Shari is the editor of brilliant independent rock magazine, Black Velvet, as well as the Black Velvet Website.

First of all, what have you/Black Velvet Magazine been up to recently?

Well by the time you read this issue 44 of Black Velvet will be out, featuring My Chemical Romance, The Used, Jimmy Eat World, Feable Weiner and loads more. I’m always busy working on the next issue. As soon as one issue goes off to the printers it’s time to start work on the next. I’m also off to Las Vegas on Thursday for a concert.

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?

I think it has the potential to be a great influence but it’s usually up to each individual person as to whether they want to listen or not. Some people don’t want to get the message that is being given out and just want to have a good time and listen to the music. It depends. But a lot of bands are talking more about the wars and voting. A lot of bands have been raising funds for the victims of the tsunami. Bands like Sugarcult have also done tours for causes such as the Take Action tour. Then there’s PETA and their association with a lot of bands. If your fave band talks about being vegetarian and how they’re against testing on animals then fans will hear this and may realise that they themselves don’t need to eat meat to survive and that testing on animals is crap. Also, if your fave band writes a song about a subject that is important to you, it can make you feel less alone and help you. Johnny Panic for instance has a song called ‘Hurt (I See You Around)’ which is about self-harm. People into self-harm might be able to take comfort in those lyrics and feel less alone and then work out how they can get help to overcome their problems. I think the main thing is to listen to each message and decide for yourself whether it is important to you, and maybe whether either the world or yourself would benefit if you made a change based on that message.

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?

Not really. I think you’ll always get the odd person in the street saying something when they walk past if you dress differently to them, but I haven’t had any huge conflict with anyone.

Have you ever been to a show/gig where violence has broken out? Why do you think this violence starts?

I haven’t really seen much violence at shows, which is a good thing. I did see both Good Charlotte and The Rasmus getting bottled at the Leeds festival, which shows you how childish some of the crowd can be. If you don’t like a band you just shouldn’t watch. Go to a different stage. I think they were bottle throwing because they were just immature really. Any mature person would respect the bands onstage. I was also at a concert where one of the girls in the front row apparently hit another girl who’d tried to get her friend’s place or something! The girl who got hit called the police I think and a policeman came into the venue. It was a big stadium show. It was pretty fascinating to watch. I think the girl hit the other one because they’d been queuing for so long to be front row and then someone came and took her friend’s place. Most gigs – at least the ones I go to – seem violence free though, thankfully.

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?

I think a lot of people dress depending on what music they listen to, so that stereotyping would go back to that. I guess punk and rock fans are often labelled as the outcasts of society, but maybe we are. Maybe ‘normal people’ think rock and punk fans are all druggies (I’m straight edge though so…). I think most of the labelling depends on what you look like though.

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

I adore My Chemical Romance. I still love Sugarcult, Bon Jovi, the Manics, Yellowcard, Less Than Jake, Finch, Good Charlotte, Midtown, Mest, Lostprophets, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Simple Plan.... I like Steriogram a lot too

What have you/the magazine got planned next?

Um… the next issue. I’ve got a couple of interviews coming up, gigs to go to. I’m doing PETA tabling at a couple of gigs. I’ve never done that before so I’m looking forward to doing that. I think PETA are awesome for the way they fight animal abuse, so I’m trying to do my bit to help. But basically, I’m just gonna be carrying on what I’m doing.

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

Well based on what we’ve been talking about in this interview, just that everyone should think for themselves and be their own person. Don’t do what everyone else does. If all your friends drink and you don’t want to or your friends take drugs but you don’t want to, don’t do it just because they do. Everyone’s got their own life and you should try to make the most of yours. And visit www.peta2.com and read about how you can do your bit to stop animal cruelty and save animal lives. Go vegan (it’s not hard)! Subscribe to Black Velvet and visit www.blackvelvetmagazine.com.

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