Blazing Minds

Welcome everyone to the first in a new series here on Blazing Minds, Who’s The Band is a new series of artist interviews with some bands you may know and some that will be new to you.

We kick off with the Davidoth … So let’s get on with it

Q: Hi David. So how did you come upon the name of your band? Is it the first name you chose?
A: Well when I was in high school one of my best friends Andrew Jarvis told me that if I was ever to be a medieval vampire lord my name would have to be “Davidoth” I just thought it sounded cool. So when I very first started, doing Mashups and remixes I called myself DJ Davidoth. Later when I started writing my own stuff I decided I wanted to be a group so I changed it to just Davidoth.

Q: So please introduce us to each member and instrument played or role in the band?
A: Currently There is Myself, Dave Radcliffe and I play Guitar, Bass, Synth, Piano / keys and Produce. Ed “Dugey” Anton is my right hand man, he plays Piano, Violin, synths, automation and Co – produces with me. I have also been working with DJ Hindu aka Chaitan Rao on a side project “The Focusing Halo” and he has been helping out Davidoth with some drums and synths along the way as well. We all add different things to the mix. “28 Discs Later” was an album I worked on pretty much myself, but the next big album “Something you could never understand” Is a definite group effort and I think everyone is going to be amazed by it. I have also had many artists playing with me in the past, my sister Jessy, my buddies Anthony and Mike, Tim, G.Zero. Also recently I showed my cousin Denver the ropes and we recorded two tracks together, good stuff.

Q: So what genre of music would you say you are in and who are your major influences?
A: I would say Davidoth is Experimental Electronica. We like to constantly dabble with different ideas and genre’s but we always trend towards Experimental Electronica. My biggest influences would be The Cure, NIN, Tool, Garbage, Aphex Twin, TLC, Rakim, Kanye West, also and especially Nobuo Uematsu for the many game soundtracks he has created that are utterly awe inspiring. Also Michiru Yamane and the many people that I have played with over the years, they all give me something special.

Q: How long have you known each other? Where did you first meet up?
A: Me and Dugey have known each other since we were in 7th grade, so… almost 13 years. We met through a friend of mine Donny, we were both sleeping over Donnys house playing RPGs on Super Nintendo. That’s when me and him first became friends, and first started sharing musical ideas as we both loved the video game music, still do!

Q: How long has your band been performing/producing music? What inspired you  to produce your style of music?
A: I have been making music as Davidoth since 1999, Producing since then as well. I was inspired to play this style of music for two reasons. First, there was this game, I will never forget called Frederick Pohl’s – Gateway. It was a PC game that was about a future space colony, I never beat the game and as a game it was not that good, but it was the atmosphere and the vibe of the game that sucked me in. I was really a Glam rock kid in school, I wanted something futuristic and the vibe of the game just directed me towards electronica as a genre for my music, which at the time was mostly Glam or Industrial based. Second was that I like to tell stories with my music, and the challenge was that I have this fantasy world in my hear that I want to share and convey but it is futuristic. So the best way to capture the emotion in sound was to create an organic, yet digital sound instead of a mechanical hard sound. So that’s what changed me from Industrial to electronica.

Q: Are you signed to a record label (Indie or major)?
A: I have my own label called “UnEarthly Entertainment” that I have used since ‘99. Although, recently I have seen that other people on the web are using that name, so my latest work is being released under “Davidoth / UnEarthly Ent.”. I would sign with another label if the conditions were right, but as of yet its just been me producing/marketing/managing me.

Q: Where can people find your music? Do you have an official website?
A: My music is all over the web. The website www.davidoth.com is a great choice, that leads you to the news blog. MySpace and ReverbNation are great places to listen to our music, and find exclusives. And AcidPlanet is a cool place to see our remix work. Also my personal blog is www.davidoth.net.

Q: Have your ever performed live? If so where and to how many times?
A: Davidoth still has never performed live, yet. I have played live with one of my bands “Silicone Feelings.” We have played in some local bars to probably 50 – 70 people, it was one of the best feelings in the world to play live! I love it!

Q: Who writes/produces the music to your tracks?
A: I write a lot of the music and I produce all of Davidoth’s work. Ed does a lot of pre-producing on tracks that he starts and we work on them together after that. On “Something you could never understand” you will see some great work by Ed, he has some killer tracks that he showed me the other day, we are working on that album now.

Q: How would you describe your music-making process?
A: I have to get a feeling, if I get a vibe off a TV show, or a movie, game other song whatever, then I get my guitar or bass or keyboard out and start writing. I get riffs or a melody together then I start recording piece by piece and building off of that. Then I meet with Ed or Chaitan and we listen to the track and then we head into the studio and add more to it, or take something away and add a different instrument or change up parts. Other times I get a vibe, sit down and record the whole song in a single 8 hour session.

Q: What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
A: Our biggest challenge was finding fans that could understand our ideas and enjoyed the music. The web has been a great tool in helping us do that. We have met a ton of great people on line that have helped us grow. I love working with other artists, I think its amazing when you get together and pour your collective souls into a tune and other people hear that and feel the vibe, its great. I have overcome all my musical challenges to date by being a sponge and learning from others, it’s the best way.

Q: What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?
A: HAHA! I don’t plan on winning the lottery, so I doubt I will ever be famous! Our direction is just to create music. If people are listening I’m happy, I don’t need money or fame because it’s all about the creative process for me and seeing the results. If we get money, awesome, if we get fame, sweet! But as long as I can record and share music with fans, I’m happy.

Q: What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?
A: Believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to put your music out there. Music is a form of art and everyone will see it differently. If one person hates your music, someone else will love it. That is something I hear a lot from people, that they are scared to release their music because they don’t think its good. Just keep working on it and learn from your critics and fans.

Q: How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
A: Best place right now is our ReverbNation website. It has new and old music plus if they sign up as fans they can get exclusives, and who doesn’t love exclusives! Also if they go to our Davidoth.com page they can listen to and buy our latest albums.

Q: Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?
A: My wife Maria who puts up with me all the time and my crazy dreams! And my family and friends who have always been supporters, and at least pretended to like my music.

Q: Any last words?
A: Thanks for having me! Blazing Minds rocks!

Many thanks David for the interview

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Related posts:

1. Who’s the Band – K-TRAXX
2. Who’s The Band? – Digital Beat
3. Review of 28 Discs Later (Limited Special Edition) by Davidoth
4. Who’s the Band – Gylepomp
5. Who’s the Band – Lethality Scale

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