problem for you playing gigs with agents/promoters/club owners refusing to let you play due to your name?
Not once. People don’t give a fuck, they know the end is near and the time to party is NOW!
You released your full length album ‘Zen and the Art of Total Fucking Destruction’ on Translation Loss earlier this year so can you tell me what the reviews and response has been like so far?
In Europe and the UK, ‘Zen and the Art of Total Fucking Destruction’ is available from Bones Brigade Records: http://www.bonesbrigaderecords.com. Specifically in terms of the new cd, our musical and philosophical ideas are more organized and better presented than every before: anyone we’ve heard from gives mad props n sez it is awesome. We’ve always found that our truest fans are people who really understand what we are doing, both the music and the message. Also, tfd fans know that when we come to play a show in their city, it is gonna be a crazy freaked out grind party. Our fans are sick freaks who delight in the unraveling of post-modern civilization. They come out to the show to get fucked up on drugs and alcohol and bang their heads not as a distraction, but as a joyful acknowledgement of the slow motion apocalypse unfolding before us.
TFD also joined you with Brutal Truth & Narcosis on a UK tour earlier this year, and playing 2 sets a night, must have been an exhausting time (where the hell do you get your energy from!), but from a TFD perspective, how did you feel the tour went?
It was fucking awesome! Lee you were there you know that!!!! I was totally fucking psyched to grind. 2 sets of grind a night just barely gets me warmed up!!!!
And what about Dudefest?
TFD dropped the doodhammer at dudefest. Dudes loves total fucking destruction!
At the time of writing, you were just about to set off on a US tour with the awesome Rwake, firstly, by now this tour has probably come and gone so how did the idea of touring with Rwake come about and what was the experience like?
TFD prefers to end our tours with a bang and the tour we’ve just finished with Rwake was not an exception. As we were leaving chicago to return home, we were caught in the middle of a car chase on a bridge involving a stolen car, a stolen tow truck and 4 police cars. The stolen tow truck was being chased against the flow of traffic and collided with our van head on. our van and gear were completely destroyed, but we were able to walk away with only minor injuries: total fucking destruction lives to grind another day, fuck yeah!!!
Regardless of that fuck up: the tour we’ve just finished with Rwake was awesome! Greats shows, great people, greats parties!!! We want to thank Rwake (probably the most amazing heavy band on the planet), all the people that came out to the shows and all the promoters who made it happen!! We played with a ton of awesome bands, please check em out: Withered, Weedeater, Man Will Destroy Himself, The Seventh Gate, Cough, Haunted Shores, Bloody Panda, Plague Bringer, The Gates of Slumber!!!
With all these tours, I guess playing live is important to TFD?
We don’t bust a nut creating this band out of nothing so that we can sit at home and watch tv, that’s for sure!
You were on XM Satellite Radio’s Liquid Metal Show recently, with living in the UK, I’m not familiar with this show, so can you explain a little about it, how TFD appeared on it and how it went?
Katie Brutal is a huge TFD fan, she is a dj on the metal channel and hooked it up for us. We went to the studio and did a guest dj/inteview thing where we took over her show. Satellite radio is a service you sign up for. It has a 100 or more channels of different and all types of music/sports/radio.
Along with your duties with TFD, as mentioned above you also play in the reformed seminal grind outfit Brutal Truth, so how do you find time to give both bands your full commitment for recording, rehearsals and touring?
Vigorous preparation for the post apocalyptic lifestyle. Gangsta life. Counting piles of moneys on the weekends. Maintaining localized anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-homophobic atmosphere. Forgetting about unknown motherfuckers. Grind 24 hours a days, 7 days a week. Some days I don’t eat or sleep, only grind. Time is running out, the future is now and we are participating in the end of history. It’s fucking awesome.
And when do you sleep!
When I am dead
Apart from the tour with Rwake, what else does the remainder of 2007 and of course 2008 have in store for TFD?
Split 7″ with ANB; split 7″ with UG; songs on a powerviolence tribute comp that scott hull is putting together for relapse; playing FOD’s 25 anniversary show, then a release party for some horror movie. We’ll tour Europe in January and then after that I don’t fucking know, fuck!
And lastly what is your ultimate goal for TFD?
Nihilism, nothingness, emptiness, nonsense and the covering of the planet with a deathlike silence.
Thanks again Rich for answering these questions, so please use this space for any final comments…
Total Fucking Destruction is driven to create temporary autonomous zones where we can celebrate the end of times in the style of Babylon together with other like-minded individuals. We encourage all individuals to get in touch. See you in the pit:
www.myspace.com/totalfuckingdestruction
www.brutaltruth.com
www.myspace.com/peaceisthevictory
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Interviewed by: Lee Edwards