DC4: THE VOLUME ONE INTERVIEW The following interview took place in August, 2006 just four months prior to DC4 going into the studio to record their second full-length disc, Explode, with a definitive line-up that featured (at the time) new recruit and former Dio guitarist, Rowan Robertson.  Who is DC4 and what does the band represent? Jeff: DC4 started a long time ago back in 1994 or ’95. I started writing new songs around that time and singing on my own demos. Then I decided I wanted to start a band that was more out of the box than everything I’d done before, because I had been involved with Odin and Armored Saint at that point. I just wanted to do my own thing. The band originally was called Human Nature. Shawn and Matt were in it. I got to deal with my brothers which was cool. Our original guitar player was a guy named Hyland Church who was with us for quite some time. Really, as far as any question of what DC4 represents, for me, it just represented being able to do a band that was completely new to me. Plus, I was lead singing for it which, initially, wasn’t my plan; but we got together to rehearse and it sounded really good. I was looking for a singer and everybody said, “Well, I thought you were gonna do it.” So I said, “O.K. I’ll be the singer.” Shawn: That’s pretty much what it was. We were in a band prior to that called Bird Of Prey. All three of us were in that project as well. That band kind of crumbled because of, basically, a singer. Matt: LSD! Lead Singer’s Disease! (laughs) Shawn: Exactly. So when Jeff came up with these new songs, we just said, “You sing! Let’s not deal with another singer.” Jeff: The cool thing about it is that nobody in the band has to deal with a lead singer because I’m a guitar player. You consider yourself a guitarist first and a lead singer second? Jeff: Oh yeah. I’ve been playing guitar since I was nine years old, so that’s what I’m closest to. I can sing and I can do the job; but I would never go out with just a microphone, a mic stand, and front a band singing. I would have to be playing guitar. What do you think is the dynamic of a band where three of the members are siblings? How do you think that’s different from a band where you’re not related? Matt: I think we can depend on each other. We don’t have to worry about anybody else. We all know what we’re thinking. Shawn: It’s true. You don’t worry so much about someone jumping ship and going onto another project because somebody’s whispering in their ear. When it’s a family unit, you tend to be more dedicated and tied to it. Matt: There’s less hassle as far as personalities go. Jeff: It’s kind of like three brothers when they’re kids. They build a treehouse and that’s their clubhouse. That’s it. It’s their place. That’s what the band is to us. It’s our treehouse; and we’re not going to leave it. With regard to the dynamic of brothers in a band, personally, I think it’s great. I have another guitarist who can sing and write songs; and I have a kick ass rhythm section that was born into my family. How lucky am I? Matt: It’s kind of a genetic thing. How would you describe your music and your sound? Jeff: That’s a really good question because I don’t exactly know. I write a lot of the material, so I’m really close to it. When the band started, really what it’s been about is just writing what we feel are good songs. It’s always going to have an edge. We come from Heavy Metal and Hard Rock, so it’s always going to have that punch to it; but I never wanted a band to be about, “O.K. we’re Death Metal or we’re Heavy Metal or we’re this or we’re that.” I like to think of it as hard, Hard Rock.  Shawn: We’re harder than Hard Rock, but we’re not Heavy Metal. And it’s more about the song than the style? Matt (addressing Jeff): Hard melody, I think you said one time. Jeff: Hard melody; right. What about your music do you feel resonates most with the people who come to your shows and buy your records?  Jeff: Hopefully, I’d like to think it’s that we’re sincere. We’re not trying to be anything but who we are. It’s for real; it’s not pretentious. It’s not riding a trend of any kind. DC4 is sincere music; and I know that what we’re doing isn’t anything that is ever really preconceived or thought out too much. Like when Nu Metal was happening, “Let’s be Nu Metal.” It’s never been like that. This is our music and that’s it. When somebody goes to your show or buys your record, it’s not just the sincerity to which they’re going to respond. Shawn: I think there’s a lot of feeling in the music that we play. Whether it be a song such as “Naïve Bree” or “.44,” there seems to be a distinct emotion. They’re two totally different types of songs; and there is a very good energy that comes out of what we play. I think that’s what people respond to the most. However, it’s powerful, loud, and in your face; but it’s pleasant because there’s melody and song structure there. Matt: A lot of it has to do with influences. We all grew up on heavier stuff and harder Rock. I think that influence is what comes out of us. We don’t try to be anybody, but we all sat at home and listened to records and played along to them when we were kids. A lot of Hard Rock groups out there, or whatever pretends to be Hard Rock, really don’t have a strong sense of melody. They can be good with textures, but many of them aren’t coming from the song in the same way that DC4 is. You’re saying that you grew up on Hard Rock, but I’m wondering if that’s the only style you absorbed.  