Dead
By Wednesday
Dead By Wednesday is a
new driving force, a powerful sixtet with radical ideas and a well set
opinion on todays society and worldwide internal and external policies.
Listen to their music and at the same time read their lyrics carefully.
They are really thought provoking, intriguing and mind opening. So, read
and think!
1.HELLO! FIRST OF ALL YOU HAVE RELEASED A
GREAT ALBUM! NOW, SINCE YOU ARE A NEW BAND, I WOULD LIKE YOU TO GIVE US
A SHORT BAND BIO AND TO ALSO PRESENT THE CURRENT LINE-UP?
2.YOUR MUSIC COMBINES ELEMENTS OF RAP, CLASSIC
HEAVY AND NU-METAL. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT IT CAN WORK AS A CONNECTION AMONG
THE FANS OF ALL THESE KINDS OF MUSIC?
Mike: Yes, so far the crowd reaction at shows
has been really positive. Out of everyone we've played in front of
there have been fans of each of those genres of music.
Pat: We're all very open-minded in regards
to the styles of music that we enjoy individually. It's only natural that
these varied styles will merge when we write together. Fans that
are into the seperate elements, such as thrash, hip-hop, or hardcore, will
hopefully find something to enjoy in the synergy of these diverse styles.
3.YOUR ALBUM HAS THE TITLE "DEMOCRACY IS DEAD".
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SUGGEST WITH THIS TITLE? WHAT KIND OF THINGS HAVE YOU
SEEN THAT MADE YOU REACH TO THAT CONCLUSION?
Ceschi: Although the title "Democracy is Dead"
started as more of an inside commentary by my cousin Opus in reference
to his previous band "Gargantua Soul"...to me...we are directly criticizing
the backwards voting process in the United States as well as a long history
of imperialism that continues today...when Opus first wrote the chorus
"Democracy is Dead" we were in the midst of yet another meaningless election
overrun by corporate dollars and conservative/middle-of-the-road politics...after
studying US History in depth I have come to the conclusion that the United
States has NEVER had an official democracy...this country has been maintained
by a ruling class oligarchy of sorts that has continued to possess a majority
of power in all elections through capital...in fact...to be honest...in
my opinion Democracy never died because it was never allowed to live.
4.IS THE PHOTO ON YOUR COVER A REAL ONE? DOES
THE DEAD BODY BELONG TO SOMEONE YOU KNEW? HOW IS THIS PICTURE CONNECTED
WITH YOUR MUSIC AND LYRICS IN GENERAL?
Pat: As far as I know, it's real. You'd
be surprised what you can find in a good image search these days.
5.I GOT THE PROMO CD FROM YOUR LABEL AND IT SAYS
SOMEWHERE ON THE TOP THAT "DEMOCRACY IS DEAD" IS AN EXCLUSIVE U.K./EUROPEAN
VERSION. SO WHAT MORE DO YOU OFFER IN COMPARISON TO THE U.S. VERSION?
Ross: The songs on the UK version are just
ordered differently...and the insert layout is slightly different..
6.HOW DID YOU SIGN A DEAL WITH MALCOLM'S LABEL?
WHY DID YOU PREFER TO SIGN TO A NEW LABEL AND NOT TO ONE WITH MORE EXPERIENCE?
OPUS: The deal is simple, Malcolm is a hard
working musician so he knows how to treat other musicians. It happened
by his x-girlfriend Zac seeing the band perform at the famous CBGB in NYC
and she loves it, told Malcolm about us and gave him a copy of our sampler
CD. I guess he loved it too!
7.LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LYRICS. WHAT
EXACTLY DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE WITH THEM? DO YOU WANT TO DESCRIBE THE MODERN
REALITY AND TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK OR IS IT SOMETHING ELSE?
Ceschi: Our lyrics are obviously politically
driven...they are occasionally exaggerated and extreme...I feel that these
extremities are clear cut and obvious to listeners...we are not trying
to write complicated manifestos or push a single philosophy here...instead
we are attempting to lead people towards more radical leftist politics
through simple, clear cut, furious words that can be emotionally driving
and acceptable to a crowd of young people...
