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First of all, please introduce your band to the readers of the zine who aren't familiar with it yet.
Davi: We are Blind Before Dawn, often abbreviated to BBD . A band that has been in existence for 10 years that has changed style and sound like a chameleon.
How did things get started?
Davi: Slowly! The initial line up was myself and a guitarist called Shane, who came and went various times before he finally retired from the band. A lot of line up changes, a lot of hurdles and stumbling blocks ,but I never gave up my vision of BBD.I treat anything before the "Distance" album as being nothing but a learning curve and glorified demo material.Some of it was admittedly bad! But we've grown to such a level that I class this as a totally different band since David and Mat joined me.
How would you describe your music?
Davi: A hybridisation of rock,goth,industrial, and techno metal I guess? It's hard to say because we've progressed so much that we have followers from many different genres of music from dance/techno to death metal. Though I would say that we have more connection to Industrial than anything. Think bands like Dope Stars Inc, Deadstar Assembly, Orgy, Zeromancer, contemporary AFI. Then you have an idea where we are at right now.
What are your main influences?
Davi: The life we see around us is probably the major influence ,without it I think we'd not have the will to pick up a pen to write lyrics. Musically the major influence has always been The Cure for me ,though it's probably not so obvious these days. I grew up mesmerised with Robert Smith's voice, his unique guitar playing. These days we've been looking at breaking away from purist goth crowds and trying to snuggle our way into the metal scene. Which I'm sure we'll go down well with and hopefully expand our live line up to include a live drummer/percussionist and live bass player for the future.
David: I’ve tried to stay away from being influenced by gothic bands in BBD so I know that what we’re doing is original rather than trying to sound the same as our peers. I learnt to sing vocal harmony by listening to & singing along with records by the Beach Boys. Crosby Stills & Nash, Eagles etc and consequently I think we’re the only act on the UK scene that has the vocal sound that we do, without compromising anything on the heaviness of the beats, guitar & keyboard sound. We’re all in agreement that what we have in this band can cross beyond the goth scene as there’s always a market for good songs played well, whatever subcategory they fall into. At the same time, the goth fraternity is largely a loyal one that we’re happy to be a part of.
Mat:The personal things that influence me for BBD are usually the more positive aspects of life. I don't see this type of music as one for expressing my anger or sorrow about something. Musically when creating anything I am influenced from a wide range of styles. I come from a rock and metal background and only recently developed a taste for electronic music so there's a lot to draw from.
Your currently latest release is 'Regress/Progress' - what can people whoblindly buy it expect of it?
Davi: A steady progression of seeing where we evolved over a decade. There's quite a few collaborations with other artists on the CD ,some very alternative remixes of the original songs. On the whole I think it was a satisfactory album and came together a lot better than I had thought it would to say it is a history spanning a decade. We've changed style a lot, but nothing sounded out of place in the progression in my opinion. With "Regress / Progress" I believe we have catalogued the best of our electronic sound, incorporated some heavier guitars, and lots of dancefloor friendly songs. The album's received a lot of good feedback so far.
'Cold Heart' - your second full-length - will be out soon. What can weexpect of that one? What are - in your opinion - the major differences and/or improvements inbetween the 'Regress/Progress' release and this newalbum?
Davi: "Cold Heart" has been reworked quite a few times so far already. We had decent songs ,but they were not FANTASTIC songs - and this time I don't want an album that is anything less than our best songwriting. "Cold Heart" is shaping up to sound more mature,harder, relying less on technology and showing our guitar skills. I guess that what I am saying is that the next album will be from the heart as opposed to just showing off what nice technology we have got at our fingertips.
When we check the MySpace page, we see that quite a bunch of releases areor were 'deleted'. What's the reason for this?
Davi: Some of the older material was not good enough to retail any longer - I've felt we've really outgrown some aspects of older BBD material -like the Distant EP, which is nowhere in the same league as where BBD is now. We deleted the "Breaking The Haloes" single, and "Distance" album due to our signing with Mandrax Industries. Stephen of M.I. / Rebco Records approached me with the opportunity to release a compilation of the best 10 years of BBD that had never appeared on a pressed disc before. So the process was to take the best of "Distance" and "Breaking The Haloes" releases - render those releases as deleted, and promote a new disc, remastered with some reworked material,and new songs to introduce people to our latest member Mat Lahan, and to use those new songs as a stepping stone to gradually evolve to the next level of our sound .