Matt: Oh, no. Our dad was a musician. Shawn: We also grew up listening to Chicago and Gladys Knight & The Pips. The list goes on and on. Our dad was always playing music in the car everywhere we went. Matt: He’d always tell us to listen; and not just listen to the song, but really listen to the song. Shawn: Our dad was very big on melody, very big on song structure, and very big on soul and feel as well. He was a huge Elvis Presley fan and a huge Al Jolson fan, too. What we were exposed to very young through our parents was less in the Hard Rock vein and much more in a Soul/Chicago type of atmosphere. As we got older, we discovered the first Van Halen album, Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains The Same, and Kiss Alive! That’s where we went; but deep inside, when Jeff rips into a lead, I can still hear Terry Kath (ed. note: guitarist of Chicago until January 1978). It’s the same thing with me. With some of my drum fills, I hear myself play and I think, “Wow, that’s influenced from Chicago.” It’s just ingrained way back in there. The music of your parents sometimes can be a different equation than the music that really speaks to you, that you feel. Jeff, since you write most of the songs, where do you think your sense of melody comes from?  Jeff: Definitely a lot of the influence came from our dad. No matter what melody he heard, he would always harmonize to it. So, I kind of adapted that. As far as songwriting goes, where it initially started, I was really into Black Sabbath and Van Halen. That’s what got me going on guitar. I was wanting to be a really kick ass guitar player. As I got more and more into songwriting, particulary once we started this band, there was a turning point for me when I really got into The Beatles and bands along those lines. I became a huge fan of a band called Jellyfish. There’s also a band called The Grays that featured Jason Falkner and Jon Brion, two amazing musicians. I was really into that type of music, with maybe a touch of Beach Boys influence and their sense of melody and harmony. At that point, it influenced me as a songwriter. Not that we sound like ‘Pop,’ but what it did was make me think more about when I’m writing a song and I go to a change, what’s interesting as opposed to what’s the obvious place to go. A song can be predictable or it can be interesting. What I learned from those bands, particularly The Beatles and Queen, was really going underneath the surface and trying a million different things with that song to find what’s going to make it special, what’s going to make it a good listening experience; but we do it in a Hard Rock forum. To answer your question in general, my two main influences are Heavy Metal music along with The Beatles and Beatle-type pop songwriting. And you feel that you combine the two to make something original or something that fits the application? Jeff: Well, that’s what I aspire to do. Even if it doesn’t come across as sounding Beatle-ish, it’s just taking that approach to songwriting. I also listen to music that maybe my brothers don’t. I’ll throw in a cd by Crystal Method; or I had a copy of an R. Kelly disc that I listen to because of the arrangements, grooves, and melodies. It’s not that I’m a huge R. Kelly fan, but he’s a great artist. I’m like a sponge. I want to take whatever I can from anybody who I feel is great and use it to my own personal, musical advantage. Matt: An ingredient. Product of influence. Shawn: We all have different influences and yet they’re the same. As a drummer, I’m a huge John Bonham and Cozy Powell fan. I’ve always liked the big, heavy drummers. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more interested in other styles of music. It’s still blues-based, but I like Dave Matthews Band. I think Carter Bruford is amazing in his playing. So, I have a tendency of listening to music that maybe my brothers wouldn’t listen to as much. I like U2 a lot; and then I like Tool, too. I’ll watch the Led Zeppelin live stuff just to see Bonzo play. That’s always a treat for me; but musically, I like to go forward with what I’m listening to, what’s playing in my car. For me, it’s neat because you’re hearing a new take on the same music. I feel sorry for people who listen to the same five bands their whole life. From the standpoint of what I bring, I like a lot of modern music, but I’m from the old school. Matt: I try to listen to the stations playing current artists, to hear what they’re doing. I have a big cd collection. I even listen to Don Henley, the Eagles, Queen, Peter Gabriel, all that stuff. A lot of the records are the same; but I am hungry for new music. Jeff: We take all those influences, throw them into a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal pot, and stir it up. That’s what