Sunday 14 April 2013

Legittima Offesa Interview



Hello Gigi, welcome on the pages of Revolt NS. My first question should be quite typical…how and when you get involved into the skinhead scene? What or who influenced you mostly to join the movement?

Before to become a skinhead I was a typical street gangster… I was a member of a gang named Criminality Commune, then when I was 18 years old I decided to start to be a nice boy…. So in 1993 I became Skinhead! I thought to go out from the troubles but I was wrong, the troubles have changed but I never gone out!

Your band is famous enough, but please gives us a brief presentation of it – history, band members, discography, etc?

My band has born in 1998, members have changed many times during the years, only I remeined as the only original member. We had recorded a lot of songs during the years , throughout we have: 1 demo, 4 CDs albums, 2 mini albums on vinyl and 4 singles out on various compilations. To get knowledge of our history I invite you to visit our website where you can to find many interesting facts: www.legittimaoffesa.com

Legitima Offesa played in Bulgaria at 2010. What are your most striking memories from your visit to my Motherland?

We had so much fun and has been much better than I expected, we made new great friendships and I have been fascinated by Sofia and the great hospitality from my Bulgarian friends!

Tell us about you home city – Bologna, the scene there (both political and music)? It’s well known left wing city, if I’m not wrong.

Bologna it’s a city with a grat skinhead tradition, there been few skinhead generations (we can count three generations at least), I’m belong to the second generation, the most politically and the most musically active, there is (or there has been) many famous bands in Bologna, since time of “Nabat” and “Rip Off” till nowadays. This city it’s famous to be a leftist, but I can garantee that there are many young patriots, comrades, anticommunist or streets friends that are with us. To be a skinhead in Bologna isn’t easy, you need to have balls! If you aren’t dare to do it’s useless to be a skinhead (in my opinion…)

Who is the guy getting arrested on the front cover of your album “Skinheads a passeggio”? Is there any special story behind this photo?

In this picture there are two skinheads with handcuffs, one is close-up and the other is below. The first one guy in close-up with Legittima Offesa’s t-shirt is our old drummer, the guy below is one of our best friends, one of our crew.
They’re transfered from police station to the jail where they’ll spend one month cause of a big fight with antifa. They was with other 5 guys in the pub while outside there was 30 antifa who waiting them to attack them with bottles, knives and belts. When our guys went outside a big fight broke up but luckily they were a fucking motherfuckers which grew up on the street and in few seconds they got on the heads of antifa… in the end, 8 antifa went to the hospital with serious wounds and our guys was sent to the jail. Of course journalist wrote thai it was our fault, the same old story…


Who are the “White Kriminals”and why you have decided to entitle your album from 2006 with this name?
White Kriminals it’s a title of our song and one of our albums. White Kriminals are all those people who identify themselfs with this song, this isn’t just a song but it’s an attitude, a way of life, there are skins, punks, rockers, hooligans and crazy revolutionaries… rebels! Exept this there is a “White Kriminals Crew”, supporters who follow our band on gigs and they are our best friends who we have same problems, street life, we share same beleives and dreams. We’re a Crew!

Your future split with Brutal Attack will be released only on vinyl. What is the reason for this?
I love vinyls, the split will be just by one song of each band,so it doesn’t make any sense to do a CD, vinyl is eternal… the CD is not!

Are you a music collector yourself? What are the rarest items in your collection?

Yes and I’m a fanatic. Above all I love vinyls, I can feel a different emotions than CD. I’ve a great vinyls collection with some rarities as Skrewdriver, Cockney Rejects, 4-Skins, The Cramps, Peggior Amico, Caterina Caselli, ADL 122, Plastic Surgery and many Oi!, Punk, Beat, Rock’a’billy,….


In what other music projects are you involved? Tell us a bit about your cooperation with Antoanella (Klasse Kriminale)?

Actually I’m playing in Legittima Offesa and The Kriminals. With Antonellina we played together two times, the best Klasse Kriminale’s songs was (in my opinion) written by her. I grew up listening her songs. I’m very happy about about the fact he’s coming back to skin and punk scene, and I’m really happy to contributed in her comeback to Italy after many years of absence! My ex-bassist played with them in their two italian gigs and in their first gig in London, but we don’t have a common project for the future….

While skins around Europe changed their outlook, Italians kept the “original image” from the 80’s. Do you have some special reason to do this?

I don’t agree with you. There are many skins around all Europe whoo keep to dress like a skinhead, and there are gigs with more than 1000 people where they’re dressed in old school style. I remember my last gig in Germany with Endstufe, Faustrecht, Les Vilains, Brassic Oi! and Legittima Offesa, there was around 1500 people, everyone old school skinhead and some punks not red… this is for all Europe, I played everywhere and I found traditional skinhead in Germany, Spain, Belgium, France, Finland, Estonia,… Everywhere! Nowadays in gigs you can to find guys who don’t dress like a skinhead but they joined the skin scene. Mixing skinhead’s culture with politic, sometimes happens that there are bands who play hardcore or metal and you find boys dressed in different way, they aren’t skinheads, I don’t want to offend no one but  if you’re skinhead you must dress like a skinhead, if you don’t to dress like a skinhead you aren’t skinhead,it’s simple!


ZetaZeroAlfa and SPQR played a gig in Bankok at 2011.This is very untypical for a band from our scene. Please, comment?

I know they had to play there but I don’t know if they are really played did, in other hands it’s not a big matter to me, so, I’m happy for them if their music reached till there! One of major aims of musicians is to their music to be heared by much people as possible! Each one does his choice and decides to play whenever he wants, where he want to reach and to spread his messages.
They chosen to play there, they have their good reasons!

You play often home and abroad. I had the chance to see Legitima Offesa live at “European Skinhead Party” in Germany last May when you shared stage with top bands like Endstufe, Faustrecht and Les Vilians. What are your impressions from this great concert?

This is the gig who I meaned above, it was a great event, great organization, nice bands and nice people!


Do you have a lot of girls involved in the skinhead scene in Italy? I bet you have a ladies “fan  club”?

Ha ha ha… Nice question… Luckily there are a girls in our scene, will be sad if they aren’t! Legittima Offesa’s female fun club exists! Around hundred beautiful girls who are in love with me, we are doing a big parties but i can not go into details, can be an underage people who can read this interview, but believe me, we have a big fun… unfortunatly this fan club is private and very secret, and you can not come!!! I’m sorry… ah ah ah ah ah

Italy is famous with big ultra’s scene. Do you follow any football team? What is your opinion about football violence between skins?

Once a time I followed ultras scene, I followed Bologna. Nowadays I haven’t much time to go to the stadium and I’m tired to get punishments, I have a son and I need to be a nice guy, if I must to go to the stadium just to watch the game I can do that from home on sofa and with a cold beer in hand!

Please tell us a few words about your last album “Spacca Tutto”. Are you satisfied with result? You have also made few professional video clips of the songs, which I like a lot. Is it easy to create such a video?

I’m very satisfied with our last album, I’ve done what I wanted to do and worked hard on the audio quality without to be far away from our old Oi! Style.
Video are a lust who I wanted to satisfy, I think a band after 15 years of activity deserves a few nice videos and our supporters as well! I would like to make other videos in future, better and professional (I hope).



Thanks for the interview mate, what are your final words? Your massage to the readers of our blog?

Thank you for giving us oportunity to speak and for your patience, (you have waited for our answers a long time)... keep following us and listen our music! We are playing for you!
See you at the next gig!!!

Gigi


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