Interview with The Zombie Dandies
April 26, 2014
Let me just state that I'm not the world's biggest glam/hair metal fan. I was exposed to it in the eighties like everyone else in the western hemisphere, and I was scarred by it. I'll always regret, until my dying day, getting that Slaughter tattoo when I was eleven. At least I had the good sense to have a basement scratcher turn it into a Slaughter and the Dogs tattoo when I was fourteen!
Taking that into account, I was a little hesitant to take on this project. I really don't know the first thing when it comes to this kind of music. Do people still listen to bands like Mötley Crüe and Poison? Is that even a thing? I get the nostalgic aspect of it and the odd Eighties-Night festivities. It's camp. I get it. But when I picture people driving around town blasting "Same Old Situation" or "Nothin But a Good Time", I see Joe Dirt ~ without fail.
So, with a bit of trepidation, I put on the Zombie Daisies' EP... and you know what? I enjoyed it. I really did.
The first thing that came to mind was that goofy metalhead kid from the movie 'The Gate.' All of the sudden I was staring at the younger version of me from twenty years ago. Their music sounded like a combination of Judas Priest, Megadeth, The Cult and S.O.D. all rolled into one ~ the perfect sound to accompany classic horror flicks like Return Of The Living Dead; a mixture of kitsch and just enough devilry to keep it fun. So in the interest of not being a one-dimensional undead one trick pony, I asked the Zombie Dandies to share with us a little about their unique sound.
Taking that into account, I was a little hesitant to take on this project. I really don't know the first thing when it comes to this kind of music. Do people still listen to bands like Mötley Crüe and Poison? Is that even a thing? I get the nostalgic aspect of it and the odd Eighties-Night festivities. It's camp. I get it. But when I picture people driving around town blasting "Same Old Situation" or "Nothin But a Good Time", I see Joe Dirt ~ without fail.
So, with a bit of trepidation, I put on the Zombie Daisies' EP... and you know what? I enjoyed it. I really did.
The first thing that came to mind was that goofy metalhead kid from the movie 'The Gate.' All of the sudden I was staring at the younger version of me from twenty years ago. Their music sounded like a combination of Judas Priest, Megadeth, The Cult and S.O.D. all rolled into one ~ the perfect sound to accompany classic horror flicks like Return Of The Living Dead; a mixture of kitsch and just enough devilry to keep it fun. So in the interest of not being a one-dimensional undead one trick pony, I asked the Zombie Dandies to share with us a little about their unique sound.
Tell us a little about yourselves. How did the Zombie Dandies get started?
We started the band about two years ago. K1000, the guitarist, and I met in high school when we were beginning to listen to bands like KISS or AC/DC. It took us a few years to pick up an instrument but then we started playing covers until we were able to compose a fistful of songs of our own. We were so sorry that there weren’t any “theatrical” bands in our area that we decided to create our own!
That's a lot of sound to come out of two guys. Tell us a little about how you came up with your style.
There are a lot of duos in modern rock music, so we decided that it would be ok to play without a bassist. It really makes us sound very raw when we play live, and I love that energy. I play bass on the recordings, so it gives you an idea of how the songs would sound if we were more than two on stage. I think it’s funny when live songs sound totally different than the recorded ones, without all the arrangements and stuff. The Ramones used to do that very well, just have a listen to their live version of Pet Sematary. As for the visual part I think that the idea of a duo of deranged guys is very interesting in horror movies, as you can see on Mike Mendez’s 1996 film Real Killers. There is a constant struggle to decide on which one is the craziest of the two!
You've got a four song EP recorded ~ any plans on releasing a full length album?
Sure! I am currently working on the mix of our full length debut album, which will be entitled Lo-fi heroes . There will be 13 songs, and the sound will be kinda different from what you can hear in Zombie Dandies EP , less muddy and more melodic. I tried to make everything sound more pleasant, and I think my songwriting has improved a lot in this record. We will also introduce new characters with new outfits and more impacting make-up designs. I am really looking forward to sharing this album with all of you, as it will be available for free download on our bandcamp page before the end of the year.
Do you play a lot of live music shows, and what kind of audiences do you play to regularly?
We just have done a few live shows so far, always in small, local venues. Right now, we are focusing on the new album’s release, since we do everything. We are our own sound engineers, so it takes us a lot of time, as we want to release the best sounding album we can produce within our means. We really want it to be the Random Access Memories of fully homemade records! As for the audience, most of them are friends, but sometimes we are happy to meet some horror music fans that came spontaneously to see us. We are very happy when this happens, since these people are not very common in our country !
We started the band about two years ago. K1000, the guitarist, and I met in high school when we were beginning to listen to bands like KISS or AC/DC. It took us a few years to pick up an instrument but then we started playing covers until we were able to compose a fistful of songs of our own. We were so sorry that there weren’t any “theatrical” bands in our area that we decided to create our own!
That's a lot of sound to come out of two guys. Tell us a little about how you came up with your style.
