What did you do before Die with me Tonight?
Musically, I did some demos with a good friend of mine throughout college, which eventually became a project known as The Last Laugh.
It was more for our own fun - we never got much farther than recording those demos or participating in an occasional "open mic" style of jam
session with friends. After college, both me and that friend, Dana
Cox, ended up in a rock / metal band called Alienhead. Due to several
inopportune changes in line-up, we practiced together and recorded
songs for over a year, but never managed to play live with that
project, either. It just seems like the performance aspect of music
is never in the cards for me!
What made you decide to join David in Die with me Tonight?
David had actually auditioned for the lead guitar position with
Alienhead. Although the band choose to bring on a different guitarist
at that time, I still kept in touch on and off with David, even after
I had moved up to DC. In late 2007, David dropped me a line and sent
me his demos, and asked if I'd do the vocals for his new project. I
was really impressed with what he had come up with, and felt like I
could indeed add my own lyrics and vocals to what he was doing.
You just recorded the debut album, how do you look back on the recordings?
I think both me and David have a really systematic - though rather
different - approach to our music in comparison to other artists.
Since Die With Me Tonight is mainly David's creation, the music itself
was fairly complete. I choose to simply create a vocal line that
would meld with what David had already created, rather than working
together to create something completely new. It's perfectly possible
this may change on the next album, but for this EP, it seemed to work
pretty well. As time went on we also hired JSun Bruner (of dharmata
101) to produce and master the album. We took his suggestions on
tweaking and re-recording a lot of what we had done for the original
demos, and I think that was a good choice. JSun really pushed me to
my limits vocally in a lot of ways, and while it can be frustrating at
the time to do 20 takes of the same song, I know he was just trying to
get the best recording out of me for the record.
What is David's strongest point?
Musically, I think he's got a very clear direction for what he wants
to create, but at the same time, he doesn't let himself be limited by
genre or even his own previous work. I like that he's always paying
attention to other bands and styles, and picking out bits and pieces
that he'd like to incorporate for the new music. It's quite possible
that the next album will be much different musically than the EP - but
at the same time, it will definitely have that Die With Me Tonight "feel".
What makes the music of Die with me Tonight special in your ears?
Personally, I use music (like any other art) as a way to communicate
or get something out of my system. Most of the songs have a either a
specific memory or a more global belief attached to them, so it's
almost refreshing - even now - to listen to the music and feel the
various emotions flowing out of me and into the music. The best part
is when someone comes up to me and tells me how they can relate to a
certain song, or how they've picked up on what I've felt. To me, art
in any form can be the strongest form of communication, and I feel now
like I've finally really said something worthwhile.
You are also running your own label, Radio-Active-Music and released
the album on your own label; why release your own band on your own
label?
I actually don't get this question as often as I thought I'd would - I
guess I figured a lot of people would assume that it's a conflict of
interest to release my own band, or a band of someone close to me
personally (like my boyfriend's band, dharmata 101). Is it? From my
view, not as much as you might think. The grounding force behind
Radio-Active-Music is that I work with bands who are not only
talented, but decent human beings as well. So it's only natural, in
my opinion, that I would forge business relationships with people who
I already trust personally. That aside, I think I still am as
stringent on the quality of the content with my own projects as I
would be with other bands, and I don't think I give any unfair
advantage to my own projects over any other band on the label. And
really, if you look around, you'll actually find a lot of bands are on
their own labels or sublabels - many indie bands created their own
label for appearance or tax reasons, and then eventually added other
artists. In my case, the label came first, so I guess it may seem a
little odd from that perspective.
How would you describe Radio-Active-Music as label, and what kind of
bands do you have on it?
Radio-Active-Music was started with the artists in mind - not as a
method to make money or achieve fame. I think I do a really good job
of respecting the artists' rights and goals while offering them some
of the bigger advantages that they wouldn't get without a label. I'm
also very proud of the diversity on the label - while we fall into the
general genre of "goth / industrial", we have artists that span the
field from goth rock to EBM to industrial rock to
experimental...there's something for everyone here. Even within the
bands themselves, I have many artists who are hard to pin down into a
specific subgenre or to draw comparison. I like the fact that when
someone asks for a description of a band like dharmata 101 or XUBERX,
that I have to go into a long explanation of what they sound like,
rather than just saying "Oh, it's [insert genre] and they sound like
[insert mainstream band]." We offer a lot of alternatives to fans of
goth / industrial music.
