Davey Suicide – Interview to their Album „Rock Ain’t Dead“

The name “Suicide” is a constant reminder that unless we kill ourselves, there’s no ceiling for what we are capable of.“ Hailing from Unholywood Killafornia, Davey Suicide is cultivating the underground by fusing arena rock, sleaze, industrial and theatrics into their own brand of industrial rock. The band, which features Davey Suicide along with Niko Gemini, Derek Obscura & Needlz distills rock, industrial and punk into anthems that
are as corrosive as they are catchy. „Rock fans haven’t gone anywhere,“ they just need a reason to fall in love again. Rock Ain’t Dead!“ November 8th  Davey Suicide will release their 4th  full length album, „Rock Ain’t Dead“, and the band is ready to pour gasoline into the fire that is currently reviving the North American rock scene. The band comes prepare with an album full of singles, that will wipe all critics of the face of the earth. Cocky? Fucking hell yes! After the first sign of new music „One Of My Kind“ was released in early 2019 on the Out of Line release „Awake The Machines“, the band finished up the work on the rest of the album. First official single release „Medicate Me“ (20th  of September 2019) will see a band in absolute top form, accompanied by the video which features Scout Taylor Compton (Rob Zombies‘ Halloween) in the lead role and guest vocals by The Word Alive’s Telle Smith.

As the first demos were created in 2010, Davey Suicide played a few shows in Hollywood, California in 2011 which caught the attention of several record label executives. By early 2012, Suicide signed a record deal and started extensively touring on the Put Our Trust in Suicide EP and Self Titled LP. From 2012-2015, the band went on several tours, played hundreds of shows (with the likes of Static-X, Combichrist, Wednesday 13, Twiztid, Ill Nino, Orgy, New Years Day, Jeffree Star, William Control) and put out 3 releases including the Put Our Trust in Suicide EP (Nov 2012), the self titled Davey Suicide LP (March 2013) and the World Wide Suicide LP (September 2014). Along the way, Suicide gained notable press with songs “Generation Fuck Star” and “Kids of America” by Kerrang Magazine as one of the Top 50 Rockstars in the World, Alternative Press’ 100 Bands You Need to Know, Revolver Magazine’s Ones to Watch, and numerous features in Big Cheese, Outburn, Substream,
Scuzz TV & Blank TV. In 2016, Davey Suicide’s catalogue was re-released on Itunes, and all digital outlets under AntiSystem Records umbrella. Made From Fire, the 3rd studio LP, was released independently 6 months later on March 24, 2017 and charted on Billboard. The album peaked at #3 on Top Heatseakers, #6 on Top Hard Rock, #14 on Top Independent and #76 on the Top 200. Made From Fire featured guest performances from juggalo act,
Twiztid and goth rocker, William Control. Suicide exclaims, “all of this adversity tested us and forced us to learn how to survive. It could have ended us, but instead, we’ve created our most exciting collection of material to date.” Currently, the Made From Fire album cycle has come to an end and the band is beginning the roll out for their 4th full length album. The first single, “One of My Kind” landed the band a worldwide deal with EU label, Out of Line, and the new album „Rock Ain’t Dead“ is set for release on November 2019. Critics rave, “Davey Suicide, incorporates the anarchistic bite of vintage Marilyn Manson with the stadium feel of Bring Me The Horizon and the anthemic melodies of Korn mixed with In This Moment.“ Davey Suicide is dark yet sexy with charisma and an unapologetic attitude leaving us all to realize: “If there’s a rock band out there the world needs to see right now, it’s Davey Suicide.“

Interview: 

1. Davey, please give a little insight to the history of the band. Where are you from, when was the band established, standard infos for people who are new to the band!

The band started and first album concepts were created in 2011 with our first shows in 2012.  We got signed, put out our first EP in November of 2012 and our first album in March of 2013.  We went through a couple line up changes, as most bands do in their initial stages, and Niko and Derek came on in 2014/15 at the tail end of the World Wide Suicide era. Marton, our newest member, joined us in 2019 after the departure of long-time drummer, Drayven Davidson in 2018.  There was a void after Drayven left because he was such an integral part and powerhouse on stage.  It didn’t start feeling complete again until Marton came aboard in 2019.  He is one hell of a drummer and our most technically sound player we’ve ever played with.

2. Please introduce briefly the individual bandmembers!

Niko, our guitarist is originally from Russia and his favorite band is ACDC.
Derek, aka the Strange Man plays bass and adds a lot of punk rock and horror to our mix.
Marton, from Hungary is our newest member and he’s a baaaaaad man behind the drum kit.

3. ROCK AIN’T DEAD – the title of the new album. Please give an insight to how you chose the name!

“Rock Ain’t Dead” stemmed from my suspicion that Rock fans haven’t gone anywhere, they just need a reason to fall in love again. From what I’ve observed, the music industry continues to shrink and the companies running it have become less likely to take risks on bands. There is less money to go around for developing artists and being stuck with an unsuccessful campaign. That forces mid level bands, like us, to be pushed aside for being different, or you can choose to conform to what works. Most big Labels have a team of writers who will demo songs for bands willing to be puppets and they re-record that song to make it their own. Labels feel safe by trusting this process because they have a track record with the songwriters/producers and in turn, most bands sound the same. As a fan of music, I feel we are doing an injustice to listeners to play it safe and we as artists should push boundaries, and take music farther than its ever been. I think that’s why I have a problem with authority. They’ve always said, you can’t do that. Of course you can. Boundaries are only there because we put them there. Hopefully, this puts a fire under everyone’s ass and our listeners realize we’re doing something fresh and cool.

