Interview with Ivan Lo Mauro
Chat with Ivan Lo Mauro, who really does a lot of things!
Singer, bassist, punk, floral decorator, militant, vegetarian, assistant for hot air balloons, football fan, postman, veg restaurateur and record producer… Do you think that all these things cannot coexist in one person? You would be right in theory, but here we are talking about Ivan Lo Mauro! An incredibly active Florentine character known for playing with Carlos Dunga, Turn Back Time, Gum, Heil Hidiot, Serpe, Macerie, XDeloreanX, Iena, Final Destination, Morgana and for being part of collectives such as CSA Next Emerson, Corsica 81 and Nuovi Rumori. He also released several records with his Satan’s Penguin Records. Let’s start with the interview!
Radio Punk: Hi Ivan! Thanks for being here. You have been part of many bands, collectives and projects. What is the main thrust that leads you to be so prolific? How the hell are you able to do all these things with this huge energy? Does your day last 24 hours like ordinary mortals ???
Ivan: So, first of all I thank you for the beautiful words, which give the impression of me being a super man: which I am really not! I’ve been part of different bands, projects, collectives… simply because I’m not a newbie, I have been organizing and militating since I was 18 and it’s been 16 years since I started! My day is like everyone’s, I have always worked on a non-continuous basis, especially doing “working seasons”, immersing myself in months of intense work, which pay off as many months in which you do not work. So in the moments of rest I had the whole day free to do the things I like! And then a good dose of success is given by the desire to act, if I had to stop, I would simply die!
Radio Punk: When and how did you get interested in diy, punk and the political environment?
Ivan: I started, as I said before, around the age of 18, between the end of high school and the beginning of university. I didn’t recognize myself very much in the way of thinking of my schoolmates, while the people I went out with were related to punk and metal and we exchanged records, opinions… so we approached certain environments together. The core of those times’ friendships still plays, actively attends certain environments and some of them have been my friends since elementary school.
Radio Punk: In Florence there are many social spaces and realities between bands and collectives. How do they relate to each other? How has the scene evolved compared to when you started taking the first steps and what was the coolest period you remember from the Florentine scene?
Ivan: Yes, Florence is fortunately quite full of realities and situations, it certainly isn’t Berlin but we can’t complain. Let’s say that, as in every place, there have been clashes between realities, and in the future there sure will be others. Simply because we are imperfect human beings. The fact remains that, beyond some unpleasant inconveniences, realities have always talked and fought the common enemy. The best years in my opinion were around 2010. In those years we managed to do great concerts like the Sons of Vesta Fest (to name a few: Celeste, La Quiete), to play Vitamin x, Wolfbrigade, Running Speed, Off With Their Heads and many more!
Radio Punk: Having played in a thousand situations, which is the most absurd you have found yourself in? And which one do you remember with more pleasure ? For example, we remember with great pleasure when you came with Carlos Dunga in Pordenone, “few but good” as they say!
Ivan: Yes, I remember the date in Pordenone too because you exaggerated a little (indeed a lot) with the wine. The absurd situations experienced around are different, we could write books, ahahaha. I can cite some situations that come to mind, like this one: when, during the first tour we did 15 years ago, they arrested band members in Holland because they found them in possession of too much weed, when in Indonesia we were taken to a stripper show, when in France some “fake cops” stole some money from us, when the engine of the van exploded in the middle of Serbia, absurd houses, absurd people, absurd places, absurd customs…
Radio Punk: Thorny question: what do you think of those who want to try to live or rather survive off punk and self-productions? Very often we have found ourselves discussing this dilemma with many other people and the answer varies from time to time…
Ivan: I know someone who lives off of “self-productions”, abroad it is much more common than in Italy, even if in Italy there is more than one person who lives there thanks to this. I think that first of all we must congratulate those who throw themselves into such an experience, it can be a big leap into the void. As a result of these compliments I think it is clear that I do not judge this experience negatively, also because those who do it are certainly not naïve from an ideological point of view. If you’re punk, with all the negative and positive implications that that means, you’re punk even if you’re self-produced, you just don’t do a shitty job, but whatever you like. And then feed and feed the environment you love, producing things that appeal to those who are part of the scene. And if you think that living off self-productions is shit, do as you do with large multinationals: boycott and don’t buy from those who work with these things.
