1) Cheers. Can you introduce the band, members
and how you know each other?
Sure, we're
Dead City Dealers from New Castle, Pennsylvania, USA. You got
Chris Vermin on bass, Mario Sapanero and Andy Fabich on guitar, and Ryan
Bower on drums. I'm Sam Sinister, and I yell things things over everyone
else while they do their thing. I have no idea how all of us met. We live in
a small town where everyone knows everyone. We all just happened to want to
play the same music. There's about 5 people in New Castle, other than us,
who like punk or Oi!, so I guess we all took what we could get.
2) Why did you choose name "Dead
City Dealers"? What it means?
New Castle is
probably the best example of a "rust belt town", what used to
be a booming city for the steel industry, which is now all but gone
completely. There is no industry or commerce here whatsoever. Everything is
run by old people, corrupt politicians, small-minded religious people, and
upper-middle class businessmen. I don't know the exact details of all the
dirty tactics they use to keep everything here "safe" and whatnot,
but I do
know you can't get a job unless you're related to someone important, and
anything anyone tries to do to give young people something to do with their
time, other than stay home and watch TV, gets shot down pretty quickly. So
basically, we feel that this city is dead. We can relate to other people,
anywhere, who might come from a similar situation... Our city is dead, and
we're dealing with it. You can take that any way you want. The "Dealers"
part started out as sort of a joke, also, because I think more drugs and
drug money go through this place than most larger cities, haha.
3) When and why came decision to start
Dead City Dealers? Have members
experience with some other bands?
Well, we all
had other bands before, and all of us have worked together,
musically, in one form or another before we became "Dead City
Dealers". It's
kinda confusing. You can get the full story on our website
(http://sites.google.com/site/dcdnewcastleoi/).
I could explain it for you,
but by the time anyone was done reading it, they'd be too bored to read the
rest of the interview.
4) Describe us your sound. I know your Live
recording from your website . Do
you have recorded some album?
All of our
recordings are either self-recorded, or done very cheaply. Right
now, that live one is probably the best representation of what we actually
sound like. There are also 2 EPs on our website that you can download, and
I've recently put together a "best of" or sorts that I've been
putting up on
other various outlets online. All of our recordings are free to download
right now, until we actually spend a large sum of money to record
professionally. At that point we'll probably need to attempt to make at
least some of our money back. I don't think most people buy records or CDs
any more, though. They say the recording industry is changing, but I would
say it's actually dying. I look at recordings as sort of like an advertising
expense at this point, not so much as merchandise.
5) What about the gigs in your city or in your state?
What about
them? Our city used to have a lot of local shows, but not punk or
Oi! shows. As I said before, DCD and a few of our friends are basically the
only punk crowd we have in New Castle. But now, even the trendy crowd's
shows barely ever happen. It's starting to come around again, though, and
we're actually starting to throw our own punk shows with bands from other
cities coming here to play. The biggest one is going to be the Homeland
Invasion festival in May. A lot of the bands that were originally scheduled
to play East Coast Oi! Fest are going to be playing there. This is a huge
deal for us and our town. Mario, one of our guitarists, has been working
very hard to do everything by the book, like get all the proper insurance,
sponsors, security, etc. The headliners are all bands from the UK - The 4
Skins, The Warriors, The Black Marias, and Code 1. Also, we have US
favorites like Patriot, Hub City Stompers, and our friends The Traditionals,
from Pittsburgh, who are great friends and have been nothing but supportive
from the beginning. We look to have over twenty bands on two stages, over
the course of two days.
6) When I'm looking at the photos from US
gigs or at the websites of US
bands, I seem, that US scene is more mixed that European scene. You played
with European bands like 4 Skins or Incendent Exposure. Is my view right or
is it only my personal impression. Where do you see differencese between
Europe and US?
Hmm, well,
we've never played anywhere in Europe, so you'd have to ask
someone else that last question. I've heard people from both sides of the
pond say nothing but good things about the other; bands from the UK say
they've been treated well over here, and vice-versa. As far as being more
"mixed", I assume you mean a variety of people from different
subcultures in
the same room? Yeah, we encourage that. The only people who really aren't
welcome are the same people who are probably gonna be scared off anyway.
When it all comes down to it, we don't care what you are, just who you are.
I mean, if you come to a show to try and start shit with everyone, you're
gonna be dealt with pretty quickly. I think that's the same the world over,
really. I also hate people who pretend to be something they're not, like
people who are "slumming it", or play dress up just to come to a
show, but
like I said, those people are probably gonna be turned off by all the loud
noises and violence at gigs, and aren't gonna last more than one show
anyway. Punk and Oi! gigs are typically chaotic, and not for the faint of
heart.
7) Do you like live gigs? Can you
describe the best and the worst gig ever?
