The Gauntlet: What's new with Dry Kill Logic?
Cliff: It's been a busy year so far. We are just wrapping up all our studio time for the new record. We finished up the EP and we just finished vocals for the new album which comes out in September. The EP will be out June 27th. In April, we headed to Europe for our first ever headlining tour. It was a three week run. It was incredible over there, we felt like a real band. The fans were just insane. It's just really great to play somewhere we haven't played in years. We played some places we haven't been to ever and the response was just great.
The Gauntlet: Is the response for DKL much different in Europe as compared to the US?
Cliff: In Europe there is still an unbridled passion for bands and live shows. Here things are more subdued. In the US you need to be a much bigger band to have people lineup for shows and sell them out in a couple hours. To be honest we aren't used to that kind of response. We don't usually sellout shows weeks in advance or have kids show up at 10am. Over there it was a kind of insanity. We'd show up and there was a line of kids at 11am. We'd ask what they were doing and they'd say waiting for you guys. We weren't over there on a big packaged tour either. It was just us and some cool local bands. It was a real humbling response. We had only been to Europe once before in 2001 and that was with Spineshank for 8 shows. This kind of response in Germany was really cool.
The Gauntlet: Are there any shows set up in the US?
Cliff: We just wanted to do this run because we had it booked for months prior. We are just going to finish this record and take the summer off. The full length comes out in September and I know we are looking to do a headline run in the States as well as another headline run in Europe. I know next year we are going to be heading over to Australia and then Canada, followed by another run in the States. We don't know the exact timing yet though.
The Gauntlet: Was the recent Euro tour the first full tour with Brendan on bass?
Cliff: yeah, this was our first tour with Brendan. He has been a friend for years and we have always wanted him on bass. It was a good introduction. He joined the band and we immediately went over to Europe and began production on the EP. We are really happy to have him in the bad. He brings a lot to the table in terms of personality and musicianship. He's a really good dude.
The Gauntlet: Any initiation or hazing upon him joining?
Cliff: You know what's funny, anyone that knows this band will tell you the hazing in this band is nonstop. Jay and Brendan have known each other for years and have been in bands together. I think there has been a perpetual hazing going on. Aside from the mass quantities of booze and running around at all hours, nothing too unusual going on.
The Gauntlet: What does Brendan bring to the band?
Cliff: Brendan has a lot of fire and a lot of passion. He is a really really great bass player and a great dude. When he walks in the room, the mood lifts and he brings a lot of exuberance to a band that has been around for a while. Just watching him rock on stage makes us appreciate what we have accomplished together. Having him in the band is like a re-birth. We have gone through bass players. Casey was a good dude, but was just a fill in. Danny was in the band before him but was with us for such a short time. And Dave just did the first record. Finally we feel like we are a full four piece band. Everyone is happy and really good with what they do. There is now a certain cohesiveness.
The Gauntlet: 'The Magellan Complex' also contains a DVD with some videos, live footage, and backstage crap.
Cliff: It's fun man. You go out with friends and we are out there with the same purpose. We get to hang with our fans. It's a pretty good time. It's hard not to have one.
The Gauntlet: Those are some pretty big fireworks and firecrackers you guys were using. They can't be legal.
Cliff: [laughs]
The Gauntlet: Some of the explosions were rocking my house when I was watching the DVD. I could feel the shockwaves.
Cliff: [laughs] I'll be honest with you. Those guys are notorious for searching out fireworks anywhere we can find them. In the Northeast, they aren't as prevalent as they are in the South. They were finding stuff that I have never even heard of before and just jamming them in their instruments and blowing them up. Everything they can find. There is so much explosion footage that didn't make it in the DVD, we'll have to use it in the next one.
The Gauntlet: Why is the EP coming out so close to the release of the full length?
Cliff: We wanted to get something out there. We wanted to do a DVD. We weren't sure if we wanted to do just a DVD. We wanted to keep the word alive. It has been a while since we released anything. We wanted something out there in the summer for the fans, something with a low price point. It's got a couple songs, a couple covers. Just something out there that kids will enjoy that they wouldn't get on a full length.
The Gauntlet: For the covers, 'It's so Easy' and 'Dirty Black Summer' were put on the album. What was the reason behind these choices?
Cliff: We were just trying to think of covers that we enjoy listening to and playing. Guns n' Roses and Danzig the bands that were in every ones top 5 bands. We just said 'fuck it' and we picked those songs. Those two songs were the ones we agreed on.
The Gauntlet: Is 'From Victim to Killer' a good representation of the new material coming out from Dry Kill Logic?
