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Hola noisenheimers...words cannot possibly describe the joy I felt from receiving these answers from Oscarc. Admittedly, I had hoped for some more in-depth commentary from them both, but these niggaz have brutally busy work schedules and beggars can’t be choosers regardless. Anyhoo, for those fuckheads “not in the know”, NAUSEA L.A. (as I call them to differentiate them from the lame crusty NEW YORK “Nausea”) was the offshoot band of TERRORIZER. TERRORIZER was an “Earache” band and helped to literally invent grindcore (NO. FUCKING. SHIT.). In my opinion, the only 3 grind bands that you EVER need to hear are TERRORIZER/NAUSEA, NAPALM DEATH (with LEE/BILL, natch) and FEAR OF GOD. EVERY “grindclone-shitnoise” band you hear nowadays couldn’t possibly have existed without the output of those “big three” to pave the way...with TERRORIZER/NAUSEA being the leaders of the pack with the catchiest groovy scat (they were HUGE influences on both NAPALM DEATH and FEAR OF GOD y’know!!!). NAUSEA in the beginning seemed to be a crustier cross with TERRORIZER, mixing in heavy NAPALM DEATH influence, with newer output resembling some actually bitchin’ mixes with very (extremely) early GODFLESH. The band destroys, and I look forward with mucho anticipation to the new output. I’ll quit “gettin’ wet” with this intro and let YOU niggaz read on for yerselves! -- Se@nocide

Interview with Oscar Garcia Done by Sean Hogan!

First things first Oscar…I want to tell you what an honor it is to speak to a living legend such as yourself (and the rest of the NAUSEA boys of course) in regard to your future plans and projects. Lets’ kick off with what sparked your renewed interest in reforming NAUSEA? Was this a mutual decision amongst the various band members? Who is involved in the project now and how old are all you guys anyway (this "age" question will be more relevant in a later question)?

Right now the band members are Eric (drums), Vito (lead guitar), Sergio (bass) and myself (vocals and rhythm guitar).

Now, even after Jesse left for Napalm Death, I still noticed (even on the earlier "noisecore" NAUSEA recordings) that distinct "Terrorizer-ish" droning-riff sound…was there ever a problem you had with peeps mostly considering TERRORIZER to be "Jesse’s band" (a fact that most people had no idea that TERRORIZER was a full-time band years before the "World Downfall" LP…that is, considering Jesse was already in Napalm Death, peeps could have mistaken the LP for a "project" band)? How was the writing/arranging of songs broken down between you and Jesse and who mostly writes what riffs now for NAUSEA (Jesse also wrote music for the BAPHOMET 7"?)? I know the question of "influence" is a rather tired one, but I’d like to know who you drew exact influence from in the old days (and NOW!)? Who did you feel you guys were emulating? I’m serious when I say (and I think that most of the old scene-crew would agree) that NO BAND sounds like those that "Oscar Garcia" is involved with. That is NOT an ass-kissing statement…the various projects you have done over the years have an extremely distinct sound that I’ve heard in few (if any) other bands over the years. And yes, "that sound" DESTROYS!!!

Well, when it came down to writing/arranging songs for the Terrorizer LP, I took songs from Nausea to have a complete LP. A lot of people think Jesse wrote a lot of the songs on the album, but the truth is I took stuff from Nausea so we could finish "World Downfall". Many people thought the album was all Terrroizer, but about 30% was Nausea material.

In the early 90s (after the WILD RAGS LP was released) I believe that you guys had recorded for a 10" that was to be called "Tumor"? Why was this never put out? Are there plans to FINALLY release this disasterpiece (I just have an ultra-crappy 13th-generation copy of it on tape)? This might be a good time to make mention of ALL that material you guys have planned to finally give a proper release to all the maniac grind/extreme-core fiends out there. How are the new songs shaping up? In what style are the new tracks?

