Date
04.21.08
Interviewer
Khal (khaldub@gmail.com)

In the first of two "Drum & Bass from Texas" interviews I lined up, I got a chance to chop it up with DEAD P.A.'s Papa Zero. He hit me up sometime last year, and we chopped it up a bit just talking about their music, his personal situation, and live DnB in general. What I loved about DEAD P.A. was the ability of them to, within a genre of producers and DJs who feel they are larger than life, were able to still poke fun at themselves and genuinely have fun making the music they make. No grandstanding or "holier than thou" posturing, just dope music with a real emphasis on the live show. Jason looks at his crew as a sort of "Blue Man Group" type of thing, which fits them to a T (minus the corporate money). Not just tight tunes, but a true experience that you have to see/hear to believe...




khal: What’s the story behind DEAD P.A.? The core of the group is Papa Zero and The Human Drum Machine. How did you two get together, and what was the inspiration behind creating a live Drum & Bass band?

Papa Zero: George and I performed in rock bands in high school in the early 90's and as anyone in a band knows - it's no easy task to keep it together. When my band Backlash found itself in a rut struggling to maintain a drummer for several years, George was asked to join. Shortly thereafter, he swiped the band's bass player to form yet another band. I purchased a drum machine and sampler and took a new direction with a more electronic edge. The solo performance evolved into Population Zero in 1996 and I began playing clubs, warehouses, and festivals throughout Texas. In the meantime, George had gone off to school in Boston. Upon his graduation and return in 2003, he made contact with me and happened to mention that he had acquired a Roland TD-10 drum kit. The suggestion of a jam session was made and we quickly realized the potential for a live performance. Levon and Krystal joined the act in subsequent years but their schedules often dictate that the touring act remain the two founding members. Although we both love Drum & Bass, I wouldn’t say that we were compelled to specifically be a “Drum & Bass band.” The majority of my solo material around 2003 consisted of DnB and it seemed to make for a more frenetic live performance with a drummer. We play DnB sets but have included many other genres when circumstances allow. In some cases, we find it better to portray ourselves outside Drum & Bass altogether since we don’t quite sound like conventional DnB artists. We’ve started using the term “Drum n Breaks.”

khal: What’s your setup like? There’s obviously drums and your keyboards/synthesizers, but what else is involved with your live shows?

Papa Zero: Our primary goal is more performance oriented rather than mixing. I’ve always preferred to interact directly with the music and audience rather than act as a sort of “meta-composition” DJ. Accordingly, our setup will change with the circumstances surrounding the show and the songs we are performing. Obviously, when we are flown out to a show we have to scale our gear to what will keep us both self-contained as well as travel ready. I always bring a small multi-channel mixer for multiple instrument input. We run live mics for vocals, key-triggered drum loops and basslines from my K2000, I run a DJ mixer as a hub between the live drummer and some pre-arranged backing track material. It’s so much fun having a live drummer on the crossfader and a bit of a laugh to pull turntablism “tricks” on a DJ mixer without actually using any turntables. I used to play guitar during our sets but in January of 2007 I was diagnosed with malignant brain cancer. The resulting tumor significantly damaged the fine motor skills in my left hand so that I am no longer capable of playing guitar.

khal: You’ve recently dropped an album, The Dead Will Rise. How did you guys produce the album – was it made in the same way as your live shows are, or did you use samplers and drum machines and the like?

Papa Zero: Although I always use Logic to record and sequence when writing a track, I really don’t constrain production to any rhyme or reason. This can contribute to me taking forever to finish something. I use an assortment of hardware and software, analogue and digital. Our songs vary in tempo and feel so I often have to rework or reconstruct them for a live show. The only song on the album that we’ve never played live is “Lifeguard.” I’m afraid to let George near a mic to sing that one live since his performance during the recording turns out to have been a once in a lifetime cut! Fortunately, he makes up for this in his ability to play the hell out of the drums and MC.

khal: You’ve gotten loads of accolades from throughout the Texas area. Where else have you guys brought your brand of DnB to? Do you have any dreams/plans on trying to craft tunes for release on a DnB-specific label?

