You are deeply mistaken if you think the hardcore scene in North America is confined exclusively to the USA. In Canada we can find a whole new generation of hardcore bands that have been gaining strength over the years. Comeback Kid is one of them. In a laid back chat we discovered a little more about the scene of that country, CBK’s current release Thought the Noise and future plans.

How is the current scene in Canada? I lived in this country for two years earlier this decade and it seemed to me that local bands were kinda hidden; there was a movement but without the same strength of the neighboring country. How is the current scene, any new band that deserves attention?
Of course, there is a lot going on since. Even at that time I think quite a lot was going on; Figure Four, my previous band, was active and we used to play frequently in our home town. In general the Canadian hardcore scene has been growing quite a lot and people are showing up. Two bands I can remember now that deserve to be mentioned are Fucked Up (although they’re not totally hardcore) and Grave Maker, from the west coast.

I often see a lot of kids who seem to be more into fashion than actually participating in a movement in the USA. You think in Canada the movement can be considered more original?
Definitely. However I believe that fashion exists everywhere and especially in hardcore. I have traveled halfway around the world on tour and saw kids in Brazil dressed the same way they do in Los Angeles. Nowadays with globalization, internet etc, it’s difficult for each country or city to have their own distinct profile. But I have to agree that in the U.S. people follow the fashion more than elsewhere. But it's alright, it’s nice to see kids looking cool, don’t you think?

How do you see the Quebec’s attempt to achieve independency issue?
Particularly I think that would be strange to arrive in Quebec, introduce myself as a foreign person and still have to change money into local currency. Also because I love to visit the province and if I had to live there I would still have to ask for permission, and to me it would be a little strange. Anyway I don’t support any nationalist sentiment or the like, either in my country or elsewhere. I don’t represent a flag, I believe in one world. I like traveling, meeting new cultures and I really don’t like immigration policies. It's nothing personal with Quebec, I simply don’t like borders. I’m friends with some people who want independence for the province and I respect them a lot, but for individual opinion and just because I have traditional values that they may have

Tell us a little about the DVD Throught the Noise.
It is a documentary telling the story of Comeback Kid, since when we started touring, the recording processes and people who came and went. As many people know I was the guitarist for the first two albums, then we also show interviews with the former lead singer and former members as he left the band. There’s also a concert recorded in Germany.

What’s the best and the worst when you're on tour?
I can consider a great moment playing with Biohazard in Barcelona as part of our last tour, for example. And the worst is when you are without a penny in your pocket, and it’s rainning, full of mud around and there’s no choice but to sleep in the van with the instruments because there’s no money to book a room in a little hotel (laughs). And you still have to look for a place for your basic needs – I went through this recently with my other band.

Tell us about your other band.
It's called Sights and Sounds, and we released an album recently called Monolith. It has a very different sound from the CBK. Its music has enough melody and sounds modern. It’s a rock band rather than hardcore.

A possible dream and a near impossible one?
A possible dream is to be able to return to Brazil. I was there in 2000 with my old band and in 2008 with the CBK and it’s definitely one of my favorite places. An almost impossible – I hope no one steals my idea because it involves some free time and money, and those are two things that I don’t have right now – would be spending a year or more traveling the world and writing a song in each country, mixing influences with the local culture and being able to
release an album with this material. If someone steals this idea, I’ll try to do it better (laughs).

Mauricio Melo