the band is about. Especially for a hard rock band, there’s a lot of timeless, universal ground covered in the lyrics, but in a way that doesn’t seem at all inclined to forego vulnerability: Passion, romance, betrayal, and all of the myriad emotions that go along with those human qualities. It’s pretty rare in Pop music these days, especially Hard Rock. Why do you think your songs have those qualities? Jeff: It comes down to playing with my two brothers. I have a song, the lyrics are saying a certain thing, and I play it for them. Because I’m their brother, they know where I’m coming from with it. They can relate because we grew up together. It’s not just me trying to express something. I think they’re able to gravitate towards what it is that I’m saying and absorb for themselves, personally, what’s going on. If Shawn or Matt wrote a song, I could do the same thing. It’s one of the advantages of playing with your own flesh and blood. Shawn: In music, generally, you go into a different space when you play. It’s almost like soul searching to a certain degree if you’re doing it right. I think that’s what makes music universal. It’s almost like a shared consciousness. Music speaks through the soul. When you’re playing, if you allow yourself to go where you’re not using your brain, it comes from that place where you cry when you’re a baby. It’s the same kind of area. That’s how I’ve always approached drums. To me, it’s an amazing outlet. If I don’t play for a specific amount of time, I can feel it in my body that I have to get this energy out because I have an outlet for it. As we get older, we don’t have those outlets anymore where we’re able to play. I think that’s where the three of us have it. We’re all in the same consciousness. Lyrically, what are the most predominant themes in your songs? Jeff: I would say just being a person and being brutally honest about what people think, what people go through, and what I go through myself. One of my favorite comedians is George Carlin, because he nails it. He talks about people in a great way that doesn’t candy coat anything. This is the truth. This is how people are. Personality-wise, I’m someone who just likes to dive into somebody and say, “Hey, what about that about yourself.” If you write a love song, everybody can relate to being in love; but I think everybody can relate to that scumbag in themselves, too. A lot of people don’t seem to address that aspect. I wanna get to the reality of how people are; and if I can relate it to myself or my own experience, because I’m being honest with people about myself, too, I want people to relate on a deeper level, not just on a general surface plane. It’s really not to just write a love song, “Oh, I love you baby” or “I wanna take a shower with you, girl, and let’s fuck.” Everybody can relate to that type of song; but there’s a lot more to people than just that stuff. Matt: A lot of it comes from our dad, because he also was a psychologist. We couldn’t argue with him. He’d bring something up and you’d say, “Ah, forget it.” Then he would say, “Oh, you’d like to forget it, wouldn’t you? What’s going on?” He wouldn’t let us get away with putting up a façade; or he’d observe somebody and say, “Yeah, you know, that person is blah-blah-blah.” He’d say something about them out of an observation, which is how I think he learned to get lyrics. I learned a lot of that, too. When I get mad, I’ll spout off, get mad, and then be alright about it because I’ve just cleared myself of it. I don’t really hold much in. Let’s talk about your definitive, full-length record to date, Volume One, on a gut emotional level. The opening cut, “Playing House” is a really heavy duty song about somebody who’s in despair over the fact that they can’t live with somebody else. Is that a song of personal experience? Jeff: Yeah, it is. Shawn lived up in Santa Clarita with his wife and son at the time. I was involved with somebody for a very long time. There were a lot of problems, and I ended up leaving there. Shawn was kind enough to take me in.....once again. I set up my little 4-track recorder in his garage and wrote that song right there. I think I was listening to Filter at the time. I liked the vibe of that album, so the song was kind of influenced by them as far as the riff is concerned. Again, though, just ‘cause you’re influenced by something doesn’t mean the song is going to sound like that. It’s just that maybe you’re tapping into where the songwriter is coming from. Do you find that you write better when it comes from a standpoint of pain? Jeff: Yes. When you’re feeling pain, anguish, or discontent, it’s a lot easier to tap into lyrics because life isn’t always fair. Everybody knows that; and everybody goes through hardship. Most people are struggling to find happiness, to be rid of the pain-in-the-ass-this and the pain-in-the-ass-that and get to a place of just being happy. I don’t think my lyrics are necessarily negative; I just think that if you’re feeling pain or if you’re going through something, it’s always good to talk about it just to get through it. Hopefully, a lot of people would relate to my lyrics, because I don’t feel I’ve been through anything that anybody else hasn’t. I just happen to write about it. Because you guys, somewhere along the line, have been through similar experiences, does the lyrical tone of the song affect how much drive or passion you’re able to put into the performance? Do you feel as though you have to work harder to put more guts into certain songs than others?  