BYT Interview: Dan Deacon

November 7, 2008 by Peter  Send to a Friend

Dan Deacon will be performing tonight at Hirshhorn after hours.  Shit should get pretty nuts for all you horseys out there. Details here.

Brightest Young Things: A bit of your aesthetic seems inspired by images from childhood. Are there certain works (movies, books, TV shows, Atari games) from your youth that you return to for visual or audio stimulation still?

Dan Deacon: Looney Tunes, Marvel comics and Lord of the Rings are most likely the largest non-musical influences on my early work. I think my current work is more influenced by mythology and cycles in nature. I think the mixture of those early influences with my current influences are what has made my sound what it is. Imagine the audio equivalent of a loud nerd obsessed with wizards, secret societies and expanding earth theory watching the best of Daffy Duck.

BYT: It seems like many of the most interesting musicians these days came out of either experimental noisy glitchy music or performance art (or both!), but then adopted a sort of positivist party stance and added elements of pop songwriting to great success. Is this a natural progression? Does it just become boring playing in galleries to somber faces or is there some profound lesson that you learn from pushing things over the edge that makes you want to get people dancing?

DD: I think the last eight years of a growing police state and a growing separation between Americans and their government influence people in the underground to try to create as much positivity as possible. It’s easy to get angry when times are tough. It’s more fun to wipe the shit off your face and start dancing. Ultimately I think music has been really gloomy and sad for way too long. It was only natural for it to shift. I remember 4 or 5 years ago when I would be playing with all noise bands and it was like I was killing a child in front of them or something. The show with wolf eyes and grave yards show was especially memorable to me.

BYT: In general you (and Wham City as a group) seem more focused on positivity than many elements of underground culture. Are you just a cheerful dude or is it a struggle to stay away from cynicism and keep to the good shit?

DD: Like I said above, so much art and especially music since the 90’s is so introspective and negative. People hear enough negative art on the news. I think most of us would rather make them wake up and realize that life is still a celebration, not an endurance match.

BYT: Is there still a Wham City officially or have people moved on now that there’s not as cohesive a living arrangement?

DD: It’s not a living place at all anymore. We got evicted about 2 years ago now and have been doing less living and more being.

BYT: Is there a backlash in Baltimore yet against the hype or newcomers who weren’t part of the scene when you guys first came down from SUNY-P?

DD: There is always a backlash.

BYT: As a solo performer, you have to work doubly hard to make the performance visually interesting or participatory. How do you plan different ideas for shows, do you just try out stuff as soon as you think of it?

DD: It’s a little of both. The lighting setup was something I had thought about for a while but most of the audience activities are created on the stop.

BYT: You’ve got a particular set-up instrument wise, but have you ever considered adding other players or playing with a group? If not, what’s the advantage of doing what you do by yourself in front of an audience?

DD: Starting next year I’ll be doing shows with a live ensemble. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll still do solo sets and tours and even when I’m with the ensemble I’ll be playing solo on certain songs. I guess the biggest advantage to being a solo artist is how easy it is to tour. Early on I could take the bus from show to show, jump in a car or van with another band. It made things a lot easier but it has huge limitations at the same time.

Nothing can sound like a real drum. I don’t care how well you record it or how good the PA system. Live percussion is just unstoppable.

BYT: You often play on the floor of a club that has a stage.

DD: I always play on the floor.

BYT: Some people have criticized you for that (like, um, me at times), because they think everyone should be able to see what you’re up to. What benefits do you feel you gain from playing house party style?

DD: The show isn’t about seeing me, it’s not about seeing at. I haven’t gotten much criticizes for it. I think most people who are at the show and participate get the full experience. The show isn’t for the passive audience member. Playing on the floor forces the audience to become involved.

BYT: In your early career, even after Spiderman of the Rings, you must have faced some hostile audiences. Ever won over a crowd that didn’t know what to expect or that wasn’t into it initially?

DD: Those are the most fun shows. I remember setting up my equipment at an all metal or hip-hop show, feeling the stares and hearing people make fun of me. But that would just make me want to push it even harder. I miss those shows. Where people didn’t know what I was going to do and were so ready to hate it. I’m sure I’ll get many more chances in the future for that.

BYT: Critics were blown away by Spiderman, people I know said it was like nothing they had ever heard before (you called it Futureshock back in ‘06). Besides your friends and collaborators in Wham City are there other contemporary artists around that you feel a kinship with, or where you’re like “Yeah that’s what I want to do too”…?

DD: Totally: Health, Parts and Labor, AA, Killer Whales, Lucky Dragons, Frog Teacher.

BYT: What are you going as for Halloween this year? I recommend Seth Rogen because you’d get to wear a curly wig. (Unless you go to the same party that I go to, in which case, dibs.)

DD: I was a dog.

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