Interview with Duane Jackson
Introducing Electrik Dynamite
Collectively we’re influenced by Top Gun, Mustangs, Booze and partying.
Ryan ‘Maverick’ Reeve – Vocals
Influenced by Iron Maiden, Avenged Sevenfold, Guns ‘n Roses, Judas Priest and H.E.A.T
Benny ‘Stinger’ Clark – Drums
Influenced by Rancid, Sex Pistols, Motley Crue, hed (PE)
Duane ‘Ice’ Jackson – Bass
Influenced by Iron Maiden, Pantera, Faith no More, Dillinger Escape Plan and Cannibal Corpse
Lockie ‘Circus’ Knight – Guitar and Backing Vocals
Influenced by The Beatles, NOFX, Propagandi, Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin
Sarah ‘Cougar’ Lim – Keytar and Backing Vocals
Influenced by Van Halen, Deep Purple, Beyond Twilight, Triumph, Dimebag/Pantera
Cam ‘Flexx’ Slays – Guitar
Influenced by Van Halen, The Beatles, Mr Big, Pantera, Iron Maiden
How did you come about obtaining the band name?
Our old drummer, Aaron and our singer Ryan used to live together. One afternoon whilst watching Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, a moment of realisation struck after the amazing quote “You guys are like… Electric Dynamite!” Having noticed there was a couple of Electric Dynamite’s on old Myspace, we decided to chuck a K at the end of Electrik to ensure it was ours and only ours. We used to use that whole section of the movie as an intro sample as well!
How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard you before?
A modern manipulation of rock/metal influenced sonically and in spirit by the greats of the 80’s
What one thing do you feel sets you apart from the rest in this genre?
There’s been a resurgence of bands in the ‘glam’, ‘trad’ and ‘classic’ genres of heavy metal, but we don’t claim and firmly don’t believe we’re in any of the aforementioned genres. We’re a modern metal band influenced by the above, but it’s our spirit and energy that sets us apart.
How long did it take to record Hair.Denim.Sex.Metal and what was the inspiration behind it?
Early last year we lost both our previous guitarists (Adrian has moved onto the rad ‘Pandorum’ and Ash can be found doing an awesome ‘Buddy Holly Tribute’ show whilst writing for his own future project), so we turned to Cam and Lockie, both long time friends of ours and two dudes that had been writing similar stuff for a while together. They basically learned our set in a month before we went out on the road for a month to support our good friends Thy Art is Murder on their national album launch tour. Upon arriving back home, we wrote the album in like four months, got it record ready then headed up to Lord Tim at SLS Studios, Wollongong to record the album over a two week period. We were willing to book in more time, but LT knew we’d get what we wanted to achieve within the two week frame and we did. Hair.Denim.Sex.Metal was a chant created on that tour with Thy Art IS Murder and we just knew we had to title the record HDSM. Not only because it sums us up, but because it’s a bit tongue in cheek and we wanted a title that was fun. With two new songwriters on board, friends of ours were worried we’d change too much from what we were doing, but coincidentally we’ve put out an album that is probably the most true to us that we could possibly do. Obviously a lot more mature than our earlier work and a sign of future albums to come.
Which label, if any, have you produced this album through? And how much of a difference has it made to the overall production process?
We recorded HDSM with no album backing and complete intention to ship it around to labels upon completion. Our friends in Sienna Skies put the word out to their label, New Justice Records. New Justice Records and Electrik Dynamite began chatting about putting HDSM out. It didn’t take long to strike up a rad relationship and soon after we signed the contract and couldn’t be happier with their support so far.
Any plans for a music video? Or is there one you’ve all ready created you recommend fans check out?
We just recorded the video clip to the first single off HDSM entitled, ‘Midnight Rider’ with Ryan Chamley at Robot Army Digital Media. You can see the video here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_rYuoSebM4
When you go into recording mode, do you find it easy or challenging?
Each of us respond to the recording process differently, but collectively we love it as a whole. It was particularly good working with Lord Tim for this record. Not only because of his power metal knowledge that you hear in his own work with Lord, but he’s also a massive glam and NWOBHM fan and definitely put his stamp on the record with the vocal and guitar sounds.
What kind of message are you trying to relay to your audience?
Not all bands need to deliver a message and we definitely don’t. We just want to have fun and give people a chance to listen to something fun again. This is where we believe the spirit of this band shines through! We want all our listeners to be smiling when they listen to this. Whether it’s smiling and laughing at us or with us, we don’t care!
Who’s responsible for the bands artwork?
The logo was done by Richard De Silva who’s a graphic design and marketing expert. The entire artwork was originally going to be done with Richard, but unfortunately due to time constraints we couldn’t work with him on the whole package. Conceptually, the artwork was one of Sarah’s ideas, so we enlisted a friend of hers and an amazing photographer by the name of Vlad Savin to come and shoot it. Another friend told us to hit up Mat and George at Nostalgia Panels when we said we needed a Mustang and they were happy to supply it for the shoot and for the video clip.
