An Interview with Sammy Carne - April 2019

3. When did you learn to play the drums, and did you take lessons, or teach yourself?

Sammy "I first learned to play the drums when I was 13, The story goes like this: I'm a natural show off, those who know me will already know this! So obviously when I started my first band, I was the singer. Some friends and I performed Califorication, by the Chillis at an end of year assembly, we were called 'The Stone Cold Cucumber Sandwiches'. After that, we wanted to learn new songs, and start to play proper gigs. We were trying to learn Offsprings 'All I Want', but our drummer was so shit he couldn't learn in, so I threw him out, taught myself to play, and that was that really, never looked back!"


4. Which bands inspired you to play/that influenced you?

Sammy "I would say my early influences were the bands we were trying to emulate, Chillis, Rage etc. But i would say the person who I really tried to copy was Tim Alexander from Primus, I loved his chops, and he has such a groove, and still has a metal edge to what he does."


5. Could you tell us about how you came to join the ANWL?

Sammy "In 2013/14 I Was in a band called Ugly Love. We toured the UK a couple of times, got some exposure in magazines and a couple of festivals. I think, mainly through Tommy's influence, we got to support the League a couple of times. When things started to fall apart in UL, one of our last gigs was at Unfest, playing the Forum. Tom Told me was heading down (he used to come see us a lot, even came on tour as tech once!) He came through the door, with Animal and Barnzey in tow, I was pretty excited, Nick was still a proper celeb to me at the time!
He came and said hello and had a beer, then left. I think it was about a month later after my band had broken up, I got a call, and it was from Nick, asking me to audition! I was chuffed! went for an audition a couple weeks later, and that was it, I was in!"


6. Were you a fan of the band/familiar with ANWL before you joined?

Sammy "Fuck yeah I was. I mean not a hardcore fan, but the League are fucking legends."


7. How easy was it to learn the setlist - are some songs much harder to play than others?

Sammy "As far as the setlist goes, its pretty straight forward to learn, there are some intricate parts in some songs, swings and accents, that sort of thing, but nothing too complicated."


8. When approaching a ANWL song, do you attempt to play those old songs 'as per the record' or do you mix it up a bit perhaps, and inject some of your own style & technique into it?

Sammy "At first I learnt the songs as they were recorded, but I was encouraged, pretty much from the get-go, I was told to do my own thing with the songs. I don't think I would have taken the gig if that weren't the case. I think Nick prefers it that way, each lineup has always had its own flavour, its own version of the songs."


9. Which ANWL songs do you enjoy playing the most?

Sammy "My absolute favourite song to play is Pig Iron. The first time we jammed it out, I thought 'im going make this one sound like Mickey Dee was behind the kit!' so I threw twin kicks at it! Everyone loved it........except Animal, who requested I stopped that because it was too metal for a punk song! But I didn't, first time I played live with the band at the 100 club I put the double kick part in. At the end of the show Nick asked me 'what did you do during Pig Iron, it sounded brilliant!?'. I replied with 'the bit you told me to stop doing!' he laughed and said it had better stay. More recently I love playing Branded, because i've writtena stupid drum part to it, and its just something a bit different."


10. Can you remember when it was you joined and your memories of your first gig with ANWL?

Sammy "My first gig was at the 100 club, Jan 2016. I don't remember much of it to be honest, I was very tense, trying not to make too much of a cunt of myself! I think it went pretty well, there is footage on YouTube!"


11. As a drummer, do you tend to play mainly against the bass or with the guitar?

Sammy "I take most of my cues from the guitar, mainly because OUR BASS PLAYER IS SHIT (I hope he reads this)."



12. 'The Cage' album was released in 2016, with a slightly different change in musical direction for the band, bringing in a somewhat heavier sound. Were you involved in the song writing process?

Sammy "Unfortunately The Cage was recorded before my time. I think Tom had more of an influence on the drum tracks than me! weirdly though, the tracks are very similar to how I play, it was a sign!!
I think Tommys playing style moved the album toward a more metal sound, he one of those guitarists that just sounds like Tom, no matter what the fuck he does, he's a talented man. I do think the heavier sound suits the band, pretty much every song is now played with that sound in mind."


13. Why was it that so few of the new tracks were peformed live. It seems a shame that songs such as Ain't We Havin Fun, Brick by Brick.. Fields of Yesterday etc have never been given an airing?

Sammy "Problem with airing a lot of new material, is that the general public dont wanna hear it. Long term fans, like you guys, are interested to hear how a recording is interpreted during a live set, but most people do not. They wanna hear I hate People, So What, SOL, drink, punch eachother and piss off home. So we kinda have to pick what works and stick with it. I'm sure more songs will get an outing, in due course"


14. You also played on the track 'Dance of the Dead', for a compilation album in 2017 - how did this come about, and did the band record any other new tracks at that time?

Sammy "Dance Of The Dead was a request from our record company (I think) as part of a Halloween compilation album being released, it was a pretty cut and shut affair. Nick and Tom wrote it, we went in to the studio and laid it down, and that was that!"


15. 'Dance of the Dead' and also a track from The Cage (Bad Storm?) have been included recently on movie soundtracks - what can you tell us about this? And does the licensing deal mean.. you will all become rich now?(!)

Sammy "Haha! to be honest I don't think any of us knew anything about it, not until we were told by other people! so no, I don't think we'll be rich off of those tracks, just yet. plus I don't think 'straight to dvd' type films aired on Men & Motors at 3am make a lot of money."


16. What have been your favourite/most enjoyable shows with the League to date?

Sammy "My fave show thus far has got to be playing Rebellion for the first time. the most people I'd played in front was maybe 500, and then stepping out to 5,000 people to a PACKED room was insane, the noise, the atmosphere, and just seeing for the first time just how much people loved the league, was a feeling you just cant replicate."


17. Can you make a living from drumming in a punk rock band, or do you have a day job as well?

Sammy "In theory you could, but it would be pretty shit, unfortunately the digital age has sucked all the money away from artists, well small fries like us, anyway! That's not what its about anyway, Punk is about lighting a fire in people, making them think 'fuck that bull shit' and doing something to make a change, whatever that change might be. Could just be pants, but as long as they change those pants very aggressively, then our job is done. Yeah i've a day job, I run a little heating firm with a mate of mine. I really enjoy it."


18. You attended the world premiere of the new ANWL documentary last month - what did you think of the film?

Sammy "I loved the film, it was funny without being insincere. It was great to hear to tale of the band unfold from the original members, most of whom i've not met, with the exception of PJ. I hope a lot more people get to see it, and understand where the heart of the band came from."

19. Are there any plans for the League to record a new live CD or DVD (its been ages since the last one).

Sammy "No plans as yet, not as far as I'm aware! But I'm always the last to know. Anythings possible, I didn't find out until yesterday that we we're playing with the MISFITS, so you never know whats happening in the background!"


20. There was some talk a few years back, about the League re-recording the PERFECT CRIME album with the current lineup (same as you did with the We're the League album). Do you know if this likely to happen ?

Sammy "Again, its been mentioned, but as far as I know nothings happening with it just yet."


21. Is there any new material in the pipeline.. another album on the horizon?

Sammy "As a group were always writing licks and riffs, so watch this space.."

22. Finally - whats next for the League this year?

Sammy "Well, as I'm sure you're all aware, we're playing with the Misfits in June. This has spawned a little tour of the US, we've also got great festivals in Poland, Belgium and the UK coming, I reckon its gonna be a really big year for the band."