Words with Ishay Berger

 

Hi Ishay, how did you get into the hardcore / punk scene ?


As a younger kid I was totally into music, pop, new wave, all 80's - early 90's stuff.
When i was about 10 years old my parents moved to a different part of town, all new faces and new ground.
We had a lot of kids skateboarding in the new place and I got close with most of that crew...One of the kids played metal and punk to me...like, Anthrax, Pennywise, Bad Religion, Death...It was all a mix up but I did really like that fast, melodic music.
With time I got to know some more people who were into Punk and it became very important to me to catch up on more and more music...until this day I am like that with Punk music.

Can you remember the beginnings of Useless ID ?


Sort of...I only joined a year after the band started - when the original guitar player went on a trip to India and I was called in to replace him.
In the begining the band was very fast but very early on very amazing and good for me...I remember me and Yotam and some other young Punk kids would catch the bus downtown every time there was a U.I.D reharsel and it blew our minds how good and punk rock they were.

What are you the most proud about Useless ID journey until now ?


I have to be honest, I'm not a very proud person, I just think it's cool that we had a dream to go out and be a touring band and make a lot of friends and we pretty much set to do everything we had planned and wished for.

What are the future plans with the band ?

More of the same...a new album is in the works, we are taking our time with it because everyone is busy and I guess we also want some time off from the crazy write-record-tour routine, but yea...more of these things are coming up sooner or later, anyway...

What is your favorite Useless ID record ?

Lost Broken Bones.

Can you talk a bit about the history of hardcore/punk in Israël ?

For me the most influental Israeli punk band band has and always will be Nekhei Naatza...a super political punk band that started in 1990 in a "Kibutz" in the north of Israel.

They were the first Anarcho H.C band and their massage and music changed it all for me.

There were many others bands and people active but for me there has been nothing as powerful as them since.

Basicly most punk bands in Israel break up very quickly and the scene is VERY fragile as most of the kids go to the army at 18, and when You get only very young scenesters and very old scenesters....You know You got a dying scene.

Do you think the movie "Jericho's Echo" is a good illustration of the israeli punk scene ?

For the movie I can't say much because it would have a lot of different things in it if it was shot today.
There's a lot of new faces and the movie was pre-internet as we know it so who knows.
I'd definetely apear at both movies, ha!

What it's like to be a punk in your country ?


Crucial!
If You are a punk in a place so isolated and fucked up as Israel, You get a sense of "This has to be important for me".so...there are very few of us, but...we do fucking mean it.

Have you got views on politics ?


I do, I am not a very political person, but I do got my views.
The world is very devastating and so are it's  politics.
I try to take my positive energy from people and music, and I get my negative energy from governments and politics.

Have you got views on religion ?


Worst thing that has ever happened to mankind.

What are your views on the straight-edge movement ?

I'm not good at saying if a movement is good or bad, I can only judge if I like the massage or the music or the people, and with SxE,I admire the positive espects of it, most of my SxE friends are great people with a big heart.

I know that the movement itself gets people irritated or judgemental, but I stay clear of irritating/judgemental people anyway and to me it doesn't matter if they drink or not.

Which bands / artists do you find relevant today ?

Many!
I think that there's a ton of great bands in these times

Too many to mention.

Who are the people who had the biggest impact on your life ?


Life is weird, I take my impact on both the good and bad, so it's hard to know...the ones who I love and hate the most, those people have a big impact on me, now I just have to focus on the ones I love, right ?

Final question : do you like France ?

I love it.

Me and my girlfriend went for a vacation in Paris a couple months ago and we had Lotfi from Straightaway taking us on a big walk all over town all through the night.

This was a night that We will NEVER forget...what an amazing place!!!!