What made you decide to tour in China? (I saw "Kids Union presents" on the poster; how are they involved?)

Kids Union label and booking offered us to license our CD album “100% Oi!” in China, so we asked about the possibilities of touring over there. They agreed and managed to set up a tight tour plan for 2 weeks in a short period of time. They also printed tour shirts for us.

What's your favorite part about touring?

Playing good gigs in front of an interesting audience, meeting new people and bands and getting to know different cultures, customs and way of lifes.

Have any of the band members ever been to China or Beijing? If so, what were your impressions. If not, what are you looking forward to. (Answers from a music perspective and tourist/visitor are appreciated)

No it´s our first time. We are looking forward to travelling to various big cities like Zhengzhou, Wuhan or Xi’an and have a look at the ancient cultural monuments as well as the later established cultural attractions.

For anyone unfamiliar with Oi! Punk; (briefly) how would you describe your sound and style? (and does the name "Oi!" really just come from how to say hello?)

Oi! Punk was originally established in England in the early 1980s by bands like “Cockney Rejects”, “The Business” and “The Last Resort”. The word “Oi!” was often used by the singer of “Cockney Rejects” while announcing their songs on stage; then it became the synonym of unity between various working class youth subcultures. For us it also stands for the unity of the scene wordwide. In our music you find a lot of guitar melodies, mixed with straight forward punk rock riffs and a melodic female voice.

Do you know of any Oi! Punk Chinese bands?

Yes, for example Misandaoao from Beijing or Oi! Squad from Honkong. We met the singer of Misandao 2 years ago in Leipzig when the band did a tour in Germany.

What do you think of the music scene in China- in regards to your type of music and other progressive types? What do you think the Chinese reception will be? And foreign expats?

China seems to have established a multifaceted music scene in the last years, ranging from ska, punk, rockabilly to metal, hardcore and grindcore. Although these musical styles were established mostly in England and the United States, it seems that most Chinese bands are able to add their own specific domestic cultural element.We hope that the Chinese audiences will like our music and have a great evening at our shows. We heard that Chinese people like to sing along with the bands, so we expect to get a manifold response.

I've been reading a lot about Oi! Music (I wasn't really familiar with it before) and I keep seeing the mention of skinhead and youth movements? Was that just back in the 70s and 80s or do you still identify with this?

We still try to keep up the great musical tradition of early 80s England punk rock style, and we favour the idea of people from different subcultures coming together in order to have a great time.

What's next for Combat 77?

We are working on new songs, and we have some gigs and festivals in Germany coming up soon like the “Total Oi!” festival, taking place in the former Eastern part of Germany where also a lot of bands from other European countries like England and Holland will perform.

What was and has been the reaction to your first cd, 100% Oi!  ? Is there one song that has been received partically well?

We got very positive reactions and good reviews in magazines and fanzines. Many people say that our song “Walking on” is an instant catchy tune, that is why we put it as the first song on our myspace profile and also for free download.

I think it's interesting that members still play in other bands, how does this affect scheduling?

It is no problem, we don´t practice very often and concerning gig dates we haven´t encountered any time collision yet.

What can people expect when they come to your shows in Beijing?

We will give them a strong performance and an impressive evening to remember.

How does Kirsten feel being the only girl in the band?

She doesn’t have a problem because we all get along with each other and everyone is treated equally.

Do you like Chinese food?

We have a lot of Chinese restaurants in Germany which are specialized in preparing Chinese meals in Western European cooking style. This kind of food is very popular in Germany. During our stay in China, we will be looking forward to trying and tasting the traditional Chinese way of cooking as well. And especially the local beer!

Please add anything else that you feel is important or want readers in Beijing to know....

Visit our myspace website at www.myspace.com/combat77oi and have a listen to our songs. Hope to see you at our shows. Danke und Prost!