Shawn: No. When the song comes in, it spells itself out and does what it wants to do. Jeff comes in with ideas. Sometimes they’re full songs and sometimes they’re parts. Sometimes all of us put it together. Emotionally, we were all taught to let yourself go when you play. That’s where it comes from. The fact that we’re all in the same brood, we’re more in tune with it. When families harmonize together, there’s a certain ‘perfectness’ in the harmonies. There’s a certain pleasantness; and I think it’s also the same music. Matt: It’s expected of us to bring each other up a notch and execute. It’s like three or four pistons. They all have to spark to the same degree. If one doesn’t spark well, the other two will say, “What’s going on?” The whole point is to make it stellar to our liking, to what we feel is above par. Can we talk about a few more songs? Matt, Jeff, and Shawn: Sure, go ahead. “Pound Of Flesh.” Jeff: Some of the songs are not necessarily about myself. I do write about other people, too. That song is about a guy I know who got himself into a lot of trouble over and over and over with his dick. He was just a sex addict. I remember having a conversation with him about it and asking, “What is it that drives you to be this way? What’s your pound of flesh (which is an old expression)? What’s the thing inside of you that you’re not exposing to anybody that’s driving you to behave this way?” So, I wrote this song about him, basically saying “You think that you’ve got it. You think that nobody knows how you are; but everybody knows. Why don’t you just step up and knock it off?” Shawn: Expose it. Jeff: Yeah. It’s just your evil pound of flesh driving you. That’s what it’s about. I don’t think he ever changed; but it still made for a good song. Do you still talk to him? Jeff: Yeah! I don’t know if he knows that song’s about him or not. Maybe I told him. A few more songs. First, “Love Or Misery.” Jeff: That song was kind of about something I was involved in, but it morphed into a commentary. People will get into a relationship, and it’ll be a really bad one. The chorus is “Love or Misery/I don’t know which side of the street it is that I like the most.” They get into a cycle where the misery is just as comforting as the love they have for the person. It’s really sick. There’s a lot of people involved in that kind of situation. I’ve been involved with situations like that. It’s, like, this relationship wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t any misery in it. You know, “I don’t know which side of the street I love the most/Love or misery/It comes and goes/But I think that we all love them both.” The fighting and the drama fulfill people. I’m not saying it’s that way in all relationships; but it does exist. Let’s acknowledge and look at it.  What about the song, “Marianne.” Who is she? Jeff: She was somebody I knew. Her name wasn’t Marianne. I changed the name; but it was exactly all about her. She was just a very confused person who couldn’t let go of the past; and she just drank, took pills, and fell asleep with the t.v. light. She was never, ever happy. Last I knew of her, she was involved with a really abusive guy and whining about it. Love or misery. Another track: “.44.” Jeff: That song’s just about fucking, you know, wanting to fuck somebody really bad. Matt: I think what’s funny about that song is where you got the riff. Didn’t you get it from Morris Day & The Time? Jeff: Yeah, this friend of mine gave me a cassette. This guy was really into Funk music. He always used to say that I was too white. So he gave me this cassette that said “Jeff’s Funk Diet.” There was a song on it called “Skillet.” It just had this really infectious groove. I thought it’d be really cool to write a song with a groove like that, but heavy. So, I wrote that part. Then I was hanging out with this girl at the time who I really wanted to fuck. So, I wrote “I’m at war with my .44,” meaning my cock. It’s a filthy song. (laughs) Shawn and I had a conversation where he told me a little bit about “Naïve Bree.” Why did you write that song? Jeff: I was doing a job with a friend of mine. We were traveling up the coast, giving away free stuff and doing promotions. In San Francisco, I met this gutter-punk girl named Bree. She was 16, on the street, and thought she knew it all. She was a poet. The lyrics say everything about her. It was really sad. I remember talking with her and asking, “Why don’t you just go home to your family in the Midwest and knock all this shit off?” She was smoking heroin; and she was completely naïve. It impacted me so much to meet this girl. It was really, “What’s going to become of you? You think you know everything; and you don’t know anything. You’re just gonna die out here.” I think she was a runaway. There was this guy who lived in L.A. that she was in love with; and she was gonna find her way to L.A. and hook up with him; and it was, like, “No, you need to go home. You need to go back to the Midwest to your bedroom in your parents’ house and go back to school. That’s what you need to do.” I never saw her again, but she definitely was “Naïve Bree.” There’s no doubt about it. How do you think the music and the songs affect your audience? When you play live, what do you think they’re responding to the most besides the integrity?  