Interviews: Death On Wednesday

Read the interview with Nate and Jorma, members of the Vagrant/SideCho band DEATH ON WEDNESDAY now!! This is a fun one. Find out more about Death On Wednesday here.

K: Kip
D: Jorma and Nate, then just Jorma

K: alright, lets do this shiznit
D: right arm
D: i type slow so be patient
K: Im talking with Jorma from the band Death On Wednesday. Jorma, could you tell us how the band got together and when?
D: and nate
K: oh nate is here too awesome
K: you didnt tell me that!
K: haha
K: ok
K: go on with the band background, sorry
D: we got together about three years ago. nate and kevin were looking for a drummer…enter jorma….hahaha. we did a few shows as a three piece and decided to get another guitar player to fill out our sound live….enter scott…so we started playing around southern califonia under the name the axidentals……….
D: we recorded a couple e.p.s and once again had to change our name…..
K: Did the band sound similar back in the Axidentals days?
D: so for about a year were playing under the name the redliners, and once again had to change it. around this time we lost oour first guitar player, so we recorded our new record "buying the lie" as a three piece with trever keith helping out with some of the guitars…..
D: …enter jeff.
D: yeah…we even used a song from those days on "buying the lie"
K: Cool, and that brings us to now, doesnt it?
D: yep
K: So what was it like living in an area that is such a hot bed for punk rock? Does it seem like a challenge to keep up in an area like that? I mean I know you don't know any different, but bands often move to California and just get swallowed alive. Is it difficult?
D: yeah…its really easy to get overlooked cause theres so many bands out here. we have to do a lot of promotion and really get our name out there, in peoples faces
K: Now, for those out there who don't know, what does Death On Wednesday sound like? I know that is sometimes a hard question for a band to answer, but give it a shot.
D: heartfelt mid tempo punk rock and roll
K: Where does DOW draw influence from? Musical or otherwise.
D: we all come from different musical backgrounds, but have a common love for early rock and roll. nate draws a lot of influence lyricly from life expiriences, which people tend to relate to
K: Now I know you have been playing a few shows with Social Distortion out in Cali. Did these gigs have any special importance to you?
D: they have been a major influence to us, and we were honored that they envited us to play with them. they were really cool to us, taking time out to shoot the shit and helping us with our sound. all the shows went really well and we feel lucky to have gotten the chance to play with one of our favorite bands
K: Now that you have a strong label backing you and the band is playing bigger gigs, does life seem any different? How far do you want this to go?
D: were really stoked to have the opportunity to be doing the thing we love the most. we're still doing a lot of self promotion and its nice to see that its paying off. we take our band very seriously and are willing to give it our all to make it work. "its along way to the top if you want to rock and roll" -acdc
K: So will we ever get to see DOW over here on the east coast?
D: hopefully this summer. we're working on getting on a few tours, so we'll see what happens
xkstranglerx: what kind of activities keep you busy besides the band?
D: nate and kevin both surf. but music is pretty much all consuming for us at this point
K: at what point did you decide that this band was going to be so consuming?
D: we didnt decide…it just started to become a full time gig, which is cool with us
D: like we said before, you gotta stay on top of it to get noticed
K: thats true
K: have you ever considered putting subliminal messages in to your music?
D: no.
K: hhaha ok
K: If you could ever go on a mega tour with 3 other bands, who would it be?
D: social distortion
foo fighters
face to face
K: Now if you could go on tour with 3 other rap groups, who would they be?
D: snoop dogg
jurrasic 5
wu tang
*At this point we skip a few days into the future. Nate is not present for this part of the interview, its just Jorma from here on out…

K: ok we are back with Death On Wednesday, now we are just speaking to Jorma. Jorma, how has being in the band effected your life, and what would you be doing without DOW?

D: i cant explain how cool it is to be doing the thing that you love to do full time. ive dedicated my life to music so if i didnt have this band id probably be out struggling with another one…hahaha

K: Have you put together a fan base in Ca?
K: Like, kids that always show up no matter what
D: yeah…we have built a pretty solid fan base which is very cool. we like to keep close to all of our fans, so its kinda like theyre our friends
K: What are some of the negative things you see going on in the scene today?
D: theres a lot of things that are pretty lame about this "business", but im not gonna complain…its just good to see bands that still work hard and are true to themselves
K: did you pay any attention to the presidential election this year?
D: none what-so-ever
K: Do you think politics are just a pain in the ass?
D: yeah….i turn a blind eye
K: DOW plays a lot of punk shows, but you also have played some indie rock concerts, too. Compare and contrast….
D: theres somethin wrong with emo kids. they just stare at you. gotta love em though. we put a lot of energy into our live show so its cool when we get feed back from the audience. but we've been pretty well recieved by most crowds
K: whats the weirdest or funniest thing that has happened while you were playing?
D: we played this strip club once…for what reason, i dont know…maybe it was all in the name of rock and roll….anywho, yeah, you can kind of imagine what went down. we were sharing the stage with like four strippers…not one of our proudest moments, but hey….what can ya do, right?
K: did the strippers dance to your music?
D: yeah
K: holy crow, that is like motley crue
D: hahaha….yeah…we try
D: just kidding
K: Whats your favorite Danzig song?
D: shit….i forget the name…the slow one on 2
D: help me out kip….
K: Devils Plaything?
D: no
K: Tired Of Being Alive?
D: its a ballad
D: no
K: wait i know it
K: argghhh
D: blood and tears
K: yeah!
K: that song kicks ass
K: Ever hear Sistanis?
D: that was killing me
K: you probably have
D: i dont think so
D: maybe though
K: me too Blood And Tears is towards the end
K: its on Thrall Demonsweat
D: ahhhh….yes
K: love that one
K: im not editing this shit out
D: i saw danzig and samhain last year….
K: yeah that was a hell of a tour
D: i think it was new years day…unreal
D: at the palladium in unhollywood…..nice group of kids
K: The man can still kick ass
K: Can you see yourself on stage in your 40s?
D: i cant see myself alive in my forties…i fear that
K: why the hell is that?
D: i dont like to think that far ahead
D: but yeah….i plan on playing music for the rest of my life
K: What is the song writting process for DOW and who writes the lyrics?
D: nate usually comes up with the melody and a chord progression and brings it to us. its cool though cause we all have a lot of input into each song…we do a lot of the writing together. nate writes his own lyrics though
K: ok, whats the funniest thing that has happened while traveling to a show
D: we fuck with eachother a lot. its pretty funny. we all lived together for a couple years so were like family. we like to pick on jeff cause hes the "new" guy…he likes it
K: do you get to boss him around
D: i wish….hes bigger than me though
K: Ok, do you have any shout outs, messages, or final words so we can wrap this up?
D: we'd like to thank you guys for the nice review on your site and this interview….keep it up

long live rock and roll
K: wait, where is the best place to get punk news on the internet or anywhere else? and you better remember the address, bucko!
D: punknews.org!!!!!!!!!!
K: cheaper then a bus station skank
K: alright that was cool
D: hahaha