Radio Punk: How on earth did you end up being a hot-air balloon assistant? Is it as beautiful as it looks ?!
Ivan: ahsdhahsdhasd, it depends, like all things. I ended up there because the drummer of Dunga and Serpe (Giuliano) has the license to be able to drive hot air balloons, so he is the one who does the cool thing, I just had to follow the flight of the balloon to be able to recover who was on it and bring it back to the start point. He hasn’t driven for years now and until June we worked together in a flower arrangement company.
Radio Punk: there are certainly a lot of people who would like to interview you and we just wasted a question asking you about balloon stuff … Let’s get back to us. All the bands in which you play, while remaining in punk are different from each other. We wanted to ask you, what is your favorite subgenre? Do you listen to anything other than punk? Would you like to try some completely different projects?
Ivan: Oh well it’s not a wasted question! However I listen to a lot, maybe too much, different stuff. I don’t have a favorite sub-genre, my listenings depend a lot on how I feel and what I have to do: for example, if I drive I surely listen to melodic punk rock / hc because in my opinion it is perfect for traveling. Perhaps my favorite “sub-genre” is old school punk / hc, let’s say that the classics of the 80s always sound current and have the same charm even after 1000 plays. In addition to punk, I listen to a lot of Metal, but also more rock stuff, in short, if there is an electric guitar, I generally like it, haha. Obviously I really like rap, and I also don’t mind listening to some new things (trap , to be clear). I would really like to try rapping, every now and then I make some beats, I have some lyrics, sooner or later I will do something rejected for sure.
Radio Punk: You have been part of DIY collectives but also political ones. We live in a very hostile situation, with very heavy repression and various spaces, not only the occupied ones, are seriously in crisis. Do you think something should be changed in the antifa movement? How can we survive and return to attack? Do you believe that music can be a valid ally to raise the situation?
Ivan: Music is a unifying factor, so it can definitely improve the situation! Unfortunately, the repression and lack of interest in certain issues have led our environment to be less and less populated and therefore with less “power”. I don’t know how to change the situation if not to get closer to people and not to entrench ourselves in our spaces, I know it’s difficult but I think it’s the only way. Maybe trying to get closer in a softer way, less Riot in order to understand each other. Many people live our concerns for the future, we must make it clear that we are not an isolated reality, and that by joining together we can be able to change the course of events.
Radio Punk: We have come to the end, we thank you very much and we would like to conclude with a lighter topic. We know you are passionate about football. Did you go into stadium stands regularly? What do you think of the ultras movement and of the incredible reality in your area such as CS Lebowski?
Ivan: I have been very passionate about football since I was a child and every now and then I went to the stadium to see Fiorentina. When, after the failure, we returned to Serie B I found a season ticket on the ground at the stadium and I passed most of the season in the Fiesole stands, that was a real stroke of luck! I have never approached the ultras movement of my hometown team, but I have always appreciated and supported Lebowski. The boys and girls of the Curva Moana Pozzi have always done a wonderful job in the area; here we go back to how to bring people closer to our environments, with lighter themes: they have succeeded greatly, forging a considerable critical mass towards society.
Ivan Lo Mauro’s favorites:
We decided to add each guest’s favorites at the end of the interview. In order to find out something new and get an idea about our guest’s tastes, that might even surprise you. There will be space for albums, movies, radio shows, craft projects, collectives, other labels and more. Here are Ivan Lo Mauro’s favorites!
Album: Negazione – Lo spirito continua
Movie: Back to the future
Book: Murakami – 19q4
Project: T.V.O.R.
Reminder
Radio Punk is a self-managed project. You can support us either by asking for the distro catalog (with LPs, CDs, books, self-produced pins), or by joining our call with an article, a drawing, a photo or anything else related to DIY world.
Interview by Tom and Zoe
Translated by Dende
Credit photo: Andrea Stoppa