TheMotherFuckinDeathSet
Design Nolen Strals
Over the past year, the masters of infinitely spastic sounds, TheDeathSet, have gone back and forth between U.S. and E.U. cities, wreaking havoc to all who’ve witnessed their assaulting, in-your-face sets. They spew the kind of energetic music that should be blasted during moments of skateboarding, heated love making, getting piss drunk, fits of happy rage, getting your first tattoo or simply being overjoyed that life is fucking good.
It was just a few years ago that New York City, and the thought of conquering the land of the free, was but a glimmer in Johnny Siera and Beau Velasco’s eyes. “We did an Australian tour with our old band Black Panda with Brooklyn band Japanther. It was really inspirational and pretty much decided that we would move to New York and tour and destroy the states,” recounts Johnny. With that motivation, the two friends picked up and left the Gold Coast of Australia and headed to America.
Destroy the states they did. In a short span of time, Johnny and Beau found their calling in the grimey warehouse scene of Baltimore. Since planting their feet there, they’ve done a good amount of globetrotting playing gigs with the likes of Bonde do Role, Monotonix, Team Robespierre, Matt & Kim (current F Yeah and VICE tour). In July they’ll rode trip with The Mae Shi in support of their recent full-length April release, ‘Worldwide‘, on Ninja Tune off-shoot Counter Records. Quite frankly, The Death Set have gone beyond conquering the states – they’ve chewed it up, spit it out and are still storming ahead.
With a penchant for noisy lo-fi punk flooded with distorted guitars and screeching vocals, drum-machine beats, with elements of dance-punk, The Death Set meld a pool of sickening sounds that could very well rob you of your hearing and quite possibly melt your face. They’re like the bratty, bastard kids of Ian McKaye that have taken bits of cool from Minor Threat, The Dead Boys and Le Tigre, and created a totally unique sound of their own – and unlike McKaye, they’re all for crowd surfing. The Death Set are maddening cool and will elevate your adrenaline 5 notches and bring on a sweat-induced frenzy to any party, basement, club, warehouse, living room or roof top bang-off – You’re sure to be chanting “TheMotherFuckinDeathSet” and feeling amped at the end.
Continue on for some photos, video footage, remixes by etan and Pfunkt, gig dates and an interview with Mr Johnny Siera (done in between The Death Set’s European tour in May, prior to their U.S. tour with Bonde do Role)… Yeah, it’s a head spin of a lot… Cheers to Johnny for taking the time to answer in detail, amidst a grueling schedule!
Photos of FYeah tour
Videothing captures the FYeah tour
The Death Set MySpace
The Death Set Remixes
video by Danny Baxter
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The Death Set – Negative Thinking
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The Death Set – Impossible (etan’s impossible outlook take 8)
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The Death Set – Impossible (Pfunkt’s Im-Poss-Ass-ible Remix)
Q&A with TheDeathSet
Lovestar: For those that don’t know, fill us in from point A of leaving the Gold Coast of Australia, going to Sydney, picking up and moving to the states; Brooklyn, then ending up in Baltimore.
Johnny Siera: So Beau and I met on the Gold Coast of Australia. It’s a surfing town near Brisbane on the East Coast. Really beautiful but pretty devoid of anything inspirational. We did an Australian tour with our old band Black Panda with Brooklyn band Japanther. This meant really only about 5 dates though. But it was really inspirational and pretty much decided that we would move to New York and tour and destroy the states. No doubt.. We first moved to Sydney, wrote a bunch of songs, put a picture of NY on the wall, then moved. After a stint of being broke and first hand experiencing how rad Baltimore’s warehouse scene was we moved down there. It was a fairly easy decision.
Lovestar: Any story behind ‘The Death Set’ name, how it came to be?
Johnny Siera: It was always meant to be a kind of gang or club type feel. But it has that kind of polar opposite thing going on which I like as we’re really the most un-scary band you don’t know.
Lovestar: How many key people in the group and who goes on tour?
Johnny Siera: Beau and I wrote the record. Beau doesn’t come on tour right now as he works and trains as a tattooist. So on tour it is me, Peter O’Connell on guitar, and two live drummers Jahphet Landis and Joey Sulkowski. Of course with all the electronic backing tracks blasting out of our system. We’re especially close with a bunch of peoples like Ninja Sonik, Matt and Kim, Bikes in the Kitchen, Chief Magazine, Tod Seelie and Emily Rabbit who we are in crew called the Newmore Swithblades.
Lovestar: You’ve just wrapped up another U.K. tour – What were some of the highlights? Did things get real rowdy?
Johnny Siera: Yeah it was real rad. Just like anywhere some places and shows are rowdier than others but kids were spazzing for real. The UK can sometimes have a “cooler” atmosphere so it was fun to fuck shit up.
Lovestar: Your full-length, “Worldwide” is already out in Japan and the U.K. and is about to drop in the U.S. on April 22 on Counter Records – Ninja Tunes offshoot. How did it happen that you ended up getting signed to Counter Records?
Johnny Siera: When we first moved to the states, we moved with our pal from Annapolis whom we lived next door to in Sydney, Sniper Dan He now actually runs a rad letterpress gallery called The Arm in Sydney. Through that contact we met Emily Rabbit who put out our first two EP’s. Through her we met Spankrock… Following? Anyways we crashed on Spankrock’s floor the first bit we were in the states and became friends. So when they toured we hung out and met the Ninja Tune (Counter) kids and I guess they just kept tabs on us because when the record was done I sent it to them and they were super stoked. In the end we worked it out to have the record come out on Counter and I’m super psyched.
Lovestar: How long did it take for all 18 tracks off “Worldwide” to come together and what went into the process?