Papa Zero: Ironically, and despite the fact that we didn’t have a release, we’ve played through a considerable portion of the U.S. up to this point. We’ve played weeklies such as SuckaFree in Panama City, Beyond Beats in OKC, and Torque in Orlando, mainstay events like Tastemakers of Breaks in Miami during WMC, Devil’s Night 9 in Las Vegas, Soulstice in Fayetteville, Bayfest in Mobile and big one-off events in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and New Orleans among many others. I try to keep photo albums of shows on our homepage and our MySpace sites. Labels in dancefloor / club / electronica genres always release material based on the merits of whether or not it flows with the cumulative catalogue of its releases. This only makes sense since their primary market (the DJ) is looking for music that will easily fit into his or her set. I typically write songs without regard to how DJ friendly they are and this has worked against us in getting music released on DnB labels – but we’re always open to it.

khal: What do you think sets your brand of DnB apart from a DJ who is equally skilled at rockin’ a party? Do you think there could be a situation where you’d perform live with in tangent with a DJ?

Papa Zero: Aside from the obvious difference of a live and in your face performance – the one thing that tends to really set us apart is our sense of humor. We’ve never fit the mold of “hardass junglists” and our shows inescapably reflect that, be it George’s off the cuff rhymes making fun of me onstage or outlandish costumes and stage theatrics. In regard to performing alongside a DJ - during the Winter Music Conference of ’06 we had the pleasure of performing with the DMC champion DJ ID. After we performed our set, ID wanted to “jam” with us – so while he beat juggled, scratched, and threw in cut samples on vinyl, George went to town on the drums and I played leads or basslines on synth. It was really an improv of sorts that couldn’t have lasted more than 20 minutes, but the crowd just went effing nuts.

khal: One thing I have seen in pictures is you guys not being afraid to go all out, dressing up in wacky and interesting get-up, helping give the show more character. How did that aspect come about? Are there future concepts you guys will be employing, costume wise?

Papa Zero: Conceptually we’ve always wanted more of a “Blue Man Group” style performance where the music is joined at the hip with visuals, the live performance and an event we’re playing as a whole. Though we wanted this from DEAD P.A.’s inception, we’ve had to build up to the point where the catalogue of music and chemistry of the show could really facilitate some of those ideas or convey a unified theme or message. It started mostly with the customization of our sets to fit themes of parties chosen by promoters but gradually worked into theme tours and performance theatrics like those in the current “DEAD P.A. for President” Tour.

khal: Are there any things as a band that DEAD P.A. has not tackled as of yet? Where do you see the outfit progressing to in the near future?

Papa Zero: We’d love to collaborate more with other artists – onstage, in production or remix. There are a million theme sets we have talked about working up – from Drum & Bass covers of cheesy 80’s songs to cancer awareness-themed sets. I don’t think we’ve really even scratched the surface of where things can go. We’ve even talked about doing an acoustic arrangement of some of our tracks to perform live. George and I quite often video tape our escapades while touring. In light of the things we’ve seen, my cancer, and our undiminished sense of humor, we’ve discussed the possibility of story boarding and pitching a reality show. Of course, everything has a proper time and place and each of these wacky ideas may have to wait for its respective moment.

khal: The live DnB band aspect has not had that one shining star that’s gotten acclaim for both production prowess when it comes to albums as well as their live show. Do you feel DEAD P.A. can reach that height, or is that not on your radar?

