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| Fuck! Is that Mini Yoshi who plays for bass@!? |
01. Hi Dustin! How are you doing??
Cheers Rizkan! Thanks for the interview. I’m doing well. I’m on summer vacation and relaxing after a tough year. Lately I’ve been doing lots of interviews for my new blog (grimdeeds.blogspot.com) and recording new songs as much as possible.
02. Beside washing dishes and take care of kids, whats another great plan for Lord Deeds??
Parenting and chores definitely make up the majority of my daily schedule, but I always have music in mind and am thinking of the next goal. Recently I got a Beatles chord book from the public library and have been trying to learn how to use the 7 chords and different progressions. Otherwise my plan is to continue doing interviews for the blog and releasing singles until I have enough songs for the next Grim Deeds album.
03. What motivates you for doing a Japan tour while ago??
My wife is originally from Hong Kong so we took a trip to visit her family there, but on the way stopped in Japan for a vacation trip. I knew Keita Seino so I asked him early if we could possibly do a show. Hisashi (Pop Punk Sensei) and Yoshi from Nerdy Jugheads were very supportive and I ended up playing the best show of my life in Tokyo with The Hum Hums, PornoSurf, The Penfriendclub, Nerdy Jugheads, and the legendary Pelotan!
04. Hey... You know what, Saturday Night Karaoke is not on my label anymore. Go give me some motivation words?? Are they good enough to be a friend these days??
Prabu is a great guy and SNK has always been an excellent band. I call Prabu the Mikey Erg of the East! I think he’ll always pay homage to the mighty Rizkan Records - your label reminds me of Mutant Pop because it’s all DIY and passion. Never give up! Let SNK fly free and see if they will return someday. In the mean time it seems that Indonesia has a great scene with many talented bands - better than most US bands in my opinion!
05. You have buuuunnnnccchhhh of songs being put out, as single and album. So could you pass me how to make songs that much?? Is it just coming off from your head??
Songwriting has been my obsession for the past decade, and I am always learning new tricks. For pop punk, I have developed a reliable approach and formula that seems to work very well. I usually begin with a concept or song title and then go from there - the melodies usually come to me randomly and I record myself humming into my phone so I don’t forget it. Then I figure out which chords can go with the melody and develop the structure from there.
I write so many songs because I’m frequently inspired both by good and bad feelings in my life. Since I record at home and it’s easy to put out songs, I just keep going and going and going! Right now I have over 200 Grim Deeds songs, but this also counts collaborations with other songwriters and artists. But still I think I’ve written hundreds of songs since I started.
06. So technically, how you record the whole songs this far??
My recording methods have evolved since I started, but now I primarily use Garageband for everything. I use a USB guitar cable from the video game Rocksmith and also a USB mic that I inherited from David Jones. I usually record with David’s guitar that his family gave me - a royal blue Gibson SG. I have a Squier bass that’s reliable and an acoustic guitar. That’s all the gear I need and my system is very simple but effective. Sometimes I have released a song every week - but now my schedule is busier so I do what I can.
07. Anytime sooner or later that you will do a recording in any 'pro' way??
There’s only been 2 Grim Deeds albums that sound “professional” but these were also recorded in home studios. The first Grim Deeds album sounds great because my friend Carter helped me mix, edit, and master the whole thing. The album called “Only the Beast” sounds the most professional because my friend Cederick (a metal master) recorded everything at his home studio. Otherwise the albums are recorded in my bedroom or car, so the sound isn’t great but hopefully the songs are good enough to inspire people. I’d love to hear people cover the songs with better recording quality!
But, I will probably continue recording my way because it’s the cheapest and easiest solution for someone like me who wants to record constantly. Also people seem to have accepted it even though it obviously sucks compared to the real studio quality that most bands get. Unfortunately I’m too lazy and too poor to go for it so I’ll just keep writing songs and shitting them out onto bandcamp!
08. So whats the idea of Grim Deeds itself?? Are you trying to get a fresh gimmick for the pop punx scene
The corpse paint idea was just a random thing we did for the first full band show where Kody and Alex from the Lillingtons played with me and my friend Diggum on drums. It was in October - the month of Halloween - and we were in a store that sold costumes so I just said, “Hey let’s dress up for the show” and thus the character of Grim Deeds was born. I’ve always liked the corpse paint look anyway since I love metal, and I just decided to keep it since it’s a familiar thing that people can associate with me. It also keeps my identity a mystery which is better for me since I’m a school teacher. I’d rather be unknown to the people at work and in my family!
09. What do you think about metal music with so overly filled up with breakdowns and down tuning guitar riffs?? I think they're fucking pussy...
Well that stuff has been going on for probably the last 25 years, but I recall when “metal-core” became hugely marketable and popular. As a style it can be very formulaic and boring but there are bands who do it very well. I think the best examples of that style are bands like Prayer for Cleansing and older bands like Earth Crisis. But now I have no interest in that scene even though one of the first bands I played in was a metal core band! I played bass but didn’t write any of the songs. We put out on EP which you can find if you’re interested - look up “Oubliette - Cries of the Peaceful”. We were all vegan and straight-edge at that time. I’m not anymore but I still support those philosophies - better to respect animals and our bodies I think.
10. Do you think its miraculous to find a small pop punk scene here in Indonesia?? Like its thousand miles away from the place where you are right now...
I was really amazed and impressed when I discovered the scene in Indonesia. I think the first band I heard was The Sneakers and later SNK. Then I listened to other bands and found that all of them were seriously talented! There was also passion and love that I hadn’t heard for a long time. I want to bring “Trop Punk” to the USA and get people to realize how great the scene is there. I would also love to play in Indonesia some day. Like I said most of the bands I’ve heard are better than the current US pop punk bands!
11. In any gig that Grim Deeds were invited live, is it hard to find some guys for playing instruments on your music??
I always manage to find friends to do it. If it’s something in California I now have friends from Sacramento who play in The Moans and other local bands who fill in. Matt from OUTLOUD! Records is on guitar and the rest of the guys are veterans in the Sacramento punk scene. If I come to Indonesia I’ll probably ask Prabu and friends to join me on stage! I’m hoping to return to Japan in 2019, so we’ll see if Keita and his friends will be my backing band again.
12. Go pick Grim Deeds the 3 most favourite songs and tell me why??
The best one I’ve done lately is called “Happy”. It’s very catchy and turned out better than most, plus the lyrics reflect how I was feeling at the time. Other than that, I’ll pick “Secret Vasectomy” since it’s Dr. Frank’s favorite and maybe “Bachelor of Arts” since it was the first Grim Deeds song and still one of the best.
13. Have you done any US tour?? Cause I havent seen one I think. Please let me know...
I don’t tour because my wife won’t allow it - especially now. Plus I’d rather be at home with my family than on the road. I doubt there will every be long tours - but I’ll keep playing shows whenever I can.
14. Any last words or shoutouts??
Shout out to Rizkan Records, one of of the coolest labels out there! HAILS to the Trop Punkers of Indonesia who keep the dream alive with all the great music and passion for pop punk. I hope to meet you in person some day! Thanks again for the interview.
Sites :
Bandcamp - https://grimdeeds.bandcamp.com/
Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/Grim-Deeds-815536498460718/
Bandcamp - https://grimdeeds.bandcamp.com/
Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/Grim-Deeds-815536498460718/
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