Friday, March 15, 2013

Justin from DLK!

I had the pleasure of Gchating this afternoon with Justin Gonzales, the guitarist and vocalist from DLK.  DLK will be closing out the night at the first ever Hearts Bleed Radio show, and we're super excited to see them!  Despite it being the middle of his birthday week (I'm guessing he's between 21 and 24), Justin was collected and thoughtful.  Here's what he had to say...


Hearts Bleed Radio: So for starters, give me some background info on DLK. You guys released stuff on Bandcamp back in 2011, have you been on and off since then? Whats the line-up of the band? You sing and play guitar?

Justin: Well the bassist, Josh, and I started what would become DLK way back in '05.  Went through a bunch of drummers, and we sorta put it to rest around the beginning of '08, that was around the time I joined Pet Ghost Project.  (Currently, the band is made up of Justin on gtr/vox, Josh on bass, and Travis on drums.)

HBR: So you've been involved with a bunch of bands through the years. I've seen you play with Magnetic Island and Passenger Peru too. How difficult is it to like, compartmentalize the different projects?

Justin: Not too difficult.  My role in Magnetic Island was more for the live situation, pretty much all my parts were written out already.  With Passenger Peru, I was more involved in the writing and arranging.

HBR: The remastered PP album sounds great by the way, is that up on Bandcamp now? Or just a direct download for friends?

Justin
: Thanks!  All credit to Justin Stivers on that one.  And no, not on Bandcamp yet
only for friends now...but once we figure out a few things we'll re-release it.  Soon...






 Rock photography tip #52: A tinsel background will bring out the sparkle in the drum hardware.


HBR: Cool. So DLK is more metal than most of the stuff I hear coming out of the Indie scene these days. I think it's pretty much a spot where metal, grunge, and indie all kinda intersect. What are you influences?

Justin: Yeah, I hate to say it, but in terms of the indie scene today, there's a lack of balls in the music,
and we all like music that can punch you in the face every now and then...  basically stuff with dynamics, Queens of the Stone Age, Fugazi...  and we like to have fun with it...  We definitely don't take ourselves too seriously.

HBR: Haha, I hear that.  "Mister C." has that quality.  I really dig it when the guitar comes in.  But if you think about it, like, if you were on the subway, listening to that song, you might not be able to hear the intro at all.  I think there's a connection between the modern listening environments and hyper compressed music.  And of course, the dynamics suffer.  Tell me about your writing process.

Justin: That's true.  Unfortunately, listening to music on its own without anything else going on is a dying pastime.  People need something that's immediate, and I can see how the more subtle, quiet aspects of certain types of music can get lost.  But in regards to us, we just play and write whatever excites us, and music with big dynamics does.  Well it (the writing process) is pretty much split between Josh and I.  Sometimes, we'll throw in complete ideas, and other times, just a simple riff or two and hammer it out until it becomes something.  I handle the lyric duties, which due to procrastination on my part, I tend to put off until we have do to something like recording.  A lot of "na na nas" or mumbling if I have something incomplete, even on stage...  or screaming...  screaming solves everything.

HBR: Yeah, lyrics are hard, I do that too. The lyrics are usually the last thing that gets finalized. Do you have plans for the future? Any more releases? I feel like DLK could make a pretty sweet full length.

Justin: We'd love to hit the studio and record!  There's probably 10-12 other songs we have so far along with the 3 on Bandcamp now... But we all have day jobs and have to figure out schedules...  I'd love to say the summer we could do it, but no solid plans as of yet.  And play more shows, of course.


Next time we interview Justin, we'll have to ask about the pedal board.

HBR: Cool. One last question...  Any local bands you're excited to see and/or think we should be listening to?

Justin: My buds Quiet Loudly are always at the top of the list...  Sweet psych soul is what I like to call it.  Maquina Supervium have only been around less than a year and are about to put out an awesome album...  Check them out.  Eula's noisy and awesome....  A lot of noise from just bass, guitar, and drums!  Gunfight's always a great time....  Drunken country punk fun.  And last one!  Haven't seen them yet, but I've been listening to Public Speaking's new record quite a bit...  One of the best of the year for me to date.

HBR: I haven't heard Public Speaking, I'll have to check them out. I can definitely vouch for the others being pretty great. Thanks for your time, and we look forward to seeing you next Friday!

DLK has three rockers up on their Bandcamp page, here.

You can "like" them on Facebook, here.

And you can get more info on the 3/22 show, here.  Go ahead and RSVP and make me happy!

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