We wanted to put out "Tumor", but not on Wild Rags, because he was just a big rip-off [Labelhead RICHARD C. is such a fucking asshole, you noisenheimers have NO FUCKING IDEA wot a cock he woz! And I used to know the guy personally through trips to his store to boot! --Se@n]!!!!! We didn’t want him to make any more money off us. About releasing "Tumor"? Right now we’re taking some old songs and new material to try and put out something new. The new stuff is coming along good! It’s a bit of old "Doom", a cross with "Extreme Noise Terror" and a bit of old "Nausea".

Now, I believe that NAUSEA was born around the time that TERRORIZER was getting ready to disband, correct? In fact there was a NAUSEA/ TERRORIZER split soundboard rehearsal (my favorite NAUSEA tracks are "THE END" and "STARVING NATIONS" by the way! Especially "THE END’s" super-drone mosh-inducing main riff!!!) right? Now, what were the reasons for initially doing NAUSEA (which felt like a crustier/ shorter/ noisier TERRORIZER) and why the 3 year waiting period between the split tape with TERRORIZER and the "Crimes Against Humanity" LP on WILD RAGS??? The songs on the LP had taken on that very distinct slight-industrial tinge though the 7" you guys did on BAPHOMET made the transition in song-writing much more apparent.

"Nausea" was born about a year after "Terrorizer" was formed. I formed "Nausea" with Eric after we starting jamming at his pad. So we got together and made up the band. We took our time after the split LP [I think he means the tape as the “split LP” is actually a euro-boot. --Se@n], before we released the "Crime Against Humanity". We had a lot of rehearsal tapes out between the split LP and "CAH" LP. The 7" Baphomet Record was just old tracks we wanted to do.

Did you guys ever feel that RICHARD C. of WILD RAGS was merely capitalizing on TERRORIZER’s success, so that is why he put out "Crimes Against Humanity"? Wasn’t there any interest from EARACHE to help you guys out? How the hell did you first meet Richard C. (Mikey Nelson of GASP told me you and Jesse used to ride your skateboards to Richard’s store…no I’m not making that up and please tell me that’s a lame story Mikey pulled out of his ass) and does the band feel it got the fair shake that it did by going with his label? Did the band ever receive any royalities from the release and how many copies did the LP end up selling?

Yes, I felt that Richard was trying to capitalize on the success of "Terrorizer"! We tried with Earache, but got no response, so I guess there was no interest, or it never made it into the right hands [Or Dig was just being the shithead he claims not to be. --Se@n]. We met Richard when we went to wild Rags (we only rode our skateboards once to the store!) Our deal with Wild Rags, SUCKED!!!!! We only received one royalty check and that went to Eric for new drums. As far as how many copies it sold, we have no idea!

What are your thoughts on Richard as a person (I thought he was an asshole…he started treating me "cool" when I got older and could afford to buy more shit from his store). I’d also like to dispel the Enrique Chavez /BAPHOMET rip-off rumor…WAS HE??? How many copies did that 7" sell? Also, where were the 7" and the LP recorded at? Happy with the results (I thought that Eric had too hollow of a snare sound on the LP)?

About Richard, I didn’t really care; we just wanted someone to put out the album, that’s all. We didn’t do it right, but we got our shit out there! Vito was the only one who dealt with Enrique, so there’s not much I can say on that. The 7" was recorded in Eric’s garage. The LP was recorded at Silverlake Sound Studio, in Los Angeles. We were not very happy with the sound, but Vito was the one who paid and took care of us, Richard didn’t pay for shit!

I’m going to ask a succession of TERRORIZER questions now Oscar, just for the sheer fact that there is an amazing lack of information on the band and it’s history and I really do NOT want today’s young grinders distorting any facts on the band (like I accidentally did in an atrocious "history" I wrote on the band some years ago) or even FORGETTING the band or knowing what TERRORIZER added to grindcore’s development (not to mention that there is an obvious transition into NAUSEA’s history as well). Some of these questions may seem retarded/boring or lame…but I’m mostly trying to cover as many bases as possible in dispelling certain rumors or enlightening others (myself, since I strive to be a historian of sorts to early grind) on just "how" classic grind came to be. Okay, here’s the first question/questions: Before there was TERRORIZER there existed MAJESTY, so how did you guys go from playing simplistic (but GREAT) neanderthal black metal/deathcore into speeding up considerably for TERRORIZER? Did you guys choose to play faster after hearing the REPULSION demo and how the hell did you first hear those grandfathers? Or was it as simply a fact as you guys just thought you were playing early deathcore as SLAYER???

