Nice sound. Fresh breeze. Reminds of everything, but doesn't copy anything. Let's read the interview....
Dimitris Antonopoulos: First of all I am really glad about the interview...Nice work guys! Fantastic songs/great sound! So, tell me your story as a band so far…
Terry Banks: We’re from Washington D.C. We started playing gigs in Summer 2010. Hunter (the bass player) and I had been in a band called Julie Ocean. We kind of knew Danny (the drummer) from around town. He knew Bill (the other guitar player) -- and the four of us decided to form a band… In Summer 2011, Canadian indie label The Beautiful Music (www.thebeautifulmusic.com) issued our debut album, spark>flame>ember>ash. Then, in Summer 2012, they put out our second album, Winter Garden Light. We’re hoping to have our third album out in Summer 2013.
D.A.: What is Rock & Roll really? Cheap hotels and gigs around the world? There must be (still) something behind the industry...Do you think so?
T.B.: Hmmm… I’m not sure we in Dot Dash really know… We’re pretty far removed from the machinations of the music business (such as it is.) We’re just happy to get our records out and play interesting gigs… I suppose that’s kind of ‘rock & roll’ in its own way…
D.A.: Tell me about 'Live To Tell', it’s a really nice song... very 'british' (if i may say so) even if you come from Washington! Reminds me a lot of so many great post-punk bands!
T.B.: Thanks a lot… Yeah, we love a lot of post-punk stuff and I think that comes across in our music. We do like lots of British stuff – but not because it’s from there – we just dig poeticism, energy and melody -- and that can come from anywhere.
D.A.: Your influences?
T.B.: It’s tempting to reel off a bunch of band names – e.g., various mod/post-punk/new wave combos -- but maybe a better answer is to say is we love a lot of music that came out between, say, 1977 and 1981 (or thereabouts). And some 60s stuff. And some mid-80s stuff. And some current stuff.
D.A.: Here’s my classic question! Let’s say that we're in a time machine (!) for the next 24 hours! So where and why would you wanna go (past or future) for a whole day?!
T.B.: Wow… that’s a tough one. Honestly, I think I’d like to go back and save a bunch of people from some bad thing that was about to happen (but there have been so many – where to start?) From a musical perspective, I would love to have seen The Byrds, at Ciro’s in Los Angeles, in Spring 1965… or maybe Postcard-era Orange Juice, perhaps with a young Aztec Camera in support, in Glasgow, circa 1980/81.
D.A.: Can we speak a little about your album 'Winter Garden Light'? How do you feel looking back? I am talking about the 'making of.’
T.B.: We’re really happy with how it turned out and the reactions it has received – tons of really nice reviews. We recorded it in three days at a studio in Baltimore and it all went pretty smoothly. We’ll be going back to the same place for the third album – it’s called Lord Baltimore Studios – and we’re looking forward to it.
D.A.: Can you tell me 5 of your fave albums ever?
T.B.: That’s another tough one, but I guess it would be:
The Undertones - Positive Touch
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
The Clash - London Calling
The Bongos - Drums Along The Hudson
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
D.A.: Iggy Pop or David Bowie?
T.B.: Hmmm... can I answer Lou Reed? I like mod-era David Bowie. Ever hear ‘The London Boys’ – this really gloomy, dark, arty thing he did circa ’66? – it’s excellent. He wrote another amazing song back then called ‘Can’t Help Thinking ‘bout Me’ – which kind of ‘out-Whos’ The Who…
D.A.: Is there a chance for an Athens gig...?
T.B.: Well, Athens Georgia, maybe... We play out as much as we can and have played some great shows with people like The Drums, Ash, Hugh Cornwell, and The Chameleons -- among many, many others – but the vast majority have been in and around Washington, where we come from, with the occasional trip out of town (to New York, or wherever.) So, getting to Greece seems a (very desirable) pipe dream… With that said, I’ve read about bands like Sad Lovers and Giants getting flown over to Athens to do a couple of club gigs, where the ‘gig fee’/door receipts from the gigs are basically traded for the air ticket expenses. So… all we need is an Athenian promoter who is either dementedly optimistic, or who has a tenuous grasp of mathematics, and we’ll be there in a heartbeat.
Dot Dash info: https://www.facebook.com/dotdashdc
Winter Garden Light and spark>flame>ember>ash CDs available from www.thebeautifulmusic.com
Both albums are downloadable via iTunes, Bandcamp, eMusic, and Amazon.
