Obsessive Compulsive

"Obsessive Compulsive have been described as dark, neurotic, energetic, sinister, twisted, trashy, punky, dirty, unhinged, raw and infectious. Based and formed in Manchester but with a growing UK fanbase their current release, self-financed debut EP 'A Demon For Every Occasion' is already selling fast and receiving rapturous reviews on the underground scene." - Official Site. 

First of all, what has the band been up to recently? 

Well we got a new drummer, Stu, just before Xmas so we spent a little while getting the songs tight with him, then we got straight back out on the road again, we've done about 15 gigs in the past couple of months, it's been awesome! We're writing new stuff at the moment too so it's all go! 

How would you describe your music? 

Well we're pretty eclectic so we don't write to any blueprint but what tends to come out is pretty dark stuff with a punky, sometimes metallish edge! 

The media influencing young people is a big issue at the moment. How much of an influence do you think music has on today's youth? What kind of influence does it have? 

From what we've seen music is a pretty big part of most young peoples' lives, we meet a lot of people of all ages out on the road at our shows that are really passionate about the bands they like. Music has always had a positive effect on us and we think being into music and going to shows or starting bands is always a good thing! 

Do you ever try and get messages across to your fans in your music, or try to persuade them to think a certain way? 

No we'd never try to tell anyone how to think or act, all we do is write about what we think or have experienced. If people relate they relate, if they don't they don't, it's our outlet and our creativity, nothing more! 

Have you ever experienced conflict as a result of dressing a certain way/listening to a certain music/being a part of a certain group? If so, what form did this conflict take? 

We've all been judged by our appearances at one time or other, especially by people from a completely different background or lifestyle to us but it's never been a conflict situation, not really. 

Have you ever been to a show/gig (either one of your own or someone else’s) where violence has broken out? Why do you think this violence starts? 

Only really when there's one asshole who either can't take his/her drink or is just out to start a fight. 99% of people are cool, once you remove to one asshole the drama stops! We come from the school of thinking that everyone looks out for each other at shows, there's no need for violence, you're all there for the music! 

People are represented / stereotyped in a certain way for the way they dress. Does this 'labelling' also happen to people for the kind of music they listen to? What are your opinions on this? 

People seem to be segregating themselves more than ever these days, either they're an 'emo' and only listen to certain bands and dress a certain way, or they're a 'goth' or a 'punk' etc etc. Music and fashion tend to go hand in hand so stereotyping of people for the way they dress is similar to judging people on their taste in music because it's an all round lifestyle thing. We like all different types of music though, we're not really into the label thing. It's cool to see people dressing a little differently, looking a little wild or crazy, it's a great way of expressing yourself. 

What kind of music are you into at the moment? Any favourite bands? 

Ooooh there are so many! We like loads of old stuff but we always check out new bands too, we love watching 'new skids on the block' on Scuzz! At the moment the CD player in the van is cranking... Danzig, The Distillers, Rollins band, Head Automatica, Nine Inch Nails, Johnny Cash, Tiger Army, My Chemical Romance, The Cure, Dead Boys, Dresden Dolls, Sick of it All ... it changes all the time though, we have thousands of CDs between us!!! 

What has the band got planned next? 

We're planning a big, big tour for September onwards, we wanna really get out there and play as much as we possibly can, it's so much fun! We're taking a couple of months out just before that to carry on writing and stuff, hopefully we'll get back in the studio at some point this year too! 

Finally, is there anything else you’d like to add or promote? 

Check out our site and a couple of net profiles we're pimping... 

www.obsessivecompulsiveband.com
www.myspace.com/obsessivecompulsive
www.vampirefreaks.com/obsessivecompulsive 

Thanks to all the bands and promoters who have taken part in our 'Punk and Politics' Feature!