The Second Coming.

Dripht, Guze Stagno’s favourite local band, show no sign of slowing down. Bay Music Award winners and children of the revolution, they have just released their second EP.

On a scorching July afternoon Dripht bassist Frederick Abdilla, better known in these circles as ‘Fre’, is sitting on a doorstep in Paola’s main square waiting for my arrival. He is wearing his trademark black hat and looks absolutely knackered. Last night he played a gig with his other band, the I-Skandal, and this morning, at the ungodly hour of 7 o’clock, he was at the lotto office where he works part time. Although it’s been a year since he graduated in European Studies, he still hasn’t managed to find a proper job.

During the short trip to tal-Qroqq, where the band’s garage is situated, we talk about the massive wave of youth unemployment which is currently hitting the country (my 20 year old sister is out of work too). Jokingly, I sing him a line from Dance Music For the 80’s Depression, the Rifffs classic which Dripht have covered for their recently-released second EP: ‘Depressed by the memory, unemployment everywhere.’

‘Fuckin’ right, man. Dance music for depression indeed,’ Fre mutters. ‘Twenty years on, and the situation is practically the same. Whenever I go to an interview, they either tell me I don’t have enough degrees or else that I'm overqualified. Can you believe it?’

‘Yeah. The closest we’ve got to Europe so far is in the unemployment stakes,’ I grin.The garage in which Dripht rehearse is tiny, and the fact that they share it with other bands means that it’s crammed with two drum kits and a dozen or so amplifiers. I swear the temperature is close to 50 degrees. Michael Briguglio, drummer (and at the venerable age of 30 the oldest member of the band) has already arrived and as we walk in he is setting up his drums. He has just returned from Greece, where he saw DIO in concert. He’s been a big fan of the band since 1988.

‘Seeing DIO live was one of my lifelong dreams,’ he tells me as I take my place behind one drum kit and start jotting down notes. ‘When Ronnie James Dio himself came on stage, the 10,000-strong crowd went berserk. 63 years old and his performances still remain top of the world.’

The other two members of the band, vocalist Nicky Morales and guitarist Daniel ‘El Flambo’ Cassar turn up soon after. El Flambo has brought a six-pack of Heineken to celebrate the present line-up’s first anniversary (the guitarist replaced Patrick Galea just after the launch of their debut EP). The beer is warm, but since the heat in the garage is utterly stifling, no one is complaining.

Seeing a Che Guevara flag pinned to the wall behind Briguglio’s drum kit, I can’t help playing the devil’s advocate. ‘What is the Ministry for Education, Youth and Employment logo doing on the CD booklet of a band whose philosophy is “rocking to resist”?’ I ask the guys.

‘Good question,’ says Fre seconds before opening a Heineken with his teeth. ‘Why shouldn’t a band get money from the government? So much money is wasted by the government on stupid things like Christmas cards. I don't want a ‘Merry Xmas’...especially from some minister! These people are driven around in expensive cars, given all sorts of free perks and God knows what else. Why shouldn’t a rock’n’roll band get a small share from government revenue? We are not asking for people's votes. We are simply doing something we really believe in. I can't understand why some people keep silent about the continuous waste of so much money and yet are so ready to point their fingers when a band gets a tiny sum to do something really cool and heartfelt.

‘Keep in mind that recording costs a lot of money and a band has plenty of running costs like garage rent and equipment. Our only sources of income are gigging and our own pockets, which doesn’t add to much. At the end of the day we might just break even from the sales of the EP.’

By the time the bassist’s diatribe is over, the others have set up their instruments and are ready to start. Despite the heat, they go through their set list with energy and abandon. The set includes all the songs from the new EP as well as old crowd favourites. Entitled Global Warning and featuring a memorable Lisa Falzon painting on the cover, the record was launched at Signals on the 2nd of July.

‘How did the collaboration with Falzon happen?’ I ask during the first break. Fingers are pointed at Morales and Flambo. ‘We had been to the opening of her ‘Origin’ exhibition late last year and were impressed by her work,’ Flambo says. ‘She is incredibly great at what she does. What’s more, she is extremely professional. I don’t want to exaggerate but the first time I saw the sleeve design proof I got dizzy at how great it looked. Mind you, after inserting more than a hundred booklets manually into their CD cases, I kind of became immune to it, but I still really like it.’ As for the launch itself, it was an unforgettable event, if only because during Dance Music For The 80’s Depression they were joined on stage by Ray Mercieca, ex-Rifffs front man and the song’s author.

‘It was really cool to see Ray on stage with us,’ Fre says. ‘Before joining us he had been drinking at the bar for quite some time, which makes it way cooler. I’m actually quite surprised he managed to remember the lyrics after all those years.’