4. You worked on the album artwork with Richard Villa III. Can you tell the story behind the artwork? Does it have a specific meaning and how does it coincide with the album title and the single „Rock Ain’t Dead“ and the video for it?

The cover derives concepts from „as above, so below,“ but we’ve left several concepts for the fans to come up with their own meanings.  If they watch the R.A.D. music video, you’ll see dozens of subliminal meanings sprinkled throughout.  

5. R.A.D. is your fourth full album, and the first one with Out Of Line Music in Germany.
What do you think will change for the band, now that you work together with a label based in Europe?

Creating expectations tends to ruin the outcome of situations, so I’ve been trying to limit mine on this release.  What I do know is this is our best album and collection of songs to date.  We’ve given them our best videos, press photos and album art so they can do their job to their best of their abilities. I’m hoping by the end of this cycle, we’re neck in neck with the top tier bands of our genre.

6. Making of The Album: Could you briefly give an insight to the making of the album? Your writing process, the recording process and any anecdotes from the mix and/or master?

The writing and completion of this album was easier than any we’ve had in the past. Jared aka „Needlz“ and I have a great flow, since we’ve worked togther since 2011. The concepts end up being the toughest part to tackle but after spit balling a few ideas, it started taking shape.  The album was almost called Coping Mechanisms but I felt like Rock Ain’t Dead was such a bigger concept.  This was the first album that I co-wrote with Charles, our producer and we did 4 songs together after writing One of My Kind together.  I think I finally had a clear head and both of these guys are great at knowing what I like, so the collaboration is organic.  By the time the songs were ready for Niko, I didn’t think it could get any better, but Niko is a boss and brought it to an even higher level with his guitar parts.

7. Can you give liner notes, comments, anecdotes to the following songs please:

– Medicate Me
“Medicate Me” is about breaking out of the vicious cycle that keeps you emotionally or physically hostage. Most of us have been in a relationship where we know we deserve better. The signs of hope and promises of change keep us in it longer than we should be. I feel like my brain knows when I’m on the verge of overcoming this addiction. Then I have a weak moment and it ropes me back into the cycle. Recognition is the first key to changing this behavior and then discipline and self awareness that you deserve better has to be the guide to “cut all ties from you.”

– Rock Ain’t Dead
“Rock Ain’t Dead” stemmed from my suspicion that Rock fans haven’t gone anywhere, they just need a reason to fall in love again. From what I’ve observed, the music industry continues to shrink and the companies running it have become less likely to take risks on bands. There is less money to go around for developing artists and being stuck with an unsuccessful campaign. That forces mid level bands, like us, to be pushed aside for being different, or you can choose to conform to what works. Most big Labels have a team of writers who will demo songs for bands willing to be puppets and they re-record that song to make it their own. Labels feel safe by trusting this process because they have a track record with the songwriters/producers and in turn, most bands sound the same. As a fan of music, I feel we are doing an injustice to listeners to play it safe and we as artists should push boundaries, and take music farther than its ever been. I think that’s why I have a problem with authority. They’ve always said, you can’t do that. Of course you can. Boundaries are only there because we put them there. Hopefully, this puts a fire under everyone’s ass and our listeners realize we’re doing something fresh and cool.

– Animal
“Animal” is our cat and mouse thrill of the chase adrenaline rush when you meet someone who makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. You want to do all the bad things to them and you’re okay with receiving it in return. There’s the moments in life that you’ll never forget, that may be forbidden to tell your friends and that’s okay because were animals running free in the wild.

– One Of My Kind 
“One of My Kind” stemmed from my first fling after my relationship with my ex, Kelly. I wasn’t mentally ready for a relationship and I wanted to have fun. The girl I started seeing caught feelings quick, was a recovering addict and was in the process of converting to Scientology and wanted me to convert with her. The mixture led to spontaneous fun but I couldn’t see myself with her in a relationship. She was damaged beyond what I could control. Eventually, the sex wasn’t worth the baggage and her Scientology instructor said if we weren’t in a 2D relationship then we couldn’t hang out anymore. That was my cue to leave and write One Of My Kind.

– Addict
Addict is about being at war within yourself. I found myself sabotaging my progress, making excuses for my actions, and losing discipline in situations that I needed to hold it together. Everything in life is a choice and I kept choosing the wrong things. I love living on the edge but there’s a difference between looking over the edge and pushing yourself too far that you fall off.

– I Need You
I started reading all the lyrics to this album and realized I was relying on coping mechanisms to pick me up, instead of owning my mistakes and improving myself. “I Need You” is the confession to the ones you hurt to say, I’m a fuck up and I want to be better. I grew a lot during the last 3 years and realized a lot of my unhappiness stemmed from me. I’ve been working on that and reached out to those I’ve hurt in the past to say I’m sorry. I’m always trying to get better and not carrying that weight anymore which has really helped.

Links

Artist Website: http://daveysuicide.com/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/daveysuicide
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daveysuicide/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/daveysuicide
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/daveysuicide
Tumblr: http://daveysuicide.tumblr.com/
Merch: http://daveysuicidemerch.com/
Patreon: http://patreon.com/daveysuicide