Punktuation-What is the name of your band?
Death By Stereo.
P-Is there any special significance behind the name?
DBS-Yes, it's very deep and very spiritual and sometimes hard to put into words. See, once a month, Efrem and I take a holiday to the country to meditate and pick berries, and it was during one of these times that the name came to Efrem in a vision. It's probably better explained by him.....
P-Who are the members of the band and what does each play?
DBS-Efrem Schulz - Vocals
Dan Palmer - Guitar
Jim Miner - Guitar
Paul Miner - Bass
Tim Bender - Drums
P-Where do you guys reside?
DBS-Fullerton, Whittier, Fullerton, Placentia, and Torrance CA.
P-What is the scene like there compared to other places you've gone on tour?
DBS-The scene's pretty good around Orange County here, but it's nothin compared to Des Moines, Iowa, where us and Ensign played to a paid attendance of 2.
P-How would you describe your sound to the ancient people of the kumpootaba tribe?
DBS-Tuk Nit Ook Glug Uuk Ot Muuga Tuk. Oh, you didn't know I spoke Kumpootabaese? You're really livin up to your Sykoblubber email address with that question.
P-How would you describe your sound to a local scenester?
DBS-Dude, we're totally like a mix of like Pennywise, Blink, Korn, and like, Limp Bizkit. It's like, intense and shit.
P-If you had to describe your music to an animal what animal might that be?
DBS-I think I would choose to describe our music to a cow. I heard they have good listening skills. Was that just a strangely worded question, or what are you really trying to ask?
P-What do you guys deal with in your lyrics?
DBS-The fact that it takes Efrem forever to write lyrics, mostly. Hey, did you ever watch Married With Children? Cause one episode, Kelly had her own cable access show called 'Vital Social Issues And Stuff With Kelly'. It was pretty dope. Yeah. We write about mostly vital social issues and stuff. And cops. And we have a new song about midgets. Look out for that one.
P-Who writes the lyrics?
DBS-Efrem. Well, God really. God gives Efrem the power and creativity to write lyrics. God's writing the lyrics, Efrem's just the pen.
P-Is there an inside meaning to the song "1 legged man in an ass kicking contest?"
DBS-I know a girl who lost her leg in a car accident. The first time she saw us play, we played that song, and she came up to us afterwards all pissed off, asking if the song was about her. We told her it wasn't. Then I asked her if she ever dressed up as a pirate for Hallowe'en. She was pretty into me.
P-What bands are you guys influenced by?
DBS-We all have too many different influences from different styles of music to name. But our style mostly comes from listening to Wesley Willis.
P-Is there any bands you think we should keep an eye on?
DBS-Faded Grey from Vegas, The Missing 23rd, Adamantium, and Berzerk from Portland Oregon. You'll definitely be hearing more from all of these bands, because they all rock real god damn hard, and they're all made up of just the best people you could ever ask for. Except for our old drummer Jarrod who's in Adamantium now. I'm not too sure about him. Not too crazy about that Aaron Stone either. The rest of them are OK.
P-What did it feel like being scouted out by Epitaph Records?
DBS-It felt like a month-long hot oil massage.
P-How did it happen?
DBS-A friend of ours got a job at Epitaph and gave our CD to Brett Gurewitz. He liked it enough to come check us out, after which he asked us to be on his label. So basically, all luck.
P-What releases do you guys have and what will you be doing in the future?
DBS-We have a full length album out on Indecision Records called "If Looks Could Kill, I'd Watch You Die." And a 7" we put out ourselves. We also have songs on a few comps; 'As the Sun Sets: A California Hardcore Compilation' put out by the Association of Welterweights, 'The Way It Should Be'-a Sessions Records comp, 'No-Fi Trash'-a Floppy Cow Records comp, 'Incompatible 2'-a Victory Records comp, and 'The Devil Night' 7" on Indecision Records. Our first Epitaph full length should be out in August of this year, and we have a split 7" with Ensign coming out this summer on Indecision.
P-If you could do a split album with any band in the world who would that be?
DBS-Iron Maiden.
P-Do you guys perform any special rituals while playing or practicing?
DBS-Funny you should ask, we're actually quite a superstitious band. Before every practice and every show, we all sit in a circle and say the Lord's prayer five times. Then we shave each other's balls, and finally, right before it comes time to play, we sacrifice a virgin. And before a tour, we wash our van inside and out with a 40/60 mixture of baby shampoo and goat's blood. And after a show, to wind down, I'll have Tim put a bunch of meathooks through my back and I'll hang from the ceiling for a spell. Nothing really out of the ordinary though.
P-What motivates you guys to keep moving forward as a band?
DBS-Go back to two questions ago.
P-What motivates you personally?
DBS-Broads.
P-What should somebody who has never heard Death By Stereo expect when seeing or listening to you guys play?
DBS-Don't be alarmed when you see a fat hairy Mexican guy running around jumping all over a bunch of innocent little girls. He's just the singer. And if you're hearing us for the first time, expect a lot of pop-punk, ska, and trip-hop.
P-Any final words of wisdom or knowledge which should be passed on through the generations?
DBS-We'd just like to thank everyone who has come to see us play, on purpose or by accident, all the bands that have let us play with them, and anyone who supports us. We'll be on tour this June and July across the U.S. so look for us in your town soon. And Dan is dynamite in the sack so ladies, look for him too. And if you made it all the way through this interview, thank you too.