From "Une vie pour rien?" n°4-July 1999

The Protest is a steetpunk/ skinhead band from Prague/ Czech Republic. They started in 1995 as a 3 piece oi! band and after 2 years of playing they are a 4 piece band influenced by Condemned 84, Business, 4-Skins, Oppressed and Agnostic Front. Their first recording was a live tape from 007 Club/ Prague which was released by Bulldog fanzine in 1996, but the quality was very poor. In 1998 Bulldog Power Records wich is the label of Bulldog fanzine realised 300 copies of their exellent debut EP called “Praha”, so it is now totally sold out. The current line up is:

Petr Karmazin (voice + bass / 21 years old)

Pavel Smid (lead guitar + vocals / 22)

Jan Vodicka (guitar + vocals/ 20)

Pavel Mach (drums/ 22)

The band players are members of the Bulldog Boot Boys crew which is the biggest non political SHARP crew in the Czech Republic founded by Vladimir (Bulldog zine) in 1993. Some names of the name of their songs are: Svaty Valecnik (Holy warrior), Bulldog, Dite Ulice (Street kids), Fuck the RASH, Modra Planeta (Planet earth), Dobyvame Suit (We smack the world), etc. At the end of 99 their debut CD/LP will be put out by from Bulldog Power records too. And if it is as good as the EP, I definitely think that it could be the best oi! Album issued in Europe for a long time.

You are influenced only by foreigner bands. How did you start to listen to these bands and this music and what was your ambition by beginning Protest?

We are not influenced only by foreigner bands but also by Czech bands witch played oi! and Punk since the early eighties. For example: Earler Plexis, Orlik, Tri Sestry and Do Rady! We formed the band just because in 1995 there were no other non-political and anti-racist skinhead band. We also formed, we obviously like streetpunk music and we wanted to express our opinions in this way.

You have a technical level very good compared to the majority of the oi! bands, have-you ever played other kinds of musics ?

Some of us have played in the locals, not very famous, punk-rock bands. One of the guitarists is also influenced by the jazz and the blues.

Many people say that everything has already done and that new oi! bands make only copy of the old ones. What do you think about this? Is it significant for you to be original in your music? and lyrics?

Well, I think that lot of the new oi! And skinhead bands have a completely different sound than bands like Sham, Rejects, Blitz or Resort. So let's listen to bands like Dropkick Murphy's, Anti-Heroes, or Crashed Out. But on the other hand I also feel unbelievable power through bands which are playing simply skinhead/ oi! Or streetpunk. I think that our music is a little bit different than mostly oi! Punk.

In connection with the attitude of your music, are the lyrics significant for you ? You did not translate them in your EP although it was distributed partly abroad, one thus does not know much about you, does that disturbs you? What are the themes that represent the spirit of your music?

Yes, I know, but other countries have lots of bands and our EP was released only for us and our friends who could understand. Our lyrics are about stuff like working, our way of life, skinhead, politics in the skins scene or also about ecology… I can't stand bands which sing just about fun, sex, girls or drinking, because I think that oi! Is something more than that. Some of our songs are about, pride, loyalty, friendship and about traitors. But I feel that for the future we have to write more serious lyrics…

You have a song called “ fuck the RASH “, are there any red-skins in the Czech republic and in the Eastern European countries in general?

Yes, we have a song called “fuck the RASH” although we are a pure SHARP band. Lot of SHARPs in the world tend to be left-wing, but we're an apolitical SHARP band which hates any kind of extreme politics. We have nothing to do with Crappy Nazis or RAC/ WP bands, but we also hate commies. In the Czech Republic the RASH are the commies or Anarchist supporters. I can't stand these left wing nazis at all. SHARP's not RED!

Are you content with your EP? Was the color desired? What was the reaction in your country?

Yes of course. The color should have originally been red and not pink so we were a little bit angry and disapointed. The reaction was totally positive and not only in the Czech republic. We got lots of great reviews through the fanzines around the world.

Is the autoproduction a choice, did you have proposals for foreign labels and especially German labels which seem to help you in the distribution for exemple?

