Interviews: dieAgnostic
Smother - Back at Halloween when dieAgnostic played at Shenandoah University, I talked to
Blaine and he said that you used to be a grindcore band. How'd you
change from grindcore to the dieAgnostic of today?
dA - Well, basically Tim (bass) and I (drums) started playing together in
92 with a death/speed metal band called Anguish. At the time that was
all we listened to and since we were so much younger thats what we
played. With the addition of Chrys (vox) and Blaine (guitar) in 93
really helped to broaden our musical horizons. As time would pass we
would learn to become much more open minded and free with our music
until we until we finally came up with the style you here on
EMERGE.
With our old material we always made it a point to make the music as
brutal and heavy as possible, because we thought it was awesome to see
a hundred kids kill each other in the pit. Don't get me wrong I think
it is awesome when everybody in the club is catching the vibe off of
our stuff, but now at least they get a chance to catch their breath and
actually listen to some of the music.
Smother - Are you guys excited about playing Winchester again at the end of the month with Monolith, Fistagon, and True Temper?
dA - Oh yeah! I can't wait to play this one from what I hear from Monolith
it should be just our type of crowd.
Smother - What did you like about your last show here?
dA - I had lots of fun playing that gig. The folks in the Unity Project were
cool as shit to us. Blaine actually went to high school with their
bassist, Dan. We met a lot of cool new friends our last visit.
Hopefully this trip will be just as rewarding!
Smother - What's the average dieAgnostic show like?
dA - Totally out of control, and thats just the average ones.
Smother - How does it compare with your Halloween show here?
dA - Well in Georgia we have already established an incredible following.
The Halloween show in Augusta, held the weekend before, attracted 650
with nothing more than word of mouth and flyers. No smoking or drinking
was allowed at the joint, so everybody that was there came out to enjoy
the music not to drink nickel beers.
Smother - Do you tour much, or just play sporadic shows?
dA - We haven't done a full blown tour yet , but Tim and I are on the lines
everyday trying to hook one up.
Smother - How do the songs on Emerge relate to the artwork?
dA - The album's cover deals with the change and growth of the band
musically and personally. The inside of the cover is just random pieces
of each of the members personal expression.
Smother - Do you expect to release a new album any time soon? If so, will you be doing stuff from that in Winchester?
dA - No, we just releasd Emerge in Oct. It will be a while before any new
material is released. We are trying to push this album really hard right now because we all feel very confident that it is an album that can't be ignored even if you don't like it.
Smother - Here's something I always ask because it's most interesting to me:
Explain the dieAgnostic writing process.
dA - Someone in the band comes up with a concept for a song. From there the
lyrics and music are written, but not always in that order.
Smother - What's the most influential album, song, or musician you've ever
heard?
dA - I can't answer for everbody, but for me 2 of th most influential
albums as of recent have been TOOL'S Aenima, and PETER GABRIEL'S secret
world live. I have pulled influence from drummers such as Dave
Lombardo, Manu Katche, Igor Cavelera, Derrik Roddy, and Gene Hogland.
Smother - What's your Georgia fanbase like?
dA - Huge!
Smother - What was dieAgnostic's worst show?
dA - It had to be a show we played in Myrtle Beach at a place called
"Scuttles." We were told we would probably make like 400 bucks, but ended
up making like 26 bucks total to split 4 ways. Our hotel room was
109 bucks since it as tourist season, and gas cost me 40 dollars. The
show itself sucked! There were two drunk rednecks watching a football
game in the back of the club. very once in a while they would say play
some Skynard!
Smother - I heard an intersting tidbit a few monnths ago: You hurt your knee
kickboxing and your kickboxing coach is your lawyer. Is that all
true, or is it some twisted rumor?
dA - Actually it is all true! I was sparring this guy that out weighed me
by like 90.lbs, and he accidentally sidekicked my knee and dislocated
it. It's cool now though.
Smother - Emerge is on Idea records. Is that owned by dieAgnostic?
dA - Yes.
Smother - Are there any other bands on Idea?
dA - Yeah, one other band called Fixt. They sound really fucked up, but in a
good way. I would describe them as Faith No More on steroids!
Smother - What's the future look like for dieAgnostic?
dA - If it goes like we hope it does we should be in every cd shop in the
nation by 99, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see!