Hi Bois! Let me please introduce your persons. Tell me your age, your hobbies, your job, are you free or married, have you got children ? I think that people should know a lot of information about people who make this great music :-)

Carl: I’m going on 36 and I’m getting married next year. No children yet. Phil is old is in a relationship, Perry is even older and married and he has a daughter, and Chris is young & single (tell all the Czech girls!!).

Once I heard that you always record all your CDs in your living room. Is it truth? Or do you normaly visit any recording studio?

Carl: We actually recorded almost all of our material in my parents’ garage. The only recordings that were done in a recording studio were “Omne Datum Optimum” and “Horns of Hattin”, both were recorded at Bakos Ampworks in Atlanta, Georgia. Studios are expensive. I like the freedom of recording music at home. This allows me to spend as much or as little time on the music as I want. It’s nice not being pressured to finish recording. I’m also a control freak when it comes to recording music.

Where do you usualy play in the USA? Do you travel a lot? Do you go to any special skinhead underground clubs or pubs in N.Y. City ?

Carl: We travel around the US quite a bit. New York is pretty quite these days, so we play in places like California, Texas, etc. We also play overseas a few times a year. In NYC, we don’t really have any special clubs or pubs, but we do have a few deejays, who spin reggae/soul and sometimes punk/oi! a few times a months at bars like the Ding Dong on the Upper West Side, the Southside Speakeasy and the Boulevard Tavern in Brooklyn.

Which type of people visit your shows and concerts? I know that NY is so called melting pot so it could be very interesting, I think!! Because I love (for example) Asian renees a lot :-)

Carl: All sorts of people come to our shows. We’ve got an audience of skins, punks and regular people, mostly skins though. They come in all shapes, sizes, races, ethnicities, etc.

I have read about you that you are interested in ASATRÚ (the old faith of viking). But you call yourselves as THE TEMPLARS. So do you believe in Christian God or do you trust in the nature, in Thor etc. ?

Carl: I’m interested in Asatru, but from a cultural and historical point of view. I’m not into any New Age religious nonsense. I was raised Lutheran, but I consider myself an atheist. I’m the only member in the band interested in Viking Age and old Germanic religion. Phil came up with the name the Templars. As a band, we don’t believe in any god or religion. We are four individuals and each of us has our own beliefs. The fate of the historical Templars is a good example of what blind faith will get you.

I don’t care about the colour of skin, but tell me if the non-white people have any prejudices against you because of your skinhead image. What are they thinking about when they meet you on the streets?

Carl: Of course, racism is prevalent in every race and culture. I don’t know why but a lot of people seem to think that only white people can be racist. Obviously, they have never been to NY. The average American doesn’t know anything about skinheads except what they see on TV. The TV only shows racist right wing skinheads, so of course they the average American, regardless of color, will look at us as racists.

In which part of NY do you live? I think you love this town. Tell me something interesting about this place. Maybe about skinhead scene there..

Carl: Phil lives in Queens. Chris and I live in Brooklyn. Perry doesn’t live in NY, he lives in Florida. I’ve traveled all over the world and I’ve never seen another city quite like New York. It’s a very unique place. You can find anything you want here. Every ethnicity, every race, every kind of food, every kind of music, etc. The skinhead scene here has died down a bit over the years. There used to be a strong scene with lots of bands. I’ve noticed that the scene comes and goes in waves, not just in NYC but all over. It will be big for a while, then slow down, then pick up again a few years later.

Do you fell like Americans or Europeans or what? Are you patriots (nationalists)? If yes, why are you so proud of to be a part of USA ?

Carl: We have a strong connection with Europe, but we are Americans. We are patriotic and proud to be Americans, but not blindly. We are not nationalists. We see a lot of problems with our government and our society. Nothing is life is perfect. America is an incredible place and has accomplished so much, which unfortunately has been overshadowed and forgotten in recent years because of unpopular activities and policies of those in power.

Tell me about your attitude to Indians. Many people say that they are the only one true Americans. Do you think it in the same way? How are they living today?

Carl: I find Native American culture and history interesting. Unfortunately, the Native Americans are not generally treated very well. There are many different Indian tribes all over the United States and each tribe has a unique situation. Many white, black and Hispanic Americans have some Native American ancestry. Saying they are the one true Americans is like me saying the descendents of the Germanic tribes, Marcomanni and Quadi, are the only true Czechs, since they settled Moravia and Bohemia before the Slavic people came. Or maybe the Celtic Boii tribe should be considered the only true Czechs. The same story can be said about almost every people and every country in the world. I guess only the strong survive.

