Interview — Subculture Stereo

Skratch Magazine

Subculture Stereo is a garage punk band with an eclectic sound. “ It is pretty diverse, ranging from punk, rock n roll, to new wave and psychedelic,” says Ted (bass). Besides having a handle on diversity, Dillon (vocals/keyboard), Dave (guitar), Ted (bass) and Chris (drums) also have an interesting musical background that is mostly self taught. Here’s what else they had to say to Skratch Magazine.

Skratch: How did you become interested in music?
Dillon: I’ve been into music my whole life. When I was 7 I listened to New Kids On The Block. At age 10, me and one my friends use to go trash picking in our neighborhood. We found a box of cassette tapes that someone threw out. We found tapes by Dead Kennedys, Triumph, and Alice Cooper. From there on, I was always seeking out new bands, listening to the radio and discovering new stuff on college radio.
Ted: I’ve always loved the stuff.
Dave: I used to dance to Elvis when I was five.

Skratch: What is your song writing process like?

Dillon: Our song writing use to be very compulsive. We would just come up with something on the spot at practice and it would be set in stone. Lately, we’ve been actually structuring the songs and polishing up some of our older songs. At one point, we had an archive of 20 songs. We’ve abandoned a lot of those songs and now we’re just focusing on our best material.

Skratch: What artists or musicians inspire you?

Dillon: Black Sabbath, MC5, Stiff Little Fingers, Iron Butterfly, and The Minutemen.
Dave: Johnny Thunders, Black Flag, The Cramps.
Ted: Jim Morrison, Iggy Pop, and Joy Division
Chris: Jimmy Hendrix, Radiohead, Johnny Cash.

Skratch: Where do you take musical inspiration from? Your environment? People? Explain.

Dillon: Our musical inspiration comes from everything. When it comes to writing lyrics, I write about whatever is on my mind at the moment. It could be something I experienced, something someone I know experienced, something I saw, something I feel like bashing, or just everyday life.
Ted: Sexuality.
Dave: The bathroom and frustration.
Chris: Raw energy from my environment.

Skratch: What is your musical background?

Dillon: I played bass for a couple of hardcore/punk bands back in high school. I played in The Fornicators, The Ugly Sticks, and Charles & The Wild Bunch. I also sang for a punk band called The Tard Idols. Before Subculture Stereo, I had several failed attempts to start bands.
Ted: I played in Marshmellow as lead guitarist and lead vocalist. I recorded for the first time as the vocalist for Fergbreath in 2002. There’s a shitload more.
Dave: I quit guitar lessons, and taught myself.
Chris: Six years ago, guitar lessons.

Skratch: Tell us about how you got started as a band.

Dillon: Subculture Stereo was conceived in 2007. At the time, I was bored, restless, and out of touch. I worked 50 hours a week and on weekends I would go to a local karaoke bar and sing the most obscure rock n roll tunes I could find. I also went to some local shows and wanted to be a part of it. So I put out an ad for like-minded musicians, and that’s when me and Dave collaborated. We went through a lot of people before we formed our line-up of me on vocals and keyboard, Dave on rhythm guitar, Ken on lead guitar, and Scott on drums. The bands line up changed in the summer/fall of 2009. To me, this line-up is the real beginning.

Skratch: What is the most rewarding part of playing in a band?

Dillon: The most rewarding part of playing in a band is meeting new people and playing out. For me, it’s rewarding to be able to pull from all of our influences and make something that sounds good to us come to life.
Ted: The babes.
Dave: The bitches.
Chris: I like to play drums.

Skratch: What challenges have you faced as musicians?

Dillon: I’d say getting people interested in coming out to our shows. Its not easy when you’re a new band and not too many people in the scene really know any of us. In Western Mass, a lot of the shows we’ve played turned out to be bands playing to bands.

Skratch: What would you say is your best song to date? Why?

Dillon: So far, Celebrity has proved to be our best song. I personally enjoy listening to it and it never gets old. It’s a catchy and punchy song.
Dave: Our best song is Celebrity because its special & fun.
Ted: Epic Thunder because it will kick your dads ass.
Chris: I like Spiderviens because it is deep.

Skratch: Do you remember the first album you ever bought? What was it?

Dillon: Guns N Roses- Appetite For Destruction.
Dave: Space Jam.
Ted: Wu-Tang.
Chris: The Beetles- White Album.

Skratch: Where do you see your band in five years?

Dillon: You can expect a full U.S. tour.
Dave: Switzerland.
Ted: Japan.
Chris: In college.

Skratch: Would you say your goals as a band are long term, or short term? What do you ultimately hope to achieve? Explain.
Dillon: We’re working on a northeast/mid-Atlantic tour for Summer of 2010. We’re going into the studio to record 4 new songs. And we may push for a full East Coast tour for 2011.

Skratch: How has your band evolved since when you first formed?

Dillon: In the past 2 years, we’ve come a long way. Things started really coming together for us recently. We got rid our lead guitarist and our songs sounded better. We sound better live and there’s more energy in our performance.

Skratch: How often do you practice? What is your rehearsal time like?

Dillon: We practice on weekends. We wrote up a set list and we practice the same set. We also leave a little time to write new material and jam.

Skratch: What would you say is your band’s motto? Explain.

Dillon: Go get em’ tiger! It’s catchy.

Skratch: What shows/album releases/plans do you currently have set up? Tell us about them.

Dillon: We have a couple of local shows and one in the Boston area. We’re working on an E.P. with 4 new songs and a couple of live tracks to be released by summer 2010. Other than that, we’re working on our mini-tour for the summer.

Skratch: Where have your performed? Tell us about the experience.

Dillon: We’ve performed at some venues in Western Mass and Connecticut. We really like places with a good sound guy. So far Maximum Capacity, The Elevens, and The Webster Underground have been the best venues we’ve played. Our best show was at the Webster Underground back in May 2009. We put on a great show, the people there were really into our set. It was great to see people I’ve never seen before tearing it up during our set. The sound guy there did a great job on our sound.

Skratch: What sets your stage show a part from all the other bands making the rounds at venues?

Dillon: We have a very aggressive and in your face stage presence. But at the same time, our stage presence is entertaining and comical.
For more on Stereo Subculture go to www.myspace.com/subculturestereo.

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