SMOKESTACK: You travel as band a lot. That is rad. You just got back from Europe. Before that you were in Oakland. This month June 10 you’re playing Little Devil’s Lunchbox in Port Angeles. The Europe ’23 Tour Poster—also the cover art for your 2020 album ‘Death Of Hubris’—is an illustrated image of the four of you looking out over a city in shambles. How does that sentiment compare to what you’ve found on the road in real life?
GENERATION DECLINE: Yeah, it feels fucking amazing to get back on the road after having to take so much time off during the Covid pandemic. It’s great to be a part of the DIY punk/crust/grind community worldwide. We’ve met many killer bands and sweet people over the years through our mutual love for brutal & fast music! Our buddy Jasper Swerts from Infested Art in Belgium did the artwork (also shout out to his bands Days of Desolation and Dahmer Duck!). He’s an exceptional artist and his art is always on point and vibes with our style. We pitched him the idea of a group of punx looking out over a destroyed city and he just ran with it! That sentiment really captures what we see on our travels on tour. Miles and miles of empty houses, new cookie cutter condos under construction while tons of houseless folks largely ignored and left to die at the hands of our failing system. But then, we see hope in organizations like Food Not Bombs and the multiple squats and anarchist collectives we played in Europe, where folks with minimal means gave us the best hospitality we could ask for, eye opening conversations that we’ll never forget and all the beer we could drink! Definitely restores our faith in humanity and inspires us to no end.
How do shows and scenes in Europe compare to those in the US and Bremerton through your eyes? We’ve noticed that there’s definitely more squats/DIY collectives that we play in Europe as opposed to the U.S. Also we noticed that in Europe, pretty much every place had educational info and distros that had zines about feminism, anarchism, etc. Would love to see more of that happening in the U.S. That being said, local groups in Bremerton and the PNW in general have been tabling shows lately, so that’s really cool to see!
How long have you been a band and how many times have you been to Europe? We started in 2009 and we first toured Europe in 2015 and fell in love and couldn’t get enough. This was our fifth time there.
In my eyes, you’ve always been a DIY band in the raddest way. What’s it like to book your own way across Europe? Thanks man, the love is mutual! We appreciate all your support throughout the many years. We have to give a huge shout out to our good buddy Dennis (the cat herder extraordinaire) for booking our European tours. He lives in the Netherlands, so that has become our home away from home. We played with his bands Suicide State and Radio Bikini while they were in the U.S. and really hit it off. We had talked about us touring Europe with him over some beers and the next thing you know, we’re fucking life-long friends. And we’ve had the opportunity to book the U.S. side of things for our Euro-homies. The last one was with Azijnpisser (Netherlands) and hopefully we can invite more killer bands to come tour the U.S.!
Do you remember what your first European tour was like? The first time we went to Europe was in 2015 and it was a life changing experience. It was a couple of ours first time out of the country so a bit of a culture shock, but in a beautiful way. We played a small town in Czech Republic and they said that we were the first U.S. band that had ever played there. No one spoke a word of English, so they put a Czech-English dictionary in the middle of the bar, a giant bag of weed and topped off everyone’s beers and the conversations just started flowing! It was amazing to click with folks through our mutual love of punk.
Are language barriers an issue? Do you have “homes away from home” over there? Are there any strange or hairy situations you’ve found yourself in? Google translate helps but nothing quite compares to trying to figure out what the fuck someone is trying to tell you just by looking at their body language and making weird sounds at each other. Unga bunga! Kinda simplifies life and conversation for a minute and that’s always nice. Besides our home base in Eindhoven, Netherlands, we always feel at home revisiting some of the same spots and homies that we’ve visited throughout the years. The amazing hospitality that we feel on tour with people inviting us into their homes and spaces and feeding us really makes every place feel like home. We’ve been pretty lucky as far as border crossings go but got surprised with a strip search in Serbia on this last tour. Luckily there were no issues because we know to finish our weed before going to bed. Sargent Sausage Fingers was a little stiff at first but he was all smiles after checking us out. Eh, guess you gotta get creative to pass the time when there’s not much to do sitting in a booth all day long.
Gnarly! When we’d talked in the months leading up to the trip, you’d said this was the first time you’d be going to Greece. Looks like you did four shows there. How was it? What’s it like playing in a country you’ve never been? Yeah, this was our first time in Greece, Italy and Macedonia. All three had amazing scenes! It’s always an eye opening moment to play a new country because we get to discuss the issues and hardships that the locals face day to day and the things that they’re fighting for. Greece was amazing but holy shit they start their shows super late! We’re talking 5pm load in, 7pm sound check, and the show starts at 11 or midnight. It’s always great to get to play with some amazing bands who probably won’t be touring the U.S. any time soon, so that always makes for a special moment.
How many countries has Generation Decline played since the beginning of the band? Counting the U.S., we’ve played in 20 countries total.
Lastly, perhaps my favorite question, how do you spend your time when you’re not Generation Declining? Angel and Andy (vocals and guitar) run The Charleston in Bremerton so when we’re not on the road ourselves, we make sure to pay forward all the love and hospitality that we’ve gotten throughout the years. Ian (drums): lives in the bowels of Mt Rainier where he resides with his fiance and puppers. When he’s not kicking complete ass, he works for a daycare, FILLED WITH NINJAS! There’s danger around every turn, but he risks it for the kids. Oh yeah, he also plays guitar and sings in a band called Life Rips who is planning on recording and touring by early next year. Also he lives in Tacoma. Not in the bowels of Mt. Rainier. I’m sorry I lied. Trevor (bass): I spend most of my time with my two senior citizen roommates, often in a pile, either on the couch or in my bed. The old lady is kind of a bitch but she has a lot of personality, and the old man is blind and kinda senile but he’s the sweetest guy I know. I gotta give the old dude a bath like twice a week which can be rough but it’s good for his sensitive skin and keeps my bed clean. They’re my best friends. Oh I guess when I’m not hanging out with my dogs, I’m hanging big electric signs at work, playing guitar/ video games, or best of all, spending time with my beautiful girlfriend. Life is good, which can be rough.
Rad! Oh! And, second favorite question… any new music coming soon? Yes! We have a few songs in the works and are planning on hittin’ the studio by this fall hopefully! // BILLMAN
Generation Decline plays June 10 at Little Devil’s Lunchbox in Port Angeles. More at generationdecline.bandcamp.com.