"Majesty" evolved into "Nausea". "Majesty" was just Eric and myself, Jesse and Pete were not part of "Majesty". I just wanted to play faster, after hearing the original "Napalm Death" demo. [“HATRED SURGE”??? That shit’s SLOW!!! --Se@n]

"Blastbeat" drums weren’t exactly a well known style until NAPALM DEATH practically re-invented it (sped it up from fast hardcore like SIEGE and YOUTH KORPS) in the mid-80s. So for this next question, how exactly did Sandoval come to play so fast (I’m completely convinced that his blastbeats are as fucking fast/loud/powerful as you can get before resorting to a drum machine…no offense to Eric’s blasts of course haha!!!)? Did the band ask him to attempt to play that fast or was he a REPULSION fan as well??? TERRORIZER is infamous for it’s numerous punches and Sandoval’s trade-off from a normal blast into a crash-blast every 4-measures (GODLY!!!).

Pete played fast already when we asked him to join "Terrorizer". From there he just got fucking faster. We didn’t ask him to get faster; he just wanted to be the fastest drummer out there.

Did TERRORIZER break up because Sandoval left for MORBID ANGEL? If not, what were the exact reasons for the breakup? How many demos did the band do before "World Downfall" and were you guys bummed when Sandoval took off? How many gigs did the band do and what was the crowd’s typical reaction? My friend Bob from DEEP SIX RECORDS/LACK OF INTEREST saw you guys many times at HOOVER and says it seemed you always got a bad sound on purpose from the dickhead behind the mixing board!

"Morbid Angel" contacted Jesse about getting a drummer like Pete [It’s a well documented fact that David Vincent was a huge fan of TERRORIZER’s output just as MORBID ANGEL was barely starting to come up in the scene. --Se@n], then in turn Jesse gave them Pete’s number and that’s how Pete got a new gig and "Terrorizer" was left without a drummer. I don’t know how Jesse felt, but I was pissed off! As far as how many gigs we did, I really don’t remember, I would guess about 40 to 50 small gigs. The crowd reaction was fucking intense; they really seemed to get into it. We had good crowds! As for Hoover Park, what do you expect, it was a gym! [That’s news to ME! --Se@n]

How exactly did recording for "World Downfall" come about and how did you react when you were told that you’d be recording for Earache? I read an ancient interview with Jesse that the LP was recorded in 8 hours and that you didn’t play guitar on it because you forgot half the riffs (or is this Jesse just being a smartass???)??? How did DAVID VINCENT end up playing bass (duh, he was what, TERRORIZER’s number one fan right???) and what happened to original bassist GARVEY??? Actually, WHY was Garvey in jail during the recordings and do you still rap with him now???

Jesse would correspond with Mick from "Napalm Death", who in turned talked to "Earache" and got us the deal. Yes, "World Downfall" was recorded in 8 hours. It wasn’t that I forgot, I was rusty and since we were not given much time, I didn’t want to hold up the recording so I just told Jesse to play all the guitars. David Vincent was just lucky to get on the recording, we needed a bass player at the last minute, and he was at the right place at the right time. Garvey was in jail at the time [For fucks sake I’d like to know for WOT one of these years! --Se@n]. No, I haven’t spoken to Garvey in along time, I wish I could get in contact with him. Who knows, maybe he’ll read this!!!!

Do you still receive the occasional royalty checks from EARACHE for the "World Downfall" LP and T-shirt sales? How has Digby treated you over the years? Has he been honest with his respect and treatment of sales for the band? How many copies has "World Downfall" sold to this date?

No, I have not seen a royalty check in ages….I have no idea how many copies of "World Downfall" sold, Jesse probably knows.

How staunch were TERRORIZER’s sincere political lyrics? What inspired you initially to write such caustic attacks against the system? The lyrics are TOTALLY overtly political and are rare to find in most modern grindcore bands today (most modern grind lyrics are bizarre commentarys on personal issues or esoteric attacks involving abstract philosophy… that is what I’m hearing at least!!!)!