RELEASES
Electrify The Night
EP - 2009 - Independent
Recorded, mixed and produced at Complex Studios, Melbourne with Roman Koester (The Red Shore, Deez Nuts etc)
Hair.Denim.Sex.Metal
LP - 2011 - New Justice Records
Recorded, mixed, mastered and produced at SLS Studios, Wollongong with Lord Tim (Lord, Dungeon etc)
How hard has it been to get to this point?
We’ve gone through so many line-up changes, it’s not funny! That’s been the only real issue we’ve had to face, but we’ve finally got the six people that we want so it’s all smooth sailing from here on!
Where does your main fan base / support tend to lie?
We’d like to say Japan because that’d be all kinds of rad, but we’d have to say our hometown of Melbourne for obvious reasons. That being said, we’ve got a sweet fan base in Sydney because of the Thy Art Is Murder and Sienna Skies connection. Same goes for the Gold Coast because of Mourningtide and Adelaide because of Dangerous/Generation Swine/Dead Joe.
What makes a good venue for your style of music?
We’ve played some awesome shows at clubs because everyone’s fucked up and rowdy! So it’s a total party but we also love big stages because six members and a big sound lends itself to a big stage.
What are some of your favourite Australian acts? And have you had the chance to play alongside them?
Australia has so many awesome bands and we’ve had the pleasure of playing alongside almost all of them. I could go on forever, but here’s a few to check out if you haven’t already: Thy Art Is Murder, Sienna Skies, Elm Street, Lord, Assemble The Empire, Mourningtide, I, The Hunter, The Storm Picturesque, Signal The Firing Squad, The Ophidian Ascension, Ammadu, Descrator, Taberah, Rival, Built On Secrets, Howling Steel, Tantalum, The Deep End, Earth, Modedhel, The Hawaiian Islands, The Deep End, Generation Swine and Death Audio
What would be your most memorable gig / performance to date?
Supporting Tracii Guns’ LA Guns was the most memorable. The crowd was a lot older than what we usually play too, but they were just losing their minds when we were playing. It was so rad! Ryan jumped into the crowd at one chance and all the older Phillies pretty much raped him.
After a live performance do you tend to go and hang out with the fans or do you prefer to keep to yourself?
It all depends really, we all do different shit after our set. But we ideally like to go get drunk with the fans. Unfortunately this can’t always happen though. We’ve had some awesome party times at club shows after our gigs though people love to get band members wasted!
Have you got a favourite song you like to play? And is there one in particular you've noticed your fans have started asking for?
I love playing ‘Midnight Rider’, especially with it being the new single people are backing it and singing it back to us live. It’s also downright fun to play!
If you were playing at a metal festival, who would you prefer was playing alongside you and where would that be?
We’d be in Japan or California. Iron Maiden would be headlining it with supports from Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Def Leppard and Steel Panther and we’d be opening it up!
When you play live, what can the audience expect to see?
Five dudes and one dudette genuinely loving what we do. The energy is infectious, the attitude is real and we have a rad time doing it.
What kind of instruments do you use?
We all use Ibanez guitars by choice. Sarah plays Roland Keytars, Benny plays PDP/Zildjian. We’re endorsed by Audio-Technica for mics/wireless systems, Randall Cabinets, Mesa Boogie for bass gear, Dean Markley Strings and Monster Energy drink.
What have been some of the more bizarre signings you’ve had?
Aside from casts, sticks and the occasional tit... y’know... the usual. We signed a kids Nike hightop sneaker once which wasn’t really bizarre, more rad!
Have you ever had any Mystical experiences?
Sarah had her own ghost for a while whom she named and thus it didn’t leave her, then one day he did. Apart from that, our ex guitarist Adrian’s call sign was Merlin.
Where can people purchase your music and merchandise from?
Get our merch online and our CD is available in all good record stores (Australia) and internationally online via iTunes.
What got you into metal in the first place?
The sign of rebellion as an angsty teen! No, but seriously, it was actually a Korn video clip I saw back on pay TV. From there I got into Pantera, Metallica etc then onto everything from Dream Theater to Motley Crue.
What was the main reason you chose this career path and has it turned out or going as expected?
Career path?! When I start making some money from this, I’ll get back to you! However, there’s nothing in the world like performing on stage and I wouldn’t change that for anything.
Let’s pretend you were creating a tour survival guide. What would be your top three tips for surviving a long tour with the band?
Bring an extra liver, your finest pair of party shoes and your own iPod and headphones for when we play really shit music in the van.
What words of advice can you offer anyone looking to enter the music industry?
Do it because you love it. Not because you want money or fame. You can see through bullshit and fake bands are the worst. We often get called out on that by people that have no fucking idea about us and if they’d see how many hours some of us have put into their instruments and how much some of us have sacrificed, then they might have a different opinion.
Anything you'd like to add or say to your fans?
Sincerely, we’d like to thank everyone that’s listened to our music, recommended it to friends, been to a show, bought a CD or T-shirt. It really is your support that keeps us going and for that we can’t be more thankful.
LINKS
Electrik Dynamite Website
Electrik Dynamite Myspace
Electrik Dynamite Facebook
Electrik Dynamite Shop
‘Interview with Electrik Dynamite’ by Déa di Morté © 22 August 2011
Hails! to Duane for agreeing to participate and taking the time to complete this interview
All pictures courtesy of Electrik Dynamite