DANGUR INTERVIEW

Dangur played at The Room at Rebel Sound Records the other day and ripped. I heard singer Pete put a couple holes in the wall. Anyway they're a bunch of cool dudes and I exchanged some words with bassist Nick about the band and their imminent mini-tour and the foreseeable future.

Friendship Bracelet: So you’re all from Holyoke and I’ve seen you play at UMass D.I.Y. shows a few times and it’s always rad. Whats’ the scuzzy metal/punk scene like in Holyoke if there is one at all?

Nick: In Holyoke all of our group of friends make/record music all of the time. We’re jam fiends. There’s not much of a scene specifically in Holyoke, but I guess you could say that about a good portion of areas of Western Mass. Bands that end up playing shows with each other on a regular basis usually are pretty dispersed.

FB: When did you four get together and start Dangur? How’d you all meet up? Where does the name “Dangur” come from?

Nick: Dangur started in 2005 while I was playing bass in a hardcore band called The Blackbelt Club with Pete (singer of Dangur) on drums. Me, Andrew (drums) and Pete all went to Holyoke High and formed friendships through seeing each other at school and punk shows at the Flywheel mainly. We’ve all become super close. Before Dangur, during Blackbelt Club, I was also playing bass in a band called Ricin with Keenan (guitar player in Dangur). That band was starting to break up and Keenan and I had been jamming together since middle school and he’s quite the talent so we really wanted to start another band together so we did and that was Dangur. I asked Andrew and Pete and they agreed.

FB: Where does the name “Dangur” come from?

Nick: The name Dangur doesn’t mean anything at all. It’s a horrible name, and yes there is a story behind it, but a lame one. That’s what we went with. It was at first The FVK (Fearless Vampire Killers), but we soon found out that was taken.

FB: What’s your guys’ favorite records that helped to inform Dangur’s sound?

Nick: Well it’s funny… We started out as a hardcore band wanting to sound like local legends Sick And Tired and we were heavily into the Bad Brains. But all four of us heard Annihilation Time II one fine day and I'd say that album definitively changed the course of our band, if it weren’t already obvious to anyone. We wanted TO BE Annihilation Time II. Deep Purple’s In Rock, Black Flag’s My War, Boris’s Pink and Dinosaur Jr.’s Your Living All Over Me are all records that all four of us draw alot of influence from in this band. I liked that question.

EDIT:

Probably even more important than the few albums I mentioned are Black Sabbath's Paranoid and Master of Reality. I cannot believe I missed that.

FB: How’d you guys hook up with Former Thieves for the week of shows youre playing? Have you ever gone out and toured before?

Nick: Two Summers ago I tagged along with my best friend Dan Kozuch’s hardcore band Casket on their first tour. They hooked up with these dudes from Iowa called Despiration. Great guys, great band. We all partied and became friends over the course of the tour. I recently found out that 2 of the kids from Despiration had formed a new band called Former Thieves and got wind of them coming around here this summer for a tour. So I called em up and we started helping each other book shows for us for the week, and between both bands it’s come together pretty smoothly. We’re super psyched it’s our very first tour! We’ve only played outside of Western Mass in Albany, NY and parts of Connecticut so this is going to be awesome for us.

FB: Releasing anything else this Summer/Fall? What are your plans for the Fall school semester? More shows? More 7″s?

Nick: I’ve been discussing putting out another 7″ with Dan Barker from Shock To The System records about putting out another release. He’s psyched to do another album so sometime this Winter or Spring you may see another 7″. We’re calling it Cosmic Garage. It will most likely be a 4-song record. We’ve also been talking to Nick Chechile from the band Overman, who has a doom, solo project called Sunless. We’ve been discussing possibly recording and producing our own split to be put out on vinyl. That may take some time, but it’s something we definitely want to pursue. This semester I’ll be booking more shows with D.I.Y. UMass and inevitably Dangur will find its way onto a bill or two. We’re pumped on life.

Screaming Sunday

Excited for Screaming Females (+ The Test Tube Casanova Brigade + Werewolves of Pittsfield + Gimlet Slip + The Slaughterhouse Chorus) tonight at The Room at Rebel Sound Records. Show is all ages and starts at 7PM. If you missed it before, I did an interview with them a week or two ago HERE.

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UNRELATED:


Delicious Scopitone put up two Dunes songs for download/stream. I was amped over "Closing In" so click HERE to get that song + one more.

Gimlet Slip Interview

I know its hard to make any sort of judgment on anything after just one taste but Gimlet Slip has three tracks on their Myspace ("Headache," "Waiting" and "Roadblocks") and the promise of a four-song demo. They've got three shows coming up, including one in Easthampton at the Brass Cat and one with Screaming Females at The Room at Rebel Sound Records. In this quick exchange with Diane, Rene and Christina I learned that Sloppy Seconds is not a suitable band name.

Friendship Bracelet: So... I suppose I really don't know anything about your band except your names, that you formed in late 2008 and that you like beer. What got you together to make music late last year? Did you three play in other bands before this or is this a first-time thing?

Gimlet Slip: Diane and Rene were playing with another (very experienced) guitarist who had to leave the band before they were able to play out. Christina loved the music and picked up the guitar in October of 2008 and formed calluses quickly. We rocked out in Rene's basement from November - February and had our first show in March at the Nook in Westfield (which is also our favorite place to play). It is a shitty dive in Westfield with cheap drinks served by Mark Dargie of the Peace Creeps. Our 2nd fave was Jaybo's in Buckland. Sloppiest set ever.. we learned our limit of drinking and playing in Buckland. As for other bands, Rene is in Petulant Child and Diane was in the Westfield High marching band.

FB: What motivated you to play the kind of quick and simple punk music you play?