Next to releases you appeared on various compilations as well. How do youvalue the importance of compilation releases?
Davi: Compilations have always been a valuable way of spreading your music to people Though I think there are two different sort of compilations. There are those who take quality bands and tracks and leave a lasting impression. Then there are those who just take your money to make up the numbers on a compilation.We have found that appearing on the latter has not done us much justice.Compilations are a fun way for us to discover other bands on the scene though- we've played quite a few shows with other bands we discovered from compilations we both appeared on and have in some instances struck a great rapport with bands and become very good friends because of it.
David: I think compilations are a great avenue for hearing different acts and forming opinions on them, especially for groups that are not getting radio play. I’ve bought albums in the past on the basis of liking songs that I’ve heard on compilations.
Mat:I have never really had much experience with compilations. All my past bands never developed to such a level where we did even a decent recording so compilations have never come into it for me. I have now seen though they can be a great way of getting your music to people who may not have come across it before and as Davi has said, meeting other bands.
The music you play would fit quite a visual live show. What can astranger expect when he or she visits a live show of Blind Before Dawn?
David: I think it’s important to an artist to do anything they can to entertain the audience, and we like to dress up and make an effort for the crowd. We’re looking at investing money that we’ve made from the band into improving our stage show to make our performances even more memorable.MAT:I'd just like to think we're not a boring band to watch live. There are so many out there that play great music but just stand around and look miserable, which isn't fun for anyone. I hope people can see just how much fun we have together on stage.
What are your views on the music scene in the UK?
Davi: Mixed feelings really. Lately I've been straying from the purist goth crowds and events as they can be a bit stifling and secular. As you can imagine this leads to feuds/bitchiness and I'm trying to steer BBD to pastures greener I suppose. Same with going to clubs and shows, I've been trying to discover more crossover potential getting us on with bands that share a similar view.In regards to where we like playing - I think we are mostly appreciated in the southwest and northeast areas of the UK. Newcastle/Redcar/Whitley Bay were fantastic places to play where people really appreciated us. Same with Plymouth -which is still my favourite place to play- it was more like one big family get together than us playing a show. Really nice to feel so welcome in a town like that.
David: I don’t think there is a collective ‘scene’ in the UK but individual towns and venues have reputations for being friendly to the kind of music that we play and consequently these are the places that we love coming back to.MAT :I am totally bewildered by it to be honest. There just doesn't seem to be the support there anymore that there used to be. It often feels like there are more bands than fans, and because of that the bands aren't supporting each other because they're trying to get ahead themselves. I'm not saying every band is like this as we have made a lot of friends. I completely agree with Davi though about staying clear of all the back-stabbing and two-facedness by trying out new places to play and new crowds who may not have heard anything like BBD before.
What are - next to music - your other passions in life?
Davi: Travelling, reading, good people ,baroque architecture,good wine,italian food, and being there for others who need me. Good vibes really.
David: I like going for walks and exploring. I love visiting old buildings and watching football and cricket.
Mat:I am a total geek so video games, comic books etc. are usually what I'm doing. I have a close group of friends who I like nothing better than having a few beers with them and hanging around talking crap all day.
What can we expect of Blind Before Dawn within the (near) future?
Davi: A new EP titled "RE : Workx volume 1" should be available on Mandrax Industries in the late summer or early autumn. European tour dates. more compilation releases - we are to appear on Dark Spy's latest covermount CD with issue 23.
Ok - the interview ends here, thanks for your time. Got any final words?
Davi: Support the underground, spread the love and don't hate, buy our CD if you like the Myspace samples! Thanks so much for the interview.
Mat: Please support the bands you love. Give up something for the people who take the time to make you feel good. Thank you for reading this. If you do come to a show come and say hello and we'll have a beer or ten together. Cheers!
Interview by: Gerardo - June 2009
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