8.WHAT I UNDERSTOOD FROM SOME OF YOUR LYRICS,
YOU CRITICIZE IN A TOUGH WAY THE U.S. POLITICS OF THESE LAST YEARS. AREN'T
YOU AFRAID THAT THIS MIGHT CAUSE YOU TROUBLE AND PUT YOU IN THE TARGET
OF FASCISTIC/CONSERVATORY ORGANISATIONS?
Ceschi: We are living in a country that is
becoming more and more conservative...coming closer and closer to resembling
a neo-fascist police state...because of this we realize that there may
be consequences to our brand of lyrics...but as long as we're still given
the chance to speak our minds and help present the basic opinions of millions
of people in this world we will voice them...music is the ultimate communicator...and
worldwide unity is our main concern.
Pat: I don't think we're very concerned about
a backlash. People are entitled to their own opinions. It's
when people believe that their opinions are the only valid and correct
ones and then proceed to force them on others that trouble begins.
9.LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HURRICANE
TRAGEDY IN NEW ORLEANS. DID THIS SITUATION MAKE YOU THINK THAT THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT DOESN'T OFFER YOU THE PROTECTION AND SAFETY THEY PROMISE YOU?
HOW DOES THE AVERAGE U.S.A. CITIZEN REACT IN SUCH SITUATIONS?
Pat: Well, I personally never believed that
our government could protect us from the wrath of Mother Nature. Unfortunately,
the so-called "War on Terrorism" has been an all-consuming agenda in regards
to our federal budget and policies. These natural disasters have revealed
weaknesses in the current administration's domestic policies. Toadying
to the religious right and the rampant cronyism in political appointments
has reduced our government to a bureaucratic clusterfuck.
10.YOU HAVE ALSO GOT A HIDDEN TRACK ON YOUR CD.
CAN YOU TELL ME ITS TITLE AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO ADD IT AS A HIDDEN
TRACK?
OPUS: The title is called "Rise" it was inspirided
by a friend / street teamer named Dan. He asked a bunch of his musician
friends to write music to some of his poetry that he writes, so this is
what we came up with. Although the lyrics & arrangemnet are slightly
different, the basis of the song still derived from one of his poems.
11.YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE A VIDEO CLIP FOR "DEMOCRACY
IS DEAD". WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS SPECIFIC SONG TO VISUALIZE AND WHO IS
THE DIRECTOR? WILL YOU SHOOT ANY OTHER VIDEO-CLIP FOR THIS ALBUM?
OPUS: We felt that this song represented the
band the best at that time and the vocals were slow enough to have the
mass audience understand. The director was Adam Kirko from Wire House TV
with the help of myself and the band fro the vision.
12.SINCE THE VIDEO-CLIP IS POLITICAL, HAVE YOU
HAD ANY PROBLEMS FROM THE TV CHANNELS IN THE U.S. TO GIVE IT AIRPLAY?
Opus: Not really but it has not been played
much yet..haha. MTV2 may not play it even though the head of our label
is the Headbanger's Ball VJ but other places might like Music Choice, etc.
13.THE ALBUM IS DEDICATED TO "DIMEBAG" ABBOTT.
WHY? HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU LEARNED THE TRAGIC NEWS OF HIS DEATH?
Pat: Dime has always been a huge influence
in my playing. I can remember the chills I had the first time I heard
"Cowboys From Hell". I first heard about his death in the morning
paper. I was absolutely devastated. I actually cried. Though
I'd seen Pantera plenty of times, I hadn't gotten to see Damageplan yet.
Dime will be very missed but his music will live on forever.
Ross: on 12/9/04 I was woken up by my best
friend that Dime had been shot and killed. I didn't believe it at first,
why would anyone do that?..I thought he had his shit mixed up ya know?
but I watched it on the news and I was a wreck. I actually called out of
work that morning because of that. Dime was literally one of my Idols.
this was my generations John Lennon. He changed the world of metal and
will always be remembered. He's one of the musicians that changed my entire
view on music, and helped make me play the way i do today.
OPUS: Ditto on what The Mighty Ross said above!!!
Nick "William_Kidd"
Parastatidis
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