Do you run Radio-Active-Music by yourself or do you have any help?
For the most part, Radio-Active-Music is all me, but at the same time
I do have a long list of volunteers and freelancers who do a lot of
the little things that really keep the company in the forefront.
Everything from street team members handing out flyers, to talent
scouts, to DJs willing to spin our music - I'm really fortunate to
have a lot of people who really believe and support the company, and
take a few minutes out of their days to drop off flyers or repost a
myspace bulletin.
What are your goals for Radio-Active-Music?
I founded Radio-Active-Music in May 2004 as an online promotional
source with the simple idea to "help good bands get heard", and that
still sticks to this day. I really believe in every single artist on
my roster, and I hope what I do can help these bands to reach the
masses.
How do you decide which band you sign; what are criteria? What makes
a band good enough to be signed?
Other than the obvious ones (like talent and perceived saleability), I
do have a few artistic and professional expectations. Image-wise, not
only do I expect a band to produce quality music, but to take pride
and put effort into all aspects of their art. Everything from graphic
design, myspace layouts, websites, live shows, photography...you name
it. I come from a theatre background, so I understand that it's
important that performers have "the whole package deal" to be
effective. It's not just about the music. Of course, we're also
willing to help bands with all of it - we have a nice arsenal of free
or affordable graphic designers, photographers, etc. who are happy to
work with our bands to help make sure the visual image matches the
music.
Professionally though, we do have a standard of conduct that we expect
our artists to follow. No "rock star" attitudes here; our bands
behave very professional at shows and in public, and are genuinely
enthusiastic about the scene in general. Many bands focus solely on
their own product, but our bands are very supportive of each other,
the label, their own local clubs and events, and the other industry
contacts they meet and work with. Our scene is already so small, and
filled enough with sleazy practices and bad attitudes - our bands
realize this and are actively working to make sure they're part of the
solution, rather than part of the problem.
Besides the band and the label, what do you do - do you have time for
any hobbies?
The label does take up a good chunk of my time, but the other half of
my "work" life is still in theatre. I actually got into the
entertainment industry in general via theatre; music came a bit later
into the equation. So I still am pursuing my other career in theatre
- specifically in lighting. I'm fortunate to live in a city where
there is quite a bit of freelance work in my field, so I'm able to
work around my needs with the label, and still bring in a respectable
income. In a lot of ways, I feel like the luckiest person alive - I
have not one but two great jobs!
I don't have a lot of time for hobbies, but I do model on occasion -
however, a lot of that is still music-related. I like doing shoots
for band merch or events, or for goth/fetish clothing. I also just
recently got into a hobby commonly referred to as 'urban exploration',
which I usually describe as modern-day archaeology. There's a whole
subculture devoted to exploring and photographing abandoned buildings
- it's quite amazing to see pieces of recent history frozen in time.
What is it that drives you to do all the things you do in music?
When people ask me why I do this, I think the best way to explain it
is to relate a conversation I had with the amazing and talented Dan
Clark (Stromkern, The Dark Clan) last year. At that time, I was
dealing with some stressful situations with the company, and I was
telling him a bit about that, and that I had even thought about
calling it quits. It was nice to hear his point of view and stories
of his own struggles within the music industry, but what really stuck
with me is that he knew that no matter what happened, he'd never
really give up on music. "We do this because we have to," is what he
told me. And I think that hits the nail on the head - just like a
painter has to paint, or an actor has to perform - I support music
because I have to. Music has played such an important role in my
life. It's a driving force, it's an outlet. I can't imagine life
without it. I live and breath it. It's not a choice - it will always
be there in some form in my life.
Any last words for the readers?
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and for supporting good
music! Everytime you buy a CD, go to a show, or even just tell your
friend about a cool new band - you're really doing a huge service to
the musicians. We appreciate every single person who takes the time
to support what we're doing.
www.myspace.com/subtleembrace
www.myspace.com/radioactivemusic