There are a lot of duos in modern rock music, so we decided that it would be ok to play without a bassist. It really makes us sound very raw when we play live, and I love that energy. I play bass on the recordings, so it gives you an idea of how the songs would sound if we were more than two on stage. I think it’s funny when live songs sound totally different than the recorded ones, without all the arrangements and stuff. The Ramones used to do that very well, just have a listen to their live version of Pet Sematary. As for the visual part I think that the idea of a duo of deranged guys is very interesting in horror movies, as you can see on Mike Mendez’s 1996 film Real Killers. There is a constant struggle to decide on which one is the craziest of the two!
You've got a four song EP recorded ~ any plans on releasing a full length album?
Sure! I am currently working on the mix of our full length debut album, which will be entitled Lo-fi heroes . There will be 13 songs, and the sound will be kinda different from what you can hear in Zombie Dandies EP , less muddy and more melodic. I tried to make everything sound more pleasant, and I think my songwriting has improved a lot in this record. We will also introduce new characters with new outfits and more impacting make-up designs. I am really looking forward to sharing this album with all of you, as it will be available for free download on our bandcamp page before the end of the year.
Do you play a lot of live music shows, and what kind of audiences do you play to regularly?
We just have done a few live shows so far, always in small, local venues. Right now, we are focusing on the new album’s release, since we do everything. We are our own sound engineers, so it takes us a lot of time, as we want to release the best sounding album we can produce within our means. We really want it to be the Random Access Memories of fully homemade records! As for the audience, most of them are friends, but sometimes we are happy to meet some horror music fans that came spontaneously to see us. We are very happy when this happens, since these people are not very common in our country !
To me, the music you make sounds like it comes straight out of an American horror movie from the nineteen-eighties. Do you think that's a fair assessment?
I didn’t think about our music as some kind of soundtrack, but I take this assessment as a compliment, as we both are big fans of that kind of movies: we absolutely love the Evil Dead series, A Nightmare on Elm Street and everything Carpenter. We also like the Sci-Fi movies of that time too, and it is some kind of ritual for us to play Judge Dredd’s bombastic theme song before starting a show.
Could you name some of the bands that have influenced you?
We have lots of influences. Zombie Dandies EP sounded like a mix between early Mötley Crüe, AC/DC and The Misfits. Lo-fi heroes will be even more eclectic, as you will find songs influenced by KISS , Vain , The Cramps, Jack White and even J-Rock! A couple of tracks are also very influenced by the works of Akira Yamaoka, who composed the soundtrack for the Silent Hill video game franchise.
What bands do you dream about seeing yourselves on stage with?
It would be insane to play with bands like The Misfits or Wednesday 13, but we still have plenty of work to do before even dreaming about playing with legends like them…
Any plans on taking your show on the road?
We still are a 100% D.I.Y. band, with absolutely no budget, so it is pretty hard for us to tour at this point. To give you an idea, one could say we are the “Plan 9 from outer Space” of Rock ’n’ Roll! I’d really like to play in an English speaking country one day, but who knows, if people really dig our debut album, we may be able to make it!
If the opportunity arose to sell your souls to the Dark Lord, what would be your going price?
More brains, and an endless stock of mascara.
Unfortunately, he hasn't emptied his voicemail inbox in an eternity, so it's next to impossible to reach him. But thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for us and we'll be looking for you on the road sometime soon!
I didn’t think about our music as some kind of soundtrack, but I take this assessment as a compliment, as we both are big fans of that kind of movies: we absolutely love the Evil Dead series, A Nightmare on Elm Street and everything Carpenter. We also like the Sci-Fi movies of that time too, and it is some kind of ritual for us to play Judge Dredd’s bombastic theme song before starting a show.
Could you name some of the bands that have influenced you?
We have lots of influences. Zombie Dandies EP sounded like a mix between early Mötley Crüe, AC/DC and The Misfits. Lo-fi heroes will be even more eclectic, as you will find songs influenced by KISS , Vain , The Cramps, Jack White and even J-Rock! A couple of tracks are also very influenced by the works of Akira Yamaoka, who composed the soundtrack for the Silent Hill video game franchise.
What bands do you dream about seeing yourselves on stage with?
It would be insane to play with bands like The Misfits or Wednesday 13, but we still have plenty of work to do before even dreaming about playing with legends like them…
Any plans on taking your show on the road?
We still are a 100% D.I.Y. band, with absolutely no budget, so it is pretty hard for us to tour at this point. To give you an idea, one could say we are the “Plan 9 from outer Space” of Rock ’n’ Roll! I’d really like to play in an English speaking country one day, but who knows, if people really dig our debut album, we may be able to make it!
If the opportunity arose to sell your souls to the Dark Lord, what would be your going price?
More brains, and an endless stock of mascara.
Unfortunately, he hasn't emptied his voicemail inbox in an eternity, so it's next to impossible to reach him. But thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for us and we'll be looking for you on the road sometime soon!