Steve Ignorant was one of the speakers at the DIY conference during the Incubate Festival of this year. What came out of his interview, held by John Robb, that he does a lot of things, and now he can put volunteering on his list. He volunteers as a crew member on the independent Sea Palling lifeboat. Luke Turner from The Quietus penned down the experience of working on the grey waters between Eccles On Sea and Winterton and ofcourse why he volunteered. Here are a few snippets from his talk with Luke Turner and you can read the rest on The Quietus, the photos are from Damon Allen Davison.

Steve Ignorant about how he got involved and feels about the independent Sea Palling lifeboat:

‘I don’t like doing benefits and not knowing where the money goes

But every gig I do has to be a benefit. I’m in the pub in Sea Palling before the last Shepherd’s Bush Empire gig, and the lifeboat crew used to come in every Thursday. I thought, ‘There you go, I’ll donate money to them, I’ll know where it goes.’ They bought tip-top life jackets, and last year they saved 19 lives. I gave this money and they said, ‘Why don’t you join?’

Margaret Thatcher, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to pull her out the water

…but what happens afterwards is neither here nor there. After the Shepherd’s Bush Empire gig some bloke was on Facebook or Twitter or the Crass forum saying, ‘Well Steve will be quite happy saving Tory farmers.’ And I’m like, well, surely it don’t matter who it is? I’d rescue my worst enemy.’

He also talks about the same meaning behind being in a band and working in a lifeboat crew

‘There are similarities between being in a band and a lifeboat crew

I’m not bullshitting either. Any band I’ve been in people have said, ‘Steve, can I just say thank you for saving my life, or changing my life.’ I see the lifeboat as an extension of that really. What else can I do? Sit on my arse and wait for the revolution to happen? I don’t think it is going to happen, I don’t mean that horribly. It’s funny because I was in Belfast and there’s a guy called Mickey who used to be in Stalag 17, he’s a coxwain for the RNLI now. Most of the people who were into Crass or punk are doing something worthwhile. Sometimes I do wish I could sit on my arse and watch reruns of Minder or something, but I can’t.

It’s a weird feeling to think I’ve saved lives

This skinny little runt from Dagenham who goes to America, does all this stuff, used to be the lead singer in Crass, is now just number eight in the crew. When I’m on the boat, there’s no Steve Ignorant. There’s no airs and graces, you just do it.’

If you want to watch the DIY conference interview with Steve Ignorant, you can watch it here.