Papa Zero: I’ve been hearing about a live Evol Intent project in the works forever and look forward to seeing what comes of it. I believe both Roni Size and London Electricity saw a bit of limelight in regard to both release and live performance but certainly no DnB artist has had the spotlight like Moby, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, BT or Crystal Method. So far the only “breakthrough” artists for electronica in general have been a bit more transcendent of genre. On occasion I think we do tap into hooks and performances that have mass appeal but I can’t really objectively say whether or not we’ll become superstars. We certainly aim to get our music out to anyone that cares to hear it and have been grateful for the response we’ve seen. Whether or not we breakout and are accepted into the mainstream, I do believe that DEAD P.A. is a prototype of sorts for acts that will come about in the future consisting of similar setups. Technology is making it more viable everyday and a large part of our success thus far has a lot to do with the fact that there isn’t anything quite like us out there. It’s only a matter of time before more acts pop up. KJ Sawka of Seattle is one performer I hope to hear more from. While his live P.A. set is a bit less of a confrontational performance than ours, he is a brilliant drummer that really captures the essence of Drum & Bass.

khal: I know none of you guys are DJs, but do you actively follow DnB releases? Are there any tracks that you wish you had produced, or that you would like to recreate live? Papa Zero: Since neither of us are DJs we don’t invest in releases as a DJ would so I don’t always have my finger on the pulse of what the hot new sound is or the latest and greatest track. For better or worse, this probably speaks to the fact that we never sound like what is going on in DnB. We do get exposure of course, from DJ mixes we get as well as from the artists themselves but I don’t think either of us has ever wished we had made a song that we heard. Every song is a creature hatched from the unique character of the artist that pieced it together and while I have many faces and wells to draw from I can’t covet the character of another – I can only relate and enjoy the art they provide. In regards to doing cover songs – nothing is off limits too us. We’ve performed dancefloor covers ranging from Pantera’s “Broken” to Britney Spears' “Hit Me Baby One More Time” without blinking. With the right context, we’d do a cover of an electronic contemporary as easily as we’d play a song from The Muppet Show.

khal: Where will you guys be performing next?

Papa Zero: Because of my cancer affliction I underwent a ten hour open brain surgery in January of 2007, 6 weeks of daily radiation, and have undergone 11 chemotherapy treatments. Needless to say this put music and performance on the sidelines for a while. We had so much momentum going into ‘07 and unfortunately only played 3 shows – one of which I was unable to attend. While I’m still fighting cancer, I’ve gotten to the point where I’m capable of touring again so we’ve booked quite a few gigs this year already. I’ve been amazed at how quickly the ball picked up right where we left off. We just hit Austin on the Guitar Hero 3 stage during the SXSW music conference. Upcoming shows include a slot on the annual Houston 91.7 FM Rice Radio concert as well as a performance in Dallas for Fully Funktional’s party “Simply Evolve.” We are still coordinating and booking dates for our “DEAD P.A. for President” Tour and look forward to hitting New Jersey for the first time in June.

khal: Do you have any final thoughts, comments or shout outs?

Papa Zero: Our gratitude goes out to everyone that has come out to our shows, bought a CD, sported a DEAD P.A. T-shirt, booked us, or just taken the time to listen to our music!

DEAD P.A.'s The Dead Will Rise is available courtesy of Goinka Records. A forthcoming split 12” between DEAD P.A. and Devine & Emily Play will be available courtesy of Goinka Records and 2nd Movement.

Date
01.02.07
Interviewer
Ryry

Just another pair of DJs? Hardly. DEAD P.A. is a musical collaboration between Jason Walsh (aka Papa Zero) and George Blitch (aka the Human Drum Machine). The effort is more in the vein of a band or rock group than than a traditional DJ – except the music isn't rock, it's drum & bass. Here's how it works: Jason plays the synthesizer and triggers all the effects, samples, loops, and so on. George sits down at an electronic drum kit and bangs away for all he's worth. Occasionally, Jason or a guest vocalist will sing, and George also guest-raps on occasion.

The Houston-based duo just came off a multi-city tour that included Florida, Las Vegas, and my adopted home city of Austin TX, where they opened for Concord Dawn. I asked the guys to sit down and chat for a bit. Here's what they said.




JIVE MAGAZINE: How did DEAD P.A. get started? What was the inspiration for DEAD P.A.?