Cliff: I think it's representative of the heavier stuff coming out on the record. From the first to the second record was an evolution and I think from the second to the third will be an evolution too. There is still going to be the really aggressive traits along with the melodic moments. But yeah, that's probably a good indication of how heavy this record will be when it comes out.
The Gauntlet: There seems to be a bit more thrashiness. I wouldn't call it thrash, but there are some great thrash elements and riffs.
Cliff: Yeah, I'd say there a lot of those kinds of thrashy moments in that song and other songs. I would say this record will have more of a thrash feel. It's more of an evolution than a style change though. The guys are influenced by the things around them and this is the music they want to make. We found ourselves wanting to make an record more aggressive than the last.
The Gauntlet: The opening riff from 'From Victim to Killer' has an early Anthrax vibe to it. I noticed that Dry Kill Logic is working with Rob Caggiano who also produced Anthrax. Did he pull the band in this direction?
Cliff: Pretty much it is just a reflection of what we are feeling. We have worked with those guys for a long time. We don't necessarily get too involved with the pre-production aspect. What we write pretty much is hot off the grill. Rob is involved in the production, but it wasn't an intentional transformation or anything like that.
The Gauntlet: Why leave Roadrunner Records for a smaller label like Repossession Records?
Cliff: When we left Roadrunner in 2002, we weren't in the forefront for the kind of careers we wanted to have. Things were changing in the music business. During the downtime I was a product manager at Universal Records and worked with bands like Hatebreed and Godsmack. It made me really see that for bands like us, aggressive bands not in the mainstream, money isn't inductive to a career. You can go sign a huge contract with a major label, but that doesn't mean you have a career. Seeing things at Universal made me change my mind with what I wanted from a record deal and where I wanted my career to go. So many bands don't see passed the advance and the publishing. You look at all the great artists, it is all about a career effort. We decided we wanted to partner with a label that would take the record to where it needs to be taken, as well has have a goal four or five records in the future. Repossession had that and the means to make it happen. We do this full time, we have videos, we tour, we have songs in movies, and we get radio play. For us it's maintaining and building. The label is focused on the long term with us.
The Gauntlet: It seems there is a trend with some bands doing this. They sign a big deal, get off the ground, then go on to their 'real deal' and then turn it into a career.
Cliff: Exactly. If you think about it, the more success an artist achieves, the more they wish they owned everything and had more control. Obviously it's one hand washes the other. You aren't going to get a big time agent or manager unless they get that big time cut. Sometimes you need more to get the ball rolling. You need the control not for the money, but for the piece of mind at the end of the day. It's surprising how many artists don't understand this. If I sold toothbrushes, I'd want to understand everything about how toothbrushes are sold. I wouldn't want the best toothbrush and have somebody else selling it. You have to understand and take it into your own hands. You have to have the bigger picture.
The Gauntlet: What's the release date for the upcoming full length?
Cliff: September 19th.
The Gauntlet: One of the things I found interesting about the DVD portion of 'The Magellan Complex' is everyone in the band pisses sitting down like a girl except Brendan at the end. Is he the only real dude in the band?
Cliff: It looks like what!!! [laughs] Oh man. We are a band of broads, what can I tell ya. [laughs]
The Gauntlet: After seeing some of the tour footage, give me a good tour story.
Cliff: Let me rack my brain. There was one time�I can't tell that story. Let's just say it like this. In the early days of this band, there were a couple band members with midget fetishes. I don't know if you have seen a full on train with a midget. That is something to see. But I can't tell that story.
The Gauntlet: You don't build up an intro to a story about a midget train and then not give details.
Cliff: Back in the early days of the band, we were on tour with Fear Factory. A guy in Fear Factory introduced us to a girl who thought she could pass herself off as Bridgette the Midget. But she wasn't her. We entertained it all night. She tried conning bands telling them she was a porn star. As it turned out, another buddy of mine came to the show with the real Bridgette the Midget. There was a huge fallout in the middle of our RV. It was hysterical to watch. The real Brigitte almost beat up the imposter. We stopped the fight and the real one leaves saying god knows what. So our tech and the old bass player ran a train on her in the back. She was kinda embarrassed and wanted to put the night behind her. So a couple shots, a couple beers, and a couple cocks later�
The Gauntlet: Why wasn't that on the DVD?
Cliff: I don't think anybody recorded that one. It was really funny watching those two midgets go at it.
The Gauntlet: Was watching it like driving by a bad accident scene?
Cliff: Exactly�you just couldn't walk away, but it was still so horrible. There have been some good times. That's the fun of being on tour. It can be anything you want it to be, midget trains and all.
The Gauntlet: Anything else to add, not that you can top that one.
Cliff: [laughs] no man, just want to say thanks to all the fans and kids who have supported us through the years.
