Death By Stereo talks about their new CD, Death For Life!
Recently I was able to catch up with Death By Stereos vocalist Efrem Schultz at a show and I was able to ask him a few questions about their upcoming album.(Photo credit : Ryan Jackson)
Dan Parisian : First off, you are Efrem Schultz of Death By Stereo fame are you not?
Efrem Schultz : Yep, that's me.
DP : It seems like you guys never stop touring, how's the road been lately and does it ever become tedious for you?
ES : Well its always rad, its always an adventure, its always fun, and its what we love to do the most. I wouldn't call it tedious, but you get tired man! You get so worn out. We will get home and I'll be like "Oh my god I can't believe I'm home". Then im home for about three days and I'm like "Fuck, this sucks I want to go!" So, I love it.
DP : How do you think Death By Stereo's sound has changed since the beginning of your career?
ES : I think we got a lot more technical and a lot heavier. Way, way heavier.
DP : Are you happy with the results of your new album Death For Life?
ES : Yeah, I'm so excited. Sonically it's the best album we've made. The song writing is way better, were all really psyched for it to come out. We feel totally re-energized and re-charged like we are a new band.
DP : Do you have a tentative release date?
ES : I don't know the exact release date, but it will be out sometime in the beginning of May.
DP : What makes Death For Life different from your previous releases?
ES : It's way more chaotic, and just totally, totally heavier. It's just way more nuts than the other albums.
DP : What do you think the major musical influences are on the new album?
ES : I think a big influence on the new album is our guitar player Dan. This time around, we kind of just let him take the ball and he fuckin' ran with it! He started writing everything, I still wrote all of the lyrics but he wrote all of the music on his own and just blew our fucking minds. It's like everything that has been inside of him for many, many years that he's never got to express has just come out. So I don't know directly what the musical influences would be but its super heavy, and super pissed.
DP : What is your most memorable tour and who did you like touring with the most.
ES : Europe with Boysetsfire, It was fucking amazing it was the most chaotic thing I've ever been a part of. They are totally insane, I love them.
DP : Obviously your lyrics are politically charged but what else inspires them?
ES : Just like personal experiences, the lyrics reflect the whole band and what's going on in our lives. So a lot of what's going on in the world affects us on a personal level. A lot of it is just like little everyday struggles that everyone goes through in life. We try to talk about those things, but in a way that everyone can relate to because I know everyone goes through those things.
DP : Your bassist recently left the band, why did he leave, are you still on good terms and how is the new bassist fitting into the band?
ES : Oh yeah were still on good terms, he's got a hockey team that I go watch play like every Wednesday back home. But he left because he wanted to become a full time recording engineer and producer. We love Tyler (Rebbe), he's insane. A total party all of the time.
DP : If you were going to a real knife party, what kind of knife would you bring and why?
ES : A switchblade, cuz im shady like that.
Look out for Death By Stereo's fourth LP, Death For Life in early May. They also have tour dates booked up until the middle of May, across the west coast and the southern states of the US.
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