 What about so called political correctness? Do you like it, do you ignore it?

Carl: It’s a form of censorship, which I don’t agree with. You should be able to voice your views and opinions. If it happens to offend someone, well that’s too bad. You can’t please everyone. There are too many feet out there, you’re bound to step on some of them.

Do you feel any pressure after the 11.9. (after the WTC attack)? Were any things changed? What about your experiences with the cops (ACAB!!)?

Carl: I haven’t notice any pressure after 9/11. The only thing that really changed is we have more security issues to deal with in our daily lives. If terrorists wanted to attack us again tomorrow it would be pretty easy. As for the police, there are some good cops and some bad cops, but most of them seem to abuse their power, which is why everyone hates them.

And tell me something about nazis in the USA. I know that today these boys everywhere use drugs, smoking marihuana, wear Hip-hop clothes and listen to techno music. Is it same in your country? Your opinion on these boneheads?

Carl: Yeah, it’s the same here. They’re involved in dealing drugs and they wear baggy clothes and listen to bad heavy metal and rap. They even hang out with black and Hispanic gang members in order to make drug connections. They have nothing to do with the skinhead scene. 

What is bad inside nowadays Oi! and skinhead scene? What do you want to change?

Carl: It seems skinheads today waste all their time talking shit on the internet. I would like to see more bands, more gigs, more fanzines, more pro-active involvement.

I think I have never seen SHARP logo on your CDs. What do you think about this stream of skinheads? Is it important to show that we are SHARPS or not?

Carl: I don’t need a patch nor do I need to belong to a group like SHARP to prove I’m not a racist. I think it’s great that they are getting the word out that not all skinheads are racist. Many of the SHARP organizations in America are too political and too extreme.

You have not the same members of The Templars like a few years before. Why did they decide to leave the band? I think that PHIL plays with Stomper 98 from Goettingen. Is he living in Germany?

Carl: Our line-up has changed a few times over the years. We’re still good friends with all former members of the band. Each member had left the band for their own personal reasons. Most of them have or had other bands. Phil and I have always been the core of the band. We’ve always done the majority of the songwriting and recording. Phil is playing in Stomper 98 these days, but he still lives in New York.

 You have 1 song about „immigration“ with quite strong lyrics (let the 3rd world starve etc). Are you so strictly against immigration? I think that the skinhead culture was built on united of white skins and black rude boys from Jamaica. Is this truth? I think so. And describe us, please, the streets of NY. Is there really violence on every corner? I think that the most important problem are drugs and guns.

Carl: A lot of people take this song the wrong way. It’s about feeling frustrated with American society and government policies. It’s about feeling like a foreigner in your own country. The song is not anti-immigration it’s pro-integration. Of course I don’t want the people in the third world to starve. I was using a strong words & imagery to bring light to the fact that there are people starving in America. How can we help the world when we can even help our own people?

The streets of NY are like any other big city in the world. There are lots of drugs and violence, but not on every corner. Some neighborhoods are worse than others, but overall I think NY is a fairly safe city.

 What do you listen to beside Oi! and punk classics? Any different music which do you like?

Carl: I like early British & American rock like CCR, Rolling Stones, Animals, Creation. I also like some metal – Black Sabbath, Danzig, Einherjer, folk – Garmarna, Clancy Brothers and classical music – Wagner, Bach, Beethoven.

Where would you like to play and with which band (describe me your musician dream) ?

Carl: I’d like to play in Japan with a band like Cock Sparrer.

Tell me PLEASE something about your streetwear Hammersmith (is it the right name?)
Carl: I came up with the idea many years ago. I thought it would be cool to make Harrington jackets in various camouflage patterns. Originally, I had a small batch of prototypes made during a trip to the Philippines. People liked them, but I didn’t have the resources to pursue the idea. As life took me elsewhere, I put the idea aside. Recently, with the help of my fiancé, Khaki, I was able make my ideas a reality. Our first product was a Templars football scarf. Then we made Templars t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. With the money we made from these and some small loans we were able to have a small order of camouflage Harringtons made. They are only available in US Woodland camo right now, but we plan to make solid colors, as well as other camo patterns, in the near future. We’re also carrying military surplus and new-made military clothes as well.