Dimitris Antonopoulos: First of all I am really glad about the interview...Nice work guys! Fantastic songs/great sound! So, tell me your story as a band so far…Terry Banks: We’re from Washington D.C. We started playing gigs in Summer 2010. Hunter (the bass player) and I had been in a band called Julie Ocean. We kind of knew Danny (the drummer) from around town. He knew Bill (the other guitar player) -- and the four of us decided to form a band… In Summer 2011, Canadian indie label The Beautiful Music (www.thebeautifulmusic.com) issued our debut album, spark>flame>ember>ash. Then, in Summer 2012, they put out our second album, Winter Garden Light. We’re hoping to have our third album out in Summer 2013.
D.A.: What is Rock & Roll really? Cheap hotels and gigs around the world? There must be (still) something behind the industry...Do you think so?
T.B.: Hmmm… I’m not sure we in Dot Dash really know… We’re pretty far removed from the machinations of the music business (such as it is.) We’re just happy to get our records out and play interesting gigs… I suppose that’s kind of ‘rock & roll’ in its own way…
D.A.: Tell me about 'Live To Tell', it’s a really nice song... very 'british' (if i may say so) even if you come from Washington! Reminds me a lot of so many great post-punk bands!
T.B.: Thanks a lot… Yeah, we love a lot of post-punk stuff and I think that comes across in our music. We do like lots of British stuff – but not because it’s from there – we just dig poeticism, energy and melody -- and that can come from anywhere.
D.A.: Your influences?
T.B.: It’s tempting to reel off a bunch of band names – e.g., various mod/post-punk/new wave combos -- but maybe a better answer is to say is we love a lot of music that came out between, say, 1977 and 1981 (or thereabouts). And some 60s stuff. And some mid-80s stuff. And some current stuff.
D.A.: Here’s my classic question! Let’s say that we're in a time machine (!) for the next 24 hours! So where and why would you wanna go (past or future) for a whole day?!
T.B.: Wow… that’s a tough one. Honestly, I think I’d like to go back and save a bunch of people from some bad thing that was about to happen (but there have been so many – where to start?) From a musical perspective, I would love to have seen The Byrds, at Ciro’s in Los Angeles, in Spring 1965… or maybe Postcard-era Orange Juice, perhaps with a young Aztec Camera in support, in Glasgow, circa 1980/81.
D.A.: Can we speak a little about your album 'Winter Garden Light'? How do you feel looking back? I am talking about the 'making of.’
T.B.: We’re really happy with how it turned out and the reactions it has received – tons of really nice reviews. We recorded it in three days at a studio in Baltimore and it all went pretty smoothly. We’ll be going back to the same place for the third album – it’s called Lord Baltimore Studios – and we’re looking forward to it.
D.A.: Can you tell me 5 of your fave albums ever?
T.B.: That’s another tough one, but I guess it would be:
The Undertones - Positive Touch
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
The Clash - London Calling
The Bongos - Drums Along The Hudson
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
D.A.: Iggy Pop or David Bowie?T.B.: Hmmm... can I answer Lou Reed? I like mod-era David Bowie. Ever hear ‘The London Boys’ – this really gloomy, dark, arty thing he did circa ’66? – it’s excellent. He wrote another amazing song back then called ‘Can’t Help Thinking ‘bout Me’ – which kind of ‘out-Whos’ The Who…
D.A.: Is there a chance for an Athens gig...?
T.B.: Well, Athens Georgia, maybe... We play out as much as we can and have played some great shows with people like The Drums, Ash, Hugh Cornwell, and The Chameleons -- among many, many others – but the vast majority have been in and around Washington, where we come from, with the occasional trip out of town (to New York, or wherever.) So, getting to Greece seems a (very desirable) pipe dream… With that said, I’ve read about bands like Sad Lovers and Giants getting flown over to Athens to do a couple of club gigs, where the ‘gig fee’/door receipts from the gigs are basically traded for the air ticket expenses. So… all we need is an Athenian promoter who is either dementedly optimistic, or who has a tenuous grasp of mathematics, and we’ll be there in a heartbeat.
Dot Dash info: https://www.facebook.com/dotdashdc
Winter Garden Light and spark>flame>ember>ash CDs available from www.thebeautifulmusic.com
Both albums are downloadable via iTunes, Bandcamp, eMusic, and Amazon.