Shawn: It’s been a while since we’ve played live. So, I’m anxious to see what happens when we come out with the next set of music, when we start gigging again. They’ve always responded to the energy and quality of the band. This time, I think it’s going to be different. It’s right right now. Something just feels really good; and that’s going to be the nucleus of whatever comes next. Matt: Musically, I’m really picky. When we’re not doing anything, I usually don’t like to play with other people. Through the years of learning and experience, it got old. For me, I like this. This is what I like. I’ll play in a Disco band with a friend just for fun; but as far as being serious goes, this is what I take seriously. Basically, it’s home. It’s what I believe in; and I can’t get it from anybody else. Is DC4 a much more long-standing creative proposition than the reconvening of ODIN? Matt: Well, I hope so! (laughs) Jeff and Shawn grew up playing together in their formative years. They kind of click that way. It’s hard for me to get that from someone else, although I think they can get it from Aaron and Randy in some way. Jeff, it’s a little different for you because you’re in four bands: DC4, Armored Saint, ODIN, and The Thornbirds. How do you balance all four? Jeff: Very carefully. Armored Saint is something that’s an international act. When we do things, it’s usually two or three weeks that are blocked out for me to do this. I go off and do it. Then I’m back; and Armored Saint doesn’t exist for awhile. It’s not something that takes up all my time. The Thornbirds is more of a recording project. We sometimes play out. With Armored Saint, I’ve been involved with that band for so long that I just love it. We do great shows; and I’ve seen a lot of the world with them. I’ve known those guys for so long now; and really, I’m an Armored Saint fan. I always have been, so it’s great to play in the band. ODIN goes back to high school. As far as the existence of ODIN, we did a couple of shows back in 2003. We’re getting ready to do one now. Then we’ll see what happens after that. We’ve recorded three new songs and might put out a ‘best of’ compilation. None of those other bands really demand a lot of my time, whereas I can put a lot of my time into DC4, especially now that we have the new member we’ve been looking for. When all is said and done, if all these other bands went away tomorrow, I would have this band. For both of you guys, Jeff and Shawn, who are both in DC4 and ODIN, do you feel that DC4 is the most gratifying and fulfilling in a creative sense? Shawn: Yeah. Jeff: It is for me. In The Thornbirds, although I love their music, Russ Parrish is the leader of that band. It’s all his songs. I love his songs and I enjoy playing them. I’ve co-written songs with Armored Saint, but it’s Armored Saint music. ODIN is a lot of songs that were written 20 years ago, whereas DC4 is always fresh and it’s always new. This is where I am today as a songwriter. It’s where we all are now. There’s nothing about the past or rehashing or playing the classics, which is all fine and great; but if I’m going to continue to grow creatively as an artist, I have to have something where I can express myself musically as far as where I am now. I would hate to be one one-thousanth percent satisfied as a musician playing songs that I wrote when I was 20 years old. No way. Shawn: Jeff is extremely prolific when it comes to songwriting; so there’s always something new, always something coming. In that mindset, I would imagine that you have to get it out or else it turns into something else, whether it’s self-destruction or whatever it becomes. If you don’t let your creative side out, it eats you up. It’ll hurt you just as much as it’ll love you. You never have a situation where you’re in one band and you come up with a really good idea and say, “I’d better save this idea for DC4?” Jeff: It depends. If I come up with a riff, and if I don’t come up with a vocal for it right away, then I’ll put it aside. If I start singing along to it, then it’s going to be a DC4 song because I don’t want anybody else to come up with the vocals for it. It’s one of my songs. If I come up with a riff that’s super Metal, I’ll put it aside and think, “Oh, that would be cool for Armored Saint when we’re ready to do another record.” You have a new addition to the band. Rowan Robertson has replaced Hyland Church as the guitarist alongside Jeff Duncan. Why is Hyland no longer with DC4 and how do you feel the new addition of Rowan in the band affects the sound and