What made me write lyrics like that on "World Downfall" were things about life, just on world events and condemning big corporations.

Why no 2ndTERRORIZER LP? I heard that Sandoval’s contract with GIANT would NOT allow it? What about the rumors of a EURO-only gig sometime next year (2002???)???

We tried to do a 2nd "Terrorizer" LP, but things fell apart. Jesse and Pete are just too involved with their other bands, they just don’t have the time to do another album [Jesse has vowed on numerous occasions that TERRORIZER would “reform” once day, but hey, who the fuck knows anymore. --Se@n]. I don’t know anything on the euro-gigs, it just talk, there is nothing set in stone, who knows!!!!!

Are the various NAUSEA heads married peeps now? Kids? What /how have your family members reactions been to all the projects…WORK??? What does everybody do?? I’m out of work if it makes y’all feel any better LOL!!! [Note to the noisenheimers: I’m now gainfully employed as a designer again. --Se@n]

No, Eric, Vito nor Sergio are married, just me [From wot I remember at a NAUSEA gig some 10 years ago, IF that was Oscar’s wife I indeed saw, she’s HOT and he’s a lucky man! --Se@n]! Eric and Vito are Dads, and are very good at it. Our families are cool with the noise we make; they just trip out, but are very supportive in what we do. We all work our butts off to make a living, that’s about it.

I totally forget what zine I’d read this in before Oscar (it was from the mid-90s and they asked WHY/HOW Victor/E.T. sang on the 10")…but do you feel "left out" to a degree from the "grind explosion" and how yer various niggaz (like Jesse) rose above in the grind scene???

We asked Victor from "E.T." to lay down some vocals on two songs on the "Tumor" demo. Victor and Vito knew each other from back in the day! About being left out of the grind explosion, I didn’t really care. After a while everything started to sound the same. Newer bands were trying to out grind the older bands, and it just wasn’t worth the effort, it was just ridiculous, the band wars!. [It’s still ridiculous...I just cannot see how you could go from the early scene’s grind to bands like DISCORDANCE AXIS or PIG DESTROYER today. Doesn’t make sense at all. HAISHA is “O.G. grind” LOL!!! --Se@n]

How do you view the schism/subtle racism between the Chicano/ Latin/ Hispanic cultures and also how they relate to "whites"? I.E.: whites who just DON’T CARE who is who in a race and also whites who try to "act" urban/ethnic for some warped form of "street cred" (I.E. "whitezicanz").

I just don’t let racism bother me. I don’t pay attention to those few idiots who fuck it up for others, who are just in it for the music and the scene. I think everyone one should be his or her own individual! Don’t put on an act to be cool or something your not, just be yourself!

How does "pushing 40" (kind of) affect your life in the "scene"…does age make much of a difference to you in grinding??? What NEW bands float yer boat and make ya do backflips??? (ANY genre???)!!!

About my age, I don’t really focus on it too much. We all will get older at some point, I really don’t care about it! It’s all about how you feel, and I feel fucking great! [I feel like shit and I’m not even 30 yet. --Se@n]

Please give a list of ALL projects you have been involved in, the releases, WHEN these releases will be "re-released", HOW they will be released AND what future releases NAUSEA will have planned! Oh yeah, ask ME a question and I’ll surprise you in pirnt (ala RIOT mag from ENGLAND)!!! Leave yer shout-outs and hails too man!!! Take care essa and GRIND ON!!! ALL HAIL MAJESTY/TERRORIZER/NAUSEA!!! --Se@n

I’ll get back to you on that one! As for new releases, we hope to have something out in a few months. Here are a few titles of some new songs….. 1) "Deadlock", 2) "Wounded 2" and 3) "Does God Need Help?" [That’s a fucking GREAT song title by the way! --Se@n]. Dude, Thanks for the interview and keep the shit up!!!! We hope everyone out there will like the new shit we put old soon, it will be the old school grind!!!!! [And you are VERY welcome friend! --Se@n]

NAUSEA's WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/fassby/home.html

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