Interview

Scott Roberts (The Take, Spudmonsters, Biohazard)

Known to 90’s Hardcore fans as guitarist for Cleveland’s Spudmonsters, veteran Scott Roberts most recently was seen in the limelight as singer/bassist for Biohazard. It was an impossibly tall order to successfully replace original member Evan Seinfeld but he did so with tremendous ease and talent. 
Scott is now back on guitar and vocals in Punk/Oi! 3-piece band The Take, alongside Will Shepler of Agnostic Front and Madball fame, and Carlos Congote, formerly of 45 Adapters and Urban Noise. Melodic and catchy, while keeping a hard edge, the band is sure to make a name for itself. Check out their self-titled LP coming out this week, which Scott engineered, mixed and produced.


Name five songs that you consider “perfect songs” and explain why or what they mean to you.
Pick any five songs from FAITH NO MORE’s King For a Day…Fool For a Lifetime record because in my opinion this is a perfect record. Great song writing, great production, great musicianship.

Which music genre do you listen to the most?
60’s Ska, Rocksteady & Reggae. Also known as Skinhead Reggae. I can’t say any favorite albums, there’s lots of artists in the genre but none of them really have whole albums that I like. There’s soooo many songs that I love though!

Five greatest hardcore EP’s of all time?
1. Agnostic Front – United Blood
2. Madball – Ball of Destruction
3. Madball – New York Hardcore
4. Sick Of It All – s/t
5. The Accused – Straight Razor

What’s the album you’ve listened to the most in your life? Do you still listen to it?
Probably SUICIDAL TENDENCIES’ first record. I still listen to it regularly.

What were you listening to in elementary school? Then in high school? How much of that music is still a part of your playlists today? How have your musical tastes evolved since?
When I was a little kid, my mother had a stack of 50’s Rock & Roll records in the basement. I would go down there and listen to them for hours on end, I loved that stuff. That was before I was in school. Early in elementary school I got into the BEATLES and the ROLLING STONES. By junior high school I was listening to all those Hard Rock bands like The WHO, LED ZEPPELIN, etc. Then I got into VAN HALEN. BLACK SABBATH, JUDAS PRIEST and IRON MAIDEN. By high school I was listening to METALLICA, SLAYER and the faster heavier stuff. I’d say around the time I graduated high school I got turned on to Hardcore Punk and that kind of turned my whole life around. I don’t have any of that 50’s music in my playlist but I do still have a lot of that other stuff in there. I’d say I’ve gotten away from the heavier music and settled into listing to mostly old Reggae and Punk. I like melody, I’m kind of tired of the screaming. I have to be in the mood for it now.

What beloved music do you share with your children?
I always play Reggae with my daughter. She’s 12 and doesn’t really like too much Rock music. She’s always liked Reggae and I used to love when she was little and would sign along to Longshot kick the bucket or My boy lollypop, etc.

Most memorable show you’ve ever seen? What makes it stand out?
I think it was probably a benefit show that John Joseph organized called Hardcore for Hunger. It was in NYC at a place called Tramps in 1998. It was the first show I played with the CRO-MAGS so that made it special for me but there were so many other great bands on that bill. MADBALL and SICK OF IT ALL to name a few. Great show that I’ll never forget.

Is there any band that you’ve always wanted to see live but never had the chance to catch them? Any classic show that you wish you could have experienced?
FEAR on Saturday Night Live and I wish I would have seen early BAD BRAINS. I saw them in the late 80’s but it wasn’t the same.    

What is the most impressive band you’ve toured with? The one that you just had to watch every night? Did you learn anything from them/by watching them?
There’s a couple I could say here but I’m going to go with BIOHAZARD. My old band the SPUDMONSTERS opened for them in Europe in 1993. I was blown away, I’d never seen anything like them. So much energy and they were blowing up at that time. Really great to have been there and we definitely learned a thing or two watching them.

Do you have an artist that you love in a genre that you don’t usually listen to? What makes them stand out?
JOHNNY CASH. I really don’t like Country but that dude was hard!

Do you enjoy live albums? What are some of your favorites?
I don’t typically like live albums because they usually sound crappy, but I think there were some great ones in the 70’s. KISS’ Alive 1 & 2 are both better than the studio recordings, but it’s rumored that most of it was recorded in the studio. Frampton Comes Alive is really great, and the ROLLING STONES’ Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out is one of my favorites Stones records.

Is there anything (new album, tour) you would like to promote?
My new band The Take has our debut record coming out June 28th in Europe/digital (through Demons Run Amok) and July 5th in the US/Canada (through Upstate Records). Vinyl and CD pre-orders are available now. We have some show’s coming up on the east coast and midwest this Summer, as well as a short headlining European tour in August.  We’ll be touring the Uk and Europe again in the Fall and we’re talking about doing a short west coast run in the Fall also. For more info on music, tour dates, and more visit our website thetakenyc.com. We hope to see you on the road soon!


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