emotional impact that your music will have in the future? Shawn: Right now, we’re capable of going forward. We were held back for a long time because we were looking for someone to replace Hyland, who was very much a part of the four of us for a long time. Hyland developed Lyme disease. He got sick and had some problems with arthritis. Really, he couldn’t play very much. We were missing a lot of rehearsals. It got to a point where he felt he needed to go and take care of himself; and he moved back to Missouri. We were on hold for a year and a half. One thing turned into another; and through various friendships, Jeff had the fortune of running into Rowan who, quite frankly, is one of the nicest guys I’ve met in the business. He just fits in really well. I think he’s at a point in his career where he’s just as happy to be in a band as we are to have him in this one. He had been looking for a project where he could be in a band form, a Rock band. Things happen for a reason.  He’s British, right? Jeff: Yeah. He’s from Cambridge. There’s a difference between American rockers and British rockers. Jeff: It’s kind of like I joked one time. I said, we’re an official Rock band; we have an English guy in the band now. Shawn: Yeah, we have an accent in the group. It’s kind of nice. Matt: A lot of our influences are European, anyway, so maybe that helps him fit; I don’t know. Jeff: Particularly English bands. Matt and Shawn (overlap): Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, The Beatles. Jeff: We’re really just getting into playing together. It definitely gels and feels right. He’s in the band as an official member. You’re working on a new record. What’s it like so far? How is it going to be different from Volume One? Shawn: I think Volume One is very powerful. This next one will still have a lot of emotion in it. However, because we’re excited, it’s going to be a harder record overall. More edge. Rock is often pre-arranged when it comes to songs. With rare exception, such as Led Zeppelin where Jimmy Page rarely played the same solo twice, most Rock ‘n Roll is played as is. On the older songs, is Rowan playing Hyland’s parts? Jeff: He’s playing some of his rhythm parts; but as far as the solos are concerned, I told him just to play a solo. Give me a Rowan Robertson solo. I don’t expect him to be Hyland; I don’t want him to be Hyland. I want him to be Rowan Robertson. Shawn: It goes back to the feel of a band. You can’t have somebody come in, play somebody else’s part, and expect it to feel right. It ain’t gonna happen. When you have somebody like Rowan in the band, you wanna let him loose. Is Joey Vera going to produce the next record? Jeff: Yeah. We’re talking about recording over at the studio of a guy named Bill Metoyer. He co-engineered a lot of the Armored Saint records. He actually produced Armored Saint’s first Ep that they put out back in ’83. I’ve done a lot of work with Bill. So, it would be Bill’s studio with Joey producing. How do you think that the songs for the next record are going to be different than the songs on Volume One? Jeff: A couple of the songs we’re doing are old songs. They were done on the original Human Nature demo that we made. We brought those songs back because they were never properly done. We recorded that demo live in the studio. These songs fell by the wayside, but they were good songs. We have some newer ones, too. One’s called “Hate Parade.” Another one is called “Sociopath.” How do you plan to gain a bigger audience? How do you plan to get your music out there? The record industry is kind of dead; and you have to wonder if the major labels are going to be around in 10 years. Shawn: The record industry, to a certain degree, has lost the ability to be in touch with their consumer. When a cd is $19.95, there’s a serious gap of what somebody’s willing to pay for something. It’s absurd to expect people to go out and drop that kind of money on a cd. They’re just not worth that much anymore. I’m finally starting to see cds in the 9 to 11 dollar range; but it’s taken how long for them to wake up to the fact that people don’t want to pay 17 or 19 bucks for a cd? Matt: A lot of people can’t afford it. Minimum wage is $6.75 an hour. It’s expensive enough to live. Then you want to buy a record, and it’s 20 bucks. Are you guys saying that independent artists realize that if the price is nominal enough, you’re going to sell more units and people are going to be more receptive to the idea of your music? Shawn: Not to mention the way it’s broken down to how the artist gets paid. Through outlets such as myspace and iTunes, you can sell your own material and start making money from the first one you sell. Whereas with the labels, the money is so disproportionately sided to the label that artists don’t make any money off of their sales. You have to give them your publishing. You give them everything and you go out on the road. From radio and video promotions to everyone on your team, the machine is clicking in your favor only if the label puts everyone on your team. It has destroyed music for what it is. Anytime music takes off in a new