Interview Part 2

DOWNCOUNT Interview, 11-11-09 - Part 2:

4. What bands are some of your biggest influences? (Rachel T.)

Marlon - Led Zep, Rush, Yes, Tool, Kansas, Iron Maiden, Muse, Zappa, Miles Davis, Coltrane, Earth Wind & Fire, Chicago, The Who, Procol Harum, Mew, Tenacious D, Weird Al, and a plethora of others...

Doug - The one that had the biggest impact was KISS, because Ace & Peter basically inspired me to play rock music. I'm not sure how much of an influence these artists eventually had on me, but I used to listen to bands like Dokken with George Lynch, Ratt, Fight, AC/DC, Ozzy, Faster Pussycat, Warrior, Rough Cutt, Metallica before Load, Megadeth, WASP, early TNT, Armored saint, Stuck Mojo, My Sister's Machine, White Zombie, Boston, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Quiet Riot...

Eric - Randy Rhoads had the biggest impact on me. Others that deserve a mention include, but are not limited to, Alice in Chains, Pantera, and AC/DC.

Will - This could be a long ass list! But in no particular order: KISS, Led Zep, Ramones, Tom Waites, Misfits, Alice Cooper, Dead Kennedys, Morphine, B.O.C., DEVO, Nick Cave, Black Sabbath, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Motorhead, Judas Priest, Beatles, BB King, AIC, Soundgarden, Husker Du, early Replacements, and more. Yeah I have eclectic tastes!

5. Your album makes some strong political statements, so how would you classify yourselves politically? (Richard B.)

Doug - Personally, I favor a truly free marketplace and oppose the *initiation* of force. I also believe in a firm and swift self-defense response to those who would initiate force against me. I guess you could call me an Anarcho-Capitalist, but in today's political climate, there are only two labels that mean anything to me: Statist and Non-Statist; everything else is just details. It makes my head nearly explode whenever I hear some people say that freedom--"not being under submission to a dominating force"--requires law and government--"a dominating force." Get a clue!

Eric - Pro-individual freedom.

Will - Not sure how to define, myself, as I feel that our current 2 party system has let us down. I'm fiscally conservative, socially moderate: libertarian with a "small L," as one of my bandmates likes to say.

Marlon - Speaking for myself, generally it's about individual liberty and self-government. When I'm feeling really generous I'm a Goldwater Conservative, but most days I'm Libertarian... which is the same thing! No matter how you slice it, the Federal Government has long gone way beyond their constitutional limits and is too intrusive into every aspect of daily life, from business, education, health, foreign relations, economy, and personal life. It is entirely corrupt and must be brought to its knees, if personal and financial freedom is a priority among the citizens of this country. And if the Federal Government doesn't respond to limitations put onto it by the people, then the States should consider other means of preserving liberty for their constituents.

6. Have you worked on any new material since you finished recording the first album? (Tammy C.)

Eric - Individually, yes. Collectively, not yet--but soon.

Marlon - Yeah, check this one out: "A preacher, a Rabbi and a Priest walk into a bar when the preacher says"...Oh wait...you mean music?? Nah...but soon enough my pretties, soon enough.

Will - I've got music in my head all the time, and we're gonna be writing together in the upcoming weeks. So as of right this moment, no, but we're gonna be writing new stuff in the coming weeks hopefully!

Doug - We haven't done any writing together on new material, but I expect that to change after the first of the year--and I'm very excited! I have ideas for 4 or 5 new tunes, and I know the other guys have ideas to throw into the mix, so I can't wait to see what we all come up with for the next album! Stay tuned...