Before we released our EP there were not many people who had knewn us. But after, a lot of distributors asked for it so it was soon sold out. Most of the Eps we send to Walzwerk Rec, Band Worm Rec and Blind Beggar Rec…

Why did you chose to limit it to 300 copies, would it have been possible to sell some more than that?

We only pressed 300 because of the problems with money. But when our first CD comes out, all the songs from the EP will be bonus tracks!

Vladimir, if I understood well, you produced the record, wrote the titles and you deal with promotion, do you regards yourself as a member of the band? Isn't this frustrating not to play in the band?

I don't think so. Bulldog zine and The Protest are like family or brotherhood. I write lyrics for them and manage all their gigs in Czech or in Germany, Slovakia, Austria… I played in some bands years ago so I am not frustrated by this. My first band called Red Silas (1990) is cult for the punks in Prague. I am very busy so I am not able to play in bands any more…

How many concerts have you played ? When you played abroad, it is difficult to attract people when you only have one EP out ?

We played about 50 gigs, mostly in the Czech Republic but also in Germany, Austria, Slovakia… With, for example, Bruisers, Boots and Braces, Broilers, Loikaemie, Smegma, Stage Bottles, Los Fastidios… We have good publicity in fanzines around the world so our gigs are very good, with lots of skins, punks and oi! Fans.

Have you had the chance to see many concerts in Prague. Is it easy to organize oi! gigs there?

Yeah! For the last 2 years we have seen about 60 great oi!/ punk/ HC gigs and also ska/ Two Tone shows. Agnostic Front, Red Alert, Skint, Vanilla Muffins, Business, One Way System, Skarface, Skalatones, Warzone, etc. have played here. I don't know if it is easy, you have to ask to Vladimir.

There have been a lot of tourists in Prague since 1993. Do you think that that has contributed to develop the scene?

Prague has been very touristic since 1820. No seriously, we have our own scene so we have our personal views of the skinhead cult. But when you are in Prague, you can see a lot of punks, skins, psychos or scooterboys from Germany, Poland, Italy or France too. The Skinhead scene in Czech started in early 80's and without tourist!

The Eastern European countries were especially known for their RAC bands before the fall of the Berlin Wall but did you have non political skins before 1993?

Obviously we had! But most of them had left back in 1990 when nazis started to hang around. Or lots of oi! Skins became right wing supporters. That's why Bulldog fanzine started in 1992 in resistance against nazis and white power traitors.

And you, Vlad, you founded the SHARP scene in the Czech republic in 1993, were you a skin before (I imagine that the others were a little bit young) ? Who you were influenced by?

I was punk between 1986 and 1990 when I started to play in a HC band called Bez Milosti. I was the only one in the band who was influenced by bands like Warzone, Agnostic Front or Stars'n'Stripes, so when the band broke up because of different opinions of particular members, I knew that skinhead was my way of life. One year later I founded SHARP-Czech Section, just because no one knew about the origin of the skinhead cult. At the moment its not so important because most skinheads around the world are non-racist and non-political.

Now, some zines / bands seem to follow in the line, is that a satisfaction for you? Did the scene take the extension and the direction which you hoped for in 1993?

I think so. At the moment we have a lot of different skinhead groups. From redskins and RASH, through oi!, SHARP and apolitical skins, to RAC fans or white power “skinheads”. But I can't stand these political wankers such as RASH or White power. Bulldog was, is and will be against all extreme forms of politics, because it kill this culture.

Why this reference to Bulldog in all that you do?

Just because Bulldog fanzine, BBB Crew, The Protest and SHARP Prague is like one familly and we stand all as one. I think it speak of all, mate. At the same with Bulldog Power Records, Bulldog live and loud or Bulldog photozine. Bulldog, Bulldog and Bulldog. Ha Ha.

Do you like foot? Do you support a team?

Some of us are into football or hooliganism and our favourite teams are for example West Ham Utd, Millwall FC, Slavia Praha, Sparta Praha, Bohemians Praha…

Greetings to all French skins, punks, herberts and bootboys!

Cheers and stay true! Oi! Oi!