Five For Five With Ian Varesi Of Überyou

Ian was the first person i met independently in Switzerland. Kind of. The point is, I didn't meet him through Laura. Sort of. I met him through a friend of Laura's. Whatever. 

I got his number from Yves (said friend of Laura) who said i should talk to "this guy he knows" and a Whatsapp message later, here we are.

I didn't know anything about him at the time, like the fact that he organises this rad punk rock festival called "Obenuse Fest", where he get's bands from all over the world to play. I didn't know he collected vinyl either. I also didn't know he sang in Switzerland's hardest working DIY (literally, they do EVERYTHING themselves) punk rock band called Überyou.

He also seems to know every single person in Zurich. He's a genuinely good person who's made Zurich feel like home for me, whether it's inviting me to shows, introducing me to people or just having lunch. If it wasn't for Ian, i would not have made the friends i have, and for that, i'm grateful.

1. What is the favourite release you have been a part of?

Every release in some way i was involved with of course has big place in my heart. But some of my fondest memories are our own releases with überyou because so much work went into producing and releasing each record. We still to this day press and do everything ourselves. If i had to name something right now it would probably be our new record night shifts.

2. What is the favourite show you've played and why?

Trying to pin down a favourite show we have played in the last 10 years with literally 100s of shows all over the world is not an easy task and they all involve so many stories around them… but off the top of my head some of the craziest shows i personally remember right would would be: Maxim Rock in Cuba, the Outdoor show in Yangon Burma, Greenfield Openair, the 10 years anniversary show at Dynamo, Furia Fest in Chile, The Fest in Gainesville Florida, The jungle show we played in Central Java Indonesia… the list goes on and on

3. What are your top 5 desert island albums?

I listen to music daily and my mood and fascination with records and albums changes all the time so i'm gonna go for 8 records (because i'm punk like that) that really had a big impact in my life and kinda shaped my musical life

The Bronx – S/T 1

Fucked Up – Hidden World

Against Me! - Reinventing Axl Rose

Give Up The Ghost - We're Down Til We're Underground / Nerve Agents - Days Of The White Owl. I remember seeing them in Virginia in back in the year TWO-THOUSAND!!! And it blew my little teenage mind! These two bands kinda showed me that it was cool to be a nerd, it was cool to sing about angst and weird stuff, it was cool to wear skinny jeans and make up and still make brutal and aggressive music. Fuck macho bullshit!

Attack in Black – Marriage 

Rocket from the crypt – Live From Camp X-Ray / Please do yourself a favour and check everything John Reis is involved with!!!

Tragedy - Vengeance

4. What is one CURRENT band or artist you would like people to check out? 

There are so many good bands worth checking out but i'm going to go with only Swiss bands for this one because i believe there are so many hard working  bands out here but sadly never get any recognition. Support the Swiss DIY scene!!!

Le Grand Mal https://legrandmal.bandcamp.com/ 

Capital Youth https://capitalyouth.bandcamp.com/

Mighty Bombs https://mightybombs.bandcamp.com/

The Peacocks 

Safe State https://safestatehc.bandcamp.com/releases

Chelsea Deadbeat Combo https://cdchardcore.bandcamp.com/

Hunted Like Thieves https://huntedlikethieves.bandcamp.com/

Cold Reading https://coldreadingmusic.bandcamp.com/

Hatefull Monday https://hatefulmonday.bandcamp.com/

Last Warning https://lastxwarning.bandcamp.com/

Vale Tudo https://valetudozhhc.bandcamp.com/releases

All the Swiss bands on Rinderherz (Ravage Fix, Unheim, Loeschen, Hässig, Ashkara, Sin Logica, Norton)

There are so many more…. 

5. What is your most treasured piece of vinyl and why?

I have a collection of around 3000 to 4000 pieces of Vinyl and i am constantly listening to new stuff and trying to hunt down certain versions of records i still want so again it kinda feels impossible to choose one. I guess if it comes down to one record it would be my Less Thank Jake – Borders and Boundaries. That is the record that started it all for me. I remember buying it 18 years ago just because i was so amazed you could get a big version of my favourite band at the time. I didn’t even own a record player, I was so fascinated with the nice, big artwork, the way it felt, the smell, all the little things we love so much about vinyl. I clearly remember thinking: fuck that little cd artwork, this is it! That record triggered and fuelled my record collecting habits to the max.