Johnny Siera: The actual process of writing was probably a year but that included touring as hard and often as we could. Then probably another year and a half where I had to leave the states, solve visa stuff, mix and change labels. The process of writing was pretty relaxed. We recorded it ourselves and pretty much just ate rice and tofu, watched hip hop videos on youtube, went skateboarding then wrote for a bit over the course of a year or so. The whole process was real DIY and we were able to tweak it til we were happy. And yes, we wanted it to sound the way it does. With distorted vocals, synths and drums which is why it comes across as lo-fi.
Lovestar: What were you guys doing prior to forming The Death Set?
Johnny Siera: I was living in Japan for two years and traveling and partying, going crazy as much as I could. Beau was living on the coast DJing making electronic music. Its funny because we both made both electronic and punk music but at different times and we kind of met each other in the middle.
Lovestar: Does Australia have as great of a music scene as it seems? If so, what was your motivation to leave?
Johnny Siera: When I was living there it was more of a ecstasy drenched electro scene which was most prevalent. Which is fun and cool but not really too much of a scene that supported more experimental stuff. When we were playing Sydney it was more of the fact that we would just be playing the same clubs again and again and we wanted to tour like the bands we would read about like Black Flag etc. So the motivation was to tour. For me I wanted to be a band where playing shows defined the music rather than writing a record then touring it.
Lovestar: What triggered everything to come together and really start happening for you?
Johnny Siera: To be honest, it was positive thinking. I know it sounds cheesy but every day I would devote a time to affirm, visualize and feel out where I wanted to be and it was crazy to watch it unfold.
Lovestar: Discuss the music making process that you go through and who does what
Johnny Siera: Beau and I both write the songs. They are usually written in a rock way where the structure, and lyrics are written first usually on guitar or in a more electronic way where I will be sitting around messing with a sampler of synth then the structure is written on top of that. I would then work on the electronics with Beau stomping around the room giving input. Anything goes in there from the obvious organic guitars and vocals to outboard gear like MPC’s, synthesizers and laptop programming. Pots and pans on one track even. Whatever seems good at the time.
Lovestar: Would you say your music professes positivity, messages of hope?
Johnny Siera: Yeah definitely, but I wouldn’t say we profess it. A lot of it is just personal struggles going on in my own head and the songs I guess being the documents of dealing with it. As I said before I really do try hard to be aware of what’s going on in my head. I know how important that is, and how I’m the only one responsible for it. But sometimes it is simple spazzy punk rock with out swing on it. Most songs cull anything superfluous and is direct as possible.
Lovestar: Music influences – past and present and how you take these bits and apply it to your sound
Johnny Siera: Hip hop, electronic music and punk are the three styles that I have lived with pretty much all my life. I would like to think “Worldwide” is a little beast vomited out of the mish mash of those styles going on in our heads.
Lovestar: Have either one of you ever had your hand at Djing?
Johnny: Yeah Beau DJ’d for a while and I do it every now and then. More laid back and relaxed rather than dance floor burner style.
Lovestar: Between a lot of time spent making music, touring and performing, what do you find yourselves doing in your spare time? (if there is any of that!)
Johnny: Pretty much 99% of my energy is revolved around this band. And has been for a long time. But in my spare time I guess I like the usual things like hanging out with my friends, going out and getting crazy and the like. Riding bikes and skateboarding when I can.
Lovestar: This question is for Johnny – Do you feel you’ve mastered balancing on drum kits?
Johnny: Yep, Its one of the main reasons we got live drummers :)
Lovestar: What’s in store for the immediate future, do you have a secret mission?
Johnny: Tour TOUR T O U R ! ! ! It’s insane this year. After finishing this tour off with Bonde Do Role we head back to Europe and the UK then another US tour followed by two Japan tours including Fuji Rock and Australia. We are going for it.
Quick questions…
LS: Tell us about…
LS: Your worst battle scar from a show
JS: Beau picked up a light and smashed his head till a bloodbath remained. Real gross. Pic on myspace.
LS: Your special microphones
JS: Are dead as they were too abused.
LS: What makes a basement so special to play in
JS: Recipe for a good show for me is simple… Small confined space, positive energy, LOUD music and a crew of crazy unpretentious nerdy kids.
The Death Set Tour Dates: (through July)
Thur 3rd July // Chicago, IL @ Hide Out w/ Matt & Kim, Vice Tour
Fri 4th July // Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary w/ Matt & Kim, Vice Tour
Sat 5th July // New York @ Hugs w/ Matt & Kim, Vice Tour
Sun 6th July // Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab w/ Fuck Yeah Tour Vice Tour
Tues 8th July // Kalamazoo, MI @ Rocketstar Cafe
CANCELLED! Wed 9th July // Chicago, IL @ The Abbey Pub w/ The Mae Shi
Thur 10th July // Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick w/ The Mae Shi
Fri 11th July // Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee’s w/ The Mae Shi, DD/MM/YYYY, Fucking Ocean
Sat 12th July // Hamilton, ON @ Club Absinthe
Sun 13th July // Montreal, QC @ Zoobizarre w/ The Mae Shi, Ghettonuns
Mon 14th July // Boston, MA @ Great Scott w/ The Mae Shi
Tues 15th July // Burlington, VT @ Club Metronome w/ The Mae Shi
Wed 16th July // Providence, RI @ As220 w/ The Mae Shi
Thur 17th July // Danbury, CT @ Heirloom Arts Theatre w/ The Mae Shi
Fri 18th July // New York, NY @ Cake Shop w/ The Mae Shi
Sat 19th July // Baltimore, MD @ Whartscape
Sun 20th July // Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary w/ The Mae Shi
Tues 22nd July // Washington, WA @ Velvet Lounge w/ The Mae Shi
Sun 27th July // Yuzawa-machi, Niigata, JP @ FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL
Tues 22nd July // Washington, D.C. @ The Velvet Lounge
