Darwen's Theory band Interview

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I N T E R V I E W
June 2004
Darwen's Theory

EFF MESTEMAKER,
PAUL RANKL
JOHN SHAW,
TYLER ROLLINS

http://www.darwenstheory.net

1. RCN: What type of band are you?

Darwen's Theory: We’re a pretty good mix of metal, hard rock, punk, and a bit psychedelic.

2. RCN: Tell us the brief history of your band.

Darwen's Theory: Well it started out as Paul & Jeff, and John was brought in early 2002, and after going through many a bass player we finally had to settle for Tyler. Just kidding, he’s great.

3. RCN: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

Darwen's Theory: We’ve got a pretty broad range of those. I know musical influences span the spectrum with this band, with influences like CCR, Sabbath, Metallica, Nirvana, AC/DC, Rush, Primus.. hell, John even listens to trance & rap sometimes and absolutely loves video game & movie soundtracks.

4. RCN: What are your dreams and goals?

Darwen's Theory: Basically we’d just like to play out, write songs that are good for the people who come and see us play, and hopefully we can get a following and people will KNOW about us, you know?

5. RCN: Who writes the songs, what are they about?

Darwen's Theory: We all write the songs. It’ll start off as a melody, or a rhythm, or a drumbeat, or a bass line.. and we’ll just sit and jam on it till something coherent with a strong vibe comes out, and we’ll start fleshing it out then. Usually they’re about theoretical situations, or just your general run-of-the-mill subjects… come to think of it, we don’t have many “normal” songs.

6. RCN: What's your opinion of George Bush?

Darwen's Theory: No comment.

7. RCN: How do you promote your band and shows?

Darwen's Theory: We (and by we, we mean John) designs and prints out flyers and basically we just whore ourselves out whenever we have a show. It works out well, we usually get people that’ve never seen us before but once they walk away, they dig us. We need to do more mass-advertising though, and nothing’s better than playing shows.

8. RCN: Describe your show, visual and musically

Darwen's Theory: It’s a pretty high-energy show. We’re definitely a sober band, so we’re not sloshed and fucking up chords and leads and beats and shit – that’s no way to go. You want to be good for the crowd, so party later. We have a lot of antics, and we love fucking with the crowd, especially Paul. At our shows, there’s usually lots of energy passing between the band and the audience, and that’s the best, really.

9. RCN: What do you think about downloading music online?

Darwen's Theory: No problems with it. Buying songs for $0.99 a piece is a STEAL!
10. RCN: What's your outlook on the record industry today?

Darwen's Theory: It’s pretty washed out nowadays. Music on the radio is such crap, and it’s lame because the record companies complain about losing money to downloading & bootlegging when they’re backing these lame bands & pop acts on the radio and charging more than $13 - $15 for their CD. It’s all bullshit. To make it, you gotta write stuff that appeals to people – but people other than you.

11. RCN: What's your claim to fame?

Darwen's Theory: Well, I know Paul was on Dr Demento awhile ago with his band that covered a Beach Boys tune. That’s about it.

12. RCN: Tell us a story about a day in your life.

Darwen's Theory: We wake up, we go to work, we get to practice, we jam, we go home and sleep. But that’s only 3 days out of the week.

13. RCN: What inspires you to do what you do?

Darwen's Theory: Just the joy of letting other people hear the fruits of our labor, really. I mean there’s nothing better than finally getting that last twist in a song and you’ve put the final touch on it. And you go and you play the new tune at a show, and the crowd either loves it or they don’t. And you can always tell which. We strive to make sure we can write songs for US, the band, but also keep the crowd interested.

14. RCN: What advice would you give to fellow bands?

Darwen's Theory: Just gotta stick it out. Work is hard, and there’s no harder working industry than professional music.

15. RCN: What are some of your pet peeves?

Darwen's Theory: Probably people that can’t give the band a chance; we’re not as dark and heavy as some might think, and we’re certainly not over-the-top. We’re who we are. Just a straight-forward, hard rock/metal band with good tunes.

16. RCN: How does music affect you and the world around you?

Darwen's Theory: Music is pretty important. We listen when we’re at home, when we’re on the job, and during 3 evenings during the week, we’re in there creating our own.

17. RCN: What's new in the recording of your music?

Darwen's Theory: Our songs have definitely a different structure than they used to. So far we’ve got 2 CD’s recorded, and you can definitely see the progression between the two from the new influences that have come around. Since we brought Tyler on board, the music has taken yet another direction. For those who know us, and haven’t seen us at a club in a while, when we get our new CD out, it’s gonna turn a lot of heads.

18. RCN: What are the biggest obstacles for bands?

Darwen's Theory: Promotion and getting your name out there. Getting a following. You want to have some kind of reputation as you go from club to club. You want people to at least be able to recognize you. That’s the hardest part.

19. RCN: What's the best and worst thing about playing clubs?

Darwen's Theory: The best? Being up on stage, being entertainers, and sharing our creations. The worst? No A/C and no free drinks.

20. RCN: Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.

Darwen's Theory: No solid dates yet, but we’re working on lining up shows at Paladino’s, The Tryst, Key Club, and Whisky, just to name a few. Keep an eye out for us during the summer, it’s a good guess to say we’re gonna hit hard & fast.

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