JASON - DEAD P.A. was the natural progression from my last project Population Zero (from which, incidentally, I aquired my tag "papa zero." The owner of 1216records just started calling me that out of the blue). I was performing solo sets and began to accumulate more drum & bass material than anything else. George and I are both extremely eclectic, but once we decided to start "jamming" we figured continuing with the jungle angle would make for the most frenetic performance.

The inspiration for DEAD P.A. is a little offbeat. We both take interest in a number of underdog causes and while the name "DEAD P.A." was intended to be tounge in cheek, we thought it might also serve as a flag for some of those causes or a means for select "dead public announcements." One such cause is the Native American political prisoner Leonard Peltier. It remains to be seen just how far we will push that aspect of the act.

GEORGE - For me it was putting together my ideas along with Jason to create something unique and energetic. I have performed as a drummer for almost 15 years in various types of bands in Texas and throughout New England. I purchased an electronic drum set just before I returned to Houston from Boston and I wanted to move into a new direction with my music. Once I reconnected with Jason and we traded musical ideas, we realized the elements we could both bring to the table, and we were ready to create our project. Our first gig came quickly, so our name did as well. Since then, we've been trucking along trying to fuse various styles and personal tastes into a form of music we never want to fully define, but continually explore.

JIVE MAGAZINE: Describe the "mechanics" of a DEAD P.A. set. How does the music get produced and performed?

JASON - Our live sets are a mixture of live percussion, guitar, keys, triggered loops and samples, live vocals, sequenced and recorded material. I'm aware that it's often frowned upon to use recorded material but then, I've never been convinced that an artist pushing play on an ADAT is doing much more than an artist pushing play on a sequencer. It all comes back to the preparation invested. I'm really more interested in the interaction with the music rather than the DJ-esque metacomposition of a set. I'd much rather sing on the edge of the stage during a track or play guitar on top of a speaker cab than alternate between sequence A and sequence B with a mouse click. Certainly anyone that has seen George play for an hour at 180 bpm can vouch for our stage show. One element that I really have fun with is running the live Roland drum kit through the DJ crossfader in my rig. I'm still pretty sloppy with the turntablist tricks, but it's fun to use "turntablism" without actually using any turntables.

JIVE MAGAZINE: How did you two meet? How long have you been together, and when did you start adding collaborators? How did you meet your collaborators?

JASON - George and I met in the early 90's while we were in high school playing in sister rock bands. I sang in a rock act called "Backlash" and he played drums for a metal act called "Hollow Point." Eventually, the line up of Backlash fell apart and I asked George to drum for us. He learned the songs then promptly stole our bassist and formed another band. This is what ultimately drove me to swear off rock bands and put me in the market for a drum machine. Drum machines always show up for practice.

We started the DEAD P.A. project in January of 2003 upon George's graduation from Northeastern University and return from Boston. I discovered he had a Roland electronic drum kit and thought it might make for a cool live show. As for adding collaborators - we added Levon in July of 2005. George couldn't make it to a show I wanted to schedule on my birthday in Port Arthur, Texas, so I came up with the idea of doing a one-off with a fellow local live P.A. artist. The gig went off so well George and I inducted him into the act. He moved to Los Angeles sometime later after receiving a job offer from Midway Games and has joined us for shows from time to time.

Krystal [Hardwick] is a completely different story. I've always sought out female vocalists to add a little something different to select tracks. Invariably, I would always run into some problem with those guest vocalists that I attempted to work with. Either they couldnt put time into a project, they choked up singing in front of others, or there was some other issue. I met Krystal on Myspace and after hearing some of her stuff, I got with her for a session. She immediately stepped up to the plate in a professional manner.

JIVE MAGAZINE: How old are you guys? Do you have day jobs, and if so, what are they and is it possible you will give them up soon? JASON - I'm 32 at the moment. We both have "day jobs." I suppose if we can get everyone to read this copy of JIVE - we just might give those jobs up.