Speaking of surprises, I’m quite pleased to learn that yours truly had a small part in the band’s decision to record this classic song. In a previous interview with the band, I had compared Mark Barnsley, their biggest hit to date, to 80’s Depression. Flambo tells me: ‘After your article appeared I was eager to hear the song. When I did, it just blew me away. I realised that what Ray was singing about back in the Eighties still hits all the nerves. We flirted with the idea of covering it, and then things happened quickly. We mentioned it to someone, who in turn introduced us to Ray. Ray was overwhelmingly helpful. The day we met him for a beer, we were speechless – we were honoured beyond words. During the launch gig, we were completely surprised by Ray’s decision to join us on stage – it wasn’t planned at all. It felt really really great. Again, I can’t help but stammer the word ‘honoured’. I remember hearing Ray’s voice before realizing he was there, and thinking to myself: “Damn, Fre is singing in tune for the first time ever!”’

One of the highlights of Global Warning is Morales’ vocals – they ooze confidence. While the man himself is somewhat humble about his performance, the others can’t praise their singer enough.

‘With the first EP,’ Flambo says, ‘Nick had his first stint in the studio as a vocalist. After a year of solid gigging and writing new songs, however, his voice became much more confident. You can easily notice the difference between the first EP and this one. When David Vella [the record’s producer] realised this, he decided to experiment a bit more to get the best out of Nicky’s vocals.’

Briguglio agrees that David Vella played an important role in the recording of the EP. ‘David is very inspirational, and I learned a lot of tricks of the trade from him when my old band, Norm Rejection, used to record at Temple Studios. However, a massive thumbs up definitely goes to Nick for constantly improving himself and giving his utmost. Nick has a professional approach when it comes to singing and playing in a band.’

One track which caught my eye was Guy on Tv. Should its lyrics about television presenters ‘feeding me with their shopping spree’ be taken with a pinch of irony considering the fact that Nicky’s father, Mario Morales, is a teleshopping legend?

Nicky shakes his head. ‘The idea for the song came to me ages ago, probably around the time when I still played in a band called ‘Oblong’. I kept playing this riff and singing “ I want to be that guy on TV so I can be originality.” I never forgot it till the day we finally ended up using it for the EP. So no, I don’t think I got any inspiration from my dad. I was playing it before he started being on TV, and besides, the original name of the song was Originality.’ Mike adds: ‘When we wrote this song we had no specific person in mind. We just wanted to convey a message about virtuality and hype on TV, while inserting our mission statement of justice, peace and liberty somewhere in between. Obviously, reading the lyrics many things can come to mind, from ministers who transformed state television into a teleshopping haven to programmes which bring tears to peoples’ eyes because of the size of someone’s nose.’

At last year’s Bay Music Awards, the band won the Best Single category with Mark Barnsley. Were they expecting it? Fre says they were not. ‘We were actually hoping to win the Best Newcomer. Having said that, I think that when we went on stage to get the trophy was one of the best moments of my life. It was such a mess. Mike, Nick and myself piled up on top of each other, speakers falling, bouncers pulling at us while Flambo was showering everyone with champagne.’

In true rock’n’roll fashion, they managed to break the trophy soon after. Flambo owns up. ‘That was me. I snatched the award from a horror-stricken Nicky and then left off to the venue of the makeshift party we had planned to throw after the ceremony. I entered the bar, went up to a friend of ours and went: “Hey Lenny, look at what we’ve won!” And then all I remember is holding the award in two halves. After copious amounts of free beer I kind of turn into a force of accidental destruction,’ he sheepishly grins.

The band surely isn’t resting on its laurels. The guys are unanimous about plans for future: new songs and touring abroad. Mike elaborates: ‘We’ll keep rocking till we drop. If it’s too loud, then you’re too old. Being the oldest guy in the band [the second oldest member is seven years younger than him] I still think that it can get louder. At the same time I thank God for earplugs. They are my eternal comrades during rehearsals.’ Regarding the possibility of seeing them contest the Song For Europe festival, don’t hold your breath. ‘I’d never contemplate playing in the Malta Song Festival,’ says Briguglio. ‘It sucks big time: a mob of elitist cultural administrators, composers writing songs to fit a formula dictated by Eurovision trends, and silly outfits not even fit for parody. The cherry on the cake is having a minister posing on stage with a soviet smile.’

Global Warning, Dripht’s new EP, is currently on sale from www.di-ve.com, Reciprocal Records and, in the best underground tradition, directly from the band. First single ‘Rocking to Resist’ can be heard on local radio stations at the time of writing.