First off, what was the idea behind choosing your name?
Dominic: The idea was kind indicative of the feelings of some of us at the time. I actually came up with the term in my last band, and had considered it for a couple of things like a record label, but it never found a good home. I liked the phrase. After I parted ways from my band and got together with the others, it was obvious that they were all coming from difficult times themselves. Chon's band had disbanded around him, Tonio and John's band had finally called it a day. I guess you could say we were a bummed out crew...but it was our love of music that kept us going. Even if it killed us we loved music so much, we couldn't stop, we kept going. Here we are, starting this band, because we all love this to damn much to give it up. So even if it kills us, we are moving forward. Once that truth was realized, the phrase was perfect for us. There are other meanings, and I think that is the best part of the name. Everyone sees something slightly different in LOVE=DEATH. Even the band members.

Describe your sound.
Dominic: We are a punk rock band first and foremost, both in our hearts and our minds. That is expressed in the songs we create and it threads through everything we do. However at first we set out to be a hardcore band. To mix the darker sounds of the Bay Area with the heavy sounds of the East Coast hardcore scene, but it quickly became obvious that the band needed to be able to express itself. So we opened it up, now we write however we feel. Slow, fast, angry, sad, happy, heavy, or soft we express ourselves as we feel. So far the response has been fantastic. The only constant is that throw ourselves into what we do completely.

Who, if any, are your major influences?
Dominic: We all have different influences, but it does overlap.  John loves Death metal and hardcore, but appreciates melody and slower music as well. Tonio I think loves music period, but his heart is in hardcore punk, especially Sick of it All. Chon is punk rock with The Misfits obviously being a stand out, but he loves great music of all types.  So you never know what he'll put in the stereo. I think he just admires great entertainers and the art of a great songs no matter what the style. I guess I fit into that. A lot of the early San Francisco Bay Area punk and ska bands influenced me, but when I first learned to play, it was the Blues my father taught me. I think it still lingers with me.

Is there any major news regarding any upcoming shows, recordings, cds, tours, contests, etc?
Dominic: We have a ton of shows! You will have to check our site at www.loveequalsdeath.com for that. Some great ones coming up, especially if you live on the west coast. We are planning a bigger tour this summer and hope to get to England within the year. It depends on where we end up releasing our full length. However we have an EP coming out on POP SMEAR RECORDS next month called, "4 NOTES ON A DYING SCALE", and we are all really excited about that. Soon after we will be releasing another EP with BOUND BY THE BLACK RAG RECORDS. Everyone should check the site!

Who is all in your band and gve us a sentence or two about each member.
Chon Travis: Vocals. Extremely charming man about town.  Really funny a great entertainer, excellent voice and insane live. The coolest one of the four.
Dominic Davi: Bassist. Hard to talk about yourself but, I try to be the spark that sets the fire if that makes sense. Be adventurous and keep things going and go nuts live. I guess I am the experienced one, I dunno...maybe?
Tonio Garcia-Romero: Drummer. Most sincere and dedicated of everyone. He is all heart. The most responsible one of us all.
John Rosser: Guitar. The quiet tough guy, who at the same time can say the most fucked up things ever. The most unpredictable of the four.

If you could collaborate with any musician/act living or dead from any time period, who would it be?
Dominic: It would be different for all of us....but....for me.....this is going to sound funny...and he just popped into my head...but Bob Marley.  He was a beautiful song writer and when he wrote a sad song....you felt it. If he wrote a hopefull song...you felt it. Even if you don't like Regge, you know who Bob Marley was. I think it would be an honor to have worked with him. Course he would smoke lots of pot and I wouldn't be down...but its the talent we are talking about here.

What s in your cd player right now?
Dominic: You honestly never know what is in the band's cd player. It shocks even me (last thing played in van on band trip: WHAM....see?!?!). My own personal player: Dean Martin.

What's your favorite local venue?
Dominic: The Phoenix Theater....its home.

Describe your dream equipment.
Dominic: If I get an AMPEG 8X10 cab then I will be there. I have a 2000 P-Bass that was given to me by one of my favorite bassists, Matt Freeman from Rancid, as a gift that is just amazing, and a AMPEG SVT head that was owned by my one of my other favorite bassists, Mike Dirnt from Green Day. I wouldn't mind picking up a Sanzamp Bass driver pedal...but I don't "need" it. I really like what I have now. Just need to dial the Ampeg in a bit more.

Do you any strange fans? If so, tell us about the weirdest one.
Dominic: No strange fans, just strange band members. Seriously we are really lucky. Our army is growing and they are wonderful people. We are really lucky that no weirdos have shown up. All of them are really sensitive and kind hearted people. Wonderful to hang out with.

How did you get started and where do you intend to take yourselves musically?
Dominic: We all came together after our last projects fell apart. It was tough times...but all of us had suffered through some disappointment or another and this band formed as a group of friends out of the pure love for music. We just wanted to have a good band. I think we hope to be....well.....legends. Honestly. In the great words of Indiana Jones, "Fortune and Glory kid....Fortune and Glory."

You'll get naked for us, right?
Dominic: Fuck yeah. This is a band that played a strip club recently. I don't think you would have to try hard to get us naked.