direction, just look at history. It starts out from some independent label going bonkers and exploding because the big labels are so out of touch. From Rock ‘n Roll to Punk to Heavy Metal to Rap to the Pop-Punk of today, how much of it was spawned by small labels that came out and got behind bands and did the seed work? Major labels don’t know how to do it anymore. So, as an independent artist, how do you get your record out to people in a way where they don’t necessarily have to know about you beforehand in order to be into you? Jeff: Personally, and I think I can speak for the rest of the guys on this one, I’m only concerned with exposing the band to the people who care. Our recent response on our myspace page indicates that there are people who care. Those people who are interested will be exposed to it; and word of mouth will do what it does. I’m not so much interested in putting a lot of energy into getting the band to people who don’t care about it, because then we’re just trying to please people who don’t necessarily exist for us right now. Why do that? I would rather just turn everybody on who has let us know that they’re fans to the new music. We’re going to play out a lot. Eventually, I very much want to get the band out to Europe. I’m not particularly fond of the record industry in America or how concerts are run out here. It’s very stale and money driven. Overseas, it’s very fan driven. I played a festival in Italy with Armored Saint. The promoter didn’t make a lot of money on it, but he was really excited to be putting on this concert; and that’s the difference. Shawn: It’s the Bill Grahams of the world. Bill Graham was a big fan; and that’s why he put on such great concerts over the years. Where are the fans in the industry now? There are none. A good example would be an artist like Stereophonics. They’re great songwriters; a fantastic band. Those guys play arenas in Europe; but I saw them a year and a half ago at the House Of Blues. Why? There’s absolutely no reason for it. Europe gets it because they’re fans of music. In the United States, for a band like Stereophonics to be playing at the House Of Blues, it’s a treat for me; but people don’t know who they are. However, they’re massive just about everywhere else. Jeff: We’ll get the music to the fans that exist, first, and then take it from there. There’s a certain point when you don’t have any control over who’s going to embrace your music or your band. You just have to go out, know that you did the best you could, kick as much ass as you can, and the people will decide. I’m not one to go up to some stranger and say, “Here’s my cd,” because they don’t care. People are handed cds all the time. It goes in the trash, man. Shawn: Yeah, because it’s free and they didn’t pay for it. So it’s, like, “Yeah, well, it was good, but….” How do you compete with artists that have a lot more money and power behind them? Jeff: You don’t compete with them. Most important are the people who care right off the bat. I’m not delusional. Will DC4 be headlining the forum in three years? Probably not, but that’s o.k. You might. Jeff: Anything can happen; but I’m not going to put all my energy into that delusion. I would rather put the energy of the band into what does exist right now; and that’s that there are fans and people out there who care about the band. I want to give them the music. What do you see as being the future of DC4? Jeff: Well, hopefully, what I’d like to do is just keep on writing, rehearsing, and making records until we’re 90 years old. I want to continue making records with this band as long as we possibly can and put out good music. At the end of the day, what matters is, did you do the best you could? Did you put your best foot forward as an artist? Did you remain loyal to being creative? As I said earlier, when all is said and done, this is where I’ll be, with DC4. I’ll always have it. That’s really where the future is. It’s indefinite. The band has a life of its own. It can go on for as long or as short as we want it to go. Nobody can end it except for us. I don’t foresee any one of us doing that anytime soon. As long as I have songs to write, this band will exist. Shawn: There’s no reason for it not to exist. Matt: Same for me. One of us could be offered a bigger gig, and we’ll take it; but we’ll come back to this. -- Greg Debonne http://myspace.com/dc4duncan
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Ladies and Gentlemen:
Mr. Rowan Robertson
guitars
Jeff Duncan
lead vocals, guitars
The Amplified Condition: DC4 in concert
“Hard Melody” - Matt and Jeff Duncan lay it down live.
Rare and unsung: Mood Swings
The first Ep release of DC4
 
Volume One (2002)
[Rising Suns Records]
The first full-length disc of DC4
 
At the speed of sound:
Jeff and Matt Duncan of DC4 on stage
 
Bassist Matt Duncan of DC4 in performance
Jeff Duncan on stage with original guitarist Hyland Church in the background
On set:
Drummer Shawn Duncan at the video shoot for “Playing House”
photo: Alex Solca
Shawn Duncan
drums
VISIT DC4 online:  
http://www.myspace.com/dc4duncan
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