Deadguy
Screamin’ with the Deadguy Quintet (Victory)
An interview with drummer Dave Rosenberg
by Tim Creter
First off, when I hear you on the album, I hear unadulterated rage and anger like I’ve never heard before. Are you guys crazy or do you just sound that way?
We are crazy, but it has nothing to do with the way the music sounds… We channel power from our heroes of heavy metal past. Actually, we’re pretty normal. All of us have jobs and are fully functioning citizens except when it comes time to rock. Then we’re possessed.
Ever kill anybody?
I think about killing a lot of people. Maybe all at one time, maybe individually. Haven’t decided yet.
What’s the situation with the line-up? I heard about a change of singers.
We had some changes and now we sound better than we ever did in the past. Plus, now we all get along.
Where are you all from?
We all live in NJ, me (Dave), Crispy and Jim are originally from here and Pops used to live in Denver, Colorado.
Who are your musical influences?
We all grew up pretty metal. Jim even has long hair. I saw Kiss when I was 7 and it just elevated from there until I became out of control. Some of our musical influences are Black Flag, Black Sabbath, Unsane, Today is the Day, Misfits, Voivod, Slayer… just to name a few.
Did the environment you came from have any effect on your style?
The environment has definitely affected our sound. People in New Jersey are pissed. The surroundings are not awful but in most cases it’s kinda dismal. Personally, I like it here, there’s a lot going on and you don’t have to worry about earthquakes or tornadoes. Of course, me and Pops almost got shot once in front of our old house, but that’s not important.
How’d you get your insane sound?
The sound evolved through the years. It didn’t come all at once. At first we were putting too much thought into it and then we learned to just let it flow and we found that the results are much better that way.
Anyone in the band straight-edge?
No comment.
How are crowd reactions when you play live? When I saw you in Boston a year ago there wasn’t much action.
We play music that people don’t like. Somewhere there is a crowd for us, but I don’t know where.
Do you consider yourselves a “hardcore” band?
We have hardcore roots and aggression but the lines that used to divide different genres have been totally blurred in the last few years. I like to think that we helped that and opened doors for new styles of music to emerge and be disliked by the masses.
How did you hook up with Victory?
We hooked up with Victory awhile ago. Tony had been distributing our first 7″ and we became friends. As time went on we had the opportunity to release a full length. We called him and the rest is history.
If you could play a show with any band, who would it be with?
I would like to play with Kiss or Iron Maiden.
Favorite weapons?
My sharp wit is my favorite weapon.
Any final words?
Check out the Deadguy website at www.handofdoom.com