Which bands influence you?
Live gigs are
what it's all about... why else would we be doing this? Of
course we like 'em! Most of our shows have been great experiences, with the
odd "flop" here and there. The worst, of course, is any time that
you've
driven for hours to play in front of 10 people and not get paid. It's not
about the money, you know, but gas costs money, and you gotta eat. I could
name people and places that have ripped us off or treated us like shit, but
they know who they are and so does anyone who's known us for a while, so I
won't go into it here.
As far as
bands that influence us, Chris, Mario, and I are all into pretty
much the same type of shit - old punk, Oi!, and hardcore. Andy and Ryan have
their own musical tastes, and we all have bands we can agree on regardless.
We're all into a lot of different shit. Like Mario and Andy both like metal,
Chris and I are really into rockabilly, Ryan likes all that indie rock and
post-punk shit, even though he hates when I call it that. I listen to a lot
of '60s garage, beat, power pop, stuff like that. Some of us are more
excited about certain genres than others. But the main ones are there...
like Oi! and streetpunk, obviously.
8) Is it difficult to find a place for
oi/punk band to have a gig in US?
In New Castle,
it's hard, absolutely. If you go to bigger cities, not so
much. There are clubs that actually focus more on punk, Oi!, or whatever
genre you're interested in. It's also easier here in the US to have a DIY
space, if you have the money and know what you're doing. And even in rural
areas or smaller towns you can throw house shows as long as you work with
your neighbors and know the laws involved. So, in general, I'd say no. It's
pretty easy to have a gig in the US. You just have to have enough people who
are interested in the gig you're putting together.
9) Can you describe the US scene? Can
you recommend us some bands do you
like play with or new US breed?
There are a
lot of bands in the US. Throw a dart at a map of the States, and
you're bound to hit an area with at least one band based in it. I can't
speak on the entire country, but I know our area is pretty good for bands
that support each other, and there's not a lot of inter-band drama, at least
not within the realm of punk. We're a dying breed, so we tend to stick
together.
As far as bands to recommend, I'll give you a list of bands in our general
region, but brace yourself:
The
Traditionals, First Offense, The Tradesmen, Iron City Hooligans, Rabid
Reaction, Violent Offense, Crowd Deterrent, Race Riot, American Werewolves,
Criminal Menacing and the Three Strikes, Dropgun, The Gagging Maggots,
Fillmore Jive, Children of October, The Dog Uglys, My 3 Scum, The Assmen,
The Cheats, CL1, Common Enemy, Oh Shit They're Going To Kill Us,
Gomorrahizer, the Dead Enders, Hollywood Blondes, Turbo Lovers, Johnie 3,
Rocket Radio, Undercover Saints, the Struttin' Cocks, RumbleDaddy, Madison
Mafia, Lords of the Highway, Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival, Supercharged
Suicide, Fullmoon Renegades, Under A Nightmare, Coffin Bangers, Coffin
Riders, the Nick Wolff Band... and a bunch of others that I'm probably gonna
piss off here by forgetting about them.
10) What is your opinion on political
extrems in scene? Have you got
problems with those wankers?
I'm a fairly
apolitical person, but I'd say we're a generally anti-racist
band. My anti-racism isn't based on political beliefs, though; to me, it's
just common sense, or logic, or whatever you wanna call it. I have personal
relationships with people who are Jewish, Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native
American, white, etc. My girlfriend is Jewish. My bass player's roommate is
black, and I've been friends with him for years. Another of my best friends
is half Filipino, and so on. So when people talk about "white power"
or
"preserving a future for white children", or whatever the fuck they
talk
about, I think it's ridiculous. Race means jack shit to me. People who come
to gigs seig heiling and ganging up on minorities? Those people are not
welcome at a DCD show, obviously. In my mind, it's not even a question of
politics; it's sticking up for our friends. On the other hand, I'm not a big
fan of extreme liberals either. If they're not annoying the shit out of me
by cramming their views down my throat, they're... well, I don't know what
they hell they're doing. I don't care what people's political views are,
just don't fuck with me, or anyone I consider family. I think that's the
best answer I can give. It's a loaded question with a lot of different
answers, I think.
11) Do you know anything about Czech Scene?
No.
12) Plans for the future?
Keep playing
and booking our own gigs, meeting other bands who are similar
to us, record something that doesn't sound like we played it in a bathroom,
and maybe get some merch with our logo on it?
13) What should we do to organize your gig? What are your requirements?
Jeez, really? Ummm... pay for everything?? We're broke!
14) Words on the end?
Thanks for the
interview, for sure. Keep watching for us, and maybe some day
we'll be able to make a trip over to Czech Republic, but don't hold your
breath. That sounds rude, but like I said, we're poor.
Interview done by Misantroop