GEORGE - I'm 27 years old, and I wear a few hats. My 9-5 job is as a Financial Advisor. I work mainly with small towns and cities and assist them with their public finance. I love the job and feel it is something I will stick with for some time. I have had some flexibilty to create my schedule and adjust it to the DEAD P.A. touring, which has been quite a blessing...to have my cake and eat it too!

I also run a publishing company - HYT Publishing - mainly focusing on works by and about Native Americans (www.haveyouthought.com). Aside from that I dabble in graphics, video and multimedia projects with Son of a Blitch Productions (www.sonofablitch.com).

JIVE MAGAZINE: At the Austin show, you joined with Concord Dawn and Domestic Disturbance to dress like, and show your appreciation for, Pantera. Explain your fascination with the band.

JASON - Some musicians simply transcend genre. While there is no escaping Pantera's signature power groove sound, Dimebag Darrel's composition and virtuosity was unparalleled.

GEORGE - I remember covering Pantera tunes with my old metal band. I just dug their sound and how extremely hard core their music was. I feel they defined themelves as something fresh in the hard rock/metal category and they had a unique sound that was never confused with any other act. That's the kind of reaction I want people to get with Dead P.A. I want our sound to be unique, but also I want the ability for us to have the freedom to move in any direction we want it to go.

JIVE MAGAZINE: Jason, describe your synth/effects/mixer setup. What is your musical background?

JASON - My live rig changes depending on the songs and preparation in any given show, but most often I have my K2000s, Access Virus, Electrix MoFX, Behringer mixer, and a crappy DJ mixer we picked up in a pawn shop. Now and then I'll have a DX21, Oxygen 8, DR-5, or SH-101 on hand. As I mentioned earlier my background as a musician was rooted in my role as lead vocalist in a rock band. I picked up guitar playing while in the band to facilitate my ability to write music. I never really received any formal training in the way of an instrument or music theory.

JIVE MAGAZINE: George, describe your drums setup. What is your musical background?

GEORGE - I have a Roland TD-10 electronic drum set. The TD-10 is the brain unit which stores over 800 sounds, and gives me the ability to tweak each drum sound and add effects if I want - to customize the drum sounds accordingly to what the song needs. I've been playing this set up since 2002; however, I've been playing drums since 1992. I've been in rock bands, blues, punk, metal, hip hop, funk...you name it and I've been a part of it. I've recorded with many talented musicians and it has truly helped me to build my own skill level to where I feel comfortable performing any type of music as a drummer/percussionist. I have also honed my skills at being an MC over the years. I have dabbled with the guitar and have written about an album worth of my own tracks. One will be featured on our album - "Lifeguard."

The cool thing about Dead P.A. is that I get to explore so much of what I've always wanted to do with a band. I got tired of being in the back of the stage playing drums in a band. I wanted to get out and sing, rhyme, be the entertainer that gets the crowd pumped up. I always felt limited as a drummer in being a part of that showmanship. I've found everything I've wanted to be with Dead P.A. and I couldn't be happier. I have the freedom to work on every level of performance I've ever wanted to and soon I'll be pushing a lot more multimedia work within our set. This next year we're going to blow your minds with what we have in store for you!!!

JIVE MAGAZINE: Why not just be DJs?

JASON - Although I have great respect for the role of the DJ, I've never really had an interest in DJing. I enjoy the interaction with the music and audience that comes from the performance of my own material. I believe that a big part of why we've made so much headway is because of the more "in your face" delivery - something people aren't used to at dance or club events. Unfortunately, it's quite common that crowds will cluster up and just stare at whatever is going on behind the decks which is usually a DJ with his head down focused on a mix. We like to get a little rowdy and make it more of a show.

GEORGE - First off, I don't know how to DJ. I'd like to learn how, but that'll take some time to master. The main thing is that I love the incorporation of live instruments during performances. A DJ can knock the doors off its hinges with a nice drop, but I'd rather blow the roof off a building and watch the walls collapse around me while someone is ripping it up live on stage. The energy that a performer gives the audience when playing live makes the audience give more energy back to the performer and that cycle can continue exponentially. A DJ has set songs to work with, whereas a live performance gives the performer the ability to step it up to another level, try out new things, and create new ideas on the spot, without restrictions. There is room to work within a live performance setting. I love DJs and I am not blasting them. I wish I could have the equal skills many of them do. I just prefer doing the live performance thing.

