DEAD 50'S TR: Do you feel like you are carrying the banner for Rock and Roll in a musical period where rock seems to be all fluff or mtv-ized? When we get together to play, it's balls to your jaws man. We don't write music to get on the radio, or Mtv. We play honest, from the heart, Rock and Roll. The music industry has always had a habit of finding something that sells, and then exploiting it to the fullest. That's when you start hearing bands that all sound exactly the same. It's a shame really. TR: Did you always dig the rock sound that you display on your album or did you get to it via other channels, like from punk or from the beatles? Everyone in the band has different taste in music. Shawn(drummer) Loves 80's metal haha. Eric(Bass) listens to mostly punk, and I listen to all kinds of music, no one style inparticular. TR: How important was your live show in cultivating your sound? I think that playing live gives you a better understanding of what your going after musically. A lot of the album"Standing" was actually first written on stage lol. We had a habit of getting really excited about a new song and then playing it before it was completed. So we end up improving a part and it ends up sticking. After the show we are like"man that one part was really cool, does anyone remember how we played it" lol TR: Are live shows really the only way to listen to music? no man, you can get cd's, records, tapes etc.. sorry bad joke. Eric is really big on going to see punk rock, or just rock shows. I love live music, but it's rare that i get a chance to make it out to see one. TR: How long did you play as a band before you recorded the album? We played for about a year and released our first album "Every step towards death Makes me that much more alive" whew i'm outta breath. and then about a year and a half after that we released "Standing on the edge of forever" Not many people know about our first album because we released it ourselves, and never shopped it to any labels or anything. TR: How many times a week does your band practice? we usually practice about three times a week, but it is never the three same day's, between shows and everything else, we practice when we get a free night. TR: Do you have a day job and what is it? we all have day jobs, none worth mentioning!! TR: What does it take to have a hit song? Man, if i knew that, we wouldn't be riding from town to town in this old piece of shit Van! TR: What is your definition of success? I think music is integral to any culture no matter what the nationality. It supports communication, ideas, tradition, history, innovation, etc...it's a recognizable language to the educated and non educated, it crosses most economical and socio political boundaries and perfectly represents time. My answer is yes. Life is grey and dead without music. TR: Do you believe in the theory that every band has to have a hit single in order to make it? Having lots of money and lot's of ho's on your arm. Just kidding,i would define success like this. Being able to make a living doing what you love to do, even if it doesn't make you rich. TR: Where do you get most of your music? Online stores, traditional record stores? I steal most of the cd's i have from Eric. Eric get's most of his cd's from small record shops and online stores. Shawn is still listening to Def Leppards "Pour some sugar on Me" TR: Do you think the greater presence of booking agents, distributors, and publicity crews have made indie-rock in the mirror image of the type of musical organizations indie labels were trying to remove/distance themselves from? indie rock is going to grow no matter what. I think people are getting tired of hearing Metallica on the radio every other song and are making an effort to find the music they like, even if it takes a little digging on their part. I say if it helps get the music to the people, good. TR: What bands did the general music public miss out on in the 90's (a band that had small town popularity but big town potential)? The Meat Missiles TR: How often are you on the road? Every chance we get. We are working on a European Tour that will Hopefully happen in the next year. font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1" color="red">TR: Where did you play your best show? Wilapalooza, in Pa!!!!! TR: Would you be happy being a one hit wonder? Hell no Learn more about the Dead 50's at their website http://www.dead50s.com