interview with Duck & Cover
Have any of you played in other bands? Absolutely. Way too many, really. Rich was in Bang Camaro that got pretty big here in the States a few years back. Me (Chris) and Daniel were in The Acro-brats that a lot of people know from being in 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band." Me and Damien were both in The Throwaways and Wild Zero. Damien was the drummer for Vampire Lezbos who've been around forever and are pretty big.
How is it that you started playing music? My dad showed me three chords on the guitar when I was 13 and I never looked back. Not sure about the others, though I think Daniel has a similar story. I know Damien played in a ton of bands starting in high school. I'm sure the same is true for Rich.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? Rich Hoss is on bass, Damien Pianka on drums, Daniel Sussman lead guitar, I'm on guitar and lead vocals. We tell everyone that we're all 28 years old, but we're really all 31.
Have you had other previous members? Heh. Members.
Did you make music even when you were young? I think we've all been in bands off and on since our early teens.
Where are you from? Daniel and Rich are from Boston. I'm from a lot of places, but I've been in Boston a long while. Damien's from Maine, but he's been in Boston for a pretty long time now, too.
What year did the band form? Damien and I started goofing around and making noise with Daniel in the summer of 2012, Rich came on board in spring of 2013, we played our first show in summer of '13 and released our first EP in late summer 2014.
What's your style of genre? Pretty much just hard rock I guess, with some punk and metal touches here and there.
What inspires you? I feel like a profound answer would be appropriate here, but really most of our songs are inspired by altered states and being pissed at someone or something.
How often and where do you rehearse? We have a space in Charlestown which is really close to where Damien and I live, kinda close to where Daniel lives, and really not very close at all to where Rich lives. Sorry, Rich.
How have you developed since you started with the music? Um... I guess we've maybe gotten a little more diverse? The first few songs were pretty fast, heavy, angry -- we still do that, but lately we've written more complex (kind of. still not THAT complex) stuff, more mid tempo stuffl. I dunno. It's entirely possible that we haven't developed that much at all.
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? We all work. I'm sure everyone has stuff they like -- movies, sports, art, travel, family, whatever -- but you'd have to ask them. I'm pretty one-dimensional. I like music.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? I'd be happy to get connected with a good agency or agent who'd help get us on shows and put together tours. That kind of logistical stuff is a lot of work and I hate it and am not the best at it.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? If anyone wanted to pay to record, press, and distribute our stuff I certainly wouldn't say "no."
What made you decide to make this music? No conscious decision at work, this is just what comes out when we write and play.
What are your songs about? Being angry at other people or myself, mostly, I suppose.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Really depends on the song. Usually either I'll have a song idea and then lean on Damien to help finish it, or I'll come to Daniel to help make whatever I have more interesting since he's way smarter than me, musically. Or Daniel will have a riff or progression and I'll work on adding a vocal line with him or I'll toss in a bridge or whatever to make his nonsense an actual song. We all help out and contribute to final arrangements. The shitty lyrics are all me.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Always with the music -- although sometimes, if I'm lucky, it'll be a good chunk of the music with vocals and lyrics at the same time. That makes life a lot easier and shit goes quicker.
Do you compose in a certain environment? Usually I'll either come up with stuff while dicking around on guitar in front of the TV or -- and this happens way more often -- while I'm walking my dog late at night and then I'll sing the riff or melody into my phone and save it. I think Daniel comes up with a lot of his stuff while he's watching sports and playing guitar.
Have you done any covers live? Absolutely: "What is Life" by George Harrison, "Way of the World" by Cheap Trick, "Walkin on a Thin Line" by Huey Lewis & the News, and... I feel like there's another. Maybe not yet. I'll occasionally try and start Ratt's "Round and Round" or Death Angel's "Relentless Revolution," but usually everyone just ignores me, unless Damien joins in for a bit.
What language do you sing in? English.
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Um... individually or as this group? Between the four of us, we've played to as few as six people and as many as 4,000.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? We usually play bars/clubs, so by nature that's 18+ with most folks being in their mid-30s I'd guess, but when taken as a whole we've played to kids in their teens through to people in their 60s.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We mix it up as much as possible. I get bored very quickly and easily, so if we're not working on a new song we're usually talking about working on a new cover.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? I guess we've had more shows at the Middle East in Cambridge Mass. than anywhere else, but we have some go-tos, I suppose: TT the Bear's, The Midway, O'Brien's, Brighton Music Hall, Radio (RIP).
What was your first gig like? Hot. I wore shorts, which I don't normally do onstage unless it's stupid hot out. It was also a weird show in that it was half punk rock and half spoken word/comedy. I had a good time during and afterwards, I remember that.
What was your latest gig? The semifinals in the Rock n Roll Rumble a few weeks ago (it's a Boston battle of the bands/weeklong festival thing).
Have you had to cancel a gig? I don't think so(?). Maybe. If we did, it was probably my fault.
Where have you played live this year? TT's, The Middle East, OPUS, and... I think that's it. I was out of town all of January and then all of Boston was under five feet of snow for all of February and most of March.
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? We're playing Punk Island down in NYC in June, another O'Brien's gig in June, something coming up later in the summer at PA's in Somerville... That's all that's set in stone right now, but hopefully more out-of-state stuff -- Maine, Providence, NYC, Western Mass. We'll see...
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? We finally got hard-copy albums in September '14, got shirts in early 2015. We've had stickers and buttons to give people for free since 2013, but that's about it, yup.
Where can people buy your merchandise? At shows or by messaging us on Facebook or emailing [email protected]. We'll mail stuff anywhere (and have!).
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records nowadays? Doesn't really help me much, does it? Heh. When people pay for downloads that's cool, like on our Bandcamp page. Just getting stuff for free, well... put it this way, I may stream or download something for free, but if I decide I like it, I always go back and pay for it one way or another. Plus, our actual vinyl record is way more fun to look at and hold in your hands than some mp3 or WAV file, y'know?
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? It's harder to make serious money or make a living as a musician. That said, it's also a lot easier for more people to get widespread exposure w/o having a major record label deal or tons of cash. A mixed bag, I guess.
What do you think of my work? I like what I've seen and I appreciate that you clearly care about music. Any independent voice who's promoting music and giving bands a forum and some exposure is good news in my book -- thanks!
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business?. Man, I dunno... I kind of doubt it'll really "help us in the music business" in any measurable way, but having said that -- if anyone reads this and then checks out our music and maybe buys an album or orders a shirt or goes to a show or books us or anything that would be great, so who knows. Anything's possible. Getting your own band heard amongst the millions of other bands out there and online is a struggle, so everything helps.
Do you have any role models or idols? Oh, boy.... Here goes: The Stones, Joan Jett, The Cult, The Replacements, Swingin Utters, Motorhead, Minor Threat, AC/DC, Exploding Hearts, The Drips, Black Sabbath, The Clash, Slayer, Squirrel Bait... this could go on for hours.
Why do you think that they exist? I think we admire people who just do what they do and don't chase trends or give a shit. It helps if they write good stuff and play well, too.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? Good music is good music and cool folks are cool folks -- doesn't really matter the era or timeframe.
What have been your biggest obstacles? Driving home safely after the show and remembering where I live.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? Don't do it! There's too many as it is. Find another activity and stop crowding me.
How do you get psyched for a gig? The truth isn't fit for print.
Do you have any new material? Yup! Planning on recording a handful of new songs ASAP. I'm getting antsy/impatient.
What are your web sites?
How can people reach you? [email protected]
What are your plans for the future? more records, more songs, more shows, more more more.
Do you have something to add? thanks for asking us to talk with you! - chris