JIVE MAGAZINE: Describe life on the road between here, Vegas, Florida, and everywhere in between. How successful has your touring been?

JASON - We've had an incredible time touring. From the Vegas Halloween party Devil's Night 9 to playing on South Beach during WMC, we've seen some interesting things and places but it's always the people that really make it worthwhile. Jackson, MS; Mobile, AL; Dallas, TX; and Jacksonville, FL; have become favorites because of the warm reception we always receive!

GEORGE - The touring life is not for everyone. Long flights, road trips, crazy hours, mediocre food, very little sleep....it can be draining. The plus side is that we've been able to travel around the US and see cities we might not otherwise get the chance to explore, and concurrently, meet the people in these places we might not normally run across in our daily lives. We both have wanted to live this dream and now it is our reality. We may be tired from performing a show and not sleeping for more than a few hours before jetting across the country to another gig, but I think we both leave that weariness behind when the first beat drops. There is something so amazing about performing your own music and having the crowd react to it that just gives you so much energy to work with. Sometimes I feel like I've downed a case of Red Bulls before we hit the stage. I think that can be seen in our stage show. We bring out a level of live energy that shock people sometimes. I think it just shows how passionate we are about putting on a great show every night.

We've been received very well at every show we've played. A lot of people are taken aback at the fact that we do everything live. It really is unique in our genre of music. The touring has given us a chance to play in front of so many different people and they've in turn spread the word about us and its created a buzz about us in the scene. That's helped our touring out tremendously - as promoters talk to other promoters and have been invested in wanting to see us become more successful. We owe a lot of thanks to the promoters and the fans that have spread our name around. We've showed up to new cities and crowds are singing our tunes right along with us and that is something that makes us even more pumped up. Those moments are truly memorable. There is nothing like doing something you love and having people enjoy it.

JIVE MAGAZINE: Who inspires you musically?

JASON - Ironically, I find a lot of my inspiration to create outside of music. I'll see a brilliant movie or find a good read and it will leave this residual feel that I will attempt to translate into song. This is probably a big part of why I rarely produce stuff in lockstep with what is going on in conventional dancefloor. I may not always capture the same essence of that resiual feel - but as an artist I can find satisfaction with whatever creature takes shape thereafter.

GEORGE - I have a variety of influences. I listen to all types of music. I just enjoy great music - whether that means rock, rap, blues, jazz, folk, classical, or whatever. There are a lot of times when I put on music because I am in a particular mood or because I want to be in a certain mood. I have thousands of CDs, and I turn to them quite often. Recently I've seen a lot of live shows and I get inspired every time I see someone doing something on stage. Just the live musical atmosphere gets my blood pumping and my ideas flowing.

JIVE MAGAZINE: Where do you see DEAD P.A. in 2007 and beyond?

GEORGE - I see Dead P.A. having a very successful year in 2007. We'll be dropping our album at the beginning of the year, and I think that will be a great thing for us. We also are planning on doing a lot around the Winter Music Conference in Miami in March. We've done so much grassroots work in the last couple of years and 2006 was a huge year for us. We played a lot of different shows throughout the country and have received amazing feedback from everyplace we've gone. People know most of our songs now, but we've been working on a lot of new ones and with the inclusion of our female vocalist, Krystal Hardwick, we've entered a new realm of abilities for our own music, both live and in our recordings. Things have been snowballing, in a good way, and I think with that success, during 2007 we'll be getting offers from all around the US and we'll begin to play some international shows as well.

Look out for us this new year and be prepared for us to come and rock your town upsidedown! Also, check back with our website and keep an eye out for our album release The Dead Will Rise. See you soon!