We caught up with Rupe Rabble of The Rabble who've just kicked off a nationwide tour in support of their new album.
Been around since?
The Rabble formed in the summer of 2001.
Current line up?
Chazz Rabble: Vocals/Guitar
Jamie Rabble: Bass/Vocals
Rupe Rabble: Vocals/Kit
Musical history?
‘The Rabble’ was formed by myself (Rupe) and my younger brother Chazz… We were both still in school at the time, but completely disinterested in sports, homework or anything else anyone had to offer! All we did was thrash our Punk Rock records and analyse the lyrics, pictures and messages - eventually it seemed only natural to be making music of our own… We got a cheap second-hand kit and a guitar and microphone and jammed in the garage for hours everyday. Later on we found members and gigs and from then on, it’s been all we live for! Our lineup has changed constantly but Chazz and I are really comfortable with where we are at in this point in time as a three-piece and with Jamie on bass.
The Rabble’s sound is Punk Rock in origin, but each member has his own talent/influence to bring to the mix, making it somewhat unique in my opinion. If you took the rebel soul of The Clash, the barbed wire approach of Stiff Little Fingers, the experimental element of Rancid and threw it in a blender with a bit of Ska/Reggae, a tad of Rockabilly, some good, old-fashioned Rock ‘n Roll and turned the fucker on - you might be close...
What are you listening to at the moment?
Punk Rock is my number 1 so I’m always fuckin’ going back to it; no matter what I discover of other genre’s... Other than that I’m really into my old-time Ska and Reggae, a bit of Hip Hop, some Country... Um, yeah, band-wise I’ve just discovered a ‘Fat Wreck’ band from New Jersey called ‘None More Black’ featuring Jason Shevchuk of ‘Kid Dynamite...’ They’re pretty good, been jamming that in the car...
What were you listening to at high school?
Take a wild guess!
You’ve just been on a mega UK/European tour – how’d this go? What were your highlights?
‘The New Generation’ tour was a killer – 5 solid months on the road in a cramped van, in the freezing cold and in each others faces! It was a real test of character for all of us, but we pulled through and in my opinion did a fucking good job too!
There were a lot of highlights for sure; but I’m gonna have to say my favourite show was in Arlon with ‘The Casualties’... Kids were losing their teeth in the pit, stage-diving, drinking/smoking, just fuckin’ going off - it was insane and ¾’s of the punters were there to see us. It was amazing - we sold out of 90% of our merch within 15 minutes; so yeah, it was a very warm welcome and we’ll definitely be back there this year!
What is your writing/recording process?
The writing process for ‘The Rabble’ is a very natural occurrence... We get together, jam some tunes, work on them until they feel special and diverse in their own way and then write lyrics based around our lives, how we’re feeling and/or what is going on in the world all around us.
Your Dream Collaboration?
Hmmm, I dunno it would definitely involve members of The Clash...
You’re just about to release your latest album, The Battle's Almost Over, tell us about this?
‘The Battle’s Almost Over’ features 16 tracks of diverse and heartfelt Punk Rock. Every band is gonna say their latest is there best but we truly feel this is ours – although we’re still gonna leave it up to the fans to decide… So far feedback in other countries has been outstanding! The album was recorded @ Chazz Rabble’s home studio ‘Number 8 Wire Recording’ and mixed by Jim Siegel @ The Outpost in Boston; giving it the kick ass stamp it needed production wise and also features an in your face guest appearance from Mark from ‘The Unseen.’ As a bonus it comes with a poster and all of our videos enhanced for your computer - what more could you ask for? We want to encourage people to get back into buying CD’s, instead of always simply downloading them - we’re music collectors at heart! You can pick up a copy from our live shows and on the internet: www.myspace.com/therabble and also the album will be available in all good chain and indie stores throughout Australia and New Zealand as of February 28th 2009…
You recently signed with Crusade Records in Australia, who are they and how did this come about?
Crusade Records is probably Aussie’s best independent label for Punk Rock, Hardcore and Metal. The label features other artists such as Trivium, The Valley, Bring Me the Horizon and Bloodlined Calligraphy... Basically, they got in contact with us saying that they were interested and the contract looked great – Tom’s seems like a good guy and is really keen on the band and dedicated to what he does - we just went with it and so far we have been very happy with what he has done for us in Australia and New Zealand! We can’t wait for the album to come out...
What other releases have you put out?
Our debut album ‘No Clue, No Future’ and the follow up e.p. ‘This is Our Lives e.p.’

When are you playing next? 
We play to celebrate Waitangi Day down in Patea on the 6th February to kick off our mini N.Z. tour... Pae Pae in the Park is gonna be great I think; we’re playing alongside Katchafire etc and it’ll be an experience for a Punk Rock band to be involved! To me, it just shows that when you put your mind to it - you can get things done based around your beliefs... We’ve always had a strong message of racial harmony and I think that this truly proves that we’re serious about what we say. I don’t give a fuck what people think about the band “selling out” or any of that shit... We’re doing exactly what we want to and that’s fuckin’ Punk Rock man! It’s not what your parents had in mind for you when you were a boy and it’s not what society expects...
Where’s your favourite place to play?
Seriously, we’ve been doing this for about 9 years now, there’s so many places we love playing from New Zealand to Europe... I can’t wait for ‘Rebellion Festival 09’ in Blackpool though... We’ll be hitting up the mainstage alongside a butt-load of great Punk Rock bands from 77 – now... Last year was awesome too... We played to over 2000 kids and it was only our second show in the U.K!
Your favourite show so far?

We’ve had a lot of great shows, I’ve always felt that the band is at its best when we’re communicating almost telepathically with each other - when we know we’ve got something special going on up there and we can see the crowd connecting with that vibe… When we played with ‘The Unseen’ back in Auckland a couple of years back I definitely felt that sort of atmosphere - one of our great rock ‘n roll moments! So, I dunno – one of our favourites?
If you could share the stage with anyone (person or band) who would it be?

Internationally I would love to play with ‘Rancid’ and simply because they’re one of the best Punk Rock offerings of our time and a huge influence on ‘The Rabble.’
The state of music in NZ is…?
We’ve only just gotten back, I couldn’t answer that truthfully, cause I don’t know, but I went to a house party the other day and there were bands playing out of the garage. Punk Rock newcomers like ‘Dead End Job’ and ‘Kaos and Riot’ were both great... Also one of my local faves ‘5th Threat’ played, who I always enjoy watching... Mainstream music in New Zealand (or anywhere for that matter), has always been generic garbage for the most part! We have some talented artists here for sure, but I wish people would dig a little deeper into what the live circuits have to offer out there... It’s not just what played on T.V. or the radio you know?
