AGNOSTIC FRONT is set to return to Sofia on 25 June.
Bulgarian hardcore leaders LAST HOPE will be joining the gig with KIN CORRUPTION opening the whole show.
A great occasion to talk to ROGER MIRET himself about the next AGNOSTIC FRONT album, his book, the new documentary, his own Cuban roots, the source of energy, living so close to VINNIE STIGMA and many more.
an interview conducted by Alexander Boyadjiev and Vassil Varbanov
photos: Nuclear Blast
NOW FINALLY AGNOSTIC FRONT WILL COME BACK TO SOFIA AND OVER THE BALKANS, AFTER A LONG GAP OF 9 YEARS. AND THIS TOUR MARKS 35TH YEARS ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAND EXISTENCE, WHICH MAKES IT EVEN MORE SPECIAL.
When I joined the band, we were just a bunch of friends on Lower East Side – we never had a vision of doing a US tour for sure, let alone a world-tour. We were just a bunch of friends, a bunch of outcast, misfits, rebels – who thought alike and we gathered together, making music writing stuff about what we saw and thought was going on. Almost exactly the same lyrical content as the latest record The American Dream Died. But if you would have told me in 1982-83 that I was going to tour the world I probably would laughed at your face. I would have been like ‘’Are you crazy – who the hell would like to see my shitty band?!’’
TELL US MORE ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY ‘’THE GODFATHERS OF HARDCORE’’ – WE SAW COUPLE OF TRAILERS ONLINE AND WE ARE VERY CURIOUS TO SEE THAT ONE?
But it’s very very personal, because you get to meet me really on a personal level, outside the band, outside stage – at home, you get to be in my house with me, my children, my wife and see who I really am… and the same for Vinnie. It’s very genuine, it’s about everything I always speak about – people being real. And I think this documentary is bringing that to light.
DO YOU KNOW WHEN IT’S GOING TO BE OUT?
Again – that’s also a very personal thing to me. As you may have known – I started writing this book-journal in 1999, then I lost it a few times – especially during the 9/11 attacks and then with all the viruses hitting computers I lost it again… and then having children, moving, having 3 bands and all of this, so eventually it took a long time to finish it.
SPEAKING ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY, YOUR BOOK AND YOUR CUBAN ROOTS – YOU’RE BASICALLY A CUBAN REFUGEE, WHEN DID YOU COME TO AMERICA?
I arrived in America in 1969 I believe or it was ’68, can’t remember – I was 4 years old, came with my mother, she had 3 kids and me being the oldest and my sister was still 6-7 months old. My mother was 20 years old, coming to a foreign country not knowing a word of English, it was a scary thing – it was a scary struggle all my life – you can read all about it in my book, but it kind of all shaped me, all this thing made me who I am.
No, I didn’t watch that, but now that you mentioned it I would like to go back and watch it. You know we tried to go to Cuba – that was part of the documentary, we had a show booked, we had airline tickets booked, my mother, myself and my brother were going, my mother was about to show us where we live and everything else. But at the very last minute, on Friday, when everybody was about to get their Cuban visas, because we just can’t go to Cuba – you need to have a reason, even if they say it’s open for traveling, it’s not true… in America you have to fit 12 criteria why you go to Cuba.
Yeah of course I would love to go to Cuba – half of my family lives in Cuba, everyone from my mother’s side lives in Cuba. It was my father side that came to America. I have aunts, cousins and a whole family out there. And we have played with a Cuban hardcore band – we helped them get to America and play the Black & Blue Bowl – ARRABIO, they’re our friends, they were booking our show and helping us go to Cuba.
Well, I officially became a US citizen in 2006! The very first time I started traveling the world and coming to Europe, I had what they called a US re-entry permit. And it was very difficult to travel like that and of course back then they didn’t the Schengen visas or anything like. Each country had to give me individual visa and nobody wanted to be the first one to give me a visa, because that US re-entry permit states that you can re-entry USA, but I can also officially go to any other country and claim citizenship – I could just go and say I want to stay here…
Well I’m laughing about it right now! Let me tell you – the world is always going to be what it is. Unfortunately it’s all about power and greed – people don’t care about people, humanity has lost any interest in caring about humanity… on our level. Of course the rich all they want to do is to get richer and they don’t care how they would get richer, they don’t care how that sabotages the poor or the people who are worthy. And that’s what’s special about AGNOSTIC FRONT – we’ve always spoken about oppression and how to overcome oppression and we kind of gather people a group of people of likes, and that’s why people can relate to AGNOSTIC FRONT.
To be completely honest with you it’s hard for us to just jump in the van and we don’t do it like this – especially when we do 31 straight days in a row. A lot of bands just don’t do that. But it is hard – especially for me, I have to scream all the time and I do the best I can – there’s no sick days allowed, scream even when I’m sick. I’ve been on stage with high fevers, but I still go out and do what I have to do. Because I want to come to your country, whenever that may be and want to perform and I would do my best, and I give my 100%, and would do everything I can to do to as much as I can. That’s who I am.
WE CAN IMAGINE YOUR MOM IS CALLING YOU ROHELIO AND YOUR KIDS CALL YOU DAD, BUT WE CALL YOU ROGER – DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS AND WHAT’S THE RIGHT PRONUNCIATION OF YOUR NAME?