DANTE'S OFFICIAL TUMBLR

MUSIC NOW MAGAZINE Interview

What is your thought process when working on new music?

It depends on each song. Every song is constructed differently, sometimes its very intuitive about what feels well and what not, other times it takes much more thought and theory. A lot of the times its very intuitive. 

What inspires your music?

Its different for each member. We all collaborate however, the main angle is obviously personal experiences, literature,movies,  comic books, different types of artworks.

Describe yourself as a group….

We like to consider ourselves as a band that mixes the magical almost metaphoric aspects of bands like The Doors, Led Zeppelin, HIM, David Bowie and Black Sabbath…and the rough straight forward honesty of Guns n Roses, The Ramones, Motorhead and The Strokes.

What sets your music apart from others in your genre?

In this band we have 5 different personalities. As a consequence our musical influences are quite diverse even if we do like each others influences.  But having such a wide spectrum of influences allows us for a much wider variety of musical endeavors within the frame of what could be called “Rock n Roll”. 

How would you classify your music?

Just straight forward rock n roll with classic and contemporary influences. Very punky, sometimes a little dark and bluesy. Just pretty straight ahead 4/4 rhythms with a few interesting time changes.

When you’re working on a new song….Do you already have a concept in mind or do you rather write on top of the music? 

Its always different, sometimes a song will start with a song’s title or the first half of the lyrics. The some other times there’s no lyrics at all and someone comes with a complete idea or blueprint for a song. Sometimes we just Jam on it. Sometimes songs take longer than others, sometimes they’re done in minutes. 

What are some your musical influences?

As we said earlier we like to mix a little bit of classic stuff with contemporary. Some of that stuff include: Guns n Roses, Queen, Metallica, The Strokes, Rolling Stones, Rammstein, Ted Nugent, HIM, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Mars Volta, Gypsy Kings, Nirvana, The Ramones. Its a little bit hard to say since its such a wide spectrum. 

What obstacles have you faced in the industry?

Our story has been actually quite curious because most of our “good karma” has been from outside. Within our own country, although its a growing scene is always hard for a rock band to break since its not within the mainstream frame. Ironically, most of the good chances we’ve had come either from US or Europe.  On the other hand the record industry is radically changing. 

Do you feel that people understand the business aspect of the music industry?

A lot of artists don’t and that sometimes is seen as a terrible flaw.  However, artists are artists and not business men. Unfortunately with the changes going on right now in the record industry its hard to tell whether anyone really understands where everything is going business wise. Coming from a small country and with so much competition we’ve tried to know every aspect of this career as it opens up the chances especially right now.

What changes do you feel need to be made in the music industry?

We think at the moment the record industry is focusing on Artists that will make them money,  easy digestible music instead of focusing on real talent and new ideas. When you look at other areas in artistic mediums like Photography you only have to be as good as you can as creative as you can. Whereas in the music industry that has changed and has become about other things. A lot of the demands in the industry are about number 1s in the top charts even if its the same formula and just a repetition of the same thing and not creativity. 

What hard lessons have you learned while working in the industry?

That sometimes its of big importance who you know within the industry. Its become very political and sometimes its not about how much talent you have but who you talk to and who really believes in you. 

What direction do you see the music industry going?

Its changing drastically. Internet is getting a lot of recognition these days. Its become an important tool for any artist especially independent ones. Youtube is a powerful weapon if you know how to use it. I-tunes and Spotify and  the rest of the networks although we think they’re a transitory technology, they’re heading towards where the industry is going to end up at most likely. That and the live shows, special fan made stuff like dvds, and cds, artwork extras are gonna get much more importance as well as the human aspect, the live show has always been very important. And this has become increasingly more important with time. 

What steps have you taken to market your music?

Lots of internet promotion and social networking. As we said before Youtube has been a good ally. Getting better and better at playing live and trying to make something very strong visually as musically. 

If you can work with any producer who would it be? 

We’ve always had this crazy idea of getting Bob Rock and Butch Vig together for a project. It might be a clash of sorts but we’d like to try it out someday. As for the rest, we’ve already accomplished the dream of working with the amazing Sylvia Massy (our producer) of whom we are eternally grateful and fond of. 

What songs are you currently promotion?

At the moment there’s two singles off our album. One is called HellHounds and the second one is Liquid Cocaine. Both produced by Sylvia Massy. Engineered by Jake Lansky.  The songs come as part of the album The Rorschach Manifesto and one is inspired in Dante Alighieri and Robert Johnson,  the second one is really tongue in cheek, very metaphorical and the video was inspired in surrealist artist Rene Magritte. 

What are your project plans for 2012? 

Promotion for The Rorschach manifesto abroad, the video of our top song off the album called Swamp Thing, tour and hopefully the recording of our new album. Be sure to go to our official website at www.danterockband.com for more information on us. 

• The Rorschach Manifesto music now magazine DANTE HellHounds Music industry