Monday, July 10, 2017

Dead Is Dead Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We’ve been playing together for about a year and a half. Nick (bass and vocals) and I have been tentatively planning on starting a new band for 10 years or better, but it just never really panned out. We played in a very active band in the late 90s and early 00s, and that band started when most of the members were in middle school. After that fizzled out, I suppose it was difficult to figure out how to pick up the pieces and move on with something new. We’d recorded some demos throughout the years, and some parts of those demos came back to life as portions of the first batch of Dead is Dead songs.

We’ve known Eric (vocals and guitar) for a handful of years now, and the idea of playing music together has always been there, but it existed in an “if only…” sort of way for years. When we finally got up off our asses and started playing, the songs started coming together pretty quickly.

This is the band we should’ve been doing for the past 10 years or so, but we just got a late start. It’s better late than never!

2.You have a new album coming out in September, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

I like to refer to it as sludgy post-hardcore. It’s heavy and slow, but it’s not only heavy and slow. It’s atmospheric, with lots of room to breathe. The songs are all on the longer side, but none of them go on forever and ever.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

I asked Eric for his input on this matter:

It's the sense of urgency; like a nagging sense to get something done cause time is finite at least to yourself.

Anxiety and belonging, figuring out where you fit in the puzzle, redemption, cynicism and betrayal, there's an overwhelming theme that whatever is can be undone and started over. Sometimes it's just better to burn it, forget about it, and start over.

Sometimes I'm just intentionally vague to spur thought. Ideas of philosophical introspection. Nihilism.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Dead Is Dead’?

We like that, depending on how you look at it, the name can be either optimistic or pessimistic. Once you’re dead, you’re dead. That’s it. The positive way of looking at that is that you have to make the best of whatever time you have here, because that’s all you get.

The idea to use it actually came from a Coalesce song, but oddly enough, not their song which is titled “Dead is Dead.” There’s an older song of theirs that has “dead is dead” screamed at the end a couple of times. I always really loved that song.

Long story short, we just liked how it sounded, and it was (more or less) available. There have even been other projects called Dead is Dead before, but that’s the way things go in 2017. Every band that ever exists ends up making a Bandcamp page, even if they only manage to release a demo that no one cares about before they disappear back into obscurity.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We’ve never played any bad shows so far… because we’ve yet to play our first show! We’ve got some lined up for later this summer, closer to the album release date, but we’ve been laying low until now.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

As of right now, we don’t have any big touring plans. We’re working on a couple of extended weekends, but that’s about all we can do for the rest of the year. We’re hoping to get out on the road a little bit in 2018 when we’ve got more vacation time at our jobs. We just up and quit jobs like we did when were 20 and wanted to go on tour.

7.The new album is going to be released on 'Triple Eye Industries', are you happy with the support that they have given yo so far?

Full disclosure, I’m a co-owner of the label, but yes, we’re happy with our relationship with the label.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge and post metal?

At this point, almost no one has heard us. We’re playing the PR game and waiting to release the music streaming in the most efficient way possible, some time just before the release of the album.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We’ve already begun work on our next batch of songs, so it’s not too difficult to imagine where we might be headed, but only time will tell. So far, the songs are a little more drawn out, a little more shoegazey, with more complex chord progressions.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Our influences come from all over the place. Some of them are obvious in parts. Neurosis, Sumac, Cult of Luna, bands in that realm. Nick and I are huge Mogwai fans, so there’s aspects of that in there. I think elements of the post-hardcore scene that we came up in during our time in Forstella Ford show up in little ways throughout the songs, too.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I like to make websites and go hiking. Our bassist Nick brews great beer. Our guitarist Eric likes to work on his garden and plot the destruction of rabbits. When he’s not mixing Dead is Dead records, that is.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Yes. Please support local bands and labels as much as you can! As someone who been playing music since the days of Geocities and dial-up internet, I can tell you that it’s much more difficult in this day and age.

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