GS: We play that because its what we like. We have no interest in the jangly, fluffy, boring shit that the kids like. Fast beats, hard hitting, no bullshit crazy noodly epic solos. Plus, Diane needs to be able to play and sing.

FB: Speaking of "Gimlet Slip," what is a gimlet slip? Where'd the name come from? So far all I know is a gimlet is either a cocktail, which I suppose makes sense, a small hand-drill and a (lobster?) character from Transformers.

GS: Well, we decided on that after sifting through other names such as the Sloppy Seconds, Aunt Flo and the Common Cycles, etc. There is a variety of ways to decipher a "Gimlet Slip." For instance, you have too many gimlets (beers, whatever) and actually slip. Or have a slip of the tongue, or you accidentally slip home with someone that you wish you didn't in the morning. Or you could slip with a gimlet (sharp object) in hand and gouge someone's eyes out. WE did not know that there was a transformer character named Gimlet.

FB: I really like "Headache." What's this song about? What are your songs about in general?

GS: Our songs are pretty straight forward. Our lyrics speak for themselves and are for the most part about life situations that piss us off. There is no subliminal meanings or hidden messages in our songs. We work 9-5 jobs. We don't have time for that. Headache is about dealing with stupid people who give us headaches.. be it co-workers, the general public, politicians.

FB: Dig any new music?

GS: As far as new music, we all love Santogold.

FB: What bands helped form the musical ideas you try to get across (whether it's bands you listened to on your walkman in elementary school or bands you've played with)?

Rene: Black Sabbath because Bill Ward is amazingly heavy and his drums sound like cannons.

Christina: Given the fact that I picked up the guitar 6 months ago I can't say I am influenced by any one or two guitar players yet. I love gritty riffs ie: Stooges and Discharge.

Diane: the Rezeillos, the Avengers, and of course the Ramones who taught me how to play bass.

FB: How many songs are on the demo? Any other plans for releasing music after the demo or just seeing how things go with the demo?

FB: The demo has 4 songs. Headache, Creepy Guy, Night Terror, and Misunderstood. We will probally record more. It would be cool to be on a split with a good band.

FB: Any chance you can look into the future and see where your band will be in a few months? In a year?

GS: We hope that within the next year our set breaks 25 minutes and that we possibly play in a location that takes more than 10 minutes to get to.

Screaming Females Interview

New Brunswick, NJ's Screaming Females are about to head off on tour with The Death Weather. Just a couple months ago they played at The Room at Rebel Sound Records OPENING for Prick Bastard among others. What an evolution. Jarrett, Marissa and the rather reserved King Mike took a minute to answer some questions and provided insight into Pittsfield's lackluster burritos, their favorite White Stripes record and an art teacher mom.

Friendship Bracelet: First of all I know you guys played in Pittsfield a couple months ago. Go anywhere particularly interesting/eat any particularly delicious Pittsfield delicacies/do anything remotely cool?

Jarrett: The show we played seemed to be about the coolest thing going on in town. We got to see Masshysteri play, who are from Sweden. We ate some mediocre burritos that made me feel a little sick. It was SUPER cold and I was in a bad mood because of the weather.
Marissa: No.
King Mike: No.

FB: Unfortunately I couldn't attend that show, but I've seen the comical flyer which billed you lower than Prick Bastard. Few months later and you've played a show with Dinosaur Jr. and you're about to tour with The Dead Weather and Jack White. Hows the transition from playing smaller shows (ie: The Room) to opening presumably larger venues?

Marissa: Well, being billed below Prick Bastard was nothing short of an honor. We were put on that show last minute... I understand why we opened the show, it's really not a big deal. Personally, I am equally comfortable with playing small and large venues. Not too sure how I'm going to feel playing in front of 3,000 people yet... but I'll let you know. So far I haven't had much of a problem. I'd say we prefer to play smaller places that are a bit more intimate... but I can't speak on behalf of my band mates on that one.

FB: Are you down with any of Jack White's previous musics? If so what's your favorite? What'd you think when you were asked to tour with them?

Jarrett: I love the White Stripes. De Stijl is one of the best albums ever.
Marissa: I also love the White Stripes.
King Mike: Me too.

FB: I'm real down with one of your more melodic tracks "Humanity Arranged" as well as some of your more brutal ones. What makes you want to make songs both gorgeous and melodic while also making songs so abrasive and primal? Is this at all a combination of your personal tastes and the range of your influences?

Jarrett: When a lot of bands get together they decide what they are going to sound like before they even start playing together. People say things along the lines of, "I want to start a band that is a mix of Ramones melodies and early 90s dance beats with heavy breakdowns." Then anything they play that happens to fall outside of those lines isn't usable. We never decided to have a particular sound so that means anything we play and like we can use.

FB: This also seems to pour into the whole aesthetic of your album art, flyers, etc, which I think is very attractive. Who creates all the cool/creepy/weirdo flyers and art?

Marissa: I make all of our album art, and I typically draw most of the flyers. My mom was an art teacher and I've been drawing and painting ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil.

FB: What do you guys think about the whole bunch of bands popping out of and getting talked about from New Jersey semi-lately (ie: yourselves, Titus Andronicus, Vivian Girls, Real Estate, etc)?

Jarrett: All those bands are super cool but aren't really the bands that make up the core of the New Brunswick, NJ DIY scene that we consider ourselves part of. Everyone should definitely check out The Measure [SA], SLAW, Seasick, Full of Fancy, Snowboy, You without Teeth, Mimi and Cristian, The Ergs!, Hunchback, The Atomic Missiles, Plastic East, etc, etc, etc.

FB: What's next for the band after this upcoming tour plus all the West Coast shows scheduled in August? More touring? Thinking about any more recording yet?

Marissa: We have about five new songs completed right now. Not time for a new album yet. Soon enough. We'll be touring again in the fall.