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Interview with Jan Krejca of Czech band POINT
19.10.2001
Recently he music of Czech band Point was played on John Peel's famed BBC 1 show. For good reason: Point is an outstanding guitar band with impressive drive and an astute, fresh, and perfectly non-overkill approach to the genre of post-emo guitar rock. They don't sound like your run-of-the-mill guitar band on the radio today. Descendents of the Czech hard music scene, and actively involved currently in independent music making and producing and networking, Point successfully carry on and develop the Czech tradition by adding new international faces to it. Bringing American producer Kip Beelman (Unwound, Built to Spill, etc) to the Czech Republic to record their latest album Aquila Bert, Point turn over a new leaf in Czech independent recording, and by making a good lasting impression on Beelman the band do wonders for the Czech scene at large. What are these guys all about, and how did that recording go? Here's an interview with Jan:
T: For those who don't yet know about Point, how did you guys start, when, and who are the folks in the band?
JK: It all started a long time ago. There was band formerly known as Interrogation Point and was founded at X-mas time in 1991, on a dirty basement floor. But it just kind of happened (we had never practised before, we had no musical knowledge). It sounds like a cliche but that's how it started. A couple of shows, rarely outside of Prague...We quit in 1993 and then we came back with a new line-up, but we still weren't working very intensively. I asked Standa (bass) Tomas (guitar 1*1) and Dan (guitar) to be involved in the (present) third era of the band...And they did. A good choice for everybody! Now we are a fivepiece cake together with me and Tom David. Bon appetit!
T: Your music is amazing, it's like you guys pick out the good parts of punk, emo, and rock and leave out the bad parts. What have you guys been listening to? And what are some of your favorite bands?
JK: A lot of people can hear a lot of different things in Point's music. There are some outside of the scene talking about brilliant guitar pop and some talking about a rave version of New Model Army too. I can't judge it, because I am too involved in the process of creating the songs. It's good to listen to quite different kinds of music. I mean it«s good to relax and listen to music outside of your genre. We like some progressive dance music, ethno, ambient and also some unknown Czech performers, for example Kvetoslav Dolejsi. About favorite bands - we never speak about favourites but I should say that for me, I like a lot of stuff that the producer of our record did before us - they are my beloved bands. For example Built To Spill or Red Stars Theory.
T: I've been trying to understand the post-hardcore scene here in Czech, and as far as I see it, the community seems really tight and supportive of each other. Is it this way, and has it always been this way? What would you say were the formative bands who were like the grandfathers of the Czech post-hc scene? (or are you guys and Gnu and Lumen and Sunshine the ones who have started the scene???)
JK: Yeah, you're absolutely right. All folks in Czech are vibing the same good waves. I am not sure when it started exactly, but during the mid-nineties we got sort of a clear idea of what we wanted to do, how to help each other get on their feet. This was followed by the founding of brand new indie/HC labels such as Day After, Minority Records or Silver Rocket. That was the main point which brought divided camps to a breakthrough of "freedom." There's no doubt that Gnu, Lvmen and Sunshine kicked out the jams, ha ha. But they are just followers of mid-eighties bands such as Soubor Tradicniho Popu, Michael's Uncle, Kriticka Situace, Akutni Otrava etc. Hard to pick one of them as being the earliest of my so-called pre-emo-kings.
T: Where do you guys have most successes playing in Prague and in the Czech and Slovak Republics?
JK: Well, success is not an automatic thing. We've played more than 100 shows but the best gigs are always in Ricany (small town beside Prague), Chodov (West Czechia) and Trencin (Slovakia). This is only my opinion, the other guys should may have different views. There's no general opinion! Success for us is still when a bunch of people compliment us after a show and then buy a record.
T: Is there any radio these days here where your kind of music gets played? Radio One is heavy on electronic these days. Are there other ways to get the word out about shows and new albums?
JK: Hmm, I heard about Radio Strahov, but broadcasts are limited to the Internet, and they don't broadcast in summer. They're a sort of minority in between radio stations in Czech Republic's Radio One worked well early nineties. Now it is plagued by stereotypical (and sterilized) dance music. I personally pray for a new pirate radio station. And sooner than later, hopefully! Our LP was introduced by R1 in August, I could believe it didn't have some bigger response. It's better to go through newspapers, magazines and internet servers. There are few guys who are helping us directly, who will put out reviews until the end of the summer (for example Rock And Pop, Big Bang!, Unijazz, Houser, i-net server Part, etc.).
T: Do you play much abroad, and how are shows there?
JK: We checked out only Slovakia, and there's no difference at all.
T: How did you guys decide to invite Kip Beelman to Prague to make the record Aquila Bert?
JK: I met him in Olympia last year and he was a very kind guide through the surrounding areas. It was quite easy to write him an email and ask for the possibility of helping us with our record. After he listened to AB rough mixes, he decided he would try to work with us in the CR.
T: What would you say was the best part about working in Prague with Kip?
JK: I guess mainly that during a very short period, he felt comfortable in the local scene. He was very relaxed and had a great time with everyone, and still managed to work hard on the record. He's an excellent guy, we would like to work with him again.
T: How was the recording made, and what was particularly cool about the studio and the way you recorded?
JK: Everything went smoothly, mainly thanks to the conditions that that the people from Minority and Silver Rocket prepared for us. We had lots of time to concentrate. It isn't so much about the place you record as it is about the people that are helping you. In that sense the coolest was Yoz - he was there from the beginning to the end. He helped a lot - thanks to his unusual approach to recording and a few brilliant arrangement changes at the last moment. But the whole gang was ideal. We have always recorded analogue, and as always we recorded live. The tapes were then put through the computer for the digital mix - it was a new experience for us. We didn't overdo anything, that's why the recording is temperate and sounds like our other records.
T: Was Kip psyched about the record and about the experience in Prague?
JK: Same as us I guess...energy came from all with the same intensity and went in the same direction. Although it is said that a CD is only a tin for preserving, Kip and Yoz were able to turn that around. Point on CD sounds almost as good as Point live! Kip certainly liked Prague. We get mail from him every odd day saying that he would like to return.
T: What do you guys plan next with records and tours? Have you made any videos and do you plan to?
JK: We are waiting for reviews from the US and England, so that we can start preparing an autumn Euro tour. We were supposed to tour Slovakia again at the start of August, but due to a car accident one of us had to drop out, so summer gigs will finish up on the main stage at the Open Air Hell Fest in Frantiskovy Lazne on August 18th. During the holidays we hope to finish work on the video for the song Kriegswichtig and we'd like to prepare an English version of our web pages also.
For more information, check out the website for Minority Records: www.minorityrecords.cz or Point homepage: www.pintor.cz
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